This winter all I’ve been reading about is other bloggers’s love for their Isabel Marant Coats. Have a look here and here for example. Well, because I’ve gone back to studying full time and am desperately trying to save so I can go back to Canada this summer, there’s no way I can afford to splurge on my very own. Though if I could I would probably get this one.

I just happened to drop in to my local Red Cross store this morning because of a crisp, white, linen dress they had displayed in their window. Anyone in Melbourne at the moment will now we’ve had unseasonably warm weather this past week or so and as I result I’ve already been dreaming of my summer wardrobe essentials. Suffice to say the white dress didn’t quite make the cut.

To my joy, however, I discovered my very own blazer style woollen jacket sitting on the half-off rack. I know it’s no Isabel Marant but for $11 it will do me just fine. After I ripped out the shoulder pads – because let’s face it I have broad shoulders as it is and aren’t trying to recreate the 80′s – this beauty is good to go.

Thankfully the weather has just changed so I won’t be left sweltering at 12pm because it was too cool to go jacket-less in the morning!

Alison Mosshart

fur, animal print, vintage sunnies, bangs, tees, skinnies, and sex appeal

I absolutely adore Hailee Steinfeld. This is such a fun campaign and I think she is a great fit for Miu Miu.

She was fantastic in True Grit and since then has blown me away with her style and grace.

I hope that young women are as influenced by her as I am and that she continues to be such a positive role model.

JUCO

Julia Galdo & Cody Cloud

Citrus, floral ditsy, red velvet, sherling leather, stripes, clogs and lace.

Loving the colours and lines brought out through the patterns or layering.

Definitely a look you could recreate as we move into the cooler months by mixing your summer pieces with some heavier, warmer ones.

An easier way to inject some colour into our normally grey and black winter wardrobe.

Can’t wait to see the rest of this Marc by Marc Jacobs Spring 2011 Campaign starring Ginta Lapina and Andrej Pejic. I’m still not sure how I feel about Pejic. I can see that he is beautiful and has many female qualities (lithe hands and legs, porcelain skin, minimal body hair) but I’m not sure if I’m ready to embrace androgyny to that extent yet or fully understand it. Time will tell I’m sure.

As a sartorial collective society seems to be moving on from jeggings and any other form of leggings worn as pants (praise the heavens!), overt sexiness is slowly being replaced by elegant refinement (think Louis Vuitton AW10 and all that has been inspired from Mad Men) and no longer does a whole generation of teenagers walk around looking like a cross between a Barbie and an oompa loompa.

So you can imagine my shock when the lady standing in front of me had the worst visible panty line I’d ever seen. In fact, forget line, it was just a visible panty situation. I’m not a prude, but I don’t enjoy seeing some lady’s old lacy maroon g-string on my daily commute. As far as I could tell, the pants she was wearing wouldn’t have even required a g-string, but as they say ‘each to their own’ – note not ‘each to everyone’s own.’

And no matter what anyone says Tanya Buckley, this is never a look for formal occasions…

Now I’m not talking about those ridiculously overpriced vintage shops that inhabit Brunswick Street and the like, I mean the good ol’ fashioned St Vinnies and Brotherhood of Saint Laurence opportunity shops where all our grannies clothes get dumped after they’ve moved on from this material world.

As much as I tried to emulate the ways of those aforementioned savvy shoppers I’ve never been able to complete a successful op-shop trip unless I was hunting for a hideously outrageous costume for the next college party. Until now.

I’ve come to the realisation that it just takes patience and determination to reach that standard. You’ve just got to accept that sometimes you’ll come away with nothing but the stench of mothballs filling your nostrils, and that’s ok. Because the next time you’ll find that perfect oversized jumper or denim vest that completes your winter wardrobe without costing a bomb.

Don’t go in there searching for something specific because chances are you’ll never find it and you’ll miss the gem sitting right under your nose that the girl behind you is just dying to get her hands on.

But this brings me to the question at hand. As I find myself successfully navigating op shops between Port Fairy and Daylesford, Melbourne and Maroochydore, picking up bargains for $4 a pop, I long to hold the necessary skills for alterations and repairs.

Take this fantastic mustard jacket I picked up recently. It’s the exact shade seen throughout many of the hottest fashion labels this past season, which I’ve been lusting after, holds more of that quirky one-off charm, cost a fraction of the price of something new, and almost fits me perfectly.

All that needs to be done to turn it from good enough to just right is a narrowing of the sleeves. Thanks to my bird arms even when I’ve got a bulky knit on underneath there’s still enough room in the sleeves for a snake to slither up. It seems like it’d be pretty straightforward to fix, just a simple run in and it’s be done.

The problem is I can’t sew. My only experiences in the art of sewing stem from my year 7 textiles class and let’s just say that my hanging wardrobe wouldn’t even hold a toothpick up.

Paying someone to tailor the jacket for me defeats the purpose of bargain shopping and would escalate the overall price form $10 to $50. My mum could do it for me but she lives 4 hours away and doesn’t have the time to waste on my fashion whims.

This also made me wonder what would happen when I have kids myself. Who will fix the holes in their jeans and alter the hemlines of their school uniforms according to their various growth spurts?

Thread Den recently opened up around the corner from where I live and after looking at all of the fantastic courses they offer I got all fired up about learning to sew. My housemate shot down my dreams piping up about how it would be cheaper for me to use the money I would spend on lessons on a sewing machine and simply teach myself.

But really, can this be done? Next time I’m perusing the new releases in the bookstore I’m going to head over to the craft section and see if there are any easy step-by-step guides to mastering the art of sewing. I’ll check out the 21^st century go-to-guru Google and see what offerings it comes up with. I’ll ask my mum next time I’m home for a lesson of the basics. I’ll see what I come up with and before next time I see you I’ll hopefully be able to let you know the answer to that question.

Fingers crossed and happy thrifting.

I can honestly say I was excited about seeing SATC2, even after I’d witnessed and read some scathing reviews (check out Helen Razer’s open letter to SJP) I still watched the trailer and got butterflies in my stomach at the sight of all the characters – including Aiden looking more well-preserved than any of the other male characters I must say! I met up with my girlfriends for dinner beforehand where we drank wine, ate dumplings, and remarked that we’re practically Melbourne’s own sex and the city gals!

Arriving at the cinema, we were confronted with the sight of around 100 women in their mid-thirties dressed up in sequins, high heels and leggings, sipping on cosmopolitans, chatting and laughing, eagerly anticipating what was to come. Luckily they were there for a breast cancer fundraiser and we were able to enjoy their free wine in a cinema with a significantly smaller number of people.

Which leads me to the movie itself. Let’s just say that it’s hard not to be offended by this movie if you have an active mind and sensitivity towards cultures outside of the western world. I found my self laughing along at all the right cues but it was more from shock and outrage than actual humour. It was hard to believe that such an unashamed display of xenophobia could have been created in today’s world for our ‘entertainment’.

And as for the fashion…I couldn’t even fully appreciate the clothes they wore because they too seemed to be laughing at all the cultural attributes of the middle east. Right down from Samantha’s camel-riding turban to Carrie’s souq Tu-tu. Granted there were some lust-worthy items – the big labels are there all looking ‘fabulous’ – but at times it was done in such a try-hard way that it just looked garish and ridiculous. (as an example see Charlotte and the other characters’ camel riding ensembles here)

The true highlight was each girl’s 80′s flashback where the joke was on us and the sartorial eye was being turned back on the western world’s fashion faux pas history defining moments.

As my friend so rightly said, I hope the fact that I paid for a ticket to see this atrocity does not encourage the producers to make another one. Indeed I’ve rightfully learnt my lesson and now believe that SATC should have stopped at the first movie, or perhaps even the series. But that’s all from me. I’m going to go drown my sorrows and start right back at the beginning; cringing at Carrie’s regrowth and Miranda’s bad fashion sense, not at their naively racist remarks.