The Picnic Clutch

Remember THIS rant I posted about the Jil Sander Paper Bag?
Well lucky for all you people who actually wanted this, Marie Turnor carries the lunch bag style for $180 (shop HERE). 100% Genuine Italian Leather, the material is already better than the expensive counterpart. For the full collection, view HERE

It even comes in a metallic silver foil (shop HERE)... no better way to celebrate NYE and welcome 2013.

On that note, I wish you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR.

TRAVEL: Cairns Photo Diary

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and I wish you all a Happy New Year in advance. For the very first time, I'm not blogging in my Pj's back home in Sydney. Also for the very first time, I'm posting about something other than fashion. If you follow me on Twitter, you would already know that I'm on holidays in Tropical Queensland ... Cairns. I'll let the photos speak for themselves. Enjoy :)

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Sirens of the Sea

She's Electric, a 'seriously chic Australian fashion label' by siblings Chloe, Emily and Ven Gialouris present 'Sirens of the Sea'.
At first I was expecting waves of curly red hair and shimmering oceanic palettes but this lookbook conjures a different atmosphere.

Featuring a clean and soft colour palette with that subtle reference to the ocean devoid of Little Mermaid cliches, it's so difficult to overlook such a vision. The styling is so simple with well placed pearls in the braids and complementary jewellery.
My favourite piece? The gorgeous starfish bralette. There's just something so raw and pure about it implying a 'sophisticated elegance'.

Picture Source 

http://www.sheselectric.com/

2012 Christmas Wishlist

Just in time for the holidays, I'm collaborating with Matchesfashion.com to present a Christmas wishlist. If you don't know this site, I suggest you check it out as it carries the latest collections from designer brands such as YSL, Burberry, Balenciaga and the list goes on.
Although most things (more like everything) on this luxury online store is outside my price range, it's always helpful keep track of the most recent off-the-runway pieces for inspiration. Without further ado, have a merry Christmas and hope you like my X-mas wishlist picks.

1. We Are Handsome King lion-print swimsuit: Seeing as the Australian Christmas is never white and snowy but filled with hot days and balmy nights, a perfect swimsuit is essential. This one-piece featuring such a daring and loud print will definitely make you stand out in a sea of boring bikinis.

2. Lanvin Crystal embellished box clutch: Channel your 1920's flapper girl with this crystal encrusted clutch. Not only are the embellishments super glittery, they're in the perfect shade of Christmas green.

3. Rupert Sanderson Marilyn crystal lips shoes: Very playful pair of shoes with a gorgeous crystal lip embellishment. I love the pop of red making it so appropriate for Christmas.

4. Mary Katrantzou Anchorino day dress: I've always longed for a Ms Katrantzou piece since her abstract prints are so unique that they're iconic. Although this dress doesn't scream Christmas, it definitely implies lush vacations in the tropics lounging in private boats and planes. If that's your plan for the holidays, then this dress is perfect.

5. Isabel Marant Stars Light cuff & Stars Light ring: A great statement piece to pair with a black sequined dress (see number 7)

6. Alexander McQueen Unicorn knuckleduster embroidered clutch: What a luxurious and extravagant clutch with such intricate detailing on the knuckleduster. Permission granted to continue to stare and drool at this piece.

7.  Velvet Rosey sequinned dress: A LBD with a festive twist. Somehow sequins or anything shimmery reminds me of Christmas.

8. Eddie Borgo Gold-plated pentagram ring: Doesn't this little gem just look like the star on top of the Christmas tree? This gold-plated brass ring would be such a festive touch to your holiday outfit.

Picture Source 

http://www.matchesfashion.com/ 

Shine Bright like a Diamond

A lookbook just in time for the holidays! Feast your eyes on Nasty Gal's Holiday Collection: Diamond Girl. Dazzling sequins, embellishments, cut outs and glitter ... live Rihanna's motto and shine bright like a diamond.  

Picture Source

http://www.nastygal.com/

$300 Paper Bag? Only Jil Sander

I think the first sign of temporary financial insanity is when you realise that your account has been debited $285 because of a brown paper bag. To be fair, it is Jil Sander, and it's COATED paper with STITCHED seams, but at the end of the day, it's still paper (for the price of nearly $300). 

Now I'm not being a massive cynic and shooting down this idea completely. It's different, and entirely wacky in a YOLO sort of way. Unless you're an avid collector of weird fashion paraphernalia or a stylist constantly snapped by street style photographers or just Anna Della Russo, lets just examine the practicality of this 'clutch' first. 

Jil Sander Paper Bag on Menswear F/W 2011/12 Runway

Consider these circumstances

a) You come home with your chic 'clutch' (sans lunch) and after a long day you place it on your kitchen table. You go away for a while and come back to find that your mum/housekeeper/husband/boyfriend has scrunched up the Jil Sander and chucked it in the bin mistaking it for rubbish (can you blame him/her? It is paper after all). $300 covered in moldy rubbish! 

b) You give your little 5 yr old child the 'clutch' to take to school as a lunch box (God forbid). Being young and immature, she doesn't care about the fact that it cost an arm, so upon finishing her lunch she goes to dispose of it in the school playground bin. $300 now covered in moldy communal rubbish that isn't even yours... 

It doesn't take someone with a vivid imagination to visualise those scenarios. So, I've come up with a lightbulb idea. How about we buy a packet of 100 paper lunch bags from the supermarket, master the art of the Jil Sander font and just inscribe it on our 'clutches' everyday!! No one will ever know and you've now developed a talent for designer font handwriting. 

Now if you're still not persuaded to give this trend a miss, HERE is the link to the paper bag. Totally not stopping you from clicking it but judging you inside... just a little.

Picture Source 

http://apair-andaspare.blogspot.com.au

http://www.zarridlife.com 

NEW Floral Crowns + Instagram

THE DEL REY: shop HERE 

THE PURITY: shop HERE 

THE ROSETTA: shop HERE 

Finally!! I can finally reveal the excuse for my sporadic and quite shallow posts of late. Over the past week, I've been working on some floral crowns for a Brisbane store called Rocket Science (Check out their store HERE and Facebook HERE). As of right now, they're still an online boutique selling quirky independent brands and they contacted me through Etsy to stock some of my crowns for their upcoming physical shop. 

If you are located in Brisbane, do go check out the opening on December 1st at 181 Brisbane Street, Ipswich.

If you're interested in my floral crowns and want to be updated for new listings, follow me on Instagram (primpedandprimed), Twitter or go to my Etsy store. 

Instagram: @ primpedandprimed. 

Lusting for Summer

My apologies for my sporadic posts of late, I've just been quite busy with some upcoming projects (will be expanded on in my next posts). It has something to do with my Etsy store...

Anyways, Sydney is well and truly into the warmer season and around this time, I'm usually trolling heaps of swimwear lookbooks. I promise, once I've finished my Etsy project, I will start posting more meatier content. In the meantime lets all dream of summertime with the latest from We Are Handsome ... The Streets.

Picture Source: http://www.fashionising.com/

Shop 

Sretsis S/S 2012

I always love discovering a new brand and reading about their design philosophy so an attraction to Sretsis came instantly. Sisters Pim, Kly and Matina Sukhahuta started their label in 2002 and continues to create collections that 'read like an adventurous autobiography as they take inspirations from those around them and what captures their flight of fantasy at a certain period of time.' On a side note, sisters spelt backwards is 'sretsis' hence the brand name (pretty smart isn't it?).

Their Spring Summer 2012 collection '“Oh, My Dear, Deer!” echoes the simple joys and happiness of the country as it 'pays tribute to the quiet flight of fancy and Kly’s never told wish to relocate to a farm' Be inspired by their collection filled with dears and daisies, patterned patchwork denim, prairie girl dresses and printed jumpsuits.

To read more about Sretsis or the collection concept go to http://www.sretsis.com/

Trending: Graphic Tees

No longer is just a dog a man's best friend... Givenchy takes an obvious bias towards the Rottweiler breed. I also bet that Star Wars viewer stats have gone up significantly since the Balenciaga sweaters. From the Spring/Summer 2013 street style and the fall/winter 2012/13 runways, it seems that a massive obsession with graphic tees have emerged.

I mean, why not be a walking poster for anything and everything you love? Balenciaga sure turned something geeky into a major trend icon and if was up to me ... I would totally DIY a tee with an abstract Nemo plastered across my chest (free marketing for Pixar anyone?)

Inspiration

Kenzo F/W 2012/13

Balenciaga F/W 2012/13

Picture Source
http://www.vogue.com.au/

My Picks

1. Wildfox Death Becomes Her Sweater

2. Givenchy Rottweiler t-shirt

3. Fairground Mirror Tee

4. Wildfox Panther Pullover Sweatshirt

5. Somedays The Visionary Lion Print