Black Out Curtains

With the relentless march towards sleeplessness coming closer to its final destination, I have decided I probably need some kick-arse Anna Wintour style sunglasses to hide the bags under my eyes from the friendly people in my neighbourhood.

Living in a city like Brisbane makes it hard to go anywhere without bumping into people you know. This is a lovely thing, but some days (i.e. the days when you haven't brushed teeth or hair) it's the last thing you want. I also find that the day you're in your least flattering jeans and haven't a scrap of make-up on your face (oh the humiliation of not being in either adorable boots or fabulous heels and sans mascara to add to the horror!) is the day you are guaranteed to see an ex-boyfriend or a frenemy and all you want is to look a bit glamorous and just a touch more put together than that familiar person in your line of sight. Never happens though, ammiright?

I recently came across Thierry Lasry sunglasses while floating around Sydney: described as sunglasses based on the concept of futuristic vintage with an updated, modern and avant garde touch, I think these are pretty much exactly what's needed to evade the Fashion Police over the next few months.

While there's not a whole lot new that can be done with sunglasses, it's nice to have a newer player in the game apart from the usual Gucci, Prada, Tom Ford, D&G. At this stage, I've only seen Thierry Lasry stocked in Brisbane at Scanlan Theodore and boutique opticians.

Molten Metal

Raf Simons is one of Belgium's greatest exports (other than chocolate). Previously Creative Director at Jil Sanders, he is particularly well known for his (rather brief) star turn as Creative Director at Dior, with his first collection for the iconic fashion house being beautifully and most fascinatingly documented in Dior and I (if you haven't seen it, you really should).

Raf Simons and a gorgeous bunch of peonies, in France. What more could you ask for?

Since resigning from the fashion house (by all accounts on excellent terms) in order to, in his own words, "focus on other interests in my life, including my own brand, and passions that drive me outside my work".  

In addition to developing his own label (to be shown at Florence Fashion Week), Simons has collaborated a number of times with Adidas. His latest collection, released last week, is spectacularly metallic, and follows on from last year's gorgeous colours in the notorious Stan Smith shoe for Adidas.

Being a narcissist, I believe the "R" is designed specifically for me, however I think it is quite obviously not the case. In any event, I would love a pair, but retailing at a cool $500 a pop I am not entirely sure they will make it in to  my next online shopping cart... So sad.

Shoesday

How adorable are these shoes from Asos? A total steal at $95!

Last Minute Gift Ideas

Are you organised? Have you bought everyone on your list what you expect will be their favourite present over all other gifts this Christmas Day? No pressure. This year I am leaning toward utility  - tickets to tennis grand finals, shoes that demand to be worn on the daily, chocolate, gourmet pasta and pasta sauce sets etc. I have been finding "stuff" so abhorrent of late, that I find it difficult to purchase gifts when I know all the people in my life have basically everything they really need, and that anything I give them will just sit with all that other dusty, semi-useful, irregularly used stuff, that it makes me feel a little sick to my stomach. Better that it be food, experiences and creators of memories in my opinion... Sarah Wilson's, too.

It reminds of a Charles Bukowski line, which I think I've mentioned previously:

The less I needed, 

The better I felt.

Of course, this rule against stuff doesn't apply to tiny nieces, for they are just at the beginning of their stuff-collecting, and tiaras, tutus and adorable swimsuits are just the ticket from a doting Aunt.

However, if there is a man in your life who is attached to his phone, doesn't carry a man-bag, and likes a pocket square, then I think J.Crew and Jimmy Fallon have come up with the perfect, utilitarian gift: the Pocket Dial.

Hilarious. Purchase it here.

Shoesday Foxes Den

No longer just the domain of Eskimos and Mongolians (this is a very big assumption I'm making here), fox fur shoes are making an appearance on New York's city streets. Logic dictates that if it happens on New York's fashion scene, it will happen elsewhere (we learned this very important lesson in The Devil Wears Prada).

In particular, Jimmy Choo has released a number of fox-fur pom-pom bedazzled shoes just in time for Christmas, which are perfect for your back-up singers at the annual Christmas carol event.

OMG are these shoes cerulean? Segway alert!

Not to be outdone, slippers are also featuring what I can only assume is this super warm, super soft new material which is likely to enrage animal activists globally. After all, when we say "fox" in this context we are most certainly not saying "faux".

Slippers courtesy of Brother Vellies

Just one last pair, in case you weren't convinced.

If you don't like fox on your feet, there is also the foxy fox fur coat to consider.

Perhaps don't wear your fox coat with your fox shoes lest you be confused for, well, a fox. 

Shoesday: Open Season

Can we hear an exuberant "BOO-YAH" for the arrival of Spring? After a Winter that has been experienced from Shanghai (at the end of the southern hemisphere's Summer) to Brisbane (ok, not much of a winter, but our houses are not built for cold morning air) to Hobart (deeply freezing!) to Melbourne to Adelaide to regional South Australia and rural Queensland - I feel I have been there and done that with Winter this year.

Magically enough, it is forecast to reach 26 today. So it is essential that we celebrate the advent of Spring with some open toed shoes and not a black opaque stocking in sight. Some shots from Charlotte Olympia's Frida Kahlo-inspired Cruise collection and Jimmy Choo because, well, Jimmy Choo.

Pictures from Charlotte Olympia and Jimmy Choo Cruise S/S2016 collections.

Happy Friday: Golden Lust

Nothing like a bit of lust to get your weekend off to a very good start...

New in from Samantha Wills is the Golden Grand necklace - oozing all kinds of Middle Eastern luxuriousness and mystery. Being someone who is unable to put a bunch of necklaces together without looking like my 5 year old niece dressed me from her dress-up box, I am always appreciative of jewellery designers who create gorgeous clusters such as this.

Samantha Wills has taken this next level with length, width, beauty and the all important glamour factor.

Wish you were touring the Sahara Desert yet?

Friday Blush

It's June, I say with an enormous sigh. And by "June", I mean winter.

After a quick trip to Melbourne this week, where temperatures plummeted to 3 degrees overnight and rose to a measly 12 degree max temp (eroded rapidly by Antarctic winds), I was pleased that I had packed an entire sheep's worth of woollen clothing. Unfortunately, all items were shades of grey, charcoal and moonless midnight black. Of course we love black. Black is the timeless classic that makes us look chic, put together and efficient all at once. However there can be too much of a good thing.

So I give you woollen jackets in all the colours our cheeks turn when confronted with a gorgeous man, a freezing wind, too much champagne or simply happy news: blush.

And then there was this - sparkling pink shearling coats. I. Die.

Gimme. 

Happy Friday. Stay warm! xo

Shoesday Shoe Police

Mayhem broke out (sort of) on the Cannes Film Festival red carpet after women were turned away at the theatre door for the premier of Carol (starring Cate Blanchett if you're interested) for violating the strict shoe policy for the festival.

Told "No, no, this won't work. You can't get in like this" women in flat shoes were sent scurrying for the heels.  And it wasn't just your average Joe who was turned away for code violations - the director of the new Amy Winehouse documentary had to flex some muscle for his wife to be allowed in due to her flats, and art dealer Larry Gagosian had to call on buddy Harvey Weinstein to attend the film Gagosian after being turned away for wearing "stylish" sneakers.

Even worse, an amputee was rebuffed at Gus Van Sant's Sea of Trees screening (the amputee was later allowed in, but she advised many of her colleagues in flat shoes were not).

While I love a good heel and can understand that a festival such as Cannes has standards that should be met, I am a little stunned that stylish sneakers and gorgeous flats don't make the grade. To be honest though (and with the exception of those who really can't wear heels due to a medical condition), wouldn't you want to wear high heels when you're on a red carpet with cameras flashing? They make your legs longer (for a mini-skirt), your silhouette more fabulous (for everything, but especially a long gown) and generally speaking everything more put together. But that's just me - a high heel lover from way back.

Diane Kruger illustrates some of the key benefits of wearing high heels (hint: height, length, silhouette)

Even Emily Blunt, who furiously denounced the no-flats policy appeared on the red carpet in sky high heels.

A Moving Stone Gathers No Moss

If you haven't heard of Shoes of Prey, I'm afraid you've probably been hiding under the proverbial rock.

Founded in 2009 by fellow Brisbanites and former lawyers, Michael Fox, Michael Knapp and Jodie Fox the design-your-own shoes-in-3D website has taken off in a major way both here and overseas. After their third successful capital raising in late 2014, resulting in US$5.5M in venture capital funding from (among others) US-based Khosla Ventures, Shoes of Prey is now expanding its off-line, bricks and mortar presence in the US, as well as construction of a new factory in China. Shoes of Prey had previously raised $4.75M in 2 other capital raising activities. This latest deal leaves the original founders with just under 50% equity in the business.

Along with their concessions at David Jones here in Australia (whose forecast revenue from the shoes has doubled in the first years of operation), Shoes of Prey has recently inked a deal with Nordstrom to open 11 concession outlets in the USA. The China factory will allow Shoes of Prey to expand its output capacity 12-fold as it races to meet the insatiable demand of shoe-lovers globally. In addition to all of this, the deal has enabled Shoes of Prey to hire key staff for the expansion, including a chief marketing officer, graphic designers and senior retail staff. Shoes of Prey also now has an office in Soho, New York.

Suffice to say, these guys are doing the best out of the rest of the class of 2003.

Shoes of Prey doesn't sleep though. They have recently announced a collaboration with Romance Was Born, Australia's boundary pushing fashion house known for its bold, colourful prints and theatrical catwalk shows. This latest collaboration brings a set of 5 gorgeous, Australiana-inspired prints to the Shoes of Prey platform. I am in love!

With sales growing 50% year on year since its launch and gross profits exploding 250% over the last year, there's no stopping Shoes of Prey and its innovative co-founders.

Who Wore It Better? Apple vs Penny

The Apple watch has been released today with much fanfare and excitement. The watch is available in 3 different types (Apple Watch Sport, Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition) in different materials and finishes, at corresponding price points.

The watch has a lot to offer users, but is it really as good as the original prototype set forth by Penny from Inspector Gadget? To me, this is the ultimate watch.

As a kid, I used to scour the show bag stands at the local fair hoping there would be a Penny watch inside the Inspector Gadget show bag. Of course I didn't realise I would have to wait 20 years for said watch, and that the watch would not come with assorted plastic Penny paraphernalia (my earliest Gadget show bag had Penny's face on a ping pong paddle which seemed kinda rude at the time) nor would it retail at the imminently respectable show bag price of $10. (The Apple Watch Edition has a sapphire face and special 18 carat thing-a-me-bobs (say WHAT?!) and will retail at US$10,000).

So for $349 for the Sport or $10,000 for the Edition, is it better than Penny's watch? Buzzfeed tells it like it is:

1. Like Penny's watch, you can make calls from the Apple Watch. 1 - 1.

2. You can make video calls from both. 2 - 2.

3. Both watches synch to other devices (admittedly, the iPad and laptop are a little better than Penny's rather cumbersome book, but even so, the book was marvellous for its time). 3 - 3.

4. Penny's watch has a multi-functional laser beam. Apple's does not. 4 - 3 to Penny.

5. Penny's watch has a flashlight for escaping dangerous situations. Apple's does not. 5 -3.

7. Penny's watch has GPS tracking. Perfect for stalking your partner if you don't trust them (WHAT?!) or - in my best dreams - precisely identifying ice cream shops that are still open at midnight when everywhere else is shut. 6 - 3.

8. Penny's watch also has a strong magnet. In the modern, non-crime fighting world, I expect this would enable you to collect your keys off the bench from a distance as you run out the door. 7 - 3.

9. Penny's watch DETECTS RADIOACTIVITY. While you may not think that's important now, in a potentially post-apocalyptic world, I can definitely see the benefit of that! 8 - 3.

So there you have it. Penny's watch - devised 20 years ago - is still far and away the more advanced product. Sadly, it doesn't exist. While I couldn't bear to part with my beautiful, wedding-gifted Rolex, I can see the novelty value of an Apple watch. But not for $10,000!

Walking the Long Line

As Valentine's Day approaches,so too are our mailboxes (real and virtual) crammed with items essential for the perfect Valentine's Day experience: lingerie, florists, hotel deals and hot air balloon escapes are bursting out of my inbox. I really couldn't care less about Valentine's Day and I care even less this year as I have a wedding to attend that day (pressure officially off for Hubby).

Amongst all the junk mail (and yeah, ok, 25% off lingerie at David Jones won't go astray) there is one thing that I am interested in: the long line bra.

Not to be confused with it's big sister, the corset, the long line bra generally ends somewhere around the bottom of the rib cage. For the bosomy woman, it provides extra support. For everyone else, it is just all around rather gorgeous.

Ok, this is not a great example as she is not particularly busty but you get my drift. The long line is also great in the strapless incarnation as it stays up much better than some hopeless old ordinary strapless bra.

Speaking of which, if you want a great hack for wearing a strapless bra, check it out here. I honestly smacked my head for not having thought of this myself.

Time for some new lingerie.

Happy Friday: Tutu Appreciation

Every year, the Queensland Ballet hosts Tutu Day. Essentially you bring along your adorable daughters all tizzied up in a tutu and allow them run of the place to live out their wildest Sugar Plum Fairy dreams. I highly recommend attendance, and would give any adult $50 to show up in their own tutu. I still have a black tutu lying around and always think about wearing it... and then chicken out at the last moment because I think it would seem very strange indeed for a daughter-less woman to strut around in her black tutu simply because she can.

Garance Dore recently snuck behind the scenes of opening night for the New York Ballet Company's day before the opening night (as well as opening night, but those pics aren't up yet). The photos are glorious. Check them out here. Or below, because I have stolen a few shots for this blog's benefit.

Speaking of ballet... Have you seen Birdman? To me, Birdman is almost the male version of Black Swan. While it's less intense, there is still that theme of that inner voice - demonically personified - pounding its owner to reach great heights of perfection, success and personal achievement. It's an interesting film and has received a bunch of Oscar nominations. Worth watching and really interesting to see the "art" of acting (Edward Norton is so talented), but I really thought Emma Stone stole the show. She had that tragic air about her, and I found myself on edge waiting for something dreadful to happen. She also suffered some highly unflattering camera angles, but it didn't distract - she was fabulous.

Sneaker Pimp

A work colleague was visiting from snowy Switzerland not that long ago, and I asked him what he noticed about Australia, or what he thought had changed about Australia (he is an Aussie, but has lived abroad for several years). His response?

"I am completely weirded out by all the women walking around in exercise gear, and going to breakfast, lunch and dinner in sports clothes. What is with that?"

Karlie Kloss off to breakfast with Taylor

Too true. I used to be very guilty of this activity for a variety of reasons:

1. I was genuinely about to go to / had just finished some type of exercise and either didn't have time to change, or simply couldn't be bothered (yep, lazy). This is related to the growth in the fitness trend that we've witnessesd over the past few years. Cross-fit, triathlon groups, Tough Mudder, swimming training, running club or good old fashioned gym junkie - as we are hyper aware to the obesity epidemic, we work out more. Also, I hear that cross-fit and tri groups are a great way to pick up.
2. I had no idea what to wear, and my adorable Lorna Jane outfit needed to be worn. As fitness gear becomes more fashionable (think Mary Kratantzou and Stella McCartney for Adidas, Rihanna as creative director and fitness ambassador for Puma, the list seriously goes on), I think we have given ourselves a leave pass to wear fitness clothing outside the gym under the reasoning that our workout gear is no longer daggy old shorts and a paint-spattered T-shirt. We are fashionably fit now.
3. Gym gear is ridiculously comfortable. No skirts slipping around on your waist and requiring constant re-positioning, no VPL, no high heels to rub your toes - it is pure comfort. You wouldn't go outdoors in your pyjamas or a tracksuit, but your gym gear gives you the same comfort factor without the public humiliation. 

While I have tried to ditch my gym-clothing-to-brunch habit, a lot of women are still happily doing it. All power to them I say! 

In celebration of sneakers, here are a few shots from Elle Mexico.

I think the happy middle-ground for the gym gear as outer-wear trend is sneakers with your usual day-wear. But that's just me. What say you?

Shoesday: Pleasure & Pain

London's Victor & Albert Museum will be home to an enviable shoe collection from 13 June 2015, with its newly announced Shoes: Pleasure and Pain exhibition. Looking at the extremes of footwear around the world, the exhibition will show about 200 pairs of shoes ranging from a gold leaf-decorated sandal from ancient Egyptian times, through to today's dazzling, often-times-death-defying high heels (often sans heel).

Attendees will be asked to consider the cultural significance and transformative capacity of shoes - and we're not just talking Cinderella getting her man thanks to her perfect glass slipper.

The exhibit will be organised around three themes: Transformation, Status and Seduction.

"Transformation" will highlight shoes that are now legend that through folklore and cultural influence have become "contemporary marketing tools for the concept of the modern-day, fairy-tale shoemakers, whose designs will magically transform the life of the wearer." (OK, that bit is about Cinderella).

"Status" looks at the correlation between impractical shoes, often designed in shapes and materials that make them unsuitable for walking and the people of privileged status who usually wore them. And along with the outlandish and absurd modern creations, there are Indian men's shoes with extremely long toes, noisy slap-sole shoes worn in 17th century Europe and 'Pompadour' shoes worn by trend-setting women in the 18th-century French court.

Ouch

"Seduction" includes shoes that are "an expression of sexual empowerment or a passive source of pleasure. Like feet, shoes can be objects of fetishism. High Japanese geta, extreme heels and tight-laced leather boots will be on display as well as examples of erotic styles channeled by mainstream fashion in recent years."

Great shoes: weapons of mass seduction

So there you have it. If you're in London in June, please go and take lots of pictures. :o)