Alice and her new story aside, the costumes in the movie particularly caught my eye. Designed by Colleen Atwood, each of Alice’s gowns are incredibly beautiful, intricate couture pieces, each one more amazing than the last. What is particularly striking is how they appear to be ‘thrown together,’ (sans the opening dress) or accidental in the case of the first dress she shrinks into.

Her familiar classic, the pale blue dress, benefits from the addition of romantic, sheer sleeves.

Ruffles and a halter neck, Alice does a bit of running in this dress and those ruffles play their part.

This is the second version of the above dress, after Alice shrinks, again, Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter does a bit of frenzied DIY on the above dress. I wish it were that easy to create beautiful rose gatherings on the bust line.

This is the most brilliant of the gowns designed for Alice. In the story, this dress is supplied by the Red Queen. There’s something about how the material gathers into ruffles that reminds me of feathers, and turns the dress into something quite tribal.

The armor Alice wears toward the end of the film is quite striking. Not as much as the dresses for me, but she looks quite elegant despite being covered neck to toe in metal.

If you haven’t seen it already - then do go ahead and enjoy it! I was somewhat disappointed to hear  a number of bad reviews it received, and now the 3d visual isn’t quite as stunning as Avatar but it is still fun and better than most of what’s out in the theaters at the moment.

Images from here. You can view the rest of the Alice in Wonderland costumes here.

How to Make that Phone Call… via vi.sualize

Making a phone call doesn’t sound like a hurdle - until you’re faced with an all important call and at once the phone becomes your least favorite technological device.

Unfortunately there’s a part of growing up and becoming a confident and independent individual that involves making that phone call. The phone call that could have an impact on your career, studies, social life, even your love life - and thinking about doing quickly see’s it shoved into the realms of procrastination.

I found myself holding off on making such a call last week. Until I came to the point where I bit the bullet and did it - and I felt so much better for doing it after!

• Visualize what the call is about. It can be difficult to go into a call without having any direction or knowing what you want to get out of it.
• Visualize who you are calling, consider how they might react to whatever it is you are going to call them about.
• Ask yourself what you are really nervous about. A rejection? Awkward silence, or not knowing what to say? You can plan to avoid these scenarios (e.g. jot down what you want to say), or in the case of rejection prepare to handle it with grace.
• Are you calm and in a sound state of mind? Don’t make an important call if you’re feeling frazzled and rushed.
• Be prepared to introduce yourself, and make a little bit of small talk to help guide you into the conversation. Ask how their day is going.
• Then be prepared to bring up the reason you made the call in the first place!
• PICK UP THE PHONE AND DIAL THE NUMBER. Save yourself any more hours of worry - and just do it. You’ll be glad you did!

From that point? All you have to do is talk. Be yourself. The uncertainty and hesitation may only completely disappear once you’re on the call - and do remember that it does disappear, and only once you pick up the phone and dial the number.

Have you ever had trouble making a phone call? Sometimes it can be really difficult to talk yourself into it! What do you do to before making a difficult phone call?

OPI Alice in Wonderland Mad As A Hatter Nail Polish via Sarah Hannah

Last week, on spur of the moment, I treated myself to my first manicure. I found that having your nails done professionally is completely worth it. You come away with a perfectly painted nails, and you won’t want to stop waving them around.

If you’re looking for an inexpensive option, try nail salons located in malls - or shop around until you find a price that suits you.

If you want to be really smart about it, bring your own nail polish. That way you can easily perform your own touch ups when it starts to chip.

How many of you have had a manicure? - I know that I got some good response to this in my last post! How uplifting was the experience?

Part of my favorite editorial, via Model Couture

My summer holidays are coming to a close, this weekend marks the last weekend of freedom from studying and assignment - back I go on Monday. It is my final year which is pretty exciting, though I am going to be extremely busy…

Short Stories

Ruby Angels Coat

I bought the Angels coat from Ruby, a splurge at $499 but I have no buyers remorse. I love it. I am lucky to have picked one up, as they seem to be flying out the door. ♦ One of my friends booked a room in Auckland’s Quadrant Hotel for her birthday on Friday night. I love hanging out in hotel rooms and drinking wine on balcony’s overlooking the city lights. Beautiful view. ♦

via premshree on Flickr

My boyfriend and I are moving in together, and I’ve claimed my half of the walk in wardrobe. The majority of my things are still at my parent’s house, we are in the process of clearing out space and setting up a study. ♦ I have been cooking, this week I whipped up the perfect chili with baked kumara, falafel and hummus wraps (twice), and poached my first eggs. The boy always veers towards take aways/eating out, but I am enjoying developing my cooking skills - it’s also so much more healthy and economical. ♦

OPI manicure

I had my first manicure, it was only $20 and they did such a great job I think I might start getting them more regularly. I’d rather they came out perfect every time, I’m a bit hit or miss with the  nail brush. ♦

Splore is an incredible outdoor summer festival devoted to music, arts and culture.

Merry Making festivities, carousing and frolicking.

& what a SPLORESOME weekend it was. I am estimating a total of 5 hours sleep over the weekend, but the exhaustion was well worth it.

The festival is held every second year at the beautiful Tapapakanga Reserve. As you can see in the image above, the campsite overlooks a gorgeous bay with stages set up beach front.

The music veers toward the electronic variety, with headlining acts including Lupe Fiasco and Basement Jaxx, but the music is only half the attraction.

The decor is crafted for pure aesthetics, and sometimes I felt as if I was in wonderland. Themed camp grounds, a shortcut trail down the cliff strung with fairy lights, a tree covered in lei’s, ‘Bare Bottom Land’ (can you try imagining that?) an Arts Trail full of live size art pieces and a hippy vibe filling the atmosphere.

Photo by Serena Stevenson © 2010

The most memorable part of the weekend was the MIDSUMMERS NIGHTS DREAM party. I didn’t know about it in advance, so unfortunatly I was not one of the hundreds dressing up as fairy’s or other mid summers night dream esque creatures.

Photo by Serena Stevenson © 2010

I was, however, lucky enough to stumble upon the brilliant stage performance of a Midsummers Nights Dream in the acrobatic style of Circque De Solie. It was incredible to see live, and even more impressive considering it was held on a portable stage overlooking the ocean!

In between we’d be sunbathing on the beach. ♦ Having a veggo eat from one of the majority vegetarian food stalls. ♦ Chilling at the campsite. ♦ Puffing and wheezing up the ‘Goats Track’ - the shortcut down to the beach. ♦ Mixing up Sangria after smuggling in a few bottles of alcohol. ♦ Cupcakes at midnight! ♦ Purchasing overpriced Jagerettes (Jager, cranberry & lime!) from the Jager tent. ♦ Applying makeup in a tent. ♦ Dancing my heart out. ♦ Midnight kisses on the sand… ♦

The ultimate summer festival!

There was a bit of an event when a pretty wasted girl attempted to crawl into one of our tents, fulling in the belief that it was her tent and why was all our stuff in her tent? Always, always keep your friends close. Particularly if you are going to get a wee bit experimental.

Have you ever been to a weekend music festival? What do you think of Splore?

Photos from Splore 2010 Facebook group.

1. Shop Nasty Gal.com

I love this online boutique, and I have a wishlist ready and waiting. I love the bold shoulders and effortless chic vibe of the clothing stocked.

2. The Velvet Dress

This is from Nasty Gal as well, but the velvet dress in itself is iconic enough to deserve it’s own place. Perfect for going into winter, I’ve been eying this one up for some time now.

3. Maurie & Eve Rumors Dress in black

I love the shoulder detail on this dress as well. It also comes in a sweet pink version, check it out here, but I think $225 is a bit of a splurge for a pink dress - and I don’t look that great in pink either!

4. Ruby Angels Coat

I commented on this amazing coat when I was glossing over Ruby’s Autumn/Winter 2010 collection. I hear that is is very close to comming into the stores, and I am hanging out for the coat in black. I can’t wait to wear this baby to Uni on cold winter days.

5. Jeffrey Campbell Pixie Zip Wedges

I love how much these wedges make me think ‘HOOVES,’ and I love the bold zipper featured on the back. Unfortunately they appear to be sold out everywhere! If you know where I can buy a pair, please let me know.

Tell me, what is topping your wishlists at the moment?

The Body Shop Love Etc package.

The Body Shop made my day last Monday by announcing me one of the winners of their ‘Love Etc…’ prize packs! I had entered the draw by tweeting why I love the body shop products (and promptly forgot about it, as you do).

The package arrived last week, containing the Love Etc… Body Butter, Love Etc… Eau De Parfum, and a small pack of candy love hearts.

Let me tell you, I adore the scent of the ‘Love Etc…’ range. It is delicate and sweet, without being overpowering. Jasmine and vanilla are the main ingredients, blended with sandalwood and musk.

The Body Shop Love Etc Perfume

I am not a perfume genius, but this one smells delicious. I am told it blends the key notes of jasmine and vanilla, mixed with the complementaries of pear, sandalwood, neroli, bergamot, and undertones of musk.

When I can really smell is the vanilla, but a sweeter, flowery and fruity vanilla without being sickening. The Body Shop describes it as ‘irresistible & uplifting,’ and I agree. It is very sweet and sensual, perfect for every day or special occasion use.

I think the bottle is pretty cute too:

This will look very cute on my vanity.

The Body Shop Love Etc Body Butter.

I am a shameless Body Shop body butter fan and I have been using their cocoa body butter for years. The ‘Love Etc’ body butter is almost a new favorite, just as good but I have a preference for smelling like cocoa. The ‘Love Etc…’ body butter is a sweet baby pink color, with a delicious fragrance of vanilla, jasmine and sandalwood. It is a lot lighter to use than some other body butters, and blends into the skin so easily leaving it feeling soft and sensuous.

There is something about this scene that is undeniably ‘love is in the air~.’ The ‘Love Etc’ range is available at the Body Shop, almost globally I believe, and is definitely worth a look.

PS: In case you were wondering, I tweeted:

@TheBodyShopNZ Nothing smells quite as delicious as the Body Shop products!

Are you a Body Shop fan? Have you tried any of the products from the ‘Love Etc’ range?

love… kalli.anne on Flickr

I am looking forward to Valentines this year! The boy and I will be dining out on the Monday night, to miss the Valentines madness and seeing as I have to work on Sunday - speaking of which, Sunday is my last day working at Starbucks and I couldn’t be happier.

Short Stories

RIP Alexander McQueen. ♦ I attended The Body Shop customer and picked up some Almond Hand Cream (my hands/nails are wrecked from handling so many chemicals when cleaning the espresso machine), and a  ’love (lip) gloss. Speaking of the Body Shop, I won a ‘Love Etc..’ prize pack from the Body Shop via Twitter earlier this week! I will be blogging about the goodies they sent me in the following week. ♦ I loath house hunting. There are so few houses for rent in the area I am looking in with my boyfriend. I just want to set the move in date already… ♦

I very rarely order paster when I go out to eat, it feels like such a cop-out, but this dish of vegetarian pasta was incredible. It had me beat though… ♦ Good Movies: Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Bad Movie: Zombieland. ♦

I have been having some seriously good luck with Trade Me in the last week. I’ve picked up some awesome stuff including sequin leggings and a dress I’ve been trying to find for months. Can’t wait to wear them. ♦

It has struck me from a while now that many of the women put forward as style icons are promoted as such not because they’re particularly interesting dressers, but because their bodies wear clothes well.

• The Fashion 2.0 Social Media Awards are out. As much as I wished for Alexander McQueen to take the title of best innovator, all awards were well deserved.
• “I Probably Fit The Sample Size Once — When I Was 11″: Sizing Up The Fashion Industry, an incredible post via Jezebel. The comments are worth reading as well.

Go ahead and share your short stores, remembering is good for the mind!

Until next week,

Vintage leather jacket, dress by The Cassette Society, Effiel Tower necklace, polka dot stockings by Embellish and boots by s.u.g.a.r, better picture here

I wore this last Wednesday to Hits & Giggles, my regular bar’s POP NIGHT DJ’d by a couple of friends and others I know.

Yes, when I say pop night I mean Britney Spears, N*SYNC, Aqua, Spice Girls, Lady GaGa, Cascada…it’s about as pop tastic and 90’s as you can get.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get anymore outfit snaps, but I love this dress. I’ll probably find myself featuring it again sometime in the future, but for now here’s some close ups:

I love the zip front, and the zip itself  suits the dress perfectly. Something about it is very industrial, and I quite like that.

I do not, however, appreciate friends who think it is funny to try and unzip the front of your dress in public places.

PS - I just wanted to thank everyone who read & commented on my last post The PR Files #2. I am so appreciative of the positive response I have been getting for this series. Thank you so much.

The PR Files is an ongoing series of musings on PR excellency and failure. The PR Files are often fashion focused, but from time to time expect me to go out on a limb. You can view the rest of the series here.

When I heard about the debacle between Simple shoes and a group of fashion bloggers, I had to write about it. The tale is one so ridiculous, and an example of how the blogging community can be so completely misunderstood.

In November, Michelle from Kingdom of Style posted ‘A Simple Tale’ on her blog, telling the story of Michelle and Marie’s confusing experience with Simple shoes. Simple had offered to send the girls some shoes, presumably for review, but they found themselves pulled into something far more complicated.

I recommend reading the full post here, but the gist is that Simple sent the girls one of the shoes they thought they were getting, and another completely random shoe that belonged to someone else. Simple’s idea was that the girls could Tweet about the missing shoes, find one another, and meet up to have coffee and exchange shoes.

The Problems

• The girls don’t Tweet, and had zero interest in starting.
• Geographical limitations prevented them from taking part, should they have been interested.

It’s an example of a marketing initiative that, while cool and creative at first, is executed poorly due to a lack of understanding of its target.

The girls, most importantly, wanted it to be simple. When they were offered the shoes, they weren’t signing up to be involved in such a stunt.

Here’s how we expected it to play out: Simple send shoes, Queen Marie takes photos of herself wearing shoes frolicking in the woods, Queen Marie posts about shoes and you read post. Simple, right?

Not everyone has time to fluff around for free stuff, and in the realm of product reviews simple is almost always better.

It is so important for companies to know who they are dealing with, and surely a little research would have shown relevant locations and who was using Twitter. Perhaps a shoe-swapping tweet up would have been feasible in an area with a high tweeting-blogger population, although I might recommend asking for those who would like to be involved first.

What do you think? How would you react if you were sent a pair of mismatched shoes to your current location?