man up.

male models. does this term make you think of an American fragrance dude posing intently at you, like he wants to have your children, oiled with a brunette Guess woman on his bed in the background? well, if yes, not only are you an elaborate over-thinker like me, you are completely normal. unlike me. if not, i have a whole lotta respect for you.

the majority of us immediately think of male models as men bordering on metrosexuality or overly-macho, tabloid-typecasted examples, your pink-shirted, Calvin Klein-cled bunch.

they've all been packaged enough that they now remind me of specimens from a Britney Spears filmclip. ew. but then again, those men are not about the clothes.

so let me salvage your minds with a new concept of boy posers. their look is particular in uniqueness, fresh and true. this man is a modern gentlemen who wants to have a definitive style and ease to his aesthetic; he is not trying to be a perfect example of a certain group of men, but is an honest individual. it's less about masculinity, more about how he inspires his voyeur. more daring than dashing, these men try to cultivate you as opposed to catering for you.

i'd crap myself everyday at work if i had to be a model caster, because they have this inherently tricky task of striking the balance between man and cloth, trying to keep the basic appeal of the clothes intact without the person overshadowing this with their large eyebrows or muscled limbs. a very hard task indeed. it seems it's becoming more about the man of late, with many local advertisements and new models cropping up which promote real men.

i probably know what you're thinking - Dove campaign. well, yes it is in a way, just not as aspirational and definitely not as sales-driven. even internationally-acclaimed men's magazines like Fantastic Man and Jefferson Hack's Another Man are jumping on the rusty bandwagon. and it shits all over your lacquered hardwood one.

Gen Y's may just throw their fist in the air with me on this one. for me the strongest modern male figure is one you can relate to, the boys who are not really aware of their beauty, the Alfalfa kiddies (without looking like Alfalfa) who didn't get asked to the school disco by a girl. this ease and naturalist approach to not only fashion, but their life, is what maked them so modern. you often find them on buses, or concerning themselves with tunes at indie gigs held in your town's arteries - hell, they even buy gear from op-shops. and that says a lot for a guy today. it says they're not going to be all GQ on us and are willing to wear a shirt that is ripped unintentionally.

thank. you.

you could say Australia is a pioneer in this morphing view of men in fashion modeling. random and absurd (bordering on 'hippy') as it may seem to the common housewoman or man, favouring consumerism over almost anything else, it is a painfully realistic concept that points us in a bloody good position as far as eradicating Britney Spears' boys from the species goes.

i'm sorry but men who bring new meaning to the phrase 'disco balls', plus lads, are not even in the same country as this ball park of men. (it has to be said, they need to be shot).

men need to be men, not Ken dolls - or walruses for that matter.

desordre

i found MY store. you know that store that defines you, or as Mitch interestingly puts it "it's like they manifested a part of your brain!" - yes indeedy i found that store! it's called Desordre and they travel around Australia setting up camp wherever they see fit...i say this with an air of annoyance BECAUSE they're just so damn incredible with their Willow, Natasha, Aje, Maurie and Eve and Ellery wares that it was pure fate that we glanced over and saw it there all amazing-looking next to a gay bar on oxford street. Desordre was so unsuspecting yet alluring and we went in only to find a massive wall of colour painted on with faces and objects that i can't recall because i was heart attacking at the time. the whole store wasn't a store, it was a warehouse. a house for wares. and wares they were. lingerie was draped from wooden beams, beautiful lace dresses and studded silk singlets made a massive imprint on my psyche. a poem or mantra or something was painted on a window at the rear of the house and odette and i stood there reading it out aloud as if we were reading from a prayer book. ahhhhhhhhhhhh how can this place exist?! things are only this good in dreams!

kids look at this site/blog/supernatural force that is desordre. i'm sharing with you, this is how much i love you - i have no doubt in my mind that i'm gonna regret airing my little secret!

www.desordrestore.com

xx

C.I. for H&M love

chanel iman for h&m's holiday campaign.

oui cherie.

NYNYNY

www.sophomorenyc.com

strictly cool.

not gorgeous but sex appeal that lasts

i love this woman. she's strong, sure and has a clear vision of what she wants and also what in life brings her down. it's a gem to have people.

so here's SJP's latest fashion foray, on the cover of American ELLE magazine. Sarah and Carrie are different people, but to me they're very similar, considering the fact that one is a fictional character. my best friend and i had a conversation about her once mid-way through a SATC marathon (we paused first) but she had a good point - she's not stunning to look at. she is attractive, but Carrie isn't one of the lucky head-turner women of this world. but what we both agreed she had, and in droves, is attitude. sexy attitude. this species of girl is unique. she's got swagger like it's her last day on earth and she just saw Bloc Party live in concert. yeah. we then pressed play and saw evidence of this as Carrie did something that proved her point (i can't remember because it was a good 2 years ago, it would have tied this all in neatly if i did wouldn't it?) but i remember her outfit was incredibly original and effortlessly worked (i WANT her wardrobe, you don't understand) because she approaches her sense of style with confidence, candour and cockiness in just the right amount.

it's not about being rude or mean, that's not what i mean - it's about being happy enough in what and who you are to not give a fuck about others' opinions of you.

take it in, but don't let it rule you and get over it, life's too short for that boring behaviour.

Marc Jacobs Spring 2010

"Marc is New York. Marc is New York Fashion Week. Marc is one of the most dedicated, extraordinary people and designers, and he just stays true to what he does, every season. I've been following his work since I started and he's just unbelieveably so on top of his game. I'm his number one fan." - Rachel Zoe, Stylist.

The lover in the relationship. The mother in the family. The designer in the fashion industry. It's Marc Jacobs.

As my personal favourite designer of all time, I appreciate all his lines, some moreso than others admittedly. It's OK because I've scrutinised every one of his collections and media releases, interviews and collaborative projects and all related endeavours of the glorious man that is Jacobs and understand that even if some aren't to my specific taste, I can always appreciate his way with a sketching pencil and sewing machine.

Wishful thinking - don't you think it would be great though if he did still make his own wares by hand?! Hunched over in an underground basement in downtown NYC with mllions of scribbled details on paper encroaching him on clothing lines held up by pegs.

I do.

ANYWAYS.

I can understand where he comes from, from the perspective of a fashion designer relating to the wearer of their clothes, when he said of his latest collection back in the September/October 2008 issue of RUSSH Magazine:

"When I trust my own whims. and the whims of people I trust, I feel that has credibility...belief is embedded in everything you do - so it doesn't actually matter whether people like it. I guess what we do, as a team, is a daily, weekly, monthly re-evaluation of whims."

And then when asked if fashion should be challenging, he casually says an incredibly bespoke quote that pretty much justifies why I love fashion and why i want to write about it all the time - "We don't need fashion. It's not a necessity. We don't need fashion at all, but we want fashion. And that's important. Because what we want is the reason for why we live." He's captured the idea that is on the tip of every devoted fashionista's tongue.

Of course we don't need fashion - no matter how much us girls say we need shoes, it's not true.

We only want them badly because they're just that fucking amazing. It's a whirlwind of constantly changing needs to express different emotions, atmospheres and wants, through proportion and silhouettes. Are you kidding?! That sounds bloody hard if you ask me - but somehow he does it and pulls it off with flair and a cool-headed approach all the while...

"Marc is always surprising, you never know quite what he's going to do. There's always got to be something, you can love it, you can hate it, you can get blown away...but it will always be something that you just do not expect." - Hilary Alexander, Fashion Director, The London Telegraph.

Expect him to be pushing the boundaries sometime again soon in one form or another, and showing us why we're meant to have fun in this lifetime: because we want to.

a note for you

truth be told, i don't like staying up all night.
only when i'm drunk.
i much prefer to go to bed at a reasonable hour as long as i have good reading material and a nice warm cup of tea.
it's comforting to know that what you really love to do with your down time is your career (or future i should say) also, which is why i write the most at night.
a lot of things are given new perspective at night i find.
and those niggling problems created in the day have clarity at night.

so this blog will now be my writing haven.
moreso to share & inspire for you.

if you love my images, you can find new ones regularly on my tumblr page at gaiaerin.tumblr.com .

xx

catharsis

it's such a rush just being with you

michael angel spring 2010. no angel pun.

"The inspiration was these jewellery boxes...and the girls opened them in the 20s and they find all of this stuff. They went into their mum's closet and put it all on. But I wanted to keep it modern; keeping it modern was the use of the neo-print. I think I arrived at this signature place, where it's like 'This is what I want to say, and here it is'. It's nice to be able to open the week and be like 'Let's have some fun.'" - Michael Angel.

and he said bonita, there's nothing you can't do