NZFW : Day Three

What I wore - Day Three (sore feet and the start of a cold)

Today felt like everyone stepped it up another notch. Fashion finally found the flamboyant fabulousness I was looking for! 

Key colours: black, blue and buttercup yellow.

Textures: understated; today it was more about prints and colour.

Outfit I wanted to rip straight off the model: The blue rose print dress at BLAK (actually the first 10 outfits at BLAK), and the beautiful yellow dress at Salasai .

Most fabulous fashionista off the catwalk: Colin Mathura-Jeffree! After playing it safe Tuesday and Wednesday, he finally went a little crazy today and I loved him for it. See a pic below.

Favourite makeup look: the BLAK models were gorgeous, both hair and makeup.

Favourite catwalk styling: The urban navajos at Salasai.

Highs: the street fashion was the best it has been all week, plus sitting next to the lovely Charlotte Ryan at BLAK.

Lows: fashion burn-out.

Backstage at BLAK. 

 Lauren Gunn's gorgeous hair for BLAK.

Black roses for the BLAK front row. 

Colin Mathura-Jeffree and Nick Klarwill 

Photographers' Pit at the end of the runway 

 Models getting ready at Salasai

I'm playing hooky tomorrow and missing the last two shows, but I will post some more pictures over the next few days.

x

NZFW : Day Two

What I wore - Day Two (a little Spring colour)

Day Two and everyone seems to be hitting their stride. The energy back stage was brilliant today, and the textures being created with model hair were divine...see below. The evening finished with Trelise Cooper, who brought much-needed 5* glamour to FW Day 2. Two down, one to go!

Key colours so far: cherry red, jade green, English mustard yellow, periwinkle.
Textures: velvet (yes!) including beautiful black velvet lace at twentysevennames, open-weave knits, more fur and lots of shine.
Outfit I wanted to rip straight off the model: I would quite happily have worn most of the outfits shown today, although I felt most affinity with twenty-seven names.
Most fabulous fashionista off the catwalk: Samantha Hayes, gorgeous with her flame red hair over a yellow knit. Best star quality so far, without looking over-styled.
Favourite makeup look: I couldn't get a good shot of it, but I loved the twinkling green in the corners of the Riddle Me This models' eyes.
Favourite catwalk styling: A tie: toffee apple red rubber sandals and grunge-beanies at twenty-seven names and the gorgeous, whimsical brides at NZ Weddings.
Highs: the Blue Sky fashion show, with Ingrid Starnes and twenty-seven names. Great food, fresh coffee and a genius venue that let almost everyone sit front row.
Lows: Maybe I'm getting old, but the music at most of the shows is way too loud, I noticed a lot of gritted teeth. I also wish the models looked like they were having a little more fun (Penny Pickard excepted, she positively bounces down the catwalk).

 Yummy breakfast canapes at Blue Sky

Pretty in pink by MAC for Ingrid Starnes

(image courtesy of MAC) 

Runsheets

Strawberry Shortcakes at twenty-seven names (and those toffee apple sandals) 

Kokako Chai Latte and Coconut Ice for morning tea 

Amazing hair texture back stage 

Many hands make light work.

 My favourite model, Seon, backstage before NZ Weddings.

Beautiful front row at NZ Weddings.

Flower nymph brides at the NZ Weddings Show.

Back again tomorrow!

x

NZFW : Day One

What I wore - Day One (palette inspired by the weather)

So, New Zealand Fashion Week rolls around again! Today has been crazy and fun already, and it's only half over. As I type this, I'm about to head backstage again to shoot Hailwood, Juliette Hogan and Zambesi. Wicked!

Key colours so far: nudes, jade greens, ox blood red and, of course, black.
Textures: fur and sequins (hoorah! half my wardrobe already...) and some gorgeous floaty prints on satin and chiffon.
Outfit I wanted to rip straight off the model: Coop floral velvet bed jacket over a gold sequined dress.
Most fabulous fashionista off the catwalk: none yet, still looking! Although Michaela from MAC is leading the charge (see below).
Favourite makeup look: Cybele by Olivia Russell for MAC.
Favourite catwalk styling: Grunge-inspired beanies at Ruby.
Highs: Being part of the buzz back stage.
Lows: realising the 'emergency' chocolate bar I was saving from my NZFW loot bag was in fact a sachet of Chai Latte.

Michaela from MAC

Cybele makeup by Olivia Russell for MAC

(image courtesy of MAC cosmetics)

Model downtime, wearing new MAC shade 

Gorgeous platinum blonde

Grunge-inspired beanies at Ruby.

Will post more later! Let me know what you think?

x

Cuddles , at own risk

Racoon Coat from Stolen Girlfriends Club AW2012

I'm showing my age here, but my werewolf film of choice is Teen Wolf. Watching cute-as-a-button Michael J. Fox transform into a hairy, sweaty man-beast rocked my world as a kid. I can't say I wanted to be him, or kiss him, but I sure wanted to know him.


Lycanthropy (the ability to take on the characteristics of a wolf) has made somewhat of a comeback lately, what with a certain, polarising, vampire flick. Whether you're Team Jacob,  Team Edward or Team Whocares, you'd have to be in a coma to not know what I'm referring to. Whether or not the 'T' word has had any influence, I love the current obsession with (faux) fur, especially in various shades of wolverine.


Stolen Girlfriends Club do great clothes in general, but what really gets me excited are their amazing coats and winter knitwear. I'm hardly a risk-taker when it comes to fashion, but every now and then I spy something that makes me want to shake things up a bit (like these Karen Walker sunglasses). 


You can't be subtle in this coat, you'd probably turn fewer heads in a spacesuit. The only downside is living in a city that rarely drops into single digit temperatures. No wonder they styled the shot with bare legs and and a sheer dress.


Regardless, she looks cute, cuddly and fierce all at the same time. Much more appealing than a bloodsucking, sun-starved immortal if you ask me.


x



x

Saturday Scrapbook : Beautiful things to look forward to

This week I went to the AW2012 preview at Showroom 22, and thought I would share a few of the treats in store for next season (if you can even think that far ahead!) Pretty, muted pastels were a key trend, along with royal blue, earth tones and gorgeous velvet in all shades. Yummy. First up was the beautiful colour palette at Ingrid Starnes (above). I'm a new Ingrid fan and can't wait to add a few of her pieces to my wardrobe asap.

How amazing are these trainers designed by Jeremy Scott for Adidas Originals? They come in kid's and adult sizes, and I'm seriously considering going matchy-matchy with my daughter. 

Deadly Ponies make the most original and delightful accessories in New Zealand, and this quirky velvet necklace is top of my birthday list next winter!

It's hard to do these Diemme cuties justice, they are butter soft and so cool it hurts that I don't already own them. Looks like another trip to MRKT is in order...

Juliette Hogan just gets better every season. This grandma-chic cardi will look perfect over any of her floaty dresses, worn with Kathryn Wilson's creepers (too many amazing styles to single out) and cosy socks.

OK, I'm off to the beach to remind myself that it's too hot to wear any of these anyway. Happy weekend Beaunz belles.

x

Neverblack...always beautiful

May Dress from the Neverblack AW2012 collection

New Zealand fashion is so exciting and inspiring all of a sudden. For years we've had the likes of Zambesi, Karen Walker, Kate Sylvester et al, and they're certainly not going anywhere anytime soon, but there's also an abundance of new talent on the scene. 


This week I was invited to see the AW2012 previews at Showroom 22 (more on that tomorrow) and Ciel PR, and even though I had seen most of the clothes at Fashion Week, up close they were even more beautiful. For a clothes-addict who already lives on the wrong side of her budget, it was a deliciously dangerous experience. Probably just as well I couldn't actually buy anything...yet.


I'll be posting lots of sneak peaks over the coming months, but today I wanted to share a gorgeous little number from relative newcomer Neverblack. The dress is so sweet, and I love the styling with cosy socks and sandals. This label is definitely on my radar from now on, I can't wait to see what they do next.


x

Farewell winter...helloooo winter!

Image courtesy of Adrian Hailwood

I'm no fashion expert so you won't hear me critiquing a runway collection for its 'cohesion' or 'voice'. I watch Project Runway religiously, but am usually completely at odds with the judges decisions. I know what I like when I see it, but have no idea why!

At NZFW, one of my favourite shows was Adrian Hailwood, so I was taken aback when I read blogger Bronwyn Williams' review of his collection on Stuff.co.nz. She even went so far as to call it 'bleeding awful.' My first reaction was 'well, why don't YOU try designing a collection for fashion week, missy!?'. Constructive criticism is how we all learn and grow, but her review was downright nasty and to be quite honest, a little immature. I love reading the collection overviews on Style.com as they trickle in after each London, New York, Milan and Paris Fashion Week. Nicole Phelps has the tactful shake of the head down to a fine art, and clearly appreciates the long months of work and effort designers put into their collection.

Putting your creative heartbeat out into the public is terrifying, and every designer I have met does so with a knot in their stomach and their mental shield raised and ready. Adrian is clearly talented; he has successfully run the retail gauntlet for over ten years now. We don't all have to like his clothes, but surely he deserves a little more respect than he was shown by Bronwyn? It's easy to hide behind the relative anonymity of the internet and I doubt she would have been so rude had she been asked for her opinion in person.

A quick skim of the dozen or so other reviews showed a more positive reaction, but it got me thinking about fashion and just who it is that decides what we, the consumer, will be wearing from season to season. If I hadn't seen the collection myself and was a Bronwyn Williams follower, would I have been swayed into not liking Adrian's clothes as well? Not a chance! There were so many beautiful pieces, I can't believe I have to wait nine months to see them in store. The blue and white floral print bed jacket with black trim was my favourite piece of the week - I will wear this to death come winter 2012, along with the tiered cape and the midnight blue button-up and the mohair ombre cardigan...am I really wishing for winter again already?

What about you, lovely readers? What have you seen in the coverage of Fashion Week that you can't wait to buy?

x

Zambesi beauty at Fashion Week

It was so refreshing to see makeup used to make women look beautiful at fashion week.

That may sound strange, but in recent years the trend for war paint, bleached brows and goth glam was more about striking catwalk images than wearability. Last week, MAC outdid themselves creating dozens of gorgeous looks, most of them a variation on either the winged eye, the statement red lip or sometimes a combination of both.

My favourite look of the week, and one I hope to emulate for the party season, was the blue eye and red lip combo at Zambesi (as seen in my first post here). It is rare to see a successful break of the eyes OR lips rule, but this manages to be fresh, feminine and cool all at once.

What do you think, lovely readers?

x

les femmes frecklé*

What better place to start my blog than with an image of beauty very close to my heart?

As a child, I was tormented by my freckles and did everything to fade them. I sponged them nightly with lemon juice, I smothered myself in sunscreen, I even saved all my pocket money to buy a special 'freckle bleach'. You won't be surprised to know that none of them worked.

As an adult I subjected my poor face to the hot snap of photo rejuvenation, which gave me porcelain, freckle-free skin - until they all came back again. If it wasn't so painful I would probably be in a permanent state of yoyo-freckling, but lucky for my bank account I couldn't put myself through that procedure more than once.

So, today, I am at peace with my freckles. My makeup artist friend, who has worked on some of the most gorgeous women in the world, thinks they are beautiful. And I realised that if my own daughter had freckles I would find them adorable on her, so why not on me?

It got me thinking about beauty, and how it creeps up on you sometimes, and how we need to find beauty in the every day. So I decided to finally put myself on the blogosphere with a little daily dose of beauty. It might be a person, it might be a song, it might even be a pair of shoes or a new lipstick - I hope to make this blog a virtual scrapbook of beautiful finds.

Last week I was lucky enough to be invited to a number of shows at New Zealand Fashion Week, and of all the glitz and glamour and fashion, this photo was my favourite, taken back stage at Zambesi. I don't even know her name (update: apparently her name is Olivia Lefebre - thanks Kat) but her freckles make this photo beautiful. I hope she is the first of many femmes frecklé on this blog. For anyone interested in how to recreate her makeup, the Zambesi face chart is here.
The only thing I ask of you, lovely readers, is that you come back often and talk, talk, talk. Tell me what you think. Leave your comments. Share your thoughts.

xx


*OK - so technically, the word frecklé does not exist, or at least it didn't before now. To be freckled in French is to be covered in 'les tâches de rousseur'.