July Roundup through Instagram

While I haven't been able to post as often as I would have liked this last month, here are some of pictures of what's been happening in July as seen through my lovely iPhone, which I am so happy to have back. 

1. My mother returned from a twelve day cruise around the Black sea with some beautiful gifts, one of which was a very special graduation gift. 

2. Did anyone else love Puppy in my Pocket as I did? My sister found these two vestiges of childhood when clearing out her room. 

3. The beautiful pieces of Jane Sews clothing lent to me by Mememe for this post.

4. I ended up buying the faux fur Jane Sews stole and I have been wearing it everywhere!

5. At the Mail & Guardian for a meeting for the exciting project I've been working so hard on. I'm really holding thumbs that we will be collaborating with this prestigious newspaper. 

5. A free Gerber daisy from Nandos while waiting for my chicken strips and rice. Pretty!

6. Getting ready to melt the chocolate for Jamie Oliver's simple chocolate tart recipe. Heavenly! Click here for the recipe.

7. Catching up on 'In Style' with the Kerouac cat 

8. My County Road steal, see here

If you'd like to follow me on Instagram, you can find me @miss_botha

Hope you're having a good Tuesday!

S. 

Knitwear chic

 

Few things in life beat Sunday mornings, coffee and snuggly knitwear. And paired together, it's near perfection. My Sunday morning yesterday was complete with all three things and was an oasis in my life which is moving a thousand miles a minute, no exaggeration. No time and sheer exhaustion, have been the main contributors to a lack of blogging this July. My head just hasn't been focused on this blog, which is has been sad and I've missed the thrill of putting a little bit of myself out into. But it's also been a time to focus on other areas of my life, namely my job, and I am grateful for the way things in my career are moving even if it is a little too quickly! I am working on a collaborative initiative which is positioning me in a space to influence and contribute to the future of South Africa in a direct way. And that has always been a heart cry of mine - to use whatever place in life I find myself in to impact the landscape of this country for the better. I can't yet let the cat out of the bag of what myself and a group of people have been working so hard on, but come Wednesday I hopefully will be able to say more about this project which looks to directly impact the youth of this country. 

Putting the stresses and excitement of real life aside, let me get back to the pure luxury of this snuggly Country Road jersey (bought on sale - yippeee!). I've been eying this cream and navy jersey all season with longing. I can think of very little that is better than a warm and snuggly jersey which is also luxurious and can be dressed up for a chic and polished look. It's all in the accessories with a jersey like this, which could end up looking a bit dowdy if weighed down with lots of heavy layers. I paired it with a chiffon blouse for a blend of textures, skinny jeans, nude heels and long blue and gold earrings to lift the look. 

Outfit: Jersey - Country Road, Jeans - Edgars, Shoes - Edgars, Blouse - Take Care, Earrings - Forever New

Here's hoping I'll be back to blogging regularly again! 
Have a lovely Monday.


S. 

The power of the Swap

It's not often that here in the bustling city of Johannesburg that one has the opportunity to forge friendships and connections in less than two hours, but that's exactly what happened last Sunday when my mother and I attended the Style Swap: Swingers in the city, at Pata Pata in the Maboneng Precinct. As the name suggests, the main aim of a style swap is exactly that - to swap clothes that are still in good condition, but that are gathering dust in your cupboard and to give them a second lease on life.

Now I am a firm believer in the power of clothing to transform and to transport you into another world, but I've never actually seen the power that clothes have in connecting woman instantly like I did at the style swap last Sunday. There's something quite powerful in people loving your taste in clothing and wanting to trade you their clothes for yours. And even if you didn't take home any clothes (but we did!); to see someone else light up in something you've traded them - well, that's just fantastic. Being able to pass on the magic of your clothes is a complete high. And amidst the animated voices, clothes flying every which way, we met some fantastic women in the process (read chaos) of trying on clothes in Pata Pata. And that's why I am now a big believer in the power of the Swap.

Lovely Jason and Harry who kept us entertained when we weren't busy swopping 

Our currency for the evening waiting to be unpacked, labelled and hung up

Hanging up our goods

Swopping clothes amidst the diners at Pata Pata

Little toy soldiers from River Island.
We loved this boy's style!

With Honey Makwaka, organiser of the style swop

If you'd like to attend the next clothing swop, like the Style and Stylability page here to be on the guestlist for the next one. 

S. 

Jane Sews Interpreted

As a preface this post let me just say that I have always loved dressing up. Part of the joy of having a fashion blog is being able to indulge in this childhood pleasure which I haven't yet grown out of. So being able to try on some of Amy's Autum/Winter 2012 line, which was kindly loaned to me by Mememe, with Amy's permission, was quite the treat for a girl who lives in a world where each day is another opportunity to dress up. And as the Jane Sews Crown of the Month (see part one, two & three) draws to an end, I wanted to style some of the Jane Sews pieces in my own 'Sarah-esque' way, to demonstrate the ways these garments can be interpreted and worn by different girls.

When you look at each Jane Sews garment, you'll see that it is given a name. This is such a magical touch as it creates a whimisical character and a whole new world that the wearer enters as they try on these each one of these personas. 

Lulu & Gigi

 

 

This was my favourite look and the most 'me' look out of the three, and I loved the Gigi faux fur stole so much that upon returning these clothes to Mememe, I promptly bought it! The mixing of different textures like fur, leather and chiffon is part of my personal style and I loved how easy Amy makes it to mix textures together throughout her range. The respect paid quality and luxurious fabrics is something I greatly appreciate about Jane Sews.

Gabbi 

The Gabbi dress is beautifully crafted from rose embellished lace and is reminds me of a ballet dancer's leotard. I just love the low back which blends both the sweet and girlish with a sexiness and sophistication.

Diana 

I chose to style this pretty Peter Pan collar shift dress in a 60's Twiggy mod style with black tights and long earrings, which added a bit of edginess to this sweet little dress with pin tucks.  

And sadly, the magical world of Jane Sews dress up has come to an end. But at least I have my Gigi stole to keep me warm until the launch of the Jane Sews Spring/Summer collection. Thank you so much Amy for your generosity, warmth and time in the last month. It has been a delight! And thank you to Mememe for lending me these lovely pieces. 


If you would like to own your own piece of Jane Sews visit the Jane Sews facebook page, click here, to see stockists, or pop over to Lucky Pony to enter Angie's giveaway, just click here.


S.

She is Juniper and Roses

Happy Saturday dear readers, 

Continuing with the Jane Sews Crown of the Month (see part one and part two) Amy the talented designer of Jane Sews, gives us a sneak peak into her world and her creative process with some of her pictures on Instagram and a video of her Autumn/Winter collection, as previously seen here. 

In Amy's words:

1. Where the patterns hang

2.  Thumbnail sketches of the winter range

 3. Zak.The husband and all round wonder-boy

   4. Custom made prints designed for a shirt

  5.The shirt!

 6. New swing tickets

  7. Jane Sews favourite - the Ali top

   8. Wearing my mom’s shoes from the 80’s

    9.  The most beautiful collar I have ever seen

10. 10. View from the factory in Durban CBD

11. Our newest edition- Molly Dress with embellished collar

  12. Rad wall at Freedom Café

You can find Amy at janesews on Instagram 

(P.S Amy, I love that swan shirt so much and plan on getting my hands onto it soon)

And if you love Amy's range as much as I do and would like to own your very own piece of Jane Sews, pop on over to Lucky Pony, click here, and enter Angie's Jane Sews giveaway!

The last installment of the Jane Sews Crown of the Month will be up next week, so please do come back for that.

S.