ShowTellShare One Hundred and Ninety-Three

Show/Tell/Share: We planned, we participated, we produced… Yes, we held a pilot to show “The Social Outfit celebrates the skills and styles of our diverse cultures in Australia” …

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On Friday evening last week we closed the pop-up store, but not before some of our wonderful volunteers, (left to right) Antonia, Kit and Traci, drew out our lucky door prize winner. Oooo, something exciting is coming in the mail for them!

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And on Saturday it was time for us to say goodbye to our The Rocks Pop-up space, and pack up our shop selling so many *great* goodies from The Social Studio. Well worth remembering too that this pilot was made possible in the first place thanks to the support of the City of Sydney Council, Community Grants program.

Packing up the pilot, which really was a display of the *hope* we have to set up full-time in Sydney, wasn’t nearly as fun as setting up… especially peeling off decal letters individually!

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But it’s just ‘bye-bye’ to the pilot, because me and the whole The Social Outfit team plan on working just as hard to take our next steps forward in our development. In fact, we’re holding more fashion-based arts workshops at the Asylum Seekers Centre in Newtown this week.

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And that’s because, as always, we remain committed to making The Social Outfit an ongoing reality here in NSW. As ever, I just want to keep “doing good in a fashion” and celebrating the skills and talents of people from refugee backgrounds living in greater Sydney… xo

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Poster image copyright belongs to The Social Studio.

ShowTellShare One Hundred and Eighty-Nine

Show: Here’s some of The Social Outfit‘s volunteers – Kit and Sharon – helping out at the Pop-Up Pilot on Sunday. As you can see, two very happy people making sales, showcasing the clothes, and waving goodbye to this particularly *gorgeous* The Social Studio pink shirt dress to a new customer. Apparently the new onwner is a “lovely woman with blonde hair” who follows this blog; so a *BIG* thank you for supporting us, (as yet, unnamed) dear reader! If you’re keen, we’d love to a photo of you wearing this shirt in your own style soon… xo

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And here’s me on Sunday, having had a few hours off to catch up on sleep, and then get back into the world to see Sydney’s first ‘Cherchez La Femme‘ event… a great chance to hear some interesting feminist thoughts and ideas, and especially support fellow fashion-blogger, Frances Lockie of Corpulent.

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Tell: Glasses from op shop, handmade beaded jewellery, Tatty Devine necklace, retail shirt, vintage 1980s Australian designer ‘Mary Shackman‘ skirt (worn as dress) which I found in a Randwick op shop, Saba sample belt, Black Milk leggings, Fluevog boots and Tatty Devine ‘leather balloon’ purse. Beaded bracelet from The Social Studio.

And now to get ready for the *fun* of this week; especially Nicole Barakat‘s eco-dyeing workshop we are hosting as a part of our pilot. Exciting!

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ShowTellShare One Hundred and Eighty-Seven

Share: If at first you don’t succeed…

Some of you may recall in 2012 I made it to the top 10 of the Vodafone Foundation’s World of Difference Program. In the end, I didn’t win the funding, and so I kept working away voluntarily for the year part-time, doing my very best to keep us progressing. Well, the *wonderful* news this time for me and The Social Outfit, is that I’VE BEEN SUCCESSFUL in 2013! That’s right: The Vodafone Foundation is supporting me to take a year’s Paid Charity Leave, through the World of Difference Program! In real terms this means from May I’ll be  going full time on The Social Outfit, and I’m going to keep working harder and harder to make us be the success we all dream we can be… Hooray!

Guess my elevator pitch turned out OK, and I think I’m going to have a lot of this kind of practice in the year ahead!!

*BIG* thanks to everyone who has been supportive so far, especially Grace at The Social StudioThe Social Outfit entourage, and you dear readers! It’s a team effort!

Show:

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Tell: Tatty Devine earrings and necklace, The Social Studio silk dress, Black Milk ‘Woman in Red’ leggings, retail socks, Fluevog shoes.

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But this is not a time for resting: we have a Pilot Program to get up and running! Here’s our space as part of The Rocks Pop-Up, and we open on Tuesday… *Exciting and EEEEK!*

IMG_1024Yes, we have a lot of work to do, but we’ll get there! xo

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ShowTellShare one Hundred and Eighty-Six

Share: Meet Nina Maya, The Social Outfit‘s very own *new* board member!

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We’re all really excited to have Nina involved; check out how amazing she is:

Nina Maya Skrzynski is one of Australia’s most outstanding designers renowned for creating collections with an emphasis on quality, silhouette and finishing. Since the launch of her Nina Maya label in 2006, she has developed a strong following from industry, celebrity and consumers alike. Completing a design degree, majoring in textiles at the College of Fine Arts Sydney, Nina has always held a strong penchant for fashion. Following this, she set off for London for an internship at a leading textile firm, before relocating to Italy where she worked for a luxury fashion house. Nina was honoured by an invitation to design her own range for the company, which was produced shortly after. Following her work abroad, Nina returned to Australia to establish her own business and further her self-titled label. Created with a style and design philosophy against the trend of disposable fashion, her focus on sustainability and a desire to create investment pieces have served as a solid foundation for the label’s success. Nina’s desire to push the envelope in design has seen her develop an artisan-like approach to her label. 

In July 2009, the Nina Maya label was selected by MYER to be included in their stable of designer collections and is now stocked nationally. The brand has developed strong working relationships with a select group of celebrities, most notably creating one-off red carpet designs for Jennifer Hawkins, Rebecca Twigley and Delta Goodrem. The resulting recognition of this saw the introduction of the Nina Maya Bespoke service in which customers have the opportunity to have demi-couture designs created personally by Nina for a specific occasion or event. 

Nina Maya has now extended the 
application of her skills to launch Nina Maya Interiors. After returning from London to Sydney, Nina Maya Interiors was launched in early 2012. Since then, Nina Maya has completed residential and commercial interiors design projects in Sydney and Beijing, China. 

In terms of philanthropic work, Nina is a Trustee of the Sky Foundation, a founding member of the ‘10 x 10 Project’ (aimed at engendering a culture of philanthropy and giving within the young professional and creative communities), and a member of the New Gen initiative at Philanthropy Australia.

Welcome Nina!

Show: And here’s some photos from last Friday, as a bunch of us were preparing and working hard at The Rocks Pop-Up spaces, in what will soon be The Social Outfit‘s new home whilst we run our pilot project

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There is a tonne of work to do: Eeeeek! But rest assured I’m making a real effort to make sure our creative workshops, exhibition space and ‘The Social Studio‘ pop-up store are *super interesting* for you to come and visit! For more details as we develop, check out here

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Tell: Earrings handmade, ‘Tokyo Kamen‘ brooch from Japan, ‘Promenade’ shirt from op shop, The Social Studio singlet, TS14+ dress, Black Milk leggings, Fluevog boots. All rings from Italy.

And this is today…

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Tell: Wa-Nyika earrings, scarf from op shop, handmade necklace, dress from secondhand store, vintage leather belt from secondhand store, Spin Dance petticoat, retail tights and socks, Fluevog sandals. Vintage Australiana bag from secondhand store.
Check out  also the First Hawaiian Officer’s *lovely* vintage shirt (below); we’re wearing matching retro-greens… And a BIG *thanks always* to the FHO for such great photos!
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This mini-comic says it all, really …
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ShowTellShare One Hundred and Eighty-Four

This Sunday in Sydney, where the summer-weather just keeps sticking…

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I hope you’re enjoying yourself too! xo

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Tell: Tatty Devine earrings, necklace, and rings, robot pendant from Young Blood Designer Markets, The Social Studio silk dress, singlet from op shop, Black Milk leggings, Fluevog boots. Vintage Ken Done tote bag, vintage Ken Done silk scarf.

ShowTellShare One Hundred and Seventy-Two

Show: It’s wet weather… and I’m invited to a wedding celebration for my dear friend, Tim (visiting briefly from New York)… and I need to get to the North Shore…

Let’s. Do. This!

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Tell: Ken Done umbrella, Ken Done glasses, Tatty Devine ‘watermelon’ earrings and necklace, fluro singlet from op shop, Spin Dance petticoat, The Social Studio silk dress gifted by Jo, Black Milk leggings, Fluevog shoes (from Sole Devotion), Linda Jackson vintage bag.

Share: I love a celebration, rain or shine! And a happy weekend to you, xo

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ShowTellShare One Hundred and Sixty-One

Show:

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Tell: Wa-Nyika earrings, Anthea Crawford 1980s jacket from op shop, Saba belt, Kmart skirt, Black Milk leggings, Fluevog shoes, vintage bag gifted.

Share: This was me on Monday. And, oh how I love me some 1980s Anthea Crawford jackets… it’s those short sleeves that makes them so-SO-80s-appealing!

ShowTellShare One Hundred and Fifty-Seven

Show: Mixing it up…
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Share: Friday… and celebrating finding some more vintage ‘Maggie T’ recently. How I’ve always *loved* Maggie Tabberer‘s look, and this 1980s dress is a great example of her designs too…

Tell: Earrings from op shop, Tatty Devine star necklace, The Social Studio fabric necklace, ‘Maggie T‘ vintage dress on sale from a secondhand store in Newtown, Oroton belt from op shop, retail socks, Fluevog shoes.

Show/Share: And Thursday… celebrating being back working on The Social Outfit in 2013. We had a planning day with Chloe and Kit to start preparing for what is sure to be busy times ahead. Naturally, I needed to be wearing The Social Studio, just to remind me of our purpose: *Doing good in a fashion…* xo

Tell: Tatty Devine necklace and rings, The Social Studio silk dress, vintage handmade dress underneath, Black Milk ‘Woman in Red’ leggings, Saba belt, Fluevog shoes from Sole Devotion. Vintage bracelet gifted by Bec from Flamingo Park store.

ShowTellShare One Hundred and Fifty-Three

Share: Season’s Greetings from me, my 1980s vintage Jimmy Pike** shirt, and the very blue and *gorgeous* Western Australia!

** I’m a keen collector of Jimmy Pike, a significant Australian artist from Walmatjarri, WA. His work is often featured as part of the 1980s Oz label, ‘Desert Designs‘. Having found this amazing shirt this year, I felt it only right to have its first showing back in WA (where we also are for some of our family holidays)…

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Tell: Glasses from op shop, earrings from Japan, vintage Jimmy Pike shirt from eBay, Oroton belt from op shop, Sportsgirl skirt from op shop, Black Milk leggings, retail shoes.

ShowTellShare One Hundred and Fifty-Two

Share: One *good* thing about sitting in a holding pattern on our flight from Sydney to Melbourne for over an hour on Friday night was that I got to watch more and more of Mike Nichols’ 1988 US classic, Working Girl

And, as you can see, it was from the 1980s eyeshadow that I took *most* inspiration for my Saturday’s outfit!

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Tell: Earrings from Japan, Dragstar dress, Oroton belt from op shop, handmade silver necklace gifted by Iain, robot necklace from Young Bloods Markets, Black Milk leggings, Birkenstock sandals.

ShowTellShare One Hundred and Forty-Four

Show/Tell/Share: A fun time! A *good* time! A successful evening of hope, and great fashion…

Models (L-R): Oboya, Susan, Hawanatu, Madeleine, Holly, Abuzar and Tamika. Photo by Hayley Hughes. Clothing by The Social Studio.

I’m still in the process of collecting and collating photos from the night. The ‘eventspage is a good place to start, and it also includes the many, many *wonderful* people who helped make our night possible. Thanks and Hooray for you all! xo

Also, for a first *fabulous* look-see of the models and The Social Studio clothes-styling, head over to Fashion Hayley‘s blog here.

Now here’s a few ‘in-process’ photos…

Who knows exactly what I’m saying here, but clearly all the models like what they hear! We did have such a lovely time, and I *super* thank all these young people for graciously offering to give their time to support The Social Outfit.

Practising and preparations at Planet

Earlier in the day, I was binding together out ‘Case for Support’ with a bit of handy sewing…

This is some of the models, Sindy, Kit and myself rehearsing at the Mahjong Room on last Monday night…

And my own outfit for Thursday night. Naturally all The Social Studio… xo

On Friday it was back to the grind with my university work, which continues much of this week too… Phew! Until it quietens down a bit, I’ll try and stay in touch and I *promise* to get all the fashion photos to you as soon as possible! xo

ShowTellShare One Hundred and Thirty-Eight

Show/Share: A busy day yesterday: meeting with some of our supporters who are helping to bring together our November showcase event…

And it certainly helps to maintain a positive mood when your first meeting of the day is in Clovelly. Chloe and I met Emma, who has graciously offered to help us with our graphic design work. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with, and then share it with you, of course! Thanks Emma xo

Then next on to our meeting with Sindy Dube (who I’ve before before). Sindy is part of the Africa Konnect group, and has agreed to be our very own stylist for The Social Outfit’s first Sydney runway show. *Woot, woot!* I love this photo Sindy let me take; she was totally rockin’ that horse shirt!

Finally I met with some of my Board members to help me with our finalisation of The Social Outfit ‘Case for Support’ and financial modelling (not that it ever really ends, though… you just keep trying to get clearer with explanation, each time).

So like I said, a busy day, and one filled with equal measure hard work and hope! xo

Tell: Earrings from op shop, handmade necklaces, The Social Studio silk dress, vintage cape from op shop (which I totally need to wear again, because this photo doesn’t do it enough justice… so you can look here), Saba belt, Black Milk leggings, Camper sandals.

ShowTellShare One Hundred and Eleven

Show/Tell/Share: Ah Melbourne, there you are…

Day 5/10, 11 September: Glasses from op shop, earrings from Japan, pashmina scarf from Italy, Ralph Lauren cashmere pink skivvy from Warburton op shop for ONLY $3!, The Social Studio silk dress (gifted from Jo), Black Milk ’Woman in Red’ leggings, socks borrowed this time from my Dad, Fluevog shoes, Linda Jackson bag (gifted to me by The First Hawaiian Officer).

Day 4/10, 10 September: Uniqlo skivvy, denim dress from op shop, Saba belt, Ken Done leggings, Happy Socks, Fluevog men’s loafers.