if i were a boy.

Alexander Wang beanie, Lowry's Farm chambray shirt, Ksubi coated denim, Converse All Stars.

Since you all responded so well to my casual beanie outfit the other week, I thought I'd share with you another one of my every day ensembles. This is what I wore on my first day back at uni yesterday, once again comfort being key. Probably more so because I ended up walking from Glebe to Alexandria and back (about 5km in total) in the morning and up and down Crown St in the afternoon. I'd say putting on my Converse as I walked out the door was the best decision I made (besides skipping the first lecture of semester. Clearly I'm off to a great start). 

These Ksubi coated La Femmes are practically my second skin. Being cropped, they're the perfect length for my short stature and they haven't stretched one bit. It's funny, I wear these about 90% of the time (in fact I'm wearing them right now) and yet in the year I've had them, they've never been featured on the blog. I've always thought that the most simplest of outfits (like the one above) aren't really blog-worthy but I suppose people would rather see what I really wear rather than what I wish I could wear if my feet could withstand a day in heels. Like Alexander Wang said "Anyone can get dressed up and glamourous, but it is how people dress in their days off that are most intriguing." Can't say I'm very intriguing (I'm probably quite predictable), but at least I'm keeping it real?

Photos by Aprilia Love
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kate moss x rag & bone.

I'm a rag & bone aficionado. You should have seen the look on my face when I found the Tokyo rag & bone store tucked carefully away in a sidelane in Omotesando. It was like I had found the holy grail. If I could only wear one brand for the rest of my life, rag & bone would be up in the top 3 (along with Acne and Alexander Wang). Following the success of their DIY project with some of the hottest models of the moment (the likes of Miranda Kerr, Abbey Lee and Candice Swanepoel) and one style tastemaker (Hanneli), this time the rag & bone boys upped the ante and went straight to the top of the supermodel chain for none other than Kate Moss to front their first ever campaign. 

In keeping with the candid nature from their DIY project, Moss' barely-there makeup and tousled bed hair along with natural lighting and a handheld camera, captures the true essence of the model off duty - understated and effortless and epitomises everything the brand stands for. 

The campaign coincides with the opening of their first London flagship store. 5000 square feet of rag & bone goodness. Is this heaven on earth? I can only hope this expansion means there's more on the horizon. A possible Sydney flagship store? Trust me, I'll be the first one in line when that happens (either that or I'll be serving you behind the counter). I have my fingers and toes crossed.

PS. Notice the change to my header? All thanks to my talented bud Maddy. What do you guys think? (Don't worry the sequins will make a comeback soon).

Image source: Fashionista
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little things.

Sometimes the finer things (the ones that won't break your bank) in life are all you need to keep you going. Taking one last breath of air this weekend before I dive into the eye of the storm that is semester two. 

Aesop Fabulous Face Oil: Keeping my skin hydrated this winter.
Circa Home candle (from Designer Forum): Spreading the Jasmine & Magnolia fragrance throughout the house.
Karen Walker anchor earrings (from Beginning Boutique): Reminding me to keep myself grounded.
Calvin Klein underwear set (even better when they're on sale): Matching underwear make you feel fabulous even on those off days. 
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printed tees.


Thakoon Addition jacket | Dannijo bracelet | Proenza Schouler PS11 | Kirrily Johnston leather pants | Karen Walker Super Duper Strength sunglasses | Alexander Wang Anouck boots

With uni, a part time job and interning consuming my life (and barely anytime for myself), all I can think about is comfort, practicality and an inkling of stylish-ness. I usually don't have time in the morning to fuss about my outfit so I'll tend to opt for the failsafe tee and jeans combo. I've pulled together my ultimate 'everyday chic' outfits based around two printed tees I'm obsessing over (Zoe Karssen and 3.1 Phillip Lim) along with some other items I've loving/ lusting. These include: the perfect fitting leather pant for a slimming silhouette, printed denim for added interest, beanies to hide sleep ins, bombers for the morning and evening chill, and ankle boots for running around on the go. If money wasn't an issue (ha!) I would not have a problem running these two ensembles on constant rotation throughout the entire semester. What is your failsafe outfit? 

PS. Apologies for being slow on the posts. I know I said I'd be back to my usual blogging self but truth is after a killer first half of the year, I just want to be a lazy sloth and do absolutely nothing. I hope I'm entitled to that!
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foggy morning.

Secret Squirrel top, Dion Lee Line II skirt (from Desordre), Tiffany & Co. bracelet, Molten Store necklace

You know when something fits you so perfectly you just have to have it regardless of your pre-determined shopping budget? I went into Desordre last week to try on the Dion Lee intersection mini (which sadly didn't make me look ten times as good as Christine Centenera) and walked out with this beautiful tailored skirt that surprisingly fit me like a glove (can we expect anything else from Dion?). Hey, whoever your fit model was for this collection - use her more often!

What was supposed to a picturesque morning sunrise pond/ lake backdrop (complete with ducks and all) ended up looking more like gloomy London. I wanted something special for this particular outfit - it's a little more ladylike than what I'm used to with the sequin print, the blush palette and the cut of the skirt. The weather wasn't in our favour (lighting was a bit of a problem because there was hardly any) and although it didn't quite turn out the way I had planned, the final result looked pretty cool, rather eerie and mysterious from the fog and the muted background. 

I had been extremely obsessed with the Secret Squirrel maximal top in the tri print at the start of the season but gave up hunting one down after none of the stockists bothered to call me back. SS had a flash sale the week and the opportunity (if you can call shopping an opportunity) arose again to make one mine. I thought long and hard and ended up buying the sequin print instead (actually I made Jack buy it for me because I was at work). Passing on signature print of the collection has its perks particularly the wearability and longevity and as Dimitra pointed out, it matches my blog header to a tee. In fact the palette of this outfit matches the colours of my new header... coming soon to a blog near you!

Photos by Uppy Cee (thanks for sticking it out!)
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beanie baby.

Subtitled striped top, Forever New boyfriend jeans, Nine West boots, Gorman beanie, Samantha Wills bracelets.

This is probably what you're more likely to catch me wearing on a daily basis. As much as I would love it to, going to work, uni or interning doesn't warrant me wearing the nicer items in my wardrobe. Practicality and comfort are key, especially if I'll be spending all day on my feet. Perhaps I've become a little too comfortable with my surroundings and the people in it and not being too self conscious about how I dress. After all you go to work to work, you go to uni to learn. Am I making sense? I think I'm trying to find a more eloquent way of explaining why I wear variations of tee shirt/ knit + jeans everyday. Kid you not I wear my black Ksubi coated jeans about 90% of the time (funny that they've never made an appearance here). I'm not saying that the outfits I've posted aren't what I would wear - I guess the blog is my outlet for being able to 'dress up' for the occasion, a place to express what I would wear if I could.

The boyfriend jeans and Newbury-esque boots combo have been on high rotation of late, a nod to my style icon Rachel Bilson. Pair that with a fail-safe striped tee, throw on a beanie for good measure (and head warming) and voila! Now you know the secret formula to my daily dressing. I wish I could tell you that my wardrobe doesn't purely consist of jeans, tee shirts, knits and Acne Pistols but then I'd be lying to myself. I'm all about simplicity and timelessness in my fashion choices. I hope you don't think this outfit is boring in comparison to the others before it because you'll be seeing a lot more of minimalistic Mel (made that one up myself)

Photos by Uppy Cee
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rooftop sunrise.

Zara shirt and heels, J Brand jeans, Molten Relic cuff
Photos by Uppy Cee

Remember when I told you I would never shoot in the morning? Well I take that back. Yesterday morning I sacrificed precious sleep time in my big toasty cinnamon bun of a bed to take these rooftop sunrise photos with my friend and photographer, Uppy. We were aiming for that SoCal rooftop sun drenched feel but unfortunately the closest thing we could find was the rooftop carpark of our local shopping centre. We were greeted by weird stares from gym-goers and retail staff alike and froze to death in the process, but persevered just for you all you blog.

The next chapter in my love/ hate relationship with Zara opens with this dip dye/ ombre blue shirt which I was immediately drawn to while in Osaka. I contemplated purchasing but dismissed it quickly as being too 'hippy'. Big mistake. I couldn't find it in any other Zara I visited throughout Japan and knowing Sydney's track record, knew I wouldn't be able to find it back home. My yearning for the shirt grew stronger after I spotted it on Cheyenne Meets Chanel (I'll admit I often want what others have) and there was one point where I was so desperate I was going to use a parcel forwarding service from Japan and buy it from the online store. Feeling optimistic one afternoon after uni, I walked into Zara and sure enough there it was. And all was finally right in the world.

My posts have been rather didactic lately: trust your boyfriend's judgement, invest your money in staple pieces, less is more. Today's lesson is: buy whatever you like when you're on holiday because a) you're on holiday! and b) in most situations you can't shop/ think like you do when you're at home, contemplate and go back the next day to purchase. You see it, you like it, you buy it.

PS. Hope you like my collab with Uppy. I certainly did so hopefully I'll be shooting with her again sometime next week. You can head on over to her page and check out some of her other work x
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jasper jacket.


'The wand chooses the wizard, Harry Potter.' Wise words Mr Ollivander, ones which I have easily adapted to justify my latest investment. I didn't choose the jacket, the jacket chose me... I swear. I first laid eyes on the Veda Jasper jacket after being introduced to Basically Boutique earlier this year. Although initially taken aback by the price, the jacket had earned the Man Repeller tick of approval, an opinion which I regard highly and trustworthy. The deal was sealed when I tried on Dimitra's one when I met her for coffee the other week. It fit like a glove. Clearly it was meant to be. Or at least I tell myself that.

 You may have heard about a little e-store by the name of Basically Boutique (because I haven't done two posts about them in the last week or so). Anyway they are now officially open for business so head on over and check out what they have to offer. They're offering 10% off all purchases until July 8 so now you have more incentive to buy buy buy, just enter NOWOPEN at the checkout. There's free postage with any order over $200 and it comes in a beautifully packaged box. I was lucky enough to score a little pre-sale item and win the title of 'first customer'. I never win anything, so this achievement is something to be proud of. I can't win a race or the lottery, but apparently I can win at shopping. 

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two tone.

Amy Kaehne knit, Wish leather shorts, Samantha Wills ring

More playtime with my favourite Amy Kaehne piece from the current Winter collection (which is on sale by the way if my images have sold you). I'm not usually a pink person, but I couldn't go past this two tone knit that reminds me of neapolitan ice cream (not exactly sure why since there's no sight of chocolate or vanilla). 

 Despite the fact uni is over for the semester, I'm struggling to find time to shoot. I've kicked up my hours at work (just so I can spend more) and picked up a new internship at a magazine and I still have no weekend. The fact that there's less daylight in winter doesn't help either - by the time I get home it's always pitch black, and I'm not about to sacrifice precious sleep to shoot in the mornings before I leave either (I don't even have time for breakfast as it is).

 I initially had another location in mind but Jack suggested that my front yard and the texture of the tree trunk would make for an interesting back drop. After a few test shots, I still insisted on shooting in front of yet another overgrown hedge but I ended up choosing these images over the others. Moral of the story, listen to your boyfriend. He might just have an eye for the right place to shoot. 
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hegemony.

Amy Kaehne knit, Samantha Wills ring

he·ge·mo·ny
1 : preponderant influence or authority over others : domination 
2 : the social, cultural, ideological, or economic influence exerted by a dominant group

 This post has nothing to do with the above definitions, other than the fact that a) I like the sound of the word b) I used the word heavily throughout the last semester c) I have developed a strong affinity with hedges. Hedge... hegemony. Not exactly sure how that works but let's just run with it.

The last time I was in front of lens was at fashion week which feels like eons ago. Needless to say I'm a little rusty, so being in front of the camera was a little uncomfortable and I wasn't even sure what I was doing - but then again, do I ever? After running a little dry on inspiration caving under the pressure of the end of semester and lack of funds to buy shiny new things, I was contacted by Ana who asked if I wanted to play dress ups with Amy Kaehne. Her unstructured, minimal, relaxed knits match my style perfectly so of course I couldn't say no. Surprisingly the boy also asked me to shoot with him (any other bloggers out there who subject their boyfriends' to playing photographer will know that never happens) - although it might have had something to do with his new flashy Fuji Film X-Pro 1. Armed with a cosy knit, my favourite ring from SW's The Wanderlust collection and an eager photographer, I took to my favourite overgrown hedge that I pass every morning on the way to the bus.

I've never been one for portraits (personally I've been too self conscious which is why my head is always down or I'm looking to the side) but because I didn't really know how to style from the bottom down, I thought I may as well. With a little help from talented Julia Trotti and her generous free curve Friday initiative, this was the final result. I'm pleasantly surprised with how it turned out, what do you guys think?
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