Four Year Old Fashionista

I'm warning you now. Cuteness overload to follow. 

For someone who generally doesn't get the urge the coo over children, Aila Wang has me keeling over at how adorable she is. Perhaps it's because she is the coolest looking child I have ever seen. Perhaps it's because I'm envious of how well dressed and accessorized she is. You know times are bleak when you're envious of how a pre-schooler is dressed, and even bleaker when you know her wardrobe is kitted out much better than your own.

Sigh. 

Who is Aila Wang? The photo above is, to my knowledge, the first time the public saw her backstage at one of her uncle's, Alexander Wang, show at the tender age of two. Yes, Alexander Wang's niece. That explains a lot now, doesn't it? The now four year is quite the veteran on the fashion scene, with her appearance at this year's New York Fashion Week attracting as much attention as some of the beautiful (and odd) creations that graced the catwalks. 

I feel rather odd to be writing about a four year old but seriously, this kid blows my mind. Without a doubt she is likely dressed by her parents but even so, she always appears in her photos to be enjoying herself and having fun. Even with my minor experience around the littler human beings, I know if they're not happy there's no way to get them hamming it up for the cameras. 

Of course, Mini Wang rocks her uncle's creations. Made custom for her. She likes to rotate her Chanel (worn cross body style) with her mini Balenciaga bag. You might see her in a pair of Timberland boots, black leather boots, Nike sneakers or flip flops paired with socks. 

There she is. Rocking the flip flops and socks combo. Rihanna wishes she could be Aila Wang. Not only that but she's wearing her mini (and custom) version of her uncle's sweater shown on the catwalks at NYFW. 

You often hear the cry that children, particularly little girls, should be dressed as children. What does that mean? Overalls, ruffled dresses, tutu skirts? I don't think Aila's outfits are really inappropriate. Okay, so the white tee may be questionable in the message emblazoned on it but otherwise she's completely covered up in clothes that look like she'd be able to play in. Mum will no doubt hold her Chanel though while she's in the sandpit.

No doubt, Mini Wang is one of her uncle's greatest weapon. You couldn't get better publicity. Her image is all over the internet and social media. 

Aila joins the company of other little fashionistas cropping up all over the place.  This year we also saw Victoria Beckham's little daughter sitting front row with her dad and Anna Wintour by her side.

That's some super swag right there.

Photos taken from various online sources via Google Images.

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My musings on Brownlow and Emmy fashions

There was a bit of double dosing on the red carpet with the Emmy Awards and Brownlow Medal event happening on the same day/night. Such is the wonder of time zones. 

I've been unwell since last week so I've been at home on and off. Being at home this week means I get to keep myself planted horizontally on the couch and watch Giuliana Rancic and Ryan Seacrest provide the E! News commentary from the Emmy red carpets. Bizarrely, Ryan referred to Giuliana's hair as resembling a shade of Nutella, and pronounced it as "noo-tella". Of course, regional differences play a huge role in our pronunciation of words but surely it would be obvious to assume that Nutella being hazelnut based would be pronounced as "nut-tella"? Interesting. 

As for the Brownlow fashion. Okay, so I don't follow the AFL at all. I couldn't tell you a thing about the game, or even the Brownlow Medal. In fact I had to google the names of the 'WAGS' (it really is an awful term) so I could reference them by name in this post, but it seems the Brownlow Medal and Logies are Australia's big nights. Although I have zero interest in football, I've always liked to see the outfit choices of the partners of the players. I'll be honest, for many years I shook my head at the gown and dress choices. It often looked like a regurgitation of a year 12 ball, but in recent times the ladies have really stepped their game up and are looking great. I shouldn't be so critical. Hollywood stars with ridiculous amount of assistance, stylists and designers at their disposal can get it oh so wrong. Cue Lena Dunham's table cloth that she brought along to the Emmy Awards.

So, here I have compiled my favourite looks from both events. The Emmy photos have been taken from the NY Daily News website, and the Brownlow photos taken from the AFL Photos website except for that of Lauren Pavlich which came from PerthNow. As further proof of how little I know of football, I couldn't understand why she was not included in the red carpet photos until I read that they had attended a separate Brownlow event here in Perth. 

You may notice a glaring absence from my Brownlow choices, that being Ms Judd in her red J'Aton Couture creation. Yep, sorry but it didn't float my fashion boat. I know it's been hailed as the dress of the evening, but I just wasn't feeling it. I actually got a Spiderman-esque vibe from the lace sleeves and the feature around her belly was distracting and came across to me as an add-on rather than working with the overall look.  Again, just my opinion. 

Rose Byrne in Calvin Klein

I love this look on Rose, including her new hair colour.  The column style suits her body very well, and while we're no strangers to copious amounts of skin being shown on the red carpet, I do think baring the midriff was a touch risque.  While the accessories and jewellery were kept quite minimal, I think this suits the simplicity of the look.  After all, minimalism is Calvin Klein.

Sarah Hyland in CH Carolina Herrera

I have a soft spot for lace, and I think she pulled it off well.  It wasn't too mature a look for her, although I would say she is someone who doesn't need to go overboard with the makeup.  I thought the lip colour was too dark for her, but the dress is lovely.

Christina Hendricks in Christian Siriano

Let me roll out the cliche 'va-va-voom' comment.  It's so appropriate though!  Christina flaunted her curves in this Christian Siriano design which to me, recalled the glamour of Hollywood starlets of the past.  The lace detail gets the big tick of approval.  I love lace flutter sleeves.

Julie Bowen in Zac Posen

Another one pretty in pink.  The trumpet is perhaps a little excessive, but if you can't go OTT on the red carpet when can you?  Feminine, pretty and elegant.  I'm not sure how she fared with walking though.

Elle Demasi in Steph Audino

I love the colour.  So happy to see colour on the red carpet.  That's why I've included it.  The cut of the dress is not overly appealing to me and it does make me think high school ball, but I like the colour.  The black gown which Steph showed on the runway at Perth Fashion Festival with the beautiful layered skirt, now that would have been my personal choice. 

Alex Davis in Julie Simonelli

Simple and she wears it well.  I like the fitted bodice with the slight train.  Nothing too dramatic but she looks good.

Clementine McVeigh in Steven Khalil

Razzle Dazzle as a my good friend Anna likes to say.  Yes, this is razzle dazzle.

Helen Wilson in Taylor Manuell

Simple in white with the cutout back, her figure looked great in this.

Ella Keddie in Steven Khalil

A very feminine look, I like the lace but perhaps even a little more lace would have been better, especially on the skirt.

Lauren Pavlich in ae'lkemi

 I couldn't find a full length shot, but the skirt was sheer to the floor. The gold sequin detailing is fabulous. 

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Au Printemps

I had dinner with my girlfriends at one of our favourite restaurants in Perth, Chez Pierre, which is located on Stirling Highway in Nedlands.  For those who remember the wonder that was Eminem (the Turkish restaurant, not the rapper), Chez Pierre is located at the same venue.  Oh Eminem, how I remember those days.

Enough of the reminiscing.  The food, service and atmosphere of Chez Pierre make it a worthy successor to Eminem.  I would not eat there so often it this were not the case.  One of the great features of Chez Pierre is that they release a seasonal menu every two months, which features a different menu for each week and that I think is not only a great way to have a wonderful lunch or dinner but is also great value.  Five courses under $60 in a lovely French restaurant, what could be better?

The 'Taste of Spring' menu was launched at the beginning of September and each week until the end of October their menus will feature spring produce served up classic French Provencal style.  Although it's technically spring, you wouldn't know it with the weather these last couple of weeks.  Rain, rain and more rain.  What's that saying though? Spring showers means no summer water restrictions, or something like that?

These special set menus are available all week except for Friday and Saturday, and each week's menu is representative of a region in France.  It is only recently that they have no longer allowed for these menus to be ordered on Friday, which I wasn't aware of when I booked but they were very gracious to allow us to do so.

We had the 'Biarritz' menu, which was composed of a creamy mushroom soup for our amuse-bouche, a tiger prawn and pumpkin risotto for entree, a crisp lemon sorbet to cleanse our palate followed by a half roasted spring chicken and chocolate tart for dessert.

I always love their amuse-bouches, and you never know what it will be until it's placed in front of you.  It was so creamy and rich, it definitely delights the taste buds.  The prawns in the risotto were plump, sweet and fresh.  The chicken was not the best main course I have had at Chez Pierre.  I found it to be quite bland in taste, which is a departure from the richness of all the other main dishes I have eaten there.  That said, I do understand that this is obviously how the dish is intended to be, a lighter tasting chicken dish flavoured with a tarragon herb sauce and served simply with roast vegetables.  Any lack of richness of the main was certainly made up by the very rich chocolate tart served up for dessert!  A slice of baked chocolate tart served up with creme anglaise and ice cream - mmm mmmm!!!

I don't have any photos of the dishes from that night, however, I do have some to share of a dinner I hosted there last month in their private dining room, which is a great choice if you have a large group or a function.

Private dining room

Pumpkin veloute amuse-bouche (from a prior dinner)

Smoked salmon salad entree (from a prior dinner)

Roast lamb main (from a prior dinner)

It's unfortunately not always common to find a restaurant that has great food and great service, it's often one or the other.  It's a shame because sometimes you want to return somewhere because the service is so good, but the food not so much and other times the food is fantastic but the service really puts the whole experience down a notch or two.  At Chez Pierre, the service is exemplary.  The staff are so very attentive but they're not intruding.  They just sort of move in silence, almost invisibly, clearing away your plates, brushing the crumbs off the table, filling up your water and generally being there, without being there.  If you get what I mean.  Hello!  They even have someone who stands out the front to direct your parking.  That night the poor person who pulled the short straw was standing out in the pouring rain.  That's dedication.

In my opinion Chez Pierre is somewhere you could go for a variety of reasons - family events, business lunches or dinners, romantic evenings or dates or just wanting to have a good meal with friends.

  

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Fashion never sleeps...so neither do we

The above mantra could be very true if you've been following the goings on in the fashion world, from all around the world.  There's been no shortage of designer collections and shows to keep you occupied, and sleepless.  There's been the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York, right now we're in the middle of London Fashion Week and here in good old Perth, Western Australia we have just bid farewell to another fantastic year of Perth Fashion Festival.

For all those who were involved and put in such a great effort, it's time to break out the cucumber eye masks and (hopefully) get some rest.

This year marked the 15th anniversary of Perth Fashion Festival and each year it has got better and better, and is such a wonderful showcase of Western Australian talent.  It is so great to see the progression of our local designers throughout these fifteen years, those who started out many years ago have since taken Western Australia by storm and are now enjoying success on a global level.  All this brilliant talent coming out of our own special pocket of the world.  I left a comment recently on the Instagram account for ae'lkemi that I still remember many years ago (yes, over ten...) Alvin had made my year 12 ball dress.  At that time he was starting out, I recalled seeing one of his creations on the mannequin each time I went for a fitting, and I told him it really was great to see his success.  Fast forward to now, and he and his team have had their designs shown worldwide.  Even now, every time my mother sees him in the newspaper she has to say to me "Oh look, it's Alvin, do you remember he made your dress?"  How could I forget when you've said this to me countless times over the last ten years? Love ya, mum!

As a result of the much appreciated hospitality from Singapore Airlines (one of the Festival's major partners),  VIP tickets were provided that allowed my good friend and I to attend the Designer Capsule 2 event on Saturday night.  I had wanted to attend more events but having been on holiday around the time the Festival's program and tickets were released, it was something I didn't think of until it was too late, but was very grateful and happy to not miss out entirely.

Although the weather was extremely poor that night, which is not entirely conducive to wanting to look as glam as you possibly can, once inside the WA Museum's Hackett Hall foyer and after a couple of drinks it was quite possible to forget the rain pouring down outside.

The pre-show event was well catered, with yummy canapes and endless drinks.  The canapes were much appreciated considering we had left getting ourselves ready too late and couldn't manage to get a bite to eat beforehand.  Plus, food always seems to taste so much better when it's in mini form!  I also didn't end up getting to take my DSLR camera with me, so please excuse the iPhone photos.  

Wild Horses started the show with their collection, filled with metallics and prints in very structured pieces.  The chunky statement necklaces worn by the models really complemented the looks.

One designer who can always be depended on to make a beautiful gown is Steph Audino, and she did not disappoint with her flowing silhouettes, which were nothing short of feminine.  A standout for me was the black strapless gown with layers and layers of soft fabric that swished dreamily with every step taken in it.

Betty Tran's collection was impeccably styled, evoking visions of La Parisienne, with beautifully tailored dresses, blouses, skirts and trousers made in metallic laces of bold blue and red hues.  It's definitely put a trip to her boutique at the top of my to-do list.  She also had some great statement jewellery paired with the outfits.

The final collection of the evening was Bikini Atoll, who unleashed their secret weapon right at the end with their petite model who stole the entire show.  He brought the house down with his effortlessly cool and unaffected walk down the rather long catwalk.  The monochromatic bikinis and one piece bathing suits were stylish and classic, and they even gave the ladies in attendance a little bit of eye candy.

One thing I took away from this show was that this is definitely going to be the summer of shorts.  They featured heavily, and even a cursory glance in many stores will tell you that shorts are going to be big.

My outfit for the evening was the Finders Keepers Another Day dress, which I loved for its cape sleeves.  I broke up the black of the dress by belting it with the Louis Vuitton LV20 Couture belt in gold, and paired it with their Oh Really pumps in nude.  Bag was my custom Palestyle clutch, and Harmony & Lawson Paris jacket to keep me warm. 

As we all spilled out of Hackett Hall back into the wild weather,  I was already looking forward to Perth Fashion Festival 2014. 

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