What the Folk!

Or a thread for your beauty/ fashion/ fantasy wardrobe musings.....
I was originally inspired by Turnip's gorgeous red wrap, but have lost the picture of it (please Turnip post it), and also by her perfect eyebrows.
I will re-post my fantasy Louboutins, which I will one day own, when I am fully grown-up and have loads of cash to spend on me:


And last year I discovered a great lipstick for people who don't find lipstick comfortable but want more colour and less 'lipgloss shines but my hair sticks in it' factor: Lipstick Queen Saint or Sinner (I get it from Space NK)


Finally, my favourite recent purchase is my black military coat, with its lovely shiny buttons: here it is

I have to say though that at the moment I am wearing no make-up, my hair looks frizzy and I'm wrapped in a big old warm Gap cardy in front of the laptop at home: we woke up to no water this morning so things were looking bleak (it's just been fixed though, hurrah!!!)

DP, I love that coat - so cute! Glad you brought this thread back, I was so sad when it was eaten!

Yay! I'm so glad you re-posted this one, DP! I love a bit of retail and cosmetic distraction, even if it's just fantasizing about what we'd buy if we were millionaires.

Before The Great Post Annihilation '08, I think I was talking about how absolutely beautiful and chic I think Megan Hosking from Bret's Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra is.





To me, she's the kind of woman who epitomises the difference between being fashionable and being stylish. And as Indigo pointed out, much of that has to do with the kind of joyfulness that Megan carries with her, and the sense that your clothes should make you happy, if nothing else.

And I was talking about how functional and monochrome my wardrobe tends to be, with a lot of blacks and khakis and whites and grays. So I'm trying to be brave, and be like Megan and go for colour these days. I got this beautiful red wrap to tie around my shoulders, and I wore it a couple of weekends ago over a strapless black dress thingy. With its little neck ruffle, it makes me feel like a cross between Queen Elizabeth I, and a laughing, lighthearted ukulele player. And I like that feeling very much.



And the other slightly-theatrical, but hopefully not too costumey piece that I have my eye on is this cloche hat from a wonderful milliner on Etsy, Boring Sidney.



She makes every hat to exactly your size, so it fits perfectly, and she's just as sweet as can be. I'm really hoping to get it for Christmas, so cross your fingers for me.

What is everyone else asking for this Christmas? And does anyone have ideas for ways to posh up for the coming onslaught of Christmas parties? Besides a bit of red lippy, I can never figure out what to do.

Also, I'm after a totally cheap, but totally great mascara, so if anyone has ideas, I'd really appreciate the advice. Lay it on me!

^ That hat is adorable.

Before I entered the adult (ie job) world I dressed mostly vintagey. Then the vintage stores closed down and I had to buy sensible stuff for work anyway and I mostly forgot about those creative, colorful days. Now that that stuff is seeing a resurgence I have been known to spend hours gazing at vintage clothes on flickr. This is just one of many chicks who, IMHO, has some awesome stuff http://www.flickr.com/photos/madebytess ... 42/detail/

So glad to see this thread has risen again, defying the "Great Post Annihilation '08"! Can I get an Amen!!!

SW, I'm a sucker for red, white and blue, so I loved your link.

Must...have...that...cloche!

I love footwear that's old-fashioned looking - the boots that have come back in style with buttons up the side, anything Dickensian. I also love your dream Mary Janes, DP.

As far as a good, relatively cheap mascara, I try them all, and my fave is Max Factor (not sure of the full name, but MAX is on the side of the tube). I've also tried the two expensive ones with vibrating brushes, Lancome and Estee Lauder, so far I like Estee better because of the practicality - the Lancome you have to press a button on the brush to get it to vibrate, and I haven't got enough fingers to hold the tube, roll it through my lashes, AND press a button. But I like the Estee, it really makes your lashes look full, and lasts all day with no flaking off.

And for all those Xmas parties, a little glitter on the eye goes a long way, and spices things up. Try a light shimmery shade on the lid and just under the brows, then a darker color in the crease. Turnip, this look would be great with your fabulous brows!

If I can get myself moving today, I'm going out later and will probably buy a purple fancy cardigan to wear to the Sinterklaas party on Friday. Fortunately, our friends here don't seem to do fancy dress stuff, for which I'm grateful.

I also bought some black shoes last week that are a bit like a solid-color spectator pump, but they're also a bit more like a boot, in that they come up to just below the ankle. I should just take photos, as they're probably sounding bizarre by now.

I use the infamous Maybelline Great Lash mascara, but it seems to be good or bad depending on the individual tube. Some are fine, others are clumpy. Lancome's Definicils was good, but a bit pricey. I saw a poster at one of the bus stops last week that mentioned a sale at Sephora. Since I didn't think we had a Sephora here, I'm particularly excited. I think it's located within one of the big department stores here. I might go check that out today, too. Which means I really need to stop posting now.

I have used Loreal Waterproof Voluminous mascara for years and I'm pleased with it. My lashes are relatively long but require a good curling to look normal (as in not sticking out straight) and this mascara is the only one I've found that keeps them curled and it's the only waterproof that I'm actually able to get off of my eyes without a huge tugging battle.

I bought a new red, hooded toggle wool coat recently that is bringing me much joy.

Today I'm donning a maroon cordouroy skirt with grey tights and knee high maroon boots. I haven't worn this ensemble in ages coz winter tights and my dry skinned legs don't usually agree but I've found the key is to load up the legs with Johnson's creamy baby oil before putting on tights.

Mary-Janes rule DP.

May I recommend the teenage sister of Boots No7 17 mascara as it is ridiculasly cheap and seems to be quite good. Obviously you have to get over the fact that just about eveyone else in that section of Boots are under the age of 14.

When it comes to getting decent makeup for cheap, age knows no boundaries - lemme at those 14-year-olds!!!!!

I love Etsy. I have such a liking for the genuinely hand-made, for things that are truly one of a kind. And for months now, I've found myself going back repeatedly to look at the rings that this fellow makes. His name is Ash Hilton, and he's a really sweet guy who lives in Nelson, on the north coast of the South Island in New Zealand. He has a real feeling for natural Kiwi motifs, and does really exquisite etchings of them on his jewelry (click here for a good peek), and just looking at his work makes me feel as if I were sitting on a beautiful, wind-swept beach, with dune grasses whispering and laughing around me.



He also only uses recycled metals, or carefully-sourced Kiwi materials, which is very cool. His dad was a gold prospecter, and found a way to harvest alluvial gold from beaches, so no awful, open-sore mine pits needed for this jewelry. He also does a lot of work with titanium, which is plentiful in New Zealand, and very light and comfortable to wear.

Here's one ring that I love, with a kanuka grove motif:



Or this simple one with puffs of dandelion wisps:



But here's my favourite. It's a titanium wedding band he made for someone, inlaid with a white sapphire, and with sweet little koru etched in:



The koru is a really fascinating bit of Kiwiana. It's an abstract representation of an unfurling baby fern, and it represents hope and new beginnings. It's a kind of unofficial national symbol, and you see it everywhere, even on the tail fins of Air New Zealand aeroplanes:



Neat, huh? And a totally lovely thing to have etched on your wedding ring, I think. Anyway, I love looking at Ash's stuff, and I thought you might, too. Maybe one day I'll save up enough to buy one, so I can carry that happy, windy beach around with me all the time. Ha! A girl can dream.......

Those are lovely! I love the simplicity and cleanness of the designs.

They remind me a bit of a jewelry designer I'm quite fond of: Mignon Faget. I'm not a big jewelry wearer, but I love her stuff. She's a graduate of Tulane University, as am I, and she's done a lot of jewelry designs specifically for the Newcomb College alumni (the women's branch of the university), so that was how I first found out about her. I got the ring she designed when I graduated, and I've bought or received a few more pieces since then. One of the rings I have is the twig ring (mine is slightly different to this one), and the one ring I wear every day is the vine ring. I've also got the matching vine earrings.

I particularly like the vine pieces she has, because they're really just a renaming and reworking of the oak tree pieces she's done for the alumni group (the oak tree is the symbol of Newcomb College). The acorn ring is the one I got when I graduated, and I've also got the oak tree pendant (which matches the tattoo I have on my shoulder).

What great jewellery!
Turnip, I love those Ash Hilton designs, my favourites are the grasses ring and the lemon one (I'd love to buy that for little DP to wear as a pendant as she loves anything lemony! maybe for her birthday).
Indy, what cool stuff to have to remind you of your college. Her designs are more intricate than Ash's, for some reasons they make me think of Lord of the Rings?
My look today is mainly red eyed and snotty nosed.... Damn this cold!!!

Beautiful, beautiful, simply beautiful jewelry!

I love rings but I don't wear them very often. If I'm going out, it's usually to a show where I'll be applauding, and somehow the rings feel just loose enough I may lose them, so I don't wear them much anymore.

*runs to check her true ring size so she can get a new ring that withstands clapping!!!*

When it comes to wearing jewlery I often find it bothersome and reserve it only for special occasions or when I feel like being fancy which is mostly never. However I had seen some really cool rock candy-esque jewlery when I was in San Diego and I'm still kicking myself for not buying some. Makes me think I need to plan another trip to SD.