T R I S H W E D G E S

(Black sheer Top: Vintage, Cream Shorts: Courtesy of American Apparel, Belt: Vintage, Shoes: Alexander Wang)

Just a few photos my friend Pete took of my outfit when we were out by the water. Unfortunately due to the sun disappearing behind a large and very intimidating dark cloud seconds after these were taken, i don't have many photos to show. I'll post some more when the sun comes out again, which hopefully won't make my top any more see through than it already is!?

The past two days it's been absolutely chaotic here. Splendour in the Grass somehow crept up on me and before i knew it i was frantically trying to finish my new collection and have it listed before i leave. What usually takes me 5-6 days i somehow managed to squeeze into two!? But all of the tears, tension and stress was worth it because i now have my beautiful new collection of 120 new pieces listed, scheduled, and arriving in store this Sunday night! Ah, what a relief.

Bad part is that i didn't finish till 11pm and hadn't even had a chance to look at possible outfits for Splendour! When it came to finding something to wear all i kept pulling was khaki, sheer tops, and polka dots - three things i love at the moment but i hadn't realised how much until tonight. Now that i think about it, i've been awake since 6:30am and it's now 3am in the morning... But who needs sleep? I am packed, sorted and in many ways delirious as i'm blogging, and am leaving to catch a plane in just one hour :)

My room mates talked me out of taking my laptop with me so i won't be seeing you all until next Tuesday! After today i think i'm in need of a little break from my computer. No emails, no ebay, no typing, just 3 magical days of amazing music and an endless supply of good company and funny stories. This is my 4th year in a row and Splendour has never disappointed.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and If i happen to see any of you up there, be sure to come say hello :)))

L E O P A R D M E.

I don't know if it happens to you guys as well but i honestly think that every piece of clothing i've ever wanted (sans heels) i have found in a vintage store, and usually only a few days after i've realised i wanted to find it. I don't know how it works but it honestly creeps me out sometimes. Sheer black button shirt? Check. Sheer pleated maxi skirt? Check. Khaki green army jacket? Check. Peach Gloves with a matching tulle headband? Completely unnecessary but check! I found this vintage leopard print belt when i was opshopping a few days ago and i couldn't believe how much it resembled a mix between the leopard print from Camilla and Marc and Alexander Wang. Oddly enough, when i got it home i realised it was made from dyed steer hide and not only looks, but feels exactly like my leopard print pumps by Alexander Wang too!? It's weird when you find things you've wanted for so long and even weirder when you see the same trends in different eras collide but with different price tags. Vintage leopard belt - $8.00. Alexander Wang leopard heels - Cringe worthy. I suppose that's just one of the many reasons why i love vintage so much... Now, off to find a way to style these babies!

PS. Don't forget to enter my Gary Pepper Vintage July giveaway as entries close in just one week! I'll be giving away an amazing YSL arty oval ring in pink and i can't wait to announce the lucky winner! I've had nearly 950 entries and i can't believe that with all of your love and support my facebook page is just about to hit 50,000 fans! Amazing!? Looks like i'm going to have to think of an even better giveaway for next month. Click on the photo below to enter into our YSL giveaway. Good luck everyone :)

P O L K A D O T.

(Polka dot dress: Vintage CUE & in store now, Wedges: Jeffrey Campbell)

I could never have imagined a week so exhausting and long. My stress levels seem to be through the roof with the tasks of sourcing my new collection, trying to have everything organized and ready to be listed before i leave for Splendour next week (worst possible timing, i know) as well as trying to find myself a PA. To be honest, i haven't felt this way since i decided to quit my full time job and pursue my love for vintage, regardless if it meant being broke and unemployed. I can only describe it as that leap of faith you know you have to take in order to get where you want to go, but it's completely terrifying at the same time. I feel happy, nervous, excited, and a little bit sick with a constant stream of butterflies flying around my stomach right now. I know finding someone will help me immensely but it's getting there which is the hard part. It's going to be such a learning curve for me but i honestly can't wait to see where it will take my store in the coming months.

In all the ciaos this week, i decided to get out of the house and take some quick photos of this amazing black and white polka dot dress which is available in the store now. It's up there as one of my all time favourite finds. Why? I'm not really sure. It's simple, chic, cute and playful, and it's also a beautiful fit and one of the most flattering i've come across - i absolutely love it! I even contemplated keeping it for myself and as soon as i had listed it a huge pang of regret hit me, i knew at that very moment i should have kept it. But it doesn't matter, it will be going to a loving new home sometime next week and can flatter somebody else's body, sigh.

This is just one of the 150 new items available in store now and you can view the entire collection here. My auctions are closing in just three days so be sure to have a look to see if there's anything you like, i also have an amazing YSL dress in there too :)

Well I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Here are a few of my favourites this week:

1. Vintage CUE Black/White Polkadot Dress with Belt // 2. Vintage YSL Black/White Checkered Dress with Collar

3. Vintage Musk Pink Pinstripe Dress with Belt // 4. Vintage Coral/Blue Floral Off the Shoulder Boho Dress

5. Vintage Navy/Gold Floral Lace Long Sleeve Dress // 6. Vintage White Lace Long Sleeve Evening Dress

7. Vintage Black Shift Dress with Criss Cross Plunging Back // 8. Vintage Black Shift Dress with Cut Out Keyhole Back

9. Vintage Blue Sailor Top with White Collar // 10. Vintage Pastel Pink/Blue Stripe Cotton Dress

11. Vintage Pastel Purple Boho Dress with Lace Panels // 12. Vintage White/Purple Spotted Button Dress with Belt

13. Vintage Black LBD Dress with Rose Neckline // 14. Vintage Pastel Pink/Red Floral Dress with Split Sleeves

15. Vintage Cream Knitted Long Cardigan // 16. Vintage Multicoloured Fluffy Cardigan

17. Vintage Red/Gold Military Striped Cardigan // 18. Vintage Black Sheer Grunge Jacket with Draped Lapels

19. Vintage Brown/Cream Cheetah Print Jumper // 20. Vintage Pastel Pink Super Fluffy Jumper

21. Vintage Peach/Cream Striped Knitted Jumper // 22. Vintage Peach Jumper with Floral Neckline

23. Vintage Cream Faux Fur Jacket // 24. Vintage Black Faux Fur Jacket

25. Vintage Nautical Inspired Jacket with White Trim // 26. Vintage Yellow Blazer with Black Trim

27. Vintage White Metallic Gold Button Top // 28. Vintage Blue/White Striped Sailor Top

29. Vintage Pastel Pink/Purple Floral Sheer Shirt // 30. Vintage Pink Button Dress with Cut Out back

31. Vintage Cream Boho Top With Pom Poms // 32. Vintage Black/White Spotted Draped Top

33. Vintage Red Checkered High Waist Shorts // 34. Vintage Navy/white Striped Shorts

35. Vintage Navy/White Polka dot Cotton Skirt // 36. Vintage Red/Grey Floral Pleated Skirt

// CLICK HERE TO SHOP GARY PEPPER VINTAGE NOW //

D R E A M J O B.

I know it's mine, but is it yours?

I feel the next 6 months are going to be vital to the success of my business so a very exciting opportunity has just become available. I have decided to start looking for a personal assistant to help with the large amount of duties and responsibilities that need to be covered on a daily basis. At the moment, my store is at a stand still and can not evolve nor expand any further unless i seek an extra pair of hands to help me keep up with the high demand from my wonderful customers. I have so many exciting ideas and plans for this store but they seem to be put on hold week after week, as it's physically impossible for me to work any more hours than i already am which is nearly 15 hours a day, 7 days a week.

I will be traveling overseas to source fabric, have some of my designs produced, and hopefully start sourcing untapped vintage on a wider more international scale, so ideally i am looking for someone who has the potential to run this business as well as i can myself when i am not here. You will learn about nearly all aspects of my business, have access to beautiful vintage and if all goes to plan, will be solely responsible for my beloved accessory store, Gary Pepper Pieces.

I think the biggest misconception about my work is that it's easy and somewhat glamorous. If you are a follower of my blog then you will know how much i always write about the long and tedious process of assembling each collection is. I am hoping with a little bit of extra help it won't be anymore :) Applications close this Sunday the 25th.

NOTE: It seems people may be getting the wrong idea as to why i have requested a photo. I have only asked to attach a photo as the Central Coast is extremely small and there is a very high chance i will know, or may have seen or met, the applicants before. It will help me recognize a familiar face and also to avoid confusion for when we meet for the interview process. I cannot stress enough how much this job is not based on looks or style, it is based purely on personal skills and strengths so please do not read any more into this.

A P R I C O T D E L I G H T.

(White tuxedo Jacket: Vintage, Peach Top: Vintage, Skirt: Vintage, Wedges: Jeffrey Campbell courtesy of Solestruck.com, Bag: Vintage)

These are the photos that were taken for Solestruck by Luke. I absolutely love them and i can't believe how long these JC wedges make my legs look! Don't worry, it's all an illusion, i promise. Believe it or not but Luke hardly edited these photos besides adding a beautiful soft peach glow, the rest was just natural and very whimsical lighting we simply lucked in to capturing that day. There really hasn't been beautiful lighting like that since and these photos only make me more excited for Spring :)

In other news, my new collection which consists of a massive 150 vintage pieces is ready to go and will be in store this Sunday night! You can catch a sneak peek of it on my facebook page here and from what i've heard, everyone seems to be very happy with it :)

I had announced they would actually be in store tonight (being Friday) but it seems fate stepped in again and led me astray. Yesterday i received a very unexpected email from a friend i had met once, and very briefly, last year about these amazing vintage auctions happening today. I have heard estate sales/auctions in the US are absolutely amazing but unfortunately we don't have many things like that here in Australia, so you can imagine how quickly i jumped at this opportunity, i honestly felt like it was a sign! Apparently a vintage store in Sydney was closing down and they needed to move all of their stock. One thing led to to the next and before i knew it i was bidding on nearly half of the stock available? I can never say i've been to a vintage auction before but i was extremely happy i somehow managed to win the pieces i wanted the most (which oddly enough was only about 8 pieces?). I can't wait to show you what i found and i think i'm going to do an outfit post dedicated completely to them. That is if i can find the time... I'm stretched pretty thin at the moment and with my new collection about to hit the store, it doesn't look like it's going to get any better!

Well anyway, I hope you all have an amazing weekend and make the most of this amazing sun! I honestly forget we are in the middle of Winter here?

G A R Y P E P P E R ( M I N T ).

So like i've said before, i really don't like posting about all of the places Gary Pepper Vintage is featured each week because i don't think every post should be full of 'congratulations' and 'well done' and the last thing i want is for people to roll their eyes every time they read my blog. Sometimes i still want my outfit posts to be, well, just that, an outfit post, so i try to leave things like this out of it for as long as i can. The problem with that is that they quickly start to accumulate and i'm left covering them all in one big post so it's a lose lose situation!

I've been told recently that my blog is more of a personal diary, i hadn't actually noticed until someone pointed it out and now i couldn't agree more. I don't post these features to boast or to make anyone jealous but because i simply like sharing these things with you because i know you're all genuinely happy for myself and my store. I like to involve you as much as i can and it's the main reason why i started my blog - to document this new chapter in my life and share every experience along the way, and so far, this has honestly been a very crazy experience!

Here are the places Gary Pepper Vintage was spotted recently:

1. Peppermint magazine - this is my copy of the new issue that the team from peppermint kindly sent to me last week. I actually didn't know what they were going to run as all i was asked to send over were two high res photos, so when i excitedly flicked through the first few pages it was a little surprise to see what they had written. A big thank you to peppermint magazine for featuring the store.. i secretly like that our names could be somehow related :)

2. Ebay magazine - This was the first time i had ever said 'oh, my, god' when i saw how large Ebay had run this feature. Spread out over a generous 4 page spread, words can't really describe how it feels to see a A4 sized photo of myself staring back at me (and so seriously too?). I also had the pleasure of meeting the editor, Miceala, when i was out for breakfast the other week and i cannot tell you all how lovely she is. So a personal thank you to you, Miceala. This feature honestly left me speechless!

3. Jeffrey Campbell - Gary Pepper Vintage was spotted twice in the past two days on the JC blog! They kindly featured the behind the scenes video we made and also featured a post about my snick wedges, along with some very lovely words that made me love JC more than i already do! A big thank you again to Ty - you're the man.

4. Solestruck.com - I was so happy when i saw solestruck also featured the store twice on their blog and I still can't believe gpv is somehow collaborating with them! My appreciation grew eve more when I managed to get my hands on a pair of Lita's so it looks like my JC collection is still growing! Thank you to Solestruck for mentioning gpv.

5. Pedestrian TV - this, this was just insane to me. Chad had emailed me to let me know that Pedestrian TV was running the behind the scenes video on their main website and also sent it out on their daily newsletter which reaches 12,000 people each day! It's strange because a while ago i had looked into advertising on their newsletter for a few days and instead i'm now featured on it? I don't think it has sunk in yet. A big thank you to Matt for running the video :)

I was also featured on the street style section of Because Magazine, an online magazine about fashion and beauty which you can view here, and named as 'Blog of the moment' by FBI Fashion College on their website. So a few more thank yous to FBI and Because Magazine :)

I'd also like to thank Yenny from Studdehearts for spreading the love and posting my video on her amazing blog and to Tuchuzy for writing such a kind post on their blog and to whom we all know, i absolutely adore and cant wait to collaborate with this coming summer. You can view the post here. I also just finished an interview with Mylookbook magazine for their August issue so i can't wait to post about that too!

And lastly (and finally, i promise!), if you have been following my blog for a while you will remember back in February i mentioned i was going to be featured in an Iphone App called Stylebook which has been praised by people like Tyra Banks and Lucky magazine. Well, they updated their app software and you can find a little photo of me in their 'inspiration' folder - how crazy is thattttt?