Cue Clothing on Sale at Cue Stores and Myer

If you love a bargain, particularly on good quality clothing, pop into your local Cue Clothing store or Myer, to check out their sale.

For Cue Club members (which you can become, online) there is 30% off storewide for today only. This applies to items already on sale as well.

At Myer, you'll find between 30 - 70% off some summer, but mainly autumn stock and again a further 30% reduction.

For example, they have a lovely strapless panel dress in mocha, which can be layered over a crisp white shirt, or fitted tee, for the cooler months, already reduced to $74.50 and today, slashed to $52.15! Wow!

Just log onto the Cue Clothing website, fill in a Club member form and you'll get a confirmation email straight away, print that off and take it shopping with you. Happy Cue shopping!

On your Jimmy Choos -its Red Carpet time

I have to make mention of the gorgeous gowns on show at the 79th Academy Awards ... checking through the official Oscars site there did not seem to be a mistake made stylewise.(with the possible exception of Faye Dunaway?)

Love these gowns:

• Maggie Gyllenhal in Proenza Schouler
• Naomi Watts in Escada
• Nicole Kidman in Balenciaga
• Gwyneth Paltrow in Zac Posen
• Jodie Foster in Vera Wang
• Penelope Cruz in Atelier Versace
• Eva Green in Givenchy
• Cate Blanchett -literally poured into Armani Privee -an crystal encrusted mesh dress. Wow!
• J Lo in Marchesa
• Rhea Durham in Marchesa (Mark Wahlberg's date)
• Rachel Weisz in Vera Wang
• Helen Mirren - fabulous in Christian Lacroix
• George Clooney and Leonardo Di Caprio in Armani
  

2007 Oscars Fashion Favourites

My favourites on the red carpet at this year's Oscars had to be Reese Witherspoon and Cate Blanchett.

Reese looked absolutely gorgeous in an Olivier Theyskens for Nina Ricci gown and Van Cleef & Arpels jewels. Here, she has the look of natural, fuss-free beauty down pat.

I also thought our very own Cate Blanchett looked amazing in an Armani Prive mesh gown, with crystal detail.

Overall, I thought her hairstyle with both modern and vintage appeal was very elegant and her smoldering eyes and porcelain skin glowed!

Once again she shows us how stylish she is.

Designer Offerings for Autumn/Winter

If you haven't started thinking about your Autumn/Winter wardrobe, here's a great summary of what Australian Designers and the big retailers are offering for the season.

Portmans Fashion Workshop

The Portmans Fashion Workshop held at the Glasshouse store earlier this month was a chance to see their Autumn/Winter range of corporate and fun fashion wear, while having champagne and nibbles.

• Sweater dress - worn with leggings or opaque tights and ballet flats, or ankle boots and large tote.

• Shift and pinafore dress - they're just above the knee which is ideal for the office, worn with a roll neck, light wool knit or a pussy bow blouse, and

• Trench coat, belted high on the waist and a little more structured than previous years in a shorter 60's style. This is definitely a wardrobe staple but you may want to shop round for the ideal silhouette.

The colour palette for the the season is black and grey, with red, mustard and purple highlights. Patterned accents included tartan and leopard print and there's a touch of metallic in accessories as well.

Once again, layering is a big thing for winter, with leggings, skivvies, mini skirts, cropped jackets, etc there is a lot to play with as you explore the new proportions.

Also for the office worker, Portmans do a lot of great suiting with 2-3 different ones coming through each month leading up to winter. The fabrics are good quality and are sourced from France, Italy and Germany.

The Glasshouse, Miranda, Parramatta and Bondi Junction stores often run test lines, where you're more likely to pick-up limited editions.

They are also at Direct Factory Outlets at Homebush if you're looking for some great deals on summer items being cleared.

Whilst Portmans is definitely not high-end fashion, it certainly makes a great transition from the catwalk to very wearable pieces, with lots of street cred!

David Jones Winter 2007 Runway Fashion

Chrissy and I attended the David Jones Winter 2007 Collections Launch this week, with Megan Gale as compere. The shows were fun to watch and the Australian designers showcased were all brilliant, however the trick will be to incorporate some of the stronger themes into our everyday wardrobe ... without panicking about the new silhouette.

There are lots of empire-line mini dresses, sky high heels, cute capes, tweed, animal print and of course, black and grey are the dominant colour scheme.

We liked the idea of shift dresses and over sized knits and layering. A strong trend is the 60's A-line dress. These work well with skivvies, white shirts and polo necks and opaque tights or skinnypants underneath (see a Country Road look pictured).

A bold print is fun but we think a block colour is easier to start with and then you can add scarves, hats, tights and bags in check, tartan, hounds tooth or animal prints. Also metallic hues are still making a statement so you can use metallic accessories to liven-up a coat dress or jeans.

Animal prints are big this winter, a perfect accessory with the more uniform black and grey shades. We love the huge print totes, pumps and ballet flats, and of course black shades and a scarf will make you feel very glam.

My favourite "make Mummy look good" label, Witchery, have gorgeous long-line cable knit cardies, black jeans and zebra print ballet flats to choose .. you can definitely find very stylish pieces and new season accessories that wont break the bank.

While the new silhouette will be a challenge to many, it adds creativity and fun to the classic shapes we're all used to. We think this season promises to be really exciting as we experiment a little.

Keep watching this space for more ideas on how to make the transition from summer to autumn in all the new trends.

Happy New Fashion Year!

Bonjour to all faithful readers ... we are back onboard after - as many would know - the extreme sport known as School Holidays! This week Chrissy and I both started our first little chicks at Big School, so we are breathing a sigh of relief and fondly imagine we will be free for hours of blogging time. Of course, all mothers reading this will know we are delirious and will soon realise it's only going to get busier.

However, we are very excited about indulging you the reader and ourselves in as much fashion news as possible.

Here's what we have coming up on the calender:

Chrissy will be attending the Portmans Fashion Workshop so we will have some first-hand knowledge of strong winter trends and how to work your wardrobe - without of course overdoing the budget.

David Jones Winter 2007 Collections Launch and Fashion Previews which are a great way to see a range of fashion trends for the upcoming season. Keeping in mind that our coolest weather is not really till June, Australian designers are wonderful at bridging that long transitional period before coat and gloves time. Of course, depending on where you live, you may be able to extend the season!

Hot news: Superstar designer Stella McCartney will be releasing a small collection for Target Australia! We've heard it will be instore around March 12, but stay tuned. The full collection will be seen on the catwalk during the L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival in March.

And of course, we will continue to nominate our favourite budget finds each month, with recommendations and styling tips.