7 TIPS FOR YOUR CHOOSING ESSENTIAL BLAZER

26th February 2016

I used to think the whole blazer-as-an-essential thing was something just for magazines, I found it hard to believe that an item as corporate, could be integrated into my day to day wardrobe. However, recently on a whim, I bought one. Mainly because I had a last minute meeting with a very very corporate client and was scrambling around in  a mall working out a way to dress up a pair of jeans with holes in the knees. The blazer passed with flying colours, and I realised that a girl never completely tires of a bit of padding (on the shoulder and… elsewhere). Over the next few months I also came to terms with what I had been missing, apparently the blazer is the best safety net you can get in the form of a piece of clothing, it takes everything you wear up a notch, whether it be a pair of shorts or your plane sweats. And even more importantly, it helps you feel better when you, in fact, feel rubbish. This simple ensemble has turned into a bit of a hangover cure for me – a burger, fries and a blazer. Give it an hour and you’ll feel human again.

Anyway, in the event you plan on having a big night this weekend, perhaps you need to be forearmed with a blazer? Atleast to thrown on over your pyjamas when you go for brunch in the morning. Put it at the front of your closet, just to be sure. And if you don’t have one currently, head over to my article for eHow where I give you 7 tips for finding the right one. Happy Friday guys!

Wearing: J Crew Blazer and flats, DIY shorts, Grana tee, Celine bag, Karen Walker Sunglasses

Here are some blazers for you I like: Asos,  Topshop, J Crew, Topshop, Cupcakes & Cashmere, Veronica Beard,  James Jeans, New Look, Asos.

QUICK DIY: HAIRPIN LEG BENCH

25th February 2016

I’ve kicked off the year full of enthusiasm to completely redesign/decorate the house. Considering Ben’s abilities in the interiors department (see: Limewood, Mr and Mrs Fox, Butcher and Baker) we’ve been surprisingly relaxed about our home. I guess that’s one of the frustrations of renting, buttttt I know from experience there are so many things that you can do to your place that won’t sacrifice your security deposit. A little DIY furniture is a great place to start! I’ve been pinning entryway ideas (so grown up!) recently and our little entry nook is going to be the first place that gets my attention, starting with a quick bench. Easy to make and with a hairpin leg that modernises (or should I say, midcentury modernises) you space. Throw in the right rug, a few framed photos some plants and you’re good to go.

You need

• A piece of timber, ours measured 1 metre by 25 cm (40 inches by 10 inches)
• Hair pin legs (I got mine from here).
• A drill and screws or nails and a hammer.

This project is as simple as they get – simply mark where you want to put your legs and then screw them in. Once you find the right materials, you’ll be done in under five minutes.

Now, what else can I screw some legs to?

Photos by Nicola Lemmon

HOW TO AVOID LOOKING LIKE A TOURIST WHEN YOU TRAVEL (IN ANY CITY)

24th February 2016

Wanderer, explorer, traveller, wayfarer, thrill seeker… we use so many words to describe ourselves when we travel. Funnily enough though, most of us avoid describing ourselves as tourists, even though that’s exactly what we are. But these days the concept of being a ‘tourist’ is tied up with a few negative connotations, namely the traveller who never strays from the beaten path and fails to get to know the place they are visiting more deeply. I tend to agree – particularly given that my goal when travelling is to experience a place like a local. So, I guess it’s obvious that if you don’t want to see a place like a tourist you have to do your best to fit in, or at the very least don’t attract attention to yourself as being a visitor.

Recently Uniqlo shared with me a few pieces from their collab with Ines De La Fressange, and when I got my hands on the items I realised they were the perfect travelling attire, a combination of French simplicity, minimalism and comfort which makes them the ideal uniform for wandering the globe. And whilst it may be hard to look like a local in every country of the world, it’s not as hard to avoid looking like your average tourist.

In case you’re trying to understand why it might be useful to fit in when you travel, my reasons for this are two fold. One centres around safety and not wanting to make a target out of yourself by looking like someone who doesn’t know the place well, and the other (less extreme) reason is about how much more of the place you’ll get to explore if you are able to act like a local or even just fly under the radar. As someone who lives in a city swarming with tourists, it’s refreshing when I meet travellers that are outside of the stereotypes and want to know a place on a deeper level – I’m much more likely to share my secret spots! Here are my thoughts for you to take on board for your next trip.

Reflect what the locals wear

This doesn’t mean go out and buy yourself a sari as soon as you get to India (although you can), it’s more about reflecting the tone and dressing approach of the people in the country you’re visiting. So if the women wear long pants or skirts and scarves around their necks (think India, Middle East etc), thats what you should be doing too. If everyone is a little dressy (Italy, France) that’s what you should go for. If every avoids sneakers like the plague, then, so too should you. Locals (most of the time) really appreciate a nod to their customs and culture, and this is a great way to get off on the right foot. You’ll have them inviting you to their mother’s place for a family lunch if you get the dress code right!

Camouflage your camera

That Nikon logo in 3 inch letters on your shoulder is sure to mark you as a tourist, and it’s something many of us do without thinking about it – including me! A camera strap is important though, so one idea is to swap it out for something else that’s not so bright, or even cover the logo with dark duct tape. Depending on how often you use your camera, you should also consider having an easy to access satchel bag on your hip that you can put your camera in when you’re not using it. As soon as you remove the camera element you’re going to look 50% less like a tourist. Trust me.

Ditch the tourist trappings

Bum bags, hiking boots, visors and athletic sandals are all things that immediately mark you as a tourist. In some places they’re absolutely essential and therefore not something you can ditch, but wherever  possible, particular in some cities where people are more directional about what they wear, it’s a good idea to skip those things. But naturally you’re going to want a comfortable pair of shoes, so it’s a great idea to invest in something that you can walk in but that doesn’t scream ‘I’m not from around here’. A nice pair of leather boots and a pair of sleek, chic sneakers are an idea.

When in doubt, cover up

Travelling like a local is, essentially, all about not drawing unwanted attention to yourself. And whether you’re wandering the streets of Sydney late at night or in the Souks of Morocco, when travelling it’s good to fly under the radar. Covering up helps in this regard (and I hope you don’t think I’m being anti-feminist when I say this). If I have any doubts about what to wear I always find that the best thing to do is to cover up a little – soft trousers, longer sleeves and a scarf in my bag are always great for if I stumble into an unknown area and want to blend in.

Hide that map

Let me just stand here on the corner of this busy street market and consult my lonely planet shall I? How many times have we all done this, unknowingly marking ourselves as the ultimate tourists. And yes, while it’s not unusual to have to check where you’re going now and again, try to be as discrete about it as possible – do it while you’re having lunch and then put it away for your wandering time, or take some pics on your phone and use them instead – an iPhone is better than a guide book.

Learn some key words

Make the most of that long flight by trying your hand at even just a few keys phrases for your destination – important greetings, please and thank you and how much is that are a great place to start. Obviously the more you can speak the better butttttt even just a  few words will do lots to show people you’re respectful and get the ‘conversation’ started. And whatever you do, don’t lose the plot because no one can understand you (we’ve all been there), it will get you nowhere. Persevere as much as you can, hello hand gestures, after all having different experiences is the reason you left your home country right?

I’d love to hear any more tips you have for fitting in when you travel!

An easy outfit of soft pants and a long sleeve top, these Uniqlo x Ines De La Fressange pieces are just what the travel doctor ordered. Comfy pants that are still a little dressy are also perfect for the plane!

Wearing: Uniqlo x  Ines De La Fressange top and trousers, Coach bag, sandals my own design.

Photos by Nicola Lemmon. This post is in collaboration with Uniqlo.

VIDEO DIY: WALL WEAVE WITH METAL ACCENTS

23rd February 2016

As I mentioned last week, I recently ran a workshop for Nespresso with a lovely group of women and men about how to create wall weaves. It was something I’ve been trying to perfect for a long time and I had so much fun teaching other people how to do it. I was amazed how quickly everyone picked it up too. Talk about talented! I thought it would be fun to create a video of the technique, particularly about how to add metals and other accents to your piece, I think that definitely takes it up a notch.

I created a video for this project, because I felt it was useful for conveying the techniques. See below to watch.

You need:

• A loom
• Wool yarn
• Wool roving
• An embroidery needle
• Warp thread or twine
• A dowel at least the width of the size of the weave you intend to make.
• Metal pieces. We hammered some metal cylinder beads flat so they fit into the weave better. Copper or metal pieces/strips from a hardware store or bead shop will work really well.

Instead of taking you through the tutorial in photos (you can see it in the video) I thought I would talk you through a few major points which supplement the video. I would love to have included all this in the video but then it would have been an hour long and you all would have skipped pretty quickly.

Warp vs weft

The warp thread is the one tied onto the loom. It creates the basis for the weaving and is what you weave your yarn, aka your weft, onto. By alternating  the weft thread over and under one way and then under and over the other way, you create interlocked tension of the threads that holds the warp and the weft together.

Which loom should you buy?

There are so many different ways to create a loom, tutorials for which you can find everywhere online. DIY methods include photo frames, pieces of wood with nails in them and cardboard. I’ve done a few DIY versions in the past, however I was lucky to be given this frame one in the lead up to the Nespresso event I hosted, and quickly learnt that this type of loom is the best out there – the way you thread it allows you to simply lift it off at the end, and you come away with loops that you can thread your dowel through. This saves lots of time compared to what I have done in the past! Techniques differ a little depending on the loom – whether you weave from top to bottom or bottom to top, and the way the warp thread locks together. If you have a few dollars spare I recommend this one – you can get it from here or here. Otherwise DIY guys!

Tips for making a fishtail braided weave (aka the ‘soumak’):

I added one of these to the top of my design, so that it gave some definition to the top and also so the standard weft didn’t slip too much. I first threaded my needle with double yarn because I wanted the braid to be thicker. To create the braid all you have to do it wrap the yarn around each warp from the right side, working your way all the way along the warp. You’ll see you have half a fishtail knot. To finish off the braided shape, on the way back you then just have to flip or mirror the technique bringing it back through around the left side of each warp (instead of the right).  Tie off with a knot on the end.

Tips for your yarn weave

In the video, I call a yarn weave a simple weave, it’s easy to do and creates lovely detail and some stability you can use to add other things like metal or wool roving. All you have to do is thread your needle with a single piece of yard (you can tie it off close to the needle so it doesn’t slip out). Then, as you see in the video, pass your needle through the warp over and under, over and under all the way to the end. On the way back, making sure you go all the way around the outer warp thread, reverse it so you are going under and over, under and then over. This will create the interlocking weave. Don’t worry if you make a mistake! It’s normal. If you see any weft threads that are running side by side (i.e., not alternating) you’ve missed a warp thread and need to go back and work out where so you can backtrack and fix it.

Tips for weaving with wool roving

How gorgeous is wool roving? So pretty! I like it because it gives texture but also makes your weaving faster due to the thickness – yay for that! The thing about wool roving is that it’s not super structured so you’ll need to do some simple yarn weave now and again to hold it all together. I found that doing some at the top and bottom was fine. You can also give more or less texture to your weave depending on the amount of slack you give the wool. The one you see here is fairly tight and thus flat.

Tips for adding metal pieces (or anything flat) to your weave

I think as soon as you add some different elements like beads, metal pieces or even bark you take your weaving up a notch, and it’s actually very easy to do. You can probably add anything as long as it’s nice and flat. We hammered some gold beading tubes flat so they fit well. You weave your pieces in as you would wool or anything else, and then surround it with the rest of the weave. One thing to be mindful of is that if your metal piece isn’t on enough to cover one side to the other of the weave, and you’ll need to do some extra weave in line with it. In this case, you need to make sure you match your weaving up properly with your metal piece, so that the next line of weaving after your metal piece alternates properly.

Can you see how the line of weaving above the metal piece alternates from the weaving of the metal? This will keep it in tight and have it looking consistent.

Tips for creating tassels

In my opinion, the thicker you do your tassels, i.e. the more pieces of twine you use to make them, the better they will look. I used 8 pieces here but I think double that would have looked ever better. I also think that instead of using your yarn for the tassels, it’s nice to match them to your warp thread. I also think the warp thread has a better weight in most cases so they will hang better, where as yarn is quite light.

Tips for trimming your tassels

You can trim your tassels in any shape, or not trim them at all. One idea is to do a few layers of tassels in different coloured yarn, and then trim them in different shapes. I love to cut them in an asymmetric style or in a triangle, just make sure you carefully comb them out before you trim them because it’s easy to make a mistake.

Voila! Let me know if you have any questions (it’s complicated so don’t feel bad is anything doesn’t make sense). I can’t wait to make a HUGE one.