new year = new website and a GIGANTIC sale to celebrate!

We have been pretty darn reclusive recently. For a Summer on the eastern seaboard we haven't really gotten out of the house nearly as often as we should have...

The reason is; we've been rather busy!
As we mentioned in our New Years post, 2013 marks five years since we released our first collection and we have a number of special things in the works, kicking off with a brand new website and *newly* incorporated online shop...

Even this here twoshoes blog has had a scrub up! I think we can all agree floating in amongst these candy floss clouds is rather wonderful.

To celebrate this re-launch, we are offering a whopping 40% off everything from our most recent SS2013/14 La Luna collection. And yes, that includes the jewellery. Madness! This runs for 5 days only - one day for every year since our first collection! Don't miss out - we will never offer our jewellery or our divine Silk/Linen Riverina dress at such a discount ever *EVER* again.

Some examples....

Hop to it lovelies!
xo
g&j

Presenting...Prairie Moon, our Winter 2013 collection

 

 

w i n t e r  2 0 1 3

"Shot gold, maroon and violet, dazzling silver, emerald, fawn,
The earth's whole amplitude and Nature's multiform power consigned
for once to colors;
The light, the general air possessed by them - colors till now unknown,
No limit, confine - not the Western sky alone - the high meridian -
North, South, all,
Pure luminous color fighting the silent shadows to the last."
- Walt Whitman, Prairie Sunset


Proudly designed and made in Australia

'Prairie Moon' is now available to purchase through Ginny & Jude Designs and all stockists.

The ‘Midnight Cowgirl’ blouse in Blush - $130 || The ‘Paris, Texas’ skirt in abstract Green - $165
The ‘Sunnyside’ headwrap in Persimmon stripe - $30 || The ‘Prairie Swing’ necklace, Agate - $65

The 'Bebe' beret in Teal, Crimson and Noir - $140 || The 'Midnight Cowgirl' blouse in Noir - $130
The 'Paris, Texas' skirt in Purple plaid - $165 || The 'Prairie Swing' Necklace in Agate - $65

 The ‘Midnight Cowgirl’ blouse in Noir - $130 || The ‘Paris, Texas’ skirt in Purple plaid - $165
The ‘Prairie Swing’ necklace, Agate - $68 || The ‘Cedar Bluff’ swing coat - $270

The ‘Evergreen Prairie’ blouse in Pastel and Primary - $115 || The ‘Texan Belle’ skirt in Blue and Red - $150

The ‘Midnight Cowgirl’ blouse in Blush - $130 || The ‘Paris, Texas’ skirt in abstract Green - $165

Vintage woollen scarf - $35 || The 'Cedar Bluff' swing coat in abstract Green - $260

~ C R E D I T S ~
Photography: All photos copyright Lyndal Irons
Hair and Makeup:Tania Bowers
Model: Ito Omoregbee
Styling: Rabia Lockwood

All pieces from the Prairie Moon collection 

are now available to buy from Ginny & Jude Designs

Four of a Kind for Love

It will come as no surprise to many of you that we are really mad keen on curating. Nothing gives us more glee than putting lovely things together in an aesthetically pleasing fashion.

We really got into the swing of creating Etsy treasuries last year - our Summer Four Ways treasury primarily featuring Australian Etsy sellers even made it to the Etsy front page!

Recently we have been searching for beautiful lingerie - something feminine, unique and well cut. On our searches across the world wide web, we found many stunning examples from Etsy sellers and our new treasury Four of a Kind for Love is based around the four best examples we discovered.

Valentines take note!
xo
g&j

The garden of fashion

Yesterday I was bequeathed quite a beautiful piece of fashion history from a dear friend who was visiting from Berlin. 

Le Jardin Des Modes - The Garden of Fashion - is a rather exquisite French fashion journal from 1951 filled with delicious inspiration for the Autumn/Winter collection I'm currently designing...

Lecon De Mode - Feshion Lesson - we had great fun attempting to translate these last night! 

Some standout rules I am taking away from this are that skirts should be between 30-32 cms from the ground and no shorter, belts should accentuate a narrow waist, shoulders should be wide and that a large swing coat over all these tight angles of tailoring is a must!

Fabulous, fabulous ideas...

 

...and what exquisite winter hats!

I am desperately in love with this jacket.

Nothing like some fun fashion tableaux!

Some of you may already be aware that I have been without a functioning camera since last October. As you can imagine trying to run an online business without a camera has been bordering on ridiculous - there are only so many times you can borrow one from a friend!

Thankfully my new one finally arrived today. It is fabulous and we are very much in love.

I had quite a bit of fun testing its macro settings and ISO fiddly bits this afternoon as the sun was just slipping away behind the roofs. 

This hydrangea would be considered by most to be quite beyond its prime, but I am really enjoying its tainted rainbow hues.

xo rabia

'The Girl Can't Help It' Summer 2012/13 collection from Ginny & Jude

Ginny & Jude Designs present their Summer 2012/13 collection 'The Girl Can't Help It' - where romantic fabrics and designs are married to an adventurous spirit in a flirty anthology of clothing, accessories and gorgeous hats.

The perfect attire for ladies keen on cavorting amongst rocks, wandering through copses of waving trees and resting beneath hidden canopies of green.

Proudly designed and made in Australia.

 'Pina Colada' woven straw hat ~ $145
'Heat Wave' peplum blouse in white pinstripe ~ $115
'Cream Puff' full skirt in pastel stripes ~ $150

'Sunny Side' headwrap made from vintage kimono silk ~ $30
'Evergreen' button-back, collared blouse in Blue Bouquet chiffon ~ $105
'Banana Split' peplum skirt in yellow linen and tulle ~ $175

 'Gardener Cecily' floral haircomb ~ $95
'Heat Wave' peplum blouse in coral pinstripe ~ $115
'Promenade' button-up wiggle skirt in mint broderie cotton ~ $155

'Gardener Penelope' floral haircomb ~ $95
'Putting on Airs' lace collar with vintage Czech glass drops ~ $45
'Ballet Tee' in Ice ~ $85

 'Gardener Marcy' floral haircomb ~ $95
'Swing' necklace in Amazonite ~ $65
'Ballet Tee' in Lime ~ $85
'Cream Puff' full skirt in grey floral ~ $150

 'Gardener Edith' floral haircomb ~ $95
'Heat Wave' peplum blouse in white pinstripe ~ $115
'Promenade' skirt in vintage peach embroidered cotton ~ $165

 'Gin & Tonic' woven straw hat with grosgrain trim ~ $145
'Evergreen' button-back, collared blouse in pastel bows ~ $105
'Banana Split' peplum skirt in mint linen and tulle ~ $175

 ~ C R E D I T S ~
Photography: All photos copyright Lyndal Irons
Hair and Makeup: Tania Bowers
Model: Gabrielle Dillon
Styling: Rabia Lockwood

Shot on location at Girrahween Park, Earlwood
Girrahween is an Aboriginal word meaning 'place of flowers'.

OK OK, okay!

As we live in Sydney, getting to visit our favourite Melbourne bricks-and-mortar shops can be hard. In fact, it's basically a once-a-year kind of thing.
So you can imagine the cartwheels of joy we did when OK OK - our go-to shop for all things 'legs' in Melbourne - launched a dedicated online shop!

Nylon Dotty Tights // 29.95

All of OK OK's super-spunky hosiery is designed by the lovely - and dangerously talented - Emina Dzananovic and made locally in Australia's only remaining hosiery knitting factory. We love the bright and cheery colours and textures; because if you're having to wear tights, you want to have fun with it.

AOK16 Geometry Tights // $35

Chunky Wool Tights in Mustard // $45

And don't get all 'but winter's almost over' on us - OK OK also make a smashing range of socks!

Cotton Geometry Socks // $10

Over-the-Knee Rib Socks // $28

And if you're ever in the area, you have to check out the shop proper - this marvelously handsome space is tucked away in the ionic Hardwick building on Sparta Place in Brunswick.

One of there many FAB window displays - Wet and Wendy brollies and Melissa Shoes

 You'll find a cavalcade of amazing accessories - Melissa Shoes, Wet and Wendy umbrellas, nail polish, fancy sunglasses - the list goes on!

And word has it a re-launch of the space is due in September, so join their mailing list now so you don't miss out on all the important information (ie. invite to launch party etc.)

{Images courtesy of OK OK}

xo
g&j

Pinterest Picks #9

Winter?! Pah! We're currently putting the finishing touches on our Summer 2013 collection and as such, winter is dead to us.
These images are some of those pinned to our inspiration board...

{ All images from the Ginny & Jude Pinterest Boards where they link back to their original source }

Come on summer!

xo

g&j

summer hats, the beginning of the process

We received our woven straw hat bases in the mail recently.
Made in a vintage style honeycomb and knot weave, we are excitedly experimenting with shaping and finishing...

They arrive to us in messy shapes with bits of straw coming off everywhere!

SO many exciting things in the works for Summer...

xo
g&j

For the love of...Martin Boyd Pottery

Some time ago when we were enjoying our first throes of 'pottery! How awesome is pottery!' we discovered the work of Australian ceramicist Martin Boyd. He is part of the Australian artistic dynasty of Boyd's including his father Merric Boyd, and brothers Arthur and David and so on. Talented family that one!

Guy Martin Boyd set up the 'Martin Boyd Pottery Studio' with his friend Norma Flegg (yes, how amazing is that name) in Sydney's leafy Cremorne in 1946. An lowly art student at the time, the business grew and grew and the range of pottery and ceramic grew to a staggering 177 catalogue items by the mid-1950s.

Classic Martin Boyd rammekins. Image: A Small Ferret vintage shop

The range was wide and varied - anything from figurines to table-wear - but my favourites have always and will always be the 'Harlequin' or two-tone glazed bits and pieces for the table circa 1950s...

Image: Australian Pottery at Bemboka

To be more specific, we were in love with his soft-pastel coloured, one-armed, shallow ramekins:

Once you start looking for these you'll see them everywhere...we started buying these many years ago from the Chapel Street Bazaar in Praharan on our first trip to Melbourne and have slowly grown the collection over the years. Recently we even added this tiny neat sugar bowl to the set!

It's a little chipped, but we still love it!

Boyd retired his ceramic career in the mid 1960s and focused instead on his career as a sculptor - his work can be found in galleries around Australia.


But we will never tire of his candy coloured confections.

xo
g&j