Fashion Editors raced around Auckland city in the rain to spend $400 in an hour’s shopping challenge; dropped off by taxi and converged upon the Gin Room like something from The Amazing Race, only in heels…
Fashion Editors raced around Auckland city in the rain to spend $400 in an hour’s shopping challenge yesterday, racing against each other, and against the clock.
The shopping challenge was to launch the inaugural Fashion in the BIG Little City event for the public, to take place on 3rd March 2012.
On the 3rd March, there will be a myriad of retailer promotions, special discounts and gifts with purchase, fashion shows, spot prizes, and even four awards – for the best-dressed man, woman, casual chic, and child – to be spotted on the streets by roving photographers.
But today, we had a dressing-up of a different kind. We got dropped off by taxi and converged upon the Gin Room like something from The Amazing Race, only in heels.
Colin Mathura-Jeffree greeted us at The Gin Room with info packs outlining our shopping challenge: to buy an outfit that represents the season’s styles in one of the colours given from the Resene colour chart.
I chose the teal blue – Resene Optimist – and optimistically set off along High Street just before 3pm armed with my map and coin purse, to buy from at least four stores and bring back the garments and change to The Nathan Club in Britomart by 4pm.
So, what did I buy?
I got this gorgeous pure silk dress at STORM and the polyster patterned scarf at Supre, a black stretch knit under-slip from Farmers, and teal blue faux suede wedges and a satchel and avaitors from Cotton On. Altogether I had only $8.10 change from the $400. I decided to invest in a quality dress as the anchor piece and then buy chain store accessories and shoes with the remaining money.
The look I was going for was Carnaby Street in 1960s London; so my tongue-in-cheek inspiration was "Bianca Jagger and Diane von Furstenberg if they were into colour-blocking."
My surprise purchase in the city would be these accessories at Trade Aid; they have such a nice selection of jewellery I didn’t know existed and very reasonably priced, too ($12.99 each) and of course sustainably traded.
After getting our lipstick done at M.A.C Britomart to match our colour selection, it was on to the judging. I am wearing Lady Danger lipstick to go with the orange in my dress.
The judging panel: Gemma from Fuse PR, Jane from BIG Little City, and Colin Mathura-Jeffree. Now I know how those New Zealand’s Next Top Model contestants feel.
The fashion editors line up with our purchases in bags, and hear we are to run off and put our newly procured glad rags on ourselves and model them!
…and after the Big Reveal.
That’s me second from the left. By no means was I the best-dressed but the judges liked my inspiration and story and I won the shopping challenge and am going to be enjoying a relaxing three hours at East Day Spa sometime soon.
You too can be a winner, with the inaugural Fashion in the BIG Little City event on 3rd March. Read about it on Thread.co.nz here and on their website at www.biglittlecity.co.nz
By Megan Robinson, 15 February 2012.
Leave a Reply