Advance Australian Fashion: MBFF Part One

Last week Sydney hosted the Mercedes Benz fashion festival. Seeing the parade of brightly dressed models, never-ending sunshine and iconic locations on blogs worldwide made me just that little bit homesick for the land of Oz. Not to mention I was very envious of a number of friends back home who got to see the collections in the flesh (I shouldn't moan though as I was very privilege to attend London Fashion Week earlier this year!) Sydney fashion week is Australia's only major international fashion week, although there are a number of others which attract a high profile locally. Their collections don't usually match up with the markets of the Northern Hemisphere (this fashion week showcased Spring/Summer 2013/2014 while recent fashion festivals in Europe and America have recently shown Autumn/Winter 2013/2014) but this year's MBFF certainly showed off what Australian designers do best - relaxed and laid back fashion, brightly coloured with the odd hint of structure. Just like the Australian people! On my travels throughout the blogosphere and internet I came across some collections which I had to share!

I've always had a soft spot for Easton Pearson, two gals from my hometown of Brisbane. They were one of a number of iconic local designers to pave the way for Australian fashion in the 1980s. This season's collection is bright, bold but easily wearable looks you can picture yourself in while lazing at a bar on an overseas holiday. I'm loving the Marge Simpson inspired hairdo's as well, although I'm hoping these don't become widely adopted, I don't think I suit blue hair (or yellow for that matter)!

Jayson Brunsdon's collection this season seemed to shun the bright colours favoured by most designer's for Spring/Summer. Instead, he opted for rich tones, like blue, black and sea green. I love the elegance of his clothes and their structured tailoring and attention to detail - you just know those pants are going to fit seemlessly! My only dislike is his penchant for voluminous skirts which balloon at the waist on some of his dresses - they give the appearance of pregnancy, and no girl wants to be mistaken for being pregnant when she isn't!

It seemed the blogosphere was alive with the amazingness of Romance was Born after their eclectic-to-say-the-least, collection. Known for the playful, don't give a damn, constantly pushing the boundaries style, Romance Was Born was the highlight for many a fashionista and definitely one for me, an armchair observer. The set looked like a lovechild between Mork, Mindy and some serious hippy tie-dye and the collection was similarly intergalactic. Words can't describe how much I love Romance was Born! Seriously, how fantastical does this look!!! Love, love love!

What was your highlight from Australian Fashion Week?

Sarah x

Image credit: Easton Pearson/Jayson Brunsdon/Romance was Born

It's my party and I'll indulge if I want to!

So last week was my birthday and in true indulgent and selfish celebration style the bf and I whisked ourselves all the way in to the heart of Manchester (a whole 15 mins by train from home!) Still, this wasn't just any birthday celebration, we enjoyed a Spa session (a Living Social spesh) and overnight stay at the Hilton hotel Deansgate.

This is something my dreams are made of - a completely indulgent, luxurious pampering session after which I just get to slob out and relax - amazing! After checking in and enjoying the obligatory sussing out of the hotel room we wandered down to the spa area to use the facilities before our treatment. It was a gorgeous sunny afternoon and as we relaxed in the jacuzzi we felt like we could be anywhere, it certainly didn't look like the heart of a northern English city! After visiting the sauna, steam room, swimming in the pool and relaxing in the jacuzzi we felt that we'd got our "money's worth" of this particular aspect of the stay and headed off to wait for our treatment.

The Hilton 303 Spa advertises a number of packages, many of which include use of the facilities beforehand so it would have been nice to have been offered a robe and slippers (as I've been given in other Spas) to go from the pool to the treatment rooms, instead of sitting outside with just a towel round me as guests walk past. Still, I wasn't really that bothered about getting changed so was happy to sit in my swimmers, even though I did feel a bit out of place!

This was our first couples Spa session (hello relationship milestone!) and although the bf was a bit cynical about the treatment (isn't it just water and a pat on the back?) we both came out of the session feeling like we were walking on air - well I did anyway! In fact, I'm sure at one point I fell asleep during the massage, I just hope I didn't snore. We had the aromatic massage and facial so the room was thick with the smell of fragrant oils, it was gorgeous.

The indulgence didn't stop there though. The bf had done some detective work and discovered a hidden restaurant gem, El Rincon - also known as the most authentic Spanish restaurant in Manchester. Now, I'm not normally afraid of walking around Manchester at night but I have to say I'm glad I had the bf with me as we ended up walking down a very suspicious alleyway to get to our destination. Once you overcome at the feeling of foreboding you're well rewarded with a restaurant that looks like it's been transplanted from the streets of Barcelona. Even though it was a weeknight El Rincon was bustling and we had to wait for a table. It was definitely worth it though as we sampled dish after authentic dish. I adore Tapas - anything that lets me choose multiple options (I'm notoriously in-decisive) is top in my books!

Feeling very satiated we stumbled back to the hotel to enjoy some lovely Laurent Perrier champagne that the bf had been given from work (but that we graciously donated to my birthday celebrations). It was the perfect end to one of the best birthdays so far!

How do you like to spend your birthdays? 

Sarah x

Image credit: Hotels.com/Hotels.com/Viva Lifestyle/Spotted by Locals

Bathroom inspiration

Elsewhere in the blogging world I've been looking at spicing up the humble bathroom. Although a lot of people tend to stick with traditional white fittings the bathroom is the ideal place to incorporate bolder designs because of its compact size - it's like a trial run for other rooms in the house! There's some truly stunning results to be seen and I hope they inspire you to get creative. If I weren't in a rental flat I'd totally be rocking some banana leaf wallpaper in my bathroom! Click on the link to check out the page :-)

Sarah x

Quote of the day

An ode to a game with thrones

Happy Easter all! Hope everyone had a suitably indulgent long weekend :-) Like many people on Monday, instead of enjoying the sunshine and the last few hours of freedom outside, I was sat inside, with curtains drawn, watching the first episode of Game of Thrones season three. I've been waiting for this day for months, 10 months to be exact. At risk of sounding like an over enthusiastic groupie, I love love love Game of Thrones (cue numerous exclamation marks)!!!! The epic scope of George R.R Martin's series is truly breathtaking with its intricate plot lines and the deep background of its characters.

Sean Bean as Ned Stark

While it's the story that keeps me gripped, it's Martin's portrayal of characters that are so true to life that keeps me gushing about it to anyone who isn't already a fan. I'm so over reading books and watching programs with one dimensional characters who have the odd injection of intrigue to keep the storyline somewhat interesting. What I love about Game of Thrones is that the characters are neither truly good nor truly bad. Of course, there's the underlying battle between good and evil, but when you get closer to the characters you realise that their morality is a grey zone. They might be on the side of the baddies but they still have elements of good about them. Similarly, the characters who you're always rooting for sometimes fall short, leaving you questioning their actions and the honesty of their motivations.

Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister

Last year I had the pleasure of speaking with the man behind the series, Mr Martin himself, for an assignment I was working on for my Masters. I was looking at his interpretation of Hadrian's Wall which was used as inspiration for "The Wall" in the books. He was very forthcoming about his ideas and I was privileged to glimpse into the creativity which forged these fantastic books. He told me that it was Hadrian's Wall which began the series way back when. On a visit to the ancient Roman wall with a friend he imagined what it must have been like for the Romans, as dusk descended, facing an unknown land beyond. And so began an epic story and my latest obsession!

The Wall

This post is a little deviation from the norm but I just had to share a little ode to my favourite series (and if I'm preoccupied with dragons, medieval dresses and sword fights for a while you know the reason why!) Happy watching!

Sarah x

Image credit: Film Music Reporter/Pocket-lint/Game of Thrones.wikia