You have all heard the hype.
People walking out.
Complaints.
Cries of ‘how dare she charge $1500 to play her CD and prance around in her underwear with some flashing lights!’

This weekend, I went to see the spectacle for myself – the spectacle that is Britney Spears. I have to say I’m disappointed. Not in Britney, but in the people who have spent the past week complaining. Britney is no Pink, but at the same time the Circus stage show is exactly that – a show.

There are clowns and trapeze artists, men on stilts and juggling dwarves. Dancers hang from the ceiling precariously, others swing dangerously from ropes. The magician makes Britney disappear, while the theatrics of chopping the pop princess in half are made all the more amusing by the fact that she continues to ‘sing’ while her body is supposedly chopped in half.
While it is fair to admit that yes, she was lip synching (even the ballads), she does manage to be on stage for close to two hours and incorporate about six costume changes, spend equal time performing to each section of the audience and work up a sweat with her dance moves. For someone who has gone through more than her share of ups and downs (and probably a few more downs) she has certainly picked herself up and put herself back together again really well.

She looked fantastic and if I can ever hope to look anywhere near that good after having two kids, I’ll be a happy girl. No she wasn’t a stick figure – she was healthy and vibrant and that is so much better. For all the criticism her female dancers have received, I’d like to see the people bagging them get up on stage and dance they way they did for anywhere close to 20 minutes let alone 2 hours. All the dancers were amazing, and the ‘So you think you can dance’ style showcase giving them their own 30 seconds of fame was well deserved.

The songs spanned Britney’s career, with the original and classic ‘Hit me baby, one more time’ featuring, through to the concert namesake, ‘Circus’. A possible downside to the show was the odd introduction by Perez Hilton – strange, unnerving and very difficult to understand. Further, the audience enthusiasm was down, perhaps a reaction to this week’s negative build up. Britney did nothing to encourage participation, ignoring the audience for the majority of the show and only saying ‘hello Melbourne, how’re you doing tonight?’ once. I can live with the lip synching, but not interacting with your audience and supporters frustrates me.

So to Britney’s critics, its time to take a step back and have a good look at the girl. She has two young children, has managed a comeback from a breakdown and performs solidly night after night, all while under the glare of the media spotlight and constant negative degradation. I say kudos to her for braving the critics and holding her head high – all and she is not even 30 yet. Happy Birthday for next week Brit, I hope that the minority has not put you off returning to Australia in the future.

Visit www.pop-couture.com for a wrap up of the afterparty, including an exclusive chat with Britney’s dancers!

You will all remember the shopping tour I went on a few weeks back? Many bargains were had, and now some of these warehouses are opening their doors to the public THIS SUNDAY so you can get some all important Christmas Shopping done! So, thats THIS SUNDAY, November 22. My favourite is 199, so get shopping!

FOOTSCRAY – THE SIX DOLLAR WAREHOUSE – CLOTHING
All Stock Reduced to $6.00 or less! This new clearance warehouse stocks men’s, ladies and children’s wear and NOTHING is over $6.00.
Stocks: Men’s casual wear, ladies work, casual and swimwear with larger sizes available, children’s clothing for newborns to teenagers.
Address: Factory 6 / 2D Indwe Street, West Footscray
Melways Ref: 41 E5
Hours: 9.00am – 4.00pm
Parking: On-street 

BRUNSWICK – BEACHES FASHION – FAMILY FASHION AND SLEEPWEAR
Thousands of garments under one massive roof. Up to 70% of recommended retails prices!
Stocks: Men’s, women’s and children’s wear including a huge range of great sleepwear at bargain prices.
Address: Corner Lygon Street & Brunswick Road, East Brunswick (behind the paint shop)
Melways Ref: 29 J10
Hours: 9.00am – 4.00pm
Parking: On-street and limited parking behind the paint shop

BRUNSWICK – CLASSICA – QUALITY KITCHENWARE
Classica wholesales top quality kitchen brands such as Pyrex, Wilshire, Salter, Tefal and many more. Everything you need to help prepare and serve your Christmas lunch is here!
Stocks: Non-stick saucepans, frypans, baking dishes and cake tins, kitchen accessories, utensils, glassware, crockery, cutlery
Address: Factory 2 / 12 Lincoln Street, East Brunswick
Melways Ref: 30 A5
Hours: 10.00am – 2.00pm
Parking: On-street

BRUNSWICK – SWEET SUCCESS – CONFECTIONARY & PARTY SUPPLIES
Sweet Success is one of Australia’s largest wholesale confectionary suppliers.
Stocks: Quality Australian made and imported chocolates, lollies and other nibbles. A huge variety of children’s party goods. Address: 23 Colebrook Street, Brunswick
Melways Ref: 29 G4
Hours: 9.00am – 3.00pm
Parking: On-street

COLLINGWOOD – NINETEEN NINETY NINE – CLOTHING
Over 20,000 garments to choose from with nothing priced over $19.99.
Stocks: Predominately women?s wear, including larger sizes from brands you’d find in major retailers. Limited children’s wear available.
Address: 96 Rokeby Street, Collingwood
Melways Ref: 2C F12
Hours: 9.00am – 4.00pm
Parking: On-street

ABBOTSFORD – NATIO COSMETICS – COSMETICS AND SKIN CARE
Large warehouse full of discounted and overstocked lines. Perfect Christmas gifts available at 50% off retails. Not to be missed!
Stocks: Body care, cosmetics starting from $2.00, fragrances and a great range of gift packs as seen in David Jones and Myer.
Address: 17 Marine Parade, Abbotsford
Melways Ref: 2D B9
Hours: 10.00am – 3.00pm
Parking: Car park available

SOUTH YARRA – SIRICCO – LEATHER, LUGGAGE AND ACCESSORIES
Siricco is one of the largest suppliers of popular brand leather goods, luggage and accessories in Australia. All stock is at wholesale prices or less!
Stocks: Big brand luggage including beauty cases and overnight bags, back packs and children’s roller bags, quality purses and wallets, brief cases, satchels and compendiums, high quality leather jackets, Italian ties, belts, big brand sunglasses and other accessories.
Address: 42 Claremont Street, South Yarra
Melways Ref: 2L J4
Hours: 10.00am – 3.00pm
Parking: On-street

Last week I talked about the resurgence of blue and green in our wardrobes for the warmer seasons. Apparently people listened. Or at least, people I work with listened. Today there are four of us in the office wearing cobalt blue tops – different tops – but all the same shade of iridescent blue. Amusingly, one of the girls and I have also both teamed our top with very similar skirts and shoes (although mine have a significant heel and hers are flat).

Style is an individual choice, but what do you do when everyone is wearing the same style? I am reminded of a scene in The Devil Wears Prada. Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) is at her first day in the offices of fashion magazine, Runway. She wears a blue sweater and a skirt. Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), editor-in-chief of Runway, is choosing belts. A fashion assistant holds up two, almost identical, and advises that she couldn’t possibly choose between them as they are so different. At this, Andy scoffs – to her the belts are identical. I have no doubt that the majority of the people who have seen my colleagues and I in our blue tops today would feel that same way.

But then comes the clincher – Miranda advises Andy that her cheap polyester blend blue sweater was in fact a fashion decision made for her by the people in that office, based on couture collections originally from Oscar de la Renta in a season gone by that had filtered down through the fashion houses, through high street stores and into a local department store collection where possibly Andy had fished it out of a bargain bin, thinking she was making an independent decision about her personal style. Perhaps my blue top came from a high street store, while one of the other girls found hers at a chain store. Perhaps one is wearing couture, another a bargain bin special. Regardless, where did our cobalt blue trend start? Who visioned this gorgeous colour and put it on a runway, to be copied and interpreted so that we could all come to work today wearing our own interpretation?  

Miranda Priestly: [Miranda and some assistants are deciding between two similar belts for an outfit. Andy sniggers because she thinks they look exactly the same] Something funny?
Andy Sachs: No, no, nothing. Y’know, it’s just that both those belts look exactly the same to me. Y’know, I’m still learning about all this stuff.
Miranda Priestly: This… ‘stuff’? Oh… ok. I see, you think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select out, oh I don’t know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you’re trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don’t know is that that sweater is not just blue, it’s not turquoise, it’s not lapis, it’s actually cerulean. You’re also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar De La Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves St Laurent, wasn’t it, who showed cerulean military jackets? I think we need a jacket here. And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of 8 different designers. Then it filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic casual corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and so it’s sort of comical how you think that you’ve made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you’re wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room. From a pile of stuff.

My fashion on film analysis of this scenario is further cemented today after a quick walk around DFO at lunch. Have you seen the Valentino retrospective film? You will remember the white gown with sequined strips that Valentino created, and his seamstresses sewing individual sequins on? The arguments about how many strips to include; how many gaps to leave? The Valentino film was based on collections between ‘05 and ’07 (with the film released in 2008) – fashion decisions that have filtered down through high street and chain stores and finally ended in the wasteland of factory outlets. Strips were everywhere – on skirts, on tops, on shorts, on dresses.

Our blue tops might be different, or the same depending on who you ask, but I think that the distinction lies in how you choose to wear it. Adding the heels over flats; a skirt or pants, perhaps even some shorts. Maybe you have your hair loose or up for a more sophisticated look. Earrings, bracelets, a handbag. Everything you add to that blue top is what makes it your own and what individual style is all about.

~ Thanks to www.imdb.com for quotes

“What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?”

Anon.

Schitzngiggles

Everything you ever wanted to know about booze – the hottest new thing in wine, beer and beverages of the alcoholic variety.

As the official week of Spring Racing Carnival merriment comes to a close, I look back over the last few weeks of race days with both good and not so good memories. The glory of looking fabulous competes with blisters and heatstroke as prominent in my mind, alongside overpriced champagne and queues for bathrooms. Picnics on the lawn are lovely; losing all your hard earned dollars at the TAB is not.

Every year I really look forward to Spring Racing. As the depths of winter set in, the outlook for the rest of the season is dismal but the knowledge of sunshine, facinators and skyhigh heels keeps me going through those dark, grey days. When spring fashion is released and the advertisements start, my hunger for new frocks and matching accessories keeps me at the stores from dawn til dusk and sometimes even at 24 hour shopping mecca’s when I realise that the perfect hosiery will finish off ‘that’ outfit and I need to see it in it’s entirety there and then.

Come the last weeks of October, when the actual race days roll around, its an early start with eyelash curlers and hair straighteners, a bevvy of shoes and handbags strewn about the apartment and last minute panics as to whether your outfit will make the grade at the track. Outfits months in the planning can come unhinged at the last minute without careful planning and preparedness – never leave putting the whole outfit on for the first time til raceday!

The weather conditions always play a part at the Spring Racing Carnival, and being Melbourne one can never tell if rain, hail or shine will be the pick of the day. 2009 saw surprisingly warm conditions on all racedays, with a large number of racegoers coming home with more colour than they went with. The ladies (and even some of the boys) might be wearing hats but at the end of the day when you didn’t pack the sunscreen (or umbrella!!) the hat won’t do you much good. Similarly, a feather shaped burn pattern is never attractive and facinators don’t provide much protection.

As the temperature soars, the consumption of alcohol increases exponentially. I know from bitter experience that champagne in the sun without proper food intake is never a good idea, yet year after year young ladies are carted from the track with alcohol induced illnesses. A few glasses of bubbly in the sun is pleasant; a few more in a marquee is ideal, but on the lawn in your too short dresses is a big no no. Refer to A Current Affair footage from last Tuesday night if you need to see why.

I like high heels. Lots of girls do. But if you can’t walk in them, don’t wear them. If you can’t stay in them all day, don’t wear them. If you even think that you can’t make it to the finish line in them, don’t wear them. The number one Spring Racing sin is removing your shoes before returning to the safety of your own home! Flexi Flats and Tipsy Toes are a great alternative – bare feet are not. Remember you will be on grass, possibly walking from train stations or miles to find a cab. Practise in your shoes. Bring bandaids and heelaids and party feet. Do. Not. Take. Off. Your. Shoes.

Having a bet on the Cup is a time honoured tradition that we partake in year after year. Whether you place your bets based on the name of the horse, the colours the jockey wears or actual facts and figures from previous starts and wins, everyone has a technique for backing a winner. It’s easy to get carried away after you score a win and the general combination of exhilaration and alcohol makes seeing your early retirement easy. Set limits and don’t overspend or you might find yourself not being able to afford the cab fare home. And walking home in those shoes you aren’t going to take off could be a long trek.

Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate, Derby Day, Cup Day, Oaks Day, Stakes Day – the fashion winners have been chosen, the races finished and gallons of champagne consumed. Feet are booked in at podiatrists and chiropractors are about to experience a surge of spinal injuries. The taxi’s will stop haunting Crown and heavy head-ware induced headaches will cease. Dresses are sent to dry cleaners, shoes and hats carefully packed away for next seasons weddings and next years eBay. It’s a long few weeks, but the Spring Racing Carnival is over again. I hope you had a win – be it backing the trifecta, setting a fashion trend, or like me, simply managing to keep your shoes on all day.         

So the saying goes, blue and green should never be seen, but it is this fashionistas opinion that the two actually go quite well together – or that you should at least show a little of one this season. As a little experiment (and having a little fun of my own), last week I wore one blue and one green contact lens – just to see how it would be interpreted. Some thought I was cool, some ingenious and others odd but the general consensus? Blue and green should DEFINITELY be seen!

The contact lens experiment was interesting in other ways – it intrigues me who notices things like a change in eye colour. Some people who have known you for years spend three hours at a dinner table across from you and say nothing, while the service station attendant you have never met will say ‘Wow, your eyes are different colours! That’s so cool!’

There is lots of nude and pastels around at the moment, so why not liven things up a bit with some emerald or cobalt? Some fabulous bright shoes or headpiece this spring will liven up your outfit and your day! Can’t take the plunge and flash the bright stuff? Be more subtle with earrings, a necklace or bracelet, or a brooch. Yep, not just for nana’s, the brooch is a statement piece that can add some much needed colour to those pale hues.

As for handbags, anything goes and the bigger the better! Where else are you going to store all those spring ‘must haves’? Sunscreen is of the utmost importance – we’ve barely had a week of sunshine in Melbourne and already the number of girls frequenting the Spring Racing Carnival sporting that particular shade of red with their carefully planned outfit is astounding. Pop it on before you leave the house for the day, and reapply if you’re spending time outdoors. Blue and green may be acceptable, but that pink hue is generally unacceptable with anything you wear. (Ok, I’m done with my sun safety message people – slip, slop, slap. You have been warned!)

Back to the fashions – here are a few inspirational pieces for this season. Enjoy!

Chinese Laundry – Keep Up (Black), $88.95 by Chinese Laundry at Zappos

Gara Danielle Turquoise Ring, $128.00 by Gara Danielle at shopbop.com

Kate Spade ‘mariachi Rickrack’ Bangle, $65.00 by Kate Spade at Nordstrom

After my spectacular dinner at Bar Lourinha last Wednesday night, my foodie week continued with dinner at Elevation in Emerald on Thursday night, and lunch at Immerse, Dixons Creek on Sunday. Although I ate really well for these few meals, I think my lack of eating properly for the in between ones has taken its toll by presenting me with a sore throat this morning upon waking. So, vegies are on the menu tonight and less microwave meals for the foreseeable future if I can help it. My microware also possibly shorted the power in half my house yesterday – perhaps it’s a sign from the food gods that I am abusing convenience foods….

Elevation, Emerald
Located about 50kms from the city, Elevation is a picturesque restaurant perched on Main Road, Emerald overlooking the Dandenong’s. The restaurant itself reminds me of an alpine ski lodge with rustic timbers, open fire and cathedral ceilings, a warm and cosy environment in which to meet friends for dinner or drinks, or host your next function. There is a decked area, perfect for Sunday afternoon drinks in the sun or an intimate dinner on a balmy day, watching the sunset.
My friends started with the hot crusty cobb loaf with garlic, herb and pesto butter, a modern take on the traditional garlic bread. The stream rising from the bread was enough to make anyone’s mouth water, and for a celiac, pure torture.
For main I ordered Chicken Elevation, a chicken fillet filled with sun-dried tomatoes and camembert topped with a creamy avocado sauce. Served with a side of in season vegetables, the chicken was actually very good, however it was unfortunate however that they felt the need to drown the plate in the avocado sauce – a drizzle would have been sufficient and I wouldn’t have spent the meal having to lean so close to the plate to avoid dripping. My companions had fish and chips (presented beautifully in newspaper and a basket), pot pie and the hamburger among others – all enjoyed with what I believe was a spectacular beer.

Elevation can be found at 374 Main Road, Emerald and serves modern Australian and Mediterranean cuisine.

Immerse, Yarra Valley
Immerse Winery in the Yarra Valley is part of the Melba Hwy Wine Trail, located just past Yarra Glen in Dixons Creek. The restaurant space is not dissimilar to other wineries in the region – light filled and spacious with large windows, outdoor areas and stunning gardens. Perfect for a wedding, conference or a simple Sunday lunch, the winery also caters for cellar door sales and a small produce and preserves store.
We toasted with Shiraz and Pinot Noir, while entrees of pumpkin gnocchi and calamari were quickly put away. The mains, perfectly portioned and faultlessly cooked, were exquisite – my Tasmanian Salmon on crushed sweet potato and
brocolinni with horseradish cream and beetroot relish was divine and though you wish there was more when you are done, you do realise that more would ruin the experience. The Confit Duck Leg and Eye of Angus Rump were both popular choices at our table and heartily enjoyed by all who ordered them.
The chocolate mud cake bought in for dessert was served up by the staff with ice cream and a berry sauce after a good sing along of Happy Birthday. Given that I can’t eat cake (though it looked so good, I did consider cheating for a moment) I shared a soft meringue roll topped with fruit salad with another non-cake eater. Coffee followed, too hot and slightly burnt, but after such an amazing meal I can’t say I could fault them too much overall.
The Yarra Valley is an amazing destination for a meal – there are so many places to choose from and wines that you can’t hope to match anywhere in the world. Come for breakfast, lunch or dinner – or all three – and enjoy the tranquillity and open spaces of Victoria’s wine regions.

Immerse can be found at 1548 Melba Highway, Dixons Creek or view the website, www.immerseyourself.com.au