Yet again I find myself wishing I lived in New York!

The concrete jungle where dreams are made, has added another exclusive feature to its ever enticing environment. Bookmarc is the latest business venture by designer Marc Jacobs and business partner Robert Duffy. The world’s first (and only) Bookmarc opened last Saturday in downtown Manhattan with both Marc and Robert taking turns as shopkeeper and boy am I jealous!

If having Marc Jacobs ring up your items on a cash register isn’t enough to make you want to hop on a plane and move to NYC A.S.A.P, then maybe their delightful line of cheeky blank journals will do the trick! No doubt titles such as “Moby’s Dick (LOL)”, “The Gay Gatsby” and “Huckleberry Finn is my Homeboy”, will inspire many college students to pick up a blank journal and start writing. However, anything contributed to “The History of Sexuality Extended Edition”, would be best kept private…

<3 Maffy xx

Eager fashionistas attending Vogue’s Fashion Night Out in NYC this year have a little something special waiting for them…

S. Pelligrino, everyone’s favourite Italian sparkling water, has teamed up with Italian fashion house Missoni to create a refreshing twist on a bottle that hasn’t changed in over 100 years!!!

Missoni have designed a limited number of special edition water covers – all in their signature zig-zag knits, which will be available at New York’s finest restaurants during Vogue’s Fashion Night Out this Friday night.

For those lucky enough to be in New York this Friday but who don’t manage to get their hands on one of the most stylish bottles on the planet, you can still catch a glimpse of the special cover, which will be displayed in the Manhattan Missoni Store as part of the Fashion’s Night Out festivities.

For those of us here in Sydney, our Fashion’s Night Out celebrations take place on Thursday night in the CBD. It will be a night filled with in-store events, fashion shows, pop-ups and exclusive offers!

<3 Maffy xx

(Image Courtesy of http://www.stylelist.com/2010/08/06/tan-cosmetic-hosiery-beyonce/)

Tan tights are the newest alternative to tanning. With everyone getting more and more sun smart, safer alternatives are now becoming main stream.  DIY tans are definitely popular, but now sheer tan tights are taking over. Tights give consistent tone and a subtle sheen which helps make legs look longer, and higher denier varieties can be worn to keep you warm!  Celebrities are now favouring tan tights over faux tans and are wearing them for all occasions from performing at Wembley Stadium to going to lunch in the summertime. Cheryl  Cole, SJP and Beyonce are just a few to love the trend. Aussie tight brands Platinum and Voodoo have always produced incredible hosiery, and their classic sheer collections have perfect tights to create the new look. Choosing lights, low denier tights for summer are the best as they are lighter, however for the chillier months, choose tights with a denier at least as high as 10. Having tanned pins is much easier now, and you don’t have to worry about that annoying post fake bake wait!

xx Caitlin

(All image courtesy of www.iamfatterthanyou.com/blog/)

American sneaker giant Converse has come up with a unique idea for its famous Jack Purcell boy’s line – nautical sneakers. Nautical themed clothes, shoes and accessories are always on trend. Blue stripes, red white and blue colours and loafers have been around for decades, Converse have made the most of this by adding a nautical twist to an old favourite. The new Jack Purcell boat mid is a mid length sneaker which incorporates nautical laces into the traditional Jack Purcell design. By adding the new boat mid into their catalogue, Converse cunningly appeals to a wider market as the shoe is uniquely different from their existing products. Available in beige and black, the shoes are fashionable without being too metro, perfect!

-Caitlin xo

The Lowenbrau in Sydney’s The Rocks is known for it’s top notch beer, but it’s recent fundraising event for the Sydney Children’s Hospital took finding the perfect drop to a whole new level. Playing host to an evening of Boutique Beer tasting all in the name of charity, guests were spoilt for choice, with seventeen breweries and wineries on hand to ensure the crowd got their fill of local and imported bevies.

With the crowd suitably jolly, the business of raising funds began, with raffle and auction prizes up for grabs including Wallabies and Socceroos memorabilia, a fishing trip with Brett Lee, and a nautical adventure consisting of a fully catered harbour cruise on a Benetau boat for one lucky bidder and five friends.

With over $36 000 raised, cheers to all those involved in supporting a very worthy cause.

For details on the Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation’s next event, visit

www.sydneykidsfilmfest.org.au

Natalie xxx

Last year, Balenciaga surprised everyone with some incredibly bold silhouettes challenging the traditional fall collection lines, this year the label has done the same, but with shoes. The shoes provide a clever twist on traditional designs such as loafers and oxfords, and look completely wearable, an advantage not always common in runway shows.

(All image courtesy of www.shoewawa.com)

The craftsmanship on the shoes is incredible. Layering of fabrics and materials, fine lines of stitching and, most remarkably, the layered rectangular heels are the elements that make these shoes so intriguing. Last but not least, they are finished with a detail found in everyday shoes, such as laces or a delicate buckle, drawing attention to the uniqueness of the pieces. Feet everywhere will be clamouring to get into these amazing pieces of art!

-Caitlin xo

Like any award shows, the Emmys are as much about the fashion as the awards, well to fashion lovers anyway!  At the 2010 Emmy awards, everyone looked beautiful, however as usual there were some standout dresses, mostly those by up and coming designers, and some by old favourites.  New York based designer Yigal Azrouël has been gaining in popularity for the past ten years due to his draping and use of fine soft fabrics. Lauren Graham’s dress by the designer was definitely a stand out.

Young actress Nina Dobrev  from the incredibly popular Vampire Diaries made a bold choice that definitely paid off. Choosing a bright sequined Zuhair Murad one shouldered dress and chandelier earrings made the actress more noticeable than those that favoured dark coloured dresses.

Other favourites, actresses that chose dresses with unique elements, include Glee’s Diana Agron in Carolina Herrera and January Jones in Atelier Versace. Most of the actresses chose strapless or one shouldered dresses, and as usual black was seen on many of the nominees. Hilarious actress and Emmy award winner for supporting actress, Jane Lynch, gets an honourable mention for her bold purple Ali Rahimi dress. It is always inspiring to see such clever and established actresses in daring colour and design choices. Overall, slinky bandage dresses appear to be out for now and have been replaced by elegant feminine cuts.

(All image courtesy of www.style.com )

-Caitlin xo

Natasha x x

Hello Kitty has amazingly just turned 35 and is still as popular as ever with the young and innocent population of the world (and me). Now, although Hello Kitty deserves a standing ovation for not only being the most popular little kitty, but also winning a UNICEF special friend of the children award and developing intrigue of Japanese culture among the Western societies, I am not sure that a shoot featuring Lady Gaga was exactly what the creators (or the young kids parents) had in mind.

Gaga has already accustomed her critics and fans to the wackiest and most daring outfits ever seen (and let’s not mention that we all are still secretly wondering if the hermaphrodite rumour is true), but this time has Gaga gone too far?

Shot in London with famed photographers Marcus Klinko and Indrani along with stylist GK Reid, Gaga has done a whole shoot in honor of Hello Kitty, but this is definitely beyond the sexiest thing the little kitty has ever seen! In fact, I highly doubted that the word sexy could have ever been used in the same sentence as Hello Kitty, but apparently Gaga has just proven me wrong. The shoot featured a quite extravagant floor length gown made entirely out of Hello Kitty dolls, complete with Hello Kitty pumps and a bedazzled kitty belt.

Another shot saw a dress made entirely out of crystals and shockingly, a diamond encrusted kitty necklace worn over her crotch! And that’s not even as crazy as it goes!

After seeing this jaw dropping shoot and not really knowing what to make of it, I decided to look up the 35th anniversary website to see the comparisons next to each other.

The pale coloured site featuring the sweet kitty explains the kitty colour scheme in the first paragraph and how it all fits together.

The red stands for friendship, pink for cute, yellow for heartfelt, green for wish and lavender for sweet.

I wonder what colour Gaga stands for!
Brittany xxx

Are you a fashion blogger based in Sydney and want sneak peak at the Quiksilver Hi Summer Range?  Belinda Fairbanks presents a special preview showing to bloggers at Tokonoma.

Please email lyn@sweatybettypr.com for your exclusive invite.