It's a big part of life even if you happen to think that it's not and we are all an example of fashion via what we choose to wear. You may disagree, but at some stage in fashion history what you're wearing today was an "it" fashion item and that makes you part of the fashion rat-race!
I recently covered the Manstyle exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria and this time round I wasn't just the presenter I was also the producer!
The crew and I were lucky enough to cover the exhibition on a day that the gallery was closed which meant that we had a private viewing of the entire exhibition (it was better than my fantasy of being locked in a supermarket alone overnight)!
The Manstyle Exhibition covers men's fashion from the eighteenth century through to 'now' with a focus on the 'male peacock and dandy'. Don't know what that means? Well, you might just have to wait for the video to find out and I assure you - it's well worth the wait!
First impressions suggest that this Louis chair is over-the-top in it's girlishness but to me it's plain beautiful and enough to change the dynamics of any room and instantly make it stylish, unique and exciting.
Whilst I can't see my boyfriend making himself comfortable on this little beauty anytime soon, I can sure as hell say that I would most certainly treasure this fine piece of furniture, even if he will not.
This chair is primarily why we should all strive to have both a "boy" and "girl" room in our homes.
My "girl room" would house this chair, definitely.
His "boy room" would probably house a Daytona machine...
My chair is way better.
Colonial Strawberries and Cream Carved Louis Chair
If given a choice between alcoholic beverages my first choice would be champagne, second is scotch - and none of this 'red label' business, thank-you.
In this case, Scotch & Soda is a premium clothing brand from Amsterdam and is best known as 'Scotch & Soda Amsterdam Couture' and my oh my, don't we just love their collections for both Men and Women!
I think it's fair to say that a touch of Euro has finally been brought to Aussie shores with bright colored, floral and slim fitting designs to be adored! The clothing is easily described as vintage, varsity and fusion which makes for a damn good head-turner of an outfit! Keep an eye out for their men's casual shirts, tailored shorts and bright swimmers.
You won't find Scotch & Soda forking out for big time advertising campaigns so don't expect to see their gear on a billboard any time soon, they believe that their clothes do the talking, not the big-bucks advertising.
You can find Scotch & Soda in Melbourne at;
David Jones Melbourne
Men's only
Men's Store, Level 1
Scotch & Soda
Men and Women
74 Collins St Melbourne
Ph. 03 9663 4302
It's all about 'making do' with what you have around you to create really cool and imaginative things..my question is.. what if you are not creative?
Last week my crew and I were sent off to the very first Makedo marker event in Melbourne at Makedo headquarters.
Remember: Creativity, Recyclable, Reusable.
You get joiners/connectors, hinges and a safe saw in the Makedo kit right? Well, that's all you really need in order to get started because everything else basically comes to you - it's just a matter of keeping your eyes peeled and using your imagination.
See that's thing, once you have the Makedo kit your options are endless because objects are made using anything and everything that you may find in your own home, for example, cereal boxes, egg cartons, take-away coffee cups, shampoo bottles, etc.
We turned up to the shoot location and I think we were all pretty amazed by how cool the Makedo headquarters is.
First point of coolness is that Makedo headquarters is housed in a converted warehouse.
Second point of coolness is the open plan communal space that includes a trendy industrial kitchen, Philippe Starck Louis Ghost Chairs around the dining/meeting table (sigh), bi-fold windows and even a patch of synthetic grass to chill out on!
Third point of coolness is the inventor of Makedo, Paul Justin, whom has a love for creativity, the environment and his kids - who also love Makedo!
I especially like the example Makedo inventor Paul Justin used to describe Makedo's simplicity "at my breakfast table my kids don't see an empty cereal box as rubbish, they see it as something they can turn into something else using Makedo.."
Makedo isn't just limited to children, adults all over the world are using this product to make everything from fashion accessories to home furnishings! People are evening jazzing up their take-away coffee cups using Makedo!
Once the interview component was over I was really put to the test..I had to make a 'fancy swamp creature' using Makedo and recyclable products all on camera! At first my creativity was limited and I was focused on making a girly butterfly..but once my imagination was unleashed I was unstoppable and my creativity became dangerous and thus my freaky little alien monster was born...
Apparently, the nail varnish you choose to wear has nothing to do with random choice or forward planning but has everything to do with who we are and what we do!
The very clever creators of Enamel Diction have put together a book which includes over fifty pages of full spectrum nail colours including fluros and metallics and looks beyond the gloss to look at what each enamel colour means to its dictator.
Have your iPhone's out when reading this bible because there are so many different references to music, literature, movies, pop culture and fashion that your mind will be boggled..might be worth having a pen and pad by your side to cite some of the references, they are genius!
Watch out world - Jennifer Yi is THE next generation jewelery designer, no seriously, she really is according to her recent Next Generation Jewelry Designer award!
It's not hard to see why Yi is taking the jewelry world by storm, her rocks are more than just 'shiners' and the best part is that Yi's designs all reflect aspects of nature making them both unique and interesting.
Let's look at the Diamond Engagement Nest Ring, this ring symbolises an actual nest (that's one of of looking at the engagement period) and the Ice and Storm Ring was created to reflect on leaves that lay under frost in the midst of winter. Charming indeed.
Brilliant and Beautiful, with capital B's (or A's if I were grading)!
Heel Condoms.. for your heels .. that allow you to dress up your shoes in many different ways and as often as you like!
Imagine this please; You have one pair of stilettos that you absolutely love because they look amazing and are super comfy but you feel uneasy about wearing the same pair of shoes out all the time.
Well, it may be a case of 'al chepo' and if so that's fine, but could it also be that you do indeed have other shoes to wear but they just don't beat these puppies in the comfort stakes?
No matter what the case, people are indeed going to think your a 'one shoe band' and that is very, very bad.
So, this super stylish and fashion savvy blog that has something to do with Champagne introduces you to Heel Condoms and you now have access to many different heel covers that totally change the dynamics of your shoes!
You do know what this means, don't you?
You can now be a 'one shoe band' and continue to wear your comfy puppies all the time! Simply change (or disguise) your shoes appearance by dressing them up!
Gone are the days of shopping for shoes to match your outfit! (Check them out here)
'Oh what a night' .. is the perfect phrase to use when describing my Sunday evening .. and 'oh what a cause' .. because it was all for charity.
My girlfriend and I hit Melbourne's inner social circle on Sunday night all in the name of charity! We drunk champagne and indulged in canapes with Melbourne's young, old, famous and familiar socialites all for the worthy cause of raising money for Queensland flood victims.
With entertainment by many of Australia's well known music and entertainment artists, a crowd full of beautiful people and a swank venue the night was well and truly a blast!
The raffle prizes were elaborate and very special items like 1990 Bottles of Dom Pérignon were won, the silent auction saw an original guitar signed by ACDC being sold!
Well, one things for sure, the beauty industry certainly knows how to throw one hell of a shin-dig and I look forward to the next .. a gal' could get used to this!
Anna Siassios with TV Presenter Chantal Leptos (from left)
With much thanks to high end fashion rental website Love Me & Leave Me you can now waltz through their Armadale door and "borrow" everything from Hermes through to the very latest Prada! No more clicking of the mouse and tapping of the keyboard, we have finally been given the gracious gift of trying on and hand selecting the items we wish to borrow!
Gone is the concept of high end fashion rental websites, Love Me & Leave Me have put their best foot forward and opened their very first real life boutique in Armadale, Melbourne.
The boutique is every fashion admirers dream with high-end couture, the worlds most exclusive handbags, as well as shoes and accessories most girls only dream about all for your borrowing pleasure!
The best part? No damage to the bank account, simply pay a week or month rent for the item you desire and off you go on your merry way!
They may require a little more effort than the much loved automatics but the lever machine is making a big comeback in Italy and are sneaking into a niche market here.
It seems as though we are taking a backward technological step toward a machine that requires a hell of a lot more muscle power as barristers are literally "pulling the shots" as appose to using their automated electromechanical pumps that have become the norm.
Europe is going bananas for the lever machine and it's not just the classic look and beautiful design that's driving this frenzy! Lever machines are reappearing in Naples and Rome which suggest that the demand for the traditional espresso is on the rise and is being well received by coffee drinkers world-wide.
In a nutshell, lever espresso machines are not pump-driven and they require different skills to operate, this is a manual brewing system which requires the barrister to take part in some serious training. The lever machine provides great control over the shot and produces a real coffee concentrate - this being much appreciated by coffee lovers as it provides an original, intense and truthful espresso.
Not only does the lever machine produce the best and most original form of espresso, it also looks fantastic! I can't get enough of the machine and can hardly wait to see this baby sitting in all it's glory upon my kitchen bench!
I think I like the idea of drinking real Italian espresso the way it's meant to be.. even if I'm not Italy.. and the idea of my barrister being an expert in their craft and focused on taking good care of my coffee certainly puts a smile on my dial!
