Monday, February 27, 2012

It's all about the frocks!

Forget the little statue  - for us here at G&J HQ it's all about the dresses. We were glued to the red carpet updates this morning and were able to conclude that Michelle Williams is indeed the best dressed at this years Oscars!

Love the colour, the asymmetry of the skirt frills, the little bow detail at the waist, the peplum...perfect!

She has a little bit of a history of getting it right - we all remember this gown from the 2006 Oscars with great fondness...

This would have to be one of the best Oscars dresses ever, right?!

Hope you've all got a nice tall flute of champagne!
g&j
xo

For the love of...Vivian Maier

I recently discovered the beautiful work of 1950s American photographer Vivian Maier. Her story is a wonderful one as it is curious and mysterious.
In her time, Maier was never published- she photographed for the sake of the photograph and her work was for her to appreciate only.

 
Self Portrait, 1959

"The personal accounts from people who knew Vivian are all very similar. She was eccentric, strong, heavily opinionated, highly intellectual, and intensely private. She wore a floppy hat, a long dress, wool coat, and men’s shoes and walked with a powerful stride. With a camera around her neck whenever she left the house, she would obsessively take pictures, but never showed her photos to anyone. An unabashed and unapologetic original."
- from www.vivianmaier.com

 January, 1953, New York, NY

Undated, New York, NY

She worked as a nanny for much of her life, with the children she had helped raise helping her keep an apartment when, in her later life, she became destitute. In 2007, unbeknownst to them, several of her storage lockers containing all her negatives and prints were sold off due to delinquent payments.

Miraculously, these were discovered years later at a thrift store in Chicago by - amongst others - John Maloof. This amateur historian was so taken by her work he sought out any other people who had also found her work over the years and eventually amassed a collection of negatives, prints and home movies which is today estimated to be about 90% of her entire works.

Untitled, Undated 

Undated, New York, NY

In 2008, Vivin Maier slipped over on some ice and hit her head on the ground. She never fully recovered and died in 2009. Due to the efforts of Maloof, her work has since been exhibited throughout America and worldwide. She is now - although posthumously - regarded as one of the most important documentary photographers of her era in America.

End of April, 1953, New York, NY

 1954, New York, NY

I love the style and light in her photographs - how she has managed to capture people as they are in some truly spectacular tableaux. There's a sweetness and an equality in her work which is wonderfully moving and gives you such a fantastic idea of space.
I would highly recommend browsing through the Maloof Collection online and getting lost in her world for a while.

 January 9, 1957, Florida 

All images:
© 2012 Maloof Collection, Ltd. — All Rights Reserved

Monday, February 20, 2012

Pinterest Picks #5

With the summer that almost-never-was on it's way out in a few short weeks, it's onwards to crisp mornings, early dusks and clutched chests...









{ all images from Ginny & Jude's Pinterest, where they are fully accredited to their various sources }

Saturday, February 18, 2012

*Quite* the hot topic!

It's been a preeeetty busy start to the year for us!
We feel very much that the spirit of the Chinese year of the Water Dragon is well and truly upon us with plenty of changes afoot and good tidings abounding. 

We have received some lovely press this year so far...

If you happened to be catching a train in Sydney on Friday January 27th, you would no doubt have noticed this splashed over the cover of daily rag MX's front cover:

Our resident model Gab Dillon - as dressed and styled by our head designer Rabia Lockwood - haughtily sipping her drinks at Gardel's Bar in Surry Hills. 

Our big thanks go out to Sarah from Gardel's/Porteno for so kindly letting us use her space out of business hours and for fussing with that vase of roses for us!

We were also super chuffed to be featured in the Etsy Finds daily international mailout:

We quite like an explosion of colour ourselves, so this inclusion seemed entirely appropriate!

And then in the March 2012 edition of our favourite monthly catalogue of affordable sartorial gems - Shop Til You Drop - our gorgeous Garden Party brooch is used to celebrate the glamorous style synonymous with the 1940s.

And yes, we agree that this would just go down a treat with a Miu Miu dress!

Grab yourselves a copy if you're passing a newsstand!

xo
g&j

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Trophies

We were never known for our sporting prowess as school students - in fact we were better known for volunteering to hold up the volleyball net, or walking on the bottom of the pool when one should have been swimming (ahem!). As such, we have never before received a trophy...I believe there may have been a third place ribbon in there somewhere, but a trophy? Never!

This weekend just past we were privileged enough to be one of 11 emerging designers in Australia and New Zealand chosen to take part in the 'Debut' section of the bi-annual Fashion Exposed apparel, accessories and shoes trade fair in Sydney. 
"Debut, run as part of the Fashion Exposed trade fair, has been a launch pad for over 135 young Australian labels since its inception in 2006, with past winners including now established brands Alexi Freeman, Limedrop, Trimapee, Subfusco, Holly Chalmers and Since Grey."


We were so pleased to meet all the amazingly talented young designers from the beautiful labels involved in this - Sanoii + Six, Neo Dia, Kelsey Genner, Brkich, Jeromy Lim to name a few.


And we were even more thrilled to be named best new Accessories designer for 2012!
Yes, a trophy.  An actual trophy!

The super lovely Belinda Crossley from Brkich was named best new Apparel label for 2012.
Cute, non? Amazing prints, even more amazing designs.


We wiled away the hours chatting about the biz, fiddling with our iPhones, playing Uno and drinking the champagne the French had so kindly laid on in the stalls not far from ours. Yep, we actually had quite a splendid three days!


And the trophy? Currently, it has pride of place on top of our piano.


xo
g&j