What I've Worn: New Zealand Fashion Festival Day #3

I am a VIVA  Magazine freak enthusiast [I have kept most copies for the last 3 years], so when it came to light that the Viva Live! seminar at New Zealand Fashion Festival was to host a chat with Karen Walker, that clinched it for me. Ticket booked, bought and paid for!

I also stayed for Collections #3 for a refresher of what Celine Rita, Ingrid Starnes, Andrea Moore, Cybele, Taylor Boutique and Trelise Cooper had instore this season. I saw great coats, Kate of Arcadia bags and was reminded of some very cute pieces that I coveted during NZFW.

Highlight: Meeting the talented, stylish and all-round-good-guys from Four Eyes Blog

Lowlight: Being star-struck by the Usual Suspects and not making the most intelligent or impressionable of conversations, if I had the balls to speak to them at all.

wearing: Karen Walker square neck hatch wool coat, After the Apple for Karen Walker clutch, ASOS shell top and trouser suit, Alexander Wang shirt and Kate Sylvester boots.

original image by FourEyesBlog | filter added by me

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What I've Worn: Leopard and Leather

'What I've Worn: Leopard and Leather' - A title post that could strike fear into the hearts of many, conjures images of Bette from Coronation Street and probably caused a few of you to click the link purely to see what disastrous image would pop up.

I don't know about you but I have been getting knee deep into this snapback/fitted cap thing. It's the perfect crime coverer [I rarely brush the thing on my head masquerading as hair and am prone to forehead zits], gives instant street cred [I am the MJ of Maori] and let's be sunsmart kiddies, it's got your face covered from that nasty old burny, burny sun. 

My collection has grown faster than mould on cheese and I've spent a lot of hours lamenting the fact that The Boyfriends head is substantially larger than mine - no sharesies. Boo.

Where to go though, when the street versions don't quite sit right with more un-street looks?

GO LEATHER BASEBALL CAPS, YO!!!!

And yes, I'm eating Milo on Ricies. I'm being forced to eat breakfast - not a fan - and the only way I'll do it is if a chocolate substance of some sort is involved. And yes, those are men's running shorts. Deal.

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FW: The Week In Numbers

Good morning Albany | image by me

While the NZ fashion contingent has been buzzing with the likes of New Zealand Fashion Festival parties, flash mobs at First Light and the highly successful, ShopOneNight online event, I have been suffering some serious FOMO. I have never felt so excluded In. My. Life. [Yes, I acknowledge I was invited to be a KIA team member at S1N but The Cooper had other ideas...]

Let's crunch some numbers:

0x Instagrams of sky by people I follow on Twitter looked at,
7x photos of sky taken by me and
1x published [see above for the Good Morning Albany Edition]
1x invite to be on Team KIA for Shop One Night event hosted by Shop What's New and the T.R.I.B.E at The Nathan Club and
1x temper throwing baby who knew Mummy was wanting to go somewhere and therefore would not settle for,
1x overwhelmed Daddy
2x great deals taken advantage of during S1N meaning I get,
1x Thugged Out tee courtesy of Katherine Is Awesome and Isaac Likes and
1x Cheap Monday jeans at a ridiculously good looking price thanks to Black Box Boutique and Rag Pony
3x days as of today left to get yourself a 'Thugged Out Since Cub Scouts' tee
1x T.R.I.B.E bounce fest at S1N to 'N****s In Paris'
2x Hot Cross Buns consumed during the 5pm-Midnight S1N event
1x FW On Acid shorts made in a fit of boredom
2x seminars and shows booked for NZ Fashion Festival meaning I need to plan
2x outfits to wear
1x flash mob missed to mark the start of NZFF,
1x Official launch party unattended for NZFF and
1x First Light experience unexperienced
1x stunning exit collection from Raf Simmons for Jil Sander and
1x anticipated collection from the returning Jil Sander
12x pottles of yoghurt consumed in only
7x days
12x competitions entered and so far
1x won
1x awkward moment where friends mother invited herself along to Derby Day
3+ minutes of spluttering and coming up with 
0x reasons she can't come
1x internalised situation in my head of going 'Mean Girls' style at her across the table
2x sleepless nights figuring how I'm going to get amongst Fashion in the BIG little City on Saturday and the TV3 Carnival at Derby Day
1x moment when I realise that is one of the stupidest things I've ever typed because it's true and it's such a first world pain
3x visits to Shopbop.com and
0x purchases made because of
2x previously mentioned S1N and 
2x shoe purchases plus,
2x bills paid 
1x sadface I had to pay bills but
1x happyface we have power and internet for another month.

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What I've Worn: The Mash Up Edition

There are days when you wish you were in the mix and you aren't. You aren't because you couldn't be bothered [pool party/BBQ], couldn't get there [S1N, an engagement party, First Light, flash mob, NZFF Collection Show #1] or just plain weren't invited [see The Vow at the movies, NZFF launch party, coffee at Little & Friday].

It's been one of those weeks.

FOMO and AMO*.

Mixing it up with checks, prints and stripes and throwing a petit mal AMO tanty.

wearing: Barkers men's checked shirt, topshop shorts and socks, ASOS heeled brogues and Casio watch via Wocolate

*Actually Missing Out

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What I've Worn: Birkies and Socks

Just chillaxin round the place, telling crap jokes and imagining futures with our imaginery lotto winnings.

Balmy weather, balmy behaviour. 

Birkies + Socks = Birkandsocks.

Q: Why does Tigger smell?

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What I've Worn: Walker on Walker on Walker

If I was being more factual in the title of this post it would read, 'Walker on Walker on Walker on Madewell on Cheap Monday with Walker' but that's a lengthy description if ever there was one.

However, do not be surprised if you come back to this post at a later date and discover I did, in fact, edit the title.

Without a lie, I regretted this dress when I first purchased it. I was pregnant when I ordered it, the weather was wintery when it arrived and I was still harbouring a fully stocked milk-bar when I first entertained the idea of wearing it. It wasn't the fault of the dress that I looked...odd. I had categorized it 'For Sale' but thought to give it another try mid-December of 2011 after seeing Karen had included a similar skirt in 'The American Girl' range.

Without a lie, I wear it once a week since it's rediscovery.

wearing: Karen Walker cap, dress and sweatshirt, Madewell pointelle socks [unseen], Cheap Monday boots and After The Apple x Karen Walker clutch bag.

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What I've Worn: Crane Brothers and Little Brother

Some might say it's all about the Benjamins.

Depends.

I say, it's all about the Brothers.

I guess if they were the Benjamin Brothers, it would be all about the Benjamins.

I've officially conundrummed myself.

wearing: Little Brother oxford shirt, Crane Brothers pants, Casio watch via Wocolate, ASOS socks and brogues.

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What I've Worn: K-Dubs and Sneaker Heels

Not a day has gone by in the last week, where I have not worn either a Karen Walker-something or sneaker heels...or both.

Today was no exception.

"Do you reckon you could get me one of those hats or are they just for girls?"

"Of course not! Binky's boyfriend has one and he rocks it. It'd be cool."

"Yeah but do you think I could pull it off?"

"I say hells yeah you could...but maybe not the pink ones."

"Why not? I look dashing in pink."

"You look a little beetrooty in the face when you wear pink - just saying."

"Yeah, well your face is beetrooty."

"I'm brown. How can I be beetrooty?"

"Rotten beetrooty."

"I had to ask...."

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What I've Worn: Acid Bright Shorts and Quilted Vest

After the abundance of shiny, quilty, padded goodness shown in so many collections over the recent fashion weeks in New York and London, I figured the only option to wear with my 'FW on Acid' shorts was this convertible Alexander Wang jacket-slash-vest. 

Everyone loves a 'two-for'.

I had contemplated selling the jacket thinking I was either too many seasons behind the eight ball or far too in front of it. Guess not.

wearing: Alexander Wang quilted jacket as vest, Commoner's_Alike tee, FW 'On Acid' shorts and Kate Sylvester boots

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What I've Worn: Crane Brother Pants and Sherie Muijs Tee

I had an uneventful day of the usual errand running, iced tea consuming, bill paying [Booooo!] and trawling the Intrawebz for London Fashion Week coverage.

The Boyfriend, on the other hand, had an interesting one. See below.

wearing: Dope Couture snapback, Sherie Muijs Striped Boyfriend tee, Crane Brothers trousers, ASOS socks and navy Converse Hi's.

He should really get on Twitter. This is GOLD!

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What I've Worn: Brights and Birdies

Look, when the weather is this fantastic and you have somewhere nice to go for lunch, even this my-fave-colour-ever-is-like-black-even-though-it's-like-not-a-colour girl cannot resist a little pop-bright ensemble. You say pea-cocking, I say pop-ping.

I'm not usually a clutch person but look at this piece of fine clutch-ness by After The Apple for Karen Walker. Who could say no to that? After tossing up between pink or the yellow, I chose the sunny option to:
A] go with the hat, 
B] It's going to rock against navy come winter and 
C] It gives me a good excuse to purchase the yellow octo-paisley shirt from 'Sea Monsters' once it hits the shops.
Always thinking ahead.

Karen Walker clutch and shirt, Asos skirt and Chaos & Harmony heels and eating 100 and 1000's cookies.

Thought such brights needed a little K-Dub-ifying of imagery - my homage to images taken backstage by Sonny Vandevelde.

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FW: The Week In Numbers

From where I sat at Cornwall Park | image by me

I'm a day late - sue me. I was too busy having a blast at Cornwall Park [and having FOMO about the Polo] to bother with blogging on time, but here we are, getting down to business. Deal.


Let's crunch some numbers:


3x Instagrams of the Auckland sky-hashtag-nofilter from people I follow ion Twitter that I actually bothered to view,
2x photos of sky taken by me and
1x published [see above].
34x awesome looks from Karen Walker's 'Sea Monsters' fall collection at NYFW 2012 and
27x items that I now want but cannot afford.
3x magazines bought that totally disappointed.
1x overcharge of $59.95 that I should have noticed but since most stores don't correctly ticket or signage their items, nor show you what price is scanning on the screen and the staff no longer call out the cost of items as they scan them -  if they even bother to give you eye contact, I did not know until I drove all the way home,
1x phone number listed that goes straight to fax [who even HAS a fax these days?] and
1x pissed off ex-retail-manager-now-ex-customer.
4x new Karen Walker items arrived from my order, 
1x HUGE beaming smile,
3+ strange little victory dances in Binky's living room and,
1x appreciative hug to Binky.
10+ "Oh my god this is awesome!" exclamations as I got the grand tour of Binky's parentals new home,
17000+ bricks layed by The Boyfriend towards making their new home.
1x super chilled glass of Diet Coke,
2x mince savouries,
2x sausage rolls thanks to Binky's Mum, Meeg's.
2x scoops of OOB Organic ice cream in Latte and Peppermint Chip at Omaha.
1x glass of wine consumed, though I detest the stuff but when in Rome...
2x bottles of cider, though I love the stuff and could've had 
2x more bottles of cider but when in Rome, drink only what you are offered.
10+ cupcakes consumed that I baked. It's called quality control people.
10+ minutes considering whether I should exercise those cupcakes off
<1x minute deciding that was a stupid idea.
10+ minutes driving around Cornwall Park looking for my group of human beings which feels like,
30+ minutes when it's searing hot in the car and you are searching frantically amongst the,
1000+ people who all look alike when they're in a huge park having drinks, nibbles and/or fun.
1x spontaneous trip to the mall to get some decent air-conditioning and buy
1x loaf of bread for,
1x great family BBQ.
8x spontaneous purchases from said well air-conditioned mall with,
0x regrets.
8x feelings of weirdness that I did not experience mall-purchase-induced-regret.
1x thoroughly enjoyable though totally unproductive week.

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What I've Worn: Sneaker Heels and a Visor

Since I got my 'The American Girl' sweatshirt from Karen Walker, I have hardly removed it. So what if the temperature is in the high 20's? It's a cool sweat. Get one!

I'm also rocking the sneaker heels. Obviously one cannot afford the Isabel Marant versions, so one must make do with more affordable options.

I wonder if everyone else appreciated the sneaker heels and visor combo at Cornwall Park?

wearing: Karen Walker 'The American Girl' sweatshirt and Elizabeth & JamesTEXTILE metallic shorts.

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What I've Worn: New Karen Walker Cap

When is The Boyfriend [or Mum for that matter] going to learn that when you ask which item looks better out of a selection and you place emphasis on one in particular, that this is the secret signal to choose said item?

Evolution did take millions of years...

Yeah, I'm bad-ass!

Snagged myself a new cap from Karen Walker's 'The American Girl'; Never not loving a snapback and especially one in navy/yellow tartan crepe de chine. Added bonus is the price point. At only $40NZD it's super affordable and I could seriously consider getting a few more in my favourite K-Dub prints. Check her online store here.

wearing: Karen Walker 'The American Girl' snapback cap, bunny ring and 'North' boatneck chambray tunic dress, Converse lo's, One of Spades 'Hot Tamali' bracelets, Stolen Girlfriends Club pinky ring and Casio watch via Wocolate.

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What I've Worn: Karen Walker Dress and The Boyfriends Shirt

Sometimes you just wear what you wear.

There a days where you have nothing to say.

I heard two thunderstorms today.

As I type, I'm eating a banana split.

Slow news day.

wearing: Karen Walker denim dress, The Boyfriends shirt, mirrored aviators from New World and Converse Lo's.

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What I've Seen: Katie-maree Cole 'quite.contrary' Winter 2012

Model Rosie Herdman @Red11 with Gertrude

You know when you receive the press kit for a collection in the mail, in a kraft brown envelope, with STAMPS on it, that the person behind it all has a passion for the personal touch and is a believer in doing things a little old school. When the envelope contains a photo print flip card of the lookbook and a blurb on newsprint paper, I squeal a little as it appeals to the tactile geek in me. But wait, there's more...a modern accompaniment. Every Bloggers dream: a disc with high resolution images. You now know for a fact, that this person likes to do things old school, understands the power of the personal touch, has the ability to anticipate your needs and appreciates the simpler things in life. It's the little things.

Katie-maree Cole's offering for Winter 2012 is labelled 'quite.contrary' and it's a fitting description for a range that references the days of old where life was simpler, slow and purposeful. The designer cites the '...feminine aesthetic of 'Little House on the Prarie' as an influence for her collection and you can see that manifest in the fullness and lengths of skirts, ruffle detail on hem and necklines and in the beautifully handcrafted lace aprons and bonnets. Cole manages to keep things modern and fresh through using simple silhouettes - avoiding the costume trap that some designers can fall into when showing mid-west influenced collections - along with the use of a very current, pop bright orange. The 'quite.contrary' range of dresses and separates has a colour palette earthy in tone and includes fabrications of luxurious wools and silks. Keep an eye out for the details you could miss on first glance; gold buttons, collars and well placed splits.  There is a great check on offer too. The focus on detailing is key here, showing that good things take time.

Personally, I can see the black 'Cuddle Me' knit, grey 'Girls' skirts, checkered 'Runnin' for Home' culottes,  the grey 'Kickin' It with the Boys' trouser and the inky 'Prarie' shirt sitting nicely in my wardrobe and though my aesthetic errs on the side of tomboy, I can't help but hanker for a lace apron.

The label is available online at www.katiemareecole.com or, if you live in Auckland you can get hands on at MADE in the Britomart precinct.

Click through for larger images!

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What I've Seen: Karen Walker 'Sea Monsters' F/W 2012

When images surfaced of the invite for Karen Walker's NYFW show 'Sea Monsters', I won't lie, I got excited. Like girlish squeal, excited. There were all sorts of images swimming around in my head and I knew there would be something exciting in the prints. A quirky take on prints are in K-Dubs DNA. I like her DNA. 

Watching as the images popped up on NOWFASHION this morning, I saw a completely wearable collection from start to finish. Stand outs for me? You got an hour or two to discuss? Grab a snack, take a seat, get comfy....I kid, I kid. I've got a lot of rambling I could do but I'll save that for the Boyfriend, Johnson and Binky.

Walker drew influence from Jules Verne '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' and wanted to see what would happen if you mixed that with Victoriana and Mod sensibilities. What I saw were very clever references and manipulations of iconic underwater motifs such as spouting whales, octopus tentacles - which, by the way, work very nicely into an oversized paisley like they were born to be together - the Victoriana manifested in ruffle and frill details and sumptuous brocades while the outerwear and accessories showed Mod signatures. Some of the textures and finishes on the fabrics evoked thoughts of seaweed, mermaids and glimmering fish skins, while the shapes and cuts of the garments stayed strong and true to K-Dubs aesthetic. That tomboyish take on silhouettes that I live for, are still there.

images via nowfashion|edited by me

The accessories and footwear are very strong contender's for 'It' status and can't wait to see the plethora of 'It' girls showcasing them on the 'It' streetstyle blogs. The frills, the fabrics, the oversized tongues - what's not to love? - will be a major hit once they roll out to stores and I can sense a pre-order frenzy, if not a significant wait list.

images via nowfashion|edited by me

Details to note: frilled neck and hemlines, hardware on coats, chain linked collars, gold coats, fluffy sweaters and THAT HAIR!

images via nowfashion|edited by me

As for what I would choose if I wasn't allowed to yell, "ALL OF IT!!!"? Here they are:

Fashion Westie's Hi-Fives:

images via nowfashion|edited by me

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What I've Worn: Karen Walker, Snapback and Docs

It's not often that the Boyfriend can give sartorial advice and not end in a result where I:

A] Look like a candidate for Snog, Marry, Avoid.

or

B] Am wearing a white t-shirt, hair in a ponytail, jeans and chucks. Again.

So when he gave his two cents this morning, I was a little wary. But I went with it. And was surprised that he nailed it.

wearing: Mitchell & Ness snapback, Karen Walker silk top, ASOS crop top, Federation mens jeans, Docs.

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What I've Worn: The No Frills Edition

Listen, being quarantined at home while your little fulla is rocking the chicken pox is not conducive to wearing anything fancy schmancy. You'd be lucky to get a shower, a brush through your hair [not that I'm a regular hair brusher anyways] or even a bra on when a baby is sick. Just prefacing because this is me, just in some jeans and a shirt, on my deck, using the self timer and only being able to take 3 frames. Don't judge.

Little mention about the shirt. I've had it for over a year, worn it to death and was slightly mortified when I noticed that one of the front yoke seams was shredding. "My shirt!" I exclaimed, "Bulls**t higher end label, bloody linen, bloody hell!" Then I thought, actually, I'm kinda digging the distressed look. F**k it, I like it. There's a story in them there shreddy fibres.

wearing: Elizabeth & James Textile linen shirt and Levi 511's.

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FW: The Week In Numbers

photo by FW

This should be an apology laden, hat eating, self flagellation post. But it's not. Instead, I use my power of subliminal messaging and voila! All. Is. Right. With. The. World.

It's been a hella strange week. Let's crunch some numbers:

11x photos of sky, taken by me.

1x photo of sky, taken by me and published [see above].

23x Instagram photos of Auckland sky-hashtag-nofilter from people I follow on Twitter.

23x examples of an Auckland sky that I cannot see from From Where I Lie. Mine's always the standard colour. Maybe only magic iPhone people with their magic Instagram app can see these magic skies. Not that I'm hashtag-iJealous.

2x buckets of punch heavily laden with 80 proof vodka and other bottles of an alcohol. Consumed between,

7x mates who went to,

1x Thai restaurant,

?x drinking and dancing establishments and led to

1x Grand Mal hangover.

6x new bruises.

1x sick baby last week that bloomed into a sick chicken poxed baby this week.

?x hours spent on, 

?x websites looking at NYFW 2012 pictures but only,

1x got me really excited.

1x word: Ella.

9x dirty t-shirts leaving,

2x clean t-shirts for the,

2x days remaining to this week. Thank god.

14x missing outfit posts.

9x actual outfit photos taken but not edited, let alone taken off the SD card.

5x drawings or outfit lays required to make up for this heinous oversight [read: letting life get in the way]

1x renewed zest for blogging.

1x smiley face.

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What I've Worn: The Chicken Pox Edition

Yesterday, The Cooper got The Chicken Pox. Bring on home detention for a week or so....

I escaped briefly to get supplies.

wearing: Bape snapback, As Colour men's tee, Karen Walker 'Pegs' boat pants and Converse Lo's in Optical White.

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What I've Worn: Waitangi Day

I know I'm a native and should be celebrating all that is Maori slash Treaty slash New Zealand-y on this historical day. But I'll be honest with you; not to be flippant but currently it's just another day for me. As soon as I hear of protesters and cries of injustices done in the past, I turn off. I happen to be part Maori living in this great country of New Zealand. I love it here, now. I love the people here, now. Can we please live in the here and now? Thanks.

On a lighter note, we saw Chronicle.

In other news, it was crap.

P.S: I never thought I'd 'do' a nanna floral shirt. But when it's a sheer-ish nanna floral shirt with shoulder slits? I'm all about it! There ain't nothing nanna about shoulder slits.

wearing: Madame Hawke 'Garden' blouse, Ruby Boutique tweed shortalls, Acne 'Pistol' boots, Mulberry Bayswater with Deadly Ponies 'Mr Mohawk' lure.

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What I've Worn: The Hungover Edition

Not much to say other than this:

THANK GOD FOR FILTERS! This is most definitely NOT a #nofilter post candidate.

I brought it on myself and I learned that nothing should be consumed from a bucket, boyfriends can be horrible when they are sober and you are hungover and I am forever grateful that Mozaik is literally a 2 minute walk across the road. 

Oh and I'd also like to thank someone for inventing bright lipstick that always makes you look fresh, even when you are wilting behind dark glasses.

wearing: Elizabeth & James TEXTILE shirt, Ruby Boutique tweed shortalls and converse lo's.

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What I've Worn: Neon and Neoprene

You heard me right. Neon + Neoprene. I, the advocate of denim on denim on denim, the practitioner of Girls Dressed Like Boys, the current owner of a wardrobe of neutral classics, wore a hi-vis dress.

I also drank from a  communal bucket of god-knows-what-is-in-it-but-the-recipe-looks-posh-so-let's-make-it punch. Let me just say, if it comes in a bucket, you probably shouldn't consume it. But it did have fresh fruit. Conundrum.

It was my first night amongst adults in an extremely long time. And I had a adult of a hangover to remind me why I don't do this sort of thing very often.

As for the dress, I might rework it into a skirt - more day/night possibilities. Watch this space.

wearing: ASOS White neoprene dress and Kate Sylvester boots.

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What I've Worn: A Shorts Suit and Birdies Shirt

We went out for a date.

We both looked sharp.

Suits always win, no matter the type.

wearing: Dotti shorts suit, Karen Walker 'Birdies' mod shirt and Chaos&Harmony 'Bobby' heels.

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What I've Worn: Tightstrap Pants and Wang

No matter how I worded the title of this post, I have a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that there will be a plethora of Google Alerts in my inbox from dubious linking and god knows how many more 'Check out my profile, I love to have sexy chats with many people.' emails.

The Boyfriend is not totally sold on these Cheap Monday pants I bought a couple of years ago, constantly referring to them as the 'Bondage Pants'. Every time I've corrected him on his obvious mistake and informed him they are actually named 'Tightstraps' I realise this does nothing to better the situation or stop his sniggering as he adds, 'On.'

Look, I don't give a s**t whether he's a fan or not. I'm a fan and I am back in these pre-Cooper pants without losing feeling in my lower limbs or wondering if I belong on some 'Feeders in Bondage Pants' website.

wearing: Alexander Wang burlap trench, ASOS shirt, Cheap Monday 'Tightstrap' pants, Acne 'Pistol' boots, William Phillips 'Cammay' tote with Deadly Ponies 'Mr Mohawk' lure.

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