Alexander Mcqueen

Candidly at Caulfield Cup

by cecylia on October 17, 2011

You may have seen from my Facebook updates lately that I’ve been so blessed to attend the 2011 BMW Caulfield Racing Carnival. I’ve never been to the Races before so you can imagine my excitement and gratitude when I was invited to join the Pegasus Club marquee in ultra fine company with fellow bloggers, stylists, models, actors and TV celebrities. I tried to adhere to the Races dress-code of wearing a knee-length frock which covered my shoulder(s), a head piece, a clutch and heels. Of course I put a quirky and eclectic spin to the ‘typical’ Races dress code and opted for this neon yellow Roksanda Ilincic dress, which apparently was previously worn by Ginnifer Goodwin to Comic-Con 2011. I bought it as a sample from the designer (as I’m supporting Buy Nothing New October). Roksanda didn’t send me the H-shaped feather belt piece, but I had an even more special brooch given to me by my fashion mentors Dean and JC of Madam Virtue to wear.

The  exquisite Lady Melbourne, in vintage and self-made hat and bangles

Phoebe’s self-made pearl bangles, I’m sporting Australian designers Paula Walden piano ring and Estelle Deve cuff

Sarah (Style Melbourne), Ben, Phoebe and I at the Pegasus Club, my head piece kept falling off because I washed my hair and couldn’t find bobby pins to lock it in, so I kept taking it off and putting it on. Here I am sporting it back to front without realising it!

Josh Koko & Phillip Boon, celebrity stylist, looking as sharp as ever

My first-time entering the Chadstone’s Fashion Stakes. I had no idea that the competition involved walking, I thought we just stood on the stage and the judges marked us. My jaw dropped as I found out that we actually have to strut…

I tried my best and was so thankful that I didn’t fall over and had moved from my Heat into the Finals. With gorgeous ladies waiting to be judged.

The 3 finalists from Caulfield Guineas Day, Laura is demure in black and white, adore her heels! Joanne reminds me of Grace Kelly in her beautiful YeoJin Bae dress. I look so bland next to these beautiful ladies, note to self: must wear make-up next week!

After the competition, we were interviewed by the Runner Up of the Face of Caulfield, Maggie, about our inspirations for our outfits. I described mine as ‘a highlighter’.

Bree, the Face of Caulfield, in Gorman, Giaan Rooney, the Ambassador of the Caulfield Races, in Perri Cutten. These ladies are simply sublime!

Last Saturday was the Caulfield Cup, I was ordered to wear the exact same outfit as I’ve been lucky enough to be in the Grand Final for the Chadstone Fashion Stakes, so I apologize for boring you with the same outfit. I learnt from my mistakes from the previous week at Guineas Day so I asked my bestie Vicki to do my make-up and had my head piece properly fitted, by the gorgeous Peter from Salon M. I compeltely forgot to practise my walk though…

My fair lady: Sarah of Style Melbourne

The ever so stylish Phillip Boon, celebrity stylist, in vintage Pierre Cardin

Bloggers Adrian Fernand of I Do Belive I Came With a Hat, Sarah and Luke of D’Marge. Told you I was in fine company. To my stylish male readers, do yourself a favour and check out these boys’ blogs!

Lady Melbourne and I, again in a self-made hat. This girl has style from head to toe.

Anna Mott, of Racing Fashion Victoria, the most amicable and glamorous personality I’ve ever met. Her dazzling couture headpiece is created by the incredibly handsome Brett Morley. I am in love with Anna’s Alexander McQueen silk clutch!

The most stylish couple: Ren and Christian of Style Sage!

Georgia Sinclair, DJ of the Pegasus Club, in Miu Miu shades and Missoni dress

Phillip and Bree, the Face of Caulfield, ladylike and classy. I think together, we have mastered colour-blocking.

Ambassador of the 2011 BMW Caulfield Carnival, Giaan Rooney, such a stunning lady.

The grand Finals of the Fashion Stakes wasn’t until the end of the day. As the hour approached, more butterflies fluttered in my stomach. Nervousness and excitement infiltrated my veins.

Just smile and walk straight and don’t let your head piece fall…

It was a surreal moment when the hosts called out my number, ’4′. I was so honoured to attend the Chadstone Fashion Stakes and to be amongst so many gorgeous ladies, many of which were more deserving of my title. I was stoked to have been awarded 3rd place ’2nd Runner Up’ in the competition. I never thought I would have come thus far. A huge Thank You to Melbourne Racing Club and Style Counsel for having me, to everyone who eased my nerves with your loving, encouraging words and well-wishes, to Sally (Styled by Sally) for lending me her Chanel nail polish, to Vicki for making me look awake, Salon M for fitting my fascinator, to Dean and JC for my beautiful feather brooch and to the judges for being so kind to me. I feel immensely humbled and intensely privileged.

The Caulfield Races has been an experience of a lifetime for me, from the delicious courses at the Ladies luncheons to feeling the adrenaline rush watching the horses race and seeing so many stunningly dressed Race-goers, I have been blown away by the abundance of elegance, extravagance, and ambience!

Sorry to sound like a dork, but out of all the amazing prizes, I’m most excited about my one year subscription to The Age! Hopefully it will improve my morning routine making me rise earlier, eat breakfast and increase my little knowledge of the world.

So that was my weekend, not short of epic. Hope yours was wonderfully charged with love and joy too!

His: H&M hat, Country Road suit, Coton Doux shirt, Vivienne Westwood tie, Arabella Ramsay pocketchief, Jil Sander shoes

Hers: Paula Walden Bow headpiece, vintage earrings, Roksanda Ilincic silk gazar dress, Madam Virtue feather brooch, Paula Walden piano ring, Estelle Deve cuff, vintage clutch, Chloe heels

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Madam Virtue, So Haute

by cecylia on April 27, 2011

I hope you enjoyed reading about the Madam Virtue photo shoot in the previous blog post- because there are more coming your way! Thanks once again to StrugnellCOLE hair salon in South Melbourne for creating the most wonderful space for the photoshoot. Here are photos of more outfits for your visual enjoyment. And I’ve thrown in a few funny behind-the-scenes…

This chainmail dress is designed by the Madam Virtue duo and brings that refined Renaissance glamour to the 21st century. I wasn’t sure if this model had stepped out of a time-capsule or if I had been transported back in time. And yes that is her hair overflowing from her head piece. And the fur? Arctic fox.

My besties from Finessence Photography, who specializes in weddings, events and fashion shoots :) Insanely talented, and just a beautiful couple to work with.

Theodore, our chihuahua, seems to be the ultimate hand accessory. The flowers around this model’s neck are all hand knitted!

The Madam Virtue fashion virtuosos JC and Dean with the stunning models.

Chanelling Alexander McQueen with her bold lips, Freya is wearing a Mongolian goat fur coat I lust.

Maude, JC and Dean’s Sharpei daughter, is quite  used to being dressed up!

‘I know you’re hungry, but you don’t have to eat the dog.’

The Dark Angel…

Vintage LV and Chanel cases? Yes please! Hitomi (right)’s excitement has even caused her hair to stand on end!

Well done to stylist Adam Tsen for creating such show-stopping outfits from Madam Virtue. Here is Hitomi wearing a mini JC de Castelbajac chair in her hair. You know it’s high fashion when you have Oscar Wilde in your hair!

Thank you so much to JC, Dean of Madam Virtue, Finessence Photography and StrugnellCOLE once again for such an amazing shoot. The frivolity, the food, the fun, and the fancy hats! Thank you for being my mentors and my constant source of inspiration. I heart Madam Virtue.

Stay tuned for my next post- Wanna know what I scored in Madam Virtue? I haven’t shown it to anyone yet! :)

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VIPs & Fashion Elites

by cecylia on September 25, 2010

The wait was finally over, we launched an exclusive VIP runway party for our customers, stylists, editors, journalists, designers, models and photographers which showcased the new AW11 collections from Europe from Alldressedup, Antonia Goy, Felder Felder, Sophia Kokosalaki and Spijkers en Spijkers, as well as some Australian designers Karla Spetic and Gail Sorronda.  We had a fantastic turnout and the response was incredible. The models were all stunning (mainly friends and customers!) and they walked so well in our Repetto heels. It went off with a blast and I’m still feeling the hype and excitement from the night…thanks to Justin for these beautiful photos, he’s so talented.

We served Champagne and Muscatos, we ate macaroons, petit-fours and cupcakes! Thank you so much to La Tropezienne and Cupcake Central for their generosity.

Molly in the golden Sophia Kokosalaki silk dress, Repetto Mila pumps and a Karen Hamilton hat.

Two Maidens stylists Jess and Melissa created the beautiful looks for the show. It started with work wear, casual wear, cocktail wear, and Races wear.

The stunning Ebony (one of our customers) in a Felder Felder wool organza dress (top) and a Sophia Kokosalaki outfit (bottom)

The beautiful trio in Races wear: Georgie in Alldressedup shirt, Molly in Sophia Kokosalaki and Julia in Alldressedup.

The beautiful Jess (my talented side kick and our in-house stylist), in Alldressedup wool dress, Fendi belt and Alexander McQueen ring and the gorgeous Tania from Fashionising.


My stylist friend Micah, Melissa, Jess and my wonderful business partner and mentor Linda (in red Armani). I’m in vintage, because I couldn’t play favourites tonight and only wear a garment from one designer.

What a night, I cannot thank our sponsors and contributors enough. I’ve already mentioned our Gourmet Thanks, so here are the rest:

Artistic Thanks to Finessence Photography, J Tiew Photography, Jin Chen (graphic designer)- also for all of your prayers my dear, Toni&Guy Armadale, Ellie Makeup, Armadale Flowers, Tom our DJ, our beautiful models and our sassy stylists

Look Book Thanks to all our kind designers: Alldressedup, Antonia Goy, Felder Felder, Gail Sorronda, Karla Spetic, Repetto, Sophia Kokosalaki and Spijkers en Spijkers, for giving us so many copies of their latest collections.

VIP Bags Thanks: Omero hosiery for their wash bags, Alldressedup for their luggage tags, Jurlique Armadale for their 1/2 hour facial and samples, ACMI for their complimentary tickets to the Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin film, Flight Centre Armadale for their travel vouchers, Ruggles Dry cleaning and Brazillian Butterfly for their coupons and MOR for the door prize.

Special Thanks to House of Orange for lending us their benches, Pak Persian Rugs for their runway rugs, my awesome friend Samantha, designer of Bento and author of Fashion Recruit and my bestie Jackie for coming early to help me set up; and my girls from Ralph Lauren – Jess K, Lex who helped me run the show, Julia and Molly. You are just divine. Oh and Alan from Fashionising for the polaroid of my hubbie and me.

Of course this night was mainly designed for our VIP customers, yes you know who you are, you have one of those cards from us =P Thank you for supporting our boutique and for supporting the talented designers we believe in.

And to be honest, this event would not have happened without divine intervention as I’m no event planner but for this runway show to have been such a success all glory and thanks be to God.

I’m getting pumped about the next one now!

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Realway vs Runway

by cecylia on September 7, 2010

On Wednesday night we made an appearance at the Designer series Runway 2 of Melbourne Spring Fashion Week. My girlfriends and I dressed up for the occasion and just to be rebels we wore mostly international labels.

From left: Georgie, who should be a model, is just stunning;  Jess, of whatwouldkarldo.com, the chicest stylist/blogger I know; me, I tried to support as many designers we stock as possible…

Georgie: Zara jacket, Kookai top, Chanel necklace, Chloe python Paraty bag and Alexander McQueen booties

Jess: Zara jacket, Karl Who T shirt, Felder Felder cross studded skirt, Georgina Goodman booties, Chanel bag, bowler hat

Me: Karla Spetic blouse, Felder Felder ring skirt, Gail Sorronda dinner jacket, Lanvin pumps, Marc Jacobs bow bag, vintage pearl necklace. Detailed photo of Aris Geldis Paris bracelet I wore below:


I must admit, we are picky when it comes to fashion shows. Georgie critiqued the models, Jess critiqued the styling and I critiqued the designs. We asked: why were there so many bridal dresses for a runway show? Why did so many Aussie designers copy Lanvin? Why couldn’t so many models walk properly? Is it because they wore cheap shoes like Betts, Wittner, Aldo and RMK? And what about Lucy McIntosh’s (The Face of MSFW) alarmingly big grin….she is extraordinarily gorgeous, nevertheless

This coral suit from Yeojin Bae was my favourite look of the night- it sums up femininity and strength with one bright hue. And the tailoring is impeccable. It’s no wonder her garments are stocked all over the globe in the finest stores.

The one show we all enjoyed was Christine’s (where I got my Lanvin and Sonia Rykiel pumps from), we loved all the floral printes by Etro and Lanvin accessories. The looks were romantic, summery and lady-like Bohemian. Although Christine is not a designer but she is one fabulous buyer. And my mentor, she just doesn’t now it yet =)

These lace ears are stunning but I don’t have a spare $500…

Also the green florette dress by Yeo jin Bae was a show-stopper. Definitely the best look to end her runway series with. I like Aussie designers who don’t think like a typical Aussie designer- like Gail Sorronda and Karla Spetic. They’re on a league of their own and dance to the beat of their own drums.

Alice Burdeu in the floral dress. I was on Team Alice the whole season for Australia’s Next Top Model (when I used to have time to watch TV).

Overall it was still a great night, I met many beautiful bloggers such as Sarah from Sarah Style Emporium, LeeYong from Style Wilderness, Catherine from Whattowear, Phoebe aka Lady Melbourne, Sam from Fashion Recruit, Sarah from Style Melbourne, Cheryl of Busichic and the gorgeous Alisha from Sea of Ghosts.  Of course, Phoebe and Cheryl are also part of the Melbourne Street Fashion team.

Style Wilderness (with the funkiest earrings), Lady Melbourne

Sea of Ghosts, she’s also a jewellery designer… and a Daisy Lowe-look-alike in this photo. Adore her style. She has inspired me to dig out my long dresses again.

The beautiful Sam from Fashion Recruit, designer of Bento!

My sweet sweet friend Cheryl of Busichic, and the most outgoing fashionista I’ve ever met – she seems to know everyone who is anyone!

The night was fun but it is nothing compared with what I’m about to witness in Milan and Paris in September. So stayed tuned for some real fashion. And oh, I may meet up with Gail Sorronda in Milan!

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