Loreal Melbourne Fashion Festival is rather a big deal here in Melbourne.  With not only a great main runway line up but also a full and rich cultural calendar.  Hence why my posts have been a bit slow this week, as I’ve headed out to as many things as my legs would carry me and still be able to recognise my own children at the end of the week!  Fashion week is a brilliant time to combine both business and pleasure, seeing not only some of the best and brightest talents out there but also to catch up with delightful friends and wear some of my favorite things all at once!  I’ve had only a little time to photograph what I wore this week, but this outfit was a little bit special.

The talented Gabrielle from Hoplessly Devoted, created this showstopping musk pink, dupon silk headpiece for me to wear and show stop it did. Named the “Marie Fascinator”, it has great body to be able to mould the bow into the shape you want, and features beautiful knife pleating across the front.  I had planned to wear it with another outfit this Saturday, but just couldn’t wait, so last minute I teamed it with a simple black dress and bustle belt for a little Fashion Week fun.

If you look closely, you’ll see the evidence that I do really take all my own photographs for this blog.

And yes, LMFF so far has been a blast. I have some new favorites (Nevenka) and some old favorites that continue to blow me away (Aurelio Costarella).  There is just so much to see and to be inspired by.

Aurelio Costarella indulges my love of strong tailoring; of 1940’s silhouettes,waists, peplums and strong shoulders. Their winter collection is simply delicious and appeals to my sense of decadence and luxury.  They are garments you just want to breath in as they fill your senses with berry tones and kitten soft trims.  If you’d like to see more of the events, the who’s who and some beautiful photographs, head on over to OhJamie (who also happened to be my front row date one evening along with brilliant celebrity stylist Philip Boon) and catch a glimpse of his stellar shots.  For a full round up of LMFF by some of Melbourne’s favorite local bloggers check this out .

Awaiting the start of Runway 3 with OhJamie – blogger and talented photographer.

Image credit – OhJamie

I know some of you have asked for the little details of these nights, so here are a couple of pics of just what one takes away from these shows other than an incredible lust and impending credit card debt!  The ubiquitous goody bags.

Loreal knows that after all the air-kissing  our lips may need a little plumping to restore them to their former glory, and the tresses need some TLC after a weeks worth of super styling.

Being able to rest one’s stilettoed feet between shows is critical, as is keeping track of just who is showing so that you can find that lust worthy gown in store.

How did they know I love glitter and red lips? Nice one Loreal!

Keeping it chic, LMFF put together this great little hold all for the mags, the lippy, the whole fashion week lot as ruining the lines of your outfit with a shopping bag is just not on.

Outfit Details

Dress – Table Eight (a very long time ago)

Bustle Belt – CMK

Shoes – (out of shot) “Japan” by Wittner in black

Tuxedo Cuff – Somewhere in Bangkok?

Headpiece – Hoplessley Devoted “Maire” silk fascinator

Pink ring – Singapore jewelery store

Lip colour – AVON “Amethyst” over MAC “Russian Red”

Now please excuse me whilst I go and tackle a weeks worth of photos!

Forgive me for the excessive outfit posts in the last week and a bit, I’m currently snowed under with so much work that I haven’t been able to finish some of the things I wanted to bring you. I’m making up for it today with a huge recap on the weekend as well as all the outfit fun, so hold on for a huge selection of photos!

Anyway, my world is a whirlwind at present.  A mess of designing, writing, sewing, events and attempting to keep body and soul together for everyone in the household. It has meant a few 2am bedtimes, but I just can’t seem to ever tame my over achieving nature.  There was a small welcome break in one of these roles over the weekend however, as Mr. SKM took the girls on a trip to the country whilst I stayed in town for Fashion week events, parties and watching some very talented girls get their kit off!  Intriguing?

Saturday began with a quick trip in to to Circa Vintage Clothing, seeking out patterns for inspiration for my Friends of Couture collection as well as my own personal stash. Nicole at Circa has more patterns than you could possibly imagine and it is like a little piece of nirvana to sit there and search through for heartbreakingly beautiful gems. Yes, I found something amazing, but that will have to wait for another day when I can show you the finished product.

Then it was onto Worn Wild Alternative Designers Market as part of the LMFF calendar.  A great opportunity to check out lots of hand made and custom pieces as well as to meet and talk to the designers. So after a day of shopping and waltzing about looking at pretty things, it was off to see the amazing Sugar Blue Burlesque troop, over from Perth for one night only.  Oh, if only there were more shows! Sugar Blue were out of this world amazing!  The costumes, coreography, innovation and the downright cheekiness of it all. They really deserve their own post of highlights, so stay tuned.

So after all that shopping, socialising and sexy spangles, I finished off the night watching two beautiful friends perform at The Burlesque Bar here in Melbourne. The delightful Foxtrot India and the dark and devilishly good Miss Nic. What. A.Day!

And just what sort of outfit is going to tackle that kind of a schedule from 10am till 3am on a 30 degree day?  That would be this one!

Outfit Details

Leopard print shirt – Zara

Gothic lolita bustle skirt – Fanplus Friend from One Day in Paradise here in Melbourne

Shoes – “Japan” from Wittner

Over the knee stockings – I wish I could remember!!

Little Birdy – Harem on Brunswick street

All that and it was only Saturday!

Still to come.. A Vintage Afternoon Tea, all the fun of Sugar Blue Burlesque and hitting Loreal Melbourne Fashion Week.

I don’t often do short. I’m a little worried about coming off too “hoochie”, but this dress was one I couldn’t resist. It was all about which shoes I paired this with that made it work.  The needed a heel, but nothing too high, nothing too slick and nothing too Pretty Woman. My feature heels,  (found in Bangkok’s Paragon department store), came to the rescue with cute, solid and fun. But this dress has hidden powers.

Thanks to this fabulous Faux Pas dress by Friends of Couture, I did not get hit by a tram the other day!  I also managed to make it through a very crowded event without once being forced to say “excuse me”. Someone even gave me a hand getting my groceries to the car.

MAGIC!

Outfit Details:

Dress – Fabulous Faux Pas by Friends of Couture

Hair Bow – Sugar Doll Designs

Shoes – Paragon Department store, Bangkok

Earrings- Kawaii black bears by SIX

Nude Fishnets – Leg Avenue

Last Saturday was the day for the alternative fashion event of the year. Circa Nocturna is a yearly catwalk show held as part of LMFF that showcases goth, retro, rave, victoriana and all manner of alternative fashion.  It is a smorgasbord of black, lace, ruffles and plaid.  It has become one of my favorite LMFF events as it never fails to surprise with new talent as well as still having that raw, independent quality. Unlike almost everything else you’ll see as a part of fashion week, Circa Nocturna is far less trend driven, less seasonal and much more about fashion as a defining statement

This years line up included some old favorites as well as the launch of new ones, in particular my favorite Darling James by fellow Melbourne blogger HarbourMaster. Full of retro goodness but spiced up with shorter, flirty lengths and glimpses of neon tulle. Trashglam was another surprise that had old skool raver meets Harajuku Girl written all over it.

My perinial favorite Dolly Q did not disappoint with rococo looks, high fashion styling and delightful separates. Vanyanis showed an eclectic grouping of pieces than ran from the retro to the baroque with particularly dapper menswear so as not to be out done by blushing debutantes. Emilie Gray showed just what can be achieved with an update on simple vintage lines and produced a cohesive collection of highly wearable and affordable day wear. Beserk Clothing with their dark anime influences, lit up the catwalk with hot reds and electric blues, blinged out “Love &Hate” knuckle dusters, and the most awesome ‘maned’ legwarmers I’ve ever seen!

The evening was a showcase of paradox, defining what alternative fashion should be, what it should have left behind long before now and where it is headed. It seems that Circa Nocturna gets better with age, attracting more diverse designers, more polished collections and yet more things for me to covet.

If you’d like to find out more about any of the designs or designers seen in the gallery, check out the Official Circa Nocturna site.

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All the highlights of the evening are here for your viewing pleasure and inspiration. Just click on an image to see it enlarge and navigate from there. There are arrows at the bottom of the photos, but you need to change proof sheets from the main page.

Should you wish to use any of these images, please just email me for permission.

The darling Rosy Rabbit is heading to London to shake a tail feather for Burlesque week and in order to get there she is throwing an evening of daring delights.  I will not be missing this one as not only will Rosy demonstrating her legendary techniques, but will be featuring the talents of my most favorite local performers too!

Music dancing and even door prizes will make this an evening to remember,  so if you are in Melbourne the make sure to pre purchase your tickets now as you won’t want to miss it!

Now… What will I wear this time?!

Outfit Details:

BOW – $2 Shop

Dress – Angel Sissi

Silver bat wing top – Tempt

Two tone fishnets – Columbine

Boots – Candy

Earrings – Equip

Total outfit cost – Less than $100.

Why Les Miserables? Well I think it is the ragged skirt that I love so much.  Something about this combo as I was putting it together, made me think of a Parisian Courtesan on her day off or a well dressed revolutionary marching the streets of Paris. This skirt has had so many appearances over the last autumn winter season and I don’t see it stopping anytime soon.  Depending on how I wear it I can end up feeling like The Little Match Girl, Eliza Dolittle or like today, a Can Can dancer on her way to the shops! All that fantasy in one skirt? What a great buy!

(Some of you have asked for more detail of this skirt and this cardigan before, so prepare yourself for a gratuitous amount of photos)

The hair was done using my “Chic and Simple Updo” tutorial and takes no more than 5 minutes to achieve.

The makeup look has a tutorial on the way too.  I’m a little behind on the editing but hope to get it ready for you in the next week.  It is simple and soft, but can be amped up quite easily for an evening look.

Phew.. that was a lot of photos!  Now for the details..

Outfit Details

Skirt – Boo Radley

Cardigan – Friends of Couture “Daughters of Pleasure”

Teal slip – Anthropologie

Boots – Novo “Mali”

Hair Bows – My Little Rockabilly

Bow Earrings – Equip

Purple sequin bow clip – $2 shop

The first thing that occurs to me as I started getting these photos ready to post, is that I really need to allow more time before events to take some proper outfit shots! I always end up running out of time and then taking a few hasty shots during the evening that doesn’t really capture the detail of what I wore. Oh well, at least you’ll get the gist if it.

Saturday night was Circa Nocturna, the annual catwalk showcase of alternative fashion, and a place where so many of my loves can all be found at the same time in the same room!  I had planned to wear a particular vintage Gautier dress this evening, but the weather had other ideas with very high humidity and a storm that had cars floating down the roads and roofs collapsing!  So I had to do a bit of improvisation last minute.

I’d picked up these amazing boots (yes, a post on just these by themselves is coming) earlier in the week and was dying for an opportunity to take them out on the town.  Bit in the abcense of the previously planned dress, I had no idea just what I would wear them with.  So with an hour to go before heading out the door, I grabbed a pair of neglected black pants, chopped the legs off, whipped them through the machine and knocked up a pair of shorts!

It ended up being the perfect combination to keep cool in a very hot and humid evening, as well as dance the night away at the afterparty!

It wasn’t until I saw photos of myself with the lovely Hexotica, (who makes some stunning fascinators and accessories) that we realised how much we matched. In a sea of black, black and more black, a little white goes a long way.

Outfit Details

Black satin and chiffon shirt – Cue

Black buttoned cincher – CMK

Shorts- a quick creation from an old pair of trousers!

Thigh high boots – Novo Shoes

Faux fur collar – Target children’s wear! ( yes, the secret is out)

Silver clutch – Thomas Wylde

Earrings – Diva

Fingerless gloves – Forever New

Mini Tiara – borrowed from Miss 5

I’ve been looking for a good excuse to work some lace style nails (not that I need one) and this weekend proved just the time.  So I sat down on Thursday night and spent a couple of hours coming up with these beautiful modern, gothic lolita creations and couldn’t be happier with the way they turned out!

Each one is hand painted using a cheap black and white nail varnish from a discount store, and the lace type art work is done with a nail dotting pen found at The Face Shop.  They give a fantastic degree of control and with a little imagination you can create all manner of things.  I added some simple clear diamentes and my favorite – Cameo’s – to the thumb nails!

Total LOVE!

I’m tired of the same old, same old combos that so many of the mass brands churn out, but  the other end of the scale doesn’t fit the bill for us either as Mr SKM has never worn a suit and tie in the entire 12 years I’ve known him! So what to do? Well, I’ll be whipping him down to Friends of Couture and sizing him up for some of these chic and comfortable winter style offerings.

The Friends of Couture Men’s  2010 range is all about the relaxed Gentleman.

“Menswear is inspired by classic Gentleman’s Country Weekend styling- Crushed Tweed vests, Thick Duffles with plaid linings, Pea coats, Heavy Flannel Plaid shirts and some soft relaxed basics thrown in for after hours lounging by the fireplace- grandpa long sleeves, soft polos and  super luxe woolen cardies…”

I love that they haven’t just thought about the basics of a gentleman’s ensemble, but rather how they want to feel in the clothes. It’s relaxed, it’s comfortable, it carries a vibe of effortless chic. Mind you, the image of relaxing by the fireplace with such a smoky eyed Gentleman doesn’t hurt one bit!

Even though I’d go AOT if I wore shoes like that, I love the styling in this photo and particularly the soft frindged scarf.

..And here is the super excellent part of the news; to celebrate the launch of the Friends of Couture Men’s 2010 collection they are having a three day sale!

So head on over and pick up some swanky new threads for your man.. and while you’re there you can even grab a little something for yourself for all that effort.

Just type in ILOVEJACKETS in the coupon box for 20% off all clothing and accessories.. even women’s!

I wonder if the model is for sale?