Exchange for Change

The festival for a fashionable world without poverty

29 – 31 July at CarriageWorks

This is a great festival with lots of exciting stuff. I'm defenitely going to be part of the rethreads, the free massive clothes exchange.

"Oxfam Australia and CarriageWorks are delighted to join forces to present a series of free events that examine the inner workings of the fashion industry. Exchange for Change celebrates the positive steps many have made to address the environmental impacts of clothing production, as well as fair wages and safe working conditions for the people who make our clothes. Above all, the three day event will focus on what we can do in our everyday lives to make a difference. Stitched together with a lineup of live local music, and wintry treats from the CarriageWorks café and bar, this is an event for anyone ready to evolve their fashion sense. Everything is free!" Bring your best cast-offs to CarriageWorks on Saturday 31 July 2010 and exchange them for new pieces to reinvigorate your wardrobe. http://www.oxfam.org.au/act/events/exchange-for-change

You are Free

Love heart boots -Price $0 - Manly Council Cleanup 2010

Mambo Jumbo

Mambo Bag -Price $0 - Dump in front of Charity Bins 2010

Winter Woolies

Susan Woolen Sweater- Price $1 each - Vinnies in Manly

 I just could not believe my eyes to have found a $1 Woolen Susan sweater www.sussan.com.au at the Vinnies store and neither could the elderly lady behind the counter. She said I wish I would have seen this 'I would have gotten it for myself'. 'Susan' is a well known and respected brand in Australia by the more classical woman over thirties. With winter fast approaching anyone would love to have a wooly in the cupboard. I wear this sweater right now while typing away on my blog. It's cold and rainy outside. Most houses in Australia are build for summer and do not have a heating system in place. People use portable heating systems to warm up the house in colder months. The house we live in is built around the 1920. It's amazingly cool during hot summers and in winter it's not that bad either.  In our house, in winter, we only use fleece blankets in the evening or early morning and throw on an extra layer of clothing. I feel so much more healthy now than when I was living in the Netherlands with all houses having central heating systems. You always were living in an artificial conditioned living circumstanced environment. Your body never had the opportunity to naturally adjust. I was terrified during my first winter in Australia when friends would sit in the living room with the doors wide open. It made me cold till my bones. The funny thing was last time when I was in the Netherlands in wintertime I was sitting in my Tshirt in the house while everyone was wearing thick winter clothes. Friends and family found this strange as I was the one actually living in a warm country. How come I was not cold in winter? Because I have a natural body clock now and I bless myself for such a great health it also has produced at the same time. I can advice anyone to chuck the heather out of the door and live this way. The planet will be greatful to you too! Your health will improve immensely. Have fun trying! Let me know your experiences on the heating issue.

Our Local Habitat

Whitchery Singlets - Price $1 each - Vinnies in Manly

 Whitchery singlets www.witchery.com.au are made from 100% cotton and actually market for around $40 each new. There is nothing better for your skin than cotton, it feels nice not artificially modified if you know what I mean. Great for summer but even better for winter. They are fab to wear under a sweater as they are of a long lenght and will cover your lower back and keep it fabulously warm. I love the round necklace line of the singlets, it's a gorgeous shape and nicely double stiched. The light blue and soft brown are really tender colors. They make you feel peaceful and earthy as you are a tree in the center of the universe breathing the light blue sky. The mannequins in the photos are kindly donnated to me by Robyn Millward, project manager, from the Manly Environmental Centre for my recycle awareness project. I can use them to show you the full shape of a fashion item when I am unable to step in and photography myself in eagle eye view. As remember I'm the one woman photo studio with a simple consumer hand held camera (with a timer). The MEC is a great local organization as it raises awareness about environmental issues and works towards preservation of our beautiful local habitats and surroundings. As an Artist I have been involved with the center for quite some time with the Ocean Care Day festivals and recently also the Lagoon and Cabbage Tree Bay festival.

Young at heart

Pink Dress - Price $1 - Vinnies in Manly

 

Every girl love pink. At least little girls do! I'm still a little girl at heart. Recently I read Actrice Demi Moore's secret to being eternally young. She said it was not botox or plastic chirurgery but that she still felt like a five year old inside. I really believe this to be true! At least it is for me. I've never grown up and even as a 44 year old I still feel this eternally blissful child. I have a hard time being around adult behaving so seriously. It does not mean you can't be responsible, it does not mean you are a child but you feel like a child in your heart or your spirit (which is eternally young anyway!). I love Demi as she is a fab mum of three gorgeous girls and has a beautiful man in her life (Asthon Kutcher) 15 years her junior. Between me and my partner are 16 years. I would be classified a 'cougar' in the current media trend. I consider myself more the eternally 'young' girl like Demi and as such we attract spirit ful young men. It's not only about attraction, it's actually about building a valuable relationship between two human beings. The colors I'm wearing in the photos should actually clash according to the color rules. I don't know who made those rules? As for me they go fabtastic together. I believe as long as you find orange and pink flowers together next to each other in nature than anything goes. Or should nature have it wrong? Does right & wrong exist in the natural environment or is it just another invention of the human mind.  I love my colors, they brighten up my day. The label is cut out of this cotton dress and as such I stay clueless about it's branding heritage. Maybe you recognize it?

Intimates are Undies

Peter Alexander Intimates - Price $1 - Salvos in Manly

Peter Alexander is a well know Australian Designer www.peteralexander.com.au, well known for his different style of pj's which are pyjamas. Here in Oz, we like to abbreviate every word. Anyway I found those fab intimates as Peter will call them on his website for only $1 in the Salvos store. New I guess :-) I imagine someone must have got them as a present and did not have a clue who Ozzie Pete was. Or they must have had them thought plain ugly or thought that their bum looked big in it. Lucky me!! As I adore this style of 'undies', just plain cute. They even look like shorts with a singlet on top. You feel real comfy strolling around the house with them. NOTE; I live with five males! (all family though..) The flowers are cute as and have a romantic Victorian or fifties feel. Mr Alexander is born in the same year as me. Only difference at our fab age now  is that he has two dogs and i have four kids :-)  In 1992 Peter was named Australian Designer of the year! In Australia I love the way people love the fruits of their own lands and as such I mean what they produce in human beings. In my home country I would have found it unthinkable to read something positive about Art, Fashion & Creativity on the front page of a serious news paper such as the Sydney Morning Herald. Here you see it all the time and it delights me again and again. That's also how I learned about 'old' Pete. Peter has also a Facebook page as you do in the modern digital age, I've added my found treasure (date 20 may) to his page and I hope he's happy his 'intimates' from the Salvos store get a second life on my butt. (By the way the babe in bra is from Pete's website just to illustrate his style how it fits with my 'intimates', The bum is mine though, partly as it's a matter of my personal privacy :-)

Horizontal stripes on the fat horizon

Striped Beach Dress -Price $1 - Vinnies in Manly

You can't go wrong with a blue and white stripe. It's a fashion statement that returns again and again. It's the classy marine look or funky beach girl babe strut.  I think they have some sort of theory about horizontal stripes making you fat. Really? I don't know anyone who's body get's made fat by stripes. You are fat because you are overweight. That's the only reason. AND the only solution to that is to put less food in your mouth. Me personally I get a bit sick of looking at all those magazines with dieting stories and recipes or programs as the 'Biggest Looser'. As long as there are people starving on this planet, consider a bit of compassion and put less food in your mouth and more in someones mouth who really need it. It's a mental issue and in the end it's a choice. I grow up in a farmer's community. Overweight issues were not a problem, people worked on the land and eat the food of the earth. You still can do this if you choose too, even in a city. I guess most people don't even know anymore how to actually grow food! Yesterday the Daily Telegraphy ran an article that you would need $100.000 a year to live in this City. This city is Sydney Australia.  Wow isn't that amazing how addicted we all have become to money. Money actually is value put to a piece of paper, which is actually made from a tree, which actually produces fruit for free to eat. How about that? Why have we en mass become to believe in a $ sign? Is it possible to turn this back? Or have we all become slaves of the 'tree'?

Stop and smell the roses

Gypsie Skirt -Price $3 - Vinnies in Manly

This skirt is so fantastic, you feel like a gipsy queen dancing the night away. Looking at it is as a flamenco fiesta in it self. The birds and the roses are embroidered on the fabric. It's like a nature scene wrapped around your leggs, with the black threads being the long grass tickling on your skin. It's a fantastic style for a night out at one of the tapas bars around town. I consider it a style any woman would feel gorgeous in. The skirt is from the Windsor label. It's a Californian label saying it's 'Celebrating a Woman's Unique Personality'. The fashion house was established in 1950. 'Windsor is a family-owned business dedicated to fostering a shopping environment that celebrates a woman's unique personality. The company currently has stores in several states and continues to expand at a national level.' www.windsorstore.com Their website looks very 'Bold and the Beautiful' American. I wonder how this skirt ended up in the Manly Vinnies? The look of it reminds me to stop and smell the roses every day! Which I actually do when walking my children to school. I let them smell too and we talk about the beauty of it. When was the last time you smelled the roses?

The answer is blowin' in the wind

Nougat London Fashion -Price $0 - Manly Council Swap March 2010

I call this my 'Spanish Pink Dots' dress. It's fabric is absolutely amazing. It's from the Nougat London fashion label www.nougatbodytohome.co.uk. Most of their skirts retail for around 90 pounds. Consider it a special finders swap! 'Nougat London was established in 1990 as a fashion label in London’s West End. Nougat London’s clothes are instantly recognised as being beautiful garments, combining classic styling with a contemporary twist but always remaining undeniably feminine.' I just love how the fabric is in layers, with the top a sort of veil. It blows absolutely fantastic in the wind. Being it winter now in Sydney, it fits great with a pair of boots. In summer I can imagine seeing you drinking cocktails and dancing the night away. I would love you to find this piece in the upcoming 5/6 June 2010 Manly Council Shop to Swap as I will put it back into the gigantic library of clothes. One of the great things of being a woman is being able to wear dresses as there is nothing more beautiful than a skirt blowing around your legs. Remember actrice Marilyn Monrou in that famous photo with her white dress? How a pure joy! For me personally wind always reminds me of Bob Dylan's song 'The answer is blowin' in the wind'. I love the lyrics as they make me think..how many of us really see. The best line of all out of the song i find; OneO -->'Yes, 'n' how many years can some people exist Before they're allowed to be free?' Who is free nowadays? Are you? Let me know your thoughts? 

 

Enjoy life journeys, but leave no tracks.

Feather Hand Bag -Price $0 - Manly Council Swap March 2010

This feather handbag looked like brand new, even the smell. It shows like it has been never used before. I'm not a 'handbag' girl as I do not have a clue what to put in a handbag!! A phone and my wallet I can fit in my pockets or I use a small satchel when I wear a dress. Or I leave my phone at home and put just money in my pockets. Which people find annoying as they say they can not reach me. As I have sort of disappeared from the planet you would think! I am always amazed what the average woman carries around in her handbag. And I always wonder what this daily 'baggage' tells about a person. Many magazines have done editorial issues about women and the content of their bags. I just ooze a WOW if I see all that stuff. Same for modern day nappy bags I see young mums carry around. When my children were little I just used to chuck a nappy (forgive me this luxury) in my bag and that was it. How complicated have we made life by carrying a daily 'backpack' with stuff? The feathers on the handbag remind me of the native Americans and I have dedicated this blog entry to the last of their ten commandments which says 'Enjoy life journeys, but leave not tracks.' I f you like to read all ten of them, you can by visiting www.art.com where you can buy the wonderful poster with the full commandments written on them. Reading the words every day does something to your spirit. By the way I use the bag as an art piece, I just love the look of it! and I have stuffed some winter socks in their too. It's handy storage space for at home. I wonder what the original buyer from this bag had in mind when pursuing this piece. Can you tell me?

If the shoe fits, wear it!

Cara Shoes -Price $0 - Manly Council Swap March 2010

 

'If the shoe fits, wear it'! The fun thing with the Swap is that you never know if it will fit you, as there are no other sizes, only the one unique pair. So I guess I was lucky once again in finding this beautiful pair of shoes. I guess i've got 'average' swap feet. The shoes are branded Cara and it's a company from the UK - www.carashoes.co.uk The button on the top is adorable. The low heal is easy to walk in. And I wonder why this pair of shoes has ended up in the swap. Someone must have got bored wearing them. I love to hear your story about this pair of shoes. They are now my fancy shoes and I when I wear them I get wonderful remarks from women about the shoes or maybe it's my legs...just kidding :-)

Tea Dress

Tea Dress -Price $0 - Manly Council Swap November 2009

 I call this 'my' Tea Dress. I thought it very fancy when I picked it from the racks at the Council Swap. It's beautiful fabric with hand stitched flowers on top looked adorable to me. I felt like a lady ready to go to a tea party. Something I normally never would wear. The truth is - I never wore it outside of my bedroom doors. As I discovered it's just not me. That's the fantastic thing about the Shop to Swap, it does not matter if you make a shopping mistake. Who cares as the price tag is $0 anyway! Many women make fashion faux all the time and end up with dresoirs full of clothes which they can't part with. Mostly because of the price tag they know they once paid for it. It's the mantra of 'yes one day I will wear this'. In shops we are swayed away by 'dreams' which will come with the clothes we wear. Truth is dreams don't come you just make your own story happen or not. If you do not feel comfortable in what you wear, it will show. If you feel happy in a potato bag, you will look fantastic. If you show unhappy in a designers dress, you are! Nothing will fix this. So why kidding yourself? The Shop to Swap are like a gigantic library of clothes. I you don't enjoy it you just return it. By the way I kept the beautiful shawl which came with the 'tea dress'. I drape it around a singlet and go for a stroll, it covers my shoulders on a hot sunny day. As such I still feel like the girl in the tea party, only more real and more me and free.

Crochet Fashion

Crochet White Shirt -Price $ 0 - Manly Council Swap November 2009

I adore crochet and it's see through look. The handmade feel of a piece of clothing is wonderfull. It reminds me of the many times my mum used to sit my down to learn me the 'art of crochet'. The only art i ever learned while growing up on the farm in the Netherlands as young girl. It fascinated me as I actually could create something out of a ball of string. After our whole house was full of curtains and table clothes I started to make mobile hangings for friends and families. I am remembered as the 'silly creative' in my extended family in the Netherlands. Knowing to do needlework in the maze of a fly catcher as a birth present for my aunties son. Who as an adult told me about this unusual present which he always had adored. I had totally forgotten about this piece of my past creation. I just always wanted to create (and still do) and having no art materials as such available I used what I could find around the home. I still do I guess as an artist in my 'creation life'. Though this crochet white shirt is actually machine fabricated it still gives this lovely happy sweet sixties/seventies beach look. It's such a winner as you just can chuck if over your swimmers and you are ready to go, always looking stylish. I love how it will show my freckles skin. I adore looking through magazines and photographing styles i'm connected too (as this oozy sun hat girl in the mag). So in this way it's easy when I come across a piece to put the style together in my mind. As my head is an endless library of creations. The shirt was a bit too big and I actually had to put pins on the shoulders to keep it from falling off. Not visible is it? So this piece will go back in the June 2010 Shop to Swap in Manly. It's story might continue with you and give you many lovely summer (to come) vibes and great memories. I would love to hear them!

Nature of Turquoise

Turquoise Tee - Price $0 - Manly Council Swap March 2010

Turquoise is my favorite color. It makes me calm and peaceful. It reminds me of when the ocean is at it's most beautiful with a spectrum mode of a blend of blue and greens. It's the depth of the deep ocean attraction. The color turquoise has a sweet feminine feel. So I was lucky to find two beautiful pieces at the March Swap to Shop with exactly the same shade. Normally tee's and singlets are not allowed as swap pieces at the Council swaps as it has to be 'quality' items of clothing. Some pieces slip through the nets as they are a bit more sophisticated. Such as this singlet with it's green embroidery around the neck line and the waste. Turquoise is also named 'teal, ultramarine, blue-green, aqua and aquamarine. My advice to anyone feeling a bit of limits try on a turquoise piece of clothing and it truly lifts your spirit.The label on this piece is Lilly White. I can't find any fashion brand with this name except for a girl with her website www.lilywhitedesigns.net whose pieces of clothing are all inspired by her love for Jezus. 'Every item is made by our own hands with love and prayer'. Though it does not look that 'my' piece is from their stable. I hope the previous owner of this piece can give me more insight information of where this singlet came from.

Speaking is Silver, Silence is Golden

Quicksilver Sweater with Zipper- Price $0 - Manly Council Swap March 2010

Manly is well know for it's Surfing Culture. Our local shopping strip is full of Surf Shops with big names as Quicksilver, Billabong as Ripcurl. I'm happy to find a 'winter' Quicksilver Jacket at the swap. I love the knitted look and the letter stitching which is used by many popular surfbrands. It gives that street etchy look. The details in this jacket are amazing till the metal logo on the zipper. I've always been amazed since my arrival from the Netherlands to Manly in 2000 how every body can dress more or less the same locally. Being from Europe, I believe our style is so much more individual, than the surfy look. I also wonder how people en masse love to become walking advertisement for brands. I personally would love to be paid if I had to walk around with a piece of clothing which has largely written their logo on front. But no way, every body is happy to fork out lots of money for actually just that! Quicksilver was founded by Alan Green in the seventies in Victoria - Australia. It operates now around 6000 stores around the world. I'm happy for Alan to have been such a great ozzie fashion succes from sewing board short on the kitchen table in Torquay to a multi billion surf empire. Read about the amazing journey of some surfer dudes  in creating this large empire in the Australian Age's article 'Turning Silver Gold Into'
For me personally I wore the jacket once to the beach and have passed it already on to my 'hubby', a surfer fanatic, with a love for all the surfer brands. I guess I do not like to blend into a mass and the truth is the labels on the inside always say 'made in China' anyway. 

Red Dancing Shoes

Dada Supreme Shoes - Price $0 - Manly Council Swap March 2010

The moment I saw these red shiny shoes I fell in love with them (luckily they were my size -as with a Shop to Swap there is only one piece and one lucky grabber!). The shoes remind me of the American diners of the fifties, rock & and roll and outdoor car cinemas. I thought they were very funky, till an elderly lady in jogging pants tapped my on the shoulder pointing out they had belonged to her. WOW!! I thought ..isn't that amazing I would think they had belonged to a young girl, a fitness person of sort or maybe a dancing queen. The lady told me the shoes were special and came from Europe. To my surprise researching the shoes under their brand name 'Dada Supreme', I figure out they are actually a style of hip hop shoes and very popular in this genre. Featured at websites as the  http://www.hiphopgalaxy.com/-Dada-Shoes-.html
I learned that Dada Shoes actually began  as a hat and T-shirt company in 1993, which was aimed at urban basketball youth. The company quickly converted to marketing athletic apparel and following a deal with Daviano Antonio Bruno, President and CEO of Structure International Clothing Company, the DaDa Footwear line was launched providing shoes for basketball, running, and casual wear. 
I wonder where the elderly lady got her fascination from for these shoes. In my imagination I see her doing a dunk at the basketball court or as a back up dancer in a new Hip Hop MTV clip. I hope you 'elderly lady' can tell me your previous story about how those shoes came into your life. 

Manly Council 'Swap to Shop Clothes Swap'

Come along to update your wardrobe for FREE at the ‘Swap to Shop, Clothes Swap’ event! Do you have clothes in your wardrobe that you like but you just don’t wear anymore? Brighten up your wardrobe, save money and help the environment by ‘swapping’ instead of ‘shopping’ for a new wardrobe! At a Swap to Shop event men and women bring along up to eight clean, good quality items you no longer want (including shoes, bags and hats) and hand them over to the staff or volunteers in exchange for a token. Your items will be assessed for quality at the registration desk. You then browse through items brought by others, swapping your tokens back for items you want. Swap Parties are fun, free and green! By swapping, you help save water and energy, reduce greenhouse gasses and keep valuable resources out of landfill.  Location is Queenscliff Surf Life Saving Club Inc, North Steyne.

NEXT Swap to Shop  Saturday 5th & Sunday 6th June from 11 - 5pm at Manly  Location: Queenscliff Surf Life Saving Club Inc, North Steyne

Why Blog 'I am YOUR Fashion'

I am fascinated by people's stories and connections with their fashion. How come women and also men often let fashion dictates who they are? I am not an average woman as I do NOT like shopping. I get claustrophic in shopping malls and I do not understand why people want to spent their time in such artificial environments. I feel good the way I do and it does not matter to me if I am in or our of fashion. I love browsing in second hand stores and picking out 'pre loved' pieces. Women often ask me where what I wear comes from? As they think they are so 'cool' and I look so great. I tell them mostly they come from a 'special' shop! As many people do not understand why you want to wear 'others' peoples clothes! Though I guess the secret is not the $1 dollar dresses I sometimes pick up and my artistic eye in doing so..but simply ME feeling great inside! ME being healthy, active and shiny.
Since November 2009 Manly Council's Green program has started with a quarterly clothes swap event! It's terrific as now I can start my idea about tracing down YOUR fashion I am wearing. I love to hear your stories and your responses to your clothes I am wearing on my body.