1 month to go

Christmas is one month away from today and to say that I was getting excited would be an understatement.  For someone that loves to shop, buying Christmas presents is the perfect excuse to splurge and get out and discover great new gift ideas.  I've collated some of my favourite finds which I myself would love to receive so I'm assuming other people would as well.

Gifts clockwise from top left are: Tiffany & Co charms, Glasshouse Tahaa vanilla and caramel candle (this may just be one of the best things you will ever smell in your life!), Miss Lanvin 32 figure, Yves Saint Laurent classic gloss, Marc Jacobs Cocktail Splash Curacao 300ml, Louis Vuitton bag charm and Christian Louboutin book.

Loving Gossip Girl season five fashion

As the fifth season of Gossip Girl becomes as intense, mysterious and dramatic as ever so do the outfits which the stars wear.  The costume department headed by Eric Daman never disappoint and do extremely well to portray each characters' personality through their attire.  In this week's episode All the Pretty Sources Serena throws Blair a Tiffany's themed bridal shower.  For the event Serena wears an eye-catching, printed Mary Katrantzou dress from the S/S11 collection.  The dress is teamed with an equally eye-catching pair of Christian Louboutin Winter Trash slingbacks.
(And by the way, a Tiffany's themed party is a great idea and allows for the prettiest of decorations.  I must remember this if I ever need a witty but elegant theme for an event.)

A taste of the twenties

At the moment I am completely obsessed with the fashion and sociology of the 1920s or the "roaring 20s" as they were more affectionately known.  Three things have sparked this current fascination with the decade.  The first is the new adaptation of The Great Gatsby (one of my all time favourite books) currently being filmed in Sydney, the second is the television series Underbelly Razor and finding a gorgeous vintage 1920s style dress last week just tipped me over the edge into a full-blown obsession!

In the spirit of my love for the 1920s I thought I would share a few images that I thought were noteworthy and have fueled my fixation.

Ralph Lauren's recent Great Gatsby inspired collection

1920s style pieces available now at Net-A-Porter

Shots from the set of the Great Gatsby in Sydney

Chelsie Preston Crayford as Tilly Devine in Underbelly Razor

Chanel dresses from 1926 and 1927

Pretty heels and gorgeous blouses

Loving these new pieces which came out recently.  I am a huge fan of the YSL tribute sandals and this suede multi-colour pair are no exception!

Paris Fashion Week

Paris was... Paris!  The world's fashion capital for centuries did not disappoint.  Every designer had something noteworthy so I've just pulled out a few that caught my eye.  I'm so into pastels and cute 50's or 60s styles for summer and you can totally see this in the selection of designers I have chosen to put on here.

Isabel Marant
Edgy but feminine at the same time.  I really liked the mox of pink 'girly' pieces and metallics.

Viktor & Rolf
Interesting dresses as usual, pastels were used a fair bit like a lot of the other designers I chose to show on here.

Alexander McQueen
At the moment I am really interesting in boroque and medieval influences and there is no denying that they are well and truly in this collection.

Chanel and Louis Vuitton
How similar are these two?  I like them both, but I just think they are so similar in a lot of ways...

Milan Fashion Week (finally)

So far, New York has been my favourite week by far.  I just didn't feel the same immediate liking to the looks in the London and Milan shows.  There were some exceptions though that I thought were pretty amazing. 

Dolce & Gabbana's vegetable prints were very unusual but somehow worked and could be the new Prada fruit print!  I guess that's what makes this design duo so successful.

Etro also really appealed to me.  I think it was the graphic prints and lines worked in with so many different colours.  The silhouettes were really well though through and fluid and feminine but slightly tailored at the same time.

I didn't loooove D&G but I'll add them here on the end because of the innovative ways they've used scarves for everything - skirts, shoes, dress.

Instagram Love

So I've had Instagram for ages but haven't really used it at all.  Until this afternoon.  It's a good way to cure boredom creatively, especially while taking a break from a pile of assignments so big you're scared they might bury you alive.

Busy busy!

It's nearing the end of the semester at uni which means I have multiple pieces off assessment due per week for about the next month.  This means I will be extremely slow at publishing my posts on Milan and Paris, which is a shame because they were both amazing!  I will be spending my weekend planning and rehearsing a persuasive speech about how fashion should be available in senior high school to students who wish to study it, including the history, politics, structures, theories etc that go along with it all.  It would have been so helpful to me when I was at school instead of studying six subjects that have nothing to do with what I am doing at university.  Enough of me getting overly passionate about my views, here are a few images of products I've come across lately that I thought were a little special.  Enjoy!

Balenciaga key rings, I feel like a little kid but there's just something that will always get me hooked when things which were great to start with are made miniature.

In a cost-per-wear sense these would be the cheapest shoes I'd ever bought.  They are everything I am loving right now - an aminal print, loafer/anything that is traditionally a mens style and a little bit of toughness in the form of the studs... love love love.


And... I just couldn't resist a little bit of street style considering the past month or so has been filled with the world's fash pack congregating outside runway shows in their most beautiful, outrageous, chic and inspiring attire.  Tommy Ton you are a genius by the way!

(images from style.com)

London Fashion Week

London Fashion Week was short and didn't showcase a huge amount of labels but I have managed to grab some images of a few I liked. 

Burberry Prorsum - loved the simple black tee worked with statement pieces and their ever changing take on the legendary trench coat.  The hats were also a really cool part of the looks along with great bags and heels.

Mary Katrantzou - she has a true gift to mix together some of the crazy prints she does and to bring it all together as amazing pieces.  The silhouettes are also great, ranging from feminine to suits.

Mulberry - more of the pastels we saw in New York with a few darker looks towards the end of the show.  As always with Mulberry they presented bags which will be on everyone's 'i want' list for the rest of the season.  I already NEED the jade green Bayswater in the far left image!

Something a little more fancy

With the Emmys and Brownlow Medal ceremony recently I got into looking at gowns fit for a black tie event or the red carpet so I thought I'd just post my selection.  I love looking at these kind of dresses you could only ever dream of wearing, or having an event to wear it to! 

Converted

When Chanel released the "Boy Bag Collection" I was quick to judge harshly and refused to like the new range of handbags and wallets.  How could Lagerfeld throw in anything that even leans towards androgyny?  I mean with the 2.55, the classic flap and the Mademoiselle ranges are all extremely feminine.  But very recently something has changed, I don't know what but I have been converted to loving this collection.  I would go as far as saying I would prefer one of these bags over possibly the world's most effortlessly chic, timeless handbag the black quilted classic flap, because everyone seems to be carrying one these days.  The Boy Bags are much less common but still recognisable as Chanel to a half trained eye.  I'm defnitely in lust, deep lust and love may soon be coming...

 And some favourite individual pieces...

Match made in heaven

Australian accessories label Oroton has tried to revive its image and become popular among the younger, fashionable crowd.  As far as the designs go they are doing pretty well and there are a few pieces I definitely wouldn't say no to.  To further boost their new found youth they have hunted down the amazing street style photographer Tommy Ton of Jak & Jil (jakandjil.com).  Such a great choice of photographer for the times, when street style blogs are taking over fashion and forcing traditional media to reevaluate how they do things.  It looks as though Ton has shot the images as he would on the street outside a runway show, steering clear of studios and an 'over set up' feel.  Having a widely known, of the monent, international photographer could also boost exposure for Oroton more than they'd imagine.

Short wrap up of the Emmys

The Emmys could not be held at a worse time in terms of coverage in fashion media.  In the middle of September we have hundreds of new season runway shows to check out and not much time for television stars in pretty gowns.  Of course there will always be the shockers but I am only going to post a few images of some of my favourite celeb looks.  Elie Saab did really well, being worn by a fairly large amount of women, and why wouldn't they choose him?  Lately he can do no wrong!

New York Fashion Week

Here in Australia, the temperatures are already starting to rise as we shift into summer. So each September I absolutely adore seeing next year’s northern hemisphere spring/summer collections just in time to draw inspiration into my summer wardrobe.  I’ve picked up on a few trends that I am really loving: pastels, knee length skirts and prints galore... graphic prints on plain white or black, cute candy prints and florals of all varieties. 

I couldn’t find just one label that I absolutely loved so I managed to narrow it down to five.  So I apologise for the overly long post but this amount of new material only comes around twice a year in the world of fashion.  And of course, I will try to evaluate London, Paris and Milan as well... all in good time though (uni assessment season is coming around extremely fast much to my horror).

Preen

I’ve always had a soft spot for Preen and this collection has only reinforced that.  Around nine of the looks from the beginning of the show all utilised some element of a pastel, square print that has me obsessed.  The colours, the prints, the styles it was all just perfect in my eyes.

Zac Posen

Posen included a fair few formal/ball gowns in his show which is something not a lot of others have done.  It’s not a bad idea since he doesn’t have the luxury of couture shows but still wants to establish himself as a big player in the awards ceremony circuit, if you could call it that.  After Carrie Bradshaw’s three bridesmaids’ dresses which were all perfectly matching but mismatched Posen has caught my eye as a maker of amazing gowns.  Darker colours have mainly be used, not an obvious choice for spring or summer but he makes it work.  I also like the ‘suit jacket feel’ that appears in the first few looks.

Ralph Lauren

Definitely channelling The Great Gatsby, he was the costume designer for the original movie, Lauren has ticked all the boxes – pastels, great hats, 1920s silhouettes.  All this is getting me even more excited for the new Great Gatsby movie currently being shot in Sydney, hopefully it will do the book justice!

Alice + Olivia

What a mix!  There was everything from 1960s and 70s inspired styles, neon colours, pretty florals and candy stripes.  I don’t know how they managed to incorporate all of these ‘ingredients’ and not dish up a less than appetising product but they did it.  And I am loving the hats, nothing says summers day quite like a bright oversized brimmed hat. 

Derek Lam

Derek Lam’s collection comprised of patterns, prints, bold colours and knee length skirts.  I know, it sounds like every other designer I have talked about but I don’t know what it is, I just love it all.  The first word that popped into my head while viewing the stills from the show was ‘cool.’  It just all came together perfectly and had a great summery feel to it.  He also incorporated some leather into the collection which is something I haven’t seen as much of as previous seasons.

Cannot wait to get into pastels this summer!  But I must keep an open mind and wait to see what the next few weeks deliver.

An amazing exhibition!

As a fan of Charlotte Smith's books I was ecstatic to hear that a small exhibition of some of the clothes from Dreaming of Chanel would be coming to Brisbane!  The exhibition finally arrived, and it did not disappoint.  There were pieces from a period of about a hundred years and also a reasonably small collection of shoes, accessories and artefacts.  Illustrations of some of the garments by Grant Cowan also adorned the bold dark blue and baby pink striped walls of the gallery space.  One of my favourite outfits was a 1920s ensemble of an evening dress with a fox thrown over the shoulder as an accessory.  It reminds me so much of a photo of my great-grandmother wearing something nearly identical, a photo which I was incredibly intrigued by when I first saw it.

I'll leave you with a few photos from the collection (excuse the iphone quality)

MBFF 2011

Last week Brisbane hosted Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival but I didn't get the chance to check out any of the shows.  But I've had a look at the photos and there are a few looks I liked and want to share.

Camilla

 Easton Pearson

Eva Lilly 

Samantha Ogilvie

Inspiration

If there's one thing that gets me through it's looking at photos on The Coveteur.  Having a wardrobe similar to any of those featured on the site is definitely a goal I aspire to, and they're just so pretty to look at.  So I've just plucked a few images from some wardrobes that I would class as noteworthy.

Khloé Kardashian's impressive shoe collection, keeping in mind this is only one section of it, and Hervé Léger dress.

 Nicky Hilton's Balenciaga bag and Alexander McQueen scarf collections and classic Chanel pumps.

Stylist Annabel Tollman's Hermes bag and Valentino shoes.

Louise Roe's Giles dress and Christian Louboutin shoes.

On that note I should probably get back to uni work now I'm fuelled with inspiration!