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?

G I V E A B I L I T Y .

LOOK 1: Sunglasses: Karen Walker Agent Sunglasses $100, Dress: Collette Dinnigan dress donated by Miranda Otto $500, Shoes: Tony Bianco $60

LOOK 2: Sunglasses: Karen Walker Escape Sunglasses $100, Ring: Samantha Wills worn by Drew Barrymore – Auction, Shorts Bec & Bridge $80, Bag: Deadly Ponies $180

LOOK 3: Jacket: Vintage Cropped Leather Jacket donated by Sass & Bide $150, Dress: Arthur Galan dress worn by Jennifer Hawkins $300, Ring: Samantha Wills ring worn by Eva Mendes $60

LOOK 4: Earrings: Samantha Wills $60, Dress: Yeojin Bae $350, Clutch: Tan + Brown Snakeskin Clutch $300, Ring: Samantha Wills worn by Drew Barrymore - Auction, Shoes: Alexander McQueen donated by Charlotte Dawson $1500

LOOK 5: Sunglasses: Karen Walker Derby Sunglasses $100, Necklace: Samantha Wills Necklaces $90, Pants: Notion of Legacy $100 donated by Pip Edwards.
LOOK 6: Dress: Zimmerman $760, Ring: Samantha Wills $60

So this is what happens when Zanita and I take the day off together. On Monday we teamed up and spent the day creating a mini fashion shoot to help support the Westfield Giveability store - a fashion focused charity created to help raise money for kids living with cerebral palsy. I styled a few looks from the racks of beautiful pieces donated by celebrities such as Kylie Minogue, Rose Byrne, Naomi Watts, Mirando Otto, Bambi Northwood-Blythe, and designers like Sass & Bide, Ksubi, Zimmerman, Alex Perry, Marnie Skillings and Yeojin Bae - just to name a few, which Zanita then photographed me wearing around the city and being a "Girl About Town". The aim was to show you all how beautiful these donated pieces are. Can you spot the Alexander Mcqueen shoes worth $3,500 or the $950 Zimmerman dress from their latest RAFW show? Seriously amazing and all up for grabs next week.

All donated items will be available to purchase from the Giveability pop-up stores which open their doors in Sydney at Westfield Bondi Junction from the 19th-24th of July, before moving to Melbourne at Westfield Doncaster from the 26-31st of July. Exclusive pieces will also be auctioned off online at www.westfield.com.au to help make this charity available to everyone and a truly national fundraising initiative. 100% of the proceeds from all sales will go to Cerebral Palsy Alliance and Scope.

It's just amazing to see so many celebrities and designers get behind such a worthy cause and I hope you will too! A special thanks to the girls at Arc Factory PR for letting us take over their office for the afternoon and to Zanita for coming up with this wonderful idea.

F O R Y O U .

Just wanted to wish my better half, best friend and love of my life a very happy birthday today. Luke is half way across the world right now and it's the first birthday we've been apart for in nearly 5 years. This is the boy behind the lens, the one who helps make my blog what it is and the reason I found the confidence to take a chance and start Gary Pepper in the first place. I really don't know where I would be without him. Happy Birthday darling. Wish you were here.

L I T T L E R E D .

(Something Else Jumper, Maurie & Eve Lace Shorts, Jeffrey Campbell Boots courtesy of Solestruck, GPV Bag)

These Jeffrey Campbell boots have easily found their way into my "comfort" category and I wear them when I feel like adding some serious height. I didn't think it was possible but they're even more comfortable than the Lita's and perfect for peeking through lace curtains and dusty windows to see if cute but deserted looking houses are actually occupied or not. Loved the timing of these photos as the owner literally walked past just as we had finished and was nice enough to take us inside and let us have a look around. Turns out it was actually a really nice little hotel with chandeliers and mismatched carpet. Who would of thought?

Lately I've been driving back and forth from Sydney that I feel like I should replace my tyers or at least get my car serviced to see if it's not falling apart yet. Meetings and events are always a wonderful (and at the same time productive) way to get out of the house until you get hit with a $60 parking fee or even worse, a $200 parking ticket. But I just locked in two new creative projects with some Australian brands which I'm really excited about. Best thing is I heard Zanita and Mandy are on board too so I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with! There's a two week deadline so I'm still figuring out how I'm going to make this work with my full-time store, organising New York, tax returns and paying the bills. First step? Hiring a new model for the store..

(photos by Leah Tracey)

G P S H O O T .

Just a few behind the scenes photos I took during the General Pants Co shoot. It's crazy how I always have to remind myself to take a few photos with things like this but I always seem to get caught up in the moment (and spend hours talking to everyone else instead) and forget to take any at all! I suppose being surrounded by four walls of bright and colurful bubbles it's easy to get a little distracted. Cute, colourful and playful pieces, killer styling, feather plaited hair, lilac lipstick, random balls of yarn and bright yellow nail polish, this really was wonderful day with some incredibly talented folks. Really loved the pleated maxi skirt I was wearing and also the super slick ponytail I had. You'd be surprised how hard it was to achieve this - my hair is so thick and heavy that a high ponytail is near impossible to maintain! Sending much love to all the GP team for this amazing opportunity and one I won't be forgetting any time soon.