Covetable Marni

Anna Sui will have to excuse us, this week Marni's ruched leather ankle boots are our pick of the week. Paired with the incredibly cool cropped military jacket by Marc Jacobs, and the Russian inspired Christian Louboutin bag, this would be the ultimate outfit striding down the mean streets of Sydney. At least for another week or two as the weather is just getting hotter and hotter... The boots and jacket can be purchased here. The bag is featured at here.

Click for Coolchiqs

With summer coming up soon, we can’t help our excitement over the new beach gear that’s started to fill the shops in Sydney. The latest click'n'receive fashion retailer is birdmotel.com. The site will primarily focus on Australian surf-, swim- and street wear brands such as Nookie (one of the cool labels we reported on from MAFW) and Mermaid Sister. A carefully chosen assortment of mainly US 1970's vintage clothing and jewellery will be available too. The site, which goes live in August, will be shot in the style of a fashion magazine, and promises tons of trend tips. Sounds like brilliant fun and good inspiration when we can’t make our picks in the shops.

Colcci

It’s not enough that their garments are amongst the coolest in the street wear-boutique-chic-circuit or that they stem from Brazil, which we all know is fast becoming on the world’s fashion capitals. No, Colcci has gone one step further, employing the worlds 8th natural wonder, Gisele Bundchen to headline their spring summer collection. Labelled “Confidential Hotel” the latest collection will have you pumped for a weekend of indulgence, decadence and all things party like. Colcci is set to hit the US, UK, France and Australia soon, and this we look forward to big time.

Sod The Motto

OK, let’s be perfectly honest – our motto “style is everything, comfort is nothing” is not worth an awful lot at this very moment. Particularly not sat here with painfully sore feet, developed by a full day’s worth of running up and down Castlereagh Street in – er, should we say, less-than-comfortable shoes. So let’s get right down to it. Puma’s latest release could well and truly be what we need – and possibly their best shoe model ever released. Labelled the Drea, this trainer is set for cult status. One for the ladies, the Drea is all about merging style with sports sophistication. This sneaker with a really cool look, has all the ingredients we’re asking for when we’re talking sneakers; a sophisticated silhouette, yet still maintaining comfort you can rely on for long walks. And hearing this right now friends, is just like beautiful music to our ears - and feet.

New Kids On The Block

In amongst all of the fashion news we can only make one comment – there’s certainly enough beauty lines to keep most of us happy at the moment. However having said this, listen to all of this...

In September Elle McPherson will launch a beauty line named appropriately “The Body”. The range will include cleansers, detoxifiers, exfoliators and moisturizers. Keeping in line with her Intimates lingerie brand Elle aims to offer top of the range products at competitive prices. If she manages to pull together the same success as for her gorgeous lingerie line, we’ll be majorly impressed.

Tennis player Serana Williams is also taking up the tradition of releasing a beauty/cosmetics line.

Armani’s release of a makeup line is something we’ve been waiting for with great excitement. As the cosmetics line is now available at David Jones, we’re off to check it out tomorrow.

And talk about new kids on the block... well, putting Ralph Lauren deliberately in this category may not be the most appropriate way of treating an oldie, but that’s where his ending up anyway. Ok, let’s be honest – we’ve never been big fans of Ralph Lauren’s fragrances, but his new fragrance, the exclusive “Pure Turquoise” doesn’t stop our interest to check it out. “Pure Turquoise” will be launched in Saks Fifth Avenue and Neumann and Marcs in mid-September for the price of $350 (better bloody be good). Holding top notes of lily of the valley, indigo violet petals, and orange, and after tones of vanilla bourbon and rum, this sounds like a good case for the excellent blog Now Smell This to study.

Super-fantastic News

The Corner Shop’s winter sale is something we talked highly about some time ago. Stocking up the summer selection now, the Corner shop is also extending its [already] great selection of labels with more stuff. Miu Miu and Imitation of Christ are some of their new labels we will be able to find in this fab store soon.

No fashion addict would have missed the news on The seventh on Sale . “The 7th on Sale, founded by the Council of Fashion Designers of America and US Vogue in 1990, will be resurrected online this autumn. Once one of the key events of the fashion year, the sale originally took place in New York and San Francisco and became the largest sample sale of womenswear, menswear, children's and homeware before being discontinued in 1995. The new sale will be the best ever, though, since it has teemed up with eBay to offer the entire event as an online auction between November 10 and December 7, and all its proceeds will go to Aids charities.” So get your ebay accounts and credit cards ready girls!

And finally a gentle observation; the Anna Sui dress shown below is now featured and available at Net-A-Porter. The dress is part of their 60’s Brit-pop style section where we get tons of inspiration for next season’s fashion. Bagsy this number.

Glamourflage

Yes, we admit it - at first we fell for the fancy, quirky containers. Anyone that loves Pout, Benefit San Fransisco or Stila knows exactly what we're talking about. But after testing Glamourflage's products there was no way back; we were hooked. Glamourflage's "Vera Vamp Body Cream" is the sort of body cream that will make you wonder how you managed without it up until now. It leaves your skin feeling silky smooth with ingredients like macadamia nut oil and aloe vera. The fragrance is delicately put together with freesia and nuts, a balance that works extremely well as it isn't too over powering. On top of this it gives your skin that bit of slight sheen that looks completely amazing. All we can add to this is; if your not glamourflaged already, then wait no longer!

"Love Of Moment"

Remember our rave reviews of the designs of Sass and Bide? Well it seems that Sass and Bide's flagship store will be our secondary home from now on. Their first flagship store, that opened up the doors yesterday will certainly guarantee hours of sheer shopping indulgence for all Sydney shopaholics. Located in Paddington at 132 Oxford Street, Sydney, this will provide yet another excuse to go to this amazing part of the city (expect an extensive report of the store shortly). So how the hell do fashionistas outside Australia get hold of Sass and Bide stuff? Well, apart from checking out their website that will tell you where, Swedish coolchiqs should check out Flare.se. Flare.se is a stonking online shop with a truly excellent range of wardrobe essentials difficult to get hold of elsewhere. Here you will find items such as the Anna Sui boots featured to the left, the Manolo Blahnik's you've always dreamed of and our own favourite, the jacket we talked about earlier and is shown below. Talk about great minds think alike. But enough of this smooth talk now - we've got urgent matters to sort out - we're off to Paddington.

Lacroix Couture 2005/06

Ed and Patsy are right, there's no doubt about it - Lacroix Sweetie! When the maestro of couture pulls it off, he does it so intensely that it makes everybody else look pale by comparison. One doll face after another turned up looking more icy and stiff than we've ever seen them before. The whole show was the feature of a winter princess' tale, the sort of look Cinderella's evil step sisters would go for, but not quite as down to earth for Cinderella herself. Satin, silk, lavish gold, garnets, rhinestones and lots of diamante featured on most numbers. In this show, Lacroix wipes away expressions like 'less is more', 'nude beauties', and 'versatility'. For if there ever was a saying that would closely describe this, it would be 'surfaces daahling'.

Christian Dior Couture 2005/06

Spectacular is the word; nobody can deny that John Galliano didn't pull all his plugs today. Celebrating 100 years after the birth of Christian Dior, Galliano had set up the show as though it was set in Christian Dior's childhood home in Granville, France. In comparison to last year's couture collection - the emperor Napoleon theme vs Mary Quant - Galliano had this year focused majorly on the true spirit of Christian Dior's original appearance pieces. Corsets - tick. Tulle - tick. Cinched-in waist lines - tick. Tick, tick, tick. The show covered everything from gothic black to purest white, and a large section of amazing vibrant colours. So, did the show really deliver that 'arresting 1947's New Look' as it was described as? Well, all we can say is bring in the gramophones, give us Humprey Bogart and we're all set for the scene.

Giorgio Armani Couture 2005/06

Opening up the couture days, Giorgio Armani presented his second line of couture, Armani Privé. His first couture collection, delivered in January this year was fabulous looking. The overall design was heavy on tassels, beads and Swarovski crystals. This season, Armani seemed to have taken a much more low profile, and when it comes to couture, that approach doesn't quite stand out in comparison to other, wilder creations. But the beauty in Armani's work isn't captured in ridiculous, sparkling, eye catching gowns; instead we're looking at a number of garments that some lucky bastard(s) will be able to enjoy for decades. Low key and safe, in black and mother of pearl are the words that first spring to mind. Remortgage our house is the second thought.

Paris Pilgrimage

It’s that time again. Journalists, photographers, stick insects, and other fashion victims are once again hitting the streets of Paris. High Stitching, or should we say Haute Couture, is usually the result of over-the-top, pre-ordered, once-only-worn million dollar [almost] numbers; the kind of stuff that most of us (most likely) will never come across. Nevertheless the shows are a guarantee for a few jam packed days of fashion glamour, spectacular gowns, sparkling accessories and celeb spotting. Yes, it’s red carpet time again, and we will be reporting, as usual throughout the event, starting on Wednesday 6 July.

The 2.55 Bag

There's something about that rectangle of quilted leather that causes a girls heart to race. The threaded chain, the ultra soft leather and the unmistakable two "C's" give those who behold it butterflies. Traditional colours like beige, brown, black and navy that Coco Chanel used in her start up line, has since accelerated into a large spectra of colours. The 2.55 bag is now available in just about any colour under the sun, and defines the nirvana of luxury. A limited-edition was brought out this year, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Chanel 2.55 bag. For the anniversary, Karl Lagerfeld designed a striking, red model, that's been available in 400 examples. The name of the bag, 2.55 takes us back to when Coco Chanel first released the bag on the market - February 1955. 50 years later, this is the ultimate choice for fashion victims worldwide, and in our opinion, one of the most stylish hand bags ever designed.

Trends We Love

- Bangles - the bigger, chunkier and brighter the better.
- Long beaded necklaces, worn in many layers. Preferably breaking off a completely different colour to add a deliberate 'un-coordinated look'.
- Skinny jeans and retro pumps - minimalism giving a lean silhouette that brings to mind a cool rock chick look.
- The tiny bolero jackets we've been on about before; this is sure to be a trend that will last throughout the year. Cropped jackets were commonly seen in the runway shows in the northern hemisphere and most recently at MAFW.
- Hawaiian Island Imports wonderfully tacky hibiscus ear clips, Hawaiian skirts and matching bags. Needless to say, none of the Hawaiian stuff could be worn all at the same time.
- The Jungle/safari fashion inspired by colours, textures, tribal prints and accessories from Africa.
- The Edwardian/Victorian influences with elements of puffed sleeves, high necks and romantic lace.
- The cinched-in waist. What better way to feature a slim waist line, bring out the femininity, and yet at the same time low key and elegant. Pictured below is one of Willow's many wonderful pieces presented at MAFW.