Less is more with LEATHER

Leather is in BIG TIME this autumn / winter season! Browsing through shops these past few weeks made me realize how much leather seems to be on the racks. I decided to do some research on this topic before doing a post, just to make sure I'm not talking nonsense.

Leah Melby from Elle said, "As fashion-lovers turn toward fall trends, the spring 2013 collections have good news in store. Leather, big for autumn, won't be leaving the scene any time soon."

The interesting thing though, is that the leather pieces aren't necessarily the statement pieces of an outfit. Serisha Singh from all4woman.co.za said, "Think leather details on dresses, skirts and shirts, leather-look leggings and pants, cute gloves and of course jackets, boots, bags and belts. The leather look is all the rage for winter 2013. The trick to wearing it is to blend with other pieces and colours that soften the hard look of leather." Minimalism is key!

While at Edgars a few days ago, I snapped these pics on my phone quickly that caught my eye - baring in mind, this is only at Edgars!

As you can see in these two pieces, the leather forms the detail; without it the pieces would be average, even boring. 

I really love this jacket. It's like a combination of a blazer and a biker jacket. If you look quickly it looks like your average leather jacket, but in fact the only part of the jacket that is actually leather is the sleeves. The rest is that thick, blazer material. 

I also especially love these leggings. I can't stand those leggings that are that gross leathery shiny material all over, my mom says they make your legs look like sausages... Siesaaaaa. These are perfect because the leather detail is in one stripe down the side.

These shoes are, as well, a good example of how a touch of leather can spice up an item. The booty ones are R200 at Jet, can't WAIT to get my hands (and feet! haha) on a pair of them.

 Here are two examples of my favourite fashion bloggers rocking the minimalistic leather look:

Aisha, from Baked the Blog / Tgether, is wearing a blazer similar to the one above. Only the sleeves are leather and the rest is like a normal blazer.

Kavita, from She Wears Fashion, is wearing a dress with a leather skirt and shoulder pads. Again, minimalistic and not overpowering. 

So there you have it! Go crazy with leather this autumn / winter, but remember less is more.

Roxy X

The bird who shops around catches the cheapest worm

I've been to Somerset Mall quite a few times the past few weeks, and I have noticed a few things that I'd love to share. These tips will help you to buy the best possible item for the cheapest possible price. Studente sonder sente...

1. take a stroll
This is probably the most important tip. Take a stroll around the mall before you buy anything! Go in all the shops you would go into, as well as the ones you wouldn't. Take a look around, see what you like, and remember the prices. By doing this, you will be able to apply the next steps. Start on one side of the mall, then work your way backwards.

2. look for good deals
When I go to Somerset Mall, I always park at the 'New Entrance' side. Yesterday as I was coming in, I saw a sale at Diva and immediately dragged Rijk over to go and have a look (haha, sorry Rijk). I normally can't afford Diva, but the sales are(sometimes) more realistic. This can be said for most expensive shops, no matter what they sell. If you see a sale sign, no matter what shop it is, get in there! Rather be safe than sorry!
Shops like Poetry and Old Khaki I don't even bother going in to because I know I can't afford ANYTHING. Here's something I learnt: go in anyway. You might just find something you love that's not over-priced. Also, it's bound to be better quality than the cheapie at Mr Price. And there's of course the bonus that you wont see 17 people in one trip to the mall wearing the same thing as you. 

Here's an example of a scarf that I found on Old Khaki's site. It's only R75, and considering that the infinity scarves at Cotton On are back to their normal price of R60, I think that's pretty affordable. All the scarves at both of the above mentioned shops are beautiful colours and really nice and soft. Of course there are the more expensive ones, but if you want to pay less, be prepared to go the extra mile and check every single scarf's price tag. In the end it's totally worth it anyway.

3. know the average price
Staying on the topic of scarves, on the surface R75 for a scarf seems like a LOT! But by shopping around, I've come to realize that you don't get scarves for under R50. It makes no sense really - all it is, is a rectangular piece of material... Anyway. If I only went to Old Khaki and saw R75 for a scarf I'd say hells nah and not even consider buying it. By shopping around, you get an idea of what different items cost. This allows you to know a good deal when you see one. An item on sale at Diva could be R80 (half price from R160) and you will probably think YES great deal, SOLD. But if you take the 15minute walk to Womans' Street, you could find a very similar piece for even less than Diva's reduced price.

4. find something similar for way cheaper
Like I said in no.3, what's in fashion is not just sold at one shop. I have the most absolutely perfect example of this. I saw a pair of boots that I loved at Edgars. Less than 10 minutes later, I saw THE EXACT SAME BOOTS at Fashion Express! I'm not even exaggerating. I found this picture of the boots I'm talking about on the Edgars site, except they were black with black glitter. I'm sure I don't have to mention that the ones from Edgars were more expensive.

5. sometimes expensive doesn't mean quality
We often think 'ag, I'll buy the more expensive tights from Woolies because they'll be better quality and last longer'. Yes, this is often the case, but not always! For my 18th birthday, my Mom bought me a stunning silvery ring from Diva that I love. Anything from Diva is expensive, so you expect it to be good quality, right? WRONG! The ring is still perfect at the front, but the back has gone this horrible rusted copper colour! I bought silver beaded bracelets at Diva for my matric dance, and the colour has rubbed off and left this black smudge through the beads. I can't wear either of these anymore. What a waste!

I bought a cute ring on sale at Cotton On last week. 
It literally only cost R20. 
I love it almost as much as I love the ring from Diva, but the difference is that I won't be so upset if the colour rubs off because I only paid R20 for it. 
Same thing with the Essence nail polish. You don't mind as much if your nails chip within two days because you only paid R20 for the nailpolish. 
My Mom bought a packet of silver beads for under R10 at the PNA and made me a new bracelet exactly the same as the one from Diva.
Very often, shops that many people nowadays see as 'cheap' or 'lower-class' such as Jet and Ackermans actually have really great stuff! I recommend Jet for heels and Ackermans for boots, and Pep has cheap, colourful jewelry. On the plus side, because people think they're too cool to shop there, you won't find 5 girls in your tut of 20 people wearing the same pumps as you.

6. buy ASAP
This is a difficult one, but it's also worth it. Sometimes I see something cheap that I love and I have to use my savings and promise to replace the amount at the end of the month with my pocket money. You can also borrow money from your parents, grandparents, older cousins or friends. In our family, I can also wash the car or the dishes to get money from my parents. 
The reasons why you need to try and buy asap is because sales don't last forever, and things get sold out. While I was in Cotton On yesterday, I wanted to buy another colour infinity scarf, but the sale had ended and they were no longer R40 but rather R60. Booooooooo

So those are my tips! You can even apply them in that order: take a stroll around, look for good deals, know the average price to compare things to, find something similar for cheaper, remember that expensive doesn't mean quality, and try and buy as soon as possible.

From my quick look around Somerset Mall yesterday, here are some of the places having sales at the moment:
DIVA : up to 50% off selected jewelry
COTTON ON : mens' and ladies' accessories
EDGARS : mens' and ladies' blazers (and lots of other things too)

Happy saving, and happy shopping!
Roxy X

All Hail Pretty Nails

In grade 11, us Rhenishers went to a drama festival at the Artscape Theater. One of the workshops was about going for castings and what to expect etc, and I remember the leader saying that as well as taking 'mugshots' and portrait shots of you to keep in their portfolio, they also sometimes ask to take a photo of your hands.

If you have clean, shaped, moisturised hands and nails, you look a whole lot more professional than someone with nails chewed to the bone. Unkempt-looking nails can range from chipped polish, to different lengths, to visible dirt. You know the saying that actions speak louder than words? Looking after your hands and nails gives the impression that you look after and care about yourself. There really is no excuse for having unkempt hands and nails. It takes under half an hour to do, and I promise you, 9 out of 10 people will notice and comment on your pretty nails. 

Here's what I do to get nourished, pretty hands and nails:

1. remove nail polish and cut or file nails
Personally, I hate filing my nails because it makes me gril real bad. I recommend filing and/or cutting before soaking your hands because then your nails are very soft.

2. soak hands in hot, soapy water
I fill a basin with nice hot water - as hot as I can handle. This makes my fingers swell and wrinkle and somehow makes the dirt under my nails disappear. My favourite handwash is vanilla scented, but just use anything that will make your hands and nails feel and smell fresh. I also use my right hand and gently scrape the soap off the palm of my left hand and vice versa. This ensures that the soap goes under your nails. Make sure that all the nail polish is completely off your nails, then dab your hands dry with a towel.

3. paint your right hand first
This is my secret to perfect nails. I am right handed, so using my left hand to paint is awkward. It's even more awkward when my left hand's nails are wet. Try get your head around this: if you paint your right hand first, your left hand's nails aren't wet yet so it's less awkward because you don't have to worry about messing up your nails. Once your right hand is painted, you can paint your left. This minimizes the amount of times you paint with your left hand's nails wet. 

4. minimum TWO coats
My favourite nail polish at the moment is 'Essence' sold at any Clicks store for R20. R20 is NOTHING for nail polish! But as you can imagine, because it's cheap it's not great quality. I recommend buying a decent, more expensive clear top coat to seal it down. By doing this, you can buy many more colours at the cheaper price instead of buying one bottle of 'Essie' for like R100 - or more!
As a rule, I always put on two layers of colour polish. This makes the polish on the nail look less see-through or streaky.


5. don't be scared to mix colours
I don't mean literally in bottles, I mean on your nails. Sometimes you spy a nice nail polish and buy it on impulse, and only realize when you get home that it's really watery. In such cases, I use a colour that's similar as a base coat, then put one or two layers of the watery one over that.

6. DON'T TOUCH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh, how I would LOVE to expose my HUNDREDS of friends who have this problem. The problem is not exactly ADHD, but it comes close! Once you have painted your nails, you need to allow them to dry PROPERLY! Go on the computer, watch TV, take a nap - anything that you don't need your hands for. And make sure you pee before you start painting, ladies!

6. moisturise, moisturise, moisturise
What guy wants to hold a gross dry and cracked hand? Moisturising your hands makes them soft and nourished. Clicks has stunning hand creams that are small enough to keep in your hand bag. While you're at Clicks, buy some hand sanitizer to pop in your bag as well!

If you are a weheartit.com regular, I'm sure you're aware of the trend of painting your ring finger nails a different colour. Here are two ways I did my nails recently. I prefer to use a similar colour on my ring finger nail. When I painted my nails turquoise, I used a pearly greenish yellow colour over my ring finger nails. When I painted my nails pearly white, I used glittery silver.

If you are unsure or looking for inspiration, don't hesitate to look to weheartit or your favourite celebs for ideas. Here are some pics I found of Jwoww and Snooki, as well as Adele (obviously):

Happy painting!
Roxy X