Frock of the Week: All Hail Maid Marian

This week was a no brainer. Amongst a sea of beautiful gowns in Cannes, the queen Cate B blew all the other ladies out of the water. I had been happily anticipating the Robin Hood premiere and was predicting that Cate would wear either Armani or McQueen. McQueen it was and Cate wore this unique high fashion frock with confidence and grace. Love the eagle print and the white tulle hem. I read somewhere that McQueen selected this gown for Cate to wear before he passed away. I don't know how true that rumour is, but regardless of myth-making, this is a fine tribute to his talents. Cate + McQueen = always unforgettable.

By all accounts Robin Hood is a pretty good flick. If I feel well enough, hubby and I are hoping to see it this weekend.

Photos courtesy of CateBlanchettFan.

Heavenly Nostalgia

I've been super skint of late; so much so that I've even resisted window shopping. However after an energy draining full day meeting today, and finally with a few dollars in my pocket (oh the pain of being paid monthly), I decided to reward myself with the latest airfreight edition of UK Vogue.
The June issue, with Angela Lindvall on the cover, features the most gorgeous editorial shot by Javier Vallhonrat, styled by UK Vogue Fashion Director Lucinda Chambers and starring classic patrician beauty Shalom Harlow.
Shalom is perfect for this nostalgic shoot which recalls glamorous 50s beauties like Deborah Kerr and Hitchcock heroines Janet Leigh and Tippi Hedren.

Summer's subtle off-hues and bold prints - fierce leopard spots, demure florals and beach-scene stripes - boast a Fifties nostalgia. It's time to dress up and think big: big hair, big sandals and big costume jewels.

I'm loving the socks and sandals combo and the return to lady-like bags that aren't half the size of a hungry starlet. I particularly love the Beatrix Ong for Liberty bag in the second last pic. It's a style that would be very easy to emulate with a good rummage around a vintage fair.

There's another gorgeous shoot in the June issue with Angela Lindvall looking all summery in Cuba + there is a fascinating story about Hollywood's super stylists and a 50 year retrospective of influential photographer David Bailey. Some pretty pictures, but he does comes across as an egocentric misogynist in the interview. A relic of a forgotten age I'd say, when it was still desirable to be seen on the arm of a genius. As far as I'm concerned (and this is coming from someone who works with many gifted writers), talent does not cancel out insensitivity. Or responsibility.

There is a behind-the-scenes video from the Vallhonrat shoot on the UK Vogue website.

The Wedding Photos Are In: The Details

The hubby and I collected our wedding photos from Sebastian T Photography yesterday. Such a happy occasion ... it almost makes up for the fact that I am battling a horrible cold.

I have the opportunity now to plug all the wonderful people/organisations that helped to create the bridal party outfits. It was so much fun pulling everything together that I can't help continuing the search for beautiful pieces. I hope I'm not driving my engaged friends mad!

Rebecca's bejewelled purse was discovered by my mother-in-law at the Rozelle markets.

And mine was discovered at the Sydney Antique Centre. It is 1970s, but in my eyes it is timeless.

The floral arrangements Naomi Jones created for the bridal part were divine. I provided her with a colour chart and asked her to stick to the "vintage Hawaiian" theme and then gave her free reign. The results were spectacular.

The hair clips, earrings and brooch that Rebecca and I wore were found at this fabulous site called Accessories of Old. Based out of Maryland in the US, they have a huge collection of new old costume jewellery, and all the items I bought were from the Czech Republic circa 1950s. They all arrived on their original cards, and my wedding was their first ever outing.

Rebecca's dress is a vintage reproduction we picked up at Sandie Bizy's in Annandale. She looks utterly gorgeous in peach and she wore a crinoline underneath the frock to give it that beautiful volume.

My dress was an Etsy purchase from Timeless Vixen Vintage's store. I've just noticed that they've uploaded another 1950s Ceil Chapman, and for fans of the designer, I can assure you I was completely happy with mine. I also think I got it for a pretty reasonable price. I've seen some Ceil's for sale at $1,500 ... my dress cost less than the hubby's suit! And I've yet to see another one like it.

A look at my hair clip, earrings and brooch. I tried my best to stick with a pastel theme for my whole outfit, and chose colours that complemented the silvery blue of my frock's sash.

I bought my delicate baby blue gloves the week before the wedding from Sandie Bizy's. I think they gave my outfit that final element of ladylike polish, plus made me feel special.

Rebecca and I wore the same fabric covered shoes from Wittner. The bows provided a nice synergy with the bow on my dress.

A big thanks again to Sebastian and Lee for the photos. What a tremendous wedding gift. I will never forget the generosity of our friends.

Fashion Week

Rosemount Australian Fashion Week has just finished for another year, and I was lucky enough to see two shows this week: the MCA Group Collection & Art Installation Show on Thursday night and the Ksubi show last night, which closed the whole shebang. On Thursday night lingerie label Ku Shu Shu made its Fashion Week debut, which was very exciting for me as I helped out with their PR.

The Ksubi show was a veritable who's who of the Aussie fashion scene and provided great people watching. Sydney's hipsters were out in force; I did find it a little amusing that people were waiting in line for 2 hours to watch super skinny, glum looking teenagers rocking distressed denim for all of 15 minutes, but I guess the ultimate reward was the free flowing complimentary drinks.

My highlight of RAFW- in terms of my taste and overall wearability- was Jayson Brunsdon's S/S showing, which was heavily influenced by mid century European resort wear. The salmon and baby blue chenille dress would work a treat in my wardrobe.

I'm also rather enamoured of Zimmermann's digital print swimsuits. The whole collection was a colour explosion, with pretty pastels that don't have to work hard to catch my eye. And it looks like high-waisted will be all the rage next summer.

Thanks to Harper's Bazaar for the pics.

Correction (and we all bow down to Christobal)

It turns out Bee Shaffer was not wearing Chanel at the Met the other night. Rather fittingly, considering the occasion, she was actually wearing Christobal Balenciaga. The dress is part of Nicholas Ghesquiere's 'Balenciaga Edition' collection, which sees him regularly mine Christobal's archives for classic designs which are then remade. I actually don't care who was responsible for this wonder, I love it no matter what. But its true origins certainly don't surprise me.

Apparently this is an original 1948 design so I've included another ballgown from the same year above. Christobal must have been in a dusky pink phase.

Below is another example of an Edition dress, and you can check out all the collections (the range began in 2006) on the Balenciaga site. If I had every item in this collection I think I would be the best dressed woman in the world. The man was the king of understated European elegance, and it is nice to think that his classic designs are being reinvigorated and celebrated.

It is amazing how thoroughly modern many of these classic designs from the haute couture greats can look. Just check out Kristin Davis in vintage Balmain at the White House correspondents dinner the other night. She looks like a 21st century version of Jackie Kennedy.

Red-Carpet of the Year: My Favourites

So hard to narrow it down!

1. Eva Mendes in D&G 2. Anne Hathaway & Kate Bosworth in Valentino 3. Camilla Belle in Jason Wu 4. Thandie Newton in Vivienne Westwood 5. Diana Taylor (with NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg) in Oscar de la Renta 6. Zoe Kazan in Peter Som 7. Coco Rocha in Zac Posen 8. Bee Schaffer (and her Mum) in Chanel 9. Doutzen Kroes in Zac Posen 10. Riley Keogh in Thakoon 11. Chloe Sevigny in Proenza Schouler

I'm loving Zac Posen's dramatic fairy tale like visions in blue, but for my absolute favourite I can't pick between Bee in Chanel and Thandie in Westwood. Classic cuts in unique eye-catching fabrics ... love.

Shout me down in flames!

Photos courtesy of Style.Com.

More gorgeous vintage inspired swimwear

So I know it isn't summer anymore and I keep harping on about swimwear, but many of my moments of calm and reflective happiness have occurred in or on the ocean. I just adore it. And funnily enough, swimwear is just about the best thing to wear in the water.
Today I was excited to read about another Aussie vintage inspired swimwear collection in the Sydney Morning Herald (part of their RAFW coverage).
The designer is Karen Neilsen and her latest collection of cotton bikini's and one pieces will be shown this Friday. Here are some examples from her first cotton collection.

I am going to Fiji in July (hooray!). The perfect excuse?