September and October are busy months for the fashion crowd in Adelaide. But no one is busier than Adelaide Fashion Festival Co-ordinator, Cristina Tridente. Because, not only is she organising all the events for Adelaide’s biggest fashion festival, she is also getting ready to present her own new collection at multiple upcoming events around Adelaide.

Cristina is the designer of Adelaide label couture+love+madness. Cristina is not only showing at Adelaide Fashion Festival in October, she is also showing her new collection at ‘A Night of Fashion at the Art Gallery’, presented by Honda and Attitude Magazine. I will be guest-blogging at this incredible event, and so I thought I’d have a quick chat to Cristina about how everything is going, and what we can expect from couture+love+madness at ANoF at the Art Gallery.

You are currently organising events all over the place for Adelaide Fashion Festival, as well as putting the final touches on, and presenting your own new collection at Attitude Mag ‘A Night of Fashion at the Art Gallery’ show. How are your sleeping patterns?
I don’t get much sleep at the moment! It’s been a juggle but I have wanted all of this for a very long time, so no complaints here!

Of course! And your success is inspirational. Could I grab some tips from you about how a kid in Adelaide could break into the fashion industry?
Keep pushing at it! It’s a really hard industry to break into but if you really want to do it you just have to keep going! We all have to start somewhere.

You have always created collections with a wonderful sense of quirk, for example, the totally recycled collection from a few years ago. What is in store for us this September from couture+love+madness?

Something a little different, a mix between the creativity of the ‘I am the Prototype’ Collection [pictured below], which was all recycled materials, and what’s on trend at the moment. The pieces also feature lots of applique created from many textures and fabrics.

How has couture+love+madness evolved over the years?
When I started I created my pieces very literally, these days I put a lot more research and time into the design of my pieces and try and think outside the box!

What or who was your main inspiration for this collection?
These pieces are inspired by many things including birds, nature and textures.

Fantastic! What’s great about the fashion scene in Adelaide? What do we have yet to improve on?
It’s great to see the industry in Adelaide evolving at such a rapid pace. It’s fantastic to see so many new labels popping up, if we keep going at this pace we will be put on the map as a ‘fashion destination’.

We hope so! And personal style is important in a fashionable city too. Your personal style is as unique as your label. What are some trends coming up that are you looking forward to loving? 
I love fluoro… I absolutely love it! It is such a big expression of colours and can be hard to pull off but I just adore this trend.

I am just so excited to see Cristina’s latest work. Her imagination and creativity is in everything she does, and she is not only a design icon in our city, but a true creative destined for greatness. A huge thank you to Cristina too, because she has so little time right now, but still made room in her hectic schedule for me! Thanks Cristina, and good luck with the next handful of weeks!

I am personally so excited for Attitude Magazine’s incredible ‘ANoF at the Art Gallery’ event, because not only do I get to see my most favourite local designers, I also get to see Australian and international designers too. A Night of Fashion at the Art Gallery is being held at the Art Gallery of South Australia on September 22nd. You can see couture+love+madness, local labels Jaimie Sortino and Paolo Sebastian, plus Carla Zampatti, Bianca Spender, Willow, Scanlan & Theodore, and new stock collections from local boutique The New Guard and Adelaide-based online vintage boutique Claire Inc! This will be a show not to miss. Tickets are available from BASS - Get your tickets as soon as possible because they are nearly gone!

Cx

Photos: Simon Cecere

I was lucky enough to be asked to be one of the guest bloggers for a premiere fashion event in Adelaide at the end of September: A Night of Fashion at the Art Gallery. Presented by Attitude Magazine and sponsored by Honda, this was a night to be remembered. I can honestly say that this was one of the best fashion events I have seen in Adelaide.

Fashion shows in Adelaide can tend to be quite kitschy and commercial: this show went the complete opposite way. Being set in the Art Gallery of South Australia, with the runway spanning through four rooms in the Elder wing, you felt as though it could be a couture show in Paris. The runway was slim, well-lit and obviously incredibly long. I even overheard one of the models at the afterparty say the setting of the show was of Paris calibre.

One of the best things about this event, was the wide spread of designers whose collections were shown. Local designers, such as Jaimie Sortino, Paolo Sebastian and couture + love + madness, national labels such as Bianca Spender, Carla Zampatti, Willow and Scanlan & Theodore, and finally, international designers such as Dries Van Noten, Isabel Marant, and notably Moschino, plus many more from designer boutique The New Guard, and designer vintage e-boutique Claire Inc.

Our local designers are couturiers, so with an always ethereal collection from Paolo Sebastian, a gorgeous bridal collection from Jaimie Sortino, and a punchy, eclectic collection from couture+love+madness, all couture bases were covered. The Australian designers were all quite basic, with a focus on drapery and muted colours. It was quite safe styling, but Adelaide can be quite conventional I suppose. The local boutiques Claire Inc and The New Guard, went the complete opposite way however. The incredible graphic print of the latest Dries van Noten was the most memorable of looks sent down the runway from TNG, while Claire Inc (the highlight of the night for me), sending out outrageous Moschino prints and other wonderfully crazy designer vintage items, teamed with flatform sneakers.

I gave a standing ovation after the show. Well done to the team at Attitude Magazine: you have set the bar high for the rest of the Adelaide fashion contingent to compete with. Love and kudos and all the high fives. X

So, it only took me twenty one years, but I finally bought my first piece of Maison Martin Margiela. I purchased it for the A Night of Fashion at the Art Gallery show, that I mentioned in the previous post! I love it so much it hurts. Like, the love I have for this item of leather clothing makes my heart hurt. So much love, my heart can’t handle it. It’s super fitted, and leather, and distressed, and perfect.

And this skirt is another of my favourite items in my wardrobe. Adelaide label Cameo is designed by a beauty called Kathryn Forth, and she is as lovely as she is talented. This incredible cage skirt is such an excellently weird statement piece to have. Sometimes I feel like wearing all black instead of crazy colours, and statement through design helps keep all-black outfits interesting. So good!

I thought they looked pretty wicked together, and teamed with these pastel yellow metal toe-capped points from Rubi Shoes, it’s tough but not too butch. Feminine but don’t fuck with me.

Huge thanks to Phebe Rendulic for taking these photos for me! Let me know what you think!

Cx

Top: Maison Martin Margiela (from The New Guard)

Skirt: Cameo

Shoes: Rubi Shoes

So when I was at MBFWA, the always amazing Candice Lake took a beauty photo of me. I couldn’t believe that such a highly regarded photographer wanted to take a photo of little ol’ me! I was so starstruck, which she could probably tell from all my babbling. Little did I know, that she was taking this photo for new skincare company, Manenocte. This is the photo:

A few weeks ago, Manenocte sent me a little email asking me to answer a Q&A for a profile on their website. To say thank you, they sent me a parcel of Manenocte goodies – I was so over the moon.

I am so so lazy with skincare, which is terrible, as I am smoker AND a lover of bad, bad food. So I really should be taking care of my top layer. My skin has never been overly bad, I have had quite clear skin throughout the years, but recently my skin has started to show the signs of the unhealthy writer lifestyle that I live. It’s actually been stressing me out a bit, since modelling calls for a fresh, clean complexion when you rock up to a job with no makeup on. No client wants a girl who looks like she hasn’t slept in weeks! So basically, the goodie bag from Manenocte couldn’t have come at a better time.

Manenocte comes with two cream pots – one for day, and one for night. You apply the daycream in the morning, and the nightcream before you go to bed. It’s seriously as simple as that. The perfect skin care routine for the busy modern woman. The only other products I use are makeup remover wipes at the end of day, and an organic wipe-over cleanser. Both of the Manenocte creams smell absolutely and amazing, sort of like what walking through a gorgeous fresh produce market smells like. They feel great on your skin, and don’t leave that annoying greasy residue some cremes do; they melt right into your skin and you can’t feel them after a few minutes. It just feels soft. The email from Manenocte said to wait 2 weeks for the results of their product, so I did. I thought I’d give you a before and after photo. The first I took on the day I received the Manenocte package, and used the night cream for the first time that night. The after photo, is from today. Neither are edited, both are taken in natural afternoon light, and in both photos, I have absolutely zero make up on. Look at the difference! I’m still in awe.

BEFORE

AFTER

So there you have it. This skincare routine fits in with my daily life (read: laziness), and it works so so well. My skin looks brighter, I have less pimples, and apart from a few blemishes here and there, my skintone is overall more even. Even the bags under my eyes are less noticeable. I cannot actually stress enough that neither of these photos were edited, and I have zero make up on – not even brow pencil for my half grown out eyebrows! I didn’t change my diet or exercise routine either, these changes are purely from using Manenocte, instead of harmful chemical products that I was previously using.

Thanks so much Manenocte, you’ve found a lifelong customer!

Cx

So the Adelaide Fashion Festival has come once again, and I was lucky enough to be able to attend many of the events that showcased South Australia’s incredibly talented designers, and wonderful boutiques. I thought I’d roundup some of my favourite shows so far for you.

AFF OPENING LAUNCH PARTY

The launch party, to open the AFF for 2012, was held at Government House this year. Guests were invited to meet the Governer of South Australia, the Honourable Kevin Scarce and his wife Elizabeth, and were treated to canapes and drinks while being serenaded by a beautiful string quartet. It was an absolutely gorgeous setting, and a group of Adelaide models modelled Adelaide designers in a preview of what was to come in the festival. It was the night that I got to debut my brand new pixie cut too! Here’s a photo of myself, Lauren of The Urban Silhouette, and Cristina, designer of couture+love+madness at the event!

 photo by Simon Cecere

VARIETY ON KING WILLIAM

The next event I absolutely loved was Variety on King William. Such a stunning day for it! Part of King William Rd was blocked off, and tables were set up for guests to wine and dine in the sun, while watching a stunning fashion show featuring boutiques from King William Rd. I attended with gorgeous friend of mine Chanelle of Not So Naked blog, and we ate a lot of incredible food from King William Rd restaurants such as The Pot and Parisi’s, as well as incredible wines from Tomich Hill Wines. Albeit a little long (I had to take sit down breaks from standing and photographing in my gorgeous, but painful, strappy sandals!) the show was a fantastic showcase of the eclectic range of stores on King William Road.

first photo by Simon Cecere, all others taken by myself 

FINESSE ‘FASCINATION’ LINGERIE SHOW

This is always one of the most fun events on the AFF calendar! The show was really, really fabulous this year. Melissa Johannsen opened the show in a Pretty Woman-esque one piece, with a python wrapped around her shoulders. Incredible! Really loved the huge range of lingerie, from the tomboy-ish white sports bra’s and boy legs teamed with creepers, to the raunchy black lace (bordering on a scene from ’50 shades’ of grey’!), to the extreme theatrical, including an ‘Americana’ section. Huge range. All looks were from Harris Scarfe, and it very much inspired to go buy me some new lingerie! Love.

all photos taken by myself

Will keep you updated on everything AFF!

Cx

Brides of Adelaide presented their ‘Bridal Runway Fusion’ show at the AFF on Tuesday, and it was a fabulous showcase of many of the designers that feature in their incredible magazine. The show list included Mariana Hardwick, Suzana Lucci, Bridal on Pulteney, Lisa Ho, Brides by the Park, Red Pearl Couture, Jenny & Gerry’s Bridal, Anna Campbell, Betrothed, and local couturiers Paolo Sebastian, Malachi Empire, and Eliza French.

The show was really gorgeous, and showed gowns for every type of bride. Lisa Ho’s slim gowns with back cut-outs were for the fashion-forward bride, Mariana Hardwick’s beautiful crystal detail catered for the glamourous bride, Anna Campbell’s twisted rope detail was made for a bohemian bride, and Suzana Lucci’s incredible floral detail and colour range catered for the progressive bride. And this is just some of the examples, the showcase covered all bases.

The only constructive criticism I have for next year for Brides of Adelaide show, is the music choices. The punchy, commercial house-y soundtrack was a little fast and a little loud for such floaty gowns. I definitely wasn’t expecting a bridal waltz track or anything, but some modern, but slower music (e.g. The XX, Lykke Li, Bon Iver) might’ve given the models a little more time to move around in the gowns, especially at the end of the runway – they looked a bit rushed, quickly swishing the skirts around.

Other than that, the show was absolutely spot on! Really excellent work by the Brides of Adelaide team, and the ever-amazing Filip Odzak of Fsquared2.

To see all of the photos, visit the gallery on Facebook here!

Cx

It was Myer Centre’s 21st birthday during Adelaide Fashion Festival, so they held a little soiree in celebration. Instead of going for the standard runway show, Myer Centre decided to try something a bit different, and it worked spectacularly. Along with TV presentations of news reports  and photos from 1991 onwards, an installation show was set up, similar to The Box at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Sydney earlier this year.

Guests were invited to come and have a look at the clothes up close while the models stood on blocks – it didn’t seem to translate too well to the crowd (maybe Adelaide ain’t quite ready for this new version of a fashion show) but the photographers were having a ball running around, getting up close to the models and their incredible outfits.

The first section was curated by vintage boutique Relax in Vintage, with each section being inspired by the fashion of the 1990′s. Being a massive lover of everything and anything vintage, this was my favourite part. And it was so different to other shows in the festival, because all of the gorgeous models were just having so much fun with the ‘step back in time’ vibe; they were dancing, laughing, and joking with each other. Really perfect!

The second section was a showcase of high fashion labels stocked in shops in the Myer Centre, including Whistles, Review, and Myer. Really beautiful pieces, but nothing that hasn’t been seen before – the styling had the potential to be a bit stronger, while remaining commercially viable. Beautiful nonetheless. My favourite piece was probably the Manning Cartell Manipulated Floral shirt dress, as worn by Finesse model Emily Hartley. One of my favourites.

Overall, it was such a fun event, and it was super lovely to see models dancing around and having fun, rather than remaining stony faced. It suited the occasion perfectly. I also very much enjoyed being the first photographer to climb up on the installation blocks (with help from Filip Odzak! Thanks baby!) to take a photo of the crowd all popping party poppers to celebrate Myer Centre’s 21st birthday!

Thanks so much for having me Myer Centre, big thank you to Sarah-Jane Hook for the invite!

Cx

So, the Adelaide Fashion Festival wrapped up in style a few weekends ago (sorry for the extremely late post by the way, I was held up by a nasty case of the flu!) and it made me really, really proud of the Adelaide fashion industry. Watching the emerging designers show their collections (and watching the proud expressions on their faces from the front row) was so so lovely, and seeing Adelaide’s established designers step out of their comfort zone was also super incredible.

The Emerging Designer for 2012 was won by one of my favourite local up and comers, Lachy Lang. His gorgeous collection showed impeccable tailoring, and a quirk that cannot be found in any other label. I am still dying to own the ‘question mark’ shirt, as seen below.

I also fell in love with local emerging designer Fur Elise, and my heart swelled with pride for designer friends see&ell and The Notion.

The established designers showed us that there they are all progressing further and further in their styles, especially Paolo Sebastian, and Jaimie Sortino. Sortino, created a completely bridal range for the first time, and astounded the audience with not only the delicacy and workmanship of his collection, but also the variety of material. It definitely wasn’t a stereotypical bridal range, and this worked completey in Sortino’s favour. My personal favourite is the silk jersey dress: it had no beading or detailing whatsoever, so the main focus of the gown is in it’s feminine drapery – beautiful. Paolo Sebastian was another designer to show incredible progress from an already amazing career, presenting bodycon, and pant designs in his current collection (the latter, by the way, I need). I also loved Cristina Tridente’s newest collection for couture+love+madness – an insane collection filled with neon, sequins, and glittery plastic. It appealed to everything I love, and was a step in a whole new direction for Cristina – amazing work.

 I took some photos of my favourite looks too, so you can see the amazing designs, and the incredible location – the Adelaide Train Station!

Congratulations to everyone who worked on the event, it was an absolutely fantastic night!

Cx

Comme des Garcons is one of my favourite labels of all time. I think Rei Kawakubo is a innovative genius, and I love her unconditionally. However, on a freelance writer/model budget, I have not yet been able to buy my first piece of CDG. Which devastates me obviously, but I live in hope that one day I shall be able to hang one of Rei’s incredible designs in my wardrobe.

In the mean time, I will have to be inspired by her and her label. I absolutely love the AW 12/13 collection, that eccentricly accentuates forms and curves of the body, and looks as though it is lifted away from the body. I saw this pink sheer shirt in an opshop, and it was abviously some kind of dance costume or something, it’s completely unlabelled and looks handsown, but it reminded me so much of the silhouettes in the CDG winter 2012 show. So paired with another of my opshop favourites, my acid green skirt, I shall live as eccentrically as Rei herself.

I wore this outfit to the Advantage SA Young Designer Showcase, at the end of AFF. In these photos however, I added my ASOS beanie, as these photos were taken before I’d cut off all my hair! I’ve teamed it with my vintage Chanel belt from boutique Claire Inc., and ‘Honey’ by Verali heels, from Sole Desire Shoes.

Huge thanks to Phebe Rendulic for taking these photos for me, and big thanks to Samantha Vlassis for doing my excellent makeup!

Cx

You guys know I am usually strictly fashion, however, you seemed to enjoy my post about skincare company Manenocte so much, I thought I’d give the beauty post another go-around!

So not long ago, I got to work with hair genius Joey Scandizzo, and aficionado of hair and beauty photography, Andrew O’Toole. They made me look pretty in a photo and it was great fun, because they are all-round good dudes. But they are also the creators of new product company Eleven Australia, and they were kind enough to give me a sample of their first product, Miracle Hair Treatment, which was super lovely of them. I had been having some hair troubles recently (read: it was basically snapping off), what with all the bleaching my naturally dark brown hair regularly goes through.

I had a bit of chop (which you probably noticed if you follow me on Instagram), but I also use this after every time I wash my hair now. It makes my hair feel silky smooth, even though I still have to bleach my hair and blowdry it all the time. I think one of the things I love the most is that it’s not super heavy, like some other leave-in treatments. I really struggled with Moroccan Oil even though everyone recommended it, it was super heavy and left oily residue on my hair, no matter how little I used. This Miracle Treatment is the complete opposite, you can’t feel it at all, and it leaves no residue whatsoever. And obviously, it’s excellent if you are lazy like myself and really can’t be bothered doing those hot oil, wrap plastic on your head, wash out treatments twice a week. They take a whole bunch of effort and moving etc etc, plus its super messy. This is so simple, perfect for the lazy person who has to maintain coloured hair.

It boasts 11 wonderful qualities:

1. Adds shine, smoothness and softness
2. Controls frizz and flyaways
3. Moisturises
4. Strengthens fragile hair
5. Prevents split ends
6. Detangles and creates manageability
7. Protects against heat styling
8. Enhances natural body
9. Repairs dry damaged hair
10. Protects hair colour with UVA and UVB filters
11. Prevents chlorine and sun damage

So basically, everything. Obviously perfect for summer too, what with all of that protection, from both natural elements and styling-wise. It smells coconutty, but not in a super dominating way, really just light and fresh.

I noticed a big difference in my hair from using Eleven Australia’s Miracle Hair Treatment. My hair was softer, fresher, it grew faster, and just overall shiny and healthy. Excellent work Joey and Andrew

You can buy Eleven Australia’s Miracle Hair
Treatment from selected salons, for$24.95 RRP

Cx

To all my lovely readers,

Thank you dearly for your unwavering support in 2012. It’s been a rollercoaster of a year, some crazy downs, and many insane highs, but the one thing I could always fall back on was Swim with the Current, and all my amazing readers.

I hope you all have an amazing holiday season, a delicious Christmas dinner, a New Years Eve that lives up to the hype, and a fresh, cleansing, and relaxing beginning to 2013!

Merry Christmas!

Love from the biggest Grinch of them all,

Chloe x

Cx

I was lucky enough to be asked to be one of the guest bloggers for a premiere fashion event in Adelaide at the end of September: A Night of Fashion at the Art Gallery. Presented by Attitude Magazine and sponsored by Honda, this was a night to be remembered. I can honestly say that this was one of the best fashion events I have seen in Adelaide.

Fashion shows in Adelaide can tend to be quite kitschy and commercial: this show went the complete opposite way. Being set in the Art Gallery of South Australia, with the runway spanning through four rooms in the Elder wing, you felt as though it could be a couture show in Paris. The runway was slim, well-lit and obviously incredibly long. I even overheard one of the models at the afterparty say the setting of the show was of Paris calibre.

One of the best things about this event, was the wide spread of designers whose collections were shown. Local designers, such as Jaimie Sortino, Paolo Sebastian and couture + love + madness, national labels such as Bianca Spender, Carla Zampatti, Willow and Scanlan & Theodore, and finally, international designers such as Dries Van Noten, Isabel Marant, and notably Moschino, plus many more from designer boutique The New Guard, and designer vintage e-boutique Claire Inc.

Our local designers are couturiers, so with an always ethereal collection from Paolo Sebastian, a gorgeous bridal collection from Jaimie Sortino, and a punchy, eclectic collection from couture+love+madness, all couture bases were covered. The Australian designers were all quite basic, with a focus on drapery and muted colours. It was quite safe styling, but Adelaide can be quite conventional I suppose. The local boutiques Claire Inc and The New Guard, went the complete opposite way however. The incredible graphic print of the latest Dries van Noten was the most memorable of looks sent down the runway from TNG, while Claire Inc (the highlight of the night for me), sending out outrageous Moschino prints and other wonderfully crazy designer vintage items, teamed with flatform sneakers.

I gave a standing ovation after the show. Well done to the team at Attitude Magazine: you have set the bar high for the rest of the Adelaide fashion contingent to compete with. Love and kudos and all the high fives. X

Sometimes Facebook really sucks. But every now and then, something happens on Facebook that rules. I commented on a photo about a week ago, put up by Ziggy Denim, and I ended up winning a free pair of jeans out of it!

These babies are super comfy and such an excellent colour – ‘wine-o’. Thanks Ziggy Denim!

Another addition to my wardrobe is this super incredible necklace. One of the most beautiful people I know, Becca Kennedy (she’s also an INCREDIBLE makeup artist) sent me the most beautiful parcel: it had inside this silver coil necklace, and three crystals, all picked specifically for my needs. It was such a beautiful gift, I was in tears when I opened it! When someone knows exactly what healing you need, and picks out the gemstones that will be able to help your specific ailments… it’s more than a present, it’s really thought about, its really caring. So lovely – thank you so much Becca, I love it.

In these photos, the crystal inside is Rainbow Obsidian:

Brings light and love to one’s life.

It is used for ‘gazing’, especially in the areas of love matters, relationships,

and total development of ones etheric and physical forms. 

Grounding, stabilizing, connects the base chakra with the heart.

Shields against negativity.

Useful when feeling inadequate/having self doubt. 

Thank you again, Ziggy Denim and beautiful Becca,

Cx

Dress: Valleygirl

Jeans: Ziggy Denim

Necklace: Crystal Wave

Bracelet: Rubi Shoes

Shoes: Verali

There’s such a mental lead-up to Christmas, that you often forget about the rest of the festive season. After Christmas is done, there’s so many other things to look forward to! Boxing Day, New Years Eve, New Years Day, and of course, the copious amount of barbecues and relaxing afternoon cocktails!

Here’s some happy snaps during my final days of 2012…

1. Bookshelf // reading list 2013, and my crystals

2. Claddagh // the claddagh ring my parents bought me for christmas

3. Self portrait // seeing eye necklace from ASOS, crystal necklace, flicky hair

4. Presents //dictaphone, ring, Vivienne Westwood perfume, The Dark Knight Rises

5. Juicy // juicer, present from parents also

6. Instrumental // favourite christmas song (so huge)

7. Tower // meringue & Malteaser tower

8. Veiny // ASOS rings, Savvy by DB nailpolish in ‘Tropical Martini’

9. Last drop // last sip of my Christmas Day Moët and strawberries

10. Fight! // yearly Christmas Day waterfight tradition

11. Punchbowl // Pimm’s punch

12. Christmas Outfit // Liza Emanuele chiffon shirt in ‘spell’, Faux leather dress from Ally.

13. 2013 // L, daily journal from typo R, disappointment diary & subtitled leather-look shorts, courtesy of General Pants Co.

Happy new year everyone! Here’s to a wonderful 2013.

Cx

I think this will be my official summer post. I’m not really that much of a summer person, to be honest. (I KNOW RIGHT, CRAZY, all of you who don’t live in Australia probably want to punch me right now.) But anyway, I found this 90′s swimsuit in Savers, (still with tags and hygiene sticker on it, incase you were wondering) and I’m so in love with it.

I’ve never been much of bikini person, not because of the skimpiness, but I’ve never really thought they were flattering to my body. Like, I look really weird in them. So when I found this excellent one piece with the collared high neckline, and Baywatch-cut legs, I was over the moon. It’s flattering, a bit weird, and the crazy high cut legs (like it is just above my hips) make it a bit sexy too. And how great is the 90′s electric geometric print?

I used to go to Savers every time I was in Melbourne, so I was delighted when I found out it was coming to Adelaide. It was a super great addition to the opshopping scene here. But unfortunately, the petrol from my house costs almost costs as much as the flight to Melbourne these days – I live near Gawler, which north of the city, and Noarlunga is south. So getting there takes me nearly 2 hours. But it’s completely and utterly worth it. I have never walked out empty handed. I highly recommend heading there, especially if you are an opshop newbie – they colour code everything and have sections for each type of clothing! Which makes finding something you love 100x easier. And I highly recommend looking at the swimsuit sections, because it’s obvious swimsuits from the 80′s and 90′s are infinitely better than the ones today.

And the best part about this was, why pay $300 for bathers? Mine cost me 50c. So great.

Huge thanks to Vanessa Burton for her photographic talents!

Cx

Swimsuit: vintage Speedo (from Savers)

This is one of my favourite outfits. But let’s be honest, it was probably the worst outfit to shoot during summer. Leather pants, Chloe, really? Cue hilarious mental images of Chloe trying to get leather pants on and off in the Parklands in 40ºC heat.

Nevertheless, I love the outfit anyway. The t-shirt is from CHEAP AS CHIPS. HAHAHAHAHA. AND IT GLOWS IN THE DARK. Goddamn I’m proud of my bargain-finding abilities. I just thought it was really beautiful and I have no qualms when it comes to buying clothes from stores that many people would turn their noses up at. AND IT GLOWS IN THE DARK.

The pants are Finders Keepers. However, I did rip the knees myself. Not on purpose, just made the obvious mistake of forgetting to hike up tight pleather pants before falling to my knees while styling a shoot. But it works in my favour – ripped leather-look isn’t a bad thing at all, and it suits this outfit’s nonchalant, devil-may-care vibes.

I recently bought the ‘eye’ necklace from ASOS. Its a new favourite of mine, I found after recently learning about the different chakras, and becoming slightly obsessed with reading about the third eye chakra. I always tend to wear it with my crystal spiral, because I think they fit well, and look amazing together.

The backpack is one of my favourite things ever to be given – General Pants Co. gave me a voucher for their new Tea Tree Plaza store shortly after it opened, and this was the first item to catch my eye. I had been looking desperately for a backpack, and you know how I feel about leather, studs and skulls – therefore it was perfect for me. In love!

Also, black lipstick. It’s the best.

T-shirt: Cheap as Chips

Pants: Finders Keepers

Shoes: Rubi Shoes

Lipstick: BYS

Necklaces: ASOS, Crystal Wave

Backpack: Gathering Eye 

Huge thank you to Erick Watson for taking these photos

Cx

General Pants Co. were lovely enough to ask me to shoot some street style for them at Big Day Out in Adelaide. I was super super flattered, and so excited – the last time I had been able to go to BDO was in 2006!

I was a little nervous, because I am no photographer, but luckily I had Nicole of Confident Liar down from Sydney to help me out with camera woes and to keep me company! We traipsed around for most of the morning, being all relaxed and nonchalant – little did we know how busy we were to become in the evening. All of the acts I wanted to see were after 5pm, which were Childish Gambino, Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, Crystal Castles, and Sleigh Bells. Our main mistake was filling up on chips and salsa in the media centre, then leaving proper food til too late in the day – lines were crazy long, and we didn’t have time to wait in line before running off to stages – damn! I was so keen on a haloumi burger from Adelaide’s Veggie Velo.

In terms of street style, you know me – I’m constantly on the lookout for the people who make you think ‘what they are wearing is so weird, why does it work so well?’, and I found some excellent people who fit that. Guys favoured the relaxed short-sleeve button up, chino shorts and boatshoes, and while their relaxed style looked great, it had the potential to look a bit too same-same, which many fell prey to. Girls however, were a wonderful dichotomy to witness; girls seemed to be wearing either 1) denim super-short shorts + cropped shirts/tanks, or 2) they went totally weird.  I found some good ones though, from all aforementioned genres. Check these kids out.

And for good measure, some photos from throughout the day !

(including header image)

1 / camera over head crowd shot during Band of Horses

2 / my outfit for the day:
Stussy dress courtesy of General Pants
Nike Free Run sneakers
Cotton On sunglasses
Gathering Eye backpack courtesy of General Pants

3 / Childish Gambino

4 / Karen O of The Yeah Yeah Yeahs

5 / Crystal Castles (photographers weren’t allowed in the pit
+ I got told off for photographing them from the crowd)

6 / Sleigh Bells

for more photos of the day, check out my facebook album ~here~

Thanks so much to General Pants for the amazing oppurtunity, I had such an amazing day! And big thanks for the Stussy dress too – I friggen love it!

C x

Erick and I went for a waltz down the Torrens River in the CBD one day, and I very nearly got eaten by one of those evil, evil black swans. Those things are vicious, evil creatures – they are even ‘danger’ colours, black and red. I hate them. While Erick was taking the main image of me, swan swam right up to the edge and I STILL MAINTAIN that if I hadn’t jumped away so quickly, HE WOULD HAVE EATEN MY LEGS OFF.

Which would have been very sad, because my shoes are one of my favourite finds ever. I have received so many compliments on them, and they cost me $15 from Big W. I have been looking for a specific wedge sneakers for a while – I really needed all-black ones, and I could only find multi-coloured previously – and it’s super bizarre I found my perfect ones in Big W!

I have to give huge thank yous for the rest of the outfit.

Firstly, to General Pants Co.. This Evil Twin muscle tee is one of my favourite shirts to wear, the print/colour is girly and cute enough to wear with anything, but the muscle tee cut is super boyish – I love it. Huge thanks to Jaharn for hooking me up with the goods!

Secondly, this skirt was a Christmas present from my mum. I KNOW RIGHT, HOW COOL IS MY MUM. She has pretty good taste in choosing quirky clothes for me, and she found this skirt in the racks at Ally Fashion. Thanks mum! If you have a chance to visit the newer one in the Myer Centre, I highly recommend it. It’s a mainstream chainstore, complete with loud dance music and a lot of 14 year olds, but if you can stand that, go search the sale racks – they have some excellent stuff, and great basics. And it’s much cheaper than Supré, and the staff are much nicer and attentive than Supré too.

Thirdly, I have to thank my best friend, Jake Bley. This clutch is the Maison Martin Margiela x H&M candywrapper clutch. If you know my blog, you know I live in Australia. H&M doesn’t exist here, or ship here. Jake recently moved to New York, and I called him (possibly in the wee hours of the morning) begging him to try to find me an item from the collection. He went to three different H&M’s in NYC, and in the end, he literally fought a woman, to get me this clutch. The sentence ‘I flew from Australia for this!’ was literally said – a slight exaggeration of the truth maybe, but he loves me that much. So thank you Jake, it is one of my most prized possessions, and I love you forever and I love you I love you I love you.

Huge thanks again to Erick Watson for his excellent photography!

Cx

Outfit

Tee: Evil Twin (from General Pants Co.)

Skirt: Ally Fashion

Shoes: Big W

Necklace: Crystal Wave

Cocktail ring: ASOS

Clutch: Maison Martin Margiela x H&M

Recently I had the oppurtunity to assist one of my friends Ryan Kenny on a shoot for the Adelaide Magazine. Now a Sydney boy, he rang me one day asking if I could assist him, and said, ‘we’re shooting that new April girl, the one that signed to Finesse.’ Immediately I was pretty excited. I’m normally never a model obsessor or anything close to it, but I was excited to work with April Tiplady – she had already been signed to IMG within days, everyone knew she was destined for huge, huge things.

The shoot was incredible, she was amazing, the shots looked great.

Yesterday, I was watching the Junya Watanabe show. You may have noticed I’ve been rather quiet with my Fashion Week coverage – I don’t want to be ‘that guy’, but I have been waiting for Paris, because I found everything else underwhelming this year. ANYWAY. I was watching the Junya show, and suddenly a familiar looking face in a red jacket walks out to close the show. And you know what I did? I said internally ‘oh wow, that girl looks like April’. It wasn’t until the lady herself posted on Facebook that she had just walked her first show in Paris, that it clicked. And I punched the air in happiness. I should’ve pieced it all together much quicker – it was only about 3 weeks ago that I was chatting to Finesse Director Brigette Mitchell, and she was telling me that she herself was jetting off to Paris.

image from style.com

Seriously Junya Watanabe. The girl has never walked a show in her life before this one. She walked for one of the most incredible designers in the world, for her first ever show. The girl is a phenomenon. Keep an eye out for this one. Congrats April, Congrats Finesse, Congrats IMG! x