Tuesday Museday #3: Lara Bingle

The style of Lara Bingle is something that has evolved over a short amount of time. I never paid much attention to her outfits in her early days of fame; it is really only in these recent few years that I have noticed her style significantly shift and shape into one which can be described as classic with a modern twist—think plenty of monochrome with hints of patterns or muted colours (such as khaki or camel) and interesting cuts and fabric textures. In this post, I'll be discussing some of my favourite outfits Lara has worn.

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photo c/o Matrix AU

K H A K I

Khaki is one of the few colours deviating from the monochrome palette that Lara employs in her wardrobe. It is a colour I find hard to pull off personally (although I do own one knit in a darker khaki that works with my hair colour), but her colouring works flawlessly with this coat. A long-line coat is an essential winter wardrobe piece—it is a timeless piece that can be just thrown on to add an instant style boost to any outfit. The addition of the caged black stilettos add a dressier vibe to the coat.

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photo c/o Don Arnold @ Getty Images

S H A D E S O F G R E Y

This ensemble is by Bassike, with heels by Dior Amber Sceats jewellery. consisting of a neoprene boxy top and pencil skirt in contrasting tones of grey. The silhouette the overall outfit creates is one which is modern and flattering—pairing a loose fit top half with a fitted bottom balances out the outfit.

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photo c/o Getty Images for Cotton On

S U I T S

Suits immediately conjure up images of work—9-5 office jobs, boredom and an inability to express oneself apart from the rest of the suit-dressed individuals. Lara's approach to the business suit is ultra-modern with the addition and removal of certain elements and the structure of the outfit. By pairing a simple white v-neck t-shirt underneath the slim-cut tuxedo, Lara updates the suit. Combined with classic black pumps, red lip and her ever-popular "lob" (long-bob), the look is business and party at the same time.

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photo c/o Don Arnold @ Getty Images

B O L D L I P

While this jumpsuit seems quite simple and standard, it is made interesting with the deep side cutouts and plunging neckline. Lara pairs it with strappy stilettos and a bold wine-red lip. Red lipstick can be tricky to maintain over the hours, but it really dresses up any outfit and allows for you to keep the rest of your makeup simple.

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photo c/o Cameron Spencer @ Getty Images

P R I N T P O P

Lara dons another suit in this outfit, but this one is more dressed up for the event, with the addition of a black button-up blouse. The satin lapels of the blazer jacket add to the night-time, dressy feel of the ensemble. However, the real show-stopper of this outfit is the choice of footwear—in this case, these leopard print ankle boots. Leopard print—when done right—is super chic and can update any simple outfit. I think that one statement leopard piece per outfit works really well in adding interest—but if you can pull off going all leopard a-la The Nanny then more props to you! By keeping the hair and make-up to a minimal, the shoes are free to do the talking.

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photo c/o Scott Barbour @ Getty Images

C O N T R A S T

Lara's 2012 Derby outfit is true to her simple monochrome style and I think is a classy outfit. It was the only outfit I remembered from this Derby Day, so it definitely made an impact on me! I love the pairing of the wide brim panama hat by The Hatmaker and the bright white Dion Lee peplum dress. Lara pulls off deep-v's so well. This hat really reminds me of Carmen San-Diego—actually, the whole outfit reminds me of her actually, but a more night-time/party Carmen rather than criminal mastermind Carmen. Once again, simple pointed black pumps tie the outfit together.

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photo c/o Splash News Online

S E T S

As I've mentioned many times previously, twin sets (two-pieces, matching sets etc..) will forever be one of my most worn pieces simply due to their effortless and ability to style. The outfit is by local Australian label Scanlan & Theodore, and love the mesh-like texture of the fabric—very sports-luxe but it looks comfy and cosy enough to sleep in! The semi-fishtailed skirt is combined with a matching boxy fit jumper to create a unified outfit, finished off with a pair of caged laced up heels, which always makes a statement.

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photo c/o Ryan Pierse @ Getty Images

S T A T E M E N T P I E C E

This statement headpiece by Ryan Storer could be a hit or a miss depending on who you ask, but for me it is a definite hit!. The two-piece outfit—consisting of a Dion Lee deep v-neck long sleeve crop top and asymmetrical skirt—is balanced by the contrast made between the two pieces. Simple strappy heels complete the look. This outfit proves that even though all pieces used as black, interest and diversity is created out of the cut, fabric or style of the piece.

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Until next time! x

Tuesday Museday #2: Solange

For the second installment of this series, I am going to focus on the style of Solange Knowles, also known as simply Solange. I've been following her on social media for about a year now and I find that her style just blooms. She looks amazing in every outfit she wears, pulling off bright colours and sleek cuts. Below are just a small selection of some of my favourite outfits she's sported.

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C O L O U R B L O C K

This entire outfit is just colour-blocking heaven to me. It is a visual feast for my eyes, Solange just pulls of bold colour palettes so well. The coat is by Milly by Michelle Smith, which matches the feather clutch and works so well paired back with the orange turtleneck and pants. The last colour is the bubblegum pink pumps, matching her lip colour. This is an outfit that could very well stop traffic!

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S E T S

Solange is a master of the matching prints, which is exemplified in this outfit. The entire outfit is by Flaminia Saccucci for her 2011 Graduation Collection (sans clutch and shoes). Her gold jewellery is by Cartier and her nude pumps are by Casadei. I love the fact that the bottoms are a half skirt half pant hybrid, it really meshes well with the popularity of asymmetric trends that have been going around lately.

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R E T R O

This outfit definitely has that 70s Diana Ross/disco vibe about it. The outfit consists of a billowy, bright tangerine orange blouse and white wide-leg pants, both by Gucci. Solange's hair also fits well with the 70s vibe. The bright white paired with the orange creates a crisp, fresh look and actually reminds me a lot of summer and drinking mango smoothies!

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S U I T S

This divine pink suit is another winner by Gucci, so chic and tailored. The masculinity of the suit cut is feminised by the skinny-leg pants and the shape of the blazer. This is the sort of outfit I'd don if I wanted an on point look for power dressing—it has all the right components to bring out the business woman in me, whilst also keeping that air of party as well. Business and party—the best of both worlds!

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M A T C H I N G P A L E T T E

Oh my, the shades of red in this outfit are so on point! Not only can Solange colour block, but she can also match shades in the same colour range without making it look monotonous and boring. It is the textures in the pieces forming this outfit that provide that interest and break up any monotony—the fur coat contrasts with the ribbed material of the sweater and sleek, scuba-looking skirt. This look featured Carven's Pre-Fall 2015 collection (top and skirt) and Malone Souliers Montana lace up pumps in Mink Nappa/Coco Nappa.

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A L L W H I T E

All white is alright! Haha sorry about that rhyme, corniness is my THAAAANG. The perforated tee gives off a very sports luxe vibe, whilst the matching 3.1 Philip Lim Spring 2014 tailored pants dress it up. The bold dark purple lipstick contrast with the all-white theme and really makes the white pop. All white can be a bit tricky to pull off as everyone knows that white is notorious for keeping clean, but I think it has the power to freshen up the wearer, looking crisp and sleek while keeping you cool in the summer.

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Q U I R K Y

The print on this outfit is right up my alley. I think we have gathered by this stage that Solage is clearly a matching set queen. The top and skirt set is from Azede Jean-Pierre's Spring/Summer 2014 collection. I think that this off-beat print might be a little too creepy for some who may have a strong aversion to bugs, but I am not one of those people!

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S I M P L I C I T Y

Last but definitely not least is her wedding gown, designed by Humberto Leon for Kenzo. The entire wedding was so beautiful and I loved the fact that it was not just the bride that wore white, but the guests also, shaking up the tradition that dates back to Queen Victoria's choice to wear a white wedding dress at her wedding to Prince Albert in 1840 (fun fact; I had no idea that this origin was only relatively recent!). The dress is structured with a draped cape overlay, falling to the floor. The gold cuffs really tie the look together, adding a little bit of glamour to the simplicity of the silhouette and design of the dress.

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I hope you enjoyed this post and maybe Solange's style might inspire you as much as it has inspired me!

Until next time! x

☽❀✿ Life Imitating Art #1 ✿❀☾

I want to start a new ongoing theme, looking at the way fashion designers are influenced and/or incorporate artworks or styles of art into their collections, as well as specific historical periods. This first instalment will feature the Fall 2013 collection by Dolce & Gabbana and to this day it remains one of my favourite fashion collections ever.

The period of the Byzantine art occurred in Eastern Roman Empire, existing from c. 330 CE until its conquering by the Turks in c. 1453. Byzantium was a Christian empire, with its capital being Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul). The city was named after the first Christian emperor of the Roman Empire, Constantine. The style is usually considered to be Early Christian art, but was derived from Greek and Egyptian art forms, combining both classical Western and Eastern art forms. Constantinople was a beautiful city during its glory days, with mosaics, marble and gold and silver buildings. Clothing was also ornately adorned, encrusted with jewels. The majesty of the robes worn by the Emperor was a reflection of the empire’s dedication to religion—the Emperor was a physical, earthly manifestation of God and thus, his robes needed to be heavily adorned in order to reflect his status.

This style of art is characterised by religious iconography and imagery—in particular, the translation of church theology into art. Taking the form of both mosaics and paintings, the style employed rich colours and figures that appeared to be flat. These figures are also characterised by their large eyes and their bodies appear to be floating in the foreground; the background is often golden coloured. The creation of the figures in this style is meant to be unrealistic as opposed to the Classical art of the ancient Greeks—these figures were intended to represent spiritual beings not composed of flesh. Another characteristic of the style is the Empire’s love of splendour, hence the use of jewels and gold.

Despite the fall of Constantinople in 1453, artists of the Greek islands, in the Balkans and in Russia continued to create work in Byzantine style, thus illustrating the perpetual relevance of the artistic style into future generations.

Mosaics feature heavily in the collection, as well as ornately designed crowns and earrings, reminiscent of Christian iconography and Medieval kings. The colour palette used is rich with jewel tones and gold shades, reflecting the regal feeling of the overall collection. The models themselves appeared to be modern reincarnations of Emperors and Empresses of the golden age of the Byzantium Empire, with every element of their appearance harking back to what their leaders would have been adorned with.

The designers (Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gaibbana) stated the collection drew inspiration from Sicily, as well as the Venetian and Byzantine mosaics of the twelfth-century cathedral in the city of Monreale. These mosaics are painstakingly composed to form the final image, as this level of detail is observable in the workmanship of the pieces featured in this collection, with mosaic beading swathing crystal gems. Silhouettes ranged from boxy shifts to cinched waist dresses like the 1950s.

Accessories completed the look, with cross earrings and bejewelled crowns, creating an image of a saint and princess all-in-one. Shoes were intricately decorated with carved floral patterns (reminiscent of Baroque styles) and entwined with papal purple and cardinal red velvet. The end of the show saw a cluster of red laced and jewel encrusted evening gowns, relating back to the rich scarlet shade donned by Catholic cardinals of the church.

I hope this little article was of interest to you and perhaps may inspire you in some facet of your life—art and fashion are my most interesting subjects so sharing my thoughts about different art styles and designers always fascinate me.

Until next time! x

Tuesday Museday #1: Rihanna

I want to introduce a new post theme to my blog, where I discuss my muses—people whose style inspire me and influences my own approach to what I wear. For my first feature, I will be discussing Rihanna. I've been inspired and influenced by her Rihanna's style for some time now—she just seems to be able to pull off any look she creates, whether it be edgy and modern, or timeless and feminine.

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L A C E

I absolutely loved Rihanna's look on her debut cover of US Vogue in 2013, shot by Annie Leibovitz. The "Ariel" (the little mermaid) red shade of her hair works so well with the elegant gown, picking up the patches of red in the lacework pattern. The dress is by Chanel's Pre Fall 2011 collection, which featured some amazing Byzantine era-themed pieces. I love lace fabrics—I find that certain pieces can be dressed up or down depending on the situation. For example, a lace midi skirt can easily transition from a daytime (I would usually style with a basic t-shirt or singlet to balance out the figure-hugging skirt) to night-time look with the addition of accessories and a crop top. Providing the lace is of good quality, I believe you can't really go wrong with it.

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S E T S

Ahh, where would I be without matching sets?! Firstly, they are the most versatile clothing to style, because while you can wear them as the set, they can also be worn apart, making for infinite outfit possibilities. I've seen Rihanna wearing multiple twin-set outfits, but one of the outfits she wore on her 2013 Diamonds World Tour is my favourite. I think she looks like an Egyptian goddess in the fiery-red crop top and matching draped, asymmetrical skirt. The outfit was designed by Rihanna's own costume designer, Adam Selman.

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D E N I M

Denim is timeless, and one of its many forms in that of a jacket. In her latest music video (accompanied by Kayne West and Paul McCartney) Rihanna has a natural look going on, stripped down to basics in terms of both make-up and clothing. She wears an over-sized denim jacket in a classic true blue, which reminds me of the 1980's Levi silhouettes which are constantly making resurgences over the years. The jacket is a vintage Sean John jacket. The over-sized, boxy fit is a classic jacket cut and one which I love and I'm sure I'll continue to love.

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F E M I N I N E

This is probably one of my all-time favourite looks Rihanna was worn. For the Christian Dior Cruise 2015 show in 2014, she wore an amazing little pink silk number by—of course—Dior. True to her style, I really like how she edgy-ified (not a word, I know) the dress with her hair, accessories and make-up. Especially those pearl double-end Dior earrings. The dress is the perfect shade of baby-pink with a drop waist cut, with a high-neck and short sleeves. It is classy and modern, and also looks comfortable to wear.

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G L A M O U R

The dress that was the talk of the internet for a week (or more), with divided opinion. While it may have been controversial or too revealing to some, I thought it was elegant, unique and beautiful. The dress was also designed by Adam Selman and features 230,000 Swarvoski crystals. It makes Rihanna look like she is just dripping in diamonds, like a waterfall and also brings her song—aptly titled Diamonds—to the forefront of my mind. The wrap adds a touch of old school Hollywood to the look and the matching gloves and headscarf complete the look. In looking behind-the-scenes images of the making of the dress, I am amazed at how painstakingly each crystal was applied onto the fishnet fabric, . The phrase 'every little detail matters' really applies to this dress and it sure paid off in the final result. She is legit goals.

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L E A T H E R

For the final look, I've chosen one of the outfits she wore in her shoot for Rolling Stone in 2013. In this look, Rihanna wears a Christopher Kane leather jacket from the Fall 2010 collection, a black bodycon knee-length skirt and Manolo Blahnik Chaos sandals. This jacket is my favourite as it has the perfect mix of edgy rock n' roll vibes and feminine floral detailing. The overall look has an air of office-chic through the classic white button up and pencil skirt, but is modernised and taken to a different place through the addition of the leather jacket and gold necklace.

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Until next time! x

Gravity

After such a long period of time being absent on my blog, I decided it would be fitting to make my return post for 2015 about places I source inspiration (which I truncate to simply 'inspo'). I'm considering posting more opinion/perspective/informative themed posts on my blog, just to share my ideas with those who care to read them—what are your thoughts on this? Anyway, here are some of my main ways to generate inspiration without seeking it from electronic devices (particularly those with internet connectivity). Sometimes it can be so hard to find things in life when you feel lack-lustre, especially when you feel like you're living each day over and over again (Groundhog Day-style). I also find that while the internet may seem like an infinite source of inspiration, it can sometimes be more beneficial to step away from the screen and pay more attention to your surroundings. Many people (largely in Western societies) are so dependent on their devices that they never stop to appreciate their surroundings, just taking them for granted everyday.

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The first thing you do when you wake up is open your eyes. I sometimes use this brief moment in my day to collect my thoughts and look at the surroundings around me. For instance, there may be a certain special way the morning sunlight hits a particular area of my room, creating an interesting dappled pattern on the wall or a beautiful refraction. While I live in the centre of the city and unfortunately rarely get to experience the chirping of birds anymore, when I lived back in the country I would usually be treated to a chorus of birds every morning. These elements of the natural world seeping into my built world gave me plenty of inspirational references to draw from.

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Explore the great outdoors. Go on a mini adventure, or a big adventure. Smell the air, flowers; take in the sights and sounds and let them feed through into your body and mind. Fresh air is well-known to do wonders for us both physically and mentally. I often feel a bit stir-crazy or enclosed if I am in a small space for too long, so taking half an hour to an hour per day to walk outside helps open my mind and also gets me some exercise, which is always a plus!

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Yes I know, we have phones to fulfil the duty of the humble notebook, recording sudden flashes of inspiration efficiently. Despite this technology, I still find myself loving to record inspiration down in a traditional notebook. It may seem weird, but I like the control I have over the placement of the pen/pencil to the page; being able to see my own handwriting and sketches rather than notes formed by pixels on a screen. It just feels like a more natural, authentic way for me to keep track of my projects and potential future projects. By keeping a notebook, I can easily extract it from my bag anywhere and capture that moment of inspiration to save for a later date.

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Free your mind, and the rest will follow...or so En Vogue sung circa 1992. And they sing the truth—allowing your mind to be clear from the daily clutter you can accumulate is such an enlightening and inspiring thing. You don't have to be an insanely flexible yogi or an om-ing chanter to practice techniques of meditation and/or yoga. Just find a quiet, comfortable place to sit and let the thoughts drain from your mind. It sounds easier that it actually is, but practice clearing your mind with positive images of places where you want to be accompanied with deep stomach breathing and you should find yourself feeling calm and collected soon. I find that stretching after being in a chair working on my computer all day really helps me to feel better, as being in a sitting position for long periods of time often tenses up my body, making me feel uncomfortable. Stretching in yoga positions helps to get the blood flowing to places it needs to be, bringing positive energy into my space and allowing me to become open to inspiration.

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If you can remember your dreams when you awaken, they can possibly become a rich source of inspiration. There is also a special kind of dreaming you can practice called lucid dreaming. A lucid dream is where the dreamer is aware that they are dreaming during sleep and can actively control their dream. It's like a hybridisation of consciousness and unconsciousness. More information about learning this can be seen here. I haven't tried unlocking this type of dreaming yet, but it's something that I'd like to learn as I feel it has great potential for unlocking new sources of inspiration. Dreams in general are a great source of inspiration and keeping a dream journal is another way you can create a new source of inspiration, as well as learning more about your innermost thoughts as they unravel in your deep sleep.

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Never underestimate the power of reading. While reading may not be everyone's cup of tea, I find personally that it stimulates my mind and opens me up to possibilities. While a classic novel is what I find to be the most mentally stimulating reading material, any reading material is good for generating inspiration—in particular, books or magazines with images. I always love to flick through my favourite fashion magazines and look at the trends pages and editorials. Magazines themselves are a form of escapism from the harsh realities of life, which is why many people seek comfort in the act of skimming their pages over a cup of tea or coffee.

I hope you may find this little list of use. Until next time! x

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Ugh I know, I know - I thought I'd be back to regular weekly blogging again during this break but clearly this hasn't happened! However, this doesn't mean that I haven't been busy!

I have been working on some personal illustrations over these past two to three weeks, which I have featured below and can also be seen under my Portfolio page.

Paeonia Lagoon

Iris

Intergalactica

Instagram Updates

1. Cameo the Label lily palm print top - I am in love with this.
2. Drawing Gia Carangi, my model inspo.
3. Floral illustrations.
4. Warming myself up with homemade pumpkin soup and breakfast tea.
5. Is my floral obsession obvious?!
6. Progress of a recently completed illustration.

This month I have been drawing my inspiration from musical sources, such as FKA Twigs and Lana Del Rey. Style-wise, I have been interested in the juxtaposition of bright metallic and nude, blush and muted grey shades. I'm wishing the warm weather would return soon so I can enjoy sleeping by the pool and basking in the summer sunshine. I need more Vit. D!

Until next time! x