Casamento Beauty

You can find them at the Southernmost tip of the continent of Africa, a small village in a suburb of Cape Town…

Inspired by nature, they manufacturer & upholster furniture using traditional methods and a thoughtful variety of techniques…

They are Casamento. Unique, inspired and beautiful. Self-taught designers Starry Eve Collett and Henry du Rand make furniture which is loved and is an honest testimony of their respect for the natural environment and those who share it. Using a combination of latex foam and raw and recycled fibres, the redesigned pieces become special, a fact made evident by the needlework and handwork embroidery on the textile surface. Using a harmonious blend of different prints, textures and colours, the tapestry-like stitch work sometimes includes script and snippets of poetry.

Casamento exhibited at the 2011 Design Indaba Expo this past weekend in the creme de la creme of South African design exhibition area, The Salon Prive.

images from website, unless linked otherwise.

A Saturday spent with Dallas fashion bloggers? Yes please!

There are lots of adjectives I could use to describe myself: Eclectic. Introspective. Sarcastic. Scrappy. However, I do not consider myself a joiner. In high school I spent much of my time hiding in music practice rooms working on flute concertos, and exploring Manhattan with only my worn leather backpack and cup of coffee as accompaniment. While I cherish my time spent with friends, I'm not one of those women who needs to be with people all the time. I'm perfectly content shopping alone, or making a solo trip to a bar for a shot of whiskey (I must be the only person who nurses a drink while reading chick lit on their Kindle.) In addition, large group gatherings intimidate the crap out of me. Despite my tattoos, and bright red hair, I'm not as outgoing as you might think. I get crazy anxious before parties and events. I worry that I'm going to spill something in myself, be under-dressed, be over-dressed, talk too much, talk too little, or otherwise embarrass myself.

However, I squealed with delight when Kileen invited me to the DFW Blogger Meetup on Saturday. Despite my apparent social anxiety disorder, there was no way I was going to pass up the chance to socialize with other fashion and personal style bloggers in the Dallas area. I wasn't sure how many people were going to be there, but fifteen bloggers turned up! Thank God I changed 1423 times or I would indeed been painfully under-dressed.

Good lord is my hair red. I stuck out like a traffic light among all those gorgeous brunettes.

We began with brunch at Ristoranti Cibus in Northpark Center. Northpark is a fantastic place to spend a day, and even more so with fashion bloggers. Over brunch we introduced ourselves and described our bogs, exchanged business cards, discussed blogging techniques, and got to know one another over bottomless mimosas and bellinis. Brunch was absolutely delicious too - I dug into a plate of brioche with gravlox, capers and cream cheese. Yummo. As a relatively new blogger, it was really fun to be included in a group of such stylish, intelligent women. I learned so much and hopefully made friends I will keep in touch with for a long time.

I was too busy schmoozing to take many pictures, but here's a few from the day:

The epically stylish Angga of Reservade Fashion, wearing  a Forever 21 bag and spring's hottest color: coral! She drove all the way from Kansas to attend the meetup, and I was so excited to meet her.

Posting with Tina of T Minus T Plus, who gave me so many useful tips for promoting and tracking my blog. I really hope to stay in touch with her - she was so much fun to meet!

Posing In Northpark's courtyard in a thrifted J Crew blazer, Forever 21 top, thrifted J Brand jeans; Stuart Weitzman wedges, Forever black pyramid bracelet, and thrifted vintage bag

After brunch we attended a cosmetics consultation courtesy of Dior and Allure magazine. I was drooling over the color-rich, luxurious makeup available for us to try. We broke up into two groups and received lessons regarding moisturizers, primers and foundation, followed by instruction on eyeshadow blending and liner application. I'm a total make-up junkie - though most of my cosmetics come from Target (Loreal shadows are the bomb) - so this was a pretty amazing experience. It was like Christmas morning, my birthday, and a sorority road trip all mashed into one. But with better clothes.

Irene of Pink Hearted Princess served as the perfect model, though she was perfectly gorgeous before getting made up!

I had an absolutely fantastic time, and I'm really hopeful the other bloggers and I can organize regular monthly gatherings. It was a blast.

Would you ever attend a blogger meetup? Have you made any personal connections with other bloggers outside the internet?

Mirror, Mirror

Reflecting images, catching the light, echoing a room..I love mirrors. Grouped together to create an interesting focus to a room, or simply and singularly as a feature to a wall. Embellished and antique with a surface freckled from age, or minimal and modern with a sleek polished finish: mirrors are beautiful in all their representations.

Having a burgeoning collection of looking glass images, I thought I’d group them together in one post.. enjoy reflecting!

click image for source

Things that Make you Dance in Milan//Day 5

Dolce & Gabbana

Count on me......

                                                                                                CLICK TO SEE MORE

                                                                                               boots: zara,
                                                                                               bag: aldo,
                                                                                               fur coat: non branded,
                                                                                               pants: bershka,
                                                                                               scarf: cashmere from turkey,
                                                                                               hat: bershka,
                                                                                               ring: h&m,
                                                                                               belt: accessorize,
                                                                                               Photographer: Olja S.

It was really cold these days, so i couldn't make any outfit post. Today, i enjoyed in this stylish walk through the woods with my gorgeous friend Olja, and im so happy because we made great shoots! Hope that you will like it! :*
Znate da mi je ponekad neverovatno teško da napišem i ovih par rečenica, tako da ću opet biti kratka. Olja i ja u obližnjoj šumi...malo šetnje, malo slikanja i eto divno provedenog nedeljnog popodneva! :)
p.s. Oljoo pesmica je za tebe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZFB3aGCS00  :) 

Week in review: February 19

Ah, Sundays. 

Time to sleep late, catch up on blogs, do 18203 loads of laundry, clean the bathrooms, browse through magazines that were delivered this week (hello, InStyle, you're looking lovely,) and scarf down some pancakes and bacon whipped up by my husband. Ideally, all of these activities would be accomplished in bed, if possible. I would make dinner in there is I could. I want a full-size stovetop for my birthday, jimmy rigged to my bedside table. That would be awesome.

I have the hardest time dragging myself out of bed on the weekends. I want to stay snugly cocooned under the covers, read the Sunday Times on my iPad and drink mugs of coffee from my ginormous Tulsa coffee mug. It's cheesy and huge and holds approximately three cups of hot caffeinated deliciousness. And I love it because my coffee mysteriously tastes better from it.

This weekend was extra-fancy for me, because I was able to attend the DFW Blogger Meetup - an event that gave me the opportunity to shop like a mad woman for the perfect outfit, lipstick and heels, only to revert to wearing stuff that was already languishing in my closet. Huh. What did you guys do this weekend? Anything interesting?

Okay, onto more productive matters. This week on Dress With Courage, I:

• Explored the shoes versus bags debate, and firmly established my allegiance to handbags;
• Talked about the awesomeness that is the flea market;
• Questioned the idea of sentimentality regarding clothing, and how to determine what to give away and what to keep;
• Continued my Thrifting 101 series with part 5: How to shop for vintage at a thrift store;
• Gave my nominations for Fashion Beauty Friend Friday's blogger awards; 
• and wondered if women's fashion is man-repelling or merely absurd. 

I want to take a moment to welcome my new followers (wave!) and thank everyone for your continued support and thoughtful comments.  You have no idea how much this means to me. If you're visiting my blog for the first time, please consider becoming a follower, tweeting with me on Twitter, or becoming a Facebook fan. As a relatively new blogger, I get embarrassingly, ridiculously excited when reading a new comment or gaining a new follower. I appreciate you all so much!

Hottest tickets in Milan//Day 4

Roberto Cavalli

Jil Sander

  Emporio Armani                                   Pucci

Outfit Post: Is women's fashion man-repelling or merely absurd?

What is the point of fashion? Self-expression? Creativity? Individuality? According to one blogger, fashion is about repelling men. Oh. Okay. Darn.

The blogger in question is named Leandra Medine. Here is her fashion "thing", as described by the New York Times:

Since April 2010, Ms. Medine, 21, has been publishing photos of herself on her blog, the Man Repeller, as well as shots of similarly challenging recent runway looks: fashions that, though promoted by designers and adored by women, most likely confuse - or worse, repulse - the average straight man. These include turbans, harem pants, jewelry that looks like a torture instrument, jumpsuits, ponchos, furry garments resembling large unidentified animals, boyfriend jeans, clogs and formal sweatpants.

Medine's blog is a tongue-in-cheek chronicle of her adventures in these bewildering articles of clothing. A quick examination shows her in suspenders, argyle socks with pony hair sandals, and drop-crotch pants, posing for photographers with other slovenly-chic high-profile fashion bloggers. She argues that now, more than ever, designers are producing clothes which push the boundaries of fashion so far that they turn off (and repel) the average man.

The fashion world has taken notice. Medine's blog won top honors in last month's Bloglovin' Awards. And fans have begun to use her blog name as a verb, as in, “I am totally man-repelling today.” (Warning: This might have to become part of my vernacular from now on. I think I'll start today. My belt is totes man-repelling. Uh, yeah.)

On first glance, The Man Repeller seems very similar to other blogs I read: a young, coltish woman mixes thrift, discount and runway pieces in a haphazard way that somehow looks chic in the end (while these pieces would transform me into a schizophrenic hobo.) However, I truly believe that this girl doesn't understand men. On average, men do not care what you wear. If you're that concerned about repelling men with your outfit, ask yourself these questions first:

1. Have you showered in the last 24 hours?
2. Do you have a vagina?
3. Are you single?

If you can answer yes to any or all 3 of these questions you will fail to repel men. An outfit composed of six types of material might confuse them, sure. Bizarre as they might be, most of the clothes Medine wears only underscores that she is slim and elegant, albeit in a quirky, offbeat sort of way. Even in a homemade dress constructed from office supply paper and a body stocking, Medine looks charming and sort of cute.

Furthermore, I don't believe women's fashion is about attracting men. As far as I'm concerned, fashion is about self-expression. There's freedom in being creatively attired and wearing pieces that communicate your individual sense of style. Shopping for the perfect heels, the sharpest tailored blazer, and the ultimate red lipstick is a uniquely individual, personally rewarding experience. Choosing an outfit is even more so. When I get dressed in the morning, it's always from the perspective of what I want to wear, what I find comfortable and appealing, and what message I want to send to the world. I really could care less about what men think.

Despite its name and the running joke Medine has about not getting action because of the ridiculous things she wears, The Man Repeller isn't really about men. It's about the absurdity of 'high' fashion - stuff that is just plain ugly and confusing. Medine is funny, and her advice regarding how to be featured on fashion blogs like The Sartorialist was totally accurate and literally made me chortle out loud. Hint: wear as many different types of fabric as possible in multiple clashing pieces. Add heinous lipstick, an affected snarl, sky-high clogs, and you're in.

According to my husband, I am not man-repelling in this outfit today at all. Actually, he described it as "hot". So I suppose I need to work on my skills a little bit more. Maybe if I added a turban, leg warmers and suspenders I'd make the cut.

Thrifted Gap sweater; thrifted Loft skirt; Target belt; We Love Colors tights; Kate Spade boots; thrifted vintage crocodile bag; Fossil earrings