Behind The Scenes At The Finesse Lingerie Parade

During the Adelaide Fashion Festival each year, prestigious modelling agency 'Finesse Models' puts on a theatrical lingerie parade. 

I was lucky enough to attend this year and got to witness smoking hot models strut down the runway in their underwear.

Talk about a self esteem booster!

But honestly, the parade was amazing. It was like Adelaide's version of Victoria's Secret.

One of our photographers Kate Pardey took some amazing behind the scenes photos of the parade.

It's always interesting to get a sneak peek into something you're are not usually privy to, which is why these backstage photos are so intriguing.

Check out a few of the photos below and see the full gallery here on Glam Adelaide. 

Bride For A Day

I got to live every little girls dream on Thursday by playing dress up in designer wedding gowns for the Adelaide Fashion Festival.

Tomorrow Brides Of Adelaide Magazine is holding a 'Bridal Runway Fusion' fashion parade, so to give everyone a sneak peek of what will be on on show at the parade Kelly and I from Glam (along with Filip from Fashion Squared) filmed an episode of Glam TV.

I got to wear three amazing gowns by Suzana Lucci, Paolo Sebastian and Malachi Empire. Check out the video below.

You can still buy tickets to the fashion parade here.

The Launch Of The Adelaide Fashion Festival

On Wednesday I was privileged enough to attend the VIP launch of the Adelaide Fashion Festival at Government House.

It was pretty fancy.

Guests recieved an 'entree card' prior to the event which was used to introduce us and we had to line up to meet the Governor and his wife. It felt like we were meeting the queen!

We then got to have a sticky beak around the house. Which they actually live in. Go figure.

The glamorous affair was an amazing launch to the festival which runs until October 27th.

Behind The Scenes With Wayne Cooper

I interviewed Wayne Cooper for Glam Adelaide last week (you can read the full interview here). You can never know what to expect from a celebrity, especially a fashion designer. Will they be friendly? Will they be a diva? Will they answer my questions? Etc etc 

 But I honestly really liked Wayne Cooper. He was brutally honest and wasn't afraid to speak his mind without being rude or arrogant. He also had a great sense of humour and didn't seem to take it all too seriously. 

 Below are some of my favourite quotes from my interview with Wayne Cooper. 

On Fashion 

 I think fashion is supposed to take you out of your everyday life and make you dream a bit. Otherwise why are we doing it? 

On Wearing Labels 

 Everyone needs beautiful clothes in their wardrobe, but you don’t need all your clothes to be beautiful clothes. It’s a mixture. But it’s good that you appreciate beautiful clothes that are expensive and why they are. 

 On Having A Diffusion Line 

 I can’t stand it when people say ‘why is that dress so expensive?’. That annoys me. ‘Beause this one took forever to make, and drove me insane and we don’t make many of them.' Sometimes I think, why did I make this beautiful dress out of silk when they don’t care if it was made of the worst polyester? There’s a place for all fashion. 

Hamptons Chic - Harris Scarfe SS12/13

When I was invited to a showing of Harris Scarfe's new Spring/Summer 12/13 collection I wasn't sure what to expect.

I don't think I've ever bought anything at Harris Scarfe but I have been dragged there by my Grandma many, many times. 

However it was clear to see that Harris Scarfe is 'no longer a nanna store' with their new collection described as 'Hamptons Editorial Chic'.

Think playing tennis, sipping cocktails on a yacht and having Summer picnics. Kind of like that TV show Revenge without the murder etc. 

The collection still has that conservative Harris Scarfe look but it's been overhauled to suit a young, modern audience. 

The pieces are inexpensive and a lot of the outfits could be worn by women of all ages. 

I LOVED the colour palate of the range, especially the pinks and peaches. It's all about clashing prints and colours which is going to be huge this Summer. 

Hamptons chic is definitely a look I could see myself getting into.

You can check out more photos on Glam Adelaide.

Move Through Life

Hands up if you ever did dance when you were a youngster.

I did it all. Jazz, tap and ballet every week for years. I think my favourite part of the whole thing was the costumes which probably says something about me.

If you didn't then you definitely missed out on a right of passage. One where you thought you had a chance at becoming a ballerina and those ideas were quickly shot down when you realised you sucked which might have been sooner rather than later depending on how honest your teacher was.

The launch of the Move Through Life's new season was held at the National Wine Centre recently. Events at the wine centre are AWESOME because you never have to worry that they will run out of wine!

Unfortunately there were a lot of speeches and the world's longest auction and as you can see below, my shoes, while gorgeous, were no made for standing around in (what do you mean that's what shoes are made for?). 

On Trend - White Hot

A few weeks ago I went to the Liza Emanuele fashion parade at the Ice Arena.

It's rather ironic that I've named this post 'white hot' because it was in fact bloody cold.

It was quite a spectacular experience and like nothing I've ever seen before. You can read more about it here on Glam Adelaide.

I noticed a definite trend amoung the who's who of Adelaide. White blazers.

How To - Survive A Sample Sale

How do you know if you're whipped? 

Probably if your girlfriend makes you and your (also male) friend come to a sample sale and search through the clothes for size 8s which you then have to hold up for her one at a time so she can critique your choices and decide what she likes and what she doesn't with comments like 'ew that's hideous' and 'what were you thinking'.

And I'm the one who's single...

On Sunday my friend Caity (caityj-says.blogspot.com.au) and I headed off to the Finders Keepers, Keepsake and Cameo sample sale and we were completely unprepared for what we were about to encounter.

First of all there was a line. In the rain. Full of teenage girls.

As soon as we were let in to the hall SHIT GOT CRAY. The girls were absolutely out of control grabbing clothing left right and centre and stuffing them into bags that they had brought along.

The phrase that comes to mind is 'bitches be crazy'.

Once they had a bag stuffed full to the seams, they headed to a room off the hall to strip off and try everything on.

Caity and I were clearly amateurs to the whole sample sale situation but managed to escape with what we wanted and no visible injuries besides some emotional scarring. 

Don't get me wrong, it was awesome and kind of exhilarating. I will definitely be going back considering some of the bargains I picked up. 

I will however be following these simple rules.

How To Survive A Sample Sale

Arrive Early

Yep there was a line. I'm sure the bigger the sale is, the bigger the line will probably be. 

Know What You Want

Avoid walking out with three pairs of almost identical black shorts and six dresses you will never wear because you got excited and grabbed everything in your size.

Know Your Size

Knowing what size you are in the brand will save you a lot of time and energy.

Be Prepared/Accessorise

FYI - Not with a boyfriend.

Take a 'green bag' to put your finds in and an umbrella for standing in the rain/bashing other girls over the head with. 

Dress For Success

Wear clothes that are easy to take off/try things over. I suggest a dress or tights and a loose top and shoes that are easy to slip off.

Behind The Scenes At The Central Markets

Am I the only person who gets so overwhelmed by the Adelaide Central Markets that I tend to go back to the exact same stalls every time? 

It turns out there is a solution. 

I love the Central Markets so I jumped at the chance to take a tour of them with Central Market Tours, fellow Glam Adelaide writer Gianni and and Celebrity Chef Matt Moran. Also because I never turn down free food. Never.

Central Market Tours was a great way to discover a lot of hidden gems at the markets and visit stalls you never would have noticed before. Including discovering the best shallot pancakes I have ever tasted.

 I was expecting Matt Moran to be scary and intimidating like he is on Masterchef but he was actually very nice and surprisingly down to earth. He also followed me on Twitter which pretty much means we are besties now (free dinner at Aria?).

He's spent a lot of time in Adelaide recently and seemed to really enjoy it here. I was also super impressed that he was tweeting and blogging as we went as part of TQUAL (tourism quality).

Usually I am the only person on their phone 24/7.

You can read his TQUAL tick tour blog here.

The markets tour may seem like something only tourists would do but it's something fun to do next time you have people visitng from interstate. I guarantee you will discover a host of things you didn't know about the markets. 

I also got to go into A ROOM OF CHEESE. It was pretty much an out of body experience.

Hilton High Tea

High Tea seems to be really in fashion right now. 

But how many people can say they have had High Tea in Rundle Mall complete with an Eiffel Tower made of ice!

The Hilton puts on High Tea every Saturday and Sunday and the hotel and Harris Scarfe held this event in Rundle Mall last week. 

And I can tell you that the cakes were made extra sweet by the jealously of the onlookers.

Even though we were lucky enough to be served Veuve Clicquot, I was very impressed by range of teas on offer. The Hilton actually has a tea sommelier - a whole employee dedicated to tea who said 'there is an art to tea'!

If you would also like to be jealous of my High Tea experience also, check out some of my photos below and maybe get some inspiration for hosting your own High Tea. 

Burnside Village Fashion Parades

Shocker, I'm back at Burnside Village again! It's totally becoming the place to be.

Burnside Village held their Autumn/Winter fashion parades recently to celebrate the launch of their 6th issue of The Vine magazine. 

Usually 'mall parades' try and please everyone but Burnside Village knew their customer and understod their fashion sense. And even though said customer may be a wealthy middle aged mum they didn't compromise on style.

Burnside Village has a lot of high end brands and they did a great job of showing elegant ranges like Karen Millen and Carla Zampatti.

Sure, it didn't have the excitement of the Rundle Mall parades with dancing kids in shiny silver shoes and there were no opera singers or live bands but what I want from a fashion parade is to go away wanting to shop the trends. That's what I left the Burnside parades with, the urge to shop!

Winter Trends


- Red from bright tomato to maroon. The must have item is a pair of red jeans.

- Sequins - sparkly pants, tops and shoes.

- Fur

- Mustard And Teal

- Vintage Style Dresses

- 40s style trench coats, double breasted jackets and pea coats.

Photos by Alice Healy

A Night In London - The Best Of British Dinner

On the anniversary of Kate and Wills' marriage I got dressed up like a royal and headed to the Best Of British dinner at the InterContinental Adelaide.

Now, I didn't think that Britian was know for it's excellent cuisine. In fact I thought it was quite the opposite.

However, I suppose if you're going to eat calf tongue and eel, you may as well have it cooked by some of the best chefs in the world.

Plus Bernie Vince was there so....

I wore an amazing Couture + Love + Madness gown. Navy is one of my favourite colours and sequins are the next big thing this season so it was perfect.

After the eel and the tounge and some lamb chops (that we're actually quie normal and delicious) a Beatles cover band The Fab Four entertained the crowd and they were actually really, really good!

The last cover band I saw was a Spice Girls tribute band called Sugar and Spice at the Tivoli when I was 8 so I really wasn't sure what to expect after that experience.

The highlight was when one of The Beatles asked to have a photos with me. He said his name was Andy. I'm pretty sure there is no Andy in The Beatles. They may need to learn to stay in character better.

One thing that had me a bit confused was the dress code which was black tie. I always took black tie to mean floor length gowns for girls and tuxedos for the boys. But apparently that's white tie, so Google has saved the day and here's a guide if you're ever invited to a black tie or white tie event.

Black Tie

Traditionally black tie is only worn for events after 6pm.

Less formal than white tie.

Women
Usually means a dinner (to the ankle) or tea (below mid-calf) sleeveless dress. Today cocktail (knee-length) dresses are considered appropriate.

Men 

Suit, usually of black wool, in which the jacket lapels and trouser braid are of silk or other contrasting material, a white dress shirt, a black bow-tie, a waistcoat or cummerbund, and black dress shoes.

White Tie

Also for events after 6pm.

 Worn to ceremonial occasions such as state dinners as well as to very formal balls and evening weddings.

Men

Black dress coat commonly known as an evening tailcoat, white bow tie, white waistcoat and starched wing collar shirt, 

Women should wear a formal gown to the ankle.

I still prefer full length dresses over cocktail for black tie and at the end of the day and if you have the chace to wear a beautiful gown and dress up, why the heck wouldn't you?

InterContinental Adelaide photos by Chloe Henderson Photography