World Catwalk: Sydney Jan 2013

I’ve learned so much from my constant travelling in all the corners of the world. I’ve seen so many beautiful sights, I know my way around the major airports with my eyes shut, I can (usually) find a yummy meal wherever I land, and I can say hello and thank you in over 15 languages.

But of all the lessons learned, possibly the most valuable is realising my self-confidence is the most important travel companion I could ever take with me.

I find this particularly true when I set off along the city streets in search of stylish ladies for The Trolley Dolly’s World Catwalk street style feature. Without my self-confidence, I would falter at the thought of approaching the tres fashionable, explaining my little blogging project and taking pictures in the middle of busy streets in some of the world’s biggest cities.

As I stomped Sydney’s sidewalks in the baking Aussie sun, I felt that self-confidence replaced by an irritating nervousness that sometimes creeps up on me. Enter my silly fear of chatting to people I don't know and the shyness I feel asking to take their picture for a blog called The Trolley Dolly.

But, like a passing cloud of smoke, I wafted the apprehension away, replaced it with a somewhat forced self-confidence and carried on regardless.

I’m so glad I did, as I went on to meet three of the nicest and friendliest of my World Catwalkers.

First of all I spotted sisters Amanda and Carol from Brazil. The two put me to shame in their bright, summery outfits (compared to my black trouser/white vest/black All Stars combo).

I became a denim shirt convert after spying Amanda’s clever layering trick and if I thought I could pull off a little tropical jumpsuit, I would be considering that too!

Love the sparkly shoes!

The World On A Wall...

My job has taken me across continents, and to corners of the world that I never thought I would peek around, and I feel so lucky, every time I step off the plane and smell the scent of a new country, a new city and some new adventure.

That’s not to say that I don’t quite often smell the scent of freshly washed hotel linen, and dive under the duvet for the best part of 24 hours (oh yes, it is possible to sleep for 18 hours… in case you too will be stopping off in Lagos, Nigeria!)… but most of the time, on my first visit to any destination, I love to walk. What I love about walking around a city for the first time, is seeing all those sights you’ve seen in books, magazines and brochures, pop up around an unsuspecting turn, and to find quirks and scenes in that city that no amount of pictures can quite capture.

Since I first started flying, I've always been intrigued by the street art that appears so diversely and so frequently, wherever I set foot. And this post is just a glimpse of what I call, ‘the world on a wall…' I hope you like the pictures I've been lucky enough to take on some of my many stopovers.

For me, it’s a gallery of spray paint talent, raw art, and everyday messages. It’s something of an international language as each decorated stone portrays a story, a feeling or just an individual’s love of colour. Interpret as you will…

Bondi Beach, Australia

My Travel Wardrobe – A Trip to Bangkok and Sydney

I have a love/hate relationship with this particular trip. It’s a weeklong adventure which takes me to Bangkok for a day, followed by three days in Sydney and another day in Bangkok on the way back to Dubai.

I love the destinations.

I hate packing for two different continents and trying to leave enough room for potential shopping ;)

So here’s what happens when you try to pack for two different climates, two different continents and two different plans, without overloading my poor, beaten Samsonite. Did someone say capsule wardrobe?

Day 1 – Bangkok

Sightseeing… a trip to the floating market at Damnoensaduak demands flats (Havaianas), easy tee (H&M) + wear-anywhere jeans (H&M). And a camera, duh.

Day 2 – Sydney

For me, a casual maxi dress (Topshop) together with gladiator sandals (Old Navy) is perfect for a wee spot of shopping along George Street in Sydney, working 'laid-back chic' or, in other words, I couldn’t be assed thinking of a whole outfit so I threw a maxi dress in the suitcase :)

World Catwalk: Destination Sydney [PART 3] and THANK YOU!

I never like to start anything with an apology, but... Sorry this is a day late.
I've been busy studying and training for a new chapter in my lovely airhead, sorry, of course I mean, airhostess career... Business class awaits!
Currently my brain is close to melting point, so full of posh cheeses, wines and cocktails I feel like my grey matter is equivalent to a rather tipsy afternoon tea. And my poor hands are tired from taking notes on chauffeur driven transfers, fabulous seats and possibly the most amazing lounge service I can imagine. If only it was all for me... Oh well. One can dream! And what better way to start today's post than with a dream. For me, it's a little dream of luxury, and the finer things (read: better salary!). Even though sometimes, the roughest diamonds are the most beautiful and true happiness can stem from the most unexpected sources. Amen.

Now that that's out of the way, let's get shallow! The above really has not much to do with the following outfits. In saying that, these street style posts are providing me some happiness from some unexpected sources so I guess there's the tenuous link...

Before I do any more fashion rambling, I'd just like to say a huge thank you to my lovely little group of followers.
As a blogger who is new to the scene, it's so nice to see genuine interest from other talented bloggers from all over the globe, and I didn't realise my writing could lead to an exciting network of hopefully will-be friends. You guys are the best - thanks!

And now, to the rambling.
This is the last post in my trilogy of World Catwalk: Destination Sydney street styles. I hope you have enjoyed the previous entries and if you're intrigued or missed out, you can click on the 'World Catwalk' tab at the top of this page, or simply click HERE for Part 1 or HERE for Part 2.

Today starts with Amel, originally French-Algerian, who is sporting one of my favourite looks of the year. The colour blocked blazer. These things aren't called blazers for nothing - I like the fact the word 'blaze' is in there because that's exactly what this hot peppery pink does. It shines! And makes an otherwise understated outfit something modern and exciting. I also love Amel's luxurious jewellery statements which are not too bling for a daytime get-up, but shiny enough to show a bit of it-girl cool. Trés jolie, ma cherie!

What a blazer... what a backdrop! I love Sydney's amazing architecture... and the handbag too!

World Catwalk: Destination Sydney [PART 2]

So I'm hoping you all thoroughly enjoyed yesterday's instalment in my little World Catwalk Sydney series!

As I mentioned HERE my day of street style hunting was a lot more fun than I thought it might be despite the rain, and I discovered so many stylish girls, hence why this is the first World Catwalk post I've split up to allow full street style digestion. Oh yes.

To continue with showcasing some of said looks, here are the lovely ladies who allowed me to snap them for The Trolley Dolly, this lovely little creative space blog of mine...

On the lower ground floor of Westfield shopping centre, there lies a scattering of painfully cool vintage stalls, boutiques and find-weird-stuff-here businesses that sell one-off wardrobe updates, interesting interiors and generally too much stuff for me to ship home in my suitcase. Booo.
However, it's not all bad... the place was so full of stylish people I genuinely didn't have time to snap them all! Two of these stylish people were Michelle and Julie.
I chose to feature Michelle (LEFT) and Julie (RIGHT) because this pair of shopping friends looked so relaxed and comfortable in their outfits that it added an extra element to the look.
Blazer, platforms, velvet, studs, socks-with-shoes, knits... these girls cleared out the fashion cupboard with their list of trends and then they go and act all surprised when I stop to tell them how great they look! Modesty, too?! That's not very Anna Wintour now is it? It really was a pleasure chatting to these lovely girls!
Michelle's blazer is so stylish the way the colour is slightly masculine with the shorts. I also love the combination of grey socks and purple shoes. Genius!
Julie's eye-catching blue velvet skirt reminded me of the Olsens and their/my love for nods to distant decades. I on the other hand, am not quite smart enough to imagine it with a striped knit (original thinking points go to Julie).

Style with a smile... Michelle (left) and Julie (right) look great!

Enjoying the winter colour combo

World Catwalk: Destination Sydney [PART 1]

So this is the weather I was expecting... (which came a day later!)

And this was the day World Catwalk happened - umbrellas at the ready!

I had almost given up on the idea of walking around Sydney, camera tucked away in my little baggie, and umbrella clutched close. I really was another raindrop-in-my-eye away from turning around and just marching right back down Pitt Street. Back to the cosy Marriott bed with all its varieties of pillow, fluffy duvet appeal and hot tea (with lots of sugar please).

After a 9 hour overnight flight from Bangkok, I really had to use all the power of my tired little mind to force myself onto the high street on the hunt for stylish Sydneyettes.

I performed my old trick of assuming things about a city. Assuming that, as it is a rainy day, no-one will have bothered their behinds to dress stylishly or perhaps even have bothered to venture out at all… I personally can think of many more exciting things to do than slosh my way round sodden streets on a Sunday morning… Really must stop thinking about those Marriott pillows – this is not healthy!

And once again, my assumptions were proved wrong by hoards of shoppers all piling in and out of the collection of shopping centres and department stores that busy one end of Pitt Street in central Sydney. These little retreats from the rain provided the perfect backdrop for my World Catwalk activity. And I’ve never had such an easy day of it!

Could I stick my neck out and say that Sydney is home to some of the world’s best street style? Well, according to The Trolley Dolly that is… and I’ve not yet set Mr Nikon (yes, I have named my camera) free in London, Paris or New York. But really, this was an individualist fashion-fest with some of the coolest girls I’ve seen.

You know, I didn’t get the feeling that these girls were wearing their clothes by way of grabbing attention/scoring points. The general vibe was more, “hey, I pulled this cool skirt out of my closet this morning, and I teamed it with the next thing that I happened to lay my hands on.”

Relaxed, cool, upbeat and friendly – Sydney girls.

Unleashing my inner geek, I took some notes whilst taking my snaps. Just a jumbled scribble of popular themes, micro-trends if you will, that popped up most commonly. So here’s my example of perfect handwriting. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

I was tired... is that a good enough excuse for 'INDIVIDUAL' and 'INDIVIDUALIST'?

And so to the part I always take longest to get to (sorry folks) – the stylish people!

I’ve actually decided to split this story over a couple of blog posts as there are quite a few to show you all!