On that note, a girl at fashion week in Sydney came up to me and told me I should make these, so there’s obviously a few of you out there that would totally rock the halo!

Images: Thanks Mandy from Oracle Fox

If you haven’t already make sure you check out the collection here.

And don’t forget – although on the website shipping is currently only for Australia and New Zealand residents, the lovely Tony Bianco team has been organising shipping for those of you who simply must have a pair.  Just email enquiries@tonybianco.com.au with your shoe choice.

• Look 1: CUE Coat – Bonds Tee – Bec & Bridge Skirt - A Pair & A Spare for Tony Bianco Ari heels
• Look 2: Macgraw Striped Top, Topshop trousers, A pair & A Spare for Tony Bianco Kasandra Heels
• Look 3: Cameo Singlet, Marg’s Boyfriend jeans, A Pair & A Spare for Tony Bianco Kloe Heels.
• Look 4: A Pair & A Spare for Tony Bianco Tachet Heels, Coach Watch

Photos by Margaret Zhang

Ever since we met a few years ago I’ve been envious of Jess’ ability to put together the perfect outfit – eye poppingly gorgeous vintage pieces mixed with classic high street items and the perfect accessories. Cases in point: how to wear camo, mastering the crop and adding a pop of neon.  Wearing vintage in your everyday life to this effect is a serious skill and I couldn’t be happier that she agreed to come out from behind the camera today to not only tell us but show us how we too can make it work in our vintage wear.

Ten Tips for Wearing Vintage

1. Decide your best assets
My number one rule when wearing vintage is to know your body shape. What looks good on one person may not necessarily look good on another. It’s so important, especially with vintage, that you wear what you know looks good on you. You might have a small waist so be sure to choose pieces that highlight this. Or you may have a curvier figure so prefer to wear something long and flowy. Get to know your body and your best assets and it will make styling vintage clothing a whole lot easier.

2. Stay true
I’m a sucker for colours and interesting prints, the bigger and brighter the better, but I understand not everyone feels the same way. We all have our own sense of style and unique taste which should reflect our choice in vintage clothing as well. Stay true to your style and keep in mind shapes, cuts and colours that work for you or even a particular material you like to wear such as silk, denim, crochet or lace.

3. If the shoe fits
So many times I’ve bought a piece of vintage clothing or held onto it just because ‘I had to have it’ even though it wasn’t quite the right fit. There’s something about wearing vintage clothing when it’s a little too big or not the right shape and it just looks too obvious and a bit silly. When you’re styling vintage make sure it absolutely fits you perfectly. Or only purchase it if you’re a wiz with the sewing machine and can easily adjust it to your measurements – and commit to making those updates.

4. Be inspired
Stay up to date with current trends by what you’re seeing in magazines, on blogs or your favourite fashion websites or even Pinterest. Trends come in and out and it’s good to keep in mind what current styles, colours, textures and prints are popular as it can make the process of buying and wearing vintage a lot more fun.

5. Back to basics
Buying or wearing vintage for the first time can be a little daunting. Where to start? What to buy? If the idea of wearing an insanely printed 80s jacket or a fully sequined dress is too much to handle then stick to the basics. Start by building your vintage collection with perhaps a vintage denim shirt, a pretty floral dress, a nicely worn leather jacket, a printed silk shirt, a leather pencil skirt or a cool vintage tee. These basic pieces will help you to familiarize yourself with wearing vintage and help to build a really great wardrobe that can easily be styled with other pieces.

6. Mix Vintage & New
If you want to wear vintage but you’re worried about looking like you stepped out of your grandmother’s closet, a good tip is to mix and match your vintage pieces with your new, contemporary pieces. If you’ve found a beautiful bohemian 70s maxi dress, update it with a new denim jacket and sandals. Maybe you’ve found an amazing 80s sequin top but you want to dress it down with a pair of new denim shorts. Or you may want to style your new skirt with a vintage handbag and vintage sunglasses. The key is to mix it up with basic pieces like jeans, denim shorts, a striped top or a white shirt. Don’t go too overboard in the one outfit if you’re not used to wearing all vintage.

7. Be bold & daring
So if being safe and sticking to basics is not your thing and you think you’re ready to take on the idea of vintage clothing then go for it! Seek out something that is unique and that reflects your personality. A statement jacket or bold necklace or some brightly coloured cowboy boots are the perfect starting point. If you’re going to go all out try to make that one piece the standout piece, team it with basics or black and white for the right look.

8. Accessorize
A good rule when wearing vintage clothing is to make sure it’s styled with great accessories, and this can mean using new or vintage accessories. I can’t begin to describe how much a simple belt can update a look or give you more shape, especially with a vintage dress. Try adding a bit of character to your handbag and tying a vintage scarf around the handle. Or you might even like to give yourself a new look with a pair of vintage sunglasses. So many simple tweaks can be done to keep your whole look interesting and new.

9. Visualize
More often than not you can get caught up in the hype of buying vintage because there’s only the 1 item. You can end up buying pieces that don’t necessarily suit you but you just ‘had to have’. Take a step back and really visualize whether or not that piece will suit you and if it’s the right style. Do you already have something similar? Will it go well in your wardrobe? How easy will it be to style with other pieces? These are a few questions you should ask yourself before that impulsive urge takes over.

10. Be confident!
Remember to style your vintage with confidence and a smile! Be proud that you’ve chosen to wear something unique and different as opposed to what everyone else is wearing. I can guarantee you’ll get the most comments and compliments when you’re wearing vintage.

Make sure you check out Ela Hawke Vintage and follow their vintage updates on instagram.

Photos by Sean Condon

The perfect opportunity to meet, test drive my new collection and get a little crafty. Guests receive a gorgeous leather pouch and will have the chance to DIY some super cute adornments for it with me. Pssst… I’ve got tassels on the brain!

Absolutely everyone is welcome to come and say hi and I’ll be around from 6pm onwards!  For the DIY sessions you can choose from 6pm and 7.30pm time slots and you need to register to be part of the DIY project:

RSVP HERE

(although registration is now full you are more than welcome to come along – there may be spare seats at the DIY table!)

I can’t wait to meet and craft with you next week! *happy dance*

You need:

• 2 meters (2.2 yards) of PU leather, heavy woven fabric or light leather
• 2 meters (2.2 yards) of stiff fabric for the lining
• Scissors
• a measuring tape
• a ruler
• matching thread
• a sewing machine
• pins

How to:

1. Determine the size you want for the base of your bag. I hunted around in the kitchen and used a strainer because I thought it was the right size (don’t laugh – it was the only thing I had in that perfect size – in between a plate and a saucer!). Use a pen to trace it onto the leather/fabric.

2. Cut out the base.

3. Then cut out the side panel. To do this you need to work out the correct length so measure the diameter of the circle you cut (from side to side going through the middle) and then times that by π = 3.14. Remember maths at school? Circumference = diameter x π. If you need a little assistance – use the calculator here. Make the height of the side panel equal to how tall you want your bag to be – with a few extra inches to allow you to turn over and sew down the edge.

Click on the template to enlarge.

4. Fold the side panel in half and then sew along the short edge with your sewing machine, leaving the top two inches open (so you can turn down and hem).

5. Pin the side panel (which will be a cylinder now) to the base.

6. Sew the edges. This can be tricky so take it slowly.

7. Recreate the exact same process for your cotton lining.

8. Pin and sew the lining properly, and then, with the seam facing out, slide it into your bag.

9. To secure the lining in place, fold the top edge of the outside fabric over the lining onto the inside and sew down. You may have to trim the lining shorter to fit it properly. If you are using fabric for the outside you should double over the edge so you don’t get any fraying.

10. To make the holes for the drawstring/strap you have a few options. If you are using fabric I would use a grommet maker so that you don’t have any fraying happen from the strain of the drawstring, however if you are using leather or PU leather, you can cut slits instead – which is what I did. Measure where you want the holes to go – you want to do an even number of holes so the strap comes out at the back on each side of the seam.

11. Cut the holes, making sure they are the same height and avoid cutting the lining.

12. Sew your strap by folding over and sewing down, make it around 1 m (1.2 yards) long. If you are using fabric for this I would sew the strap inside out and then turn right way out so you don’t have too much fraying,

13. Thread the strap through.

13. Centre the strap so either end comes out beside the back seam and then link the strap up and sew together (by hand or machine) so the drawstring also acts as a long shoulder strap.

There you have it – I can’t wait to use this all summer!

Wearing: DIY Bucket Bag, Macgraw Shorts and DIY leather collar denim shirt

This was the first time I’ve tried to make a bucket bag and I think it turned out a-ok (practice makes perfect after all!) – I can’t wait to make the same style in some thick white fabric (I’m thinking neoprene!) for summer.

Photos of the finished product by Lauren Engel

Photos by my love Margaret Zhang

Collect some plates from your local second hand store and make her a porcelain jewelry stand. Use a nice oil to make her a Diptyque inspired candle, without the price tag! Hint: if you don’t have the wax beads, melt a few simple candle sticks instead. Or repot a succulent into pretty pot,because unlike your friends, your mother has proven she can raise a living thing, so chances of longevity are pretty good with this gift. And finally, top it off with a pretty hand lettered card – this is probably the part your old lady will cherish the most!

You need:

• Two small pieces of light curb chain
• Flat fronted stud earring fixtures
• Earrings backs
• Beading plyers
• Cutting plyers or very sharp scissors (optional)
• E6000 glue
• A skewer

1. First check how the earring fixture is going to sit on the chain, if you need to, use some chain cutters or very shape scissors to trim the back so it is less round and will lie flat again the chain without being too obvious from the front side.

2. Put a dollop of glue on a folded up piece of paper.

3. Add some glue to the earring front.

4. Press the fixture onto one of the top edges of the chain, making sure to place it in a way that the chain will hang down straight once the earrings are on.

5. Leave to dry overnight.

Ta da! I’ve worn these twice all night and haven’t had any trouble with them, look for light chain if you are worried about weight on the glue.

Photographs thanks by the lovely Lauren Engel – we’ve got some fun collabs planned for you!

Images: Vanessa Jackman, Oracle Fox, Mr Newton, Le Fashion

For those of you out there not familiar with her work, Kelly has the type of talent that most of us can only dream about – the ability to create whimsical and yet life like imagery that merges fashion and beauty to perfection. In short she draws life as we would all like to live it, full of flowers, pastels hues and perfectly tousled waves. Her illustrations have been commissioned by an awe inspiring number of magazines and brands, including Vogue, Net-a-Porter, H&M and Elle, and she is just about to publish the second book in a series entitled Sticker Fashionista. I couldn’t be more chuffed that Kelly took some of her precious time out to show us how she creates her amazing pieces, perfect for following along if you feel like honing your illustration skills (admittedly she makes it look easy when I imagine it’s anything but). Take it away Kelly!

There are so many different styles and techniques in illustration, and there’s definitely no right or wrong way to do it. Everyone has their own method and that’s what makes us all unique! So what I’m going to show you today is my process in 10 steps.

What I use:

• Paper
• Pencils (HB, B, 2B and a super soft lead like 3H)
• Eraser
• Watercolour paints & brushes
• Scanner
• Adobe Photoshop.

1. INSPIRATION

Inspiration is the first step in any creative process. If you don’t have idea immediately, turn to what inspires you; imagery, nature, films, music – it can be anything. Once you have an idea you can start to gather images that reflect your vision.

2. REFERENCE IMAGERY

Create your reference image. Some illustrators work from their imagination. Others, like myself, work from reference imagery. I like to photograph my own images and collage them together with various others to create one picture to draw from. I’m pretty exact with this due to the realistic style of my work.
For this particular image I photographed myself holding an object of similar size to a skull. I then used images of flowers that I had photographed, along with the hair and facial features of various models that had been collaged together.

3. START SKETCHING

Using your reference image as a guide, start sketching out an outline. This will help you keep your proportions in tact before you start finalising the pencil work. Some people like to draw up grids to keep to scale. As I work on quite a small scale I prefer to draw rough lines over the reference image only so I can easily see where certain features or body parts line-up.

4. KEEP SKETCHING

Start refining your lines and existing pencil work. Don’t worry about going too thick or dark as you can erase these markings as you start to develop each area. We’re essentially ‘filling in the lines’ and developing depth and tone with shading and more refined pencil work.

5.TAKE A BREAK
Step back from your work. Have a break – grab a coffee or a cup of tea– and take 5 minutes out. Sometimes when you look at the something for too long, you can start to lose perspective. It’s really nice to take some time out and focus on something else for a little while and come back to a project with fresh eyes. This helps you to spot any flaws in the work, which you can then fix up or change.

6. SCAN

The next step is to move the finished illustration onto the computer. I like to do this as soon as I’ve completed all pencil work, especially before I apply any paint or other medium. It means that you have a perfect digital copy of the work, just in case you make any mistakes! Unlike pencil, paint or ink does not rub out!

7. ADD WATERCOLOURS BY HAND

Sometimes I just add a little bit of colour digitally in photoshop, but this time I’m adding watercolour. It’s good to build the colour up slowly, so start with the lightest colour first and then add darker shades to create depth and texture.

8. RE-SCAN

When the paint is dry, scan the illustration again. Be careful to keep it perfectly straight on the glass so that both scans line up when you overlay them.

9. EDIT

Adjust the layers/contrast/shadows on the original scan until you’re happy with the tones. Clean up any dust or smudges. I use the clone tool. Do the same with your painted scan.

10. LAYER IMAGES

Finally, overlay both of your scans so that you’re left with one image. Create one, or two, more layers, depending on how much colour you want to apply digitally. I like to add subtle colour to the face – digital make-up if you will!

TA DA!

Now that I’ve finished – save, save save! You should now be left with a perfect digital file of your illustration.

Thanks so much Kelly! You can purchase a print of one of Kelly’s drawings here, and make sure to check out her website for more of her gorgeous work and updates on her new book to be released this month.