Mixed Assortments

I recently made an Instagram account for the blog (@halcyonfuturefashion - go follow follow follow if you haven't already!). I'm using it as a way to showcase what's on and going on with the blog, as well as mini 'blog-bites' - smaller posts on a daily basis. 

A mixed assortment from the last week..

Candy Colours - turquoise Lovisa necklace paired with a gorgeously soft candy floss pink Topshop knit.

Mint Sorbet - Sally Hansen 'Mint Sorbet' on the nails, my new three band Sportsgirl ring and Sportsgirl turquoise tote in the background.

Back on Black - University is back so I took this sneaky accessories snap while waiting for my philosophy lecture to start. Wearing my Lipstik cut out boots with tassels and 'tote-ing' (terrible pun!) my Zara black leather bag. I bought it a few months ago for only $49.99 - and that was full price!

I really do think Zara has some incredibly well-priced accessories (and clothes, but less often), given what you'd expect to pay for a similar bag had it been in Sportsgirl/Forever New etc

Feeling Blue - finally got round to repainting my chipped mint nails - the weather was unusually glorious with blue skies a-plenty, so I stole some inspiration from that. The sky blue is from Barry M cosmetics, a brand I don't think is available in Australia. I absolutely love this colour, so always buy myself a few bottles whenever I'm back in England. I still really like the effect of the accent nail, so chose a slightly darker and glossier blue from Rimmel London.

Also spy my Sportsgirl silver floating rings!

 Birthday Drinks - With it almost being my 19th birthday (three more sleeps!) I had to do the obligatory teen club outing. I won't say too much about the dress, as I want to do a special blog post on it, but it's from online store Harpers Dresses. I felt amazing in it, and had a brilliant night too. 

Finally - Arrived home from work to find my British Vogue had arrived! Turned out to be the perfect end to a very good day, with a few bits of news I'll hopefully share with you very soon!

Brittany x

March On

Fashion fever has finally faded in Melbourne as the L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival drew to a close last week.

If you've read my last few posts, you'll know that I was lucky enough to attend a few of the events. Obviously I haven't had the luxury of attending multiple fashion weeks around the world, but I love LMFF largely for its accessibility and proximity. So often fashion can be so involved with itself that it forgets that the public and the consumers are actually some of the most important people in the industry. LMFF celebrates that - with runways and seminars that anyone can buy tickets to, as well as a huge range of free pop-up and cultural events all over the city.

My mum and I have been going every year since we moved to Melbourne from London (coming up to five years now!) and it's something that I really look forward to doing. We've been to a range of runways, presented by Vogue, Instyle, Grazia and this year Madison. There's always a fantastic atmosphere and a luxurious feel to the evening and this year was no different. We went to the later show, which meant we missed the opportunity for beautiful sunset photos over the docklands but did enjoy some champagne in the Woolshed Pub. I'm yet to see a runway show in which all the clothes bowl me over, but i love the atmosphere and excitement associated with seeing a catwalk show live, as it's something you normally associate with VIP and exclusivity.

The Madison show had an impressive line-up of models including Alice Burdeu, Cassie van den Dungen and Rachel Rutt modelling the collections of designers Megan Park, Flannel, Alannah Hill, Hardwick, Jayson Brunsdon, Aurelio Costarella and Kirrily Johnston.

My favourite would probably have to be Hardwick, who I hadn't heard of before but I thought their collection to be extremely wearable - with lots of sheer, black and lace. Alannah Hill too had some gorgeous coats in bright colours, but looked similar to ones I've already soon before. I'm a massive fan of playsuits (current count is at least 6 in my wardrobe) so I enjoyed the silk brocade jumpsuits from Jayson Brunsdon as well.

Alice Burdeu in Hardwick

Jayson Brunsdon

Cassi van den Dungen in Jayson Brunsdon

All photography from LMFF official photographer Lucas Dawson

Not the best photo (mum photography!) but what I wore to the Madison show. I went for a blue silk floral patterned shorts and peplum top, white Zara jacket, black tights and heels, salmon clutch, bright accessories and a cheeky Topshop lipstick in 'Brighton Rock'.

My write up of the High Fashion High Tea is also now up online on Onya Magazine, which I hope you'll have a read of...the food was absolutely to die for and has affirmed that afternoon tea is most certainly back on the menu!

High Fashion High Tea - LMFF event

I also covered the 2013 LMFF National Designers Award for a university assignment and was lucky enough to interview two finalists (and hugely talented designers!) Livia Arena and Michael Lo Sordo. I was only able to use a few quotes in my assignment but found them both so interesting to talk to that I will hopefully write up a profile of them here for you to enjoy... stay tuned!

Brittany x

New Goodies: Shopping Haul!

Along with my new found obsession with Youtube beauty videos (a couple of years late to the party, I know), I've also found myself constantly watching 'haul' videos. For those of you who don't know what they are, they're basically where you show and talk about all your recent shopping purchases. It sounds quite inane, but I really enjoy them (think it might be the nosey characteristic in me!)

So I thought I'd share with you a few of my most recent purchases. Firstly because i'm in love with quite a few of them and secondly, because being currently unemployed my shopping habits may have to be significantly curbed for a (hopefully!) short while.

 1. Herringbone Ankle Grazing Skinny Trousers

I literally bought these yesterday and I'm already in love with them and planning our wedding. Alright, maybe a slight exaggeration but I'm very much looking forward to wearing them. The next week still looks to remain above 30 degrees, so it may be a little while before I can take them out for a spin.
 I've seen the herringbone pattern a lot in the shops recently, and I think we're going to see a lot more of it in the coming colder months. I personally love it - I think most of the time it's a very classy pattern, and I love the chic-ness of it in the monochrome tones.

These ones are very skinny, stopping just above the ankle - a length I think works well with a lot of shoes. The sides have a solid black strip which breaks up the block of pattern. I'll wear them for both casual and dressy events - during the day with a simple black top/shirt and boots and for the evening pair them with some mega high heels. I'll probably keep my top half simple and play about with some bright accessories. They were $49, which I think is an alright amount for a good pair of trousers - hopefully I'll get a lot of wear out of them!

2. Silver/Clear/Black Heels with Thin Ankle Strap

If the trousers are my new love, then these are definitely my babies.  I got these the other week from Wittner (basically where I get all my shoes) for a whopping HALF PRICE! Mind you, they were still a decent chunk of my pay check, but as soon as I saw them, I'd made up my mind I had to have them.

My Wittner babies

I've actually already worn them (for my boyfriend and I's 2 and a half year anniversary) and they're surprisingly comfy. Apart from the fact that I feel like Cinderella when I slip my feet into them, I love the elegance of the slightly lower heel and delicate ankle strap. It's a much welcome change from the mad high stilettos and chunkier heels that have dominated the past few seasons.

Thinking about it, they remind me a bit of these Louboutin ones... what do you think!?

Bad Boy Louboutin

3. Lovisa Jewellery

Now the whole Diva/Lovisa thing kind of confuses me but who is to argue with a 3 for 2 offer!? I've been into a Lovisa  a number of times, admired their wares but never actually bought anything. I tend to buy a lot of clothes and bags, but rarely accessories which is really starting to show in my wardrobe. Accessories are a fantastic way to cheaply update your wardrobe, so I thought i'd stock up while they had some good deals on.

Because the weather has been so amazing lately (hello lazy days by the pool in 30 degree heat!), most mornings when I have woken up to get dressed I've felt very summery - which would explain why I was immediately drawn towards the bright lights of the neon!

Now I don't normally wear dangly earrings because they tend to get tangled up in my hair, but I really liked the design of these ones, and think there's something kind of more 'grown-up' and 'fashionable' about long ones - (probably stemming from when I used to watch my mum get ready when I was younger - she had an enviable collection!).

I didn't actually plan for all the items to match - purely coincidence, I promise! The style of the necklace has been around for a long time and in a multitude of colours. I couldn't decide on one, so I chose the one that combined the lot! I was drawn to the neon enamel bangles - I think they're very vaguely reminiscent of the gorgeous Hermes ones (only the fact that they're bracelets and enamel really) but thought they'd brighten up a few outfit. The whole lot came to about $14 which I was pretty impressed about!

4. Finally - Magazines

This is a bit of a cheat one really, as technically I get British Vogue through a subscription (Thanks Grandma, Aunt and Cousins!). If you don't know, I'm originally from London and have lived in Australia for the past five years, and my Vogues are kind of my link back home and a way of keeping in touch with the trends. This is an especially good issue, hence the inclusion!

I did actually buy Yen, it's one of my favourite Australian magazines - it's always stuffed full of things a little off beat but always very interesting. I'm not going to lie - I picked up this issue mostly because of Lena Dunham on the cover - am currently OBSESSED with Girls (if you haven't watched it, DO SO NOW!). I think it's so impressive how much she's achieved and she's only in her twenties! There's also a great article/interview/profile piece on Grace Coddington, one of my favourite people ever. If you've seen 'The September Issue' or regularly read US Vogue you'll probably be familiar with her.

I treated myself to her autobiography 'Grace: A Memoir' around Christmas time and loved it. Thinking about it, I may do a review of it for the blog as I'd definitely recommend it! So stay tuned for that...


That's really only a selection of the things I've bought recently - let me know if you enjoyed the post/would like to see more/never want to see it again or if you've snapped up some great bargains/purchases recently!

x