Etro Spring/Summer 2015 Lookbook

Luxury brand Etro recently unveiled its spring/summer 2015 campaign, with a collection of upbeat designs and modern quirks. Key trends include checked suits and pop-art motifs, which have been paired with retro sneakers, for the ultimate in sports luxe styling. 

Give me all the prints. Give me all the suits. Give me all the sneakers. This campaign has pretty much complied with all my menswear must-haves - obsessed.

A Valentines Card Worth Giving

The only Valentines Day card I ever received was at age 8. And, yes, it was from "A Secret Admirer", also known as my mom. I've actually never celebrated Valentines Day with a significant other. Unless, you count the sweet nectar of Blue Agave or UltraFest as a Plus 1.

Valentines Day sort of reminds me of an intoxicated trance festival. Hallucinogens, rapid movements and regret. And, the desire to tell absolutely everyone that you had the most life-changing experience ever. I say if you're going to get your object of lust a Valentines Day card, you may as well communicate your loved-up desires with something a little different. 

BoyznBucks: Street Style Inspiration

BoyznBucks seriously know a thing or two about fashion. This talented group of musicians, producers, DJs and designers have redefined South African urban culture, with a spark of personality, social commentary and a whole lot of creativity. Obsessed. 

BoyznBucks are more than just your average group. They're a movement with growing cult status amongst South African youth culture, who influence the way we live, speak and dress. 

Cava da combo. Cava da sneakers. Umswenko. 

Culturally, the way we dress is probably the fastest way to assert your identity. You're a blank canvas, expressing yourself through an original combination of tees, sneakers and snapbacks. If you want to know what's on the minds of urban youth, the easiest way is to look at what they're wearing, and who they're listening to. 

"What excites me most about street wear is that it reflects the minds of urban youth, it’s the expression of individuality communicating a message that we’re fearless, bold and unafraid of making a statement. It’s a reflection of currently-subversive-soon-to-be-popular culture meaning it has the ability to influence our current culture. Street wear doesn’t exist in a vacuum, it’s a mirror of the music we listen to, the art we look at, the people we surround ourselves with; the individual creative intersection. That’s what excites me, is that we can use what we choose to put on our body as a challenge to the norm. Street wear is embraced by change agents and taste-makers who want to lead rather than follow." - Cherize Ross 

The Vibrancy of Youth..In a GIF.

I absolutely love these GIFs from photographer Ignacio Torres, which combine flying dust, confetti and young kids doing their thing. 

My enthusiasm for the GIF doesn't seem to be showing any sign of slowing down, no matter how many times I almost chunder from near-motion sickness. 

Torres has tried to capture the essence of youth, and celebrates this somewhat effortlessly, in a sort of free-falling sense of human energy. 

And, yes, I'm a little bit obsessed. 

Tinder: Free Advertising Space Really.

"We met on Tinder." Who really wants to shamelessly mouth these words when telling the world how they met their significant other?

Tinder gets a lot of flack for supposedly being a "sick or swim" online dating pool, brimming with weirdo’s, loners, mullets and desperados alike. I'd like to set the record straight.

I have Tinder. In fact, I've even been on a few mildly entertaining Tinder dates, and yes, I returned home without any scratches and my pride relatively intact. 

I started using the app in July last year - it was winter, Cape Town was playing a dirty weather game and I had zero desire to leave my bed on a Friday night. Best option? An online date, which saved me the trouble of putting my best face on, and still allowed me to lay in bed with a bag of Chuckles. 

I swiped my way through CT and gave zero fucks about my matches. Tinder was a shameless Turn Up on the dance floor, and I had no intention of meeting up with anyone. My profile practically reads as an award-winning advert - an amalgamation of perfect lighting, a Valencia filter and carefully crafted words. 

You're conveying your personal brand to a stream of hungry singles, attempting to incite some spark of interest and pretending to be relatively sane in the process. 

Tinder has gifted us with the opportunity to put our prettiest and fakest faces forward. You're adventurous, always up for a laugh, hate commitment and absolutely love trying out new things. Or, at least that's what the advert says. 

The truth is that we Tinder all the damn time. We swipe right, swipe left and wonder whether that guy across the street's fetish for floral shirts labels him an eccentric. Yes. Swipe right. We're scrolling through the streets, presenting ourselves as some sort of perfection, and hoping that your weird vibes with someone else's weird. Whether it be lust, love or a jig on the dance floor - we're almost always looking for a new way to satisfy those ardent urges. 

So, I say Tinder. Tinder your heart all the way to new conversations, new people and possible new reasons to swear off dating. We're expert first-daters, who have mastered the art of selling ourselves online, and do so with impeccable filters and witty one-liners. 

Tinder may be somewhat of a carnal impetus, seen through a distilled version of reality, but it’s definitely entertaining on a cold, rainy night. Certainly beats cuddling yourself.