just. go. on. this. site

If you haven't been on Luxirare yet... JUST GO ON!

It will blow your mind!

~ Hurley Who?

Matthew Williamson Resort 2010 (Review)

I stumbled upon http://www.matthewwilliamson.com/collections.php when I was shopping at Net A Porter & found this gem (Spirograph pleated silk skirt £887.90)

I adore this piece because it's a beautiful eclectic mix of fluidity, gorgeous prints, an interesting texture and colours which give it a jewel effect. If only the fabric he used was fuller & a bit more lustrous - it would have been divine!

By-the-by, afterwards I checked out his Resort 2010 collection which is apparently inspired by the "DNA of his signature style" (PRLog). Given the statement I was quite disappointed overall with this collection because of the lack of continuity that emerged after the first five pieces which seemed to disrupt his work as a whole. Otherwise, I loved some of his beautiful prints (as per usual), the statement accessories & some drapery that was used.

(Images from style.com)

The first motif of the collection that he presented was the beautiful ombre that gave fabrics even more fluidity, contrasting with the strong nude statement shoes. Silhouettes were soft and made modern with volume created through pleats, draping and evenly-spaced tucks.

Although colour is definitely a strength of Williamson's, I found that his speckled use of contrasting brights among pastel and neutral hues shaped the Resort collection into being as diverse as it was disjunct. The orange-blue combinations just seemed too harsh in comparison with the kaleidoscopic, intricate prints that dominated his beautifully-styled outfits. Even the end of the collection, set up with a series of maxi dresses, seemed to lack the flamboyance and statement-ness that Williamson is most famous for.

What is note-worthy in this collection, however, are his more heavily-embellished accessories and continuum of brilliantly-designed fabrics. They give his outfits more strength as pieces themselves and a refreshing vibe that can only be provided from his technicoloured palette and eye for unique fabric treatments.

Overall I was impressed by some pieces, but didn't think that the order in which he presented his pieces worked for him as favourably as it could have been. My favourite? The first one (shown in the last image above) because it lets the fabric speak for itself =)

~Louis Tiffon

A shoe for today

Spotted two pairs of quite similar-looking shoes today, the heels from Zu ($150) & wedges from Betts ($110).

They look surprisingly comfy with the elastic idea they have going on & quite wearable because they're black, not too attention-striking & have just the right cross-over detail to make them interesting. I like the Zu one better though because the platform makes the shoe more proportional & balanced =)

~Louis Tiffon

PS If you wanted a free Shisheido mascara sample from Macquarie, they've already run out of stock, but you can try other places (voucher link)

Back by popular demand: Who's Reviews

PROLOGUE: Warning! This review is LONG. And I mean very very long. You can skip to the bottom if you like, but leave a comment!


The movie I am about to review is epic. So epic that I needed to call in backup. So I sought out many Eighth-Sters and Eighth St readers to help me with such a task. Here is my belated review for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.




I think that, overall, the later HP movies (ie. HP 4, 5, 6) have been thoroughly enjoyable. It’s satisfying for the movie-goer because it’s complex. Underneath that surface frivolity which you inevitably get during scenes of everyday (or not so everyday for ordinary muggles) life in Hogwarts there is the feeling of tension or unease which stems from the sense of foreboding: Voldemort will inevitably cause the breakdown of such happy scenes. And then comes the quasi-cathartic ending where Voldemort is warded off until the next school year and the joy of summer holidays masks the traumatic aftermath of having once again temporarily defeated the Dark Lord. Also, there is no denying that the magical world in HP books has been excellently crafted by JK Rowling. Not one detail escapes her mind; she has meticulously created an alternate universe in which readers or audiences can lose themselves. How kitch/stereotypical are flying brooms, McGonagall’s pointed witches’ hat and the cauldrons for potions? Yet how easily we forgive such stereotypes because Harry’s world is so damn good! Before I turn this into some psychoanalysis, I think I should get onto the actual movie. Ok here goes.


On the whole, I was pleasantly entertained. I laughed at the right moments, gasped in shock when I should have and got emotional when Dumbledore died (yes, we all knew it was coming but that didn’t detract from the raw emotionality of the scene). However, HP movies are for HP readers and fans. I don’t think that someone who didn’t read the sixth book could have easily followed the movie because there was too much cut out and too much information was assumed knowledge. But that’s ok because the whole world has read HP given how much moola JK has.




This movie has been called the “funniest” HP movie. While I agree that there were a lot more one-liners said in passing, the movie was not ‘funny’. Probably, the dark undertones had to be kept at bay by some sort of glossy, superficial coating otherwise younger viewers would have been too sad/depressed. In saying that, I thought the scary scenes in the movie were done excellently. The ‘Katie Bell’ scene, the ‘Weasley house is on fire’ scene and, of course, the cave scene were all very well done. They were true to the book (except the fire scene, which I thought was quite a smart addition) and also carried an extra menace which can probably be attributed to the visual effects (which were excellent of course). I think the visual effects did justice to the richness of the world which JK Rowling created - sometimes I just stared open-mouthed and amazed at the screen because they were so real/intense. So much better than Edward's crapola sparkle in Twilight. Guess it comes down to the budget/time-frame.


As for the flip side of the movie (ie. teenagers, love, relationships) I thought characters like Lavender Brown (who was totally wacko) and Cormac McLaggen (who was quite good looking despite the fact that he was supposed to be gross) were thrown in as token crazy characters. We could laugh at them and get a respite from the dark part of the story revolving around Malfoy/the blackened hand of Dumbledore/Bellatrix (who is played to perfection by Helena Bonham Carter). I was an 'original Dumbledore' supporter – the new Dumbledore was too short and just somehow not right... But this movie converted me. I felt Michael Gambon played Dumbledore extremely well with the right mix of good-humoured liveliness and serious authoritativeness. I have to say I was one sniff away from crying at the end of the movie where Harry is crouched over Dumbledore’s body crying and everyone raises their lighted wands… Sniffle sniffle… Oh, and also the terribly tragic scene where Harry force feeds Dumbledore the potion from the cave...

A hottie called Freddie Stroma aka. Cormac McLaggen... mmm... where was THIS in the movie?!

Young Voldemort was freaky as hell. Hero Fiennes-Tiffin, who is Ralph Fiennes’s nephew if you wanted to know, was sulky goodness. But the ‘older’ but Voldemort (Frank Dillane) was wierd. He had a deep mature voice with the looks of a twelve year old… I googled him and he’s apparently twenty-something years old. Must have been quite an effort for hair and make-up to make him look half his age.



As for Professor Slughorn, I thought he’d be slimier and less wide-eyed or weary. A bit more like Snape, a bit less like the stuttering Professor Quirrell in the first movie before he turned evil. (Am I making any sense?) But I love Jim Broadbent because he’s got that undeniable kind of adorable resigned, squashy-faced demeanour like when he played Bridget Jones’s father.


I have another qualm: Hermoine’s wardrobe. I know she’s a bookish character who probably cares more about Charms than her wardrobe (which gets me thinking: why do 'hotties' like Krum and McLaggen chase her if she's so nerdy?) but Emma Watson is a fashionista! I couldn't get a photo but try to cast your memories back to the last scene and remember her dowdy-coloured ¾ sleeve button-up shirt and bleak cardigan combo. While that scene was playing, I was wondering if, while Emma was climbing into that outfit, she was asking herself, ‘Why am I wearing this? I am the face of Burberry. I am apparently Karl Lagerfield’s muse. WHY?’


So what overall? This is where I called in some back-up. How do I condense a 2.5 hour movie into one single rating? No, that’s impossible. So I’m going to give you six different ratings so you get the diverse responses to the film:

C.L gives it a 6.5/10

Whitebread is less forgiving with a 4/10, citing the terrible ending (which I actually thought was tenderly poignant but oh well)

For the sake of protecting identities, I shall call this next person Draco Malfoy lover. She gives it a 9/10 (the one point is presumably taken off because there is not enough Draco though I thought this was the most Draco-focused movie out of them all)

Jester, a regular Eighth St commenter, gives it 7.5/10 but says it was too “transient” with “not a lot of substance” – can’t disagree but I guess this movie was really a tasty entrée for the next two movies

Cake Crusader, with whom I had the pleasure of watching the movie, gives it a 7/10 (because “Harry is too short” and doesn't mesh well with Ginny) but let me tell you that she was giggling at every scene when Harry and Ginny touched and bawling when Dumbledore died (sorry Cake for exposing that)

With all those comments in consideration, I’m giving the movie a square 7.5/10. It embodies the brand of HP which emerged in the fifth movie – darker, sort of funnier, more emphasis on teenagers but ultimately well-made (without American actors!!!) with amazing real-ish visual effects.


~ Hurley Who?



PS. Who actually made it to the end and read every word?!

Nooooooo!

Devastation. So most of you may not care/know about Archie and his perennial vacillitating between Betty and Veronica. But he finally chose! And the wrong person at that!

The cynic in me says the wedding won't even happen. Afterall, this is only part 1 out of 6. But then why is the title so misleadingly outright "Archie MARRIES Veronica"??

Also, ultimate nerd chic - archie bangles. I'd make my own, if i were brave enough to cut up literature :P

C.L.

retro hip

I have recently hit upon a massive genre previously untargeted for by my venom. It has been coined as shindie music, a contraction for the rather ostensible shit indie music. The stuff is everywhere unfortunately, I will post some examples when I find them. Sometimes, rarely, but it does happen, sometimes artists get signed for a reason. Because they are good. And sometimes some artists do not get signed for precisely the opposite. Because they are awful.

But in the meantime, we will listen to good music as decreed by yours truly, and we may pretend that this is Paris 1920s.

St Vincent - The Strangers


or not.

Radiohead - Nude


And just for fun.
Franz Ferdinand covering Womanizer, Britney Spears


[d.read]

Time flies when you're having fun

That's right, everyone. Eighth St is ONE YEAR OLD!!!

Well, actually we are one year and one month old. I wanted to post this one month ago to celebrate our official first birthday but I guess I never got around to it until now!

Anyway - I can't believe it has been one year already! Think of the things that have happened..... a recession.... a pandemic.... what will happen next year?!

~ Hurley Who?

respect

I have newfound respect for Lady Gaga:



and Kanye West..and Kid Cudi...and Common:

-  no name  -

home truth #10501

image: marc johns.

C.L.

Major shoe envy/obsessions

Jane Aldridge from Sea of Shoes has THE most amazing shoe collection for a person under 18 (she is 17). Louis and I have already agreed upon that fact. My favourite shoes are partially hidden but they are the grey Emanuel Ungaro strappy branch heels... the furthest on the left at the bottom on the main shelf (I confused myself when I wrote that). By the way, the picture by no means encompasses her entire collection. There are many, many, many more. Especially more boots which I presume are too large to fit into this photo. And all her shoes are designer. Dries Van Noten, Chanel, Miu Miu, Louboutin, Maison Martin Margiela, Stella McCartney.... No jokes.

Looking at that picture gives me relief from the pain in my head and my hand. :) That is all.

~ Hurley Who?

M.m.m.music

Here are some nice songs, in no particular order, which will either
a) drive you insane if you don't like them
or b) help keep one sane in the midst of Trials study/Trials

Lisa Mitchell - Coin Laundry
Australian Idol prejudices aside, Lisa Mitchell sings very pretty ditties (can't believed i just wrote ditties, ah well). Also, I quite like the video clip for this song (which may have something to do with the fact that it has johnny flynn in it!)



Laura Marling and Johnny Flynn - Travel Light

So Laura Marling needs no introduction (she's only 19! argh, I feel like I should be making more of my young life when I contemplate people like her), but Johnny Flynn may need some backgrounding...
Short bio: English, 25 (?), an actor, singer, songwriter, poet, graduated from the same school as Lily Allen and Patrick Woolf, part of the same nu-folk crowd as aforesaid L. Marling. very cute. yup.




The Middle East - Blood

sublime.



last but not least... token Scandanavian group

Marching Band - Travel in Time

C.L.

New Moon... again...

I was recently emailed this pic. The sender very wisely knew that it would make me laugh... Heee heeeheheheee

Giggles are the anaesthetic for getting through trials... :(

~ Hurley Who?