(Checkout my facebook Wardrobe Diary for the pic). I hopped on the tube got off at Green Park and did the 2minute walk to Dover St. Passing the Ritz on the way...ah the Ritz , if only , one day I will stay in this hotel institution, until then...
iPod in my ears I felt it only fitting that Lady GaGa's 'The Fame' was the soundtrack for this 'window-shopping' expedition. As I walked up the road it awaited me only a few stores in....
As I walked in , I noticed the quirky layout of this store. A lot of the clothes were set up almost like in stalls , like an industrial market style if you will. The first thing you see at the entrance is a tree-style thing filled with Comme De Garcons perfume. Comme' a Japanese/French brand is one of the biggest brands that feature at Dover Street Market, they do some awesome stuff!
Along with the perfume was an amazing array of Jewellery. Ah the jewellery - I'm talking oversized skull rings , bird inspired necklaces , abstract peices that I would kill for but are waay out of my price range! Each floor basically got consistently better. As the lift opened to the second floor 'Poker Face' began perfectly as the doors opened, it was kinda freaky In my mind I was a celebrity in my own little video hehe (im strange like that). I peroused around the incredible womens footwear first - I can look it inspires me. Amazing skyscrapers by Giueseppe Zanotti had me in awe. Behind them a long table of vintage Azzedine Alaia belts - if anyone knows there fashion they'll know that Azzedine Alaia was an incredibly influential designer in the 80s and his vintage peices are high on the lists of every fashion-obsessed designer , stylist , model and/or celebrity. They are truly incredible. To see a whole table full of his signature corset inspired thick high waisted leather belts kinda took my breath away. Here's an example.
As you can see you actually may not know Alai by name but his influence on fashion and in this case belts today is clearly evident! Next level was when things started to get really excited - hanging on the racks my favorite peices were a very futuristic metallic jacket by british designer Gareth Pugh. An incredible Giambattista Valli pink feathered trench coat. An emerald green beatifully pleated Valentino dress with encrusted snake belt to go with it. Some amazing Lanvin peices , Lanvin does amazing dresses with almost inbuilt-jewellery that come with the dresses. Then came the amazing Alexander McQueen and his line of theatric Autumn/Winter gowns had me speechless. I hope all my fashion talk isnt boring you , but to be surrounded by all this beauty , it just makes me feel so inspired to one day have my own works in these ranks.
I have to say it was probably hands down one of the coolest stores I've ever been to. The selection of clothing was impeccable and the various setouts and displays were refreshing. Here's another cool pic of some of the stores interiors. Its very different and so cool. Notice the cool vending machine that holds 'Dover Street Market' tee shirts you can purchase via the vending machine. Its little quirky things like this that made me smile. 
After checking out the store I went and met Benny after work and Starbucks in hand we wandered around Selfridges and then headed home. Dover Street Market - huge success! A store I will definitley keep visiting just to check out the changing displays and layouts. xoxo Deni
Across the road is a Marks and Spencer , a Morleys (think like Kmart-meets-Target-meets-Dimmeys) a Body Shop & a TopShop just to name a few of the shops to line the strip. Just before or after (or before depending which way your walking) the tube stop is our local supermarket 'Sainsburys Local' where I normally pop in the mornings to get my fruit salad for breakfast to eat on the tube! Here is a pic of Sainsburys...
As you walk around the corner past Sainsburys, Footlocker & a phone store you begin to walk up towards the Brixton Markets. Once you've passed Argos , the smells start to hit you. Fresh seafood , vegetables , fruits - but mainly the smell of seafood. Its quite handy for me because all the merchants have these big mirrored fridges and they're my mirrors for checking out my hair on the way to work and on the way home from work hehe..
On the other side of the road is another entrance to more inside markets and then some stores. Barber shops , Beauty shops , wig & weave stores (yes i'm serious) and then everything from bric a brac to mobile phone vendors , fabric stores and some very nasty/cheap looking clothing stores - for all you geelong readers remember 'Kaz Wear' yeah the stores are all very Kaz wear hehe - for those of you who dont know what im talking about just thing yuck fake shit clothes... 
You continue to walk further up past some more fruit and vegetable stalls , and immediatley the hustle and bustle of people starts to hit you. The old women congregating around doing their daily fruit shopping. The old men hanging around smokes in their mouths perving at the old women hehe the young gangs of kids chilling around the area and the mix of people going to or leaving work. Its quite an interesting walk - especially if my outfit is slightly fashion-forward. 
Once you've walked the markets its another 5minute walk up and around the bend to our house. At some stage I will do a post with pictures of our place. So there's the downlow on Brixton. On the average day its full of people , there's always someone on the road or someone driving through with hip hop blaring from their cars (which I really love hehe). At times it gets a bit rough in terms of the large groups of young teenagers who just hangout the front of convenient stores , it can get a bit intimidating at times but as long as you mind your own business everything is cool and they keep to themself. Its funny because back home living in an area like Brixton would not be a choice I would make but over here it kind of makes the experience more interesting , colorful and i'm sure will eventuate into many interesting stories. Now read on for the low down on my days off xoxo Deni
And yay - first Selfridges purhcase means I finally got to carry the iconic yellow bag :) The rest of my work day consisted of some more Visual Merchandising and then some sales of course. After work I met Ben & Shane in Selfridges , had a bit of a look around mens shoes , we got some Starbucks for the way home and here I am - waiting for Ben to finish cooking dinner - Shepherds Pie mmm yum - interesting fact , I never noticed Shepherds Pie doesnt have a base and Ben said its because Shepherd's dont have pastry to use because its easier to make whilst Shepherding - I never knew that how interesting. That's it for me , tomorrow day off so not quite sure what to do but will figure it out in the morning I guess. Take care all xoxo Deni
So what kept me going through the shift however was my date with Ben awaiting after I had finished. I was taking Ben to a restaurant he'd been so eagerly wanting to go to called 'Spaghetti House' (the lovers of pasta that we both are) , its like a franchise but apparently it was the first Authentic Italian Restaurant in London so there's quite a few of them around. I got myself all pretty and met B-Boy after work and we walked to Duke St where Spaghetti House awaited us. 
I have wednesday and thursday off this week so hopefully i'll have some more interesting adventures to share rather than just work stuff hehe love you all xoxo Deni
So they're my MJ purchases. After that I went into Christian Louboutin - for those of you who dont know who he is first of all shame! secondly he is basically the god of shoes! His brand of shoes are like no others in the worlds and his signature red sole (all his shoes have a red sole) cause heart palpitations for women (and some men) all over the world. I went in to see his debut menswear range and to find a pair of shoes i specifically saw on the website. There they were sitting under a spotlight. A pair of black velvet studded loafers. Now I dont normally like loafers or velvet. The pair I originally wanted were black leather , but they had just been re-issued in velvet. But these shoes are like heaven on earth. "Do you have a 41" I asked the nice woman with an american accent. She came out with a 41 and a half. "They may be too big but I have to put them on" - they were to big - but my god they were amazing. All the women in the store dropped what they were doing and gathered around me in amazement 'Oh my god they're amazing they really suit you' a sweet italian woman said in her thick accent. "Yes honey but they are 700pounds out of my price range" - I thought but didnt say - one must never appear that they cant afford to be part of the louboutin club - it probably worked to my favor that they didnt fit me because then I wouldve left myself broke by buying them , but they made my day! This is a picture of the leather version - I must say the velvet is pretty freakin cool almost cooler i think
Now on the way home I stopped off at Argos , to see if the bedside tables were in , I thought since I had nothing better to do that would fill up my afternoon. They had one left in stock so I thought i'll take it and set it up for Ben before he gets home from work. Now this thing came flat packed but boy was it heavy. Imagine for a moment this skinny little homo walking through busy Brixton trying to carry this thing , one minute I carried on my head like an african , the next leaning it on my shoulders , I figured out the easiest way to carry it was like a pizza box , it fucking hurt though! So as you all know I can sew a dress but setting up furniture is not my thing. When I got home i realised I had no tools to put this thing together so it took me another hour to go into Brixton and find a hammer and a tool kit (not as easy as you would think) finally I got home and started to tackle my project - it took me 2 and a half hours to set up something that would probably take ben 15 minutes to do. I think I made a few mistakes and the drawer was a bit suspect when you opened it but this is how it turned out - with a few finishing touches I made by putting a photo frame scented candles & little bears Ben's been collecting to tsjuz it up a bit. See interior decorating I can do! 
I hopped on the tube and took the very short tube ride to 'Oxford Circus' - man going to work is gonna be a breeze , i thought. Its literally 15mintues on the tube. Awesome. I hopped off and headed straight to see Ben at work and pick up a hot Mocha to go. It was a little nippy today so too cold for my normal Mocha Frap! Coffee in hand I set off to go to Diesel. Now the store on Bond Street (also the street that carries Armani, Dolce & Gabbana , Mulberry and is around the corner from Vuitton) is the flagship store for London. Meaning its 'the' store. The top of the range , best selection of the collection and a Diesel landmark. Diesel has its normal Diesel range , its luxury Black/Gold range and a range called 'Diesel Gallery' which is limited edition one of a kind peices. This store caters all these collections plus also has a VIP floor (on the basement) for VIP customers, private shopping sessions etc. My new manager Michelle greeted me. Picture a short-ish irish woman with firey red hair flowing down past her shoulders , with a strong fastly spoken irish accent who's basically one of the bubblies, extroverted, nices people I've met. She welcomed me with open arms and said "Omg I am so excited you were my first choice and pick of the crop , I fought with the other manager to have you working at my store instead of his" - she was so sweet , so down to earth and basically was willing to accomodate all of my requests, holidays, flexibility to do internships and also added the possibility of doing internships at the Diesel head office. She even suggested that she will co-ordinate my roster with Ben's so that we have the same days off , she's just too cute! The best part was when she told me I have a 500pound clothing allowance to buy a wardrobe of Diesel clothes to wear to work. So basically I start tomorrow and the first hour will be spent shopping! Am I loving this or what? Well since I start tomorrow , I thought to myself , I need to find somewhere to get my eyebrows waxed. So I headed to Selfridges because didnt know where else to go. I went to their men's personal grooming service and paid 18pounds (nearly 40bucks) to get my eyebrows shaped and pampered. I told the young girl I was new to London and she told me not to come back to Selfridges again and gave me the details of where to go so I can get a 5pound wax done , just as good! She was so cute and friendly and very helpful. So I felt like killing sometime so I went up to the Dior section to live a fantasy and try on a jumper I was eyeing off in Paris. Thick Black wool encrusted with black wooden-type beads almost on the top half of the jumper. This peice was designed with me in mind i'm sure of it , only way out of my price range. At 1,000pounds I definitley wont be purchasing it anytime soon , but it doesnt cost to try it on. Here's a pic...
to notice an amazing emerald green vintage dress newly put in the window , I stopped for a minute took a deep breath and walked in to be greeted by Mike - today wearing his signature blue jeans white shirt combo only paired with a really cool navy wool cardigan that was very military styled and had gold military buttons. He told me later on that he designed it and had it made. "Hows your day been" - I asked. He told me it was pretty quiet for a Sunday and normally its busier that all changed quite quickly. I paid attention to the way Mike spoke to the first customer that walked through the door. Advising them the clothes were split up into decades , 80s , 70s, 60s , 50s etc. Listened to what he said how he said it and just after that customer a VIP customer of Mike's came in so he ushered them into the backroom and left me alone to control the shop. So i followed suit - "how you going guys , have you ever been to our store before. basically we have 80s dresses here followed by 70s , 60s , 50s and then everything after that is 40s and older, if you walk up and turn the corner we have jewellery , a room of shoes and our coat room with all our furs and long winter coats". When Mike came out after about 20 minutes , Jeffy , the other boy who works there walked through the door after his break - wearing a really cool school boy style blazer , jeans and a printed t-shirt. "Jeffy , you should see I leave Denis alone for half an hour and I can hear him from out the back talking like a pro , he just heard me once and he's picked it all up in 5 seconds , he's a natural". This was good , this feedback was all good. After some more hustle & bustle Mike left to get some lunch and thats when 'It' happened. Basically there were probably 6 people in store, and to explain to you the layout , its quite a small store , or rather just full of clothes that take up lots of room. You walk in , to your right is a narrow corner full of bags , two big Vintage Louis Vuitton Trunks sit on top of the pile of bags. After this corner is the counter top , above it are all the polaroids of the famous people , vip's that have shopped in the store. To your left are double decker racks of clothes , sectioned off in their decades. In the middle of this section is a round rack with more clothes and as you walk down its the same , the ceiling is covered with clothes hanging from it. A vintage beaded 1920s slip dress hangs next a vintage marabou feather Christian Dior bolero. You come to the end of this room and straight ahead is the very narrow passage of menswear including shoes clothes bags hats and ties. To your left is another hallway that leads you past the jewellery cases on the wall and into the large room full of shoes and the smaller coat room. The door to the secret room is what appears to be a mirror , at the end of the menswear section , that with the pull of a latch turns into the vip room. So imagine 6-8 girls in such a confined space and the store is full. In walks a , lets say , larger woman , thick dark hair swaying over her shoulders. Wearing a big caramel wool wrap/cardigan with loose linen trousers. Her daughter walks next to her sipping on her starbucks , in ripped up jeans , cons and a big wool kimono style jacket looking very reminiscent of Missoni. As I looked at this woman I thougth 'is it , could it be , no It cant be'. The two unidentified women look around talking to eachother on italian , when Jeffy says to the girl "I like your jacket where is it from" she replies , "My mum made it for me". I then say "thats funny becuase it looks like a Missoni" - then as I realise what i'm saying the woman turns to me smiles and says "Yes I am Angela Missoni". 
"I knew it" - blurted out of my mouth. Denis why would you say that , came to my mind straight after. "I am looking actually for vintage Missoni peices to add to my archives can you help me?" Before Jeffy could say anything I walked over to her , thankfully earlier in my shift I literally looked through every rack and knew where all the vintage Missoni was. I pulled out each peice and lay them all out for her pushing anyone else out of the way. Missoni was in my presence & i intended to cater to her every need. "Would you like me to show you some Missoni Mens" , "Sure" she replied. I walked her over to the jumper I fell in love with the other day. I held it up "Look at this , perfection, I am so in love with it". "Ah yes I remember this pattern". I began to stutter , my lips were dry and my heart was beating a million miles an hour. "Can I just tell you , as a young fashion designer myself how much of an honour it is to meet you , the legacy your family has left on fashion with your label is amazing. I could cry" and then I did. There I am standing next to Angela Missoni with tears streaming out of my eyes (It wasnt ugly crying I wasnt sobbing just all of a sudden tears streamed from my eyes). She put her hand on my shoulder and said "Thankyou very much". She paused, I paused, we had a moment. She was in a hurry waiting for her husband , he called her and then Jeffy (knowing the ropes) said "let me take you to the vip room to show you some more elaborate vintage missoni we have" he ushered her and her daughter to the room while i waited instore for her husbands arrival. He walked in and said "I'm looking for..." and before he could finish i said "Angela? She's in the backroom come with me" - Angela , Denis what are you on a first name basis now , how weird is this? It felt so surreal. 5 mintues later the whole family came back out. She took our business card and said "I'll be back thankyou for your help". "It was an honour to meet you" I said , and she smiled at me one last time before she left the store. "Oh my god I cant beleive that just happened" , I said to Jeffy. I couldnt quite breathe. For those of you who dont know , Missoni , is an italian fashion brand that started in the 6os its a family owned label that is still going strong. Their signature zig zag colourful styled weaving of wool is instantly recognisable. Their impact on textiles , fabric and the fashion industry is still so important. There are peices that you all would see every day that are influenced by Missoni and you wouldnt even know it. Its truly an amazing label and more so a legacy to fashion and the textile industry. This is one of my favorite examples of Missoni.
Missoni in the new millenium has truly become a fashion empire. You can buy everything from Missoni perfume to Missoni furniture and homewares. Its always been one of my favorite labels and I am so blessed to have met this amazing woman who took over from her parents (which are still alive but just retired) she's one of my hero's. I still cant beleive it happened. The rest of my shift went really quickly , nothing could get me off the high I felt. Mike was really happy with my work so he paid me for my 3 hours and said that basically whenever they need someone they will call me also the owner still wanted to meet me but he was sick so couldnt come in so he said they'll call me when he's available. I was more than happy with that offer and walked out a very very happy boy! Today's experience is one I will remember for the rest of my life. Absolutley Amazing! Lets hope more good things are to come. That's it for me xoxo Deni
There were heaps of really cool vintage stalls , but considering the markets are open 7 days a week I figure i'll just go back sometime this week and have a bit of a hunt myself for some cool peices. Just an interesting little fact as well, the supermodel Lily Donaldson (who I happened to bump into in Paris 3 weeks ago) is from Camden Town - no wonder she can rock a vintage jacket like a true champion! We found Shane her boots and it was then off for a bit of an explore where we found a few cool stores , then onto the tube to hit Covent Garden Markets. Covent Garden square is actually really cool its one of my favorite little districts in London. It has this very kind of old-school meets quirky vintage feel about it. I really like it. On the weekends the cobbled stoned lanes of the square are filled with street performers. Pink Speedo wearing Uniciyclists , those dudes who spray themself silver and pretend to be statues. Michael Jackson wannabe-dancers - the lot! Covent Garden seriously though has some quirky little stores & I really like it.
While I was strolling around freezing my ass off I purchased a grey animal-print hoody from H&M for only 5 pounds. I dont normally do animal print but its a cool kind of print and animal print has been popping up alot on the menswear over here so I thought i'd give it a go in a casual-cool way first. Its a bit of fun and for 5Pounds I was like 'hey why not'.
So after all that we came home to eat our awesome 2pound pepporoni pizza. We were in the supermarket looking for quick easy dinner options and when me and ben spotted the ready to cook pizza for 1.97 we were like "done , perfect" and omg it tasted so good!!! We went out that night to 'The Walkabout' another aussie pub , out in an area called Shepherd's Bush. Drank too much wine , lots of shots and danced around with a group of aussie girls who were all on a hens night. Fun had by all. Catch the next entry for sunday's update xoxo Deni
Basically there's a store over here called Argos. So basically you go in there and they have heaps of catalogues of its product, they sell everything from Bed side tables , to laundry baskets , to jewellery and even clothes I think? Anyway you walk in , nothing is on display , you go through the catalogue pick the item , go up to the counter pay for it , you get a number (very supermaket deli) and then wait for your item to come shooting down a conveyor belt and take it home! Yes, that is the Argos experience. Unfortunatley for me they didnt have any stock left of the bedside tables me and ben wanted so my suprise was officially ruined!!! 
It was turning out to be a sunny (but cool) day so I thought i'd text Ben and see if he wanted to go for an explore after he finished work at 2. We both hadnt been to 'At World's End' yet and have been dying to go! 'At World's End' - is the first store Vivienne Westwood and her husband opened back in the 80s when she was starting out as a designer. It became a landmark in fashion when she made it big by teaming up with the Sex Pistols and them wearing her clothes on stage. It was the era of the London Punk Scene and Viv was the queen in her domain. Punk rockers from all over London would march down to At World's End to get there saturday night outfits all sorted. Vivienne Westwood now has her own proper stores but A.W.E remains where it is and is mecca in the world of Westwood. So I thought i'd do Viv proud by rocking some cool vintage threads , altough not hers , this was the perfect excuse to pull out my new vintage VERSACE!!!
Took off the beanie , left the chain on and chucked on my bad-ass boots. Its a shame you cant see how beautiful the texture of this jumper is in this photograph. Off to Oxford Street to meet Benny at work where I'm greeted with my Mocha Frap and off to ...the end of the world. We had to go all the way out to Chelsea. An area Ben hasnt really explored yet so it was an explore for the both of us. *Interesting fact Kylie Minogue live's in Chelsea so I will be stalking this area more often. When we finally got to Kings Road we managed to find it. Its infamous winding clock out the front is still in original condition , exactly how Vivienne intended! This is the front..
We walked in and it was suprisingly incredibly small. About the size of my room walk-in-robe and bathroom back me in geelong and the ceilings were really low. A cabinet full of Vivienne Westwood jewellery sat to my left hand side and to my right hand side were headless weird kind of mannequins displaying Vintage Westwood peices from back in the 80s. A 5 step walk to my left again was some menswear , a rack of jumpers a few shirts and 3 jackets followed by some pigeon holes of Bags and then the tiniest bit of womenswear. The store was really quite under-whelming I must say , but for what it represents I'm glad we went and had a look at it. We then walked over through Battersea across the 'Albert Bridge' I beleive it was called and walked past what used to be the 'Battersea Power Station'. Ben was quite interested in this as he explained to me Battersea Power Station is a now unused
See its those chimneys in the background. Basically we kept on walking in hopes to find a store called 'Home Base' where we could buy some bedside tables from , but we got lost and probably the fact that we didnt have the street name or number of the store's location had something to do with it , so we decided to catch a bus home. The bus home - can I just say - was possibly the most crowded bus I have ever been on in my life. These buses are double decker people , top floor was totally packed , bottom floor was jam packed to the rafters of sitting and standing space. So as me and Ben were standing by the stairs I decided to park my booty on a stair and sit for comfort. I remember looking around me at all these people just wanting to get home. Infront of me a big black woman in a black & white tweed trench coat - did that thing when you blow your lips in frustration like your blowing on a trumpet. Next to me an eager little child tried to get down past me to stand by his mother. On my left hand side was a woman on her phone speaking another language but surely telling who ever she was talking to how packed the bus was , yet all I could think about was "Denis , you are sitting here on a crammed bus , sitting on a stair step in vintage-fucking-versace , what is wrong with this picture and where is your chauffer-driven town car" LOL if only! We finally got home and I decided to stop by the chicken shop for another 2pound Chicken Burger & Chips combo - how can I say no! So I forgot to mention my good news. Earlier today I got a call from Selfridges , my favorite department store, and I have an interview with them on Monday for a position in their menswear department - hello staff discount. Then tonight I got a call from Mike, the owner of One Of a Kind aka Vintage Couture Heaven , and he wants to me to come in on sunday to do a trial and to meet the owner and i'm going to get paid for it! How good is that! I'm quite happy about that just think , perhaps I could work at Selfridges , every other day work at One of a Kind and I would have a connection for current-season clothes and vintage-clothes , that really is heaven...oh and it would pay the rent too I guess hey. Thats it for me , I'll leave you all with this picture of B and I xoxo Deni
I hopped on the tube and headed to Oxford Circus where I would get off , walk down Regent street and then turn into Carnaby Street. Along the way I found this really cool department store called 'Liberty' - the shopfront kind of reminds me of an austrian/german building. The department store itself however was amazing! Their range of clothes was impeccable - the best range of Marc by Marc Jacobs i've yet to see outside of the MJ store. A nice selection of McQueen , Rick Owens and they even had some vintage designer peices in there as well.
See what I mean - doesnt it look like its rolled out of the Austrian hills or something? hehe anyway next stop was Carnaby Street. As soon as I walked into it I just loved the feeling in the air , it has a lot of character and just oozes cool. Lots of little unique stores , not so much vintage , but just cool little concept stores selling everything from clothes to books to jewellery and candles. If I start to launch my tee's over here there was a few stores on Carnaby Street that I could totally imagine stocking my stuff. 
For all you Sienna Miller fans out there (Christie hehe) some of you may be aware that Sienna and her sister Savannah have their own label called Twenty8Twelve , well just off Carnaby Street is where the store is at. Its really cool , and I'm a huge Sienna lover so I had to take a pic of it to show you girls...and maybe some of you guys too hehe!
After perousing the Twenty8Twelve windows I found this really cool store called 'Wish you were here' , when I walked in there was this ultra cool black girl sitting at the counter bopping away to the awesome tunes that were blaring from the stereo. She had a short shaved Rihanna-style hair cut and was rocking a leather hooded jacket a cute dress and some wicked skate-style-sneakers. She was the ultimate prettygirl-tomboy. I loved her style. The range of clothes in the store were quite small but I noticed stairs , "We have an art gallery downstairs" she said with a smile. So i walked down. The clothes in the store were very in that streetwear skate style but in a very cool way , a style I love , so it was fitting that the artwork was going to be urban and in the same vein as the clothes. The first room featured a huge peice on the wall made entirely of dummy's , yes like baby dummy's - that shaped a huge love heart - with turquoise paint that then dripped down from each dummy and onto the floor. My interperation of it was like 'Baby you're making my heart bleed' ... I dont know thats just what I got from it. It was cool though.
The following peices were mostly photo's , some big style polaroids of the L.A street scene. There's a picture of P.Diddy in the bottom left hand corner which I thought was cool - i really liked this little collage type thing and I like how the polaroids seem to be bigger than usual size.
My favorite peice though was the following image. Not many of you may know but i'm a huge fan of skateboarding and skate-culture (not that I can actually skate - I wish). Its a sport , look and style I really appreciate and wish I could pull off. I'm not talking shitty little kids skating in the mall , i'm talking cool dudes and girls who skate like its an art form and they make it their whole life from the way they walk to the way they dress. It really inspires me , especially when I design girls clothes I often will think "Ok you've got this cool-as skater boy who is full of tattoo's wears oversized hoody's and cool ripped up jeans , now what does his girlfriend look like" and thats the girl I sometimes like to design for. Anyway enough of my dribble - this is the photograph I most liked. I think its pretty awesome!
I just really like the style of photography and think it would look great as a print on a tee-shirt. So after all of that I went off to meet Ben after he finished work as he greeted me with my favorite Tall Mocha Frapuccino with whip - bless - and we went off to find this store called Beyond Retro - the store itself was quite large and there was lots on offer but there were too many people in there and I think i'll have to go back another day to have a proper look around. 
On the way home I went past our local chicken burger joint here in Brixton and after feeling slightly peckish I picked up a Chicken Burger and Chips for only 2pounds! How cheap is that! I've just sat here eating it as I type to all you bloggers out there its so yum! Also I strongly urge all of you to go onto Youtube and listen to Lady GaGa's new single - or if its on LimeWire download it , its called 'Bad Romance' and its from her new album soon to be released. Its freakin awesome and i've been listening to it on repeat while i've been writing this blog! I'm gonna have to love you all and leave you , I'm not sure what I'll do tomorrow , I still need to find the perfect neck peice to wear over my new Vintage Versace so maybe I should have a hunt tomorrow. Thats it for me xoxo Deni
As I walked through Brixton the neighbourhood of mostly a Jamaican and Muslim community gave me very mixed looks. I saw eyes literally pop out of peoples heads and then a nice lady smiled at me looked down at my pants and smiled back at me. Walking onto the tube was the same thing , I got a smile from a cool vintage-clad girl sitting next to me and weird looks from straight-laced old business men. When I hopped off at Portobello road I picked up my Starbucks order on the way and walked into 'One of a Kind'. "Sick trousers mate are they Westwood?" asked the manager (who's name is Mike). "No they're not but they reminded me of her 80s collections and I just had to buy them". His co-worker a 20 year old camp Jamaican guy walked in and exclaimed "Thank god another person who isnt afraid to wear interesting trousers , they are so cool". Finally , people who understood me , I thought. I handed Mike my CV and Reference and asked him to pass it on to the store owner. "I defintley will" he said , and followed with "Let me take a photo of you so he can see how cool your style is" , I was very flattered and happily posed. "Hopefully we can offer you a couple of days a week to start off with" - I was more than pleased. Now for the clothes. I walked over to my Versace jumper and hanging next to it was a Vintage oversized Missoni sweater. All signature zig-zag pattern and beautiful wool a combination of mesh and lurex. "That ones new mate , its 250 but I could give it to ou for 150" , Mike said. I contemplated it but then remembered I had rent to pay soon and should be responsible. Hopefully it will still be there in a months time and if its meant to be it'll be mine. Or if I get the job maybe they can pay me in clothes - I thought. Clearly I've become a vintage addict. There's something so amazing about purchasing vintage peices that feels like you have a little peice of history - the clothes have stories behind them. Who owned them , what were there lives like , what events or parties did they possibly wear these peices too. The possibilities are endless. While I was in store the Sunday Post was in interviewing Mike and setting up for a photo shoot. The hype around this store is crazy. Its a London institution. I proudly purchased my vintage Versace Couture peice and walked out one happy boy! "We'll be in touch Denis" - said Mike as he shook my hand and left the store. I have a good feeling about this, I thought. So this is my jumper. Its very classic and quite plain. But its an investment Versace peice and so comfortable and I figure it balances out my eccentric purchase of yesterday! I plan to find a chunky metal neck peice to wear around the collar of the jumper. I cant wait! 
Just a tube ride away was Canonbury Lane - the vintage store I was going to visit had a really good profile online , when I got there it was quite small and only had womens clothes. Nothing that blew my mind but never the less was a cute little store. Canonbury square which was on the way to Canonbury Lane was kinda cute and quintessentially London to me - I quite liked it.
As I was walking up the main street I ducked into a little cheap jewellery store and got talking to the shop girl there. She is also from my hood - Brixton and is tall skinny and a black beauty who wants to do modelling and fashion. I told her as soon as I get a sewing machine I will whip something up and we'll organise a shoot. We got eachothers names to add on facebook. I was now walking towards the tube to go meet Ben & his friend Kai for lunch. I figured I may need a costume change , my eccentric look suited the vintage shopping morning I had planned but I needed a more slick urban look for Oxford Circus and I didnt want Kai to think I was some crazy french painter or something hehe it was when I was half way to Oxford Circus I looked down at my wrist and realised my favorite House of Baulch chunky bracelet was missing from it. "OMG I LEFT IT IN THE JEWELLERY STORE WHEN I TRIED ON A BRACELET" - thankgod I have that girls details and maybe its happened for a reason so that gives us an excuse to do coffee or something , I thought. Either way I need to get that bracelet back its my favorite! As I got off at Oxford Circus I made a mad dash to the giant H&M store to find a quick emergency pair of jeans to change into. I wanted a kind of black waxed pair to get that sleek look I was going for. I found this awesome pair of almost leather looking jeans but just the right amount of not tacky looking shiny effect for only 19pounds! Sold! I got changed in the change rooms and was on my way to meet the boys! I chucked the pashmina I had in my bag on to balance out the look! 
Vintage Chanel Bags , sat next to vintage Hermes Birkin Bags (sigh) followed by Vintage Christian Dior & Chloe sunglasses. The left hand door was covered in pictures of special, guests that visited the store. Now I read on google that it was a favorite of Sienna Miller's but along with her picture on the door there were pictures of Victoria Beckham , Kate Moss , Lindsay Lohan , Marc Jacobs & supermodel Natalia Vodianova. "This is going to be good" I thought to myself... I walked around the corner to find a cute little store that stocked a few brands I like , Cheap Monday , Ksubi etc and the girl that worked there was aussie so that was nice to hear an aussie accent. When I walked back around to 'One of a Kind' a 30-so year old thin moustached man smoking a cigarette , wearing a navy blue blazer white shirt , blue jeans and boat shoes , greeted me with a "Just a second mate..." he crossed the road , opened the door and walked me into heaven. The store itself is quite small and narrow but is covered wall to wall in vintage amazingess! "Where's the menswear" I asked and he pointed me to the back room. I admired the shoes , touched the luxurious furs and made my way down to shirts and jumpers. I found 2 things that were in my size and a must to try on. A beige vintage v-neck Burberry sweater & a black cashmere/velvet blend original Gianni Versace Couture jumper from Gianni's 80s reign. I picked it up and dangled it infront of my big brown eyes "Its a quirky peice put you look like the kind of guy who gets it , you could pull it off" , "I was thinking the same thing" I replied to him. I walked to the fitting rooms passing the womens furs on the way (sigh again). I put on the Versace and didnt even think twice about trying the Burberry on 'This is It' i thought. You know that feeling when you put something on and its love at first sight. Its like you were born to wear it - maybe its just me but thats how that jumper made me feel. Its very classic. Black. Crew Neck. Ribbed at the sleeves. But it has the most amazing cashmere/velvet blend to it and the fabric is so sumptuous and luxurious it made my skin smile. More than anything, I dont really like current Versace but Vintage Versace I love and anything that Gianni designed himself is an investment! I walked out to the mirror and spotted a leather & chain belt I thought I could wear as a necklace over the jumper. "Could I try it on please" I asked , "its Vintage from the 60s, Twiggy designed it for Harrods" he replied. I put it over the jumper and it looked amazing "You know what you're talking about mate" he said. The necklace was 400pounds so was out of the question 'I'll buy a version from TopShop' I thought. "How much is the Jumper?" I asked with fear , it had no price tag. He told me the price and it was only a tiny bit out of my budget so I was just about to ask him to hold it for me. I kept on looking at the womens clothes and he said "I think you'll find this very inspiring, you a designer are you?" , "Actually yes" I replied. We got to talking and he mentioned a private room he had reserved only for celebrities and VIP Clientele filled wall to wall in exclusive Premium Couture worth Millions of Pounds. "I normally reserve it for celebrities only but you look like the kind of chap that would appreciate it and it will be very inspiring for you" with those words he locked the shop door and took me down the hallway through a mirrored door and into a room also knows as HEAVEN! I couldnt breathe for a moment , hung above my head was a Chanel bag the size of my suitcase "Its worth more than two Birkins put together and Chanel locked their store and filled it with security when they handed it over to us" he told me. I got shivers down my spine. In a cabinet was a crocodile skin Vintage Birkin. (sigh) he showed me original Vivienne Westwood peices from the start of Viv's career. Dresses designed by Christian Dior himself in the 40s. Vintage shoes by Chanel, Westwood, Balenciaga. A lot of amazing vintage Chanel jewellery & some amazing no label peices dating back to the 1900s. When I saw a Chanel brooch pinned to a couture Chanel jacket that Coco Chanel designed herself in the beginning of her career I almost got tears in my eyes. It was amazing! "You should consider yourself very lucky not many people are allowed in there , only a few months ago we had the stylist Rachel Zoe in here and she died in the room she loved it" he told me! I nearly died after hearing that comment! I immediatley told him my story about me moving from Aus to further my fashion career and as he knows so many people in the industry tomorrow i'm bringing him my resume and he's gonna try help me. I will also be purchasing the Versace jumper as he gave me a deal I couldnt refuse. Next store up was Relik - just up the road.
It was quite a cool selection , lots of Westwood and some cool Azzedine Alai peices but no menswear :( about a 20minute walk away was the area of Notting Hill. Something i've been dying to visit because I was told its beautiful (and loved the movie). It exceeded my expectations and was truly beautiful. I wish we could live there its so pretty :) check it out.
I also went past the park where they actually filmed that scene with Hugh & Julia in Notting Hill , its a private park and was all blocked off but i zoomed in and got a pic anyway hehe.
Last stop for today was 'Aboslutley Vintage' which was about a 20minute tube ride in the opposite direction but well worth the trip as it was voted by Elle Magazing as London's best Vintage Store in 2008. On the walls were pics of Kelis, Kirsten Dunst & Jean Paul Gaultier. So it was here I bought me my purchase for the day. So in the spirit of vintage , all this exploring through vintage peices inspired me to step outside of the box. I spotted these striped cotton vintage balloon/harem style pants in the mens section. At first the fabric pattern & colour combination and the silhouetter reminded me of Vintage Vivienne Westwood and something I had seen earlier today at One of a Kind. This high waisted pair of pants caught my eye and I was just telling Ben the other day I wanted to try a mens style harem pant (as they're all over the place here) so I headed to the change room. As soon as I put them on the sheer comfort and roominess of them had me sold and they had some what of a childish charm to them. I feel like a cheeky little kid in them and they make me smile. I know they'll be slightly controversial and probably not many people will like them but thats one of the reasons I bought them , more to the point I love them and I cant wait to rock them tomorrow when I continue my vintage adventures...
I think i'll pair them with my YSL tee and my new Marc Jacobs beanie and some patent shoes! Next was off to the city to my Diesel interview. It was a group interview that went for almost 2 hours and was quite fun actually. We had to play stylists and style outfits and stuff so it was right up my alley. I also made a new friend , she's really nice and she's pretty and she studies fashion marketing so we've added eachother on facebook and hopefully will catch up for a drink which will be nice. All in all a very good day! I look forward to tomorrow. I'll leave you with this picture of me at Picadilly Circus at night - my flash wasnt working but I kinda like how i'm blacked out and all you can see is the lights. Its cool.
Thats it for me xoxo Deni