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

The Rachel Zoe Project returns

This news is Maj! Like, it's totally Ba-nanas! When I read it in my twitter-feed, I died! 

Hehe...ok, I'll stop with the Zoe-isms. You get the point. The Rachel Zoe Project is back for its 5th season after an almost 1.5 year long hiatus. Bravo TV will start airing it from the 6th of March. Don't know when Arena in Australia will catch up but hopefully it'll be soon and we can have new eps to look forward to in the near future.

The show, if you haven't already watched the first 4 seasons and its gazillion re-runs, is like most other reality shows: a little bit trashy, full of drama, every insignificant event edited to look like the biggest tragedy. But throw in a bit of hollywood glam, beautiful people, a smidgen of an insight into the lives of the rich and famous, gorgeous designer outfits, LA snobbery and voila you've got The Rachel Zoe Project! Guilty-pleasure-TV at its best!

On the show you also get to see a little bit of what happens behind-the-scenes when her A-list clients need to have their red-carpet looks sorted.

The 2 darlings of the Oscars this year were both styled by RZ.

Other celebs who have her on Speed Dial for couture control are:

Jennifer Garner - her very first celebrity client.

Cameron Diaz

Demi Moore

Eva Mendes

Still love this gorj white dress and turquoise necklace she wore to the Globes in 2009. This may have, kind of, subconsciously inspired my birthday outfit.

She's also Guest Editor for Piperlime.com

Has her own successful fashion and accessories line.

 And she's a mum to a (very stylish) toddler.

 Of course her life is Reality Show-worthy!

Can't wait to watch her and all the amazing new outfits this season.

I always think Black and Gold when I think Rachel Zoe

Love her 70s, boho, chic style

She also does classic, glamour with an edge really well

Favourite Summer Work Outfit

As the title suggests - this is my favourite summer work outfit! Comfy, loose, silky pants are a must-have in your summer work wardrobe. And they are so versatile; can be paired with loose or fitted tops. Solid colours on top are best if your pants already have a print. And low to mid or even high heels help elongate your frame as baggy, printed pants can sometimes make you look shorter/broader than you actually are.

These photos were taken Friday after work (hence the cropped-face).

Loose White Top: *$15 (Cotton On)

 Floral Print Pants: $59.90 (Zara)

Pointed Black Heels: *23.30 (ASOS)

Disc Necklace: Gift (Trent Nathan-Myer)

Manciure: $15 (OPI - Lucky Lucky Lavender)

Bag: Usual

Work Outfit Total: $113.20

 * = sale prices 

Short post today. Long week ahead. Hope you all manage to find fun ways to beat the heat. Ciao for now! xx

From Runway to Driveway - for less but of course

This was a sheer coincidence. I had this photo of me taken 2 weeks ago (before NYFW had begun) to do a "What I wore to work for the week" post but I only got to Tuesday and then wasn't able to take photos of my outfits, so I gave up. Then when I was browsing through New York Fashion Week Runway Trends photos, I found DL1961's model wearing almost exactly what I had worn to work a few days before! Except I bet mine is a fraction of the cost of the DL1961 outfit. Talk about Fashion sans Fortune!

White Tee: *$10 (Dotti)

Superhero Leatherette Peplum Top: *$34.95 (Dotti)

Jeans: *$69 (Jeanswest)

Bracelet: *$5 (H&M)

Glitz Black Bling Flats: *$60 (Santini)

Bag & Sunnies: Usual

Comfy Work Outfit Total: $178.95

* = sale prices

Yep, I get to wear jeans to work. They're pretty cool like that.

Oh and another thing I wanted to share, which you could say is part of my outfit and I can't believe I haven't shown this before - my iPhone Cover! 

I absolutely loved it when I first saw it. Almost everyone I know has commented on it but I never thought I would actually have random strangers liking it and coming up to ask me where I got it from...

 It was an impulse buy (and a great one at that!) from the checkout counter of...you'll never guess...wait for it...Rubi Shoes! And it was a measly $5.

 I thought it would only last 2 days, but I've been using it for almost 4 months now. *Knocking on wood.

I've had a really productive week. Managed to tick most things off my never-ending-to-do list, both at home and at work. Don't you just love that feeling! Plus I've even posted more on the blog. I feel like the weather being warmer helps. You get more done because you don't want to snuggle up in bed or hide under blankets all the time. I only hope that this productive streak continues. 

Enjoy the rest of your week. Until next time - adios!xx

Love the Day of Love

Yes. I'm one of those. I'm a dipped-in-chocolate-coated-with-candy-hugged-by-teddy-bear-bathed-in-rose-petals-struck-by-cupid-kinda-romantic. And I lurve Valentine's Day and doing something special on the day.

So, this year it was his turn to plan VDay. And he did well. All I knew was we had to be in the City by 7pm. And for once, we were there well before time. So, we took some outfit photos.

Engineered Lace Shift Dress: *$83.96 (Portmans)

Mid-heel Black Shoes: $19.95 (Rubi)

Earrings: *$11 (Portmans)

Valentine's Day Outfit Total: $114.91

* = sale prices

And then as we walked along South Bank away from the restaurants and towards the river, I realised, we were going to spend the evening on a floating restaurant!

We had the best seats!

  Gorgeous views! Perfect summer's night! The weather could not have been better. Between courses we could go out on the deck and enjoy the summer breeze, which we happily did.

The only disappointment was that the food wasn't great. It wasn't bad - just very mediocre. So, I won't waste much time talking about it.

 Left from top to bottom: Entrées - King Prawn Salad, Spinach & Ricotta Ravioli, Main - Chicken with Mushroom Sauce, Mash and Veggies.

Right from top to bottom: Chargrilled Eye Fillet with Roast Veggies and Peppercorn Sauce, Desserts & Cheese platter to share, Our table.

A beautiful evening.

Hope everyone enjoyed their Valentine's Day...or whatever day it is that you choose to celebrate your love!