Looking back on a fab week

Hi kids. Apologies for my lack of blog activity over the last week. I can assure you it was nothing personal...I was merely catching up with some of my own favourite bloggers – do check out my blog list sometime its fabulous.  I was also attempting to finish off the Christmas shopping, which I have to admit is not going well. There is only so much one can buy when one has inquisitive little people demanding rainbow biscuits every time I make a move! Thankfully I had no such trouble in the style department. In fact every time I ventured into the smallest-wardrobe-in-the-world I came out looking like a pin-up girl for the latest flashy mag (if I don't say so myself) and I didn’t have to consult with the SATC 2 almanac once. Yay for me. Must have been my brush with Prada-on-a-budget the week before that ignited the latest fixation because suddenly I would accept anything less of myself than looking like a glamazon albeit in Sussan.


This was the first memorable outfit of the week. I wore it on Monday. I’d been somewhat mildly depressed over the demise of my favourite pair of jeans – the DKNY’s rom Filene’s Basement that I couldn’t bring myself to throw them out. I also really wanted a pair of knee length denims but promised Dr Love I’d make a concerted effort to pay off the credit card. Eep! So with the obligatory pair of ‘good scissors’ (every household should have one) and a needle and cotton I set about re-inventing my fav denims into the much wanted capris without having to spend a cent. The batwing top is somewhat of a shift in convention. I brought it last year during the post chrissie sales from Sussan. Usually I’d go with a block colour but every so often something flashy catches my eye and I have to have it. I love the shape of this blouse and the way it floats over all the bumpy bits making them disappear. The gold isn’t an exact match to my colour wheel but its close enough to get away with it. The shoes, would you believe spent nearly two years in a non-descript shoe box buried deep in the SWITW. I brought them from this amazing little shoe shop around the corner from Macy’s in New York. Can’t remember the name of the shop because I was too distracted by the quality of the sale inside. Full price Steve Madden for under $100!! These aren’t Steve Madden BTW but I love them anyway. The little wedge is perfect when you want a little bit of extra height. And the red picks up the colour in the blouse. Top it off with my favourite bangle combo – beige resin and black wood and I’m right to go.

Remember this ensem? I posted this photograph last week as part of the Vogue January review because it was the inspiration behind what I wore on Wednesday. Well actually it was the necklace that initially sent me leaping into the smallest-wardrobe-in-the-world because I have one that is very similar. It was only by pure coincidence that by the time I’d finished working my magic that I realised I’d practically recreated the entire look only without the spots. Not that I mind spots. I quite like them actually but the SWITW is severely lacking in the spot-slash-dot department and I had no inclination to beat myself up over incidentals. Although Forever New was the initial inspiration for my look, I decided to do a Prada and channel Chanel for the day. I’d not long seen the flick, Coco Avent Chanel and was mildly obsessed. I brought the dress from a Jacqui E clearance sale for $50 a couple of months ago and yes, it’s black. But it is a classic and worn as a statement piece so it’s allowed. It’s probably a bit higher in the neckline than the E cups would like, but the empire waist and pencil skirt compensate nicely. My gorgeous orange shoes are new - shhhh! I brought them from the Nine West clearance store for $40.00. Every time I went outside however, I had to swap them for my flats – Chanel inspired of course, because it was raining and I didn’t want my flashy new clogs to get wet. What can I say, I hadn’t water proofed them yet. I topped it off with a cute bling ring – which I managed to get caught under baby cub’s car seat the other day and nearly tore my finger off, and my cut-priced Lucca bag from Strand Bags.

It was a tad cool on Sunday so it was a good excuse to show-off this gorgeous drape cardigan from Fenn Wright Manson that I brought at first site from the House of Fraser, and we all know how much I love the House of Fraser. I’m not kidding when I said I brought it at first sight, although I did have enough forsight to try it on first...then it was love at first sight. Whipped out the credit card without a second thought and haven’t looked back since. I teamed it with a pair of dark blue denim skinny jeans from Sussan that I picked up for $39 and a singlet also from Sussan. I topped it off with Chanel inspired flats and a pair of cute ear-rings I secured for $2 from an accessory store at my local shopping centre.  Will admit my fabulous sister-in-law did enquiry as to my head-to-toe palette of neutral and psuedo neutral colours considering my recent anti-neutral rants, but what can I say?  I don't mind wearing it from time to time, I just don't want to walk into every second store on the local shopping strip and have nothing but neutral for choice.  Know what I mean?

OMG I love looking good. Wonder what this week will bring?

MFSxxx

I went shopping today and didn't spend a cent!

A funny thing happened on the way to the smallest wardrobe in the world today. That scrumptious monochromatic look that adorned SJP on arrival in Abu Dhabi that I replicated on Monday suddenly morphed into a completely new and fabulous outfit without me breaking a single nail. Not that I should be surprised...my nails aren’t that long and more importantly...it’s what happens when you start to shop your own wardrobe. Inspiration floods your otherwise disregard for anything that isn’t new, while visions of glamour grandeur unexpectedly pop into your head and you can’t get home quick enough to frock up and brag about it to Dr Love. It all started with the brown empire dress from Diana Ferrari. I was lamenting over the weather and how long it would be before I could step out in style in my fabulous new outfit, when in the safety of my style obsessed mind, the dress hooked up with the dark denim skinny jeans I purchased from Sussan a few weeks ago for $39.95. I used to be a huge advocate of the frock-over-the-pants kind of look. Very forward thinking of me if I don’t say so myself because it would be another five years before I discovered Trinny and Susannah from What Not To Wear and learned it was a particular favourite of theirs when dressing those of us with good old fashion child-baring hips. Somewhere along the line however, I lost my frock-pant mojo thus denying myself and my thighs the Trinny-esque pleasure of a lengthened leg until a couple of weeks ago, when I pulled on said pair of skinny jeans under a teal wrap dress because let’s face it, it was frigging freezing and a pair of tights was simply not going to cut it. I added a pair of gorgeous DF shoes that I have been stalking ever since re-discovering the Notebook magazine several months ago, and picked up that week for the grand sum of $28 when all I was looking for was a bunch of semi-ripe bananas and pack of sausages. Go figure! Suddenly, my Moroccan inspired gold cuff (diva special) joined the party as did a pair of plain hooped ear-rings and fail-safe Guess handbag. For a bit of extra warmth I grabbed my banana yellow cardi with the three-quarter length sleeves that I brought for $12 from one of those disposal stores on the ground level of my local shopping centre and for all my shopping efforts, I didn’t spend a cent. Who says you can’t have style in the suburbs on a budget!!!

check out the close-ups:

What to do in a wardrobe crisis

My wonderful friend Mel is having a wardrobe crisis, and as someone who has suffered a number of such crises over the years my own wardrobe bleeds in sympathy. Any sufferer will tell you that a wardrobe crisis is no laughing matter. Dr Love! It can turn even the most creative and stylish of us into a sobbing, heaving mess on the bedroom floor with our body image hovering somewhere near our suddenly over-large ankles. Nothing fits! Everything looks old, worn and so last season. Even our skin has morphed into a canvas of dry, cracked and peeling paint and as for our hair. Well...paper bag anyone? Shopping loses its glossy appeal. We can’t find anything we like. Everything we try on makes our arms look like tree trunks from the Enchanted Forest, only without the fairies and no matter what we do, we still look as though we swallowed our grandmother’s feather bed...ah the memories.

Lucky for Mel, I knew exactly what to do. I had been on that very brink only a few months before and managed to bring myself back from beyond without so much as a single kleenix. The solution was simple. It was time for Mel to bid farewell to her nearest and dearest, and find herself some new stores in which to shop. You see, as humans we are creatures of comfort and by comfort I don’t mean a big, soft cosy couch. I mean, we seek situations, people and places that make us feel safe and comfortable and without realising it, our lives become repetition. For the vast majority of us, we will shop in the same stores, and seek the same look because it makes us feel safe and in some situations, accepted. Our favoured stores and much loved jeans rarely let us down. We have always found what we’ve wanted, or at the very least an acceptable compromise and in turn we’ve been able to go about our business without detriment or drama. For the most part we resist change for any number of self-justifiable reasons - how many times have you got up in the morning determined to wear a dress only to find yourself walking out the door in your trusty denims because nothing else fits?? Then one day without realising it your whole world explodes. It’s a little bit like the time you ate nothing but toasted cheese sandwiches for breakfast for five months, then in the sixth months you burst into tears at the slightest smell of a bit of cheddar because your body craved something else. Same principle. For me, the turning point was the day I had my colours done. All of my favourite stores – Sussan, Witchery, Country Road, Jacqui E...need I go on were full of blacks, greys and white and the odd pop of whatever colour was hot off the runway that season. It occured to me then I needed to change not only the way I shopped, but where I shopped otherwise I would condemn myself to a life of neutral compromise. So I began to look for colour first and then shape and style and suddenly a whole new and glorious world of fashion appeared before me; a world that I now will share with my wonderful friend Mel.

As I text her back to sooth her fashion fears, I was reminded of a great story I once heard (and now paraphrase) about a man who fell down a hole in the middle of the street. He called out for people to help him, but no-one came. Then one day another man appeared at the edge of the hole and asked the first man what had happened. “I fell down the hole,” the first man said. “Can you help me get out?” “Certainly,” said the second man and jumped into the hole. “What are you doing?” said the first man in panic, “now both of us are stuck down the hole.” “Yes,” said the first man, “but I’ve been here before, and I know the way out.”

So Mel, when are we going shopping?

Milla’s hot tips:Ok, so you get the whole new-store-old-store concept but your budget doesn’t allow for a generous or short-term shopping spree. What do you do? Simple...you grab yourself a friendly style queen in training and shop your own wardrobe. You will be amazed at the number of new en sems you can create with a new pair of eyes. Make sure your SQIT (style queen in training, don’t you just love it) is someone you can trust to be honest. You need someone that will help you decide what goes with what and what looks best for your body shape. If in doubt, immerse yourselves with a couple of fashion mags and set about recreating some of your favoured looks. While you are at it, grab a pen and start to make a list of items you would like to buy to complement your new wardrobe then next time you are out, look for that item – colour and shape...you might be surprised where you end up. If you are still not sure about colour, experiment. You'll soon work it out...

Fashion fantasy of over-embellished proportions...love love love it!

Watched Sex and the City 2 last night and loved it so much I’m thinking of glamming up in a sequined frock and popping down to the nearest karaoke bar for a spot of power singing in celebration of what can only be described as the ultimate chick flick part 2. From the opening credits, the second big screen instalment of HBO’s fashion phenomenon promised to deliver way more bling and glitter than your average over-dressed Fifth Avenue fashionista. If anyone expected this much anticipated release to be anything more than an exaggerated version of its previous sensational self then they clearly have never had the urge to do the SATC tour when they last visited New York, such is their interest. This flick was nothing more than what it was supposed to be...a fashion fantasy of over-embellished proportions that follows the lives of four Manhattan women with fabulous if not at times slightly weird and scary dress sense, interspersed with exotic locations, hilarious one-liners and adored memories of times gone by...if those teal Manolos from SATC 1 ever appear on ebay, I’m buying them!! Among the glitz and glamour that exploded from the psychedelic mind of one well-known P. Fields and her team of style gurus, various fashion statements (please note that I did not refer to them as clothes, one would never dare) appeared at times a little costumesque. I mean really who does a full-length asymmetrical shirt with hoop and train to a middle-eastern market. Seriously! Rather than detract from the believability of the film, the girls and their circumstance however, the choice of the over-the-top added too the overall site-splitting fantasy that manifested into the new decade. Undeniably one of the strongest style elements that no-one, not even the most cynical of budding fashionistas can deny...is the intimate knowledge of what colour and which styles show off four of the best known bods in the modern world and you – yes you, should take note so you too can look like a Hollywood glamour queen of the new decade. For my mind, Miranda was the ultimate stand out, and my wonderful friend Mel will concur – she saw the flick on Friday night and sent me a text well before my eyes opened the following day. Her outfits, Miranda that is not Mel (although she is looking mighty fabulous of late...love those skinny jeans) were elegant, timeless and so drop-dead gorgeous that Mel is considering having a couple of them made and I’m thinking of joining her! Oh except the paisley pant suit with halter-neck on arrival in Abu Dhabi, not such a fan. If I were asked to share with you one negative in a wardrobe of drool-worthy positives then it would be Carrie crossing over to the red side and ditching her signature Blahnik’s for the latest shoe must-have, Christian Louboutin. Now far be for me to diss a good Louboutin, but ever since I saw a local lass trying and failing to strut her stuff in a pair of red specials at my local supermarket, the big C has well and truly lost its gloss. Then again, I do understand her desire to change...I haven’t been into a Sussan store in weeks.

SATC 2, go and see it. It’s fun, funny and fashilious.

Check it out: Love the movie, love the fashion but have about as much chance of owning any of the en sems as being on the receiving end of an all-expense paid holiday to the new middle east courtesy of a dashing sheik, then pop down to your local K-mart store and buy the book. For $35 you could be the proud owner of the complete gloss pot of style as seen on SATC. This fabulous fashion almanac features all the girlie glamour in 2-day glory plus individual breakdowns of Carrie’s most unforgettables – trackie dacks and long-sleeve tees no longer cut it on the couch people! Buying mine tomorrow and then hitting the smallest wardrobe in the world for a little bit of SATC 2 of my own. See you on the sequined side.

P.S. I would normally advise you to go onto the SATC 2 website - it's got a shop, but quite frankly it's a bit annoying so don't bother.

14 hours and counting and I still haven't packed

Going interstate for a four-day conference tomorrow and I haven’t packed yet. Oh my god, the pressure! It’s like being crushed by a container of latest Prada handbags...what a way to go! This 300 people plus soiree calls for nearly every dress code known to man, I mean woman (let’s face it, men can do anything with a well fitted shirt and good pair of pants). I’ve found myself staring at the smallest wardrobe in the world on more than one occasion convinced it was smaller than usual, which if you tossed out all the colours that no longer fall into my fabulous colour spectrum, it probably is. Sadly for me, I have neither the means nor the time to replace them – 14 hours until take off - and besides there is nothing a good scarf can’t fix right? Hmmm, maybe I can fit in a quick trip to the shops if I....!! Milla stop it!

Ironically, I recently participated in a “travel light” interview series with my fabulous fashionista friend ‘An Affair With Fashion’ (check it out) where I strenuously advocated planning around a capsule wardrobe to maximise space and minimize the chance of frequenting your local physiotherapist because you put your back out lifting your suitcase into the car. What a shame I can’t take my own advice. I’ve had months to plan for this shindig and yet, here I am sitting in my dressing gown convincing myself I really do need three dresses, four pairs of pants, a pencil skirt, three shirts, six pairs of shoes and four clutch bags and avoiding the whole thing! Not only that, BB2 is coming with me so BB1 can spend some quality time with Dr Love and I haven’t even begun contemplating her wardrobe yet. Luckily for me her attire is far less complicated. Help!

Milla’s hot tip: So, it’s just you and your suitcase, glaring at you as it dares you to fill it full to the brim with endless possibilities and yet, you still have nothing to wear. What do you do? Start with an outfit that you simply cannot live without and then build a wardrobe around it. I have a gala dinner on Monday night, so my starting point will have to be a champagne gold George Ermis dress I brought for $50 from a clearance store at DFO South Wharf (Its pictured above with accessories worn to a wedding a couple of months ago). Ok, so it’s an occasion dress but I have decided to team it with a new pair of purple suede peep-toe shoes that I recently picked up from Betts for $30, which indecently will go very well with my black tuxedo suit from Cue. Because I’m not supposed to wear black around my face, I can team it with an ivory camisole with a pretty frill around a scoop neck and purple three-strand bead necklace I saved from a potential Mother Fox garage sale. Actually, if the weather is warm, I can substitute the black jacket for my short sleeve charcoal jacket also from Cue, which looks fabulous with my charcoal pin-stripe pants, which in turn looks simple scrumptious with my new long-sleeve teal top with the cowl neck I just got from Diana Ferrari. Lucky I picked up that funky black hip belt from Sussan this arvo. Righto girlie girls, now we are on a roll! I'll keep you posted.

Cardigans and colour...your new best friends

OK, so this is not the I love Sussan #5 finale – I am going to save that for another day because the blouse I plan to feature in that particular ensem. is hiding out and waiting for a wash. No, this is an extra special Sussan bonus that magically transformed my usual hurried gait into a saltry strut about town. The jeans were featured in the Weekend in Paris catalogue (most of which is currently on sale people, so don’t delay) and the cardigan from its follow up, The Great Escape. The cami, whilst a personal favourite is from Country Roads’ autumn 2009 collection AND can be had at 40 per cent of the lowest marked price from your nearest DFO. Check out the cuff – it’s actually a skinny belt that I’ve hoarded for years, looped around my ridiculously skinny wrist several times; an idea that came courtesy of Gok Wan’s Fashion Fix. Love that man! Yay Gok! I wore this gorgy outfit to a barbecue recently and hit the “I feel fabulous” jackpot, and it was all due not to the most perfect jeans on the planet but to colour and more specifically cardigan colour.

Yes, people my friend the wonderful Mel and I followed the example set by the fabulous Sarah and her gorgeous pal Jess and enrolled in the CAE’s colour course for the ride of our wardrobe life. For four fabulous hours we embarked on a journey of colour history and philosophy. Together with eight other gorgeous fashionistas-in-training we learned about signature colours, talked about feelings and discussed and mused over reflection and harmony. We were shown a montage of colours and asked which one we could smell – yes smell...for me it was the soft metal and stone...calm colours, zen colours, quite clearly I-need-to-calm-the-heck-down-and-find-some-peace-from-buying-all-this-black-kind-of-colours. Then one by one we stepped up to the mirror, anxious in anticipation, giggling with excitement and somewhat embarrassed because we were mostly all wearing black, except Mel, she looked fabulous in choccie brown and beiges, as we learned what colour to wear, and what colours to not!

Now, I am a deep dusty warm ...oooh! Doesn’t that sound fab? I suit autumn colours...you know oranges (of which I have none); forrest greens (also of which I have none); brown and pink burgundies (nope); and lovely tomato reds (huh?). I least suit navy (whoops, country road jumper dress!), dark grey (oh oh, trench coat), pale rose pink (doh) and black (know it, but lately can’t stop buying it!). It was ever so exciting and motivated me to nip home, drag the new bright red three-quarter sleeve, double breasted jacket I had just picked up from the great WIP catalogue and take it back. You heard me, take it back and I am oh so glad because in its place I picked up this the most scrumptious cardi ever churned off a Sussan production line. Just look at it, isn’t it gorgeous – three quarter puffed sleevess and drape front that hits the sweet spots in all the right places. But even more important, it’s bang on colour and my freckles love me for it. Yours will too.

Check it out: Reside in Melbourne and want to follow in our stylish, mistake free-from-now-on footsteps then log on to www.cae.edu.au and search colour coordination in fashion (course code DNS22302). The next course in on Saturday, 22 May from 11am – 3.00pm, and cost is $99 per person. Trust me; you’ll make that back on the same day!

But don’t stop there: Sounds a little bit like "but wait there’s more, a set of steak knives" really doesn’t it! Anyway, for an extra $150 you can follow up with a personal session where the lovely Angela will identify your signature colour, advise you of the right make-up colours for day and night, accents and hair colours. AND you get your very own key-tags complete with all your very best colours that will have heads turning toward your direction at 100 feet. I’ve got my session this weekend, so I’ll let you know how it goes. Cost is $150...oh thank you Dr Love...happy birthday to me.

Strutting my stuff to the "I love Sussan" song

What do you get when you cross a pencil style tulip-skirt with flesh-coloured fishnets (with back seam) and black patent heels? One hot mamma who is strutting her stuff to the “I love Sussan” song. Check it out, this is my ILS outfit # 4 and it’s smokin’... Yeow! So before I begin, I must tell you that I am still partially affected by the great hard-drive debacle, but determined to shop on so I brought the skirt on Monday from my local. I nipped in for a quick squiz on route to the supermarket and nipped out again with a new acquisition at 20 per cent off the lowest marked price. Even mummy fox, the original shopping queen was impressed at my ‘look what I found on sale when I was looking to buy bananas" prowess. Even better, this little baby only cost me $39.95 and it was worth every double point. What I love about it is its take on last season’s hottest must have - the tulip skirt...you know the one? Rather short and balloons out from the waist then nips in at the hem. Absolutely adorable for the slender Gen Ys, but leaning toward the ridiculous on those of us with decent child bearing hips on the downward slide to forty! The dynamic designers behind the scenes at big Sue’s have created this spectacular variation for the more mature fashion connoisseur like little old’ moi. This particular number has a wide yoke with a zip feature and dips to a point above the left hip, which breaks up the wide expanse of colour, thus making those of us with the hot mamma moniker even hotter. Front pleats and faux front wrap create the tulip look but keep the puff to a minimum around problem thighs. I teamed the skirt with a fitted latte coloured singlet to make the most of the knock-em dead-eat your heart our Marilyn Monroe hour-glass figure (don’t forget the magic knickers) and long sleeve, long line cardigan to ward off the wind. Love this cardi! So soft and fabulous and only cost me $30 courtesy of yet another $50 VIP voucher. OMG, I love double points. Keeping up with the neutral theme, I added new wooden beads - $4, thank you very much Diva and gold hoop ear-rings. Va va voom fashionistas...why don’t you try the look.

Check it out:
Sussan skirt reduced to $39.95 on a 20 per cent of lowest marked price sale
Sussan singlet, full price at $24.95 purchased over 12 months ago
Sussan cardigan from the new collection, $30 after the $50 VIP voucher
Fishnet stockings with back seam, $5 from a Myer 50 per cent of lowest marked price sale
Black patent wedge heel, Wittner reduced to $30 two years ago
Dive wooden beads, $4
Ear-rings, can’t remember-had them for years, but they were under $10.00.
Total cost under $143.90

I love Sussan outfit no. 3...my hard-drive died...how rude!

Hi kids. It’s been a long time between Sussan outfits hasn’t it, and I have only this to offer as an excuse...my hard-drive died...eep! Can you feel my pain? It was terrible. I had so many fantastic fashion secrets and memorable shopping moments to share with you – oh my gawd, where to start...and no way to share them; a fashionista’s worst nightmare. Seriously, even trying to do justice to this magnificent little outfit up against ugly green carpet pales in comparison. I was so perturbed; I nearly threw out three pairs of perfectly fabulous shoes in frustration! Thankfully they survived to tell the tale, and so did I...so let’s get started...

Let me introduce you to the belated, but official I love Sussan outfit number 3! Isn’t it gorgeous? I will admit that it really was hard to do it justice on the carpet because of the shape and texture of the fabrice, but the lady who ran up the street to ask me where I got my shoes – Wittner, where else! – thought it was fabulous and quite frankly so do I, so you might just have to take my word for it. I wore this to work on casual Friday two weeks ago. As a rule of thumb, I would not normally team floating fabric up top with billowing fabric down the bottom. It is the quickest and easiest way to lose our shape particularly when we pack some killer curves. The cinch belt would usually be our best friend in this situation, but it was a stinking hot day and the thought of three inch elastic glued to my rip-cage was a kin to having a quick dip in a hot pot of boiling clag. Ew! Lucky for me, this particular trapeze blouse has a natural empire cut to its shape via the slim fit across the bodice and front yoke. By tying this gorgeous silk scarf into a big bow around my neck and drawing attention upward, I salvaged the hour-glass silhouette underneath. Don’t you love it?. ..Sussan scarves are so under –rated. Now the trousers – harem inspired pedal pushers, were purchased from my back-up Sussan store just prior to Christmas. I must admit, I did exactly what my wonderful friend Mel’s DH warned against! I brought the price not the item. They had been reduced from something ridiculous to $30 and out of principal I had to have them. Of course it didn’t matter than I had not long earlier purchased a similar pair of charcoal silk duds from Country Road, or that ¾ tapered trousers with front pleats are an absolute no-no for anyone with a bum, tum and thighs...they just make everything look bigger, except your legs, which in this case look shorter!...they were $30 dollars for goodness sake! While the length of the top did an exceptional job at hiding the front pleats, to make them really work I pulled the bottom hem to just under my knees to elongate my legs and circumvent the tapered effect which really would have made my bum look like that launching pad for the 747 I spoke of in my welcome. I added my absolutely spectacular Wittner platforms – the very ones that had a complete stranger sprinting up the street and I’m thinking of having bronzed when they can no longer be worn, threw on a couple of favourite little bangles and grabbed the failsafe pewter handbag by Guess. Really, how can you not love Sussan??? Check it out...

Sussan cotton trapeze blouse, reduced to $29.95 and paid for via a $50 VIP voucher (Free)
Sussan harem inspired pedal-pushers, reduced to $30.00 during a 20 per cent off the lowest marked price sale
Sussan silk scarf, reduced to $14.95 during a 50 per cent off the lowest marked price sale
Orange plastic bangle from Diva, $5
Black wooden bangle from Bardot, $5
Wittner platforms, $40 from DFO outlet
Guess handbag, Christmas present from Dr Love
Total price: $95

Check it out: Following on from Sussan’s oh-so magnificent Weekend in Paris catalogue, Sister Sue’s “The Great Escape” does not disappoint. This convenient hand-bag sized little booklet will have you nipping down to your local during your lunch break just so you can nab yourself some luxurious knits in scrumptious neutrals, stunning salmon, brick and dark plums! Yummy. Check out the look on pg 3. I’ve just scooped up a ¾ length sleeve cardi in this exact shade and am going back for the scarf. The streets of Paris by day and French country-side by night...I want that bag on p4. Its double points for all your Sussan VIPs...don’t delay...your next $50 voucher is only a cardigan or two away.

Click Click Witchery...sale of the century! Check it out online...

Ok boys and girls this is a quickie but a goodie, and if you haven’t already made a bee-line for your local Witchery store then what are you waiting for? I jumped on-line last night for a bit of a look-see and could not believe my eyes...bargains galore from as little as $3.95 and all of them screaming my name. Oh. My. God! I’ve died and gone to budget shopper’s heaven. I must warn you though, what you see on-line may not be available through cyber-space, so if you find yourself a look that has you waltzing through the front door in a hot pair of heels en-route to your next night out with the girls then you better Run Lola Run! Whilst I have no doubt that some of you will gasp in horror and question the sanity of your favourite stylette I am rather partial to the tie-died all-in-one with smocked bodice that has been reduced to $13.95. I’ve already styled it up with my fav big black belt with the patented faux leather panels from Sussan and Wittner platforms, and styled it down with silver and gold sandles also on sale from Witchery, a cream coloured trilby and some chunky jewellery. Unlucky for me it’s not available on line, but lucky for me I spotted it just recently at the outlet store at DFO South Wharf. You might just also be lucky enough to scoop yourself a Witchery loyalty card that rewards you with a $30 credit just for saying hello! I’m not kidding, my gorgeous friend Tanya put me onto it a couple of days ago and we couldn’t through the door quick enough. While you are there, pop into Jacqui E and try on a pair of duds and score yourself another $10 voucher. Yes, my fabulous fashionistas, its shopping heaven out there at the mo. Not only is the next round of mid-season sales in full flight – another 50 per cent off anyone? But retailers are doing what they can to get you to spend your money...even going so far as to pay you!!! Does it really get any better than that?

Check it out: www.witchery.com.au

P.S. Yes I know, I’m way way behind on my I love Sussan appeal but wait until you see what I’m wearing to work tomorrow. You are going to love it!!!