Change is inevitable:

The past two weeks have been so busy that I haven't gotten a chance to sit down and blog. Thankfully things seems to be quieting down now -more like the calm before the storm- until Mercedes Benz Fashion Week kicks off this week Thursday in Nelson Mandela Square.

Despite photo-shoots at Sunday Times, working days that ended at 7p.m. and my husband going in for surgery I found a spare moment to go to the Rozanne & Pushkin launch last week.

Rozanne hasn't designed her own merchandise for quite some time, but now change has come and the rails in her store are filled with charming tops and dresses that spark from her creative genius. I've included some of the images from her latest range below but would highly recommend that you stop by at her Rosebank store to see all the lovely clothing for yourself. A special shout out goes to Rozanne for changing, evolving and beginning to design again.

 

 


Speaking of change, so much has changed this year for me personally, I have less time for myself but whatever time is taken from me or given to me I have come to learn to accept that change is inevitable. Change is good. Change means that you're not stagnant and that you are experiencing growth. I'm looking forward to catching up on tons of blogging over the next couple of weeks so do look out and well, I hope that any change that's happening in your life turns out to be all for the better.

PS: I wore the outfit below for the Rozanne & Pushin launch

Tee: River Island Men

Skirt: Forever 21

Shoes: Nine West

 

All the images were taken by my friend and colleague Lydia Wessels

A Guide to My City, Johannesburg

The best thing about travelling is the exciting new people you meet along the way. What's even more exciting is when people travel and specifically ask to meet you. This past weekend I got a lovely surprise when 'Neyla,' a Paris based blogger reached out to me and wanted to meet up.

My dream team and I took her to the San Deck in Sandton for virgin cocktails and a fun shoot at sunset.

 

Neyla mentioned that she wanted to experience Johannesburg to the fullest in three days and to be honest I was caught off guard and had to think deeply about what she could do. She laughed and asked me to write a guide on my next blog post about the best things to do in Johannesburg and that's exactly what I'm going to do. Little did I realise that it would be hard to keep the list short.

My top list of things to do in Johannesburg:

1) Visit Neighbourgoods market in Braamfontein (Saturday's only)/ Arts On Main market (Sunday's only) for a unique food and clothing experience with lots of local flair.
2) Picnic at Hyundai Mushroom Farm Park in Sandton and go for a mini hot air balloon ride for just R95 (Adults).
3) Take the Red City Bus sightseeing tour to learn more about Johannesburg History (Highly recommend for locals to do as well, stops include: The Carlton Centre (Tallest building in Africa, The Apartheid Museum, Newtown Precinct, constitutional hill and Gold Reef City - to name a few.)
4) Visit Bounce for a unique trampoline experience/ Rolling Cherry for a retro hour of roller skating fun!
5) Take a drive up Northcliff Hill at sunrise where you can see a spectacular view of the city.
6) Enjoy breakfast/ High tea at the Four Seasons Hotel,The Westcliff .
7) Visit The Bioscope for artsy outdoor movie screenings.
8) Visit the Sunday Market at Rosebank Mall (Sundays only)
9) Go bungee jumping off the Soweto Towers for those who are daring/ For those that are more in tune with wildlife and nature, visit The Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve
10) Go to the San Deck at sunset for drinks.

You can follow Neyla on Instagram by clicking here.

Top: H&M

Skirt: Pengelly

Shoes: River Island

Bag: Mango

The lovely and friendly Neyla was only around for a few short days before jetting back to Paris which is why I kept the list limited to ten things. Trust me, even if you're a local, Jozi has a lot to offer . This is just the tip of the iceberg.

All photos were taken by Layla Shaik Photography 

Style evolution:

It's uncanny for your style not to change as the years go by, with the change in trends and your own personality. I for one have evolved from a little tom-boy - believe it or not - into a diverse fashion lover.

Not everyone knows this about me, but I enjoy playing football a lot and so my 'style', if you can call it that,  from a young age involved several Manchester United soccer tops and jeans. Luckily there's a concept called "style evolution"... I may still be a fan of United but lets just say I don't show my support as much as I used to!

The biggest thing that allowed me to evolve in my dressing was that I no longer listened to what others told me to wear. "You're too pale to wear this colour; You're too short to wear that; You're not busty enough for that look; That shoe is too ugly." Once you stop listening to the opinions of other people who probably need to take a look at their own dressing before they look at others, then only, will you find your true style. I don't believe in colours or styles not suiting a person. If you're confident in what you're wearing I can guarantee that you'll look great! Bare in mind that not sticking to limited styles and colours of clothing DOES NOT mean disregarding your body type. Your body type should be the only factor that changes your mind about your outfit.

My style has changed so much in the past few years that I hardly wear jeans, I love jumpsuits but my absolute favourite items to wear are lady-like skirts and dresses. I wouldn't say I follow trends tremendously but I am influenced by them.

Some trends I can't shy away from at the moment are: 'incorporating sneakers into everyday wear' and 'tailored work wear,' which inspired this outfit post. I suppose I've switched to tailored work wear outfits because I've started working in a more corporate setting, but the nice thing about working in the fashion industry is that there are no limits in terms of what you wear. I'm wearing what I like because I want to.

Shirt: Zara

 Pants: Zara

 

 Blazer: Asseblief Vintage (Neighbourgoods Market)

 Shoes: Call It Spring

To end off this article, my ultimate style tip to you is: don't limit yourself and you will be amazed.

Photography done by: Layla Shaik Photography

Hair done by: https://www.instagram.com/rae_ebrahim/

Make up done by me.

The Skirt Couturier Editorial:

Aysha Minty from The Skirt Couturier is a designer I work with quite often.  She approached me and my dream team a few weeks ago to do an editorial for her so that she could show off her latest designs and do something unique.

The outfit she designed was inspired by Downton Abbey the British drama series that is set in the Edwardian era (1901 - 1914). Aysha used silk in her design because she thought it fit the era perfectly, I agree. The design of the skirt is a "Jazz Skirt" which comes from the sway of a woman.

We shot on a cloudy day which made the look and feel seem even more like Yorkshire, the setting of Downton Abbey.

Raeesa did my hair in a vintage hairstyle to suit the theme. For the first time we are going to feature a hair tutorial to show you how to get the look:

1. Curl hair with GHD or curler and section the hair into four sections: front, left, right and back.

2. Make a low bun that sits at the bottom of your neck with the back section of the hair.
3. Use the left and right sections to create small "circles" which you will pin up around the bun by looping the hair.

4. Take the front section of hair and tease it to create body, then simply twirl it and pin it on the right side of your head.

5. Hairspray and voila!

This is just a teaser of what's in store from Raeesa. Be on the lookout for her very own website which she will be launching soon with exciting content such as “how to” hair tutorials and eBooks.

Photography by: Layla Shaik Photography
Hair by:Raeesa E
Clothing by: The Skirt Couturier

How to Make People Believe That You Have More Clothing:

One of my friends recently mentioned that I am the queen of interchanging looks. I pride myself on being able to wear an item in different ways, making it always look new. I have a rule that I will not wear the same look twice in a year but I will wear the same item more than twice and that's where there's a big difference.

 

To be honest since most of us aren't on a celebrity style budget; interchanging your wardrobe is exactly what you need to do to create the illusion that you have more clothing. In this post I will give you some pointers on how I'd interchange this outfit and how you can do the same with your wardrobe.

 

 

 

For this look, I recycled my white dungaree that I shot previously as part of a sports luxe shoot. My top tip is to invest in a plain dungaree or jumpsuit to wear on its own, but also wear a top over it like I did with this outfit to make it look like a pants (no one will know!)

 

 

 

 

 

The shirt I'm wearing is from Forever 21, instead of the sleeves being attached at the shoulders they are attached at the waist as a trendy waist belt. My interchanging style tip for this shirt is to wear a high waist midi length skirt over it to make it look completely different. You could also switch up the look by wearing a longer length coat over the shirt without the pants and there you have it, good as new!

 

Lastly, any look can look refreshed if you add on some accessories or wear it with a different shoe. I added this adorable hat from Cotton On to my outfit to make it seem more fun.

 

 

 

 

 

I also added on these quirky clothing pins from Zara to my shirt and silver backpack that was gifted to me. My sneakers are from a Spanish brand in Madrid.

 

 

 

In future I may wear the same look with my hair down, without the accessories and add a heel to make it look more sleek.

 

I hope my tips are helpful, happy interchanging!

 

Photos by: Layla Shaik Photography

Hair by: Raeesa E

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meet Barcelona Blogger Vanessa Troset:

Over the holidays I vacationed with my family to Spain and Portugal. We visited quite a few cities: Madrid, Granada, Cordoba, Seville, Lisbon and Barcelona to name a few. Barcelona was our last stop before we journeyed home to South Africa and while I was there I was lucky enough to meet Barcelona based fashion blogger, 'Vanessa Troset.'

 

 

Vanessa and I decided to do a mini fashion shoot on the streets of Barcelona. For the shoot I wore a designer coat by Andy Huang, LISOF School of Fashion Graduate. He is an Asian South African and so he has mentioned that his designs have always been influenced by both western and eastern cultures. For this particular outfit from his 2015 range he focused on infusing both cultures into one. The western elements he used for instance were the collar, lapel and suiting fabric mixed with the eastern traditional kimono silhouette and eastern influenced embroidery. I fell in love with Andy's design the moment I saw it and I'm sure you will as well!

 

 

 

 

 

Vanessa is one of the nicest people I've met during my short career in blogging and she is beautiful too. We walked along the streets of Barcelona looking for places to shoot, while chatting as though we were long lost friends.

 

 

 

Vanessa is originally from Venezuela, she is now living in Barcelona where she runs the social media for a cosmetics brand. You can follow her on Instagram with the user name @vanessa_troset to see just what she gets up to in Barcelona. Every time she posts a picture it makes me miss Spain, with the old buildings, beautiful architecture and cobble stone roads.

 

 

 

 

I really enjoyed adventuring around Europe but at the same time I'm happy to be home, back to blogging and reality. A very happy new year to all my followers, here's to a great year ahead for all of us! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Travel Essentials:

Its that time of the year when everyone is on holiday and travelling to many different parts of the world, both locally and Internationally. I'd like to wish all those travelling a safe trip and I hope you all have a wonderful break.

I am going to Spain and Portugal for my holiday break and I always struggle with what to pack and so that's why I decided to do a travel essentials post for those of you who need a bit of extra help deciding on what you really need to travel with.

Travel Essentials on the Plane:

• A great passport and documents pouch
• Your smartphone to capture amazing images
• Earphones
• A comfortable pair of jeans to travel in
• A good read (at the moment I'm reading Memoirs of a Geisha)
• An eye mask to ensure that you have a good rest
• A travel pillow
• A power bank to give your phone an extra battery life boost

Travel Essentials while exploring:

• Since its winter in Europe, a beanie and gloves are at the top of my list
• Sunglasses
• A neutral satchel to match most of your outfits

This is my basic breakdown of what you should have on you but everyone will have their own unique twist on what to take. While I'm travelling I will be meeting some bloggers for an exciting international collaboration; so even though this  may be my last post for 2015
keep an eye out for the international posts that are coming on the blog in the new year!

Follow me on social media to see more about my travels:)

Happy Holidays.

Photos: Layla Shaik Photography (www.laylashaikphotography.com)