Alannah Hill

Calling all rock stars/Debbie Harry/Courtney Love wannabees; this is the place to find eclectic mixes of flipped out floaty dresses, tops, skirts, and naturally the signature flower corsage to match. Located conveniently on Oxford Street, Paddington, this shop is always a guaranteed stop whenever we're in the area. Somebody once described Alannah Hill's design as pretty china doll meets eccentric aunty meets fairy on acid - a pretty close match, we think. Check out some of her earlier collection here.
Address: 118-120 Oxford Street, Paddington, Sydney

Loosing One's Fashion Mojo

Go and check out The Budget Fashionista. She's clever, sarcastic and she summarises the trends from the New York fashion week in a nice neat list. On top of this, she hits the nail on the head with some of her other comments, such as. ”... when you over hear celebrities saying truly stupid comments like ”(Hurricane) Katrina has really impacted me. Like, I decided to wait to buy another Paddington bag (retail value: $1500 plus).” After a week of hearing comments like the one above, you now understand why my fashion mojo is as low as George Bush's Post-Katrina approval ratings...”

After Shopping At The Duvel Cafe

This is one of our favourite bars in Stockholm simply because this place has tons of character, is so cosy, and the service is excellent. Belgian beer and excellent wine is the thing to order, but if you’re hungry after a long day in town, then go for their moules frites. This is a place where you’re best sat facing the street, watching the world go by as you discuss what, how and when your new investments best should be worn. Oh, almost forgot... sat facing the street also means immediate access to their huge windows, which is a perfect place to put all your new shopping bags in. Expect to see a few gourmet folks around, but not really that many fashionistas. Having said this, we love this place though, and feel right at home here.
What: The Duvel Café (next door to Pressklubben, which is also a pretty good place)
When: 6pm+ (avoid the theatre crowd that usually takes over this place at around 9pm+)
Where: Vasagatan 50, Stockholm
Dresscode: Casual-semi glam. You’ll feel totally over dressed wearing anything too fancy. Jeans, high heels and a kaftan is about as glam as it gets.

Be There Or Be Square

We've talked about it before, and would just like to remind you again.... this super cool exhibition is starting in a few day's time. If you’re nearby Sydney, then go check it out. If you’re not, then go and check out the website.

Russh Hour

Name anything that beats sitting in your most comfy armchair, relaxing with a good fashion mag and a glass of chablis after work. No, didn’t think you’d come up with much either... As there are quite a few magazines available these days, it’s kinda difficult to pick just one sometimes. Vogue and Harpers & Queen are outstanding for their editorial work of the northern hemisphere’s ultra glam fashion world. Although the readers are paying for it, it’s entertaining to see what blue chip fashion labels are ready to pay out for glossy super expensive ads just for us. Much more down to earth are InStyle and Elle (and less commercial for that reason). For creative Ossie fashion we particularly like Russh and Maddison. Russh, celebrating it’s 1st (!) year this month, have opened up a brilliant fashion site for all of us that want to visit their cyber-space office. The site has just recently opened up, but is already up and running with tons of fun stuff that shouldn’t be missed - go check it out right now.

coolchiq Loves...

... These soft, grey leather boots and hand bag that were spotted on the front row at the Fashion For Relief show (worn by Brandy).

After Shopping at The Establishment

To start this new, regular feature, we’ve decided to go to the Establishment. This is one of Sydney’s most well visited, up-market bars, located just a stroll from Wynyard train station. We absolutely love this place coz it’s big and spacious, and perfect for all tired shopaholics to seat themselves in one of the comfy couches. Come early though, it gets crowded after 7pm. Here you’re likely to meet anyone from Jenny-from-next-door to Nicole Kidman, but if you’re after more interesting behind-the-scenes-people then you’re better off upstairs in the Hemesphere bar.
What: The Establishment/Hemesphere bar
Where: 252 George Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
When: 6pm+. On Fridays it gets very busy, so try somewhere else if you’re after a relaxing drink after your shopping tour.
Dress code: City slick coolchiq – anything from jeans and high heels to fancy party frocks.

Anna Sui Does It Again

Maybe it's to do with the special love we've had for Anna Sui's boots before, or that we've been madly in love with one of her beautiful dresses. Or perhaps it's the fact that her wonderful winter 05/06 collection has provided so much inspiration... whatever it is, Anna Sui has left us in awe again, and we can easily say that this is the most inspiring show we've seen throughout NY's fashionweek. The flowy textiles and flower prints are divine, and the colours are totally glowing. The cuts, ranging from waistlines below the bust or dropped down to the hips, made this collection really versatile. And what a brilliant idea - 3/4 length tights to stop the chill when the temperature drops. This is exactly what we love! (Oh, btw, spot the Swede!)

New Features On coolchiq

We know there's a big crowd of demanding fashionistas out there, so we've decided to give our overworked keyboard a really good job and publish a few sections each week that you'll find invaluable. Just look at the new features on coolchiq -

After shopping
- As we all know, a good shopping spree doesn't finish in the shopping mall, does it? These features will cover our favourite cocktail/wine bars, the ultimate places to go when our poor, sore, shopping-feet can't handle one more boutique... If you're a coolchiq, you deserve nothing less than a damn good cocktail, in one of the most glamorous places in the world. Some where you can rest assured your new purchases will come handy. Bars from all over the world will be reviewed, featured or slaughtered, and a dress code indicator will tell you what or what not to wear, or even who you're likely to bump into. Mwah, dahlings... Stolly Bolly!

coolchiq loves...
- Here we'll cover our favourite garments of the moment, may it be a pair of jeans, the latest Manolos, jewellery or vintage bags. Bagsy this one, we say, or let's just hope He'll finally read our subtle hints.

coolchiq features...
- Here you'll find our favourite shops. So get ready to go shopping, and find out why these places are just awesome!

Radical Radishes

We're sat here waiting for oozing hot fashion/trend indications from NY, but so far.... nothing new has been presented. The make up artists seem to have been let loose with the eye shadows in some cases, in others they didn't seem to bother turning up at all. On the clothes front, skirt hems have seemingly been taken up a bit, "Empire" waistlines are still gonna be there next year, and Oscar de la Renta; well, he likes his clutch bags in all shapes and colours. And what with the shoe issue, check out Kenneth Cole's best-of-the-league so far. To be perfectly honest there's nothing much worth raving about. Having said that, we do think that Carolina Herrera's choice of bringing the radish onto the podium is divine; her collection stands out from the rest so far.

Change Of Heart

Here's what happened - first look: "Eeahgh... hideous shoes", second look: "Hmmh... guess they're not that bad". Third look: "OMG, google Alexandre Herchcovitch for nearest shoe retailer...". All in a matter of 5 minutes.

Swedes In NY

OK, home sickness alert everyone... Swedish fashion designer Carin Rodebjer presented her design in NY Fashion Week the other day, and we can’t wait to see the shots from the collection. Just look at the pictures from her website... isn’t this what fashion is all about? Along with 8 other ‘fresh faced designers’, she’s been selected to show case her work in the week, and we’ve no doubt that she’ll be up there with the best in a few year’s time. This must be such a thrilling time for Rodebjer, as she was the winner of the prestigious fashion design price Guldknappen in Sweden not long ago (Sweden’s answer to CFDA). So, the only question is, when are you launching Rodebjer Down Under, Carin?

Meet Joe Prince Vintage

While we’re waiting for Sass & Bide’s fashion show in Bryant Park to kick off tonigt, we must send you off to check out Joe Prince Vintage. Joe Prince Vintage is a site that clearly turns to all coolchiqs with a special love for vintage clothing and retro touch. As well as ordering their stuff, the site offers tons of inspiration on how to wear things and celebrity fashion vitage style. We particularly like this red and pink floral 50’s wiggle dress, but they have some wonderful high neck frill blouses that shouldn't be missed – check it out.

Ready to Wear Spring/Summer 2006

The first show from New York's RTW spring/summer 2006 indicates that the cinched in waist line will carry on. This is a trend that's been spotted already, but Nicole Miller's opening show in Bryant Park, presented quite a few of these numbers. Not particularly impressed by this collection, but we were more so, by Naum's show. White and chocolate brown are always great combinations. Naum's laidback collection looks good, and we particularly like the tussled hair with plaits.

What Betsey Has In Store For Us

We're not the only ones geared up for the activities in Bryant Park on Sunday. Reading Vogue's preview on Betsey Johnson's collection, this sounds like a show to look forward to. "We had to strip it down after all this Sixties shit," says Betsey Johnson ahead of her spring/summer 2006 show in New York next week. So we can expect a little French chic from the lady who is planning a typically eccentric show, despite pairing down her look this season. "When in doubt, call on Bridget Bardot for inspiration..." OK, Bridget Bardot - fair enough, but we still can't get that sweet cardigan out of our minds...

From Sweden With Love

We’ve talked about the launch of some Swedish labels to Australia (both here and here), and now we’ve got Sweden on our mind again... As 2005 being the Year of Design, there’s been a major focus on all aspects of this in other varies countries too. In July, Rookies exhibited at IFF fashion fair in Tokyo, and in April they were presented at the Swedish Style in Milan. Rookies, the organisation for up and new coming designers, are with no doubt a key contributor to some of these young designer’s success. Not long ago, Sweden’s Fashion Week took place, and it's exciting to look back at such an amazing variety of different styles – view the full show here. Some of the designers that we particularly liked were Åsa Westerlund’s cool clogs collection “There goes the neighbourhood”. If you’re a shoe fanatic, then don’t miss to check out her website that features the ultimate clogs. Camilla Norrback’s beautiful bird print dresses, skirts and blouses really stand out, and so do some of Klara Stark’s gothic pieces with black and white being predominant colours. BOCA by Anneli Åslev had some nice dresses with classic cuts, interesting prints and colours, but our favourite outfit was this pale blue sleeveless dress worn with kneed high boots by Ulrika Sandstrom.