900 Ways To Wear Black & White - H By Felici Launch

Cristina Tridente of Couture+Love+Madness created this dress!

Friday night was the much anticipated H by Felici Launch at Burnside Village.

I seem to be spending a lot of time at Burnside lately. Next thing you know I'll be wearing pearls and driving an SUV!

The dress code was black and white cocktail and luckily most people stuck to this which made for a very impressive looking crowd.

To be honest, the dress code really threw me. As soon as I felt like I was told what I had to wear I was really put off and kept seeing beautiful colourful dresses everywhere.

However I ended up being really happy with my outfit.

I wore a white Liza Emanuele strapless dress, Witchery shoes and accessories from Miss Mollini on King William Road.

I also surprisingly didn't spot any people wearing the same thing which was kind of amazing. 

900 people ended up attending the launch! In Adelaide, you often end up with the same crowds at events (there's only so many of us) so it was kind of cool to attend a huge launch like this.

I've picked a selection of the 900 black and white outfits to showcase below. 

I thought that with so many people it would be hard to get a drink/food/move around but it didn't feel like there was that many people there.

 The delicious canapés were styled from the H by Felici menu by Paul Wood and guests even had the choice of Longview Wines, McLaren Vale Beer or Hills Cider.

 I may or may not have had one too many ciders...

 Mark Holden, the former Australian Idol judge made an appearance which was pretty random. Dicko gets The Celebrity Apprentice, Mark Holden gets restaurant launches in Adelaide.

It was really a great night and if I learnt anything (besides to cut back on the ciders unless you want to end up falling down the stairs at Sugar and 2am) it's that there really are 900 different ways to wear black and white!

All photos were taken by Supernova Photographics and can be found on Glam Adelaide.

Pastels & Pleats - Prada 2012

A photographer friend of mine sent me a link to this collection because he thought I would like these dresses.

He was not wrong.

The ad above and the below looks are from the 2012 Prada Spring Collection and I am in love with the pastel colour pallette but I also love the pleated chiffon and the way the shapes are classically elegant with their knee length silhouettes but so modern at the same time.

Unfortunately Prada is a little out of my price range so below are some more affordable Prada-esque looks.

1. Eva Franco Pastel Dress

2. ASOS Colour Block Bag

3. ASOS Lilac Skirt

4. Topshop Baby Pink Maxi Dress

5. ASOS Lavendar skirt

6. ZARA Green Pattern Dress

7. ASOS Cream Dress

8. ASOS Mint Green Heel

9. Eva Franco Pastel Dress

10. Topshop Lilac Dress

11. ASOS Pastel Shirt 

Kiehl's Opens At Burnside Village

Kiehl's launched at Burnside Village on Friday night adding another impressive brand to the growing range of boutiques.

This is only the second Kiehl's boutique in Australia which is pretty awesome. 

I'd heard of Kiehl's but have never used the brand before but after attending the launch I'm pretty keen to go back and check it out more thoroughly.

The launch was really fun! It was a 'New York Village Party' and they handed out fairy floss and little bags of popcorn to all the guests. It was catered by the restaurant H by Felici and I'm glad I stuck around for the mini ice creams!

One of the salespeople told me that the store started in New York in 1851 as a homeopathic pharmacy and a lot of the products still use the same recipe and all natural ingredients.

Kiehl's doesn't spend money on advertising but instead focuses their funds on giving out samples and growing the brand through word of mouth. 

You don't really get a better brand endorsement than that!

Photo by Alice Healy

Red Carpet Exposed - The Lucky One Premiere With Zac Efron

Photo by Alice Healy

Zac Efron is so dreamy.

A little but short for my liking but still super handsome, charming and dreamy.

I have never been obsessed with Zac Efron or anything but when he's right there in front of you, you get caught up in all the hype and I swear you start to think that maybe he'll fall in love with you and you'll live happily ever after!.

I was one of the the lucky ones (see what I did there) to be invited to the premiere of Scott Hicks's new movie 'The Lucky One' here in Adelaide featuring the one and only Zac Efron!

For Zac Efron himself to make it to Adelaide for the movie premiere is a huge deal and hopefully means we will get more events like this. 

I invited my little sister (who's 18, so not that little) and I don't think she's ever been more excited about anything in her life. She was obsessed with High School Musical. She didn't eat carbs for 4 days beforehand (not on my recommendation) and if you know my sister, you will know this must was a massive effort.

I wore a beautiful Couture + Love + Madness dress by Cristina Tridente. It's a pity I didn't get a better photo of it but most of us were ushered into the cinema pretty quickly.

When we arrived at Westfield Marion for the premiere, you could hear the screaming from the other side of the shopping centre. It was a little big scary actually. 

I have never seen so many hysterical tween girls in one place in all my life. Imagine what One Direction has to put up with every single day!

Once we were up on the red carpet it didn't get much better, the sheer number of teenagers was actually quite overwhelming. 

It was a little disappointing that the VIP guests didn't get a chance to really see Zac, walk the red carpet or get any photos. But I guess the teens who camped out for hours were the ones who really deserved to get up close and personal in the end anyway.

Luckily though Zac, Scott and Taylor Schilling (the female lead) came into the cinema to tell us a bit about the film beforehand. 

There were two cinemas and my boss Kelly Noble got to be in the cinema with Zac which I think is pretty unfair considering she's not even single. I mean, help a sister out here!

The hardest part of the whole thing was having to sit down in the cinema and watch the movie after all the hype and excitement from the red carpet and after eating a whole bag of FruChocs. 

The movie was typical Nicholas Sparks. I didn't love it as much as I loved The Notebook, The Last Song or even Dear John but it was entertaining enough. You can read my full review here.

I hope this means that Adelaide will get more stars out here for movie premieres and I hope next time I managed to save my packet of FruChocs until at least the movie starts...

Cute Girls On Bikes

If you live in Adelaide, you will know how much people here love cycling.

And by people, I mean middle aged men, often with beer guts, who parade around the Central Markets or sip coffee at CIBO in their lycra.

My father is unfortunately one of these offenders. 

Then, the other day, I saw this pretty girl in a cute outfit riding a bike along The Parade in Norwood. 

You know what, I want to be that pretty girl. I want to look super adorable while I exercise. I want people to think I'm alternative and I really care about the planet when really I just want to be a cute girl on a bike.

 I want to be just like these girls below who have all been snapped by The Sartorialist. 

The thing that these photos have in common besides the pretty girls on bikes is the obvious lack of lycra and helmets.

At University we had to design an ad campaign to encourage more people to cycle. 

I went with the idea that we could make bike riding more fashionable if people didn't have to wear helmets. 

Did you know that Australia and New Zealand are the only countries that have mandatory helmet laws for cyclists?

People cycle less in countries where helmet laws are introduced. Cycling becomes safer the more people who do it and a lot of people debate the actual benefit of wearing helmets.

I say we do away with the helmets so we can all be fabulous fashionable cyclists without helmet hair!

Unfortunately by the looks of these pictures, it seems that no one rides a bike in Winter. I guess I'll have to wait until Summer to get into the cycling craze and get helmet laws overthrown.

Nespresso VIP Launch in Adelaide

What would make former Miss Universe Australia and Celebrity Apprentice star Jesinta Campbell treck all the way to Adelaide? The launch of Nespresso of course!

The launch of the Nespresso boutique in Rundle Mall has been highly anticipated. We've had people emailing us at Glam Adelaide asking how they can get an invite and I've heard whispers that people have been ringing up pretending to be from PR companies and asking for tickets!

The lengths people will go for a good cup of coffee!

If you haven't ever used a Nespresso machine then you probably won't understand the craze. 

I think the real appeal is that they're cute little machines, the coffee comes in funky little pods, and they are endorsed by George Clooney. Nespresso is the hottest trend in coffee right now. 

Most of all it's just fabulous that Adelaide keeps getting these great new stores and luxury brands!

The incredibly gorgeous (and friendly, she was crowned Miss Congeniality you know) Jesinta Campbell opened the store in a citrus George Gross & Harry Who dress.

I have never paid much attention to the Adelaide designers always assuming that they catered to an older market than myself but after seeing Jesinta Campbell rock that dress I feel like I seriously need to get me some George and Harry.

I loved the lime dress and I noticed a lot of women were wearing bright, block coloured dresses.

This is definitely a next purchase on the cards.... after a Nespresso machine of course!

What Not To Wear - Graduation Edition

I attended my Graduation Ceremony for University on Friday and thankfully it was way less boring than I thought it would be! 

However, I had one very big problem with the whole affair. 

 Graduating from University is a fairly big achievement and milestone, hence why I assumed most people would take the opportunity to scrub up and make themselves look professional to attend this significant occasion. 

Apparently not. 

Our gowns were the kind that were open at the front so that you could see most of what you were wearing underneath.

Uni Buddies

Female fashion faux pas included white sneakers (see back left in the photo above), jeans and thongs, sandals, mini skirts, dresses that were completely see through on stage, heels that were too high and skirts that were too tight and both of these that were impossible to walk in. 

But by far the worst outfit consisted of mini denim cutoff shorts, a pink singlet top and Nike kicks. 

Why girls, why?

The young men of my graduating class didn't make it through free from fashion fails either. 

There were board shorts, jeans and canvas shoes. Also guys, we're not 16 anymore, it's now cool to start brushing and cutting your hair. 

Now I'm not saying you have to put on a Nanna outfit and some pearls but what's the harm in bringing a bit of class to your graduation ceremony?

Honestly though, I think most people were just unsure of what to wear (like the poor girl in what can only be described as a ballgown). 

 I am by no means perfect and wasn't sure what was appropriate to wear to Graduation either. 

Therefore I've put together a bit of a guide based on what I thought looked fabulous (and appropriate) on the day. 

Girls 

1) Skirt 

FYI - everyone looks up at you on stage. A skirt that is 'just' suitable normally suddenly become super short. I saw way more female upper thigh at graduation than I've seen in my entire life. Talk about uncomfortable.   

2) Shoes 

Do not wear hooker heels. Especially if you can't walk in them. If you don't have a low sensible pair of heels, then just wear flats. Thongs are also not appropriate. 

3) Hair 

Straight hair definitely looked the best under the motarboard (yes I had to Google that). It's really hard to do anything with it other than wear it down. Think about what your going to do with your fringe if you have one. A lot of girl were seriously stressing about this and it was seriously annoying.

4) Bag

Don't take a huge handbag. However, you leave your bag on your seat and you come back to it, so you can take a clutch.

5) A Touch Of Class  

My advice would be to aim for class. You don't have to dress like a Grandma but you should wear something your Grandma would approve of. A nice (knee length) summer dress or a skirt and shirt are totally acceptable.
Basically, if you'd wear it clubbing, then it's not ok.
Most of all just wear something you feel comfortable in!

Guys 

1) Do not wear something you feel comfortable in. 

2) No jeans are not acceptable, neither are shorts of any kind, I dont care if it's 45 degrees. Put on a pair of dress pants. 

3) Yes you have to wear a shirt and tie. No they should not have cartoon characters on them. If you don't know what matches, ask your mum. Actually, ask your mum even if you think they do match. 

4) Brush your damn hair. It's one day, you can go back to being an unemployed University graduate who's had to resort to selling weed tomorrow.