B R A D . N G A T A .

(Thrifted Jumper, Vintage Skirt, Camilla & Marc Coat)

Late Wednesday afternoon I had the pleasure of having my hair styled at Brad Ngata Hair Direction at The Ivy, Sydney for the Cosmopolitan Awards. Little did I know that Brad Ngata of Brad Ngata Hair Direction was the one actually doing my hair and I was overjoyed to finally meet the man I'd heard so much praise about. Brad is usually booked by glossy magazines, advertisers, tv or runway shows so meeting him was an absolute honor. He created this beautiful small plaited bun on the lower back of my head with the rest of my hair swept around and billowing down the right hand side of my face, which suited my dress perfectly. His French-boudoir-inspired salon was absolutely beautiful so despite trying to remain professional I just had to take a few photos for you all. Pink velvet drapes, black and white floral wallpaper, red roses and Swarovski-studded chairs, this romantic interior design was Parisian chic to a whole new level with tea being served in real porcelain tea cups and the staff uniforms designed by Fleur Wood. Amazing delicate details you wouldn't have noticed at a quick glance but always makes all the difference.

You can stay up to date with Brad Ngata on Facebook here and visit his website here for more information, contact details and salon locations. Thank you to Brad for having me and prepping me for the wonderful night ahead and to Maxted Thomas PR. Photos of the dress coming next!

A N . E V E N I N G . W I T H . C O S M O .

So just a super quick post. I've been so flat out I haven't even had a chance to post the final shots from the old Hollywood glamor shoot I did with Cosmo a few months ago! I was wearing a stunning pink gown by Rachel Gilbert and was paired with Laura Enever for the shoot, a junior world champion surfer who was as laid back as they come. The Cosmo Fun, Fearless Female Awards are tonight and I'm about to race off to have my hair done at Brad Ngata's Hair Salon, one of Australia's most prestigious hair stylists who has worked on everyone from Instyle to Australia's Next Top Model. Words cannot express how excited I am! I couldn't even imagine if Sara or I took out the "Best Blogger" award so please keep your fingers and toes crossed for both of us! I think I'm more excited to see Sara though as we haven't been reunited since RAFW. It's going to be a fun night!

S A M A N T H A .

(Vintage Dress/Bag, Thrifted Jumper, Sass & Bide Belt, Samantha Wills Ring/Earrings, Asos Boots)

I haven't worn earrings in so long that I nearly forgot my ears were pierced, and it takes a while for your earlobes to having any sort of weight dangling from them. These matching stone pieces are from the new Samantha Wills collection and I love how the neutral tones seem to work too well into my wardrobe at the moment. I've been a little obsessed with wearing light colours on light colours and if it was freezing I probably have worn a off white coat with this too! I don't like to pigeonhole winter as being the season of dark colours but maybe that's because I don't actually own a lot of black? Keeping it light and leaving the dark colours to walls in the background or my never changing hair colour. Can't imagine how epic this would look if I was platinum blond. Also added a touch of space cadet to what is quite a feminine outfit with this rose gold Sass & Bide belt and layered this jumper over another jumper and a pleated dress just to try and keep warm!

A . G A R Y P E P P E R . S U M M E R .

I don't know what's better, the joy I felt when I received these photos or the strange feeling that I was actually there when these were taken. My best friend Laura is overseas at the moment and took Gary Pepper on its very first European summer. She's currently over there with three of my closest friends so these photos helped with how much I am missing them. Loved feeling like I was there running around in gumboots with her at Glastonbury, or sun baking on a sailboat in Croatia, or watching a beautiful setting sun over the white painted houses in Santorini. It's so cute imagining her climbing up the side of the boat to hang the bag up there and seeing the thought that went into each photo. Friends like these don't come by often, and my heart and head knows I'll hold on to her forever.

PS. For this week only I'm offering a free Gary Pepper Tote Bag with every purchase. If you'd like just the bag they're only $5 and available in store here. Laura still has to send her photos of Gary Pepper in Spain and Portugal so if you already have one of my tote bags take a photo of it, wherever you are and whatever you're doing, and email it to me at nicole@garypeppervintage.com. I'd love to include it in my next post and see what my bags get up to when they leave my office :)

T H E C O R N E R S H O P .

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the opening night of The Claire Inc Pop Up Store with The Corner Shop on The Strand Arcade, Sydney. As you can see, there were racks full of covetable vintage designer pieces with no shortage of Chanel, Moschino and Karl Lagerfield. After sitting through some of the most intense traffic I have ever experienced (It took me one and a half hours to get from Elizabeth Street to the QVB!) and crazy down pours of heavy rain - which seem to be creating ponds instead of puddles on the side of every road - I was determined to not let a day of miserable misfortune deter me from getting to the event to meet Belinda and seeing what I knew was going to be a flawless collection. Any stress I had carried with me throughout the day vanished as soon as I ran through those front doors, and excitement quickly took over. One word: Stunning. The range was absolutely stunning. Anyone would appreciate the beautiful clothes on offer but to someone who sells vintage and knows exactly how hard it is to source pieces like this, it was so much more than that. Admirable is one word that comes to mind. A must see if you are around the Sydney area over the next two weeks. But be warned, The Corner Shop is also home to labels like Isabel Marant, Alexander Wang and 3.1 Phillip Lim so be prepared!

B R E A T H E .

(Shona Joy Dress)

Finally listened to my friends and family who always keep telingl me to stop, breathe, and relax. Luckily I had my camera with me to capture one of those rare moments where I escaped the craziness of work and the pressure of new deadlines. Nothing calms me more than driving around to find a beautiful location, a setting sun and shooting photos for my blog. Here is one of my favourites we took the other day where I was feeling calmer than usual. More photos to come soon.

K N I T W E A R .

Just a little bit of winter outfit inspiration from a 80's knitwear book I found at an opshop recently. I absolutely loved flicking through the pages to see flat lays of bright clashing colours, chunky knit jumpers layered over cute collared shirts and of course the over accessorizing of plastic jewelry that just makes this book so 80's! My vintage knitwear are some of the quickest items to sell in my store so I thought these photos might give you an idea to see how people styled them a few decades ago. So crazy looking through this book and reading all of the confusing techniques and precious time invested into knitting one jumper, and also seeing trends repeat themselves again. You can shop my knitwear here with another 50+ doily jumpers arriving tomorrow afternoon! Personally I wouldn't mind wearing outfits 1, 4 and 11. I might even scan in a few more catalogs if I have time. Always so fun to look at or is that just me?