Behind the scenes: Penelope Red Autumn Photo Shoot

The photo shoot for the Penelope Red Autumn Collection took place on Monday. The photos in this post are not the professional photos, but shots that my friend, Melissa, and I took as the day progressed.

Above: Lucy wears the Spinx Orange Blouse with the Olive Hathor Pencil Pants. Vintage jewellery.

The fabulous Cleopatra inspired make up was created by Lucy Topp, and the Gustav Klimt inspired hair was styled by Chris Lau.

We were very lucky that The Wine Odyssey, the Rocks, Sydney, were kind enough to open their doors to us. The Wine Odyssey's back drop was the perfect setting for my Gustav Klimt and Egyptian costume inspired designs.




Above, Bryn the photographer is showing Mariene (right) and I (left) what shot is working and what isn't. I am wearing the Asymmetric Blue Sakhmet Blouse. Mariene is wearing the Olive Silk and Antique Lace Mermaids Dress.



Above, Mariene is wearing a hat created by Raisa (another designer from The Rocks Markets). Monica is wearing the Asymmetric Black Silk Emilie Blouse and a necklace (worn as head piece) by Shirley Ogilvie-Gearin.



Isn't the backdrop just stunning?! Leave it to the Wine Odyssey to provide it for us! Above, Mariene is wearing the Adele Kimono. Hat designed and created by Raisa.



Above, Lucy making sure Monica's make up is flawless! Such a professional!




Above, one of the shots that I particularly love!


Chris Lau adjusting Monica's hair... and she is wearing the Cleopatra Deco Sequinned Top- which took hours and hours of hand sewing the lace on!

Win a Penelope Red Top! A Competition!

Introducing an exciting competition to start off 2011!

I decided to hold this competition because as I was creating the latest Autumn 2011 competition, I started to question what I should name it... and I couldn't think of anything!

Since I have a network of Penelope Red supporters, and I had been thinking of holding a competition for a while, I thought this was the perfect opportunity!

I need help naming the new Autumn Collection, and in return, the winner will be given ONE of the following new Penelope Red tops:



The Black and White Zebra Alexander Blouse (above) or the Adele Multi-coloured Halter Top (below- and it was featured in the blog posting before this one).



Details of the Competition:
Aim: To name the new Penelope Red Autumn Collection for 2011.

Hints: Keep in mind the theme of it being a Gustav Klimt and Egyptian Costume inspired range. I also like to try to have either "Penelope" or "Red" included in the name. To keep the website with the same theme, the name should be something like: "The ......Collection"

I am also planning the photo shoot to be taken in a dinner party setting... so lots of ideas, and I am hoping someone will come up with a great name!

Win: The Winner will be able to choose one of the designs pictured above, The Adele Halter Top or the Alexander Blouse.

Rules: The winner will be judged entirely on the name for the range they choose. You can enter as many times as you want until a name is chosen from the entries by myself.

You must be on the mailing list or a Penelope Red facebook follower to enter into the competition.


To Enter the Competition: just send your nominated range name to designer@penelopered.com.au or comment on the Penelope Red facebook page here.

Once I have picked a winning range name, I will contact the winner via email to confirm thier postal address and size, etc. Postal fees (excluding customs if going Overseas) will be paid by Penelope Red.

Competition closes 20th March 2011

I wish everyone the best of luck in the competition!

Autumn 2011 Inspiration

Oh, how I love Gustav Klimt's paintings! Such decadence and over the top decoration- no wonder I love it! I guess I truly became a massive fan once I visited Vienna, and viewed the real thing! The detail and beauty of these paintings do not show up in the photos. Read about my visit to Vienna here.



Ever since I was in high school, I have been intrigued by the mythical and cultural aspects of Ancient History; Egypt in particular. I love their Hieroglyphics (and I still wish I could read them), I love the ancient stories, and the mystery of this foreign and ancient culture.



So... without further ado, I wanted to share with you the first little sneak peak into what I am thinking for the Penelope Red Autumn 2011 Collection. I will fuse the idea of Egyptian costume, with the beautiful paintings of Gustav Klimt!

Above, Portrait of Emilie Floge by Gustav Klimt

To me, I feel like the Klimt paintings actually already have an Egyptian influence... for instance, the painting below: Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer 1

... take a look at the detail in her skirt... note the hieroglyphic-like eyes!



Above, Water Snakes 1 by Gustav Klimt


And of course, as I was researching Egyptian costume, I couldn't go past the costumes and styling used in Elizabeth Taylor's, "Cleopatra". Ok, so I know they are not historically accurate, but I think they are a perfect of example of how a modern interpretation of costume can be achieved.









Now it is my job to create designs inspired by all of this, while still making them functional for my customers to wear! It won't be easy... but it will certainly be FUN!

City Snapshot: Vienna

Quite a few years ago, I visited Vienna, in Austria. I was only there for two nights (unfortunately), but the city had a lasting impression on me- so far my favourite city in Europe!



One of the reasons why I love Vienna so much is because I love the Schonbrunn Palace- until I saw the Neuschwanstein Castle, near Munich, Schonbrunn Palace was my favourite Palace/Castle I had ever seen (and this included all the Palace's in Russia as well).

The photos above and below of the interior of the Schonbrunn Palace are not my own. They are from the palace website: http://www.schoenbrunn.at/en/home.html



The Palace website is well worth a look to find out more information about each room, the royal family that once lived there, and you can even view a 360 degree video of each room.



However, as much as photos and videos can capture images, there is nothing like standing inside the actual room. The above room is the Millions Room, named this because the magnificent decoration allegedly cost one million gold pieces! I wouldn't be surprised by this either.

Each room in this palace has its own theme, and its own look. I was in awe of the craftsmanship; such detail and beauty- it is hard to forget that all of this was made such a long time ago! If I could, I would decorate my whole house in this style... I love over the top, ornate detail. My husband the opposite- minimalist.



Even if you don't like the wall and ceiling decorations, anyone can appreciate the effort it takes to make a parquetry floor... take a look at the above and below photos- amazing aren't they. Imagine how long it would've taken to do this! Imagine the effort, expertise and work involved...



...Now take a look at the below photo, and the floor in this. Yes, that is again parquetry. Amazing isn't it!? How did they do it?


The above room is probably one of my favourites, The Chinese Cabinets. Everything about this room is simply stunning, and I love Oriental and Chinese art.


Below is the outside of the Schonbrunn Palace. I visited Vienna in the end of March, when it was still quite cold, and Europe was celebrating Easter- which is great time to go. I notice no one celebrates Easter like Europeans do! They had a lovely market out the front of the Palace- I wish I had've bought more there. They had amazing cookies too!



While in Vienna, I attended the opera; a great experience!




St.Stephen's Cathedral- I remember this cathedral especially as it was situated in the exact middle of the city, howver, mainly because of the amazing mosaic tiled roof.







The Belvedere Palace houses the beautiful Gustav Klimt collection- where I truly fell in love with Gustav Klimt paintings. Again, the detail is amazing in real life- something you just don't recognise in prints, no matter how good the reproduction is.


Above, Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss" and below "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I"


Vienna is city of great food, amazing culture- a slight mixture of east meets west as they have a Hungarian influence, stunning art and architecture, and friendly people. Surprisingly, it was one of the cheaper cities to visit as well. Definitely worth the detour to get there!