Ruby AW12

News just landed that this AW12 collection from RUBY will be released for sale on the 27th of January in NZ so I thought I'd share a collection of my favourite looks. Some of these pieces were shown at last year's NZ Fashion Week and seemed to be extremely popular amongst the media and the public. I personally think this is one of RUBY's best collections to date and will be interested to see these garments fly off racks in a week or so. Check out the full lookbook here.

I also visited RUBY's Pop Up store today which has some incredible discounts on samples and seconds. Check that out too!

Print & Colour / Karen Walker Resort 11/12

Images Karen Walker.com

These are a couple of pieces from Karen Walker's Current Season of Resortwear which modernises simple, classic cuts and silhouettes by teaming them with rich, bright colours and bold references to retro prints. I have always been a huge fan of KW prints and think this season's resortwear features some of her best yet. Check them out KW

Print love: Stolen Girlfriends Club

I'm a huge fan of prints this summer especially these two by Stolen Girlfriends Club which are botanic garden themed and are amazing in person. I'm not sure which of the two I like more but I love all the options they've created. Sometimes I think people see repetitive use of a print to be a bit of a designer's cop out but I totally disagree with a collection like this. Why wouldn't you create a couple of awesome options with beautiful prints like these?!

Christmas Wishing

So I thought it would be fun to make a Christmas wishlist for the blog with a bit of a fashion focus. It's pretty difficult to pick a small amount of pieces and oddly none of these pieces seem to go together. Presents are one of my  favourite things about Christmas time. I always have to refrain from spending all my money buying everyone a truckload of gifts! 

Here's what's on my list:

1. Holga 135TIM Camera 2. The current issue of Frankie Magazine 3. Ruby Nail Polish in 'Smurf' 4. Stolen Girlfriends Club Tee Shirt Dress 5. ASOS Aztec Backpack 6. Bucket Bag 7. Pegasus Tee 8. Little & Friday Fudge Box with chocolate, russian, lime, pistachio and raspberry (YUM!) and 9. Mustard Loafers from Topshop

Sass & Bide / Pattern & Colour

All photographs - Sass & Bide

A couple of my favourite looks from one of Sass & Bide's latest collections. Sass & Bide are one of my favourite Australian brands. I love how unique they've always been and their very distinct take on pattern and print. I feel this collection displays a strong artistic influence rather than simply a design and fashion inspiration which totally appeals to me. The last dress is my personal fave! Check them out online (and with free shipping!) here.

Things

This post is a little overdue but a week or so ago these were lovely new things. My new mocasons and cardigans are getting lots of wear and my notebooks are full of new ideas for paintings & photographs. Loving being on holiday!

Style crush: Blair Waldorf

I have fallen again for Blair Waldorf in Season 5 of Gossip Girl. Loving how they are making her hair look more natural this time around and I think they have the mix of classic / contemporary pieces just right. The citrus colours seem to be featured a lot. Loving it.

Blogger Spotlight: Sara from La Mode qui Vole

Meet Sara, a talented young blogger / student / photographer / fashionable lady.  Her blog La Mode qui Vole is a visual delight of photography, fashion and travel which is completely unterstated, unique and intriguing. It features her style and musings in the cities of New York and Singapore. I caught up with Sara to ask her a few quick questions about La Mode qui Vole.

What is La Mode qui Vole?
La mode qui Vole is French for "the fashion which flies" or "the fashion that flies" - however way you want to translate it!

What's the story behind the name?
I wish I had a better rationale for why I decided to make my blog name in French other than I liked the way it sounds. I just wanted a blog title that sounded kind of random and surreal.

How would you describe your style?
I'm not sure since it changes all the time. In general, I'm not really attracted to girly or preppy things - but that's not to say I won't be in the future!

What inspires you?
Anything can potentially inspire me whether it be a piece of artwork, a book, or someone I see on the street. In terms of fashion I get inspired more by what people wear on a day-to-day basis than what I see on the runway.

What would your ideal job be?
Definitely something in the creative industries!

Has bloggling influenced your style?
I haven't been blogging long enough to notice any changes in my style that are directly correlated to my blog. In terms of photography, I take only some of the photos on my blog. The ones of me are taken by my good friend Kathryn when I'm in New York, and by my boyfriend when I'm in Singapore. I really appreciate blogs that are aesthetically pleasing in terms of their layout and photography so I try and make sure I do the same with my blog.

What are your favourite things about New York and Singapore?
Singapore will always feel like home to me since I've lived there for two thirds of my life, so I really love the aspect of familiarity Singapore has for me. Despite my constant complaining about the heat I love that it has perfect beach weather all year round. Plus everything is so efficient and clean! New York, on the other hand, has a lot more character. My favourite thing about New York is that its never boring. Its such an amazing, exciting city - I love that you can wander outside and stumble upon something new every time. 

Which would you choose, Singapore or New York?
Although I love Singapore to bits, I'd have to choose New York.

What's next for you/your blog?
I'm not sure! But I think that's the best thing about blogging: its unpredictable.

What are your top five favourite things right now?
Probably top on my list in my new camera. I decided to splurge and get myself a DSLR - its second hand but it works perfectly! I guess the other four things on my favourites list are just various things I've bought or eaten recently.

Check out Sara's blog La Mode qui Vole x

Bloggers do it better: Secret Squirrel S11/12

I love this print by Secret Squirrel! I have been slightly obsessed with it after seeing a few different bloggers wearing variations of it (It comes as a skirt, top, and a dress in two styles). Recently Francesca from Opinion Slave posted this photo of herself in it. She looked so good I googled the collection and quickly came to the conclusion that the bloggers have done it better with this print. I can't stand the plastic model and subdued styling for the Botanica collection. To me, Francesca has completely outdone the look book version. What do you think?

Check out Francesca's look at Opinion Slave and the rest of the collection at Secret Squirrel x

Celine Rita SS11/12

Young New Zealand label Celine Rita's SS 11/12 collection Boulevard Baby made for the cute and girly. These are my favourite looks from the collection...

 Check it out: Facebook or Website x

Flaxen bag + Print. feature

A couple of days ago I won this awesome Gorilla bag by Flaxen NZ through a competition with the young NZ magazine Print.

Words & Images by Marie-Claire

 To say thanks I wrote a piece for Print which they featured on their blog! It's below...

Hi print. readers! I'm Marie-Claire, a 5 ft 3" soon to be graduate with a mass of ideas and a love of print. magazine. This morning I received this crazily cool Flaxen bag in the mail courtesy of print. so this is a huge big thank you post! While I was thinking of what to write for this post I read about Nicole and Jack's story; their drive, determination, and the setbacks involved with trying to make their dream a reality (in the form of a magazine). This got me thinking about the things that hold us back in life, which I'm attempting to lump into a basket called "practicalities".

While chatting with my best friend a few weeks ago about our inability to manage our time the way we want, we drew a diagram to try and solve the problem. It turned out to be one large circle labelled “what I want to do” squished by another large circle on top labelled “what I have to do”. I feel that the practicalities of life take up too much time and limit our ability to do what we really want. So for many of us we only truly live through little treasures, such as lovely magazines and gorgeous gifts.

This is why I find print. mag and Flaxen so inspirational. Somehow the creators behind both of these treasures seem to have held on to their hope and re-organised their life diagrams to fit in doing what they want. For those of us who haven’t made the leap of faith yet I say embrace the cheeky treasures of life and use them to inspire us to also move forward. If there’s something you are dreaming of doing start today, or at least plan to start it soon.

And if your idea ever seems silly or impractical remember this Flaxen bag in all its wild nature and remember that someone will always love it.

Print. blog feature
Print. facebook
Flaxen

The best blonde

I saw the makeover episode of Australia's Next Top Model yesterday and now I'm itching to have Simone's hair! I adore the white blonde colour. It reminds me of the makeover New Zealand model Gina Morrissey had recently. Not quite the same colour, and two very different looking girls, but for both I think it gives a softness and an edge to their look.

Simone from Australia's Next Top Model 2011

Gina Morrissey from Red 11 - Photo by Hayley Bayliff

p.s. I find ANTM not quite as painful as NZNTM to watch...although the Aussie host Sarah is far too sweet for tv! Seriously, she's like Miss Honey from Matilda!

Skin & Threads - SS11

For whatever reason colour is visually stimulating and looking at it makes our other senses jealous. This is my idea of the secret behind the big colour trend. Not so secret anymore :) Check out Skin & Threads for more. And maybe match your loud clothes to your loud furniture like so:

Couldn't resist :) 

Michelle Williams / Marilyn Monroe

These are my favourite shots from the Michelle Williams Vogue shoot. I think the second shot is gorgeous and understate. How brave is she to take on the role of Miss Monroe!

thank goodness for colour

Ruby AW12

Some of my favourite looks from the new RUBYboutique AW12 Capsule collection released in stores & online yeseterday. I love how their clothes are awesome looking but so wearable too. I think I'm one of many with Ruby fever today. But I also have a touch of Q Theatre fever which helped me win a little contest of theirs by explaining Q in three words "creative theatrical explosion" :D

What I learnt today:

•  While it is easy to fob off stalkerish foreign men in the evening, it is much more difficult to do at 10am
• Chocolate pancakes from No.1 pancake (aka Korean pancake) are good any time of the day
• Auckland's humidity is back
• The best ideas are those shared and gossiped about

2 day countdown till mid semester break! x