The Day I Became a Party Stylist.

 A three course lunch, cocktails, twenty girls, marquee, feminine, classy and glamorous. These words sum up the brief I was given two weeks ago when I was asked by a friend to organise and 'style' her twenty first birthday party.

I have always created the 'look' for family birthdays and christmas dinners but I haven't done anything to this scale before. I was so excited for the challenge!

I made the place cards, champagne glass name tags, chose the colour scheme, sewed the table runner, sourced the vases, arranged the flowers, made the pom poms and set up the whole look. 

Below are some photos of the final outcome. I was really happy with how it all came together and really enjoyed the job. I can't wait for another opportunity to be a party stylist!

Thongs are Not Shoes.

After reading my previous posts, it is obvious that I am not the complaining, whinging. pessimistic type. I am enthusiastic, positive and always find myself talking about my new great love, whether it be a necklace, dress, book or fashion label.

I don't hate many things but I feel it has come time to express my number one pet hate of women's dressing. Thongs. No not the underwear type of thong, (I am a firm believer of the benefit of that type of thong when avoiding a VPL (visable panty line)) the rubber kind. Flip flops, double pluggers, havianas, whatever you want to call them.

One of my most favourite past times is (surprise, surprise) shopping and planning outfits. For a day at work, a night on the town, a music festival or a casual dinner, whatever the occasion, thongs are never my footwear of choice. In an effort to avoid sounding like a ranting idiot I have devised a list (in my opinion) of when I would say thongs are, and are definitely not appropriate.

• At the beach- Yes.
• At the pool- Yes.
• At the shops-....it depends. If it is a super quick run in to the supermarket, and I mean super quick, as in, baking a cake, run out of eggs and have to go to the shops before the cake starts to rise prematurely, or you are just about to have a shower when you realise you used the last of the conditioner last time you washed your hair. In which case, a rubber thong and greasy hair complememnt each other perfectly. (Stop me if i'm being too harsh). In all other shopping situations, I don't understand why people dont take the opportunity to enhance their outfits with a cute pair of loafers or a funky sandal?
• To lunch with friends- Leave those thongs at home! Ladies who lunch are not seen around town in a shoe made of rubber. Anything other than the softest leather would not do justice to the goregous dress or nude shorts and silk top combo you are planning.
• To a music festival- I can see both sides of this argument, (gasp, I might be in favour of the thong?) but only because I have (in the very distant past) on occasion, worn thongs to a festival. (If I remember correctly it was Good Vibes '09 and Parklife '08). Festivals are dirty, you can get sand in your shoes, and most festival outfits are casual. However, festivals are also an opportunity to show off your style, mix patterns, wear headbands, scarves, the shortest of shorts and ......a great opportunity to wear biker boots, sandals with lots of buckles or some little sneakers. The boots and the sneakers will even save your tootsies from the moshpit.
• Out to dinner- Hell no!
• To work- Come on, everyone knows you don't wear thongs to work.

Like I tell my sister 'thongs are not shoes'. I can hardly imagine Alexa Chung or Rachel Zoe strutting around in a pair of flimsy flip flops. Remember this next time you are dressing ladies and we will all be better dressed for it.

What is your Favourite Fashion Trend and Why?

Before I get to the (highly-anticipated, very exciting, near impossible to decide..) answer to this question, let me first outline the difference between a trend and a fad. Yes, as every fashionista knows, there is a big difference! A fad is an item, like the tie dye print, most recently in the form of a maxi dress that made a short, (and in my opinion, not very sweet) resurgence this summer. A trend, however is a craze that lasts more than one season. The blazer and the skinny jean are both popular trends we will be seeing a good deal more of as we move into winter.

I can't fail to mention one of my great loves, the statement accessory. I have been a fan for as long as I can remember (always contradicting the phrase 'less is more'). Whether it be the classic strands of pearls, Audrey Hepburn style, the Rachel Zoe inspired cocktail ring, or one of my many self-made necklaces, (see picture) Statement accessories definitely came a very close second to my favourite fashion trend.

However, I can reveal my favourite fashion trend for the moment is my biker boots. I suffer from what I have coined a 'pretty complex'. While I love ruffles, floral prints, lace, beading and everything pretty I feel, more often than not, when worn with a nude heel, sandal or ballet flat they become daggy. My biker boots are the cure! I can wear a ruffled skirt (as pictured), I can dress down a tule and lace dress, I can add a grunge feeling to a rouched, beige tube skirt and I can successfully contradict the glitz of my oversized black diamonte studs. Yes, my black lace-ups are definitely my most favourite fashion trend.

Be the bELLA of the Ball.

It is the start of the school ball season. Yes, I am far too old to be worrying about attending school balls myself but I am kept in the loop as I have a younger brother and sister.

Over the weekend my brother was off to yet another school ball (I think he has been to around 9 in total) and my mum was about to order yet another wrist corsage, when she had a brainwave, 'why don't you make it?' Seeing as I am still in 'Cairo' and am not at work and worked at a florist for most of last year, I jumped at the prospect of a little creative project. Little is a bit of an understatement for how the project ended up.

Mum has been saying for a while....probably since about ball number 3, that it seems all florists are making the same boring white rose or orchid corsages. Why doesn't anyone think of something different? Clashing colours, beads, feathers? Well, well, well, you haven't seen anything yet!

Having been through the whole school ball thing myself, I found myself wondering, would we say to our ball date, 'hey, I have spent weeks, maybe even months trying on countless dresses in the search for the perfect one, matching shoes, bags, hair and make-up, but can you please bring me some accessories to the befores?' Hell no! But why is a corsage any different? I knew my brothers date was wearing a black dress so I went to town on my corsage creation. Her name was Emily so I also attached a sterling silver 'E' charm so she has something she can keep long after the flowers have died. Brilliant, I know!!

I couldn't stop after one corsage and ideas just kept popping into my head. Therefore I also made the following masterpieces (if I do say so myself).

Shoot me an e-mail if you are interested in having a fashionable corsage for your next ball, or pass on my details to your ball date. You can even send me a pic of your gorgeous dress to ensure it matches (or clashes) perfectly! ellagarland@hotmail.com.

Follow my blog with bloglovin

Cairo the Sequel.

After thirty six hours of flying, seven hours waiting, two airports, six movies, three plane meals, two time zones, four magazines and..........ONE OUTFIT, I am back from....Dubai.

We were on our way to Dubai after our stop over in Singapore when the Australian travel warning for Egypt was upgraded to 'Do not travel'. On arrival in Dubai we were given a message from my uncle to get our bags,  buy ourselves a big bottle of duty free perfume and get on a flight straight home.

I will never know if my fool proof packing method was in fact fool proof (well, at least until my next spontaneous holiday). However, I do know I did not pack my hand luggage well!

My travel outfit was well thought out;  dressy enough for an upgrade to business class, matching with my luggage, appropriate for Egypt and comfortable..... until the new shoes gave me blisters after walking the kilometres between gates at Singapore airport, the jacket was not warm enough for the plane but too tight to wear over something warmer and the wool cardigan got itchy half an hour into the first flight.

I will never again travel with only red liquorice, pizza shapes and magazines in my carry on luggage!

Pack, Pack, Packing for a Mystery Destination.

Ok, i'll admit, I am exaggerating a tad, I'm not really going to a mystery destination. I am in fact jetting off to Cairo tomorrow. (Yes, Cairo in Egypt!!!)

Last year I decided to go to Bali with three weeks notice, last month I decided to go down south for the weekend on the Friday, and last week I was invited to Cairo. I am getting a reputation as a spontaneous traveller, as of course I said 'why not!' (One of the plusses of being an unemployed fashion graduate.)

Anyway, back to the point of this post, I am currently in the middle of packing. I have little knowledge of the culture in Egypt, a rough idea of the weather (apparently it is the winter season so I can expect rain and lots of mud) and a 20kg limit.

I have been told the local women are covered from head to toe. So out of respect and not wanting to attract too much attention I would say my ripped denim mini shorts, singlets and low cut tops are out. It will also be a lot cooler than the 37 degree scorcher we are having today.

After pulling out everything I own, trying to write daily outfit plans and also raiding my mum's and sister's wardrobes for appropriate attire, I think, (I guess I will find out when I get there) I have come up with a fool proof plan for packing for a mysterious destination.

1. Number one, clear your space, for me it was to freshly make my bed and put all my clothes away.

2. Start with the basics. As I am going to the cool weather I am starting with leggings, Long sleeve t-shirts, singlets (for under other dresses or tops), a short black cardigan (for under jackets if you want to wear them open and still be able to see the dress or top), a long black cardigan, a black slip (for under anything, you never know when a black slip will come in handy) and a black blazer. Yes, a lot of black! I can't help it, black is always a staple for a winter wardrobe.

3. Number three, (I needed good will power for this one) is going through your wardrobe and selecting items to wear with your basics (obviously). For some reason, I was attracted to all the items I haven't worn in years, my pink trench (it sounds gross, but it's not, I promise), a stripy shirt and a ruffle skirt....don't ask me what I was thinking, I must have been momentarily excited at the prospect of perhaps wearing them again. However, I regained my sanity and self imposed a golden rule...if I haven't worn the item in the last few years I will not be wearing it whilst on holiday.

4. Statement Items. In the event of an exciting invitation to a fancy dinner, a night out on the town ( I seriously have no idea if there is a 'town' in Cairo) or for any other reason there might be, I will be well prepared. This is where I got excited and packed my all-time favourite LBD (little black dress), my new knit top with sparkly jewels around the neck, a dressy cardigan with embellished shoulders, and a statement khaki jacket.

5. Accessories!!!! Scarves, (I have about 10 packed already, I have been told it is a necessity to cover ones decolletage whilst in Egypt), necklaces, hats, bangles, sunnies, etc. etc. Go crazy, accessories are light and they can make any outfit.

Im thinking number six will be shoes....I haven't got that far yet, I still have a row of 10 pairs out on my floor. I will definitely need some careful thought there! I better get back to it.

Check back soon for some (hopefully) outfit success stories from Cairo.