Shapes and Movement

Today, my mum and I were chatting about fashion. I haven't mentioned this before, but my mum used to be a model and worked very closely with some of Melbourne's top agencies. Whilst it was ultimately the constant push for perfection drove my gorgeous mum out of this fickle profession, I think she has always held somewhat of respect for those rakey young girls who grace our magazine covers. I also brought up what really irritates me. The phrase "world's first supermodel". I was watching Forbes Top Ten Most Successful Models the other night and they labelled Cindy Crawford as the world's first supermodel...no offence to Cindy or Forbes, but does the name 'Twiggy' ring a bell? Not to mention that repulsive piece of mutton Janice Dickenson, who on every episode of America's Next Top Model was dubbed 'the world's first supermodel'. One: yuck; and two: completely and utterly false!

So we got talking about Twiggy and Claudia Schiffer and mum brought up a name that I had heard of, but had never really seen photos of: Verushka. One word, so many shapes. Ok, so that sounds a little strange, but let me show you some of these extraordinary shots of her that I found when I Googled her.














Can this lady move or what? Not only is she this striking Eastern European beauty, but the shapes that she can create with her body are imaginative, risqué and most importantly, inspiring (with quite clear evidence of ballet training). I buy Vogue, Harpers and Russh religiously every month and I have never seen shots like these.

What do you think, photographer's best friend?

From little things, big things grow - MMF 2009

After 349 photos and three bottles of vodka, another Meredith Music Festival is done and dusted...when the hell did that happen? We arrived at the Supernatural Amphitheater at around 10:30am after a 5:30am rise and then waiting in a bumper-to-bumper line for the best camping pozzie, only to be told it had just filled up. Amazingly, we managed to camp in almost the EXACT same spot as last year, except this year we had a marquee, gigiddy.  

The first act off the bill were Regular John, a couple (or four) punk-ass kids from Melbourne and god-damn, were they an awesome way to kick off MMF 2009. Oh Mercy were up next and if I could use one word to describe them: classy, real classy. The people I was standing next to knew Liza Lam, the bassist from Oh Mercy, and every gap between songs they would proceed to yell "LIIIIIZZZAAAA!!!!". We even managed to get a little grin out of her at one stage. Alcohol continued to flow and before I knew it, I was doing lay-backs from our campsite and swing-dancing with my boyfriend to Royal Crown Revue. Saturday kicked off with (for me at least), a toe-tapping performance from rockabilly trio Kitty Daisy and Lewis at 2:15 in the afternoon. 

Warm sunshine was occasionally peaking through the clouds and the energy emanating from punters was contagious. I opted for a Breakie wrap to nurse my hangover and sat down on a Salvos tweed couch with some people I had just met. One of them had a ukulele, but couldn't play it very well. At around 6pm we 'got the fuck up' with Pharaoh Monch who, by the way, is the BEST person to get a crowd fired up. It sounds corny, but I actually got goosebumps when Paul Kelly walked on stage. It is an amazing feeling to be in the presence of someone who is of such legendary status amongst people of so many ages. It was also pretty cool that the person who wrote the lyrics I had studied and received a 45 out of 50 in English for in VCE was standing right in front of me. Thanks Paul =)  

Animal Collective...well, I guess I had built myself up for them so intensely, I had put this idea in my head that they were going to blow my mind...I have to be honest here when I say that they were a little disappointing. The fact that they didn't even play 'My Girls' was such a massive let-down, I had three swigs of vodka to try and ease my disappointment.  

Jarvis Cocker managed to fire me up again, and was amazing. Although he didn't play 'Common People' (which I can sort of understand being that he performed the song whilst in the band Pulp), he was fantastic and a wonderful showman.  

Yacht Club DJs tore the Amphi a newie last year and did not fail the already amped up crowd. They are the eternal party boys and my legs are still sore from dancing. Bag Raiders were just as fun and I must've acquired the mysterious bruise on my knee after I was hoisted up onto the crowd by a generous and rather drunk stranger, then proceeded to plummet to turf after he realized he was too wasted to be carrying anyone. I returned to my LiLo as the sun was coming up with a feeling that I had really made the most of the weekend. 

The weather was on our side, I met some really wonderful people and finally had the opportunity to show my friends, whose only other experience of Meredith was the torrential rain of last year, how beautiful the Supernatural Amphitheater can look in the sunshine. Might Meredith: until next year. 

Million Dollar Question

I have a confession...yesterday, at approximately 3PM I may or may not have spent $650 on a pair of shoes...crazy right? My justification for this obviously excessive purchase was that a) Italian leather lasts a looong time, and b) the US/Australian dollar conversion is so good at the moment that by buying these gorgeous Alexander McQueen booties from an American site, I ended up saving at least two hundred dollars. It got me thinking though, why do so many of us possess the fierce desire for possessions of such extravagance, even when we realistically cannot afford it? To the minority of 'blessed' people in society, $650 is simply pocket change. For a student like myself, it's just under two weeks worth of pay.

Aesop wrote that wealth unused might as well not exist, however this fable mentions nothing about how one's wealth should be used. My blood boils when I hear about celebrities who use their money to buy out an entire maternity wing just so they can have their baby in privacy and I could never understand why hip-hop artists spent thousands of dollars on jewel-encrusted dentures; it seemed to me that they had simply run out of ideas to spend their money on (not to mention they look fucking stupid). There is a story of an upper-class woman in Britain in the 1700s who was so frugal that she lived in a house with no heat or light. She deprived herself of common comforts simply because she was too greedy to spend any of it. 

On the other hand, Bill Gates donates something like 70% of his yearly earnings to charity and is still one of the wealthiest men in the world. 

I won't be spending that sort of money on any material object in quite some time, but it's nice to know that I have been able to reward myself for my hard work this year. I suppose like everything in life, fulfillment lies somewhere in the middle. If you are lucky enough to have a nice home, a decent car and the ability to travel every once in a while and even if you aren't, I don't think there is any harm in excessorising from time to time. 

Trend Watch: Cult Shoes

Thought your shoes turned heads? Take a look at these knock-out romper-stompers:

D&G Winter 09/10



Prada Winter 09/10 (on my lust list)

Gucci Winter 09/10


Christian Louboutin Fall 09 (very popular!)

work work work work work

hello lovers

getting through my final assignments is the ONLY reason I haven't blessed this page with heaps of yummy things from Paris Fashion Week and spring racing previews...

BUT

I'm in Grazia! Just a little twitter thing, no biggie. But I do like the nice big picture of me on pg 50 *grins*

Sophie, 20 VIC
I am a journalism student who is obsessed with fashion! While I adore designers and high-end fashion, I try not to let it compromise my authenticity. I think op shops can hide more treasures than any boutique and I am always striving to look original. My staple? Mum's 25-year-old caramel Frye boots. Comfortable and classic

Stay fabulous!

Soph xox

Glorious

Quentin Tarentino has always been a favourite of mine. His latest film Inglorious Basterds is typical Tarentino; there is fantastic stylised violence that is not for the squeamish, there are flashback sequences that make the plot all the more interesting, and there is scalping. Not the ‘ripping people off with over-expensive tickets to Falls’ kind of scalping, I mean the ‘slicing off a dead Nazi’s scalp with a machete as a war trophy’ kind of scalping. Much like Reservoir Dogs, the characters tie in cleverly together and in more ways that you first think, making the plot deliciously intricate. I will warn you, there is a lot of dialogue and if you’re not prepared to read subtitles, you may find this film a little tedious, but just when you’ve slipped comfortably into a scene of diplomacy or calm, Tarantino shoves you right back to the edge of your seat with something totally unpredictable. He certainly does stick by the philosophy that no good story should be ruined by the truth. Be prepared for unsettling shifts in pace and tone, be prepared to be shocked and amused, to chuckle and to be always surprised in this comic historical fantasy which is jut cheeky enough to invent a complete alternative ending to history. The editing is seamless, the cinematography is wonderful and the build-up of suspense lasts a little too long, making a jump into a fast-paced sequence all the more thrilling. Christoph Waltz is brilliant as the smart-arse Col. Hans Landa and I have developed a newfound respect for Brad Pitt.

Taking a leaf out of Triple J’s Scott Dooley’s book, Inglorious Basterds gets 4 out of 5 from me, taking one point off for lack of zombies.

Welcome to Velour Land

Velvet is the new fabric of the minute. You heard it right: along with the rebirth of the 80s, velvet is making a comeback along with it's little sister's; sequins, and plenty of them.
Reaching its pinnacle in 1985 with the help of Madonna in Desperately Seeking Susan, velvet is back: more fabulous, tasteful and tacky as ever. But I'm afraid this comeback, like all fashion revivals will be extremely short lived.

Before this fad deteriorates faster than the novelty of Bubble Cup, here are some tips:

Don't:
- be afraid to go mini; there is nothing worse that being mistaken for the frumpy pianist at a cocktail party.
- go overboard with chunky jewellery, keep it modern with simplicity, because this fabric is statement-making enough
- try too hard; one piece of velvet clothing is more than enough. Over-saturation of velvet can make it look like a ghastly costume
Do:
- be minimal
- go for bold colours
- downplay its formalness; a velvet blazer with casual jeans and a simple singlet top underneath looks ace