Almost famous... a few years ago

Despite my relative anonymity now, back in the day I actually managed to get into a few "style snaps"-type spreads in fashion mags in various countries. So many, in fact, that I have NO recollection about some of them (well, not that many, but otherwise there is little excuse for my memory loss). Case in point, I was recently contacted by a photographer in Amsterdam who said she'd seen me in a magazine article and would I like to do some styling work with her. Having no idea what she was talking about, as I have not been in any overseas mags for quite a while, I asked her to send a scan of the story, and received this jpeg of a slightly worse-for-the-wear page from Vero Moda magazine.

Yes, that's me, one of the "girls who knows what to wear right now" (lucky they did not interview me today, as "right now" I'm sitting here in tracksuit pants and a motheaten jumper from an op shop!).
I really had to think for a while about this article as I had close to no memory of actually having participated in this article, but, well, the photo was taken on a personal trip to Chicago, which means I must have supplied it to Vero Moda, which means I must have answered their questions, and I am always on the lookout for perfect black boots so yes, this was definitely a me-approved article. My guess is I must have met someone from the magazine at a fashion week somewhere and agreed to do it, but memory fails... slightly worrying!!
Around the same time that my grey cells were being challenged to recall my involvement with Vero Moda, The Clothing Exchange contacted me to say they had put up some words about me on their website. The same article features in the writer's own personal blog. And then there's a little bit up about me on Cecylia's blog too (although you might have already seen the photos a week or so ago here).
Oh, and I am not credited at all (when do translators ever get much credit!?) but a few weeks ago this app was launched for iPhone...

I am proud to say that I was the translator for the original guidebook, Tokyo by Tokyo! So if you're heading over to Tokyo any time soon, and you are a technological type, download this app and take me with you in your pocket!
(Or for more old-fashioned travellers, you can always buy the book...)


OK, that's enough of blowing my own trumpet, back to the daily grind!

RMIT's got talent

Normally unless it's the Spring Carnival, you will never find me at a racetrack. But when I was invited to Moonee Valley racecourse for the RMIT VIP night this Tuesday, I decided to make an exception. It's not often that you get to see so much talent under the one roof - students' work from the fashion, textiles, footwear and marketing courses was on display so that the graduates could show off their stuff to industry types and hopefully kickstart their careers. And because I remembered to take my camera and cleverly snapped some shots in between mingling, gasping in awe and admiration at the work and snacking on canapes, you get a sneak peek at tomorrow's stars!

Guests were welcomed by Hayley Niven's dramatic creation at the entrance:


Drapes and pleats work a charm in Minahil Basharat's strapless number:


Lara Lethbridge's floral balloon dress:


Samantha Bezzina's "Kaleidoscope" dress reminded me of the stained glass in the ceiling of the NGV. I sneakily managed to get Susanna and Fabia into this shot too (they're working on the Fair@Square festival too... more on that further down)...


Natalie Hite's lingerie looks are the height of boudoir chic:


Sophie Canaway's tea towels ... for The Tiger that came to Tea? (I would VOLUNTARILY dry the dishes if I had a tea towel this cute!)


Natasha Havir Smith's leather patchworking for the urban jungle:


Loredana Camarata's delicately patterned designs and dainty dresses:


Marina Wilson's African-inspired knitted neckpieces:


Milly Gamlin's dreamy 1920s inspired textiles:


So what was I doing there, you may ask, as I am neither a student nor (at the moment) a card-carrying member of the fashion elite. Well, as part of the fashion program for Fair@Square festival (for which Fabia and I are organising the fashion show), we held a sort of competition in which RMIT textile students designed a print that highlighted fair trade issues. The winning designs (of which there are six) will be digitally printed (less resource-wasteful than screenprinting) on certified organic, Fair Trade cotton banners which will decorate the main stage at Federation Square during the festival!! These are just some of the entries. I am very glad I was not a judge as they were all so thoughtfully researched and beautifully executed.


And here are some of the students themselves... take a good look, I'm tipping that these are the famous faces of the future! (By the way, if you're in Melbourne, there's an RMIT textile graduate exhibition at Counihan Gallery, 233 Sydney Road, Brunswick, until 18 December, so you can go and look at some of this amazing stuff for yourself - for free!)

Detox starts tomorrow

One of my friends is a food fiend. In fact, most of my friends are food fiends and so our social activities revolve around cooking and eating, although my skills do not really lie in the cooking department so I prefer to deal only in the eating part. Anyway, this particular friend is getting married in a few weeks and this weekend was her hen's night. But one night is not enough time to fit in much serious eating, so it was decided that an afternoon chocolate tour would be the best way to start celebrations. We gathered in Melbourne's Block Arcade which is home to one of chocolate's meccas, Haigh's.

Check out the Christmas decorations and these seriously cute novelty chocolates....

We got to try ganache and pastille chocolates at Haigh's and hear the history of the Block Arcade (did you know the floor was covered in green felt during the Second World War so that hobnail boot-clad American soldiers who were stationed here wouldn't wreck the gorgeous mosaic floors? And then for two decades it was covered in horrid lino until someone realised the mosaic tiles were more attractive and removed it in the seventies!), then stopped at a couple of other chocolate-vending places before heading to the Royal Arcade.

For my overseas readers, one of the things Melbourne is famous for is its arcades, so make sure you check them out when you are here! Look how gorgeous they are all dressed up for Christmas! And look how gorgeous this champagne truffle from Koko Black is... mmm... white chocolate ganache covered in milk chocolate and then dusted with sugar... *aahhghhh* (that's meant to be the noise that Homer Simpson does when he thinks about donuts)
And yet more festive sweets...

Matrouschka dolls don't have a great deal to do with Christmas but I love them anyway and there's a shop specialising in them in the Royal Arcade, so here's a snap of their window display!

We finished up at Hairy Little Sister, which sounds like the relative that everyone avoids mentioning but is in fact a cafe which is the last stop on the tour. I didn't get any photos there as it was a bit dark but we were served chocolate mousse with raspberry sauce (or coulis, for those who like fancy food words) which was, naturally, delicious...
The rest of the weekend passed in a sugar rush-induced haze but I have a feeling more eating was involved before we all fell asleep in the wee small hours after watching a DVD back at our accommodation (yes, we really are such party animals) and getting up on Sunday morning for a breakfast at the Queen Victoria market which involved bacon, fried eggs and chorizo, none of which are on any detox plan that I've ever seen.
So after that weekend of waistline sabotage I was quite glad to hear that the catering at my interpreting job today was only sandwiches. I walked into the lunch room after the morning's labours, innocently expecting something simple (AKA salad sandwiches) and was accosted by this sight.

That's right, Valrhona chocolate brownies and strawberry tarts and mini creme brulees as far as the eye could see... and that was just the dessert bar. I should have seen it coming - the job was at a FOOD EXPO at the LANGHAM HOTEL (famous for its afternoon teas) after all!

The plan after I finished at the interpreting job had been to meet friends at Southbank for icecream, but as I waddled there to meet them, I decided to opt for a drink and a walk along the Yarra instead. How could we not make the most of such beautiful scenery? Melbourne really knows how to put it on during the summer.

Here's an outfit pic - this is probably the only time you will ever see me wearing anything so conservative (can you even SEE my earrings, they are that small!?) so have a good snigger while you can! I'm loaded down with freebies from the food expo - the Japanese manufacturers didn't want to carry all their gazillion bottles of soy sauce, gourmet vinegar and whatnot back home for some reason so the interpreters and staff all left looking like bears who had decided they needed to build a storehouse of Japanese foodstuffs to get them through a nuclear winter.

These last two pics are just to show off more of the scenery along the river - this building reflecting the sunset was so shiny!! And I can never resist shiny!

Consaba-kei

You know how in nearly all sensible "wardrobe basics" lists, "classic white shirts" are mentioned? I've never been able to work them into my wardrobe, but then again I'd hardly call many of the clothes I own "basic". Not having to work in corporate settings, I can fairly much wear what I like (when I actually have a job, which, at the moment, I don't...anyone want to employ me!? I'm quite good at all sorts of things!), so there's no need for me to wear a "classic white shirt". But that didn't stop me from buying this one at an op shop last week on my way home from clearing out my desk at my former job (I basically only needed to pick up some tea bags that I had left there.... waste not, want not!).

I knew just by glancing at the shirt on the rack that it was some sort of designer brand, but couldn't work it out until I had a look at the label which the kind staff must have decided to add... Stella McCartney for Target! OK, hardly in the same league as just Stella McCartney by herself, but for $4, who cares, and I actually do have a job next Monday that may require slightly conservative dress - an interpreting gig for a Japanese trade event. So I'm trying to be organised and working out my summer consaba-kei (conservative dress) outfit in advance. What's the bet that by next Monday Melbourne will be hit by an avalanche of snow and this light, summery top will be completely inappropriate??

Hot chicks! .. who are All Dressed Up...

Well, as I mentioned in my previous post, I was invited by the lovely Cecylia to hang out in her boutique last Friday, which turned out to be a real stinker, hence the teasing title of this post (sorry to disappoint any guys who think they're going to see sexy bikini-clad types, but that sort of thing doesn't happen here! I'm a lay-dee, after all!).

I was greeted at the door by this handsome young gentleman who was hanging out waiting for a cool breeze.

As I'd expected, the boutique was full of lovely things, but as I had something else to go to afterwards (a free dinner, thanks to a win several months ago at a trivia night. It pays to be a nerd!) we just had a chat and a pat!

I'm wearing a top I made from a $3 dress (cut the sleeves off, and used the bottom part to make it into ruffles for around the front.) I've got the massive jewellery thing going on as usual, I have written about some of these pieces before but I don't think I have mentioned the red necklace which I made myself. The big red chunks are apparently mountain coral (although I think they might just be resin) which I bought at a flea market in Japan for $15 and strung on fishing line with some blue Fimo beads that I made when I was about 12! Which is such a long time ago that it makes them vintage :)

The big silver cuff is from the bazaar in Istanbul, where I spent so long shopping that my friends and I had to be escorted out because it was after closing time. Hmm, Cecylia had to escort me out of her boutique too, it seems to be a bit of a habit with me... she even had to enlist her bodyguard, Theodore...

I don't think I can really be blamed for wanting to stay longer though! I mean, I got to find out about where Cecylia finds some of the amazing vintage pieces she wears and swapped designer gossip, all while ogling fabulous fashion. Next time I will actually try stuff on, but in the meantime I'm going to work out a bit more so I can be worthy of this little bodycon number by All Dressed Up! Stay tuned!

And why not cruise on over to Cecylia's blog for more about her fashion adventures, vintage and designer discoveries... and my star appearance, of course! (Thanks to Cecylia for the pics in this post, too!)

BIG discount at Cecylia online!!

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of visiting the Cecylia boutique at 1113 High St, Armadale, for a stylish soiree at which I not only got to mingle with lovely ladies but also checked out fabulous frocks AND nibble on (alright, admittedly it was more like, stuff my face with) delicious little desserts. I put some blurry pictures up about it but was later sent some better ones (thanks Cheryl!) so here's one to jog your memory (with new friend Hannah, and wearing outfit entirely made by myself as I was participating in Self-stitched September... seems so long ago now!)

Anyway, Cecylia herself has invited me to drop around to the shop tomorrow to do the girly bonding thing and take silly photos of me for her blog (at least I think that's what she has in mind, but she'll have to tear me away from the Mawi jewellery and Felder Felder fabulousness first). Those of you who are in Melbourne, if you haven't already been, drop in to the boutique (I'm not just saying that because there are FREE CUPCAKES with purchase), but those of you who live elsewhere - you can now shop online!! The new Cecylia eBoutique at http://shop.cecylia.com will feature a selection of pieces from various designers stocked in the store, including items exclusive to Cecylia in Australia. There's also the chance to preview collections and pre-order to be the first chick on the block with the latest designer creations.
What? You want more? Well, as you're all so lovely to me (and Suki of course, not that she shops at Cecylia because she prefers to go around au naturelle), if you use the discount code STYLEWILD, you will receive an extra 20% off (even for already discounted prices) at the online shop at http://shop.cecylia.com. Don't ever let it be said that I don't give back to those who show me blog love!!

Vogue Vintage... in nylon?

So, as you would have seen, the good news is that Suki's fine. However, while that drama is out of the way for the time being, I now have to deal with being unemployed. Yes, that also happened last week, and through no fault of my own (basically the big bosses decided to get rid of all the casual workers... including me). So it's back to pondering the irksome subject of what I want to do with my life, which I've been doing for the past few years as it seems that anything I actually enjoy makes NO money whatsoever. (This is one of my pondering poses).

In the meantime though, a friend has asked me to make a dress for her to wear to her sister's wedding in December, which gave me an excuse to try out this pattern which I bought a few years ago.

Gorgeous, elegant, 30s style, yes? As I'd never used it (like the other hundred or so patterns I own.. aggh) I decided to do a trial using some fabric that I got at the Salvos recently for a few dollars and is most likely 70s nylon and therefore completely inappropriate for this sort of style. It's also VERY see-through so it's lucky there's a fair bit of dapple in this area of the garden!!

Even if it's made in non-see-through stuff though, the back is still very open, so the ladies who wore this style originally must have gone completely bra-less. It's not like they had those silicon stick-on things back then! (speaking of which, has anyone else had a giggle over those horrible fake nipple silicon things that are sold at Lincraft!? The other day when I went, there was a whole rack of ..um.. breast enhancing products, including some silicon things that you wear to make you look like you've just stepped out of a freezer or something...you know, what guys would refer to as high beam...)

Um, anyway, back to the dress... it was interesting making it as I've never sewn anything bias-cut before. Has anyone ever used the vintage re-issue patterns like this one? I'm wondering whether they are direct replicas of vintage patterns or whether they have been rejigged for today, the main reason being that nothing on the inside of the pattern was finished off neatly. There are no allowances given for seams to be overlocked, neatly edged or anything like that so the inside looks really rough (well, it would if you could see anything properly, as this material has a pretty loud print which hides a lot of flaws!)

The dress is not quite finished as I still have to make a belt and the strap tubey-thing details, but it was such a beautiful day that I wanted to capture it while I could. Again, let me stress that this was a TRIAL so the actual dress I'm making for my friend will be in a different fabric, although still patterned rather than plain. I'll try to butter up the said friend so she can model it for you once it's finished.