DIY Leather & Chain Bracelet

Today we've only got one more hurdle until our long-awaited 2-week holidays!  It's a psychiatry exam, so who knows how it'll go.  That aside, we will soon be able to go crazy with ze olde blog and some DIY projects that have been a-waiting so patiently to be done.  Mucho excitement!

Today's DIY Friday project is an easy-peasy bracelet (which looks harder than it really is!) - if you can't get hold of leather cord, then you can substitute it for something else.  I won't judge you if you buy faux leather.  Just don't tell me.

DIY Leather & Chain Bracelet

Materials:

A length of chain (your choice of colour, but make sure it's big enough for the leather cord to be threaded through)

Leather cord

Beading fixings & clasp (as shown above)

Scizzorzzz & pliers

Start off by jamming one end of the leather cord into the twisty coil thing.  Use your pliers to clamp it down so the leather cord is secure and can't come loose.

Once that's done, thread the cord through the first loop of your chain, pulling it through to the end where the twisty thing is secured.  Hold on tight!  Time for some loopy-doopy moves:

Loop the cord OVER to the back of the chain, stick it THROUGH the hole so it comes out the FRONT, and make sure it loops through the cord left over from the front.  Pull it tight.  Does that even make sense?  I can't say I'm great at explaining random things like this, so I hope the photos suffice.

Keep looping until you get to your desired length.

Once you get to the end, jam the leather cord into another one of those spiral end thingos and clamp it tight so your hard loopy work doesn't come undone.

Attach the clasps, and you're done!

xx T

My Latest Loot: Candy Pink

[Continuing on with the baby-pink binge we began yesterday]

When we look at runway shows, we don't create a shopping list.  First of all, that is financially ridonculous, but also because we love the challenge of using the simple things already in our cupboards to echo the vibes of our favourite designer collections.  It's also 100x more versatile!

Take this pink mesh-knit jumper.   You could go pink on pink on pink a la Jil Sander F12, or add some white leather to channel the Alexander Wang collection everyone's going kookoo about,  or go nude underneath the mesh a la Céline.  (Please don't.)

Trenery jumper


So the moral of the story is that you don't need to buy the latest thing to be up with the craze of the minute, which is going to change any minute anyway!  Buy the simple things that suit you & save your pennies for travel, or breakfasts dates, or coffee, or... kale.  T is addicted to kale.  (Could someone please call the hipster police?)


xx S

2WW: Fancy-Bathrobe-Chic

We gather you may have seen enough of our faces for a week, so today we have prepared collages on 2 Ways to Wear this amazing light pink Rochas coat that we would buy if we had plentiful cash.  And if it weren't already sold out on NAP.  Darn.

Coat, Brogues, Jeans, Bag, Jumper, Necklace

S's Outfit

Light coloured Winter-wear is quite refreshing amongst the sea of black (that we are admittedly part of), so this coat was the perfect item to base a pastel outfit around.  The gold brogues and jewellery make the simple clothes more interesting, and that bag... !  Quite Valentino rockstud-esque, but the shape (and price) are a lot more practical.

Why have I included YSL Touche Éclat in an outfit collage, you ask?  Well it's not just to be hip, let me tell you ;)  I've had my eye on this product for a while & plan to try it when funds allow, but thought a pastel outfit would be the perfect time to try out the dewy, fresh faced look that this highlighter promises.





Coat, Glasses, Top, Pants, iPad case, Stylus, Bag, Heels

T's Outfit

So so so, it seems we both went for a bit of an anti-Winter-coloured-preppy-chic-downplayed-with-casual-bottoms-collage-fest.  Oh well, not far from the truth.  Baby pink and burgundy is actually a killer colour combo (see our tumblr for more pink-coat-inspiration-pictures) which I just might try out for our exam on Friday.  Might I add, Sophie Hulme is making some superb bags at the moment and I wouldn't mind one...

Speaking of being close to the truth with these dream outfit collages, those Bespecd "Rhodes" glasses are on my list for new glasses (yes, I'm considering getting more than one pair).  S will also attest to the fact that I am never without my iPad nowadays, and for those who are wondering how I've been writing on photos, that handy little Targus stylus is the magic wand that does the trick.

xx S&T

Cobalt + Berry

I love trying new colour combinations.  Inevitably, they don't always work well, but when they do succeed, a basic outfit can be transformed.  See in this outfit, the delicious soft silk in cobalt blue and berrylicious bottoms distract you from the truth that I'm just wearing a shirt and jeans.  Or do they?  You judge.

The Edited shirt, Dr Denim jeans (bought as a 2 for 1 from General Pants!), Just jeans leather jacket, Witchery wedges, Mumsy's scarf, vintage bag.

This outfit was just a quick trouser-change + blazer-addition away from clinical-appropriate.  Granted, we are on a much more casual dressing term, but a silk shirt in a bright colour really can take you from breakfast with your besties, then to work and out for night time activities, if that's on your agenda.  Just pack a spare pair of pants (for work) and heels (for out) in your car-drobe, and you're set.


xx S

Jumping Bean

Whilst it hasn't been quite so cold enough in Perth to bring out scarves and coats, S & I have been relishing the opportunity to sneak in some head-gear on frosty mornings en-route to the hospital.  We're super lucky to be in close proximity to some choice photo-taking-locations, so here are photos of my elf-self wearing my favourite  beanie to brighten up my standard clinical garb.  
Someone also asked last Wednesday to give our tips on favourite clinical shoes - these Bloch flats are definitely my favourite in terms of style-cred, comfort and infection control (patent leather = wipe clean!).  Not to mention they're great for weekend casual-wear.
In my opinion, they were worth every penny!  (make sure you snag them on sale)

Also, one week 'til holidays!!

Asos beanie
Trenery jumper
Axara wool trousers
Bloch patent leopard-print flats
Country road bag

xx T

Resort 2014 Collections DIY Inspiration

As you can probably tell, I've finally figured out how to milk my iPad mini for all it's writing-on-photo-worth.  Expect to see more, and more, and even more - mainly because I like the look of my own writing.  But for now, here's some DIY inspiration from the freshly-released resort collections.  I hope this means you'll be inspired to get crafty this weekend!

Photos from Style.com, edited by me.

xx T

PS:  Google reader is shutting down aaaany minute now, so get on over to Bloglovin'.

2WW: Street Style to Clinical Clothes

Approximately 26.8% of our week is spent wearing "clinical clothing" to hospital.  Yes, I calculated that, and it surprised me that it wasn't more like 90% - which is exactly what it feels like.  What the heck is "clinical clothing" you ask?  Well it's essentially conservative working garb that you'd expect a doctor to wear - it has to be comfortable, functional (i.e. have pockets), and cover all your sexy bits or the elderly patients and staff will be up in arms over seeing your ankles.

Continuing on with our sartorial mission of investing in things you wear on a normal day, today's 2WW inspiration board zones in some ideas to spruce up your work wardrobe.  In our case, that's our hospital drobe (no, we sadly don't get to wear scrubs), and one we are eternally streamlining so that our early morning scramble is just a little bit easier.  We rummaged the interwebs for three street-style photos with elements that could be incorporated into nun-like hospital style, and present to you this: our 2WW guide to not looking so unfashionably sad at the hospital.

T's Inspiration:

Fine jewellery equates to less surface area - which means less surface for bugs to infect, right?

Also, the French Voguettes serve as the epitome of my hospital style - part je ne sais quoi, part I wanted to stay in bed for longer.  Geraldine and Emmanuelle repeatedly enforce my belief that wearing black on black is perfectly fine, all the time!

S's Inspiration

While I may be cursed with perfect vision and therefore automatically fail at the cute-nerd look, I am still able to work (and rework) quirky prints in my day to day outfits for just a little bit of preppy-cred.  Block colours and simple shapes keep these looks from becoming too outlandish.

Pictures via Vanessa Jackman, Tumblr & Stockholm Streetstyle 

Hopefully the above pics will prevent us from spiralling downwards into the black-pants-every-day abyss.

Do you have any workwear tips of your own?

xx S & T

Through the Looking Glass with Alexandra Xu

Welcome to our second instalment of our creatives series (see the first post here)!  Today we bring you Alex the dentist-by-day-artist-by-night, who we thought would be an awesome person to chat to for a few reasons.  Firstly, she has a medical background with a healthy dose of artistic nature on the side - call it kindred spirits if you will.  Secondly, on the other end of the spectrum she's just about to start her fashion design course at Curtin University.  So yes, she hasn't yet taken the plunge into the industry yet, but write her name down because she just might be one to watch.  Also, she has the most lust-worthy black and white wardrobe:

Moschino Resort '14

Hey look it works - Asians in French-inspired clothes!  I guess it's time to rekindle my love of navy in the place of black.  Moschino didn't break new ground with this resort collection, but it harks back to basics in terms of shapes and colour palette - which is why it resonates with my taste at this point in time.

Runway photos from Style.com, edited by me.

(I'm sifting through the resort collections at the moment, making notes etc. so head to our tumblr to see more!) 

xx T

DIY: Metal Hoop Necklace with Tag

I was skulking around Spotlight the other day, searching for bits and bobs that would inspire me to whip up a few more DIYs.  Which ended up in a random haul of beading bits, embroidery circle things, fabric paint, and more random junk to add to my collection.  I picked up said metal embroidery circle frame hoop thing (which was a grand $1 might I add) because I was inspired by Balenciaga's halo thing plus some MMM jewellery I had seen.  But I tried to bend the metal - pretty much an impossible feat - so I gave up and ended up making this necklace.  "Dog-tag chic" I think it might be. 

As it turns out, Proenza Schouler released their Pre-Spring looks a week later and my necklace resembles a toned-down version of the one in look 14 (scroll down almost to the bottom).  An uncanny occurrence, but I must say it does look pretty good layered over a turtleneck!  So here we go: my metal tag necklace which is retrospectively inspired by Proenza Schouler!

Materials:

Metal embroidery hoop (discretely measure it against your neck for size before buying)

 One jump ring in matching metal colour

Metal tag (hunt around at the beading section or buy a pet collar one and get it customised!)

Two diamantes which roughly match the diameter of the cross-section of your embroidery hoop

Epoxy or superglue 

Method:

1. Break open the metal embroidery hoop if it's been soldered into a circle.  You might need some pliers for this.  Don't get too crazy and bend it out of shape trying, but once you've opened up the frame make sure the gap is big enough to get around your neck.  See last picture for reference.

2.  Put a jump ring through the hole in the metal tag, then slide that jump-ring-tag-combo onto your embroidery circle

3.  Use some strong glue to attach some diamantes to the opened ends of the embroidery ring.  This is mainly so you don't stab your neck and rip out your carotids/jugulars getting the necklace on or off.

Minimalist chic.  Or fancy pet chic.  Perhaps make a matching one for your furry beastfriend...?

xx T

Thrifty Finds

Sometimes at op shops, you just score.  Other times (most times), you don't, but real op shop junkies know that the more you go & learn to scour the racks at lightning speed, the higher your success rate.  It's this frustrating truth that stops a lot of thrifting-beginners in their tracks, so to encourage you to keep up the searching, we're going to start showing you some of our favourite thriftin' loot.  Slow down that cycle, we say.

These Neuw denim jeans (that were new with tags on!) are a whacky addition to my stuffed-full denim drawer that is probably opened more than any other in my room.  Despite selling multiple pairs at our big sale, the drawer still seems to be erupting... Such a mystery.



xx S

2WW: Hunter Wellies

Wellington boots, specifically those with the all important H-word plastered on the front, are one of those overseas trends that doesn't seem to have filtered into Perth.  But has that ever stopped us from trying it out?  En-Oh spells no.

After many days trudging around Scotland in these boots, S can vouch for how comfortable they really are, and would highly recommend them as a good rainy-travel pair of boots.  That is, if you can fit them into your luggage allowance!

S' Outfit
Op shopped dress & coat
Country Road cardigan
Hunter Wellingtons
H&M hat

T's Outfit

Country Road shirt
Trenery jumper
Asos leather shorts
Hunter Wellingtons

xx S&T