Spring Fever

Just a few more days until Spring is here and after a winter filled with somber colours, I for one am happy about the colours that will emerge with the season change. It’s time to celebrate the sun, the trees, the flowers and the ocean! Here is how:

Sunny glow

Yellow is one of the key colours for this Spring. So don’t be afraid to stand out and dare to try an outfit in a shade that fits your skin tone best. If you have a pale skin, try an outfit in a lighter, more dull shade of yellow. Any darker than that, a bright yellow will suit you perfectly.

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Seafoam happiness

Different shades and tones of sea colours are taking centre stage this season. Turquoise to powder blue will be seen on the streets and definitely on the beach. As long as the blue is clear or bright, it will be a hit everywhere.

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Still Minty

Mint follows the over obsessive girlfriend trend and is clinging on for another spring/summer season. But hey, just because you already have a dress in this colour, doesn’t mean you can’t buy another one… Right?

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Seen before on 2mybff

Feeling Rosy

A feminine, rosy pink is another happy colour for Spring and as a girly girl, this is first on my shopping list!

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Cloud Nine

White is the perfect colour for this romantic season. While on cloud nine…why not dress the part?

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“Wood” you dare?

Doing some street surfing in places such as White river, Juta street (JHB) and Long street (CPT), I discovered a trend starting to brew in South Africa which is quite innovative and refreshing to see. Drawing inspiration from furniture comes accessories made from; or made to look like wood. Who would have thought that such an everyday material can make a person look so hot and stylish?

This is incorporated in everything from iPhone covers to sunglasses – evolving these fashion items into trendy and sophisticated accessories. Listed are some of my favourite sites to scout and buy this trend.

Hout Couture

Hout Couture sells the most stylish and beautiful wooden sunglasses I have ever seen. You are guaranteed to stand out in the crowd with a pair of sunglasses from this brand. Not only are they innovative with their take on sunglasses, but their name proves innovation itself as Hout in the name is the Afrikaans (South African language) word for wood and is used as a pun for the fashion term Haute Couture, which means fashion of high class and elegance. Either way, this is a must-have for the summer. Check out their website at http://www.houtcouture.com

Toast

Searching through the web, I came across Toast who specializes in wooden covers for everything from iPads to Macbooks, iPhones to Samsung Galaxys and even other Android smartphones. The great thing about these covers are that some of them have engravings on them of birds, butterflies and a whole list of other beautiful pictures, all done in a sophisticated and classy way. So here is a toast to finding a new way of making your phone fashionable. Check out their website at http://www.toastmade.com

The Branch Jewellery

The Branch is a wooden jewellery company who combines handcrafted wood with precious metals and stones to create a beautiful line of wooden accessories. “Wow” is the only word that can truly do justice to their jewellery line as they find a way to incorporate wood into jewellery in a sophisticated and stylish manner, making every piece look expensive and classy. Check out their website to complete your outfit with the perfect accessories at http://www.the-branch.co.uk

EMBAWO

The last fashion item we need to go on that perfect date or even better, go shopping with, is a purse. And my favourite site incorporating the wooden trend into this item is EMBAWO. Their designs are unique, elegant and some of them quite funky. What better way to stash all your necessities in than one of these fashion purses? Check out their website at http://www.embawo.com

Trend Report

Dark, dramatic, somber. These are words that come to mind when thinking about the A/W 2013 season in South African fashion. But this is to be expected, we survived the “2012 the world is coming to an end, but not really” scare and now in 2013, everyone is rethinking their lives and all the decisions they have made along the way. What if this is it? What if there isn’t more to life than this?

No wonder we are dressing in such a dramatic way, expressing our emotions and concerns, showing the world that now is not the time to worry about what we’re wearing.

However, the Zeitgeist is starting to change and new beginnings, hope and growth are warming up in everyone’s hearts around the globe. Soon this will affect the way we dress, causing fashion to move away from dark and dramatic colours and moving more towards a brighter future (pun intended).

Studs, leather panels and black will be replaced with sequins, embriodery, beading and colours such as emerald green and seafoam blue. Silhouettes will flatter the body once again, hitting curves in all the right places. Glitz and Glamour will take over the world as we celebrate our lives and our hope for what the future holds.

The question now is: are you ready for this change? Are you ready to hope and dream? Are you ready to believe once again?…

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Uncertainty

Uncertainty,
man’s biggest fear,
greatest weakness,
the root of all anxiety.

The creator of restless souls,
hearts, minds.
Who keep those awake
in the midst of choosing between paths.

Destroying dreams, hope,
possible love…
by preying on the doubt
time leaves behind.

Ruthless, monstress, mistress of deep holes
and lost souls.
Leaving us breathless, restless,
comfortless.

However,
Should one stumble across one’s
life story in black and white,
which holds the power to destroy the destroyer itself,
killing it by removing the element of suprise…

Would one read it?

Trend Alert

Whether you are living it up in the summer or freezing in the winter in your side of the world, this trend applies for both scenarios. I am talking about what I like to call innovative shorts. Gone are the days where jeans are the only form of shorts available at stores and seen in street fashion. Trend innovators have now revamped this item and made it fun by creating shorts in every texture, print and material known to mankind. My favourite being sequins, ofcourse, as this relates to the 1920s fashion seen in the Great Gatsby film, which is about to reach the closets of every fashion fan across the globe.

Which short will your closet adopt?

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Song of the week

If you haven’t heard of the band Bastille or their version of Pompeii, then you have been missing out BIG TIME! This band, all the way from England, has been making girls’ knees weak all over the world. With Dan Smith as lead singer, and Chris Wood, Will Farquarson and Kyle Simmons joining forces with him, this alternative rock group is ready to take the world by storm and invade ipods, radio stations and computers wherever their music spreads to.

So leave everything you are doing right now and head to their channel on VEVO (on YouTube).

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With that said, the song of the week is:

Pompeii by Bastille  [azlyrics.com]

I was left to my own devices
Many days fell away with nothing to show

And the walls kept tumbling down
In the city that we love
Great clouds roll over the hills
Bringing darkness from above

But if you close your eyes,
Does it almost feel like
Nothing changed at all?
And if you close your eyes,
Does it almost feel like
You’ve been here before?
How am I gonna be an optimist about this?
How am I gonna be an optimist about this?

We were caught up and lost in all of our vices
In your pose as the dust settles around us

And the walls kept tumbling down
In the city that we love
Great clouds roll over the hills
Bringing darkness from above

But if you close your eyes,
Does it almost feel like
Nothing changed at all?
And if you close your eyes,
Does it almost feel like
You’ve been here before?
How am I gonna be an optimist about this?
How am I gonna be an optimist about this?

Oh where do we begin?
The rubble or our sins?
Oh where do we begin?
The rubble or our sins?

And the walls kept tumbling down
In the city that we love
Great clouds roll over the hills
Bringing darkness from above

But if you close your eyes,
Does it almost feel like
Nothing changed at all?
And if you close your eyes,
Does it almost feel like
You’ve been here before?
How am I gonna be an optimist about this?
How am I gonna be an optimist about this?

If you close your eyes, does it almost feel like nothing changed at all?…

Long Street, Cape Town

On my trips to Cape Town, I always try and find new and interesting places to visit as these places are what Cape Town is all about. My recent trip was no different and before I knew it, I found myself in Long Street – The most hipster slash vintage place I have ever been to.

The stores in Long Street follow everything but the status quo. They are small and each unique in its own way with clothing, shoes and accessories you won’t be able to find anywhere else in the country. Even the coffee shops are decorated in old vintage ways with black and white photographs on the walls and some of the most interesting menus you’ll come across in your life.

Jeffrey Cambell shoes are the main attraction at one of the stores whilst another try to stand out by selling only secondhand old vintage clothes from the early 1900’s. The #1 must see store of this street however, would be A-List, featuring all the hottest new trends in a small boutique with unique as well as 100% exclusive designs. No wonder Long Street is considered one of the fashion neighbourhoods in SA!

So whenever you find yourself in the Mother City of South Africa, be sure to add Long Street on top of your to do list.

Photo credit: Anéne van der Merwe

 

Photo credit: Anéne van der Merwe

 

Photo credit: Anéne van der Merwe

 

Photo credit: Anéne van der Merwe

 

Photo credit: Anéne van der Merwe

 

Rainbow of the season

Winter started with a sudden bang and you, MyBFF’s, didn’t wait to change the rainbow in your closets. Roaming through the malls with the mission to change my own rainbow cupboard, these are the colour trends that I spotted by the help of your street fashions:

Dramatic Maroon

Dark Maroon is taking over the whole fashion scene, being used for everything from skirts to tops and even expensive coats.

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Punk Black

Black is one of the main colours this season, mostly paired up with leather, taking inspiration from punk fashion. Add studs to any black ensemble and you will be considered as one of the fashion forwards.

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Royal Navy Blue

Navy blue is also fighting for centre stage, but different from the other 2 colours, it is incorporated in sophisticated dresses and coats, giving off a sense of royalty.

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Powder Pink

This soft colour shows off your feminine side, perfect for the girly girl this winter.

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Song of the week

I randomly came across this song as I was browsing through YouTube and I couldn’t believe that I have never heard it before, being one of the biggest Taylor Swift fans. This song brought tears to my eyes as I could relate to the song (as any other girl would). It describes that relationship or feeling where you believe that you are finally living a fairytale, just for someone to shake you back to reality, telling you that Prince Charming is actually a frog. And you, ofcourse, is the last one to find out…

So here it is MyBFF’s, genius, as always:

White Horse by Taylor Swift (lyrics from elyrics.net)

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Say you’re sorry
That face of an angel comes out just when you need it to
As I paced back and forth all this time
‘Cause I honestly believed in you

Holding on, the days drag on
Stupid girl, I should have known
I should have known

That I’m not a princess, this ain’t a fairytale
I’m not the one you’ll sweep off her feet
Lead her up the stairwell 

This ain’t Hollywood, this is a small town
I was a dreamer before you went and let me down
Now it’s too late for you and your white horse to come around

Baby I was naive
Got lost in your eyes and never really had a chance
My mistake, I didn’t know that to be in love
You had to fight to have the upper hand

I had so many dreams about you and me
Happy endings, now I know

That I’m not a princess, this ain’t a fairytale
I’m not the one you’ll sweep off her feet
Lead her up the stairwell

This ain’t Hollywood, this is a small town
I was a dreamer before you went and let me down
Now it’s too late for you and your white horse to come around

And there you are on your knees
Begging for forgiveness, begging for me
Just like I always wanted, but I’m so sorry

‘Cause I’m not your princess, this ain’t a fairytale
I’m gonna find someone someday who might actually treat me well
This is a big world, that was a small town
There in my rearview mirror disappearing now

And it’s too late for you and your white horse
Now it’s too late for you and your white horse to catch me now

Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa
Try and catch me now
Oh, it’s too late to catch me now…

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Watch the awesome music video on YouTube!

Gavin Rajah Catwalk Report A/W 2013

Gavin Rajah already created a buzz before his show by giving the audience a preview of what to expect. A model posed on a large bedazzled army truck outside of the venue while a photographer shot all the action. Everyone scrambled around this set-up, full of curiosity and they had reason. This ensemble was a true show stopper and only a glimpse of what is yet to come.

Entering the venue you could find wired gates at the start of the ramp. The lights dimmed and a mission was projected on the white wall. As this wall opened, an army of models stood ready for their turn on the ramp. The first few outfits had a military feel to them, whether it was through print or structured blazers and sharp shoulders.

Next to come was the more elegant evening dresses being black and white. Some could say that this is a battle between evil and good. The dresses were sleek, soft and some areas sheer. It was finished off with sparkly embroidery.

Two camouflage evening dresses were thrown in between these dresses and made this show more edgy. Both styled in a more high fashion way.

As all the models made their way off the ramp only one remained. The music changed to a more softer sound and a model wearing a soft white wedding ball gown strolled down the runway leaving everyone breathless.

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