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Musings

December19th

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$8 – $130 Last Minute Christmas Gift Guide

Posted in: Musings, Personal Style, Womens Styles

If you’ve left your Christmas present shopping til now, then tsk tsk tsk, you really shouldn’t have! But if you are in need of some unique gifts or special stocking stuffers, well, you are totally in luck! This guide is designed with me in mind, things a stylish girl that’s got everything will want for Christmas. It’s not easy to shop for someone like me, I know, I apologise on behalf of all girls like me. So if you’ve got a stylish but picky girlfriend, wife, sister, lady friend, mum, neighbour, BFF, this is going to be your LIFE SAVER! You’ve only got a few days to source your presents, so everything on this last minute guide are things you can walk into a shop and buy right away. Physical real life shops, no shipping time, woah! ;)

My family doesn’t do gifts or Christmas and my boyfriend’s already gotten me my present, but everyone, feel free to get me any of the items below…

$8.10 – 3 Cre Asion macarons, $2.70 each

Move over Zumbo, this is simply the best macarons in Sydney! With Asian inspired flavours like green tea, yuzu, the taste and texture of these little babies are really something. Buy from Cafe Cre Asion in Surry Hills.

$19.95 Mrs Press hand cream

With scents of magnolia, tea rose and warm spice, there’s bound to be one perfect for her. I’ve got the magnolia one, the scent is great but subtle and the texture is lux and amazing, $19.95 each. See Mrs Press’s stockists.

$26.95 Moleskin weekly diary in red

Used by people of legendary status, Hemingway, Picasso and more. I use it just in case one day I’ll also be at that legendary status. But really, the leather cover is beautiful and they’ve prevented my life from falling into utter chaos for the last 5 years. Buy from Kinokuniya, Dymocks and many other book stores.

$39.95 – $44.95 Kate Spade iphone case

Listen up, polka dot is RIGHT ON TREND, so you need to get on it! From $39.95 each. Buy from Apple stores.

$75 Holga 35mm camera

Lo fi is the new black. I’ve had the Holga 120mm camera for many years now, it’s a camera I’ve grown to love and I’ve gotten lots of utterly amazing images from it. The 35mm camera is more accessible as it uses standard film, but still gives the unique results that Lomo cameras are known for. Buy from Lomography shops.

$90 Marc Jacobs Daisy set

I’ve never tried this perfume, lol, but I love the ads and campaign images, it just looks so summery, I think I’d totally love it and wear it everyday of summer. Buy the 50ml gift set from Myer.

$99 YSL Touche Eclat set

This is meant to be the bomb, I’m still not 100% sure on what it is and what it does, but it’s meant to improve my appearance by leaps and bounds. Plus it’s by YSL and comes in a gold tube, what more do you need to know? Buy from David Jones.

$110 Petite Grand bracelet

As a way to rebel against the current chunky jewellery trend, I’ve been trying to source delicate pieces and build up a small collection. Petite Grand is perfect for me, each piece is handmade in Sydney, therefore always unique. From $110 each. See their stockists here.

$120 Benah silk blend scarf

I love love love this Benah scarf, the colourway and print is just perfect for summer. Use it as a headscarf, hair band, even tie it around your ankle, or just use as a normal scarf. More colours are available. See Benah’s stockists here.

$129.99 Irreverent by Carine Roitfeld

Now if I received this from someone, I’d kiss him/her! No girl’s bookshelf can be complete without this tomb of a book, we all want a peek into Carine’s life and mind and pretend even just for a minute to walk in her shoes. Buy from Kinokuniya.

Happy gifting and holidays everyone! Now if you’ll excuse me, I might just go buy all of the above myself…

*Cre Asion images by Chocolate Suze, all other images from Google.
December8th

15 Comments

How to pose better for photos – 5 tips from drab to fab!

Posted in: Musings, Personal Style, Photography, Womens Styles

With the holiday season already upon us, I’m sure your social diary is getting shockingly full of events, parties and family dos, I know mine is! You know what’s worse than lying on the couch at 3am with a belly full of ham and wine? That would be sitting on the computer at 3am, realising your cousin/friend/aunt has uploaded 500 unflattering photos of you onto facebook and you desperately trying to untag ALL of them. Yup, I speak from experience, I think we’ve all had an episode or a few hundred episodes of this. To combat this all too common problem and help out all the ladies on this planet, I’ve devised this post. I’m a photographer, I know what works for the camera and these are 5 ~~potentially~~-life-saving tips that are easy and they will make you look 10x better! From drab to fab, uhuh!

Tip 1

Boobs out, ass out, tummy in. Now repeat with me: boobs out, ass out, tummy in. Posture ladies, it’s all about posture. Now get up off your chair, stand up straight and boobs out, ass out, tummy in! Instantly weight loss, no kidding!

I know sometimes it’s late at night, you’ve been at this boring party for a couple of hours and you came straight from work, but when there’s a camera pointed at you, please at least make the effort to “boobs out, ass out, tummy in”, it makes a dramatic difference. You’ll look and feel better about yourself and you’ll exude self assurance and confidence.

Tip 2

Heels baby, heels! Some poor podiatrist probably want to stab me right now, but hey, I’m giving you a job ;p Plus when you are 160cm like me, you need that few extra cm. Hello, instantly leg extension!

Try to find a pair of heels that are comfortable and that you can walk in, they do exist, you just need to be patient. The whole of point of wearing heels is that they give your legs the illusion of being longer, so be aware of any thick ankle straps, they will break up the length of your legs and make them appear shorter. Pumps are the best for this purpose, but stick with a thin ankle strap if you find them more comfortable.

Tip 3

Stick your legs out. When you are sitting down, instead of placing your legs directly underneath your knees, stick them out by another 10-15cm and your legs will look so so much longer! You may call it optical illusion, I call it genius!

Don’t forget to straighten your back when you are sitting down, hunching is never a good look, no matter how long your legs appear to be.

Tip 4

No more giant fat arms! I used to do this one a lot, it’s natural to want to keep your arms really close to you, especially when there’s a camera pointed at you and you feel uneasy.

To combat the mysterious pop up giant fat arms disease, all you need to do is, well, not squash them! Simply bend your elbows slightly and point them away from the body a touch, 5cm or so, rest your hand by your hip or upper thigh. Cured! Simple, right?

Tip 5

Put your best face forward. This one is for the mirror. Do you look best front on, or turning your head slightly to the left, or maybe to the right?

How about smiling? Teeth, no teeth, laugh, no laugh? It’s a subjective thing, but you will know this simply by observing yourself in the mirror. Most people look better with their face tilted down slightly, it gives you a more defined jawline.

And we have a winner! Totally putting my best face forward and doing the “boobs out, ass out, tummy in” there!

Please take note: If you practice my 5 tips from drab to fab at your next cousin/friend/aunt’s party, people might poke fun of you and your posey-ness, but rest assured, because you won’t be up at 3am and realising your facebook is being flooded with 500 unflattering photos of you. Instead you’ll just enjoy the groaning sounds of a belly full of ham and wine!

Happy holidays, now don’t forget to pose ladies. Boobs out, ass out, tummy in!
October11th

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xssat TV – 50s fair

Posted in: Fashion Events, Musings, xssat TV

I’ve been to the 50s fair a few times and everytime after I come home, I always put on some retro tunes and secretly wish I could become a rockabilly! The gorgeous figure flattering forcks, the makeup, the hair, the dancing, what’s not to love? That got me thinking… wishing to be a rockabilly is one thing, but actually being one is probably quite different from what I imagine.

So are the 50s still relevant?
First thing first, the frocks are great, but let’s face it, women in the 50s were basically baby making, cooking and cleaning machines. Sure they did other stuff too, but not many women pursued their own careers, even if you did have a job, once you got married, the expected thing is for you to become a stay at home mum. Nothing wrong with wanting to take good care of your family, but when you aren’t the one making that choice, that’s what makes me uneasy.

Look on the bright side
At this uncertain financial times, investment dressing is high on my list. Why buy a bunch of cheap stuff to wear for a season when you can buy a designer dress that’ll last several years? So what are the tick boxes when I’m looking for that investment dress? Fitted bodice, cinched waist, semi full skirt, lovely print. Hah! That’s a 50s dress right there!

Did I mention rockabilly men? With their sleeked hair, pressed shirts, sailor tattoos and charming ways, oh I die! (Shhh nobody tell my boyfriend…) You know what the big clincher is for me? They can dance! I can’t… but men lead anyway!

So…
I’ll take a good dose of the 50s, a dash of feminism, all the technology of modern times and that would sit with me pretty well. The moral of today’s post is that we can always learn something from bygone times, the 50s frock might be my thing, but hey, 80s shoulder pads might be your perfect match!

PS I always prefer my men with tattoos, lucky my boyfriend got that tick box covered ;)
September19th

8 Comments

Not in New York – Not Nokia’s Next Style Correspondent

Posted in: Musings

New York fashion week has now finished and the international fashion circuit has already landed and are buzzing from London. Most of you would have read about my quest to become Nokia’s next style correspondent. If not, well familiarise yourself. Unfortunately I didn’t get to go to New York fashion week, well duh, otherwise you’d see tons of pics from New York already. Am I bitter and sour about the whole thing? I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t. I want to be as honest as I can here and I never once hid the fact I desperately wanted to win the competition as I flooded xssat here with posts about the Nokia N8. So why blog about it now? Because I can’t quite brush off the whole experience just like that, I don’t want to go back and delete my posts for the competition and pretend it never happened and because blogging isn’t all rainbows, kittens and unicorns, so you deserve a look from the other side too.

A little background info: Nokia ran a worldwide competition recently to promote their pink N8, hundreds of bloggers submitted photos, writings and many blog posts on why they should be Nokia’s next style correspondent. The 8 finalists went to New York fashion week to cover the event and the winner will get a double page spread in Elle.

A pretty good prize and I really thought I had it in the bag, well I thought I’d at least get to be 1 of the 8 finalists. I drafted many blog posts showcasing the N8, its features and my ability as a blogger, 95% of the photos I used were my own photos, selling in my unique street style perspective. I blogged hard and I campaigned even harder, I roped in friends, friends of friends to vote for me and spread the word. These competitions inevitably turn into popularity contests, I was never the popular kid at school but this time I fought it and scored myself over 650 likes on my competition entry on facebook, the highest votes out of all Australian contestants.

Great content, great style, great popularity, winning recipe right? So imagine the shock on my face when I found out I didn’t even go through to be a finalist. My friends were equally shocked, everyone thought I had it in the bag. With some of the finalists having as low as 20smth likes on their entries, I guess it wasn’t a popularity contest. I would’ve held my tongue if they were amazing bloggers who had great content and put together stunning original entries. More shock showed up on my face when I looked closely at their blogs and entries. Poor quality photos and entries or simply all ripped off the internet tumblr mood board style. Bitter? I don’t blame myself.

Moral of the story? Competitions aren’t fair, they are subjective just like human beings.

You win some, you loose some. Next year I’m determined to do fashion month, New York, London, Paris and Milan, the whole hog. Maybe even both February and September. I’ll get myself there if I have too.

PS. If you are willing to sponsor me for a leg of the trip, I wouldn’t refuse! In return for airfares, hotels, wardrobes or more I’d be more than happy to blog up a storm for you. If you’d like to commission me to shoot street style, backstage or travel photos for your publications, well I’ll take that too!

New York, here I come! On my own terms.
September12th

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Experiential retail is the way forward – Vogue Australia Fashion’s Night Out

Posted in: Fashion Events, Musings

Vogue editor Kirstie Clements and LMFF director Grant Pearce; Cupcakes by Kitchenaid; Polo players at Paspaley

Thursday night was my first time attending and photographing Fashion’s Night Out and you know what, I totally loved it! It was absolutely delightful to see so many shoppers out late at night, dashing from one shop to another despite the drizzling rain and people were thoroughly enjoying themselves. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a mass of happy, giggling women and men in Sydney city ever. The whole experience got me thinking, perhaps this is what retail is and should head towards, experiential retail. Stores should be selling in the whole experience, the champagne, the canapes, the personal stylists, the photo booths, the DJs, the fun and the laughter, they all should become part of the package.

I like shopping, but I love shopping online. I shop in stores because I want something immediately, or I’m after something specific for an event, or I’m spending the big bucks on designer clothes and I want to triple make sure it’s money well spent. I like it enough, but it’s almost like a task, I always go shopping alone, I know the stores where they’ll have what I’m after and I’ll go from store to store, trying on piece to piece. Exciting? Not really. Fun? Hardly. Why do I love online shopping? There’s no pesky sales assistant who’s either super snobby, doesn’t pay attention or follows you around the shop with an eagle eye. Online there’s no other people, I can take hours and hours to browse and procrastinate. You know what, the best thing is if I buy nothing in the end, no one rolls their eyes! Why would I put myself through those experiences when I can do all that from the ease of my couch? I know the fits and cuts of the brands I like, I know what works and doesn’t work for my body shape, I’ve developed a good knack of quality judgement from years of buying clothes online.

The million dollar question? What will it take to get me into a store and love the experience? Like a good tupperware party, ok maybe I’ve never been to one… So let’s say a good baked goods party or a sex toy party, with a glass or two of the bubbly, a bunch of giggly girls, a fun and charming party host, of course when I’m having a good time I’ll take out my wallet and buy! Clothes? Not much difference. As girls, we just want to have fun, we want to shares a few laughs with our friends, feel good about ourselves and experiential retail can be the perfect provider of that. In a unique retail and economical scene like Australia, retailers need to wake up and realise that online shopping will only grow bigger and stronger, so if you can’t compete on price points, you need to compete in different ways or it’s going to be game over.

Retail should be an event, something enjoyable and a perfect night out with the girls. Yep, I’d sign up to that!

Check out my street style gallery on Vogue from Fashion’s Night Out.