PICNIC FUN IN THE SUN (or where and how I'll be champersing this summer)

Last week we threw a lovely lunch at the Gazebo in Sydney's Elizabeth Bay. There was champers of course. And baskets of baguettes (warm, yum) and smoked salmon and tiny sandwiches and little chocolate brownies and all sorts. And of course there were beautiful girls in clothes.

If I were attending the picnic of my dreams I would so be wearing this silk organza and printed cotton organdy showstopper with Inge Holst's extravagant ruffled silk bolero. So what if my heels sink into the grass? You only live once,right?

Our heartfelt thanks to Shu Uemura for designing the girls' delicious makeup looks (mint eyes for me please, miss) and Redken for plaiting up a veritable hair storm. Thank you to Bondi beauty Maggie May Florist for the brilliant blooms and, of course, the Gazebo for hosting us most marvelously.

I will so be champersing in the Gazebo Wine Garden all summer long. You? (And don't you be telling me "to champers" is not a verb. It is if I say it is. So there).

To book your girls' picnic or just a general champersing knees-up, go to http://thegazebos.com.au, or tel: 02 9357 5333 for more info.

Dress Ups

Seeing the girls trying stuff on for our casting makes us yearn for our new summer wardrobe. Quick smart. Sigh. Come on summer!!

ENRICHED LIST

One of the things I'm always thinking about is how graceful living and the pursuit of beauty can enrich the day to day. It might be not save lives, but a bowl of garden roses or serving a chocolate éclair on a beautiful bone china plate can have an instant, and joyous, impact on your mood and the mood of those around you.

Style, grooming, lovely manners, entertaining beautifully, fostering a sense of elegance… these things can enhance not just the face you present to the world but the one that stares back at you from the mirror when you are alone. And they don’t cost a thing. Of course it’s not all about the surface – you’d want to be working in the substance too - but I don’t think we should dismiss the frosting.

When I was approached about the American Express Enriched List, which appears in the Good Weekend today, it struck a chord. I thought, yes that’s me. (I also thought, yay, my grandpop-in-law will see the picture and be impressed; he does so love to see a grandchild in the paper!!)

The Enriched List is a diverse collection of stories from "people who are using their skills, talents and dreams to give more out, get more back and realise their potential " - their words, not mine! It's an honour and thrill to be included. But the best bit for me is reading about all the other people involved. I love the story behind Sound School - their fund raiser gig as at Beach Road Hotel in Bondi tonight if you can get there. And Kate Gibbs' book The Thrifty Kitchen is my new favourite - an absolute joy. Anyway, you can watch interviews with the list lot on the Facebook sight www.facebook.com/enrichedlist You can also post about what enrichment means to you. Go on. You know you want to.

With love,
Mrs. Press
xxx

Brandarama (Like Bananarama but different)

So I went to buy some Diet Coke because I was particularly tired and hungry in that way that only a nasty sugarry caffeine rush can alleviate but when I got to the store I found myself disheartened. My dream of a cheap and cheerful joy fix had come undone at the seams. Because the store only stocked the regular cans. And a regular can of Coke is a depressing thing indeed. I like the curvacious glass bottles that remind me of summers in Antibes. The cans always remind me of petrol stations on miserable road trips to Norfolk; they look a bit grimy and dusty and folorn. Suddenly the whole experience made me feel the same.

The problem, I just realised, had its origins in my leafing through the new American issue of Harper's Bazaar. In it, I'd spied with my little eye, something beginning with: C. Yes, Coco Rocha, clad in what looked suspiciously like Chanel leather shorts, posing avec un hot model mini-me Karl Lagerfeld, brandishing a silver tray. And on that tray...a special limited edition bottle of "Coca-Cola Light, by Karl Lagerfeld". Me wants that! Not your grimy servo can, sir!

Anyway, the hook-up makes sense because the Kaiser literally runs off the DC stuff, like an ageing but still gleaming black, white and tan Corvette. I know, because I've watched Lagerfeld Confidential, like, a hundred times. And to service his habit, the God-like one has a lackey follow him at all times proffering a chilled bottle of his favourite fizzy tipple on a silver tray. Hence the model with the tray in the ad. Everything is uilluminated!

Odd that a couturier is happy to plonk a caricature of his famous mug on a soft drink container? Like Princess Mary dressing up as Ronald McDonald? Or Anna Wintour branding a breakfast cereal? But you have to admit it's a tops brand fit; the designer is a genuine fan. And the ad is so damn good that it made me turn left at the juice bar. I'll have what he's having! Except I won't, will I? Because they only have the bloody cans at the IGA.

TEN MORE TO TAKE NOTES FROM...

This time, international gems possessed of style courage for the ages. In no particular order.

You know those non-Proust questionnaires which invariably ask you who you'd like to sit next to on Concorde? If Concorde was still flying. Well, make mine an aisle seat surrounded by each and every one of these, my all-time top favourite fashion inspirations.

10. Tilda Swinton. Wondrously eerie and androgynous whether in draped odes to Fortuny or modern-as-hell Viktor & Rolf.
9. Oh Daphne! If I could live in anybody's wardrobe for a day, it would be that of Ms. Guinness.
8. Carmen Dell'Orifice is a billion times more beautiful than starlets quarter her age. Please, miss, may I borrow those cheekbones?
7. Vivienne Westwood. Wacky and wonderful, the carrot-topped first lady of fashion craziness gets my vote.
6. Is it a bird? It is a plane? Nope, it's Anna Piaggi. I know, I know, I've said it before. But I'll say it again soon so get used to it. Anna = pure sartorial genius.
5. I've no interest in Kate Moss. Karen Elson, on the other hand, now there's a model.
4. Oh, and Freja.
3. Do you mind awfully if I have a dead one? Or is that very bad form? If not, my pick's Lisa Fonssagrives.
2. Debbie Harry. The best rock chick. Ever
1. Natalie Portman. Just because she's elegant and cute in a sea of slutty Hollywood blondes.

Images, from top: Freja Beha Erichsen in Harper's Bazaar; Blondie; Karen; Viv; Carmen on the catwalk; Daphne in Vogue.

Lunch?

I do so love lunch. Lunch is chic. Lunch is a treat. And there's nothing like getting a bit tipsy before two. Not that I'm suggesting you drink champagne or anything. Me?! Never.
Anyway, you are invited. There will be frocks. There will be fun. There will be models. There will be delicious food. There will be bubbles. There will be goodie bags. And best of all, there will be no work. (And just possibly, I will get tipsy. But not before I talk...)

When: Wednesday, August 25th, at 1pm
Where: Gazebo, 2 Elizabeth Bay Rd, Elizabeth Bay, Sydney
Tickets: $40
To book, tel: 02 9357 533

xxx Mrs. Press

KNICKERS TO THAT

What makes us happy? Love. Friendship. Career fulfillment. A sense of purpose. Altruism. Cake. Sure all, that. But, aside from cake, that's long term stuff. So what happens when you're in a happiness hurry?

The fastest route to joy I know of is via lovely lingerie. Of course it won't last forever - and I'm not suggesting for one moment it's a valid replacement for true love and understanding. But it sure feels good in the right here and now.

Mrs. Press pure silk bow knickers in cream, $70, and camisole in gold, $165.
(sizes sml, med, lge - also available in navy xxx)
Enquiries to (02) 9331 7732 or e: shop@mrspress.com

ROYAL FLUSH

I wish I were a countess,
A-lolling on my bed,
All bedecked with silks and rose petals,
A thousand curls upon my head.

I reckon being a countess would be tops. Even being the hard-done-by one in The Marriage of Figaro. Last week, we went to see the utterly wonderful Neil Armfield production of Figaro for Opera Australia, and the lovely light in the boudoir scene has been haunting me ever since. Do you suppose non-countess types can aspire to such swankily lit dressing rooms?

Images: A countess is ravished in Opera Oz's promo poster; the icy Countess Bismarck would be having none of that, photographed by Cecil Beaton; Countess of Warwick, painted by Sargent, far too proper for a boudoir tryst, me thinks; that Marguerite, Countess of Blessington looks like she'd like a ravish or two.

TABLE TALK

Sophie Dahl would have to be one of my favourite people, at least my favourite people I've never met. Making jam in her wellies, wrapped in patchwork cashmere. Those cheekbones! And a genuine writer's soul - Playing With The Grownups is genius. So how good is it that she designed a dressing table for UK homewares emporium Habitat a little while ago. A mirrored one, wearing a charming little pink skirt!

I heart dressing tables. I love the idea of a place where you can indulge your OTT feminine fantasies - tip out your makeup bag to cover the glass with sparkly eyeshadows and lolly-coloured lip-glosses. Show off your perfume bottles, even the empty ones, all in one bunch.

What's your favourite dressing table memory? Type it up on the HighLow website and you could win a wonderful treat. Miss Dahl, can you hear me??

The giveaway pack contains Mrs. Press almond oil hand cream, Mrs. Press nourishing body lotion and Mrs. Press posh scented shower gel (all bottles 250ml, all paraben and SLS-free) plus boxed set of two divinely scented triple-milled soaps. RRP value of pack is $120. Winner can choose from three fragrances: Tea Rose, Magnolia and Warm Spice

To win, enter your favorite dressing table memory. Comments close on Friday, August 6 at 5pm.