girl crushing

Love this outfit by the always gorgeous Sara at Harper and Harley.

In particular the skirt, so lovely and wearable. Waiting for Zara to come to Brisbane, honestly.

xx

be mine

I will eventually get around to do a NYFW wrap up, an then a London edition I promise. In the mean time, I just haddddd to show some photos from Matthew Williamson's show in London on the weekend.

Nothing groundbreaking in terms of trends - big on colour (neon! cue heart attack from joy), prints prints prints & boxy tailoring but I am quite literally in love with every single piece, look and accessory that came down that run way. Including that printed full length jumpsuit with fringed trim. You know the one I mean. 

   

Drool.

People should pair deep blues with orange more often.

The man knows his colour wheel. 

speaking klingon

I've spoken before of my love for all things of Swedish design (Acne, Ikea etc.), not least of all of for Swedish blogger Elin Kling.

The former model, turned blogger turned magazine editor/director turned casual stylist (above is a shot of Elin with Tibi designer Amy at the NYFW Tibi collection guest styled by Kling) is now set to launch her very own label, called Nowhere, next month. 

Please be patient with me while I try to keep my girl crush in check. Thanks. See below a lovelyyyyy little sneak peek of the collection...

 Steel capped heels? Ever so practical. And I love love love the Scandinavian elegance and well, just cool? In all the pieces I've seen so far. Can't waitttttt. 

xx

shade parade

Yet another brilliant video campaign for this season. I love the emphasis all the major fashion houses have placed on video campaigns recently, it's so often just forgotten. I'm such a painful marketing fan-girl, I know. Have you ever seen such a good advert for nail varnish?

Enjoy x

as promised: some jewels

As you can probably tell by now, my obsessions oftentimes lie more in shoes and accessories than actual clothing. I have no problem in making serious investments in shoes, bags and jewels, and then finding quickly I have nothing to wear them with, and rarely any funds left to purchase some. But I am happy to allow this cycle to continue, so find below some of my favourite little shiny things at the moment.

Lattice Collar by Ariel de Pinto, $445 at L'Etablissment

Absolutely beautiful crocheted gold vermeil necklace. I am in love with this piece, I can see it looking stunning over a white t-shirt or with a ball gown. Amazing.

Fox Tooth Rings by RP Encore Studio, $375 at RP Encore or Kabiri

Just had to include a piece here from Kabiri, this store was my Achilles heel while living in London - it carries the most perfect range of jewellery, mostly in small runs by emerging designers. Their online store houses only a fraction of their stock, which is always a little heartbreaking, but still offers a nice little entree of what the brick and mortar store has to offer.

Moderne Ring by Tiffany & Co, $370 at Tiffany & Co 

You can tell I've been sent out by my mother to find suitable 21st presents. I feel I've found a happy medium between my style and her concept of wanting to get me 'something that lasts'. Love that this is a little bit of punkishness at Tiffany's. What would Audrey think.

Medium Cat Eye Ring by Ludevine, $138 at SucreNYC

Continuing in my list of favourite jewellery stores, I stumbled across Sucre on Bleeker St in the Village in early January of this year. I had just ditched the boys at Marc Jacob's bookstore by Hummingbird Bakery and walked past this shop window filled with sterling silver spikes and porcupine quills. I love this fairly simple piece by Ludevine as a ring or necklace and think it would make a great stacking piece. To stack with what you say? Right this way...

Large Cat's Eye Ring by Ludevine, $149 at SucreNYC and

Tear Ring by Ludevine, $126 at SucreNYC

Not being hugely creative I admit (green is not a cre-a-tive colour), but I still think the combination of these three (or more!) would look violent and amazing. There I said it.

Silver Bow Ring by Imogen Belfield, $110 at Kabiri

I love this sweet little ring, and Imogen Belfield is one of my favourite UK designers. She recently stopped doing all of her pieces in precious metals (i.e. either silver, gold or platinum) and now does some brass pieces, but I am still obsessed with her designs and in particular covet those in sterling silver and gold.

Enjoy xxxx

PETA at MSFW

Disclaimer: The following rant is from the perspective of a non-meat eater (on the basis of humane treatment of animals).

Second disclaimer: I vow this is the closest this blog will EVER come to reading like the opinion page of the SMH, I promise.

Last week at Melbourne Spring Fashion Week (or MSFW - if you initially confused it with the NSFW tag, then join the club gutter-minds), just before Rachel Gilbert's collection was to be shown, a number of women from PETA 'stormed' the runway with signs reading 'Rachel Gilbert: Animal Killer' and halted the show. They scream 'fur is dead' and started pointing out women in the crowd that were wearing leather or fur.

Image: Fashion Hayley

Shortly after these women invaded the catwalk, security deemed them too much of a threat, cancelled the show and asked that all guests leave for their own safety. 

There are quite simply too many things about this stunt that infuriate me, to even contemplate making you read through here. It seems PETA are growing ever more ineffective, and have simply taken to brash, offensive stunts that will achieve precisely nothing. 

I would argue, as someone that is sympathetic to animal rights and doesn't buy new fur, that this entire stunt puts me on Rachel Gilbert's team, and alienates me from PETA's cause. To show at Fashion Week, a designer needs to invest roughly $40 000, a huge investment for any label right now with the current retail market. Not only that, but as MSFW is a consumer event - each guest at the show paid $200 to be there. So well done PETA, you've officially pissed off every single person at that show, who could have possibly be swayed by an articulately made argument.

Lastly (I am already dreadfully apologetic for this post's existence), according to PETA themselves, the problem they have with fur, opposed to say, leather, is that the treatment of the animals used for fur is so horrific, as the fur industry is largely unregulated; where the bovine industry is heavily regulated. This begs the question why they are not lobbying government to get the fur industry regulated. 

Sorry PETA, this unattractive and unintelligent display of disregard for other people's rights leaves you very much on your own in my view. Almost enough to make me want a steak.

If you are still reading, I'm sorry and I'll post some pretty pictures soon to make you love me.

xx

b&w

This is a styling shot I like to refer to as 'too poor for Instagram'.

Oh hey Nokia, black n' white, kicking it old school

my kind of creep

While I've always kind of been anti designer rip-offs, I don't mind when the likes of Zara, Topshop, and other high street stores do, what I like to call, a 'rendition' of a designer piece.

For some reason I can distinguish between someone flat out copying a design and selling it with their label on it, and a high street counterpart that is meant to echo the high end design aesthetic, but not appear (to the untrained eye at least) to be the actual original.

And with that reasoning in mind, I present to you, ASOS's cover (think of it like music) of Prada's ubiquitous and ever so delicious platform creepers from last season. Different sole, different colours, same flatformed cool.

Gimme.

Mackie Platform Lace Up Brogue, $155 at ASOS

xx lily

new york I love you, but you're bringing me down

A photo from my trip to New York in January. Is it possible to be homesick for a place you've never lived?

cinderella revisited

While some might have called it a bleak sign of things to come, my favourite fairytales as a little girl were always Cinderella and the Princess and the Pea. Ignoring for a moment that the latter was likely a sign of my future tendency to be a little high maintenance perfectionist, the story of Cinderella is probably to blame for my love of purchasing impractical, beautiful and probably-too-expensive shoes. 

Yes, I'll admit, the overarching love story that is Cinderella I could pretty much take or leave, but the romance of her lost shoe was one that left a lasting imprint (terrible puns for your reading pleasure).

I'll make it up to you with a small (ish) selection of my current footwear obsessions. I know that word gets thrown around a lot, but rest assured 'obsession' is appropriate in this case.

Be warned...if you are not a size 36 or 41, do not go any further down this yellow brick road (mixing the shit out of my fairy tales here), believe me, otherwise this lovely little clod-hoppers would be well and truly on their way to me.

Wedge Sandal by Lanvin, $791 at Far Fetch

Lately I have been lusting over anything with really thin, minimal straps...Elin Kling is definitely to blame, her numerous Celine and Gucci pairs are now infiltrating my dreams...

Priti Barely There Sandals by TopShop Premium, £75 at TopShop

This would be a perfect example of a little piece of python'd Gucci heaven I'd like very much to make its way in to wardrobe.

Leight T-Strap Sandal by Gucci, $895 at Bergdorf Goodman

This on the other hand, much less dream like, a lot more practical and far more affordable. I feel a little like I'm betraying the fairy tale here but I loveee these for an every day shoe. The little wooden stacked heel in particular.

Andre Leather Chelsea Ankle Boot by ASOS, $83 at ASOS

Just while we're on the subject of ankle boots, meow, gimme.

Anika Leopard Print Boots by TopShop, £65 by TopShop

Now these little lovelies I think I will actually buy, the bargain is too much for me. Plus the only size left is my size! It's all just far too appropriate for this entry!

Tessabit Wedge Sandal by Givenchy, $270 at FarFetch

Last but not least, the front runner for some birthday shoes (because money will fall form the sky any minute now), they're actually a like mauve not grey, and so pretty.

Leather Peep Toe Platform Shoes by Pollini, $393 at FarFetch

Sunday shoe shopping when you should be studying - the guiltiest pleasure. Enjoy 

xx lily