Musical Blazers?

These photo's were taken some time last year but we feel they should be mentioned because some how, as this night progressed we traded jackets. Don't question it, this sort of shit happens ALL the time.

Clare (there are no personal pronouns in this post, the joys of the double whammy) is wearing Alex's blazer. The blazer was cheap, cheaper than cheap actually. Free in fact! Well in the way that he stole it :) when Alex was in high school his school had an amazing costume department in which he stole pretty much half Alex’s wardrobe. The jacket is actually meant to be a tailored blazer for large women but when worn by teenagers becomes an oversized feature coat. It has an magnificent satin lining made of this hideous colourful fabric and comes with a matching pocket square. Clare is also wearing a large tee shirt dress which was inspired by Effie ala skins season three. The tee shirt was only five dollars from threadless.com (and it has a cute face on it. SEE THE FACE?!?!) The outfit is finished with black leather heels from a generic shoe shop, you know the kind, there are about ten of them in every Westfield all stocked by the same company.

Alex: is wearing Clare’s blazer! It’s a grey women’s jacket from Portman’s. The shirt is "the vanishing elephant" and also has a matching necktie (but is obviously not being worn in the photo). The shirt is a great smart casual look without being too hey look at me I’m going for a job interview. He edged it up with blue skinny jeans from LEE and  police boots. Grungy smart casual=pretentious homo. So much love.

Putting on the ritz

 

So I went to see "Spring Awakening" by Sydney Theatre Company a few nights ago for my friends eighteenth and I managed to work the coat from Alex's set of tails into my outfit. It's worn here with the same top from the last blog ('Alice in the Eve' with sheer chiffon side panneling) my Cue belt, which was admittedly quite pricey (but I wear it with everything so I think it balances it out just a tad) a pair of second hand shoes stolen out of my sister's wardrobe sometime last year and a skirt I borrowed from my other sister, I think it's Sportsgirl but at this stage I could be wrong. The bag I got in Spain during my holiday over there over the New Year and the scarf was two Euro from a thrift shop bargain bin in Paris (are you jealous? I think so) . And yes, I know that it does not match my outfit in the slightest but I'm still waiting on buying a black bag that's big enough to hold my gargantuan wallet.

I think what I like most about this outfit is that fact the hilariously massive shoulder pads of the coat emphasise the pinched in waist of the belt. And really who doesn't enjoy having a little waist? It probably helps that I basically wear it as a girdle but oh well. I figured I'd keep the colours basic because I think tails and a pair of red shoes would over crowd the outfit if worn with patterns/I would actually just look like a circus performer.

  

Here's a closer look at the shoes, I am sort of in love with them despite the fact that they are just a TINY bit too big for me so my feet were covered in blisters by the time this photo was taken, waiting for the train home from the city. That being said, normally I wear then with ankle socks. ANYWAY, The geometric pattern makes my life and the bright colours give any outfit (within reason) a little more interest without completely overpowering anything else you're wearing.

Hand painted Polka dots

This dress is one of my numerous staple old-lady dresses, all of which are vintage. They all start out so hideously that it’s an ongoing joke that someone died in them.  The reason I love dresses like this is that they are so easy to make modern and youthful. Polka dots have been popping up on ready to wear Spring 2010 runways, so this is my casual/vintage take on the look. For this particular dress, I fabric painted half the dots yellow. It did take an unbelievably long time, but worth it? I think so.

The bag here is one of my favourites, thankyou vintage bargain. I think it was some (awesome) kid’s lunchbox years ago, because of the wooden inside and tiny wicker handles, but it’s becoming a staple clutch. I love the woven texture, and the contrast of alternate shades of brown in an 80s geometric pattern.

Worn here with my favourite boots by Rockport (actually my mother’s from the 90s, I may have swiped them when she was out) or in alternate shots my Tony Bianco sandals. The jacket is agent ninety-nine, and the pear is from a tiny antique shop in Southern New South Wales. It’s my current favourite piece of jewellery, and weighs about a tonne.

Oh, ignore the hilarious faces in front of the camera. I become a complete tool whenever someone raises a lens.

So as much as Clare hates the cut off shorts, i feel they are a staple in everyone’s wardrobe. But to all those people who run out and buy brand new cut offs for like more than fifty dollars, wait no, to those who spend more than ten dollars on cut offs. Shame on you. You are buying retails price for a vintage look. Run out and buy a pair of second hand jeans and cut them too the length you want them to be. In this photo i am wearing my "daisy duke" cut offs aka Alex those shorts are wayyyyyyyyy to small. But they are comfortable. I have paired it with a vintage 1626 daisy print v neck tee shirt, my police boots and my green paint splattered bomber jacket. Carelessly cool

The combat boots make an appearance:

Ok so this is your first look of my favourite shoes, I'm practically living in them at the moment despite the fact we're in an Australian summer and generally that means that boots aren't particularly weather appropriate. I'm wearing it with an 'Alice in the Eve' shirt that I got on sale (two for one sale, god I love them) and skirt that I shortened (by about a foot) from Anglicare Depo. I wore it shopping today and realised I liked the outfit when I felt I was practically the only teenaged girl within a 30m radius not wearing cut-offs and/or navy blue and white horizontal stripes. I love me some suburbia.

XXClare

(*There were a few full shots of the outfit but timed photo's are the essence of awkward so I'd rather they were never seen. Ever.)

Let the Blazers begin:

So basically this will be the first of many posts featuring this Blazer. I am more or less in love with it. It's made out of this hideous polyester taffetta and I got it at the Anglicare Depo, a beautiful legendary place where clothing is bought $5.50 per kilo (which prices this baby at around urm...50c?) and you look like a homeless person when you cart your garbage bags of clothing back onto the train as you leave. It really is amazing.

This time I'm wearing it with a scoop neck black Cotton On Tee, my Wrangler jeans (fucked if I know what cut they are) and the most fabulous Peacock belt you will ever see. I'm pretty certain it's from the eighties (it was given by a family friend) and I'm pretty sure it will also make a return at some stage.

(fun fact? The plastic bag in the bottom left hand corner of the bottom photo? May or may not be filled with a MASSIVE roccoco period gown I made two years ago)

XXClare

like a rhinestone cowboy

like a rhinestone cowboy

like a rhinestone cowboy

The jacket is leather, with hundreds of tassels. Its very Olivia Newtown john circa Xanadu the cowboy sequence meets Brokeback Mountain. This falls under the category of it’s so hideous that I love it. It is worn with a second hand white van huesen shirt with starch collar. Black cheap Monday’s skinny jeans. Finished with a vintage gold crucifix I found. Its glam, it’s hideous and yet conventional.

alex's first blog

I feel this shirt is amazing and needs to be shared with the world. But I hardly ever had a chance to flaunt it and its amazing-ness. It is a vintage navy shirt that was actually worn by someone part of the British army. Have both elements of military chic and it only cost me thirty dollars second hand. This particular photo I do love not because I look good (because clearly I don’t) but I have a fond memory of this night. It was Halloween and I went to my aunts 50th birthday party, I dressed up because it was Halloween and apparently everybody else agreed to just dress bad. Look in the background you will see lame printed tee shirts and white cargo shorts D:

Oh hi! We didn't see you there.

Welcome to Pret-a-Poor-ta, a world where the university stricken eighteen year olds are broke, can not afford designer goods and/or do not own anything by Givenchy. We are heavy fashion enthusiasts, enjoy mixing and matching outfits on the basis of bag borrow or get it for a for five dollars a kilo at thrift stores. We believe in op-shop karma and the rule that something can be so hideous to the point where becomes amazing and you must own it.

Meet the gang:

Clare:

Most of my clothing is worn on the premise that my sister is out and therefore will not be aware that I am in fact wearing her shoes belt and headscarf. Just kidding. I would NEVER wear a headscarf (and by the way, I know at some stage I probably will, but try not to gloat when it shows up in photographic evidence).

Signature items:

High waisted country road shorts (whittled down from $120 to $16.02 through some skilful voucher hoarding and birthday money) and Combat boots.

Roslyn:*

Yes, I am aware that most of my day to day fashion consists of nightgowns worn by crazy old ladies now cut into dresses with fraying edges. But one mans trash is another mans treasure right? Especially when classic 50s dresses are mixed with the best trashy 80s look.

Signature items:

Handmade 50s A-line dresses, ripped black boots or irish dancing shoes which may be about 5 sizes too small, and trench coats.

Alexander:

My fashion has been likened to that of crazy French would-be artist, an emo , a starving boho new Yorker, a woman (a fabulous woman) and an all together pretentious wanker who spends way too much time categorising his jackets and figuring out which hairstyle will go with which jeans (true story). Iw will wear anything once and enjoy the hateful stares or narrow minded suburbia.

Signature items:

skinny jeans, cheap Mondays (brand of choice)

Black police boots (literally stolen from a police officer(he may be my uncle(he may have let me take them)))

green bomber jacket

Ultimate fashion NO list (will be added to as the blog continues, we do a LOT of judging)

Jeggings

Tights as pants

White tennis shoes with jeans (well anything)

Fake nails that could claw someones eyes out

Olivia newton john

Who we adore:

Claudia Kishi

Alexander Mcqueen

Karl Lagerfeld

GAGA

Marie Antoinette

Galliano

Susien Chong

…who created the concept of a bargain bin?

Stacey McGill

Vivien Westwood

Alexa Chung

David Bowie

Blair Waldorf (Circa. Season 1)

Ralph Lauren

The Sartorialist

(*Oh Ros would just like to point out that her photo? Heavily photoshopped, none of us are that pretty.)