Daphne Guinness is Magnificant

I just get more and more inspired by Daphne Guinness each time I see new pictures of her, she has such a developed, eccentric and unique sense of style. She seems to have streamlined her colour palette to black, white and dashes of red, preferring to experiment with texture and shape while firmly planting her feet in sky high platform Louboutins. There are a lot of things I love about DG's style; the feathers, the hint of fetish wear, the Alaia belts, the black and blonde hair, the armour style driving gloves and the gorgeous metallic fabrics. But the main thing I love is the diamonds. Not just because they're...well, diamonds but because she wears them in such an interesting, nonchalant way and mixes them with such individuality. I adore her!



Pics from style.com & TFS

Wrapped Crystal Pendants

I'm currently completely mad for crystal pendants, the big, chunky, Tina Chow inspired kind. I found a little crystal pendant at the markets a while ago but in my usual drag queen way I wanted something much bigger and much more exaggerated. Turns out it wasn't that tricky, finding the right crystal took about 5 seconds, $3 and a piece of spare wire that was taking up space in one of my drawers and I have my pendant!

The original pendant, the crystal that became a pendant (got to take a picture of the finished product!)

Tina Chow and her magnificant jewellery designs, which now sell for a pretty penny!
Photos from thefashionspot.com
Some similar pendants on etsy: One Two Three Four Five Six Seven (wow!)

At The Castle Gates

Wow, John Galliano always makes me so happy and this collection in particular has my anglomania raging again. His collections are so theatrical, colourful and fun, completely devoid of reality but that's the great part. Here are some of my favourite parts of the show, mostly the hair and makeup!

Wow, the shoes look ankle breakingly high.




So adorable, like little sunburnt French poodles!

Pics from style.com

Pushing Daisies Favourites

Today is grey and muggy, unlike yesterday, and I don't feel like lying on my balcony with my hair knotted on top of my head and a paper fan in my hand. Today I want to do something, I wanted to find something wonderful to read and a new tinted moisturiser. FYI, I bought one of the Penguin Classics "High Fidelity" by Nick Hornby and Face of Australia's Tinted Moisturiser (SPF 30+!).
Otherwise, I feel it's time to get all a flutter about the new episode of Pushing Daisies which I loved. So here are some of my favourite parts of the episode.

The rooftop seems to be the magical spot where everything sweet and adorable happens. Ned secretly setting up the beehives for Chuck, Ned and Chuck dancing together in their bee keeper suits, Chuck pouring dead bees on Ned who made them live again. The last one sounds absurd and painful but in context...oh, the context! I loved Chucks sweet lingerie set and the bright garden that's blossomed since the first season.

The little yellow dresses that popped up throughout the show were adorable, it's as though Chuck is a daisy in her own right. Plus the combination of yellow, gingham and lace in the second dress was so perfectly summery I immediately wondered where I could find something similar. My advice, op shops. Look in the sleepwear/lingerie section as there are usually a lot of frothy white night dresses in the right shape, with lace necklines that can be easily dyed.

The bee microphone was just the sweetest spy device. You can find bee hat pins and brooches on ebay, just type "bee" into the jewellery search engine. There's a LOT of interesting pieces that pop up.
Also, a dress just like Chuck's floral 50's sundress can be found in Tree of Life (for any Aussies on the look out). It's actually sunflowers but the print is so similar you can barely tell.

Olive's hair. My hair is at that awkward growing out length where I can't figure out what to do with it other than pinning it back. But problem solved by Olive the pocket rocket! I never thought of curling the bottom but it seems like the ultimate way to create a style while hiding the in between length.

Olive as a nun. Simply put, cutest nun ever.

And finally, Ned and the mountains of books rescued from the Aunt's house to surprise Chuck. In the pilot episode we saw Chuck reading her way through a lifetimes worth of books as she wanted to absorb lives and experiences that she couldn't have herself. I suppose when a person uses books for that purpose they become like friends. The whole scene was the icing on the cake.

Have a wonderful weekend, whatever you're doing. We have a long weekend here so Monday is going to be lazy, lazy, lazy.

Sunshine Makes Me Sleepy

To be quite honest, it's too hot to think right now. I had planned a long post about my disappointment in the Sonia Rykiel collection, which I found bland, uninspired and a little coarse, and an excited and scarily obsessive declaration of love for the new episode of Pushing Daisies.
But it's too hot.
Instead I will simply say that Sonia Rykiel-bad and Pushing Daisies-good.
Also good was Cacharel. And of course, I would post more photos of the lovely, lovely clothes.
But it's too hot.

Junya Watanabe Revives My Memory

For the first 10 years of my life I lived in New Zealand, in a part of the North Island called the Waitakere Ranges which is basically dense bushland with black sand beaches along the coastline and farms further inland. It's like a layer cake, beach, bush, farm. I was lucky enough to be raised in the middle of the bush (I suppose some countries call it forest or...woodlands?). My Australian friends don't really understand my attachment to NZ, but as an insanely imaginative child with no television I had a lot of time to bond and fall in love with my surroundings. There were creeks, waterfalls, trees with trunks so large I couldn't hope to wrap my arms around them, hills to jump off, ropes strung over tree branches to swing from and 2 dogs and a cat to accompany me on my adventures. I used to make little dresses out of fern fronds and leaves and tuck all sorts of flora into my hair. I think because of that upbringing I have a tendency towards never wearing shoes and getting madly excited by anything with an organic, earthy air about it which is why Junya Watanabe's collection has struck such a chord with me. It looks like a memory. I can practically smell the dried flowers and the wind dried scent of the broderie anglais. I want to go into the wild, paint black stripes on my skin and wear layer upon layer of pretty picnic table fabrics. Oh sigh.

Welcome To October

I'm so madly into Akira Isogawa's Paris collection, especially the magnificant head pieces. It's kind of amazing considering he only showed a collection at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week 6 months ago, which was opened by a snow white Alice Burdeu (that's Miss Australia's Next Top Model to you!). The two collections have some similaritys, the strong colour, floral head pieces, dramatic prints and delicate detail only the RAFW seemed slightly more casual and fluid which is perfection for the Australian summer. Akira is Japanese (living in Aus since the 80's) and there's such a strong Eastern influence to his work; the obi belts, petal prints and beading, the colour, the elegance and the amazing textiles. I melt for Akira.





It just clicked to 1am, the Sonia Rykiel show is today and the new series of Pushing Daisies should pop up online tomorrow so I'll be foaming with happiness since the shows are always so fun and Pushing Daisies is adorable.

PS. How effing cute is the Akira model?!