A day with Minkpink X Lipault! I was recently invited to participate in the Minkpink X Lipault blogger challenge that could see me wining a trip around the world and Lipault luggage! Today I styled the Chloe Tied Top and hit the beaches of Aldinga rocking my favourite piece of the current MINK PINK collection for the Mink Pink X LipaultBlogger Challenge!

Everything about the Minkpink aesthetic is brave, wild and free. Designed for the girl who likes to play with her style, who mixes trends and follows the beat of her own drum! I'm super excited about Minkpink teaming up with Lipault for this giveaway! I think the two would make the perfect travel accessories!!!

For me, I remember first discovering Minkpink at 16 years old in a friends boutique in the small country town I grew up in. I had always loved fashion, and minkpink made fashion accessible for me. It was affordable, and had a unique design aesthetic in its use of fabrics, prints and cuts. From my first pieces at 16years old to a growing collection at 24, I still have pieces in my wardrobe today from all those years ago that I just can't part with, such as a velvet tassel mini skirt that I still wear!

Be sure to search #MINKPINKXLIPAULT for all of the other entries

Look: 'Meeko dress' from billieclothing.com
Earrings Luv AJ

I was recently interviewed by Clique Mag on all things blogger! For the full interview go to http://cliquemag.com.au/article/bloggers-on-walls-jssirite/

Look: Dress by Zimmermann Shoes by Bardot Jewellry by Luv AJ

Bell sleeve tops are fun to wear with shorts, pencil skirts, and your favourite pair of jeans. And they’re on the fashion forecast for 2016!
Just months after flared jeans made a reappearance on the streets , voluminous sleeves are also having a moment.
This look is all about tops and dresses with sleeves of the statement making fluted variety. It's a look that's super easy to recreate thanks to a number of styles on their way into stores now!
If you're looking to invest: Ellery
If you're looking to dabble: Keepsake the Label

With summer well and truly here, chances are you're already deep into your bikini haul of summer 2016! I've got news for you, if you think you've already got your go-to sets sorted, you're about to fall in love with the newbie of swimwear -same swim! These are the bathers you're about to see all over instagram! Recently donned by Hailey Balwdwin, Tash Oakley and Kendall Jenner , these super cute bikinis are pricey! Staring at $240 for the tops (yes you read correctly, thats not including bottoms)

To shop the range yourself, before it sells out,  head to sameswim.com

After three sellout years in a row Honda Presents: A Night of Fashion at the Art Gallery returned as the latest addition to the 2015 Adelaide Fashion Festival program.

A Night of Fashion at the Art Gallery showcased a stellar collection of leading designers within the distinguished Elder Wing at the Art Gallery of South Australia. The breath taking 80-metre runway spanning the length of the gallery saw models from Adelaide’s leading agencies Pride and Finesse strut their stuff in new season designs from both familiar names and new designers. The parade exhibited designs from Carla Zampatti, Bianca Spender, new Adelaide-based label Acler and Australian Fashion Label’s latest addition TY-LR.  Designs from milliner Suzy O’Rourke complemented the looks on the night in a timely nod to Racing season that is upon us! 

The event also featured menswear collections from Jack London, Calibre and Rhodes & Beckett.

On the catwalk guest were treated to a show of strong shilouttes, modern tailoring and time-less cuts. Each label uniquely explored the concept of the contemporary woman. Crepe was prominent and neck detailing was pronounced across the labels. Attendees were introduced to TY-LR for its first feature in Adelaide Fashion Festival. TY-LR is Australian Fashion Labels most sophisticated offering yet. Sharply tailored separates in clean silhouettes and luxe fabrics make the labels aesthetic which is designed to target the career woman.

This strong aesthetic was a perfect complement to the boxy structured cuts of Carla Zampatti. Zampatti explored yellow crepe, floral brocade and splashes of Dahlia ( Pink), creating a fresh burst to her signature cuts. Looks included structured shoulders, crepe cuff pants and geometric gowns. The classic Carla cuts we have all grown to love -in colour! 

Bianca Spender was a stand out on the night. Recently named by W Magazine as a 'Designer to Watch', Spender was also nominated for the 2015/16 International Woolmark Prize, one of fashion's most prestigious awards. Designs from Spenders SS15 range “the Rite of Spring” were showcased on the night. Spender is previously quoted as saying she designs for “the strong woman who cares about detail” and this was ever evident in the strong looks showcased on the ANOF catwalk. Tones included hues of green “blue” and head-to-toe ivory looks. 

After the catwalk, guests were treated to fine wine, beers and special cocktails by The Collins Bar and deserts by Cotto Espresso.

The entire night was perfectly recapitulated in the words of Charlotte Chambers of Clique Magazine, "it is truly a place and event where we can say that art meets fashion.” Definitely one to pencil into the diary for next year! 

Click through to Clique Mag for more photos of the night and a sneak peak backstage Cliquemag.com.au

If you follow me on instagram you would know I've been testing out this teeth whitening kit for Hismileteeth.com so I wanted to follow up with a quick blog post instead of bombarding your feeds with my teeth selfies! 

This is the first time I've used a whitening kit with a blue light on my teeth and I was pleasantly surprised with the results!

How the kit works: 
The kit is really simple to use! The starter kit comes with application pens and a mouth guard for application. All you have to do is put the gel into the mouth guard and hit the light button to begin! Then its just a matter or waiting. The mouth guard has a timer so it will automatically turn off when time is up! Once done, clean the mouth guard and rinse your mouth. Repeat for 6 days. 

My teeth are definitely whiter and brighter thanks to Hi Smile! I found the kit really easy to use especially with the in built timer and that after the third application my teeth really started to look clean and super white! I will be interesting to see how they hold up over the next couple of months but I know if I need a touch up I can easily order refills from the Hi Smile website! 
​You can shop the whitening kits for yourself here

I know I usually use this platform to sell you trends and link you to the fashion pieces I've been dreaming about but I wanted to talk shop with you about something I am really passionate about; social media marketing. Mainly because I find the topic really interesting, but also because as a consumer, its important you understand the difference between product placement, and trends in fashion. For those that don't know I have recently undertaken a second degree at university in Marketing. I love social media, I love advertising and I especially love combining the two! This is new avenue for marketing and it's exciting. Opening a new window of opportunity for brands, trends and consumers to interact with each other. 

If you are on social media of any kind (Facebook, twitter, instagram) then you would have seen this. Influencers, celebrities, girls in bikinis with lots of followers promoting products they have been 'gifted' by companies. If you follow me on instagram (@jssirite) then you will know I post a lot of sponsored posts to my account. I am often asked how this works, how I am contacted and if I am paid for the posts, so I wanted to fill you in! In the hope of providing a better understanding of how this all works and how to identify product placement in your feed!  

This year Calvin Klein unveiled the “Show yours. #mycalvins” campaign for its Calvin Klein Underwear division – via proxy. It was a first for the 45 year-old company, one that is known for its tightly-controlled corporate image and slick marketing campaigns that adhere to the in-house mantra of clean, modern, sexy, classic. The campaign was kicked off via a single Instagram "selfie" taken by Miranda Kerr, who isposing in a grey T-shirt and a pair of jeans with the fly open to reveal a pair of white Calvin Klein Underwear knickers. Posted to her 4.2million Instagram fans, it was captioned  "<3 my new Calvin's #mycalvins #ad .An avalanche of similar  portraits were subsequently posted to Instagram by more than 200 hand-picked “Influencers” from 25 countries. Campaign participants included celebrity names such as Miley Cyrus, Nicole Richie, Fergie, Iggy Azalea, Kendall Jenner, Trey Songzs, Vanessa Hudgens and Cody Simpson. This doesn't include the countless number of bloggers and influencers who jumped on board. 

The company is calling it an "unprecedented success". According to Calvin Klein the #mycalvins campaign reached 200million fans worldwide via Calvin Klein’s own social media accounts and the Influencer posts and generated six million fan interactions. The most “liked” post was generated by Kendall Jenner (1million+). It was recently revealed by FELLT Industry that Calvin Klein Inc now devotes nearly a quarter of its marketing budget to digital, with social media Influencers playing an increasingly important role. 

What followed exceeded Calvin Klein's marketing expectations, thousands of unpaid users jumped onto the advertising campaign, uploading photos to their own accounts wearing their own CK underwear with the hashtag #mycalvins. The campaign had successfully transitioned from a clever marketing ploy into an instant trend, taking social media by storm.

Are Calvin Klein the only company doing this? no. I'm sure you've seen the Skinny Me Tea and Triangle Swimwear ( just to name two) campaigns all over Instagram. Companies are regularly selecting 'influencers' to send products to in exchange for posts. Influences are usually selected by their following count and audience interactions (likes and comments). Also the content of a persons Instagram highly dictates what products they might be sent. Most brands like to target two market streams; 1. celebrities or highly popular accounts with a strong following (50k + followers) and 2. local influences; people with 10k+ followers and strong audience interactions. How much the influencer is paid depends on the influencer. Some accounts have set fee's. Some accounts post for free in exchange for products and other accounts (like myself) use a combination of both. In terms of the CK campaign, one blogger who was involved with the campaign told FELLT Industry they were paid US$7500 for their single #mycalvins post on Instagram and said others had told them they received US$10,000 for their posts. Why do some influencers charge a fee and others don't? 
Some influences are better-known than others, and it can depend on the expenses of posting and what is required by the companies. Needless to say a big name fashion model such as Kerr would not be participating in any kind of Calvin Klein campaign for even US$10,000 per post. A single instagram post from Ms Kerr is reportedly between US$50,000-100,000.

In terms of what is required of the influencer, each product is different. Some companies I have worked with are easy, they leave the contents and timing of the post up to me and just ask that I post a photo of the product to my Instagram tagging the company in the post. Other companies however have more requirements. A company I recently negotiated with required several posts, the first within a 7 day time period of receiving the product. I wasn't paid for the posts, however I was allowed to chose whatever I liked from their website to photograph and keep. Other requirement have varied from asking for the pictures to be taken against a white wall to what captions I use. A company I have recently signed on with doesn't even require me to post, they will gift me with product monthly and it will be optional as to weather I want to promote them on my platforms. 

From my personal experience, each company is different and I use my discretion to choose which companies I want to work with! I want my feed to be a combination of authentic posts and product placements that I am passionate about. I like to support brands that I like and I think my followers would enjoy (yes I have turned down all skinny tea-tox offers to date haha). I think marketing and product placement on social media is most successful when the influencer generally enjoys the product they are promoting so I always self-check before I say yes! 

As a marketing student, understanding and learning about what my audience wants is forever fascinating to me. By understanding  this I can generate the most benefit for the companies I am working for and the audience following my posts.  Eventually I hope to make a career from what I have learnt about the art of social media advertising and one day, maybe, be the brains behind a campaign like #mycalvins. 

I don't think theres much I need to write here to convince you that you need white shirt dress, the pictures say it all! But for those of you that still need convincing I've quickly summarised my argument in dot points below, mainly because I am supposed to be working on a university assignment, but also because I believe the perks of owning a white shirt dress speak for themselves.  

Pro's of owning a white shirt dress

• Its the perfect transeasonal piece
  
• Easily layered with leather pieces for winter
  
• Effortlessly cool paired with wedges and aviators in summer
  
• It will take you from day to night
  
• Its timeless and age-less! 
• Perfect for any body shape; focus on length and emphasising the waist for your best shape
• Can be cinged (not sure if real word or not)  at the waist with a belt (thin belts are best) or you can leave it unbelted 
• There something super sexy about wearing an oversized shirt (trust me on this, men find this look strangely alluring) 
  
• Easy to chuck on in a rush and easily restyled with different accessories for a new look each time
  
• Travels well; this is on my essential travel pieces list (blog post to come) 
  
•  Looks amazing with a summer tan
  

Con's of owning a white shirt dress

• There are none. 
  

I've always been terrible at maths, but this is one formula I am determined to master. A University of North Carolina study has attempted to create a formula (of sorts) behind what it takes to look fashionable by looking at the link between colour co-ordination and fashionableness. They considered two extreme ways of dressing - matched, and clashing. They asked 239 men and women to judge colour combinations in men's and women's clothing based on how much they liked it, how good it was, and how fashionable they considered it to be. The result found that "maximum fashionableness" is achieved when outfits are "neither too co-ordinated nor too different." For laymen, it means that an outfit is considered fashionable when it hits the sweet spot between being matched and clashing - the "Goldilocks principle" of being just right. 

It's easier said than done! In honour of those who got it right, I've put together a post of my favourite everyday outfit inspos!

Unlike the Isabel Marant take over of 2014, 2015 is all about the flat soled sort of sneaker you could actually jog around the block in. Credit needs to be given to the creators of this trend, to the women who wore it before they probably should have! Sneakers paired with street wear surely started on the feet of city living office ladies who were willing to sacrifice their appearance in order to get to work without blisters in the morning! I swore I would never, neeeever be one of them but I have to admit defeat on this one, because hey if Burberry are doing it, I'm not going to argue! I haven't felt comfortable opting into it as yet, however I was once at Melbourne zoo and saw a young girl wearing her nike free runs with black cropped skinnies, an oversized white tee and a puffer vest. I have to admit it look pretty good, and I think I might attempted something similar for uni this winter! 

With the party season upon us I have been looking to top up my wardrobe with some new pieces that can take me from christmas day to new years night! One trend I am eager to test out is the culotte! I've decided to invest in a black high waisted pair. I wanted to spend minimally on this piece and headed to asos.com -they have plenty of options! To pull off this cropped silhouette I've taken my cue from Lily Aldridge who paired hers with a minimal midriff top! I think this keeps the look sleek and sexy, because lets face-it the culottes doesn't naturally scream attractive! Keep an eye on my instagram page over the next few weeks to see my take on this trend in action! 

Click here to start shopping 

I'm in the middle of a purchase dilemma.
 I've fallen in love with the Senso Riley IV all thanks to the above image! 

But I'm torn between colours! Practical black that I know I will wear everyday? 
Or refreshing white that will fit in with a pastel summer wardrobe! 
I know the obvious solution is to buy both, but being the poor uni student that I am I'm going to have to settle for one pair
*sigh*

I constantly find myself in this predicament!
Torn between the practical and the 'ohh but red leather looks so pretty' decision. 
I try to keep my wardrobe to neutrals, especially as Im still a student 
(who has to reluctantly spend all her money on textbooks) 
I pride myself on making smart investments that will last me more than one season! I find that everything wears better in black or white anyway. You can't tell how new season (or really really reeeeeaally last season) it is and nobody really notices when you wear it over and over again! 

With that said, I think I'm going to go for the white 
...knowing I'll be back to buy the black in a few weeks when I convince myself how practical two pairs will be haha! 

To purchase a pair for yourself (and one for me to please) head to senso.com.au or use the direct links below! 
PURCHASE black RILEY IV HERE            PURCHASE white RILEY IV HERE

After Chanels's spring show 2014 we've been seeing pearls everywhere, the bigger the better! 
They've been given a modern make-over!  With the oversized 'pearl' necklaces (and matching rings and bracelets) shown for Spring 2014 -the giant jewels have already managed to cover Vogue Italia January worn by Julia Nobis, Vogue Australia January on Jessica Hart and Harpers Bazaar UK February, worn by Chanel spokesgirl Keira Knightley. 
Most recently my favourite LB graced Elle Australia in Ryan Storer pearls!! 

In terms of Spring / Summer jewellery trends - This is going to be a big one!