Chipster Update

Things that have been happening in Chipster world lately.

Reading: Being on Goodreads turns reading into a sort of competitive social activity. However, I may be the only one amongst my friends actually playing... I'm ashamed to say so, but I think I always read books with other people in mind - my friends, random people on public transport etc.

I have lovely friends who buy me things.

These raccoon earrings from my friend Kaari. She was worried that they might not be my style! Laughable, because they are perfect.

Dr Who necklace from my cousin Miranda! With little Weeping Angels, the scariest of the Dr Who villains. I love wearing my geekiness around my neck.

And of course, the camera with which these pictures were taken, from the lovely Brigitta who has just left me for Satan's suburbia, i.e. Canberra =(

I bought a liquid chalk pen from Smiggle! It makes every surface a chalkboard surface, it's so much fun.

I cleaned my room, and now there are a bunch of cute little vignettes around my room.

Chalk-decorated jars. I have a lot of jars and not much to put in them. I stuck a polar bear on one of them, I like bears.

GIRL TALK

Uni is getting a little hectic, work is about to get insane (Vivid Festival = 2am shifts at work), my camera is broken and my phone screen smashed. Everything is working against me, in terms of regular blogging. But blogging is so much fun! So I've decided to compile this post of random, girly things.

 

I finally decided to use the old masking tape trick for french tip-style nail polish. I have never been a regular old french manicure type of girl though. My nail polish collection is everything my wardrobe isn't - neon, colourful, and glittery. For these black and clear nails, I was inspired by Anna from D16 - who I absolutely ADORE. Her love of black, white and grey design, punctuated by little pops of neon is starting to rub off on me, as illustrated by the next two photos:

  

This colour actually looks a little more orange in real life, and a lot more neon and eye-catching. I painted them for work in the hope that some fashion forward customer will love them and tip me. I will also be wearing hipster plastic lens-ed glasses and a button-up, embroidered white collared shirt - with a scalloped collar - and then my Chipster work transformation will be complete!

I was super happy with my makeup this day so I took a quick (blurry!) instagram of it (I'm cuddling my puppy pillowpet!). I just bought some gel pot eyeliner and a red lip liner. The gel eyeliner is okay (it's the Maybelline one - I only ever buy supermarket makeup), but the lip liner is AMAH-ZING (it was like $10 from Priceline, I think it's Australis?). How have I lived this long without lip liner? It stays on so long and it's so much easier to apply than lipstick - I always colour outside the lines with lipstick. My earrings are neon yellow studs which are super cute and one of the only neon items I own - I think I need more!

Is everyone watching Mad Men? I don't really like Megan, but I am loving her costuming. She has the best outfits on the show. Also, you can not call yourself a real fan of Mad Men if you are not reading TLo's recaps (the style recaps are the shiznit).

Anyway, this is my favourite outfit she has worn on the show, from a couple of episodes ago. I would SO wear this right this second right now. LOOK AT THAT COAT (also, that apartment, I would die for a mid-century apartment with a sunken living area).

Screencaps by Tom and Lorenzo

BADGE OF HONOUR

Brooches are totally one of my things. They are such an easy, cheap, cool way of conveying personality through style. I have a small collection of brooches and badges, and here is a selection of them!

I think I have had this tiny peacock brooch since I was little. I assume it was my mother's, but it has always sat in my jewellery box, waiting for me to grow into it. Like a lot of my mum's old stuff, I used to think it was daggy, but Past Jess had no style!



The moustachioed dinosaur is from my friend Kaari, for my last birthday. It's from Etsy and it's made of felt and it's awesome and suave and adorable.

I can't even remember where I got the amber-stone brooch, but I never wear it because it's too fancy. It's like something I would wear if I were invited to some posh award ceremony. But I love the design anyway.

These badges were from Smiggle, I think, back when they first opened. I bought a bunch of them, but the "this badge is intentionally blank" one was the best of the lot. So witty and ironic! Like me!

Okay, some of these photos were actually taken on different days, I just wear collared shirts all the time. Anyhow, the polar bear brooch is from A Skulk of Foxes and it's my favourite, I wear it all the time with everything. The space invader one is also from Smiggle, I believe.

So there you have it! I want to expand my collection and I'm looking for more animal-themed badges. I'm thinking a sloth, because sloths are the shit.

DIY DECORATIVE COLLAR

FACT: Procrastinating over a university assessment late at night is the most conducive environment to DIY crafting. As a bona fide Chipster, I love collars, and I noticed that they are selling them by themselves in all the stores now (for like $10+!!!), so I decided to make my own. It is SO RIDICULOUSLY EASY. I think I will rename my blog "Home of the Way Too Easy DIY Projects".

First, all you'll need is any old collared shirt in the colour/print of your choice. Check thrift stores for cheap ones, especially in the men's section.

Cut just outside the seam along the collar (not at the part where it folds over).



Using fabric paint/pen or a sharpie colour in the tips of the collar.

You can use real glitter, but I didn't have any so I just used glittery nail polish to paint over the tips.

Then I just added some stripes for fun. And that's it! Super easy and now you can wear your collar with jumpers (sweaters) and dresses, or to class up a bikini - whatever! Other things you could use to decorate your collars - polka dots, studs, stickers, or brooches.

Thanks for visiting!

CHIPSTER STYLE

Welcome to this week's issue of Chipster Style™ (this is my way of covering up for the fact that I have nothing substantial to blog about, except a boring outfit post). In this weekly/fortnightly/monthly/maybe just one-off segment, I look at the Chipster in their natural environment - an outfit post for a fashion blog.

Chipster bloggers naturally gravitate towards good photo backdrop opportunities like brick buildings, overgrown fields and plain white walls.

Chipsters also love translucent curtains that provide just the right amount of backlighting.

To recreate this Chipster look, you will need:
1 x old black cardigan stolen from mother's wardrobe, which can incorrectly be attributed as "vintage"
1 x white collared shirt with decorative element (DIY it with an old shirt and some sharpies!)
1 x high-waisted black shorts, don't tell anyone they are from Supre, because that place is fucking skanky
1 x quirky brooch from markets. Mine is from A Skulk of Foxes (which is actually pretty cool in a non-sarcastic way, so check them out)

And so now all you aspiring Chipsters can recreate this look at home. You're welcome.

WELL-WORN BASICS: A LOVE LETTER

Everyone has at least one item in their wardrobe which they love so much that it's falling apart. I have at three of these items, which I wear nearly every day.

When I say I am not much of a bag person, I am not kidding. I wear this bag printed with human hearts, that I got from Dangerfield at least two years ago for all occasions. To the office (where it looks extremely out of place amongst the briefcases, laptop bags and LV monogrammed status-symbol monstrosities), to uni and to parties, bars, the beach - EVERYWHERE. It gets so much use that the print is rubbing off; there are stains all over it; I have sewn the lining back together twice already; and the strap came apart just two days ago so I have a giant safety pin to keep it attached (it's kind of grunge right?). I really want a new one, but I haven't seen it, or anything similar, anywhere affordable.

I bought these shoes online at The Horse. I have another pair of shoes from them, brown boots, but they are not as comfortable as these. These smell like leather and make my feet/socks smell like leather. They are dirty and scuffed and starting to fall apart. I used to wear them every day, but I began to worry about their health, so now they are more of a sometimes shoe and I wear cheap loafers every other day.

This is the watch I actually wear every single fucking day. My best friend bought it for me (two years ago maybe? And it hasn't needed a battery change yet!) and it makes me so incredibly nostalgic for childhood. It makes beeping sounds when you press the buttons. In the morning, I automatically put it on and if I ever forget, I spend the day checking my bare wrist over and over. Maybe I should get these for those days. I can't even own any other kind of watch, I have to have a digital one because I can't read the time quickly. Like those watches without numbers or with notches that mark where the numbers should be? I cannot read those, I can only make estimates.

Do you guys have items that you wear every day, helping you to cocoon yourself in a comfortable sartorial routine? I pretty much build all my outfits from these items, which is probably why everything I own is black/goes with black.

CHIPSTERS ROUND THE WEB

In this regular feature, I look at chipster fashion I admire around the interwebs. Not all of these fine ladies are Chinese, but they do embody the chipster ideal.

The Original Chipster TM: Style Bubble in tartan and paisley; and Panache in gothic sleeves and high collar.

Cannibaliize in a Catholic school uniform look and A Fancy Teacup in polka dots and bows.

Park Sora in my dream outfit, and Song of Style looking super chip on a retro bike.

Gary Pepper Vintage in the perfect little mohair sweater and peter pan collar.

CHIPSTER DETAILS

Dinner at Ms G's. Dericious! Wore the Chipsterest outfit I own - vintage scallop-collared shirt, JC Litas and knee socks.

WHERE ART THOU SUMMER?

So, it is the second day of Summer in the Southern Hemisphere. Not that you can tell here in Sydney, where it is currently 20 degrees celsius (worse with the wind chill). I love the cold, but I feel like it's about time I bust out the Summer gear. I decided to make a little Polyvore set of things I want for this season, and it appears that my propensity towards neutrals continues. Throughout Winter, I go days without wearing anything but black, forcing myself into whites and browns to avoid looking like a witch. You can imagine how irksome it is for me that colour blocking is the big new trend right now. Now, what I really want this Summer is a lightweight white tank dress, dip-dyed in black or maybe even blue or yellow, but I have no idea if this is trendy right now. It's kind of ironic that the only way I can afford the clothes I want is if they become extremely popular. But then after that, I can't wear them anymore, because I am a Chipster and I live outside the mainstream, yo.