Moth Wings...

Moths are often thought of as the uglier sibling to the showy butterfly. However I think the subtle shades of gold, bronze and cream are still beautiful.

Have a happy week everyone!

The Secret Fan

It's hard being a secret fan of a celebrity. You feel some what embarrassed about your celebrity fandom and yet at the same time have the desire to tell everyone about why you love them.

I am one such fan of Victoria Beckham. While she went through her WAG stage I secretly enjoyed flicking through magazines to see what she was wearing. Despite the hair extensions and over tanning I was there :) However in the past few years she has become an accepted part of fashion circles and has enjoyed acclaim for her fashion collections.

This week I was thrilled to see on British Vogue's website Victoria wearing the most relaxed look I have seen on her in years. She looks amazing! This week I'll be hunting for a pair of Khaki rolled up trousers like she wears. They look gorgeous paired with the black blazer, simple grey tank and nude heels.

What do you think of her relaxed look? And are you a secret celebrity fan of someone?

Image/ Vogue

Purple Craze

Purple has got to be my favourite colours at the moment. I started to realise I was becoming something of an addict when I saw the last three dresses I purchased were all in various shades of purple. My favourite one is my Kate Sylvester number (seen above with my gorgeous husband). The good thing about the dress is that its the perfect layering piece. It's also perfect for days when your not feeling your thinnest, the loose cut and bow belt hide a multitude of sins! The photo makes the fabric look a little blotchy, which it isn't.

Winter Fashion in New Zealand..

As you will have seen from the previous post I had an amazing night at the New Zealand Fashion Festival last week. I wanted to share a few of my favourite looks from the night (below and above). Yellow and bright green were present on the catwalk, as well as traditional winter shades of black and grey. Despite being an avid wearer of black (my family is always telling me wear a little more colour!) I really enjoyed seeing the jewel shades and will definitely be buying a few coloured pieces.

Images/ The A List

Front Row at NZ Fashion Festival

Several nights ago I had the privilege of sitting front row at the first New Zealand Fashion Festival show in Auckland. The show featured winter pieces from 17 kiwi designers, including Trelise Cooper, Kate Sylvester, Zambesi, Stolen Girlfriends Club, Cybele, Moochi, Juliette Hogan and Yvonne Bennetti. The show featured both men's and women's looks as the models walked the 50meter long runway.

While waiting for the show to start I saw Fashion Quarterly editor Fiona Hawtin, blogger Isaac from Isaac Likes, several TV personalities and the stylish Amelia from Fresh PR.

A wide range of trends for winter were shown, some I liked and a few that weren't so hot.

Several nights ago I had the privilege of sitting front row at the first New Zealand Fashion Festival show in Auckland. The show featured winter pieces from 17 kiwi designers, including Trelise Cooper, Kate Sylvester, Zambesi, Stolen Girlfriends Club, Cybele, Moochi, Juliette Hogan and Yvonne Bennetti. The show featured both men's and women's looks as the models walked the 50meter long runway.

While waiting for the show to start I saw Fashion Quarterly editor Fiona Hawtin, blogger Isaac from Isaac Likes, several TV personalities and the stylish Amelia from Fresh PR.

A wide range of trends for winter were shown, some I liked and a few that sent shivers up my spine.

Lady like chic returned in the form of pussy bow blouses, both in prints and plain chiffon, and pencil skirts, in leather and wool. This look was featured at Helen Cherry, Moochi and Juliette Hogan.

The beading and fringing on shoulders which has been seen lately in so many international collections made an appearance at Trelise Cooper, Yvonne Bennetti and Stolen Girlfriends Club. The military brass buttons on several of the jackets were also stunning.

Memories of my childhood returned when I saw the Willow pattern on T'shirts and a gorgeous grey silk dress at Haliwood. My parents have a beautiful willow pattern dinner set.

The cosy long line belted cardies at Andrea Moore and Moochi made me wish for cold winter days spent at home.

I also fell in love with the cute orange/red and cream check print at Andrea Moore which featured on a scarf which was tied in a bow at the neck. It was a nice break from the usual winter blacks, grey's and navy's.

If you made it to the event what did you think of it?

Image/ Thread and NZ Herald

Blog Awards...

The lovely Jessica from Marvelous Things just presented me with the "Happy 101" award which I am thrilled about! To accept it I have to post 10 things that make me happy, before passing the award on to 10 other blogs.

Ten Things That Make Me Happy ( in no particular order):

1. Family. I always love spending time with my large family- we're like the Bennett family in Pride and Prejudice.

2. Shopping! Be it shopping for clothes, shoes, accessories, presents, food...

3. Catching up with friends over coffee and lemon tart (the best one is found at Mezze Bar in Auckland).
4. Holiday's at the bach at Huia. Beach time in the summer and curling up on the coach with a good book next to the fire in winter.
5. Reading a new fashion magazine. It's so exciting to see what's featured that month, which ends up leading to me practicing #2 (shopping).
6. Living in New Zealand, one of the world's most beautiful places.
7. Presents! No matter how big or small the present is I love it.
8. Coffee and pots of tea... what can I say, I'm a bit of a caffeine addict.
9. Blogging. It's always exciting to brainstorm what I'm going to blog on and reading your comments.
10. Sitting front row at fashion shows! May it increase in frequency...

I'd now like to pass the 'Happy 101' Award on to;
Karla's Closet
Lolita Says So
Lady Melbourne
Mademoissele Chic
Shine By Three
Auckland Street Style
Cookie Cutter
Lifes a Bach
Melanie Likes
Fashion With A Mask

It's The 100th Post!

It's time to celebrate as this is my 100th post! Time has flown by since I first started blogging last year and I've enjoyed every second of it. Many thanks to all my followers, readers and those who take the time to leave comments- I love reading your feedback and hearing your opinions.

At the moment I'm loving doing the Elle 'What's your personal style' quiz. Give it a go here. I ended up being the True Lady. What is your style?

I've always loved French women's style, so stylish and effortless. Below are just a few photos by style blogger Tamu McPherson for Harper's Bazaar taken over Paris fashion week.


The combination of the simple jacket, hair pined up and heels... so chic!

I love how this summer dress has been paired with black tights and ankle boots.

This winter coat is amazing! I love how the bell sleeves make this simple silhouette anything but simple.

Images/ Harper's Bazaar

Autumn is here...

It's Autumn here in New Zealand and the leaves are just starting to change and the morning becoming colder. This has to be my favourite time of the year. I'm ready to put away flirty cotton summer dresses and bundle up in chunky knits with a cup of hot cocoa.

My sister was married in Autumn nearly three year's ago. It was one of the most beautiful weddings I've ever seen. The golden and red leaves looked amazing against her champagne coloured dress and were an amazing backdrop for photos. The photo below is of my sisters and I at the wedding- the bride is second from the right and I'm second from the left. Our dresses were beautiful and designed by Zambesi.

1950s Glamour at Louis Vuitton

So sorry for the erratic posting of late. My darling three year-old laptop decided last week to die, leaving me Internet deprived. I've got to say the first few days were hard- rather sad I know. My husband kept telling me to read a book or watch a movie, but nothing quites takes the place of blogging or facebooking to help you relax after a busy day.

I'd love to hear what you have thoughts of the Paris shows?

I loved Marc Jacobs Louis Vuitton show. So nice to finally see women with breasts and curves on the runway again! The 1950s style full skirts, fitted waists and bow heels all made me think of films staring Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn. All very ladylike and elegant...

I love the light mint green and cream pattern on the dress above. The beige belt and stark contrast of the black straps, holding up the dress, offset the muted print beautifully.

The dress above is pure fairytale and would look amazing as a wedding dress. I love the hit of pink in the gauze and gold bow detail at the waist.

The Oscar Panel: Our Favourite Looks

The Oscars are easily my favourite awards show of the year and this year certainly didn't disappoint. After the Golden Globes and Baftas it's nice to have a night of full blown Hollywood glamour and sparkle. This year the frocks were stunning and truly beautiful. Special note must be made to Carey Mulligan in Prada, who is going from strength to strength in the style stakes.

This year I've invited my two stylish sisters Georgi and Briar to choose their top three favourite looks of the night to share with you. There were several standouts with Carey Mulligan and Cameron Diaz making it twice on the list.

What were your favourite looks were?

Seen below are my top three favourites; Anna Kendrick, Carey Mulligan and Cameron Diaz (I'm not a Cameron fan, but I think she really looked amazing this year).

Below are Georgi's favourite Oscar looks; Cameron Diaz, Tina Fey and Carey Mulligan...

And lastly Briar's top picks were Rachel McAdams, Miley Cyrus and Zoe Saldana...

French Vogue banned from Balenciaga

One of fashion week's most intriguing scandals in the news French Vogue editor in chief Carine Roitfeld has been blacklisted by Balenciaga. Roitfeld remains elusive about the reasons why she and her team have been banned from the show's front row. “We’re blacklisted... It’s too bad, it’s a beautiful house and it’s French. I hope that it’s not forever.”

Style.com reports that Balenciaga no longer advertises in French Vogue or lends it clothes. When Roitfeld was approached to comment about the rift, she declined to do so.

What do you think the reasons are?

Image/ Style

It's the Weekened!

What a week its been! I'm finally relaxing for the first time all week (feet up in front of America's Next Top Model) before a busy weekend. But often the busy weekend's are the best ones.

This weekend I'm looking forward to;

The Oscars! The gowns, the speeches, the tears, what more can you ask for.

Coffee catch up with friends.

Nana's birthday afternoon tea. Tea and mini little cakes, mmmm...

A friend's engagement party (a mini wedding!)

What are you up to this weekend?

Keep an eye out for exciting Oscar fashion coverage early next week!

On Your Toes....

Ballet has always been of special interest to me. I remember how proud I was of my first pair of pink ballet shoes; my mother could hardly get them off my feet for months! There is something special about being able to see a ballet performed live. The skill and technique of the dancers is amazing and having a live orchestra accompany them makes it unforgettable.

Therefore I was excited and a little apprehensive when I heard that Kate Moss has signed on for a role in an upcoming ballet (which will be made into a film for a fundraising event) choreographed by Michael Clark. Former Sex and The City star Mikhail Baryshnikov is also set to star in the film, no mean feet considering he is now 62!

What really has me thinking is how a successful model like Kate going to be able to transform herself into a dancer. What do you think?

Image/ Vogue