Calling all trendsetters…

There’s nothing like a room full of edgy, beautiful women to make you feel a curious mix of insecure and inspired. That pretty much sums up my experience of Audi Jo’burg Fashion Week, which was held at the Sandton Convention Centre last week. But, unlike fashion editors and other journos, I wasn’t there to scope out the catwalk and the designs of Leigh Schubert and David Tlale but, rather, the looks of the regular, albeit well-dressed girls… Like Shaydie Tsheasane, 23, who managed to stand out from the already show-stopping crowd in her harem pants, cream jacket, vintage sunnies and fresh-faced glow.(picture below)I’m always in awe of girls who can look like a million bucks in Mr Price pieces, simply by the visionary way they throw things together. And to be completely honest, I’d rather take my cues from them than the scantily clad, pouty models. For more hot looks from our Fashion Week stakeout, buy the March issue of CLEO.

January may be on its way out, but I’m still desperately trying to hang onto my positive holiday feelings, while drama and deadlines unfold around me. I’m not the most patient person to begin with, and it’s hard not to lose my cool when things don’t work out and people let me down. All I can do is hold onto the moments when life has made a plan, people have come to my rescue, baked goods have unexpectedly arrived on my desk and the perfect pair of jeans looked as good on my ass as it did in my head.

This Saturday (January 30), weather permitting; I’ll be venturing to Emmarentia to catch the Campus Invasion: Bandamic Tour, to stalk, I mean watch, awesome groups like aKing, New Holland, Gang of Instrumentals and Tidal waves. Naturally, I’ll be on the lookout for awesome outfits for the mag, so bring your fave sunnies, comb your hair and you could be our next trendsetter. Hope to see you there!

Nat
xoxo

Declutter your soul

So, this is 2010. My first impression of the year, so far, is that it’s a lot like 2009, only with more rain. I’m not going to lie, it’s taken me a while to get back into the swing of things, but now that I have, I’m pretty positive about what lies ahead. The key’s to look forward to the small things, like cake Fridays, welfare TV’s new shows, after-work drinks, as well as the big things: Kelly Clarkson’s concert, the World Cup, Sex and the City 2.

Helping our office get motivated for the new year is Feng Shui master Elaine Hosiassohn from Feng Shui Dynamics. She dropped by yesterday morning to assess the situation, and after a few horror-induced speechless moments over the state of our open-plan workspace (an explosion of coffee mugs, boxes, Robert Pattinson posters, magazines, fluffy toys, books and CDs) gave us some insight on how to create a fresh, more positive chi, or energy. For the full story (and some revealing pics) check out our April issue. For now, all I can say is, declutter people!

Also inspiring was The September Issue, which as our ed Tanya mentioned in her blog, we saw as a team on Tuesday (you’re never too old for a “school trip” or to put Astros in your popcorn). The documentary was actually more about Vogue’s creative director Grace Coddington, than it was about ice-queen Anna, and reminded me that you don’t need to be a young hipster to be relevant and creative in fashion, and in life. You just need to remain true to yourself, and put your heart and soul into what you do – something I need to remember when I’m having a bad chi day.

Tomorrow, I’ll be hitting Audi Jo’burg Fashion Week to snap pretty people in trendy threads. For the report back, watch this space.

Nat

xoxo