月別アーカイブ: 2018年1月

As the women in Philippa Gregory’s historically based books illustrate, the battle to attain and retain power is an endless pursuit. Dressing in a powerful manner, as well as being powerful, was always hugely important.

A key aspect to milliner Laura Kinsella’s appeal is that her creations are regal and regal-making. Most of Laura’s work is for weddings, a significant day for all, be it for bride, sister, or mother of the groom.

“I love making women queens,” Laura says. “I don’t know if I intended on doing it with this collection, but I always end up doing it. I previously did a collection in straw, using the word for ‘queen’ in different languages.”

According to Laura, how the back of the head appears is as important as how the front looks. “Half the time, people are staring at the back of your head – at a wedding, at the races – so the back needs to be beautiful, too,” she advises.

Laura is someone I view as an artist. This collection, titled ‘Morphogenesis’, was born of her exploring the concept of change, evolution. “I was looking into creating something that was that bit more sustainable. As we can see in fashion, everything is changing. The whole seasonal thing has gone out of control – constant change, the constant producing of collections. And when it is over, it is considered waste.”

I have fallen in love with several of the pieces stylist Kieran Kilgallon had created for the shoot by Kyle Cheldon Barnett, an artist who creates paper sculptures.

“The shoot was all Kieran’s idea,” Laura explains. “He came up with the idea of creating paper garments; that way, we aren’t fixed into the idea of one season. If you use actual clothes, it becomes dated really fast. This way it is more open, more sustainable.

“I find creativity has become a double-edged sword. People are drawn in and fascinated when your pieces are more creative, more out-there. But it can also repel them,” she says. “This kind of work [on our pages today] has led to me being pigeonholed; people think that it is all I can do, and thus people don’t ask me to make different things for them. But I make some really nice fedoras and turbans as well!”

Last year, Laura set up The Dublin School of Millinery and now has other milliners teaching courses. “I set it up to see how it would go – and it has gone really well,” Laura tells me, clearly happy. “I love what I do. I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else. And that is the worst thing!”Read more at:cheap bridesmaid dresses | red bridesmaid dresses

There’s no doubt about it, paying for a wedding isn’t cheap. While the figures on the average wedding cost vary wildly – from a staggering $90,000 to around the $30,000 mark – Australians often need to rely on a bit of extra financial help from a personal loan or their credit card to make it down the aisle.

But, as many of the 100,000 plus Aussies who get hitched each year look to find ways to cut down costs for their big day, one increasingly popular trend is moving away from traditional affairs in favour of ‘microweddings’.

But just what is a microwedding?

Microweddings 101

A micro wedding is exactly what you think it is – an intimate ceremony, generally with far fewer guests than you would expect at a regular affair.

Of course the major benefit of a smaller ceremony lies in the opportunity splash out on all the the normal trimmings – amazing venue, decorations, food, drinks and of course a cake – all at a far lower price.

According to Dorothy Polka from website Polka Dot Bride, micro weddings tend to fall somewhere in between a traditional wedding ceremony and getting eloped.

“There’s so much societal pressure and a thought that you have to do things a certain way. But couples are finally starting to understand that they can do things whatever way they want and there are no rules,” she said in an interview with Mamamia.

“It’s grown in the last couple of years as couples become comfortable in really customising their own wedding days.

Breaking down the cost

There’s no doubt that given the average cost of a traditional wedding – for argument’s sake let’s say it’s in the region of $50,000 – a microwedding, with far fewer guests, is going to save you a significant amount.

According to the Mozo Personal Loans Repayment Calculator, a borrower looking to take out a $50,000 unsecured personal loan with the average rate in the Mozo database of 11.67% in order to pay for their wedding would fork out $16,234 in interest over a five year loan period.

Conversely, borrowing $10,000 to fund a microwedding would cost $3,247 in interest using the same loan rate over a five year period.

Whether you’re looking to fund the big wedding you’ve always wanted, or a smaller affair for your close friends and family, a low interest personal loan could be one way to give you a bit of extra financial help.

To compare 186 loans from 43 different lenders head over to the Mozo personal loan comparison hub, or check out some of these low interest personal loan deals below!Read more at:wedding dresses online | SheinDressAU

A good night sleep is just as important as eating healthy and exercising. Unfortunately, it is also one of the easiest things to forget to do. We are trying to do a million things each day and taking the time to get sleep seems like a waste, especially if it takes you a long time to fall asleep.

We all want to be beautiful and surprisingly, sleep is a big part of keeping our good looks up and keeping our body healthy.

Here are four tips to getting a good night’s rest and helping your body unwind from your busy life:

1. No phones before bed

At least 30 minutes before bed turn off your phone or at least don’t look at it.

According to Healthline, “Your body has a natural time-keeping clock known as your circadian rhythm. It affects your brain, body and hormones, helping you stay awake and telling your body when it’s time to sleep. Natural sunlight or bright light during the day helps keep your circadian rhythm healthy. This improves daytime energy, as well as nighttime sleep quality and duration.”

So when it’s time for bed you need to turn off bright lights to allow your hormones, body and brain know that it’s time for bed. Avoiding blue lights from your phone and tv before bed, will help keep your circadian rhythm healthy and allow you to get good sleep.

2. Start your day off right

Get into a routine. The National Sleep Foundation suggests that keeping a sleep schedule “helps to regulate your body’s clock and could help you fall asleep and stay asleep for the night.”

Routines are some of the hardest things to start so start small to start then build up. Pick either a time to wake up everyday or the same time to go to bed everyday. Do your best to stick to one. You will be amazed at how fast your body adjusts to the schedule and how much your sleep quality improves.

3. Exercise will only help no matter the time

Exercise helps regulate your body. Exercise regulates not only your weight but also your sleep habits. According to the National Sleep Foundation’s 2013 Sleep In America survey, “regular, vigorous exercisers reported getting the best sleep. The best news is that it doesn’t take much: Adding even just a few minutes of physical activity to your day can make a difference in your rest.”

Don’t worry about when you can exercise, as long as you do, your body will get better sleep each night.

4. Put your alarm clock away from you

The last thing you need to be doing is staring at the clock watching how long it takes you to fall asleep. Sometimes we lay awake thinking about the day or wondering what tomorrow will hold. Pondering is good for your brain to relax and think, but if you are staring at a clock while you do it, you will only be stressed out.

Anytime in your bed is important for your body, even if you don’t fall asleep instantly.

BONUS: Keep a pad of paper by your bed

Sometimes you sit and you can’t fall asleep because you have so many thoughts in your head. Write them down. This will help to clear your mind, allowing you to relax and fall asleep.

Sleep doesn’t always come easy to all of us, nor do we always feel like we have time to sleep. But, these four tips will help you get better, more restful sleep– helping you keep your body looking and feeling amazing!Read more at:wedding gowns perth | lace wedding dresses

Lucrative as a performance art and entertaining as a spectator sport, the game of show and tell is symptomatic of our times. More so this year when privacy got royally damned. US President Donald Trump’s Twitter-trigger presidency, Lady Diana’s personal disillusionments turned into public chronicles to memorialise 20 years of her passing, the mythically ideal ex-couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt ‘breaking their silence’ on their marital split or Indian actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui having to withdraw his memoir An Ordinary Life within days of its release because he hadn’t considered seeking the consent of the women he had intimately described; these are different expressions of similar compulsions. Compulsions that have been polished to professional perfection by those whose name combos include Kardashian, Jenner and West.

The bevy of the cool-hot, attention seeking K girls — Kim, Kylie, Kendall, Khloe, Kourtney — who wear controversy like couture; their diversity-chasing parents, their babies, butts, boyfriends, brands, bodyguards and spouses have been living a very (weary?) public life for a while now. They have aced publicity stunts, amassing millions of social media followers with image magnetism and manipulation. According to Forbes, Kim Kardarshian alone makes 300,000 dollars per sponsored post on Instagram. Even three years after an erotically oiled Kim balancing a champagne goblet on her butt broke the internet with a Paper magazine cover that nominated the Desirable Derriere as a worthy peer of The Big Boob, the collective and individual lives of K Inc roll with roaring success. Out there for the world to like, loathe or lash out at.

This past year has seen a surge in their influence. Despite so many celebs, half-celebs and non-celebs making millions in the business of brashness, a bunch of Kardashians remained among those in top recall. Kylie as the youngest on the Forbes 2017 list of highest paid celebs, Kim there too at number 47 and for the launch of her new brand KKW Beauty, Kendall for her controversial Pepsi ad, Kanye for returning to the music stage this November after almost a year, Kris Jenner for signing another deal that will keep Keeping Up with The Kardashians on TV through 2019 and Caitlyn (formerly Bruce) Jenner for becoming a strong voice on LGBT rights.

‘Kardashian’ is officially the surname of only some of these breathlessly popular people. Its branding derived from the title of the reality TV show that the family stars and wars in. But it is a fat industry metaphor now. In promotional skills, ‘Kardashian’ stands for being starry and stand-offish, hardcore, gilded, strategically self-interested. Even embattled and emotional. Who would forget the crazy publicity of Kim as a victim of an armed robbery in Paris last year and husband Kanye West being hospitalised for exhaustion or Kendall tearing up while talking about her Pepsi ad — contextualised around Black Lives Matter — that drew a lot of flak.

In style, the Kardashians direct an entire fashion and beauty lookbook. If Kim sells the tan and the pout as her personal statement as well as the promise of her beauty brand, Kanye manages an unsmiling countenance as a rapper-designer. Kendall is a brand ambassador for Adidas and a Victoria’s Secret model. But besides their endorsements, the Kardashians have their own fashion politics. Boobs without bras in tiny crop tops, slinky bodycons, provocative lace corsets, sheer vests with nipples free to smirk or smile, leather minis with bralets, fishnet stockings, snakeskin boots, cage heels, latex, leather, lingerie, lunches at Nobu in LA, children in tutu frocks and net stockings, late nights in New York pubs. A pair of ripped jeans Kim wore this year was captioned The Most Ripped Jeans by Glamour magazine, while Kylie’s selfie on her bed in a black mesh bra and fluorescent nails this September got billed as the Sexiest Selfie by The Sun. Shortest LBD, wet hair, nude lips, tallest denim boots, all that is K fare. Kim K bleached her eyebrows blonde for the Met Gala last year — calling herself a ‘blingy sexy robot’ and this year for the Balmain show in Paris, she wore a crocheted dress by the brand without any underwear.

The Kardashians push this formula even if it means being anti-trend. Kim’s unabated exhibitionism of her curves, nude-ish pregnancy images and appearances without underwear defy the normative beauty ideal, edging it towards a frothing-at-the-mouth sensuality that sometimes raises ire. In 2015, Refinery29, the American digital media and entertainment company, received a Change.org petition asking it ‘not to post articles about the Kardashians’. The portal ran an article explaining the relevance of the K brand.

K Inc is also relevant because of its commercial value. If Kim makes millions by democratising make-up across humanity’s diverse colour card with her new beauty brand KKW, Kylie Cosmetics that is now headed towards becoming a billion-dollar brand is intimately marketed by its founder’s puckered pouts, raunchy selfies and orchestrated confessions like the one to her therapist about her lip plumping due to personal insecurity on Life of Kylie, her solo reality show on E!

Besides an authorship on how to wear big butts, big boots, big boobs, big brands and big boyfriends in uncanny pairings, the Kardashian reality show airs in more than 160 countries. Besides beauty, they also own fashion brands — Kanye’s label Yeezy for instance. They have been on covers of a dozen glossies, have front-row seats wherever it matters and a 200 million-dollar revenue-making app called Kim Kardarshian: Hollywood.

But even all that money doesn’t dilute their ironical existence. Their fame and flamboyance are flanked by flaws. Materially, physically, psychologically, financially and fashionably, the family represents almost every nerve and crack of what is called a modern (American) life.

Consider this: a black rapper (Kanye), a new generation supermodel (Kylie), an Olympian gold medalist who chose a sex-reassignment surgery (Bruce became Caitlyn), a weight loss book called Strong Looks Better Naked (by Khloe K), divorce (Kris and Caitlyn, as well as Khloe are divorced), diabetes (Rob Kardarshian), drugs (Khloe’s ex-husband and NBA player Lamar Odom was caught in a drug overdose), basketball (Kendall is reportedly dating Blake Griffin, an NBA player) and cute, unconventionally named babies (North and Saint West). Where do you find so many variables sandwiched between two slices of bread — one called Jenner and the other Kardashian?

Or, as the New York Times put it in a 2015 profile of Kris Jenner, the self-declared mommager and architect of the Kardarshian brand: ‘The Kardashian/Jenner megacomplex…has not just invaded the culture but metastasised into it’.

The Kardashianisation of style is ostensibly about appearances but it has its roots in oversharing and overexposing. A style culturally unsuited to India where body display as well as personal revelations (and Nawazuddin Siddiqui may agree) are still at a half-virgin stage. In society and on social media, voyeurism and exhibitionism raise eyebrows. With ready-to-wear hypocrisy being our top trend, candid confessionals get labelled and shoved into jarring ghettos like the Bigg Boss show.

On the other hand, with their irrepressible posturing in beauty, fashion and passion, the Kardashians make privacy and the sparkle of individual mystery that authors lasting glamour, seem pointless.

The spectator then must decide what he or she should applaud and who he or she should emulate.Read more at:bridesmaid dresses australia | wedding dresses australia