LIFE SMART CASUAL IN MILAN
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THE AUSTRALIAN, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2015 theaustralian.com.au/life
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THE BUZZ SOPHIE TEDMANSON
Christmas ’tis the season to be jolly, to loll at the beach and max out the credit card. And for designers to launch a festive capsule collection. On Monday Gwyneth Paltrow extended her lifestyle website Goop by launching a Goop Mkt pop-up store at New York’s Time Warner Centre. It included the valentinoxgoop collection, a 25piece capsule collection of apparel and accessories in partnership with Valentino that Gwyneth announced via a graffiti-backed Instagram pic. Closer to home on the same day, colourful caftan queen Camilla Franks unveiled a Christmas popup store in Sydney’s Queen Victoria Building. The temporary boutique will be home to Camilla’s lifestyle and Christmas Capsule collections, including keyrings, journals, luggage tags, clutches, eyemasks and tea, infused with Franks’s typical colour and flair.
Glynis Traill-Nash is away. Sophie Tedmanson is deputy editor of Vogue Australia.
BURBERRY BRIT SUIT & SNEAKER
SARTORIAL SUMMER In all their celebratory, summery glory, seasonal parties beckon. It’s the time of the year when invitations roll in for glorious poolside cocktails, Christmas drinks, work dos, weddings and garden parties, all promising a rollicking good time. But as the warm weather increases, anxiety over what to wear heats up. This is where the dress code helps out. Or does it? Take my recent encounters with nebulous dress codes on invitations: “gorgeous” and “dress up to get down” (both weddings), “black Friday” (office drinks) and “super yacht casual” for a party on the Mediterranean (I wasn’t invited, just begging to be a plus one). Add “black tie smart casual” to the mix and no wonder we’re dazed and confused. We need a new code to decode the code. Given our lack of royal balls, white tie is obsolete, so black tie is at the peak sartorial pyramid. It’s a rigid dress code, says etiquette expert Anna Musson of the Good Manners Company. “Gentlemen should never deviate from a uniform of single-breasted black dinner jacket with satin lapels and one button, white dress shirt (pleated with double cuffs and cufflinks), black silk socks, patent black shoes, black trousers with a silk stripe down the side of each leg and a hand-tied black silk bow tie.” Today, dapper gentlemen tend to shake things up. Tom Ford, king of contemporary suiting, leads the way with his windsor peak lapel dogtooth jacquard jackets and retro-print blazers. Credited with supplying Daniel Craig’s formal wardrobe in the current Bond film, Sceptre, which includes a white
tuxedo, Ford himself favours a midnight navy velvet dinner jacket with silk cummerbund. Blasphemous as it may be to tuxedo purists, it’s not just about breaking the rules, it’s about evolving, says Jeff Lack, stylist and author of men’s style guide Indulgent. “Black tie is as formal as you go, but … there is scope to add more personality to your ensemble by way of a different coloured blazer. If you go back 100 years to a party everyone would look the same. The same hemlines, the same hat, the same suit. Now we get to see real personality and interpretations, and I’m all for it. It’s about creating something with a bit more flavour.” Note: slim fit and well-tailored are non-negotiable. Cocktail attire can lean towards darker suits. A tie isn’t imperative, but, if inclined, a half or full windsor knot is preferable. Coming into summer, lighter weight suits are permissible but no separates are allowed. There is room to be expressive with fun socks or a patterned pocket square. On the contrary, lounge suit is more reserved. “It’s quite a funny one,” says Patrick Johnson owner of P. Johnson Tailors, whose own wedding invitation asked guests to dress in “summer best”. “In Australia, lounge suit essentially means wearing your business attire to a formal function, so it shouldn’t be too bright and colourful.” Think muted, block colours such as grey, taupe and navy. The lighter the colour, the less formal the occasion, so natural hues work well for daytime functions. Johnson says inject personality with modest accessories and fabric. “Look for a different cloth
It’s party time, so here’s how to navigate your way around men’s dress codes CARLI PHILIPS that’s darker or has more lustre or wear a pocket handkerchief or special FASHION tie.” Before panicking, consider the nature and location of the event. “Is it on the water, seaside or bayside? Is it a birthday or a fundraiser? There’s so many variations now that will make a difference to the sort of attire you can wear instead of just saying ‘cocktail’. All factors need to be considered. If unsure, it’s better to be overdressed than underdressed,” Lack says. The height of the sartorial silly season may well be the confusing smart casual. While its vague, neat-yet-relaxed suggestion is open to interpretation, the consensus is a crisp collared shirt, tidy pair of trousers and closed-toe shoes. Trousers and blazer needn’t match, and a checked or pastelcoloured sports coat is a great accompaniment to chinos. However, the jury is split on jeans. Johnson says it’s a no-no, Lack and Musson disagree. “Unless the invitation says otherwise, jeans are acceptable, but make sure they are smart and dark with no rips or tears,” Musson says. Nobody wants to be the odd one out, but Lack insists on the importance of individuality — within
GUCCI COCKTAIL ATTIRE
From green carpet to the rock ’n’ roll red carpet: the ARIA Awards tomorrow celebrate our local music industry. Fashionista eyes will be firmly on the feet of Jessica Mauboy, whose Melbourne Cup performance was scrapped because of a “miscommunication with her styling team” over a pair of heels supplied by corporate sponsor Myer’s rival David Jones, prompting the star to part ways with stylist Mikey Ayoubi. A spokeswoman for Mauboy told Buzz the singer hasn’t yet replaced her stylist and has been inundated with offers from local designers wanting to dress her for the ARIAs. Mauboy is scheduled to perform at the event. Buzz hopes the bubbly Can I Get A Moment? singer does finally get her moment on stage.
P. JOHNSON TAILORS BLACK TIE
Erdem has taken the Green Carpet Challenge. The label is the latest to create sustainable style for fashion events. Its collection during London fashion week in September was stunning and next week Net-a-Porter.com launches a four-piece Erdem GCC capsule collection made using sustainably certified materials, while still capturing Erdem’s classic femininity. The GCC was created by Livia Firth, via her Eco-Age consultancy. Designer Erdem Moralioglu’s collection was produced using silk yarn, free from harmful chemicals, naturally treated and woven in Italy. The pieces were digitally printed in Europe using inks free of hazardous chemicals. “I loved the idea of creating a collection that had a really human hand to it and wanted to create pieces that felt beautiful and special, and that challenged the common perception of ‘eco’ fashion,” Moralioglu tells Buzz. Firth, wife of the actor Colin Firth, says fashion “is a huge tool for change and it is incredibly empowering”. Her tips to create a more sustainable wardrobe: “Buy only pieces you truly love and know you are going to wear for a long time. Buying disposable and cheap fashion in the end costs so much more money.” Firth urges consumers to wear clothes a “minimum of 30 times” and join EcoErdem Alina dress Age’s #30wears campaign.
TOM FORD MODERN BLACK TIE
Congrats to fine jeweller Jordan Askill, yesterday named emerging accessory designer at the British Fashion Awards. The gong caps a stellar year for the talented Askill. “It’s such a lovely honour to be recognised and acknowledged for something that I have always dreamt about doing, Jordan and something that I am so Askill Triple passionate about,” Askill tells Buzz Star Ring from London during celebrations at the Chiltern Firehouse with model Poppy Delevingne. His collaboration with Georg Jensen features butterflies taking flight in oxidised silver while his Interlude: Remember Me collection has amulets of yellow and rose gold set with rose cut rock crystal, pink tourmaline and diamond pave. Based in New York, Askill hails from a talented Sydney band of brothers: siblings Daniel and Lorin Askill are both directors.
GIUSEPPE SANTAMARIA
Askill sparkles at UK fashion awards
reason. “Look for adventurous accessories that step outside the box but within the confines of the code, like fun cravats or Lanvin’s on-trend flower lapel pins.” Few can pull off a T-shirt under a blazer, but it looks contemporary and cool if done well. Musson advises caution. “It can look stylish, but be careful of looking sloppy. You can likely pull off the stubble look with this as well. If you’re over 40 and a bigger frame, it might be better to stick to the classics.” More about the socialising than the horses, polo attire is generally smart casual with a preppy twist. Layer it up with a tailored shirt and fun blazer offset with neutral trousers such as the cotton-twill offering from local label Jac and Jack. For something more subtle but still with an edge, you’ll score points in MJ Bale’s collection of beautiful weaves and charming designs in Prince of Wales checks and birdseye weaves to add panache. Trousers look a treat folded at the hem with a pair of Gucci Horsebit leather loafers. By the afternoon you see the world through rose-coloured glasses so on-trend polarised lenses or classic aviators are a must. Boutique One Point Seven Four has eyewatering options from Thom Browne, Dita, and Cutler and Gross. If you’re up for statement-making peacocking, go all out and match trousers and blazers. Calibre has bright palette colours such as imperial blue, sea-foam green and double-breasted red. It’s bold so don’t go down this route unless you have confidence. Be careful of veering into clownish.
Shoes play a significant role in all this, with its power to transform an entire look. “Shoes are invaluable when trying to fiddle with dress codes,” says Johnson. “If you’re travelling, white plimsolls can cover most dress codes and can be dressed up or down.” If going for the sneakers-and-suit combination, only clean and classic will do. Polished lace-ups or slip-ons from New York label Common Projects or white leather Adidas Stan Smith’s are foolproof. Just because it’s relaxed, the backyard barbecue isn’t a licence for laziness. Consider its nature, location and guest list. “If it’s a Christmas barbecue with coworkers at a smart residence in Bellevue Hill then chinos are probably more appropriate than jeans. It’s about being respectful, not just of the dress code but where it’s being held and the nature of the event,” Lack says. If in work company, no thongs or sandals. As the mercury rises, kneelength shorts are permissible but beware of revealing too much skin. Balance it out with a long-sleeved linen shirt paired with boat shoes. Off duty and among friends? Outlandish printed T-shirts and Vnecks should be avoided. Avoid singlets like the plague. Incu has a wide selection of cotton-linen colours from APC and T by Alexander Wang. Grey, white and black are foolproof, but this season heathered pastels, blue and khaki are hot to trot. No matter how casual the event, you’re always someone’s guest so dress accordingly. The party stops for no one, so make haste, get dressed and remember — good manners never go out of style.
The secrets of your baby’s first smile a key to their social development Grins offer a window into infants’ progress, researchers say MELINDA BECK
Once, baby’s first smiles were dismissed as “probably just gas”. Now, scientists know better. Infants’ ethereal grins provide a window into their development. And our responses to those enchanting goofy expressions can help program baby brains for a lifetime of social interactions. “If you’ve ever interacted with babies, you suspect that they’re up to something when they’re smiling,” says University of California,
San Diego scientist Javier Movel- sleeping is a mystery. “We ask lan. “They’re not just smiling ran- them and they don’t tell us,” says domly.” His team found babies Messinger, noting the Italian would smile just enough to saying sognando gli angeli, trigger a smile from their or “dreaming of angels”. mothers. Researchers have ruled HEALTH out gas; the physical imResearchers are wary of saying babies should pulse to smile, scientists smile by a certain age. “Parthink, comes from a primients just get worried. What’s tive part of the brain. Infants important is to be there, be calm with incomplete brain developand enjoy the moment,” says ment do it and it may be that the Daniel Messinger, a psychology impulse to smile isn’t yet wired professor at University of Miami. into thinking or feeling systems. Smiling declines with age as it comes under voluntary control. Spontaneous smiles The earliest smiles of newborns occur when they are sleeping, or drowsy and seemingly free of outside stimulus. What causes infants only a few hours old to smile while
Social smiles At about six weeks, infants smile in response to stimulus, first to familiar voices, then to faces.
Whether such smiles are deliberate or produced by changes in arousal is debateable. There are clear signs that between six weeks and six months smiles become increasingly responsive to social cues. Babies smile less when they are alone and more when with familiar people who also smile. Between two and six months, infants increasingly employ a socalled Duchenne smile — cheeks raised, eye muscles constricted — to respond to parents’ smiles, which researchers say indicates intense emotion. Smiles classified as strong — when the zygomatic muscles in the cheeks contract and lift the corners of babies’ lips — are a sign of positive engagement. The combination of a raised-cheek, curled-
lips and open-mouthed grin is the strongest expression of joy.
Anticipatory smiling
Smiles classified as strong are a sign of positive engagement
The developmental milestone known as anticipatory smiling was first described by Susan Jones at Indiana University in the 1990s, when babies eight to 12 months old would reliably smile in reaction to a toy, then turn to their mothers while still smiling. “They are smiling in anticipation of this shared moment,” Jones says. Subsequent studies found that babies who engaged in anticipatory smiling scored higher on communication skills at 30 months. “It may be that they are using a smile as a kind of social tool,” Jones says.
Laughing Of 11 identified types of adult clowning, such as blowing raspberries, most babies exhibit at least seven of them before their first birthday. But babies become sensitive to audience reactions. Sixmonth-olds laugh at odd sights even if no one else does, but sevenmonth-olds stop laughing if adults don’t join in. “You know those situations where you feel embarrassed laughing when nobody else is, so you put a lid on it. These seven-month-olds did the same thing,” psychology professor Gina Mireault says. “It shows they are tuned into the emotions of others and will adjust their emotional responses to match.” THE WALL STREET JOURNAL