Ouch!!

Some people go through a lot of pain to look cool.

Waxing, corsetry, too small shoes, too high shoes, too tight tops, piercings...


In this case, all I have to say is...

OUCH!

It looks really uncomfortable champ.

Cool, but uncomfortable.

He's another one of Sandy's stylish mates... Damn those cool Swedes!

SandyPandyCandy... Really?

Don't get me wrong, I love my friends, but how come my favourite livejournal girl has such a cool posse?


Are Sandy from Sweden's friends all so cool just because she only takes photos of them when they look their coolest?


Or are they all just really, really, stylishly awesome?

Like is this dude always so fun?

Or does he kick around on the weekend in his track-pants and ugg boots without any hair product?

That's the wonder of style and the internet.

You can be whoever you want to be: all it takes is a camera angle, a hair style, a hat or some eyeliner and you can be a completely different person.

If you're feeling stuck wherever you are, log in and upload a new you.

Turn yourself into some super cool kid from France or something.

Play dress ups and be who you would be if you could be.

Inspire yourself.

Cut & Paste

Per month, I accumulate between six and ten magazines.

Thus, every six months or so, I throw out up to sixty magazines.

That's a lot of paper, I know.

So this morning, I was quite excited to read Gala Darling's blog about what to do with all the magazines you buy.

The crux of her advice:

"Don’t be afraid to tear up your old magazines, or to keep the best pages & scrap the rest."


Here's the plan for my next day off, as per Gala's advice:

• Create a fashion 'lookbook' - a scrapbook of things you like... whether that be pictures of shoes, make up ideas or even design elements of the magazine.
• Frame your favourite covers/pages - I actually considered doing this with the October issue of Vogue... Gemma Ward in crazy bright Spring fashion! I think I will now...
• Make envelopes or do origami - fairly self explanatory! I think this would be an awesome idea to send out your Christmas cards in handmade envelopes...
• Donate them - Gala suggests giving your magazines to Doctor's surgeries or women's refuges. It's a lovely idea. I think some op-shops would probably take them too if they're in good condition.

Cheers to Gala for yet again blogging about something so obvious you couldn't have thought of it yourself!

I really love the idea of a lookbook.

I think i'll make one for fashion inspiration and one for design inspiration.

It's a shame you can't Ctrl-X and Ctrl-V in the real world!

I'm off to find some scissors and glue.

For more information about Gala Darling, visit this older blog.

Shop Til You Drop... Online!

Every stylish girl's favourite shopping magazine now has a super exciting online presence.

The Shop Til You Drop website is exactly what you'd expect from the ACP -owned magazine:

• Colourful
• Informative
• Dangerously Inspirational

The website is pretty much the same as the magazine but with that one dangerous difference...

In the magazine, if you see something you love, you have to go to the shop where it was advertised, then try it on, then hand over the dollars.

Online though, if you see something you love, just press go and it's yours!

As well as online shopping facilities, the site also has regular blogs from half the staff.

The eboutique is going to be my downfall...

Definitely worth checking out!

What a Darling...

Totally loving Cosmopolitan's new cool chick, Gala Darling?

(read more about her in my blog "Cosmolog & Cleog")

Well, while you're waiting for the next issue of Cosmo to be released, you can download your own little bit of Darling to keep forever!

Gala has recorded a few podcasts for our listening pleasure!

http://galadarling.com/tag/podcast/

I recommend the first podcast... It's just lover-ly!

"This podcast is about staying above water, & how to cheer yourself up when nothing else seems to be working."

Sounds like it's worth a quick "right click, save as" to me!

Add Ms Darling to your list of dream best friends (not that my bestest buddies aren't fully awes too!)

Cosmolog & Cleog

Did anyone else notice the "new-look" for the Australian Consolidated Press (ACP) heavy-hitters this month?


Both Cosmopolitan & Cleo magazines are now doing it bloggy-style.


The format of the magazines have been updated to include blog style columns and web-style page layouts.

Why?


I think it's all about the never-ending search for "cool".


Although readership of these magazines is strong, those searching for left-of-the-middle "cool" have been finding it online, instead of in the mainstream media.

'Cool' has been recruited by Cosmopolitan in the form of blogger Gala Darling.


(http://galadarling.com/ is where she normally lives.)


She's about as authentically cool as they come:

"I am keen on changing my hair colour, celebrating every day, really
colourful tattoos, flying first class, old typewriters, public firework
displays, dancing, New York & Tokyo."

I like the blog influence on the magazines - particularly Cosmopolitan. It's resulted in cleaner lines, less garish colours and newer article ideas. Anyone else sick of reading "how to improve your relationship by this weekend"... every month???

Bring it on i say, Gala's my new best friend.