Style Discovery

Winner and shopping

2010-02-08T21:58:00.001+08:00

Thank you so much for those who entered - comments and email - for the shoes giveaway. Now the big announcement.......The satin heels go to Rachel from Kittie Chaos. I hope Rachel is from Australia. If not, I have to pick anther winner. You may ask why her.. her response: teaming them up with a burlesque outfit. I have a huge soft spot for burlesque as you've seen in my series of burlesque posts.

Just a quick note on fall shopping. If you haven't seen the latest fashion catalogue from David Jones these are my favourite picks.

Miranda Kerr is sporting a Mimco bag ($349), boots ($599) and accessories. I also like the laser cut Willow dress ($599). The next photo is her wearing Sass & Bide's Next In Line maxi dress. Not as exciting as Almost Moon from last year but it's pretty nonetheless. You know that you can still buy Almost Moon dress on eBay occasionally I saw one going for $200 or so the other day.

I like this next lot more as a mood board rather than for individual pieces. I do however dig Witchery's long boots and bracelets. I might also look good in Country Road's black and white ensemble. You'll find more interesting things in their online catalogue if you so desire to check it out.

Natasha Mapleson's New Collection

2010-02-07T18:36:00.002+08:00

I would not have found Natasha Mapleson if it wasn't for Skattwalk 2010's Wonderland. I don't know how Lisa found her as the label does not have a website although its facebook page has quite a few members. Rock a Frock, online fashion boutique carries it and that's as much as I know. I just wanted to know what we could expect for retail fashion as Skattwalk was very much theatrical. That was the reason I gave up going to the Arts Festival opening instead I went to Skatt Mt. Hawthorn to see her new collection launch.

You'll find a similar selection of photos and a little blurb in Xpress this Thursday. I'm not in the best mood to review this collection as the designer used my photos without any permission or credit. I do have to say Natasha is a talented stylist and the label's branding is meticulous. Well designed branding and styling always get my attention so I have to give big tick for that. The new collection is sexy and the harness designs are interesting and versatile. You'll see that there's a bit of Balmain's look there with pointy shoulders with her own twist.

One thing I noticed was lack of production quality for those garments at the show. I assume they were just sample pieces for the show and her sale pieces will be well made - neat seams, zippers with proper closure and ending, clean cutting around the harnesses and neat button closures to name a few.

One thing I nearly forgot to mention is that Natasha Mapleson is a 'spunk' wear I think. There were so many 'spunks' at the show. While I was there I coined the term 'spunk off' although one of my twitter buddies didn't agree with me. Never mind. I just hope that Natasha does the right thing by crediting my photos (as requested).

Dressing Songy by Ellie Meyer Prufrock

2010-02-04T23:14:00.001+08:00

I've been lazy about bringing back Dressing Songy. It really just started out as me rummaging around my wardrobe to see how I could re-vitalise my 'style life' with your help. Presenting a pair of shoes and challenging you to come up with outfits to match was great fun when I had tons of time for this website. That original concept soon became not so viable. One big issue was funding new pairs of shoes. That was nearly solved by Betts. They were happy to help but shoes are not the only problem. Time and my wardrobe. Of course, the original format of Dressing Songy still remains and I'll sooner or later present with 'new challenges'. For the new year, however, I had a better and more fun idea. How about getting emerging designers to dress me! Getting someone else to dress me is such a hoot. Don't you think? I don't claim to be the most stylish person I know. Far from it really. The idea came to me when I started noticing some amazing local talent. Let me be honest, it came from my greed. The greed to try all that is fabulous, amazing and handmade by fellow Aussies. Sure, I don't get to own any of it (except one thing out of this post) but I can assure you I don't want everything I see and try anyway. That's good and bad. This gives me chance to try the things I'd never try on my own.

It wasn't terribly difficult to choose first few designers I wanted to work with. Luckily, I was able to catch Ellie Meyer before she runs away to Melbourne for the L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival (she is one of two WA students to participate along with Daniella Caputi). As you know she is also one of three students selected at PFF09 to work in a special studio in the city to present a special collection this year too. Quite a special lady then to open a new season of dressing Songy.

I turned up at Ellies place in Fremantle one evening last week carrying a huge bag of shoes and basic stuff. She chose my long witchery boots and sportsgirl slip then the adventure began.

Ellie is a quiet but funny girl. She is into making garments which are wearable multiple ways. Have a look at this special vest I bought from her at Unwrapped 09 in Leederville. I can wear this in four different ways - up and down both inside and outside. Even after Ellie 'dressed' me with it I haven't quite worked out how but I did wear them in all different ways as you can see in the photos. The multiple way thing wasn't really my attraction at first. I really liked how cleverly patterns were cut and put together. I asked her what her usual approach is with garment design. Her simple answer was 'draping first and pattern making next'. You know the usual way of garment making right? Pattern making, cutting and putting them on a dress making dummy. Not that it is ground breaking as I know of quite a few designers using that very method but they don't always come out with fantastically clever designs. Do you see the necklace I'm wearing there? That's Ellies' new creation and you can buy them at the Form Gallery shop in Murray Street in Perth.

There's another example of 'multiple ways' dress. I nearly bought that dress but I secretly want both of them (puffy and up and down dress). Apart from the purest greed of mine - wanting to try out designer fashion - it is interesting to see how what we saw on runway can be worn by a regular girl like me. you know what I mean? These pieces were shown both at the Perth Fashion Festival 2009 and Homeground Curtin graduate show 2009. Of course they were worn by tall, skinny and stunning models. I'm a size 10 regular girl with not so long legs etc...etc the bottom line is I haven't got any quality that models got so if garments work on me any regular people should be able to pull them off. When Ellie was dressing me it felt quite effortless yet special.

Ellie is still not sure about the name Prufrock for her label. Whatever she decides to call it in the future I do hope that she continues her design with her signature inquisitiveness and frankness. That's an amazing quality to have in the so called fashion world.

I dare say this has been a very successful launch of Dressing Songy 2.0. I'll be back with more of interesting and sometimes predictable Songy's favourite designs by local designers soon.

By the way, the satin heels giveaway is still happening. I'm really giving a winner a pair of brand-new heels from Betts. It's not that difficult to enter either so go on and 'get engaged'! If commenting isn't your thing, email your answer to songyknox [at] gmail.com.

Shoes giveaway Satin heels by Betts - Tie Me Up

2010-02-03T22:51:00.001+08:00

I went and tried out Tie Me Up from BettsThey are gorgeous but I think fashionists who love wearing heels would enjoy them more than I'd ever do so I decided to giveaway a pair of Tie Me Up from Betts. I'm in a giving mode...

As a blogger I don't usually get any free stuff so this is a rare moment. I could just keep them for myself but I think giving away will be more fun.

Here's the rule.

leave a comment in this post
The comment has to be about how you'd wear these delicious heels
winner will have to send me a photo with that exact outfit once heels are delivered

I'll be the judge. I'll choose my favourite outfit idea from the comments list. For now, I'll open this only to Australian readers. So let's hear it. How would you wear these heels?

Skattwalk 2010 - Act 7 Wild Dreams

2010-02-02T22:10:00.001+08:00

It was wild alright. Pretty darn wild. Lisa and Co. did save the best for the last or should I say the most wild for the last. Alister's designs are always very dramatic. It doesn't always get presented well enough on the runway though. A lot of black means getting too dark without a properly lit runway. With just plain lighting his designs tend to lose drama. Skattwalk catwalk was really well lit and on top of that there were blue spot lights going off and that,my friends, made it really wild. It could have been a little too much for people with heart conditions maybe?

What do you think made the show so special? You can't really miss geometric hair-dos can't you? Cubes and donuts.. all those shapes! When would you ever get to see that on people's head if it wasn't for a hair and make up show such as Skattwalk. Clearly, Natasha Vinci and Jillian Speck went to town with their hair design and I really loved them.

The show is over so this would be a good time to look at other aspects of Skattwalk 2010. The production was fantastic and it was enormously entertaining. However, there were things I noticed running up to the show. First of all, skattwalk's website. You knew that was coming didn't you? Have I ever mention someone's website just to praise? It's sad that the site doesn't give more. It could be so much better. I'm pretty sure after six years of Skattwalk there would be so much stuff to share and promote on the Internet. I won't even go into the aesthetics of the website. That brings me to ask the next question...The branding? Skatt salons are really cool and professional. Certainly, the services I experienced have been of high standard. But the promotional materials did not represent Skatt or skattwalk that well. They could be once again so much better. It's like driving around in a crappy old car wearing a Tarvydas dress. I wish I could be the advisor for the whole re-branding. Ok.. ranting time over. No doubt I would have made quite a few people upset including the guys at Skatt who worked really hard to get everything organised. In my defence, I was compelled to say what I said because I think skattwalk needs more care for the branding as people (who don't know skatt or never attended Skattwalk) would judge Skatt with what they see on paper and in magazines.

This has been the final instalment of Skattwalk 2010 coverage. There's no more until next year. Ah well, I just have to hunt for other interesting fashion events around the place don't I? In the meantime, you could still savour what was Skattwalk 2010 in Base East - where I store all of the catwalk photos.

Skattwalk 2010 - Act 6 Wonderland

2010-02-01T18:53:00.001+08:00

I said The Undiscovered was pretty good. That was only if I was just speaking for fashion, hair and makeup. I should say Wonderland was bloody wonder - wait for it - ful (watching too much of How I met my mother...) in term of the theatrical production. Jess Truscott was fantastic as Alice and all other models were so good with the storytelling. Of course, there were darn good eye catching things - hair and costume for all the characters were carefully considered and executed. It wasn't about just telling the story - Alice in Wonderland. It was also about showing some edge fashion offering by Natasha Mapleson.

Also interesting was seeing some models (rabbit eared man and he girls with tartan faces) from Catherine Ruze modelling agency. As a boutique agency which started out last year, I see quite a few talent. I hear that actual launch of the agency is still to come.

As I said it was an amazingly entertaining show with plenty of drama and fun. More of a reason why Skattwalk is one of the premier events in WA. It was certainly a good start of the fashion 2010. I guess this is what I always say but they did save the best for the last as the whole show ended with a dramatic pieces by Alister Yiap. You know then what that means....

Eloise Cole (hair)
Ellli Schoen (hair)
Leoni Grant (assistant)
Natasha Mapleson (fashion)
Brittany Oates (make-up)

Skattwalk 2010 - Act5 The Undiscovered

2010-01-31T18:08:00.001+08:00

After the high energy dancers and spunky girls at the Hair of the ages by Patrick Connor, Artistic Director, at Skatt the show was heading for even more excitement with Daniella Caputi's fashion, Carlie Christie's makeup and Brendan Watsons hair designs. The reason why I mention these names is because I liked the entire production but I liked this section more than others if I had to speak for fashion, make-up and hair. Daniella's fashion is a lot of fun and I liked them when I first saw them at Curtin's Homeground but now I like them even more with the volume and texture Brendan created with hair. The make-up was absolutely perfect. Actually, I'm really tempted to try the dark blue dot on my lip and I'm just waiting for a right occasion.

Then there were boys. Two male models came out with their ripped body. I said it...I had to laugh, mind you. The girls in the audience (actually the audience was practically all girls) was going absolutely crazy when they came out. My guy was laughing. I then hear him saying "Girls are loving this guy." Then I heard another voice saying "hairdressers.. what do you reckon?" then my guy responded "They must really like his hair". Hahaha. Very funny. They were cute alright. Do you remember the dress rehearsal I attended about a week before the show? Daniella was measuring one of the guys for the vest you see in the photos. Now, sorry to say this but they didn't need them, vests. Just as well, they took them off at the finale. Maybe that was the whole point - something to take off at the end. In all honesty though, the vests did have a nice design touch and I would like one for my guy.

There you have it. The show was getting better as each act rolled on. I don't take my guy to all the fashion gigs I attend. Because It gets quite crazy at times but he certainly likes coming along to Skattwalk. Maybe that's a little niche Skatt can tab into for future show promotions.... That's a thought. Anyway, a couple more Skattwalk posts to come. After that I'm going into the full Arts Festival mode. Before that, I might be able to squeeze a shoes give-away for you all and Dressing Songy. As they say, watch this space.

P.S. I don't know the name of the model but I think the girl wearing the short jacket is super cute. I would like to see more of her on catwalk shows. Maybe she isn't tall enough. I hear 175cm is minimum. If you're reading this..I hope you're that tall. Are you? Anyway, she was really good on the runway.

Skattwalk 2010 - Act4 - Hair of the ages

2010-01-29T23:40:00.001+08:00

Skattwalk's Act 4 by Patrick Connor and Brittany Cera, Hair of the ages, upped the ante. There were spunks, and there were dancers. Do you get me? These two girls at the top are totally hot right? It's funny that I rave about hot girls but you know they were really great on the catwalk. It was pleasure to shoot and it would have been totally fantastic to dress them. Cassi Lee's tiny dresses go well with these hot girls. Would you agree?

Patrick Conner (hair)
Brittany Cera (hair)
Reecca Tyler (hair assistant)
Cassi Lee clothing (fashion)
Ashleigh Donkin (make-up)
Bounce Dance Studio (Dance troop)

Skattwalk 2010 - Act3 - Bad Romance

2010-01-28T21:41:00.001+08:00

I was wondering how they come up with all these themes? Bad Romance? Cute. The first half of the show started with a guy and a girl walking out. Then there were girls coming down with 'broken hearts'. haha. That was cute.

Seriously, the make-up was really quite well done for the 'broken heart' girls. It was the great combination of big buffy hair with La Belle hair pieces by Claire.

Hollie Garnder (hair)
Sian Bartlett (hair)
Tricia Trotman (make-up)
Kelsey Growcott (assistant)
Claire La Belle (Jewllery)

Betts - Tie Me Up satin heels

2010-01-28T18:06:00.001+08:00

A little shoe break everyone. Remember gorgeous satin heels from Kidogo Art house parade? How about Tie Me Up heels from Betts? If you have to pick a pair which colour would you get?

I can't decide honestly. You tell me which one and that's what I'll get. How about that for interactive blogging?

Skattwalk 2010 - Act2 - Renaissance

2010-01-27T20:18:00.001+08:00

For the second act of Skattwalk 2010, we were entertained by models all made up with white powder and sky high hair do - Renaissance theme.

The fashion was - inside out. Feels a little like burlesque outfits. I really liked the texture and the volume of all hair-dos

The star of the show was the muse with a feather fan (first row from the second collage set). she had such a poise and I'm sure everyone noticed it too judging by the cheers from the audience. A couple of models looks quite awesome and pulled off some amazing looks. I didn't put them here but there were other couple who couldn't quite pull off the look. They looked either frightened or unhappy. Runwway models do have a certain look of disdain and that is part of the charm but what I saw wasn't that. I guess not all models were created equal.

Tomorrow, we'll have a look at Act3 - Bad Romance. Well done, Thalia! If you want more of Renaissance photos, check out this photo set..

Thalia Woodcroft (hair)
Anja Jacobz (hair assistant)
Tagan Dexter(Make-up)
Nicole Mitchell and Clarinda Maxwell(Fashion)

Skattwalk 2010 - Act1 - Catwalk Creations

2010-01-26T12:30:00.001+08:00

Skattwalk 2010 was a total blast. Did I say the same thing about Skattwalk 2009? I might have done. Honestly, when Lisa told me that this year's show was going to be bigger than ever I had a hard time believing it. The last show was huge in terms of venue, length and the size of the production and I didn't think it was possible to make it 'bigger'. But as usual, she was right to be confident. The venue was jam packed (sold out show it was), the runway was a lot more manageable and the production was tightly managed with intense music - pop to funky electro. Most importantly, Lisa kindly heard my lament on catwalk lighting and she paid tspecial attention. Dare I say, it was fantastic!

Once again, it was quite an achievement. Let's not forget that Lisa, the founder of Skatt Salons and Skattwalk, is still in her twenties. The 1 hour long production was achieved by mobilising all her Skatt staff for hair and make-up. Over 100 models were recruited (a lot of them were amateurs) for the parades. A number of designers/labels were chosen to complement the hair and make-up design. Yes, that's right. Skattwalk isn't about hair and make-up complementing fashion. It's the other way around. Spectacular shows cannot be achieved with just one or the other. That's why Skattwalk is so special and entertaining. I've seen some of the garments in various different shows last year but seeing them paired with totally different looks was quite exciting.

There were seven acts this year. Let's start with the first one - Catwalk Creations by Chantelle and her crew. Fashion Design by none other than Anna Excell, one of my favourite graduate designers from 2009. Enjoy!

Chantelle Paki (hair)
Laura Mickiewiecz (hair)
Eliza Marwich-Gomes (hair assistant)
Anna Excell (fashion)
Carmen Anuriw (make-up)

More of Skattwalk 2010 to come this week....

ECU Contemporary Fashion - Bare Parade

2010-01-25T22:34:00.002+08:00

My fear came true. I could hear music from distance and the wall in the room I was in was projecting what was happening in the other room. So that's how the 'parade' began. Yes, it wasn't a typical runway show. Yeah yeah, I always complain about this and that - bad lighting, difficult choreographies blah blah.

It was bloody difficult to shoot. If I was just there watching the show it would have been just fine. Anyway, 12 students with 12 acts were quite unique and entertaining. There were obviously a couple of crowd favourites.

Stephanie Rehnelt's woven garments were my pick. Lauren O'Grady's act was very curious and intriguing. Meghan Hosie's set was the most amusing and entertaining one. Definite crowd pleaser. It was disco, hippy, grungy and retro.

I let you be the judge - I said that last night. What would you say?

Actually, I just came back from Skattwalk 2010 with 3000 images. It's going to be a long night....

ECU Contemporary Fashion 2009 - Bare Exhibition

2010-01-24T18:55:00.001+08:00

I thought 2009 fashion and textile graduation shows were all done and dusted in December. As I pointed out though a few days ago in my post, ECU Contemporary Fashion 2009 graduates had their exhibition and parade just last night at the ECU Mt. Lawley Campus. I didn't even know that ECU had such a course - Contemporary Fashion. It's actually a part of the Bachelor of Contemporary Arts degree and you can have Contemporary Fashion as a major. There you go. If you're thinking of studying fashion there's another option for you.

From what I hear ECU's Contemporary Fashion is more about conceptual and analytical study of fashion rather than industry,technic or commercially focused study. It is understandable as ECU is a tertiary institution. If you want the latter you'd opt for TAFE colleges.

Has it been the norm from the beginning? Not all schools do that but they all seem to want to have some sort of a display (be it formal under a banner of 'Exhibition' or informal with just a few dressed dummies) before any parade. Bare - ECU's Exhibition/parade - was certainly not an informal one. It was all very interesting but it would have been better if I could find out who did what and what the concept was (sorry, if you guys did put your name tags there but I didn't see them)

I guess most striking display was a corner filled with garments and black and white images covering the wall. Another one was Victoria Vidovich's display of tulle based short dresses. Wonder what they are actually called. I'm sure my fashion expert readers will know.

The guest had more than two hours to enjoy the exhibition. (don't think it was intentional) Anyway, I was slightly panicking as I could see that there was a 'runway' going across several rooms including a main stage outside with virtually no lighting. It was going to be one of those theatrical shows. I knew that I wouldn't be able to get a decent shot for each garment. The models won't stop for a 'pose'. At any case, I had to make a decision - roam around or stay put. I opted to pick a spot and stay. Not sure if I made a right decision. I'd never know really.

So it happened the show was massively delayed. A model I know was actually walking around the venue without hair and make up done after 8pm..by then we've been there for 2 hours. The show didn't start until after 8:45 ish. Okay, about the parade, I'll let you be the judge as I'll post them tomorrow. If you know my flickr and facebook account you'd have already seen them.

The Gallery Fashion Show at Kidogo Arthouse

2010-01-23T13:12:00.001+08:00

Rebecca and Megan, Miss Universe contestants, organised stylish events last week in the form of fashion parade to raise money for Toybox International (mainly supported by Box Magazine it seems to support underprivileged kids). The parade at Kidogo Arthouse was a gig organised by beautiful Rebecca O'Donovan. It was a good thing for me as I couldn't make it to Megan's gig in Northbridge due to a parking mishap.

Anyhow, it was great catching the updated collections from local talent - Claire Loneragan, Natalie Schorer (checkout her multi-string necklace, simply spectacular), Leanne Lim (new peachy silk dress to make us feel 'princessy') and Bernice Sara (great desire to fly to Bali?). Oh, let's also not forget Spice Lily, WA's fashion jewellery label.

If you've attended fashion events (parades and backstage access etc) as much as I have you'd understand the cycles. Envy followed by admiration and realisation of how fragile all of us are.. back to envy and indifference. Well, last Friday night was about shoe envy. Bernice was wearing a pair of mustard coloured heels. Also, I liked grey satin heels with bows on he heels. Envy worthy?

That was enough of my frivolous talk. We never got to find out how much was raised for Toxbox but the turn out was pretty good for a very intimate venue. Well done to you all, the beautiful people. Photos are in the usual places - Flickr (parade), Flickr (backstage), my gallery and in Facebook (parade, backstage)

Ellie Meyer to Melbourne Fashion Festival 2010

2010-01-21T13:29:00.001+08:00

What do you know about Ellie Meyer? Looking at this article from the West Australian we know that she is one of 12 students going to Melbourne Fashion Festival 2010 (LMFF) for the Student Showcase. That's super cool. After reading that article yesterday, I quickly sent a congrats messgae to Ellie and started recalling what I have in my photo library for Ellie Meyer, the creator of Prufrock.

She just finished her graduation parade (although she hasn't finished her study just yet). Ellie was one of three winners at the Perth Fashion Festival 2009 to secure a fashion studio for six months to showcase the work (with Andrea Wolf from Polytechnic west and Jane Kelsey from Central) at the 2010 Festival.

After admiring her bug collection at the Curtin Graduation Parade 09 exhibits outside of the venue, I finally got to meet Ellie and scored my own piece of Prufrock at Unwrapped 09 Leederville in December last year. I got a bug brooch and a vest which can be worn in multiple ways. Another special thing about it is that it's pretty much one off as Ellie made it using vintage fabric off another garment.

It's all too exciting. LMFF is happening in March. Some people suggested that I should go to LMFF but with my day job I really can't.

I hope Melbournites love Prufrock, Ellie's design. Good luck, Ellie!!

Skattwalk 2010 Dress Rehearsal at Skatt Mt. Hawthorn

2010-01-20T20:29:00.001+08:00

Dress Rehearsals for Skattwalk 2010 have been happening practically every night in both Northbridge and Mt. Hawthorn Skatt salons headed by Lisa, Skatt Executive Director and Carmen, Skatt Managing Director. I had a sneak preview of the show by attending one of the rehearsals at Skatt Mt. Hawthorn last night. That's where I got to finally meet a lovely Claire from La Belle and Daniella Caputi.

It's all happening now. The program for the show was delivered yesterday. All the rehearsals should have been finalised tonight. It's now time for Lisa and Carmen to sit together to finalise the running sheet for the show. Show 'bagging' will be done on Sunday and the show is on Monday!

It was fantastic getting to meet Daniella and her garments up close. I always wondered how her very textured jacket and dress were made. A close inspection revealed that the jacket was constructed using very light balsa wood and the dress was carefully gathered and stitched all by hand. Those intricate cuts were made with laser cutting. Deconstructing garments inside out she was able to create something rather special and I can see how she could continue to develop and refine her ideas and concept.

Of course, no fashion parade is completed without any last minute rush. It seems Daniella has to construct something for a male model for the show. I'd be panicking at that stage but Daniella was ultra calm. Maybe that's one of the qualities a budding designer must have to survive in the industry.

The Skatt stylist for that particular section of the show is Brandon. Stupid me... it didn't occurred to me that he was the stylist so I never got to talk to me. Dang. Well, he was too busy anyhow.

It will be a fun night. If you haven't got tickets for Skattwalk 2010 call any Skatt salons. They will sort you out no doubt. See you there. Event info is available in my previous post.

4 pieces of Aurelio Costarella and more

2010-01-19T22:18:00.001+08:00

I didn't think I'd ever get to own a piece of Costarella but I managed to get four in the space of couple of weeks. It helped to have Post Emporium, Aurelio Costarella's flagship store kicking off the New Year with a clearance sale.

When it comes to shopping I'm not much of a big spender. It's all relative I suppose so let's just say that I have a limit to how much I could spend on a single piece of something. In this case, I picked up three blouse/tops which are made with silk or Organza satin. So soft and delicate that I feel like someone special when I put them on. For all that it was less than AUD$300. The last piece, black dress, was picked up in ebay as a lucky bargain of AUD$40. The seller described it as size 16-18. Wrong..but I knew better. Costarella's size 2 is more like generous size 10. I must say the dress looks much better on me than on the dummy.

If I didn't have the 'single piece price limit' I would have spent more than double the amount and picked up a single piece of cotton/silk dress. It turned out my friend bought that exact dress which I couldn't 'afford'. She urged me to try it on and it was just divine. I later found out that he picked it up nearly 40 % off the marked price because she is one of 'in-crew' in the Costarella circle. *sigh* Even if I could get the dress at the same price it's still over my 'single piece price limit'. I suppose when I'm spending a few hundred dollars here and there it doesn't really make sense. I should just bite the bullet and save some money for it. How frivolous is this? Losing sleep over a dress! I kid you not.. that's how good it is. Which I could show it to ya.

Skattwalk 2010 next Monday

2010-01-17T20:10:00.001+08:00

Skattwalk 2009 was an amazing spectacle with several themes. It was quite a huge show and that's why my coverage was spread across several posts. From what I see in Google Analytics people still look for Skattwalk 09 posts.

Images from Skattwalk 2009

Just the other day, I was told by Skatt's Lisa Grinceri that Skattwalk 2010 would be bigger than ever with over 100 models. I don't know how they could beat last year's show but I'll just have to take her word for it. I mean, I wasn't expecting Skattwalk until April but it's happening only a week from now! You can imagine my excitement then. This is the biggest single fashion/style/makeup show in Western Australia.

My interest is not only with fantastical hair and makeup but also with fashion designers who got called into participate in Skattwalk 2010.

I'm quite well chuffed to admit that Style Discovery might have helped to showcase their work and attracted Lisa's attention for this year's designer selection.

Images from Curtin Graduate show 2009, Home Ground

It's not surprising then we have Style Discovery's favourites designers for this year's Skattwalk dressing all new and emerging models. In the list of designers, we have none other than Alister Yiap, Anna Excell (2009 Challenger TAFE Graduate), Daniella Caputi (2009 Curtin Graduate), and Cassi streatfield for Cassi Lee Clothing.

Have you bought tickets yet? It's going to be a big show.

Tickets for the 2010 Skattwalk are available via Skatt salons:
When:Monday 25 January
Where: Burswood Marquee
Option1:5:00pm $45 including champagne on arrival and gift bag ($65 value)
Option2:7:30pm $65 including 1hour complimentary beverages and gift bag ($100 value)

Fashion news and events January 2010

2010-01-14T20:58:00.001+08:00

I've been thinking it's a little boring this month after months of craziness late last year. I spoke too soon it seems.

First up, Andrea Wolf and other emerging designers are busy putting together applications for STYLEAID 2010 (Read STYLEAID 2009 coverage). It will be all happening as soon as weather cools down sometimes in August. Good luck, Andrea!

Anna Excell will be showcasing her fabulous designs at Skattwalk 2010 (photos from Skattwalk 2009) in a few days - Monday, 25 January.

Megan Osler, Miss Universe preliminary finalist, organised a fundraising event fashion and photography event at the Library.

Model wearing Bernice Sara swimwear at Diamond Model Awards in Perth.

There's another charity show for ToyBox International, The Gallery Fashion Show on Thursday, 21 January 2010 at Kidogo Arthouse (view map). We'll see lots of local talent such as Bernice Sara (Resort wear by Bernice Lloyd), Leanne Lim and Destin by Claire Loneragan. It's specially exciting because I haven't seen Claire work since her graduation in 2008.

WAAPA - ECU Graduate Exhibition 2009

Finally, Edith Cowan University's fashion graduates are putting a show together called Bare - ECU Contemporary Fashion Graduate Show on Saturday, 23 January 2010 at 6:30 in ECU Building 5 (2 Bradford St. Mt Lawley - view map). Tickets are on sale for a bargain price of $15. Get them at Bille and Rose and Libertine. If you know of any ECU graduates they'll be quite happy to sell you tickets!!I didn't know anything about this until Emma from Xpress contacted me to take photos for her. It is refreshing to know that ECU didn't try to squeeze into the super hectic graduate show period between November and December. Whether it was intentional or not, I do not know. I'm just glad that January is not going to be boring after all.

Designer behind the Butcher and the Crow

2010-01-13T22:02:00.002+08:00

Well well, I finally got to see the face behind the local sensation, the Butcher and the Crow. Elisha Quintal is her name. I've seen her at so many events but I never knew that she was the designer! Thanks to Pip Christmass at The West for covering her story last week.

I can at least say hello now. The first photo is from the Challenger TAFE graduation parade when Elisah presented her new collection for the Butcher and the Crow. The photo below is from Jailhouse frock 2009 when I first encountered her enormous hand-dyed silk dress.

You can buy Elisha's creations at Varga Girl (Leederville), Empire Rose (Subiaco, claremont) and Fashion WA.

Get the Look for Less

2010-01-13T21:32:00.002+08:00

I rarely read newspapers but my new workplace is well equipped with several copies of the local newspaper, The West, everyday. Yesterday's special insert was Style (yeepee) and it was all about getting runway looks for less. Not that I believe in that stuff but it was interesting for many reasons.

I know the model, Sarah Pauley. She is a lovely girl and she is hugely tall. I think this was the most flattering full body shot of her. That brings me to talk about the photographer, Penny Lane. She is one fabulous photog who did the launch campaign shots for Fashion WA. There were three other 'looks' in the article but the first one is my fave. Now on to the stylist! Teagan Sewell was the stylist behind this fabulous look. She is yet to launch her accessory label..(Any news Teagan?!) The grey, silver silk and pearl are so feminine and modern. If I were to try a look for less, this will be the one. This isn't going to turn out 'cheap'. It's all relative when you think about it. This look was supposed to be inspired by Missoni's SS 2010 collection but Love in Tokyo and Alistair Trung's tuni look (What Sarah is wearing above) is much funkier to my mind. I don't know how much Missoni look will cost but I know it will be much much more than what were looking at here (maybe not with those Von Treskow necklaces). It's too bad that I just can't locate this photo online. It seems The West doesn't feature what's printed online. But why not?

Interested to know what Sarah is wearing?

here it goes

Sheree Dornan Limited Edition Silk Metalic top $398
Love in Tokyo Long Silk Cami $129
Alistair Trung Cartousha Silk draped tunic $220, all three from Love in Tokyo, Perth
Angie Mac Necklace $79.95, Sancerre world love braid $50 both worn as armband, all from Accessorise Now, Claremont
Diva Headband $17.99
Von Treskow Pearl Tassle necklace $720, Von Treskow long silver chain necklace $640 both from Sana, Clarement.
Nu by Neo Olivia shoes $189, Marie Claire, Clarement.

I would love to get a better quality photo. Could anyone help?

Kate Wilks at Le Cure a Paris

2010-01-13T20:50:00.002+08:00

Put your virtual hands together for Kate Wilks whose leather garments will be exhibited in Paris as part of Le Cuir a Paris (Leather in Paris, literally) in February. Apparently, she will be the only Australian who will participate in this premium trade event in France. How about that for a graduate who just finished the final parade less than two month ago!

I did think her leather collection was fantastic at the Swan TAFE graduation parade in December 2009. Although I complained bitterly about the lighting of the show Kate told me that she used my photos from the show to promote her design as part of the application for the Le Cuir a Paris show. I'm chuffed. This will be an amazing opportunity for her to network and experience the industry at a totally different scale. I wish I could go there to see the show...

Huge congrats to Kate! It must be very satisfying for her after working her butt off for three long years. She will be flying out on February 3rd and will stay in Paris for three weeks. I hope she enjoys her time there (no doubt she will) and I hope I hear more about her adventure sometime in March. Watch this space.

Zozatron by Zoe Trotman

2010-01-11T20:16:00.001+08:00

One of the most creative souls I've met during my blogging life is Zoe Trotman. Her graduation pieces were nothing short of amazing including crazy shoes. I was wondering what our Lonely 8-bit Heroes' creator was going to do next.

Following my suggestion, Zoe opened an Etsy store Zozatron! At Zozatron, you're not going to find "oh I've seen that style before" kind of pieces. You can't blend into a crowd wearing Zoe's creations unless you happen to be hanging out with Zozatron crew. All pieces are made in Australia and by Zoe herself. Digital prints, psychedelic colours and handmade charm are your thing then check out Zozatron.

Maxshop's Zlata long vest

2010-01-10T18:29:00.001+08:00

Buying clothes online is a bit of hit and miss. For all things we buy online is a gamble.

Max Zlata Long Line Vest seemed so promising when I first saw it styled with a white shirt (shown in the photo on the left). When I ordered medium and it was too big so I had to sent it back and ordered small.

When the small one arrived I realised it wasn't much smaller than the one I sent back. I would have been better off with an XS or XXS which weren't available.

It's bigger than I hoped for but I still like the cut and the layers. I decided to belt it. And it worked. Buying clothes online is a hit and miss but it's never a disaster in my household.

{scarf from Sussan, necklace from Love in Tokyo, small necklace from Witchery, and the belt is from Seoul 16 years ago}