So you think fashion can’t be for you? Think again. The world has reached a tipping point and fashion is for everyone.
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When I delve into a woman’s wardrobe I usually see one of two things… either there’s a conglomeration of disparate but potentially exciting items or there’s a sparse, neatly ordered system with few pieces but in co-ordinating colours.
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This year I decided it was time for a little rebranding and I’m writing this in preparation of launching my new website, which I’m excited about. So how do I announce that and what does it mean to me? Find out here.
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Our Fashion by Foot initiative is a walking tour that showcases micro businesses designing and producing clothing or accessories locally and independently. Come along to have your eyes opened to the amazing talent we have right here in Melbourne – highly skilled and innovative people who create beautiful, quality pieces.
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Picture this: a glass of bubbly, meeting some of our finest independent fashion and accessories designers in their studios, a guided tour through Melbourne’s hippest fashion precinct, uncovering hidden gems and finding fabulous fashion – and of course free style advice all the way!
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The exceptional fashion exhibition, The House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture, is well worth seeing, particularly for those who ever doubted fashion is art. Following are some notes I took listening to a talk by Katie Somerville, senior curator at NGV (National Gallery of Victoria).
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The Design Museum, London – notes for other hardcore colour enthusiasts from Hella Jongerius’s exhibition and research. An object’s colour only becomes tangible through its material. Objects absorb, reflect and resonate colour and are influenced by the colours of surrounding objects.
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Confounded by colour? Confused when co-ordinating? Then come along to my Captivating Colour workshop. This fun, informal and education workshop introduces you to how colour can enhance your look and easily coordinate with your wardrobe.
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Putting together an outfit is like any other creative process - only you're designing it to fit on your own body. It's highly personal, but how well do you know your own body? Have you analysed its shapes and lines - and do you know how its shapes and lines relate to different styles of clothing? This workshop will teach you how.
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Fashion is not frivolous. Rewind; clothes are not frivolous. Personal style is not frivolous. Clothes are required, particularly outdoors. Personal style exists. It exists in us all, whether or not we are conscious of it and whether or not we can articulate it. As we must clothe ourselves, so must we choose how to clothe ourselves. Our choices are based on our preferences and it is these preferences that comprise personal style.
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Around this time last year I lost my prescription sunglasses…This was a tragedy! I rely on them heavily. I wear prescription sunglasses ALL the time, whenever I am outside, all year round. Along with my keys, they are the first thing I reach for as I leave the house. They protect me from Summer sun, Winter glare and Melbourne wind. Oh yeah, and they enable me to see better.
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The most important factors in dressing for success are feeling comfortable and confident.Whether meeting new people at a formal or important event or when you’re presenting to a group, you’ll want the attention on you and what you are there to say or represent, rather than having your outfit detract from you and distract an audience’s attention from your key message.
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Advanced Style has done more for celebrating older women and men than any other single contemporary work I can think of. Ari Seth Cohen’s work, Advanced Style, has manifested into a blog, several books and a film. So he photographs stylish people over 60 – but what’s so revolutionary about this? Find out here.
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It’s been a while between posts, but people – I’ve been in Europe! And yes, I went to this exhibition. Ok, so I’m not actually a royalist but I do have respect for Queen Elizabeth as, unlike our current crop of self (serving!) made ‘celebrities’, she did not seek this role but it has completely dominated her life. So now we have that sorted, I want to share with you my experience of visiting Buck Pal recently to see the new exhibition, Fashioning a Reign: 90 Years of Style from the Queen’s Wardrobe.
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Out walking recently, I came across one of those things I’ve always loved – a large market full of home baked goodies and secondhand and vintage fashion in a pretty, sunny garden. Sadly, I have to say I only found 4-5 things even worth considering. The rest of it was junk. Pure junk. The designs were bad, the fabrics had pilled or faded and the seams looked dodgy. In a word: cheap. Cheap, disposable, fast fashion.
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Changing the proportions is one of the biggest differences you can make to an outfit. There are certain proportions that look interesting or exciting and others that look boring or even chaotic. The principle of proportion is based on the Golden Mean (or golden ratio) and applies to art and design, nature and mathematics as well as other stuff. Find out how to apply this to what you wear here.
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You may have heard that for the first time since Pantone begun releasing their Colour of the Year (in 2000) that they have declared a pairing of two colours to be ‘Colour’ of The Year. And, they’re pastels… Take a look here.
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Black is strong, rich and dramatic. Black is easy to coordinate with and can sometimes give the impression that an item is better quality than it is. So it’s easy to see why it appeals to so many women. Because of its increasing ubiquity, however, black – in Melbourne particularly – is at risk of losing its impact.
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I thoroughly enjoy Iris Apfel’s refusal to fade away, as sadly so many women past a certain age do. Those who read my last blog post: Iris, part 1 will know this. It was reinforced when I recently saw ‘Iris‘ – the documentary by the late Albert Maysles. She succeeds in making a confident and colourful statement because she is not concerned with being ‘pretty’ or obsessed with trying to appear young, which often results in looking sad and dissatisfied with life.
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I finally took myself to the cinema to see ‘Iris‘ – the documentary by the late Albert Maysles about colourful, creative and quick-witted Iris Apfel.At 94, Iris Apfel has simply incredible energy levels and insight. If you’re not familiar with her, check her out online – her eclectic sartorial style is definitely worth being aware of, whether you love it or hate it.
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