Lisa Ho at RAFW

I have to admit, I wasn't too fond of the first half of this collection, but Lisa Ho has always been a favourite of mine so I kept browing and came across some really beautiful pieces.



The smock dress is so hot right now, I'm not at all surprised that it's shown up in almost every designer's collection this season. I really like this dress...It just gives a very easy going impression. (right) I'm pretty sure this is a bathing suit, but even if it isn't it's still devine...The jacket is a perfect match.



I don't really like the shape of this dress on the left, but I think the colours are so beautiful I just had to include it....The dress on the right, what can I say? I'm so glad that shirt dresses are everywhere because I, personally, think they're just gorgeous! They make every woman look like Jennifer Aniston ;-).



(left) I can't even describe how much I love this dress...It's definitely my favourite of this collection. (right) This dress is very simple and elegant, and has a very Greek Islands feel. I'm pretty sure I just saw Anna Coren wearing this at the Logie's (the Aussie version of the Emmy's pretty much).



These dresses are gorgeous as well...simple, elegant and again, very Greek Islands...perhaps grecian will be a new trend for this season?

*Romany*

Matthew Eager at RAFW

This collection from Australian fashion veteran Matthew Eager was one of the most diverse I've seen this season. A nice mix of evening wear, (what could be considered) work wear, futuristic, and floor length, flowing grecian summer dresses. There was a lot of material used more than once, but considering our current environmental situation, every kind of recycling is good recycling :-). I loved too many of the outfits, so there's a lot here, but they're all beautiful.















*Romany*

Fleur Wood at RAFW

This was a very simple collection from Fleur Wood. I found myself being reminded of a small country town in the American south. Fleur used what looks like a country-style house as a backdrop, to add to the southern feel. This collection was very practical, which I loved, but it was also very pretty and feminine (which I also loved ;-).



This first dress is so perfectly matched with the theme of the show. I don't think I love this one, but I can't stop looking at it, so I don't know what to think now. The outfit on the right is very cute. Quite plain, but in a good way. One could imagine wearing this to work on a balmy summers day.



(left) I love this dress! Everything about it. I would buy it right now if I could. It's pretty, feminine and practical (although maybe not so much for me, in the bust area). (right) This is probably my least favourite outfit of all these, but I thought I'd put it up just to show that there was some diversity in the collection, and that it was edgy as well as homely.



I love the colours of the left outfit. It's very spring, but very autumn as well. However, it doesn't look like it could be worn by anyone besides a supermodel. That being said, it could be used as a this-will-motivate-me-to-get-in-shape outfit perhaps? The same could be said of this (right) outfit, I guess. Although this one at least covers the arms (a weak spot of mine, I must admit). This one is also quite plain, but still quite pretty.



I love this dress on the left. It looks like it could possibly be used as a contemporary wedding dress...The colour, the shape, the material...perfect. (right) This outfit seems a little out of place. Perhaps Fleur strategically placed all the outfits in a lineup that demonstrates the transition this collection goes from southern to modern, this being the last outfit? I don't see the point in that though, it's just a silly thought I had. The outfit in itself, is quite nice. Well styled. A tad boring, but I still like it.

*Romany*

Bowie at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week

This is another collection at RAFW that I loved. Despite the fact that it's one of the most sought after Australian fashion labels, I hadn't heard much of Bowie before, but I was perusing Vogue.com.au and saw his collection, and now I love it!
It's not necessarily everyday wear, and there aren't any evening gowns...this collection is really hard to categorize...but that's good. It's fashion that makes you think ;-). It's quirky but glamorous at the same time, with a hint of punk.








*Romany*

Alex Perry at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week

Wow. I really like this collection. I have only recently discovered Alex Perry's beautiful designs, ever since I started watching this year's Australia's Next Top Model (I wasn't really paying attention to the judges last year), and have been thoroughly impressed.
Although I (along with many other regular sized teenaged girls and women in the world) could probably only ever dream of fitting into his dresses, looking at them serves just as much pleasure. :-)
Alex Perry is not what you'll find yourself wearing on the everyday occasion, unless you're famous. The label is full of evening gowns...and boy are they stunning.
Here are a few that stood out:



Ok for the first outfit out, he probably could have picked something a little more interesting, but the dress (if you can even call it that, it's so short) is still very pretty. It's glamorously athletic :-). (right) I am loving the bubble dresses (again, it's so short it's hardly a dress) of recent SS collections. The colours are very winter-y though. But we can never get enough winter in my opinion.



The dress on the left is a little bit plain, but I put it up here because I love Sam, the model. She's gorgeous, and is definitely on the fast track to making it big. (right) This dress is very fitting with the futurisic styles showing up in fashion weeks around the globe. Again, it's a bit plain, but I love the shape of the dress.



This rainbow dress is stunning, that's all I can say. The green dress on the right is cute, but it would work better as a top, in my opinion. I like that he's created a signature style for this collection: the neck-brace thing is of-the-moment.



(left) I love this dress, some people say that floral designs for spring are boring and predictable, but I think they're gorgeous, when done right. This is an example of floral done right. (right) I don't know what to think of this dress. I think I like it...Maybe it's just the model's facial expression that's putting me off..?



I am about 90% positive that the model on the left is Steph H from Australia's Next Top Model...am I the only one? The dress on the right is (like the other rainbow one) absolutely stunning. It's even better because it's being modeled by Miranda Kerr. :-)



(left) Ok now I know this model is Alice from Australia's Next Top Model. And I swear I saw Danica in one of the dresses before as well....maybe they're the final 3? Maybe this is the final challenge? We'll just have to wait and see...The dress on the right is simply perfect for a final outfit. Simple, elegant, and has the neck-brace thing again. Love it.

Can't wait for his next collection!

*Romany*

Vanity Fair goes GREEN

I love that alot of magazines are now joining in the hype of putting out green issues. Especially this months Vanity Fair. I have never previously read a copy of Vanity Fair, but I saw this on the stand today and thought, well I may as well support them, right? I made a good decision. This issue was so informative, my brain doesn't know how to process all this new information. It's full of useful tips, tasty exposés, profiles of celebrities who are helping to save the planet, and showing how much you're really contributing to the Global Warming Crisis.
I also was glad to see that Leo DiCaprio's upcoming GW documentary was mentioned alot, and a sneak preview was even included. I'm looking forward to the doco and I'm so happy that people are becoming more and more aware of his environmental acitivism, and will hopefully follow in his footsteps.



I thought I'd include a very meaningful quote from David Suzuki (like the car ;-), from the issue:

Economists don't include all of the things that nature does for us for nothing. Some technologies would never be able to do what nature does. For example, pollinating all of the flowering plants. What would it cost us to take carbon dioxide out of the air and put oxygen back in, which all the green things do for us for nothing? It's possible to do a crude estimate of what it would take to replace nature. Well, it turns out, (one researcher) estimated it would cost us $35 trillion a year to do what nature is doing for us for nothing. Now to put that inot perspective. If you had added up of the annual economies of all the countries in the world at that time, it would come to 418 trillion . So, nature is doing twice as much service for us the economies of the world. And in the madness of conventional economies, this is not in the equation.

Too true...

*Romany*

Victoria's Secret: no make-up still equals Beautiful

I was looking on People's website yesterday and came across this video. I thought it was really interesting. The angels are fairly natural, sans their wings and hair done. I think they might be wearing a tiny bit of make-up though. They still look beautiful, because they look like really nice girls, very friendly and just happy to be there.
The Models of Victoria's Secret

They've landed themselves on People's Most Beautiful list this year. I think they definitely deserve it. They're all healthy girls, none of them look emaciated in the slightest, and they're all about natural beauty and happy being women. They may be lingerie models, but it's all very tasteful.
I've always loved Karolina and Adriana! I'm so glad they're on the list this year.
P.S. Did anyone else notice the absence of Gisele??

*Romany*

Calm before the storm

Ok so by now most people have probably heard about the whole Stella-McCartney-for-Target-opening-fiasco...Something I would have probably been present at, had I known about it...If you're looking for that footage, look no further Stella McCartney Launch YouTube
But I had a different idea...I thought some might want to actually see the clothes as they are meant to be (on the catwalk), instead of the clothes, at the height of the chaos of the opening, ripped in half, hanging off a woman who has bite marks on her arms...?



Sorry, the photos are really small, but I though it was worth a look anyway...
There was alot of grey and black, very Stella McCartney.



I went into Target a few days after the craziness died down, and I don't remember seeing any clothes like this...maybe I wasn't looking hard enough...?

*Romany*

Music to an aspiring designer's ears...

I was searching online for a competition to post on here, for fashion designer's looking for their big break, and came across this one:

Nolcha Fashion Week International Fashion Design Competition: Silhouette

It seems a bit low-key, but they've name-dropped enough to have me convinced...besides, exposure is sometimes just what you need.

Click Here to enter

The entering process is kind of confusing but if you have any questions, ask me, or email someoene from the official website....good luck all!

*Romany*

More bags of the future...

Anya Hindmarch has made and environmental tote bag. A fashionably cute one too. And it's currently sold out. But I'm not worried...this bag will be hanging off my arm in no time :-)



Soon we'll (hopefully) be saying "gone are the days of strolling in the park and getting smacked in the face with a used and dumped plastic bag. No more marinimals"(Ha I just made that up)"dying from swimming in polluted waters."
It's heartwarming to see people doing their bit for the environment. At least now we're on our way to having a Green Earth to look forward to.

Click Here to keep your eye on it

*Romany*

How do you say that?

Ok, so earlier I said I'd be giving help with pronunciation...well I thought I'd round up a few names of designers that are commonly struggled with:
Let's start with the seemingly simple Givenchy: I was clueless up until about a year ago, but if I had a dollar for every time I heard a story about someone getting into trouble (with some sort of fashion authoritarian) for pronouncing this one the way it looks (gi-ven-chee)...
Correct pronunciation: jhee-von-shee
Guy Laroche: You'd think it'd be simple enough wouldn't you? You'd be wrong...
Correct pronunciation: Gi La-rosh
Hérmes: the h is silent, and the s at the end is said like a z....er-mez...(some like to say 'air'-mez to make it sound fancier)
Christian Lacroix: christian (stays the same) la-qwa
and last but most definitely not least Yves Saint Lauren: eve-sahn-lore-ohn

Until next time...
Hope it helps!

*Romany*

FEEDing the world...one bag at a time

Now you may or may not have heard about this, but none-the-less I think it a very worthwhile investment.
Lauren Bush, Honorary Spokesperson for the World Feed Program, has designed an everyday bag with a difference. By buying this awesome bag, you'll be feeding an impoverished child in school for one year.
19 cents a day or 34 dollars a year can transform a child's life and provide the tools for a lifetime of self-reliance. School feeding is a simple but effective way to beat hunger and poverty.
Designer Lauren Bush says "...the most hopeful thing I have seen during my travels is WFP's school feeding program, where kids are given a lunch meal in school each day. This is incentive enough for kids to attend school when they might not normally, and the meal is nutritious enough for kids to stay healthy and engaged in their studies. It is truly inspiring to see kids, who are born into extreme poverty, in school eager to learn and improve their lives!"
It's a sturdy and fully reversible bag, made out of natural materials, such as cotton and burlap.
The bag costs $59.95 and can only be purchased here on amazon.com
$59.95 is all it takes to save a young child's life...(wow there I go sounding like an ad voice over again.)


*Romany*