MELBOURNE CBD

Main streets: Swanston Street, Collins Street, Little Collins Street, Bourke Street, Little Bourke Street, Flinders Lane, Flinders Street.

Bourke Street is the pretty much the epicentre of Melbourne CBD. As a shopping experience, it is very mainstream with Myers, David Jones, Sportsgirl, Portmans, MNG, Adidas, Sussans and much more.

Collins Street is where you’ll find all the high end designer labels, such as Tiffany’s, Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Polo Ralph Lauren, to name a few. There is also Country Road, Kookai, Nine West, Saba, Cue, Le Louvre with brands such as Yves Saint Laurent, Stellar McCartney, Alexander McQueen and Elie Saab.

Little Collins Street has FCUK, Zu, Oroton, Bettina Liano, Zomp, Arthur Galan, Scanlan & Theodore, Jigsaw, Witchery, Satch.

There are some cool lanes off the main streets and arcades that are jam packed with shops. Some must see ones are Scott Alley, Manchester Lance, Howey Place, Cathedral Arcade, Block Arcade, Royal Arcade, The Walk Arcade.

The GPO is gorgeous. On the corner of Bourke Street and Elizabeth Street, you can find all the big name Australian fashion designers and more. Akira, Wayne Cooper, Zimmermann, Karen Millen, Hussy, Lisa Ho, Mimco, Gorman, Ben Sherman, Metalicus, Veronika Maine, to name a few.

Melbourne Central is a very large shopping mall in the city, on the corner of La Trobe Street and Swanston Street. It has over 300 shops and it seems to be crammed full of people.

QV is another large shopping mall in city, on the corner of Swanston Street and Lonsdale Street. It too has heaps of shops, eateries and very busy!

Discount Factory Outlets (DFO) is also in the city, on Spencer Street (cnr Bourke Street). It’s a huge collection of discounted clothes and shoe shops in one air-conditioned, undercover mall.

You can cover heaps of shops in a very efficient amount of time, and stop for a bite to eat. You’ll find Marcs, Pilgrim, Review, Guess, Peter Alexander, Veronika Maine, Nine West, Country Road, Portmans, Just Jeans, Dotti, Tony Bianco, Sandler etc.

I recommend allowing 3 or so hours to cover all the shops in the DFO mall.

Overall, for shopping in Melbourne City , I recommend to start at Degraves Street and walk through to Centre Place. Then start working your way along the grid of the city.

Must see shops in the Melbourne CBD:

Scarlett & Sly
Shop 13, Centre Place, 258 Flinders Lane.
A little shop full of good looking, affordable clothes and accessories.

Kinki Gerlinki
Shop 22, Centre Place, 258 Flinders Lane.
Very cute shop with colourful, bold clothes, shoes, bags and accessories.

Alice Euphemia
Shop 6, Cathedral Arcade, 37 Swanston Street (Cnr, Flinders Lane).
Gorgeous clothes and jewellery. Everything is Australian made and designed.

Genki
Shop 5, Cathedral Arcade, 37 Swanston Street (Cnr, Flinders Lane).
Super cute accessories, kids clothes, and great gift items. All in bold, cute, retro Japanese, kitsch style.

Little Salon
Shop 1, 353 Little Collins Street.
Nice independent designer gifts, accessories, homewares, art, jewellery.

Corky Saint Clair
Shop 3, Cambell Arcade, Degraves Street Subway
VERY nice independent designer jewellery and gift items. Has clothes too.

The Cats Meow
Shop 9, Cambell Arcade, Degraves Street Subway
Great range of independent designer clothes, handbags, accessories and jewellery.

Fashion Incubator
Shop 238, Level 2, Melbourne Central, 211 La Trobe Street.
Hosting 20 or more young emerging Melbourne fashion and jewellery designers, this a great place to pick up completely new and innovative clothes and accessories.

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FITZROY

All of Brunswick Street, Gertrude Street and Smith Street is a fantastic shopping experience, especially if you’re looking for a more laid-back, groovy, arty, independent vibe.

It’s a great area to explore. The place is bursting with boutiques, homewares shops, groovy cafes, random shops, vintage shops, and discount outlets!

I recommend starting at the North end of Brunswick Street, corner of Johnston Street, and work your way down. There are just zillions of little independent shops and boutiques.

On Smith Street, north of Johnston Street, you’ll find various discount sportswear outlets such as Nike, Adidas and Fila.

Fitzroy is a lot more spread out. I found that the boutiques are dotted all over the place, so make sure you wear good walking shoes because you have to do a lot of walking!

I recommend dedicating 3-4 hours to cover the whole area. Which is fine, because there are heaps of places to stop for a delicious snack and coffee.

Must see shops in Fitzroy

Douglas and Hope
181 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
Lovely clothes, shoes, bags, jewellery, accessories, gifts, toys.

Meet Me At Mikes
63 Brunwick Street
A Quaint Australian family run shop of homemade craft, vintage gifts and accessories.

Shop Sui
227 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy
Fantastic selection of clothes, accessories, jewellery, hats, retro toys, homewares, stationery, and wonderful little gifts.

Robio
73 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy
T-shirts, toys, gadgets and great gifts.

Incube8r
321 Smith Street
A fantastic gallery of handmade jewellery and accessories, supporting local crafters and designers. Fantastic place to pick up unique gifts and jewellery.

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PRAHAN, CHAPEL STREET

Chapel Street is massive. The shopping experience is pretty much one long stretch of shops after shops after shops.

I recommend to catch a train or tram to South Yarra Train Station, which is on Toorak Road. Walk towards Chapel Street and there is already a great selection of designer boutiques and shops to see.

The whole vibe of Chapel Street is much more upmarket and mainstream. Most of the big name designer labels are pretty much what you will find in the city, but the shops are slightly smaller and the service is more personalised. The shops are spaced closely together so there is less walking in between, but the road is so long that there is a huge area to cover!

There are also a lot more smaller local boutiques, selling more affordable (but still trendy) clothes, shoes and accessories.

North end of Chapel Street you’ll find Seduce, Alannah Hill, MAC, Pierucci, FCUK, Ojay, Gant, Arthur Galan, Marcs, Pilgrim, Adias, Wayne Cooper, Scalan & Theodore, Collette Dinigan, Karen Millen, Review, Sportsgirl, Gorman, Mimco, Country Road.

As you walk South, the shops get more ordinary – with Coles, JB Hifi, fruit and vegetable shops etc.

Ah the days are getting warmer, the flowers are blooming, and my mood is getting more colourful each day!

I love this dress! It’s so simple, vibrant and feminine. Especially love the little flower petal skirt layer. And the crazy coloured print.

I’ve been looking for more bright coloured clothes for spring and I’m loving the bright pink.

I also tried on another dress over at my Doing The Karen Cheng Facebook group.

I’ve been looking for some nice dressy shoes to go with a cute white bubble miniskirt I have. I almost squeaked with joy when I saw these from Nine West. So so nice. Can’t decide.

Then I saw these orangey ones, and now I really can’t decide! I think I like the snake skin ones, they seem more versatile. There’s nothing like being a total airhead on a Monday morning.

I’m currently loving these 1970s inspired earrings designs by Mimco!

However, I probably wouldn’t be able to put together a 1970s outfit to match. Oh well. They are so cute!

Last week I went to a big fashion event as part of the fashion festival, and it was an excellent night!

Everyone who turned up looked fantastic! Every where I turned, everyone seemed to be wearing something very cool - an amazing scarf, sexy shoes, a funky jacket, a top with a great cut.

It was so cool to walk through the crowd and look at what people were wearing!

Anyway, this is what I wore.

An off-shoulder mini dress, black singlet slip, chunky strap heels, and fedora hat that I borrowed from my sister.

I was actually looking for a chunky belt to wear with the dress, something hot pink and vinyl. But I couldn’t find one in 4 hours, so I settled on a hat instead.

It was such a fun outfit to wear. I should wear hats more often. Or feathers in my hair.

I have a few more photos of what I wore to all the recent fashion events on my Doing The Karen Cheng Facebook Group.

As for the shoes, I haven’t worn heels this high in a long time!

I absolutely love my chunky shoes from Betts!  Don’t let the height scare you, because they were amazingly comfy!

The Perth Fashion Festival ended last week with both the West Australian Designer Collections Parade and West Australian Fashion Awards.

The WA Designer Collections was basically a special event featuring established and emerging fashion designers from Western Australia. It is the first time a collection like this has been created and showcased, and it was indeed my most anticipated event for the whole festival.

There were so many garments and creations that took my breath away! Too many to list, but here are my top three.

I am such a big fan of Aurelio Costarella, who is currently showing his stuff off in New York. I love his modern interpretations of classic designs. He definitely wins my “Established Designer of the Year Award”!

This stone coloured dress was my favourite of the lot. Utterly beautiful and flowing in a Greek goddess kind of way. The black one was much edgier and sharper, yet so simple, feminine and sexy.

I think I uncontrollably drooled when I saw this blue dress by One Fell Swoop. The way it swayed and bounced as the model walked down the runway, made it absolutely swoon worthy. I would definitely buy it in a snap, thus it wins my “Ready To Wear Award”.

I also thought this cream dress was pretty cool too. The pockets and fall of the material added a unique structure and form to an otherwise simple dress.

These lace pieces by Megan Salmon were just gorgeous. All her works were pretty impressive actually. It was as if she had personally hand-stitched every single garment. They radiated a certain kind of understated, artistic and modest beauty not often celebrated on a catwalk. So she wins my “Best Style Award”.

And lastly, Jessica Shirras wins my “Student of the YearAward”. Loved this outfit, which was paraded at the WA Fashion Awards, Ready To Wear Womenswear collection.

This last photo was taken by Stefan Gosatti, the rest were by me.

The High Street Fashion Collective consists of several specialty designer boutiques along High Street in Fremantle – Kartique, Love in Tokyo, Ashe, Adam Wore Short Pants, Mabu, Cocoo Textiles, Mandi Mac, Loop and Linpin.

The designers have come together to produce some gorgeous and exciting new works gleaming with unique style and vibrancy. I really enjoyed this parade. I love seeing edgy and innovative garments and jewellery.

I absolutely LOVED the standout jewellery by Mandi Mac.

The layers of fabrics and exquisite textures on these Love In Tokyo pieces, were just gorgeous!

And the garments by Adam Wore Short Pants were just so cute!

One of the days during the Perth Fashion Festival, I decided to try my hand at being a fashion catwalk photographer. I had my media pass, and there were several fashion parades lined up in the city.

I turned up early to the first event and found a spot on the media stand – a platform at the end of the catwalk. I discovered that the prime position (middle centre) of the stand was usually reserved for the “official photographer” and for the rest of us, it was first come first serve.

Image: Vivien Models dressed by Dotti

I met lots of photographers and I found it really interesting to chat to them. Some worked for major media outlets, while others were freelance photographers who were building a fashion portfolio.

They were all really nice and helpful. Giving me photography tips and advice, letting me in on some parade tips and photographer etiquettes. And teaching me a few things about what makes a “great” catwalk photo – model centered in the frame, two feet on the ground, looking at the camera, you should be at the same eye level as the model, etc.

Image: Some finalists for the WA Student Fashion Awards that caught my eye.

I discovered that since I was short and small, the other photographers were happy for me to position myself at the front of the stand. Which worked out quite well for me, because when the show started, the stand was too squashy for my liking – imagine 9 people standing on a small platform for 1 hour, lifting a big camera to their face every 45 seconds. There are elbows everywhere!

This is at one of the smaller catwalk parades. There are slightly less media people on the stand than usual.

After the show, I walked across town to another parade, found a spot, sat around, waited, then took photos for another hour. Then walk to another parade, take more photos. And another.

By the end of the day, my body was aching. My arms and shoulders were stiff. My legs were killing me. I had been 7 hours on my feet and it was the end of a long day for me.

But for some of the other photographers, they were headed off to another big function in the evening. I don’t know how these professionals do it!

This is the camera I used. My Nikon D80, with a 18 – 135mm lens and lens hood. I don’t have an additional flash at the moment, so I was shooting without a flash in very low light.

Anyway, I’d like to send a big hi to some of the photographers I met. Thanks to Stefan for letting me backstage! Thanks to John for all the great advice! Thanks to Bob for the memory card. Hi to Songy, Nathan, Marita and David!

One of the first events to sell out of tickets at the Perth Fashion Festival was the Style Palace launch.

I arrived at Perth Town Hall on Friday night. Downstairs, the new fashion bar, Kurv was absolutely packed with people and pumping with music. I entered the bar and was instantly squished like a sardine.

I noticed that everyone in attendance was very well dressed and very good looking! All the men had very yummy haircuts and sharp suits, while all the women wore sexy cocktail dresses or stylish gowns. I also spotted a couple of celebrities and big names in the local fashion industry.

After milling around, drinking, nibbling on some delicious canapés and trying to talk over the loud music, we were ushered upstairs.

The town hall, with it’s high ceilings and grand architecture was easily transformed into a “style palace”. The place was gorgeous! I was very impressed!

The show started off with a bang. There were burlesque dancers, great costumes, feathers and sequins, and a great singing performance. In fact, Darlene, the woman behind Style Palace, whom I got to know a few weeks ago, was the singer. I clapped my hands with glee to see her on stage looking and sounding amazing! Gosh I was so proud of her!

The models were really great. As they strutted their stuff, they smiled, grinned, flirted, pranced, swirled, air kissed and gave fun little poses. None of that boring stomping up and down the catwalk with angry looks, these girls looked like they were enjoying themselves! Plus the soundtrack was fantastic.

The crowd loved it. I loved it. There was such a great buzz in the air. It was definitely the best show at the festival so far.

Stylepalace.com.au is the brainchild of Darlene, a brand new online boutique featuring an impressive list of Australian Designer labels, available to the whole world.

It launches it’s full site later this month. In the meantime, you can pop over to the Style Palace website and sign up to be notified the moment they open their doors.

Photo Credits

Again, I was invited as media. And again I decided to turn up in a shiny dress and my little point-and-shoot camera. So all my pictures were pretty poor.

The photos shown here however, were taken by the infamous and highly talented official photographer for the festival, Stefan Gosatti. I got to know him over the last few days of the festival, mainly because we kept bumping into each other in the “media” section.

At first I was a bit intimidated by him and all his camera gear (two Nikon D3s with very big lens!), but really, the guy is a darling, he was so nice, and also very kind to let me use his pictures on my site.

Being the official photographer, he has pretty much captured every single garment, at every single event, so head over to his website to see more!

What I Wore

The thought of going to all these fashion events, and having nothing new to wear, was slightly daunting. Probably more so for my husband.

Because, really, I needed 6 new outfits. And why do they have to be NEW? Because I’m a GIRL that’s why.

Anyway, I solved most of my problems, by just deciding to borrow some stuff from my wonderful girlfriends and sister. And digging up some old vintage favourites.

This is me wearing Nicola Finetti (another well know Australian designer). I think it’s a few seasons old. I didn’t quite capture the top half of the dress very well. The chest area is completely covered with a gorgeous grey lace, and it has a halter look to it.

The style of the skirt is probably a lot “fluffier” and “sweeter” than I would usually wear, but it was lovely dress to swish around in.

King Street is well known for being a style and luxury hub in Perth, with international luxury brands such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Bally, Tiffany & Co. mixing it up with local high-end boutiques such as Varga Girl, Periscope, Subway DC, Wheels & Dollbaby and more.

Today King Street held a cute, garden-party styled fashion parade showcasing the latest King Street labels and fashion.

It was an interesting experience for me. I was invited there as “media”, but I didn’t really fit in with the rest of the media pack – that is, the crowd of photographers, each with formidable camera gear. Because there I was, dressed up in a pretty spring dress, stilettos and a tiny silver point-and-shoot camera. I guess I was more keen to meet, talk to people and maybe hand out my card.

I sat at the end of the catwalk and had a great view of all the outfits. Melanie Greensmith of Wheels and Dollbaby was this year’s Walk of Fame winner, honoured with a special plaque to be installed in the pavement of King Street, alongside other West Australian fashion legends.

They served coffee and cake to all guests. The atmosphere was nice, relaxed and happy, in a sunny springtime kind of way.

I introduced myself to a few people and had a good time chatting. I met Anne-Marie Carpenter (pictured) Ambassador for the Festival, who was just lovely.

I want to say hi to Evelyn, a blog reader of mine from Singapore, who was in Perth for a little holiday and introduced herself to me.

Also a big thanks to Gordon, a fashion fan from Malaysia, with a really nice LV bag! He was sitting next to me, and I gingerly asked if he could take some pictures for me. He was a so nice and friendly, and we talked for a while, but in the end I forgot to take a picture with him!

I’ve been busy checking out stuff at the Perth Fashion Festival! There is much more going on than one girl can get to, so I’ve had to be quite choosy.

I was not disappointed by the Popsicle pop-up shop – a temporary retail experience that will last only for the duration of the Perth Fashion Festival.

A selection of West Australian designers of fashion, jewellery, accessories and art has been brought together in a little boutique shop. Here, you can buy things that are literally hand made in Western Australia in very limited numbers, and in some cases, you’ll be buying the only one of its kind. So it doesn’t get any more exclusive than that!

Popsicle is driven by the William Street Collective, and like everything they do, it is extremely well organized, and unashamedly inspired by an arty, urban edge that presents fashion as part of a broader creative energy. Popsicle is located in an old bank from the 1940s, you can still see the old school vault where they kept the money!

It’s great to see wild, fresh, vibrant fashion and design rejuvenate an area of Perth that has seen better days, and is now clearly on the way up!

Popsicle is at 214 William Street in Northbridge, almost opposite the Brass Monkey Hotel, and literally two minutes walk from Perth Train Station. Open daily from 11am-6pm till the 14 September.

If you aren’t lucky enough to be in Perth before Popsicle ends, you can still check out their great website, which includes lots of photos of designer goodies!

On a different note, this was my outfit for the opening party for Popsicle – my tube snake skin dress which I paired with a rock-and-rock style vinyl jacket.

I borrowed the jacket from my sister (who is currently in London). It’s one of her favourite wardrobe staples and it must be around 10 years old.

However, after an hour of wearing it, I discovered that the jacket vinyl was crumbling off as it rubbed on itself! Near the armpits, the area where my arms rubbed the hips of the jacket, and the area where my handbag was rubbing on the shoulder.

I was leaving a trail of black crumbs everywhere! I was horrified! My sister’s jacket! Akkk! I didn’t even ask if I could borrow it!

For the rest of the evening I was trying to walk without rubbing on anything and with my arms slightly away from my body! Ok not really, but it was pretty bad. Sorry sis!

The Perth Fashion Festival has officially launched!

It’s been so much fun running around attending various exhibitions and openings! The first event on the programme was the aptly named, Prelude Exhibition.

Bringing together a group of recent fashion graduates from Curtin University, the exhibition showcases innovative new garments and contemporary fashion photography – promising an exciting preview into the future careers of these emerging fashion designers.

By Elise Capeli

By Amy Clarke

By Emma Hunter

By Tasha Vener

By Gabrielle Watts

By Sophie Webber

Prelude Exhibition
At Gingers Garage (upstairs)
267 William St, Northbridge
4 – 7 Spetmber 2008, 11am – 4pm
Free Event

The other week I went to the opening party of two fashion exhibitions.

The first, House of Tarvydas, was simply amazing. Ruth Tarvydas, one of Western Australia’s most celebrated fashion designers, displays an impressive selection of her works from 1968 to the present day.

She was a teenager when she started her label, striving to create a glamorous, edgy, elegant and sexy brand. Now she has buyers, stores and celebrity fans from all over the globe – UK, USA, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the UK, France, Italy, Switzerland Greece, Turkey, and United Arab Emirates.

There are some really interesting video footage that take a look at her career, its significance to the local industry and influence on Australian fashion.

I’ve never seen a chronological exhibition of one fashion label before. So it was quite fascinating for me to see the vast changes in style (of one brand) throughout the decades, along with the ever changing seasons of fashion and trends.

Yet I could see that her garments were always fresh and exciting, and always true to her “glamorous and sexy” brand.

But basically I really enjoyed swooning over all the gorgeous dresses! Many of the older ones were endearing and delightfully weird and wacky – to think, there was a time in history, that huge sail sleeves were incredibly fashionable!

The exhibition ends on the 10 October 2008 at the John Curtin Gallery at Curtin University, Bentley.

The second exhibition, Looking Out, is also at the John Curtin Gallery and ends at the same time, 10 October 2008.

This exhibition presents 5 contemporary Western Australian fashion designers whose work has an international focus - ae’lkemi, Aurelio Costarella, ericaamerica, Material Boy and Megan Salmon. It also reflects on the dynamic and innovative nature of fashion design in Western Australia.

Again, the exhibition was really interesting. It had a nice range of styles and unique garments.

I really enjoyed the way the exhibition was designed – allowing people to walk around the floating mannequins, to get up close to the garments, to see them on a “body”, to see how the clothes fall, and to examine all the intricate details of the textures and fabrics.

It’s something you definitely can’t do at a fashion catwalk show. And if you’re at a function, you’d probably break all kinds of social etiquettes by examining someone’s dress.

Overall, the two exhibitions were FANTASTIC and definitely worth a look!

First image of garments by Ruth Tarvydas. Second image, left to right, garments by ae’lkemi, Aurelio Costarella and Megan Salmon.

The other day I took a trip to the city to restock on a some Bobbi Brown makeup. There was a new makeup lady at the counter, and I did something I rarely do - I sat down for a make over, and I chatted to the makeup lady.

Haha in fact it was more than just a chat. I was in a talking mood, and we literally shared our life story, had a heart to heart, and bonded over Bobbi Brown. It was really, really nice - in an unexpected, therapeutic kind of way.

So now, me and the Bobbi Brown makeup lady are like the best of girlfriends now. And she’s been so nice to me (in terms of really excellent customer service, heaps of bonuses and inside information).

And, well, her passion and excitement has been infectious. So here’s the latest (and very tempting) Bobbi Brown Cocoa Mauve Collection (pic above) - metallic eye shadow, long-wear gel eyeliner, creamy lip colour, blush and case.

And the very gorgeous Shimmering Nudes Palette.

I get lots of emails from people asking me to recommend great places to shop in Perth.

When I go to a new city, sure I like to visit the main city areas and shopping districts, see the large department stores, international branded stores, and local retail outlets.

But I also find that I really want to have a local shopping experience of small independant fashion boutiques.

So here is a list of my highly reccommended Perth boutique reviews :

Atlas Divine - Women’s clothes, accessories, jewellery.

Tu - Women’s clothes, accessories, jewellery.

Pigeonhole - Clothes, homewares, gifts.

Zekka - Designer and concept menswear.

With the Perth Fashion Festival approaching, I’ve been in the mood to hit the shops and buy some new pieces for my wardrobe, in particular, clothes by Australian designers.

My favourite for my shopping trip was Alannah Hill. I’ve been a big fan of hers for ages! I just love her super-feminine designs, colours and textures.

I fell in LOVE with this polka dot silk cami. I was standing in the change rooms thinking, oh my goodness, it will go so well with all the skirts in my wardrobe, all my jeans and all my pants. My clothes will welcome it with open arms as an excellent addition to the family. But it was priced around $300 I think (I didn’t get the exact price).

The sales woman was fantastic. She paired the cami with this lovely silk ruffle skirt, with two-toned details that peeked through when you walked. Loved it! But again, it was around $350 (I think). Ouch.

I tried on some other pieces – a gem detailed silk blouse, and a pink floral dress. I have them over at the Doing The Karen Cheng Facebook group. Enjoy!

I was introduced to Pigeonhole through a friend of mine.

It’s a quirky little shop in the city, crammed full of clothes, accessories, jewellery, designer gift items and other super cool things you can’t find anywhere else – I instantly fell in love with it!

I had the pleasure of chatting to owner Johann Kim, who was such a cool guy! The shop opened less than a year ago, and it stocks over 600 local and international brands of STUFF.

Johann constantly travels all over the world, scouring, sourcing and buying all the cool bits and pieces for his shop. It sounds like so much fun and it makes me so envious!

Even though Pigeonhole is in the Perth City mall area, it might be a little hard to find. So be sure you grab the map from the website. It’s at the very end of a very weird and wonderful arcade, and indeed it has a very pigeonhole-like charm!

Pigeonhole
Shop 16,
Bon Marché Arcade
80 Barrack Street,
Perth 6000
Phone: 9221 9837

And they also have a very cool blog and Facebook Page!

As much as I enjoy playing with winter layers – jackets, knits, knee high boots, woolen fabrics, stockings, leggings, turtle necks, scarves, beanies… the novelty has completely worn off.

I’m so over this cold weather! Where’s spring already!?

I was so happy to see all the spring fashion come out in the department stores the other week. I’m loving all the bold colours, ruffles, flowers, spring prettiness and bright coloured shoes!

I don’t usually wear girly, flowery prints, but I loved this aqua dress from Wish. Shoes are from Zu. And makeup from MAC and a Revlon quad palette.

I tried on another aqua dress, over at the Doing The Karen Cheng Facebook group.

An interesting attraction has hit Perth this winter – burlesque shows!

I first heard about Sugar Blue Burlesque through Facebook. Then a few people I knew told me about it, and now the event seems to be spreading by word of mouth like wildfire!

I went to their website and was immediately struck by the incredible photography and the absolutely amazing costumes.

Melanie Bruyer aka A’dora Derriere is from Perth and started Sugar Blue Burlesque with a good friend. She is a professional swing dancer AND costume and lingerie fashion designer, who makes most of the costumes for the troupe.

They do these themed monthly shows, have burlesque dance classes, are available for burlesque hen’s nights, or even corporate events!

Burlesque originated in the 1840s and is basically a style of theatrical entertainment. Kind of like a variety show, with dancing girls, singing, comedy acts, contortionists and strip tease – all laced with satire, wit, bawdy humour and a big slice of tasteful sexiness.

I got to go to one of Sugar Blue’s shows, themed House of Horror Harlots! It was a lot of silly, outrageous, fun and crowd pleasing antics. The show was a line up of dance acts, singing and humourous skits. It was so popular that all the seats were sold out, and even standing room was limited!

All of the performances had been adapted to a horror theme, and everyone was dancing like a zombie or a vampire! The costumes were really amazing!

This is me with the hosts for the evening, Fanny and The Beaver. They were such an excellent pair – funny, charming, quick witted and very entertaining throughout the whole night. They really encouraged the audience to participate, and they were completely unmoved by heckling and shouting from the audience, many of whom had come dressed up in theme!

I guess most of all, I fell in love with the costumes and the burlesque style and glamour. I was inspired! Now I can’t wait to play with some burlesque styles and looks the next time I’m putting together an outfit.

Years ago I stumbled across a blog who linked to me, Kinky Blue Fairy. I found Joyce Wong, a hot, pixie-faced chick, with attitude, who seemed to party non-stop!

Over the years of popping in and out of her site, I’ve found myself quite entertained and deeply fascinated – for me it’s seeing how the other side lives. Ah, so that’s what real party girls get up to! What a jam packed life! She has so much energy! And I love her outfits!

Joyce’s pet project is Tongue in Chic, a very cool fashion blog based in Malaysia (such a great name!). It’s definitely a regular stop for me when keeping in touch with fashion in the Asia region.

I just love the range of stuff that she and her team covers. Everything from fashion shows, fashion events, bargain hunting, latest trends, sales, designers, fashion ideas, fashion scouting in Hong Kong, Bangkok, China and more.

Tongue in Chic are launching the new version of their site on the 20th August 2008, complete with a rocking launch party! Wish I was there!

I also asked Joyce if she was interested in “Doing The Karen Cheng”, she laughed and said SURE!

So you can see her pics on her Kinky Blue Fairy site, and on the Doing The Karen Cheng Facebook Group. Enjoy!