PALAZZO PANTS

The return of the palazzo pant is something that I am truly relieved about. It makes me feel confident and leaves  me with more than enough space to breath and to move about with comfort. It's a  trend that can be easily adjusted to suit different body types, and elongates the legs when you wear it with a high heel. With this pair from Witchery, available at the stand alone store in the V&A Cape Town,  being very long, I could not wear anything else but stratospherically high heels, adding a handsome 11 cm to my 1,78 metre frame, rendering my look rather statuesque. With a little luck, I found these ultra comfortable shoes being marked down to a very irresistible price  in Milan at an Outlet store, stretching the value of the poor South African currency a little further. Palazzo pants are most versatile, and can just as easily be dressed down with a pair of loafers and a denim jacket, sporting a more casual look. Share your view on this phenomenon and let us see how you style them! 

Palazzo Pants - Witchery

Coat - Custom Made

Shoes - Old

Hat - Department Store

Bag - Robinsons

Scarf - Woolworths

AWAKEN WINTER

I can not imagine attending something more inspirational than Jackie Burger's soirees.With the Pierre Olivier Art Centre as a backdrop, it's as if real life becomes a theatrical display. The theme for her 5th soiree was Awaken Winter, beautifully curated with installation fashion, scrumptious food, motivational talks, and ending with a styling session and very captivating dance performance by a revered artist.  The morning started off with a discussion about the here and now, with the emphasis on doing and making as opposed to done and made. 

With Jackie at the helm of things, we all left in awe, and with a  clear message of rethinking our methods, obviously also wanting to remodel our wardrobes. A few models were challenged to style jackets and coats including the likes of Kluk CGDT, H&M, Adriaan Kuiters, all creating their signature and unique looks with a short fashion show. 

I wore block heels, a printed shirt, jeans and a coat from H & M's recently launched Conscious Exclusive Collection, made from recycled clothing and yarns, only to find the beautiful Bonnie Mbuli sporting the same piece with a pair of heels that turned heads. Now feast your eyes in the splendour of what announced the arrival of winter, in true style. 

Coat - H&M Conscious Exclusive

Jeans - Gucci

Crossbody satchel - Gucci

Shoes- Charles & Keith

Top - Anne Klein

WHAT'S IN STORE

Let me introduce you to someone you may already know, but let me also show you a side to them, which perhaps you didn't know. H & M is no newcomer to the fashion scene, and with stores across the world, they make a considerable contribution towards the fashion movement, retailing across the world. They supply a broad selection of garments affordable to all, and a more exclusive collection known as "studio", not to even mention "conscious exclusive". When they refer to "sustainable" fashion, they mean big business. Last week saw them launch the "conscious exclusive collection" in selected stores around the globe. Inspired from the Artwork in the Louvre, Paris, France,  their design team studied the  masters for about a year, and then  came up with prints of ethereal beauty, and a collection inspired by the likes of Boticelli. I was left in awe, and a little confused about what to buy and what not. The collection is so stunning, that I could easily have succumbed to it all, but promoting the concept of sustainable fashion myself, and not always being able to contain my obsessive compulsion to surrender to all things gorgeous, I had to exercise a considerable amount of  self control. I popped in to the flagship store in the Victoria and Alfred Mall on Saturday evening, (yes stores are open until 21h00) only to find two dresses that were both irresistible, quite befitting for a queen. I decided to sleep over it, and by the time I returned the next morning, one was gone. Sadly, I left with just one, but after having already indulged in a number of other items the day before, quickly recovered. Here is a sneak peak of what is in store. I will be styling these items in different outfits soon, so watch this space for more excitement, and off course, environmentally friendly fashion!