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?

I love coming up with brand new ways to wear my favorite things!  I have this gorgeous red dress; in fact I do believe that everyone including red heads, needs a killer red dress in their wardrobe. So, I have this gorgeous red dress and it is just something else. It is a 1950’s full skirted, cord dress. Found for me by the lovely Nicole at Circa Vintage (where it seems most of my money lives) it was one of those heart stoppers that I knew had to be mine.  I watched it on the rack for a day and even encouraged a friend to try it on in the hope that I could get over another obsession. But, happily, it was not to be and this little red dress came home to make itself as one of my all time favorites that is likely to make it into the heirloom collection.

Anyway, back to my original point, the different styling.  To date, I had only worn this dress in a very high contrast, super slick type of manner. Very strong hair, black accessories, shiny shoes.  But on this occasion (shopping and taking a friend to the airport) I wanted something softer.  In a moment of, “oh duh”  I realised that I had not yet created any red and pink combinations with all the things in my wardrobe, so with the help of a new baby pink snood and the BEST jacket from Angel Sissi, this combination was born.

Outfit Details

Jacket – Angel Sissi    Dress – 1950’s Circa Vintage

Snood – Ebay      Cherry clip on snood - My Little Rockabilly

Earrings – Equip Shoes – Novo (about 100 years ago!)

How much do you love your skin? Do you treat  it to a decent meal, do you take it on dates and whisper sweetly to it? Okay, that may be taking it a tad too far, but treating your skin the way you would your other treasured possessions is something that many of us forget to do.

When we’re twelve the thought that we may one day have wrinkles, crowsfeet or laugh lines seems so ludicrously far off that we do nothing to prevent them happening.  Before you know it though, those sneaky bastards have crept up and landed without so much as a how do you do.  But what can you do about it?

Let’s rewind a bit, because the secrets to great skin are in prevention not in cure, (although those do help somewhat).

Your skin is alive

If you neglect it, treat it badly and expect it to keep its youthful glow you’ve got a nasty surprise in store.  Just like the rest of your body, your skin needs certain things to keep working in tip top order and here is where to start.

Hydrate

Without water, well frankly your screwed. Drinking coffee, tea, wine and cordial all don’t count as water in my book.  What you need is just water.  It doesn’t have to come in a bottle or have a french name, it just needs to be fresh and plentiful.  You can add a little fresh lemon juice or slices of cucumber to help change the flavour, but you need to drink 2 litres of water a day.  This is not negotiable.  Think of your skin like Judge Judy – if you try and pull a fast one on her she’ll whip around and slap you down.  You might think you’re getting away with it, but when the sentence catches up with you there is nothing to do but cry. Harsh? Perhaps. But it isn’t just your skin that benefits from this hydration, but your entire system.

When you drink enough water, your liver works better.  Processing fats and toxins like it was born to rather than limping along the way we’ve become accustomed to.  Not only will your skin be clearer, more hydrated (read plumper) and softer; but your body processes fats better. This means that as a side benefit to swanky skin you’ll also be loosing the muffin top!

Protect it.

Sun, wind, rain and daily pollutants all contribute to nasty dull skin, but none is worse than the sun.  Even on cloudy days the UV levels can still cause imperceptible damage that you cannot turn back.  Any kind of tan is actually your skin in distress and it is when we don’t think about our sun exposure that we are most at risk.  Driving is one of the worst culprits. Reflected sunlight from the dash, our driving arms even just that quick trip to the shop and back all add up.  Now I’m not saying you need to give up daylight and go live in your basement, but you do need to be aware that sunscreen is the skin’s next best friend.

Everyone, (yes, everyone) should wear sun protection daily. I like to keep a big pump bottle of sunscreen on my bathroom vanity and apply it every morning as I get out of the shower. I keep a different formula for my skin so that it stays matt under my makeup.  You may not want to go to the lengths I do on a daily basis, but none the less here are my other sunsafe secrets.

Carry a parasol. I keep an inexpensive $5 fold up parasol in each of my handbags. Inevitably I’ll forget to transfer them so if I have a few around it forms a fairly good backup plan.

Wear sunglasses. As you are my audience this probably goes without saying as you’re bound to already have a collection of fashionable shades, but make sure you have them and wear them as they won’t only protect you from squinty wrinkles but also for eye damage.

Wear gloves. This is one tip I wish I had stuck to earlier on. The only part of my body that is a bit sun damaged is my hands.  Because sunscreen washes off after a while, even though I apply it all over, by the time I head out it is often gone from my hands.  Add this to lots of driving and the Australian climate and you have a recipe for ‘nana’ hands.  Now I try to remember to wear lightweight gloves when driving, especially in summer.

Don’t strip off. In Australia, as in the US, it seems that our reaction to the temperature heating up is to get our gear off. Conversely to other sun soaked nations where they cover themselves from head to toe in their attempt to seek refuge form the heat, we peel of and wander about like we have the hide of an armadillo.  Well, if we keep that up we will have the hide of an armadillo!

There is just so much I can say on this subject, so I’ve decided to break it up into bite sized chunks.  Each week I’ll bring you more information, and yes I’ll let you know if there are any particular miracle products I use too.  Feel free to ask any questions in the comments section and that way I’ll know if you’d like to hear particular things in the next issue!

I’ve been diligently working on improving my casual wardrobe, using what I have and trying to keep this quest in mind when window shopping too.  Today’s outfit is based on a new find, this lovely,  almost nightgown like top from Angel Sissi. Well actually it is sold as a dress but I prefer not to have quite that much on show, so I’ve paired it with those old staple wide leg pants.

I love the sequin and lace detailing as well as the pleated chiffon sleeves.  It is cool enough for a summer’s day, and comfortable enough that you could sleep in it too. I also particularly like that they gave me the earrings free with the dress as well.

Because this outfit was intended as a stay at home, casual type of affair, I’ve gone light on the makeup and kept to soft pink tones with a light gloss lip. I’ve also used a light version of a smokey eye technique to blend with the tone of the top.  Yes, there is a tutorial currently coming together for that too.

I’m really loving this tunic top, which is odd as I don’t usually go in for them, reminding me too much of what I had to live with for 9 months of my life twice over!  Surprisingly, since I took these photos, I’ve actually worn the top again another three times styling it differently on each occasion. What that means is that it has fallen into that very hard to manage fashion category – the Safe Go To Item!  The piece that you pull on when you slept through 45 minutes of your alarm and have ten whole minutes to be out the door.  I don’t have many pieces that fit that bill well, but when I find them I’m likely to hang onto them for dear life.

Outfit Details:

Tunic Top – Angel Sissi

Pants – Made By Me

Shoes – Keds

Earrings – Angel Sissi