I’ve been searching high and low for a white turtleneck for 2 years now. Sure, I’ve already got it in black, orange and even green, but winter white is still going from  strength to strength, so I refuse to remove a white polo from my mental must-have list. Coincidentally, I was introduced through a friend of a friend to Melbourne-based label Stella & Minx. Just one peep at their online store had me thinking “Where have you been all my life?” Almost everything they design makes me wish it was part of my wardrobe! Slouchy silks, fine Merinos and stretchy bodycon shapes are cut to perfection. So it wasn’t long before I hunted them down and asked to feature their pieces on the blog.

Why is your label called Stella & Minx?

We want the name to encompass the opposing characteristics within all of us- dark and light, yin and yang, hard and soft, etc. Stella by day and Minx by night perhaps.
 Where did you draw designs inspirations from for your AW14 collection “Theory”?

Art and nature in particular but also architectural lines. Dark romance was a re-occurring theme and French lace was a source of inspiration.

How ‘old’ is Stella & Minx?

We’ve been around for 8 years now, but we started off in wholesaling and only recently embarked on retailing. This is the first collection for our online boutique.

It just shows, some things are worth the wait. The reason why Stella & Minx pieces are so lovely is because they’ve been perfecting their craft for so long. I was watching a Mario Testino interview with Vogue last week and he said something really thought-provoking. He said that these days people don’t want to spend the time learning any more. They just want to get to the top, quickly. But truth is, for him and so many people in the fashion industry, they’ve been slogging away for years, if not decades, before they receive fame and recognition.

Last week I met a friend’s au pair and found out that her dear mother reads my blog. I couldn’t believe my ears. For years I’ve been unsure if anyone reads my blog, aside from hubby and my Mom (for whom I devote the Chinese Translation part to). I can see the numbers on my stats page but they mean nothing to me if they don’t represent each individual person. So when I get stopped in the street, or meet people who have taken the time to read my candid tales, I am deeply humbled.

It’s taken me a while to finally find my voice again, after the sudden closure of my boutique, so thank you so much for staying with me and supporting me. I still have so much to learn – writing, styling, and don’t get me started on photographing. I hope that as my blog grows (it’s turning 5 in May), I can discover more encouraging and interesting things to share with you. And most importantly, that we can do life together. Even if it is via this little page in the world wide web.

But since it’s fashion week, you’re probably not too keen to wait around, head to my social channels to get in touch quick smart!

Facebook / Twitter / Instagram: @cecyliadotcom

Where: Rivoli Cinemas

Wear: Stella & Minx Polo / Vintage Skirt / Tony Bianco Heels

Photos shot and directed by Karen Woo

Chinese Translation by Teresa Ruan (Click below to read)

[spoiler title=”中文版”]

过去3年中不管贵贱我不停的在寻找一件白色的高领衫。当然了，我有黑色的，橘色的甚至是绿色的，但是冬天里有一件白色高领衫的趋势一直不断壮大，所以我拒绝把白色polo衫从我心里想的必需品清单中划去。巧的是我通过朋友的朋友认识了一位墨尔本的源生品牌Stella & Minx。只看了他们网站一眼我就在想“这么长时间我怎么没发现你？”。我恨不得把这家店搬回家。慵懒感的丝绸制品，羊绒制品和弹力衣都被剪裁的及合身又舒适。没过多久我又找到他们询问是否可以在我的博客向大家介绍他们家的服装。

为什么你的品牌叫Stella & Minx？

我们希望这个名字包含我们所有相反的特征 – 深浅，阴阳，软硬，等等。或许白天是Stella，晚上是Minx。

你们2014秋冬系列“理论”的设计灵感从何而来？

艺术和自然给我们最多灵感但同时这个系列也带有建筑的线条。暗黑系浪漫又卷土重来，而且法式蕾丝也是灵感的来源之一。

Stella & Minx有几岁了？

到现在我们已经有8年了，但我们是从批发起步的，最近才刚着手零售业。这是我们网站的第一季服装。这说明好的东西值得等待。Stella & Minx的东西之所以这么漂亮是因为他们用了那么长时间完善自己的工艺。上周我在看Vogue对Mario Testino的采访影片，他说了一些发人深省的话。他说现今的人们不愿花时间学习。只想着快速向上爬。实际上很多时尚圈的人包括他自己在内都要苦干很久或者是几十年才能成名或得到认可。

上周我遇见一位朋友家的帮佣而且发现她妈妈也读我的博客。我不敢相信。这么多年我都不确定除了我先生和妈妈（中文博客就是为了她而设的）以外还有没有人读我的博客。我可以看到有多少人读我的文章，但如果这数字代表的不是每一位读者的话也毫无意义。所以每当我在街上被人拦下，或遇见某人告诉我他们读我坦诚的故事时我真是觉得自愧不如。

在我的精品店突然关闭以后我花了很长时间从拾自信，所以谢谢大家对我不离不弃。我要学的还有很多 – 写作，造型，当然还有拍照。我希望在我的博客继续成长之际（今年5月它就5岁啦）我可以得到更多的鼓励，有更多有趣的事和你们分享。最重要的是我希望我们可以一起成长，哪怕是通过互联网上这个小小的网页。

在这时装周之际你们可能不愿等来等去，关注我的社交网就可得到第一手资讯哦！

[/spoiler]