BUSINESSGC SWIM 2011

We haven't had much of a summer this year in Queensland. We have had more rain than sun and we were even declared a disaster zone for a while there! So it seemed natural to go to a Swimwear showcase on a Summers night with it teaming with rain and muggy as all hell! No need to do your hair in that kind of weather because even if you do go through all that effort Mother Nature will redo it for you in a fraction of the time it took you! Regardless of our bazaar weather, for the second year in a row BusinessGC again teamed with Sanctuary Cove and Fashion TV to showcase and promote our amazingly talented local Swimwear Designers. When I arrived the Ftv Hummer was grandly parked in the entrance to ensure it's presence was known! Fashiontv were unveiling their new 360 degree camera. It is the first time a fashion event was filmed anywhere in the world using this amazing new technology! I spoke to the camera crew from Ftv and they were very excited to be the forefront of this new technology! Camera man Clint Ebberson showed me the footage which was streamed straight to his iPad. To see a full 360 degrees of the room you are standing in on an iPad was amazing! I cannot wait to see it on Fashiontv!

Model Candice Griffiths with Ftv Hummer!

The showcase was held inside one of the industrial spaces, which is usually filled with boats or golf buggies, on the waterfront in the beautiful surroundings Sanctuary Cove has to offer. White chairs were lined up either side of a red runway ready for the Gold Coasts VIPs and Media!

To start the show we were entertained by some adorable future stars who performed a dance routine in teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikinis to the 60's classic, you guessed it, 'Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini'.

Our MC for the night was the enormously talented Jamie Lee Wilson who sung her brand new single 'Can You Film Me' which she produced with another amazing local talent, Dj Gemstar. Jamie also performs vocals for The Stafford Brothers with her truely amazing voice!

Jamie Lee Wilson

First up in the Showcase were 5 lucky students from the Creative Institute of Creative Design- Liezl Boshoff, Lauren Brunner, Lauren Robertson, Katie Styles and Jackie Wood. As I was in the front row I wasn't allowed to take pictures but I spoke to some of the students and managed to get some great pictures of the talented young women's designs!

Katie Styles Bikini 

Talented Katie won the Billabong design a bikini competition last year!

Lauren Robertson 

Lauren's designs are fresh and stunning! Loved her pieces!

Liezl Boshoff's design

The amazingly talented Joanne Rahn showcased her 3 swimwear lines Glamorous Life, Mojoz and Lovebirds.  The oh so shy Jade Woodward showcased her wonderful brand 'Jade Kohl'. 

Joanne with Katz models wearing her Lovebirds Australia Designs

Jade Woodward and Joanne Rahn

Joanne's three gorgeous labels stood out even more so due to the amazing styling of Brisbane stylist Elisha Casagrande! I truely believe in utilising stylists! With feather head dresses and leather straps criss crossing over the models feet, the models really did look amazing!

Elisha Casagrande

Vivacious Swimwear by Kelly Smith launched in 2009. "Our Bikini’s and Monokini’s range from the functional and fashionable, to sophisticated, alluring and chic".

Vivacious

Atlantis swimwear by designers Mark Armstrong and Tiana Higginson. Mark and Tiana not only produced some gorgeous pieces but they seemed absolutely lovely! They were also in last years showcase. 

Atlantis 

Picture from BusinessGC Swim 2010

Capriosca Swimwear which ranges in sizes 10-22. There were some amazing and stylish pieces! Capriosca has been featured in magazine such as Cosmopolitan New Idea and Marie Claire!

Capriosca Swimwear 

International brand StarBlu was showcased by Island Way, an online boutique. 

Starblu 

I fell in love with this piece as soon as it came down the runway!

The lovely Burleigh Heads based brand, Terra Christa. Terra Christa has been featured in the ultimate magazine a swimwear label can be shown in... Sports Illustrated! 

Terra Christa

And last but not least, my favourite of the night... Karen Neilsen Collection!

Karen Neilsen

All in all it was a lovely night and it is great that Fastiontv were there to help showcase our local talent to the world!

Gorgeous Katz Models

Swimwear Websites!

http://www.glamorouslifeswimwear.com
http://lovebirdsaustralia.com
http://www.mojozfashions.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jade-Kohl-Couture/115530818458609

http://www.caprioscaswimwear.com.au/

http://www.vivaciousswimwear.com.au/

http://www.karenneilsencollection.com/

http://islandway.com/
http://www.starblu.com/

http://terrachrista.com.au/

Stylist!

http://elishacasagrande.com.au/

For More Pictures Of The Night Go To! 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=34987&id=122857967749771

Stay Fabulous!

CLE

MODEL PROFILE: CHLOE MUTU

Name: Chloe Mutu

Star Sign: Taurus

How did you first get into modeling?

I would definitely call my self a new face when it comes to the modeling world. I was signed with my current agency, Division Model Management, back in August last year. After attending a few openings & shows with my beautiful girlfriends whom are all involved in the industry I was approached by my current agent and the rest is history.

What has your favourite modelling job been so far?

Since I'm still such a newbie to the industry, that is definitely a hard one, ive had the pleasure of working with the very talented people from Element, Karen Nielson & Lisa Blue, and a few smaller labels like Leina Broughton & Kate Andersen. All of which were absolutely amazing. 

Who is your inspiration and why?

I’m going to stay close to home with this one, and say my beautiful mum. Not only is she my very wonderful business partner, she is my fashion icon, my rock & my guidance counselor but most importantly she is my best friend. I would be lost without her in my world.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

I got a tattoo when I was travelling through Indonesia a few years ago that reads in Hindi –

“To remain in the simplicity of the present moment”.

 I try not to dwell on the past or focus on the future too much instead I like to concentrate on today. I do hope though that in 5 years times, I’ve travelled and seen this beautiful world we live in, and experienced all that it has to offer. “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page”.

If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go and

Why?

My number 1 destination is Bali. I’ve been there a few times now with family & friends and it never ceases to amaze me. The people, their culture, their way of life is so very humbling yet enlightening at the same time. I try to go back there at least once a year – It’s a very special place to me. As for where I haven’t been or where I would like to go – My next stop would have to be India, Tibet  & the Himalayas. There is something magical about these 2 countries that has attracted me since I can remember.

Favourite book?

I have a very naughty habit of over indulging in books. I have so many personal favourites from the “Monk who sold his Ferrari” by Robin Sharma to a much more lighthearted read “Shantaram” by Gregory Roberts. One of my all time favourite books though is a little gem called “When I loved myself enough” by Kim McMillan It's a beautiful healing, easy-to-read, easy-to-fall-in-love-with kind of book that I think everyone needs to read once in their life time. I never leave home without it. 

Favourite movie?

I’m not a very avid movie watcher, but if I were to pick one movie that I really enjoyed it would have to be “Eat Prey Love’ by the very amazing Elizabeth Gilbert. After reading her book over a dozen times I could never grow tried of watching the stunning Julia Roberts interpret her spectacular journey.

 What is your favourite type of exercise?

I must admit im a bit naughty when it comes to exercise. I always have a good night sleep and ensure I maintain a very balanced diet but I guess like every girl out there – I have my good & bad days J. I try and walk at least 45mins every day & go to Zumba with my beautiful girlfriends once a week! The occasional Yoga session on a Saturday morning with my mummy is always fun too. 

Three things you cant live without?

The 3 things I cant live without would have to be:

My very beautiful & loving partner, he is the one I turn to for advice, inspiration, guidance & support. He never fails to make me smile, and always allows me to be myself. I adore and respect him more than anything.

Number 2 would have to be my Family - I come from a big family full of boys, im the baby and the only girl. Growing up with so many males –I was never short of advice & lots of brotherly ‘protection’ - I don’t think a boy stepped a foot near me until I was in my late teens! Although my brothers and I may be hundreds of miles apart I know how loved & supported I am, they are my world and I would be lost without them.

3) My beautiful & very talented friends. When it comes to friendships im all about quality not quantity, I have an amazing group of very close girlfriends. We are all in the same industry so we understand and support each other not only personally but also professionally – which I feel is very important in maintaining balanced relationships. There is nothing I find more perfect than catching up with my girls over a glass of wine after a long week – I adore them.

What is your biggest indulgence?

I’m an absolute sucker for shoes but not just any old shoe – Tony Blanco’s! I have a whole wardrobe filled of TB’s - boots, wedges, pumps, clogs and the list goes on. They always fit me so well, and take no time at all to wear in. My partner thinks I’m a little bit mad when I go out and buy another pair, but as I like to say “You can always tell a woman & a man by their shoes”.

A few other little essentials I’m bonkers about is:

O.P.I nail polish

Individual eyelashes

Shirts (I love a cute shirt tucked in with a bow tie)

Travelling 

Your favourite designer label?

Owning and running a clothing house for the last few years I’ve really started to embrace smaller more unknown labels that are affordable yet unique and still super beautiful & comfortable to wear. If something suits your body shape & makes you feel like a goddess then buy it. My wardrobe is filled with lots of one off underground labels & vintage pieces.

Any advice for the women of the world?

Success is nothing more than living your life according to your own truth and on your own terms.

Success is living your life in the process of creating and realizing what’s most important to you – Not what’s most important to anyone else.

Don’t ever try and be someone or something your not, embrace your uniqueness & remember you are beautiful.

C xxx

Chloe is a lovely and talented young woman. Even though she has only been in the industry for such a short period of time she seems like she has been doing it forever! Her pictures are beautiful and captivating. She knows how to strike a pose and what poses work well for her! 

If you are at all into fashion it is a MUST that you check out Chloe's own online store 'House of Khloe'. She has some absolutely stunning and stylish pieces and they are very reasonably priced. 

www.houseofkhloe.com.au

Become a fan on Facebook to stay up to date with new looks and pieces!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/House-of-Khloe/110459395667786 

Stay fabulous! 

CLE

xxxx

REVIEW: CAN I BORROW THAT?

With my writing I am covering different events every week and I love it! The only remotely stressful thing about my job is what on earth to wear to all these different events! Being a fashion blogger I need to keep up with fashion and make sure I appear fresh and up to date.  As much as I would love to buy a new dress every single week, I can’t. So it becomes this huge juggling act of what dress to wear where, what people will be there and have they seen me in this dress or what dress was I in when I was snapped and put in this newspaper or that magazine or someone else’s blog! So far so good! But when it came to New Years Eve I wanted something special. I go out to beautiful events so often and put so much effort into what I am wearing that I really wanted to amp it up. I spent $400 on my NYE ticket to Versace and I wanted to look nothing short of fabulous! So I started browsing Net-A-Porter and instead of looking in my price range of a few hundred dollars I found myself clicking onto the dresses worth a few thousand! Dolce & Gabbana, Roberto Cavalli, Versace, Valentino, Oscar De La Renta and well… you get the point! Ahhh dream dresses! Then it occurred to me….! I cant afford the few thousand to buy them but I most likely could afford the few hundred to borrow them, if that was possible! So I Googled ‘rent a dress’ and Can I Borrow That? came straight up! It is a gorgeous easy to use site.  I had so much fun browsing through the dresses and actually spent longer than I care to divulge on this addictive site! Now you know that you can actually afford to wear that Dolce and Gabbana it turns into a frenzy of ‘Wow I would look good in Roberto Cavalli!’ ‘oh but I could get this Halston Heritage dress and be just like Carrie off Sex and the City!’ or ‘OoooOoo but I love that Brian Lichtenberg dress and it looked great on Kim Kardashian so maybe it would suit me too?’. So yes I did spend a long time oooing and ahhhing at the dresses and trying to remember what celebrity I saw in which dress and trying to figure out which ones would suit me and which clothing label is more to my taste. So after, ahem, hours of browsing the dresses I found a leopard print Just Cavalli dress (RRP $999) and a Roberto Cavalli clutch (RRP $1599) that I thought would be perfect for my ‘Pop’ themed NYE Party at Versace! 

So I selected my size and I also selected the “Try Me” option which is brilliant as it lets you try the dress before committing to hire it. They merely send the dress out to you, you try it on, call immediately to let them know if it fits and suits and then you send it back and they will resend it for the date you requested! I put in my credit card details and waited to hear from them. It took a couple of days before I heard from Michelle (who is the owner of CIBT) which is understandable with Christmas and New Years Eve looming only a couple of weeks away I can imagine how busy they would have been. I did this all as if I was a ‘normal customer’ (I did not inform them that I was a fashion blogger or I was going to write a review), I had put in that I wanted a size 12 and Michelle asked me if I was more of a 12-14 or a 10-12 because the Just Cavalli sizes are a little smaller than regular Australian sizing. I said that I was more of a 12-14 and she informed me it was probably safest for her to send out the 12 and the 14 and see which one is the perfect fit. I got home late on Christmas Eve to the package. Wow was I excited! I opened it with all the excitement of a child on Christmas day would open their biggest present! The box was huge and had beautiful purple ribbon around it! 

There was the gorgeous clutch and dress, but just one dress, a size 12. I raced to my bathroom and tried it on and FAIL. I couldn’t get it done up. I thought maybe it was just me and I needed help. So I hung the dress in my cupboard and continued getting everything ready for Christmas. 

Boxing day my mother came over and as soon as she walked through the door I said I need help getting into a dress! So I raced once again to the bathroom and put it on, raced back out and asked her to do the zip up… but no. Damn! Damn! Double damn! It was just too small. I spoke to Michelle and she said she could send me out the 14 but with all the public holidays and the Christmas mail jam I didn’t want to risk not getting it in time so I declined. I popped the clutch and the bag back into the self-addressed prepaid mail bag that you get in the package, which makes the whole process even easier, and reluctantly sent my first taste of Cavalli home.

My verdict

Would I do it again? Absolutely. My birthday is coming up and I will definitely consider hiring a dress for that. I think it is a brilliant idea. You get the dress for a whole week so if you have two unrelated events in one week you can wear it twice! 

You don’t have to get it dry cleaned, you merely send it back as is and they take care of it. It is such a piece of cake to do and you can look and feel amazing for a fraction of the price. 

The communication could have been a bit better but I am understanding due to it being the crazy season. Michelle is also lovely, easy to deal with on the phone and I love the hand written note from her in the package, it makes it that much more special! 

The site is so incredibly easy to use and clear. It is a real pleasure to browse (unlike some of the other competing sites). There are also packages put together so you can hire the whole look for a reduced price. There are dresses for all different occasions so if you even need to make a super impressive statement at a job interview there is a “Corporate Girl” package with the most gorgeous structured D&G dress. Your future employer possibly wont know its D&G but it will give you that extra boost of confidence you get when you look great!

Advice

• Book well in advance, at least a month. It takes the stress out of the whole process and you can try it on and send it back well in advance so if it doesn't fit or you don’t like it you can ask to try on another size or a different dress all together.
• I personally would only hire a dress if I am going out to a nice venue. You always run the risk of getting a drink spilled on you just like you run the risk of getting hit by a car if you walk outside. I would hire the dress for NYE Versace but not for NYE at a less than reputable night club... if you get my drift. If the dress is damaged the cleaning bill is on you and if it is irreversible damage you will be charged accordingly. I don’t mean to scare you as I have never ever ruined a dress whilst out, only shoes!
• I also suggest that you sign up to their newsletter. It lets you know when there are discounted rates (lately there has been 25% off which is great) and also when new dresses come in! So go ahead… try it out!

http://www.caniborrowthat.com.au/

Stay fabulous!

CLE

avandia recall

Book Review- The Voice of Knowledge by Don Miguel Ruiz

Those of you close to me know how much I love Don’s books and how much I harp on about them. Don is definitely one of my favourite authors. I knew when I downloaded this book that I would enjoy it! Here is the ‘back of the book’:

Ruiz refers to the forbidden tree of knowledge, likening the abandonment of the true self to the fall from heaven. This fall, he says, occurred because of the loss of "the impeccability of the word," that simple yet potent prescription for countering the judgmental inner "Voice of Knowledge." Adhering to "the word" - saying only what one means, refusing to speak against one's self - allows anyone to quiet those inner tyrannical thoughts so that we can become aware of our Voice of Integrity. Knowledge then becomes an ally, and life becomes an expression of the authentic self.

The forbidden tree of knowledge and the fall from heaven is referring to the legend of The Garden of Eden. It is a great story full of symbolism and it is very interesting to read Don’s interpretation of it. He talks about the two trees in the garden, the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge. The apples from the Tree of Life are full of love, truth and emotion. The apples on the Tree of Knowledge were full of words and knowledge tainted with lies.  The snake in the tree of knowledge (who is the fallen angel) seduced us with his stories contaminated with lies, to eat from his tree.

“When someone tells us a lie and we believe it, that lie takes root in our mind. There it can grow big and strong just like a tree.”

The problem with eating from this tree is that we're told what is good and what is bad, what is right and what is wrong, what is beautiful and what is ugly and then there is us in the middle trying to judge what is what. Now each of us has our own personal tree of knowledge in our head from what we have been taught as we have grown up. We all grow up with different meanings of what is right and what is wrong. You may have grown up with a family who steals and uses force to get what they want. To you that is right because that is all you know. You may have grown up in a family that keeps emotions bottled up and to express emotions is a weakness. To you that would be right because that is all you know. So what is right to one person may not be right to another. 

“Knowledge goes into our mind and reproduces a structure inside our head, which is everything that we know. With all that knowledge in our head, we only perceive what we believe; we only perceive our own knowledge. And what is it that we know? Mostly lies.”

Don says that we are born perfect. Instead of words we think with our emotions (the purest way to think, emotions don’t lie) because we do not know words or have a concept of language we use emotions as our guide. But then we learn to talk and words tend to take precedence over our emotions which should not happen.  Words are limited and can never explain the full extent of how we feel and are always left open to misinterpretation. We should use words to help us communicate to one another but not to replace emotions. Instead of a constant stream of words filling our head we should be examining our emotions because the words about next weeks episode of GLEE might be bouncing around in our head but it is not more important than right here right now. Our emotions tell us how we feel in the now.

To be honest the beginning of the book sat a little uncomfortably with me at first because he uses words that we usually liken to a positive, in a negative way. If you talk to me and ask me what my favourite things are I always say one of them is the quest for knowledge. I just love knowledge and learning. But in the book the word knowledge is cast in a negative light. He also uses the word ‘lies’ a fair amount in the beginning and that word just makes me feel uncomfortable full stop. But it really is a means to and end and I can think of no other way of telling the story. He is honest and to the point and the words he uses evoke an emotional response (they did in me anyway) which also helped me understand the point. He also talks about the ‘voice of knowledge’ which also sat a little weirdly with me. He says when we learn to talk we learn that it is not necessarily ok to be ourselves. We cannot say this or do that. We have all these rules and regulations in regards to behaviour that we must to adhere to. We see our parents act in certain ways that we copy. When our parents put themselves down or lie or bitch about another person we learn to do the same. Children do as their parents do not as they say (so so so so true!). It is all well and good to tell a child not to lie but when there is a knock at the door and you tell them to say that you’re not there, that is a lie. It might be a white lie but it’s still a lie. Children are always listening and watching and they are little sponges that absorb everything.  Hence Don informs you in the book that you gain all this knowledge through observing the behaviour of those around you and then the ‘voice of knowledge’ starts in your head. This voice is constantly judging and self-deprecating. Im not sure if I am overly sensitive to the statement ‘voices in your head’ but naturally, on closer examination, there is no other way to put it and all the while you are reading you really do find yourself agreeing and inserting your own experiences into his stories.

So after all of my complaining about the beginning and how the certain wording of stories didn’t sit too well with me at the start but were actually a means to an end, the rest of the book was a lot more to my taste. It was back to being positive and upbeat. It talks about love and the wonder of it and you should not just think that a love for a single person is the strongest form of love. Your love for life should be just as important! Come from a place of love always and you will find yourself so much more at ease, I love that. Here are some of my absolute favourite quotes from the book.

“When you have the courage to open your heart completely to love, a miracle happens. You start perceiving the reflection of your love in everything. Then eating, walking, talking, singing, dancing, showering, working, playing- everything you do becomes a ritual of love. When everything becomes a ritual of love you are no longer thinking; you are feeling and enjoying life. “

“Love and respect are what we should also teach our children, but the only way to teach them love and respect is to love and respect ourselves. There is no other way. Again, we can only give what we have, not what we don’t have.”

"Just to breathe is enough to always be happy, to always be in love."

I know I have said so much about this book that you might think you don’t need to read it, but trust me, I haven’t even scraped the surface. It is an amazing book and a must read for anyone on a path to a better life! I give this book 5 stars because the information is invaluable and I will definitely read it again! I hope you enjoyed my review!

 Stay fabulous!

X

avandia recall