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Sounding Off About The Vuvuzela

The overseas media has likened its ear-splittingly loud sound to the noise an elephant is bound to make while suffering from various ailments. Kinder reviewers think it sounds more like a monotonous foghorn. Everyone is in agreement about one thing though: it is LOUD.

But whether you love it or loathe it, every hearing person in South Africa as well as those who will be watching or listening to broadcasts of the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup around the world, will be subjected to the much maligned and mocked (and even warned against) sound of the vuvuzela over the coming month – whether they like it or not.

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Gaga’s Gala

The New York Costume Institute Gala falls on the first Monday of May and is hosted by Vogue. It is the premier party for aspiring fashionistas and those lucky enough to attend allow us an insight into who Fashion currently believes is a la mode.

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Proof That Style Has No Age Restriction

Normally, when waif-like girls who have barely entered their teens make waves in the global fashion industry, it is as the Next Great Supermodel. They hardly ever garner attention as widely respected commentators on high fashion.

But if you are still under the impression that Vogue’s devil editor Anna Wintour has the final and most influential say about what is à la mode these days, then you are hopelessly behind the times. (And not necessarily in a cool, vintage or retro way either!) Because for the last few years, those shoes – and in this instance the shoes in question are often outrageously towering Miu Miu platforms – have increasingly been filled by one Tavi Gevinson.

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The natural physics of life

It’s not about the destination… This is something we have to remind ourselves of on a daily basis.

I see too many people that live in the future or the past. But true, the ‘now’ is both eternal (for being ‘current conscious’) and yet so brief. We have glimpses of different futures, depending on a mood in the day, depending on what life has brought on your path at a specific moment, but we only have one past and there is but one truth there. There is choice in the now that impacts your future.

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Things that have tickled me this month

Why you have to bag a bag

Being interviewed this week in The Guardian newspaper, Mulberry’s chief executive Godfrey Davis said that, “women use their handbags all day every day, so it is very easy to rationalise why having a jolly nice handbag is a good thing”. This is the company’s reason for calling their bags ‘heirlooms’, enabling them to convince women that spending £1,000 on a handbag is an investment for the future. Read more…

Spending again

It was reported in Wealth Bulletin that the wealthy have finally become bored with acting frugally. They believe that their enforced austerity can now stop and they will cease to no longer spend by getting right back to building up their wardrobes. This is supported by the fact that top fashion brands are outperforming others on the MSCI world index – splendid news! Read more…

Cheap chic

J.Crew, the American clothing chain continues to make headlines with its affordable fashion.  Spearheaded by role models like Michelle Obama, the brand is apparently the ‘go to shop’ for fortysomethings in need of a chic reality check. This high-street brand puts it high fashion credentials down to one thing – Jenna Lyons (their hyper-trendy creative director). Where they differentiate themselves from throw away fashion is that while affordable, there is an inherent quality to their garments. What impressed me is their attention to detail.  Take, for instance, their boucle tweed jacket that sold out moments after it was seen on the First Lady; the tweed came from Linton, the Cumbrian company that also makes tweeds for Chanel. Read more…

Virtual advice

‘Ask a Stylist’, a fashion application which threatens to take away my job was released on 12 April 2010.  iPhone have released a real-time fashion best friend, one whom you send pictures of yourself in certain outfits and ask for feedback; or ask specialist advice such as “can you wear a spaghetti strap with a chunky chain link necklace”. The worst bit it that it is free – unlike me. Read more…

by Léonie Tovell

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Chocolates For All Those Days Until Next Easter

Easter 2010 is already just a fading memory, but luckily for all chocoholics out there, our favourite sweet treat is also packed choc-full of antioxidants that are beneficial to our general health and well-being all year round. So provided that we indulge in moderation and stick to the dark, genuine stuff, we need not deprive ourselves until the Easter Bunny hops around again.

As South Africans, we are lucky enough to live on the continent that produces the highest amount of cocoa in the world. On a happy, between-Easter hunt for chocolates, we stumbled upon a local chocolate maker who is taking full advantage of this fact by creating chocolates with a high cocoa percentage.

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Snap Up Rarely Worn Women’s Designer Duds

A stunning and always stylishly feathered little birdie told us about a fabulous fashion sale coming up this Thursday, 25 March 2010 in Cape Town. Not in the Mother City? Or even in South Africa? Trust us, skatties; this sale is so totally worth hopping on a plane for.

The second Rarely Worn sale will again offer exclusive designer goodies at bargain prices. Now, we realise that the word ‘bargain’ is a bit of a relative one that often has vastly different meanings to different people, but in this case the word is actually an understatement. Case in point: at last year’s event, one lucky shopper reportedly scored a pair of genuine Versace sunglasses for R100 – and no, you do not need to get your eyes checked, because you really did not overlook a few zeroes!

So wipe away those happy tears, because that’s not all…