Wednesday, March 9, 2011
'The' Coat.
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Brrr! The winter chill is fast approaching and for many, there is no better time to start shopping around for the infamous 'winter wardrobe'. For many, the thought of a fresh batch of winter goodies is met with sweats of excitement, after all, winter is well known for being the season in which fashion reaches it's peak. This season the humble winter coat has been transformed into something quite wonderful by designers such as Deanna Didovich of Ruby and the legendary Karen Walker. New season styles are shorter than they have been in previous seasons, with features such as a mid-forearm sleeve and a wider base. There is no doubt that we will be seeing more of this style in the coming months.
Start saving your pennies ladies! x
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
Taylor; Chuck Taylor.
Some would argue that Converse All Stars (aka Chuck Taylors or Chucks), have been in fashion for over thirty years and will probably never go out of style. I do not disagree with this at all, however i do think that there are periods of fashion that seem to appreciate Converse more than others. For example, the 80's embraced Chucks with open arms.
I believe that we are now coming into another period of fashion where Chuck Taylors are being appreciated by a wider variety of people than they were about five years ago. With the dawning of the new, thin soled Chuck Taylors, women are wearing Converse more and more because they are finding that the thinner sole is more flattering and not as heavy as traditional Chuck Taylors. My favourite from the new range of thin soled Chuck Taylor's are the entirely black high tops. These bad boys look great with absolutely anything and are a great alternative to Doc Martins (for those who are not brave enough) because they still have a sense of punk but are also feminine at the same time.
Fest.
Yes, it is true. Festival season is fast approaching us in the Southern hemisphere.
With a huge variety of festivals to choose from this year i have found it very hard to decide which ones i'm going to go to (and which ones i can afford to go to of course).
After much pondering, i have decided that my festival pick for this summer has to be the classic 'Big Day Out' (New Zealand and Australia). This year the line up includes Muse, Lilly Allen, Calvin Harris, Peaches, Passion Pitt, The Mars Volta and many, many more. In my opinion this is one of the best line up's that BDO has had in years and i am really looking foward to going this year.
The easiest way to get tickets is to buy online at http://www.bigdayout.com/ but they are also available to purchase at the usaul ticket outlets around New Zealand and Australia. I advise you to buy tickets early as they do tend to sell out and this years BDO is not one to be missed.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Secondhand Junkie.
As I walk into the fluorescent lit room, palms sweating, my worn down $2 sandals scuff the ancient lime green lino with every new step. A small crowd of my fellow ‘junkies’ turn to watch me enter, as my sponsor pulls a hard, plastic chair into the circle for me to sit on. I park my backside onto the chair, and as I sit, the zip of my 50c skirt stabs me in the lower back. Eight expectant faces stare at me as I open my mouth, the saliva suddenly draining away. “Hi, my name’s Almaz Emily – and I’m a secondhand junkie”.
At this point in the daydream I shake myself awake, refocus my blurred vision and head towards the counter of my friendly neighborhood Salvation Army to purchase that ‘must have’ cardigan that screams ‘previously owned by an 85 year old man’. It may seem extreme and unreasonable to suggest that secondhand shopping may be just as addictive as drugs, but in my case, and in the cases of an ever growing population of New Zealand bargain hunters, second hand shopping is proving to be even more addictive than Acid, Cocaine and Ecstasy combined.
So where has this addiction come from? Who is responsible for this new generation of bargain hunters who will stop at nothing to save a few dollars? Who is the ‘drug dealer’ in this scenario? Believe it or not, second hand shopping is not a new concept. It was around long before Facebook, IPods and even before the birth of Shorty Street. If we look back in history a few years to our grandparent’s generation, it is clear that long before our time they were doing pretty much the exact same thing as us; selling their souls for a bargain. Back in a time where shops didn’t open on Saturdays, the classic Kiwi garage sale dominated the Saturday morning social scene. Mum and Dad would rug the kids up, chuck them in the back of the station wagon and spend the morning going from garage to garage in search of nothing in particular, only returning home when the entire boot was full of a whole load of stuff that Mum and Dad were bound to get sick of and sell in their own garage sale a few months later. This Saturday morning tradition stuck with Kiwi’s through the years, and even though the golden days of the garage sale left us with the old millennium, garage sales do still happen every weekend around New Zealand.
Obviously, we as modern New Zealanders have inherited our bargain hunting tendencies from our grandparents and therefore cannot be blamed for our seemingly alarming behavior. However, addiction to secondhand shopping is an increasing problem in New Zealand due to one thing; Trademe. Our grandparent’s generation had one day solely devoted to fulfilling their junkie cravings, but with the birth of the internet and more importantly, Trademe, the new generation no longer has to wait for the weekend to get our fix. We are able to access thousands of secondhand listings at the click of a mouse, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. Nowdays, where ever internet can be accessed, so can secondhand shopping; and let’s be honest, the internet can be accessed pretty much anywhere. Because of the fact that Trademe is readily available, it easily becomes addictive and we more than often find ourselves on the computer for hours, watching other ‘undeserving’ people attempt to outbid us on items that truly are destined to be ours.
Along with Trademe, there are of course the traditional form of secondhand shops (you know, the actual real life shop kind). The Salvation Army, St Vincent De Paul and Savemart, just to name a few, are the ever popular family favorites when it comes to getting a quick, effortless bargain. Basically, anywhere you go in New Zealand you’re bound to come across one of these stores that, to be honest, probably contain some of the nations most valuable treasures. Whether it’s that 50c pair of jeans direct from the 1980’s, or that floral vase that looks identical to the one that Aunt Marge used to have, these shops always prove to be a treasure trove for anybody, from the first time secondhand shopper to the self confessed junkie.
Which ever way you look at it, secondhand shopping seems to be an important part of Kiwi life that most likely will always remain so. It’s in our blood, our hearts and… our internet favorites list. For many modern New Zealanders secondhand bargains just seem to follow us around wherever we go; and to be honest, most of us really don’t have the willpower to resist. I’m a prime example of this new generation of secondhand junkies. At my tender age I’m proud to say that around 60% of the things I own are secondhand. It’s a rare day that I don’t wear or use something that has been previously owned by only God knows who; and that’s just the way I like it. As well as saving valuable pennies in this recession, I’m reducing my own carbon footprint, protesting against child clothing manufacturing labour in Asia, and most importantly fulfilling my junkie cravings with some much needed secondhand retail therapy. I’m sorry to say it but I just don’t want to give up the junk for a clean life; I well and truly am a secondhand junkie. And besides, there’s nothing like rocking out a cardigan that still smells like an 85 year old man. What more could I ask for?
At this point in the daydream I shake myself awake, refocus my blurred vision and head towards the counter of my friendly neighborhood Salvation Army to purchase that ‘must have’ cardigan that screams ‘previously owned by an 85 year old man’. It may seem extreme and unreasonable to suggest that secondhand shopping may be just as addictive as drugs, but in my case, and in the cases of an ever growing population of New Zealand bargain hunters, second hand shopping is proving to be even more addictive than Acid, Cocaine and Ecstasy combined.
So where has this addiction come from? Who is responsible for this new generation of bargain hunters who will stop at nothing to save a few dollars? Who is the ‘drug dealer’ in this scenario? Believe it or not, second hand shopping is not a new concept. It was around long before Facebook, IPods and even before the birth of Shorty Street. If we look back in history a few years to our grandparent’s generation, it is clear that long before our time they were doing pretty much the exact same thing as us; selling their souls for a bargain. Back in a time where shops didn’t open on Saturdays, the classic Kiwi garage sale dominated the Saturday morning social scene. Mum and Dad would rug the kids up, chuck them in the back of the station wagon and spend the morning going from garage to garage in search of nothing in particular, only returning home when the entire boot was full of a whole load of stuff that Mum and Dad were bound to get sick of and sell in their own garage sale a few months later. This Saturday morning tradition stuck with Kiwi’s through the years, and even though the golden days of the garage sale left us with the old millennium, garage sales do still happen every weekend around New Zealand.
Obviously, we as modern New Zealanders have inherited our bargain hunting tendencies from our grandparents and therefore cannot be blamed for our seemingly alarming behavior. However, addiction to secondhand shopping is an increasing problem in New Zealand due to one thing; Trademe. Our grandparent’s generation had one day solely devoted to fulfilling their junkie cravings, but with the birth of the internet and more importantly, Trademe, the new generation no longer has to wait for the weekend to get our fix. We are able to access thousands of secondhand listings at the click of a mouse, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. Nowdays, where ever internet can be accessed, so can secondhand shopping; and let’s be honest, the internet can be accessed pretty much anywhere. Because of the fact that Trademe is readily available, it easily becomes addictive and we more than often find ourselves on the computer for hours, watching other ‘undeserving’ people attempt to outbid us on items that truly are destined to be ours.
Along with Trademe, there are of course the traditional form of secondhand shops (you know, the actual real life shop kind). The Salvation Army, St Vincent De Paul and Savemart, just to name a few, are the ever popular family favorites when it comes to getting a quick, effortless bargain. Basically, anywhere you go in New Zealand you’re bound to come across one of these stores that, to be honest, probably contain some of the nations most valuable treasures. Whether it’s that 50c pair of jeans direct from the 1980’s, or that floral vase that looks identical to the one that Aunt Marge used to have, these shops always prove to be a treasure trove for anybody, from the first time secondhand shopper to the self confessed junkie.
Which ever way you look at it, secondhand shopping seems to be an important part of Kiwi life that most likely will always remain so. It’s in our blood, our hearts and… our internet favorites list. For many modern New Zealanders secondhand bargains just seem to follow us around wherever we go; and to be honest, most of us really don’t have the willpower to resist. I’m a prime example of this new generation of secondhand junkies. At my tender age I’m proud to say that around 60% of the things I own are secondhand. It’s a rare day that I don’t wear or use something that has been previously owned by only God knows who; and that’s just the way I like it. As well as saving valuable pennies in this recession, I’m reducing my own carbon footprint, protesting against child clothing manufacturing labour in Asia, and most importantly fulfilling my junkie cravings with some much needed secondhand retail therapy. I’m sorry to say it but I just don’t want to give up the junk for a clean life; I well and truly am a secondhand junkie. And besides, there’s nothing like rocking out a cardigan that still smells like an 85 year old man. What more could I ask for?
Owl City.
Owl city is a light fuse of Electro-pop beats and lyrics that don't really seem to make sense to my analytical ears. Despite this, i have recently fallen in love with the newest album; 'Maybe I'm dreaming'. The first single of the album 'Fireflies' has gone number 1 in the US, and the Southern hemisphere will no doubt follow suit very shortly.
This album is perfect for the upcoming Southern hemisphere summer, and i guarantee it will keep you smiling all through the sunshine hours and well into the night. Definitely one to invest in.
Love x
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Silent Alarm.
I seem to have a permanant obsession with this album. It's just so damn good! Personal favoutite tracks include Banquet, Helicopter and This Modern Love. But of course i do love them all.
If you havn't already, go out and buy, steal or borrow.
It's a definate yes yes in my books.
Love x
Monday, June 1, 2009
Sunday, May 31, 2009
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