Muse

I've been meaning to do a post on my favourite models throughout the decades and once I get around to it the lovely Arizona Muse would be my pick of the current crop of working models. Her beauty reminds me of the great supermodel era of the late 80s and early 90s, like a cross between Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington. I love her thick brows and wide smile and small oval shaped face which photographs with such versatility. And that bob gives me hair envy.
The photo above, from the November issue of US Vogue, was taken by David Sims and styled by Grace Coddington. You can see more of the editorial here, but this is by far my favourite shot (the clothes in the rest of the editorial are a bit drab). The rain clouds, the position of both Arizona and the young man with the horse and the drama of that Alexander McQueen gown combine to create a truly arresting image.
Arizona appeared on three different covers for Aussie Vogue back in October & she had a whole Dazed and Confused issue dedicated to her in March. This month she is the cover girl for French Vogue, looking every inch the supermodel and rising star.

More vintage models to come soon, but do you have a favourite from the current runways?

The promotion begins ...

Michelle Williams has just hit the promotional trail for My Week With Marilyn and the buzz is already building around her performance. She wore a gorgeous Nina Ricci black gown to the Hollywood Film Awards the other night (she won Best Actress) and at the New York premiere of the film she looked ravishing in baby blue Dior.
I believe the film opens in Australia over the Christmas period and I'll definitely be checking it out. I've always had a soft spot for Michelle because Jen Lindley was my favourite character on Dawson's Creek plus she has always reminded me of my dear friend Megan. They both have the same reserved beauty.
Oh, and as demonstrated here, Michelle has great style too.

Sweet Sixteen

From the November 1948 issue of US Vogue comes this lovely photo shoot with a sixteen-year-old Elizabeth Taylor. Here she demonstrates the current skirt and shirt fashion that the young love for its different-every-time-look. Elizabeth was just about to appear on screen as Amy in Little Women when these photos appeared but she was already famous around the world as Velvet Brown. I do love that plaid skirt and the framing in that first photograph. Lovely.

What I Wore: Bangle Dress

You read that correctly. This isn't my bandage dress, but actually my bangle dress, which I picked up for a steal on Ebay more than twelve months ago. I love plastic bangles so I couldn't resist a print that contains about a hundred of them. I wore this outfit on Saturday to my friend Stacey's 30Th birthday.

Sunglasses: vintage (from Bondi Markets)
Blouse: vintage (courtesy of Grandma Takes a Trip)
Dress: vintage (Ebay)
Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell Suebeen

Stop the Press - Love Vintage Fair

Sydney's bi-annual Love Vintage Fair is on again this weekend and quite frankly I cannot wait. I missed the autumn Fair as I was on author tour and I believe my absence warrants double the effort on my wallets behalf. At the moment our country is stuck in a vicious cycle - lower consumer confidence means lower returns means less stable employment means lower confidence. Perhaps I should do my bit for the economy, and the environment, and purchase a few second hand frocks?
Alas I doubt the husband would concur.
In the meantime I'll see all you Sydney-siders in the wilds of Canterbury this weekend.

London, Paris, Milan

A picture heavy post to follow of a few of my favourites from the Spring/Summer 2012 collections, starting with the always influential Prada. Inspired by mid-century hot rod culture, Miucci Prada's pieces are always left of centre but never boring. I loved the pleated skirts, bare midriffs and clutches in this collection. And what vintage loving girl isn't partial to a novelty print?

Piccioli and Chiuri's latest ready-to-wear collection from Valentino was beyond dreamy. If I had money to spare and somewhere to wear, I'd be acquiring these frocks, for sure.

There is nothing like colourful clothing to brighten my day and I love the colourfulness and Parisian chicness of Carven.

In London Jonathan Saunders went all retro, providing a wardrobe suitably for a weekend away at Frank Sinatra's Palm Beach House in the 1950s.

Erdem's collection was as blue as blue could be, and in my book, that can only be a good thing.

And Christopher Kane's embellished and appliqued frocks had all the fashion editors sighing with delight.

And my favourite: Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton. Sure, I'm partial to colours that remind me of candy or pills, but the laser cut outs and the experiments with volume make every piece GORGEOUS. A final audition for the Dior gig? if that's the case, having Kate Moss close the show in white ostrich feathers certainly can't harm his chances.

Photos from Style.Com.

Winning Links

Lucky lady and fellow Aussie blogger Veronica Darling has won the Horrockses Fashion book giveaway. Unlike me Veronica is a whizz on the sewing machine and she blogs all about her brilliant creations. This lady wears almost all homemade, which is about as green as they come. Even if you don't sew though and you just love pretty frocks her blog is well worth following. Hopefully the fab Horrockses designs and prints will give her plenty of creative inspiration.
And speaking of cool blogs, my friend Jessica introduced me to The Hairpin which I now catch up with regularly. You've got to love a site that speaks to intelligent women about some intelligent (and not so intelligent) things. It makes me laugh with loads of aha moments. The other day they uploaded this awesome You Tube clip of a 1950s fashion show of - wait for - swimming caps. Hard to imagine when you watch the Olympics that swimming caps used to be so decorative and fashion forward. I mean, there's even a couple here with in-built fringes! Enjoy.