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STYLE HIGH It's an enviable engagement. Blogger- cum-stylist Alyce Cowell gets paid to shop. The Westfield Insider was in Perth recently transforming women from all over the State stuck in a style-rut. Belinda Cipriano caught up with her to find out what fashionistas can expect from new season's collections. WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE CURRENTLY THE STRONGEST TRENDS? Well there are probably four main trends that we are seeing come through are shimmer and shine, lady-like, sixties and print-clash. Shimmer and shine is a lot of sequins, glitter and Lurex. a lot of people are quite scared of it because it is quite a night-time trend but we are showing people how to take it into daytime. So if you are more mature and you are a bit unsure and think it's more for night- clubbing introduce it by wearing it with a shoe or bag instead of say a dress. Lady-like has been around for a while now and it's pretty much the same lots of cinched in waists, full skirts, structured tops, pointy heels and box clutches. Sixties are the new era and in this trend you will find heaps of high neck- lines either mini hemlines or knee-length. I think sixties is great for more mature women because it's more of a boxy shape 18 SHEILA JULY 2012 so if you are an apple or pear shape, they're great and you can also wear them with opaques for work as well . The other big one is print-clash so that could be wearing floral pants with a striped top and it's kind of going against everything your mum taught you. There are ways to do it so it works – you can stick to the same colour palettes or add a printed scarf to a printed dress so it's not too crazy like the runways. WHAT ARE THE MUST HAVE ITEMS FOR THE SEASON? • a statement coat. sixties is probably the best style to steer towards. • a great pair of jeans - my favourites are Ultimates from Katies. • a really good pair of boots a knee-high riding boot or an ankle boot. • a hat - hats are my absolute favourite accessory and I want people to know that they're not necessarily a summer thing - they are very wintery too. • a great winter dress that you can wear season after season. WHAT IS YOUR FAILSAFE OUTFIT? That's a tough one and I think it sort of changes season after season because I change my mind so often. I would proba- bly say for any occasion – jeans, some heels, a t-shirt, blazer and a necklace always work. I think that whether you are going to a barbecue or bar it just always works you are never over- dressed or underdressed. HOW DO YOU THINK AUSTRALIAN FASHION COMPARES TO OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD? I actually think we are a stylish country. In Australia we are really creative, we put together our own outfits and really rock our personal style where I find that let's use America an example it is quite plain in what they wear - we are a lot more creative I think. SPRING/SUMMER TRENDS WHAT CAN WE EXPECT TO BE WEARING IN THE WARMER MONTHS? I'm enjoying neon and think we'll see heaps of it this summer. When it was around a few seasons ago, it was fluoro all over and I didn't like it and I think everybody was glad to see the back of it. Now I've noticed lots of neon touches like bags, shoes and accessories – a little splash of it looks great. I think we will see lots of colour - Australia just goes crazy for colour in summer and retro sixties in- spirations will probably still be in so think shift dresses without the opaques. FAVOURITE PERTH DESIGNERS: I love Aurelio Costarella, he is my number one. He is amazing. I've been lucky enough to see some of his parades in Melbourne and he is just awesome – you guys are so lucky to have him. NICOLE DUNCAN PHOTOGRAPHY