Mexing it up

So, I’m back. The past week has been full of excitement, but I was brought crashing back to earth on the weekend with a seriously long and tricky translation, the deadline for which prevented me from doing any timely posts. This one is actually about last Thursday! Aggh!

Thursday (Day 3) was my favourite day of Melbourne Spring Fashion Week, not least because I discovered the chocolate milkshake at the Lindt cafe… yes, I know that milkshakes are “sometimes foods”, but I needed to keep my energy up!

Although I shouldn’t have needed that milkshake, as the show from Wednesday night was so full of energy. Here are a few shots to give you a taste – it was all very bold and colourful and there was a distinct Mexican/Latin American vibe. I wrote about it (and other shows from MSFW) here!

Crazy prints and swirling skirts at Obus:

More bright ideas at Gorman:




White lace from Lover in the Fat show:

Another look from the Fat show (also by Lover? anyone know?). I adore this – it’s so hard to make red lace look classy and cute instead of bordello-bound, but this works so well!


Kings of Carnaby – scroll down to see the yellow dress on an adorable young lady off the catwalk…

Fringed harem pants at Nevenka – definitely something I want to try this summer, and those platform heels are hot too!


With all that for inspiration, on Thursday I headed to a party at the Obus store in Flinders Lane, which is currently kitted out with a Mexican theme.
(sorry, this pic of paper bunting is on its side… having trouble with that lately, anyone know how to fix it?)

Guests were asked to dress to suit the Mexican theme, hence my attempt to channel Frida Kahlo (yes, again!!)
Here I am with Kylie Zerbst, Obus designer, who grabbed me for this photo opp as soon as I entered the store. Clearly a girl after my own heart.

It was great to hang out with Brahman from Elgar and Lyle and Lisa from Stylus Muse (see, doesn’t she look sweet in her Kings of Carnaby dress? And she kindly sent me these photos too. Thanks, Lisa!)

Mila Faranov’s wall mural was nothing short of amazing…

here I am with Lisa and her friend Suzanna…


Lady Melbourne got into the dressing up too…

She’s been wearing her hair like this for ages, it suits her so well! I think her necklace is actually from a Turkish shop, but who’s worried about authenticity when it looks this fabulous?

The funny thing is, the Mexican look that I’m wearing contains no authentic Mexican elements at all. The red poncho thing is from a hilltribe in Thailand, the pink skirt is from an op shop, the sequinned bolero is from Tokyo, my hairband was a gift from Ukraine and my accessories are from Tibet, India, Laos and possibly East Timor – some via op shops!


I love the fact that so many cultures’ traditional crafts look similar – I’m sure if there are any Mexicans reading this they’d correct me, but personally I think the poncho and scarf around my waist, both of which are from Asian countries, can pass quite acceptably as South American.
Oh, and the bedimpled accessory on my right? That’s Lisa and Suzanna’s friend Tim, lawyer by day and shirt designer for Poplin and Panache in every other waking minute. Yes, nearly everyone in this post leads a double life!