you look lovely today... just today?

What a week this has been! Firstly, the couture shows stomped in and demanded our attention with fabulous frou and frippery, a reminder that imagination and creativity will outlast any global economic crisis. Who could fail to be moved by Christian Lacroix's potentially last show, funded completely by private donors and receiving a standing ovation at the end. Expect a post on that this weekend. Furthermore Christian Dior and Armani mined popular culture for influences in their shows, Christian Dior taking a leaf out of Lady Gaga's pantsless parade, and Armani sending models down the runway in choppy jet black bobs, the Posh Spice cut? 

But in Australia another source of interest has been the finale of Australia's next model that pitted curvaceous bombshell Tahnee against bambi heroin chic Cassi. The outcome was not surprising, considering that the competition is moving more towards a personality contest than a search for a fashion model, but i am disappointed. THey missed a real chance to launch another australian modelling success into the high fashion circuit. 

 Moving on... 

Sienna Miller

celebutopia

Oh sienna. There are so many questions i'd like to ask you, like how was it kissing heath ledger, is it really awkward between you and kate moss, and how do you get your hair looking so shiny and radiant ALL THE TIME. Say what you want about the girl but she can pull together a casual outfit without a bat of the eyelid. This ease of dressing, this complete effortless-ness in looking chic sometimes doesn't translate so well to the red carpet, but in candid paparazzi photos she is every bit the ebullient beauty we all know her to be. Who cares if the girl can't act, with balenciaga shoes like those, does it really matter? 

Marion Cotillard

celebuzz

Imagine my delight, but not surprise being the face of Lady Dior after all, when photos surfaced of Marion Cotillard, one of my most favourite actresses at the Dior Couture show. It was a beautiful collection of classic dior shapes, colours and styles show in the Ave Montaigne showroom itself. Back to roots. Boring black? i don't think so. With the right accesories, and who does accesories better than Dior, Marion took this outfit from simple and boring to chic and, well, french. The french comparisons are inescapable because she sums up exactly everything that is so laudable about french style, understatement, but not underwhelming. This LBD is perfect, if only i could find one with a less Dior-range price tag. The narrow belt cinched in at the actual waist and not the high waist is a glamorous touch, and those fabulous FW 09 shoes are incredible. Parfait!

Cate Blanchett

Celebutopia

Not the best angle, but it was the only one i could find on tfs that showed her whole outfit and not just a top half pic of her sitting front row at the Armani couture show next to who else but Megan Fox. I wonder what they would have talked about, and what Cate's opinion of her is (considering that i find Megan Fox really fascinating, oddly enough). I love Cate, she is a beautiful of someone ageing gracefully and with their sense of style, glamour and taste intact. This dress is incredible, those shoulders are an amazingly chic way of tackling the strong shoulder trend, i love the way they go up and out instead of out and out. They almost add that whole element of Asian style ornamental shoulder clasps, compounding the chinoiserie of the print it's very clever of Armani to manipulate silhouette and pattern together to create a composite garment. And by gosh Cate wears it so well. 

Emma Roberts

Celebuzz

 

From one strong shoulder to another... this trend is taking over the one, one pad at a time. I am against the strong shoulder for myself, god knows i dont need to add anything to my already ample shoulder broad-ness, but objectively the trend is a great one, even if it has been done to death and copied to within an inch of its life. What's also great about this outfit is that, conversely to Cate, Emma is managing to capture her youth without sacrificing chic and style. I think that sometimes these young starlets feel that they have to dress older than they actually are to appear mature and bankable. Take, for example, Megan Fox, who is only 21 (or 22?) and yet dresses like the vampish Jessica Rabbit in her 30s. Say what you will about the cookie cutter tween starlets (Taylor swift, much?) at least they're running around in converse and cute topshop gowns, and not stiletto heels and balmain (i'm looking at you, Miley!). Well done Emma for rocking a smoky eye, pulled back hair, vampish red nail polish and such a gorgeous louis vuitton jacket toned down with a simple tee and jeans. Great choices, great style. 

Dasha Zhukova

tfs

This 'you look lovely today' post has been really dressed down, hardly any crazy red carpet frocks at all, but i suppose i'm in that sort of mood. A lot of people have been complaining that Dasha was too dressed down for the Haute Couture Dior show but i beg to differ, the whole mood of couture, as i noted yesterday, is shifting, as is the whole fashion industry. They are embracing elegance over extravagance and timelessness over timeliness. Dasha is cute in this ensemble, the nude belt serves to break up the blocks of colour and pattern as well as tying into her clutch, and the strappy sandals are just gorgeous. I imagine it is sweltering with heat right now in Paris, and so these kind of choices make sense, even if they don't make you sigh. 

TGIF! i'm in hong kong now, catch you on the flipside!

X

all packed up with nowhere to go.

I adore packing. It's some sort of obsession i have about neatness and compact wardrobes, i love planning ahead, setting everything aside, and then assembling them with precision and ease into one of my many suitcases. It's calming, in a bizarre way, and i'll never understand the people who don't like it. What's not to like about assembling the perfect wardrobe for various occassions?

Take this trip to Hong Kong that i am about to embark on. Like all holidays it poses a few packing problems, hurdles that i must first leap over before i can declare the packing a success.

1. The important function. 

coral necklace, wittner heels, garconne skirt, topshop biker jacket (similar to the sportsgirl one), topshop crop top

almost all holidays have one of these. they are usually the reason for the trip in the first place. Mine is my grandfather's birthday party. Lots of chinese relatives that i must smile at awkwardly because i can't speak chinese and they can't speak english. Have to wear something that won't distract from the huuuuuge banquet (we're asian, it's what we do best!) and centrepiece of hundreds of plastic flowers with fake water droplets attached to them. 

Anothing issue: the chinese fascination bordering on obsession with air conditioning. Understandably in a city as humid and hot as Hong Kong, but not at the level that they do it, it could be 50 degrees outside but it will never breach 20 inside. And that's in an economic household. Whenever we have functions we crank up the air conditioning to incredible levels, meaning that I have to be prepared to be very cold. That means layers, which, luckily, is my middle name. 

So the best thing to do is go for simple and sleek. I'm planning on wearing my recently found (read: unearthed at the bottom of my mum's wardrobe) floor length calvin klein maxi skirt (looooove the long skirt!) in a beautiful sheeny black with 5% lycra paired with either my bassike white tee shirt, beautiful quality (haven't yet managed to find my perfect silk tee shirt yet!) or my new topshop crop top in a 'slinky' material and a short grey cardigan and my suede rick owens biker jacket rip off from sportsgirl. I was going to wear it with my treasured rock crystal necklace from COS but it broke on monday when i was in the city, the crystal fell off and i only realised hours later. *tear* am going to try and find a replacement for it in hong kong. 

2. the weather

topshop knit, rayban wayfarers, sigerson morrison gladiators, topshop crop top, josh goot maxi skirt, ann demeulemeester fringe scarf, garconne skirt, topshop cardigan, casio watch, marni bag, kain tee shirt, seafolly one piece. 

almost invariably the place you are visiting on holiday will have a different weather. In fact, this difference of weather is often a defining deal maker for the holiday in the first place. For me the weather in hong kong, especially in the heat of july, is unbearable. But, unfortunately, it must be born in the name of familial obligation. *sigh*. I have to pack for heat, humidity, sticky hot winds and sweaty days of crowded cities... This is the person who owns about 20 coats but not one pair of shorts, and i live in australia. 

The best thing for me in summer is the maxi skirt/dress. I live in it. It's cool, breezy and doesn't sacrifice an inch of glamour. I pair them (i have a fair few haha) with crop tops, loose oversized tees and light cardigans. Also good in summer heat for me are some baggy tunic dresses worn with crop tops layered over that (i'm big on the summer layer to battle all eventualities), my new topshop rodarte-esque knit is light and cool, perfect for summer, and my floaty tye dye josh goot skirt is the best in hot weather. A stylish one piece (yes, garance, us aussies actually do wear them!) is also necessary for all the pool-side lounging with cocktails i am planning on doing. I'm also debating about adding a pair of cropped pants to the mix, kind of cigarette pants, tapered and pleated at the front, and super comfortable. Still deciding on that front. 

In terms of accesories i'm taking rayban wayfarers, the trusty gladiator sandals that are falling to pieces but have certainly served me well. I'll give them one last hurrah in hong kong before needing another pair for this summer. My marni bag is going to be my carry-all. A light pashmina scarf for night time coverage and a lovely panama hat given to me by my godfather when i expressed delight in his extensive hat collection.  

3. the plane. 

wolford leggings, APC dress, topshop crop top, topshop jacket, lanvin ballet flats, vogue uk, rayban glasses. 

the age old dilemma that has plagued holiday goers for years - what do you wear on the plane? comfort is an issue, especially when flying anywhere decent from australia because i will guarantee you that it will take a matter of good hours to get there. But then comfort can be achieved without sacrificing any style. Also a problem is catering to both the weather in the city where you are leaving and that of the city you are arriving. very cold in sydney to warm and humid HK. great. 

What i'm going to wear is a baggy smock dress with pockets, underneath a grey crop top and leggings. This way when i get to hong kong i can take the leggings off if it's unbearably hot, and likewise with the crop top. 

***

Aren't i just a packing genius? Along with all this are the essentials, a Vogue UK for the plane (and then some after), some lovely new books such as my summer of love (thankyou abby for making the recommendation) and the unbearable lightness of scones by alexander mccall smith. A block of gorgeous green and blacks mayan chocolate for nibbling, a fully charged ipod with a host of new music on it, and a notebook and pen to scribble away in if i get existential during the flight.

 Can't wait to get back and report on purchases! The sales are on! And there is an H&M in hong kong! And i'm going to the jade and pearl markets, Mong Kok's worst kept secret where people will make up jewelry for you in the hour. Looking to try and get a copy of those amazing lanvin necklaces on grosgrain ribbon, taking a supply of some with me for that express purpose.  Catch you on the flipside (there will be a few little scheduled posts, but until then not much blogging unfortunately ).

miss you all already!

X

Exit the King.

It seems as if this year is destined to be the year that we say goodbye to the greats of creativity. Although Christian Lacroix hasn't died, his eponymous label, synonymous with extravagance and parisienne opulence, has fallen under due to the hard times of the recession and the cold harsh reality of consumer driven luxury sales turning to brand names rather than quality. 

The talk that his most recent couture show, an intimate and sombre affair funded entirely by private donors due to the sheer lack of funds, would be his last is a saddening thought personally and for the whole of the industry. It is casting my mind back way into the archives of this blog but i have posted about lacroix before to say that Spring/Summer 06 Haute Couture show was a defining fashion moment for me. That frippery, that elegance, that gauche extravagance, it enchanted and inspired me to dream about a world where women wore such incredible creations every day. Where high fashion was absolutely normal. I still have that tattered cut out of  a doll faced Lily Cole in a frou frou white ballgown, beautifully finished and wonderfully executed, black feather embellishments underneath the hem that revealed themselves as she walked. Amazing in movement. Real, heart-stoppingly incroyable fashion. 

 

Which is why i am so saddened to think that he will no longer be providing the fashion industry and wider public with an unashamed gluttonous feast for the eyes through clothes. The no holds barred approach that he took to design, the delicate embellishments of beading, sequins, pailettes and ribbons, the bright and bold colours, the mish mash of textures, materials and silhouettes, the over the top styling, the  theatrical nature of the garments... If you spoke to an average person on the street and asked them about couture they would probably describe to you a lacroix look. His designs are synonymous with extravagance, and thus, couture. 

This show was definitely a step away from this. His usual exuberant and sunny opulence was tempered with a bit of sobriety, a recognition of the difficult position his company is in and the harsh reality of the uphill trek that the whole fashion industry, especially haute couture and luxury, must face before they are completely out of the woods. In our society of penny pinching and temperance there is not time any more for the trapholds of luxury and what is deemed unnecessary indulgences. The whole of the industry is feeling the pinch, and it has become a real struggle for designers to still create that transformative, magical, fantasy element of couture without the frou and frippery of yesterday. At Dior we saw a stripping back of Galliano's stage presence and theatricals, both in terms of set (no smoke, mirrors, flashy lights and loud music, instead a chic setting in the showrooms of the avenue montaigne flagship) and design (the looks often paired a bold suit jacket in traditional dior shapes with modern embellishments paired with nude 50s undergarments, ie, no pants). 

What resulted from Lacroix however was an incredibly tasteful and yet somberly glamorous collection that will forever stand as a farewell, if not from couture and design altogether (he has been resurrected from the fashion dead before) then at least from his previous aesthetic. It was Lacroix, but it was toned down. The bright colours were gone, this palette was black and white with hints of pastels and neutrals, a nod to the dark mood in fashion at the moment. The dark colours also made the embellishments and embroidery, still there, this is Lacroix after all, harder to see. There was a host of inspirations from Valentino to Balenciaga to Chanel, but hey, a designer is only as good as his influences. What i was really excited to see was Lacroix take all the trends at the moment and put his own stamp on them, a stamp that is instantly recognisable. Yards of lace, fistfuls of beads, bold shapes, beautifully executed drapery, headgear that Stephen Jones would die for and a general air of French opulence that is so characteristic of the parisiennes. 

And despite all the dark colour and sometimes simple outfits and pared back design that couture fashion magic was still there, and in the oddest, most simple ways. A plain black floor length dress with a cloud of netting and feathers at the neckline of the bodice conjured up images of a 1940s nightclub singer beauty. The scalloped hem coat dress managed to develop a trend that many thought designed for the hipsters only for a wider market. 

Most stunning, and destined to become another great fashion moment for me, was the finale dress of a russian inspired (think the chanel paris moscow pre fall collection) wedding dress. After look after look of down-hearted, almost sad resignation to his fat Lacroix erupts with a fabulous bang, a gloriously embellished beauty of a dress with cascading lace sleeves, bright flowers and a towering head-dress the likes of which was last seen on Queen Amidala in Star Wars. As always with lacroix, truly visionary, managing to be timeless and yet on trend at the same time. Or at least as on trend as a wedding dress could possibly be. 

Is this his last hurrah? only time will tell.  In the past Lacroix has managed to triumph through all adversity, especially financial, so who knows. My heart says, though, that the world of couture is changing, and the style of the Lacroixs and Gallianos of this world are losing their impact in the fact of sporty wangster minimalism. I wish that all the various elements of fashion could co-exist harmoniously, but the market is not there for that. It's all about what's hot now, and flashing your money in the way that couture requires is definitely not what's hot now. This subtle, almost imperceptible shift is saddening and brings me no small amount of dismay. People should see couture for what it really is for so many people, especially those who aren't clients, a window into another world. A fantasy land just like any other show that allows a glimpse into a fashion that is so beautiful and rarefied that it belongs to some people only. 

I just hope that if and when Lacroix makes his comeback he will not be disillusioned by the state of fashion. He is one of the major players in haute couture, and his rousing standing ovation during this most recent show is testament to how much influence, experience and overwhelming respect the industry has for him. Without his unrestrained exuberance and wild style that won him no favours among the minimalism taste but set a precedence in couture for boldness, brashness and brightness the world of haute couture will be a very different place. 

Love live the king. 

X

 

WWD

world enough and time...

The best thing about vintage clothing - better than finding an original Jeanne Lanvin dropwaist overshirt, better than seeing your grandmother's wedding dress, lace as pearly as if it was the big day, better than unearthing the perfect pair of distressed Levi's for less than a fiver - is that it's like having your own personal time travel machine.

Forget waiting around for David Tennant to park his deliciously deceptive ('oh, it's bigger on the inside!') police call box T.A.R.D.I.S in your backyard, all you need to traverse the roads of time, and sometimes space, is enough money for a trip to the nearest op shop, a brief perusal of ebay, or, if money is tight - and when isn't it these days - the upwards mobility towards your nearest attic, grandmother's tea chests or removalists' boxes never unpacked and shoved in dark corners. The finest lucky dip there is, where each slightly musty garment is the key to a journey somewhere marvelous. 

And just like in normal, country to country travel every destination is as fascinating as the next. The broderie anglaise sundress, handmade by my grandmother when she was just 15, material sourced from the local markets, tells a tale of sweltering australian summers. So hot your feet burnt as they made small steps across the cracked clay of the ground. When I loop each button I become my grandmother, yearning for something beautiful in her life, making an impractical sundress out of white lace. Spending each summer day, lounging around on the banks of a creek, dangling her feet into the water, dragging her feet in the orange sand, the stains of ochre dust still visible on the hem. With a pair of worn in sandals and a yearning look on my face I can be in that 1950s summer, longing for adventure and beauty, just like my grandmother.

 

If you don't know the story, or the destination, you can just invent it yourself - perfectly easy with a vivid imagination and some inspiration from films, music and books. After spending one lovelorn summer nursing a broken heart by listening to billie holiday on repeat it seemed that everything i wore had a 1930s twist. I spent stolen hours after school and weekends rifling through the racks of my local charity store and favourite vintage store searching for day heels, calf length a-line skirts, velvet shawl jackets with fringed sleeves, loopy beads, romantic blouses and houndstooth jackets with nipped in waists. 

As i sauntered out of taxis, clicked my small heels across parquet floors and followed friends into parties I wasn't a 17 year old girl completing her HSC and getting over a bad relationship, i was a glamorous Hon., the equal of any Idina Sackville-West for chic and cheek, at once canny and coy. My friend and I used to trade letters sealed with lipstick kisses from our alter egos 'Lola' and 'Evie', telling of lives lived across Europe, from tiny, freezing, garrets in Paris to sprawling apartments in St Petersburg. We couldn't face the horrors of all night study and overbearing mothers, so we escaped into these other girls of indiscriminate age, background and time period, well shod and even better dressed, spying potential lovers in the corner of our golden compact mirrors. 

Even better is when you are suddenly inspired by something you've just bought. One of the most strangely liberating moments of my life was when i went out one night in a plain black top, leggings and ballet flats. With my short cropped hair and cat-eye flick eyeliner i was every inch the 1960s ingenue i envisaged myself to be, my legs just as covered as they would have been by skin-tight drainpipe jeans but a great deal more free, more empowered. All of this was brought on by the huge, and i mean really huge, yves saint laurent trench coat i found tucked into the folds of the men's section at my local thrift store. Big enough to fit a football team in, it was classic and cool as well as being one of the best bargains i have every found. When i wanted to be a mysterious private detective stalking the back streets of a 1920s chicago the trench was there, winking back at me. When i wanted to be Jane Birkin, all waist length hair and wide eyes the trench was there, singing out to be paired with a stripey breton shirt and black tights.

And it doesn't have to be in good taste. Some of the biggest time travelling thrills have come out of things that, quite frankly, should have been left buried at the bottom of bargain bins. My friend Rachel and I once spent a blissful Saturday jumping around her house in a matching pair of taffeta dresses, one royal blue for her, one sickly purple for me, with huge skirts and scalloped hems. We cranked up the Duran Duran and painted out eyes with turquoise eye shadow she unearthed from a make up palette she must have gotten aged 6 at the chemist. 

Or when my sister and I, aged a discovered all my dad's flared bellbottom jeans and cowboy boots (WHAT was he doing in the 70s?) at the bottom of a forgotten cardboard box in my room. Pulling those pants on was like stepping into a world we hardly knew, but that certainly had disco dance moves and flicky feathered hair. Although the most exposure we had to the 70s was from the Charlie's Angels re-runs on TV1, we felt like 2/3s of an all girl crime fighting glamour team. 

But the days of inhabiting a different character every time i emerged from the double doors of my tiny room are long behind me. I still have every single one of the pieces I have describe in this post, and i still wear them all very often. But instead of an individual time machine to just one destination I try and embody every one of my favourite eras in every outfit. Who wants to just visit the swinging sixties in London when you could also be shooting pheasant on a country estate in the 30s, pulling on lace fingerless gloves before heading out into the night in the 80s, slinking around in man's pants and taking on all these kinds of masculine powers and rocking a pair of mirrored aviators that wouldn't be out of place in any 70s revival. 

I like to be my own personal time travel passport, each item of clothing a stamp to another time, another place, another world of ideas. And a reminder too, of the places you have visited, Paris, London, Moscow, Broome, Venice, Shanghai, Chicago, Vienna, Berlin... 20s, 70s, 40s, 30s, 80s, 50s, 90s, 60s, now. And who knows where in the future. All without ever leaving your home. Not bad, right?

X

down the rabbit hole

If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?

Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll

celebritycity

From the minute the first images of the red carpet at May's Met Costume Institute Gala circulated through the internet and blogsphere you could have heard a collective intake of breath. There was Madonna, in all her post-Guy Ritchie flory, in a thigh skimming Louis Vuitton Fall Winter 09 (not even gracing the pages of magazines yet) turquoise blue mini dress, thigh high patent leather boots, and a pair of bunny ears. The fashion community was divided as to whether or not this was merely another reinvention of the Madonna everyone knows and most love, or whether this was a sad case of mutton dressed as lamb (or, rather, rabbit). Wacky or just weird? So wrong it's right or so wrong it's just, well, wrong? 

getty via the cut blog

I weighed in on the issue, judging (perhaps prematurely, as you will read later) that she was just grabbing for the attention and had just become a caricature of what she once was. While i still believe that it was an attention seeking outfit, looking with hindsight and seeing these images raises a bigger issue, which is just how runway can translate to real life, and if the answer to that is very little at all, then what is the purpose of runway shows today? 

Although the Met Gala is hardly the controlled environment for a runway to real life test, being noticed is really more important than being well dressed, and therefore some of the more out there runway looks can be worn with a relative amount of security. But the outcry that followed Madonna's outfit, and the sheer nonplussed state of most critics at the bunny ears, was interesting to watch. What was deemed whimsical and even inspirational on the runway became odd and unnecessary in real life. Most people reviewing the Louis Vuitton F/W 09 show loved the bunny ears, they thought they were a perfect rendition of old-school Parisienne exuberance and playful chic. But once it hits real life it is deemed as crazy and out there as the Phillip Treacy fascinator Sarah Jessica Parker wore to the London Premiere of Sex and the City Movie last year (the same milliner who created the 'bird' that she wore on her head in the wedding scene). 

Marc Jacob's Autumn/Winter 09/10 collection for Louis Vuitton was just as uplifting and bright as his eponymous one, but with a different, lighter touch. The bunny ears, large strips of taffeta with wired edges wrapped around high buns were whimsical and almost magical, adding the final fun finishing touch to cute outfits in pastel pinks adorned with more ruffles than a beauty queen and puffed out shoulders. They also added a bizarre note to the more serious outfits in the collections, grey peplum jackets and stiff suits topped off with a pair of bunny ears and a hint of theatrics. 

style.com

Once upon a time the runway collections served the purpose of showcasing the clothes for a house's clientele. Christian Dior's now famous New Look collection in 1947 was a simple, conservative affair by runway standards today, and was even narrated (look number 4 is a classic suit for a working woman etc). As walk in shops were almost non-existent and most of the clientele of these houses placed personal orders the shows stood as a showcase of what was to come. No theatrics, no over the top staging. 

Although it may seem as if this is still the case today it is actually the opposite. Pret-a-Porter or the Ready to Wear shows are actually moving closer and closer to couture in their presentation. The elaborate theatrics, the over the top staging, the bold music and lighting choices, the live bands, the increasing celebrity presence... all of this makes runway shows for ready to wear into more of an advertisement for the designer rather than a presentation of the coming season's clothing, some of which may never even make it to production. 

As such ready to wear runway shows have taken on this fantasy quality that used to be reserved only for couture. Designers like Karl Lagerfeld, John Galliano and Alexander McQueen have been breaking out the drama in recent catwalk presentations. Giant Chanel 2.55 handbags as set design and a carousel with Chanel Make up products instead of horses? Check. Galliano's beefeater headgear designed by Stephen Jones? Check. Alexander McQueen's eccentric FW collection inspired by Leigh Bowery complete with a huge video dedication, the red lipstick 'fish lips' and houndstooth checks as big as your fist? Check check check.

Runway has become a social event, a chance for socialites, starlets and other wannabes to see and be seen. It's no longer just about the clothes, it's more about establishing a creative environment, getting across the message and feeling of the collection. Designers are achieving this through an increased importance placed on the various additions to a runway show: music, set design, wigs, make up and accessories... such as bunny ears. 

And that's just it, isn't it... this 'creative environment' that runway conjures up is so different to the real world. For the duration of the show, sometimes a mere 10 short but frenetic minutes, audience, model, photographer, editor and writer alike are captivated by the vision of the designer. The aim of a runway show is no longer just to show what's happening next season, it is to transport the audience to another time and place, whether that be Louis Vuitton's playful Paris, Balmain's Powerful 80s wonder woman or Alexander Wang's painfully hip it-girl. When you take that outfit off the runway though it displaces some of its transformative magic. You can maintain it in editorials with the help of a magazine's considerable editorial power, but on the red carpet all you've got to make that outfit achieve it's original purpose is your own charm and personality. If you don't amp it up then the outfit wears you, and it doesn't work. 

vogue russia via oneminutescans

This is the first editorial I've seen with the bunny ears, and no doubt not the last. Natalia looks cute, and the bunny ear manage to translate from runway to editorial very well, helped in part by Natalia's chameleon like modelling ability.  Apart from Madonna's Met Gala outfit a i've only seen them once in real life, and only recently on Garance Dore's blog. The girl in question was wearing a modified version of the runway pair, a little less conspicuous, exactly the kind of fun, silly sort of thing for someone fun and silly to wear. Alexa, perhaps? Or Chloe Sevigny?   It's not for everyone, but like i said, if you want to make it work you have to amp up the character. Don't be an ageing pop star fulfilling contractual obligations. Play into the idea behind the clothes, pair it with a striped breton top, distressed jeans, a belted trench coat and ballet flats in day time to make an impact. At night time a simple dress can be spiced up with the bubblegum pink bunny ears and a huge smile. It shows that you don't take it all too seriously.  Parisian girl with a twist. 

garance dore

Creativity and drama should not be isolated solely to the runway and to magazines. There's nothing i hate more than the belief that you can't have fun with clothes and dressing. It's simply not true. If Madonna's Met Gala shows us nothing more than the fact that she refuses to adhere to ageism and to the preconceptions to how a 50 year old should dress, then I will marginally salute her. Although I feel she should leave the thigh highs and mini's at home, I implore her to whip out the bunny ears as much as she wants. Because heaven knows, if anyone can pull off the rabbit, it's her. 

X

renew your subscription...

I saw an interesting figure the other day, that Elle (US) paid subscriptions are up by 21% while Vogue's are only up by 8%. This was used by the author of the article i saw the fact in as further arsenal in Elle's triumph over Vogue, and the death of the whole concept of Vogue (aspirational fashion) in the forseeable future. However i think that this is a pointer to Vogue that they need to up their game in the one area that gets a subscriber to, well, subscribe.

Subscription covers. 

Reese Witherspoon - Newsstand/Subscribers cover US Elle April 2009

Drew Barrymore - Newsstand/Subscribers cover US Elle 2009

Megan Fox - Newsstand/Subscribers cover US Elle 2009 

Gwen Stefani - Newsstand/Subscribers cover US Elle July 09 

Subscriber's covers are received only by those who have paid subscriptions and are designed to be an incentive for subscription. The logic is that the only people who subscribe would be those genuinely interested in the magazine and, causally, in fashion. Poor logic, i know, but let's just run with it for the moment. Therefore cover images are (usually) a different image of the same starlet that graces the newstand cover, but without the bombardment of text and conventional posing and background. Elle and Harper's Bazaar are the two magazines that offer subscriber's covers and both offer subscribers a more unconventional and 'fashion' image on the subscriber's cover. The image is from the same editorial as that of the newstand cover and often uses a different, less commercial pose, perhaps the cover star is not looking down the barrel of the camera and smiling secretly (as is the case so often with Elle covers). Subscriber's covers give the editorial team a bit more allowance to be creative and a bit different.

 The other major difference between Subscriber's covers and Newstand covers is the lack of text. Since Subscribers are not buying the cover at the newsagent they do not need to be bombarded with cover lines using cheesy alliteration and sensational tactics to grab attention and urge the casual magazine buyer to pick up their issue. American magazines are particularly guilty of this overuse of text, their magazine market is incredibly competitive and newstand sales are generally down. In a bid to gain more sales they try and entice the reader  with more and more text, offering an article to engage their every need and desire. Sometimes it can work, the Megan Fox cover is an example of the text bombardment working quite well. But sometimes it is so crowded. Too much. The Reese WItherspoon cover is an example of that. Almost every space surrounding Reese (and some on her too) is covered with text. 

A glance at some international Vogues will show you that this text bombardment is not always necessary. Vogue Italia and Paris both manage to use one word cover lines most of the time in order to let the cover image stand out. They also, it must be said, are less commercial than US Vogue and Elle and are catering to a more fashion-y crowd, which is why they can get away with it. But the use of, often, one single line of text on the subscriber's cover is an example of these magazines attempt to have the best of both worlds. 

Kate Beckinsale - Newstand/Subscribers UK Elle December 2009 

Kyle Minogue - Newsstand/Subscribers UK Elle May 2009

Winona Ryder - Newsstand/Subscribers UK Elle July 2009

So, Vogue, with your subscription levels lagging behind that of Elle's would it be reasonable to conclude that they are offering something that you aren't? I don't subscribe to any magazines, so cannot comment on the experience itself, but if there were subscribers covers i would definitely be tempted to subscribe. I love the idea of subscribers covers, having something a little different to what everyone else is getting. It's kind of elite in a way, even if really it isn't at all because thousands of other people subscribe across the nation. I love the idea that subscribers are treated with a more interesting cover, and aren't made to wade through all that text to see the beauty of the cover star themselves.

Even more than that, and especially in the case of US Elle, the cover image is so boring and bland. I have nothing against the people chosen, after reading US Vogue for this long i've come to appreciate the commercial, not too probey interview with various starlets. What i do have a problem with is the fact that magazines like Harpers US and Elle put the most conventional image on the cover. I swear those images of Megan Fox and Drew Barrymore are almost identical except for their faces. I wish they could put someone on who isn't smiling slyly or pouting coquettishly. All I'm asking for is a different pose! and then they go and give that to subscribers, it's like a reward for not being a pleb newsstand buyer!

And that's the only issue i have with newsstand covers vs. subscribers covers. It does make the assumption that the only people who subscribe are those interested in fashion and, therefore, the only people who buy from the newsstand are the plebs who don't know any better, which simply isn't the case. I actually can't subscribe cheaply to any of these magazines and with the cost of shipping and the added worry of it simply not turning up some months (like my vanity fairs urrgghh) it works out a similar rate to just buying it newstand. But that doesn't mean that i don't appreciate what they are doing with the subscribers covers or fashion itself. Also there is a simple thrill in buying a magazine from a newsagent and picking it apart right then and there. I'm not so sure i want to give that up just yet. 

There is also the fact that in many cases the newsstand covers and subscribers covers are both lovely. That is the case with Elle UK and Harpers Bazaar UK. I'm not sure what it is about the UK magazine market, perhaps it's just more creative (this is the country that birthed Pop and Lula, after all!) but all of the magazines I buy from the UK are consistently amazing. I will always reserve a special place in my heart for Vogue UK, who taught me to love fashion and clothes, and who makes me smile with every turn of the slightly scented pages. But recently i have come to appreciate the sleek, well-designed layout of Harpers Bazaar, it is a feast for the eyes and its celebrity covers are always, without fail, inspired. Alexa Chung, then January Jones, and then Uma Thurman, all shot in interesting ways? Any magazine that can do that gets a huge thumbs up from me. Similarly UK Elle is the leader in attainable fashion and trends, a magazine for a fashion-lover at any budget. They also have different cover choices, this year they have had Kylie Minogue, Winona Ryder and Courtney Love. With cover girls like that, who needs a subscription? 

I'm sure all of you will remember the debacle that was Harpers Bazaar July 2009. The Newsstand cover was Angelina Jolie, taken at the Benjamin Button Premier in December last year. It was a red carpet shot, not from an editorial. It was covered in text, some of it in that tacky painted font in baby pink, as well as those horrible banners that Harpers and Vogue insist on obscuring their header with. However Subscribers were in for a pleasant surprise. Instead of another shot of Jolie on the red carpet they got the drop dead gorgeous Doutzen Kroes, shot by Terry Richardson, in a pose and expression akin to the January Jones June 2009 cover for Harpers UK (an absolutely stunning cover if ever i saw one...) Minimal text. no banner, no tacky paint font, no pastel colours... Gee it almost looks like Harpers UK!

There was general uproar as people discussed what was going on in the Harpers US office. Did Angie cancel the shoot at the last minute meaning that they had to reach for gettyimages? Possible, but not probably considering that there isn't even an interview with Angelina inside, instead an 'essay' discussing the allure and obsession with Angelina by society written by Naomi Woolf. So why did they put this old image of Angelina on the cover, an image that would not be out of place on the cover of People or US Weekly, when they had an abundance of editorial within the pages of the magazine (Milla Jovovich, Doutzen and various other models also shot for the issue) that would have done extremely well? And why, when the team have proven themselves to be more than talented at putting an incredibly, incredibly beautiful and striking cover together as shown by Doutzen's masterpiece, do they continue to sell themselves short?

The answer is money. The harsh fact is that the average person doesn't know who Doutzen is. And they won't be content to pick up a magazine just because it looks nice (you have to admit that even if you didn't know Doutzen that cover is fabulous). They need something to inspire them to read it, that's why people flick through magazines to see what the content is like before they buy. And Angelina, with all that sparkly and celebrity interest and brad pitt boyfriend-ness is what the public wants. Ironically that's exactly what Naomi Woolf is writing about in her essay. 

It's a generalisation, i know, but one that i have found to ring true. It's the reason why US Vogue is always lambasted for commercial cover choices: They can't put whoever they want on the cover because they have to satisfy the average reader. And the average reader wants gloss and glamour and gore, as well as someone they can recognise on the cover. Models don't sell anymore, not unless they become celebrities in their own right (hello, gisele!). Despite this though, it is clear that this was just sheer laziness on the part of Bazaar. I would have commended them even more had they had the balls to put Doutzen on the newsstand and throw caution to the wind. I would even have bought a couple of copies, as i did for the Vogue US cover with the models on the front, in order to boost sales in the little way that i could and send the message to Harpers that this is what they need to be doing. 

As it is, it looks like this is the future of magazines. A well known star on the cover for the plebs, and then a beautiful style shot for the fashionistas. And it's sad that this is what magazines are coming to and that they don't have the courage to go with a beautiful, original cover over one that uses a red carpet image... oh dear... i could go on about this for days. Is that what the industry of magazines has come to? It certainly looks that way. With editors of commercial markets taking less and less risks and travesties such as this occurring it seems that we are moving away from the boundary testing world of magazines that we saw in the 70s and 80s and into a commercial bubble that sees fashion triumph only for the subscribers. 

And what will Vogue do? Will they continue to offer the same cover for both newsstand and subscribers and run the risk of losing their subscribe quota even more? Or will they grow as a magazine and adapt. I hope the latter, as with Vogue's resources and abilities they could produce some really beautiful subscribers covers, the kind that people are always hoping Anna will send forth but she never does because of commercial constraints. Here's to the future, and renew your subscription. 

X

you look lovely today... just today?

interesting week filled with style differences, the beginning half encompassed various glastonbury stylings and attempts to stay chic despite rain, mud and heat all packed together. The latter half of the week saw premieres of some of my most anticipated movies (public enemies, anyone? it has johnny depp, billy crudup, christian bale AND marion cotillard in it, that's just a feast for the eyes!) and therefore cocktail dresses and stiletto galore. Who came out on top??? 

Daisy Lowe - Glastonbury

tfs

I really like this outfit, it's fringe-tastic, and it shows off her excellent figure and it's perfect for glastonbury. You need some kind of big boots to cover at least half of your leg because of all of the mud, which she has, but then you also need a really cool rock-chic vibe to fit in with all the troubled musos, which the fringed skirt and top have, and something vintage, like that bag. But, of course, Daisy is just the ultimate Glastonbury girl what with her rock cred and pedigree. 

Pixie Geldof - Glastonbury

tfs

Firstly, i love what she's doing with her hair. Although my favourite is her dark locks that give her an audrey tautou vibe i do love red hair on her. The bleached blonde was washing her out, this is colourful and youthful and very cool. Paired with the little bowler hat and the striped tee shirt she's got that perfect mix of hipster and vintage that comes off on the right side of try hard (as in, you look good). I also like what she's got going on with those granny pant shorts. I mean, let's face it, they're not for everyone (me included) but they look cute on her, and seem like they would be comfortable to wear in scorching heat. You do need legs like that to pull it off, i mean, those legs look good even with those gumboots on  them! Well, if you've got it, flaunt it!

Chloe Sevigny

celebutopia

I adore the colour beige on some people. On the right sunkissed blonde beige can be absolutely stunning, it's suggestive of wearing nothing at all (and a little sex never hurt anyone!) and it also alludes to the opposite of sex: washed out mothers wearing beige slacks on the school run. The inimitable Chloe manages to tread the line between those two, showing enough skin to get third degree burns (the skirt's hemline is the same as that of the jacket!) and nude heels to elongate the legs (not that she needs it) paired with demure make up and hair swept up in a chic do. I like the scalloped edging on both the jacket and the skirt, this chloe SS 09 collection is really doing Chloe a million favours, and i also love that she paired it with a sparkly, sequined vest that seems just a little bit trashy. She is the queen of mixing things up, throwing things together that you might not expect. Stunning!

Alexa Chung

MTV

Thank god for TFS, since i can't watch the episodes online and gauge her outfits, tFS is how i'm getting my 'It's On WIth Alexa Chung' fix every day. Yes, you read that right, every day because her show now runs daily (yippee!). I heard the show's not that great, but who cares if they give Alexa a clothing allowance? I have always loved this Charles Anastase blazer and searched for a similar one through all the thrift stores of Sydney (no dice) and paired with the band tee and skinny jeans (oh to have legs that go on forever! how lovely that would be) she strikes a great figure. I don't really like the shoes, i would have liked them better in black to match the rest of the outfit, but meh, i'm too tired to care too much about it now. Nicely done Alexa!

Marion Cotillard

Celebutopia

Oh Marion. Oh la la Marion! I envy your innate chic-ness, your ability to wear jewel tones, your stunning gallic features, your access and friendship with hot, semi-straight designers, and your gorgeous french boyfriend Guillame Canet *sigh*. Marion is the thinking man's pin up, she's charming and clever and endearingly human (remember her break down after winning the oscar? 'there are some angels in this city!' aawwww!'). I love the detail on the bodice of this dress, as well as the patent black accessories. Those shoes are interesting, very clunky and heavy at the toe and then this tiny little ankle strap. I also love how her hair is pulled back and sort of sculpted. Very now. She really is radiant though, sooo beautiful. Oh Je t'adore!!!

Also just as an interesting little tidbit: This popped up on the style.com website the other day. Look who pre-empted a trend! Hehe I bet those girls took a tip or two from fabulous future me. Stripes at work! It must be friday! 

X

the divide

I harp on a lot about Vogue Australia and how it's so inferior, but i do rather enjoy picking it up off the newstand first wednesday of every month. It's always a very clean lay out, easy to read and digest, the articles are consistently interesting, if not always well written, the editorials are less so, but they always manage to make me smile. And they reprint editorials from magazines that i would not be able to get my hands on, such as Vogue Russia, China and Mexico. An interesting tactic that means that although they are reprinting most of their audience have not seen (in print, some of them like me may have seen them on the internet) before, and thus it's a pleasant surprise. 

Basically i think Vogue Australia is a great example of how a magazine can be done well on a low budget. Of course it would be a better, more innovative and incredible magazine if it had a higher budget, but Kirsty Clements does what she can with what little resources she has. Harpers Bazaar, and their new EIC Edwina McCann should take note. 

However something in the most recent issue, Vogue Australia August 09, caught me eye for all the wrong reasons. They have a section each month called 'my fashionable life', which is one of the best in the magazines. It is akin to the Une Fille Un Style section in Vogue Paris that everyone loves. This month they featured Fashion PR Karla Otto, a woman who is by all means a very stylish woman with great taste and has become very successful off her own back. I find her very interesting and am in awe of her success. But one of her answers grated with me. 

Do you have to spend to be stylish? 

"When you are stylish and you can afford something fantastic, of course it really helps. There are some amazing dresses around that not everyone has access to."

Hmm... It's all getting into dangerous territory but i would hazard a guess that this answer sort of sums up the Vogue (of any country) view of style. Yes, it is easier to be stylish if you can spend, you have endless resources available to you and it's easier to put something together that is quality and will work for you. That's why so many actresses suddenly 'become' stylish when they hit the big time (Megan Fox, anyone?). But i resent this statement from Otto, firstly because of the implication that there are some 'amazing dresses' that only the rich has access too. It's almost like if you are poor then you are denied 'amazing dresses'. I'll have you know that there are amazing dresses for everyone, and i suppose some wealthy people don't have access to some of the cheaper ones because of some misguided fashion snobbery in that they wouldn't set foot into the stores that sell them or the thrift stores that pass them on. 

But even more importantly is this idea, that i find pervading every single international Vogue, that being stylish is synonymous with being wealthy. Just look at the people they feature within their pages, the things that they put in their shopping sections, most tellingly the things that they believe are a 'steal'. Sometimes they are genuinely cheap, Kirsty Clements from Vogue AUS always puts together thoughtful shopping pages with cheaper items on them. But sometimes it's just laughable that the average woman would think that a 250 pound dress is a 'steal'. 

It all comes back to this idea of whether a magazine should be accessible or aspirational. The eternal struggle between Elle and Vogue (Harpers Bazaar has dropped off the radar in every country except for Britain) boils down to those two essential elements. Should a fashion magazine show a reader what she can have, or what she could have... And is there a resonable middle ground in between the two that a magazine could conceivably tread.

 

Elle is approachable and accessible. It must be said. Although they regularly feature big ticket items there are many features within (both UK and US, i don't know about the int'l versions) the magazine that feature 'ordinary people' and their price tags. Best of the high street is a memorable one in Elle that features thoughtful shopping pics from a range of stores and not just H&M and topshop. 

Vogue, on the other hand, is distinctly aspirational. A cursory glance at the pages of any of the international vogues (including the masthead) will show you that they firmly believe that wealth and style are synonymous. All of the girls featured in the magazine are wealthy, all of the clothes are expensive. And although Vogue US is making a concerted effort to move towards being more accessible this means featuring a skirt with a 3 figured price tag instead of a 4. Baby steps, but steps nonetheless, that i commend them on.

As a buyer of both magazines i cannot say which i prefer. I suppose that i like elements of the two, and wish that i could find a magazine that would breach the two sides of the debate. It is a marvelous thing to read vogue and be charmed by gorgeous clothes and accesories, stories about beauty products, techniques and holidays that i will never have, houses that i will never live in, lifestyles that i will never live. But it can be exhausting after a while. I think they should save most of the aspiration and hopes and dreams for the fantasy editorials (oh look at that couture, those 4 figure lanvin bejewelled shoes!) and features. In the 'flash' sections and shopping pages they should try and be more realistic. 

This view is reflected in the business of magazines. For the first time in 24 years of catty american magazine history Elle has topped Vogue in the US market for ad pages in the first half of the year. Elle holds 970 pages of ads this half, and Vogue 956 pages of ads. Both of those figures are a decline (22% and 32% respectively) from their previous year's half of figures. And as we move into the second half and ever closer to the important issues of September who knows how this will turn? Vogue's newstand sales are up by 5% while Elle's are down by 16%, interesting figures thought in part to have been spiked by the Michelle Obama March cover that Wintour bravely put on the market, and has reaped the rewards of. Say what you want about the woman, but when she's on her game, she's on. 

So what can these magazines do? Although this was a tiny insignificant comment that i'm sure many just flicked over and paid no attention to, i think these kind of comments from Karla Otto have to be removed. They do nothing to spur excitement or interest from the reader to reach that aspirational phase that Vogue desires, and are certainly not accessible in the manner of Elle. More prudent would be to celebrate Stylish and fashionable people the world over, regardless of their age, size, wealth and employment. Karla Otto is a fabulous example of this, she is incredibly stylish. But another equally as great example would be my Aunt Fleur, a working mother of one who still leaves that lingering scent of Chanel No.5 and promise wherever she goes. Or my godmother Sophie, a doctor who is the doppelganger for Sofia Coppola and still wears the clothes that she wore in college when she and my mother shared a dingy flat in Stanmore. 

If the success of Garance Dore and street style photography has taught us nothing, and the feature in Vogue Australia by Garance that was beautifully set out and filled with gorgeous, never before seen photos is evidence of this, people like seeing style, in whatever form it comes. Yes, style in editorials comes from rake thin models clutching 4 thousand dollar bags wearing a rodarte dress that no-one except the very wealthy will be able to afford (and the very thin will be able to carry off). But style in the rest of the magazine can be achieved, as Elle UK sometimes does, through showing street-style photographs, showing high street picks, telling readers where they can shop on their lunch hour (humorous AND practical), all with the air of imparting information upon a less knowledgeable friend, rather than sending forth a fashion education to the masses. 

I would go so far as to say that featuring people who are rich, and therefore have access to beautiful quality clothes and thus must be stylish is, well, lazy. It's so easy to be stylish when you are wealthy, everyone knows that. But real style, interesting, fascinating, intriguing style that makes you think and stimulates thought doesn't come from wealth or riches. It comes from an innate understanding of the aesthetics of clothes, the richness of fashion history, the influences and allusions, the beauty of texture and silhouette and colour combinations... You can't learn it, you're born with it. You either have that eye or you don't. 

And i for one would love to see a fashion magazine featuring everyday stylish people in their pages. Kind of like how the Sartorialist has been doing recently. My main criticism of him has been he takes beautiful pictures of people within the fashion industry, who are stylish by necessity and with ease. I used to prefer his shots of normal people, 'on the street', the average person interpreting trends and doing it their own way. He has gone back to that recently, and by god, it is a joy to see. 

It is a difficult thing to do. I can imagine that for the Sart being surrounded every fashion week by Margiela shoe boots and Givenchy furs meant that a return to the everyday shots (i remember one particularly beautiful one in paris of two friends wearing denim miniskirts and converse) can seem banal. But actually it's the opposite of that. Think of the fashion types with their wealth and expertise and knowledge and access as one part of the job, and the everyday person as a breath of fresh air. In advertising you always say that you are writing for the lowest common denominator, in magazine publishing you are supposed to breach the two. The two together would be a powerful combination, no?

X

Recent examples from the Sart:

[sartorialist]

the french wardrobe - summer

'Ah summer, what power you have to make us suffer... and like it.' 

Russel Baker

We are in the midst of winter, even if the temperatures here don't reflect it (which is very annoying, FYI, going out with a coat and tights and then having to peel them both off because of the bright sun), and now seems like as good a time as any to revisit my 4-5 piece french wardrobe for summer. In terms of my last post i have purchased almost all of the items i was looking for, and many more besides, and even since then my style has subtly evolved. Some of them i saw, tried on, and then re-thought. This was the case with the pierre hardy for gap ankle boots that sportsgirl is currently shamelessly copying (down to the elasticated insert and all). I tried them on and though i love them off my foot, they just didn't work *tear*. I am still looking for a coral necklace that doesn't come with a 4 figure Lanvin price tag, and elbow length leather gloves too. But these can wait, for now we must turn our sights to warmer weather. This Summer i am looking for 2 trend driven pieces and 3 forever pieces. Let's see how i'll go. 

1. The Drop Crotch Harem Pant

topshop, topshop boutique, warehouse

I know... If my 6 months younger self saw me now, she wouldn't recognise me. If you ask any of my friends they would tell you that I am the most ardent opposer of the harem pant in our circle, and that girls who have purchased the aforementioned pant they have tried to hide it from me so that I wouldn't yell at them and shame them publicly. And i know that i am terribly late to this party, but i have only recently come around to the joys of the harem pant. I tried a pair on in some cheap australian chain and though they were not perfect, they were fascinating. In a drapey black cotton they were bizarrely slimming, comfortable, and shamelessly glamorous. Hitting mid calf they weren't the right length for me (trinny and susannah have taught me that for girls with even a semblance of a leg it's knee or nothing) but i was definitely intrigued. And then Brigadeiro's post on the topic showing you how to wear the harem pant cinched the deal. I wanted a pair for myself. 

The biggest question for me is what style exactly. While i do like the drapey, cotton loose style i also like the idea of the tapered in at the calf style. Methinks they may not be as flattering though. They are infinitely more glamorous though, and definitely more formal. The problem with the loose styles is that they can come off very casual. They remind me of some sort of yoga pant or fisherman's bottoms for some reason. Regardless there are a myriad of harem pants out there, and a pair for everyone, as trite as that may seem. 

Decision:  A trend that i must experience, and one that i probably will enjoy. 

Cost: cheap. I'm not wasting good money on something that could make me look like MC Hammer. 

Most likely buy: the Topshop pleated draped number.  Topshop always pulls through for me, and it's better to go with the least confronting style first before taking the plunge. 

2. Leather Skirt 

miu miu, acne

While not necessarily screaming summer, i want this trend item and i want it now. I've been searching for a leather skirt for a while now, and feel that it would be such a great addition to my wardrobe. Unfortunately when it comes to skirts i have a pretty strict list of features that must be adhered to. I don't do short. I'm just not that kind of girl (with not those kind of legs), and i would want this skirt to hit knee at least. So that rules out all the abundance of leather skirts from the 80s... damn. I also don't have the budget at the moment to stretch to new, designer leather (no matter how much i would like). It's vintage and thrift here all the way. 

Pencil level is ideal. I was reading Harpers Bazaar AUS August yesterday and thinking about how great a leather pencil skirt could be with an oversized distressed bassike tee, my loose blazer and a cool necklace. If the skirt had been made of cotton that would be an outfit bordering on business woman, but with leather it's rock chic all the way. And i kind of love that, how this material can muddy the sartorial waters a bit and throw things off kilter. If i had the legs to pull off leather pants believe you me i would never take them off. I'll have to make do with skirts though. 

Decision: no-brainer. give me one STAT. 

cost: i want it to be cheap, but i know that it won't be. And as soon as i find the perfect one i will fork out as much as is necessary to make it happen.

most likely buy: thrifted and a little kitsch. 

3. Linen Safari Jacket

tagsafari, jodie kidd, alberta ferreti, debenhams

This jacket has eluded me for so long. I've wanted one for a long time, even hacking a linen shirt of mine to jacket length in a vain attempt to recreate the look (it failed miserably). I don't really know why i want one so much, i suppose it might stem from some last vestiges of my 1920s hysteria in which i attempted to recreate the outfits of Idina Sackville-West and Karen Blixen living a life of 'white mischief' in Africa pairing their Vionnet drop waist sheaths with a safari jacket and tennis shoes. I just think that the Linen Safari jacket is Summer's answer to the oversized man blazer of the leather biker jacket - It's perfect for keeping cool, storing all your things and adding a sense of casual Lauren Hutton -esque chic to your everyday wardrobe. 

Imagine it, paired with a breton style striped top and a pair of ripped boyfriend jeans, or if the weather is even hotter a long, rippling black skirt and a loose crop top. Perfect.

Decision: yes please! I want to BE Lauren Hutton. 

Cost: hopefully not that much, the higher end of high street, peut-etre?

most likely buy: Country Road. They haven't failed me for the classic pieces updated, and i'm hoping they'll have a safari jacket (last year they didn't). If they don't then Witchery will.

4. Espadrilles

old navy, stella mccartney, christian louboutin, kanna, karen millen, christian louboutin

Ever since the mother of a dear friend of mine raised the possibility of a european summer in Nice and Monaco next year i can't get my mind off the espadrilles. Surely they, along with a glowing tan, a striped top and short skirt and a diamond as big as the ritz are the pre-requisites for any sojourn in that region. Although they may not fit in with the glamorous evening wear i have already planned (think a revisit of my 18th birthday that saw me exiting my uncle's fabulous sports car in a Casino Royale esque black evening gown with paste jewellery and a clutch bag) they will go perfectly with blood red toenails and a swimsuit while i lounge poolside with a mojito. 

I used to have a pair of espadrilles once. I bought them for myself from Witchery at the tender age of 14, thinking that they would go with my style (boho chic, they didn't) and promptly returned them 2 weeks later. THey are the exact kind i'm looking for now, a raffia/rope wedge heel, high enough to make me seem as tall as any swiss banker in the region, with the toe, heel and tie up ribbons in a gros grain ribbon that i'm not too fussy on the colour front. These espadrilles were brown, but i'll accept anything in the colour spectrum that's not too bright. Preferably red, black, brown or cream though, to fit in with the clothes i already have. 

Decision: i want them a lot, but they seem like the kind of thing that when i try them on i may change my mind about. I'm not the beachiest of persons, and don't they look a bit silly when paired with everyday non-beachy outfits? 

Cost: I wish my budget could extend to a Louboutin pair, i've heard they are a dream to wear, but sadly i'll have to wait. Cheeaaapppp. 

Most likely buy: Witchery, anyone? 

5. Silk Tee

kain, louis vuitton, rag and bone, vanessa bruno athe, clu, kain

Mmmmm silk. There's nothing quite like the feeling of silk against your skin. And i think that in the heat of summer a little bit of cool, liquidy, mercurial fabric is perfect to tone down the humidity woes. The silk tee hasn't been on my fashion radar at all this year, but now i think about it, it is just the kind of item that i would love - classic practically with just a hint of shameless luxury. 

The pairings would be endless, and even better, it would move seamlessly from day to night and from summer to winter. It would look great tucked in or out with the harem pants and my alexa chung gladiator sandals. It would look fabulous loosely tucked into a form-fitting jersey long skirt. It could be paired in and out with jeans, any kind of jacket, and would go that extra step than a tee shirt to make the outfit chic and cool. And i think that you would feel that much better in a silk skirt. I'm a firm believer in the whole surround yourself with the good things in life as much as you possibly can, practical hedonism in a way. Good food, good wine, beautiful cocktails, the literature and art (posters/postcards), films and theatre experiences that tickle your tastebuds, tantalise senses and encourage betterment. Clothes are merely another aspect of this practical hedonism, and if you can't afford to have beautiful glamorous things all the time have lovely things most of the time. 

Decision: yes, of course. No questions asked. 

cost: splurging on this baby. Only the best for me!

 most likely buy: i love the look of the Kain tee shirts (silk blend) and the rag and bone number (pure silk baby). That coral colour is also perfect for summer, nothing like a little ocean-based colour combos to bring in the hot weather. 

These items will, i hope, fit in well with what i already have as summer staples: My abundance of crop tops in a rainbow of colours (perfect over full skirts), my long, loose and cool (temperature wise) floor length skirts in the manner of MK Olsen, my gladiator sandals, my breton striped tops, my various loose cotton tee shirts, my ray ban sunglasses (best vintage find EVER in the bottom of my dad's shoe rack, not a dime spent and over $200 saved!), my loose and airy overshirts (best for hiding arms and providing layers) such as my vintage lanvin floral one, sheer twenty8twelve emerald crepe de chine, sea green lisa ho and sheer white, cocktail rings and beachy necklaces, armfuls of chunky resin based jewelry (mostly bangles and cuffs but some necklaces too), the BEST swimming costume ever designed, a 1950s style that flatters and is lovely too. Various make up shades in summery goodness from Nars bronzer in Laguna to my newly purchased sea green nailpolish and sheeny chanel eye product that makes your eyes glow. 

As you may have noticed this wardrobe is devoid of that summer staple in sydney: denim cut offs. THe reason for that is that i've only recently decided to rekindle my denim love affair, and i don't think i'm ready for denim cut-offs just yet, in any way shape or form. I do love seeing other people do them well though! Instead of denim cut offs for me it's the long skirt in variations of black, white, patterned (josh goot's tye dye masterpiece), full and sleek. Paired with an oversized loose tee-shirt or crop top and a cool jacket (safari, perhaps?) the outfit is nearly complete. 

A spritz of Marc Jacobs Daisy (a summer perfume if ever i saw one) and i'll be good to go!

X

ps. what's on your summer wardrobe list? forever pieces or trend-driven now stuff?

all tyed up.

The declaration that 'hippie-chic' is back is greeted with wariness, caution, and a wince by most, me included. That's an understatement, it strikes fear into the very depths of my heart. I can remember those boho days of yesteryear, a haze of peasant skirts, circular metal belts, anklets and headbands, topped off with a clean face and bare feet. Sienna Miller was my style icon. I listened to the rolling stones and dreamt of, one day, going to woodstock. While these things may all still be found in my wardrobe, and my life, the world and me has, thankfully, moved on. You can't dress like a hippie your whole life. 

However the trend at the moment is towards 'hippie-chic', emphasis on the chic. There's not a toe ring in sight with this reinvention of hippie style as designers take tye dye to a new level. Technicolour rainbows prints that seem to bleed into each other, tye-dye as embellishment and edging, luxurious materials and shapes taking the traditional hippie pattern from the garden to the party and clever manipulation of silhouette. Clothes that you would want to wear forever, and not just the 1960s. 

What's the appeal of tye-dye? Well firstly it is always, regardless of what colours used, bright and sunny. The strongest of technicolour prints in saffron, turquoise, fuschia and lime is just as sunny as palest of pastels. Tye-dye is an instant mood-lifter, the way it denotes home-style D.I.Y, as well as the allusions to happy hippie times of yore, how could it not be uplifting? When you're wearing tye-dye you can take on the persona of a beautiful earthy girl without a care in the world other than whether there will be a rainbow today. 

Josh Goot is one of the leaders in tye-dye chic, his dresses gorgeously flowy in bright shades and lightweight chiffon. Sometimes he mixes incredible brights to make a techno rainbow, others he manipulates shades of blue to make an asymmetrical one shouldered dress that resembles the most beautiful water puddle i've ever seen.  I own a josh goot tye-dye skirt, black and white and chic all over. When you walk in it, it billows out around you like a fashionable cloud. Matthew Williamson, always a master of colour (he's not the creative director at Pucci for nothing), showed a recent resort collection that is very much in the Goot trend of tye-dye, bright and bold and beautiful. Rich, deep shades of green, purple, blue and yellow combine together with creamy off whites in his patterns, sewn in modern and trendy shapes. The coveted pant shape, tapered and pleated harem, is reinvented in his gorgeous milky tye-dye. A mini dress with elevated shoulders and pleated collar becomes a little more relaxed with a classic print. 

Never one to be the proverbial sheep in the pack, Christopher Kane has done his own spin on the trend. For him tye-dye is all-or nothing, his resort 2010 collection was shown with murky brown galactical tye-dye prints with matching platform wedge heels. Gorgeous french navies marry their chocolate brown and taupe cousins compounded with the kind of quirky cool shapes that we know and love from Kane. Cutaway panels at the shoulder and under the bust? Yes please. 

At the other end of the spectrum is Jonathan Saunders, with tye-dye as the embellishment and not the whole. Tye dye panels, edging, piping and hems break up block colour for Saunders, adding a pop of watery colour to sombre black. You want a party dress that is part hard edged business, part fun in the sun, Saunders is the man for you. The best dress from his resort 2010 collection is a simple black shift with several panels across the stomach. At first glance it looks like block colour, but it is actually contrasting tye dye in block colour. Simple and fabulous. 

How do you wear tye-dye? Unlike it's 1960s antecedent a spliff and dreadlocks are not obligatory. A fresh face, sunny complexion and un-fussy hair are, however. Mix it up with edgy accessories (think sky high heels with bondage embellishments like Christina Centenera on the sartorialist), lots of modern jewelry and a tailored jacket. The tye-dye, gloriously exuberant, will shine out like the remnants of a better, more liberated past. 

A time warp you can keep grounded in the present so that there are no back to the future-esque woes? Now that's something worth dyeing for. 

Josh Goot S/S 09

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Matthew Williamson Resort 2010

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Christopher Kane Resort 2010

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Johnathon Saunders Resort 2010

style.com

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