Skating in Wellington....

I'm sure when my friends and I were young we were happy to wear any colour.......as long as it was black!  Right now it would seem that green - in all it's shades and glory - is the "new black"!

xxo

Princess Bay....

Ok, so Wellington doesn't have the large fabulous shopping you can find elsewhere (although Kirkcaldies is getting better and better every year), and we don't have the largest of populations (although many would say that's a great thing).....  But what we DO have is a wild and beautiful coast line - and on a warm summer evening, with the sun slipping down behind the hills, there is nowhere in the world I would rather be!

xxo

Spotted at the bar....

Ahhhh - nothing accessories an outfit like......a nice pint!

So here we have two of the British national obsessions in one shot  - beer and mobile phones!

xxo

Tiger tiger.....

Tiger tiger burning bright
Printed on fabric, a charming sight! ;-)

Sometimes I need a little reminder of what a bad poet I am that prints can be unusual, imaginative or illustrative.... 

And what better reminder could there be than a bright, colourful and striking picture-print of a tiger - my chinese horoscope sign!! 
Tigers are fearless, bold and fabulous -  just like the woman who dons such an eye-catching article...

xxo

Canon Couture

I was at London Fashion Week this year, and while you may have read that this or that was the latest 'must-have' accessory - for example the backpack - I can assure you that there was but ONE thing that stood out head and shoulders above all the rest.......the camera.

The silky webbed strap was generally seen in either a black, white & red, or a striking gold and black combination, and could be worn casually over one shoulder or around the neck; slung across the body, or casually wound around the wrist; low on the hip or higher, (like Paul McCartney's guitar).  Logos and brand names have pride of place, and while black is the most frequent colour, there were also plenty of retro silver options, alongside a smaller, more colourful compact range.  As with all accessory trends there were plenty who went for over the top large, with enormous lenses in a fashionable grey stripe, but I have to say that, as with heavy padlocks on a Chloe bag, I see repetitive strain-type-injuries for those that tote these monstrosities around for too long!

Oh - and as with many other accessories, Hermes has come up with a pretty covetable offering!

xxo

Wax works....

If there is one fabric that has made a spectacular comeback over the last two years, it is leather.   It was not too long ago that leather was a symbol of many things......none of them beginning with "fashion" or "style"!

Then in the past couple of years leather went global - nay...universal!  Suddenly it was everywhere!  And those who thought it was a passing fad have really been truly silenced this year!  Leather was as prevalent as ever, 
if not more so!

There is one problem with this of course, and that is that leather is generally as costly as it has been popular, thus making it out of 
reach to many.

So luckily, there are other options.....just one of these being waxed denim, which has made been quietly growing in popularity, allowing many people to capture the same edgy 'rock' style without having to possess a rock bank balance.  
xxo

WTF....

Now, from the sublime - to the 
ridiculous.....

Why?  That is pretty much all I could say when I saw this!  Now, it is rare for me to be truly speechless -  but on this occasion I was somewhat lost for 
words!

I havelearned over the years that it's unwise to say I'll NEVER do  something:

I said it about flares.......wound up loving my new JBrand flares**.  
I said it about skinny jeans.......you couldn't pry my skinny jeans from my cold, dead fingers.  
I said "never" about wedges........I tower over all my friends in my new blue wedges.
I said it about harem pants.......well...ok, I still haven't embraced them!

But believe mewhen I say that it is HIGHLY UNLIKELY that I will ever, EVER, submerse any part of myself in a tank full of fish, & sit calmly while they nibble all over my body!

(Watch this space.....)

xxo

** I can even clearly recall saying, at about age 5, that I would never, ever wear jeans!!!!  I now struggle daily with the conundrum of where to store my extensive jean collection, & at least once every year I become consumed with the  fruitless  un-ending search for the perfect pair!

Chanel dreaming....

Aaaaaaaaaah!  What can I say?  I'm in love - with a DRESS!  A beautiful, blue, Chanel dress!

This Chanel is a little piece of heaven really.  The floaty net fabric, the muted dusty lavender tone, the empire line, the delicate beading - it is a true classic.  Indeed, I was really struck by how ultimately timeless it is.   You wouldn't be at all surprised to see this dress in a faded photo from the 1900's, the 1920's, the 1950's..... 

There is always some debate in New Zealand as to what the rules are when dressing for an event, and deciphering the dress code maze is not really our forte as a nation.  Indeed, as a country we are notorious for our under-dressing (& I don't mean our stylish lingerie!!!) - jeans to opening night of the ballet anyone?  I can clearly recall my childhood dismay upon glimpsing the informal outfits on display when I attended my first ever opening night at Wellingtons Opera House.  I yearned for Chanel - I got blue denim! 

Of course, I think it is highly unlikely that I will ever be fortunate enough to own, or even wear a dress such as this, but....well.... a girl can always dream, right?  Sighhhhhhhhhhh..........

xxo

Scarf envy

You know....I have something to admit -

To this day I have never quite managed to figure out how to tie my scarf with the same casual class, sartorial style or insouciant air that so many women I see manage to achieve.  It is a major frustration for me, but I take comfort from the rare article I come across in magazines that attempt to teach this art to their readers - this must mean I'm not alone, yes??

So, here goes:  My name's Michele, & I'm a scarf-dyslexic. :-(

xxo

(Oh, and if I'm not mistaken, this is the fabulous model Ruby Aldridge....)

Top of the town

It certainly is exciting that Topshop has finally reached NZ shores*, (even if it is a small collection within another store).  Once merely a British High St brand, Topshop is now loved worldwide, for a variety of reasons.  Here are a few of mine:

Firstly - It is a brand that really lets you play with fashion, offering a phenomenal collection of garments from the sublime to the ridiculous.  

Second - Topshop is well known for it's support of up-&-coming designers, giving many fledgling labels a foothold in the industry that it would have been virtually impossible for them to gain otherwise.  

But the thing I love about the brand the most is that it allows many of us the opportunity to own a slice of designer heaven that would normally be well out of our reach (for example the Christopher Kane designed dress above)!   Yes - god bless those wonderful designer collaborations!  And god bless Topshop!!!

xxo

* I should note that while Topshop arrived in New Zealand months ago, it only recently made its way to Wellington.  Thank you to you Karen Walker!

One RIng....

I bumped into a friend the other day & I couldn't help noticing the ring he was wearing.  I love the ruby eyes and diamond eyebrows, & it got me thinking - I really like jewellery on men!  And I particularly like that more and more men are starting to wear it.....

Indeed, jewellery seems to have had something of a renaissance over the past few years.  Labels here in New Zealand such as Company of Strangers, Deadly Ponies and Stolen Girlfriends Club, to name just a few, are producing imaginative and creative pieces infused with a dark Kiwi humour.  And this "gothic" trend can be seen in the incredible work of Pamela Love and William Llewellyn Griffiths, alongside many many others.  

And while women are buying these offerings in droves, I think there is a masculinity to them that means men are indulging too.  I, for one, say long may this trend last!!!

xxo

Costume characters....

When we are little we love to dress up.  I remember wistfully the large wooden 'Dressing Up' box upstairs in my grandmothers house - the way I would dive in head first, emerging minutes later as a "Medieval queen", a "fairy princess" or a "victorian lady" - (even, on occasion, as "my mother at her school ball").  One of the [many] sad aspects of aging seems to be that we lose that playful desire to dress up outrageously, (save for those special occasions when we deem it acceptable, ie. Halloween)....

.......or some of us do!  Thankfully there have always been those amongst us who retain this youthful sense of style in their daily sartorial choices - the Marchesa Casati's, the Isabella Blow's and the Anna Dello Russo's.

I love the couple above, not only for the gorgeous colour but for their sense of fun!  To me, they look as though they have just stepped from the pages of Oliver Twist, or some such novel - a modern day Artful Dodger and Nancy.

So I think why not employ more fashion fun on a daily basis - we only live once after all....

Hmmmm - I think I feel a New Years Resolution coming on......

xxo