Daily Outfit: Workplace Blues

To be perfectly honest, I am having an awful week.

I won't bore you with the details, but suffice to say that my current working environment has lead to my spending more than a little time this week seriously considering the logistics of a relocation to a small fishing village somewhere on the north-east coast of American where I could reinvent myself as a waiter at an Oyster Bar...

Daily Outfit: Hi-Vis High Style?

“You’re looking very hi-vis today Grant.”

These words came from a senior member of staff at work who, frankly speaking, terrifies me. Not only is she an incredibly impressive individual, but she’s also remarkably well dressed, and occasionally assesses my daily outfits in a few words in passing so succinctly that I'm often left completely unaware if she approves or disapproves of whatever it is that I happen to be wearing. I can’t even deal with it.

Daily Outfit: Lost and Found

I had forgotten all about this lovely sweater until I found it in the wardrobe of my bedroom at my parent’s house over this last weekend.

My mum is actually the one who noticed it on sale at Myer a few years back, and suggested that I should buy it. I remember being hesitant, though I’m not sure why now, because I absolutely love it.

Luxury: Braddon Tailors Trunk Show

On Thursday evening past I headed to the Braddon Tailors' studio in Canberra's CBD for their new-season Trunk Show, held in conjunction with Henry Carter neckwear and accessories.

Daily Outfit: Sweats at Work

Today I am headed down to my parent's farm on the far-south coast for their annual Finnish Independence Day celebration; so I wanted a daily outfit that translated well into three hours in the car.

For transparency, I feel like I must say that I wasn't brave enough to wear the track pants to work in the end, even on 'Casual Friday', so I wound up changing them out for a pair of dark jeans.

Daily Outfit: Drug Runner

I'm not really sure why, but this outfit reminds me of a pilot's get-up.

I feel like all that I am missing are some reflective aviators and a cigar and I could be running drugs in a sea-plane in some terrible early 90's action film, waiting for Arnie to bust into our compound and start some mass shoot-out while I desperately try to make a get away with tacky suitcases full of money...

I'm also perplexed as to why I like this look so much.

Daily Outfit: Inappropriately Yours

I find myself thinking about what is and what is not appropriate to wear to work quite a bit, especially when I am putting together my daily outfits.

For me, a Public Servant, I find that people are very quick to assume that my colleagues and I spend every day in corporate dress. I guess that is the image that societally we have conjured up for how Public Servants look. However, I was told today by an acquaintance that what I wore to work was not appropriate, and that if I worked for him we would be having words about my inappropriate work attire...

Daily Outfit: Just Like Marc

I have had a fixation with Louis Vuitton since I started high school.

It started with ripping the incredible ads for the Vuitton luggage pieces out of Vogue magazines in my art classes, and grew from there to where I am today, the owner of several different pieces, collector of catalogs, and life-long devotee to the cult of the monogram canvas.

I've been waiting for a beautiful new piece to arrive from Sydney all weekend, and so I decided to sub-in my large six-ring agenda for today's photo shoot, knowing that the actual item would arrive after I took these photos.

Luxury: Braddon Tailors Trunk Show this Thursday

This is something of a public service announcement for any men or women in Canberra looking to get their hands on the best bespoke suits, ties and accessories that Canberra has to offer.

This Thursday 24 July, two Canberra companies are joining forces to showcase their impressive wears for men who appreciate the finer-side of mens fashion and who understand that first impressions really do last.

I will be joining Pip Morgan and Tarun Charker of Braddon Tailors, along with Jason Sergott of Henry Cater, and more than 50 Canberran gentlemen; and heading to the studio of Braddon Tailors for a unique trunk show of some of the best men’s winter fashion available in the nation’s capital.

Daily Outfit: Orange Knits

A pop of bright orange against a sea of dark navy is clearly a winning combination in my book.

Wardrobe Stories: Corr Blimey Slim Jim Jeans

After meeting with designers Louisa de Smet and SteveWright in the lead up to Fashfest 2014 and then seeing their amazing runwayshow for the Berlin collection, I knew that I wanted to get my hands on my own piece of Corr Blimey. More specifically, I wanted a pair of jeans.

After our initial meeting/consultation, I wound up choosing the Slim Jim Jeans however, because I'm generally difficult, I asked for Lousia to include the tabbed waistband from the Dustman Jeans, because I love the way that this looks.

Daily Outfit: Dressing for War

Today’s daily outfit was an exercise in dressing for war.

Now, I don’t mean to trivialise war or what our service men and women do; I am talking about the sort of personal battles that we each face on a daily basis. Right now my work situation is a bit fraught, and I was feeling like today I might be in something of a firing line. So, being a big believer in dressing to how you feel; today meant dressing for war by armouring myself.

Daily Outfit: Fox Fur Collar

Another beautiful grey day here in Canberra, marking the perfect opportunity to bring my vintage fox fur collar out from hiding and lend some warmth to an otherwise cool daily outfit.

Daily Outfit: My Own Sunshine

I decided that I would have to be my own sunshine today, when after a lovely weekend in Sydney with family and friends, I had to get up at 6:00 AM and head to work in the freezing darkness of Canberran winter.

I'm not really a morning person at the best of times, but in winter it is so much harder to get myself going and to crawl out of the warmth of my bed and face the bitter cold mornings. I figured wearing my own sunshine in sweater form might help to make the day pass that little bit quicker.

Daily Outfit: Mark 06 Jacket

I am completely smitten with this polyester jacket that I picked up in H&M in Finland, and it is rapidly becoming my go-to winter jacket.

It is actually a part of a runner's get-up with a pair of matching leggings/tights that I have at home, and while they look pretty bad-ass together, I won't be subjecting you to that view anytime soon. The jacket is also blissfully warm, most likely because it is made of several different kinds of plastic. It makes it perfect for dreary days like today, where the sky over Canberra is wet and grey looking, and the wind is particularly vicious.

Daily Outfit: Shades of Blue Goth

Despite the fact that I have been actively culling every colour from my wardrobe except for shades of blue for almost six months now; I still feel like I am a fair distance from achieving my Blue Goth look.

I’ve obviously got a few items of orange, and some of white or grey, but the majority of my wardrobe is now shades of blue. On a daily basis I am wearing more blue than any other colour, and yet I still feel like I'm never truly acchieving the monochromatic perfection of my aestheticist peers Naomi, Nadia and Lucinda.

Daily Outfit: Marimekko Shirt

The day before I left for Finland, I purchased this Marimekko shirt from ebay for the small sum of $18.25 including postage. 

Marimekko is possibly the most famous Finnish design house, who have made significant contributions to Scandinavian design and hold international influence, known for their bold yet simple prints. Predominately, Marimekko produce fabric which are used in womenswear or home-furnishings, however they have had menswear lines, which is where this shirt comes from.

I knew that I had to own it as soon as I saw it.

Daily Outfit: Risky Neon

The more time I spend thinking about my clothes and about style and fashion in general; the more I find I am willing to take risks with what I wear.

This is especially the case when it comes to dressing for work.

Having been away from the corporate work environment for four weeks now, I wanted to ease myself back into the swing of things by dressing down a little. I also wanted to wear something a little bright and cheerful, to combat any negative feelings I might have about being back on the 9-5 working schedule.

Daily Outfit: Canadian Tuxedo

This evening I donned a Canadian Tuxedo and the boyfriend and I headed down to New Acton to check out the Hustle & Scout Twilight Markets, as well as The Forage.

I must admit that I didn't stay very long at all. Both the boyfriend and I are a mite claustrophobic, and the sheer number of people at Hustle & Scout, and the freezing temperature and lack of eftpos at The Forage, mean that we had both had our fill pretty quickly. BUT, Hustle and Scout was going off! There was a really awesome turn out, and I was really impressed with the designers that were showing their stuff. It was really great to see so many Canberrans out supporting such a fantastic and home-grown event!

Daily Outfit: Errands

Today I had a bunch of errands that I had to run, and so I bundled myself up and got out into the chilled Canberra morning as soon as possible, with the clear intention that the sooner my errands were over; the sooner I could get back into my trackies.

To be perfectly frank, I am surprised at just how cold it is here in Canberra at the moment. It snowed while we were in Lapland, and it was still warmer there than it is here right now! Thankfully, I have this amazing synthetic jacket that I picked up at H&M in Jyväskylä, which kept me nice and toasty as I was running about the place today. It was a sound investment at €7.

Travel: Scandinavian Fashion Stalking

I spent a lot of my time in Scandinavia stalking the style of the locals.

I've used the term stalking because, like a deviant street photographer, I never actually approached any of my subjects and asked to photograph them. No, instead I would just casually look like I was taking a photo of the streetscape, and hurriedly snap a few shots of the outfit or accessory in question.

Of course, 90% of the photos I took in this manner were shit.

This post is the compilation of all the Fashion Stalking pictures I took that actually worked.