Chasing summer to the Whitsundays
With summer officially over in Sydney, I was thrilled to be invited to the Whitsundays for a long weekend as a guest of Tourism Queensland. Having never been further north than Brisbane, I couldn’t wait to experience what Far North Queensland had to offer. Since starting This Island Life, I’ve travelled the world in search ...
Pip Edwards’ top 15 summer looks on Instagram
If there’s one Bondi local that knows how to rock a killer summer look, it’s super stylist Pip Edwards. With her sun-kissed balayage, year-round tan and effortless style, she’s the poster girl for fashiony beach style. What we love about Pip is that she’s just at home in a pair of hi-tops on a BMX as she ...
The top 10 summer trends from MBFWA
The best thing about attending Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia is getting a sneak peek at what we’ll all be wearing next summer. So to help get you excited about warm weather fashion, we’ve curated our top 10 trends for spring summer 2013/2014 here in Australia. 1. Cobalt Blue This electric shade of blue was on ...
MBFWA: Day Five
The last day of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia (MBFWA) was far less hectic than the beginning of the week, with the New Generation show being the main drawcard for us. With seven up-and-coming designers showcasing their collections, we were excited to see what this new crop of fashion designers had in store. While all of the collections ...
MBFWA: Day Four
There’s a reason why fashion folk wear sunglasses inside and on day four it became abundantly clear. After three nights of blogging into the wee hours of the morning, I had no choice but to work the wanker look I’ve always mocked. Luckily, there was a bunch of great shows on the schedule to keep ...
MBFWA: Day Three
We kicked day three off with Alice McCall, where the designer showcased one of her best collections to date. With an ocean theme it was the perfect prelude to We Are Handsome’s fun and playful collection of bikinis and boardies. There must have been something in the water, because they weren’t the only ones channeling ...
MBFWA: Day Two
With Ginger & Smart on in the morning and Maticevski in the afternoon, the A-listers were out in force today. The rain put a damper on our street style shots, but the beautiful fashion on the runway made up for it. Our photographer Lizi was back in the photograher pit, battling it out with some ...
MBFWA: Day One
The opening day of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia 2013 went off without a hitch. We got there just in time to see our fashion favourites Pip Edwards and Nicole Warne (aka Gary Pepper) arrive. Camilla and Marc celebrated their 10th anniversary by opening the event, Bec & Bridge backed-up last year’s success with another solid collection, and swimwear ...
First look at new Zimmermann
Summer may officially be over in Australia, but that hasn’t stopped swimwear label Zimmermann from doing what they do best. They’ve released an exclusive sneak peek at their Summer Swim 2013/2014 collection and once again it’s nothing short of spectacular. Shot by Derek Henderson in the Australian countryside, the campaign features fresh-faced model Gabby Westbrook-Patrick in ...
Tropical fruit from Bolivia to Australia
If you haven’t been to the Amazon in Bolivia, you’ve probably never heard of an Achacha. Until recently, this delicious tropical fruit wasn’t available outside of South America. But a bunch of Aussies saw the potential in the unique fruit a few years back and started an Achacha plantation in Burdekin, North Queensland. The Achacha ...
Lara Bingle’s top 10 summer looks on Instagram
One of our favourite people to follow on Instagram is Lara Bingle. When she’s not hanging around Bondi, you’ll find her sunning herself on a beach in Mexico or surfing with her posse in Byron Bay. Whatever she’s doing, you can be guaranteed she’s doing it in style. A big supporter of Australian fashion, Lara ...
Hottest Summer Trends: The Overall Shorts
Just when you thought you’d outgrown the bib and brace, overall shorts are back offering one of the coolest laid-back looks around. Pop one on over a bikini and ride your cruiser down to the beach, or layer them up with leather accessories and work some serious street style. We’re not surprised that Australian fashion ...
Our Australia Day beach party
For the first time in forever, we didn’t set foot on Bondi Beach for Australia Day. We headed to Rose Bay Beach and hit up the first annual Australia Day Lilo Raft-up Party. With the weather looking precarious, we didn’t know what to expect of this debut event. But the storm clouds cleared and over ...
Mister Zimi opens in North Bondi
Looking for somewhere to spend your hard-earned Christmas dollars? Bali-based label Mister Zimi have opened their first Sydney boutique just up the road from our headquarters in North Bondi. Started by Melbourne designers Zoe and Jim Paul, the label has marked its arrival with a resort collection titled ‘Utopia’. Shot amongst the lush surrounds of Ubud ...
Hottest Summer Trends: Sports Luxe Swim
If runway fashion has taught us anything this year, it’s that the sports luxe trend is going to be huge this summer. Neoprene dresses, silk hoodies, loose jersey pants, high-top trainers, racer back vests and mesh made their presence known at leading fashion weeks around the world, with the look quickly finding its way to ...
Chambord know how to party
A few months ago we asked you to send in your best summer photo for the chance to win a cocktail party from Chambord. Sydney-based model Rachel Gill won for her great shot of Fiji, and her and her genetically-blessed friends partied the night away with a fabulous Chambord hosted party. It may have been ...
Summer in Hawaii
On our way back home to Sydney, we added some serious island life into our itinerary with a week in Hawaii. We split our time between Maui and Oahu, and discovered that Hawaii is like no other place in the world. Palm-fringed beaches with world-class surf breaks hug a coastline that wraps some of the ...
Europe’s hottest destination
Australians love to follow each other around the world. Anyone lucky enough to experience the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Oktoberfest in Munich or Tomorrowland in Belgium will know exactly what I am talking about. Every year, an army of twenty-something Australians band together and cross the globe in search of the ultimate party. Last year ...
Europe, here we come!
We’re super excited to announce that this week we’ll be following the summer to Eastern Europe with Contiki. With the cold weather setting in over Sydney, we thought we’d chase the warm weather somewhere different this year with an adventure to Budapest, Vienna and Prague. Because we’ve only got a week, we called on Contiki ...
Rocka Beach Lounge – Búzios, Brazil
Located in Búzios, the Saint Tropez of South America and my all time favourite holiday destination, is one of the most perfect beachside bars in the world. Perched high on a cliff overlooking a horseshoe bay and the heavy surf of Praia Brava is Rocka Beach Lounge. Run by the Santiago Bebbiano, the Justin Hemmes ...
Maurie & Eve Summer Sale
We don’t leave Bondi at 7am on a Saturday morning after having zero sleep for just any fashion sale – but then again, Maurie & Eve aren’t your average label. After making our annual pilgrimage to Mona Vale, we entered their studio to find racks and racks of their past two collections at 50 bucks ...
