BE SEDUCED... LIPSTICK

There is something about lipstick... something so feminine, classy and beautiful. It also takes a lot of people, be it men or women, back to their childhood days of playing around with their mothers lipstick and looking in the mirror to see the colour on your lips brighten the youth in your face. After many years of lip-gloss ruling the market, most of us either have forgotten about lipstick or almost even.... grown afraid of it. Lipstick is something a 'woman' wears and even myself being 24 and a mother... I was still waiting for that 'woman' feeling to move in and the 'girl' feeling to move out before I braved the lipstick. But thanks to one of our favourite French fashion houses and many other cosmetic companies who are following the trend I am no longer waiting for the paradigm shift.... I'm just doing it! After watching an Australian Harpers Bazaar special on Coco Chanel's new line of lipsticks "Rouge Coco" I gained so much confidence in 'lipstick' so I thought I might share it with you. 

“Women seem to have forgotten how to apply lipstick,” said Peter Philips, Chanel’s global creative director for makeup. “We have a whole generation of lip gloss girls.  I want to make lipstick as easy to apply as lip gloss, and for a long-lasting formula to feel comfortable on the lips.”

The Muse for Rouge Coco is the gorgeous Vanessa Paradis

One of my favourite lines from Peter Philips...

"I would like to seduce women back into wearing lipstick again. Just go for it! It will make you feel fantastic. Your whole attitude changes when you wear lipstick."

     

I am now in love with lipstick and want to wear it when ever I can! I haven't yet bought any of the lipsticks from the Rouge Coco line but I definitely intend to as they have 'seduced' me into wearing it! The lipsticks I have been wearing are....

Hara from Napoleon Perdis DeVine Goddess line.

I love love love this tangerine colour from Napoleon. It is soooo in at the moment and so so much fun to wear! I bought this from David Jones.

Maybelline Cool Watermelon D160

Another colour I am in love with at the moment is this one from Maybelline. The picture doesn't do the colour much justice but it is a super hot pink and it's great! Obviously being a cheaper brand, it is less pigmented, so you need to apply it more often. But I love it. I picked this up at Target.

Ultimate Red from Estee Lauder

Red lipstick is always fun and gorgeous. If you have never worn it before it might take some getting used to because we are generally not used to seeing our lips so highlighted. So wear it around the house and decide whether you like it or not rather than putting it on when you go out one night and feeling self-conscious about your lips. Also when it comes to buying red lipstick it is a good idea to purchase a more expensive brand as it has longer staying power and the shades, I believe, when it comes to reds are generally better with the higher end brands. I purchased this red from a Terry White Chemist!

I hope you buy some and try it out! It is so much fun and just a great way to inject colour into your face this spring and summer! Much easier than doing some of the elaborate and bright eye shadows that are in season! 

Stay fabulous!

CLE

avandia recall

It's Brisbane tonight, Wow! Charity Lunch with Ashlee Hart Designs & Stacey McEwen Millinery

I first met my dear and talented friend Jessica Gray in the lunch room at Target when I was 16 and we instantly clicked. She is one of those friends that you will have forever because she is kind, loving and loyal! So when she asked me to come along to a charity lunch to help raise funds for a new film she is working on there is no way I was going to say no to her! The film which is now in preproduction is called "It's Brisbane Tonight, Wow!" and it is about Rick Stinger who is down on his luck... his comedy career is a disaster, his car won’t work, and the local community TV station won’t show his short film. So what else to do except to catch a bus and go and pick up his film – which turns out to be the best move he’s ever made. When a storm hits the station and flash flooding is all around , Rick suddenly becomes the right man in the right place at the right time. With no guests able to make it to the local tonight show, the host cons Rick into impersonating each of them as the show goes live to air – not knowing the actual guests are holed up in a local pub watching with mounting anger. Part farce and part laugh out loud comedy It’s Brisbane Tonight – Wow! will have you laughing out loud! 

The lunch was held in the gorgeous Sanctuary Cove at the 'O' Bar & Grill. 

It was my first spring event and I was so excited to go! It was a gorgeous day except the wind... well lets just say after spending a long time doing my hair, the wind changed my styling in an instant! But with gorgeous blue skies and summer on the way I could not complain!

Now to the fashion!! We were treated to one of my favourite, actually I would have to say she is my favourite Gold Coast Designer, Spring Summer 10/11 Collection by Ashlee Hart Designs and also some stunning Millinery from the talented Stacey McEwen! Thankfully the photographer on the day, Leigh Warner, was lovely and has sent me some gorgeous pictures that were taken around Sanctuary Cove on the day which really shows off Ashlee and Stacey's stunning pieces!

It was a beautiful and relaxing afternoon with good food, sparkling wine, great fashion and good company! Ashlee's designs were beautiful as always and the millinery was stunning! For more pictures and info make sure you check out my facebook and thank you so much to Leigh Warner for his amazing photos!

It's Brisbane Tonight, Wow!

http://www.facebook.com/itsbrisbanetonightwow?v=photos&ref=ts

Ashlee Hart Designs

http://ashleehart.com/

Stacey McEwan

http://www.staceymcewen.com.au/

Leigh Warner Photography

http://www.leighwarnerphotography.com.au/

Jessica Gray
http://welcometocuriosity.blogspot.com/

Stay fabulous!

CLE

WHAT OTHERS THINK OF YOU IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS

I just read a very sad and emotional blog from Kandee Johnson. Those who are a fan of my facebook know how much I love her and how brilliant her videos are in regards to hair and make up! She has just fallen pregnant by "accident", and the accident isn't in " " because I'm being sarcastic, it's just that I don't believe in accidents (I believe everything is 'meant to be' as you are the one who attracted it), to a man who clearly isn't around anymore and she wrote a blog which was so sad! I could completely understand where she is coming from and it really resonated with me and brought back the awful memories of all the pain and fear of judgement that I went through. She wrote the blog to try and explain as to why she was pregnant and still single and basically pleaded with people not to judge her as she is human and humans make mistakes. Her fear of being judged jumps out at you from the page and you just want to hug her and tell her everything will be alright and then on the other hand you want to slap her and say who cares if people judge you its none of their business anyway! 

Judgement is something that I think alot of us fear more than death! I know when I was pregnant I had a terrible time... I was constantly in a state of fear of judgement from others and waaaaaaay too judgemental of myself for being 'so stupid' for falling pregnant. So with all this negativity I was laying on myself I didn't have the best pregnancy... I had terrible terrible morning sickness which led to a few hospital visits and when that subsided I had back pain, I had this pain, I had that pain... obviously due to all of my negative thoughts caused by this one fear... JUDGEMENT. For some reason a majority of people in the western world have gone 

'you know what? I don't think highly enough of myself to remotely give a damn about me or what goes on in my mind because I don't believe I am worthy of happiness or success SO I will concentrate on other peoples lives and judge them on how I think they should be living their lives and I will fill in the gaps of their stories with my imagination and if they seem like they are too happy or successful I will bring them back down to earth by tearing shreds off them.' 

Now I know that seems to be a huge call but if anything I think it's a bit of an understatement. Why do you think 'trash' magazines sell so well? 

JUSTIN BIEBER AND KIM KARDASHIAN GET MARRIED IN ANTARCTICA. 

For some reason these headlines sell. I am the first to admit that I love A-Listers and hey, I would love to be one, oneday! I love watching them walk the red carpets of premiers and awards ceremonies. I love going to the movies and listening to pop on the radio. But I couldn't care less what they do in their private lives and I don't see why people would or think they should care. The following sentence is one of the wisest I have ever heard and I personally try and stick to these words every day of my life. What other people do with their lives is none of your business, what you do with your life is no ones business and what people think of you is none of your business. (Love the last bit! :) Nothing should be more important to you than your happiness and personal growth. Someone asked me once what the most important thing in the world to me was? I replied "my own happiness" and they said to me... "that sounds a bit selfish, shouldn't being a good mother be the most important thing to you?"... to me my answer was a no brainer, but this person had never considered the idea that you were actually meant to be happy before, so I replied "being a good mother and seeing my son happy makes me happy and being happy and taking care of myself means I can jump into life and have the energy to get up every morning and be a good mother! Hence why nothing is more important to me than my happiness". You see it all the time, people who give, give, give and don't ever take time for themselves and then wonder why they are not happy. I didn't come to these realisations because I sat there and watched TV and read trash mags. I learnt these things by reading books and doing courses, by taking notice of myself and my needs and by listening to me and paying attention to my thoughts. I am still sometimes worried about being judged, I am currently working on two fears of judgement that i have discovered in myself, the good thing is I have recognised them and I am working on them everyday. When you take the time to look into what you are afraid of being judged for, then you are taking huge steps towards ridding yourself of something that might be restricting you and your happiness.

 Make the choice to rid yourself little by little of judgement. It is a life long habit most of us have acquired so stopping judgement is a process and not instant. Take notice of your thoughts. Stop yourself from judging others when the thought pops into your head. Stop yourself from being fearful of judgement from others. 

So before laying judgement on someone else or standing in fear of being judged REMEMBER.... everyone has their own story... their own wins and bliss.... their own battles and heartaches...  that they are dealing with in private. Just like you. We are all not so different. 

So mind your own business :)

Stay fabulous!

CLE

avandia recall

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VIRGIN BLUE!

As much as I would love to make it to every single awesome event that occurs... I just cant! Lucky for me there are always other people who attend these events and let me know how awesome they were!

Over the weekend Virgin Blue Australia celebrated it's 10th birthday. They put on a no expense spared old school extravaganza with a Boeing 737 as a backdrop. They flew our gorgeous Delta out from LA to perform on the wing of the Boeing 737 and to make her even more stunning than she usually is she was dressed in another Aussie favourite... Alex Perry!
The Tap Dogs tapped their way around the 737 dressed as ground crew and of course, it would not be a proper Virgin party without him... Sir Richard Branson!

  Alex Perry custom made this couture gown, white silk organza with jewels and grey tulle and specially made it available for Delta and Virgin for this special occasion!

The last gorgeous gown Delta wore on the night is another Alex Perry design with a Sass & Bide neck piece! Loving Delta's curves!

The gorgeous black gown is not available until next season (this is an exclusive sneak peek!) but if you like the Sass & Bide neck piece you are in luck as it is available now!

Stay fabulous!

CLE

avandia recall

CANDID HEARTS KANDID HEARTS

Last Friday was such a beautiful and warm night in Brisbane I loved it! I wore a 'barely there' silk dress and didn't even have to wear a jacket! Spring has finally sprung and I am super excited to see what designers have come up with for these glorious seasons! I had never heard of Candid Hearts Kandid Hearts (surely me not hearing of designers does not surprise you by now... I am slowly getting to know our local talent!) so I had a look at their website and as you all know I loooove great photography, especially when it comes to clothing collections, and they have some amazing shots of their collection online which got me really excited to see what they would bring to the runway! 

I had the amazing privilege again to have Craig Scarr come along and take some photos for me! It makes my job so much easier and makes blogging so much more fun when you have a professional photographer come along and help you out! Thank you Craig! 

The showcase was at the GPO in Brisbane. I had not been to the GPO since my living in Brisbane 'Uni' days a few years ago so I was looking forward to the flood of memories it would bring back and also S/S being my favourite seasons hence my favourite collections!

The models strutted the 'black box' runway with bright makeup and feather headresses!

 "Candid Hearts Clothing Company Established in 2008. Exclusive and original prints. Mens and Womens printed T's, Signature Silk Garments and Trans-seasonal collections. Based in Brisbane, Australia."

I really enjoyed this collection. It was much more impressive than I imagined it would be and I can really say I would love to see it again! The flowing silk and sheer was gorgeous and some of the colours in the pieces were just stunning! Three words for this summer... SILK, SHEER & COLOUR. This collection had it all.

No collection is complete without a little black dress! 

They also had some great T's for men...

I didn't manage to get a snap of my favourite piece and obviously I haven't put all the pictures up from the collection that night so make sure you go to their website and check out the awesome pictures of their collections http://candidhearts.tumblr.com

also add them on facebook and myspace! 

Designers for Candid Hearts Kandid Hearts
Celcelia Hides & Kris Harman

There is some serious talent between these two and I really cannot wait to see what they produce in the future as this brand seems to go from strength to strength! They have an eye for detail, great colour and whats hot! Well done guys!

Stay fabulous!

CLE

avandia recall

FASHION FRIDAYS @ TEMPLE AUGUST

It felt like yesterday I was messaging Ryan from SASS & BENTLEY to see if I could come along to cover a Fashion Friday and already I was doing it again! This year seems to be going so quick! Blink and you will miss it! I actually really enjoy these Fashion Fridays at Temple. For starters the Sass Lounge at Temple is amazing! Comfortable, open, view of the Broad water and friendly staff. 

To be honest when I go to these nights... there really isn't many people. Which is kind of disappointing to me but obviously it's due to a few reasons- economic crisis, off-season and cold weather are just a few. But for designers, models and patrons I can really say that this is the place for opportunity. Unlike other Clubs in Surfers Paradise that hold runway events Temple actually has a real runway. They have magnificent lighting, an amazing MC (Tenielle Stoltenkamp), live projections of the runway show and to top it off the wonderful team from Sass and Bentley film the night and make an amazing video of it AND post it on their website http://www.sassandbentleytv.com. 

So for emerging designers and models this really is quite an opportunity! What about the advantages for the Patrons you say? You get to go to a great venue which is so clean and has fresh air flow! You get to see local emerging designer and model talent! And finally... they make a great cocktail! I know this kind of sounds like a huge promotional ad for them but I don't even know who manages Temple let alone owns it... I just think it is a great place and it has so much opportunity that if I was an emerging designer I would be taking full advantage of! 

ANYWAY! 

On to the Fashion!!

The first Label up was....

TEDA

Teda is a Brisbane based funky street wear label designed by Danielle Villoresi and Teighan Graves. This duo's ideas combine to produce young and fresh designs. The girls are hoping to reinvent the market of Australian Street wear with their S/S 10/11 collection and is inspired by the theme "psychedelic playground". 

I really enjoyed the individual pieces in this collection but to be honest... I didn't particularly enjoy the styling. Maybe I missed the point? I love the dress above and I would definitely wear it but the green sheer jacket(? no idea what to call it?), I love the piece and especially that shade of green, but it seems to be from a night wear collection. 

The girls seem to have a great eye for colour as all their pieces 'pop' with a striking palette of colour! Go and become a fan of their facebook page and check out their Urban Culture collection... it is pretty damn cool! All in all basically my verdict is... great individual pieces but the styling could have been better. I cant wait to see their future collections!

NEXT UP.....

THE BLACK LIST

The Black List is one of the Gold Coast's newest emerging labels as their first collection was launched for Winter 2010. Cian Christina is the designer behind this seemingly attitude fueled label and she describes her pieces as possessing equal amounts of fun, darkness, quality and style. 

Cian's S/S10/11 collection incorporates feminine shapes with a military, grunge and androgynous feel and a touch of 50's pin up! Love the polka shorts! This collection has been named "Queens of the Castle".

I love the dress above! Cian had some great pieces and I am looking forward to future collections. I cant direct you to a website or facebook pages as I cannot seem to find either... I guess being such a new label we will have to be patient! So as soon as I hear anything I will let you know! 

It seems to be the case with these Fashion Fridays that I always enjoy the last two designers the most!

RUE DENIM

Rue was created by long time friends Xavier Crawford and Dominic Malouf. This duo combined to bring us gorgeous denim which is not only edgey and stylish but very comfortable!

Specialising in skinny jeans, Rue is for street smart men and women who cherish their individuality and thrive on creativity.

Naturally with these spunks gracing the stage it caused everyone to stop, stare and cheer! I love Rue's designs and I really don't think these pictures do their denim justice (no picture ever does denim justice which is why ad campaigns for denim usually go on the controversial side to get noticed!) so I will direct you to their website http://www.ruecollection.com/ which is fairly new so there isn't too much on there so facebook them as well!

Last but not least...

DOLLKINI SWIMWEAR

Swimwear is reinvented every year and just goes from strength to strength so if you are a designer... you either have to swim or drown in the massively competitive market that is swimwear! Designer Daniella Jerkovic has clearly been swimming as her pieces are fresh, sexy, girly and edgey! 

 I think a massive heads up to swimwear designers in Australia is what songs are huge during the summer holidays in the USA as the film clips are usually full of swimwear or ideas on whats hot and whats not. The biggest example this year being Katy Perry's California Gurls and last year being Sexy B*tch by David Guetta and Akon. These were two huge songs that really dictated the swimwear lines that are produced. I am not sure what Daniella's inspiration was for her pieces but she has certainly got it right! Her models strutted the runway with pink umbrellas in time to Katy Perry's California Gurls!

I loved every piece in this collection! It was all so sexy and different and the colours all went so well together! It's some seriously fun swimwear without being impractical! Make sure you facebook them to check out the entire range close up! There are some great pieces and so many different styles!

All in all... another great Fashion Friday!

Check out my facebook for more pictures!

Stay fabulous!
CLE

avandia recall

The Maze of the Mind

I am one of those people who has always been in a long term relationship. I can count on one hand how many boyfriends I have had and it was never a conscious decision but I guess on some level it was a decision. At this point in time I am single and have been for a while now and that has been fine... until recently. For the first time I felt the cold sting of loneliness. In all honesty I haven't been too fond of being single as obviously the idea of having that someone to share experiences of life and affection with is more desirable than doing it by oneself but in saying that I was never lonely or unhappy, I guess it never really entered into my mind. But loneliness seems to be a completely different kettle of fish all together. When I first felt it... it stung me so deeply... I felt as though I would never ever meet someone and I would be alone for the rest of my life. Words cant really explain how I felt but I wrote this while in that state so maybe this will give you a bit of an idea...

LONELINESS

She stood there

Eyes black and hollow.

There was nothing in those eyes

No spark, no shine, no follow. 

I never thought her gaze would fall on me

And when it did I felt as though I was lost at sea.

Not drowning or dying, but a spec

Whose eyes would never reflect 

Anything but the greyness of the sky that is reflected by the sea.

Alone.

And alone I would always be.

Dramatic I know! I like using my different emotions to produce poetry. Its a great release and interesting to look back on. It took me a week to realise the effect this new idea/emotion was having on me and how my thoughts had spiraled down in a terribly negative direction. Thank goodness it only took me a week. Some people never realise and even if they do they go to doctors to be prescribed drugs or sit in a therapists room who says 'tell me about your childhood'. They blame outside circumstances, people, childhood memories etc. and say that when these things improve I will get better. But the truth is that you and you alone have the power to help yourself. No one can help you but YOU. Drugs are a band-aid for a wound that is only going to get bigger over time which is why people start off with mild antidepressants and end up on enough prescription drugs to kill a horse. A therapist helps you blame your outside circumstances. If that really is what you want to do go and spend your money and you will have someone help point the finger. But that doesn't make you feel any better which is why thousands of dollars and years down the track you are still in the same mental space.

It wasn't too hard for me to recognise that my negative thoughts and feelings were effecting my life. My motivation to write was slipping dramatically (hence why I haven't posted too much lately!), my house was a mess and I was becoming slack with my relationships (ask my friends how long it would take me to return calls, emails or txts!). Your outside world is always a brilliant indication as to how you are feeling on the inside. I love my writing, I have a lot of 'house pride' and I am a loyal friend... so when I noticed these things slipping I knew I was in big trouble as the next thing would be my mothering skills.... that to me would be unforgivable as I am resposible for a life that is full of energy, curiosity and happiness and they are elements you just can't bring when you are feeling down so something had to change and FAST. We seem to have been taught to run away from our emotions rather than embracing them, feeling them and recognising them as they come up.
So my first step to 'recovery' was to go searching, deep within, for thoughts feelings and emotions I had previously suppressed instead of dealing with. It doesn't come instantly. Trust me... it takes some time and some searching! I spent days writing. If you just sit down and write you will be so surprised as to what spills onto the page. A piece of paper is the best 'ears' your problems could ever fall on as a piece of paper is judgement free and all that stars back at you is the truth, even if you didn't necessarily write it. I just started writing and things that I had no idea I was feeling came out... feelings of unworthiness, disappointment (in myself) and guilt flew onto the page and as each feeling was discovered I would explore even further as to why I was feeling this way. All the feelings I discovered were feelings that suffocate any idea of hope and can leave you with a feeling of loneliness... loneliness? Eureka!
What a moment that was for me! To discover on my own why I was feeling the way I did! You get so much satisfaction from helping yourself. There really is nothing more empowering! Circumstances and situations had recently arose in my life and I reacted to them in ways that I did not want to face. So instead of recognising my reaction to these situations and circumstances and dealing with it and working to turn it around... I ignored it (thinking I was being strong!) which in turn burried them within me and what was bubbling on the top was my loneliness.
Now I have recognised these feelings I am dealing with them one by one... and it usually starts with WHY? Why do I feel unworthy? Why am I so dissapointed in myself? Why do I feel guilty?
It turns out they are all pretty minor things I feel these feelings and emotions about. But at the same time for some reason I believed that that was the response necessisary. So now I am working on changing my mind. I AM worthy. I am not a dissapointment, I know this and I know why I thought I was. I have nothing in my life to be guilty for as I am a good person who tries her hardest and takes everyone and everything into consideration. My house is now clean, I am returning phone calls and I am writing!
The moral of the story?
Embrace your emotions in the moment and don't run away from them. Whether they are good or bad you are feeling them for a reason. Your emotions are a direct response to what you are thinking so if you want to know what you are thinking have a look at how you are feeling. Are you feeling happy, secure and hopeful? Great! Your thought processes must be positive and enriching! Are you feeling sad, insecure and hopeless? Then you are in a negative spiral of thoughts that you need to explore.
These are all human experiences and emotions and part of the wonderful journey we call life! Take the time to get to know yourself and to take care of yourself because no one will take care of you like you can.
If this blog can help just one person make the decision to sit down and take the time and energy that is required and help themselves... then it will make my personal victory all the more sweet!

Stay fabulous!

CLE

avandia recall

VIP FASHION NIGHT BRISBANE ARCADE

 I was on holiday relaxing by the beach in Byron Bay when I received a message from the gorgeous stylist Linda Lola asking me if I wanted to go to the VIP Fashion Night at the Brisbane Arcade. My initial response was no as I was in complete holiday mode and I had walked past the little nook off the Queen Street Mall a thousand times and had never ventured in. When I got back to the beach house I did a little research and snapped myself out of holiday mode long enough to realise I would be crazy not to go.

I ended up really excited as an amazing photographer, Craig Scarr, agreed to come along and take some pictures for me (which is why the pictures are awesome!) and I was informed that there were going to be a few designers there as well! The night was held to showcase the new seasons collections from the various designers in the arcade. 

When I first walked into the beautiful heritage-listed Arcade I was surprised. For starters I had no idea what to expect as I had never been there and I had no idea that half the designers I saw at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival were in one spot!

There were more shops than I expected and I didn't manage to get around every single one in the 2 hour time frame we had but I did get into three good ones!
The first boutique I went into was Darb Bridal Couture.

I love wedding gowns and I am sure every person has some kind of appreciation for gorgeous bridal couture, even if they don't believe in marriage there is something magical about a wedding dress. All the different shades of whites, materials and embellishments... the choices really are endless and the result is pure beauty made just for you! It's a shame we only get to do it once... with the different dresses that come out every season I would be wanting to renew my vows every year! Especially after browsing Darb's stunning collection.

Designer and owner Brad Webb has been designing for over 15 years and has won many awards for his bridal couture. I was lucky enough to meet Brad on the night and he was lovely! So warm, welcoming and passionate about what he does! His pieces in the shop are there merely for display to give a future bride an idea of what some of her endless options are and as a guide as to what she might like. A Darb wedding gown is designed over a series of private consultations with Brad himself and then the magic begins!

"There are a few people in Australia doing work of this level. His craftsmanship, design, fabrics are equivalent to what the top designers in Paris do." George Gross
To see Brad's latest creations go to www.darbbridalcouture.com.au
You wont be disappointed!

Next up.... THE HAT BOX!

With Melbourne Cup coming up I am all too happy to talk about hats! Usually I am not a hat person but when I walked into this store I felt like a child in a candy shop! So many colours and features! It really was a visual delight! I actually, in all honesty, had never heard the term millinery let alone knew what it meant until I saw The Hat Box showcase their pieces at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival! For those of you (if there are any?) who did not know the term (like me!) Millinery refers to hatmaking, particularly the making of women's hats.

 I met the owner of The Hat Box Dale Olsson (pictured right) who explained to me that she does not make the hats herself but she employs over 15 of the finest milliners from around Australia (Patricia Balmer, Ann Boyle, Minette Collins, Kim Fletcher, Petrea Gordon, Neil Grigg, Jonathan Howard, Claire Luttrell, Meredith McMaster, Kathy Neumann, Richard Nylon, Elizabeth Reynolds, Phillip Rhodes, Sandra Robson, Peggy Stone and Karen Valentine) and is now also stocking hats from Stephen Jones, London.
You can check out Dale's stunning range of hats, fascinators and other bits and pieces at http://www.thehatbox.com.au but I do suggest you go to the shop and have a look. I certainly am going back there to get something special for Melbourne Cup!

Now to talk shoes!!

I went into Vein Shoe Store, had a browse and met my first shoe designers! Christopher and Szuting McCallum are the owners of the store which holds Christopher's men's range labelled 'Vein' and Szuting's women's range 'Kitty Croquet'! The boots pictured above I fell in love with! They were so unique and carefully crafted...! The shoes in this store really were nothing like I had ever seen before and it was all so impressive! I had a bit of a chat to Christopher who informed me that when he was thinking of a name for his designer label he realised that there really were not too many men's shoe stores in Brisbane and that men should take more pride in their appearance and basically get a little more 'vein'! Love it!

Christopher's range of men's shoes are nothing short of brilliant and I am so glad I went into this store because it really is a treasure trove of shoes! Christopher also informed me his shoes can be customised to meet your needs and taste!
You must must must (especially with fathers day coming up!) check out the website http://www.veinwear.com/
and for the women http://www.kittycroquet.com

 It was a great night and I only wish we had a bit more time to get around and I had asked for photos of the designers... doh! Rookie mistake and I will remember that for next time!

Stay fabulous! x

avandia recall