What happens.

For the second time in two weeks, I really must be apologising for my missing a day (yesterday). I was exhausted due to all things ridiculous. One of those things was, however, really quite worth it - i.e. dear Sophie's Las Vegas themed 18th (she so old :O) that was awesome beyond words. Happy belated Birthday Miss Sophie :)

These photos were taken by the awesome Kath Mills, whose camera I need to be enquiring about. Don't you love film photography? Gotta love me some Black Jack and Roulette... supreme fluke land.

I guess this isn't an outfit as such, but I'm wearing my vintage fur (there were so many floating around that night - I spent a good half hour running around stroking them), my currently over-used black backless maxi, assorted bling as the high rollers do it, and the awesome Retrofuturist lipstick from Lime Crime that soldiered strong all night despite numerous straws and chewing ice. It's a tendency of mine - if there is ice, I chew it.

Having said all this, I swear I swear: outfit post tomorrow :) Get excited.

And if I haven't replied to your beautiful comments (which I know I haven't on oh so many occasions with a rapidly multiplying inbox count to show it), I still love you! I have somehow managed to become snowed under in life without actually having any deadlines. I'm talented like that.

What did you all get up to over the weekend?

*love*

xx

Fake London AW10.

Fake London's AW10 lookbook is one of the few things that currently have the ability to make me want Winter to go on for a little while longer than forecasted - the hemispheres should probably have a chat and sort it out :) I've always admired Fake London's consistent ability to form shapes and silhouettes from layer upon layer of texture and colour - so it was pretty fun to sit and observe how these particular textures fitted with each other, think about how I could appropriate this vibe with the contents of my wardrobe, and realising that this simply wouldn't be possible without buying the entirety of this collection.

I don't think I've ever been so excited to see denim jackets before.

Check out more of Fake London HERE (where the Summer lookbook does actually make me feel a bit better about life :D)

Have we all had a nice Saturday? I have some nice photos from a dear friend's 18th that will hopefully go up in the next couple of days.

*love*

xx

Hermès FW10.

tfs

With all the flurry over, I realised that I'd forgotten to put my stamp of love on the Hermès collection shown at Paris Fashion Week. Although I found that Mr JPG took a lot of the vibe and staging from his show last year, it still had the gorgeously mysterious and playful take on a concept that was so well chosen. Elementary, my dear Watson. (Apparently Holmes never actually says that in any of the books. How funny).

I've decided that pumpkin orange was nice here - it did remind me a lot of one of the Obama girls' coats at some point in some ceremony - I don't even know :)

I have also decided that Coco Rocha has this amazing presence - it's like she's performing, not walking, every time she hits that runway.

How awesome is that full length coat!?

I know I haven't done any outfits posts as of late! I don't currently have access to a camera of any sort, but I will soon, so bear with me!

Hope you're all having an ace weekend.

*love*

xx

Valentino FW10.

tfs

Is it possible for something to flow sharply? That was all I could think of to describe Valentino. Everything was calculated, clean, proportionate, but not restrictive - I think this showed in the models and the general vibe (makeup versus hair helped too).

I can't say I'm a massive fan of the pointed, awkward-height shoes that seem to be around this season (Stella McCartney, Lanvin, etc.), but I guess, here, they acted as conceptual anchors (I'm admittedly writing a pretty intense English essay at the moment :D).

Love those ruffles and layers though. Also good to see some Valentino Red once in a while :) Thoughts?

*love*

xx

Viktor & Rolf FW10.

tfs

I am at a loss as to how I can communicate to you guys how purely absolute Viktor & Rolf was. It wasn't even [insert adjective] something. It just was. And this amazed me.

Normally, I hate watching footage of shows, because it feels like it's taking away from the art and concepts that the designer intended - I don't even know. My mind makes weird connections like that :) Beside the point, I had to watch this one (or this) and I've spent the day trying to think how I can possibly encapsulate the show - the performance - into one post without posting the entire collection or the video.

And I clearly failed - apologies for this - because I've left out so many of the spontaneous silhouettes that went down that runway, and I really do want you all to see all of it! So off you go to Style.com or somewhere similar, to gobble up this collection. Please. :)

I've tried to show some of the transformation involved - for those of you who haven't heard/seen/read about this yet, the show opened with Kristen McMenamy strutting out in this monstrous pile of crystal detail, along with Mr Viktor and Mr Rolf, who proceeded to Babushka her (so to speak) onto the other models. Once she was down to just a nude bodysuit, we went backwards and finished up with a completely different, but equally beautiful pile.

The fact that everything was styled in plain sight with such precision, was what I found most incredible. The second point of genius in this was how much it sold the versatility of every piece - a body con, crystal encrusted mini dress could, with a few pullings around of drawstrings, become a leather cape.

How?

I can't even explain it. Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren are quite possibly, the new idols of my life.

Thoughts?

P.S. Sorry for the freakishly long-winded post. :)

*love*

xx

Christian Dior FW10.

tfs

An insane amount of inspiration came from this Dior show. The hunt for the most amazing tights of all time continues, thigh high boots instead of pants comes to mind, sheer maxi skirts or dresses under jackets and blazers, looped cord necklaces, and an Alexander Wang hair done as a fish-tail rather than a braid.

I loved the make up, and although I'm not a fan of piles of hair, I did love how this sort provided a kind of balance to everything.

Oui?

*love*

xx

The Cassette Society: Katie.

I know all Aussies reading this are very familiar with Cassette Society - stocked in all our beloved General Pants Co. stores, and so many boutiques nationally. I know I'm forever rifling through their stuff, and trying to decide whether I can get away with buying one thing without walking out and feeling like I should have bought everything else.

I got the change to get the lowdown on the goings on at Cassette Society with the fun-loving and very out there Katie.

Hi hi, how’s it going? Wicked witchly thanks...

To begin with, how did Cassette Society start out? Bloch International hired me to start the brand off as a cool sportswear brand worn on and off the dance floor, this was back in 2006, the rest is history.

Your latest collection, I have to say, is everything edgy and fun I’ve ever wanted in my wardrobe! Where did all your inspiration come from? Well, we were just starting to get into that whole tropical grunge vibe thats been coming on the last couple of months and it just seemed fitting to use this as a slight evolution from winter one - Why Can’t I Be You collection... where we were hugely influenced by movie ' Desperately seeking Susan'. Aka Madonna!! Woooooo. There is a black based floral story with punchy neon green rippling through it, an in excess ode to inxs rocker tee, and an electric blue stripe story (the stripe being a little erratic) ... and lotsa mini dresses, sequin cropped tees etc.

What’s your favourite piece from this latest collection? Often the pieces that i get gaga over dont make it to production maybe due to the wackiness, so in saying that I love love love the Crimson Heat Fur Cropped Jacket [above] and I also love the Janie’s Got A Gun Mini Dress (this has subtle shoulder pads and fun little diagonally placed zippers [last]). The Thief Of Hearts Bodice Dress [below] is a winner too because you can wear it so many different ways: dress up or down. Wear a tee underneath etc.

What kind of work goes into developing one piece in a collection? A great deal... A4 page spec pack, plenty of fittings, a sampling process.

What would you describe as being the Cassette Society vibe? We like to think each of our garments have a mix of strong femme and pretty femme. So the combination of the 2 paradoxes combined equals voila... Cassette girl...

Who would you say is Cassette Society’s biggest style icon of the moment? There is no girl in particular because we like to cater for a variety of girls and most IT girls out there definitely have their own thing going on, but we definitely appreciate the dress code of Miss Fa' Empel. Indonesian Goddess....... HA yeah Fa' !!!

And what’s the biggest style trend you see coming through this year? So far it's definitely very tropical grunge... grunge gone troppo! New wave though of course.

What do you think if the new wave of fashion bloggers and street stylists coming through? I think it's great. Very interactive and resourceful and they're very dedicated to what they love doing. Its awesome.

Where do you see Cassette Society being in the next 5 years? World wide. Maybe a menswear component.... maybe another brand within our CS brand will sprout... the answers in the wind...

A random question from our last interviewee, Kim – designer of swimwear label, Kymare: Would you make the same decisions again? Depends what the decision was - we are constantly learning... sometimes we screw up and pay for it along the way - other times we get things right off the bat....

And finally, what’s a random question you’d like to ask our next interviewee? Do you feel lucky, well, do you, punk?

All these images are from their second Winter Lookbook - so expect these beauties to hit stores in the near future... and for me to go crazy wanting them :)

Thanks Katie! Many thanks, also, to Alex Losung.

Check out more of Cassette Society HERE.

*love*

xx

"... can you please spell 'Gabbana'?" ~ Andy: The Devil Wears Prada

Coutorture

D&G's knits actually killed me. Good killing (as is, apparently, always the case with my frequent dying upon seeing things). So, I'm sorry that it looks like I've just flooded the page with D&G photos, but I had such a hard time cutting the entire collection down!

The thing I loved most about this FW10 collection, was that the models didn't look like they were walking a runway. It wasn't artificial, it wasn't over-performed. It was just like: I'm walking down the street in D&G. What of it? Keys, phone, bag.

Also, it is now my dream to walk around holding a Vespa helmet and gloves (like in fourth photo), regardless of whether I actually have a Vespa. Which I don't.

Second: the amazingly smooth transition between knits to chiffon to knits again - and here, I have to draw your attention to the knit-esque chiffon (printed or woven) in the first photo - I want. I am so wearing patterned knits with floaty skirts this winter.

Third: everything that can be belted was belted. The (high-wasited) furs (shorts) were belted. The body suits were belted. The (dream) blazers were belted. If a model had Rapunzel hair, it would have been belted.

And lastly:

I don't think there is even I need to say about these.

*love*

xx

Burberry Prorsum FW10.

Again with the belated LFW postings :)

I cannot get over the wearability of this Burberry Prorsum collection! Makes me want thigh high boots rather than ankle ones, renewed my search for the blazer, and winter brights.

I also wish I could find a full length photos of what Frida walked in:

How gorgeous is that blue-grey?

*love*

xx

But then again.

Vintage Jacket - Self-made Bodycon Dress - Night market Lace tights - Wanted Shoes Co. Heels

My darling Sam just sent me some photos he did when it was supremely windy last week and I was being silly with my deep-of-Winter jacket :) I know it's still Summer... but it was oh so cold! And all these people in New York for NYFW make me so jealous, so here's my little piece of snow for you all :) A little unflattering, but a piece of snow nonetheless.

One more day of the week, friends!

*love*

xx

Review mirror.

Every so often I come across a collection where I prefer the backs of most of the pieces to the front - Luca Luca was one of them. :)

Thoughts?

*love*

xx

Fast Forward.

Happy Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year, all! I'm back from my weekend of intense brain workout, and am going to be really terrible and do a couple of runway posts in a row - shock horror.

Ports1961: I swear, I am going to go out and buy a leather aviator cap and gloves and wear them everywhere this Winter :)

Vena Cava: Again with the haunting of red lips and the black ankle boots! I also don't mind the top-heavy silhouette that seems to be happening this year - snoods? Something else I've noticed is the maxi dress or skirt which seems to be hopping seasons - yes, no, maybe?

Irina Shabayeva: Is anyone else loving how she's taken Fall/Winter as a literal concept and exploded it into this amazing costume of... feeling warm? :)

*love*

xx