Nina Ballerina

Nina Ballerina is what my friend’s 4-year-old, Gracie, used to call me because she loved my tulle skirts. This pretty floral piece is a perfect example. To me though, the skirts are a little more Carrie Bradshaw than ballerina. At least that’s where the style inspo came from. Carrie Bradshaw is like THE modern style icon that carried the torch after the historic style legends like Grace, Audrey, etc. Carrie Bradshaw knows how to pull off vintage styles in modern ways. Her fearless style takes risks and incorporates different style personalities whilst staying true to herself. RESPECT.

Carrie Bradshaw, iconic character in Sex & the City.

Thanks to Sex and the City Costume Designer, Patricia Field, we will always be able to draw inspiration from the character Carrie Bradshaw’s timeless style.

Even though this pretty, feminine skirt is not vintage, it’s very much in line with my love for 1950s style. So far I’ve worn it to the opening night of an art exhibition, a film screening, a date and a party. It’s an easy go-to piece for occasions where you want to look cute, feminine and not too grown-up or dressed up. I’m no ballerina but I sure do love to dress like one! 

STYLING

I chose to go simple for this look. It was a chilly day so I wore the skirt with a white long-sleeve thermal and plain white heels.

Style tip 1: For a patterned skirt like this one, try mixing with a pattered top. The trick is to make sure there is at one matching colour between the skirt and the top. Use your eyes and gut feel to know if the combo works together.

Style tip 2: If you prefer to keep it simple, try a plain coloured top like a white tank top, t-shirt or shirt with a collar. The length of this skirt gives the opportunity for shoe diversity from knee-high boots to ankle boots to heels or flats.

Style tip 3: It’s a voluminous skirt so opt for a smallish top if you’re able. This will create balance between the top and the bottom.

Outfit sourced from:

Preloved ‘ballerina’ skirt: Australian Red Cross Op Shop, Civic.

White thermal: Staple from my wardrobe

White heels: Staple from my wardrobe

Photography by Brunela Fenalte Photography

♥ Nina Gbor

Regina style magic

Regina. Whenever I look at this regal, majestic vintage piece, the name Regina comes to mind. She is a royal, bold goddess but at the same time, soft and romantic. Regina is an original 1960s, cotton Malaysian maxi dress I found at Three Sixty vintage market a couple of years ago. When I spotted a magenta fabric sticking out in between a tightly-packed rack of vintage goodies, I knew straight away she was meant for me. Magenta colour on my skin tone is a match made in heaven.

Regina with her vibrant colour, queenly cut, puffy sleeves, collar, full, long skirt and soft, light fabric is without a doubt, a one-of-a-kind piece. She is an ensemble with a life of her own that wears you, instead of the other way round. She turns heads and commands respect. This was the persona that overcame me the day I wore Regina.

This occurrence is what I call style magic. It’s the boost in confidence or the shift in energy you get from an outfit. If you wear the uniform of a queen, you start to feel like a queen, and therefore act like a queen. If you’re lucky you might even become one! This is the philosophy I use with my style clients to help them look, feel and achieve their goals. It’s style alchemy. Style can be used to evolve to the best version of yourself. Yes, I just gave you on a style personal development strategy. Try it and let me know how it works for you.

STYLING

The look: Naturally, I chose a white belt to synch in at the waist with Regina. This particular belt has an art deco buckle. As a lover of 50s fashion, I spend about 70% of my life in a petticoat so Regina was no exception. It gives the skirt a fuller look and emphasises the synched in waist. I finished this look with white ankle boot shoes.

Style tip: With its light fabric, a dress like this can be worn in summer with sandals or other summer shoes. It’s great for protecting your skin from the sun.

Try: This dress, like most dresses can double up as a top. Achieve this tip simply by wearing a skirt over it like I did in this throwback photo. I wore a 1960s vintage Sally Browne plaid skirt over the dress.

Autumn/Winter Styling: Most Winter clothes are dark and neutral, and I believe in bringing bright, vibrant colour to those cold, dreary Winter days to cheer things up. Because of its long sleeves, I wear thermals (long-sleeve t-shirt and leggings) underneath this dress in Winter to stay warm, yet stylish. And then boots to finish off the Winter look. You can try this trick with your summer maxi dresses.

Outfits sourced from:

Regina 1960s vintage dress – ThreeSixty Vintage Market

1960s Sally Browne vintage Skirt – ThreeSixty Vintage Market

White art deco belt and white shoes – Salvos Stores Op Shop

Photography by Angela Elgiva. Throwback photo by Oliver Weiler.

♥ Nina Gbor

Staying off the fashion trendmill in Aztec

I NEVER follow fashion trends. I coined the phrase “Get off the fashion trendmill” to let my styling clients and workshop participants know it was okay to ignore fashion trends. The culture of following trends is one of the biggest contributors to fast fashion and fashion landfill waste. Plus, trends do not suit everyone. Instead, I encourage people to find style wellbeing. This means wearing clothes that make you happy and filling your wardrobe with pieces that suit your body, lifestyle, goals and personality.

Speaking of personality, this Aztec-pattern hoodie had me hooked from the moment we met in a Salvation Army op shop. There’s nothing else like it in my wardrobe, plus it’s a major diversion from the typical 50s style dresses that grace my closet. Yet, something about it connected to the less visible quirky side of my personality that was clearly screaming to get out. I had the same love-at-first-sight when I spotted these denim, rhinestone, stiletto knee-high boots at a preloved store.

No matter how much people try to influence how you should look, you know yourself better than anyone else. Following trends or styles that don’t align with who you are can create some inner turmoil, not to mention fashion disasters. You’re likely to have better mental and emotional health by staying true to who you are and wearing clothes that align with your truth. It’s great for emotional balance and growing your confidence.

STYLING

The look: I’m wearing the hoodie with a black long-sleeve thermal, black leggings and denim knee-high stiletto boots. This is an everyday, casual Autumn/Winter look for me.

Style tip: A hoodie like this can typically be worn with jeans, shorts or even a straight knee-length skirt. Boots of this length and style will look nice with above-the-knee or knee-length skirts.

Outfit sourced from:

Aztec-pattern hoodie: Salvos Stores Op Shop

Denim boots: Gulia Preloved & Vintage Store, New Town, Sydney

Photos by Brunela Fenalte Photography

♥ Nina Gbor

Fashion and the environment

Fashion is one of the most polluting industries in the world. Majority of fashion’s environmental impact occurs during production. Whether the fabric is plant-based, animal-based or from crude oil, processes for conversion to fabric are environmentally intensive. Fashion consumption and disposal are also big contributors to environmental pollution.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The apparel and footwear industries are responsible for 8-10% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. And the climate effect of the fashion industry by the year 2030 is forecast to reach a near equivalent level with that of US’ current total annual greenhouse gas emissions (currently 4.9 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide).

The production, manufacture, transportation of millions of pieces of garments each year contributes to these high emission levels. In addition, countries powered by fossil fuels like Bangladesh, China and India are the biggest producers of apparel. To make matters worse, majority of modern clothing are made from petrochemical derivatives (polyester, nylon, acrylic) and require more energy-intensive processing that natural fibres (organic cotton, silk, wool, linen, cashmere, mohair).

Water Usage

When it comes to making textiles, a huge amount of water is used, For instance, it takes 2,700 litres to make one t-shirt! 20,000 litres of water is used to produce just 1 litre of cotton! The amount of water needed for growing cotton can lead to the risk of drought in some countries. An example is the Aral Sea which was once home to over 40,000 fishermen. Due to over-irrigation for cotton farming, the Aral Sea has become desert-like.

Water Pollution

Waste water containing toxic chemicals like lead, arsenic and mercury are pumped into the rivers and seas of the developing countries where they are produced from the factories. This is hazardous to the millions of people living in those areas as well as aquatic life.  From the seas, this toxicity eventually spreads round the world.

Toxic Chemical Pollution

Dyes, bleaches and other toxic chemicals are used in the production of clothing. These chemicals containing toxins, carcinogens and hormone disruptors remain on the clothing that we are sold in retail stores. Our skin is the largest organ of the body and the chemicals on our clothes can be absorbed through the skin, making this a real health hazard causing illness and potentially infertility. It’s advisable to wash all new clothes before wearing them.

The widespread use of chemicals, fertilisers and pesticides for cotton farming has been causing diseases and the early death of thousands of people for years in communities where they are used. In addition to soil degradation, massive freshwater bodies and the oceans have been polluted by these chemicals.

Microfibre (Plastic) Pollution

Synthetic fabrics (mostly plastic) are the most commonly used fabric in contemporary fashion. When washed, a polyester garment will shed 1,900 non-biodegradable microfibres that wash into the waters and eventually into the oceans. Microfibres constitute 85% of plastic pollution along shorelines. In addition to increasing oceanic plastic pollution, it’s a threat to aquatic life. Plastic absorbs chemicals. Small aquatic creatures eat the microfibres which eventually make their way up the food chain and onto our food plates, laced with carcinogenic chemicals. It’s best to opt for natural fabrics.

Soil Degradation

This is a huge environmental issue as it has an impact on both global food security and global warming. Healthy soil absorbs CO2 and it’s crucial for the ecosystem. Through the plentiful use of chemicals, deforestation and overgrazing of pastures from sheep and goats raised for wool production, the fashion industry has increased soil degradation.

Landfill Pollution

Currently we consume about 400% more clothing every year than we did 20 years ago with 80 billion new pieces every year, globally. In Australia, 85% of our new textiles end up in landfill every year and we throw out 6,000 kilos of fashion waste every 10 minutes.  This waste epidemic is because of fast fashion. Profit-driven fashion retailers use clever marketing for massive brainwashing so that in spite of having full wardrobes, shoppers feel they need to always have the latest trends. We can’t keep up with the cycle of trends, and nor can we consume at the rate at which we’re buying so we throw out many of our clothes. My solution; we need to GET OFF THE FASHION TRENDMILL and ignore the trend altogether.

Solutions

We’re beyond the point of needing positive change in this area. Whether or not you’re a follower of the latest trends, much of the stock in conventional retail stores are based on short fashion trends with synthetic fabrics that will be replaced by the next cycle in a small period of time.

Each garment has a story and a journey and it’s wonderful when you cherish it and look after your clothes for the long term. As a stylist, I recommend buying clothes that fit your colouring, body shape, personality and lifestyle instead of trends so that you love them for much longer. In all cases, natural fabrics are the best option. Three basic things you can do to build a sustainable wardrobe are

1. Before you buy, ask yourself if you really need it and how often you will use the garment. If it’s for one occasion, short term or just to feel good in the moment, consider, hiring or borrowing instead.  

2. Buy new from Ethical Labels. These are the brands that go far as they can to ensure everyone in the supply chain is paid a fair wage and minimal damage is done to the environment in manufacture and if possible, disposal. Use apps like Good on You to identify ethical brands.

3. Buy Preloved. Shop at op shops, markets, clothes swaps, garage sales, hand-me-downs, eBay, Carousell and other online second-hand platforms.

The Story behind the White Dress

As a girl that grew up adoring the style icons of Hollywood’s golden era (Sophia Loren, Rita Hayworth, Audrey Hepburn, etc), it’s obvious where my style influences come from. The 1950s is my favourite vintage fashion era. The dresses of that time embody beauty, elegance, femininity, romanticism.

This is probably why it was love at first sight when I spotted this beautiful white, vintage, handmade, 1950s number at a market. It’s got white embroidered floral pieces sewn onto the front, length is just at the knee with a full skirt. So far, I’ve worn it to a fundraiser event at an art gallery, on a dinner date and once to the office.

What I wonder, is the story behind this white dress? Considering that it’s handmade, perhaps it was made for a special occasion? A formal? A christening? Or judging by the style of matrimonial gowns in that era, could it have been someone’s wedding dress?

Buying vintage (clothes circa late 1930s to 1960s) is recycling, and therefore a big part of curating a sustainable wardrobe. It’s a wonderful way to save these beautiful, classic treasures from ending up in landfill. Many of them are handmade, well-tailored and of course unique. Moreover, the further back you go in time with vintage, the less likely you are to find synthetic fabrics like polyester. Most vintage pieces last many decades, unlike many of the clothes manufactured today. For this reason, I cherish my vintage pieces above my contemporary ones. They deserve the respect. A great vintage find like this white dress, is one that I’ll someday pass on to someone who would love it just as much. When this happens, I’ll also pass on my own story of the dress and then they too will begin their journey and make their own story.

STYLING

The Look: I wore this dress with a blue petticoat for a cheeky effect and paired it with my leopard print stilettos and vintage handbag (circa 1960s).

Styling tip: For a casual look, I would suggest wearing this dress without a petticoat, every day handbag and flats of some kind. It’ll still look beautiful, just a little more understated.

Sourced from:

White vintage dress: Rozelle Collectors Market

1960s vintage handbag: PDSA Charity Shop, UK

Photography by Angela Elgiva.

♥ Nina Gbor