norwegian wood

Tokyo, the late 1960s…Students around the world are uniting to overthrow the establishment and Toru Watanabe’s personal life is similarly in tumult. At heart, he is deeply devoted to his first love, Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman. But their complex bond has been forged by the tragic death of their best friend years before. Watanabe lives with the influence of death everywhere. That is, until Midori, a girl who is everything that Naoko is not – outgoing, vivacious, supremely self-confident – marches into his life and Watanabe must choose between his past and his future.

If there is one film you see at the New Zealand Film Festival this year, make it Norwegian Wood. 

I once had a girl / Or should I say, she once had me...

looks like home

Photographer: Nicole Bentley

Stylist: Meg Gray

Source: Fashion Gone Rogue

Doesn't New Zealand look beautiful in this Vogue Australia shoot? The Prada looks good too.

simple pleasures

Whether it's by necessity or choice, I think we're all returning to a pared down way of living. Or perhaps you've never left it - I haven't. According to Russh, Hunter S. Thompson encouraged an embracing of the simplicities which comprise the good life; a toast of sorts “to animal pleasures, to escapism, to rain on the roof and instant coffee”. It reminded me of an article I read about Bohemianism recently, which you can find the entirety of here. A few choice excerpts below.

Bohemia is a state of mind: a threadbare but vibrant Utopia in which one can prioritise the tenets of creativity, love, merriment, experimentation and arousal of the senses.


What they universally turn their backs on, however, are the ideals of the Bourgeois: tedious middle-class pomp, etiquette and triviality. Whether a Bohemian has originally come from the lower, middle or upper classes, she must eschew the petty values of the Bourgeois: that money, property or status are anything to do with the content of one’s character; that professional success and widespread celebration have anything to do with talent. What is of value to the Bohemian instead is spiritual integrity and creative freedom. The Bohemian would sooner live in the most abject poverty than submit to an undesirable job.


The Bohemian life is, by necessity, cheap. It costs very little to engage in truly Bohemian pursuits. You don't need to save up lots of money to become Bohemian and you don't even need to have regular income. You can begin today by turning down the volume on the Bourgeois command system in your brain. By living cheaply—by lowering your overheads to the absolute minimum—you can probably afford to work part-time instead of full-time or put less stress on your own small business. 

I'm lucky enough to have everything I need - a roof over my head, a computer, a car. Many, many people are not that fortunate, so I am certainly not complaining. But I'm definitely very conscious of where my money goes at the moment. What are your tricks for making sure you never feel too down, and what do you save and scrimp on, and where do you indulge?

While Hunter S. Thompson might have been down with instant coffee, that's my final straw - I always make sure I have my favourite, freshly ground Supreme. What are your 'simple pleasures'?

suit up

Brooches, suits, power shoulders and the Joan Crawford stare: I'm feeling inspired after watching Mildred Pierce, the original. Have you seen the new mini series yet?

long haired child

I want hair down to my waist.

Here's how to look after it. The secret, of course, is just not to cut it. But vitamins, coconut oil on the ends and plaiting it before bed are my tricks. What are yours, long haired ladies?

sisters of the black moon

This is my favourite online vintage store. Witchy women, desert dreams.

lana del ray

My boyfriend sent me this video recently. I love it. She's sort of this preternatural sex kitten, self-conscious but innocent. Hollywood sad core.

we ♥ lonely lingerie

This Friday and Saturday, our friends at Lonely Hearts are holding a ginormous sale at their studio. There will be samples, seconds and previous seasons stock - as well as very discounted lingerie! We hear whispers of prices as low as $10 for selected briefs and $20 for some bras! To celebrate we're offering one lucky reader the chance to win one of the beautiful sets above. To enter, make sure you're a fan of So Much To Tell You on Facebook and 'like' our competition post before midnight Friday. We can ship internationally so even if you can't make the sale, you can still win.

Lonely Hearts Workroom Sale

Studio 2, 13 Barry's Point Road, Takapuna

10am-4pm, Friday and Saturday, 24-25 June

Cash only!

apartamento

[Images by me]

I love Apartamento. I love it because it is full of pictures of mess and reality and warm, kind, creative people. I did just lose one of my magazine jobs because I shot a house that was, apparently, too messy - which strikes me as an entirely bourgeois and shitty thing to get hung up about. I thought it was the most interesting and beautiful house I'd seen in a long time, a place where fascinating and successful artists live, even if there were empty coffee cups on the bench.

Apartamento, however, is devoid of hangups and pretension. It's a magazine that's about sharing information and profiling wonderful designers, artists and generally creative people in a way that's honest and accepting and truly interesting. 

In this issue there are articles about making Ikebana and drinking green tea; an eccentric Japanese potter named Rosanjin Kitaoji; Jim Haynes, who holds a dinner party every week and has done for the past 40 years in Paris; stylist Masha Orlov who lives in the Trump Building in New York; Zoe Bedeaux's chaotic, cluttered, joyful apartment that's full of colour and texture and pattern and embroidery.

You can buy the magazine here. 

grandiflorum

dress up's domestic botany

anthurium

cyclamen

lily

orchard

begonia

WARDROBE FLOWERS FOR S/S '12

beach bonkers

Favourite looks from Mulberry's Resort 2012 collection -  must admit I'm a little biased as my lovely friend Lucie is a senior designer for the label - but I'm also a sucker for double denim ensembles and that creamy safari dress is just calling out my name. Cute shoes too! The collection is inspired by that most English of getaways. Think kitschy beachside resorts like Butlins, Brighton holidays and comedy series Carry On Camping.

the song remains the same

heart of gold

I've been to Hollywood, I've been to Redwoods...

My American Dream was just that. Two girls in a Camaro on the road, driving freeways and dining at diners for three glorious weeks. From Vegas to the Madonna Inn, Death Valley to Yosemite, the Haight to the Joshua Tree, it will stay with me forever. I saw the biggest trees in the world, pumped gas, drank Bud at a stateline saloon, ate filet mignon in an all pink steak house, hijacked a limo, ate breakfast at the Standard hotel's egg yellow restaurant beside Fabrizio Moretti, hiked the desert and drove Highway 1 - a dream. And I found black leather skinny pants for $12.50. But that's another story.