Vintage With Love

I was recently invited to a lovely, intimate breakfast with the ladies behind Vintage With Love - I had heard of the Jo'burg event, and was really interested in finding out what happens behind the scenes.

The concept is that fashionistas get to shop til they drop, and all proceeds go to literacy charities - that Jo'burg event? R750 000 in the bag, to help teach kiddies to read. Impressive or what? Not your aunties average pre-owned clothing sale - these ladies mean business.

Naturally the next step is to expand their reach to include Cape Town, which is where breakfast came in. The most fabulous Pnina Fenster charmed the pants off us, with tales of the fantasies that both vintage and the ability to read can weave in our lives.

"We've never lived in an age where fashion is so changeable and democratised - this age of consumption makes vintage all the more precious." Pnina felt that vintage is surrounded by the magic of chance - to find with a really great vintage piece is a serendipitous event in itself. How did this piece come to find you? Did someone fall in love wearing this?

Once we were well fed and whipped into a nostalgic frenzy by Pnina's anecdotes, we got down to brass tacks - how do we get involved?

The main event is to take place during the first weekend of June 2015, at The Forum Company in Constantia - but first, they need a hand from anyone looking to purge themselves of any gently worn fashion taking up space at the back of their wardrobes. (If only to make space for new things!)

Drop off points in Cape Town can be found at:

Callaghan Collezione, Cavendish
Studio 8, Claremont
Chic Mamas, Bergvliet
Hoity Toity, Oranjezicht
Desray, Western Cape
Mullers Optometrists (Cavendish, Claremont and Constantia)
Topaz, Constantia Centre
Cylnor Laundry, Somerset West
Pure Good, St Johns Road Gardens.

We'll see you all there!

Take a photo with Hello Pretty

We all dabble in some photography here at HQ, but nothing makes us feel quite so fancy as the complimentary gadgets - if you have a photographer in your life, we have all of your gifts sorted. You're welcome!

Happy shopping!

Save the Date

Personalised Statement Ring by Thula on Hello Pretty

This week, we all fell head over heels with this gorgeous handmade, hand engraved, personalised statement ring. This swoonworthy piece would make the perfect gift for any special occasion. Get it engraved with a meaningful date, and you and your sweetie's initials - perfect! You can order yours from Thula here.

We featured this ring in our newsletter this week, along with a curated collection of wedding-inspired items. There's a new theme every week, so if you'd like to be kept in the loop, sign up below!

Vote Hello Pretty in the South African eCommerce Awards 2014!

You know how much we love South African design. That's why we've spent the last year couple of years working our little heinies off to bring you and gorgeous locally made things together.

So, we'd like to ask you a small favour. We've been entered into the 2014 eCommerce awards, which is pretty darn awesome and makes us feel like a big deal.

If you like what we do, and want to stand the chance of winning an iPad, we'd love it if you'd take a second to vote for us. All you need to do is fill in this form:

* indicates required field

Show our logo some love and win!

So you guys, we're kind of awesome on Instagram - I kid! We're not thaaaat vain. But if you think we're awesome on Instagram, we won't turn down your nice words. In fact, this is one situation where flattery will get you EVERYWHERE.

We want to get your creative juices flowing - show us your best interpretation of our logo and you can win a whole bag full of Hello Pretty goodies. Great awesome hey?

How to do it?

Like Hello Pretty on Instagram
Like the super cool paper shaper Ross Symons aka @calvinrockstar on Instagram - he is the whizz behind our awesome origami logo!
Post your masterpiece on Instagram (if you don't have Instagram then Twitter will do - please note that only entry per person will be counted though), tag @helloprettysa and #HPLogo, and wait for the praise to come rolling in.

Easy right? Right. So now for the good stuff. What do you win?

A pair of Swallow earrings from Honey Song
Three adorable brooches from Fox & Heroine
A pack of ten Postick labels from Tatjana Buisson Design/Illustration
Four giftcards and two sets of gift tags from Papertrail
A handful of stickers from The Secret Love Project
A Hello Pretty tote
AND two R50 Hello Pretty vouchers!

So get in there! We can't wait to see what you all come up with.

Entries close at midnight on Thursday 31st of July. Please note that Hello Pretty's standard competition Ts and Cs apply.

Baby, it's cold outside...

Winter has well and truly arrived, pretties. And what better excuse for a gorgeous snowflake necklace with a cheeky little diamond? You can get yours from Emma Anne Jewellery right here. Wear it while cuddling up with a mug of hot chocolate and listening to this classic winter-themed duet.

We featured this necklace in our newsletter this week, along with a curated collection of other great winter-inspired goodies. If you'd like to be kept in the loop, sign up now!

A Hello Pretty Breakfast

We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day - so what better way to celebrate that than a breakfast inspired round up of designer products from the site?

Delicious right? Excuse me while I go hunt down an all you can eat breakfast buffet...

On a cloudy day...

Cloud themed products on hellopretty.co.za

I rustled up some cloud themed goodies from the site for your viewing pleasure, just because they're so darned adorable. They brighten up even cloudy days! (I crack myself up.)

Do you have a favourite?

Menswear Trends with Hello Pretty

Some of you may recall the Beeld Lifestyle article on menswear trends that we contributed to a little while ago - since we were sharing some premium intel (because we're totally humble), we decided to elaborate a bit further for you guys.

So menswear trends in 2014! These aren't so much predictions as observations as we go about our daily lives - the boys are getting more and more comfortable with expressing themselves, which is really great to see. And fun!

Prints are making a real splash, and florals aren't just being reserved for women anymore. What's nice is that if you're not a full male fashionista, the huge number of printed accessories for men are available that allow you to dip your toes into the trends. For example, printed bow ties, as well as a massive growth in the popularity of printed, quirky socks.

Statement shoes also seem to be making appearances everywhere - the printed trend also comes into play here, but for the more reserved guy even just brightly coloured sneakers are all over the place. Coming into play here as well is a trend that is becoming huge across all spheres of influence, not just mens fashion - being able to customise your shoes or sunglasses and own once off items in a world surrounded by mass production is very appealing. For example, one of our sellers, Eish Hade allows you to customise your sneakers. (Also reflective of the continued world wide rise of "craft")

Accessories like "man bags" are also very on trend - leather goods, for instance, are a classic and elegant investment that can stay with you for life. (for example, Savior Brand Co and Chartermade) Camo has been seeping back for a while - this does not mean it must be baggy! (oversized also doesn't necessarily equate to baggy) A tailored look is always on trend - South African men seem to be paying closer attention to taking better care of themselves, so stuff is fitting better, beards are trendy and groomed and people are just looking more put together.

Jewellery is becoming more widely accepted, with arm parties not being just for the ladies! "Africas" are popping up with increasing regularity, which are very special and unique, and wooden rings are hugely popular.

What's nice to see is that fashion is becoming a lot more accessible - I think the rise of male fashion bloggers also contribute to high fashion filtering down to the average guy. People are also looking to street style for inspiration more and more, as opposed to just glossy mags. Although we feel they feed off each other as well.

So that's what WE think. How about you? Do you have any suggestions or predictions for menswear trends?

Forever Young

You're never too old to appreciate a good soft toy! This guy is hand stitched from soft fuzzy felt, and you can get him from Heartfelt here.

We featured this in our newsletter this week, along with a curated collection of other great items for kids and babies. If you'd like to be kept in the loop, sign up now!

Hello Pretty is Winding Down

Hello Pretty