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Wearing: Blouse and shoes from Asos, trousers from Target.
Last week I presented my research to the academics from my faculty and managed to memorise everything that I wanted to say. All in all my presentation went for fifteen minutes, followed by five minutes of questions. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to present my research to others, but I also managed to impress the structural geologists and gophysicists. As a paleontologist, and the only one from my cohort studying fossils I was bound to stand out, but I'm so relieved everything went well. My supervisors were also pleased that I was able to place my work within the context of previous research, and emphasise why the project was important. Dressing in an outfit which made me feel sassy and confident was a big help though, these shoes were a little uncomfortable new, but that kind of helped me not fidget or move on the spot. While we were never explicitly told what the dress code was, I was more interested in those who were wearing business casual. This is obviously really different than what I tend to wear day to day, but I do love the blouse I bought!
*The following applies to blogging and online written content, volunteering experience is invaluable as long as you gain new skills
Occasionally, as a blogger, I get approached by companies to join their next social media campaign. The punchline is, they want me to work for free. Normally these companies ask you to create an outfit or moodboard inspired by their product and with links to their site, and yet, they have very little to do with fashion, yet they see personal style and outfits as an untapped energy source.In return, they promise to share ‘their favourite outfits’ across various social media streams, which should translate into more exposure for your site, or in the case of a developing brand, your product. But from the outset, they’ve told you they are under no obligation to give you exposure as payment for your work; however, the implication is that there are hundreds of others who are vying for the same opportunity. If they’ve provided a hashtag for their campaign then you can at least check out if they have followed through and the sorts of bloggers who participated in past campaigns.
In my personal experience, being a participant has never translated into more views for my blog and the post itself is visited less than say a normal outfit or moodboard post. It is much better to contact the creatives in your local city, go to events, go out and meet people, ask if they have your permission to photograph either their store, or booth if it’s an exhibition and always collect a business card. When it comes to writing, you can then email them in advance and show them what you’ve done. It’s also very obvious when a brand collaboration doesn’t fit well and when someone has sold-out. If you do want to make your blog a commercial venture, pick your opportunities very carefully and above all, VALUE YOUR TIME. DO NOT WORK FOR FREE- whatever crazy promises they make you. It does not translate into paid work later down the track, the same brand will take advantage of your good nature months later. Ultimately, you are devaluing your work and time by saying you can afford to work for free. This is not a sustainable business model, and you can't feed yourself, cloth yourself or pay your rent in Instagram likes. 
I'm well underway with thesis writing so I have next to no time for blogging, let alone brain power to string together cognitive thoughts. For now I'm pining over warmer weather and looking forward to wearing tank tops and summery dresses from the 70s. I think my style and what I want to consume is changing. I feel distant from the world of high fashion and more attracted to handmade and vintage stores more in my price range. Of course my attitude might change when I get a job but that feels like a lifetime away.1- Sea of Shoes, 2- via WHITE LIGHTNING, 3- The Wizard of Oz (1939).
By some sort of accident I found this book at a thrift store for $4 containing information about some of my favourite Japanese designers including Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons, her protege Junya Watanabe, mainline Issey Miyake as well as Pleats Please and Yōji Yamamoto. I was pretty much speechless that I found something so relevant to my interests and containing a wealth of information in the suburbs of south eastern Melbourne. More importantly the book's preface put the historical nature of Japanese clothing to better understand and contextualize its origins. Importantly it looks at the ways in which the brands advertised, how they conducted their runway shows (with pictures you won't find on style.com) and the way in which people interact with the brands. It's always more interesting to me when people wear their archive pieces, rather than passing their pieces along in order to wear current season.
While you could read it from cover to cover the book isn't quite structured to give the same satisfaction or indeed organisation. Instead it's something that would happily live on a coffee table to entertain guests or spark a conversation. This particular version has also been translated into Dutch and artfully balances the visual nature of these clothes while reinforcing their intellectual content. The above photographs are merely a selection of what I found to be most enjoyable but I suppose there are aspects which it did not include which I'd love to uncover. It echoes this sentiment of 'cool having a certain mystery to it' (thanks Chloë Sevigny). While that's something which I cannot personally live by, I love reading and gaining insight into different things especially when I cannot discuss the subject matter in day to day life. It's a handy little book to hand so if you do come across it in a pokey little book store and you have a love of Japanese designers I implore you to invest in it- you won't be disappointed!
1- unknown, 2a- Malaika Firth by Jean-Baptiste Mondino for ELLE France, March 2015, b- photo by ultraterrestrial (conversation heart barrette by Marlena from Self Constructed Freak), c- Edward Scissorhands (1990). 3a, b- A POC Demo, June 5 2000 (a project developed by Issey Miyake and Dai Fujiwara). 4- Shimma Marie for Yen Magazine by Natalie McKain. 5a, b- Kailey Flyte, c- Zoe Schlacter. 6a, b- Ophelia Horton, c. 7. 8a- Elle Fanning photographed by Venetia Scott for Self-Service Magazine, b- Daizy Lemonade, c- Nina Hagen, d- Ryan Lo.
