Dedicated Follower of Fashion

DFOF TV: Davidoff Cool Water - An Interview with Paul Walker.

A few weeks ago a chauffeur driven Prius showed up at my humble abode to whisk me away to somewhere far less humble. An ocean view mansion in Malibu, complete with stunning infinity pool, champagne, massages, a live perfomance from Jacob Luttrel, good friends, Paul Walker, oh and Davidoff Cool Water.

It was a fairly surreal experience and a well needed relaxing afternoon. Above is our group interview with Paul Walker - I had every intention of editing it down, but honestly, he's such a fantastic story teller, from how he started acting, to his Natural Geographic series chasing Great White Sharks to his experiences with his charity in Haiti and Chile. It's well worth watching for the full twenty minutes (even though I'm well aware that goes a million miles over the internet video timing rules..) if just for his fantastic Anderson Cooper impression at the end.

Below are some photos from the whole experince. Thanks so much Davidoff Cool Water for the wonderful experience - Mr Style is now enjoying his giant bottle of Davidoff Cool Water!

Poolside Massages

The theme for the day was water - from all over the world - an impressive display!

Mmm.

What I Wore: Dress: 2b, Kimono Jacket: Forever 21, Purse: Courtesy of Fossil, Ballet Flats: Primark.

Myself and my fellow interviewers, Tiara and Jenny.

Kelsi Smith.

Sole Society! Week Two of the Giveaway!

It's week two of our Sole Society weekly shoe giveaway! Yay! To go with it I'm sharing this uber cutesy video I shot behind the scenes of our fashion insider shoot!

This week we're going to play it the Twitter way! To enter to win a pair of Sole Society shoes tweet:

"I'm a Sole Sister and I want to win a pair of shoes courtesy of @SoleSociety and @Stylesmith http://ow.ly/5C3v8"

You can enter once a day every day this week - you must be following both Stylesmith and Sole Society on Twitter. The contest will end on Friday at Midnight!

Good luck, and if you're not feeling very lucky - then I have some pre-made luck - you can get $10 off your first pair of shoes purchased from Sole Society by using the code: DEDICATED10 - you can join here.

Kelsi x

DFOF TV: Debbie Reynolds Collection - The Hollywood Auction

Debbie Reynolds, Hollywood actress and apparently hoarder, amassed a breathtaking collection of Hollywood costumes and props over the past 50 years. Unfortunately, no longer able to afford the tremendous cost of upkeep, Reynolds decided to put the collection up for auction. I was lucky enough to get to the Paley Center in Beverly Hills before it was all sold off and captured it all on video for you.

I'm honestly incredibly disappointed that they've gone to auction. Why were they not donated to a museum? Why didn't a museum purchase them? It's a very sad state of affairs, these costumes and props are a major part of Hollywood history and it's so sad to see them broken off and sold to the highest bidder, literally.

Hollywood means a great deal to me, for a variety of reasons, I'm a trained actress and was always fascinated by old Hollywood - in particular the costumes (which is likely why I ended up in fashion as opposed to on the stage - though the two go hand in hand) so being able to this collection in person was breathtaking. I was actually very moved by the whole process, and upon seeing the Cecil Beaton designed Ascot dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady - I actually cried.

The collection was sold off in parts last Saturday, with Marilyn Monroe's infamous white dress sold for a whopping 4.6 million, to an anonymous phone bidder. A large portion of the collection went to a bidder apparently representing a Japanese museum - another buyer, apparently a Saudi Prince. So it's safe to say we won't be seeing it together again anytime soon. As Randy Habercamp from the Academy said “It happened to the treasures of Greece. It happened to Italy. I guess now it’s our turn.”

I hope you enjoy the video - it's not the best quality - it was very busy - so I was avoiding the crowd constantly, and I've had to speed it up - the whole thing was almost 15 minutes long!! Later on I'll post some stills and more information on the items. In the meantime you can download the entire auction catalogue here, free of charge.

Kelsi x

DFOF TV: Going Ombre with Fred Segal Salon

As I mentioned last week, I spent a glorious day with expert stylist and colorist, Bethany, at Fred Segal Salon, getting my "ombre" (or "Hampton Highlights") on. Ombre hair is the trend for this summer - summer perfect, sun kissed hair that looks both chic and natural. The trend, according to Bethany, can be blamed on the economy - it's cheaper than a full head of highlights and much easier to upkeep.

I love it - Bethany's colour skills are amazing - I love the way she "pulled" the colour through my hair with her hands - creating these amazing natural gradients. Watch the video for the full scoop and the fantabulous results.

I LOVE!

Thanks so much Bethany and Fred Segal Salon for the best hair I've had in years - I feel so fancy! (full disclosure - this amazing transformation was courtesy of Fred Segal Salon)

Kelsi x

A Current Affair - Interview with David Zyla

David Zyla is an Emmy award winning Costume Designer who currently works on 'All My Children', he has an obvious flair for fashion, a love for vintage and is quite the charmer.

He has just released the book: 'Color Your Style' - a guide to finding your true colours (a book I shall be reading and reporting back on!)

I got to catch up with him at A Current Affair and ask some key questions regarding vintage + current fashion - above is the interview!

Kelsi x