New Year’s picnic
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Category Archives: Fashion
A little Christmas touch in the country
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Inspiration in my week
I had the good fortune to reconnect with a wonderful and talented artist, Benitta, who is going from strength to strength in her career. I found out that her amazing talent now includes that of set designer/illustrator for children’s shows around the world!
And I love her work with rhino sculptures for Sydney’s Taronga Zoo! I have 5 acres of backyard I’d love to fill with these! What do you think?
Elvis rhino
http://www.benitta.com
Of balloons and birthdays!
Today became all rather comedic, in a sadly twisted sort of way. Today would have been my Mum’s 98th birthday. Having lost her only 5 months ago, I had been searching for a way that could help me cope through today so that I wouldn’t remember it as a totally sad day.
So I decided on a course of action that I had never thought to do before but which I hoped would help me to release my emotions and maybe begin a new tradition for those days when I want her to know I am thinking of her. My aim was to pen a little note to her and tie it to a string of pretty balloons and release them into the wind. My loving wishes would be carried high and soar closer to the heavens and to her. Or so I planned.
The morning of my planned release it was discovered that balloons full of my hot air would hardly get off the ground, and that the thoughts I wanted to send sky-ward would in fact float like a lead balloon. An urgent call to the local party supply store ended in further disappointment – they were closed for the day, and helium hand-pumps I discovered are a rarity!
So while I continue to work towards making this new tradition to honour my Mum a reality, since it is her birthday I will dedicate this post to her, as a treasured mother who showed me that its never too late to try new things – she did after all emigrate from New Zealand to Australia at the age of 90! So although I didn’t get the balloons off the ground today, and since I think about her all the time, they will take flight very soon, with many more balloons to follow…
A very stylish lady
Fashionable memories
Dolce and Gabbana floral dress
In times of heartache it is nice to be reminded of happy, fun things, be it a bright toe-tapping tune, a pop of coloured blooms in a store window; things that bring a smile to your face.
For me, I was stirred when I popped into the Dolce & Gabbana boutique on Collins Street in Melbourne.
Dolce & Gabbana
The store had a fabulous display of some of the latest clothes from their SS 2014 collection. I loved this happy red dress with its playful polka-dots, long sleeves and flirty skirt. I think it is classic elegance and looks like it would be effortless to wear and you’d always turn heads wearing it.
With the recent passing of my Mum, the Dolce and Gabbana floral dress pictured reminded me how she helped me learn to sew as a teenager and helped me choose fabrics and patterns. Mum wasn’t a fan of black and I recall being a bit nervous when I wanted to buy a fabric that scattered dainty coloured flowers onto a black background – but she liked it and it was one of my favourite dresses. I will always remember my Mum as an elegant and accomplished lady; she was careful about how she dressed, and I like to think my sense of style is part of her legacy to me.
Hidden gem at Gucci Brisbane
Gucci is definitely my designer store of choice in Brisbane. The boutique not only has a vast array of handbags and wallets as you would expect, but it gets my tick for stocking a selection of clothing and shoes from Gucci’s current collections.
I buy from designers on occasion (Chanel, Balenciaga, YSL, Dior) and I always like to browse in their boutiques so I can see their new collections and touch the fabrics. A recent Gucci purchase ticked all my boxes, for quality as expected and in this case versatility too, but it ticked an added box for the fun I had in making the purchase.
That was because I discovered a little gem at Gucci – the rack in the back! A rack which sported substantial savings. While I was admiring the latest collection I was asked by the sales attendant in a professional yet almost conspiratorial manner if I’d like to see what was on this covert rack. He wasn’t the least bit condescending and even though I knew I would not be offered new season’s designs I still felt as though I was being treated to a special viewing.
Photo courtesy: style.com
And naturally I found a few pieces of interest on this special rack, including a stylish cocktail dress in russet silk from Gucci’s Fall 2013 Ready-to-Wear collection.
The rack savings were so generous that I must have spent a good 40 minutes trying on various items and the salesman, always courteous, was also listening to me, as to what I like to wear and how I like to look.
My final choice was between a black cocktail dress and a stunning silk-wool blend pencil skirt with inverted pleat, complete with sexy slit at the back and large bow detail at the waist.
Image courtesy: farfetch.com
I eventually chose the pencil skirt but not before I teamed it with a matching sleeveless, high-necked blouse. This is where the versatility came in. I bought two new pieces but achieved multiple outfits – I can wear them as separates for different looks or together, giving me the same seamless silhouette as a dress.
Block heels give a fresh boost to foot bling
Do you sometimes want a sexy daytime alternative to stilettos?
Flats are not a favoured option for me, high wedges work okay but most times I’d prefer a heel. The answer is the block heel. The good thing these days is that there is more choice for a thicker heel than the funky disco platforms and heels of the1970s.
Miu Miu has shaped a block heel in an open-toed shoe and Erdem has sexied up a pointy-toed pump with a contrast coloured heel. If a thick block heel is a bit too much of a stretch from a stiletto, Chanel has a knotted one but gives it a wider base, as worn by Katy Perry to Chanel’s Spring 2014 show (photo credit: INFphoto.com, style.com).
My favourite pair of walking shoes is Michael Kors denim and cork – they’re comfy, stylish and hold my feet securely.
I love these pointy-toed pumps by Donald J Pliner. These heels are transparent and while they are seemingly fragile they give solid support.
In the US this year I bought a pair of two-toned BCBMAXARIA sandals with a white block heel with silver detail.
(After racing up and down the Las Vegas Strip to find them in my size, I found that both Wittner and Betts at home in Brisbane stock the same sandal!)
The block heel is certainly in fashion this season with RMK, Ginger & Smart, Nude and Scanlan & Theodore all featuring the trend.
Every bag has its day
They think of everything in Las Vegas – one restaurant recognises the value of a lady’s handbag and have ‘bag chairs’ so one doesn’t need to place one’s precious handbag on the floor. How civilised. No need to rummage in one’s bag for a bag hook to dangle on the edge of the table, Tableau restaurant at Wynn Hotel and Casino has the perfect solution.
A chair for your favourite handbag
A bag chair is such a novel idea and I saw it capably accommodate conference satchels, backpacks, gym bags as well as handbags.
So, when I was given my first designer handbag, a Fendi, as a present while in Vegas I knew exactly where I wanted to wear it.
A high bar and mistaken identity in Vegas
Here’s to Vegas 2013 and in my first week of holiday here I have already visited the highest bar in Vegas at the Palms Casino. From dinner at the hotel’s Italian restaurant, Nove, I took a peak at ghostbar located on the 55th floor of the Palm’s Ivory Tower. From what I remember after red wine and a touch of vertigo, the view from the open-air lounge area, a concrete platform suspended from the building, was spectacular. The vertigo wasn’t helped by a section of glass set into the floor which left no illusion as to how far away the ground was.
The Palms ghost bar
A favourite spot to sit and people-watch is the Moderna bar at Aria. While quietly enjoying a cocktail, a couple of women, who were unknown to us and from their accent may have been Spanish, asked my husband and I if they could have their photo taken with us. When we asked why they wanted a photo with complete strangers, they replied that they thought we appeared in a TV show – mistaken identity is as close to fame as I’ll ever get!
Stella McCartney dress with flounced skirt
Maybe it was the new black and white Diane von Furstenberg dress I was wearing that gave an illusion of celebrity. I bought it, well because I liked it, but also because it reflected some of the elements of Stella McCartney’s previous fall collection (pictured here). I like the flounced skirt which kicks out and moves as you walk and the blocked colours, cleverly woven to accentuate the silhouette.
A new breed of muse
Apparently what is fashionable these days is for established fashion houses to collaborate with artists, sculptors and a new breed of muse to generate new perspectives for their brand.
Collaboration between creative minds isn’t new, neither is drawing inspiration from kindred spirits: Yves Saint Laurent favoured Catherine Deneuve, Givenchy iconised Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffanys.
Modern day muses typically derive from photography, music or art and are lending inspiration to both established designers and emerging brands.
At one time, muses added glamour and intrigue, now what they bring is a savvy market of millions of potential customers. When Kanye West chose to collaborate on footwear for Dion Lee’s Fall 2012 show in London, the rapper’s enthusiastic praise of the designer was tweeted to West’s 8 million followers.
Guess by Marciano chose Swedish blogger Elin Kling for their first-ever collaboration. Renowned for her award winning fashion blog (stylebykling), on-trend commentaries and street-nous style, Kling has added a new wave of street-cred to the brand. CEO Paul Marciano knows that bloggers have a serious amount of influence and Kling’s panache for restyling looks and redefining what is wearable and stylish reflects the brand’s direction to push their boundaries and branch out.
The most colourful in recent months has been Marc Jacobs’ collaboration with artist, Yayoi Kusama, who infused dotty havoc for Louis Vuitton Collection.
Stylleque 