Each year, Jeanswest collaborates with some top Australian designers to bring out a range of t-shirts, with a portion of sales going to charity.

And 2010 is no different - this year it’s Hussy, Nicola Finetti, Toni Maticevski and Bec & Bridge joining the range.

Each t-shirt is only $29.99 and $10 goes to Pink Ribbon Day for breast cancer research, so you know it’s a great cause.

My favourite from the range is the Hussy tee, pictured here.

By Caroline Warnes

Australian designer fashion fans, rejoice - clothing hire site Dressed Up is selling off some of its old stock.

The Dressed Up sale has some pretty frocks from the likes of Nicola Finetti and Wayne Cooper on sale for a fraction of their RRP (plus free shipping).

My favourite is this White Suede dress, which is marked down to $100 from $320 (I am currently trying to talk myself out of buying it).

The sale ends at 5pm tomorrow.

By Caroline Warnes

This one is coming a little bit late for New Year’s Eve parties, but you should keep it in mind if you have any events coming up in the new year.

A few of us here in the Lasoo office recently discovered online designer dress hire site Dressed Up, which lets you hire party dresses from some of Australia’s top designers for a fraction of their retail price.

I know I said in the past that hiring designer bags and shoes has a little bit of the bogans about it, I think hiring designer dresses for an event makes perfect economic sense. When I buy a special dress for an event, I always tend to wear it only a few times before it outlives its usefulness - whether I’ve paid $500 or $50 for it. Bags and shoes on the other hand are meant to be used on a weekly if not daily basis, so hiring them does NOT make sense. It’s the old cost-per-wear ratio.

Anyhow, Dressed Up has dresses from the likes of Wayne Cooper, Nicola Finetti, Camilla, Illionaire, Manning Cartell, Natasha Gan and more. The frock is delivered to you in a cute little package, you get to keep it for a week then you send it back in the supplied satchel.

Plus you can buy some of the “gently worn” hire dresses once they’re retired from the site’s rotation. If you’re lucky you’ll find something that’s never been worn at all, but is still reduced to clear. I’ve been eyeing off this Camilla Riviera dress and plan to buy it if it drops in price any further.

By Caroline Warnes

Australia’s premiere fashion event, Rosemount Australian Fashion Week, begins today at Sydney’s Overseas Passenger Terminal.

Yes, this is the week when Australia’s fashion designers, models, buyers, media and other assorted pretentious fashion types with weird geometrical haircuts come together to watch the upcoming spring/summer 09/10 collections, air kiss and drink lots of wine. Fun!

Although the event has been scaled back somewhat this year, thanks to some some sort of financial crisis we’re apparently having, it’s still expected to be a full week with the likes of Ginger & Smart, Nicola Finetti (pictured), Wayne Cooper, Manning Cartell, Zimmerman and Aurelio Costarella all showing. The week opens this morning with Camilla and Marc and one highlight is expected to be the Kirrily Johnston show on Wednesday evening - internationally acclaimed Australian model Alyssa Sutherland is walking exclusively for the designer.

I’m also looking forward to checking out some of the smaller, up-and-coming designers throughout the week.

I’ll be dragging my lazy bones into RAFW as soon as I can get my act together.

By Caroline Warnes

You may or may not be aware that you no longer need to be a gazillionaire or a dedicated vintage shopper in order to carry a designer handbag or wear designer shoes.

In the last few years a number of online services have popped up that let you hire designer goods for a moderate fee, usually by the month but sometimes also by the week.

The Australian version of this is Love Me and Leave Me, which rents out bags, shoes, jewellery and other accessories from international designers including Chanel, Balenciaga and Christian Louboutin, as well as local designers like Alice McCall and Nicola Finetti.

While I can see the appeal in being able to get the look of a Miu Miu handbag for much less than the $1500+ asking price (how hot is the Miu Miu tote pictured here), I am not entirely sure it’s worth the $100 per week or $200 per month rental fee.

Luxury goods are called luxury goods for a reason: they are a LUXURY. In other words, if you can’t afford it, don’t carry it. There are plenty of decent and affordable handbags around that are a better option for the majority of us.

Having owned a grand total of three designer handbags in my life - a Fendi baguette, Christian Dior saddlebag and Balenciaga city bag - back in the days when I thought such things mattered, I can tell you the real satisfaction in the whole process lies in saving up for weeks then going into the store and walking out knowing that this stupidly overpriced item is now yours forever. Where is the fun in having to return it after a week?

All that being said, I have to say that the thrill of a designer handbag gets old very quickly, and soon it’s just another piece of junk in your wardrobe. I actually gave two of mine away, and now I carry a perfectly nice bag I found for $85 at a generic handbag shop.

While I can see this being a great idea for certain situations - for example, renting a pair of shoes for your wedding - for the most part I think renting a luxury bag online for a week is a little bit bogan.

By Caroline Warnes

After Monday’s brush with short short hemlines at Nicola Finetti I was beginning to despair for the coming spring/summer season.

Now I am no prude but personally I am not amongst those who want to get their gams out on public display constantly during the warmer months - give me a hemline at the mid-thigh and below any day.

Thankfully, there was a tendency towards hemlines from the mid-thigh to just above the knee at today’s ready-to-wear show, which showcases smaller and emerging designers.

I was especially impressed with the the pieces from Verduci-Smith. Many of them were loose, caftan- or Grecian-inspired dresses that would be perfect for a night out after a day at the beach in summer (such as the one above).

By Caroline Warnes

I’ve always been a big fan of Nicola Finetti’s clothes so was excited to be going to the runway showing of his new collection at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week (RAFW), which started yesterday in Sydney.

However I have to say I was left somewhat disappointed by this new collection - there was really nothing that stood out to me in the show, with the exception of the large orange clutch pictured here (there was also an oversized black version).

The hemlines were mainly short - a little too short for my liking (although this was a spring/summer collection so short hemlines were to be expected) - and the colours were a little uninspired (mainly sea blues and greens, silvers and blacks and whites). Finetti also sent a number of little black dresses down the runway, which usually get me excited, but there was nothing in this bunch that really caught my eye. Ditto on the sea of of little white dresses he presented us with.

However this orange clutch was a definite standout and is on my must-have list…

Celebrity sightings (for those who are into that kind of thing)…

One of The Veronicas (don’t ask me which one) looking painfully thin

Megan Gale flanked by security guards

Dannii Minogue basking in the attention of photographers (you can tell she loves being photographed)

Actress Miranda Otto in the front row at Nicola Finetti

Model Miranda Kerr looking gorgeous front row at Kirrily Johnston. Yep, she is just as beautiful in real life.

One general observation…

Some young fashion types turned up in the shortest of short skirts and sky high heels. Yes, I know it’s a fashion event, but how uncomfortable must they have been? Sydney barely reach 18 degrees on the day and there’s an awful lot of standing and walking around involved. I nearly died in my (only moderately) high heels, nevermind the cold. It will be flat shoes for the rest of the week for me.

By Caroline Warnes

I have this annoying compulsion that makes me buy a new dress for each of my birthdays. Even when I don’t need one. Particularly when I don’t need one.

That may not seem all that annoying to you, but trust me, it can be very frustrating when you spend $200 or more on something you only wear once. Even more frustrating is when your only birthday outing with the new dress is to your local pub or to a friend’s house.

That being said, my birthday is coming up in three weeks so once again I am on the hunt for a new dress. Well, why not? It can be my birthday present to myself.

Myer has become my favourite department store for women’s fashion in recent times and I’m salivating over the latest fashion range, especially the dresses (though maybe it’s more to do with the fact that Jennifer Hawkins is wearing most of them in the catalogue. She looks good in anything. In fact, she could wear a burlap sack and I’d probably consider buying it).

I’ve always wanted a Nicola Finetti dress, and the strapless number pictured here is pretty hot - not to mention it’s in my favourite colour, too. Although there are likely numerous better uses for my $309, at this point, well, I don’t really care. Though perhaps it may not be the best idea to hit the town in the same dress that Hawko wore in a national print advertisement as I could be setting myself up for a fall. Hmmm…

Moving on, I’m also a fan of the Cooper St satin dress in steel blue. On the plus side, it’s more affordable at $119, however on the minus side, satin can be the most unforgiving of fabrics.

You can see more of Myer’s latest fashions here.

In other news, Myer is currently clearing the quit stock from its recent stocktake sales. There isn’t heaps of stuff left to choose from, but you may chance a bargain find on women’s shoes and other items.

And the electrical sale is still on until February 18 - click here to see the full catalogue.

By Caroline Warnes

Up until recent times, David Jones used to be my favourite department store for clothing and accessories.

It used to boast the best range of local Australian designers as well as an unbeatable range of international footwear labels.

However recently Myer has really stepped up to the plate and has since taken over from DJs as my favourite place for clothes shopping, particularly when it comes to local designers.

Myer also recently made several exciting announcements, which should cement the department store giant as my favourite shopping mecca. The biggest of these is the news that Myer will now stock Australian label Mad Cortes, having scooped the rights to stock it off David Jones. Mad Cortes is billed as offering pieces that are “edgy and sophisticated”, including a range of knitwear and tailored pieces. Mad Cortes will be available in eight of Myer’s city stores around the country. Pictured here is a look from the label’s Spring/Summer ‘07 collection.

Other big launches due early in 2008 include the diffusion labels by local Australasian designers Karen Walker and Nicola Finetti, known as Hi There and Nylon Flocks respectively. Each offers more affordable interpretations of the designers’ main lines.

On the international front, Myer has also announced it will stock Moschino Cheap and Chic, Theory and Paule Ka.

Myer is also promising further announcements in the near future… so stay tuned. I can’t wait for next year’s big Myer sales!