5 reasons i love penny mccarthy

penny mccarthy, associate fashion editor vogue australia

I officially have a super-sized crush on Penny McCarthy, Associate Fashion Editor of Vogue Australia.  I should let you know that I develop crushes on random people quite easily and for no apparent reason, however in this case there are some pretty good reasons.

Reason one:

"Fashion doesn't have to be expensive to be fabulous." 

Sitting at the Vogue Australia Style Workshop at Chadstone the Fashion Capital yesterday,  I was acutely aware of my mortgage, kids' private school fees and all those other lovely little costs that relentlessly eat away at my savings account.  And so, I was totally thrilled to hear Ms McCarthy share these words of wisdom.  In fact, lots of what was on show were totally affordable ways of updating your wardrobe.

windsor smith pixie black/gold studs $159.95

Reason two:

"Tailoring is the backbone of your wardrobe."

I am a girl who likes her tailoring.  I am a firm believer that unless one has been blessed with the body of a supermodel, which unfortunately I have not (thanks mum and dad!) good tailoring is vital.  Tailoring can help give you shape and lend your outfit a touch of elegance.  This rule of thumb was clear in the 'City Luxe' trend on show.



portmans jacket, witchery skirt, coach bag

 

escada jacket, saba dress, clavin klein shoes, coach bag



arthur galan dress, portmans jacket, wittner shoes, cue bag, david lawrence cuff, diva necklace

 Reason three:

"When mixing prints, keep within the same colour palette."

You would have to be living in a cave to not be aware that prints are on trend this season.  However, despite the claim that there are no rules when it comes to fashion, the reality is, if you want to avoid looking like one of the Von Trapp children who has had their latest outfit made from hideous old curtains, BE CAREFUL.  The right use of prints can be amazing, gorgeous, inspiring.  The wrong use can cause onlookers to fall into an uncontrolable seizure.


country road pants, emporio armani shirt, wittner shoes, mimco bag

 

lisa ho jacket and pants, wittner shoes, coach bag, mimco bangle



witchery jacket, shirt and skirt, wittner shoes, coach bag

 Reason four:

"Break it up - put your own stamp on it."

Best. Advice. Ever.

Reason five:

Thurley

Enough said.

armani exchange jacket, thurley pants, withery tank, mimco necklace and bag

thurley jacket and pant, witchery top, windsor smith shoes, max alex vnder head piece

thurley jacket and skirt, windsor smith shoes, mimco bag

thurley jacket and pants, emporio armani shirt, armani exchange necklace

         
 

fashion vs. style

I should have been focused on the runway.  There was so much to see - cobalt blues, graphic prints, embellishments.  But I have never been very good at doing what I am meant to do.  Here I was - first assignment as official blogger for Chadstone 2012 Spring/Summer season and I was more focused on those in my immediate surroundings than the lithe and perfectly coiffed beings floating down the runway in the latest fashions.

I guess for me fashion has always been about wearability.  So, while some six foot tall size two glamazon might look amazing in something, the stark reality is even if we purchase the identical items, most of us mere mortals will look vastly different than the walking mannequin being paraded before us.  So for the Cheeky Fashionista, while the Vogue Australia Runway Show presented some breathtaking creations, ever the pragmatist, I was more intrigued by what 'real people' were wearing.  This was revealed in spades at the Australian Designer Cocktail Party.  

Chadstone, Vogue Australia and Laurent-Perrier put together an outstanding 'do' - an elegant and classy club smack bang in the middle of a shopping centre complete with a DJ spinning the decks.  Gorgeous looking hors d'oeuvres, lovely Laurent-Perrier bubbly and of course, a smattering of Melbourne's beautiful people.

However amongst the beautiful people and the bubbly were also some who confused fashion with style. 

Now let me say straight away that I am certainly not the most attractive human being to ever walk the earth.  I am uber-short, too rounded in some areas, and not rounded enough in others.  My nose is too wide, my jaw too square and thanks to an often incomprehensible love of teaching, I lack the means to robe myself in the labels I covet.  But I do my best.  And most importantly, I don't kid myself.

Lycra mini-skirts might be in vogue, but I am acutely aware of the fact that thanks to short and relatively stubby legs if I chose to don one I would look less like Rachel Zoe and more like a slutty oompa loompa.  Likewise, while I adore the embellishments being used by designers like Sass & Bide and Manning Cartell this season, I need to be selective with my use of it to ensure I don't end up looking like something one should hang on their Christmas tree this December. 

That's why I love this little number:


sass & bide

Separates always appeal to me, because while I can't see myself stepping out in the full ensemble, one of the two pieces would certainly work as a way to update a classic other half.  The top half would work beautifully as a companion to an existing pair of black pants, skirt or even a pair of jeans.

Likewise, these gorgeous pieces from Thurley:

thurley

Either the shirt or the skirt could be worn to update a range of other items already sitting in your wardrobe. 

There was one dress that caught my eye and I have the distinct feeling this beauty would make me, and any other woman, feel like the fairytale princess most of us dream of being at one point or another.

adolfo dominguez

Adolfo Dominguez is a Spanish label that has been around since the 1970s and now has over 600 boutiques globally.  Its Chadstone store opened late in 2011.  Complete with the simple but sparkly Oroton mini clutch, this look embodies modern romance.

I view runways and the images designer bring us as something we should take inspiration from, not slavishly follow.  Truly stylish individuals borrow from the latest looks, knowing what works for them and what doesn't.  Truly stylish individuals don't look like walking advertisements for a particular label, they advertise themselves and their own unique sense of style.

Truly stylish individuals know that looking like a slutty oompa loompa is never 'in'.

hip hip hooray

I am what is euphemistically referred to as the 'curvacious type'.  For those of you who don't speak bullshit, this means I have hips and thighs.  Real ones.  Jewish ones.  For many, many years this area of my body caused me great anxiety.  You need to understand that I came of age in an era when 'the waif' was all the rage.  In 1992 every teenage girl in the Western world wanted to look like Kate Moss and didn't care how little they needed to eat to achieve this look.

For years I despised what a friend so kindly referred to as my 'childbearing hips'.  Thanks to the cult of Kate I also came to resent my boobs.  Why couldn't I be flat-chested like all those other lucky girls out there?  I chose clothes based on their ability to hang loosely, unaware of the fact that this sort of strategy often makes you look bigger.  I refused to wear tops that did not at least reach past my hips.  I hid under loose sacks, terrified of people getting a glimpse of all those attributes I now recognise make me who I am.  Like many other women, I was ashamed of being me. 

And then I had an epiphany of sorts.  I came face-to-face with a woman so sexy, so stylish and so hippy, she took my breath away.  I met Joan Holloway of  Mad Men.   

Here was a woman who embraced her curves and was loved for it - by men, by women, by fashion designers.  I was and still am smitten.  Joan sashayed her hips as she walked through the offices of Sterling Cooper and you loved her for it.  There was no shame, no attempting to hide the woman she was, or starve into a skeletal version of herself.  I began to change how I dressed.  I bought tailored, well-fitting shirts and pencil skirts.  I recognised that the most important part of a woman's outfit is a well-fitted bra.  I began to realise that stylish isn't the same as fashionable.

So I was thrilled to see the following image on Vogue Australia's facebook page yesterday of women voted this week's 'Best Dressed'.



jessica mauboy, kelly rowland in victoria beckham and jessica biel in zac posen


All of these women have curves.  Luscious, womanly, gorgeous curves.  They have boobs and they have hips and they are dressed to accentuate those features. 

Maybe this is just another trend.  Maybe tomorrow the waif will be back.  But I hope not.  And if it is, there is at least one Cheeky Fashionista who has learnt that loving who you are and paying tribute to the assets you possess is the most stylish thing you can do.