In between working longer hours (including some nights and weekends!), Christmas shopping and end of year parties, I was lucky to find the time to attend the Belle Bijoux launch of the Carmen range this week – and glad I attended I was!

Did someone say ‘colour’? Yellow and Pink – the most perfect summer shades – were in high demand as we perused the new collection, named for Carmen Miranda.

With luxurious leathers, drool worthy colours and up to date designs, the Belle Bijoux bags are the perfect summer accessory. Visit Belle and see why you should be at the ball this season.

Mention must also go to the West Beach Bathers Pavillion. A divine location and St Kilda put on a gorgeous sunset.

I quite enjoy writing Christmas Cards. I love to receive them. Just today I got my first – no matter that it’s from a supplier – I love the fact that someone has taken the time to handwrite a Christmas wish and pop your address on the outside of an envelope.

Then I stumbled across these babies. These are the cards I would TRULY love to receive in the mail this Christmas!!

Designed by Ann Scott, these greeting cards are frame worthy – and these are just the Christmas series!

Visit Ann Scott Design to see more ‘write in style’ cards and stationery.

Merry Christmas!

It’s time to party upstairs at HONEY this Saturday 4th December.

Booked flat on the 11th and 18th, but nothing to do on the 4th?

Come to Honey and spread some Christmas cheer!

Here’s the dealio….

$5 basics – wine, sparkling vodka and Corona + FREE finger food all night

But it’s just for those in the know.

It dawned on me today that my last post about my state of employment was all about how I was about to embark on my new journey – and then I seem to have left you all high and dry and to how everything turned out. Can you believe that was six weeks ago?

Between the Spring Racing Carnival, public holidays, learning my new job and doing the odd bit on the side, the time seems to have slipped through my fingers and here I am, over a month later, right back in the thick of it.

As I said before, eight weeks seems like a really long time, but when it all comes down to it, eight weeks isn’t long at all. Neither is six. In six weeks at my new job I have been told more times that I have done a good job than I was in three years at the old one.

The small team environment allows for greater interaction and collaboration than the hundreds I worked with before. Small wins are celebrated, instead of holding out for the big stuff and everyone is optimistic and excited – all the time.

I’ve been challenged, scared, excited, nervous, anxious and thrilled. I’ve lost weight because I’m not eating out of boredom or worry and I feel happy. I’m ready and willing and prepared to give it my best shot and continue to learn.

So what is it exactly that I am doing? Well you might be surprised to learn it’s not fashion. And that’s ok. Because what I am doing – strategy and communications – lets me use my brain and my University degree, before I get to come home and be creative and fabulous as Fashion Editor for Onya and my blog.

I get to use my own time to go to fashion events and enjoy them, instead of worrying about my passion becoming something I resent. Life is full, and busy (ridiculously) but I love it. I’m not someone who sits still and watches the world go by. I’m always running alongside, sometimes to keep up, but always in the mix.

Now it’s nearly Christmas and there is still so much to do this year and so many things I am excited for about next year. My posts may be less often, or more sporadic, but be assured I’m still here and always wanting to be inspired.

Images thanks to the new Kikki K Christmas Catalogue. Get a copy instore or visit the website. They are divine.

Just two short weeks ago, there was a new and exciting development in the fashion industry. Melbourne stylist Philip Boon, together with Melbourne fashion designer Jenny Bannister, launched Fashion Torque, an informal live chat show centring on the fashion industry and the issues that affect it.

Bringing together industry experts, designers, online professionals, students and those with an interest in the industry, Philip and Jenny lead a discussion on the hot topics of the day. Held at Globe Café on Chapel Street Prahran – a precinct very close to Jenny’s heart – we have so far covered the Australian manufacturing industry and how online is benefitting (or otherwise) the fashion industry.

With amazing guest stars including Anthony Capon, fashion designer; Sarah Gale, Project Runway and Daniel Dykes, Fashionising.com – and an international appearance by Yvan Rodic of Facehunter.com fame – it is clear Philip and Jenny have the pulling power and industry contacts to bring in the big guns.

Held every Thursday from 6.30pm (don’t make plans for afterwards though – conversation gets going and before you know it, it’s after 9pm!), this week’s topic is The New Glamour and will feature guest panellist Lee Tulloch, former editor of Harper’s Bazaar and author of Fabulous Nobodies.

If all this sounds too good to be true, I have to tell you it is just as amazing as it sounds. It’s free, you get to drink wine and spend hours discussing the virtues, or otherwise, of the ins and outs of the fashion industry. Fabulous people are on hand to chat and Jenny Bannister will happily tell stories about days gone by for hours if you are prepared to listen. It’s well worth it.

So if you thought all this was just about the pinnacle of fashion industry excitement at this point in time – it gets better. Philip and Jenny are looking for an intern to manage Social Media, send emails and be on hand to assist on Thursday nights. You will get to liaise with panellists, be in constant contact with Jenny and Philip, as well as hopefully being onboard down the track with some super plans the team have in mind! Sound like you? Come along this Thursday night and apply in person!

Images Thanks to Fashion Torque. Visit the Facebook page for more information!

I was lucky enough to be extended an invitation to the Christmas Polo at Werribee Mansion this past weekend –an invitation I was happy to accept and immediately began planning an outfit for. What does one wear to the Polo? As dressy as the Spring Races? Or more like a casual picnic? Some basic research revealed summer dresses were the go, summer hats and sunglasses, along with a warning – don’t wear high heels.

Saturday, as us Melbournians now well know, dawned dark and foreboding. The rain was constant and torrential, letting up for a few hours mid-morning but making it clear it was set in for the day. As I drove out to Werribee, fedora and sunglasses on the seat beside me, I wondered whether I should have perhaps packed a brolly and gumboots instead.

The mud did not deter us as we skipped over puddles and ran through open spaces to the Laurent Perrier Albert Park Hotel Marquee, where we could be safely sheltered from the wet stuff and enjoy the other wet stuff – champagne!

Watermelon and feta cheese rounds were divine, mini hamburgers and hot dogs quirky and endless supplies of bubbles, Pimms and other prettily coloured beverages a direct contrast to the bleakness of the sky outside our tent.

People walked about barefoot, but there was none of the spring racing no-no’s associated with it. Men’s shirts were drenched and clingy; women’s hair damp and curling, and not a person went by without mud up the back of their legs. It truly was a day to remember.

While the horses played some sport – I didn’t manage to see much of it – everything you have seen in Pretty Woman is true. They do stomp the divots, the atmosphere is casual elegance and I could easily have seen myself sitting on a car getting my shoes shined if the weather had have been more accommodating.

It certainly wasn’t cold, rather a blessing, but the rain didn’t do much to dampen anyone’s spirit. By 3pm we were working our way into the Fashion TV marquee next door, with little care for umbrellas or the state of our feet.

My fabulous companion, Sarah from StyleMelbourne (whom I thank so much for introducing me to this fabulous new world) took some lovely photos of the social set through the rain. Visit StyleMelbourne for the shots – and a little cocktail ring action from me!

DESIGNER COSTUME JEWELLERY & BAGS
STUDIO 4 / 60 LANGRIDGE ST COLLINGWOOD
SAT 27TH NOVEMBER
10AM- 5PM
CASH ONLY
www.houseofbaulch.com

We all love fashion for a cause and this week our attention turns to Adoption Awareness. Officially, National Adoption Awareness week took place between the 8th and 14th of November but the goal of raising awareness remains, in true fashionista style.

POL Design, a collaborative design collective by Australian and Scandinavian creatives focusing on experimenting with the female form via texture and organic fibres, has launched its first ever Fashion Meets Knowledge campaign, an initiative set to shed new light on global causes close to the design collective’s heart.

First up is the UTILITY AWARENESS TOP, a jersey/silk batwing top with facts about adoption noted on the swing tag.

Hugh Jackman’s wife, Deborra-lee Furness, is a patron of the cause. ‘There are so many ways for the community to get creative and assist in addressing the issues of the world’s youngest and most vulnerable citizens. We are thrilled to be working together on such a great initiative!’

Exclusively stocked online at www.poldesign.com.au and The Grand Social, RRP is $79.95 with all profits being directly donated to National Adoption Awareness Week.