cape

Buy Nothing New Frock Swap

by cecylia on October 4, 2011

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending a Frock Swap soiree at Kyra Pybus’ place with hubby and Theodore. Kyra, the PR guru of Pybus PR, Jane, of Jane Hayes Consulting, and Iolanthe, the Ruby Slipper Consultant, organised this beautiful event to kick off ‘Buy Nothing New October’ as we embrace eco-aware consumerism and cleverly recycled designs. We have all pledged to buy nothing new this month, except for food and drinks…

All loved up for the lovebird, ‘Beaky’.

We were treated to delicious nibblies, French bubbly, and the decadent ambience of Kyra and Nish’s inviting home. Their apartment had the luxurious woody scent of Cire Trudon’s ‘Ernesto‘, courtesy of Peony Melbourne. Cire Trudon candles are made from rice, soy and coprah, contain no nasty chemicals which harm our environment. The candle house has supplied and manufactured for the the Royal family in Versailles since the 17th century, and nowadays for the big maisons including Hermes, Cartier, Dior and Guerlain. I think a visit to Peony Melbourne is a must! Scented candles are the ultimate mood-lifter!

Another decadent touch to the event was the husk boat floral arrangement by Domain Flowers. Domain Flowers are mindful florists, they re-use their husks, pods, seeds and branches of plants. They are also purchasing a mulcher so that the Collingwood Children’s Farm, an organic community garden, can reuse any unused organic material. Such an eco-friendly florist!

I first encountered the beautifully re-crafted jewellery label Ghost & Lola at French High Tea, in this post. Every Ghost & Lola is made entirely of nothing new because every piece of vintage jewellery deserves a second chance at rebirth. The designer gathers all the jewellery components from around the world and recreates them. I am deeply in love with the pink bracelet.

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The stylish pack- Jane, in Chloe, Iolanthe, in Missoni and Kyra, in vintage and Cape loafers. Every girl who has a pair of ballet flats should also own a pair of Cape! Photo coutesy of Iolanthe.

My jaw hit the ground when I saw these rings, each made entirely from recycled aluminium cans, thanks to Miles Mason Trading Company. They are helping support Buy Nothing New month by showcasing these beautiful wall-mountable butterflies and swallows which are made of old household crockery. I think these laser-cut plates would be beautiful jewellery displays!

I do apologize that our beloved Chihuahua have not been featured on the blog for a while…here is Theodore in his smart little red cardigan that Bijoux, Kyra and Nish’s angora rabbit, who was very camera-shy, (hence we don’t have a photo of her) handed down to him. :D

Theodore in an obi (vintage scarf tied around like a belt), not enjoying the dress-up as much as we are…

The gorgeous Kyla, Lisa, Leeyong and me

Thank you so much Kyra and Nish for opening up your beautiful space for us, for your warm hospitality and for letting Theodore join us! Thank you Iolanthe for the delicious chocolate cake, dips and fruits. Thank you Jane for the French bubbly and everyone for the gorgeous company! I had such a delightful time and am really excited that we are all going to celebrate Buy Nothing New October ! It will be a challenge, especially for me… but I am going to do my best! Come visit me this Sunday at Take 2 Market (the best vintage market) in the Hawthorn Town Hall (Corner Burwood and Glenferrie Roads) so we can buy nothing new together!

Details of my outfit shall be revealed in the next post…until then, have a beautiful day! xx

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Further reductions in our International sale. Enjoy up to 70% off NET-A-PORTER.COM

The New Kaehne

by cecylia on October 15, 2010

I bought my first garment from New-Zealand-born Australian-based designer Amy Kaehne. She is one of these young emerging designers that is steadily and surely setting her name to be one to watch and her label one to follow.

Amy is inspired by Tim Burton’s creativity and together with her meticulous use of the finest fabrics in classic cuts with a modern twist, her garments are bound to last and to be treasured forever. At least this is what I thought when I got my Amy Kaehne cape! See these beautiful photos from her SW10 collection. And yes our boutique stocks her latest SS11 collection and she has made gorgeous summer capes! Be a heroine, at all times.

This Amy Kaehne cape is going to be one of my all time favourite Fall staples. Wrapped in wool and silk, luxury and comfort doesn’t get much better than this. Plus the cape comes with a scarf and pockets! The Hello brooch is a treaured souvenir from a talented London-based young emerging designer (sorry I’ve forgotten her name!) who hand-sewed all of her quirky creations. Spitalfields Market is awesome for finding unusual accessories. You would have seen the brooch in this post ‘Secret Identity’ as well.

Posing at a friend’s house, thanks Mairs for letting me use your staicase as a meaningful back drop. This photo reminds me that every day we ought to strive for something higher, better, not in a selfishly ambitious way, but in single steps, one baby step at a time.

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Salve Gail!

by cecylia on October 5, 2010

The night after the Sunday flea market, I headed into the heart of Milan for an unforgettable runway show. One of my favourite Australian designers, Gail Sorronda, was one of the finalists for a designers award hosted by Vogue Italia. It was a fantastic event, each designer showcased 8 of their strongest looks, most of the models walked well, I got to meet up with Gail and oh, Anna Wintour walked past me. I was too stunned to get a proper photo of her…should have stopped her and asked for a photo…next time =)

Please excuse my ‘sans makeup’ look, I literally had to grab a bite after the markets, get changed and dash to the event.

This lady’s jacket has these amazing pockets (sorry can’t see very well). They are actually little jackets! Below are some of my favourite noir looks.

David Koma- this one is my favourite look. The knuckle duster ring is what caught my eye. Later I discovered that they are limited edition from MAWI and we may get some in for our customers! They come in silver and gold. Email us if you want one!

This is a sneak peak of Gail’s next Fall collection =) Stay tuned! You can see better shots of Gail’s models on her blog, photos taken by Vogue Italia. She even met Carine Roitfeld who described her MURMUR collection as ‘inspiring’! Gail’s garments are now stocked at Dolce & Gabbana’s new store Spiga2. I can proudly say that we stock 2 labels that Mr Dolce and Mr Gabanna stock- Gail Sorronda and Felder Felder! Oh and the Spiga2 store is amazing, a delight to visit and everything is to drool over. I have my eyes on a Peter Jensen printed silk dress.

Anna (US) and Francesca (Italy), I was shocked to see the Vogue editors right in front of me! Then Diane von Furstenberg walked past!

The magnificent Duomo di Milano, one of the largest Gothic-style cathedrals in the world, is breathtakingly magnificent. It took over 500 years to build and contains 200,000 sculptures and can seat 40,000 people. It is an incredible piece of religious architecture. I think it’s ironic that the designer’s award fashion show is held in front of the church as God is the best designer of them all. After all, He created everything that continues to inspire man.

Dress: Gail Sorronda (Gail noticed!), cape: Hiroko Koshino, belt and clutch vintage, ring: MAWI, shoes: Marc Jacobs

I adore this cape, gifted from my mother-in-law. She bought this a few decades ago and it’s still in such good shape (Ok so it’s a little wrinkled because I wore it on our 24 hour flight) and it is one of my most treasured garments. And this ‘Innocence’ dress by Gail. It’s the perfect LBD, it does not crease, it insulates well and has amazing demure details.

I firmly believe that buying designer pieces shouldn’t be just for the prestige of the brand, but for the fact that the garment was designed with an essence and a vision from its designer. If it’s well chosen, it will last many seasons and may even hold more sentimental value if the designer is someone you believe in and who is worthy of your support. You go Gail!

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Damselfly in Action

by cecylia on September 30, 2010

As many of you already know we are a proud stockist of Melbourne-based jewellery label Damselfly. You would have seen the beautiful Christianna, creator and designer of Damselfly on this post. Her Dream Weaver collection is all hand-made from gold chains and Agate stones. They are so beautifully crafted and we will demonstrate how lovely they are when worn.