SPARKLETASTIC

Is that a word? Because it darn well should be. I adore a bit of bling, and don't you go telling me there's to be no wearing diamonds for breakfast! Wear your diamonds in the bath, I say! Wear them to clean the car. And if you haven't got them, fake it. My favourite way is via a handful of Fletcher & Grace's vintage-inspired costume numbers. Classy and (relatively) cheap too. A good mix, no? Fletcher & Grace designer Stephanie styled these glorious look book pics. Sparkly and clever. We adore.

Fun With Carrots

It's been rather long between drinks...Slap hands, slack blogger! Please accept my apologies. Not that I'm lazy; I've been out all week, shooting whimsical and magical photos of red-headed beauty Alice Burdeu (top) for a secret project. She is utterly delightful, so graceful and smart too. I love it when a model is clever as well as pretty.

Anyway, seeing red got me thinking, titian locks are lovely, aren't they? And it got me remembering too: our dear departed family dog Bronwen was kinda ginger (although the official name for her colouring was black and tan), and while she certainly enjoyed attacking the postman by far her favourite bite was a hunk of raw carrot. Before she ate them, she would play with them - we called this "fun with carrots". These days I'm a cat person, and there is no way my kittens would eat carrots, fun or not. Might dye my hair red though...chic for Christmas.

SOMETHING FOR KATE

I was four years old when Charles and Diana walked down the aisle, too young to remember you might think. Lucky, then, that I have my commemorative Charley & Di Get Engaged silver spoon... Yep, je suis une shameless royal watcher. Can't wait to see Kate Middleton dancing about in designer fiancee duds over the next 12 months. Didn't she look slim and charming in that French navy silk jersey wrap dress, the exact same shade as Diana's engagement ring? Said dress was by London purveyor of such slink, Issa. Now that her Jigsaw days are behind her (I know it's very People's Princess to work at a high street brand, but c'mon Kate, it's time for Fashion Princess) I predict Prada for her next outing - she'd look too cute in the A/W '10 navy and black print bustier dress with the cutout bodice, I reckon. Or perhaps she'll stick to cool Britannia brands - I like the idea of Kate in a Burberry military style overcoat; she could team it with her Hunter wellies.

BLING THING

How to jazz up last year's black jumpsuit this party season? With one of these chunky monkeys from our online store, of course. www.mrspress.com/online

I DON'T KNOW MUCH BUT I KNOW WHAT I LIKE...

It's funny, isn't it, that Marc Jacobs knows exactly what women want to wear and when they want to wear it? I mean, this is a gay guy who cast his own naked body to star in the tackorama billboard ads for his fragrance for men, Bang. The same guy who said, after his SS11 show - full of billowing 70s silhouettes recalling the Halcyon days of Halston - that he was sick of women's boobs after the whole 50s curvy siren revival, that he himself instigated. Hello? What does he know about my fashion needs?

I have boobs, thank you very much Mr Jacobs!

Oh, except, er...can I take that back? Because actually I want to hide them now in a one-shouldered maxi gown in shades of blueberry and grape. Actually, you seem to know exactly what my fashion needs are: a berry nice billowy dress, split to the thigh and inspired by Naomi Campbell having a birthday party in Cannes. And high-waisted pink satin jeans. And a giant straw hat of the sort Marissa Berensen used to wear. I want all this because you told me to. Amazing but true. MARC, I GOTTA HAND IT TO YOU, YOU JUST KNOW.

P.S. Don't forget Don

Paula from the fab Eggshell Blue (eggshellblue.blogspot.com) reminded me of the divine Don Draper...a hunk in a hat if ever there was one...

HAT TO HOTNESS RATIO, EXPLAINED

There really should be more men in hats. Not baseball caps and beanies. I'm talking proper Homburgs. I went to see my hero Leonard Cohen play last night and he was looking damn cool (at 76 no less!) in his sharp suit and rakishly tilted Homburg. And I'd say approx. 30% hotter than if he were hatless. Most of his band was Homburged too, which was fun (and almost stopped one or two of them from looking like local bank managers).
Thing is, gentlemen, the wearing of a proper hat directly increases your fanciability to the power of...well, heaps (maths was never my strong point). Wear your hat with a smart suit. Take your cue from lovely Leonard, Jimmy Stewart, Cary and Bogey. I'll bet you pull.

HOT HUNTING GROUNDS REVEALED # 1.

You know what I love? I love a good rummage. But it's no use rummaging through junk. Nope, the key is to find a treasure trove to rummage through, so you are optimising your 'good find factor' (dead scientific, like).

Any road, Quintessential Duck Egg Blue is quite possibly the very best upscale rummaging ground on the planet. And if there's one thing I love more than a good rummage, it's a good upscale rummage. Go there soon.

FIVE THINGS WORTH FINDING AT QUINTESSENTIAL DUCK EGG BLUE:
1. Assorted bobbins (can bobbin be the word for the week?)
2. Supertastic old chairs for perching on or lolling in (or even using as tables)
3. Rare and beautiful old mannequins
4. Containers meant for stuff you're not going to put in them
5. Brilliant boxes for stacking and packing

489 Darling Street, Balmain NSW