Muse by Good Mixer

Bangkok’s Vertigo Bar

On the roof of Bangkok’s Banyan Tree Hotel is a dining experience like no other. The Vertigo Bar sits sixty one floors up, and serves delicious gourmet meals and cocktails. These are expensive by Thai standards, but cheap enough for shoestring travellers to indulge in now and then (a cocktail costs around AUD$12). I’ve spent hour after hour in the bar, drinking and smoking and taking in the amazing view. Most nights at Vertigo end the same, with fast-moving storm clouds rolling in without fail at about eleven pm. While wait staff scurry to move tables, and drunken diners navigate the steep stairs down to the safety of the hotel, the more hardy can sit and watch the clouds race closer and closer towards the building, soaking in both the atmosphere and the rainwater until the lightning gets too close for comfort.

Kim Gordon’s Mirror/Dash label

As a So-Cal suburban teen, I was a die-hard Sonic Youth lover. So when Kim Gordon launched X-Girl clothing in 1994, I became an insta-fan. My favorite T-shirt was electric blue and said X-Girl in neon orange and pink and wearing it immediately helped me separate the kids I’d like to know from the ones I wouldn’t: every jock would say. ‘X-Girl, does that mean you’re a dude now?’, while every music nerd would give a knowing nod of alliance. I still mourn its American, demise so I’m thrilled that Kim Gordon is back in the fashion game with a new line called Mirror/Dash, coming out February 16 at Urban Outfitters. The collection has a feminine, tomboy feel, much like Gordon herself, and features a slouchy pocket t-shirt dress, a casually sexy wrap dress, and the necessary blazer staple, among other items. Whether she’s rocking out with Thurston Moore in Sonic Youth, making art, or jamming with her other band Free Kitten, Kim Gordon continues to epitomize cool. And I have no doubt each piece in her collection will, too Read more

Camper Together with Bernhard Willhelm

The eagerly anticipated collaboration between Spanish footwear label Camper and Bernhard Willhelm debuted on the catwalk for the designer’s Spring 09 collection. Camper Together fuses the references and inspirations from Willhelm latest collection with Campers’ quality production techniques. Most popular is sure to be Willhelms’ take on the gladiator, with sandals constructed of ribbons and piping.

Sydney’s Satellite Espresso

Take a detour off Newtown’s main drag and you’ll find more than just unaffordable terraces and a place to park your car. The corner of Wilson and Brown is home to Satellite Espresso and one of the most impressive breakfast menus we’ve seen in a while. Step out of your egg and bacon comfort zone because there are more delicious options, like the fried herbed mash with kassler (double-smoked pork loins), homemade relish and rocket. Read more

Short Shorts

Now we’re not ones to create alarmism, but with summer in Australia almost here, we feel it’s our duty to warn the men in our lives. Board short lengths are on the rise, along with the fear of knee exposure amongst the male population. We know what you’re thinking. Real boardies cover the knee. You can surf in them, ride your pushy down to the beach in them, heck — you can even head up to the pub for a beer in them. But this season short shorts are here to stay, so it’s only a matter of time before you find yourself in the foetal position on a change room floor. Come on. What’s the worst that could happen — that people will see you have knees? Well, I guess you could find yourself on the Dads in Short Shorts Read more

Seventh Wonderland

If you’re not in the southern hemisphere, then we’d like to apologise in advance because one look at Seventh Wonderland’s latest swimwear collection will be a cruel reminder that there’s a summer happening somewhere. But it’s this very emotion that continues to inspire Sydney-based designers Bonnie Coumbe and Carlos Aviles. Read more