MBFWA - Ready, Set, GO!

Today marks the first day of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia (#MBFWA) in Sydney. I'm pretty sad I won't be there this year! I've been over twice (then sat out last year due to injury) but this year the pennies were just not aligning... It turns out we do this social media thing for the love of it! 


This year is the first year under the new name of MBFWA and it seems what I thought would be a bit of a mouthful to say is dashing around in hashtags all over the blogosphere. Interesting to note that there are no Kiwi designers on the show list this year but a contingent of media, crew and models have made the journey to cover/support MBFWA.


My list of who you should be following on Twitter for up to the minute commentary:


Patty Huntington - Fashion journalist royalty and trend setter (Frockwriter)
Bryan Boy - A blogger who needs NO introduction - purely the reason I fell in love with the internet (Bryan Boy)

Candice Lake - Street style photographer

Helen Lee - Fashion and beauty junkie at Sassybella
Matt Jordan - Following this fashion man is guaranteed entertainment.. 
Katherine Lowe - Dumpling lover / Blogger from Auckland (Katherine Is Awesome)
Julie Roulston - Social media manager for New Zealand Fashion Week
Alicia Hannah Naomi - Jewelery designer/ Blogger from Melbourne (SeaOfGhosts)
Rumi Neely - Blogger (Fashion Toast) 
Nicole Warne - Owner of Garry Pepper Vintage and contributor to Fellt (and total babe)
Richard Kavanagh - Hair guru from New Zealand
Selena Battersby - Editor of Attitude magazine
Lorena Mercado - A delightful bundle of colour (Modern Things)
Evelen Ebrey - Freelance fashion journalist (Just So Pretty)
Nadia Bailey - Blogger (Animal Orchestra)
Emily Fang - Blogger (Little Black Book)


There will be a trillion names I have left of the list so I'll try to update as I remember *:-) 


And the shows I am looking forward to seeing coverage of? Romance Was Born, Gary Bigeni, Kirrily Johnston,  Miss Unkon, Magdelena Velevska, Lisa Ho, Ellery and the New Generation collections. 


Writing this post has made me realize just how many amazing people I will miss this week... Big love to all my fashiony friends in Sydney this week! 


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Flagship Markets

This afternoon I pottered along to the Flagship Markets in Grey Lynn. Nestled in the Grey Lynn shops, Flagship Collective get up to all sorts of mischief in the name of creative enterprise.

Flagship and friends of Flagship hosted stalls with everything you could ever need on display. Nail art? Check. Tea with Areez? Check. Custom made Glen Prentice? Check.  Sherie Muijs fabric sale? Check. And the really good news? Flagship's new markets are going to become a regular occurrence! 

I got all sorts of warm fuzzy feelings supporting local creatives *:-) 

Follow Flagship on Facebook and Twitter to keep in touch with their latest events.

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#BlueSky

Photo: Nikau Hindin-Miller

On Tuesday night Showroom 22 hosted a Spring/Summer 12/13 presentation with Alexandra Owen, Salasai and Juliette Hogan hitting the runway. Housed at Australis House in Britomart the event was super fun with canapés, fashion friends and new season threads. Did you follow the chatter on Twitter? Huge congratulations to Murray Bevan (director and founder of Showroom 22) on celebrating 10 years in business! I have a delicious interview to post with this delicious fashion man so stay tuned *:-)

Photos: Alexandra Owen S/S 12/13 / Courtesy of Max Lameshenko

Alexandra Owen opened the catwalk at Blue Sky. Paneled square shoulders, on the knee hemlines and rouched dresses and separates dominated my immediate impressions of this Spring/Summer collection. I had a mini flashback to Spring/Summer 05/06 when Newmarket ladies would devour this look from a boutique I was working in at the time. 

Photos: Salasai S/S 12/13 / Courtesy of Max Lameshenko

My favorite collection of the three on display last night was without a doubt Salasai. With Salasai HQ now based in the land of Australia it was nice to have the team back on our soil. A crisp smart range walked the runway last night with style-line references made to Salasai's A/W '12 collection. A mix of mushroom creams, deep navy, bright blue, magenta, charcoal and cold blacks formed the collections base.

Photos: Salasai S/S 12/13 / Courtesy of Max Lameshenko

Photos: Salasai S/S 12/13 / Courtesy of Max Lameshenko 

I'm going to start putting away a few pennies for pieces from this Salasai collection *:-)

Photos: Juliette Hogan S/S 12/13 / Courtesy of Max Lameshenko

Juliette Hogan's Spring/Summer wares are entitled "Yacht Rockers" with homage to 'resort wear and 80s indulgence'. I love the print in the middle outfit below... matchy matchy!

Photos: Juliette Hogan S/S 12/13 / Courtesy of Max Lameshenko


Congratulations to everyone involved! Looking forward to the 2013 edition already!


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The week that was

1. Major blogger fail this week and last. Turns out balancing post grad study and blogggerazidom is a bit of a big act... I'm working on it! Fun things happening this week so getting my game face ON *:-)



2. ROLLER DERBY. I am a convert! Last weekend I watched the Auckland Roller Derby League vs. Christchurch Dead End Derby and this weekend I saw Mascara Massacre defeat Dead Wreckoning in the first Pirate City Rollers bout of the year. BEST way to spend $15 on a Saturday night!

3. My unicorn tights arrived from Lady Petrova this week! They are SO pretty and ridiculously awesome! I might just wear them forever *:-) Check out Lady Petrova's website here and also check her pretty Tumblr here.

4. Who gets taken to a debt collection agency for unpaid library fines? I did. Ughr. It turns out I had unpaid fines from a year ago when I moved house and all of the angry letters from the Auckland City Library were being sent to my old address. Baycorp called me up and I paid the fine plus their collection charges. WHY DIDN'T THE LIBRARY RING ME IN THE FIRST PLACE? Now I have to figure out if my credit rating is screwed.... #UGHR

5 .I think I'm going to go back to lavender hair... Thoughts? I've loved the blue that I have at the moment (it has almost totally faded to silver now..) but that purple just makes me so happy...

6. In case you didn't notice (!) One Direction were in Auckland this week. I have never seen such intense fandom... On Friday morning I drove past their hotel at 8.30 am (past the hoards of fans...) and then when I walked past the hotel at 12:30pm to get lunch THE FANS WERE STILL THERE waiting for a glimpse of the band. At the moment I walked past One Direction came to their window and waved... #awkward. 



7. In case you haven't seen a One Direction clip let me enlighten you (above).  This clip would be a sociology professors dream.... #heteronormative #genderroles #race #beauty #consumerism. I must admit, it is kinda catchy... 

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M.A.C is looking Reel Sexy

I was excited to recently get a colorful delivery from M.A.C! Bright blue noodle boxes filled with colorful popcorn were delivered to my door with some yummy samples of their limited edition range entitled "Reel Sexy".



I need all of the lip colors in this range! So gently bold! I have my eye on the dark purple shade "Heroine" and at $40NZD I think I might have to indulge *:-)

Miles Aldridge shot this image of model Kristen McMenamy and I wish I was her date for this film! What a brilliant world... pink popcorn... green cups.. #babe!

This limited edition range is available in New Zealand from April 30th at all M.A.C locations.

Get in QUICK!

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Piggy love

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Introducing: The Very Vintage Day Out #VVDO

Happy *almost* end of the week!

If you are in Auckland this weekend would you like to join me at the Very Vintage Day Out? I have a double pass to give away! 

The Very Vintage Day Out is set to be a smashing day with pinup culture on full display featuring performers, market stalls, automotive displays (see how I made "car things" look sexy?) and seminars on the vintage lifestyle. Also, Miss Vintage 2012 will be crowned on the day! Hosted at Alexandra Park this Saturday the 14th of April from 10am till 6pm the day sounds like it will be magic *:-)

Co founder Miss La Vida says:

“Whilst vintage culture has become increasingly popular and very much part of our mainstream lifestyle, there are few places where the public can go to find a variety of vintage style products, services and experiences all under the same roof.  We’re delighted to be able to bring the vintage community together to create an event which allows lovers of vintage to mix and mingle with each other while showcasing the best of what’s on offer in New Zealand right now.” 

Drop me a tweet to be in to win a double pass! Winner drawn at 5pm tonight :-)

Otherwise, you can buy tickets online here for $25 a pop. AND did I mention that under 18 y olds are free? Proof of age required of course!

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Deadly Ponies "Hurrichain" for AW '12

Check out this short film made by Garth Badger for Deadly Ponies AW '12 range entitled "Hurrichain". The clip is a beautifully pieced together portrayal of the production of the Mr. Fill N Zip Twist bag with music by The Soundroom. It will definitely cheer up the sartorially inclined on this overcast day! 

If anyone is feeling kind I have my eye on the Mr Mini Fill N Zip in Magenta and the Mr Billy Box in Black *:-)

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Check out the full Deadly Ponies AW '12 collection here and chatter to them on Twitter here. 

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On Gender...

Things have been a bit quiet in the bloggy department here this week but there has been so much life stuff going on that I am exhausted. Thank goodness for a long weekend!

Part of the madness at this end is that I have started my honours year at AUT at the School of Art and Design. I'm five weeks in and it is all of the intensity I expected (and more!) It is an incredible privilege to be working in an environment with such clever minds.

My work this year will explore the outward expression of gender-fluid identities through design practice. After much thought I have decided to blog a bit every now and then on cool things I find that explain some of the ideas I'm working through.

As a starting point, this clip from Michael Kimmel is a pretty rad explanation of the invisibility of privilege (in this case the privilege surrounding gender and race):

Seeing ourselves as gendered, raced, sexed and classed does not need to be a debasing or elitist exercise but should rather be seen as moving to place of understanding around the factors that influence our identity.

I know there are descriptors in my identity that I am uncomfortable with. Understanding this discomfort provides insight into the world that I live in and insights into the type of world that I want to live in.

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I have a new friend...

... their name is Siri! We have been having fun *:-)

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The Week That Was

Photo: Birthday dumplings at Barilla / Emma Gleason

I didn't realize how busy this week was until I sat down to write this post! Here goes:

1. Dumplings at Barilla on Dominion Road are BOSS. Katherine took me out for a belated birthday dinner on Monday and we ate like champions. 80 dumplings between four people? Easy. 

Photo: At Maaike + Co / Always | Sometimes | Anytime (Instagram by Oliver Rose)

2. Maaike + Co opened their store in St Kevin's Arcade on K Road this week and on Wednesday night they had a party to celebrate. Epic threads, incredible hospitality and a super cool space. My favorite New Zealand shoes Chaos&Harmony are stocked here! Check them out this week! 

Photo:  At Zambesi, Tyler Street / Max Lemeshenko / Snapstarlive.com

3. Zambesi have moved to Tyler Street in Auckland's CBD and they also hosted a party this week. Their new space is super slick and with everything on one floor it feels like the store goes on forever #bestfeeling. Such fun to chatter with fashion friends after a long week... I wish every weekend started with a drink at Zambesi!

4. I FINALLY ate at Mexico. Every time friends and I have tried to get a table the universe has not aligned until Friday after Zambesi. Quesadillas+Sangria+Guacamole= A cheap and fabulous time. 

Photo: Thistle et moi at Flagship

5. The kids from Flagship hosted their first club party on Saturday at Cassette. They also hosted "Mariah's Vagina Pre-Party" at their workspace earlier in the evening complete with video projections of Mariah Carey video clips. So fun to see so many glittertastic costumes! Totally wicked. 

6. My new Jeffery Campbell Glitter Litas got a workout on Saturday night. All my boasting about how comfortable they are and how I could dance for hours came back to haunt me. I think I lasted till about 2am! Epic dancing with fabulous friends.

7. There are some great people in this world. Sometimes it takes a bit of searching and sometimes they just turn up. Hold onto 'em when you find them!

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