The Artist

Tonight I skipped along to the Moonlight Cinema in Kings Park to see "The Artist". The atmosphere at this cinema is enough to blow you away, lying underneath the stars with the slight breeze blowing in from the river. It's absolutely breathtaking without adding to the mix an Academy Award winning silent black and white film. 

For those of you who have been living under a rock, "The Artist" follows George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), a silent movie actor who is struggling with the development of talking films. The focus is on his life and relationship with a rising talking actress Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo). The Artist has had wide spread critical acclaim for its revival of the silent eras elegance and charm. It is an unlikely feel good movie and WOW was I ever captured by those actors smiles. It was so refreshing to see genuine pleasure, innocence and wit all embroiled in one. 

For those who have not yet cast their eyes upon this masterpiece, I highly recommend gathering a picnic and taking a trip to your nearest outdoor cinema to watch it. It is definitely a sight to be seen. In fact I would even award it 5 whole stars. 

Eco Chic

At Tafe we've been working on our eco-chicness. So that meant hitting up the salvos $1 sale rack, picking up a few bargains, ripping them apart and making some semblance of an outfit.

I was paired with Chenoah,  and although we often have differing opinions and tastes we worked together remarkably well and came up with a pretty great outfit, even if I do say so myself. Just a pre-warning; this outfit belongs in the 80s

Okay so realistically its kind of hideous... but I think that gives it charm... doesn't it?? We made the skirt out of a shirt (winning!), and simply buttoned it up. Then we placed a lovely belt from another skirt under the collar and around the waist. Chenoah and I then used a sheer scarf to create a draped top. To complete the whole look we made up a bow out of the sleeves of a jacket and attached it to the top for that little extra Oomph!

All in all, not too shabby!

A Stella Career

Lets play "Who am I?"!  I am the daughter of a knighted bass player, I am a well known Fashion Designer, I am an animal rights activist with strong ties to PETA..... That's right! I'm Stella McCartney.

 Stella has built herself a reputation in the fashion industry as a woman who refuses to use fur or leather in her designs and will always endeavor to use the environmentally friendly options when designing. Stella Studied at Central St Martins in London graduating in 1995. She created quite a stir with her graduating show using supermodels Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss as models. Only 2 years after she graduated, Stella was appointed the Creative Director at Chloé. In 2001 she launched her own label "Stella McCartney" With the Gucci Group.

Stella has had the privilege of working on a number of collaborations with brands such as Adidas, Bendon, H & M, Disney, Lesportsac and Target. The Film "Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow" also featured costumes entirely designed by Stella. Finally Stella was given the opportunity to design the athletes uniforms for the British team for the London 2012 Summer Olympics.

Being an avid Animal and environmental activist the Stella McCartney brand supports many charities such as PETA. Her contribution to the issue of climate change is extremely noticeable in the management of her business. All stores are powered by ecotricity which invests customers money on clean power. Stella has also designed a number of eco-friendly ranges including lingerie, sunnies and fragrances.

Thats Fadtastic!!

Yes, I just said "fadtastic", and yes I know that it is cheesy to the max. Well don't worry your pretty little head , it's probably just a fad. and fads are just a passing phase. For the sake of an analogy, Fads could be likened to riding a trolley down a hill. It seemed like a good idea at the time but then you realise you were seriously deranged in thinking so. Here is a great eggsample (see what I did there?) ....

Crocs were a fad, and thank God they were because they are absolutely hideous.

If you're a little bit more sensible, but still with a flair for a little risk, then you're probably right on trend. Trends often flit in and out with the seasons but occasionally we get a good one which will last a little longer and eventually outstay their welcome. Lookie Loo!

Yes I know... Pastels. They indeed are a trend which seem to rotate in a biannual cycle. Every second spring they're back with a vengeance, but since they make you feel all pretty and bubbly inside we don't really mind do we.

Finally the ultimate fashion tool, the classic. It is a little like Love, and true love lasts a lifetime. My dad always tells me that you should not love inanimate objects such as a bed, but sometimes I can't help myself. What do I love you ask? 

WELL... Think the Little Black Dress, White Shirt, Pencil Skirts, Jeans, and Trench Coats. I could go on forever really. I just have so much love to give.

Plates and Mags

To be honest I thought a fashion plate was a lovely plate with a pretty picture on it. Obviously I was wrong, how could I have been so logical! As it turns out a fashion plate is actually an illustration which shows how a garment will look to customers. Needless to say they weren't completed on any ceramic crockery... However, They were often included in the early fashion magazines, which depicted the latest fashion trends. "The Lady's Magazine" was one of the first of these magazines to include fashion plates in a publication. Current examples of fashion plates are often seen as interpretations of garments on sewing patterns

Magazines have developed extensively since "The Lady's Magazine". An early such example is "The Delineator" which was first published in 1873 and included Butterick Patterns for home use and provided an in-depth analysis of current fashion trends. This format of magazines has been a steadfast mould, even for the fashion magazines of today, such as "Harpers Bazaar"(first published in 1867), Vogue (1892), Vanity Fair (1983) and Cosmopolitan (1886). Heres a few examples of some heritage and modern magazine covers...

OMG look a zine!

I only ever really knew a zine as an adorable mini magazine, I have never thought beyond that. If it hadn't been for this assignment, I doubt I ever would have. But that's the thing about learning, it opens your eyes to new and wonderful things... like zines

According to Wikipedia which we all know is a extremely reliable source, a zine is a publication which has a circulation of less than 5000 copies. The target market varies but a variable range of subjects have been covered including fashion, politics, personal journals etc. Zines originated during the 18th century, although the actual name "zine" is believed to have come about during the 1970s as an abbreviation of the word magazine.

Since the increase in popularity of the internet during the 90s, zines have faded into the background and left trailing behind blogging. Presently, there are few distributors of zines in comparison to the pre-internet age. However one dedicated Melbourne zinestore, "Sticky Institution" is powering through the tough times. I'm sad to say though that they are one of few.

All this research has definitely fuelled a new obsession for zines, Melbourne here I come!