FASHFEST - 3 FABULOUS DAYS OF FASHION FUN

FASHFEST - 3 FABULOUS DAYS OF FASHION FUN

Image: Anthony Caffery

Look out Canberra here I come! With great honour I have been invited to attend FASHFEST in Canberra this year and it thrills me that fashion, design and creativity in many forms will be on display in our nation’s capital.

I have been reading many an article online about FASHFEST and have been impressed by the effort, hours and commitment that has been poured into the program. From watching the models being selected, updates on Instagram or reading articles from Ink & Leathers (who I have come to rely on to be my Canberra survival guide) I am really impressed by what I have seen from our “Bush Capital” that is only an hour from Melbourne on plane.

In the lead up to FASHFEST, I have asked many people if they have been to Canberra and what they know about our country’s capital. Basically the answers are the same; War Memorial, Parliament House and a lake. On further prompting I ask if they knew about the 3-day fashion event that showcases the work of more than 40 designers. Insert blank faces here. They then want to know more about Canberra’s annual red-carpet event and what I am looking forward to as a Canberra virgin.

Besides the above mentioned, I am looking forward to visiting the National Gallery of Australia which has over 160,000 pieces of art as well as wondering around the old parliament buildings. I have a thing for architecture and exploring a city on foot. But let’s get serious, Parliament House is similar to a day care centre, so let’s move on to what is really important…………..fashion!

Image: Jack Mohr

I feel so inspired at a fashion show, from seeing someone’s creativity come to life, if it be hair and make-up, styling, modelling and or of course the clothes. The runway is electric with energy, the synergy of all the creative teams coming together in such a dynamic way, and I binge feed on it as it ignites desires and lust for what I see on the runway. 

The 3 fabulous days of fashion, music and entertainment that are planned will be hosted at National Convention Centre Canberra. I have googled this venue and it looks amazing! What a stage for a runway! Glamorous parties will be will be hosted at QT Canberra where the style elite can be found mingling and partying after the runway lights dim for the evening.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for live updates on instagram and future articles covering the 3-day festivities but for now onto the highlights from the released program http://fashfest.com.au/:

I do adore a good Haute Couture design after styling many a bride over the years. Like myself, this is the first time De Challie Haute Couture has been involved in FASHFEST and by looking at their website and social media, De Challie Haute Couture promises some spectacular visuals with their voluminous and detailed designs.

Image: De Challie Haute Couture

BT (Braddon Tailors) is an Australian design house that uses some of the best fabrics from around the world for their made to measure garments. The silhouettes on their website look very classic and will be a welcomed feast for my eyes leading into summer.  

Image: Samantha Taylor

Ethical and sustainability is definitely covered in the program with a line-up of designers including Melanie Child who has a focus on upcycling and sustainable fabric choices. This is her third year which indicates to me that she is clearly a force that can create superb garments out of waste or unwanted materials.

The Salvos Stores will also be on display offering their take on upcycling and recycling. I used to work for the Salvos Stores many years ago and will be interested to see how far they have come.

Image: Michael Greves

The Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair Foundation and Magpie Goose will display Indigenous textiles and design, Magpie Goose prints are designed and printed in four remote Aboriginal communities across the Top End.

Obviously some big names in Australian fashion are also involved including Alex Perry, Camilla and Misha Collection to name a few, presented by Momento Dezigns, a stunning shop with amazing labels that has been operating in Canberra for decades. It will be exciting to see what they present so soon after Melbourne Spring Fashion Week.

It goes without saying that one of my highlights is always seeing the next generation of designers. The students from the Canberra Institute of Technology will be showcasing two collections this year. I am always excited to see the talent on display with students, their wild creativity with a side of edginess is so refreshing and I cannot wait to see what the students have been creating in Canberra.

Out of the 3 days on offer it is hard to say which night I am looking forward to the most. Honestly, I think all 3 nights and 6 shows offer the crowd so much variety and diversity. Tickets start from $49 which is quite reasonable and there are VIP and Platinum ‘experiences’ which include guided backstage tours. 

First impressions are always an opportunity to shine bright and I think this will be Canberra’s way of blinding me! It maybe best to pack some new sunnies!

Tickets are on sale now at:  http://fashfest.com.au/:

WHERE I SHOP

WHERE I SHOP

Everyone knows that I simply adore a good shop. I am always asked where I shop and how I find so many bargains. As much as online shopping has its place in the world, there is nothing like the immediate satisfaction of falling in love with an item and taking it home. In saying that, discount shopping does not mean stalking people for a car space on Saturday mornings at your local DFO or finding the same stock from a retailer in their flagship store vs their outlet. In fact if you know where to shop and hidden stores perfect for sourcing new pieces, you will find you will not discount shop every again.

In this post I am going to take you on a little adventure inside one of my favourite hot spots for unique, quality goods and finding a stellar bargain or two that is located about 15 minutes from Melbourne CBD. This location always has the goods and I can honestly say I have never walked out without at least two pieces (and I visit fortnightly).

Factory outlet shopping does not mean you need to be digging through a bin or trying to find your size in a pile of twisted garments whilst being starred at by an angry shop assistant. The store layout  is beautifully managed, catagorised to assist with ease of shopping, merchandised with expertise and it is clean and lit very well. Almost like you are in a higher end store, just with more stock! You will be pleasantly surprised by the level of professionalism, passion, product and people in this one stop, must shop destination. This location is not just for the fellas. So ladies, grab your tote, slip on your shoes and head on down.

One of Melbourne's best kept secrets is Flair Industries in Preston, Victoria. Ted Baker, Hugo Boss, Wolf Kanat and Flair Industries goods are on offer at massively discounted prices. The "normal" discounted shopping experience does not apply here. The staff great you with warmth and personality and offer to guide you through the rather large store. Their passion for the brands shines through with their product knowledge for each brand and upcoming stock and sales coming to the store and helpful styling tips.

Personally I am a major fan of Ted Baker. The quirky style, use of bold colours, fabrics and prints suits me perfectly. There is a timelessness to Ted Baker and it's Glasgow roots that allows for items not to date whilst providing a freshness and uniqueness that is not like other designers. You know I am not afraid to wear a rocking print or super colourful items. One of the hidden gems of this location is the samples. I personally love finding sample pieces as they are not mass produced items, they tend to be more fearless in creativity and there is an exclusivity to owning them. There are samples everywhere in this location and its one of the major drawcards for me. If you want to carry a bag that no on else has, then this is the place for you. You need some new shoes but want something a little quirky to stand out from the crowd, step right up, take a seat on the nice benches and try them on. I kid you not, this place is a shoeaholics dream!

Being a serious shopper for a very long time, I cannot understand why anyone would opt for run of the mill budget brands when this outlet has reasonably priced 'no ordinary designer' looks. Most shirts at the outlet are $40-$70 dollars and the quality is far superior, there is more variety in prints, colours and sizing. Shoes range in price from $70 dollars upwards (even cheaper with their twice yearly sample sale). My love affair with beautiful things can flourish in store as I try on sample shoes after sample shoes, all amazingly created with uniqueness.

Desire and passion go hand and hand, and at the Ted Baker outlet, you can literally walk out with all that you're craving (or if you're anything like me, so much more). Ted Baker's passion for quality shines through in the smaller details, such as buttons, stitching and fabric choices. I challenge you to pick up a bag and inspect the finer details of the hardwear, the two coloured shoe laces on the shoes, the collars on the shirts, the details are completely exquisite. If you don't walk out with something, you clearly need to seek help.

Let's delve a little further and look at the in-store gems that are available. Their are gorgeous suits and I mean gorgeous. Waistcoats, trousers, jeans oh my. Shirts, polo's, jackets, blazers and coats. Did you say accessories? Well belts, gloves, bags and shoes........honestly there is everything! I have fallen in love with many suits that you just do not see in mainstream menswear lines in Australia. These suits are perfect for weekends in Portsea, destination weddings in exotic locations and red carpet events. And men, this is just not for you, grab the girls and head in as they have just as much for women! Yes this location has a massive amount of women's wear. You could easily spend a good hour to two in this store. There is so much to look at and try on in the spacious change rooms and the hardest decision will be, "do I buy it all?"

The richness of this discount shopping adventure is superior to the after hours mobile online shopping. Online shopping has become an everyday part of our lives and I personally find it very soul-less. I adore the shopping experience of trying items on, falling in love with the quality of a leather, engagement with staff and grabbing that bag after swiping the credit card. As much as I like to shop online (purely as I cannot find what I want in Australia) there is nothing like physically being present and experiencing the passion, products and people associated with such great brands like Ted Baker. Brand loyalty is rare these days as the fashion industry has evolved and tries to cater for everyone's needs and desire to mass produce rather than be original. Its brands like Ted Baker that consistently deliver with creativity, quality and style and all this is wrapped up in great pricing and a positive shopping experience with wonderful interaction from staff. How can online compare?

You could easily be distracted by the other brands on offer at this location. Especially Wolf Kanat, the tailoring and exquisite fabric choices are refreshing to suiting in Australia. If you are from Melbourne, or visiting, I would highly recommend a trip to Flair Industries on Albert Street, Preston. The staff are friendly and highly skilled, the stock is amazing, and the bargains are out of this world. I challenge you to find a better discount store in Melbourne that offers everything an A-grade shopping experience should be. This is why I am a Ted Baker devotee.

Flair Industries is located at 6 Albert Street Preston

2013

2013

2013 began for me with kind of a plan. Then of course as it always does, life got in the way. After soaking up the sun and spending as much time as I could with Mario and friends in January, I returned to Adelaide for a six month stint. I remember crying for most of February. Despite working in my field on a good gig, even though I had been given more to do for myself this year, my heart was not in it as much as it had once been. The Adelaide Cabaret Festival is truly a stand out Festival, which draws some of the most interesting talents from around the world. With Kate Ceberano and Torben Brookman at the helm the Festival has gone from strength to strength. In working at the Adelaide Festival Centre I was fortunate to work with and befriend some wonderful and colourful characters. Although I do not expect to wish to return to Adelaide to work again, I will hold onto the experiences and think back on them fondly.

As soon as Cabaret was over, I had planned to work a little and save to relocate to London for work.

But the idea of leaving my partner Mario was something I could not bare. So, with my possessions either given away, sold off or boxed into storage, I headed to Perth to spend time with him, and friends. 

As Perth is still riding the mining wave, the fashion scene keeps us busy enough- without becoming over the top. I am very happy to have made a group of friends whom I can turn to at various fashion events and laugh about all of its ridiculousness. Finding grounded people in this 'fashion' world, even from predominantly a consumer base, is not always easy. The number of events I have gone to and wished I had made other plans have lead me to be a little choosier, but I will say that with every invitation I am thankful to be thought of. Designers and retailers in Australia work very hard to generate products, find clients and compete in the retail environment particularly with international online sales. I have been fortunate to meet some encouraging designers, and have the utmost respect for their efforts. I will always love Australian designers, it has been a sad year to see so many finish up with their brands. There have been a number of notable newcomers whom I have coveted and happily road tested, and yes, of course I too shop online.

My own style has changed in the past year to become simpler, as I shed most of my prints and colourful items. (I gave myself a year to wear the neon items I had bought, then happily sold them on eBay) I do have a few key printed / coloured pieces but I try not to over wear these as I inevitably get sick of them. Moving states each time allows me to clear out and get rid of pieces whilst reaffirming what goes into this capsule collection. I will say that when I first got back to Perth I had one suitcase to my name, but imagine it would now be closer to one and a half (despite my recent eBay efforts). I could blame this on packing for winter, and having few summer items, or blame it on working with friend and stylist Mikey Walton who always seems to have cool items left over from shoots (luckily I fit into these!) or it could be that I have accumulated a few more pairs of shoes.
In 2014, I may even buy a new handbag… and hardly any shoes… :)
The rules still apply though- only buy it if it goes with a heap of other things, is of good quality, fits properly, is easily washed, will not 'date' in a year, and I have to LOVE it.

Over the past few months I have been heavily reviewing this blog, its content, my relationship with it and its readers, where I would like to take it and of course the name. The name part is the trickiest. I chose the current one without a plan to do much more than blog once or twice, then never really found the right name to reflect what I was all about. I don't always talk about fashion in my everyday life- I tend to get that out of my system here, so I am keen to reflect on my other interests in future. While all of this is a work in progress, stay tuned, and I will let you know once I am ready to relaunch new name, look, probably domain and format.

A special thank you to everyone who has made this such a fun year. Despite my moving, unconventional nature, I am thankful to live happily, to accept and practice patience at the same time as develop my ambitions and give back the love I get to others. I am also thankful of the patience and understanding demonstrated by my family who live without my presence a lot, and the continuing support of my friends locally, nationally and internationally. I miss time with each and hold them in my thoughts and heart. I am thankful to all of my readers, their comments, return visits and patience while I reboot in a new direction.
Thank you for the time and efforts generously given by the photographers who have kindly shot with me this year, namely, Mario Recchia, Benjamin Galbraith, Heidy Saeran, Donna Dee, Emma Robinson, my Mum (three times! and she did a great job!), James Witty and Laura Liy.
Thank you to all of the PR agents, stores, designers and volunteers who have invited me to attend shows, sent me products to review and shared this blog.
I wish everyone a wonderful New Year and excellent start to 2014.

If you have any requests of what you would like to see me write more about in 2014, please let me know by commenting below or emailing me.

xx Jenelle

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HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE SERIES: WINTER EDIT

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE SERIES: WINTER EDIT

Click the icons to shop, or here: White MINKPINK cropped sweater / ASOS Prism pumps / Sheinside coat / Fashion Bunker check clutch / Fiorelli Willow bag / Urban Outfitters Moto Jacket / Phase 3 hat / Sam Edelman Reese booties / Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume

The holiday season has crept up so quickly that it's got everyone stressing over two things:

1. What to buy
2. How to save

I’m mainly going to let the gift guides speak for themselves because I’ve got you covered for the first point - between a Winter edit for those in the Northern Hemisphere, a Summer edit for the Southerners (coming this week), Home/Interior, Boyfriend and Stocking Stuffers (all next week). 

Currently my shopping carts are slowly stacking up on multiple websites and I can't stop, so it's safe to say I'm struggling with how to save. Having student discounts are great for the websites that offer them, but I've been searching everywhere for that little bit extra off the stores I actually shop at (and encountered too many dodgy websites to count), but I think I've finally found a website that has an abundance of offers for us fashion enthusiasts and wanted to put together this quick post to help you and share the love! 

You can suss it out for yourselves and see if it's right for you, but I've already signed up for their Black Friday discount alerts for when they come out - just because Australia doesn’t celebrate it doesn’t mean I can’t score some steals with the rest of the world, right?

If you need more Holiday gift ideas click here, or shop my favourite online stores for more:

ASOS | GLASSONS | ANTHROPOLOGIE | FASHION BNKR
NASTY GAL | SHOPBOP | URBAN OUTFITTERS | NORDSTROM
 SAMANTHA WILLS | RIVER ISLAND | THE MODE COLLECTIVE | THE ICONIC

(P.S Don't forget about my giveaway for a Mimco clutch here)