Not the LBD again!

Very disappointed to read in the Melbourne Age recently that the Little Black Dress is being revived, 80 years after it was first designed by Coco Chanel for Vogue magazine in 1926. Myer fashion director Bob Boutin is quoted as saying that after three seasons on fashion's fringe, black was back, and winter would bring a lot of black and grey with a bit of beige and plum. Wow I can hardly wait! Hmmm, I wonder if there's a demonstrable link between prevailing fashion colours, the state of the economy, and our moods? Does the predominance of black reflect a more sombre conformist mindset, or an economic downturn, or does it actually contribute to occasional feelings of gloom? Perhaps not for nothing is depression commonly referred to as the black dog.

The popularity of the LBD is probably also a reflection of our continuing obsession with slimness and the need to disguise those extra kilos that are creeping on by way of cafe lattes and other treats. OK, I confess to having owned a few LBD's in my time, and yes I still wear black trousers and skirts occasionally, but I'm trying to break the habit, really. If only the forecast black and grey would come in the form of storm clouds filled with lots of rain for our parched and drought-ravaged land.

RoseRed's World Fashion Tour (for fun and frivolity!)

Here in beautiful downtown Melbourne, Australia, it's Derby Day, traditionally the start of the Spring Racing Carnival Cup Week festivities. Lots of men and women are dressed to the nines in stylish hats, slinky outfits, suits and stilettos, ready to party at Flemington race course. So it seems timely to post a few images from our recent jaunt to Singapore, Paris, south of France, London, New York and Honolulu. What a fantastic holiday!

Please bear with me as I crawl on all fours into the digital imaging age. I only bought my first digital camera a few days before we left, don't yet have any proper image editing software, the dog ate my homework, and my suit's at the drycleaners .... To borrow a phrase from Jeremy Clarkson of TopGear, some of these pictures are rubbish. But what the heck!






A selection of shoes, Singapore style. Something for everyone here!







Some of the 6,500 hats from the Hat Industry Museum at Somail, near Narbonne in the south of France.







Some more French hats









French Provincial head gear








French Provincial underwear!







Australian Provincial underwear (not ours!) last seen floating down the Canal du Midi on a barge!







Parisian wedding frou-frou











Macy's windows say it all!
















Last but not least - here are my only two personal purchases for the entire trip (shopping is definitely not my forte). The T-shirt came from the Chateau de Ventenac on the Canal du Midi, where the grape harvest was in full swing, and we bought the swatch in - wait for it - Times Square, NY.