Thursday 4 December 2014

Gold Gold Gold

Lately I've had an 'obsession' with gold. It's not that I'm wearing gold outfits, shoes or wearing gold lipstick or nail polish, in fact I'm not wearing gold at all. I am purely loving gold at the moment. My latest post Party In Style on stylebygessica had various gold outfits in it, or at least splashes of gold. Please read it if you haven't already, you'll find some inspiration for your festive season parties. 
Hence my decision to write this post about all things gold that capture my attention. Had so much fun putting this together. Enjoy.

Gold Shoes:
From Balmain, Dolce&Gabanna and Doc Martens to Nine West, I'll have one of each thankyou. 

Gold Accessories:
Gold sunglasses, watches, cuff links, earrings, elaborate handbags, rings and cuffs: All on my Christmas wish list. 

Gold Fashions:
Stunning ball gowns, sexy cocktail dresses, tunics and skirts: So much sparkle and glamour. 

Gold Wearable Art:
Incredible detail on these fantastical pieces. My usual favourites Alexander McQueen and Dolce&Gabbana amongst others. 

Gold Make-up & Skincare:
Whether you fancy gold leaf facials or bathing in gold, wearing gold lipstick or painting your nails in metallic gold, there is no doubt that lots of fun can had with gold on the body. 

Gold Decor:
Gold toilet paper fit for the queen, Louis V gold chairs, chandeliers and bath tubs are true decor luxury. Just need the Villa in the South of France to go with it. 

Gold Food:
Gold Cupcakes, fruits, seafood and meats. Edible gold has been popular for years. Even if you can't bring yourself to eating it, at least it looks pretty. 

Gold Transport:
Doubt you could get me driving a gold Ferrari, however flying in a gold private jet is a completely different story. Sparkle in the sky.  

Not sure about you, but now am dreaming of painting my nails gold, dressing in a a long gold gown and flying private jet to St Bart's eating gold fruit and cupcakes all the way....of course with champagne in other hand.

Cheers

See you soon

Gessica X















Wednesday 22 October 2014

Mexico's Day of the Dead icon Catrina Calavera

I have long been fascinated with Mexico's largest religious event Dia de Muertos 'The day of the Dead' which takes place 31st October,1st and 2nd November. Although this christian tradition is celebrated universally, the Mexicans celebrate it differently. They look forward to these days, it is a time to connect with deceased loved ones in a festive spirit of remembrance and celebration rather than sadness and sorrow. And one such elegant skeleton dame called 'La Calavera Catrina' has become the famous symbol of death, common to see her embodied as part of the day of the dead celebrations throughout the country.  
The origin of Catrina was an etching created by illustrator Jose Guadalupe Posada sometime between 1910 -1913. The image is of a female skeleton wearing a glamourous hat that depicts the upper class. 'she is offered as a satirical portrait of those Mexican natives who, Posada felt, were aspiring to adopt European aristocratric traditions in the pre-revolutionary era'. 
The skeleton symbolises that death eventually happens to all of us, no matter your status and wealth. Since Jose's etching, she has become an icon of the day of the dead. Please click on the links to read all about the history. 
Painting by Sylvia Ji of Catrina Calavera. Oddly, I find these quite beautiful.

It is common to see her embodied as part of the celebrations throughout the country with handicrafts made of clay and other materials: For sale and as displays in windows.

Artistic face paintings of skeletons seen throughout the streets.

Many people dress in incredible costumes and wander through the streets. Parades and parties are organised.




Friday 10 October 2014

News News News

Hello,
This is a short little post letting you know a couple of new things.

Firstly: The new post on stylish and fun race wear for the Spring Racing Carnival can now be viewed on my blog stylebygessica.Click here for some inspiration. And do remember to sign up as the stylebygessica blog is all about fashion looks, tips and advice. Obsessions will remain as is posting articles on art, travel, lifestyle and anything wonderful that captures my attention. However it will be without the fashion posts. Currently working on a great new article to be posted soon. 


Secondly: As of this week I started contributing fashion looks for Sydney health & fitness guru Dani Stevens on her lifestyle blog Danistevens. Every Wednesday you will see some fun and casual style looks under the Wow Wednesday column. There are plenty of great articles on there in relation to health, fitness, recipes, lifestyle and fashion. I am delighted to be collaborating with Dani, a gorgeous vibrant doer. We have many exciting things coming up: style days, giveaways and promotions.So keep reading.
Thirdly: A reminder of the spring promotion running through the months of October and November. Another great collaboration with a talented woman. 
SPRING PROMOTIONDuring the months of October and November you receive a pair of gorgeous flower and swarovksi crystal drop earring valued at $50 or two bracelets of your choice (6mm semi-precious and/or 6mm swarovski neon bead bracelet with or without tassel valued at $65) by the talented accessories designer SoniaM Designs....If you book yourself in for:
  • spring wardrobe update or 
  • shopping trip, or
  • refer me to someone else or 
  • purchase a gift voucher 
Thankyou to those that have booked in. I have been inundated and doing what I love: styling women to look their best.  


Ciao for now
Gessica X






Monday 22 September 2014

Hooray for Spring

Spring is here for us in the southern hemisphere which means we can peel off the heavy clothing and start feeling lighter. This has to be one of the best times of year to do a wardrobe update and think about the warmer months ahead: especially in terms of work attire.
(Please see my News & Spring promotion at the bottom of this post).
As you may well know, my job is to jazz up your wardrobe and make it work for you and to avoid cloning. These days women are wanting to express their individuality with their style, especially those in a more conservative corporate environment where suits were/are considered a staple. 
Below are only some of my suggestions on how a corporate spring wardrobe can work for you. Yes I have added colour and yes I love to accessorise. If you feel a little scared to step outside the comfort zone, just start small with a signature colour. For example a belt, scarf, shoes or a unique accessory. You need to start with only one thing to get you going.
Of course I am only an email away should you wish to chat with me for further advice.

Black and White:
If you love your black, then you can get creative by adding black and white printed pant or jacket to your wardrobe. A white jacket with pencil black skirt is a great spring alternative to an all black outfit. This is a look I would like to see more of instead of all black.
Great belts are statement pieces, especially when added to asymmetrical skirts, dresses  or pants.

The Jumpsuit:
Taking you away from the two piece suit is the 'Jumpsuit'. This look is flattering and stylish providing you find the one that works best on you. A vibrant colour jumpsuit in your wardrobe for spring will have your colleagues talking all season. A wider leg pant jumpsuit for work is best. Add a light jacket or cardigan to cover if need be. And again accessorise.

The Vest:
Wearing a vest over a soft silk blouse and pants can change a pant/blouse outfit into something special. Jackets in spring can be quite warm depending on the day, so the sleeveless vest is certainly a groovy in between season piece to add to your wardrobe. It is almost an accessory in itself. Notice again I have teamed it up with bold coloured wide leg and printed pants. (BTW, these fabulous printed pants are Diane Von Furstenberg).

The Midi Skirt:
It's not quite the maxi, and not the mini hence it is called the 'midi' skirt. I will admit, I have always been a fan outside of the trends, so it's nice to see so many out this season. To be daring and unique go for the gorgeous scenic printed skirts. I found these on chicwish. Wear it with a slightly fitted jacket or cardigan to show off your waist, and add a thin belt if you like. Brooches to lapels are still so underrated, would like to see more of them.
Many women still struggle to add lace to their every day wear and especially corporate wardrobe as they see it more as evening wear. A lace skirt or top displays femininity, luxuriousness and confidence. The way to play it down is to wear it with  wrap silk or jersey tops or a fitted jacket. As you have noticed I believe in mix and matching accessories to add some interest.

Blouses:
Printed blouses are divine with pants and interesting skirts for work. There is a great choice out there now to not have excuses of wearing boring v-neck jersey tops. If it is the first item to start with in jazzing up your wardrobe, then a printed soft blouse could be that. I am a fan of the silk flowing blouses as they don't bulk up and go well with pants or skirts.  As you can see in this photo, even with a ruffled skirt.

Dresses:
I can't stress enough how a wrap dress in your wardrobe is almost vital due to its versatility suiting almost every body shape. You do need to choose the style that works best on you. That could be the flared a-line skirt style or straight pencil look or kimono style or many others. These two gorgeous printed dresses from Diane Von Furstenburg are very different styles as you can see, yet both flattering and stylish for work. This season I suggest going for printed wrap dresses to add some pattern in your wardrobe. Leona Edmiston is another designer who has wonderful wrap style dresses.
The A-line dress is again another flattering style.  I do suggest to vary it a bit and go for interest with block colours, panelled sides and maybe some pleating. Peter Pilotto as seen above with the blue dress has a knack for transforming this style into something interesting that can easily worn at work. However it doesn't stop at him, you can find many interesting a-line dresses in most high street stores or on-line.
The pencil style dress doesn't have to be straight out plain. As seen here, the necklines and wrap styles are great. Add a thin belt or leave plain. Jazz up a bold colour dress with patterned shoes and handbags. There are some wonderful floral handbags out now for spring/summer.

I hope you have found some great tips on this post for your work-wear. With all of my posts, I could go on and on with many suggestions. It is hard when to say stop. 
As every woman is an individual with her own unique body shape, personality and requirements, I prefer to give you ideas and stylish looks rather than telling your what current trends to go for. It is more about the look. The style of the garments I place on my posts can be found in boutiques and on-line whether they are designer labels or not. 

Apart from the various designers and links I've added throughout my post, below are other websites I have sourced the items from for this post.
If you loved a particular item, and can't find it on the sites listed above, please don't hesitate to email me. I will let you know which site I sourced it from and the designers name.

NEWS: I have launched a new blog stylebygessica.com which focuses on fashion styles and tips. Many of the articles won't be posted on Obsessions.  
Obsessions will remain a lifestyle based blog with all things I love. Please be sure to subscribe to stylebygessica. I am sure you'll enjoy the variety of both. Wish me luck in keeping up with both! 

SPRING PROMOTION: During the months of October and November you receive a pair of gorgeous flower and swarovksi crystal drop earring valued at $50 or two bracelets of your choice (6mm semi-precious and/or 6mm swarovski neon bead bracelet with or without tassel valued at $65) by the talented accessories designer SoniaM Designs....If you book yourself in for:
  • spring wardrobe update or 
  • shopping trip, or
  • refer me to someone else or 
  • purchase a gift voucher 
I also have a corporate workshop promotion running. Upon booking a corporate styling workshop at your work during October and November(Melbourne only), you receive a complementary two-hour personal styling session with me. 

Please contact me with any details on both promotions and to receive a quote for a corporate workshop. 

I enjoy hearing from you with your feedback, so leave a comment or write to me personally on stylebygessica@gmail.com as many of you do.


Warm Regards
Happy Spring
Gessica