The past two weekends have given me a lot to celebrate. While our family always seems to be celebrating something – usually something I have dreamt up as an excuse to drink champagne (sorry, sparking wine) or have mum cook a roast – recent celebrations actually merit the consumption of the good stuff or allow for not only a roast, but a cheesecake for dessert.

In the past week I have gained a sister-in-law and a niece. Truly exciting events on their own, let alone one after the other and I am very lucky and fortunate to have had both.

As the eldest child in my family, I honestly thought I would be the first to have a ring on the finger and a bun in the oven. My brother, two years my junior, beat me to the punch on both. Or rather, his partner did. And I could not be more ecstatic for the two of them.

The pre Christmas baby announcement was exciting news, but the long wait to be an aunty seemed to drag when I was so looking forward to the event. With less than two weeks to go to the due date, my brother surprised us all by proposing, and the romantic way in which he did it was just the icing on the cake.

Seven days later, almost to the minute I received the ‘we’re engaged’ phone call, I answered the ‘baby’s on the way’ call and spent the next 12 hours staring at the phone, willing it to ring. Just like that (or, 12 hours of intense labour later) I was an aunty to a beautiful baby girl and crying more than my sister-in-law to be – so much excitement in such a short space of time.

While the engagement ring and the baby are still shiny and new, I’ll tell anyone who asks just how thrilled I am (including the Officeworks lady at lunchtime today) for my brother, his partner and their new addition to our family. I’m also excited for my parents; now grandparents, my grandmothers; now great grandmothers; and my youngest brother, now an uncle.

It’s now time for all of us to spoil the little princess rotten and let her aunty (me!) buy her all things girly and pretty. I already picked up her first pair of shoes and this adorable tee shirt. Soon enough we will be able to go shopping for wedding outfits, although right now I just hope she will be this small forever.

This post is dedicated to N and R. Congratulations on your engagement and the birth of your gorgeous little girl. May you be very happy and continue to make beautiful memories together. All my love, Sarah xxx

Image Note: ‘Fashionista In Training’ tee shirt, available at Kmart stores, $5

Around this time last year (July 8 to be exact) Project Runway was about to launch on Fox8 and a competition was held in and around the Melbourne CBD to promote the show. Clues were posted on Twitter and fashionistas were required to decipher the clues and make a mad dash to that location in the hope of scoring a designer dress. I didn’t make it in time on my first attempt, but on my second managed to be the first to arrive, netting a Shakuhachi dress.

The dress never fitted, it was a size 8 after all, but twelve months later and another competition that involves a bit of a treasure hunt is being held in the CBD as we speak. Shop Til You Drop’s August issue is all about feeling good, and what better way to make readers feel good than to give away free shoes?

That’s right, free shoes. Everything from Havianas thongs to Marc Jacobs heels and all that comes between! What girl in her right mind would miss this opportunity? Not I! Sydney got the three days while Melbourne only got one – but it seems I only need one to score a free pair of shoes. Confined to a seminar for the morning, I watched Twitter in vain (read: pain!) while Melbourne girls scored free shoes after free shoes all around the CBD. I knew the clues but being in Carlton made it impossible to even think about getting there in time. I held out hope that the afternoon would be more productive.

Come 1pm and a new clue was posted – 5 pairs of Nude Shoes at the Melbourne Fashion Festival Runways. I assumed they meant the Town Hall on Swanston Street – it was after all the Melbourne Fashion Festival, but it seemed this was a moment when my technical knowledge of Melbourne’s fashion scene made me think too much and as other tweeters shouted to me ‘they mean Docklands!’, I grabbed my phone and hightailed it out of my office building, constantly checking Twitter for the status of the shoes.

Within minutes I was out of breath – a sprint for 10 minutes is TOTALLY different to a slow jog for 30 – and as I neared the venue, Central Pier, I hoped I had made it in time. Rounding the corner and two girls were walking towards me, shoes and balloons in hand, giggling about how catching a cab had been such a good idea. Had I missed out?

One lone pair of shoes remained, balloon attached and overseen by three SHOP staffers, eagerly awaiting the code word. In my breathlessness, I sputtered ‘shop shoe drop, shop she drop, shop shoe drop!’ and then took a deep breath. I had made it and claimed the last pair. The magic of the moment was that they are my size – cute brown leather flats with colourful tribal ankle and toe bracelets. A perfect summer shoe.

I took my time heading back to the office, now feeling very hot and basically stuffed from the exertion to get there. But it didn’t matter. I have free shoes, and free shoes make you feel GOOD! Thanks Shop Til You Drop! 

You might also like: Last years Project Runway dress find, which involved running in stiletto’s.

Earlier this week I visited the Dermalogica offices in South Melbourne for a little class the lovely ladies there put together for some Melbourne bloggers. Claire, Julie and Rebecca are skin specialists and the session was designed to make the tech savvy a little more skin savvy.

With a slide show entitled ‘Have no fear, Dermalogica is here!’, Claire launched into the presentation and taught us the 5 basic skincare steps to healthy, great skin.

1. Cleansing
Apparently we should cleanse not once, but twice – morning AND night. (Here I am cleansing once at night and wondering why my skin isn’t all dewy and divine.) The first cleanse is to remove ‘Melbourne’ from your skin – basically environmental factors, while the second actually cleans your skin.

2. Exfoliation
Exfoliation is one of those fun beauty things that gives an instant lift – which is why everyone loves it – however most of us have a tendency to be a little rough with our exfoliations and overdo it. Generally, grainy exfoliation only needs to be done once a week while a milder product can be used every day.

3. Toning
Historically, toning was something that dried out your skin with an alcohol base, used to get rid of the remaining cleanser. Today, we use water based toners to refresh and rehydrate. You can’t use too much toner and the Dermalogica toner in a spray pack is perfect for over your make up and for use in the office (where the air can be particularly dry).

4. Treatments
Only for those who want to focus on a particular area, treatments can target pigmentation, acne or very dry spots. Remember the three P’s – Prepare, Protect and Prevent!

5. Moisturise
The most important step to get right, moisturisers will differ from person to person, day to night. For day, it is essential to have an SPF component and by night, added moisture. Lip and eye moisturisers are useful here too.

Dermalogica offers face mapping, which involves a skin specialist analysing you skin with a microscope (scary!) and I was looked after by Julie, who told me, yes, my forehead was dry! But I did learn that not only was my forehead (and face in general) dry, but was actually dehydrated – externally rather than internally. All the water and Evening Primrose Oil in the world might not help this – I need something to penetrate from the outside! Julie recommended a number of products that we then tested in our class and I went home with a giftbag including the PreCleanse (loved by the make up artists on the Twilight set, they ordered 25 boxes!) and Daily Microfoliant (loved by Oprah. Am I swayed by advertising much?!) with a view to getting the moisturiser once Dry July finishes.

Dermalogica is about skin health, not beauty, and literally translates to skin logic. With over 25 years in the industry, I figure they must know at least a little what they are talking about so I definately think it’s worth visiting your local salon and letting someone who knows what they are talking about look at your skin. Visit the Dermalogica Australia Facebook page, follow them on Twitter, read the blog or download the free iphone app that will show you where stockists are and a bit of DIY speed mapping.

Image One: Claire and Julie demonstrate good skin care techniques
Image Two: Daniel (token guy who was more into testing than the girls!) and Chloe from Michi Girl try out products

This article first appeared in Fashion Journal, Issue 96, March 2010

When Thomas Burberry submitted a design for an army officer raincoat in 1901, little did he know that 110 years later, his trench coat would have become a wardrobe staple for any self respecting fashion mister or sister. From Rick Blaine in Casablanca (1942) to Holly Golightly and her knotted belt in Breakfast at Tiffanys (1961), the humble trench coat has found its way from functionality to fashion via the magic of the movies.

The silver screen has experienced a fashion resurgence in recent years with films such as Avatar (2009) lending itself to futuristic dresses and a colour palette the people of Pandora would be proud of; Twilight (2007) giving our outfits a dark and gothic edginess and Marie Antoinette (2006) reintroducing lace, ruffles and elegance to our wardrobes. Fashion from film is not just a recent trend as these examples show but a phenomenon that has been occurring for decades. Each season, classic trends developed on film for over 100 years are given a modern interpretation and reinvented time and time again. 

A white shirt is among the most iconic style moments of film that has experienced many seasons worth of designer fodder since its fifteen minutes of fame. Who can forget (or stop themselves from acting it out) the scene from Risky Business (1983) with Tom Cruise in a white shirt, socks and a bit of Old Time Rock and Roll? Uma Thurman’s white shirt in Pulp Fiction (1994) shaped a series of key looks featuring tailored androgynous dressing, originally stemming from Diane Keaton’s Annie Hall (1977) where she famously wore masculine shirts, ties and vests. Molly Ringwald also channelled this look with a more feminine edge in Pretty in Pink (1986). Even the simple white tee shirt was etched in fashion history after a buff Marlon Brando wore one with jeans and a leather jacket in The Wild One (1953) and James Dean soon after in Rebel Without a Cause (1955). Danny Zuko broke hearts in Grease (1978) (and while we are on the subject of Grease, leather look leggings anyone?) and just 6 years later Some Kind of Wonderful (1986) saw the look go to the girls with the style paving the way for rock chic and punk over the coming decades. 

Every girl has one (or several) in her closest – it is the first date dress, the meet the parents dress, the job interview dress – the Little Black Dress (LBD). Chanel started the trend in the 1920s but fashion icon Audrey Hepburn wore it best in the early ‘60s, donning a Givenchy sheath in Breakfast at Tiffanys and accessorizing perfectly with a string of pearls and a tiara – exactly the chic statement Chanel had envisioned. While the tiara might not have stood the test of time, the LBD is now a staple in seasonal designer collections and was most recently notable on the fashionable ladies of Sex and the City in their first film. While the LDB is the height of sophistication, there are many other dresses with that star element worn on the big screen that have come to influence our fashion choices today. Marilyn Munro will forever be immortalized by her halter neck white dress worn while standing scandalously over a subway vent in The Seven Year Itch (1955), Keira Knightly’s minimalist 1930s emerald green silk dress in Atonement (1997) was voted best costume of all time and Vivien Leigh’s Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939) will not only be remembered for her ability to manipulate but also her spectacularly embellished gowns. The colours, styles and features of these frocks have all made appearances in modern wardrobes and continue to influence our style of dress.

There are so many fashionable film moments to feature that this piece could go on about that Dr. No (1962) bikini, 80s dancewear from Fame (1980) and thigh high boots in Pretty Woman (1990) – every film has something to add to the fashion history vault. While I’d personally love to see the return of delicate gloves, knee high socks and the bow tie, the coming A/W 2010 trends focus on a futuristic look, possibly a nod towards Back to the Future (1985) which was actually set in 2015 – perhaps a sign of things to come?  

Image One: Double Breasted Cotton Trench Coat $1,395.00 at Burberry
Image Two: D&G Long sleeve shirt $185.00 by D&G at YOOX
Image Three: Halston Heritage One Shoulder Dress with Sequin Epaulet $495.00 by Halston at shopbop.com

I’m ten days into to my own personal version of hell – no shopping for 31 days. It’s not easy. Not by a long shot. I can’t count on my fingers and toes the number of times I have wanted to buy things – a scarf from Husk and ear muffs from Bardot high on the list.

On day 1, I was tested barely 9 hours into the start of the challenge. My boss sent me to purchase a going away gift for a co-worker who was leaving us after 6 years. I took our collection – mostly in small change – and headed to Melbourne’s GPO, which was closed (apparently people who shop at GPO like to sleep in, which is true, if I wasn’t working, I’d be sleeping too!). So I waited. And while I waited, I window shopped. Mimco, Sass and Bide, Alpha 60, Veronika Maine. I could have stayed all day, but by 9.30 I couldn’t take it anymore and I headed to Myer.

Myer was no better. I tested perfumes, rummaged through handbags and perused jewellery but the blurred line between looking for my collegue and looking for me was starting to become clearer and I knew I had to get the gift and get out. Across the road to David Jones and I couldn’t avoid the red signs screaming at me. July is not a good month to go on a shopping strike.

The days between then and now have involved lot’s of tinned soup and staying at my desk during lunch. I’m avoiding shopping sites online and was even told magazines were a no go zone – horrifying after my Marie Claire (which I subscribe to) went AWOL, perhaps Australia Post, perhaps the neighbours, but maybe its shopping kharma trying to keep me away from temptation.

In other areas, I have been sticking to the 2 days on, 1 day off running schedule, except for Friday (yesterday) when it was officially the COLDEST morning of the year and sometimes even sheer determination will not get you out of bed. No chocolate in the house is a saviour although I am gearing up for a fun night in with the girls tonight, involving cookie dough.

As much as I am not seeing any benefit money wise as yet (this might come when my credit card bill arrives and is surprisingly lower than usual) I have managed to eat out a lot in the past ten days which could be just because there have been a lot of events on or because I am avoiding sitting at home, given the opportunity to think about wanting to shop, eat chocolate or drink.

How are you doing with your Dry July resolution. We are a third of the way there!!

Steering away from the fashion and food for a moment, this post is all about the music – which really is an integral part of food and fashion so I guess it all comes full circle anyway.

A very clever friend of mine with DJ aspirations has put together a fabulous mix up of tunes, From Paris, and they are available for your listening pleasure. The genre is called ‘nu-disco’ – songs that are a modern take on 80’s disco sounds, filled with synths, trumpets, saxophones, keyboards and vocals.

The mix is a lot of fun and I can definately see myself popping this one on getting ready for a Saturday night on the town . Have a little listen and let With Love know what you think. One day you might be groovin’ to his beats in a club and be able to say – ‘I heard him first!!’

Click the CD Artwork image (designed by www.magicsweater.com) to head over to SoundCloud and get your ears ready for a ride. Simply press play and you’re away! Happy listening!

With Love has promised to fly me out to Ibiza to hear him play when he’s famous – and I need a holiday – so if you want to get in touch and make him famous, drop me a line.

Last night (after another wonderful meal at Mamasita), Miss J, Miss D and I went on a bit of a treasure hunt around Melbourne to find a pop up launch buried deep in a laneway north of Melbourne.

The preview night for SS10/11 for BAM Brands was housed in a loft space off the beaten track that required much Google mapping to find. After finally locating the hallowed space, we were thrilled to find more than ten labels in the one place and some fantastic Visual Merchandising/Art by artist Nicholas Thompson to boot.

Spotting many designers and bloggers in the crowd, we perused the wares and as fabulous as they all were, none were more impressive for me than the bags by Mercurialist. I fell in love with the Doctor Cairo bag the minute we walked in the door and it is now my mission to find a stockist. These gorgeous bags are all Australian – all Melbourne actually and I am sold on them.

Mercurialist were also a favourite of fashion blogger OhJamie, who blogged about them right after the show last night and also has a fantastic selection of photos from the event, including this one of Miss D, Miss J & I!!

Other labels featured on the night included French Kitty, Sosume, Dan Jones, Oscar Mimosa, VanGuard, Study Footwear, Trash & Luxury, Jamie Fame, Hamish Monro and Stampd’LA.

In other blogger news, I was also photographed by Fashion Hayley at the Chambord Shine Awards on Tuesday night!! Hayley also has some great shots from the event, so whip up a Chambord Cocktail and check them out.

Images thanks to BAM Brands and OhJamie.

‘Lets cut the bullshit. You want something different but you want to fit in. You don’t care what it’s made of as long as it doesn’t fall apart before you’ve got drunk in it at least ten times. And it’s got to represent you without having your name on it.

How many cool people do you know? Ok, now halve that number because you’re over-rating your friends.

Good.

Now how many of those do you dress like?

That number is about how many we’ve got of each style. So, be quick before your size is gone. Or worse, your mate beats you to it.’

This is the unique selling point of BleeckerSt.com, an online boutique for the boys. BleeckerSt.com offers Australian guys labels straight from New York, not available in stores here. Herein lies their secret – a few of each unique style and our male fashion friends can find something cool and different without having to travel the world.

Bleecker Street is an actual location in New York City, known for its culture and fashion forward visitors. Buy at the online BleeckerSt and you can be strutting your stuff 24 hours later (next day delivery Australia only).

I don’t have a boy to dress, but if I did, I’d get him this Brit Hoodie by Shades of Grey. Then again, who says I can’t wear it?

Visit www.BleeckerSt.com. There is lot’s on sale right now and you’ll receive a $10 voucher when you sign up to the newsletter.

On just twice a year, the Melbourne Design Market is on again this Sunday 11 July.
Held in the car park at Federation Square, the market hosts an extraordinary array of brilliant artisans and creative folk, all selling their wares for us to enjoy and delight in.

There are fashions, jewellery, homewares, furniture, gifts and so much more – you will definately find something here for  the person who has everything. Grab a coffee and have a look.

10am to 5pm Sunday 11 July, Level 3 Federation Square Car Park, Melbourne
Images thanks to Melbourne Design Market