People watching online...

Okay, the title sounds freaky like stalking but I have just tuned into Style.com for the first time in 2009 and checked out one of my fav ways to people watch.

It is the Sartorialist; he photographs all the best fashion show crowds in New York, Paris and Milan and I just love when you rediscover what's great about a good column and blog online- I can't believe after my xmas break I had almost forgotten! The fabulous inspiration for fashion comes from people that may be famous but we don't recognise them, however they do dress utterly fabulously!

The Louis Vuitton show is one of his most recent posts. He has a compilation of outfits that I am obsessed with- namely the girl in the cobalt blue, the girl in the grey and cream combo and the pic I have included here of this woman in this stunning coat.... I love the way looking at these pics makes you feel like you're right there on the Paris Street, even though it's currently 35 degrees here!

The other exciting point is when you see an item similar to something you own that someone's wearing in a way you would never have thought of... I think this is a fashionista dream as you can then recreate the look and no one is the wiser that you in fact pulled it off someone else on the other side of the world!

The epiphany I had was an item similar to a sheer crochet/lace dress we have on sale on the site and one of those items you assume you have to pair with a slip underneath and wear as evening wear....talk about one-eyed! I then spied the pic I have included below and thought 'Why didn't I think of that?'...! Check it out here and see what you think? I think it looks very cute with a business shirt underneath surprisingly?

SQ

To 2009!

This Xmas Period I have neglected my responsibilities but then the dangerous part is that so many others seem to be neglecting theirs it seems acceptable! I apologise that last week (New Year's Eve) our site didn't manage to get updated as usual on a wednesday so we'll be getting around to this today!

With a short visit paid to QLD this Xmas break I feel rejuvinated to wear a little more colour again as only Queenslanders show how. Like possibly many of the southern states I have fallen into the rut of wearing darker and 'versatile' colours a little too often even though I love to pick and choose brighter colours. Not only is this incredibly boring I have realised the error in my ways when I put on a coral top and realised the colour was a lot more flattering then the beige alternative!

My new years resolution is not to play it safe with the wardrobe this year- I need to go through the bright pieces and give them a decent wearing....! I am mindful though that a lot of the 'versatile' basics are best-sellers on the site and they're definitely a good choice in a credit crunch but I think it's all about putting these with a colourful piece (whether a scarf or a shoe).

Another notable fact probably already noticed by our regular online shoppers is the somewhat 'abandoning' of some online fashion businesses in the last few months. You know the sites that continuously have the same frontpage, the same items in the 'New Stock' and no difference from month to month.... Unfortunately there seems to be a lot of these in the 'affordable', mid-range category that we belong to. This is a shame because we are always up for some companies supplying a different offering to customers online and we are always up for some friendly competition! That said the retail market is a hard market to be in with the economic downturn and retail online is no different!

With the above in mind, let us state for the new year that we thank all our customers (and especially our loyal regular customers) ever so much for the past 18 months and here's to a very fabulous 2009. Please feel free to comment on anything you'd like to see in 2009 on the site!