Ode to hoodies

Sticking to topics of things I love, I wanted to do a post on hoodies.

To put it bluntly, my favourite piece of clothing to wear is a hoodie. For those who didn't know, this piece of clothing's style can be traced back to Medieval Europe when the clothing formally worn by monks was a long, decorative hood called a cowl, attached to robes!

Then in the 1930s, what we recognise as today's hoodie was produced in the States by Champion. It's really interesting to think that this style of clothing was initially marketed to labourers who worked in freezing temperatures whilst in upstate New York.

Anyway I've always been a fan of the hoodie despite social connotations that it's associated with delinquency and concealed crime. I love its simplicity in being a hooded sweatshirt. I like its versatility in that it might have a vertical zipper down the centre much like a windbreaker, but most importantly I love its warmth and wearability. Whenever I traveled or backpacked for long periods of time, I always packed a variety of hoodies. I find them so easy to chuck on and suitable for any type of weather. Thin material ones worked wonders for hotter climates and thick, fleecy hoodies bailed me out when I was freezing my a** off!

I loved pulling the sleeves over my hands.

Add to that how hot hoodies look with a pair of skinnies or jeans pure and simple. To be honest I've always been a closest pervert at heart but I love a guy in a hoodie (and a girl at that lol).

Hot hot hot.

Plus my fondest memories were formed wearing these things :)

Polly Pocket and dots

Today I made a really random connection.

A few months ago I wrote about how much I love dots. So much so that if I come across anything dotty, in shops, on people's clothing, on ads, logos and photos, I'm compelled to stop, stare and appreciate. I even say out loud to whoever cares, 'I love dots.' And it's true - I really do love dots!

Anyway I never understood why I like dots so much. I'm the type of person who likes to muse about why people are how they are based on their experiences and what not. But I guess for me, I'm not so good at looking at myself reflectively and thinking why I like the things I do.

Well, out of nowhere, today when I got home, I started thinking about toys that I used to love playing with as a kid. Something very personal about me? My favourite toy of all time was the Polly Pocket range. For those not familiar with this range, it's basically a toy line of dolls and accessories which were first designed by a man in 1983 who created a small house for a tiny doll for his daughter. The best part about this story was he used a powder compact to create this house!

From this idea, Polly Pocket was born and a huge bunch of mini Polly Pocket dolls were played and appreciated by little kids like me worldwide. I loved the fact the dolls were so small and simple and lived in pocket sized cases I could carry around my neck.

Honestly I was in love with this exact piece.

For those not so familiar with Polly Pocket, this is Polly Pocket Lulu and her Seaside Locket. When I was in early primary school, I absolutely loved this toy. Just thinking about how fond I was of this tiny little thing (and seriously, it was that tiny) makes me really happy and kind of sad as well because I'm not sure where she and her home are :( I think I know where to look but I'll have to leave that for a rainy day when I have hours to look through a huge plastic tub under my bed which contains everything meaningful from my childhood that I couldn't throw away... because I'm a sucker for sentimental things.

I used to draw portraits of myself and my sisters on tiny pieces of note paper, rip them into little squares and place them behind the inside of the top cover so our faces would smile down at Lulu. Also I'd play with my big sister because she owned a larger home for her own Polly Pocket who lived in this big blue mansion and her doll would visit my doll and they'd lie down on the beach together.

Seriously, we had a blast with these tiny 1cm dolls back in the early 90s!

Anyway I could talk on and on about these dolls but I just wanted to say that the moment I laid eyes on this image of Lulu today I realised exactly where my love for dots came from.

Plus the funny thing is that I actually bought this exact patterned top last year and didn't even realise the connection until now.

Thank you Polly Pocket :)

I said Love

Something I love doing is browsing makeshift arts and crafts markets in person. I have really fond memories of looking at local design markets when I was in Melbourne, Beijing and Bangkok. I'd spend hours on end just wondering through those places. When that's not available I love browsing stuff like that online.

Just the pleasure of seeing what cute little trinkets and pieces local designers have created using their creativity and recycled items is something that makes me really happy. I like anything that's a little left of the centre, a little odd, and most importantly a little kooky.

Something I came across today was this vintage ring created by Melbourne's the Triangle of Bears. Apparently Gem, the creator of this brand, used a charm which came out of a gumball machine in the 1960s, to create this ring. Yes, that's right. It's a set of mini dentures!!

Makes you take a second look :)

I also came across these nifty little speech bubble earrings while I was browsing her work.

The speech bubbles and hearts within are hand drawn on shrink plastic and basically embody conversations of love. I think I'll be buying a pair of 6 dollars soon :)

I've also come across this track which made my head involuntarily bop up and down when I heard it the first, second and third time. I thought my days of listening to Australian electro bands like Cut Copy were over but it seems like there's still that little part in me :) Hello 2008!

Shooting Stars by Bag Raiders.

Relapse

When I was in uni, I was one of those quiet Cityrail travellers lost in the music blaring out of my spidery thin earphones.

Back then I had this tiny little black Samsung MP3 Player. To be honest I really treasured that device. It was probably one of the first things I'd ever purchased myself in first year uni after working a few months at my first proper casual job as a medical receptionist. The shape of it was like carrying a USB stick and I liked how the writing on the mini screen was this electric light blue that glowed in the dark. I liked how the words of the track would move across the screen in jerks.

Come to think of it, I remember being really cut when my boyfriend at that time lost it. I guess I was attached it.

Anyway I wanted to post my top three favourite tracks back in uni. The tracks I thrashed hard during those trips to and from uni. The ones that constantly made me nearly miss my stop. I was this arts student lost in a web of sociology and psychology. Feels weird to think about those days.

1. Kids by MGMT.

I absolutely loved this track. The original by MGMT is very kooky and spacey and when I heard it for the first time walking past a careers stall at UTS, I memorised just enough of the lyrics to google it as soon as I got home. To this day I still love this song.

Instead of posting the original track I'm going to post a cover of it by another band I loved in uni called The Kooks. Having this awesome band play this track I love puts me on cloud nine.

2. Walking on a Dream by Empire of the Sun.

This song became really popular right before I went to my two month trek backpacking through Asia. Because we both loved the track, my travel mate and I set it as our alarm so each morning, when we were in Vietnam, Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, we'd wake up to the opening chords of this track. Because of that, when I hear this song I think of those adventures, the snow, the heat, the fun. It was one of the most memories I have.

3. Relapse by Little Birdy.

I was in love with this song. I became a fan of this Indie Band from Perth in Yr 12 when they began releasing songs.

I think a bit of it was because I had a girl crush on Katy Steele's voice. Oops...

Try to forget you in my mine

I was listening to similar artists to an artist I love Frank Ocean and came across a young 24 year old artist from Los Angeles called Jhene Aiko.

Her mellowness, wordplay and lyrical dexterity hooked me straightaway. I started listening to tracks off her mixtape released last year titled Sailing Soul(s) and found her really compelling. It was kind of like listening to a voice as soothing and smooth as Cassie but more meaningful, intimate and personal.

Reading some of her interviews and hearing that the motivation behind her mixtape was to make listeners look inwards and reflect on their experiences not to create money (hence why it was free) intrigued me more. I guess in this day and age where the music market is saturated with people keen to create killer hooks to generate money and commercial success, I like how Jhene Aiko is looking to create a project challenging listeners to explore her world by being relevant and vulnerable in her simplicity and lyrics.

One of her standout tracks on the mixtape is Stranger.

Throughout the entire song she remains in the same vocal range, keyboard arrangement looping, complete with backing harmonies but it's so simple to allow you to focus on her lyrics. To her, all men are the same to the point that they all become faceless strangers and whilst many might agree, or just as many disagree that's simply a look into her world and her perception of it - and that's ok.

Another track I loved was My Mine.

If you listen closely to her lyrics, she likens the experience of getting over someone who she was in a broken relationship with to being trapped in a mine. Sitting there, looking upwards. It's funny. If you listen closely to the way in which she talks about the torment of memories in her mind, it's not actually mind she is singing - it is mine.

She's lovely.

Rita Ora?

One artist whose been played heavily on the airwaves lately is Miss Rita Ora, a British singer-songwriter whose kooky fashion rather than her music caught my attention :P

Her hair definitely reminds me of Marilyn Monroe but her actually fashion style is reminiscent of Gwen Stefani during her awesome No Doubt days with a whole lot of vintage and retro happening here, there and everywhere.


Love the black leather, green print and winged eyes.

Simple black leather singlet teamed with a cute printed denim shorts.

Bright red and intricate pattern - kooky :)

Cute throwback to the days of tie-dye and beanies!

Currently crushing on...

You Tube singer JENI and her lush vocals.

Stumbled across her cover of Elle Varner's trippy track Only Want to Give it to You. Didn't think this track could get any funkier but JENI's cover has got me in awe. Currently destroying the replay button.

 



Funky fashion brand Motel Rocks. Created by two American thrift shop lovers this online store never fails to make me salivate. I like that its fresh, bright and big on contrasting colours and patterns.

Cute much? :)