So what will you be wearing for the Royal Wedding? I haven’t quite decided yet…

Wait, what? You don’t know why I’m asking about your outfit for the Royal Wedding???

Um, it’s only the biggest event of 2011!  In case you missed the memo, Prince William will be marrying the very lucky Katherine Middleton on the 29th of April in an lavish ceremony with much pomp and ceremony, as only the British Royal Family can pull off. And we’re all invited Thanks to the wonders of modern technology of course

Now that we’ve established that we are not all flying to the UK to attend the wedding (only a special 1900 guests will be doing that). And we know that we will be watching in the comfort of our own homes… This is still the Royal Wedding. You cannot, repeat cannot, wear your fluffy bunny slippers and eat chips and drink beer! Oh no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no…. No, just no! No! Once more for luck, NO!

So I repeat, what will you be wearing for the Royal Wedding?

I’m not sure yet, but I think I want new shoes for the day

Be different

While I was still in university my mother and I spotted this pair of purple boots. I fell in love with them instantly! But I didn’t buy them… What would I do with a pair of purple boots? Where would I wear them? What would I wear them with? It just seemed a little too much and too over the top. My mom wanted me to have them so badly she ended up buying them for me. Basically she decided that these were “me” boots and my life wouldn’t be OK without them. She was right… (Always listen to your mother, she really does know best.)

So what made these boots so life altering? I’m not a hundred percent sure actually. They are just cute boots, little kitten heels, mid-calf height, round toe… Oh and they are purple.

The Purple Boots

Up until this point, I’d always had a slightly off-beat sense of style but never really shown it. I was a shy kid, and still can be very shy, and I grew up going to school that had a uniform, so fashion and style was never really something I had much opportunity for. I knew what I liked but didn’t really buy much of it. At university was the first time in my life I could explore this notion and I really had started slowly. I sought constant approval from those around me and always looked at what other people were wearing so I didn’t get it wrong. I guess always being surrounded by people wearing the same uniform as you kinda rubbed off.

These boots to me were a bold thing. They weren’t a basic colour that would go with everything and they were fun and a little different. This was life changing for me. I always got comments when I wore them, good comments. It slowly dawned on me that the reason they were different and not what I saw other people wearing was because everyone else thought the way I had originally: I love things that are different but I don’t have the guts to wear them, people don’t wear things like this, only the risk takers do. Will I get approval from those around me if I take a risk?

Now I know I’m only talking about a pair of purple boots, it’s hardly Lady Gaga level of out there-ness, but for me it was a big deal. I suddenly had flashbacks to when I was little and I had begged my mom to buy this pair of shorts that I LOVED. They were yellow with pink polka dots and pink bows on the sides (I was about 6 here so that was cute, OK). I wore them once. I am actually still berating myself for that. I loved the shorts but they were so “look at me” I couldn’t wear them. So all my life I’ve wanted to be a risk taker and enjoy fashion, but I’d never been able to.

So now I had my purple boots and I wore them all the time I’ll never forget rocking up to a friend’s place in my purple boots and my red trench coat (other clothes were worn underneath, I promise) and my friend saying “Only Fae would wear a red trench and purple boots! And only Fae could pull it off!” I had arrived and I had found my style… And I approved of it first, I didn’t wait and get approval from others. That came after I had accepted it.

So I have to say thank you to my mom, for knowing me better than I know myself some times. And thank you to the purple boots for igniting my style. And even a thank you to those poor yellow shorts that only got worn once, you remind me to give myself and my choices approval, because no one else will do it for me.

OK, I can’t keep quiet anymore! I just can’t! Crocs are ugly and they are a crime against humanity!

There, I said it, and I feel so much better for it.

Fine, OK, they’re “comfortable” but where in the dictionary does it say that comfortable shoes have to look so fugly they make my eyes want to bleed?

Not here...

Nor here!

I mean, these shoes here are comfortable. So comfortable I bought two pairs! They are pretty and cute too. And for all those people who say but Crocs are great cuz you can wash them off really easily if they get dirty. Well these shoes are plastic, I rinse them off under a tap whenever they get dirty and they are as good as new. So no, I don't believe your argument that Crocs are good shoes. There is no real argument there, you are lying to yourselves... That is all I have to say...

Every now and then it happens that you get a last minute invite to a party or big event. What normally happens to me in these moments is I spin into a flat panic. You see, I need at least a week to plan an outfit for something big (actually I like to think ahead and plan outfits almost all the time!)

This weekend I was thrown into exactly this situation. On Friday night I got a phone call from my friend, Robyn, she had just got two tickets to the SA Blog Awards. The awards were the following night! I was quite excited to get the opportunity to go. How cool to meet some of the best bloggers in the country and to schmooze at one of the best venues in Cape Town?!

Then I realised what this meant… I would have to look the part for all this schmoozing! And from my feed on twitter, I knew that it was an event to dress up for. Some bloggers had been planning their outfits for weeks even. I hit panic stations. (more…)

For years I never had accounts at shops. First of all I was too young to get and then I kept telling myself that it would be dangerous and then eventually I caved and got my first account so I could get credit rating… Boy oh boy was this an eye opener, but in a good way

For most people an account is completely safe and logical. There are people out there who should avoid accounts and credit cards like the plague – “Danger Will Robinson, Danger!!!” – because of a complete lack of thinking things through. I did worry that I would be one of those people, but apparently I can control my impulse shopping to a certain degree! In fact, having accounts has opened me up to whole new world and made my shopping experiences even better!

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