Sunday, December 18, 2016

Summer Throws:

I've been a bit quiet on the blog lately. It's the holiday season and it's so hard to get my mind into work mode. I'm sure you can all relate. When I do manage to do some work, you should know it's because I think it was well worth the post.

I recently collaborated with Raeesah Randeree, who you all know for being a very talented make up artist. She's a woman of many other talents and ventures too! One of her new ventures which I was privileged to be a part of are these elegant throw overs.  




Raeesah wanted to make these throw overs available to the public, since so many people showed interest in them when she wore them herself. After wearing them, I can clearly see why. They're so effortless and light weight. It's the perfect addition to any summer outfit. In fact I think it would be great over swimwear too. My absolute favourite was the wine colour throw, it adds an elegance to any outfit which is why I love it.




If you'd like to place your orders contact @Laboutique.za on Instagram. Stock should be available for dispatch at the end of the month. How exciting!

Prices are as follows:
Plain throws: R650





Printed throws: R750







Please note that there are only a limited amount of orders being taken per style. If I were you, I'd order mine now. 

All photos were taken by Layla Shaik Photography.

Monday, December 5, 2016

My UFL Style Feature:

I recently had the privilege of being featured in the online magazine UFL Africa. UFL stands for Urban, Fashion, Lifestyle. Elijah the founder of the magazine interviewed me to get my perception of style.

To see more of what he posted about me visit his website: http://www.urbanfashionlifestyle.com under the ''about style'' tab.

Here's a teaser of one of the outfit posts we shot for the magazine:






Top: Factorie
Culottes: Zara
Jacket: Zara
Shoes: Gifted to me
Backpack: Gifted to me 


I will be posting more of the looks soon so be sure to keep a look out on my social media accounts.

In the interview, I was asked the question what style meant to me. My response was easy. Style is being yourself and not following trends. We all fall victim to trends because of what's in stores but I strongly believe that whether a trend is "in" or "out", you should wear whatever YOU like.

I used the example of wearing a tutu to work as "my style". I simply wear anything I like.

On a side note before I end this post, I would like to say that besides local fashion designers, my favourite place to shop stylish clothing is Zara. A word to the wise, if you're looking to stock up on stylish clothing for the new year, Zara is on sale at the moment. I bought such cute dresses and jumpsuits for just R200 each. 

You're welcome! :)

Monday, November 21, 2016

The Fashion Intern's Survival Guide:

I’ve been privileged enough to have easily gotten a job after campus at a reputable company like The Sunday Times. My work contract as an intern will officially be ending this week and I wanted to share all the knowledge I have learnt during my very first year of working.

I wish I knew the below list during my first week of work but hey its all part of the learning experience right?

These tips can be helpful to you too, hopefully, whether you are in the fashion industry or not.

  • ·      Listen – This means listen properly the first time you are given instructions. It gets annoying when people have to repeat themselves to you.
  • ·      It is always helpful to have a notebook – Don’t feel shy to write down what colleagues ask you to do, they will appreciate this more than you know because you won’t ask them about the same thing twice.
  • ·      Write daily reminders on post-it notes and stick it on your desk/computer screen, this way you can never forget what you need to do.
  • ·      Never ask too few questions. This can be tricky because you don’t want to be annoying but at the same time you also don’t want to make a mess of things. Asking questions allows you to do the best job possible.
  • ·      Give your opinion about things – Your boss will appreciate this more than you keeping quiet all the time. Its good to build relationships with the people you work with.
  • ·      Always have manners – you never know where or when you’ll meet the people you once worked with, again. A good reputation is key.
  • ·      It’s okay to ask for help –no one expects you to be able to do everything on your own. Just ask.
  • ·      Smile everyday. Why not? It will make your day better and the people around you too.
  • ·      Be yourself – the working world shouldn’t change you or take away the kid that you are at heart. Stay true to yourself and the people you work with will appreciate all your traits. In fact, it may even add to how well you do your job. If you are true to yourself and your job involves you doing what you love then its almost impossible for you to go wrong in your career.
  • ·      Grow in your maturity – My dad always says this to me. In my opinion ''grow in your maturity'' means learning from all the knowledge you take in on the daily. Develop it and better yourself to ace your job and be a star performer.


 This year has been challenging and demanded a lot of hard work from me but I have grown so much and I will always be grateful for all that I have come to learn. Until next year Sunday Times Fashion Weekly/Wanted Magazine/The Edit Magazine/SMag, au revoir!

Here is my foolproof office look to end off my working year:





Shirt: Tiger of Sweden
Trouser: Forever New
Blazer: Tiger of Sweden
Shoes: Mr Price
Earrings: A gift 

All photos by Layla Shaik Photography







Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Summer Jackets to Die For

With the weather fluctuating and going from bright summer afternoons to thundering hail storms this season, the best item of clothing to have is a light weight jacket. I recently was lucky enough to attend a massive Tiger of Sweden/Day Birger Et Mikkelsen/The Kooples sale where my husband treated me by buying me the most beautiful clothing pieces.

The blazer below was one of the pieces I found on sale. I absolutely love it and think that it's perfect for summer. 

Blazer: Tiger of Sweden
Top: Mr Price
Jeans: Mr Price
Heels: The Kooples

Earrings: H&M 



 As a treat for you all, I have decided to compile  a list of must have summer jackets that are on my wish list. I hope you enjoy them and perhaps add it to your wish list too.

1) The H&M blouse jacket priced at R799
2) The H&M raincoat priced at R899

 3) The Country Road utility jacket priced at R1699
 4) The Mr Price blazer priced at R180
 5) The Mr Price Jacket priced at R180
6) The Zando Amanda May sleeveless jacket






All photos of me were shot by Layla Shaik Photography 

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

November is known as the silly season and for good reason. November is the tired month of the year, when you just can't wait for the December holidays!

I thought I'd do a look post that was a fun and Summery holiday inspiration, just to get you ready for your big summer break. Well, when it does eventually come.






This look is perfect for a tropical getaway. At the end of the year my hubby and I will be travelling to Bali and Singapore and this is most definitely one of the looks I'm going to be packing in my travel bag.





Dress: TopShop 
Espadrilles: Mr Price 

On a side note I'm super impressed by the shoes at Mr Price this season. I plan to do a post about my favourite must have shoes for summer very soon. In it I'll share with you all the wonderful colourful shoes you should have in your wardrobe in time for your December holiday.

For now, keep calm this silly season! :)


All photos by Layla Shaik Photography 

Monday, October 31, 2016

The Secret Garden

One of my favourite things to do is drive around Jozi looking for locations to shoot my whimsical outfits. As I was driving home from work one day, I found myself staring at this colourful wall and couldn't wait to do my next outfit post in front of it! 

Last Thursday Layla and I curiously wandered past beautiful flower beds and a family of chicks, to shoot the look post below in the secret garden. I was so pleased with the results.

To capture the full story that comes from an outfit you need:

1) Layla Shaik Photography 

(If the images appear blur due to the high resolution quality, click in it to see it clearly.)



2) A unique outfit - 

I found this whimsical dress, designed by the latest local designer addition to "Convoy" store: Anmari Honiball.

There's so many amazing things on offer from this designer and the other five designers that form part of the local talent that make up the store.Convoy -located in Melville - is my favourite store to shop unique SA designer looks! 



3) A location that matches your outfit perfectly 



4) The perfect accessories - which in this case was my latest buy from Cotton On-  my pom pom sandals.






Lights, camera, action...Magic!

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Give Jozi a Try:

I have become accustomed to being a fashion blogger, but more recently I've come to realize that I want to venture into lifestyle blogging too. Often, I go out to new places with friends and family and Snapchat the whole experience, but I never really put it on my blog. There's so many fun and exciting things to do in Johannesburg all the time and I want to share them all with you.

This weekend I did three exciting things and if you would like to adventure around Jozi, I would highly recommend them to you:

1) Visit Paul's Homemade Ice Cream situated in The Zone at Rosebank to try their flavour of the month. The flavour of the month is "Trick or Treat" for Halloween. The ice cream flavour itself is spiced pumpkin, butter pecan and cinnamon caramel. Yum!

2) Visit The Milk Bar, situated at 21 Keyes Avenue, Johannesburg. The Milk Bar is a vintage and eclectic look and feel restaurant. The restaurant is decorated with wooden and shweshwe printed chairs, African artwork and loads of plants. It isn't Halaal unfortunately so I had a vegetarian toasty with a lemonade and mint frozen drink, which is perfect for a light afternoon meal. If you are looking for a cool place to hang out with your friends, I'd highly recommend it. 






They have other vegetarian options for breakfast on the menu too, vegetarian pies and vegetarian bunny chows aside from the meat dishes on the menu. There's also a selection of cakes on offer.



What I like most of all about The Milk Bar is where it’s situated. For an afternoon out I'd suggest gallery hopping between Circa art gallery and Everard Read gallery which is situated on the same street as The Milk Bar. After that, lunch at The Milk Bar followed by a stroll along the street to see the other artsy stores like Anatomy Design (a minimal furniture store), Shelflife (a modern sneaker store) and Missibaba (a local luxury designer bag store.) If you're up for it, after that pop into Marble Restaurant -also on the street- for dessert with an amazing sunset view.

3) Go see a 4DX movie! Yesterday I went to see the movie Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children at Hyde Park Corner. It was my first 4D movie experience and I was amazed at how the seats move with the characters in the movie, you smell what they smell and feel the weather get chilly and gloomy as the characters do too! The movie itself was brilliant and the experience made it even more epic. It’s a must to do - in Jozi.


I can’t wait to share more of my experiences with you. Do give Jozi a try.

Sunday, October 16, 2016

DIY Your Own Runway Inspired Ballet Pumps:


Once a trend becomes popular on the runway it's not long before everyone wants to have it in their closets. Before you know it, the fast fashion retailers knock runway trends off and it becomes easily accessible for you at a fraction of the price.




Image supplied: here.

I really enjoy looking at trends and creating my own. I've decided to share a DIY tutorial on how to achieve the MIU MIU inspired ballet pump trend above. It's even more accessible than trying to buy the shoes online or going to get something similar at a fast fashion chain. Let's be honest, trends will fade so rather DIY it.

What you'll need:

  • Craft glue 
  • A scissor 
  • Two different styles of ribbon (2 metres each)
  • A cute pair of pumps 

(My mum bought me these nude pumps from Cotton On for R249, it comes in a little matching bag too! They have the same ones at the moment in rose gold, black, silver and tan.)

What to do:

  • Cut each style of ribbon into two equal halves.
  • Take one half and attach it to the inner arch of the pump by using craft glue.
  • Take the other ribbon and do the same as the above to the other side of the inner arch.
  • Repeat on the other shoe. 









Voila!

Tie the ribbon into a bow around your legs and you're ready to go.

Ballet inspired outfit:


Top: Zara

Skirt: Zara
Pumps: Cotton On 

All photos of me taken by: Layla Shaik Photography