John Galliano for Christian Dior Haute Couture 2010/2011

I love haute couture shows for the sheer extravagance. Art comes to life in the form of fashion.

A few years back I was reading a high fashion magazine in a spare moment at work when a colleague popped over to my desk to see what I was doing. I was marvelling at photos from the Paris haute couture shows. Said colleague thought this was a waste of time because "nobody would ever wear that". I then proceeded to explain that haute couture wasn't designed to be worn by her or I to work or to the shops, in fact most of time nobody but the model would wear the gown and it was in fact a piece of art and in some cases architecture to be enjoyed as any other piece of art work. The designers have an inspiration and they run with it. Alas, she still failed to understand fashion is art and as she walked away she muttered something about how I should crochet and scrap book with her...

This kind of attitude to fashion is sad as you miss out on enjoying the breathtaking and intricate creations by our modern day masters. You or I may never wear this but modified versions of these gowns may be worn by the elite to balls and celebrations and snapped on the red carpet over the coming months on our favourite celebrities.

Galliano has used flowers as his muse for this stunning collection. The silks draped like petals, the chiffon and ballerina inspired skirts mix with an upside down tulip style skirt and belts fashioned like flower stamens, leaves and stems. The models hair was presented like flower bulbs with some wrapped in cellophane, reminiscent of a floral bouquet. Some of the pieces are very wearable while the gowns are sheer show stoppers. Here is a selection of my favourites, enjoy!

New ways with nautical...

It's hard to go shopping at the moment with being encountered with navy and white stripes. Nautical is in and many people will avoid the trend out of fear of not being able to do it right. The trick here is to keep it simple so you don't look like a sailor.

• Go stripes on the top or bottom, not both. 
• Accessorise simply, use your accessories to add a splash of colour
• Use bows to feminise the look
• You can't go wrong with a striped top and nice denim jeans
• Use navy, reds, whites and blacks to coordinate the look.

Still not sure how to wear it? Here are several looks for work, for play and for any occasion in between!

Wear it to work - Nautical by Agirlsgottodream featuring Lodis bags

gilda cardi, 39 GBP

Jaeger Piping Bow Shirt, White, 18, 49 GBP

Nautical Striped Cardigan, $28

daniella high waisted bootcut trouser, 39 GBP

Striped cotton skirt, $165

Nautical Pump, $192

MAZY T Bar Pearl Pumps, $55

Lodis Audrey Satchel Brief Work Bag, $260

Nautical Multi Loop Bow Necklace, 24 GBP

silver hope anchor trinket necklace, $110

3 x Aloha Flower Brooch Set, 12 GBP

New Ways With Nautical - Casual by Agirlsgottodream featuring Juicy Couture bags

Nautical Rope Bows Tank, $20

Women's AE Striped Ruffle Racer Tank (Blue Marina), $12

Silver Tuesday Boot Stretch Jean, $82

Karva Shorts, 35 GBP

Nautical Lurex Stripe Triangle Bikini Top, 14 GBP

Red Nautical Denim Rope Wedges by See by Chloe Shoes, 116 GBP

Multi nautical toepost, 22 GBP

Canvas Tote Bag, $16

Varsity Logo Tote, $198

Blu Bijoux Anchor Necklace - Max and Chloe, $32

Bow earrings, $125

Amazon.com: Double Picture Frame 4x6 / 4 x 6 Gold Wood with Antique..., $17

New ways with nautical by Agirlsgottodream featuring Pixie tops

Warm Pixie Nautical Bow Oversized Top, 49 GBP

BP. Double Scoop Neck Tank, $15

Nautical Twill Short, $24

stripe full skirt, 13 GBP

ASOS Cute Plastic Bow Brooch, $3.40

Dawna's Sterling Silver Nautical Charm Necklace, $48

ENAMELLED ANCHOR NECKLACE, $8.99

Anglomania by Vivienne Westwood or "reuse and recycle"

Box up your GHD's and search through your boxes labelled "80's"

British designer Vivienne Westwood has just shown her Spring/summer 2011 Collection at Paris Fashion Week and it sees a return to colour, crimp and an array of other design elements seen from her previous collections; and by previous I mean really previous. Think pirates, pillboxes, punk and of course, glam. 

I read an article a little while back from UK Hello about Princess in waiting Kate, Camilla and even the Queen getting into this recycling of bits and pieces over the years including jewellery, hats and even whole outfits. In current economic times people are looking for diversity in an investment or looking at ways to reuse things laying around in the wardrobe that they love too much to let go of.

So Vivienne Westwood's show might not inspire us to dig through our wardrobe and find our pirate eye patches, it certainly was a refreshing change from the fairly "safe" pieces of late. I love the colour and print on some of these dresses and the flattering cuts.  I also love the hair and makeup, not for everyday of course but it accentuates the fun of the collection. When I was younger Mum used to sew a patch on my jeans if I wore a hole through the knee, watch out Spotlight patches just might be making a comeback!

She has a gorgeous red gingham dress, which reconfirms what many have been saying: gingham is back, expect to see a lot more of it as the seasons change.

Check it out and leave a comment. 

What one thing in your wardrobe would you love to reuse?

An Ode to the Cardigan

I don't know about you but I love cardigans. 

They are so versatile and great for that extra layer of warmth or a pretty cover up. Cardigans are named after the 7th Earl of Cardigan, no joke! He was a military commander and, like the trench coat, the cardi was worn by him in the mid 1800's. It then crossed over to popular culture and was embraced by fishermen, farmers and others who worked outdoors. Wool based cardigans helped to stop wind and add that extra layer of warmth.

These days cardis come in all shapes, sizes and colours and with plenty of embellishments to choose from. Cardigans aren't just for grandmas and grandpas either, these days it's one of the hottest fashion items for all those metro guys and can add a cute and classy look to any ladies outfit.

It can be hard to find a great cardigan in Australia, probably the prettiest we have are by Alannah Hill. If you are keen to shop online, Anthropologie have gorgeous cardigans that are often worn on the TV show Glee by quirky councillor Emma Pilsbury.

This winter we are seeing a real nautical theme coming through with stripes and navy blues, reds and blacks. Military style embellishments are also out there at the moment and are best worn simply with jeans and a cute pair of flats, don't go carried away going full on military style. Longer length cardigans are also in and are best worn with a nice pair of skinny jeans, not tights.

So without further ado, check out these great current buys:

I'm all Alone Cardi - Alannah Hill @ Clear It Online

The Secret Death cardi - Alannah Hill @ Clear It Online

Stripe Detail Boyfriend Cardi @ ASOS

Military braid cardigan @ ASOS

Military detail long cardigan @ ASOS

Emily Temple Cute Dotty Bow Cardigan @ Maruione

Buffy Frilly Cardi @ French Connection

Pleat Skirt Cardigan @ Miss Selfridge

Abuzz Cardi @ Anthropologie

Four Petal Cardi @ Anthropologie

Masked stripes Cardi @ Anthropologie

Percussive Cardigan @ Anthropologie

Remaining Lillies Cardigan @ Anthropologie

Scribbled Bouquet Cardigan @ Anthropologie

See You Through Cardigan @ Anthropologie

Found any cute cardigans lately? Drop the link in a comment!

The 2011 Ready to Wear Resort Collection wrap!

I'm a big fan of Chanel, I love the classic and iconic Coco Chanel tweed. Many try to replicate the look and most fail. When a brand is known for a certain style it can sometimes be a little odd to see something else from them that is so far down the opposite end of the fashion scales. Unfortunately for me, Chanel's RTW Resort collection by Karl Legerfeld was like this. There were a few pieces that I loved and others that really shocked me.

Of course fashion is subjective, I'm not going to like everything I see and everyone isn't going to like  what I find to be fantastic, although I'm not really sure who they would be!

Regardless, you can make your own mind up about the Chanel collection. Will people buy this stuff? Of course they will, it's Chanel!

Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel

My favourite piece from the show

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Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton

Marc by Marc Jacobs

Carolina Herrera

Love the fabric, prefer the shorter frock

Personal Favourite Collette Dinnigan.

 I loved every dress from this collection. The colours and the textures were fantastic!

Bye for Now!