Bonjour from the middle of a hefty pile of clothes
Bonjour, I am currently sitting in the middle of a pile of clothes on my bedroom floor, finding that I constantly have to remind myself that I am only going to Paris for 9 days. As I co-ordinate then re co-ordinate outfits, my room becomes more like “bomb-zone” as my Mum would say. I even managed to fling a pair of knickers onto my bedhead.
11 days ago I was offered an all expenses paid trip to Paris for work. Happy for any excuse to leave freezing-cold-always-minus-100-degrees Sydney, of course my answer was a big fat YES! This is a very special trip for me as it is my first time overseas (don’t even get me started on what a nightmare it was to organise my passport in 12 days).
Packing for a 180-degree flip in temperature was daunting at first; my summer-body was still trapped inside the confines of what was proving to be my most voluptuous winter-body yet… Who wants to get up at 5am in the morning when it’s still dark and (lets face it) may as well be snowing outside? Not me! Add that to a full day of work and retuning home in the dark… Forget it!
I used to proudly hold a gym membership when I lived in Bondi and it was an expected part of the lifestyle, but after moving to the Northern Beaches and away from the chain of gyms I signed up for, it became an expense that my modest wage could no longer afford. Apart from allowing my muscles to become non-existent, this financial tactfulness helped me uncover a hidden talent for finding great fashion on a budget. Zara, TopShop and ASOS are obvious go-to’s but the real winners are the outlet stores that are hidden all around Sydney that produce the most current fashion for the lowest prices. Sure, the material may shrink in the wash, the seams may split and the colours may run, but I am an optimist and choose to see it as an affordable alternative to the real thing (and between you and me, no-one would know unless they looked at the tag).
I’ve got nothing to hide, I love when people ask where my clothes are from. My favourite recommendation is a Chinese retail outlet opposite Town Hall where I found a particularly favourite dress of mine for $10 that has lasted a good 6 months without any signs of ageing. Another of my favourite pieces, a black ‘suede’ three quarter skirt that gets worn at least once a week still looks as new as the day I bought it from a store at Central train station for only $45. These places are not too hard to find if you know where to look!
It’s all about ‘doin’ watcha gotta do!’ Working in fashion, your ego wont let you wear the same things to work every week for a year and your mind wont stop fixating on the latest trends that you see in the industry. It’s a vicious cycle, but one I have found a happy alternative to.
As I look at my vast rack of clothes, ready to put together another outfit I’ll decide I hate in 30 seconds, I spy a white off the shoulder dress that I purchased from the retail store “Attik” a few months prior. When I had put it on in the poorly lit change room I had instantly seen myself drinking too expensive cocktails at Manly Wharf Bar on a warm summer afternoons and I knew I had to have it. Looking at it now, I could see myself drinking chilled white wine on the balcony of a Parisian wine bar, wearing a thick black choker and black Birkenstocks. This was the first moment I had felt the pang of excitement about my trip to Paris since I had first been told I was going. The excitement that the dress had brought on was the whole reason I had fallen head over heels for the Fashion Industry in the first place. The way seeing a single garment or accessory can evoke a feeling so strong you feel psychical excitement is something I can only relate to being in love, it is overwhelming and exciting. I folded the dress neatly and placed it carefully into my empty suitcase, smiling at my first confirmed outfit… Perfect!
I continued to pack, adding a black pair of cigarette pants from TopShop that I will wear with a blue and white striped shirt which I had purchased in a hip store Newtown just a week before for $49 that I thought was VERY French. I packed a cream and gold striped, V-neck dress that undoubtedly would shine in the Parisian sun and be flowy enough to keep me cool during the summer days. So far my choices were a huge contradiction to my usual uniform of all black, a uniform that every now and then I broke up with a red lip or white dress. But I figured, Hey, IT’S PARIS, why not mix it up a bit!!
Au Revoir for now.
Kaiya X
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