Lily Montana goes... Ginga?

Sorry about the long time no post... I've had exams and a lot going on right now! Anywho, I was on the Runway Reporter website and it appears that the bubbly blonde model Lily Montana has had a slight change of hair colour.



Hm... Wonder what her agents said...

Snap!

International department stores are well known for their almost perfect designer knockoffs, especially American chain store Forever 21. They recently launched a new line called "Twelve by Twelve" and it seems that they've been getting a bit of inspiration from none other than Cybele.
It might just be me but the two dresses below look pretty similar...


Or maybe not.. they dont look so similar now that they're side by side.

Summer Lovin'

With exams just around the corner and the end of the school year in sight, I'm probably more excited than ever about the well deserved rest that I'm gonna have this summer! I'm also really looking forward to digging out my summer dresses and sifting through all my winter shoes to find my Havaianas. But most of all, I just can't wait to go shopping for more summer clothes - new bikinis, shoes, make-up and... LUELLA FOR O'NEILL!!
I have no idea if they're going to bring it out here but one can only hope they have a website...


Aren't they gorgeous? I really want a pair but I'm not too sure I'll get into the shops before they've all sold out... I guess I do need an excuse not to study

Trick or treat?

I've never really been into Halloween, even when I was younger. I did host my own mini Halloween party a couple of years ago and I went as a witch - the most cliche dress-up. I'm not doing anything for it this year on account of it being on a Wednesday night and me having school the next day and all, but I was wondering what on earth I would dress up in if I was going to a party. I could always dress up as a highlighter, I'm sure I could find all the clothes I need for that from Supre.
I found a couple of costumes that I could hire, such as the ones below



You know you want to look like a Pavlova. Or Ginger Spice. Or whatever that pink thing is.

I wonder why on earth they put a nun costume in the "Pimps and prostitutes" section. I quite like the pimp costume though, it looks quite realistic. As does the fat lady one. In case you're wondering, all the costumes come from Desiree.co.nz

All I can say is, thank God I'm not dressing up!

In the summertime

Judging by the cold, windy weather we had yesterday, its quite hard to believe that summer isn't far off. In my opinion, there is nothing worse than trying on a bikini in winter - you're as pasty as can be, gained a bit of weight and possibly have a few furry patches. It is a good idea, however, to buy swimwear before the "summer rush" hits and you find yourself going shopping for one the day before you leave for a beach holiday.
Right now I should be studying for the exams I have coming up in three weeks time, but I'd much rather be looking at swimwear online! I have a feeling that white swimwear will be quite hot this summer even though its not very practical...

(both from http://www.swimwear.co.nz/)

Makes you wish summer would hurry up - doesn't it?

Hat hair

I must admit that I'd never actually heard of Philip Treacy until about a month or two ago, when people started talking about the death of Isabella Blow. Since then, he has been in the papers, on TV and in a million magazines. I guess you can only describe his hats as extravagant works of art.
Isabella Blow was his muse, they met more than 15 years ago but in May this year, Isabella comitted suicide following a deep depression and an attempted suicide in 2006.

To see more of his amazing hats, go here

4 quick questions with Lucie Boshier!

If you've been anywhere near Newmarket in the past year, you'll know that Lucie Boshier has stunning dresses worthy of a princess! I was lucky enough to have her answer a few quick questions for me...

1. What made you want to be a fashion designer?
No idea! I have been drawing and designing since I was a child. I love clothes and dressing up and creating.

2. What inspires your collections?
It can be anything, not necessarily always positive either. My inspiration usually contains madness and colour like Mexico, or a flamboyant artist or band. My last range was inspired by the controversial photographer David LaChapelle.

3. What do you think of the New Zealand fashion industry at the moment?
I think it’s no different to anywhere else in the world only our clothes are less diverse and there is so much god-damn black! It does not make you appear thinner or look sophisticated when you wear it everyday.

4. What are your beliefs on the skinny model issue and do you think it is relevant to NZers?
I think that there is no excuse for using underweight girls for modeling. The new problem is the age factor though – the industry is getting girls younger and younger so that they are naturally thin at that age. Older girls and woman that are then forced into having to look at fashion worn by these pubescent teenagers and I believe get low self esteems for not being able to look the same way. At some point most women will grow breasts and hips as this is a natural human trait in order to reproduce. The fashion industry is training men and women to look at children in a sexually provocative way – this will lead to sexual abuse and sexual dissatisfaction for both genders (men can’t have it, women can’t be it). There is no excuse. Children are not the target market in high fashion; they do not look better in the clothes and will not help to sell the clothes. It is very relevant to New Zealand and all over the world. The fashion industry has a lot to answer for.


^ Her colourful store in Newmarket - check it out next time you're nearby!

My playlist for this week...

1. The One by The Exiles

2. Rock the Casbah by The Clash (very, very sixties!)

3. Stand in the Rain by Superchick

4. Calm Before the Storm by Darude

5. Clumsy by Fergie

Video of the week...
All this love by The Similou (I know it's old but I never get sick of it!)

Katie Braatvedt does Teen Vogue!

Whenever I see something vaguely NZ related in any American fashion magazine I jump up and down happily and dance around the room. I'm not kidding. I love the thought of the New Zealand fashion industry expanding so that, if you asked a random person from overseas what they know about New Zealand, they would reply "Oh, they have lots of sheep and really good fashion."
So you can imagine how excited I was when I saw that Katie Braatvedt did an editorial for Teen Vogue. I think that out of all the models here, she possibly has the most potential to become an international supermodel. Lets just hope that she doesn't get caught up in the "model lifestyle" like certain other models I could mention...

Click here for the rest of the pics

More rain!

When will the rain stop?? Oh well, the plus side to the bad weather is that it gives you heaps of time to do things you've been meaning to do for a long time, in my case that would be putting my old clothes up for sale on Trade Me. I managed to photograph all my old junk (I shudder to think I ever actually wore some of those things) but my Trade Me account is $3.26 in debt so I need to top it up before I can list them.
Got sent the MyCatwalk newsletter this morning with all their new arrivals - some of the Shakuhachi t-shirts are pretty amazing. And of course there are lots of beautiful summer dresses... Maybe I'll be able to buy one with all the money I'm going to make selling old green t-shirts with "DKNY" printed on them in purple glitter (yes, I actually wore that.)

Isn't it cute? It took me a little while to realise that it was a panda - its $106 from MyCatwalk, but I'm sure that if you wait a while it be in stores like Superette for a little less. The dress on the right is by Arabella Ramsey and costs $172.

Now I'm stuck for what to do the rest of the day. I think I might "shop" TradeMe - so many wonderful treasures to find there!

Rain, dresses and nail polish...

Went shopping today and in a nutshell, it was pretty depressing. Seeing all the beautiful summer collections in shops and a) not being able to afford anything and b) watching the rain bucket down outside the shop made me feel like just curling up in front of the fireplace with a nice warm mochaccino. Except we dont have a fireplace and I've already had two coffees today so if I have any more I'll be bouncing off the walls. Last time I had too much caffeine (a red bull and two lattes) I ran around Newmarket singing "I'm a little teapot" and got a few weird looks.
So, it started raining heavily and we pretty much just ran into the nearest shop, which happened to be Lucie Boshier. I hadn't been in there since last summer (I hate wearing colourful clothes in the winter) and I'd forgotten how pretty the dresses were. So girly and glamorous - it reminds me of Betsey Johnson.

The other place with really nice dresses is "Second to None" - most of the dresses look like they were bought, worn once then given away. It seems to be the kind of place where middle aged ladies would shop but I found a few gems (none of which I bought unfortunately). The prices are reasonable - between $100 and $500 for most dresses. I can't remember the name of the road that its in but it comes off Khyber Pass Rd and smells like malt (theres a beer factory behind it).
And of all shops, Cotton On has some nice (mens) t-shirts which ladies could probably get away with wearing. I got a nice cardi (the third grey cardigan I've bought this season) for $5 from there today - at least I got a nice plastic bag to cover my hair while it was pouring.

I had a look in four different shops for blue OPI nail polish and they had all sold out of Russian Navy - I guess most Aucklanders aren't as out of the loop as I thought they were. I took the catalogue of the shades from one of the pharmacies - they hardly sell any of those colours! Mostly reds and pinks, how boring. Below is the colour chart for the "Brights" collection. I want every shade, but that would cost me a few hundred dollars.



Oh, I almost forgot - The Body Shop is selling t-shirts designed by Karen Walker from the 4th - 10th of October for $40, of which $20 goes to WSPA (World Society for Protection of Animals). I haven't seen them yet but I shall definitely check them out when they come out!!

Dude, Where's my summer?

Usually the start of daylight savings time means that summer is on it's way but judging by the weather today it could still be a long way off. The rain is bucketing down and there is thunder and lightning too, which I always find pretty scary. So to help pass the time on this horrible afternoon, I've been going through some of the websites of NZ designers, dreaming of the beautiful summer dresses that I'll get to wear one day. Karen Walker definitely has the best dresses (in my opinion anyway) and although I cant afford them, they make great eye candy. I used to love Country Road dresses until I actually tried one on - it made me look about 6 months pregnant.
I must admit though, apart from dresses and bikinis, I do like winter fashion a lot more than summer fashion. Summer is the sort of season where you don't wear many layers or dark colours - and I just happen to love both. And I'll be very sad when it gets too hot to wear my $20, size 2XL hoodie from The Warehouse.

What I'm craving...

Right now, I want these shades of nail polish more than anything else - even that bar of chocolate that is calling my name... They're so summery and fun! The only problem is I have a total of $24 on my eftpos card and the each shade below costs around $23 and I have to keep a minimum of $10 to keep my account open. I should really stop spending so much money on pointless things - like the $35 I spent on a Stolen Girlfriend's Club t-shirt in the weirdest colour that doesn't go with anything else (and has a hole in the side, which means I have to wear a jacket over it.)
And I'm going to Noosa in just over a week and I will have virtually no money to spend there. I'm gutted because I was really hoping to buy a new pair of Ksubi jeans since my last pair have er... shrunk.

I might just have to resort to $6 nail polish from Bling or Supre. It works just as well and no matter how good the quality is, it never lasts long on me (I have a horrible habit of picking it off when I'm nervous.)

New Zealand national icons

Kiwi, pavlova, sheep and... John Campbell?
I stumbled across the website Nanna Sunday and found some of the most amazing crafts but the things that stood out to me were the John Campbell cushions, bags and t-shirts. Although, knowing my luck, the bag and cushion have already been sold.

How about an "I love Helen Clark" collection next?

Green with envy

We've all seen the "This is not a plastic bag" totes that people carried around and I'm sure most of us are sick of them already but now the jewellery label Kagi (based in Auckland) have released a re-usable tote that says "Green is the new black."
It's made from biodegradable canvas and is great for carrying groceries around or just using it as a handbag.

You can pre-order yours from their website or visit their store in Customs Street East, Auckland.


And guess what - it's less than $20!

Who knows, it may just be the next 'it' bag.

My playlist for this week

1. My Friends - Motocade (Rock/Pop)

2. Take all my Love - Da Buzz (Dance/Pop)

3. Sex 'n' Money - Paul Oakenfold (Techno/Dance)

4. Bleed it Out - Linkin Park (Rock)

5. Le Disko - Shiny Toy Guns (Electro)


Music Vid of the Week:
UFO - Sneaky Sound System

The next Karen Walker

88 year old Ruby Fowler has launched a new label called "45+ Frocks for the Mature" targeting women in rest homes. The garments are conservative and reasonably priced (between $120 and $150) so I'm sure that she will be quite successful in this venture. I applaud her for taking this huge risk and wish her all the best - and who knows, maybe one day she'll be showing in NZ Fashion Week!



(photo credit: stuff.co.nz)

Purple is the new Black

No, I'm not talking about Ribena! I'm talking about the Spring 2007 issue of Black Magazine that I just bought. I don't buy Black very often but this issue caught my eye when I was innocently looking through PaperPlus. I really need to stop buying magazines, my guess is that I spend more than $40 on them each month. Anyway, the cover of this issue is quite stunning but what I noticed instantly was the model's purple lipstick. I've always thought that purple lipstick is as no-go as blue or green lippy, but this looks dramatic even though the rest of her face is pretty much bare. My scan of it does the colour absolutely no justice!

They say she is wearing the shade "Cyber" but on the colour chart above it seems like it would be really dark. It seems that matte lips are back too, which is a nice change even though I am literally joined to my Juicy Tubes. MAC has a wide range of purple lipsticks, as you can see below, which I'm pretty sure retail for $38 from Smith & Caugheys or the MAC store.