Tag: heels

Heels and Bowties

First let me give you a glimpse of my last couple of weeks where I seem to have dropped off the face of the earth or at least the blogging part of it as I just have not written anything in quite some time. It has been quite a strenuous couple of weeks of tests for me with the last one culminating to five tests in one week and I know to the adult world a test is just some joke that doesn’t stand up to actual jobs and paying bills and all those tiring things you keep warning us of but for a tired and emotionally strained 18 year old it can end up being quite stressful and time consuming. Something I battled with was focussing and I didn’t want to even give myself the temptation of writing a blog when I was so far away from completing my studies. Along with this I also went through some (more) personal and emotional issues which rocked me a little more than expected and for the most part I became an empty unenthusiastic and stressed shell of a person and I threw aside my personality not willing to deal with myself and how I felt for the most part.

But after giving myself a weekend to sleep, recuperate and improve my happiness I have finally felt the enthusiasm to once again blog. How exciting!

Before the test season we, my fellow engineering-wannabes and I, had one last bash. It was hosted by the Capetonian in our midst at his house (when your life revolves around residence rooms, their rules and tiny size an actual House is a rare and exciting phenomenon). The theme was formal which posed a slight challenge for me as I had not bought a mass supply on fancy clothing down to Cape Town with me. Plus it was cold. I only had black stockings which didn’t go with my dresses or my shoes so that was a no go. I wanted to wear pants and a smart shirt to almost mimic a man’s typical formal outfit as a joke to my mainly male dominated engineering friends but sadly the fanciest pants I have are jeans and that seemed a bit of a let-down and I wouldn’t have been able to look better than the suit-clad-bowtie-wearing boys, so it would have pointless. So after a frantic call to my friend, and fellow fashionista, I managed to score myself her black midi skirt which comes more to knee length than midi on me as she is tiny but none the less I felt retro and classy. I paired it with a loose formal white button-up shirt leaving my outfit vaguely reminiscent of my previous idea. I wore (the only high heels I had in cape town – so not much of a choice but I love them regardless so it didn’t matter too much) my turquoise wedges which are still my favourite pair of heels and have seen me through many a fancy event. I threw over my new black coat. I bought it at the end of last winter choosing, on a meagre student budget, to look in the end-of-season-sale for the new item in my coat collection. It is a large structured black coat with striking zip detail and a dramatic collar and I always feel like I could walk into my job as a head of a Highstreet clothing brand wearing the thing. I matched my turquoise clutch with the shoes. The clutch never disappoints with its silver hardware and pleather feel and I am always looking for an opportunity to use it. I then added my classic Jemma twist. This time it was adding my favourite necklace. The traditional orange beaded accessory clashed both in colour and style yet bought the outfit together and made it stand out.

Closer view of the coat detail
Close up of my favourite beads (better then any bowtie)
Background part is in full swing

Fifi (the skirt-loaning friend) fittingly and unknowingly also wore black and white with her added piece of African ‘bling’. Her outfit was classy and simple with a straight black dress and classic white heels but with an oversized denim jacket to add some character to the look. You can check out her thought provoking discussion of it and its connections to her role and being as a black woman in fashion and South Africa at http://www.allzuri.blogspot.com/ .

All Zuri

It was a fun evening filled with Champaign (for my friends) and orange juice (for sober me) and the classic formal feast of pizza (the biggest pizza’s I’ve ever seen). Vinyl’s were played (briefly) then other less retro sounds, alcohol infused board games were competed in and for a brief moment we all pretended we didn’t have engineering homework due on the Monday.

I liked having an excuse to dress up and can’t wait for round two.

Black and gold

A new look. Don’t worry I am working on a blog post that isn’t about fashion but for the moment bare with me. I just got a new playsuit. After the misfortune of having my black jumpsuit shrunk in the wash I have been looking for a new one and although I have not found an affordable one yet, my eye did move to the short version while wondering through the Cotton On store. I like this because it is simple and so can be easily styled with loads of accessories. I also love the fact that you can dress this down with a pair of sandals and a cardigan or dress it up like I have with a nice chunky chain and a pair of killer (and sadly these are also feet killer) heels. I like the way this shows off my waist but is also loose and comfortable although I must admit that I don’t know how comfortable I am with the strapless shape as I am slightly self-conscious about my arms but I reckon one has to take the occasional risk.

I haven’t had an opportunity to wear it out dressed up like this but I have been wearing it a lot. Of course it is probably obvious that I am still following the black on black trend. Over all I think this gets a successful tick in the ‘staples’ box (I think a little black playsuit is just as good as a little black dress) and I think I will be wearing this for a while still.

My hair, I am always playing with my hair
I like to throw in that splash of orange
Here you can see the pockets put to use

That valedictory dress

 

 

As I spoke about in one of my earlier posts, I recently had my valedictory dinner. A special evening where my grade and I celebrated our high school career as it comes to an end. It was a formal event and one which we got to dress up for. Most of the girls went for black and I got a few fashion inspirations for when I search for my ‘little black dress’. Another big favourite was formal jumpsuit. They are the new in-thing so a few girls were trying it out with varying success. I however was one of the few who delved into a bright colour. I don’t usually wear green but I do love the style of this dress which is what caused me to try it on and I fell in love. The colour works surprising well with my light skin and dark hair. The flow of the dress is classes and sleek. I love the modern cut and how it makes my body look. Of course it couldn’t be a ‘me’ outfit if I didn’t have something clashing. So my accessory colour became the vibrant and crazy orange. The style of my necklace is a that of tradition in South Africa. It is an old necklace which represents culture and heritage in South Africa. It felt good to have something to do with home. The necklace does not come from my personal culture but it does come from a culture of my country and that is very important to me. Other than that I looked for clean and simple (black and orange) accessories. It was a classic yet crazy look and the mature version of my style.

New Coat for Hard Rock Café

I’m sorry for the distinct lack of blog posts lately. It seems that the only device on which I can access my blog in an iPad and this is an unsatisfactory device on which to type. The soft fleshy thumps my finger make, make them feel fat and I miss the tick of a keyboard (who would have thought right?)

But anyway ’tis the season for 18th birthdays and a couple of days ago I had the pleasure of going to the Hard Rock Café for dinner. It was friends of mine, twins, birthday and they were paying. It was great. It’s the first time I’ve been and although it is extremely overpriced the food is amazing and the atmosphere is brilliant. It really had a unique vibe, well at least unique to what I’m used to, it’s old fashioned American diner meets modern class. The waiter was enthusiastic (maybe slightly too enthusiastic for some people) and the night was enjoyable. I ate a large burger which was probably too big but I finished it anyway. It had some long name with the word hickery and barbecue some where. It was a beef burger and I’m not a big fan of beef but I decided to go for it and was pleasantly surprise, as I said I ate the whole thing. The birthday girls ordered a host of desserts but I was too full to try any but they looked great.

I rarely get to where heels and after a long term of school my friends felt the same so we decided to over dress slightly and make it a semi-formal event. I was so excited. I wore my favourite blue wedges (easier to walk in) and A new dress I got. I wore the heels to a dance I went to so I have the most incredible bag that goes with it which I wore as well. And  the most important piece if the outfit? The coat! I love coats and for my birthday I got money to buy a new one. I like the chunkiness of this one as it compliments my style and I have a soft spot for oversized coats. I was so excited to wear it and I think it went well. The cherry on the top was that my friend gave me a beautiful ring with a black stone that is more formal than most of my other rings. It just bought the whole look together.

Anyone in Joburg who us looking to treat themselves, go to the Hard Rock Café. It’s pricey so only good for a treat but what an amazing treat it will be!