big w | Frocks & Frou Frou

Rockstar Jeans: Old Navy

Boots: Duo

With everyone under the sun carrying mobile phones these days I suspect that wrist watches have gone from being a functional piece of your wardrobe that you would choose according to its features (second hand, date, waterproof) to being much more a fashion statement like a pair of earrings or a pretty necklace.

You’ve got big steel watches with more dials than the cockpit of a jet, super sleek minimalist pieces with no numbers, bright lolly-coloured plastic watches that are usually only good for one season.

JORD do wood watches, and I’ve never seen anything like them before. They’re chunky and a bit rustic, in a lovely “weekend away in the country” kind of way.

Inspired by the gorgeous hues and patinas found within different types of wood the guys behind JORD (meaning “earth, soil, land” in Swedish) set out to make a range of unique watches that are handcrafted from sustainable, globally sourced woods including bamboo, maple, sandalwood, cherry and teak.

Because each one is made from natural materials they’re all completely individual. They have scratch-proof glass, and stainless steel clasps, so they’re ideal for people who suffer from allergies due to nickel and cheap metals.

JORD is really keen to continue building their brand internationally, and asked whether they could send a watch to me for review.

I chose the Fieldcrest in Maple, which arrived nicely boxed and packaged.

It’s not the smallest watch; the face is 30mm in diameter in a 39mm setting and the band measures 20mm in width. But as I said above, watches these days are designed to make a statement, and JORD‘s watches certainly do.

It’s a simple and minimalist design that suits today’s casual weekend outfit of boots, jeans and cardigan perfectly.

Top: Big W

Skirt: Asos

Shoes: Mollini

A few weeks ago I bought myself a good quality fabric shaver, so now I feel a bit more confident giving this skirt a positive review. The pilling on the sides of the skirt finally reached the tipping point between natty and tatty, and I knew if I wanted to go on wearing it I’d have to do something about it.

I bought the Classic 50 Fabric Shaver at the QVM for $50, which was well beyond what I thought these little devices would go for. And sure enough, you can pick up a little battery operated version for under $10, but I’ve spoken to a few people since and apparently they’re crapola, so now I feel better about having (accidentally) splurged on the rolls royce of the fabric shaver world.

The guy at the market was totally lovely and helpful. He shaved my sleeve for me, and when I told him the only reason it wasn’t pilly was that I’d given it a go-over with my fabric comb that morning he sucked his breath in through his teeth and told me that they were terrible, and actually made things fluffier, which made them MORE pilly, which when I think about it makes sense. He then gave me the rundown on this device: it’s mains-operated which allows it to have a little suctiony fan to pull the pills up into the grill for maximum de-pillage. The replaceable blades are wicked sharp, and I’ve discovered (from experience, sob!) that you have to be REALLY careful not to run it over a fold or you’ll risk snipping a little hole in your sweater.

After I de-pilled my skirt I was so excited I pulled out every cheap cardigan and sweater in my wardrobe, and spent a cheerful evening in front of the telly shaving every little pill off.

Bloody hell, does it make a difference!

Anyhoo. That’s my exciting story (not really) about how I made my old stuff look new again.

Frocks & Frou Frou

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