L I L A.

(Lila Skirt: Gary Pepper Vintage, Grey tee: Witchery, Wedges: Jeffrey Campbell, Fur Clutch: Vintage, Lampshade: Vintage)

On the weekend Luke and I went down to Sydney and returned to the whimsical woods where i shot my first lookbook for the store. My talented friend Chad who is helping me out with some little projects also came along and shot some behind the scenes footage of my Solestruck.com collaboration which i will hopefully be posting very soon! It was such a cute day and we couldn't believe our luck when the clouds cleared just before sunset to give us this intense gold afternoon light. It only made my outfit (and large lampshade hat?) even more dreamy and had me wishing for springs warmer weather to finally arrive.

These photos are also a sneak peek of one of my new designs coming to the store very very soon - The "LILA" skirt. I read the name Lila in a book a few weeks ago and knew straight away that it belonged to this skirt. I fell in love with it even more when i discovered it had a beautiful meaning. Within Hinduism it means 'pastime' or 'play' and in some beliefs means the spontaneous activity of the creation of the world. It is the new version and loving sister to my "AKIRA" skirts and will be a staple piece for my spring wardrobe. The design is still simple and clean but I made a few minor adjustments like lining the skirt with a tulle underlay to give you that light, whimsical flare from the waist and i also removed the elastic and just added a small zip and button to give you a clean satin waist band. Seeing as these are a little more intricate than the AKIRA'S they're taking a a little longer for my dressmaker to finish but hopefully will be ready in a few weeks time, and perhaps around the same time when the weather decides to return to a much warmer and bearable temperature! I can hardly type anything today because my fingers are too cold!

In saying that, i hope you're all inside staying nice and toasty. My new collection will be up on facebook tonight so have a browse and try to keep warm with a hot cup of tea, or two :)

PS. Any suggestions on to what colours you would like to see the LILA in?

F R I E N D S H I P.

(via studded hearts)

"With the thought of friends traveling, people moving and new opportunities in the back of my mind, i really feel (and somewhat already know) that next year is going to be a year of change. With my store expanding and my plans changing every day, i can honestly tell you that i don’t know where i will be this time next year or where my store will take me - and i’m not the only one. We can either fight change, resent it and wonder how it consumes and pushes apart some our longest friendships, or we can accept it, learn from it and embrace whatever may come our way with warm open arms. And you know what? Even though i know how quickly the end of the year is approaching i can only anticipate what this ‘last summer’ will bring for me and my friends and what little time we have left together.

I suppose there is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction."

Just a little post to give you an insight into my gary pepper vintage tumblr. Last Friday i decided to dedicate more time (and an entire night to perfecting my HTML template) and updated my tumblr and have done so every day since. This blog is such a large part of my life but when i'm run off my feet with the store it seems impossible to shoot new outfit posts and update it daily. This is why my tumblr has become so appealing in the last few days and at this rate it will soon be filled with inspiring photos, cute quotes, little notes, passing thoughts and DIY projects - just another way to see who i am and what i like but on a more daily and creative basis :) You can follow me here and please do let me know if you have, or know of, any amazing tumblrs that you could recommend.

So happy Monday, everyone! I have my new giveaway arriving any day now so fingers crossed i can announce it sometime tomorrow! :)))))

P A S S . T H E . P E P P E R.

{Checkered Jacket: In store soon, White shirt: Vintage, Grey Jumper: Vintage, Shorts: Camilla & Marc, Red Clutch: Vintage}

Oh hey, hey there. I haven't seen you in a while - how have you been? I really have no idea how the days slipped by me so quickly but this is by far the longest i have ever gone without posting on my beloved blog. I seem to be taking a very carefree approach to the immense pressure on my store at the moment and am struggling to prioritize the large amount of work and projects i seem to be juggling at the same time. I think the words that come to mind are pottering or perhaps procrastinating? So what have i been doing this past week? I've been busy sourcing my new collection (which should be up by the end of the week), shooting photos, sending out hundreds of parcels, inspecting potential studio's, meeting up with my accountant to start planning for the new financial year, planning photoshoots for frockshop.com and Solestruck which are set for this weekend and also spending a few hours on penning a few more of my designs - which i haven't been doing for months! And with a whole weekend of photo shoots planned and a crazy week ahead of me, i'm feeling more inspired than ever and ready to jump head first back into my work.

So this afternoon in between replying to emails and trying to find some sort of food in my house (i settled for a banana and two pieces of toast?), i squeezed in some time to shoot a few photos of my new favourite purchases - this red straw clutch and purple checkered jacket. Both incredibly colourful and my cup of tea. The brighter the better, i say! I also wanted to share with you all the incredible places Gary Pepper has been spotted this past week too!

1. Glossy Magazine - UK. Glossy was kind enough to not only feature my photos but to run it across a four page spread in their latest issue! Their new issue is now available online and their editorials are absolutely stunning - defiantly a must read if you're looking for some inspiration. A big thank you to Tallulah in London for featuring my store.

2. Covet Magazine - AUS. I was so overwhelmed when i saw how large the article was, not to mention how cute the title is! A very big thank you to Elena for writing such a beautiful and well written article on Gary Pepper.. please :)

3. NYLON. I really couldn't believe it when i saw that one of my photos has made it into their top 8 street style picks on their website! I absolutely adore Nylon so even the thought of having someone there looking at my photos is rewarding enough.

4. YEN. This was a feature i just happened to stumble across on their blog and i couldn't believe how lovely the write up was! They went as far as to say my store was a 'force to be reckoned with' and like i said with Nylon, the thought of people at either magazines even acknowledging that my store exists is just insane to me.

5. 2threads.com. One of the most nicest and heart warming write ups i've had the privilege of reading. A very big thank you to Neonblonde for her extremely kind words - you have me beaming from ear to ear!

And last but not least, the new issue of Peppermint magazine is due to release next week so i can't wait to get my hands a copy and see what they've written! I also received news one of my photos will be run in the next Dujour magazine from the US - a magazine that is as cute as Frankie and Lula.

And the cherry on the top? I received a very random email yesterday from Shop Til You Drop magazine asking if i wanted to come down to Sydney to do a quick shoot for their real girls section that they run every month! The shoot is tomorrow morning and i even got the green light to bring my camera along to take a few behind the scenes shots for my blog - talk about accommodating! Well wish me luck everyone. I sure have missed you :)

B O H E M I A N C H I L D.

{Pink Slip: Vintage, Navy Silk Skirt: Vintage, Boots: Vintage, Rings: Courtesy of Lushae jewelery, Flower headpiece: DIY}

Lately i've been obsessed with floor length skirts and ankle length dresses and seem to never want to cut them shorter for the store anymore. Why? I'm not entirely sure... Luke seems to think it's because i'm 'bored of the same things' and maybe that i simply want something that not everyone has, and i think he's right. I've been on the lookout for the perfect floor length skirt and I happened to find this navy silk one on my opshopping trip a few days ago. It's insanely comfortable and i'm already envisioning a hundred different ways i can wear it this season. It's perfectttt. Although, i'm not really used to wearing long things and i'm still trying to master not running up my stairs and falling over myself in it! I'll work on that later.

It's funny that you can tell by these photos how different things inspire me. Today, i was inspired by these cute little white flowers i saw when i was walking past my local florist and ended up with a bohemian love child, free spirited kind of look. Even though i'm still a little disturbed by how unnatural it feels to mix super glue with real flowers i really loved how my head piece turned out and could picture my bridesmaids wearing something similar at my wedding. I didn't really anticipate the wind to be as forceful as it was but it really made my skirt look as magical as it makes me feel so i was happy to be freezing cold standing on the side of a cliff for once :)

For the past two days i've been on a huge opshopping trip down south and only returned yesterday. I found some amazing new pieces for the store and also for the collaboration with Tuchuzy. Feeling exhausted and sleep deprived, I came home to the usual amount of work and emails to catch up on but surprisingly to this amazing gift sent courtesy of Lushae jewellry. It's a beautiful 14ct gold double band heart shaped ring which is very appropriate seeing as i've 'hearted' this ring ever since laying eyes upon it :) The photos made it look like a yellow gold but i can assure you, it's a beautiful light gold and even prettier in real life! A big thank you to Sarah from Lushae for sending me such a beautiful gift. If you guys are after one they're having a sale and are only $67 which you can find here.

So happy long weekend, everyone! My new stock is comingggg :)

L A T E N I G H T.

So it's 12:29am and it looks like i won't be going to bed for at least another few hours. My body clock seems to be all backwards at the moment as i've been having extremely late nights and even later morning starts so before i know it, the day is over already. In my dazed confusion today I somehow got Luke to agree to drive to Sydney first thing in the morning whilst i intend to sleep in the passenger seat the entire way. My game plan is to remain half asleep when i walk from my bed to the car so i can get some rest before the huge two days of op shopping i have planned! But in saying that, i think we all secretly know that being half asleep never works and i can already imagine how wide awake i'll be in the morning and running around on 5 hours sleep with some fresh macdonald hotcakes, syrup, a bacon and egg mcmuffin, orange juice, and maybe some hash browns on hand too...

I wanted to thank you all for entering the camilla & marc and tiffany & co giveaway this month! With over 2,100 entries and by far the biggest giveaway i've done to date, I announced the lucky winner on facebook tonight which was Laura Pendelton from QLD! I always feel terrible that i can't give each and every one of you something in return but i always feel better when i think of a better and more amazing new giveaway for the next month (which i have) so i will be announcing it in only a few days time which I hope you all love! I will also be drawing the winner to our $50 gary pepper gift voucher tomorrow night so i'll keep you posted on that too :)

Here are a few of my favourite items in store this week. This collection has over 150 new vintage pieces so it was hard to pick only a few! Again, my collections are expanding, i can't seem to help it, i'm one step away from being the crazy cat lady and i really need more sleep... but i just love the thrill of finding new vintage too much! So i suppose that kind of makes me a crazy but happy cat lady, right?

1. Vintage Cream Lace Boho Slip Dress // 2. Vintage Black Crochet Boho Dress.

3. Vintage Pastel Pink Babydoll Tulle Dress // 4. Vintage White Backless Evening Dress.

5. Vintage Cream Layered Frill Slip Dress // 6. Vintage Red/Blue Floral Pleat Dress.

7. Vintage Peach Slouch Dress with Bow // 8. Vintage Navy/White Polkadot Dress with Lace Collar

9. Vintage Purple/Yellow Floral Off the Shoulder Dress // 10. Vintage Pastel Blue/Yellow Candy Stripe Dress with Belt

11. Vintage Black Floral Sheer Back Shift Dress // 12. Vintage Black Layered Mini Slip Dress

13. Vintage Yellow Super Soft Fluffy Cardigan // 14. Vintage Blue/White Nautical Stripe Jumper

15. Vintage Cream Cut Out Boho Jumper // 16. Vintage Black Jumper with Sheer Floral Sleeves & Hem

17. Vintage Red Military Inspired Gold Cardigan // 18. Vintage Gold/Navy Striped Long Cardigan

19. Vintage Brown Fox Fur Cropped Jacket Shawl

20. Vintage Grey Soft Acid Wash Leather Jacket // 21. Vintage Black Faux Leather Grunge Jacket

22. Vintage Black Blazer With Gold Leaves & Silk Lapels // 23. Vintage Red Tartan Grunge Jacket

24. Vintage Grey Wool Draped Cape // 25. Vintage Black Faux Fur Winter Coat

26. Vintage Red Floral Button Top with Lace Collar // 27. Vintage Leopard Print Top

28. Vintage Black Velvet High Waist Shorts // 29. Vintage Black Floral High Waist Shorts

30. Vintage Pale Blue Floral Top with Layered Tulle Lapels // 31. Vintage White Lace Button Shirt

32. Vintage Peach High Waist Shorts // 33. Vintage Pastel Peach/Green Floral Skirt

34. Vintage Cream Lace Short Sleeve Jacket // 35. Vintage Red Polkadot Jacket with Double Breasted Buttons

// CLICK HERE TO SHOP GARY PEPPER NOW //

This little yellow cardigan is my absolute favourite this week. It is the softest fabric i have ever felt and honestly feels like warm butter on my skin. Kind of ironic that it looks like it too?

I also updated Gary's second online store 'Gary Pepper Pieces' tonight with a few vintage accessories. I realized that i never really post photos on this blog every time i update GPP and that so many of you miss out because everyone on facebook is so quick! I can only stress to you how important it is to be a fan of our facebook page as you get the first sneak peek of my new coming collections, first pick at my vintage accessories at buy it now prices, updates on giveaways and special announcements, and also exciting news as they happen!

Speaking of exciting, due to popular demand i finally have some black bowler hats in store! Quality wool, one size fits all, $40 each and a limited amount of stock so please email me at nicole@garypeppervintage.com if you would like one. I also have plenty more lace up ankle boots, brogues and amazing little briefcase bags so be sure to have a look! I absolutely LOVE this little pea brooch but sadly it's already gone to a cosy new home, along with most of these items, actually. Like i said, everyone on facebook is just so quick!

// CLICK HERE TO SHOP GARY PEPPER ACCESSORIES //