Saas Fee-17

Wellness Retreat – Review

I’ve never done a wellness retreat before, but the opportunity to join the luxury wellness retreat run by Peak Health Switzerland at the five star spa hotel The Capra in Saas Fee in the Swiss Alps came at just the right time.

After letting stress get the better of me the last few months, I had abandoned my usual fitness routine, engaged in a fair bit of comfort eating and put on enough weight that my clothes don’t quite fit any more. I needed something to shake me out of my stress-eating funk and get me back on the path to healthy living. Continue reading “Wellness Retreat – Review” →

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Freedom Hunters Episode 11: Poh Ling Yeow

Poh Ling Yeow 3

Most of my Australian listeners, and probably quite a few of my UK listeners will have heard of today’s guest on Freedom Hunters. You might have watched her come runner up in the first ever series of Australian Masterchef in 2009. Or you might have watched her subsequent TV cooking series, or made delicious dishes from one of her cookbooks. And if you’ve been to Adelaide in South Australia recently, you might have had cake and coffee at her café, Jam Face, in the Adelaide Central Market. It’s Poh Ling Yeow who I had the absolute pleasure of talking to about her career journey.

While Poh is now running her cafe and doing various media projects, she started her career in a very different way. Continue reading “Freedom Hunters Episode 11: Poh Ling Yeow” →

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Fashion Comfort Zone 4

How to Dress Outside your Fashion Comfort Zone

I recently had the pleasure of spending the morning with the creator of Nevenka, a fashion brand from my home town of Melbourne. Every Nevenka piece is a delicately created, detailed work of art, each piece more dreamy than the last. I tried on dream dress after dream dress, wishing I was the kind of woman who would just wear a bright pink, transparent, tiered, embroidered gown with a leather jacket and trainers on a daily basis. I had just finished the second series of Killing Eve and had Villanelle’s outfits in mind – so godamm extra. I so wish that I was that woman (the flamboyant dresser, not the sociopath gun for hire).

So what’s holding me back? It’s my fashion comfort zone. Granted, my fashion comfort zone stretches pretty far and wide these days. I wear sequins during the day. I mix prints that theoretically shouldn’t really go together. But day gowns is just that step too far for me… for now.

This is a dilemma that almost all of my personal styling clients encounter – how to break out of their fashion comfort zones. So I’ve put together my tips, first on whether you should consider dressing outside your fashion comfort zone, and second how to do it. Continue reading “How to Dress Outside your Fashion Comfort Zone” →

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Edinburgh

My Edinburgh Diary

The last time I went to Edinburgh I was doing a gap year half way through my law degree, backpacking around Europe and living off the meagre savings I’d made working in a department store in Melbourne on weekends and after class.

My memories of Edinburgh were of a breathtakingly beautiful city. And while that has not changed – Edinburgh still dazzles with its severe and dramatic beauty – what I didn’t remember about Edinburgh was the finer things. This time however, I have come away with memories of a vibrant and dynamic food scene, quirky underground cocktail clubs and a sense of the pride and innovation that lives in the locals of this unique city.

Here’s a little diary of our visit, including all the places that I highly recommend for your next trip up north. Continue reading “My Edinburgh Diary” →

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Freedom Hunters Episode 10: Olly Bengough

Olly BengoughOlly Bengough started his first business in his twenties when he opened a bar on the King’s Road in London’s Chelsea neighbourhood. From there he went on to set up venues which have become London institutions, including Infernos in Clapham and Koko in Camden. Along the way he started up the music festival Lovebox with members of Groove Armada.

But it was Olly’s love of foreign and independent film that led him Continue reading “Freedom Hunters Episode 10: Olly Bengough” →

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Style Hacks 3

Nine Styling Hacks to Revamp your Outfits

Sometimes all you need is a few strategic styling hacks to reinvigorate your enthusiasm for putting your outfits together. They cost nothing, but can totally transform your day to day style.

Here are nine styling hacks that I regularly use for myself and with my personal styling clients. Bookmark this page and refer back when in need of a little styling inspo.

Continue reading “Nine Styling Hacks to Revamp your Outfits” →

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Fingal Edinburgh

Fingal Edinburgh – Hotel Review

Upon arriving at the Port of Leith, we walked up the red-carpeted gangway and into the most elegant and quietly glamorous hotel reception you could imagine. This was the beginning of our weekend stay at Edinburgh’s newest floating hotel, and it continued in the same stylish way that it began.

The Fingal began its life as a ship that serviced the lighthouses in some of Scotland’s remote and storm-lashed locations. It now sits permanently Continue reading “Fingal Edinburgh – Hotel Review” →

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Freedom Hunters Episode 9: Tash Sefton

Tash Sefton Freedom Hunters

Anyone with a passing interest in fashion will have heard of my latest podcast guest, Tash Sefton. She is one of Australia’s most successful fashion entrepreneurs.

Tash started out her career in fashion manufacturing, and moved into a business role, overseeing production, manufacturing and buying for one of Australia’s biggest streetwear brands, General Pants.

But it was when she started a blog called They All Hate Us with her friend and colleague, Elle Ferguson, that work and life changed for Tash. Continue reading “Freedom Hunters Episode 9: Tash Sefton” →

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Five Steps to Style Fabulous Outfits-5

Five Steps to Styling a Fabulous Outfit

Do you find that the process of putting together your outfit each morning adds an additional ten to fifteen minutes to your morning routine? You’re not alone. Many of my clients complain that it takes them an inordinate amount of time to put together an interesting outfit that is a bit different to the same old same old.

I work with my personal styling clients to create new outfits from the items already existing in their wardrobes. Here are the five steps I use to style a fabulous outfit and that you can use every day to the same effect.

Continue reading “Five Steps to Styling a Fabulous Outfit” →

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Multi-Hyphen Style 8

The Ultimate Tucking Guide

I recently worked with a client who almost never tucked her tops into her trousers or skirts. When I asked her about this, it was clear she (wrongfully) believed that she had a tummy that she needed to hide and that by wearing her tops over her waistband she would hiding unsightly lumps and bumps.

In a few swift styling moves, I was able to prove her wrong. First of all, she had a lovely defined waist. And second of all, even those of us with a tummy will look much better with a strategic tuck of the shirt, than by trying to hide it with an untucked top, which can tend to look a little frumpy.

The power of a tuck can transform an outfit from frumpy to fabulous, and there is more than one way to skin that particular cat. Here are five tucking tips and styles you can experiment with to achieve vastly different outcomes: Continue reading “The Ultimate Tucking Guide” →

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