Welcome to the NEW and IMPROVED Super Kawaii Mama.com everyone!

As you can see there have been some significant changes around here in the last week, and although there are still some sections to come on line, there is lots of new stuff already here to explore.  After a good six months of design work, thought, feedback and exploration; I’ve put together what I hope will be an even better blog experience for you here.  My aim is not only to give you the best possible content I can but to help you FIND it all!  Because Super Kawai Mama is now 2 years old (Happy Birthday blog!)  there are well over 500 posts in the archives to search in. That is a hell of a lot of writing, photographs and information to help you out.

As you’ll see there are special gateways to take you into each area of interest (these should all be fully up within the week I’m finishing the code as fast as I can) and all those requests you’ve been making for new posts, information and especially tutorials will be found here.  As soon as everything is all completed I’ll give you a proper guided tour and help you to find your way around.

But that is not all.  March 2010 is set to be a milestone month for Super Kawaii Mama – why? Well…

Super Kawaii Mama is the first Australian blogger to be invited to design a capsule collection with local Australian fashion label Friends of Couture!

This is just about the most exciting news I could possibly tell you as not only is it a total dream come true to be able to indulge my love of fashion and design, but it means that you’ll have the opportunity to tell me exactly what you want to be wearing and get your hands on a collection of my very own unique style!  I’ll have loads more to tell you about this as it all progresses, but suffice to say that if you are here because you love my style, you are going to LOVE this collaboration.  The collection itself wont be available until later in the year, but you’ll get to read first hand all about the inspirations, ideas and innovations, as well as being the first to see any sneak peaks!

In the meantime,  you don’t want to miss a minute of the action,  hear about exclusive news, offers and events; as well as just the general (somewhat offbeat) meanderings of my mind –

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Every week I get another email from someone wondering how I get the blonde streak in my hair. How is it achieved and which sections are dyed to create the rolls that I do.

So last time I went in to have a touch up, I asked my kindly hairdresser to take a few shots so I never have to try and describe this again!

My hair is naturally very dark so this has to be achieved with bleaching, but we are careful to take it easy as it does make the hair quite brittle and fragile.  This is another reason that I favour hairstyles that don’t require heat treating because if I did that all that time I’d have a bald patch in no time!

When I first started having my hair coloured this way a few years back, it took several sessions to get the blonde really light.  Initally it was more of a caramel colour, but I favour a really white tone – although in this shot I had a different rinse put in for the week which has since gone back to white.

It does take some maintenance to keep it healthy and the correct colour.  I use treatments both in the salon and at home on a regular basis.   I also use a ‘bluing’ conditioner every other week to stop it yellowing.

Here is how the hair is sectioned out before colouring:

It is two sections about an inch and a half wide that runs from my part down to my ear.

The bleach is applied in individual foils to the roots and eventaully worked through at the end.

They have to be very careful with the bleach application and making sure to clip it right up and out of the way, otherwise the bleach attacks the dark hair around it.

Yep, it’s sexy!

When it is all done and dry it looks like this! As I said, in this shot I had a pink / purple rinse in, (PVO9 for you hairdressers out there) but it washed back out to white for me a week later.

It really is a fairly simple process if somewhat time consuming ( I bring my laptop to work while it comes up), but it is very effective when styled in different ways.  A word of warning though – Unless you are VERY good with using bleach, DON’T try this at home or you could end up with a very big bald patch! I have even had in salon disasters with previous hairdressers who have melted most of this section off!  It requires commitment for the upkeep, but much less than some of the fully coloured hair I have had in the past.

I hope this answers all the questions on the mystery of the blonde streak!

Over the last few outfit posts you will have seen a few extremely cute new additions to my wardrobe like this stunning purple cardigan and these bow bangles. Each of these pieces are by local Melbourne label Friends of Couture.  I absolutely love Friends of Couture and you will have seen me wearing their pieces for some time now, remember this little lamb cardigan? Occasionally you come across a collection that you think to yourself, ” Oh that is all so me, I just have to have it!”, well that is the way I feel about everything FOC does.  They have a brilliant knack of combining vintage inspirations with super cute detail and modern chic, which  is why when they invited me to review their latest collection, Paris After Dark, I jumped at the opportunity.

Jo Matheson, (chief designer) and Candice DeVille aka Super  Kawaii Mama

Nicole looks stunning in the “Little Red Ridinghood” dress is azure blue with the red striped Matelot top underneath.

Paris After Dark is the new Autumn Winter 2010 range by Friends of Coutures head designer Jo Matheson.  Inspired by the romance of vintage lines and a strong traditionally French colour palette, Jo has created something that is both wearable, collectable and very very head turning. The collection takes a journey from the flirty and feminine lines of sweet floral chiffon with a distinctly 1930’s flavour and meanders through to stunning, slightly puffed sleeved cardigan with beaded art deco detailing. I particularly love the Hotel DeVille cardigan in a soft, buttery cream wool with deep blue beading.  There are the iconic pieces that take wardrobe staples and give them just that much more punch by creating a strongly waisted silhouette and drenching you in azure blue; as well as classic boat necked tee’s with stripes that Gigi would have been proud to wear.

Jo Matheson is responsible for the beautiful Paris After Dark collection.

Hotel DeVille Cardigan (left) clearly must have been named after me! Little Drummer Girl cardigan (right).

The feminine detailing doesn’t stop at the figure flattering cuts, but continues through to corsages, bows (that can even be worn in the hair!), tulle skirts and the softest of soft cropped angora cardigans. (I don’t know about you, but the snuggle factor of angora wins me over every time.)  I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to find a local, accessible label that knows how to combine current trends with timeless classics in such a seamless way. For example, they’ve taken the military feel (so popular in that Balmain jacket) and managed to capture the essence of the style in soft, wearable cardigans that make the most of our assets without having to cash in any to buy them!

When I start to think about “Paris After Dark”, my mind drifts to Parisian bordellos (clearly I watch too many films), smoky eyed women in sumptuous fabrics, with kissable lips and strokable hips.  Jo has woven this intensity and edginess into some of the darker pieces in the range using velvet and sequins (bows!), strong shoulder lines and strategically placed zippers. While our Parisian girl by day may be all feminine pinks or jaunty stripes, at night her walk takes on just a little more wiggle in body con electric blue, violet and black.

Oh, and for those of you who have been drooling over my high waisted jeans… let me tell you, this collection has the most amazing pair of wide legged, high waisted black pants, Sartori.  With flat fronts, button detailing, even button on suspenders; when I tried these on, they fit like a glove and I even gave a little Squee in the dressing room.  You are going to LOVE them. ( Watch out for an outfit post with them next week.)

See them on the left? Awesome Sartori pants!

Friends of Couture pieces get my seal of approval for not only being infinitely stylish and cute, but also for their quality. I’ve worn some of their pieces over and over and over again in the last three years, washing the knit wear and popping it back on the next day, and they have kept their shape, their colour and their edge. I can’t say that for a lot of modern pieces in my wardrobe, especially not those others of a comparative price.

Yes, I could go on and on about how fab this range is, but you really must see it for yourself.  If you are in Melbourne you can head straight to the stores at:

225 Chapel street, Prahan

186 Sydney Road, Brunswick

Brunswick Street, Fitzroy

Melbourne CBD 311 Swanston Street, Melbourne

And, because one can’t possibly not share something this good with the rest of the world, you can get your hands on some of these fantastic pieces for a ONE DAY ONLY 20% off Valentines Day Sale in the online store!! Just enter “bemyvalentine” at the coupon section at the checkout for 20% off on ALL stock!

***EDIT: Just to clarify they do sell online and will ship to ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD! So get in there while the Aussie dollar is still a bargain!***

So yay for awesome new designs and a great big yay for special sales too!!

Because I believe that it is best to start the New Year with a smile on your face, I’m going to tell you a story. A story of a vintage related injury I incurred the other day, which upon trying to tell Mr. SKM about, I quite nearly incurred another I was laughing so hard.

On my recent Christmas trip to Sydney, I was sharing a large King Bed with my two little girls whilst Mr SKM slept in the other room for some peace and quiet. The girls insisted I took turns sleeping next to each of them, which meant that the other evening Miss Two was alone on her side of the bed. Looking at the sharp corner of the night stand, I decided it would be a good idea to pad it up with a pillow should she fall out of bed, (she is well known for night time adventures on the floor).
As the evening progressed and the two girls snored like two little angelic trolls, I changed into my lovely 1950’s satin nightgown and settled down on the far side of the bed to Miss Two. It had been a big day and I had taken a few meetings with some representatives of the Chardonnay region that evening. So the minute my head hit the pillow, I fell into a deep sleep….

…until… I was woken by Miss Two’s blood curdling scream! Before my brain even had time to engage I sprang up and leapt across the bed towards the small child stuck between the bed and the night stand, to save her from deaths door. But with the sheer urgent force of the leap, combined with the vintage satin nightgown, I slid across the bed and flew into the air like a First Class Olympic ski jumper, landing butt first into the small space between the bed and the wall, legs akimbo. But even jammed into this space, I dove sideways to rescue Miss Two from the clutches of whatever evil had befallen her; only to discover that she was still sleeping soundly in bed and the “small child stuck between the bed and the night stand”, was in fact, the pillow I had placed there earlier to avoid such a disaster!

I limped back to bed, shaking with laughter and crying with pain.  A valiant midnight saviour in a satin nightgown with a spectacularly purple bottom!

And so it is that I go to greet the New Year. Battered, bruised and sleeping naked tonight!

* Yes, I was tempted to show the you bruise for it’s incredible size and sensational nature, but I don’t have an outfit to go with it!*

Just a quick note to let you know that today is the last day to VOTE for Super Kawaii Mama in the 2 Threads Best Fashion Blog awards. If you’d like to show your love for the blog, please head on over and vote here. If you’ve voted before you can still vote again.

Love,