This week the big Ultimate Rock n Roll Jam Session you’ve heard me talk so much about, kicks off in Melbourne! So as you can imagine I am running around like a crazy person for the next few weeks. There is always so much to do, but oh so much fun to be had; and I want you to come and have some fun with me! The show officially opens this Thursday night and runs right through until Sunday 19th December, so you’ll have plenty of opportunities to get down. However…
This Friday 10th, (and next on the 17th) is 50′s Friday!! A chance to break out your fancy frocks, shine up your cars and come and enter the Best Dressed contest! This isn’t just one for the ladies, but one for boys, girls, and cool cats of all varieties. So come down to the Comedy Theatre and join me for a night of fun. Tickets are available now at Ticketmaster, BUT for one lucky reader and their partner I have a DOUBLE PASS to 50′s Friday for you! All you have to do is leave me a comment in the next 24 hours telling me why you have to be there, and the best answer as chosen by me will win that double pass!
If you’re extra clever you may just be able to snag another double pass for the winning Tweeter. Just tweet out a link to this post and the winner will be chosen by random number draw by 8.30am tomorrow! You can follow The Ultimate Rock n Roll Jam Session on Twitter here and add the hash tag #turrjs to your tweet so you make sure I can see you.
Right, well I’m off to start fancying up some special girls for Friday night’s secret fun!
Remember the other week we spoke about new ways to inspire an outfit? It was about re-imagining your wardrobe through your dreamscapes and a rather unusual challenge. The idea was to take four images that represented things you’ve dreamed about and use those colours, shapes and textures to create an outfit for your day. Considering the state of my dreams this could be pretty risky territory, but what the heck – there’s nothing like stretching the mind a bit.
I was quite surprised by the variety of what you all came up with, especially the colour and texture combinations.
Here are a few of the entries with links back to their original posts where you can see the images that inspired their outfits.
The always adventurous Steph at Tart Deco came up with this one
(I’m loving the yellow cardi and red petticoat Steph!)
.
Hoffi Coffee even made her own dress and bag for the challenge
Trixie (who I suspect is a bit of a wild woman at heart) came up with this…
.
But the winner of the challenge for her spot on use of colour and translating the ambiance of her dreamscape into something infinitely wearable is Steam Labyrinth for this outfit. It is part girly fantasy, part utilitarian and a very beautiful resulting mix!
Congratulations!
There will be a special parcel of goodies making it’s way to you very soon!
And I also have a special Runner’s Up mention for Steph of Tart Deco who clearly used all the inspirations for her dreamscape so thoroughly effectively in her outfit – there is a little something for you too!
That was fun… Let’s see what we can come up with next. I’ll out my thinking cap on for this one as I already have some ideas that will blow your mind.
Hold onto your hats Ladies and Gentlemen, because this may be just about the most exciting opportunity you’ll read about this year!
Last week Westfield and Nuffnang contacted me about helping them to find a very special person. A Fashion loving, tech savvy, bargain hunting maestro! A once in a lifetime opportunity to shop and be paid $100,000 to do it!!! (Is that enough exclamation marks to show you how big this is?)
Just to tease me, Westfield invited me along on Monday, to walk a mile in the fashionable shoes of the future Westfield Insider, which was both heaven and hell. The best job in the world but only for one morning? Arghh!
Before even heading out the door I knew that I was to be given a challenge. They wanted me to find, buy and style an outfit that focused on this season’s key trends, all in under an hour and for under $200! Not getting ahead of myself I realised that this meant even more thought to the day’s outfit than just a good pair of walking shoes. I picked out something that I could get on and off in a hurry without messing up my hair, because it just wouldn’t do for the Westfield Insider, let alone Super Kawaii Mama, to look less than fabulous no matter the conditions.
I arrived at Westfield Plenty Valley (in Victoria) first thing in the morning to meet up with the Marketing Manger and be shown the lay of the land. After a quick scout around to find out which stores were available and a bit of a caffeinated heart starter, I hit the shop floors.
Now I have to tell you, while this challenge may sound like a dream come true, it isn’t as easy as it sounds. The hardest part for me was to think about all the new trends and translate these into something quintessentially SKM. We all know I’m a Style Queen not a Trend Hound, so I switched my brain into fabulous overload.
Would it be Nautical, Military, Techno, Neutrals or Coloured Denim? It wasn’t just the clothes to put together, but the shoes and accessories too – that’s a whole lot of shopping for $200! Could I do it?
So many choices! I was loving so many of the soft chambray denims and spring florals, the whole Prairie look is right up my alley at the moment. Temt had some brilliant short, flirty skirts loaded with lace and rose prints. Jeanswest nearly had me sold on a short, ruffled light blue denim number. I could feel my head going around in circles and my eyes being drawn to so many different things that I had to stop, take five and focus, (cue great big chunky chocolate cookie at Mrs Fields).
With so many bargains in the one place it was hard not to get distracted, but I had a mission and a very short time to do it!
With so many fabulous finds, just what did I put together? Check it out!
Nautical / Military done SKM Style!
.
A stunning Military style dress from Femme Connection. It is a super stretchy poly cotton, with bronze finished button detail and petals at the bust.
The cropped cardigan from Temt captures a nautical feel with its wide navy and white stripes, finished with regimental button front.
A sleek pair of amber and gold toned aviators from Portmans capture the military vibe with their Top Gun looks.
And to carry all those phone numbers I’m sure to pick up, this roaring red handbag with ruffled rose detail from Sintra, is the perfect package.
Because I couldn’t do a Nautical feel without at least one small Sailor Jerry reference, Diva came to the rescue with their golden swallows, worn several ways with this outfit. Tiny little swallow earrings and another pair chasing each other around along a long golden neck chain. First up I wore them as a waist chain detail, then attached them to the oversized striped rose to wear on the hip, then in the hair.
Both the Swallows and the blousy blue and white rose were found at Diva.
To anchor the look (get it..? anchor.. I crack me up!), I paired the short and sexy dress with a killer pair of summer wedges from Novo. With chunky weave-look heels and riveted toe detail, these are the perfect summer solution heel. After all, you can’t be wearing stilettos if you’re going to go cruising the naval yards for a lonely sailor!
(In the absence of said sailor, another aquatic chap stepped in)
Can you believe I found ALL of this for under $200?! I can see myself getting a lot of wear out of each of these pieces and mixing them up to make a myriad of new looks.
So what do you think – could you do the same? This is your chance to give it a go and you could be the new Westfield Insider!
Here’s what’s on offer:
A 12 month, $100,000 contract to shop, style and tell everyone all about the fabulous new fashions found at Westfield!
What you need to do:
Go to www.westfield.com.au and apply for your chance to become the Westfield Insider!
Get prepared for the once in a lifetime opportunity to do what you do best – Shop your heart out and tell everyone about it!
Get moving because applications close on the 1st October 2010!
I love shoes. And I love shopping. But put these two together and it often results in a heck of a lot of post shopping complaints, tired legs and a box of pain killers. Yes, I have been told to wear sensible shoes, but really… unless it is Sneaker Sunday I just don’t often go there. I am adding to my collection of more flat-ish shoes, but nothing beats the wiggle inducing stiletto for me. The problem is that you pay for it.
Yes.. these are my feet, in yet another pair of my impossibly beautiful and rather demanding shoes.
I’ve been trying all sorts of things to help my legs return to their normal selves after a big night out; foot spas, hot towel wraps, even lying with my feet up the wall at 3am after a particularly big night out. None of this has been working very well really, but I finally have a new solution!
You’ll remember last month as part of Relaxation August, OSIM sent me a special something to help take away the Hunchback of Notre Dame cramps in my shoulders? Well, they also had a solution for my other half that I just couldn’t resist – the uSqueeze Warm.
This arrived in a great big box on my front doorstep, (which has also proven to be a very handy children’s play thing) and promptly found a home in my living room.
First off I have to say how awesome is it that this model matches my living room furniture?! And given that my furniture is retro-tastic, what are the odds? Anyway, this heavenly piece of kit is a deep red leather with a sort of pouch arrangement at the front to slide your aching feet and legs into. Like so…
Yes, I am in my pyjamas and rollers. This is a proper relaxation effort here.
It has a few simple selections which create a vibration, heat and the most intense massaging rollers you’ve ever felt! Seriously, this is no fairy fingered machine, this is the business. The rollers actually roll and squeeze the entire tops and bottoms of your feet, while another set of rollers squeeze and roll the length of your calves. It focuses on muscles and pressure points, so for me I have to start it off on the most gentle setting cause I’m a bit of a girl when it comes to my legs, (I can’t even handle waxing!) And the warm is oh so toasty and snug it is even better than having the puppies sit on my feet.
The inside bit where your legs go is a fabric cover that can come off for washing, and opens up with a zipper if you just want to put your feet in and not your whole legs. The whole unit can tilt to different angles depending on how you want to sit, what part of your legs you want to concentrate on, or even tilt all the way around to be a foot rest when it isn’t in use.
But warning – this could very well send you straight to sleep!
Total bliss….
Knowing how much I enjoyed this, and just how many of you are also shopaholic shoe fiends, OSIM has kindly offered to give a special exclusive 10% discount to all SKM readers yet again!
And do you know what else… after the uPapa hug was such a hit with you, they have offered one of these uSqueeze Warm machines to give away to you too! (Seriously, I’m amazed how much cool stuff I can share with you, it’s the best!)
WRITE – me a comment with a link to a picture of your favourite shoes (they don’t have to actually belong to you, they can just be wish list shoes)
You have until Friday 1st October to register!
And while we’re talking about winning cool stuff, CONGRATULATIONS to Bianca Gaetani who has her very own uPapa Hug turning up any day now!
I’m off to give my feet another big day as I hit the road for Sydney and the Rock n Roll and Alternative markets. Tune in to my Twitter account to see pictures throughout the day of all the lovely ladies coming in for pinup perfect hair & makeup, as well as a look at some of the stalls and the cracking bands playing!
How do you challenge yourself as you develop your personal style? When we have a very clear cut style or even find ourselves flowing with the tide of trends, it can be hard to look outside our narrow vision and find wardrobe inspiration that is truly our own.
Last night I kicked back and watched The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus, which got me thinking. What if we took some of those strange dreamscapes of our minds and turned those into the basis for a daily outfit inspiration? It is the sort of approach that artists and designers turn to each day, but is it something we even consider when getting dressed in the morning?
So here is my idea. Just for a bit of fun I want to give myself, and you a challenge and the chance to participate in the community of this blog. All you have to do is take four images that come from the dreamscapes of your mind and use these as an inspiration point to create a new Daily Outfit.
Here are the rules:
You may use FOUR images to represent your dreamscape – None of these images can include any actual clothing pictures or direct clothing references.
Put the image references together with a picture of yourself in the outfit you’ve created from this inspiration.
The outfit must be put together from items already in your wardrobe – no extra shopping allowed! ( No I can’t police this, but shopping for these would just be cheating yourself)
To submit your work, simply either publish it on your blog and link back to it in the comments section of this post so everyone can visit you and see it, OR if you don’t have a blog, you can email me your submission to info at superkawaiimama dot com dot au.
The five best submissions will be published on Super Kawaii Mama and the best submission will win a SURPRISE gift pack!
Entries are open to everyone, no matter your age, location or gender.
I haven’t created my outfit yet (seeing as this only occurred to me very late last night), but here is my dreamscape reference.
So what do you think my friends, are you up for a little challenge?
EDIT- Due date for this assignment is MONDAY 20th September, with results to be published that week.
All words, images and ideas expressed here are the sole property of Candice DeVille Pty Ltd unless otherwise stated.
“Super Kawaii Mama”, it’s name, logo’s and likeness are trademarked to Candice DeVille Pty Ltd and may not be used without an express licensing agreement.
If you wish to use anything you see on this site, please contact the author to obtain the relevant permission.
