VINTAGE IS THE NEW BLACK

I love this girl's style. I love this blog. I just love her. Grrl crush!

We all know there's a major vintage revival happening and you can swing the word 'hipster' around like a dead cat, around and around. And around. And... arou. No, it's starting to hum. 


New subculture and buzz word to cite relentlessly please?


Noirohio Vintage's 'VINTAGE IS THE NEW BLACK' tagline resonates with me, less in a trendy I wear vintage because I'm anti-mainstream way and more in a don't pay out your ass for clothing, it's just material, there's already so much of it to go around, if we reuse a little instead of making new shit every time, our planet might thank us (a little) way.


What sets Noirohio Vintage apart for me is two things:


1. It's vintage with a rock 'n' roll edge. 


Ala tattoos, leather pants, leopard print and a Bettie Page do.

But elegant. 

And not too theatrical (which I feel punk/psycho often becomes). Wear your clothes, don't be worn by them. You don't need to be a parody of yourself.

Just classic, good clothing with your own style, personality and accessories peaking through. That's what I'm going for these days (or trying to, budget and hoarder mentality permitting).

This style appeals to me as someone who's kinda evolving and growing up in the overarching 'alternative' scene - it's nice to be edgy ('edgy', really Lauren?) without being pigeon holed into one specific genre like "Oh, she's so punk"; "She's so rockabilly". I still love those styles (and music) and wear elements of them, but can't just be that one defining thing anymore. 


My roots still anchoring me, I did a little more skim research and after reading Noirohio Vintage's influence list on Facebook here, and seeing that The Smiths, The Clash and Johnny Cash are listed, I was sold.

This style reminds me a lot of Sophomore - another fashion house I LOVE for the same reasons.


Check out their lookbook video with music by The Virgins:

2. There's a difference between looking cool and looking pretty.


Sure, you may wear the crazy, shapeless, washed-out thrift store clothes that don't fit your body, only to be accosted by your nu wave page boy haircut, and sure, you look cool as hell. Intimidating even. Like an extra from a movie. But do you look pretty? Sometimes when it's all thrown together it's too much, like you're typecast to play a certain role and you really desperately need to look the part. It's a ridiculous amount of effort.


It's hard to be both, something's got to give. If you can get the balance just right, it's magical. Otherwise it's just too much I talk to pigeons and they talk back cray-cray. 


When clothes are distracting and misleading it sucks. When clothes are a costume it sucks even more.


Noirohio Vintage piques my interest because the clothes don't compete with the models' natural beauty - they've maintained their classic good hair, clean make up, ladylike finishes (no androgyny here) which I think builds the case for the clothes (and the person) even more.

Of course we don't all look like this majestic wonder of a female (I'm addressing the brunette bombshell) and can't all comfortably pull off (or put on) leather skinnies, but I feel like she's at least not trying too hard. Lies. Okay but her finishes are at least timeless. Same with the blonde fatale. If you're going to have the crazy hair/make up, then your clothes don't need to compete - it's enough already. Or if you maintain a relatively normal look - go batshit with your clothes and accessories. Whatever.

Or just, you know, ignore me (I feel like there's hypocrisy lurking somewhere, ready to bite  my Mr Price ass).


This is my opinion anyway. I'm 24. I'm striving for balance. I'm trying to figure out this new life phase (and what the hell to wear in the morning).


If you're all ra-ra blog, I strongly recommend you visit http://noirohiovintage.blogspot.com/ or go to their actual website or just like them on Facebook. Or better yet, buy some of their clothes on ebay here.

More! If you Google image search them, it's a closet of well-dressed, non-sloppy Suicide Girl types. And new (old) outfits I haven't seen on the blog before! Do it!

Bravo team! x

Kindling Review

Cape Town based artist Bruce Mackay exhibited Kindling at Wolves in Jo’burg for the month of February. I went to check out the opening night (3 February).

I stepped into Bruce’s quaint world of delicate line work, forestry, birds, tree-sailor people (you betcha) and antique keys.

Like peristalsis, I strode across the room to inspect two pieces that promptly caught my eye. The attraction came in the form of two lino prints, beautifully laser cut into wood. 

One of the two linos. 

The detail and craft in these pieces made me so happy. I got that warm fuzzy feeling of antiquity, of the ‘old world’ where I imagined Bruce as a flannel-wearing, bearded woodcutter, handcrafting works of art from his cottage HQ; fire place crackling, birds singing the theme song of ‘The Sound of Music’… Sigh, handcrafted goodness (and sleep deprivation).

 “Those would make rad tattoos, shotgun?”

This is the first thing I said when I made eyes at a man and woman illustration pair done in pen and ink, with their feral, ‘I’ve come from the sea but been lost in the woods for a long long time and can speak to trees and animals’ look about them. Their faces, old and weathered with the sense of wisdom and sadness that comes with time - would make amazing characters in a graphic novel. Or look great on my forearms. Either way, I loved them.

Kindling as a whole comes down to balance: gentle intricacies in the illustrations that aren’t fickle or flimsy. Art that’s striking but doesn’t have to shout or shock to get your attention. 

And the very name ‘kindling’ – something as small and insignificant as little sticks and twigs, when bunched together and ignited, can start a raging fire that can wipe out an entire forest. The art is pretty; nature is harsh. Balance.

Barring the Old Mother Hubbard of parties just 10 km away (Jozi Fest), and that there wasn’t the usual Friday night bustle and drink hustle at Wolves (which is a damn shame), Kindling was well worth checking out. To balance that out however, I know full well that any ensuing Thursday night would've made up for the lack of attendance. Ten fold.

You can check out more of Bruce's delightful work here and here.

Images by Chris Corbett