Archive
Tag "perth"

Sunday Hustle 07/08/11

By: admin
06-08-2011
sunday hustle

T.S. Eliot says the cruelest month is April, but I believe it’s August. The last biting frost of winter pinches at your cheeks, the sun teases you with fleeting cameos in an otherwise torrential day, and a gentle wind tussles your hair, reminding you to not forget your scarf tomorrow. Winter is drawing to a close and making way for long afternoons jumping through sprinklers and eating mangoes with spoons. Here’s to the last weeks of extra long, hot showers, and a summer worth of Katy Perry sing-a-longs.

Here’s what I was reading this week. Get yourself bundled up, gumnut baby. It’s still cold outside!

Ever seen But I’m a Cheerleader? If you haven’t, it’s a film about a cheerleader who is completely oblivious to the fact that her love of other women (which isn’t entirely sexual) is actually a problem. Friends and family intervene and she’s sent off to straight camp to be reprogrammed, where she’s taught how to perform gender according to society’s standards. Cue a hilarious piss-take on social norms and Clea Duvall! But did you know that these ‘straight camps’ actually exist? Brittany from XOJane.com writes of her experience as an insider spy at an ex-gay conference. Fairly alarming stuff!

In another meeting hall, Focus on the Family’s resident psychologist Bill Maier explained how living a sin-free life is a constant, painful struggling against your own nature. One man nodded violently as he got up and confessed that despite having two children with a woman, he had to fight his urges daily. Finally, Dan stood up, unable to take it. “That guy just admitted he’d rather be gay,” he practically shouted as he dragged me toward the nearest red EXIT sign. “I need some fucking fresh air!”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXHbjPaZJJs]

A school in Perth banned lesbian couples at the school ball. This story has received a lot of recognition in the press, and I’m so glad it’s made international headlines. Super happy to be over in Perth fighting the good fight!

Hayley O-Connor’s illustrations are sure to make you swoon. If you’re a fan of the same whimsical, soft and feminine work from Bec Winnel, Audrey Kawasaki and Courtney Brims, you’ll adore Hayley’s glittering and fantastical illustrations. Think romantic fairytale creatures and elvish and mysterious women. She’s featured in Yen Magazine this month, one of Australia’s best independent women’s publications. How I miss the days as their intern back in Leichhardt.

Source: hayleyo.com

Bitches are my favourite, and XOJane.com loves them too. Check out this tribute to the psychadelic fashion from Meredith Brook’s video clip. For those who might not recall dancing around in their living room celebrating the deliciously chaotic life of being a woman (I was so profound at 8), Meredith Brook’s rock ‘n’ roll number captures perfectly 1990s grrrrl culture and questionable (yet glorious) fashion choices.

The death of Amy Winehouse has seen an outpouring of obituaries from every single media outlet, but this one from the Guardian is one of my favourites. In a similar vain to an article I wrote for Tharunka last year, Laura Barton’s writes of a ferocious woman not afraid to dispel the Katy Perry illusion. Wonderfully messy, deeply depressive and tortured by the wretchedness that an addiction to drugs will bring, Amy Winehouse’s story of a good girl gone bad is the 21st century pop culture synecdoche for women winding down in their own decay.

Pop music had often cast women as sweet, bright creatures, but Winehouse’s lyrics revealed something mulchier, messier. Here was a woman who refused to conform – not in the eccentric mad woman in the attic mould of Kate Bush or Björk, but a woman who chose to live a little wild, follow her heart and sing of the simple stew of being female. Her songs were filled with broad talk, cussing, drink and drugs and dicks, songs that could hinge on one magnificent, unladylike question: “What kind of fuckery is this?”

Photo: via mammamia.com

In the wake of Amy Winehouse’s death, Rachel Hills writes of the difficult woman and the pop culture good girl stereotype.

This post is about VAGINA, and is courtesy of the lovely, smart and red hot Rachel Rabbit White. I was going to type lady-bits, but why euphamise such an amazing part of the human body when saying VAGINA is so pleasing? Consider this a clarion call for labia love. Nay to derogatory adjectives such as “deli meats” or “axe wound”. You possess a delicate flower, always nurture and show it the respect it deserves.

Beyonce on why we need a new word for feminism. Do you think the term feminism is exclusive? Do you refer to yourself as a feminist? Why? Why not? Let me hear your thoughts!

Happy Sunday amazing humans. X

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One on One with Lady of the Week Emma Bergmeier

By: admin
03-07-2011
fashion, interviews, Lady of the Month

Photography by Penny Lane, Beauty by Marie Princi, Model: Zoe @ Scene, Styling by Emma Bergmeier

Perth-based stylist and blogger Emma Bergmeier captures the understated beauty of Western Australian fashion and photography. Her blog Dropstitch is a visual treat for those with a giddy obsession for all things deliciously feminine, floral and dreamy. Think of it as a decadent cream bun with smatterings of lush Characterised by a distinctly Australian lilt, Dropstitch is a celebration of emerging talent, of which Emma is surely a part. I chose her as Lady of the Week, and this is the mini interview I did with her.

What do you love most about Perth fashion?

I love that Perth fashion is playful. Designers such as Jaime Lee,
Antipodium and Poppy Lissiman exemplify this with their amazing
collections, constantly pushing boundaries and encouraging us to have
fun with what we wear. The fashion scene here is also incredibly
welcoming - it's not so much competitive as it is supportive. There's
a great community of creative people living here.

What do you do as your day job?

I have two day jobs - by day I'm the Arts & Fashion Editor of
X-Press Magazine and by night I'm the Creative Director of All Of The
Above, an agency that represents photographers, stylists, hair and
makeup artists based in Perth.

When did you start Dropstitch?

I started Dropstitch about four years ago I think... although it
could be longer - feels like I've been blogging forever! In the
however-many-years-its-been since I started blogging the focus of
Dropstitch has changed a lot to reflect what I'm doing in life. It's
gone from being a street fashion photography site to being more of a
personal blog about my life as a stylist.

What are you most passionate about?

I'm most passionate about supporting the industry which has
supported me. The WA fashion industry is undergoing a renaissance of
sorts - people are finally starting to stay in Perth rather than
moving over east, which is what most talented folk from here have been
doing in recent history. As a result, there are more designers,
photographers, stylists, boutiques etc than ever before.

 

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22 going on 15: Being Part of the Boomerang Generation

By: admin
12-05-2011
photography, rants

I think I’ve been in Perth for almost a month now. To be quite honest, I think the parents saw it coming.  I used to be able to hide everything from them. Nights spent smoking in my closet with my best friend (yes, really!), forbidden facial piercings, secret lovers…Like most teenagers, I was a Pandora’s box to my parents. Nowadays, I have a lot less energy. They’re far from Yogis, but I think I dropped a number of not so subtle hints to dear old Ma and Pa regarding my inability to act like a Big Person. After two years of phone calls which usually began with the impression that I was a good, loving, smart and compassionate daughter, but more often than not ended with something along the lines of “Don’t tell me what to do! Just send money!”, I conceded defeat. A bitch called Life = 1, Camilla = 0. With my tail between my legs, I packed up all 23 boxes of my worldly possessions and hauled a suitcase half my body weight over to Western Australia. A place I swore I would never call home. A place where the majority of shops are closed on a Sunday. A place where the public transport system is only used by those who are too young too drive, or those who can’t afford to. Is there life on Mars?

Two years ago, my parents decided to retire to Perth. It’s a great place to recuperate, take stock, relax and think in retrospect. I always looked forward to my vacations away from the hustling, bustling, work-yourself-into-a-frenzy lifestyle pace of Sydney. But Perth was never really a place I thought suited me. Like most young 20-somethings, life is sweet when you’re when you take advantage of the drunken stumbling distance home from a boozy night out. Life is even better when you celebrate this fact by rendering yourself physically unable to walk home, despite living 5 minutes walk away (thank you, Vodka!). This was Sydney life for me, in a nutshell. I was born in Sydney, I was bred in Sydney. The 1994 bush fires, Mariah Carey’s brief visit to Westfield Miranda, the 2000 Olympic Games, the Cronulla Race Riots – I was there, man. But I kinda just fell out of love with ‘ol Sydney. And I really grew disenchanted with the whole lone wolf life-style I was leading.

Living out of home was definitely a learning curve. And it gives you boasting rights over your friends who still kick it with the parentals. You’re that cooler, wise-beyond-her-years, independent friend. You can bring home one night stands, you can decorate your home with 80s cardboard cut outs and ash trays in the shape of a pistols, eat ice cream for dinner. Ah, freedom. It smelt like a heady mix of cheap wine, a leaning tower of empty pizza boxes and unwashed sheets. It’s a delicious feeling as you triumphantly march past piles of dirty dishes and overflowing floor-drobes. Nobody to tell you what to do and if you’re lucky, your flat mates have the same shoe size as you.

Eventually the novelty wore off. Bills go unpaid, mould builds up in the shower, laundry goes unwashed, flat mates move on and leave you with an unfurnished apartment and no ADSL. Juggling landlords, real estate agents, internet connections, building managers, contracts and sharing living space with others is stressful. Especially whilst studying. On top of fighting over whose turn it is to buy toilet paper, you’ve got assignments, exams, work commitments and the stress of juggling it all whilst remaining classy. It’s not fun. It’s enough to drive a gal up the wazoo. Stress brings out the worst in people, and I definitely brought out Ugly Princess Bitch-face one too many times.

Which is why I decided to give sunny Perth a go. After four weeks, I finally feel at home. I might not be within somersault distance of the nearest bar, but I do have a sweet flat screen TV, access to a free laundry, a car, broadband internet and my own bathroom. Oh, and I guess the support of a loving family counts for something too. I’m a Boomerang Kid, and after a large helpful of humble pie, I couldn’t feel happier.

All photos taken by moi, in and around Perth.

 

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I am 20-something-year-old who writes things. Sometimes I mention fashion, youth ISSUEZ, gender discussion, media analysis, and popular culture hype. Sometimes I'm NSFW. If you don't like that, that's ok. I still like you!

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All material, including feature articles, rants, slugs and photographs are the intellectual property of CAMILLA PEFFER unless otherwise stated. These may not be reproduced without explicit permission (see the Copyright Act of 1968 for some leisurely reading) . Where material reproduced on this blog is not my own, I do endeavour to give credit where necessary. Occasionally I like to feature the work of others, including a range of media such as videos, images, blog entries and feature articles. This material will be attributed and adored where necessary. If I have featured work of yours on GAMFP and not given you sufficient credit, please let me know!

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