Lady Melbourne: April 2010

30.4.10

Happy Friday! Welcome to my new home...

So some of you are probably reading this from my new wordpress blog and I hope you like what you see. There will be another post coming about the change but for now I thought I would enlighten you all with some shots from the day that the ABC came and filmed for the story of Art Nation airing this weekend.

Fellow bloggers Fashion Hayley and Patty Huntington are also featured in a story which the gorgeous host Namila Benson is presenting on the influence of fashion bloggers on the industry at large.

It's airing to coincide with the start of Rosemount Australia Fashion Week which I shall in attending next week and I've noticed online and on twitter that there seems to be a bumper crowd of old and new bloggers attending.

I'd love to know your thoughts on what influence you think bloggers have, it can be so insular sometimes plugging away at your computer and I do wonder whether bloggers themselves are a little bit perplexed by the tag 'influential.'

Me and Namila Benson. Follow her on twitter....

You can watch a little preview here, that's how much I love ya!

I am of course in Singapore for Audi Fashion Festival but you will no doubt see me lurking around online and twitter :)

29.4.10

The winner of the Melbourne Internation Jazz Festival tickets is....

Madame Dollface!

Congratulations, all you have to do is email me to claim your prize!

28.4.10

Photo-oto: Behind the scenes from my latest photoshoot

Here I am on a photoshoot last week, I love the behind-the-scenes photos from shoots. I've got no make up on and my hair has just been brushed out and put up after being teased out all afternoon. This photo was taken at the end of the shoot but I'm not allowed to post photos until the project is ready to launch. Bummer!

27.4.10

The Big In-between

Not quite autumn, not quite winter here in Melbourne I've found that I'm doing what Melburnian's do best and that's layering.

When I first moved to Sydney I found it hard to get used to just wearing a t-shirt all day, or just a sweater. What was this crazy concept where the weather stayed the same all day?

I dressed for all four seasons, every day in Melbourne thank you very much.

Anyhow, it gives me pleasure to pull items like this vintage, Irish linen, a-line coat out of the wardrobe that has sat there quite lonely all summer.

The coat was given to me by one of my aunties who had it for years but never wore it. I wasn't sure at first whether I would myself, but now I find that I wear it with everything. Well, this week that is.

In other Lady Melbourne news my new blog is just about ready to launch and later on in the week when you visit you'll no doubt see a new look.

Don't fear if you visit and can't see anything, there may be minor transmission interruption while it all swaps over but come Friday I'll be at my new home.

I hope you like it.

Vintage coat: gift

Scarf: This is actually a trimming that I bought at a fabric shop.

Earrings: Forever New

Pants: Country Road from the salvos

Heels: Siren

Bag: Longchamp

p.s- yes, I'm on the phone!

26.4.10

Jingle Jangle: New bracelets

Just because I couldn't live without yet more jewellery in my life, I bought these cuffs last week at The Bead Company(or The Bead Shop- not sure!) in the basement of Melbourne Central.
They have just started to get excess accessories in from major chain stores and are selling them rather cheaply- the above cost me a grand total of $18.

Never pay retail!

24.4.10

Art Melbourne Launch

Me and Max Sanderson

Elle from Ellski Design who I've know for years. She'd bought the prints we were standing in front of.

On Thursday evening I was invited along to the Art Melboure opening at the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton.

I bumped into some old and new friends which was lovely but soaking up the atmosphere, the art and general people watching was the best part.

Dress: Barkins

Heels: Vicenza

Bag: Oroton

Jewelling: The Bead Shop, Melbourne Central

Happy Friday video blog....a little late

Lady Melbourne TV: Happy Friday chat about travel from Lady Melbourne on Vimeo.

So I'm moving over to Vimeo and it look a lot longer than than I thought to get there. I'm happy at new video home, but I now know that it might take me a little longer to upload each week.

Enjoy!

23.4.10

Happy Friday Give-Away: Tickets to the Melbourne International Jazz Festival

Yep that's correct, I have a double pass to 'Baby it's Cold Outside' on the opening night of the Melbourne International Jazz Festival.

Inspired by the popular ABC release Baby It's Cold Outside, the opening night of the 2010 Melbourne International Jazz Festival will celebrate the great jazz torch songs penned by George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Rodgers and Hart and made famous by the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra.

For one night only, these timeless classics will be reinterpreted by an all-star cast of singers including Lior, Whitley, Clare Bowditch, Megan Washington and many more.

You don't have to be from Melbourne necessarily to enter the comp, you just have to be in Melbourne on May 1st so you can see the show.

Leave a comment on this post to be in the running, entries close next Wednesday 28th April, winners announced Thursday 29th April.

21.4.10

Kimono sleeves: Lady Melbourne says knowing what fits you makes the world of difference

This is somewhat of a new purchase for me, in that I actually bought the item, brand new. I don't always shop second hand but I realised lately that I don't mention the new clothes that I buy as often as I do my op-shop or vintage finds. I don't normally wear a kimono sleeve but I was attracted by the dramatic print of the dress and of course it is now the most comfortable dress I own.

Sleeves are so key to the fit of a garment and are often overlooked when we are out buying clothes. You've no doubt stood in front of the mirror thinking 'This just doesn't look right!' but not perhaps knowing exactly why.

Sleeves have indicated changing fashion trends for hundreds of years. Before hemline's rose in the 1920's, it had long been scandalous to show a ladies ankle in public, so necklines and sleeves were what was changed to suit fashion trends.

Victorian sleeves courtesy Ageless Patterns

There are plenty of sleeve options, some of the most popular used in every day fashion are:

Capped sleeves
Short sleeve
3/4 sleeve
Long sleeve
Puffy sleeve
Raglan sleeve

Knowing what suits you and what doesn't can make a huge difference so it's worth identifying different types of sleeves, how they sit on your body and then trying them on. I guarantee when you see the difference between the styles hanging on your frame it will make all the difference to the type of clothes you buy.

Sleeve illustration from Patterns that Fit You

19.4.10

Beautiful Objects

I was given these delightful prints for my birthday recently by my dear friend over at Lulki. Knowing that I love illustration she gave me the bathing suit beauty from Truth be Told and the other print was $5 at a garage sale. She knows I love my 'Chinese Lady' print and thought this was a perfect edition.

And it is!

EDIT: It seems you all like the table and phone. It's a wall decal that I bought at a cheap junky shop for $3. I've had to use invisible tape to keep it on the wall, but it looks pretty good!

Win a Singapore Fashion getaway

So I've twittered about it but haven't officially anounced that I'm off to Singapore for the Asia Fashion Exchange at the end of April.

I'm excited and honoured to be invited to attend such a huge event on the Asian fashion calendar.

I'll be blogging, tweeting and generally bringing you front row and behind the scenes action from a jam packed schedule.

As I've come on board at the last minute I can only bring you this competition that ends TODAY, but it's a super easy way for you to join me and win an all expenses paid trip to Asia Fashion Exchange.

You can enter here and the top 3 winners will get the following:

Return air tickets to Singapore

2-night hotel accomodation(30 April - 2 May 2010)

Fashion makeover

An exclusive outfit from BenWu or Raoul

Invitation to the Audi Fashion Festival 2010, Blueprint Emporium & the After-Party at Zouk Club

Submit your winning look now. Your ticket to a fashion vacation in Singapore is just a photo away!

Lady Melbourne's favourite dress

I really love this dress, I love the movement and the fluid motion of the fabric. It's become one of my wardrobe favourites because it seems that I can wear it everywhere. Do you have a dress like that?

I've worn it during the day, to dinner and then onto after hours events as well. Which got me thinking about fashion economy or fashmatics: maths + fashion.

It's not a hard and fast rule, but when I'm shopping I do think about cost per wear and how versatile the garment will be in my wardrobe.

For example, I have a sequined dress that cost me a couple of hundred bucks that I bought to wear to a NYE party a few years back. NYE is a special event so I wanted a special dress, but there have only been a few occasions since that I've been able to wear it. Ergo, was it worth $300?

My black ballet flats on the other hand cost me $200 but I wear them all the time. $200 might seem like an extravagant amount to spend on ballet flats, but is it warranted if you wear them every day?

I think it's a really interesting argument because how we shop and what we spend is such an individual choice. It often depends on lifestyle and means, but then even though I could afford to buy something new, if I need something I will often shop in op-shops first to see if I can find it.

17.4.10

Winner of the Jumi Ballet Flats give away is....

Leisha!

Congratulations on your new pair of ballet flats, you can view a screen shot of the random name picker I used here. Ugly backgrounds like that will never make it onto the blog!

All you have to do is email me to collect your prize.

As always, thanks so much for your entries, I hope to be able to bring you plenty more give-aways in the future.

16.4.10

Happy Friday video blog!

Happy Friday to you all, here is a little video on the etiquette of thank-you notes. There will be detailed photos to come, I just have to jet this very minute so if you like what you see pop back in the next day or so for updates.

15.4.10

From the archives: A time before Lady Melbourne

I've been wondering whether or not to sell these camisoles because they are original and one off, but then, they are simply languishing in my studio at the moment so I thought why not put them out there?

Before Lady Melbourne when I had my own accessories label, I dabbled in a couple of ranges of camisoles hand made in Melbourne from vintage fabrics. They sold well, I only ever used the same design but different, beautiful fabrics.

As I still make my own clothes but don't have a label at the moment I thought this might be a nice way to get back into the saddle so to speak because I'd love to start selling clothes again.

Anyhow, enjoy and remember, once these are snapped up they can't be repeated!

p.s- the white one will be for sale, I just didn't like the pictures I took of it :)

New books, boxes and heels

On twitter yesterday I posted a picture of me toppling off these rather vertigeous heels while shooting these photos. It was quite funny until I wondered if I was going to cause myself a serious accident because of my heels.

I have some new books to get through, I've just finished Sonya Hartnett's 'Butterfly' and just loved it. I think I may have asked a while ago if you had any recommendations for new books to read and that was one of them.

If you like Sonya's writing then I would definitely recommend the book, it was beautifully descriptive and enthralling.

I picked up this Cuban Habanos cigar box at an op-shop, and not that I want to promote smoking here but I fell in love with the imagery on the box. On the outside and inside cover there is this divine colour illustration of Romeo and Juliet with scenes played out in little illustrations around the sides of the box.

I'm going to re-appropriate it and turn it into a jewellery box to sit on my desk. I'm forever taking off my earrings and leaving them sitting on my desk so I figured they could hang with Romeo and Juliet.

Heels: Siren
Jacket: Sirrico

Jeans: Agent 99 from General Pants

T-shirt: Barkins

All jewellery: Ritual

14.4.10

Lady Melbourne's new shoes

Like I need another pair but with Australian fashion week looming the bargain hunter got the better of me when I found these. For $80.

Yep, I was doing my usual stalking around DFO and found these Siren heels reduced from I think about $220 to $80, last pair in my size. That's good shoe karma for you.

The are the 'Geisha' heels and are from a couple of seasons ago hence the price, but I just found this seasons version (heavily reduced!) that unfortunately has two ugly straps across the front. You could always chop them off, or they may just tickle your fancy!

13.4.10

Eco Fashionista A/W 2010 Review

Minna 'Maria' dress in vintage print $399

Ivana Helsinki 'Hazel' dress $340

Ivana Helsinki 'Love' dress $360

Minna 'Maria' lace dress $429

Eco Fashionista is a locally run website that show cases eco friendly clothing that is uber stylish- no hemp fisherman's pants in this online wardrobe.

When the founder Alex Hume asked me if I would like to review the A/W 2010 collection and talk about winter trends at the launch party I jumped at the chance. It's about time that there was a platform for ecologically sound clothing that is seriously beautiful and stylish.

The key on the website informs you about whether the garment you are purchasing is made out of organic fabric, locally sourced or vintage remnant amongst many other options.

From the website:

'We use the term 'eco fashion' holistically to encompass all fashion products created in an environmentally conscious and socially responsible way. We also use 'eco attributes' to help you identify how each item in our collection is eco-friendly. '

The labels come from all over the world, but the thread that pulls them all together is that the clothes look like something you would see in the pages of any fashion glossy. Alex told me that it has been hard to source really stylish clothes that are ecologically friendly as most of the stuff out there falls into the alternative/hippie category.

I'm looking forward to the launch tonight, but here is a peak at some of my favourites from the collection.

If you would like your collection/website reviewed please email ladymelbourne@gmail.com for a media kit.

I've been busy, forgive me!

A new post with lots of photos is on it's way, sit tight!

9.4.10

Happy Friday!

Hey guys, it seems as though you love my videos where I give you tips and tricks to make your blog the best it can be. Today I'm talking about how to make your blog functional but using effective back grounds and getting rid of unnecessary widgets on your page. Enjoy!

Happy Friday Give Away Time!

The good people over at Jumi Footwear have given me a pair of their gorgeous ballet flats to give away this week. The basic premise is that they look like ballet flats but perform like sneakers which is perfect for me considering I live in ballet flats.

I don't think I've ever given away an actual pair of shoes before- so exciting!

No only that they are of your choice, so head to the website and pick a pair to enter. That's it!

Leave a comment on this post with which pair you would like to win to be eligible, entries close next Midnight Thursday 15th April. Winners announced on the blog Friday 16th.

EDIT 13.4.10: I am so sorry that I originally had the date set to end in March. It goes without saying that it ends in April, sorry if it confused any of you. Luckily there is still time to enter!

8.4.10

Inside my world: filming with the ABC

This afternoon was spent filming a day-in-the-life of a blogger in my apartment for a new arts program on the ABC.

It was fun having my place turned upside down in order to get the shot 'perfect,' and kind of funny as well having someone tell you to 'act natural' while there are 4 people standing around watching.

After the interview they just wanted to film me going about my business, taking my photos and organising my clothes. It's something I do every day it was so normal to me- having people stand around watching you do something mundane can feel silly but I've been told it will all edit together seamlessly. I have put my life shamelessly in TV's hands!

I can't reveal any more pictures at this stage but stay tuned.

I made scones and served coffee for the crew which they all seemed happy about, Mother Melbourne would be proud.

Now I'm off to watch 'Ladette to Lady'- horrible Aussies at their worst and snobbish Brits at their most hilarious, perfect TV.

Lady Melbourne has a new home!