Doggy Styling

Brian and Sookie with their Dad

My husband and I recently dramatically changed our lives, we got two gorgeous Shitzu/Maltese puppies. So this post is inspired by these cute, fluffy creatures. As soon as you own a dog, you enter this interesting doggy dog world of potty training, chew toys, barking, fleas, worms, the list goes on...

Dogs are no longer just pets but more a part of the family so its important to integrate them into your lifestyle so they enhance your life and don't add extra stress. One of the biggest challenges is to keep our home tidy and stylish, not overrun with doggy stuff and most importantly not smell! So I thought I'd share some ideas on how to incorporate dogs into your life in a stylish way.

Re-purpose an old suitcase(big or small) for a dog bed. Looks so sweet and also has pockets to keep their toys. It's so important to give them lots of toys to ensure they have plenty of options to distract them from your shoes. Image courtesy of  Pinterest.com

Dogs need toys for entertainment and teething, they like to mix it up and have different toys every day. Keep them tidily put away in a purpose made toy box. Image courtesy of Pinterest.com

Incorporate a dog bed into an island bench. Multipurpose and chic. Image courtesy of Pinterest.com 

The luxurious Sofa O' Luxury Dog Egg, a glamorous accessory for the posh pup - image courtesy of pupstyle.com

One of the best ways to keep your house clean and smelling fresh (apart from regular bathing) is to keep your pup outside most of the time. So you need a warm and comfortable kennel so your dog can have a haven in their outdoor environment. You don't have to get something aesthetically displeasing as there are some fabulous options out there. 

No longer do you need a very traditional A-frame doghouse, try modern and contemporary! Image courtesy of Image filesluxury.com

I love this sleek and simple Danish design for a dog house - image courtesy of dreamdogsart.typepad.com

 

Don't want a real dog? Try these cute cushions from Mondegreen cats and rabbits too! I want the pug.

Again if you don't want a real dog, check out these stools. Designed by Masakazu Hori, "Osanpo" is a stool inspired by four different dog breeds: Labrador Retriever, Bulldog, Dachshund, and Chihuahua.  Image courtesy of dreamdogsart.typepad.com. The Bulldog stool makes me laugh.

So not just around the home but you can also show your love for our canine creatures via fashion choices.

I'm loving the Pooch Clutch by by Philadelphia artist Colleen Rudolf. Her purses are "a locally-sourced, eco-conscious, handcrafted, animal-free, made-in-America dream accessory". A portion of her profits goes to help prevent cruelty to animals. You can purchase at Etsy

The Pooch Clutch by Colleen Rudolf available at Etsy

The Pooch Clutch by Colleen Rudolf available at Etsy

Dog print dress from ASOS

Dog print dress from ASOS

Dog print snood from ASOS

Dog print sweater from ASOS

Crazy regal dog necklace from ASOS

Scotty Dog Handbag from ASOS

Check out this dapper dog taking the fashion world by storm, he has some serious swag. My favorite pics below, but see his full and diverse portfolio at Menswear Dog.

He is so complicated - image courtesy of Menswear Dog

My favorite -  his Ryan Gosling look, its uncanny

Dogs are so amazing, here in NZ we actually have the worlds first driving dogs! See the video here. Dogs this smart certainly deserve a home, adopt at your local animal rescue centre

Check out the world first, driving dogs

Finally a couple more pics of my fur babies...

Sookie

Brian

Painted by hand

Olivia Palermo in a handpainted skirt.  Image by habituallychic.com

There is something so unique and striking about handpainted fabrics for the home or the body.  This week we pay homage to this seasons style must-have by selecting a few inspiring garments and homewares that really showcase this trend.

Handpainted Maxi dresses are truly eye catching: above and below - images by ulugustarstyling.net and prettyportobello.blogspot.com

Who doesn't want to stand out in a crowd and in this day and age individuality is very much in-vogue.  As a lover of crafts and DIY I admire any and all things that have a real 'made with love' feel to them.

Bluebelle Gray creates amazing handpainted fabrics and pieces for the home.  How fresh and inviting is the couch covered in handpainted sunflowers! 

Below are just some handpicked and handpainted furnishings for the home that I hope will inspire your creative juices

Midnight Spirographs painting by Sarah Stockstill

Handpainted desk from Pottery Barn

Marimekko handpainted fabrics like Kotona (above) are great stretched over canvas as art or made into soft furnishings like cushions

I love a good feature wall.  No, not the 90s obsession where one wall in every room was a bright colour - yes Mum I remember when you broke out the burgundy!  I actually really love a wallpapered feature wall, what a great talking point.  

These handprinted wallpapers below and above are by one of my fave designers Porter Teleo, such a bold statement!

In fashion, there is a resurgence for hand-dipped/dyed and hand painted designs.  

Emma Stone pulls off a beautiful handpainted dress by Lanvin

Anne Hathaway wore a pink handpainted Valentino wedding dress recently on her wedding day

And just to show you how passionate I am about this handpainted trend I thought I'd give you a glimpse of my recent Sevens costume (remember the Chandeliers), well this year hubby and I did our best interpretation of Gotye and Kimbra which was inspired by their song Somebody That I used to know below 

The real Gotye and Kimbra

The pretend versions: Yours truly and my husband Joe 

By the way this lovely snap was captured by my homebecomesher compadre Mereana!

And there you have it, I hope you enjoyed my post and have been enlightened by the uniqueness and beauty of handpainted fabrics for the home and your wardrobe. If you're feeling creative and were about to throw out a perfectly good purse I have attached this 'totes amazing' tutorial on how to paint your way to a new one.  Enjoy! x  

To make a handpainted purse click here

Malaysia Truly Asia

Photos from our trip to Malaysia - Myself dressed in a traditional Malaysian outfit and a pic of our historic accommodation in Melaka - The Baba House

Erena and I recently traveled to Malaysia for our friends birthday celebrations and got to experience all the wonderful things the country had to offer. The most memorable part of the trip for me was the fantastic food, in particular being able to experience the original Nonya Chicken dish in its birth place of Melaka. We ate at the Riverine Coffeehouse which I can highly recommend! This seaside port city has an authentically traditional feel and walking the streets you can easily imagine how it would have been a hundred years earlier. Melaka has been colonized by so many different nations (Dutch, Japanese, Portuguese to name a few) that it has resulted in a very unique mix of food, fashion and architecture.

We also spent a lot of time in Kuala Lumpur, by contrast it is a huge and bustling modern city. I found there to be an interesting tension in Malaysia between the incredibly new hi-tech innovation, for example the stainless steel Petronas Towers, and the very traditional and rustic. I enjoyed how the local people easily crossed over between worlds and through dress, food and architecture you could experience it all.

The shopping in Malaysia is fantastic and quite frankly unavoidable. You cannot walk more than a few hundred meters before encountering yet another mall. The mall experience is also necessary as its blissful air conditioning provides crucial relief from the heat and humidity. Erena goes into great detail on Malaysian shopping tips in her blog post, so do go there for fantastic advice before any future shopping expeditions.

Kuala Lumpur Petronas Twin Towers symbolize the countries innovative spirit on a world stage. 

Kuala Lumpur Petronas Towers, the beautiful Islamic patterns come through the industrial glass and stainless steel structure

Erena and I having pre-dinner drinks at the Petronas Towers before the birthday party dinner. During the day we went and had our hair washed and blow waved which is a great tourist experience I never knew you needed to have in Malaysia.  

Batu caves - Kuala Lumpur - a great half day trip if you want to do something different from shopping. But a warning that it is very hot (no air conditioning in the caves...) and don't carry food, the monkeys will steal it from you.

Monkey munching on his loot

The Batu caves have an array of wonderfully bright and beautiful statues depicting the many Indian gods and goddesses.

I let the lady in the traditional Melakan clothing store style me as my regular stylist Erena was already in transit back to NZ. I enjoyed letting her decide what she thought I would look best in, apparently pale pink, very girly.

Beautifully intricate wood carved door-frame in our Melaka accommodation

Jonker St Melaka, 

Historic sites in Melaka

Malaysia truly satisfied my travel desires for great food and shopping. I really enjoyed the experience and best of all was getting to share it with friends.

All for the love of Paisley

Image: unicornsunleashed.com

I think Paisley is one of those prints that can divide an audience.  You either love it, sit on the fence about it or hate it and clearly I am NOT in the latter so cover your eyes paisley haters!

paisley wood stamp from etsy.com

I love the intricacy of Paisley. To me it has a real historic and delicate feel to it which I just adore.

Paisley Porcelain by Ralph Lauren from insidefabric.com

It makes for a versatile and intriguing aesthetic for instance when it is done in bright tones it can really 'make' a perfect summer outfit pop!

 Bright red paisley lifts this ensemble by mydailyglamour.com

And in lighter spaces in the home it can feel luxurious and add interest to an otherwise neutral space

Like a little black dress a great paisley number never dates

Eternally hip!  A great paisley dress. Image nzgirl.co.nz

Here's a tip for the home or the body.  Keep the print to scale.  If you are a petite wee lass go for a small to medium ranged paisley print, larger if you are more voluptuous.  A small interior versus a large space is no different.

Good paisley (large paisley, large interior space)

Paisley Citco 3D Tiles.  Image from trendir.com

Still good paisley (busy micro-paisley pant for petite person)

Image by stylesuzi.com

The reasoning behind this is so as not to overwhelm you or your space.

Not so good paisley (Florence I love you but whaaat!)

Image by grazia.co.uk

Check out these celebs who looove paisley:

Kate Hudson

 Image: coolspotters.com

Eva Mendes

Image: glamourmagazine.co.uk

Nicole Richie

 Image: sparklesense.wordpres.com

 Image: blogs.babble.com

Kirsten Dunst

Image: instyle.co.uk

Jessica Alba

Image: zimbio.com

If you aren't a big fan try tonal paisley - that is paisley in one colour palette or a barely there type of paisley perhaps for the home a pressed metal paisley.

Top: Jil Sanders 12' apair-andaspare.blogspot.com and 

Bottom: Jimmy Choo Loafer lorien.me

No matter how strongly you feel about this beloved print (for or against).  In fashion, as in home - hate is a strong word.  I used to say that about a lot of trends and found myself eating my words so I don't hate!

The idea is to challenge your spaces and your style and paisley prints give a sense of intrigue.  


You can reveal as little or as much as you want of a print.  But it will add a certain jez ne sais quoi in any context.

If you're scared of this print, start small 

Nailing the paisley.  Image ritterbraten.blogspot.com

and if you're proud go big 

Jessie J - Paisley all the way.  Image uk.lifestyle.yahoo.co.uk

In style as in life my ethos is to never say never to any trend because everything can be interpreted a different way.  When styling a client I often hear 'I would never have gone for that but I love what you've done with it'

Magazines or shop store windows will tell you one way - you just have to reinterpret it to suit your style. 

Paisley tablecloth.  Image: abeachcottage.com

And remember Paisley pushers you don't hate paisley you just haven't found your perfect paisley yet.

xx