Bastille Day!

Well it's Champagne Friday again and this week it has been Champagne Wednesday, Thursday and Friday! Wednesday was of course Bastille Day and being lovers of all things French (especially Champagne!) we thought it was a great excuse to celebrate! Amongst the guests, I had the lovely Natasha Burns. Natasha is a talented artist who has a fabulous blog that you can see here.
I was lucky enough to have some beautiful photos taken of the event by Natasha which she will be posting on her blog soon...stay tuned.

In the meantime, here are a few photos of our cupcakes. Of course we featured the Champagne Cupcake and Parisian flags that I have been working on in my last posts.

Champagne  cupcakes

Marie Antoinette cupcakes (featuring fairy floss 'wig')

'Cocoa Chanel' (Chocolate) and 'La Vie en Rose' (Rose) flavor cupcakes

Thursday the celebrations continued and a group of us braved the Melbourne winter and ventured out for another Bastille Day event at  'Red Bennies'. It was fab! I never realized there were so many French people in Melbourne! With conversations happening in French all around us and the cool sounds of the Martini Sisters (you can listen to them here) It really felt like we had been transported to a cool Paris Jazz club.

 

The invitation for the evening encouraged fancy dress, amongst the costume choices were the Jazz age and the Moulin Rouge , so I jumped at the chance to get my feathers out!

 

Emma of Fleurage and I,  Heather of Trouve accessories and husband Julian

Gabor and Julian share a laugh

In honor of the fantastic performance last night by the Martini Sisters, I thought what better cocktail to drink than a classic Martini?

Martini

Martini glass

3 ice cubes

2 pitted green olives

2 teaspoons dry vermouth

1 1/2 Cups cracked ice

3 ounces chilled top quality gin, such as Bombay sapphire or Tanqueray

1.Rinse a martini glass with cold water, fill with ice cubes and place in freezer for 5-10 minutes to chill completely.

2.Meanwhile,spear the olives with a toothpick. Pour the vermouth into a small saucer. Add the olives and turn several times to coat with the vermouth. Let stand for 5 minutes.

3.Fill a cocktail shaker with the cracked ice. Drain the vermouth from the olives and add it to the shaker. Then add the gin. With a long handled bar spoon, stir very gently to chill, about 15 times in a clockwise direction. Or just swirl the gin shaker until chilled. Either way, work quickly so the ice doesn't melt and dilute the gin.

4. Remove the glass from the freezer and discard the ice cubes. Set the speared olives in the martini glass. Strain the gin over the olives and serve.

Recipe taken from 'Highballs High Heels'- A girl's guide to the art of cocktails. by Karen Brooks,

Gideon Bosker and Reed Darmon. Published by Barnes & Noble

Chitra's Closet (featuring Trouve accessories) - "The Cat's Meow"

(Images from fashionising.com...please visit this blog for more photos from the parade)

On Friday night, my good friend Heather Davies and I ventured over to the other side of town to Sydney rd Brunswick to see a fabulous fashion parade. Entitled, "The Cat's Meow" the show featured the 2010 Winter Collection of Melbourne label, "Chitra's Closet". I had worked with Melbourne designer Chitra on her parades in the past and this time it was fun to go along purely as an audience member to just enjoy the show.  Knowing the stress and hustle and bustle that goes on backstage, it was amazing to see the show from the front of house delivered with complete perfection, with no knowledge of the usual wardrobe dramas that go on behind the scenes..misplaced gloves, shoes that don't fit and hats that fall off !

The show was especially exciting for Heather as it featured her range of accessories, "Trouve accessories" a business that she began only a few months ago. This was the catwalk debut for Trouve and the range was a hit! The quirky, vintage inspired designs teamed beautifully with Chitra's forties inspired pieces. As you can see the look was glamorous yet not overly 'frilly'. Pieces that are superb as styled here and teamed together with complimenting items from the range, but pieces that have so much character that they would look great teamed with denim or wardrobe staples such as black pants.

We are already proudly stocking a range of limited edition Trouve pieces in store at Fanantique and are very excited to announce that we will be introducing some selected pieces from Chitra's Closet into the boutique too! We think that her classic, yet quirky style will compliment our vintage pieces superbly.
While there is nothing more fabulous than finding a gorgeous vintage piece, there is nothing more frustrating than finding that it doesn't fit!!! Chitra's garments are renowned for their great fit and flattering shapes...so we can't wait to get the range in store!

Images are all from 'fashionising.com'.

Trouve accessories by Heather

We are very proud and excited to be the first shop to be stocking the beautiful range of Trouve accessories. The pieces are all handmade by the very talented Heather Davies, who explains the inspiration behind her range.
"Trouve has been my avenue for exploring old worlds- creating a line of accessories that express my fascination for historical themes, French and English motifs and femininity.

These hand crafted accessories have been designed to incorporate historical motifs and decorative embellishments with a contemporary edge.
Feminine ribbons, candy stripes and vintage imagery contribute to statement pieces- including brooches and wooden bangles.
All accessories have been handcrafted using a variety of mixed media and collage techniques to create unique and individual pieces.

French textiles and English historical motifs have inspired this small collection, which can be casually worn with a fitted t-shirt, or create a bold statement worn with a vintage jacket.