The Red Owl

If you have not already noticed, I am a bit of a trend snob. I point out trends yet will often refuse to partake in them because of my inherent desire to be different. I probably sound like a precious little girl that thinks she is above everyone else. I guess I could waste this next blog debating all the reasons why I am not a precious little girl and why I do not think I am above everyone else- but that would be utterly silly. Which is why instead, I will present you this week’s topic- the political slogan on a bag !!

Ok, so here is the deal. I hate the slogan shirt. Wait, I digress. I despise the slogan shirt. When it came out I thought there was nothing more ridiculous looking than that. Especially when the slogan was carried by the medium of a fluoro coloured shirt. Boy was I in rant-city when the two crossed my paths.

So, whilst my stance on slogans is pretty obvious, I am a little undecided when it comes to fashion and politics combining their powers and becoming one, large force. I am quite open with my political views in discussions, as most of my friends and acquaintances will know. But the furthest I have ever gone with using fashion as a medium to broadcast these opinions of mine has been pinning a couple of badges I have grabbed here and there onto a tattered old bag I bought from my local Salvation Army store. I guess where this is all leading, is how much is too much and how loud can a political message be before it becomes just plain tacky ?

A lot of people do not appreciate in your face banalities, and political messages are at a greater risk of being misconstrued when being presented through a topsy-turvy medium. What I mean by this, is that fashion is as mocked by many as it is respected. With such a great divide it is only expected that there will be some people who appreciate the politically-conscious fashion designer and those who do not.

Although the slogan on the bag may not spark great controversy or cause a lot of heated discussion in the lunch room, I think the key to success is minimalism. In all honesty, that bag is just another passing trend (or fad) which tries to capitalise on the widespread attention that global warming and environmental issues are currently basking in. Why such a blatantly obvious statement needs to even be expressed is beyond me. I am sure some may call it ironic. But to me it is just words on a bag.

(Both images were found on Google.)

It befuddles me the way certain trends work. I am referring to the trends that slowly mill in the background during one season and then completely sprout onto the hangers of every single shop the next. I noticed this happened with the “man-shirt”. At first the man-shirt was worn by a select few that realised the great ease there was in wearing it. For example, it could easily be worn with jeans or leggings on colder days, but on warm days could become a practical substitute for a girly dress. I noticed the start of the man-shirt phenomena around the middle of last year and didn’t think much of it until I saw it again in Tokyo. Whilst in Tokyo I realised that the classic man-shirt had been feminised and had become slightly more fitted, à la…

(photo from ebay)

I considered and decided against the purchase of one of these during my first week in Tokyo. Sure enough, when I went back to the same shop 10 days later they had replaced most of what I was considering to buy with completely new stock. I kid you not. So I forgot about the man-shirt relatively quickly and engrossed myself in the new looks that were before me. This remained true until my special encounters over the past weekend. These encounters occurred when I wandered down to some local shops after having a late lunch with the family and the 3 shops I walked into all featured these:

(photo from ebay)

(photo from ebay)

(photo from sportsgirl)

I became a little frightened by the amount of man-shirts I was confronted with. I wasn’t really sure which way I was meant to turn and what I was meant to do with so many of them. It was quite an overwhelming experience and it left me, as I mentioned at the start, completely befuddled. I am torn on this trend because I am a shy admirer of the man-shirt (especially when it is layered with other things), but this over-exposure of it has me wondering whether it is losing its trendy charm..

I ask, can anyone shed any light on my man-shirt dilemma ? Should I just throw caution to the wind and succumb to the phenomena that is the man-shirt ?

I decided to reward myself for working a 6 day week with a mini shopping trip today. Being my only day off, I am quite confident I could have done several other more relaxing things and even more rewarding things, but there is no point in regretting any of it now. The shopping experience was neither good nor bad, which makes this entire blog appear a little blasé. The frustrating thing is I really tried to have an open mind with each shop I went into. However, I had to try a little harder to overcome the age old problem of ‘too much quantity and not enough quality’. Once I conquered that, I even went so far as to try to convince myself to buy certain pieces because I could mix and match them with so and so or even layer them for when winter comes around.

Unfortunately, it just did not happen for me.

What overall pushed the shopping experience from being a terrible one to a mediocre one was the purchase of some shoes that I had taken a great liking to. Although I am sure that they were over-priced and not of the highest quality, they were exactly what I was looking for in terms of smart-casual lace-up shoes.

(You will have to excuse the quality of the following photographs as they were taken on my mobile phone and sent via bluetooth to my computer.. it’s all very technical you see !!)

I have realised that since my last day of high school I have not worn black lace-up shoes and I am a little distressed by this. There is no reason why the ‘back-to-school’ shoe should not have evoled into something more sophisticated and user-friendly for the school leaver. It’s all about heels and wedges and strappy sandals and peep-toe shoes so I think I will whole-heartedly embrace this quiet, emerging trend of lace-ups that is a little bit vintage but at the same time a little bit unique and quirky. I would recommend for all of you to embrace these shoes too, but I am afraid I am enjoying them far too much at the moment so please send all your hate letters this way and remember - it’s our little secret, so don’t tell !

The last 7 days have been the kind of days that leave you with everything to say and nothing to write about. So in the end it feels like all you write are random strands of thought that have not yet been formed into sound and are thus turned into jibber-jabber on paper (or computer screen in my case). I feel like being organised and separating what I have to say into dot points or numbering them in order of importance. Subsequently I could be all free-spirited and against guidelines and just write down whatever pops into my head first. Either way, the only thing that matters is that I make some sense out of what it is I am trying to get across. Unfortunately I get the feeling that this week I will fail miserably at that task.

Rage Against Conformity

I joined the masses last Friday 25^th January and spent the day at the Big Day Out. Now most people that know me well are aware of my stance in regards to large crowds, especially the large crowds that gather at these kind of festivals. Basically, I have no tolerance for the majority of people that attend. I managed to put most of my grievances aside during this year’s Big Day Out and found I enjoyed myself due to a great group of people and some amazing musicians. Needless to say there was one thing that caught my attention which has to be addressed. Maybe I will seem like a prude or some conservative type that does not get out of the house enough, but what on earth is with the wearing of bikinis and swimming costumes to music festivals?? There seems to be some kind of trend emerging that is a strange hybrid of fluoro colours and bikins and I really wish it would disappear off the face of the earth. I lack to see the attractiveness of it and I really lack to see the originality of it. I just have two questions to ask – Why are you doing it and who are you trying to impress?

This is just a small sample of what there was on offer at the Sydney Big Day Out. Do you see where I am coming from? Why is this considered fashionable? Does nobody else find this to be completely tasteless?

Corporate Mia

I am starting a new job tomorrow that requires staff to adopt a dress code that elicits some kind of professionalism. Considering the fact that for the last 5 years or so the only form of employment I have had has been on a casual basis and this new job is a full-time position, I am a bit worried as to how I will achieve my “professional” look. I think it is hard to find a middle ground between regular corporate attire and your own personal style. I am already struggling with it and I have not even started the week yet. I guess to my advantage, being relatively young, I can get away with some experimentation. And the workplace I am at is not too stringent on the black and white ensemble – not that all corporate attire has to be in those colours, that is just me revitalising an old stereotype! The hardest thing I will have to overcome (which in retrospect is not really a big deal, but this is a blog about fashion) is separating my business wear from my day and night wear. There comes a point in my life when I start associating certain outfits and specific pieces of clothing with the places I wear them to. It is not necessarily the divide between casual, formal, business etc, but more the identification of clothes with the certain place you find yourself wearing them most often at. In essence, I am worried that I will start wearing the clothes I enjoy wearing on my regular playdates to work and as a result ruin whatever sentimentality or attachment I had to that outfit. Not only that, but it will ruin the image I am trying to portray through that outfit because it will be in a completely different setting to what I am used to.

Anyway, I am clearly in the midst of some deep-seated issues at the moment which are causing me to take fashion to a whole other level that is far too analytical and philosophical then need be. So to counteract my epic babble, here are some pictures of how I would like to dress at my new and exciting job!
(By Adddress)

(By Conni Kaminski)

(By Sarah Heartbo)

(By Lucy Bukovsky)

(By Esther Perbandt)

So.. What do you think? Would I not impress my new bosses with these lovely pieces??