The Black Pack

I'm a huge fan of black. At least 50%, if not more, of my wardrobe is black. It's super flattering and can be accesorised with any colour you can imagine so it's oh-so practical (practical isn't always boring!). I have a great friends hen's party on Saturday night and we've been asked to wear either black or white. What have I chosen? Of course black! I then came across these too cute black dresses from the Simona Diffusion collection. I want one! I especially want the first one. The mono shoulder is so popular at the moment and the embellished shoulder is so chic. With a pair of killer heels and a super sleek do you'll be ready for any party. Visit www.simona.com.au for collection details and stockists.







Posted by Emilie Harrison

Choc-A-Holic

If you're planning a wedding in the cooler seasons of autumn and winter and are a bit stuck on colours take the advice of New Zealand stationery designer Kate Holland of Ruby & Willow and incorporate a shade of chocolate. It's a warm colour perfectly suited to the cooler months and coordinates perfectly with sorbet shades like pink, yellow, blue, apricot and green. See below some of the great and interesting ways she's mixed soft colours with chocolate. Almost looks good enough to eat! Visit www.rubyandwillow.co.nz for more divine inspiration.









Posted by Emilie Harrison

Dreaming of a Tropical Escape

We've all agreed that the winter weather is beginning the kick in. Ugg boots have come out, coats and jackets are at the dry cleaners and we're now thinking about escaping somewhere warm and tropical. The thought of a warm vacation also leads to thoughts of swimwear. If you're a bikini lover like me you'll love these adorable numbers from Agua Bendita. The colours are bright and striking and the styles are so wearable. You'd feel right at home in one of these on a sunny island somewhere! Visit www.aguabendita.com.au to gain some tropical inspiration.







Posted by Emilie Harrison

From Paris with Love - Paris Read-to-Wear autumn 2010

The Paris RTW shows are always a glamorous, sophisticated and uber chic affair. This year the undeniable star of the show was the late and great Alexander McQueen. His final collection, which was only 80% complete when he passed away, was shown to a small, intimate group and personified all that he, as a designer, was about. Structured and romantic pieces with an underlying medieveal tone featured exquisite jacquard fabrics, feathers and collars in rich golds, reds and blacks. It was a fitting tribute to a designer who was incredibly skilled and deeply passionate about his craft. Valentino used ruffles to great effect, scattering them on gowns and jackets. The pieces were feminine however they had a modern edginess that gave a taste as to what's to come from the famed label. It was nice to see a few bright colours shine including Valentino's signature colour, red. Marc Jacobs weaved his magical wand at Louis Vuitton creating a homage to the 50's and 60's with circle skirts, wasp-like waists and ample bosom. High ponytails and square toed shoes with block heels added innocent schoolgirl femininity. As always Elie Saab created some beautiful evening gowns. A rather dark collection, key colours included midnight blues, burgandy's and teals. Sheer fabrics and shoulder draping kept the rather sexy looks feminine and pretty.

I should also note there is a beautiful and moving video tribute to McQueen on his website. Visit www.alexandermcqueen.com to see the tribute and to view his final collection.




Alexander McQueen


Valentino


Louis Vuitton




Elie Saab
Photos courtesy of Style.com

Posted by Emilie Harrison

Top of the Hill

I'm very excited that Adelaide's first Alannah Hill store will be opening on Rundle St in April. Yay! I'm in love with the pics from her latest A/W 2010 collection. Not only are the pics gorgeous but the colours are so rich and warm. If you're after something with a bit of edge or quirkiness for a wedding as a guest or even for your maids you'll certainly find something at Alannah Hill. Visit www.alannahhill.com.au for collection details.







Posted by Emilie Harrison

Behr Goes To the Oscars

The lovely Jennifer Behr, headpiece extraordinaire, kindly let me know the gorgeous Maggie Gyllenhaal wore one of her super pretty headpieces to the Oscars this year. Maggie chose The Artmesia Tiara in Jet which was the perfect accessory to her hand painted Dries Van Noten gown. Loving the pink lippie too! Visit www.jenniferbehr.com to browse the collection or to buy this piece all for yourself.




Maggie Gyllenhaal wearing The Artmesia Tiara in Jet USD$875

Posted by Emilie Harrison

The Loveliest Lettering

I am a sucker for calligraphy through and through so imagine my delight at finding Emililies on the Etsy site. Based in California in the US, Emililies offers calligraphy-adorned rubber stamps, ready to make an impression on countless envelopes and stationery items. At USD$39 + shipping, this makes calligraphy accessible to everyone and a really affordable option for any wedding stationery.

There are many other options available including envelope addressing.







Contact them directly for pricing and shipping policies or visit their website for lots of fun and inspiring examples of their work including pdf invites and name logos.





Posted by Jane Cameron

Oh Starry Night...

For me the Academy Awards aren't just about the winners, they're more about the gorgeous gowns that get effortlessly paraded by a slick bunch of uber glamorous A-listers. This year I wasn't disappointed! Many stars strayed away from black, opting for romantic midnight blues. The softest of yellows, creams and golds were also popular thanks to Sarah Jessica Parker in Chanel Couture and Best Actress winner Sandra Bullock, who opted for one of my favourite designers Marchesa. Purple seemed to be the hot colour this season so it was no surprise to see it pop up all over the shop. Charlize Theron's custom made Christian Dior gown was a gorgeous shade, although I'm not huge fan of the bust detailing. I was pretty sure that spectacular Givenchy gown I blogged about a few weeks back would get a look in and fair enough Avatar star Zoe Saladina made it her pick. My favourite gown of the night by far! I'm madly in love with Miley Cyrus' Jenny Packham gown. Such a fabulous choice that would make the perfect wedding dress. A special mention has to go to Meryl Streep. Her Chris March gown was perfect. It was sexy, slick and so effortlessly chic. She was one of my favourites!


Zoe Saladina in Givenchy Couture & Kristen Stewart in Monique Lhuillier with H Stern jewels


Sandra Bullock in Marchesa & Sarah Jessica Parker in Chanel Couture


Miley Cyrus in Jenny Packham & Kate Winslet in YSL


Diane Kruger in Chanel & Meryl Streep in Chris March with Fred Leighton jewels and Swarovski clutch


Carey Mulligan in Prada with Fred Leighton jewels & Maggie Gyllenhaal in Dries Van Noten with Fred Leighton jewels


Tina Fey in Michael Kors & Sigourney Weaver in Lanvin


Rachel McAdams & Anna Kendrick both in Elie Saab


Gabourey Sidibe in Marchesa & Queen Latifah


Amanda Seyfried & Jennifer Lopez both in Armani Prive


Charlize Theron in Christinan Dior with Harry Winston jewels & Vera Farmiga in Marchesa with Fred Leighton jewels
Photos courtesy of Vogue.co.uk, Style.com and Film.com

Posted by Emilie Harrison

Mini Magic

A lot of thought is often put into wedding invitations but do you really put much thought into your engagement invitations? Afterall, the engagement party gets everyone in the mood and gives them just a taste as to what's in store at the wedding. Stationery designer Ellen Wilkinson of Mini Moko has some super cute Lovehearts engagement invitations that may fit your bill perfectly. Available in hot pink and Luscious Red they come with envelope for AUD$4.95 + GST each. Visit www.minimoko.com.au to view the extensive invitation collection.



Posted by Emilie Harrison

French Style

Another of my favourite inspirations when I'm designing wedding stationery or planning a photo shoot for WSG is French Style and Decoration - A Sourcebook of Original Designs by Stafford Cliff. This book is so beautifully designed with many full page reproductions of French design through the ages.

With a total of 600+ designs every page reveals a different medium from wallpaper design, fabric patterns to tablesettings.





Available from Amazon for USD$20.57 + shipping.

I love this book so much I have just ordered the second book in the series - English Style and Decoration. No doubt this will be equally as inspiring.

Posted by Jane Cameron

Thoughtful Stationery

Erica from the lovely blog Thoughtful Day also has a great stationery website that she launched soon after her own wedding after loving the process of designing her own stationery. She does custom work like the gorgeous stationery below that she designed for her own wedding and also has launched her Melodie collection which is a mix and match stationery design where you choose the colour you want and the design with lots of matching bits and pieces - my favourite being the matching rubber stamps and welcome tote bags!







The custom stationery Erica designed for her own wedding (above) and the mix and match stationery (below)











Posted by Emma Henderson