Chain Store Whore

The cure for boredom

2010-04-11T15:02:00.003+10:00

Hey all,

Sorry for the delay between posts. Uni is proving to be incredibly time consuming, so much so that I've barely spent any time at home at all in the last couple of weeks. I'm at work at the moment and it's completely DEAD so I'm using the computer, thank God they have the internet here because no one's come in for about half an hour and I still have two hours left in this shift. No idea how this store turns a profit...but anyway. Random questions for your enjoyment, feel free to copy and paste to your own blog!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 9:15am. I had the alarm set for 9:30 but my mum called me before it went off.
2. How do you like your steak? Rare with lots of garlic butter and fries.
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? It's actually been that long that I don't remember...I think it was Up in the Air, which is a brilliant film.
4. What is your favorite TV show? I haven't really watched TV since uni started, but Doctor Who would have to be my favourite. I used to watch NCIS but haven't for a little while because I have no time...
5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? London, or near to an F1 team that I would be working for.
6. What did you have for breakfast? A crumpet with peanut butter and honey, cup of tea and special K with milk - I'm on my feet for five hours so thought I'd get a big meal in because I probably won't eat again until dinner.
7. What is your favorite cuisine? Malaysian or Italian.
8. What foods do you dislike? Capsicum, liquorice, cooked salmon.
9. Favorite Place to eat? At home with my family.
10. Favorite dressing? A cheeky vinaigrette never goes astray...
11.What kind of vehicle do you drive? Honda Jazz. I call it the Cardis - it's blue and boxy and bigger on the inside. In my dreams I drive an Alpine White BMW M3 Coupe with black interior. Reow.
12. What are your favorite clothes? Jeans, a funny t-shirt and converse.
13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Italy
14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? Full
15. Where would you want to retire? Here in Melbourne. The weather is mild and it's a lovely city.
16. Favorite time of day? Home time...
17. Where were you born? Adelaide
18. What is your favorite sport to watch? Formula One, funnily enough.... :) I'll watch most motorsports though as long as they're not racing on an oval track (I still don't get NASCAR and speedway) or drag racing...but I like watching most sports. Thank god for One HD.
19. Bird watcher? Noo.
20. Are you a morning person or a night person? Both!
21. Do you have any pets? 1 dog, 1 mouse and my sister has a rabbit.
22. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? I might actually make it to the end of the day without selling a single thing. Bah.
23. What did you want to be when you were little? A Forensic Scientist
24. Are you a cat or dog person? Mainly a dog person, but I am warming to cats. I'm still scared to pick one up though.
25. What was your last drink? Water
26. Always wear your seat belt? For sure.
27. Been in a car accident? Nope
28. Any pet peeves? People try on lots of clothes and then don't buy anything...
29. Favorite Pizza Toppings? Bimbo's does a delicious Bianco al Pomodoro...Mascarpone, mozarella, tomatoes and basil....delicious.
30. Favorite Flower? Roses
31. Favorite ice cream? Hokey Pokey
32. Favorite fast food restaurant? Maccas, or Hungry Jacks if I'm heading home after a big night for the obligatory whopper.
33. How many times did you fail your driver's test? er....twice....ehehehe.
34. From whom did you get your last email? One of my lecturers at uni.
35. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Borders or Cose Ipanema
36. Do anything spontaneous lately? My whole life right now is one big spontaneous blowout.
37. Like your job? It pays the bills...I do actually like working in the boutique, but this store it's really hard to make budget which is depressing.
38. Broccoli? Ooh yes.
39. What was your favorite vacation? Last December when I unexpectedly spent three weeks in Europe, namely Paris, the French Alps, Switzerland and London. It was BRILLIANT.
40. Last person you went out to dinner with? My lovely Easter Bach peeps!
41. What are you listening to right now? Some mix of pop songs from when I was back in high school...one of the few CDs in the shop I can stand listening to. That song 'All Rise' just came on...ah the memories!
42. What is your favorite color? Black
43. How many tattoos do you have? None...yet! I'm in the middle of a six month cooling off period for one though - I had the idea back in January, and if I still want it by July I'm damn well going to get it. At this stage I definitely still want it :)
44. How many are you tagging for this quiz? None right now...it's hard to do this and keep an eye on the foor at the same time...
45. What time is it? 4:24 pm...half an hour to go and no sales yet....
46. Coffee ?? No. I'm a tea/hot chocolate person.

The dos and don'ts of being a Chain Store Whore

2010-03-15T14:02:00.002+11:00

Sorry I haven't updated in a while...since starting uni I've been incredibly busy, plus I've been wearing really boring stuff - I get enough stares for being one of the few girls in Automotive Engineering without wearing something kooky to boot! Today I'm wearing a beige knee length cargo skirt from Esprit, dark grey singlet top and thongs. Yawn central. But I do feel like having a bit of a rant about things that I feel are unacceptable appearance wise, the lesson being that even if you are cheap, doesn't mean you have to look it:

Trackies outside the house (unless you are exercising): Just. Say. No. This, along with ugg boots outside the house, is possibly my biggest pet hate, because it's so SLOPPY. And 'but it's ten o clock at night and I'm doing a supermarket run!' doesn't cut it...on my first day of uni I had to run to the supermarket to grab batteries at 10:30pm and I changed out of my trackies. This is my alternative to a super comfy trackies outfit that hopefully does not look so sloppy:

Leggings: Target; Top: Primark; Cardigan: Country Road; Shoes: Steve Madden; Pashmina: Little India, Singapore.

Chipped nail polish: Another one that is so easy to fix...just take it off!

Applying makeup in public: last week I was sitting on the train opposite a very stylish and possibly expensively dressed lady, although she wasn't wearing obvious labels, it was all very discreetly posh. She ruined the image however by getting out the mascara and I spent the next ten minutes watching her (from behind the comfort of mirrored sunglasses) apply a full face of slap. Classy.

*end rant*

Anyway I should probably get onto doing some awesome Engineering Mechanics homework...one last thing though, I've taken the plunge and gone completely blonde, and will never do it again because it was PAINFUL, and I've got a job working at Dizingof. Evidence of both items of interest in photo below:

Dress: Dizingof; Bride: The very lovely and lately-married Jess.

- Robyn

uke love

2010-02-24T12:22:00.002+11:00

I recently got a ukulele, after suffering severe music playing withdrawal symptoms when I was overseas late last year and had no access to a musical instrument. This will prevent that woeful situation from ever happening again, hopefully. So far I can play 'Dream a Little Dream of Me' and 'Imagine', and I'm learning 'Toxic' (yes, as in the Britney Spears song).

I'm also wearing ridiculous shoes today because I probably won't leave the house until I go to my local Indian tonight for Vindaloo Against Violence. I've had these shoes for more than a year and have worn them maybe three times. I had forgotte all about them but just found them when I was looking for tap shoes.

Top: G2000; Skirt: Ice; Shoes: RMK; Ukulele: Mahalo

Pls ignore laundry and general mess. thks.

Also, a friend of mine has pointed me out to an uber uber UBER cool company called Dashing Tweeds, who make bespoke tweeds, including a fabulous fabric called Lumatwill, which looks like normal tweed during the day, but by night or when using flash photograhy, reveals reflective amazingness - perfect for some smart and safe cycling clothes. You can check them out here. They also have a range of beautifully tailored garments for men and women. I'm absolutely in love with their Lumatwill Cape, although at 400 quid I fear it may be out of my price range...

How perfectly lovely!

- Robyn

Of mice and women

2010-02-20T16:19:00.003+11:00

Hello lovelies,

I had my last day at BMW yesterday... :( I'm sad to leave there but it just won't work for uni. They said I can come back any time though and they'll find a job for me...That's pretty cool! They also gave me an X6...ok so it was a model of an X6 but anyway...

Here's what I wore on my last day:

Blouse: Quirky Circus; Skirt: Jay Jays; Vest: Dotti; Shoes: Sportsgirl.

Close up of the shoes:

I heart them so much. I'm considering getting them in tan as well.

And here are my two adorable little guy mice, Leopold and Magnus:

They're having a nap in their new mouse palace.

I was going to write more but I have a splitting headache...it's the heat! Tonight I'm going to the Blue Tile Lounge to see my friend Penelope play with her awesome disco band Knight at the Discotheque, then tomorrow I'm life modelling for a friend...how arty of me!

- Robyn

Today's outfit

2010-02-18T18:31:00.003+11:00

I seriously can't think of a witty title today my lovelies...I was up at 5:45am to do my uni timetable. I somehow got Mondays and Thursdays off, which hopefully bodes well for a job I'm going for...if the manager who interviewed me ever returns my calls! Tomorrow's my last day at BMW....*sniff*. I've enjoyed this job a lot but it's full time and just won't work with my uni hours. Lucky person who takes over my position...

My only gripe is a pretty common office one...namely that the offices are FREEZING. It's warm and sunny outside and even in my outfit I was shivering all day.

Dress: Witchery; Cardigan: Jay Jays; Sunnies: Oakley; Shoes: Steve Madden.

I honestly don't know what I'm going to do when I wear this cardigan out...I bought it five years ago for $5. It's still going strong...also I have a scary addiction to mirrored sunglasses. Luckily I only bought one ridiculously expensive pair of Oakley Frogskins off eBay...the rest are all cheap knockoffs.

And being all topical, how FREAKING AWESOME is the American winter olympic team's snowboarding uniform for Vancouver...Gore-tex jeans!? Genius! Pure genius. I want a pair SO badly.

If Burton ever sell these to the public, I'm sooo buying some...because I go skiing all the time, *sigh*. Maybe I'll save them for when I other live in Europe or for when I defer uni for a year to live as a chalet girl in the French Alps...

- Robyn

Blingy nails!

2010-02-17T15:59:00.002+11:00

After reading Super Kawai Mama's latest blog entry I remembered that I bought some nail jewels while I was in Singapore. I'm kind of fascinated by this particular form of adornment so last night I decided to go for it and bling my nails up. It's a bit of a rough job but maybe with practice I'll get better. Kind of weird having super bumpy nails as well. I'll see how long they last before I rip one off accidentally stuffing my hand in my pocket.

Incidentally, the nail colour is Shortcake from Sportsgirl...picked it up on sale so not sure if they have it anymore, but they do make some cute colours. I'd stay away from the pale, matte ones though...they don't go on very evenly.

For the last two weeks I've been working at my local BMW as Service Concierge...it's just a temporary position while they look for someone permanent. My last day is this Friday. I'm going to miss getting paid $25 an hour to meet and greet customers in the morning then spend the rest of the day on the phone to the previous day's customers, but I'm not going to miss 7:30am starts (even if they do come with 3:30pm finishes!). I had to do an emergency corporate wardrobe search as I'd not worn my work clothes since quitting Centrelink in late November, but I think I'm making a passable effort.

Blouse: Witchery; Skirt: some hippy shop in Newtown, Sydney; Shoes: Steve Madden.

I'm going to dinner tonight with some girlfriends...would much rather heat up a bowl of leftover pasta and watch the winter olympics, but that's not deemed socially acceptable...maybe I will have a nap before dinner. I'm so rock and roll.

- Robyn

I heart Sportsgirl shoes

2010-02-16T18:51:00.002+11:00

I find their clothes can be a bit overpriced, but Sportsgirl shoes are absolutely where it's AT. I just got these adorable black leather oxfords - very useful for my current (and unfortunately very temporary) job as Service Concierge at my local BMW dealership, because I spend the first three hours of every morning standing up and ballet flats just don't cut it then, and I'm lusting after their black suede high heeled over the knee boots like nothing else.

Tres adorable, non? I've worn them out (apart from work) once, and already got comments on them. When I finally get paid for my job, after paying off all my debts, those OTK boots are MINE.

- Robyn

I'm baa-aack!

2010-02-16T18:16:00.002+11:00

Hello my darling blog readers, yes all two of you,

After a long, long absence, I am back in the blogosphere. I do apologise for leaving without so much as a goodbye, but I trust that my sister Kathryn has been taking good care of the place while I've been gone, and to be honest most of the interesting stuff I got last year she's posted in her outfits anyway.

Last year I worked full time for Centrelink, a job which I would wish on very few people. It takes a special sort of person to withstand 7 and a half hours of phone abuse every day, and I am not one of those special people, but having worked there gives me a new admiration for anyone who can. Sartorially speaking, I saw a big change in my wardrobe, from good excuse to play dressups to something a little bit more corporate. I also didn't feel I could post a lot of my outfits, seeing as I went from Jay Jays and Kmart to Witchery and Cue, which are arguably chain stores, but not in the super tight budget way that was the original spirit of this blog.

HOWEVER. This year I'm returning to full time study, and having so far been unable to find a job to see me through the year, I've dived back into chainstore shopping with a vengeance. I'm starting an Automotive Engineering degree at RMIT in the city in a couple of weeks time, which admittedly is not the most conducive environment for some of my more...shall we say....creative styles, hopefully once my fellow engineering geeks are used to me I can slowly start breaking out the fun stuff again.

Anyway, this blog is worthless without pics, so I humbly present to you a selection of my most recent chainstore purchases:

Enjoying a terribly civilised day at the tennis. T-shirt: Cotton On Body; Skirt: Dangerfield; Cardigan: Country Road; Hat: Mimco (which was reduced from $230 to $50. Yeeeahhhhh.)

Braving a night out in the city in heels - I am not a heels wearer. For good reason. Dress: Charlie Brown (OK again not a chain store, but it was $25 down from $200....); Heels: Rubi; Bag: vintage.

Another night out on the town...dress: H&M; Bag: Vintage.

I went to Europe in December, a few days in Paris, skiing in the French Alps and a week in London. This blog would be a lot easier to write if I lived over there....Primark and H&M are possibly my two favourite shops in the world. When the cooler weather comes my Primark purchases will almost certainly be making an appearance...

- Robyn

The last dregs of spring..

2009-12-10T19:42:00.004+11:00

From an extremely warm day yesterday to cold and rainy today, spring is seeping into the first days of summer. I guess we should be thankful for it because we are definitely in for a VERY hot summer. The Sartorialist is in Melbourne for his book signing and i was planning to go after some goodbye drinks for a friend, however, although i'm an adult, mum wouldn't let me go by myself. So i was stuck in an overly dressed outfit for drinks at my friends place. oh well.

blazer: G2000, t shirt: Bonds, skirt: Alannah Hill,flats: Tony Bianco

to market, to market

2009-12-10T19:39:00.003+11:00

Queen Vic markets have awesome night markets every wednesday until February 24th, there's heaps of food, music and the atmosphere is unbelievable. The police band plays and they have songs from the 50's to now. For example they played I'm a Believer by the Monkees and then Good Girls Go Bag by Cobrastarship! And they're really good!

scarf: mum's, t-shirt: Bonds, shorts: Espirit, sandals: Big W, bag: Fossil

2009-12-10T19:28:00.004+11:00

I bought a bag from Alannah Hill, i just couldn't resist. I'd spotted it in Brisbane and was going to save money for it first then buy it in Melbourne, but the day after i get home i get a text from the store, "20% storewide at Chadstone store today only!" and next thing i know i'm rushing off with mum and bought the bag (plus a skirt...:P) sunnies: Oakley, top: (unknown), shorts: Espirit, bag: Alannah Hill, sandals: Big W

Back of the top:

i love this bag so much...*sigh*

Yay for Big W!

2009-12-07T22:53:00.004+11:00

i love cheap finds in stores like Target and Big W (hence the chain-store whore...), surprisingly through i found Big W had better stuff and cheaper too! I'd been looking for a cheap pair of sandals that don't look half bad and i think i did pretty well for $24.99...

sunnies: Urban Outfitters, top: Big W, belt: Portmans, shorts: Jay Jays

sandals: Big W

I had to wear the belt otherwise it looked like i was wearing a REALLY short dress...

SCHOOLIES 09!!

2009-11-29T15:59:00.003+11:00

So, my schooling life has come to a close and to stay with the Australian tradition, i went to schoolies. I wasn't planning to go at all actually. I couldn't afford it and i was going to get my wisdom teeth out! But i canceled my operation because my surgeon is retiring and dad wanted to take me up to coolum anyway to check out the golf course he'll be competing at next year. and coincidentally all my friends were partying it up in Noose, a 15 minute drive away! So i planned with two friends to surprise the girls and i made it to Schoolies 09!
The weather was fabulous resulting in a magnificent tan which will last for the rest of summer. Now i've got my sister brigning me 50SPF back from Singapore so i don't get skin cancer. Some people complain of not tanning at all, i complain because i tan WAY to easily. The photo i have of this dress isn't fantastic. Because it's so dark you can't really see how well my tan goes with the yellow :P
dress: Peter Alexander
My sister and i are going through a Peter Alexander craze. We've bought a day&night playsuit and 2 day dresses. Loving the new day stuff, all bright and colourful for summer :D

7 days!

2009-10-08T22:09:00.003+11:00

7 days of school to go!

then exams...then I'M FREE!!

Found this and realised i never posted it:

top: Target, pink croptop: Bonds, belt: unknown, jeans: Lee, shoes: Alannah Hill

The Ultimate Party Frock

2009-09-21T19:22:00.005+10:00

It started off with me wanting a black tulle skirt, nice and puffy and not too pricey. but the closest thing i found was $200+! So, i set my heart on making my own, and to my surprise, it took me an hour and cost me only $16.50 and it is PERFECT. Chance would have it, my dad bought a really beautiful necklace for my mum, which i was given permission to wear before her. A week before Lucy and Alice's 18th, i had planned my ultimate party outfit. and voila:
leotard: Bloch, skirt: ME!, bolero: Review, shoes: Steve Madden

The necklace:

I had to wear a skirt underneath coz it was a bit see-through and i was crossing my fingers that i wouldn't have to go to the bathroom the whole night because i was wearing a leotard! I got compliments on my outift the whole night, and minus the necklace, its one of the cheapest ones in my closet!

Chrystie's 18th

2009-09-16T15:40:00.003+10:00

This was a few weeks ago now but i haven't had a chance to post it.
The shoes got cut out of the photo but they are the same one's i wore for my birthday (previous post)
hat: Mimco, bolero: Portmans, dress: Cue, shoes: Steve Madden

i'm mourning the loss of Steve Madden, one of their shops was right next to the restaurant i worked at and so wheneve i served someone outside i always got to look at gorgeous shoes. and the shop assistant, gave THE BEST discounts for my sister and i.

I'm finally 18!!!

2009-09-10T18:18:00.005+10:00

Yay the day has come and gone, not without the party though! After working on my parents i managed to have a 60 person party at our house. It was epic. Especially my cake. I had a TARDIS from Doctor Who. It began to tilt dangerously on one side and BARELY made the cake cutting! Afterward my sister took me gay clubbing with my cousin and it was hilarious.
My workmates are the bomb. They got me a chocolate mousse cake at work, a bunch of roses and a cd. and of course special treatment throughout the day (ie. lots and lots of food, i work in an italian restaurant)
My dress was one of my highlights. As a present from my family i got the Meet For Tea Cake Dress from Alannah Hill and a belt.
dress and belt: Alannah Hill, shoes: Steve Madden

My friends were amazing and got me a Fossil handbag (which i confess i did ask for), a $200 Alannah Hill gift card, $300 (for travelling next year) and other little tid bits.

I LOVE the Spring/Summer collection Alannah Hill has designed. I've already selected a a cardi to get with my voucher, the Face to Face Cardi in cherry. yay for spring!

Just out for the day...

2009-08-09T21:42:00.003+10:00

Just going to the shopping centre to print out my invites and get ingredients for a hospitality mocktails assessment.... jumper: Country Road, jeans: Sportsgirl, shoes: Big W, scarf: Unknwon

If you ever go past an Evia yoghurt place try the tiramisu yoghurt. 96% fat free heaven.

Girls and their cars....

2009-08-09T21:31:00.004+10:00

Apart from my love of clothing, i also love cars (and a big, healthy dose of scifi -I LOVE DR WHO). The love began last year when my sister really started getting into it. We'd watch Top Gear every week, gushing over the Maseratis, Aston Martins and Mercedes etc. Then this year we got into motorsport, first Formula 1 then everything else (we can get a bit obsessive but it wouldn't be a passion any other way would it?)
So it was a dream come true when my friend's dad offered to give us a ride in the new Camaro that has come out in America only recently and not in Australia yet. There's only 8 in Oz at the moment and we got to ride in one. Its the same car as Bumblebee in Transformers, it was even the same bright yellow (just minus the racing stripes). I could go on forever, but long story short, IT WAS AMAZING. (we even had little kids taking photos of us in the car next door!) dress: Kookai, shoes: Basque, car: Camaro

Afterwards i had an 18th to go to (there are still plenty more to come, as well as mine!!) It was a massive Greek-fest and it was AWESOME. the food was phenomenal and the dancing was insane. i got to do the zorba and other traditional dances, it got a bit dangerous as there were 30+ girls in stilettos tittering around in a circle, a girl's foot got stabbed. I think i stepped on my own toes a few times...so painful...

Fluro to Vintage

2009-08-09T21:13:00.004+10:00

Friday night saw the annual Year 7 social between my school and our brother school. Hormones were raging at the BGS centenary hall, the fluro theme brought plenty of glowsticks and FGS contributed the dj. Epic. Fail. He's a cool guy but if he keeps calling out "What's up Brighton!!!" i will actually make sure he gets no more gigs. It was actually a really fun night being a chaperone. I danced on stage in front of a lot of my teachers. How embarrassing. I left the social at 8.30 to head off to yet another 18th. It was Vintage/Op Shop themed so i donned a mod-60s-esque look. (i had forgotten about the fluro theme of my 'before party')
t-shirt: Bonds, skirt: Volcom, flats: Betts, headband: unknown

You unfortunately cant see my earrings and make up too well. The earrings are the only authentic vintage i have, i think. Just some black and white metal circles

Girls Night Out

2009-07-19T09:45:00.003+10:00

Yesterday night was Ellie's 18th. For once we got to enjoy a night out (well actually a night in) with just us girls and party the nigh away. I took advantage of the guy-free zone by wearing an extremely short dress, confident that i wouldn't catch any wondering eyes. I went for a 60s-mod look. Unfortunately the toll of having a party on friday, work on saturday then a party that night was that i was really pooped the whole evening. But i had my party hard moments and had fun taking ultimate jumping shots on the trampoline...
jacket: Jay Jays, dress: Fusion (Target), heels: Wittner
(i can't work out where my right foot went....)

No, you girls will never know how you make a boy feel

2009-07-18T16:28:00.002+10:00

It has started. The overly productive parents of christmas and new years have thrust upon us the wrath of countless 18th birthday parties. For the next 10 weeks i have 12 18th birthday parties (including my own). A few weekends have 2 18ths! Everyone in my group is suffering from the annual birthday bankrupcy. Last night was James' 18th, my first party with the new hair, which i was very excited about. i had slept in braids overnight and wore them all day at school to 'curl' my hair. Tonight i have Ellie's 18th!dress: Basque, shoes: Wittner

2 New Dos

2009-07-12T13:46:00.003+10:00

Robyn and i got new hair cuts today. I REALLY wanted a fringe, however, when i arrived at the hairdresser my hairdresser told me that i couldn't get one. Apparently i have uneven hair, it's thinner on the left so she said my fringe would look lopsided. She also said that i would have to get my hair layered, which i didn't want to. BUT i said go fot it. I needed a change and she evened up the fringe. It took a bit of getting used to, the odd glance in the shop window. My own parents didn't recognise me as i walked towards them! jacket: Dangerfield, jeans: Rider, shoes: Tony Bianco

Robyn wanted her hair to be all blonde. She wanted an Agyness-Deyn do, however SHE wasn't allowed to get her whole head blonde, orders from the hairdresser.

Have i told you lately that i love you?

2009-07-04T23:03:00.003+10:00

I LOVE MY SISTER. was playing a bit of dress ups in my sisters new clothes today. expensive dress ups mind you, but i have found that my new hobby is selecting new outfits to outings that won't exist until september 6 when i turn 18....

sunnies: Sportsgirl, hat: Mimco, jacket: Top Shop, top: Target, jeans: Lee, shoes: Wittner

The only items of clothing here that are my own are my shoes, underwear, bra and sunnies. god i love my sister....I absolutely LOVE this jacket. It arrives a few weeks ago and she was going to SEND IT BACK because they sent her a 10 not an 8 but i persuaded her to keep it. and 8 would not have fitted my manly swimming shoulders.
The jeans are awesome, we spotted them a few months ago in General Pants. They're shiny and smooth and have zips at the ankle. The top is probably the cheapest thing im wearing. i belive it was $15 for Target. even my sunnies were more expensive...

anyone for billiards?

2009-07-04T22:52:00.003+10:00

my family has found a new infatuation for the RACV club and i have to be with them on that one. I mean not only do they have the best fries ever but they have a room with 8 full-sized pool tables. and the interior is really classic. so the other night dad calls us all into the city for a game of pool. i thought it was for dinner so i got into a bit of a huff for dressing up a little to play pool. i got some fries. it was all okay.
tee: (unknown), dress: Forever New, cardigan: Country Road, shoes: Tony Bianco, necklace: (unknown)

i love finding bargains at op shops...

2009-07-04T22:34:00.003+10:00

not long ago i went to Creswick (an hour and a half out of melbourne) to chillax with some friends in an internet-free and drama-free zone. we watched about 20 movies and put on about 20 kilos. we also went to this MASSIVE antique shop where people rent stalls and put their own stuff up for sale with other people managing the stalls as a whole.
So i was intent on finding my "vintage" bargain in the store and happened to stumble over two. YAY ME.

i bought a leather Oroton bag made in italy for $45 and a vintage 50s skirt for $50.
cardigan: (unknown), tee: Bonds, skirt: vintage, sneakers: Converse, bag: Oroton

bit of a hobo-come-fifties look. turns out i wore this outfit to go see Transformers. yes, i love sci-fi and cars, so this should have been my dream come true, but i ended up with a sore butt and sore self-esteem for having to watch megan fox for 2.5 hours.

Fink Funk

2009-06-28T18:02:00.004+10:00

I went to see Ross Noble last night at the Hisense Arena. From my point of view he has become a sort of chubby, so-so comedian. Thought i'd do one better than just a jeans and tee because we went to the RACV club for dinner. OMG THEY HAVE THE BEST FRIES EVER.
dress: Supre, boots: Steve Madden, pendant: Diva

There is Life Outside Your Apartment

2009-06-21T23:59:00.004+10:00

So today i saw Avenue Q!! After all these years listening to the album of a musical i've never seen, getting addicted and singing about porn at school. Really.
As expected it was hilarious and brilliantly staged. My friend and i had 3 row seats near the middle.

As a matinee thought i'd go on the casual side:
sunnies: Ray Bans, scarf: Myer, tee: Threadless, cardigan: Country Road,
jeans: Sportsgirl, sneakers: Volleys, bag: Fossil

I haven't posted in a while so there are a lot of photos to put up! I went to a fairy 18th recently and was quite proud of my make-up (kudos to Robyn for doing it):

and AGES ago i went on a Hospitality excursion. I had to dress for a barista course AS WELL as a lunch at Fifteen, a semi fine-dining restaurant in the city.
scarf: Cotton On, singlet: Cotton On, cardigan: Country Road, skirt: Cue, boots: Steve Madden

ciao and i promise to post more often!

Shop 'till You Drop

2009-06-21T20:55:00.008+10:00

I went on a shopping trip recently because i was DYING to get the Oxidise it Asia dress from FCUK. I also happened to fall upon some nice heels... Scarf - unknown, top - Cotton On, jacket - Fusion(Target), jeans - Sportsgirl, heels - Steve Madden

The results of the shopping trip: (excuse the retarded look on my face)

dress - FCUK, shoes - Wittner

Robyn also had a successful shopping trip and found a Decjuba top:

top: Decjuba, pants: Witchery

I wore my new outfit to two 18ths in one night, everything was really good EXCEPT my feet still haven't recovered. But it was worth it, the heels are awesome. My friend's mum (who also happens to be a chemistry teacher) told me a pretty cool trick for shoes:
To stretch the toe of the shoe put a small bag of wter in the front of the shoe and then into the freezer. Water MUST expand when frozen, and will stretch anything in its way. voila, comfy shoes.
I haven't tried it myself but it sounds like it should work. However, i'm a little hesitant with water these days, i had a bottle of water leak in my school bag onto the floorboards and because i left it there for a day or two the floorboards have warped! My dad is going to KILL me....

Anyone missing a pair of jocks?

2009-06-01T18:11:00.006+10:00

The year 12 formal has been and gone...i found that it was a a little anti-climactic. You spend months building up to a single, glamourous night, (which it was, don't get me wrong) but it passes you by in a matter of hours. So the day of the formal is always a hectic one for a girl ESPECIALLY if she put her stupid little hand up for the after party.
My Day:
8:30am - nails
10am-12pm - cleaning the house and rearranging the furniture
12pm - hair
3.45pm - start to get ready
4.45pm - date arrives with parents
5.15pm - pre-drinks
6.00pm - limos
7.00pm - arrive at formal
11.30pm - leave formal
12.00am - after party
4.30 am - sleep....
and for some reason we woke up at 8....
so the outfit: dress - Alannah Hill, shoes - Alannah Hill
I love my Alannah Hill....i got best hair as well :P but ill have to show you a picture later. The formal was awesome, i couldn't have asked for a better date:
And the after party. i get to school and my, it's the talk of the town.

and yes, some guy managed to leave his little tight jocks on my lounge room floor.

Sister Madly

2009-05-25T21:10:00.006+10:00

So now enters the little sister. The little sister who frequently gets mistaken for the older sister.
That may sometimes have to do with the fact that i steal almost every item of clothing that she owns as she is the one with the full time job and i am the one with the full-time study (aka year 12)
So i'm giving this whole blog thing a go. I love my clothes and i make do with my part-time job wage and live-in full-time job sister who likes to shop a lot.
Recently, my school production was on and of course, on the last night there was an after party. Voila, my outift:Black T-Shirt - Jay Jays; Silver Jeans - French Connection; Red Pumps - Fetish; Heart Pendant - Sportsgirl

It was quite disappointing when i got to the party as every single light had been covered with red cellophane so the full glory of my (well robyns...)awesome jeans could not be appreciated :(
Although, I was one of the very few girls there not draped in a rag or strip of cloth which i was quite proud of :P
I bought a Country Road knit the other day, will put that up some other time
And this weekend is my Year 12 Formal!! I have the most amazing dress by my favourite designer so you'll just have to wait and see...

-Kathryn

(hows that for a first blog??)

Corporate Drone

2008-11-18T17:50:00.002+11:00

I'm really sorry, I was going to post my outfit for work today but forgot and got changed so I could learn the lyrics for 'Bye Bye Blackbird' and eat some dinner before rehearsal tonight. Why is it that everything in my life seems to happen at once? Started my new job yesterday, have performances this Friday, next Tuesday and next Sunday, Brendan's moving this weekend and a friend's 21st is also on Friday. My schedule the past two days has been something like this:

Monday
730-8:15 band rehearsal at school
9:00-5:20 work
8:00-10:00 drinks with ex-workmates (from the restaurant)

Tuesday
7:30-8:15 band rehearsal at school
9:00-5:20 work
7:00-9:00 band rehearsal with the Sisters of Sass

I haven't even had time to watch Top Gear Australia yet...it's a travesty.

- Robyn

The summer wind came blowing in

2008-11-12T08:36:00.002+11:00

How hot has it been in Melbourne this week!?!?!? I am so glad that it's my last week in the restaurant, the thought of spending another sweltering summer in there with the old fans and the barely functioning a/c and being surrounded by motors and coffee machines and dishwashers generating heat behind the bar doesn't bear thinking about.

Singlet - Cotton On; Skirt - Overseas; Cardigan - Overseas; Necklace - Gift.

Dress - er....Temt. Or Valley Girl.

I've only got two shifts left at the restaurant, and have been slowly saying goodbye to all my regulars. Some of them I have to admit I'm glad I won't be serving again, but I'm sad to say goodbye to others as I've known them for more than three years now. I still got asked whether I was new yesterday though...some things never change.

- Robyn

DO NOT WANT.

2008-11-10T22:29:00.002+11:00

- really short shorts with the bottom of the pocket hanging out below the hem.
- those low cut tank tops/t-shirts with the really big arm holes where you can see a girl's entire bra underneath.
- sunglasses at night.
- rat's nest hair, as worn by schoolgirls everywhere.
- wrong size shoes, too small or too big. It's just not right.
- LEGGINGS AS PANTS. Unless you are actually a professional dancer (of the Australian Ballet/Chunky Move variety as opposed to the Spearmint Rhino/Goldfingers variety).
- little girls in high heels.

- Robyn

2 girls 1 cup day

2008-11-06T10:55:00.003+11:00

(bonus points if you get the meme I referenced in the title, you sick sick human beings).

Kat, my little sister and born events manager, staged a little bit of a Melbourne Cup Day cocktail party on Tuesday, which I also attended as I'm still recovering from my cold and didn't really feel like leaving the house. Thank god the weather stayed nice, and how was the race! So so close. I managed to pick the third place getter (C'est La Guerre) but my friend who was at Flemington forgot to put my bet in, which serves me right for being too lazy to get down to the TAB myself. Anyway, enough about the horses, everyone knows Cup Day is all about the outfits:

Dress - Dangerfield; Belt - Target; Fascinator - mum's; Shoes - Kat's, Necklace - birthday gift.

I don't think I did too badly, considering that I kind of forgot to plan an outfit. Luckily my mum had the fascinator tucked away in her hat box. I should also credit her Nancy Ganz slip which helped me stay VPL-free and tucked into my dress, although I was restricted to steps of 6 inches or shorter.

Dress - Forever New; Belt - Vintage; Hat - Mum's; Bracelet - Myer; Shoes - Basque.

Kat was rocking the adorable 90s fresh faced look. It's very My Best Friend's Wedding, no? Props to her for staying in the heels all day too...mine were much lower yet I bailed after a couple of hours. One of the many perks of staying at home. Of course as soon as everybody left we changed into trackies and cleaned the place from top to bottom :)

- Robyn

BLAAARGGGGHHH.

2008-10-31T13:22:00.003+11:00

My family is nothing if not a caring and sharing bunch of people, and the cold my brother so thoughtfully gave to me for my birthday is just the gift that keeps on giving. After karaoke on Saturday night, playing my old high school's speech night on Monday night and playing with the Sisters of Sass on Tuesday night, I pretty much crashed and burned at work on Wednesday, so it was off to the doctors for antibiotics and a blood test (why? I have no idea, but I've had 20 or so by now so one more hardly matters) and I've basically been grounded ever since. I'm admittedly starting to feel better with all this forced rest, and my voice is slowly coming back, although it is terribly frustrating not being able to shout upstairs or indeed hold a decent conversation. Unsurprisingly, I've kind of been living in pyjamas for the last few days, but do have a video for you to enjoy in the meantime, from Tuesday's performance.

- Robyn

PS I have just found out that the lovely Connie, who started the Sisters of Sass, has just started a new blog, The Life of a Lonely Jazz Singer. Connie is definitely one stylin' lady so I highly recommend you check out her blog.

Karaoke one, my voice nil.

2008-10-27T10:41:00.002+11:00

Despite the cold which I am finally battling, I somehow made it to Brendan's and my birthday drinks/karaoke on Saturday night, buoyed by the miracle that is 12 hour Sudafed. While this meant that I could not take any great advantage of Charlton's wondrously cheap happy hour, it also meant that I was well enough to belt out a couple of karaoke numbers. I have a feeling though that belting out Loveshack was my vocal undoing, as two days later I'm still struggling to sound like a normal human being, and have in the meantime developed rather a nasty cough. It was worth it though.

Top - my sister's wardrobe; skirt - American Apparel; shoes - Rubi; bag - Roxy; necklace - birthday gift from Brendan.

Saturday was the debut of my fantastic fluoro yellow skirt, and I'm now glad I went with the bright yellow instead of the mid blue I was going to get instead. The necklace is actually a piece of circuit board, and has gotten comments from customers at work and strangers on the train. For all Brendan's faults (of which there are few), he has amazing taste in jewellery. It's also his birthday today, but I don't get to see him because I'm playing at my old high school's presentation night tonight.

- Robyn

Comic Relief

2008-10-23T10:29:00.003+11:00

So, at the moment I'm going for a new job, a customer service position for a Government agency. As of half an hour ago I found out I'd gotten to the next stage of interviews (yay!), having not sucked in the group interview yesterday. Where I had a cold, and had to borrow a suit. Namely, my mum's. Funnily enough, as a waitress/mediocre musician I own not a skerrick of corporate wear. Now, my mum is a pretty stylin' woman (I believe the term is 'uncommonly fetching mama') as the photo below shall prove:

And she looks awesome in her suit. I, on the other hand, looked like I was playing dress ups:

I think I have to get used to this corporate clothing business (oh, and buy stuff what actually fits if I get the job).

- Robyn

PS Cepacol throat lozenges are the weirdest things ever. They're anaesthetic to make your throat go numb but they also do it to your mouth, which is the strangest feeling.
PPS Not to sound like a revhead, but HOW COOL was Top Gear Australia on Monday night! Driving hands and feet free around that Holden test track was rather awesome, as was lawn bowls with Astras.

So you think you can sew?

2008-10-20T18:47:00.002+11:00

Well, actually, I really can't sew very well. A few buttons here and there is the extent of my seamstress skills, but I'm determined that this year is the year that I learn how to sew. I've got a couple of dress patterns yearning to be made up, but have started for my first project with the old converting jeans into a skirt trick. These comfy and trusty old Levis saw me through most of high school, but years of wear and tear and badly frayed inner leg seams saw them retired a while ago. Now I'm hoping I can breathe new life into them, with my wonky handstitching (our sewing machine is broken) and a bit of a crooked hem (I just realised that after taking the photo. oh well).

It's taking me quite a while what with hand stitching as slow as I do, but I'm hoping to have it done by the end of the week(!).

- Robyn

PS Thankyou for all the birthday wishes everyone! Unfortunately my brother's birthday present to me was his cold, so I have been spending the day napping, watching TV and sewing. Quiet dinner tonight and Top Gear Australia - woot!

I'm baa-aack!

2008-10-19T16:10:00.002+11:00

Hi guys, glad to be back and hope everyone's been well. This is part of the reason why I haven't posted in a couple of weeks:

My mum went rather unexpectedly to hospital a couple of weeks ago having suffered a minor heart attack (she's completely fine now and was only in for a couple of days). It's not every day you get to ride in a turbocharged Mercedes Benz, but next time I would like to be in a sports car rather than the front seat of an ambulance with my mum being poorly in the back. Unsurprisingly, I haven't really thought much about clothes the past couple of weeks (apart from when everyone in my household started clamouring for clean underwear and I spent an evening doing neglected laundry).

Anyway, before all the drama in my house, it was my dad's birthday and my first attempt at orange and poppyseed cake. As with all of my cooking adventures it would not be complete without a very cute apron my grandmother gave to me a few years ago:

That was two weeks ago...it really has been a long time! Today was really the first day I wore something other than the least smelly jeans and t-shirt from the piles of clothing on my floor (my aunty and uncle came to look after my mum from Singapore, which meant my sister was on a mattress on my floor and I couldn't open any cupboards).

Singlet - Cotton On; Skirt - from an old dress; Cardigan - Jay Jays; Shoes - Rubi; glasses - Dotti.

I've also had a haircut but it's hard to see there. It's also hard to style. I'm not sure I like it but oh well.

Kat trying to disguise her poorly cut work trousers with some leaping about:

It's my birthday tomorrow, and I'm taking next Saturday night off work to go out. I've got an AWESOME fluoro yellow denim skirt from American Apparel (so freaking expensive, but I do love it) which will be making its debut then, but hopefully I'll be back to wearing interesting outfits before then...so long as no more members of my family are carted off in ambulances that is...take care!

- Robyn

Hiatus

2008-10-09T11:02:00.000+11:00

Hey guys,

Just letting you all know that I won't be able to blog this week, but will be back next week with some new posts. Take care til then.

- Robyn

Two Kinds of Right

2008-10-03T16:23:00.002+10:00

Woohoo! My internet connection is finally working again (I think) so hello and sorry for not updating or reading many blogs this week, I'm back with a vengeance now! Just a quick one with Sunday's and today's outfits.

Sunday we went to St Kilda (again) to meet up with some friends visiting from Auckland. Ate at Big Mouth, great food and slow service because of a busy day but they shouted us coffees so we didn't mind. Their BLT is ah-sum, as was Brendan's pumpkin and coconut soup, which I ended up finishing (I was kinda hungry). We tried a walk on the beach but it was terribly windy.

Dress - some surf shop; Jacket - Op Shop; Boots - Nine West

Today mum and I finally went to see the Art Deco exhibition at the NGV before it closes on Sunday. There were some beautiful pieces of art, furniture, cars and clothing - my favourite was a cream beaded dress which had a very clever effect to make the fabric look like it was folded in pleats. The weather started out nice but it's all grey and rainy now so I changed about four times before leaving the house.

Skirt - my sister's; Shirt - Jay Jays; Cardigan - Target; Shoes - Rubi.

Also, I've been meaning to post this but haven't been able to because of my dodgy connection, but the fabulous Laura from Jezzabelle's Women's Clothing Store has created a special discount coupon for all you bloggy blog readers. Use the code 'Chainstorewhore' to get a 10% discount - this also applies to sale items. There is some great stuff in the store and I am particularly loving this minidress from VOOM by Joy Han:

Cute, right? If I had the money to go to the races this year I'd wear that with ballet flats and gloves and a little headpiece. If only.

- Robyn

PS Two Kinds of Right is a Grates song - I'm seeing them next Friday! Yay! Anyone else going to that gig?

blahhhh

2008-09-27T14:26:00.002+10:00

My internet connection has been super dodgy lately...everything's taking forever to load. I haven't been able to read many blogs because photos aren't appearing for me...sigh. I miss my bloggy goodness! Anyway here's what's been happening sartorially for my sister and I the last couple of amazingly warm days in Melbourne.

Dress, shoes and vest - Sportsgirl; sunnies - Dotti. Bad outfit choice - it was pretty windy and I walked around holding onto my skirt all day.

Dress - some surf shop; Top - Cotton On; Shoes - Converse

Yesterday Kat and I headed into the city to meet a friend (hi Jess if you're reading this) and score some bargains at the sales. I got a pretty awesome pair of purple faux snakeskin pumps from Myer for $17, and 2 check shirts from Jay Jays for $25...lucky I waited so long to get them. We also went into the magnificence which is the new Sportsgirl store on Bourke St. I can imagine injuring my already dying bank account there once I start working more hours, and had to tear myself away from a sparkly Minty Meets Munt miniskirt.

Shorts - Target; T-shirt - Billabong; Shoes - Big W

Kat likes to jump, even after eating lunch.

Shorts - Sportsgirl; T-shirt - Target; Shoes - Converse.

Today I took my grandmother to lunch in Springvale for enormous bowls of Vietnamese Pho so dressed down a bit...the AFL Grand Final's just started and apparently we're watching it. I feel like a country music star, especially in my Wranglers, which are lovely and soft and dangerously close to developing a hole in the crotch after three years of wear and tear....sob.

Jeans - Wrangler; Singlet - Cotton On; Shirt - Jay Jays; Sunnies - Target; Guitar (AKA my pride and joy) - Maton.

- Robyn

Today's outfit

2008-09-24T19:11:00.002+10:00

Man today was SLOW at work. I spent my whole shift cleaning and reorganising stuff. My boss is back from his month or so in Europe (lucky guy) and says he will start giving me more shifts next week...one can only hope as I am flatter than flat broke at the moment and a Nine West has opened next door as is mocking me with its brightly coloured shoes and doodads. Kat and I went for coffee this afternoon to make the most of the absolutely beautiful weather and made fools of ourselves singing random songs there and back (half an hour each way).

Dress - Secondhand; Belt - Vintage; Jacket - Op Shop; Sunnies - Dotti.
I also wore my sportsgirl gladiator sandals and they are super comfy and didn't give me blisters so I'm happy :) I felt like I was going to go to a summer music festival in my outfit - the dress is just above knee length and very light thin cotton.

Kat suiting the colour scheme in a Cotton On top.

Nice weather the next couple of days here in Marvellous Melbourne - hopefully I can come up with some good outfits to match!

- Robyn

St Kilda Sun

2008-09-23T16:58:00.002+10:00

Today Brendan and I decided to head into the city for lunch. We were going to take the train, then figured we could probably drive, but after 45 minutes of being stuck in jams and finding car parks which charged an arm and a leg (literally) decided to high tail it back to St Kilda away from the hordes of suits and high school kids on holiday. Hopefully I looked suitably indie, although St Kilda is so gentrified these days it hardly matters. We had pretty good Mexican food at Amigos and picked up some goodies for a friend's new flat at the homewares store. And it was much nicer than being in the city.

Grates T-shirt - from a gig; Cardigan - Jay Jays; Jacket - Big W; Jeans - Sportsgirl; Belt - Some market; Glasses - Dotti; Shoes - Converse.

I wanted to go to Luna Park but Brendan said no.

Brendan in his very restrained colour palette.

- Robyn

SUNday and a costume odyssey.

2008-09-22T18:39:00.002+10:00

Yesterday was quite nice as far as Melbourne spring Sundays go. Mum and I were going to go to the Art Deco exhibition at the NGV but arrived a little late so decided instead to kick back with hot chocolate, coffee and a cheese platter at Walter's Wine Bar. Excellent hot chocolate (my mouth is watering just thinking about it), delicious cheeses, SLOWEST service ever. I had to chop my head out of the photo because it was weird looking (weirder than usual, I mean), but came outside for a photo for the first time - just to prove my house has an outside.

Dress - Supre; Cardigan - Jay Jays; Belt - Vintage; Scarf - Vintage; Shoes - Rubi.

I have also been inspired by the gorgeous Rachael of The Life Aesthetic, who posted some very cute photos of her as Alice from Alice in Wonderland, to post a couple of photos of various costumes I've worn over the past couple of years. I like to dress up, what can I say.

My birthday last year, a friend's house, alcohol, a gachupin suit. Recipe for awesome!

Chinese New Year's parade in the city this year. I got the papier mache goat, lucky me!

Every year our family goes away with a bunch of other families for an Easter weekend of fun, and the last night is always a costume party. This time the theme was loud - I went as a shiny space alien robot and my sister was some crazy ass Japanese girl.

At the first Split Enz gig in Auckland this year. Apparently heaps of people dressed up in full costume and makeup for the Wellington and Christchurch gigs, but in Auckland I was one of two people who made the effort. Funnily enough people were giving me weird looks all night. Blouse - Cotton On; Shorts - Roxy; Tights - Target; Shoes - Joto; Bag - Rip Curl; Glasses - Aotea Square Market (I smashed out the lenses).

Split Enz, 2nd gig - It would be remiss of me not to wear a different costume! Vintage dress of my mum's.

For anyone who's never heard of Split Enz, they were a seminal New Zealand band of the 70s and 80s. Tim and Neil Finn were both in it, and Neil went on to form Crowded House (the lineup of which included Tim at one point). They used to wear some crazy and wonderful theatrical costumes courtesy of percussionist Noel Crombie:

So I wasn't just dressing up for no reason!

- Robyn

Everything old is new again

2008-09-21T11:31:00.002+10:00

On my recent jaunt to Ballarat, I picked up, along with that awesome denim jacket, a perhaps not quite so awesome skirt. On the hanger it looked fine, a dark blue floral print maxi skirt, so I ponied up $7 and thought no more about it until I got home and put it on. Turns out it's size 18 and as such has an enormous amount of unflattering hip accentuating fabric billowing out of the waist. I have absolutely no idea how to sew (except for perhaps the odd button) so was prepared to send it back to charity, then on a whim, hoicked it up over a shoulder, added a belt and voila:

Sandals - Sportsgirl; Belt - some market.

What was a hideously unflattering skirt is now (with the addition of one little crafty safety pin) a cute one shouldered dress. I'm waiting for some warm weather now.

Meanwhile yesterday my sister was taking advantage of her 50s curls, which with the assistance of half a can of hairspray survived the night:

Top - Cotton On; Cardgian - Target; Jeans - Sportsgirl; Shoes - Myer.

Unfortunately my sister and I are different sizes, which means we can't really share dresses. I stole her Stella dress to try on but could only make it work by cinching it at the back. Sigh. Curse my flat chestedness.

It works so well with my Hot Topic combat boots, yes?

Anyway last night I was meant to be working but it was terribly quiet at the restaurant (combination of footy finals and school holidays) so I got off at 8:30 and headed into the city for drinks. I probably could have used my cardigan but didn't want to have to lug it around in a bar. We went to this classy place on Lonsdale Street called Seamstress, all decorated with chinese silk garments and bolts of fabric and wooden tiles. There's a sister bar downstairs called Sweatshop, which we didn't visit, but imagined that the drinks would be served by big eyed skinny five year olds chained to the bar and cowering in the presence of their sinister middle aged boss. Or maybe not.

Skirt, T-shirt and Jacket - Jay Jays; Shoes - Rubi; Bag - vintage.

- Robyn

Yesterday's outfits

2008-09-20T10:11:00.002+10:00

Sorry for not updating for a little while, I couldn't find my camera. And completely off topic, but the new iTunes is AWESOME. That Genius playlist thing - Genius! Anyway. My little sister Kat had a partay to go to last night where they decided to get all glammed up (I guess when you're underage this is meant to be fun) which for me meant an hour or so of hair and makeup to achieve the 50s glam look she wanted.

Dress - Stella; Shoes - Betts; Shoobits - a gift from the fabulous Fashion Hayley.

I had optimistically dressed for a warm day which turned into rather a cool evening. Oh and I had my hair cut on Thursday. I didn't really know what I wanted so I just told my hairdresser to go for it, and came out with a rather modish bob - I feel like I'm channeling Miss Karen :)

Dress - a market in Malaysia; Belt - Vintage; Jacket - Op Shop; Shoes - Rubi.

- Robyn

A party and the ballet.

2008-09-15T22:21:00.002+10:00

On Sunday the lovely Fashion Hayley held a spring fashion week party at her amazingly decorated apartment. I was admittedly slightly nervous to be meeting such stylish bloggers but had a wonderful time talking about everything and eating delicious food that everyone brought, playing pin the pussy bow on the blouse (which was very funny!) and playing with Hayley's adorable dog Hachiko. Hayley was the perfect hostess so many thanks to her for hosting such a great event.

L-R: Super Kawaii Mama, Lady Melbourne, me, Fashion Hayley, Esme And The Laneway, Aus Style.

Phew! That was a lot of HTML. The dress code was our interpretation of spring trends, so I wore high waisted denim shorts belted with a red plaited leather belt and a floral blouse from Target, my trusty green Jay Jays cardigan and silver ballet flats (I forgot to take a proper outfit photo, sorry!).

Lady Melbourne and Hachiko

Hayley pinning the pussy bow on the blouse

Super Kawaii Mama, colour coordinated even when blindfolded!

Hayley's gorgeous little papillon Hachiko

Tonight we went to the ballet to see Manon, last one of the season...always a slightly melancholy affair. I'd been dying to wear this dress ever since I bought it for $20 at Target...like a year ago...so tonight was finally the night! Sadly I didn't get to wear it with ballet flats because of the abysmal weather (gale force arctic winds for anyone lucky enough to not be in Melbourne today) so I ended up looking like a Pirate Madam.

Dress - Gail Sorronda for Target; Boots - Basque; Necklace - Mum's.

Yay for spinny big skirts!

My sister continued the theme of spinny big skirts with a skirt I bought from modcloth.com a while ago and haven't managed to wear - it hits mid calf and is terribly unflattering on me. I have to get it shortened.

Skirt - Modcloth.com; Top - Cotton On; Jacket - Miss Shop.

Hmmm I just realied Kathryn is wearing all my clothes...

- Robyn

Spring has sprung!

2008-09-14T10:17:00.002+10:00

Yesterday in Melbourne was amazing! It was 25 degrees with just the right temperature breeze, and sunny and completely perfect. And of course, I was stuck in the bloody restaurant covering for someone. sigh. At least it meant I had last night off (which is not a hugely common occurence) so me and the boy headed into the city for dinner, and found this tiny little Japanese place on Corrs lane where we stuffed ourselves (well not really) with gyoza, sushi and daifuku with ice cream. We met up with a friend and on such a mild night the best place to be was outside James Squire Brewhouse with pints (for the boys) and pots (for me) of some fine beer. Like...Golden Ale or something (I can't remember now). Thanks to my responsible boyfriend, I had Panadol and water before bed and woke up with only a bit of a hangover to come home and make brownies :)

Hope the rain stays away today!

Skirt - Jay Jays; Top - mum's; Jacket - Op Shop; Bag - Rip Curl; Necklace - Kookai; Shoes - Rubi.

Flinders Street Station, 12:03 am (we're old and like to get home early).

And Sushi modelling a new season scarf from Sportsgirl:

I think she pretty much has the blue steel look down pat.

- Robyn

This is for all those days that I don't update

2008-09-12T19:35:00.002+10:00

Today was actually gorgeous weather, but terribly windy and I had to go pick up a bathroom mirror for my boyfriend from the glass shop (twice, because the first time I went they said it wasn't ready. GRR. You say it's ready for Friday, it should be ready for Friday. So I had to go back) and do housework and play guitar, so wore this:

Jeans - Sportsgirl; T-shirt - The Disney Store in NYC; Shoes - Converse. (I look grumpy because I'd just got back from the glass shop for the first time.)

So pretty much any day that I don't update, I'm wearing a version of this outfit. Give me some groupies and I'm all set :)

- Robyn

Like a Harpoon in my heart

2008-09-11T14:44:00.002+10:00

I've been trying to find a video of last Thursday, but to no avail, so here is my solo acoustic version of what transpired at the Jebs gig. Try to imagine a full band, and to ignore that one bung chord in the bridge.

Also, below is (part of) the reason this blog is called Chain Store Whore and not Designer Label Diva. Being a musician is an expensive hobby. It's not even my guitar either, I borrowed it from my old high school, but I have three others, and one big mofo amp in the other room.

- Robyn

Primary Colours

2008-09-11T12:40:00.002+10:00

My scales are currently broken (which is perhaps a good thing really), but I know it's a good day when I can fit into my favourite vintage item, this wonderful vintage skirt I picked up on Karangahape Road in Auckland. That street is seriously the best vintage shopping EVER and I regret that I didn't spend more time there. I think I got the skirt for 20NZD. It obviously doesn't have an elasticised waist, and I haven't been able to fit into it comfortably for a while (I could wear it, but I wouldn't be able to eat a meal without popping the buttons), but today I can, yay! I'm all primary today too. Also, I nicked another one of my mum's lipsticks, this time a really cheap Australis one with quite a nice red colour. Port Red by MAC is still my favourite, but this will help me make it last a bit longer...

Skirt - Vintage; Top - Jay Jays; Cardigan - Coo Ca Choo; Shoes - Rubi.
(yes, I bought more of the cheap Rubi ballet flats...I'll eventually get them all probably!)

- Robyn

bowling, ballarat and bargains

2008-09-07T21:25:00.002+10:00

I went to Ballarat on Friday to watch my sister's high school band in a competition. They came third but because of scheduling issues we actually missed seeing them...lol a long way to drive to miss it! We went bowling though. I didn't actually intend to bowl and so was wearing perhaps slightly odd leg wear...I had my Nine West knee high brown suede boots over the socks, promise!

I also had Jess trying to psyche me out when bowling - note the one solitary pin left. I unsurprisingly missed.

Still, justice and my mad bowling skillz prevailed, and I ended up with the winning score (Kevin=me - Jess is also a huge Jebs fan and decided to name me after Mr Mitchell).

And to prove our responsibility, a self portrait at 110 km/h!

So Ballarat wasn't a complete wash-out. Especially because I found this lovely jacket in the st Vinnie's for $5!

Dress - Don't Ask Amanda; Jacket - op shop; Belt - vintage; Sunglasses - Target.

I've decided I'm rocking the 90s look this spring.

- Robyn

Photos from Thursday night

2008-09-07T00:07:00.002+10:00

Hmm. I forgot to upload photos yesterday, when we went to Ballarat, and now I'm in bed on my mac and my legs are killin me from work so they'll just have to wait. I do however have a couple of photos from Thursday's gig - just to prove it really did happen and that I'm not (completely) insane. I didn't bring my own camera (typical, the one time I don't bother bringing it!) so only had my phone, and hence have one photo.

Ness, most awesome bassist ever :D

the next couple were taken by my friend Steve on his phone (thanks Steve, although I know you won't read this!):

I think Kevin is laughing at my singing.

I was also extremely lucky to be standing next to Phoebe Hodgson, who runs Jebediah's Myspace and who took the following excellent photos:

Some tasty harmonising on the last lines (well, I hope it was tasty. I couldn't actually hear myself). Also, Kevin is much taller than I expected. His mic was above my head height, and Vanessa had to come over and say 'put your mic down a bit, she's short!' I was on the balls of my feet anyway...I'm not even that short...am I? *sigh*

- Robyn

ARGHGHRHAHGHRGHEARGHRHAGH!!!!

2008-09-05T01:31:00.002+10:00

(please excuse the language in this post. I'm incredibly excited right now, for reasons which will become clear).

OH MY FUCKING GOD!!!!!!!!

Um. So. I can't remember if I mentioned it, but tonight I went to see Jebediah, who were my first ever real favourite band. Their second album Of Someday Shambles was the first CD I ever bought. I was also completely inspired by Vanessa, their bassist, who wasn't trendy or anything like the girls at my school, and yet completely cool because she didn't care what other people thought (I was something of an outsider at school - mainly through dorkiness and geekiness). In year 11 I used my formal dress money to buy a bass guitar and amp (and spent $20 on my formal dress in an op shop) then proceeded to learn as many Jebediah bass lines as possible. I only got to see them once, at Big Day Out 2003, so tonight was the first time I got to see them play a full gig, and OMG. They are SO GOOD live! SO GOOD!!!! HEAPS GOOD!!!!!!!

I was already in died and gone to heaven mode with a big dorky grin on my face, midway through the set, when Kevin (singer/guitarist) said 'we're going to play a really old one now...and if you think you can sing one of our songs from 1997 without knowing what it is, put your hand up.' I was right in front of the stage and unthinkingly put my hand up, thinking he'd pick someone else, and then he looked at me and said 'Get up on stage!' and suddenly I found myself climbing up on stage...and looking out and just seeing a sea of faces (600 is apparently the capacity and tonight was sold out). Kevin said 'we're doing Harpoon' and introduced me to the biggest load of people I have ever had to face EVER while I quietly shat myself. It was like karaoke gone completely and utterly mad. Ever since I was 13 I'd harboured dreams of playing bass with Jebediah (and marrying Chris, the guitarist, which I'm still working on) and suddenly I was standing next to Kevin as he started playing Harpoon...can anyone say 'holy shit holy shit when will I wake up'?

Anyway. I completely forgot the words to the second verse and was staring desperately at a girl in the crowd trying to read her lips, but apparently everyone was yelling 'go Robyn!' etc which I couldn't hear because I was too busy having a panic attack whilst surrounded by Jebediah. I actually kinda enjoyed myself from the bridge onwards - I mean holy SHIT! I'm singing with JEBEDIAH!!!!! And Kevin was grinning at me and making guitar rock god poses at me and Vanessa was smiling away and apparently I sang in tune and Kevin and I did the two people singing in one mic thing and then it ended and Vanessa, my all time hero and saviour of my teenage years gave me a beer and I got off stage and collapsed in a puddle of panicked goo. It was a seriously cool experience, although the rest of the set I was trying hard not to pass out (my body does not react well to extreme stress and anxiety).

And the best bit was calling my little sister afterwards. I had called her earlier for Leaving Home and my exact words were 'I was going to call you for Harpoon but I couldn't because I was FUCKING ON STAGE SINGING IT WITH THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'

So yeah. Now I have to calm down because I'm up at 8 tomorrow, but my outfit:

Jeans - Sportsgirl; T-shirt - Bonds; Jacket - Jay Jays; Scarf - Vintage; Shoes - Big W.

Sorry for the long, long, long post. I hope you understand.

- Robyn

The glittery, glam life of a 'musician'

2008-09-02T23:20:00.003+10:00

Really quick one, as I feel like I haven't slept for days and I'm working tomorrow. The Sisters of Sass played Dizzy's tonight, I think we played better tonight than last time, although I'm still yet to solo. Connie is sadly ill so we had a replacement singer, and I also didn't get my agent 99 dress, so wore this one instead...and had to be very careful to not bend over or make any sudden movements, lest I flash my gusset.

dress - vintage; shoes - witchery.

Might I also add those shoes still haven't stretched much and my left foot feels like the toe is about to fall off...friggin ow...anyway I'm crawling to bed, night all.

- Robyn

two sides to every story

2008-09-01T23:31:00.002+10:00

Hope y'all had a good weekend...melbournians how bad has the weather been!? Spring my arse, today was wet and horrible. My wife Georgie had her 24th on the weekend and I wore an optimistically warm outfit:

T-shirt - Bonds; Skirt - My sister's; Necklace - also my sister's; Shoes - Rubi.

I ended up adding a cardigan, scarf and leather jacket for the cold, and some lazy rock and roll 'yes I've been dragged through a bush backwards, what are you going to do about it' makeup to match my hair of the same name:

I borrowed Georgie's MAC eyeshadow in Black Tied for this and just packed it on, too easy. Fluffy eyelashes courtesy of mum's Diorshow Waterproof mascara (I do my makeup in the same bathroom as her and haven't bought mascara for three years now), Stila lipstick in Kelly. I also swear by my Shiseido makeup stick in control colour (which is a very pale green) to take down the red in my cheeks and even out skin tone - I don't wear blush or foundation (mainly because my foundation which I bought two months ago is already too dark).

Tonight we went to the ballet to see Interplay, three new contemporary works, so I had to be a little more...shall we say...presentable. I think I channeled my inner geek/librarian here, all I needed were some glasses. The cardigan was a find from my mum's wardrobe cleanout - it's all wool and lovely and warm, and she stopped wearing it after shrinking it in the wash.

Cardigan - Laura Ashley; Skirt - Esprit; Silk Scarf - Mum's.

I was wearing those silver ballet flats again but it was wet outside and I didn't wear them in. When exactly does spring start again?

- Robyn

I like shiny things (in case you hadn't guessed)

2008-08-29T12:42:00.003+10:00

I really really adore shiny things, I think at heart I'm still 12 years old. So you can imagine my delight when I saw these in Big W yesterday, for the princely sum of $6.97 a pair. At a price like that who needs to decide between gold and silver?

I think I'm going to Springvale for a haircut and to get out and enjoy the last rays of winter sunshine.

- Robyn

Newness!

2008-08-27T23:59:00.002+10:00

First of all, look! A shiny shiny new header! How exciting ey. I can even tell you what clothing's in it :D

Silver - my vintage sequinned gig top (until my dress is fixed, apparently); Yellow - Supre dress; Orange - Sportsgirl shorts; Pink - Yeojin Bae for Target dress; Purple - Cotton On top; Blue - Basque dress; Green - Threadless t-shirt.

Tonight mum and I went to a dinner/wine tasting, for a newish Margaret River winery, Sandalford Estate...or something...Only I didn't get to drink any wine because I was driving. I did have one little tiny sip of a sem sav blanc though, and it was really nice. I'm thinking of doing a wine course at some point - I don't really drink wine and usually when a customer asks me what's good, I just recommend whatever's been selling well that week. I wore my springvale eye palette for a bit of fun, and MAC Port Red lipstick, quite possibly the best red ever, shame it's limited edition...

Coat - Bauhaus; Shoes - Rubi Shoes. Dog - Sushi (Nori's companion and chief tormentor).

Dress - Basque; Cardigan - my old cream one.

And a close up of the makeup:

My internet is working at home again and the weather's just beginning to be a bit less arctic, so hopefully I'll be updating a bit more frequently from now on :)

- Robyn

Bring on spring+Rubi shoes

2008-08-25T20:49:00.002+10:00

Sorry for the non-updating of late...my internet has been down at home for a few days, so I'm using my boyfriend's computer (he asked me if that was the only reason I came over tonight...and now that we have a Foxtel IQ at home, I pretty much have to say yes XD). I went shopping at Chadstone with Liz on Saturday (check out her blog surface layers on my favourite blogs list) and picked up some awesome stuff :D Hooray for Target, is all I can say! They had some adorable clothing. I'm also wearing my new red shoes from Rubi shoes - their ballet flats are 2 pairs for $20! I got silver ones too. I had actually been wearing a gorgeous pair of jewelled ballet flats from Witchery, but I'm still stretching them out and they were mangling my little toes.

Top - Dotti; Skirt - Topshop; Vest - Sportsgirl; Shoes - Rubi; Bag - Fossil.

I didn't actually buy *that* much from Target, but stashed my jacket, cardigan and scarf in there. Now I just have to wait for warmer weather so I can wear my new stuff :D

- Robyn

Splash of colour

2008-08-16T14:50:00.004+10:00

I ended up not going out yesterday...ate something that didn't agree with me and...well, you know the rest. I'm feeling better today though, and going out tonight to the city with Bren and friends. I haven't worn this skirt in ages, picked it up from Alannah Hill at the boxing day sales last year (although it's still one of the most expensive pieces in my wardrobe!). I'm usually at a loss trying to find a top to go with it, and was actually going to wear a vintage blue swing skirt I got on K road in Auckland (seriously the best vintage shopping EVAR) but the waist is unelasticised and is just a tad tight right now, so my hand fell on this skirt and voila.

Top - Sportsgirl; Cardigan - one I've had for 13 years; Skirt - Alannah Hill; Boots - Nine West.

- Robyn

Getting out of the rut

2008-08-14T20:06:00.002+10:00

Yay! I finally got out of my long jeans and hoodie rut today. Still had the hoodie, but it's still winter here and freezing! I also found a tripod today, while looking for the bicycle pump, so I'm not confined to my bedroom anymore. I was hanging out to wear this dress, which I haven't worn since the summer. Then I piled a whole lot of stuff on top of it...

Dress - Supre; Vest - Sportsgirl; Belt - Vintage; Shoes - Converse.

Hoodie and Cardigan - Jay Jays.

Jacket - Op Shop; Scarf - Myer; Beanie - Some camping brand.

I was actually hoping to get out of the house today but I had so much laundry to do (my parents are away) that I was stuck doing that, then had a jam session so there's my day gone. Hopefully tomorrow is still niceish so I can head out (once I've done all the ironing, that is).

- Robyn

PS This is my dog Nori. He likes finding comfy places to sleep, and my guitar cases are a favourite of his. As soon as I take the guitar out he's in there for the day.

what I'm looking forward to

2008-08-11T10:15:00.002+10:00

There just isn't much happening by way of fashion with me right now...Melbourne has been freezing and it's forecast for rain all week, and I haven't been to the gym in ages and I'm feeling slobby and daggy. Urgh. I did however buy this cute skirt from topshop online over the weekend:

I had some money in my paypal account, from doing email surveys (who would think you can actually make money off those!) so treated myself to the skirt.

I also found an old dress of my mum's. It's the classic 80s style high collared, mutton leg sleeved monstrority, but the fabric is nice:

Unfortunately the orange belt is cut exactly to fit the waist of the dress, which must be 24 or 25 inches - in any case it's way too small for me (especially as I haven't been to the gym in two weeks and have gained a bit of weight. ugh). If I knew how to sew, I would cut the skirt out, hem it to knee length (it's mid calf length right now) and put in a flat waistband...or I might just take it to the tailor. In the meantime I'm going to push away the family sized block of dairy milk and hang out the washing. Joy.

- Robyn

New Haircut

2008-08-08T15:00:00.002+10:00

Because it is way too cold for a new outfit at the moment. And I was playing with my hair and realised it was FULL of split ends.

I'm really really sorry that I haven't blogged for so long, but seriously guys, way too cold here right now. Some mornings my car has been covered in ice. Most days I'm wearing this:

I figured I wouldn't bore all of you with my repetitiveness as well!

- Robyn

Dressing in cold weather sucks

2008-07-24T11:13:00.002+10:00

Hey guys, sorry for the non-posting, but how cold has it been in Melbourne lately!?!?!? I've been snuggling down in jeans, hoodies, converse and duffel coats. Last night I made an effort though, because we went out for drinks. Having a perm has made it impossible to blow dry my hair after washing so I had it up in a very messy bun sorta thing. And I think the coat is the only not-seen-before item in this picture (I bought it last year but don't wear it much)...I need to mix it up a bit!

Boots - Nine West; Dress - Target; Scarf - Myer; Trench Coat - EDC by Esprit

Keep warm guys!

- Robyn

Kind of blue+yay for cheap shoes!

2008-07-17T22:07:00.002+10:00

So, I've kind of been having a crappy week. Job satisfaction is at an all time low and I canNOT get a retail job. Someone bloody employ me already! I've seen some of these girls that call themselves SAs, I can tell you I'm a damn sight more presentable, eloquent and knowledgable than some I've seen, but of course having no retail experience immediately makes me a heathen in the eyes of the head office. Grr. Anyway. I was in Myer today and found cheap cute shoes ($19.50!) so that kind of improved my mood.

Shoes - Myer; Skirt - Esprit; T-shirt - Love Police (it's a Muse band shirt); Scarf - vintage; Coat - Bauhaus.

Oh and I recently (re)discovered the joys of the children's clothing section. Because I've quite flat chested I can fit into the larger children's sizes, which means cute pieces (like the cardigan below) at lower prices than in the women's section.

As above, with Cardigan - Target.

I probably won't update before Monday, so hope your weekends are all better than mine.

- Robyn

Channeling cartoon characters+crazyass weather+suburban artiness

2008-07-14T18:22:00.003+10:00

So I FINALLY found a black pencil skirt that fit in Supre of all places (I've been looking for one for quite a while). It's not high waisted but I'll live! I have a much smaller top than bottom (in case ya hadn't realised!) - I'm a size 8 top and size 10-12 bottom *sigh*. My measurements are actually 32-25.5-38.5 which is just a mess. Most high waisted things don't fit both my hips and waist, and I can forget about most rigid shift dresses (size 8s won't fit my huge arse, size 10s swim on my non existent chest). That's my rant for the day.

On Sunday I went down to Malvern RSL to see Connie Lansberg do her thang with some awesome jazz musos, then in the evening went with my mum to see Clare Bowditch, who was completely enchanting. She had Guy Blackman and Hot Little Hands supporting. Guy Blackman were like the Whitlams only not as good, but I really dug Hot Little Hands, despite the strangeness, and got their album afterwards. It's very very good. When I came downstairs after getting changed Kat said 'dude you look like Daria'. I should've worn my geek glasses and a hoodie.

Oooh, I look grumpy! Twas late and I was tired. Boots - Hot Topic; Skirt - Supre; L/S Top - Dotti; T-shirt - from the Grates gig; Cardigan - Jay Jays; Scarf - Myer.

Then today, OMG wtf was with Melbourne's weather!? It was like summer in July...crazy. I wore my new floral floor sweeping dress to hike up to the bank to put my pay in and felt like Elizabeth Bennet waiting for Mr Darcy to sweep me off my feet (well, Colin Firth was in Melbourne over the weekend but he never called, the sod).

Dress - General Pants Co (can't remember the brand, cbf checking); Blouse - vintage; Vest - Sportsgirl; Sunglasses - Dotti; Shoes - Target
OK, so maybe Elizabeth Bennet wouldn't have worn Dunlop Volleys. But I bet she would given half a chance.

I also took some arty photos surprisingly enough with my phone on the way there, so excuse the self indulgence.

- Robyn

Back In Black and the Grates Surprise Party

2008-07-11T01:39:00.005+10:00

Tonight my wife George and I went to see The Grates, one of our favouritist bands ever. We couldn't believe it had been so long since we saw them live (the last time we saw them was October 2006. That gig was recorded and released on DVD. You can see us in it - Patience called me a motherf***er). They were holding a 'surprise party' to celebrate the release of their latest single Burn Bridges from the upcoming album Teeth Lost, Hearts Won (god I sound like an advert right now). It was at Ormond Hall, next to the Belgian Beer Garden on St Kilda road, a pretty nice venue. They as usual put on an AWESOME live performance, marred for us only by the two absolute dickheads in bad costumes 'dancing' around and injuring other people. Me, George and two other girls ended up trying to pummel the living daylights out of them in frustration. But I digress.

George looked smokin hot, although godDAMN was it cold (and windy, as you can see!). I love love love her fuschia tights paired with the black dress and jacket and the bright purple scarf. Perfection would be to add a little splash of bright yellow somewhere. She's also a thrifty girl - her jacket is A|X (she used to work there) but the scarf is Cotton On and the dress is Supre.

Patience started out the gig wearing a fuschia sash around her dress but discarded it after a couple of songs. She asked us to form a hole in the crowd so she could come down among us to sing Rock Boys...it was amazing. She's also given me an unhealthy desire to get an American apparel lame bikini top. I'm hoping that desire will no longer haunt me when I wake up tomorrow morning.

And what would be a surprise party without little party bags? We got heart shaped lollipops and the cutest badges.

So finally, what I wore: Shoes - Joto; Socks - Target; Leggings - Target; Dress (worn as skirt) - Supre; Top - mum's; Belt - Target; Scarf - Myer. All (well mostly) black - I also had on the Jay Jays black leather jacket and my black gloves (as well as the geek glasses) but left them downstairs when I took photos. I ADORED the big scarves Country Road had for winter...but at $120 they were way out of my price range. I got this one on sale in Myer for about $20.

And yes, my turnout is shocking, my point is shameful, my arms are all over the place, my posture sucks and my shoulders are probably too high...but I haven't done ballet for 8 or 9 years now. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

- Robyn

I would just like to point out

2008-07-09T23:37:00.002+10:00

That exactly one year ago today I was at the Corner Hotel in Richmond, watching Crowded House who are my most absolute favourite band in ever. I was brought up listening to Crowdies but they broke up when I was 10 and I figured that I'd never get to see them live. My fantasy, never-gonna-happen gig was always to see them play the Corner Hotel which is a great intimate live venue. Then last year they reformed and blah blah blah, they announced a fan club show at the Corner. First of all I nearly died because the announcement came on email while I was procrastinating going to bed, and I wouldn't have got the email in time otherwise. Talk about lucky. So yeah, this time last year I was living my dream gig. Good times!

This is how close I was! It doesn't get much better than that.

I should add, both those guitars are Gretsches. I own one like the black one, but it's silver (and a much less expensive model!). I don't play it much though because it's way, way, way too heavy and cumbersome, and the strings need changing which are a biatch to do on that sort of guitar (it has a bigsby, which is a spring loaded tremolo arm) and the wiring's gone funny and I'm too lazy to go get it fixed.

This is my died and gone to heaven moment though...I met Mark Hart, the guitarist/keyboardist for Crowded House. He is like my ultimate musician hero because he's AWESOME at guitar and keyboard and piano and melodica and lap steel and singing and pretty much everything. Plus he's the nicest guy ever.

Oh, and please excuse the hoodie and backpack. I'd been in Sydney for Live Earth, then flown back down that morning and gone straight to the Corner at about 12:30 pm to wait all day for a good position (me, obsessed? Never!). I compromised by wearing my Chanel red lipstick...shame it didn't suit me!

So yeah...no interesting outfit today because I was working, although funnily enough my friend Pat, who I had met at this gig and hadn't seen since the beginning of the year, dropped in to say hi, so that was cool. He's a pilot and is working one month on, one month off. Bastard. Tomorrow I'm going to the Grates Melbourne Surprise Party so expect a very costumey outfit (ooh I should post my Split Enz costume photos...they were very strange!).

- Robyn

Job hunting in cold weather

2008-07-08T17:29:00.002+10:00

Just as well I was job hunting in a shopping centre today (Chadstone to be specific) - it was bloody freezing!!! I've got my fingers crossed that I get the position I was after, and if you would like to cross your fingers too I'd be most grateful. I don't really know what exactly I was going for, kind of vintage glam girly grungy whatever style today.

Shoes - Joto; Dress - some random cheap shop on Chapel St (the Windsor end!); Top - old thermal of my mum's; Scarf - mum's; Jacket - Jay Jays; Clip - Mimco

This is without the jacket...it's actually a very girly palette for me really.

My lovely new Mimco hairclip - I got it on ale for $20! I think it will match my big band dress well.

And another lovely Diva ring.

- Robyn

Geek glasses=genius

2008-07-08T16:46:00.002+10:00

Sorry for not posting for a bit...I've been busy doing things etc. Plus it's bloody freezing. Anyway I ordered some geek glasses over the internet and they came last week:

I look like Nana Mouskouri don't I...

Skirt - Jay Jays; T-shirt - Threadless.com; Vest - Sportsgirl; Cardigan - Jay Jays; Jacket - Big W; Scarf - Rubi; Boots - Target; Glasses - scarletribbons.co.uk

And lastly, some friends came over for lunch last week, including young Ethan with the cutest winter hat EVER:

Cuuuuuuute!!!!

- Robyn

Yay for Jay Jays!

2008-07-02T12:13:00.002+10:00

So I was in Southland doing my banking on Monday and walked past Jay Jays, and saw that they had a copy of the much-lusted-after Luella ruffle miniskirt, for $29. Made me very very happy. Then yesterday I was rifling through the sale racks at Sportsgirl and chanced upon this denim vest for $20.

Top - Sportsgirl; Vest - Sportsgirl; Skirt - Jay Jays; Leggings - Target; Slippers - Kmart :P

I've also got straight hair at the moment...here is a better photo because I looked slightly crazed in the first one.

I will have to put up better photos of my new uber cute bow clips, which I got from the Bendigo art gallery on Saturday, when we went up to see the Archibald exhibition.

- Robyn

Bling bling

2008-06-25T18:49:00.002+10:00

I was just doing a bit of shopping yesterday...went to Allans in the city (Tuesdays seem to be new gear days for me!) to buy guitar strings and a new tuner (I stupidly left mine at the high school. $45 down the tube. le sigh.) and to lust after guitars. I played a REEEEEAAAAALLY nice Epiphone Casino. It was even, dare I say, nicer to play than the Gretsch Electromatic 5120. Won't be buying any new guitars soon though...I have to first get a tuning pedal, a volume pedal and a proper gigging amp (Fender Blues Junior here I come!).

So anyway I was walking past Cotton On and decided to go in as I know they sell cheap and cheerful shoes now, and they had a table full of EXACT COPIES of the Dior gladiator sandals SJP was wearing in the SATC movie. I know what I'm getting next pay. Super duper high so I'm going to have to practice walking in them, but SO NICE!!! (What is with me and Caps Lock today...)

But yes, was shopping, and popped into Diva. I bought a cute 'silver' ring with sparkly sparkly crystals so I have something fun to wear when I'm playing guitar, then was queuing up at the register when I saw...the Lego ring!!! I immediately grabbed one. I remember seeing it on the net aaaaages ago but it was a sterling silver and diamond version and cost a pretty penny. Yay for cheap jewellery shops ripping off nice jewellery and selling it to me for $10 a piece :)

- Robyn

PS I'm going to Karaoke on Friday night....yay for not working Friday nights anymore! Any suggestions on what to wear?

Ballet tonight, tights and peeptoes

2008-06-23T22:38:00.003+10:00

We went to the ballet tonight (it's weird, we have like months without the ballet then they go and put them all on at once). I think I changed three times before settling on this. I forgot this dress was around, which is weird because when I do remember it I wear it all the time.

Dress - Forever New; Cardigan - had since I was 8; Belt - vintage; Jacket - Big W (thanks, fashionfake!); Tights - Witchery; Shoes - Nina.

I would have preferred to wear chunky leather gladiator style heels but I own like five pairs...these were my year 12 formal heels. I don't wear them often at all, but am trying to get used to it, since I now have to gig in them

Video from Friday night

2008-06-23T12:26:00.003+10:00

Our very first song of our very first gig, Fascinating Rhythm. Shame I was too busy trying not to throw up to enjoy myself (I have performance anxiety issues).

- Robyn

PS we have a myspace page too.

All that Jazz

2008-06-21T10:30:00.002+10:00

So last night was the first gig for Connie Lansberg and the Sisters of Sass. Oakleigh Junction Hotel Sportsbar, perhaps not the most illustrious of venues, but it was packed with family, friends and random dudes coming in for a drink and being hypnotised by the sight of an all-girl, all-glamorous, all-sequinned big band rocking (swinging?) the house. My faithful guitar now has a curved scratch marking the path of my sequinned sleeve as I strummed away so I'm deciding whether to buff it out every time I play or just let it get a bit trashed. I ended up in a vintage American sequinned dress which Connie received yesterday (she collects vintage American beaded tops and dresses). Apparently I look like Agent 99, judge for yourselves as I don't watch Get Smart.

Dress - vintage; Boots - Sandler; Belt - vintage.

- Robyn

Go wildcats!

2008-06-19T23:38:00.002+10:00

I had my first performance in front of an audience (not counting drunken karaoke appearances) since I left school tonight...and ironically, it was at school. My little sister and mum went to see Michael Buble so because I am such an awesome sister I played bass for her in her school bands. Unsurprisingly I was quite nervous, and I did drop a couple of clangers here and there but it was great to get back up onstage, especially because I'm playing tomorrow night with my other big band, the one I'm actually getting paid for. If you're in Melbourne and up for a bit of jazz, come down to the Oakleigh Junction Hotel tomorrow night at 8 to see Connie Lansberg and the Sisters of Sass. It's $10 entry and we'll be playing some awesome jazz.

Anyway onto the clothes...yay for not being a student anymore! It means I didn't have to wear the simply horrible performance uniform (I seriously did not think a skirt could be that unflattering till I owned one). I have realised however that I am seriously lacking in black shirts (apart from my work ones, which all smell faintly of chip fat despite repeated washing and so are not good for wearing anywhere other than work). I wore the bowler hat to and from because it was intended for the drummer of the big band to wear, but because I was carrying two guitars and had no hands free, I ended up wearing it myself.

Blouse - Black Friday (from Dangerfield); Singlet underneath - Supre; Jeans - Sportsgirl; Shoes - Sandler (from Myer)

As before, with Cardigan - Jay Jays; Jacket - Jay Jays; Hat - Mimco

- Robyn

Liam photos

2008-06-14T16:27:00.002+10:00

I'm sorry about the lack of photos the past couple of days...I haven't been wearing anything of interest (skinny jeans, the jacket already pictured, converse) because of the cold weather and my increasingly untidy wardrobe making it impossible to find what I want. After my last exam on Monday it's time for a serious overhaul.

Anyway Liam was amazing as he always is, and this time there were so so many people at the gig! Last time we saw him last year at the Northcote Social Club there weren't that many, but I guess with all the publicity and stuff the public are catching on to his genius. Well my friends and I were at his first ever solo gig in Melbourne last year so we can say we were there first...lol...we're wankers.

He had the lovely EJ Barnes on backup vocal/percussion/autoharp duties as he has done for a while. She's very funny and they bounced off each other well. She was having problems with her vocal looping pedal leading her to scream 'FUUUUCK!' a lot into her mic (and she can really scream) and was taunting Liam about his (lack of) height. Liam smashed his guitar into the ceiling upon taking it off for the first time, and it wouldn't stay in tune after. EJ asked if he had to stretch far to reach the ceiling.

- Robyn

Introducing le chat

2008-06-11T17:12:00.003+10:00

This is my little sister Kathryn. She's 16 and has a much, much better sense of style than I did at that age...at her age I was trying to be a punk.

Singlet - Cotton On; Cardigan - that random one I stole yesterday; Skirt - Volcom; Shoes - Emily the Strange.

I'm seeing Liam Finn tonight...very very cool musician (and yes, the son of Neil Finn of Crowded House fame, my absolute most favourite band ever). Liam does crazy one-man-band guitar loops and drums and is a talented bugger. Check out his music here.

Coat - Sportsgirl; Scarf - Cotton On; Dress - Target; Boots - Nine West.

And finally, thanks to my myspace-obsessed immature sister:

- Robyn

Yay for hats!

2008-06-10T16:03:00.000+10:00

I felt like wearing my Mimco bowler today. I feel like I need to get some value out of it...I bought it a few months ago in a moment of insanity when I was working heaps and hence (relatively) flush with cash, and this is why I need a more regular work schedule. I'm hardly working the next couple of weeks because of birthdays and gigs (one I'm watching, two I'm playing) so I'm really flat broke at the moment...argh. That hat could have gone towards my physio bills or a guitar pedal...oh well.

Hat - Mimco; Blouse - Quirky Circus; Dress - Bras N Things (It was a nightie I bought on sale for $10. Score!); Cardigan - stolen from my sister; Shoes - Sandler; Bag - my mum's.

I look better overexposed.

Oh and I only had five hours of sleep last night, hence the zombie face. I had to be up early for rehearsal and was kept up reading James Morrison's (the trumpeter, not the singer-songwriter) autobiography, Blowing My Own Trumpet. Seriously the funniest book EVAR.

- Robyn

The colour of your guitar DOES matter.

2008-06-09T23:20:00.000+10:00

I've been playing guitar for about two years now, and I've been helping out my old high school with some guitar related matters over the past couple of months (my little sister Kathryn plays bass in the Stage Band, so I do have a legitimate link still!). Last week they gave me this old Yamaha to restring, which I finally got around to yesterday and I noticed that it matched my outfit pretty much perfectly. I think I need a canary yellow pleather waist belt, don't you? (and yes, I'm lazy and couldn't be bothered putting a strap on the guitar...besides I didn't have one which matched my outfit!).

Sex and the suburbs

2008-06-09T14:08:00.000+10:00

I am very bad at the first post thing...but wanted to start a fashion blog having been inspired by a lot that I've read. So, first outfits first, right?

Last night Brendan (my boyfriend) and I saw the Sex and the City movie. It was kind of long but the clothes and accessories were pretty amazing. I love the studded belt Carrie wore with a lot of her outfits, and the blue dress with the long sleeves and the big gold chain-link necklace.

Dress, tights and boots - Target, Cardigan - Jay Jays, Scarf - Cotton On
(hey, the blog *is* called Chain Store Whore for a reason!)

Oh and the very cool wallpaper behind me is courtesy of Brendan's stylin little apartment. I'm jammed between the table and pantry in his kitchen.

Hopefully by the time most of you read this I will have links for my favourite blogs somewhere on the page.

-Robyn