The impact of a stylist

Bea's doing it.

Lord, Westfield's doing it and so has Myer.

DJ's is about to start doing it.

In Bea's case he costs $2,300 per day.

In our case, with DJs, Myer, Westfields, a half hour session can be free.

What am i talking about?

Using a stylist to get a better look.

Whether its for one occasion or a few pieces or one item, you tell them about your lifestyle and they bring you a short list of items to pick from. There is no obligation to buy, ever.

TIP: Stylists associated with particular shopping centres or stores can have a tendency to subtley "push" you toward certain retailers. make sure you have a good rapport and trust whoever you use - and ideally that they dont have any biases/affiliations.

Back to Bea:

Apparently after much critism of Bea's royal wedding look, she has hired a stylist, Charlie Anderson, the former fashion director of the UK Tatler magazine to, er, assist her with her look.

Before:

PS: She's the one with the uterus/toilet seat on her head.




After:

Elie Saab couture at Elton John's White Tie and Tiara Ball




OMIGOD! couture! Rockin' it girl!

& the Fergs and Eug dont look half bad either (in black Escada & red Vivienne Westwood)

& here is the Elie Saab runway look from Spring 2011....breathtaking...


More After:

At the May 2011 Chelsea Flower Show in Roland Mouret....







Eug also looked pretty good at the Flower Show......wonder if they are sharing tips......

PS: Notice a resemblance to Pippa's bridesmaid's dress?

& Cameron's 2010 Globes dress?

They are Alexander McQueen.

Photos: Getty

4 July - Belated but still adored

Happy 4th July everyone!

I love Americans and anything that celebrates American-dom is Ok by me even if I didnt get an official government sanctioned holiday from it.

Sometimes I am convinced I was born in the wrong country especially after spending almost a month in the best city in the world (New York) late last year.

The US flag simply appeals to me, always has. Its not just the nautical appeal of the colours - its the actual stars & stripes imagery that does it for me. The fact that I love Americans and that I ADORE New Yorkers also doesnt hurt. I also love American accents.

So I pulled out all my USA flag bits & pieces today.....no, i did not wear them all at once.....unfortunately its way too cold here to wear most of them.....

Mind you, I am a day late - been busy with paperwork (the Australian fiscal year year end has just ended & I want my tax refund asap thank you tax commissioner).

So what did I find?

SCARF

Well, given I love scarves....of course there is a US flag inspired scarf in this stash.....



But its Escada, 100% silk, made in Italy....oops.....

The red, off white & blue is fresh & summery with a classic dark work suit.

Its a 70 cm square (27 inches for our non metric American friends) & that size works well in summer (when the traditional 90 cm square just has too much silk to cope with).

The thing that is still to be actioned about this baby of mine is that the edges are machine edged - not hand rolled......see the multiple (back & forth & very visible) stitches along the hem? that's machine stitching....



Here is the stitching from the good side - see how the stitches are quite close together?...thats machine work. In comparison hand stitches are about 1 cm apart.



......so I have been planning to unstitch the edges and re hem it with invisible hand stitches......probably will take 2 hours. I have done this on another silk square & the result was perfect - time consuming, but perfect.

BROOCH

I havent confessed this previously, but I am also a brooch nut.

The little heart shaped one was $5 from a sale in Sydney.




The flag was $25 from a recycled designer shop in New York on the upper east side.




I totally love both of these and they are both perfect.

PS: I will do a blog on the best New York designer recycled stores - stay tuned.

TIP: Be careful with brooches - the fibres of some fabrics (eg: wool) usually closes up after the pin is taken out. But fibres of some fabrics (eg: poplin cotton) will stay open forever due to even the smallest pin holes - be wary of using pins on these.


TOP

D&G (diffusion Dolce & Gabanna) tee, AU$87 from a designer warehouse in Collins St Melbourne, purchased about 2 years ago.





What I love about this, is its been printed after it was sewn together - giving it that imperfect look where the fabric may have been folded over & the colour didnt catch all areas of the fabric where it should have (if it was pre printed).






and the back....I hate showing bra straps (unless they are La Perla & I am unlikely to wear fancy lace with a top like this)...so I will use those clip things that keep the back straps together....



Now, for my bragging moment......my love of the US flag means I was WAY ahead of the curve on this - Balmain did a distressed silk version for his SS 2011 (southern hemisphere SS 2011/12) - it retailed for US$1.5K and sold out within weeks.

In fact, the Balmain version had burns placed at strategic points...I would have been in tears if it had been my job to arrange that part of the garment.

In Sydney, I have seen it at Myer ($1.7K) and Cosmopolitan Shoes (Double Bay Sydney).

Here is an image from net-a-porter (which had safety pins down the sides).......



Here is another image, with Kate Bosowth wearing a copy at a festival......seriously wondering why she had a copy - maybe they didnt give her the original for free??? weird....



Photo: Rachpoot/Bauer Griffin/AP Photo

And finally, another one I dont own - a Jeffery Campbell pair of US flag inspired shoes.....cool, eh?



POSTCRIPT: I have absolutely NO Australian Flag inspired clothing or accessories. and I dont plan on acquiring any other. This is no indication of my patriotism folks.



I think it has something to do with the fact that there isn't enough mixing of patterns and colours - its a bit plain for my sartorial style.....hahaha

See you all next time, Val