A Cosmic Connection

The EOFY (end of financial year) sales may be quickly drawing to a close, but there are still a few gems to be found in the shops. What I promised myself would only be a window shop the other day in Melbourne Central was broken after a trip into French Connection. With a wardrobe now bursting with clothes, I was quickly drawn to their accessories on sale, where I spotted this gorgeous monochrome cosmic print scarf. Reduced to half price at just $19.99, I didn't take much convincing to buy it.

As I tend to do with new things, I wore it for dinner with the girls that night, pairing it with a red mohair jumper, matching red lips, baroque print shorts, black tights, heeled boots and a leather jacket.

Circus Tricks: Film Noir

The other week I was lucky enough to review the National Institute of Circus Arts' show 'One False Move'. Performed entirely by second year students, it was an amazing show featuring flexibility and strength that was almost unbelievable! As it was the opening evening, the invitation requested guests to dress in "film noir" style, a genre that greatly inspired the performance (think chicago gangsters, femme fatales, many gun shots etc). You can check out my review and some amazing pictures at Onya Magazine.

So what did I wear?

 I only realised the evening was themed a few hours before it started, so had a mad search through my wardrobe to pull an outfit together. With the collar of my coat pulled up and a fresh coat of red lipstick, I felt ready to tackle any crime.

Beige coat - H&M

Sequin clutch - Forever New

Black Dress - Boutique in Chadstone (will find name!)

Shoes - Wittner

Faux fur wrap - Sportsgirl

Lipstick - Sportsgirl

It was a fabulous evening with everyone dressed in their finest attire. And if you ever hear of a NICA show - go, I can't recommend it highly enough!

Brittany x

Nothing beats a sale: Topshop Adventures

Moving to Melbourne from London five years ago, one of the things I found hardest to adjust to was the lack of British High Street. The idea of shopping without any of the shops I loved and was used to, such as Topshop, H&M and of course Primark was one that filled me with dread. Alright, not dread exactly - I could never feel that way about shopping! - but it certainly posed some challenges.

When you're familiar with a place, you know exactly where you need to go for certain items. If I needed new underwear, M&S was the place to go. Jewellery at a price that wouldn't break the bank? H&M was your (wo)man. Cheap anything? Primark. It took a while and a few (expensive) mistakes to figure out my equivalents here in Australia.

Luckily I've discovered the great fashion secrets and shops we have here in Australia, which I'll hopefully be doing a blog post on soon. But needless to say I am still extremely excited that the shops that I loved in England are finally beginning to reach our shores (Zara and Topshop last year and H&M to arrive later this year!)

Topshop is a shop I've always loved, due to its fun and stylish designs, incredible designer collaborations and obviously clever branding and marketing. One thing we haven't always agreed on however, are the prices. For me, Topshop was always the place for a treat - yes, the items were gorgeous but you were paying quite a lot for them.

A good day at Topshop Chapel Street!

Probably because I'm no longer 13, and maybe because I've become accustomed to Australian prices (where I feel like its harder ((but not impossible!)) to get good quality fashion items for lower prices a la H&M/Primark), Topshop now seems a lot more reasonable.

And when they have a sale on... Well, you don't argue with reason, people.

And so I found myself in the crazy crowd of Topshop sale goers last week. Racks upon racks of discounted clothes greeted me as I stepped through the doors, so the only thing to do was roll up my sleeves and dive in.

I was surprised at how heavily discounted many good items were and as a result it was hard to stop myself just grabbing everything in sight. Luckily Mum was there to restrain me.

Peek inside my Topshop bag

I tried on a few things, including the athletic 'GEEK' t-shirts that everyone has and I've been wanting for a while. Unfortunately they only had it in the crop version which I felt going into WINTER might be a tad limiting..

Anyway, I felt with two holographic cat bags (whaaat!?) filled with goodies, which in addition to the knowledge that i'd made myself some good savings, makes it a very good trip in my mind!

My Purchases

The Evening Dress

 This would have to be my favourite buy of the day. There was just one left on the rack which I made a quick beeline for, ready to elbow anyone who got in my way. It's a gorgeous turquoise sequinned figure- hugging 'disco' dress. It's quite long, probably just above the knee, which I think makes it a lot classier than if it only just covered my bum. As well as being sparkly and my favourite colour at the moment, it was also massively reduced - $65 down from $131. I couldn't wait to wear it, so ended up taking it for a spin that night for drinks with friends.

The Bodycon Dress

Now I think this was actually spotted by Mum (giving credit where it's due!) but as soon as she showed it to me I was sold. The design is striking and reminds me of liquid gold, and the material is gorgeously silky. Again this one is also longer, but I think it looks better shortened so thats probably how I'll wear it. Made some massive savings on this one too - $23 down from $73!

The Cozy Jumper

This was perhaps my most practical buy - a pinky/brown knitted jumper. Close up you can't really see the geometric pattern but I think it's quite playful. It's extremely cosy and I quite like that it's more pastel colours - it will look great with some very blue jeans and boots for winter. Another great save - $26 down from $86.

The Nail Varnish

Top: 'Green Room', Bottom: 'Plume'

So as I've confessed in previous blog posts, this year I've become a serial nail varnish buyer and now have quite the collection going. I've been hunting for a Tiffany coloured blue nail varnish for a while now, so I was extremely excited to finally spot it in Topshop. I also couldn't walk passed the galactic purple, so that ended up in the basket too. I think they were about $12 each, which is a bit above average for nail varnish, but i'd fallen in love with the colours.

Having never tried Topshop nail varnish, I was initially rather disappointed with the quality. I decided to paint my nails 5 minutes before I was due out (silly idea I know!) so only had time to do one quick coat. The consistency was watery and the colours very pale. The following day, I tried a few more coats and was much happier with the colour (as seen in the picture - excuse the chips!). The turquoise is slightly more green than i'd hoped but I love the purple. What do you reckon of the quality of Topshop nail varnish/make up collections?

Taking my disco dress out for a spin!

With loads of stores now having their end of financial year sales, it's definitely time to hit the shops! It's a great opportunity to pick up things you've been eyeing up for a while with big discounts, or just treat yourself to a few indulgences. What do you reckon of my bargains? Would love to hear what new items you're loving at the moment in the comments below!

Brit x

Losing my ASOS Virginity...

So the other week I did something that I have never done before, and to be perfectly honest I don't know why it's taken so long. I'm a complete shopaholic, but had never ventured into the world of online shopping. Shock, gasp, horror, travesty, treason - say what you will, but I was just always very concerned about sizing. The idea of having to return an item across the far seas back to the ASOS warehouse should my beloved item not fit just seemed to much to bear.

I am happy to report however, that I have lost my ASOS virginity and it was relatively painless. Yippee.

One of my good friends Jordyn often buys stuff online and finding myself continuously complimenting her on her purchases, I decided it was high time to order some for myself. When I headed over to the ASOS website, I saw they were also promoting a massive sale (up to 70% off). Is that fate or what?

I ended up choosing two items - A dress and a scarf, all for less than $40. How delicious!

Purchase 1: Turquoise/Black knitted scarf

Purchase 2: Cowl Neck Back black dress

Then unfortunately, came the wait. Despite ASOS recommending it would take just over a week, I was filled with naive hope that mine would be the exception - maybe next day delivery? - and eagerly ran to the post box every morning in the hope that there would be my parcel waiting for me. I ended up becoming on first name terms with the postman, so I guess it wasn't all bad.

When I came home from uni exactly one week after ordering, I lifted up the postbox to finally see the sight I had been looking for. A grey parcel addressed to me! I hope i'm not alone in saying that there are few things in life more exciting than getting post. Apart from maybe birthdays, Ryan Gosling and cheesecake. (and of course, providing they're not bills!)

A surprise awaits in my post box..

Arrival of my ASOS parcel calls for a celebratory selfie...obviously.

Feeling caveman like tendencies take over, I was close to ripping open the parcel with my bare teeth. But etiquette restrained me and I opened it up as quickly as I could in a ladylike fashion.

Trying to contain my excitement.

Both items looked exactly as they did on the web, and luckily were the right size. I'll do a styling post of these items (as well as the other new purchases i've mentioned) to show you how I plan to wear them, so stay tuned!

The items...

 Safe to say I think i'm embracing online shopping (maybe a bit too much) with my eyes on a few other things now too. GAH! Poor bank account. What's your favourite online store? Let me know in the comments below. Brit x

No Prescription Needed: Retail Therapy

So recently I've been self-prescribing myself ALOT of retail therapy and now with uni done for the semester, I can't wait to show you my purchases! Expect a blog post tomorrow, but here's a bit of a taster to get you through til then...

Brit x

Venture Down The Garden Path...

Two weekends ago, I was lucky enough to embark on a 'discover your own backyard' tour of the city of Stonnington. It's a council initiative to encourage people to opt to shop in their local area, by unmasking all the hidden gems that can often be overlooked.

After the tour I can say without any doubt that Stonnington definitely has some unmissable places on offer - not only for fashion but also for food and general experiences. (and is it really any surprise with chapel street, prahan and Armadale all within its boundaries!)

My write up of the day is now up on Onya Magazine, but thought I'd also share with you some pictures of the day.

Me in the sunshine of Prahran. Wearing FCUK dress, Sportsgirl sunglasses. Photo kindly taken by thejulietreport

My first taste of coffee! From the coffee connoisseurs at Market Lane

Cool plant hangings at CYLK

Behind the scenes at Lisa Barron

Best burger I have ever eaten - Parlour Diner on Chapel St

Gorgeous illustrations at Lisa Barron

Homemade candy from The Red Ballon, Prahan

Between the Bookends

So I hope this is a start of a brand new section to the Halcyon Future Fashion blog! As I've already mentioned, I'm a complete bibliophile and beside my bed lies an ever growing and tottering pile of books.

One collection I've been looking at recently expanding is my collection of fashion and style books. As an aspiring fashion editor and dangerous clothes addict, they provide me with role models to aspire to be and images to be inspired by. They're informative, gorgeous to look at and unsurprisingly look damn good on the bookshelf too.

So I thought I'd share my current collection with you, especially because I made two new additions yesterday that I'm particularly excited about.

Latest purchases

The first is 'The Vogue Factor' by Kirstie Clements, former editor of Vogue Australia. It charts her career from the front desk of Vogue where she worked as a receptionist, to her rise to Editor some 14 years later. I couldn't wait to start reading, so am already devouring through it.

The Vogue Factor - Kirstie Clements

The second was a book I hadn't planned on purchasing, but was conned into by a clever marketing scheme. I'm always a sucker for those - the '3 for 2' or 'buy one, get one half price!' signs that lure you in. That said, it ended up being a great bargain and its a beautiful book to add to the shelf so I'm not too heartbroken about the whole thing. It's one of a series of books published by Vogue (common theme today!) called 'Vogue On', with each book a definitive little history and guide to iconic designers.

There were two on the shelf - Alexander McQueen and Christian Dior, which made it a hard choice to make! I ended up opting for Christian Dior, as I'm feeling more inspired by the classic styles at the moment, and I love looking at old fashion photography. I'll probably end up going back for McQueen at some point though...

The others...

1. Grace: A Memoir  by Grace Coddington

This was actually a gift I bought myself for Christmas (this seems to be a common theme with my fashion books actually.) I absolutely love it and would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in fashion (or cat lovers). Her personality shines through the pages as she recounts her incredible career - from growing up in the middle of nowhere in Wales, to a promising modelling career, to finally being the huge force she is today at US Vogue. I love the commentary she provides in general about modelling and the changing landscape of the magazine industry and she also draws the cutest illustrations! She was the surprising star of the fashion documentary 'The September Issue' which I would also recommend.

'Grace-ing' the cover of I-D Magazine

2. The Sartorialist Closer by Scott Schulman

This is the second book from the man behind pioneering street style blog The Sartorialist. I find this particularly inspiring when I'm facing the daily challenge of deciding what to wear. It's filled with pictures of stylish strangers from the streets of London, New York, Paris and Milan. But the main reason I love it is because its not just about fashion - it's focus is on style, which could be the way the subject carries themself or an interesting way they're wearing a particular accessory or colour combination. It's these little things, such as attention to detail and attitude, that really make you stand out from the fashion pack.

3. Style Notes by Maggie Alderson

A collection of Maggie Alderson's columns from The Age. Maggie is a london-born Australian author, magazine editor and fashion journalist. She's edited ES (the Evening Standard magazine), British ELLE, and in Australia Cleo and Mode. I was lucky enough to meet her when she was promoting her latest novel Everything Changes But You last year at the bookshop I used to work at, and she kindly signed a copy for me. The articles provide interesting commentary on anything and everything related to fashion - always funny, witty and informative.

4. Front Row - Anna Wintour: What lies beneath the chic exterior of Vogue's Editor-in-Chief  by Jerry Oppenheimer

This is a very well-thumbed copy that I picked up for about $10 about five years ago. It's an unauthorised biography of Anna Wintour and follows her from birth to her current position as possibly the most influential and important figure in fashion (and obvious US Vogue Editor). There are detailed accounts of both her personal and professional life and although admittedly - given that it is 'unauthorised' - one cannot verify that it's 100% truth or fact, it's certainly extremely interesting to get a clearer idea of what she is like. I always come back to this book and re-read certain parts, and if you can find it in any bookshops, definitely pick it up!

5. Beauty in Bloom - A collection of beautiful inspiration by Natalie Bloom

This is one that I bought on sale at my old bookshop, mainly for the beautiful illustrations. It's written by Natalie Bloom of Bloom Cosmetics and as well as looking absolutely gorgeous, it's also full of some great make-up and (inner) beauty tips, quotes and inspiration.

Gorgeous illustrations in 'Beauty in Bloom'

And that, so far, is my fashion bookshelf. Know of any books I should add to the shelf? Let me know in the comments below!