Forever New's Travel Collection was My Idea!

I'm not saying I invented Travel bags, definitely not. But you can't blame a girl for wanting to write an attention-grabbing headline ;). However, I would like to think I played a (small) part in it all coming about. 

The Jet Set Collection

No, I don't work for Forever New. I just spend a lot of time and money there. I distinctly remember, a little over a year ago, on one such shopping expedition of mine, being drawn into the Melbourne Central store because the window display caught my eye. It wasn't even really the window display, it was a part of the store (on the right hand side) that's visible from the street and also once you walk in to Melbourne Central and is like a walk-in closet space almost - people who've been there will know what I'm talking about. Anyway, back to the point, so on one of the shelves was this gorgeous looking, vintage style suitcase and perched on top of that was a cute purse. I looked around for a price tag for the suitcase, but couldn't find one. I grabbed the floor assistant, who happened to be the Store Manager and asked if the suitcase was for sale. She said it wasn't, it was just part of the visual merchandising but the purse was. I said to her "That's too bad! You should really sell luggage as well." And she nodded in agreement and said she would pass on my suggestion to headoffice - and in a really genuine way, not in an I-really-couldn't-care-less-about-what-you-think-we-should-and-should-not-sell-but-I'm-just-going-to-say-"I will let Headoffice know"-so-you-get-out-of-my-face-and-stop-wasting-my-time-way. I knew at that moment that my suggestion was going to be passed on. And a few months after that incident, they started selling the occasional wheelie bag. And now voila - an entire Travel Collection (so, it definitely must be doing well).

I'm not saying, I want to take all the credit for this. Surely other people might have given the same suggestion and once they'd heard from a few people, they must have decided to take the idea on board. But I'd like to believe I played a part in it. :) It looks good, doesn't it! I'd definitely buy it.

That's all folks! ;) xoxo

1st Birthday Giveaway - WINNERS ANNOUNCED!!

WINNERS:

1st Prize - Statement Necklace: Katherine Ryan

2nd Prize - Assorted Stretch Bracelets : Stacey Carter

3rd Prize - Extra Large Stud Earrings: Szappanbubi

Please email me your postal details at: fashion.sans.fortune@gmail.com 

Again, a very big THANK YOU to all those who participated. Hopefully, there will be many more giveaways and you never know, you just might win!

xoxo 

Miss Pre.

1ST BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY

Fashion Sans Fortune turned 1 on 25th April 2013! HAPPY BIRTHDAY FASHION SANS FORTUNE!

Thank you to all my followers and readers for your love and support and enthusiasm! I have really enjoyed blogging this past year and can't believe how fast it's gone!

I wanted to celebrate the blog's 1st birthday with a Giveaway so, all followers old and new can be a part of this celebration. And here are the awesome prizes....(yes, plural, there are 3!!!)

1st prize: Gorgeous Statement Necklace in Vintage Rose coloured stones and Gunmetal plating

 

2nd Prize: Assorted Stretch Bracelet Set

3rd Prize: Extra Large Stud Earring with Clear stones

How to win one of these 3 great pieces of fashion jewellery? Easy:

You MUST be a follower of Fashion Sans Fortune. So, if you aren't a follower yet, simply click on the "Join this site" button on the right hand side bar - and then...

- Leave a comment on this blog post and/or;

- Follow Fashion Sans Fortune on Facebook and/or;

- Follow me @miss_pre on Twitter and/or;

- Tweet about the giveaway

Each of these step gives you 1 entry into the giveaway. The more you do, the more chances you have of winning.

Anyone can enter. No matter where in the world you are. Once the winners have been randomly selected by Rafflecopter, you can email me your details so I will be able to send you your pretty presents. So click away...

Tip: Facebook and Twitter icons on the right hand side bar will take you straight to the FSF accounts.

Disclaimer: It is sheer coincidence that all the prizes are from Sportsgirl. This is NOT a sponsored giveaway.

Giveaway ends Sunday, 5th May at 12am AEST. And winners will be announced soon after.

Good Luck!!

1st prize valued at $29.95
2nd prize valued at $19.95
3rd prize valued at $14.95

Inspirations from the Roaring 20s

Hello all! For those of you who were worrying about my uncharacteristic disappearance, rest assured, I'm still alive - just not living very much. ;p The usual - busy at work, busy at home, spending ban etc. etc. Which is great when you have a lifestyle and fashion blog! ;)

Anyway, I'm finally coming out of this zone and reviving my senses to sniff out inspiring trends to zhuzh up your wardrobe and mine without burning a (big) hole in the pocket.

Speaking of revival and zhuzh-ing up, the 1920s-inspired trends are making a big comeback with the success of Downton Abbey & the much anticipated (and highly publicised) release of Baz Luhrmann's interpretation of The Great Gatsby.

Flapper dresses are no longer restricted to Gangster-themed costume parties. But if looking like an extra from the sets of Gatsby isn't your thing and you still want a taste of the glitz and glam of Old Hollywood, all you have to do is go to the website of your favourite store and type the word "Deco" in the Search field. You will find at least 3-4 styles, if not a whole panel dedicated to Art Deco inspired pieces.

Of course, I delved a little deeper and found these Deco must-haves from our much loved stores and websites that will make any girl feel like they belong in the upstairs world of Downton Abbey even without having inherited the Crawley fortune. ;)

For the evening

ASOS Needle & Thread Era Silk Midi Dress - $279.04

Portmans Pearl Gem Short Necklace - $19.95

Forever New Annabelle Beaded Clutch - $39.99

Forever New Kayleigh Statement Drop Earrings - $16.99

Betts Kiki Heels in Nude or Silver - $74.99

For the day

Myer Morgan & Taylor Felt Cloche - $79.99

Topshop Embellished Flower Vest Top - $60 Approx.

Lovisa Berry Art Deco Strecth Bracelet - $29.99

Portmans Double Bow Trim Gloves - $16.95

Great finds, right?!! And there are many more. Now we can all look the part and give Carey Mulligan a run for her money when we line up at our local cinemas on May 10th. ;) Can't wait! (And any news on the fourth season return of Downton Abbey, please feel free to post about in the comments below - I know it'll only be back in September, though.)

H&M Announcement

It was like all my Birthdays, Christmases, Summer Holidays had all come at once! (Dramatic much!) No, really! I literally shrieked when I woke up and was scrolling through facebook on my phone with one eye open (that's kinda become the first thing I do when I wake up. Bad! I know) and saw H&M had made this announcement late on Thursday night:

This is the reason why I had been following H&M on Facebook in the first place. I had a feeling if they were ever coming here they would send out feelers on The Book (and Twitter). 

Why am I so excited? Because H&M is the ultimate culmination of Fashion+sans fortune. They have the trendiest clothes at very very very affordable prices. And no this doesn't mean that they are "cheap quality" - I have a cute work top that I bought from H&M in Dubai around 4 years ago - still going strong. Not even one button has fallen or even threatened to fall. And this is just one of 5 things I bought on that trip - all of which are still intact.

And they always seem to have what I want that no one else has, so their buyers and designers seem to be very on the ball, in fact ahead of the ball. What you see at H&M, you see at other High Street stores 2 seasons later. And they have the strength of numbers and a world class supply chain system (really their supply chain was what we wrote our essays about when I was at Uni) which helps them keep prices low. For example, that dress in the photo above is US$19.95 from their "Conscious Colletcion" which is all about sustainable fashion. Where on the Australian High Street would you find a dress like that at that price - let alone sustainably produced!

So, to sum it up - I am a fan.

Here's a taste of what H&M is like, if you didn't already know...

H&M's Summer Brand Ambassador

Also from the Conscious Collection

H&M for Men

H&M for Kids - Conscious Collection

*prices in US$. Photos courtesy H&M Facebook and hm.com

 Now I can't wait to find out where the first store will be and when in 2014! My money is on Melbourne CBD. Fingers & toes crossed!

Chadstone VIP Night - Autumn/Winter 2013

It's been an unusually warm Autumn. Record breaking temperatures, heat-waves, 9 days above 30 degrees! Certainly doesn't feel like Autumn or like Winter is around the corner. But the retailers want us to get started on buying warm clothes in dark, wintery colours and they're using our favourite four letter word to entice us - SALE! So, even though I'm on a saving-spree, I decided to loosen the purse-strings just a little bit so I could get what I wanted/needed but at less than the original RRP. It was hard to think about what I would want on chilly winter days when it was so warm, so I didn't buy much. But my main purchases were:

Forever New Gemma Shirtdress - 20% off $89.99

Portmans Glamour Stud Heel Ankle Boot - 20% off $49.99

That was it for my shopping apart from a few other basics. And then I wandered over to look at the Sex And The City Exhibition that showcases dresses from the show and the movie. Photos don't do justice to the beautiful clothes TV's most stylish foursome wore, but here's just a little sneak peak of what was on display.

Love that Versace dress (centre) Carrie wears in Paris with "the Russian"! It just goes on and on forever. You could only get away with wearing something like that in Paris - or on SATC!

If you do get a chance, you must try and catch the exhibition while it's still showing, that is, until the 31st of March.

That's it from me for today. Au Revoir!

The last few days of summer...

This weekend was a really good one - food-wise and weather-wise. On Friday night we made an impromptu plan to go have dinner in the City. Mr. Pre was expecting to be busy but then he wasn't, so we decided to make the most of it. We ended up at Lemongrass in Lygon St.This multi-award winning restaurant, really lived up to its reputation. The food was AMAZING!

Thai-style Corn Fritters

Yummy Prawn Entrée (don't know the name but it was DELICIOUS)

Crispy pork with stir-fried veggies and Steamed Rice

One of the best Pad-Thais I've had outside of Thailand

 I had to get ready at short-notice so here's my quick-fix outfit for the night...

Loose White Top: *$15 (Cotton On)

Black High-waisted Shorts: $35 (Glassons)

Red Bag: *$25 (Forever New)

Glitz Black Bling Flats: *$60 (Santini) 

Bracelet: *$5 (Forever New)

Bow Necklace in Soft-Gold: $19.95 - Portmans

Outfit Total: $159.95

* = sale prices

And today we decided to enjoy the sunshine; we headed out to brunch in St. Kilda. Gattica's breakfast menu has so many wonderful options, it's hard to pick one. But the good thing is, you know no matter what you order, you won't be disappointed.

Poached Eggs with Goats Cheese, Rosemary Mushrooms & Sourdough Toast

Haloumi & Basil folded Eggs with crispy Shallots & Sourdough Toast

 Wanting to make the most of the warm days, I decided to wear shorts again, while I still can. Here's my colour-blocked Sunday Brunch outfit...

 

Top: *$20 (I.D.S)

Shorts: *$5 (Cotton On)

Rope Belt: Came with a dress

Bracelet: $19.99 (Lovisa)

Bag: *$34.95 (Forever New)

Colour Block Ballet Flats: *$25 (Forever New)

Sunnies: Usual

Outfit Total: $104.95

* = sale prices

I've recently created a Facebook page for the blog and also added Social Media buttons to the right-side bar so we can keep in touch in more ways than one. Please take the time to look at these and Like/Follow if you wish.

TIA. :)

xoxo