Something to add to the bucket list... WOW

It has been one of the biggest weeks on the fashion calendar in New Zealand. There have been double bookings, and busy yet beautifully dressed ladies rushing from one city to another. While ANZFW closed on Friday night, a whole other Fashion extravaganza begun: the 21st Montana World Of Wearableart™ (WOW®) Awards Show.

Once again Suzie Moncrieff and her team have created a Masterpiece. Every year, the Montana WOW® Awards Show never fails be anything other than utterly indescribable. WOW® is so much more than simply a competition, fashion show, or art exhibition. It transcends boundaries: a mix of art and sartorial styling all sewn together with a carefully selected soundtrack, incredible dancing and entertainment. 2009 was no exception, this year had the audience up and dancing in their seats with male dancers dressed in sequinned chaps and hot pants! Oh and I must mention the Topp Twins open the show with some comedy, and they do return with those sequinned cowboys!

Despite the spectacle and entertainment, it is the garments which shine through. How designers come up with such incredible ideas, and then manage to make them wearable leaves me lost for words. Each of the seven categories were breathtaking in their own unique way. For me, it was the first and last sections which blew me away: the Children’s Section ‘At the Bottom of the Garden’, and the Tourism New Zealand Avant Garde Section.

The Children’s Section, has always been a personal favourite of mine. Maybe it is a combination of the gorgeous little models and the themes... this year it was “At the bottom of the garden”. ‘The Dandelion Clock’ which won the section, stole the show, with its three little models replicating a dandelion blowing in the wind. And ‘The Daisy Chain’, which did not place, took my heart. I have a love affair with the hippie girl in me as soon as Spring hits, and this piece was so pretty and sweet.

The Avant Garde section is really where fashion and art collide. The pieces are revolutionary, extravagant and extrovert, but still stylish without the commercial reality and restrictions of fashion. This year there was a dress entitled ‘Afternoon Tea’ which had a cake trolley built into the skirt!! It really was a combination of the best things! Cupcakes and sweets in a gorgeous skirt! The Montana Supreme WOW® Award winner came from this category. ‘Lady of the Wood’, designed by David Walker a carpenter from Alaska, was a 17th century ball gown made entirely from wood. This dress was exceptional, looking so perfect, and as if made from some strong fabric from afar, yet up close the extreme skill and spectacle was clear: this really is a wooden dress.

While these categories made a mark on me, all seven were incredible, and each of the winners entirely deserving.

So although these garments were all on the catwalk, they won’t be making their way onto the streets as many of the fashion week trends will be. But as Annah Stretton, a judge this year mentioned in her prize giving speech, this is show that everyone should add to their bucket list.
WOW® runs until Sunday October 4th at the TSB Bank Arena in Wellington.
For more information and full results see: http://www.worldofwearableart.com/

ANZFW 2009 - MY PICK: TWENTY-SEVEN NAMES & JULIETTE HOGAN

The champagne is chilled.

The designers are making last minute decisions and cutting the loose threads.

The goodie bags are full.

Front Row invitees are perfecting their outfits.

The media are ready for the onslaught.
The countdown is over.

It is Air New Zealand Fashion Week 2009.

Welcome abroad.

There are high hopes for ANZFW 2009. It is to be the best yet. The line-up certainly excites those in the know. The invites are both alluring and intriguing, from doodles on lined refill, to dream catchers. Fashion Week 2009 is going to stand out. Here’s why.

Kicking off with, “What is Your Damage?” , an off-site film installation from Lonely Hearts the week promises to be both fashion forward and entertaining.

It is Day Two, Tuesday, however which I am shaking in my stupidly high heels for! Cybele, Sable & Minx, Twenty-Seven Names, Juliette Hogan, Basquesse, Annah Stretton, Alexandra Owen, and Zambesi!! Oh My!

I am picking the combined showing of Twenty-Seven Names and Juliette Hogan as the standout of the week. Both are fresh New Zealand labels which transverse boundaries and hold cult followings. It is going to be an unbeatable combination of Twenty-Seven Names part rebel part dancer style, and Juliette Hogan’s sexy contemporary fashion under toned with a classic femininity. Juliette Hogan swept so many of us off our feet with her latest collection, and Twenty-Seven Names has left its cult followers gagging for more. I seriously cannot wait. It promises to be a collision of the most beautiful kind.

And Basquesse, with their signature of daring styling, use of colour, texture, and superb finishing make them one label I will be keeping my eyes on this year! Of course, Zambesi cannot be forgotten. Although this year marks the labels 30th birthday, they are anything but middle aged as they go from strength to strength. They have shown at every ANZFW to huge acclaim, and this year promises to be no different with an off-site show to end the terrific Tuesday.

Day Three sees the dark intellectual style which has become synonymous with New Zealand fashion continue from the night before, as Nom*D show first on Wednesday. Yet colour is promised with Sera Lilly’s show. The rising star of New Zealand fashion has a love of fabric, and flattering feminine styles, but always puts her unique twist on garments. Wednesday also sees The Carpenters Daughter show the stick thin models that high fashion is for real women with curves too! Trelise Cooper promises an intriguing mix of luxurious fabrics, and the quirkiness we have come to know and love from a designer who loves living on the edge of the world here in NZ. Day three winds up with a firm favourite of mine – Kate Sylvester, whose shows always create a bit of hype – this year entitled ‘Diamond Dogs’ already has commentators guessing as to the inspiration coming from Bowie, bling or both!?.

Day Four has the ghd New Generation Group show. Always exciting, fresh and inspirational. I am especially excited for Emma Ford Swimwear... amazing prints, colours and cuts are promised, and I want it all – it will be a good summer when you are wearing one of these suits by the pool! Stolen Girlfriends Club will undoubtedly leave their own stamp on Fashion Week, as has come to be expected of the fresh but cheeky label! And it would not be ANZFW without the Westpac Red Collection – a show which is planned with utmost secrecy, and always delivers! Last year models walked on water – literally, and this year organisers are promising an ethereal and out of this world experience!

On Friday there really is a mixed goodie bag to round off the week, we get Stitch Ministry, Trelise Kids (which will be oh so gorgeous, and cute and will leave us all clucky for the little models!), Federation, A*Muse featuring Pamela Anderson (an animal friendly range of shoes and casual clothes), and of course, I can hear you all saying where’s Karen? ANZFW would not be complete without Karen Walker and Huffer. Karen will be fresh off the catwalk at New York Fashion Week, so we can expect BIG things! And there is no question; Huffer will close the week in style.

Oh I am sooooo excited! And you know what, the wait is over! I can hear the champagne corks popping in celebration already.

WORDS OF WISDOM

The 50th Anniversay edition of Australian Vogue has a collection of some of the best remarks by luminaries over the years...

Here are some of my favourites,

"I would say always match your clothes with your personality. Not with fashion trends. They'll pass, you'll stay." Valentino Garavani.

"Seasons. They go so fast, and designers have to create a collection four times a year, with never enough time. The dream of every designer is to skip a season. I have a love-hate relationship with fashion." Dries Van Noten.

MEN WHO SORT OUT YOUR LIFE WHILE TAKING EXCEPTIONAL CARE OF YOUR BELONGINGS... DEADLY PONIES BAGS

The average woman owns six handbags. I own far more. Bags have always had a special place in my heart, and wardrobe. Maybe it is the combination of fashion, art and sculpture which they embody. Handbags are much much more than an accessory, they are pieces of art which transcend seasons and provide women (and men) with incredible joy and functionality.

As a teenager, I made my own handbags, some carefully sewn from various material offcuts, and one sculpted from chicken wire, woven with newspaper. I was one creative kid. I wanted a bag which expressed my individuality and absolute LOVE of bags. Today, I covet the work of New Zealand designers Katie Smith and Liam Bowden, better known as Deadly Ponies.

Deadly Ponies came about through Katie and Liam's shared passions for sculptural arts, crafts and tactile design. Deadly Ponies delves into the well of childhood memories and fantasies, with the Enchanted Forest providing endless inspiration. Entirely designed and hand made in New Zealand each bag is individual, and reminds owners and onlookers alike of the joys and beauty of leather. The clever leather work and designs mean the bags and wallets blur the line between functionality and high fashion.

There are a huge variety of DP bags. From the quirky Mr Quack (with brass duck's feet hanging from the bottom), to the simple yet beautiful Mr Fill N Zip. Each bag has a fantastic name, Mr..., they are men who sort out your life while taking exceptional care of your belongings.

Never before have I found a description holding more truth than the labels which come with each DP bag: 'having a Deadly Ponies bag is more than having a place to put stuff we like to think of it as sharing a friend. Unite or you will not know.'

My first DP bag is a friend for life. I have united and found the joy. I now have four best friends, and one in law. (3 bags and 1 wallet of my own, and 1 bag I brought for my partner).

Seriously 'unite or you will not know'.

IF I COULD BE A LABEL I WOULD BE...

I love DAY Birger et Mikkelsen.

They make clothes which are so ME, they epitomise my style. I love the layers, the accessories and the way the models wear and sell the clothes - there is a sexy but uncaring rock n roll feel, but still gorgeous.

The look books on the website are so cool! And now they have a home collection... oh dear, I love linen and fabrics. And the menswear: that is my partner. This brand is my life. I think I need a lot of it. It is everything I ever wanted and more.

The home campaign is gorgeous, sooooo cute

PINK! Welcome to my life!

Day 3 of trying to incorporate colour into my life!

Welcome in PINK

Nails: OPI Suzi and the Lifeguard

Lips: MAC Baby Bloom Suntint in Pink Tinge.

OH I AM SO GIRLY!

And doing so well with the colour thing, if I do say so myself!

Happily Ever After...

Designers and stylists are harking back to a time of innocence, femininity and grace. A time far, far removed from the everyday slog of today’s twenty-first century ‘superwoman’.

This seasons Spring fashions seem to look back to the time of Jane Austen novels; where ladies went to country balls wearing feminine dresses which showed off their assets in a most sincere and lovely way only to find their very own Mr Darcy or Prince Charming.

It is a fairytale world which many of us wish we could escape to, an era some of us wish they were born into, and now we can fantasise by wearing clothes inspired by such thoughts.

Femininity and a childlike innocence reign supreme this Spring. Floral prints and pinks are must haves. Flawless skin is essential. Blusher is your secret weapon. Colour is your new best friend.

Now it is your turn to dress yourself in the clothes your mother dressed you in all those years ago. The frocks which you loved so much for their pink, purple and gorgeous girly patterns are now in fashion. You can wear those dresses which scream innocence and childlike beauty.

You can wear floor length pleated and flowing skirts in pastel pinks without going to a ball, the Juliette Hogan one (pictured) is to die for. You can wear anything which makes you feel like a little girl, a lady, a princess, a woman.

In the past few years fashion has handed us the right to play the role of men. Now as things are getting tough, we are given our fantasies and escapisms in the form of gorgeous materials and styles.

We are little girls, woman who want so much, but live in a huge and daunting world where we have to be the man sometimes, where we have to play roles we don’t want, where things don’t always end up happily ever after. But fashion can and this Spring it will.

Learning to Wear Colour... Day One and Two

Seeing as I have a phobia of colour... as a lot of women do, I have decided to take baby steps into the world of colour, and document it, so that 1. I know I am actually doing it, and 2. to prove to all of you that it is possible to break ones boundries!

Ok, so lets count yesterday as Day 1, as I took a huge step on the coloured brick road... I brought a Navy Eyeliner!Ok, so for a lot of you, this is anything but a step (navy is a close cousin of black I know, but this is massive for me!). I wore blue jeans... but I don't think that really counts. Oh I wore a pale yellow and white jumper! But confession time, it was almost completely covered by a black cardigan and then dark denim jacket. Ooops. Ok so day 1, not overly successful. But I did get the eyeliner!

Today, Day 2, I have been discussing with beauty loving friend in the know, and she has advised me on several choices I need to make to take the next step with colour on my face... Orange Eyeliner... REALLY??! (it doesn't come out till Sept, by then I very well may be ready), and a popping green eye shadow... that is manageable, in fact I even got excited about mixing it with the navy eyeliner! And I haven't even got it yet... I am definately heading in the right direction! I think a trip to the MAC counter could be on the cards this afternoon to ensure I strike while the iron is hot! In terms of outfit... have grey on top, not black... ok so I need to do some work there.

The Coming Season is Full of Colour... Oh dear.

As I have already discussed bold prints and colours are coming in this Spring. In fact, they dominate. It is all about being feminine, rather than tom-boyish as has been in vogue in previous seasons.

For me this raises several stumbling blocks. I love black. I love long cardigans, oversized items. They are my safety. My best friends. I am not entirely sure way, I am a size 8-10, but they are still my safety blankets. So the amount of colour in editorials freaks me out, last Summer I got into white, but still no colour.

This must be the season to change.

Heaps of things are happening in my life right now, lots of positive and exciting change. So it must be time for a change, for a step up. To stand out in colour, rather than blend into the background in the safety of black, and grey. So bring it on I say...

I think I will start with a touch of colour on my eyelids, from the Yves Saint Laurent palette I am lusting after (http://lady-winsome.blogspot.com/) and then move onto clothes... I am sure that in no time I will be wearing floral dresses and colourful tops... I may even ditch the black cardigan/safety blanket, and take a well deserved and well overdue change.

As perverse as it is, as a child I never wore black, and my Mother never wears black... I don't quite know how I became so stupidly addicted... Time for daughter to take a page out of Mum's book.

I WANT THE BAG WITH THE GUN!!

From www.floozy.co.nz

Beautiful Spring Editorial in FQ: GARDEN STATE

This season's FQ has amazing editorials which leave me overly excited for Spring... hurry up Sunshine, go away Winter.
But the editorial titled "Garden State" is to die for, maybe it is because of each pair of photos being linked with a classic novel... oh I love literature!

They have included "The Secret Garden", "Mansfield Park", "Force of Nature", and "Far from the Maddening Crowd".

The fashions are oh so lovely as well, prints and florals take centre stage. But there is also vintage white lace, embroidery detailing, and pink nails. Femininity is back this spring - sigh.

However, I am slightly scared. I do love black. This however, is the season to make a fresh start and be oh so pretty.

Boots that reach sky high...

I want thigh high boots... but New Zealand isn't ready. We always seem to get trends at an extreme delay, they probably won't be here until next Winter, or they make completely pass us by.
They are so extreme. So beautiful. So much leather.
I want them.

I have just over the knee ones... but they aren't the same. And I get looks even for wearing them... New Zealand just doesn't seem ready, sadly.

Want... Need... ?

I am beginning to think it is possible to want something too much. Over the last few weeks I have begun writing pieces for a friend with connections. I want something to come of it so much. I want that internship, paid or unpaid, so much.

I want it more than that other girl in designer clothes, sky-high heels and long blonde hair. I want it more than anything else.

I don't want it for the free clothes and beauty products. I don't want it for the parties. I don't want it simply so I can sound glamorous when I tell people what I do. I want it as a career choice, it is a stepping stone toward my own goals, my own huge goals. My fairytale which no one can take away, but it seems people can step on and toss away.

Last time I wanted something this much, it all come to fruitition and then fell through completely. Warning bells are ringing. I don't want the same thing to happen again. I want it to work. I want success.

I want to write my own success story, but in an industry where knowing people is the key, I have to rely on others. One in particular who is so lovely and caring, and so amazing, and I feel like shit for being this needy, pestering girl who simply wants a job. I am sorry.

Maybe I want this all too much. I was thinking about an article I was writing when I was having sex with my lovely boyfriend - just a joke, my mind is so pre-occupied with it. Is it unhealthy? I get my boyfriend to do sleath missions to get contact with his friend who can help me in my dreams. Because I feel bad for pestering, I get him too.

I don't know why I get so set on something and let it consume me.
I have been consumed by the desire.

I am beginning to think it is possible to want something too much.

But I want to make my own success story, I don't want to wait for something to come along, I want to make that something.

THE WANT IS ALMOST A NEED. A confusing all encompassing and consuming need.

Bad Ass Beauty: a band of bikeless Hell’s Angels

Source: William Rast

Leather jackets, pants, slashed leggings, patent platform heels, thigh high boots, and sugar spun hair. Not the mistress’s in biker gangs but rather the 21^st century woman. The oxymoronic trend of ‘bad ass beauty’ or ‘biker chic’ reflects the contrasting and competing roles and desires of today’s women. Women are mothers, lovers, successful business people, and yet still children on the inside. Eve may have taken a bite from the apple, as have we, but we still lust after innocence and pure beauty. It is no wonder that this trend has grown in force and left its skid marks across the world’s runways. It has progressed from leather jackets making a bold entrance last winter, to this seasons leather and slashed leggings, solid and yet chic platform heels, and even bodysuits. Runway shows from Yves Saint Laurent and Proenza Schouler with models clad in leather one pieces, suggest that the trend will continue into yet another season.

Leather has always been ‘bad ass’, but it has never before been as ‘beautiful’ as it is today. Sartorially sublime styling means the leather on runways is fitted and flattering. While the runway suggests leather on leather, it can be worn in many ways. An air of effortless beauty and a shrug of uncaring, is created when a leather jacket is thrown over a tee with jeans on a Saturday. There is something erotic or intriguing about a bright floral dress sneaking out from under the strength and safety of a leather jacket. And the comeback of antique black lace similarly mixes with leather to create an alluring outfit which screams ‘bad ass’ while winking at onlookers romantically.

The lasting nature of this trend could be put down to the interesting and erotic mixture of textures and styles. It seemingly breaks all the rules, and gets pleasure from doing it. Today no compromises are necessary. Beauty and Bad Ass go together. It is the 21^st century woman. We want everything – the sexy danger of Hell, and the angelic romance and beauty of Eden. We really are fashion’s bikeless Hell’s Angels.

Source: Proenza Schouler

Claim: Visibly reduce redness in as little as 1 week. We shall see.

I have acquired the Aveeno Active Naturals 'Ultra-Calming' range of skin care products: a foaming cleanser, daily moisturiser and night cream. They claim to reduce redness in as little as a week... with my rosy red cheeks we shall see!!

If it works, I will be the happiest girl in the world.

Please work.

twenty-seven names

This winter I purchased a twenty-seven names demin jacket, it has become a staple in my Winter wardrobe and will undoubtedly continue its reign into Spring and Summer.

The New Zealand label has grown quickly! "In 2006, the pair was awarded a place in the Deutz Fashion Design Ambassador Award. The label debuted in a group show at Air New Zealand Fashion Week 2007 where the collection received both national and international interest."

Their stuff is a beautiful mixture of delicate romance, and tough biker chic. SO HARD TO EXPLAIN! Check it out, http://www.twentysevennames.co.nz/

Yum, I know what pieces I want... that white dress is to die for!

Oh so cute... Oh so functional

Yesterday I rediscovered the joy of headbands! Having a short haircut (exceptionally short at the back) with a lovely side fringe which tends to carry a bit of bulk, using a headband to push back the bulk while keeping some of my fringe out, not only showcases the beautiful cut, but creates a smart, chic look. Plus, there are so many cute options out there on the market, the looks you can make are endless. Yesterday I brought a skinny black one with a cute little bow... yes please.

I LOVE.

No more bad hair days for me, but maybe the beginning of a yet another obession.

The Magic Powers of buying Make-up

I am continually amazed at the uplifting power of buying new make-up on my mood... After a horror supermarket trip yesterday, I went out and brought a new foundation and brush (in the hope of creating an airbrushed finish) as well as the new edition of Vogue. Supermarket was entirely forgotten. Incredible.
I think new blush might be on the menu today...

I WANT... Colourful Wedges to make my Winter's Day

SHOES BY TABITHA SIMMONS - her debut collection!

I am in love with these shoes... the cute colouful art deco wedges make my day! And the black strappy numbers, oh my I think I need them all.

I can't wait to see more... if this is her first collection imagine what is still to come.

Beauty in Distress - The Most Affecting Beauty

The name of this blog came in part from my love of words and literature.


Edmund Burke wrote 'A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful' in 1757. I define sublime as he did. Burke offers this little gem which has endured the test of time,

"The cause of beauty... where it is highest, in the female sex, almost always carries with it an idea of weakness and imperfection. Women are very sensible for this; for which reason, they learn to lisp, to totter in their walk, to counterfiet weakness, and even sickness. In all this they are guided by nature.

Beauty in distress is much the most affecting beauty.

Blushing has little less power; and modesty in general, which is a tacit allowance of imperfection, is itself considered as an amiable quality, and certainly heightens every other that is so."

Not only are we beautiful, but we are smart, using everything to our advantage.