I just heart ASOS so damn much. These styles are so on trend – and when they are black, you can hardly tell their worth a fraction of the price of designer. My favourite are the fluffy ones.
Such great additions to any wardrobe! Quirky meets classic, I’m all about it.
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I’m a snoozer. I really hate waking up. It doesn’t matter how many hours of sleep I got. Same torture every single day. Which has been causing major stress when it comes to getting dressed. Compromising time and fashion is difficult. But there are ways to cope! The solution is to make sure you got those basic pieces in your closet that will guarantee a great outfit, every day.
The three first Wardrobe Essentials in this series of articles I think everybody should have is at least one perfect WHITE SHIRT, a pair of great JEANS and some gorgeous BLACK PUMPS.
1. White Shirt by MiH Jeans
2. Flare Jeans by J Brand
3. Christian Louboutin Pumps
and now: more options! I’d loooove to hear which ones are YOUR favourites from below.
The post Classic Wardrobe Essentials That Will Save Your Mornings – part 1/3 appeared first on Zanita Studio.
Ok… I’m just going to let this video speak for itself. Hope you all like!
Bloglovin — Twitter — Youtube — Instagram — Facebook
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The grass we tread on isn’t always as green as it appears, but that’s something we don’t ever realize until we get a real dose of reality, usually occurring when rejection hits. Rejection sucks regardless of where it’s coming from – relationships, school applications, and the job-hunting process. The one that hits me hardest always comes professionally…rejection from a job I applied for or a promotion.
Sure, I’ve gone through several roles in my life, but that unquestionably came with a myriad of rejection from several others. I distinctly remember the pain of being rejected from my current company – at the time, I was really passionate about getting my foot into fashion merchandising so I spent a lot of time tweaking my resume, cover letter, and researching the company and the job. I submitted my application thinking it was golden, but soon after, I received the rejection e-mail. The first thoughts that surfaced were “Why? How could they not want me?” and then it morphed into an angry self-conversation – “You’re not good enough, you don’t have what it takes, why did you bother?” But here I am years later in the field. Although I’m still harsh on myself in my career, I’ve surely learned a thing or two about coping with rejection and I’m sure these steps can be applied to other parts of your life so let’s talk.
The obvious first step to tackling rejection is acceptance. It happens. Your emotions are pretty much uncontrollable during this stage so take a few days to absorb them and then let them out whether it’s through a hard kickboxing session at the gym or eating ice cream and crying. If you never let the emotions out, you’ll just be stuck dwelling on them.
Once you’ve accepted it, think about what you could have done better or differently and work on doing just that. If you have the option, seek feedback directly. You may even learn that it had nothing to do with you personally. Also, people tend to be most disappointed when there’s an expectation so now would be a great time to review those.
Not many people get to experience what you do so be thankful it even happened. Also, thank the person who rejected you for the wonderful opportunity because you learned something new about yourself and this only makes you better the next time around.
An old friend once said to me, “We subjugate risk by always moving forward despite the possibility of failure” and I truly believe this applies to rejection as well. Keep those applications going despite the risk of being rejected.
Keep up with #4 and eventually you’ll win. It’s important because victory reigns and rebounds you exponentially faster than rejection can shoot you down.
The more you take on rejection, the more you learn not to take it personally; instead, you grow from it, let it fuel you, motivate you, and make you YOU. It teaches you to become fearless and confident, so pursue it.
It’s hard to see through the fog when you’re in the moment, but I can assure you that through experience, not getting what you want is always a blessing in disguise. It’s one of those things where you have to connect the dots backwards as noted by Steve Jobs so trust the process.
XO,
Image Source Credits – C-Heads, Vogue
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How to look smashing for less?
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It’s that time again! Being a photographer, the bulk of my work is spent in front of a computer editing. Music is a huge part of what makes my day joyful. I feel so lucky to have such a wealth of talented musicians out there creating these beautiful tracks to inspire us.
Happy Monday! xxx
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We snapped all of these images within the space of about 45 minutes – and really, there’s no other time (besides sunrise) you want to be shooting in the desert around this time of year… because the temps creep well over 40C. It wasn’t really challenging to get it done in such a short space of time though, because we all were totally exhilarated by such stunning surrounds and heartbreakingly beautiful light. I was so hyped up! There was a lot of running between shots, setting up new framing among the dunes. It was an incredible opportunity to shoot here – and how fabulous are my subjects? They really brought it. So lucky to know these talented and gorgeous women.
We can all do great things if we work together.
Photography by Me – except the pic of me which was snapped by Sara and edited by me. 
The post The Women and The Desert appeared first on Zanita Studio.
I feel like post has been a long time coming, I’ve been putting it off slightly because I feel like the content could be slightly controversial… I’ll try to be delicate.
I really just want to write to send some advice out to those younger girls who might be reading my blog – and then also to those mothers who might be reading this, hoping their young daughter might have a chance in the modelling industry.
I’ve spoken about my 8 year modelling career many times here, when I started my blog in 2008 many of my blog posts were simply documenting my travels as a model, the jobs I did, stories about my castings and what I was wearing to them. I modelled at London Fashion Week and took (horribly blurry) pictures at the casting and backstage of the shows I worked in. In 2007 I lived and worked in Hamburg, Germany and there I was mostly just modelling catalogues. I had a much longer than average career – and never once was I left in debt to my agency, which in terms of most girls out there, meant I was very successful.
In my time as a model, I saw many girls have very different experiences of the industry. Some girls had it very easy and were signed to great agencies with fewer girl who got more attention. Naturally very slim, great skin and hair, loved by their bookers (aka salespeople) – and these girls made a lot of money… sometimes. Being a model, just like fashion, you can be on trend – or off trend. When you’re on trend, aka, when your booker loves you or maybe a magazine (like Vogue) loves you – you’re going to earn a lot. However, just like any trend, eventually people will get 
sick of you and the money will run out. That’s why models move frequently between different markets around the world, to stay in demand. Most full-time models I know are represented by up to 6-7 different agencies. I’ve know some girls to have amazing momentum, get amazing gigs in say, Paris, then move to New York and go back to the bottom of the barrel. A bad stint in a city can leave you debilitated and girls can often end up quitting, or phasing out after a bad run of work.
The bulk of models I knew are the ones I would just meet on occasion. On any agencies books, you could see that a huge bulk of the girls weren’t getting alot of work. I could see this by a few things, number one, they’d never be at any castings and number two, their cards would never get updated. If you’re not getting new pictures, you’re not getting new work. Part of the reason some girls only work occasionally is for study and alternative careers – the other half don’t have it so easy.
Some agencies out there take on more models than they can support full time. Why? Because the more girls they send out there, the greater the chances that agency will 
book a job, it becomes a numbers game. This means some girls will book a lot of work and some will book very little – but they are all put through the same stringent process, must be thin, must look a certain way, must be constantly available for castings, sometimes they must pay rent to the agency. They would come from all around the country, wouldn’t know anyone, wouldn’t suit the industry and struggle to book any work. It would take a toll on confidence and self worth and it wasted time, which could have been spent pursuing a more valuable career.
You would think these girls that don’t get a lot of work would quit, and of course, many do after some time.. . but it can be brutal to see what a few years of being judged and rejected day to day can do for a girls self confidence. I wish these girls never came across modelling, that they pursued another career where their worth was more than their appearance.
Though I did have a wonderful career, with so many exciting gigs and great travel opportunities – I did suffer at various points from obsessive exercising and disordered eating, which is extremely common. I was always at the bottom of the food chain, never asked my opinion, regularly criticised. Gratefully I feel I’ve come out the other side of a modelling career stronger and better for it – and I did use what I learnt as a gateway to what I’m currently doing.
If I ever have a daughter, I would never encourage her or put her through the stringent process that is becoming a model – unless she was very strong, self aware and it was her choice and dream… and she fit the mould perfectly, which is really the genetic lottery.
The modelling industry can be brutal.
Girls these days go through enough with the barrage of social media, so much time is wasted worrying and valuing appearances. A girls self worth should be determined by her intelligence, her strength, her personality, her creativity – and never her looks. A career in modelling will never assist a growing mind in finding those values. Something to consider. To be a model
xxx
First pics are my polaroids from the day I was signed to Models1 in London.
Second two pics are from one of my first test shoots with Nicole Bentley, aged 18.
Final pics are an editorial shot by Paul Farrell in the UK, 2008.
The post So You Want To Be A Model? appeared first on Zanita Studio.
Just like last time, I’ve decided to show you my personal favourites from the top picks below:
1. Wool-Blend Straight Leg Trousers by Jil Sander
2. Perfect Gret T-shirt by Rag & Bone
3. Rosa Cutout Leather Slides by ATP Atelier
The post Classic Wardrobe Essentials That Will Save Your Mornings – part 2/3 appeared first on Zanita Studio.
There are often negative connotations associated with young mothers – perhaps they made poor decisions growing up, they’re not ambitious, or maybe they didn’t have the best family background. And while those reasons hold true occasionally, there are kick ass moms who chose to start a family early and I can wholeheartedly speak for the latter considering I had mine before 25. I’m not encouraging anyone to have kids in their teens or even early twenties, but simply want to note the benefits that exist in early motherhood people tend not to talk about. Of course there were moments of doubt along the way as to whether I made the right decision, but through the course of the years, I am ultimately happy and want to share the awesome perks of being a young mom.
Motherhood is undeniably tiresome and by nature our energy dwindles down with age. As a young mom, there’s always the energy to fully function, react, and handle stress at all times – no back pains, no aches even when constantly on the run.
It does occasionally feel lonely when your friends are out on the weekends and you’re stuck at home with your kids, but the tables turn quickly.
By the time your kids grow up, you’ll still be young enough to travel, explore, and do everything you wanted to pre-motherhood.
It’s obvious, but necessary to state that the chances of health complications are slimmer the younger you are. Yay, healthy baby!
Your body can also recover faster. This means you should be able to bounce back into pre-pregnancy shape easily – something we all hope for.
Your parents (e.g. grandparents) are also young at this point and can handle the energy and needs of an infant/toddler. They are almost always willing to babysit too (Yesss!!).
So now that you’ve already had kids, you won’t have to worry about not being able to have them as you approach your 40s – one of the natural concerns of women that come with time.
For those who want to have a bigger family, you now have even more time for more kids and can spread them out however you’d like.
Even when your kids grow up, you’ll be able to connect with them on the same level because your age gap won’t actually be that far off.
At times, I felt like I implanted speed bumps into my own career path by having kids early on because it delayed the time I took to get somewhere (I’ve always wanted to be successful earlier – who doesn’t?). But now I realize that my family first was actually beneficial…I bought myself some time as I never really knew what I wanted to do anyway.
Within that gap, I developed new values, rediscovered myself, my interests, and my strengths. Better yet, my kids are older now so I can hone in on those things and be successful precisely where I want to be without disruptions when I get there.
XO,
Image Source Credits – Glamour, Fashion Gone Rogue, Vogue
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The foundation and key to your personal style.
The post 6 Fabulous Ways To Style Your Jeans appeared first on Zanita Studio.
My three gorgeous friends, on Glamels aka ‘glam camels’ in the Arabian Desert. Instant editorial.
I’ve been putting off editing these, my initial thoughts were I didn’t get enough imagery to make a sizeable post or editorial. Finally pulled my socks up and gave it a go – and sheesh, I don’t know where I formed that previous idea! Maybe it stemmed from my memory, it’s not the easiest to get decent framing when you’re wobbling around on the back of a camel.
These pics where taken as part our trip to Dubai, as part of the final episode in Series 2 of Fashion Bloggers. Hope you’re had a chance to see the episode on E!
Special thanks to my gorgeous model/blogger friends Kate – Nadia – Sara – missing you so much ladies!
You’ll have to check their blogs or ask them for outfit credits
The post The Three Songs: Dubai Desert Photo Diary appeared first on Zanita Studio.
If I, for whatever reason, decided to enter a Miss Universe contest – my special talent would cooking.
I LOVE cooking and we all gotta eat – so I’m interrupting your usual fashion and related rambling style content to invite you into my kitchen for some original recipe, delicious tacos and maybe some singing and dancing.
I pretty much just coated the chicken pieces with flour then egg mixed with butter – and then the Panko crumb, threw that in the oven and cooked them up. Then I painted some pineapple slices with coconut oil and sambal chilli and fried them. I put the crispy chicken and seared chilli pineapple in the warm taco bread with thinly sliced up cabbage, coriander and lime. It was bonanza.
Note: These tacos would also be great with some avocado and maybe some delicious jalapeños. Gustav thinks the chicken would have been better fried in a pan but I went with the healthier option.
Don’t forget to subscribe to my channel – we are hammering that thing with new videos every week.
The post How To: Crispy Chicken And Seared Chilli Pineapple Tacos appeared first on Zanita Studio.
Here are my personal favourites:
1. Lace-up stretch-cady mini dress (obsessed with the lacing) by Emilio Pucci
2. One of my dream bags: the medium antigen bag in black goat leather by Givenchy
3. Distressed leather jacket by Yang Li (its on sale!!)
It’s all about the perfect EVERYDAY TOTE BAG, a LITTLE BLACK DRESS and the LEATHER JACKET, happy shopping!
The post Classic Wardrobe Essentials That Will Save Your Mornings – part 3/3 appeared first on Zanita Studio.
Well to be totally honest, on almost all occasions I wear a Hawaiian shirt it’ll be in non-ironic fashion. Why? Celebrate colour and print! It’s my jam.
Anyway, I’m writing this post while in Stockholm, trying to get ahead on my posting schedule tomorrow Gustav and I are headed onto one of those long-ass nightmare plane journeys from Europe to Australia. This time we have a 9 hour layover in Bangkok… which I’m actually ok with because I can get a good affordable massage or three in the airport. We’ve booked a ‘day room’ at at an airport hotel, and there’s a swimming pool. It’ll be the second time I’ve enjoyed proper summer weather since around Christmas (in Australia).
Right now we’re planning for upcoming Fashion Weeks – so it’s Stockholm, then NYC, maybe London and then Milan. I don’t usually go to Italy but it’s Gustav’s favourite place in the world so I figure we may as well get involved in some fashion and eat some italian food – it’ll be worth the extra trip just to see him smiling like a maniac over a plate of Bistecca Fiorentina. That’s love right there.
Hope you’re all rocking into a great weekend!
The post Checking In From Stockholm – The Non-Ironic Hawaiian Shirt appeared first on Zanita Studio.
How to look stylish without spending too much?
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So what changed?
We were pretty tight knit – as Australians, isolated by seasons, timezones and distance, we were outsiders by most standards and we felt we had to stick together because no where else were we able to learn information about our burgeoning industry. By sharing information, we collectively grew stronger.
High expectations drive greatness.
There was a shift at some point among our group – when one of us would strive to create something new, we all recognised that as bloggers and creators, we were capable of more. We wanted better photography, better styling, better websites. We didn’t compare ourselves to other bloggers, we compared ourselves to our idols, always aiming higher. We encouraged each other and discussed ideas – the standards of work and creativity continued to rise among all of us.
I’ve known these girls for years, and learnt so much from all of them, we’ve grown alot and we’ve still far to come but all of it so far has exceeded our exceptions.
Something that has stuck with me, I was told once this quote from Nicole, –
“A candle never loses any of it’s flame by lighting another candle.”
And I’ll never forget it. It’s the reason I hope to share what I’ve learnt and am continuing to learn with you all of you (and from you!) – because it’s just so damn rewarding. Even getting burnt on occasion, the good still outweighs the bad, by sticking together and wishing the best for those around you, you’re likely to get the good vibes right back.
So having the drive to create something new and better than what you’re doing is vital – and it’s so much easier and much more fun if you’re sharing that journey with someone else. I’m not saying you need to align yourself with another blogger who’s getting all the gigs – I’m saying find your peers – so you can share, strive and support one another. You can only win with the right person cheering you along.
The post What Makes A Successful Fashion Blogger appeared first on Zanita Studio.
By now, you’ve probably experienced the ebbs and flows of stress in life and although it’s inevitable, there’s one thing that’s constantly under your control: your attitude.
And since that’s something that directly impacts your performance, you should probably get it under control. In the realm of fashion, there are always infinite tasks that need to be done with tight deadlines and minimal resources. Because of the workload, the start of every season and preparation for special events are generally the most stressful. August marks the start of fall so stress pretty much sums up my life this week. I’ve been hassled multiple times throughout my life, but truth be told, none have gotten to me like this fashion thing. Here are the methods I’ve been using to tackle my stressful days:
When you’re 6 feet under your to-do list, it becomes pretty difficult to think rationally with an already clouded mind. Now’s the time to take a high-level snapshot of your tasks and tackle the most time-consuming ones with approaching deadlines first. Think about the importance of those tasks by considering who will be impacted by the outcome or who is depending on you for it. No one enjoys working after hours so don’t let the little ones perturb you. I find that ignoring the petty ones shorten that list and in turn, lower your stress levels.
Don’t focus on the little time you have to do all this work since it doesn’t matter and that just heightens your anxiety. You just need to start working…one at at time.
Through observation over the years, it appears that the ones complaining the most are the ones hardly working while the successful ones are actively knocking things off the list. Which of these groups do you belong to?
With your nerves through the roof, you’re probably overthinking your task list and this just creates more drama. There are even possibilities of you misunderstanding a project, which can be the worst when you’re working on something that was never relevant to begin with. I’ve caught myself doing this multiple times and it sucks! That’s why you need to talk things through with those around you. Someone may even be able to lend you a hand and cut your time short.
Everyone needs to disconnect from work even if it’s just for a little bit so figure out what that outlet is for you. Coffee breaks or indulging in junk food doesn’t count (and they don’t help either). Take a power nap, eat a hearty snack, or go for small talk with your co-workers. For me disconnecting means reading up on my favorite fashion blogs, taking a walk, and listening to music.
We all know this, but I should remind you that you that everyone needs a good workout for the fact that it pumps up your endorphins (the feel-good chemicals in your brain). We can all use an extra dose on a stressful day. Plus, it keeps you lookin’ good all the time.
I talked about disconnecting, which is merely a little break. So when the day’s finally over, you really should treat yourself. Indulge a bit with a glass of wine, a quick stop at the spa, buy something, eat cake, sleep for a long time – just do something small to reward yourself for being a warrior because it makes you feel good and you deserve it.
XO,
Image Source Credits – Vogue Brazil, Fashion Gone Rogue, GQ AU
The post Handling A Stressful Day – 6 Methods That Work appeared first on Zanita Studio.
By now I can quite comfortably say that this denim jacket is the most worn piece ever on my blog.
Where once I would feel guilt and regret over spending too much on jeans, now I know the real money wasted is on this shirt (for example) which I pick up at Zara pretty mindlessly and probably won’t survive three washes… I’m just a sucker for the cut and style. Yes, I’m feeling guilty – and I am a fan of Zara clothes (AND the campaigns!) but think the quality needs to be investigated well before making a purchase. I remember once buying a black and white skirt where the colours ran together when I wore it in the rain. Rookie mistake.
Writing this post from a hotel room in Bangkok! Here on a 12 hour layover en-route to Australia. I’ve left Sweden just in time for the good weather to arrive. So pissed about it…
The post An Ode To The Perfect Vintage Denim Jacket appeared first on Zanita Studio.
And if you can’t find your size, a very similar (also crazy fresh) option is available HERE.
What’s your favourite thing to wear with white sneakers?
The post Obsession Of The Week: The Perfect White Sneakers appeared first on Zanita Studio.
