My friend Lisa has launched a book called Bondi Style – a snapshot (or several) of life in Bondi, with a sartorial slant.
I was asked to launch the book the other night. Which was a little bit weird because I don’t fit the Bondi style, apart from the glasses I wear (big, black, bought for ten bucks in Hong Kong when I was filming there with MasterChef). I do kind of observe it from up close, however, like a daggy anthropologist. This is because I work and live in Bondi.
In a nutshell, Bondi style mirrors the place itself – rough as guts in places, with splashes of shiny pretension and bourgeoisness. It looks confused, but isn’t because it’s the sum of all the parts of craziness that reside there. It’s threads for schlepping, for riding a single-speed down the road for a quick swim followed by a glass of rose. You get the picture.
But it’s also about characters who’ve made lifestyle choices that allow them to dress as they feel, which when you live in these traps is mostly sunny and good. You might have caught my Sunday Life column about checking in with your “inside people”, that featured Eugene Tan from aquabumps. He’s in the book.
Buy a copy here for $39.95 or go to Ariel, Berkelouw, Icebergs Dining, NBI or Zabbriskie and other places where they sell Nice Books to Look At.
