Goot Afternoon

Honolulu rock-a-roll-a
Come and see them all a rockin' away
On the beach at Waikiki
You'll love the Honolulu rock-a-roll-a

Honolulu rock-a-roll-a
Hula hula girls a swayin' away
'Neath the palm trees by the sea

You'll see them swing their little grass skirts
They love to Swing their little grass skirts
Be sure to bring along a ukulele
To serenade your love

When you do the Honolulu rock-a-roll-a
Honolulu rock-a-roll-a
Say hi in Hawaii for me
When you get to Waikiki
-Honolulu Rock-A-Roll, Kitty Daisy & Lewis

Weddings. Tis the season! / I have hit the age where the 21st's are few and far between, and each weekend is instead being replaced with people saying 'I do'...and it frigging ROCKS! 
Weddings are the bomb! Flowers, father's handing over their daughters, dudes in suits, slutty cougars on the prowl, too much makeup, beautiful brides, epic food, free boo's, everyone all lovey dovey with tears of happiness and all the single ladies deciding they want to get hitched immediately and elbowing each other for the bouquet! 
One thing I have always had great confusion with (until now) is what to wear when your daily wardrobe is old tee shirts and leather shorts...without a single fancy/wedding appropriate dress. I began by buying dresses that I deemed 'what people would wear to a wedding' and starting compiling a bunch of crap I would never even consider wearing twice. Then it clicked. You need to just wear a slightly fancier version of what you wear in real life. Once I finally figured that out, it was full steam ahead and straight to the Goot!
Josh goot. What can I say? There arn't alot of designers that tick all my boxes (including boxes I didn't even know about) but this guy is nailing it left right and centre. I know I'm years behind on the Goot bandwagon, but now I'm on it there won't be any slowing down.
I usually steer clear of fitted clothing, but this dress had my name all over it. The length to the knee, and the tee shirt sleeve moved it into the 'safe and not slutty' category and next thing you know, I'm in frigging stilettos in the middle of a zoo!
Anyway, needless to say, my credit card is shaking in fear of what the heck I might do next with this newly founded love affair, and my boyfriend is calling fancy restaurants to get some reservations/reasons to get it out! (not my tits, the dress you filthy animals!)

Dress: Josh Goot. Lipstick: Tom Ford

Dress: Josh Goot. Lipstick: Tom Ford. Shoes: my own.

Desordre

Wanted to become something, wanted something for the handlebars
Hair like a pumpkin, and a kid at home in a jar
Foamy supports us, selling beads and oils in the bars
Melts men like candles when she climbs into their cars

Eyes like Pharaohs, black and white
Foamy's gone on vacation, she's waving us goodbye
Foamy's taking the Harley, she's kissing us goodbye

Everybody got a postcard; no one could make out a single word
Foamy addressed them to the girls out driving herd
All the men still come down; rub the mole and kiss her photograph
Foamy's not downtown... she's wide open across the plains!

Eyes like Pharaohs, black and white
Foamy's gone on vacation, she's waving us goodbye
Foamy's taking the Harley, she's kissing us goodbye

-Foamy, Pond 

Shannon and I go wayyyyyyyyy back. Back to the days when we were barely the legal drinking age... where I was pushin' sales at General Pants, and she was pullin' beers at the local pub. 

Fast forward more years than I would care to mention, and here we are! 

Her store Desordre is more than just a boutique... its all your favourite things/labels in one epic space and feels like going over to a friends to play dress ups (a friend with the most epic clothing in the whole history of friends!)

There is something about it that makes you not want to leave, and the longer you stay, the more you realise that you could hang in there forever and not run out of things you want to look at/touch/play with/try on.

Last time I was in there, I nearly walked out with a leather Ellery jacket out of no-where! I was a little chilly, and it's creamy grey deliciousness wanted to make love to my neon orange skirt. There wasn't much I could do about it!

So, all in all, I am very happy to announce 'thecowboygeisha' boots are one of the things at this beautiful store you can happily take home with you! They dropped in there this weekend, so boot scoot on over and whack your feet in them, cause I can guarantee you won't ever want to take 'em off!

(For those of you not in Sydney, email me for your nearest stockist)

x

Shannon wears: Dress 'allthatremains', Necklace+Bracelet 'Celeste Tesoriero', Shoes 'thecowboygeisha x lasskaa'

'Some day, Some morning, Sometime'

Mama, take this badge off o' me
I can't use it anymore
It's gettin' dark, too dark to see
I feel I'm knockin' on Heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on Heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on Heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on Heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on Heaven's door

Mama, put my guns in the ground
I can't shoot them anymore
That long black cloud is comin' down
I feel I'm knockin' on Heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on Heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on Heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on Heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on Heaven's door

-Knockin' on Heaven's Door, Bob Dylan

So here it is! (officially!) The Spring/Summer 2012 collection.

yeehaaaaaaaa!

It has now hit stores and will be available online this week! 

A super small line based on classic's and fabrics I next level froth over (leather, embroidered cotton, super soft jersey's and lace). I made sure that every single piece was something I would rock forever, so the designs are not trend based and the colour palette is also reflective of this. Muted blues, creams, charcoal, blacks (der) and stripes.

Here is a little run down of the vibe of the label to get you in the mood...

who

Thecowboygeisha knows her style and sticks to it. She’s not driven by trends, or the threads of her friends.

Effortless, messy, subtly sexy and innocent. 

She is an adventurer and explorer, fearless and  above all else, a lover.

She watches Elvis’ Hawaiian films on repeat and counts ‘Where’s Wally’ as a style icon.

She wants to grow up to be Bridgette Bardot in a western film, wrapped in fur riding bare back through the mountains of Mongolia.

Her favourite flower is the Cherry Blossom, which she has tattooed in a secret spot.

She dreams of hunting vampires in Transylvania and 100% believes that mermaids are real (simply too smart to be discovered).

Vintage pistol enthusiast, you best not mess with her kimono collection cause her daddy taught her how to shoot.

She needs pieces that are easy with no fuss...

 there’s a cowboy geish in all of us.

p.s The story behind this shoot is frigging hilarious, should I tell you it? Yeh? Your totally bored at work on a Monday aren't you. Need some hot goss to get you through your 3:30-itis? Well this won't do the trick, but maybe you could scroll through this, read a trashy mag and drink a triple shot coffee at the same time to tick all the boxes?

Anyway, for those of you who are photographically savvy you may be looking at the shots with some sneaky criticism up your sleeves (bitches...JOKING!) and here is the reason why. (To get the first section of this story, click here, cause I HATE having to repeat myself...even when on computers all you have to do it copy and paste. It's my pet hate. Who in the audience just said "what was that?" with a big smirk on their face? Jerk.)

So there I was with Eunice in Singapore with the range shoved in my suitcase and a friend's 'real' camera in my hand bag. "I'll just shoot it myself while I'm in town, I have a spare afternoon, and all I need is a white wall" was my train of thought. Therefore, I did the hair and make-up, shot it on a camera I had no idea how to use (and accidentally shot it all in low resolution jpgs. epic) in the staircase of a shopping centre. BOOM. (that information may or may not have made you SUPER critical of the shots now. whoops!) 

I also (of course) shot some films shots which I really like the mood of so will post them soon.

CAST

Singin through you to me; thunderbolts caught easily  
Shouts the truth peacefully Eeeeeee-lec-tri-ci-teeeeeeee  
 
High voltage man kisses night to bring the light to those who need to hide
their shadow deed  
Go into bright find the light and know that friends don`t mind just how you
grow  
 
midnight cowboy stains in black reads dark roads without a map  
To free-seeking electricity 

-Electricity, Captain Beefheart

You may remember i briefly mentioned in my previous post, a near death experience on top of a fast boat, and how my Karen Walker sunnies ended up on the bottom of the ocean floor.
Well...
Sometimes you ask, and you shall receive!
It was also recently my 25th birthday (closer to 30 than 20, HEAVY!) and my buddy Fa decided to hit me with a 'legend on the rocks'.
Now, you are probably sitting there visualising the Hoff (or someone of that stature) standing on some rocks looking dreamily out on onto the ocean...and you can keep up that lovely image if your digging it, but what I'm actually describing is the name of my new sunnies.
CAST eyewear, is relatively fresh to the scene, but in that short amount of time peeps such as Lady Gaga, Madonna and Tyra Banks are all rocking 'em like they mean it. And it's obvious why. They are frigging rad. 
These pearl tortoise shell legend's have my name all over them and are available soon!
Thanks Fa for my epically timed new shades. I love you!

CAST eyewear 'legend on the rocks'

Pack Mentality

Bluebirds over the mountain

Sea gulls over the sea

Bluebirds over the mountain

Bring my baby back to me

I miss you, oh can't you see?

You're the only girl for me

Soon you're gone

And I'm all alone

Come on, babyCome back home

Bluebirds over the mountain

Sea gulls over the sea

Bluebirds over the mountain

Bring my baby back to me

-Bluebirds over the Mountain, Richie Valens

The Gilli Islands.

I almost don't even want to tell you guys about this place in hope that everyone in the world forget's that it even exists so no-one will ever go there, and it can remain as beautiful and untouched as it is now. But, considering it is already trawling with hundreds of people, it's safe to say this one little post is  not going to create an extreme influx of traffic flow so here go's!

I can't help but start fantasying 'blue lagoon' styles whenever I visit an island like this. 

I thought this may be an especially nice little kick-in-the butt/paradise tease for those friends of mine who have always said they would come and visit, but still haven't! 

Crystal clear water, fluorescent fish, lavender coloured coral with glowing lights on the tips (Avatar fans eat your hearts out!) bright white sand, beach front bungalows, fresh seafood, day sleeps in hammocks, throwing hand full's of small coral bones into the waters edge so it looks like glitter on the surface (no? just us? it was brilliant at the time!), and at night there are more stars than you have ever seen in your life! You can see so far into the sky, and you are surrounded by so little that you can see the stars hit the water on opposite sides of the island....giving the sky a dome like look! And to effing top it off, just as I was admiring this a huge shooting star fell right in front of me! 

In usual style of recent get-a-ways, here is a film diary of the trip (with some iphone photos whacked in there, to get a more rounded vibe rather than just the shots from the under water disposable).

On trips like this, taking a 'real' camera is never a good idea. Especially this time. It would have ended up on the ocean floor along with my Karen Walker sunnies from the boat ride home when we nearly died. 

We decided to sit on-top of the fast boat, ignoring the word 'fast' and the fact that the channel between the island and our destination is the deepest in the world. 

Let's just say for the last half an hour of the trip I literally had to convince myself I was a pirate and that I frothed out on this kind of adventure to sail the seven seas.

Yep, that actually happened.

You should have seen my 'survival' face. I would have won an Oscar.

LOGO LOCO

I'm knocking on the doors of your hummer hummer
Yeah, I'm knocking on the doors of your hummer hummer
Yeah, I'm knocking on the doors of your hummer hummer
Yeah, I'm knocking on the doors of your hummer hummer
You'll be hungry like the wolves hunting dinner dinner
And we're moving with the packs like hyena ena
Barbarella look like she's my dead ringer
When I'm dogging on the bonnet of your red Honda

I'm a road runner
I'm a world runner
I'm a road runner
I'm a world runner
-Bamboo Banga, M.I.A


How impossible is it to create the perfect logo for a brand? To me, I would not know where to even start! I know a few people who are automatically programmed for it, and seem to really enjoy it, but to me too many possibilities = too many headaches!
I do recall doing a module on it at design school, but have no recollection of creating anything (which is, anything worth noting), so for 'thecowboygeisha' I called apon a Spanish artist who would win no matter what he created.
That artists name is Ricardo Cavolo. (check him out HOLY HECK! When you check out his art, you will understand how the creation of my logo was going to be perfect no matter what.)
I first became aware of him through my equally talented friend/painting extrodinaire Mia Taninaka (check her out TOO! frig!) when she sent me and my lover a photo of a mermaid in love with a sailor in a glass bottle under the sea. She sent it because the painting reminded her of us and because she was next level frothing on his work.
I then contacted Mr Cavolo to buy this very art as a print. Thinking I was going to get a response from a robot on the other end, it was the man himself. Nek minute, we are talking about a collaboration for the brand and it all kind of rolled from there!
This dude is literally sky rocketing out the galaxy right now, and is even being commissioned by high rollers such as Urban Outfitters to paint murals in their stores etc. pow pow! Go Ricardo Go!
The only notes I really gave him was not to get too literal with it (a geisha in a cowboy hat for example) and he drew it anyway cause he thought it would be awesome and i was like "eff yeh, ok cool!"


I wanted to share with you the little journey of creating the logo for 'thecowboygeisha' and my main advice is this: only work with someone who is 100% your vibe and that you 100% trust, therefore you will be happy no matter what! (for example, I would not have hired a graphic designer from a big corporation who designs logos for accounting firms, cause that would have been a hell of a waste of time. obviously)
So without further a due! (with the mermaid/sailor pic to keep you up to speed!)
x

Killa

Look at these pros.
Look at these clothes.
Look at this dough.
Look at this go, looking evil.
Look at me then look at these hoes.
These bitches ain't fucking with me. Killa!

Killa! Killa, killa!
Killa! Killa, killa!

My money on it we now gon' knock on it to set it low.
Bar don't need to come down let it ride they'll go before we know.
Mind will lead they can tell I know. I know me they can tell me no.
If you got heart let it beat then while they're sinking don't let your thing go.

Tear it up. I'm so damn gold.
Tear it up. I'm so damn gold.
Tear it up. I'm so damn gold.
Tear it up. I'm so damn gold.
-'look at these hoes', Santigold


holly effing new camera!

holly effing hair cut!

there ain't nothing bound to get you snap happy more than a new toy and blunt ends!

the camera is purely for work purposes (of course), but i couldn't help but give it a little trial run today. 

the hair cut was severely over-due to the point where once cut off, anyone could have honestly mistaken it for sea-weed on the hairdressers floor. I actually feel lighter, and feel it has improved the sharpness of my head turns !

On a vibe note, I spend the last month in Sydney having some serious dance-off's to M.I.A and Santigold. It more than re-kindled my love for them in my heart....it gave me a kind of nasty/bad-ass style influence out of nowhere.

Here I was wearing magenta structured suit vests and Lover lace dresses, when BOOM!>>> 

Camo, hard-wear and grunge hit me hardcore. 

Don't get me wrong, the whole army/military/any sort of 'service' attire is always a staple in my closet (I actually often get people asking me if I am off to a dress-up party, or how perfect my outfit would be for halloween)....so when people report it as a 'trend' it confuses me terribly. 

But camo print...camo is a tricky one. 

I like to compare it's life-span in the spotlight to the quickness of colours such as fluro green...

They are out even more quickly than they are in.

I remember once I was totally head over heels for the idea of a fluro green 1 piece cossie with "stop acid rain" printed on the front of it. Let's just say by the time I designed and handed it over for development, I was questioning my abilities.

So in a round-a-bout way, what I am trying to say is: camo is in right NOW but will probably not be in next week, so quickly grab it from the back of your wardrobe and rock it like you mean it.

Ksubi has an abundance of it in stores now, so if you burnt your camo collection from 2002 (or ended up using it as rags), I recommend investing in their range.

p.s if it is already out by the time I publish this post I would not be surprised, so if you want to skip it altogether, there will be no hard feelings here! (....or 'hard feelings there'?! here or there, that's always the question)

p.p.s off the topic I read something terrible today. Someone quoted "just because it is vintage, doesn't make it cool". What a lamo. Whoever said this probably wears Arnette sunglasses and the high-heeled version of Crocs. (gasp!)

Camo Tee: vintage, Leather harness: room mates, Camo shirt (worn as skirt): vintage. Belt: vintage.
Crystal ring: Celeste Tesoriero (available online and in stores soon), Bone ring: One Teaspoon, Silver Ring: Mania Mania
Shoes: Jeffery Campbell

O-man

Tic tac toc I shoot non stop
Tip-toe don’t make you rock
What they say that’s not ‘nough
You long long what you know I got
Bla bla bla against the wall
So pee-wee cyber tall
Ring ring ring when duty calls
Now now now to word it all

Big mouth, big mouth, quiet now, you said enough
Got a big mouth, big mouth, my my my, you said enough
-Santigold, 'Big Mouth'


I thought I'd give you a little sneaky peak of behind the scenes of the shoot I styled the other day, seen as though it may be quite a while till the finishing touches are placed on the final images, and working on this was super frigging awesome.
The model Teresa Oman (get the title of the post now?! huh?! get it get it?!!!) is currently blasting off to the other side of the universe, doing her thang being the 'next big thing' and all, so I'm glad I got to catch her before take off. She is full of energy yet super chilled, full of smiles and a full blown legend!
'hang on a minute, should you really be posting behind-the-scene shots of a shoot that isn't released?!' I hear you ask...
don't sweat it peeps, I slept with the photographer (ha! seriously though.)
( Please note:  If you are alarmed by that last comment, please refer to numerous posts below...he's ma bf DER).
p.s I like getting pics from behind, you guys should know this already. yeh? good.