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Instant Goddess hits the FROW at ALY & RACHELLE and bids farewell to the 5:2 fast diet

Style & BeautyPost Category - Style & BeautyStyle & Beauty

ALY & RACHELLE 

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My highlights from the ALY & RACHELLE A/W 13 catwalk show held at 7 Heaven in LKF on 4 September 2013.

You may recall that we first came across ALY & RACHELLE earlier in the year with the preview of their fabulous S/S 13 collection. Instant Goddess is pleased to report that they’re BACK with a vengeance this season! They recently previewed their A/W ‘13 collection to a busy crowd at 7 Heaven in LKF, where we sipped on specially crafted ALY & RACHELLE cocktails and sniffed delicious Penhaligon’s fragrances while waiting for the show to begin. Then it was elbows at the ready to get the best spot to see the catwalk. Instant Goddess was – of courseF-ROW until the masses showed up with that same blatant disregard for the F-ROW as drivers have for zebra crossings in the Kong… tsk.

If you’re unfamiliar with ALY & RACHELLE it’s a homegrown super-stylish label, founded by the lovely Christine Lam. Instant Goddess loves the fact that they’re obviously here to stay, unlike some of the recent fly-by-night labels, appearing with much hype for a season, only to disappear off the radar. One thing is for sure about Christine – she’s not just playing at this; she’s driven and committed to provide sophisticated and beautiful collections every season without the hugely inflated price tags.

If you don’t already know the story behind the name, it’s about (fictional) twins – and how two people can look so similar but have totally distinct personalities and individual styles.

Aly is the slightly elder of the two twins, and she has the darker personality, favouring edgier, sexy looks; whereas Rachelle is the younger of the two, with a certain purity and innocence about her tending toward a more dreamy, feminine look. The theme runs throughout the collections – so can you spot whether it’s an ALY or a RACHELLE dress? And which sister are you? Edgy and sexy? Or pure and innocent? As for Instant Goddess, she’s not sure who she is today. It’s blog 74 and she’s feeling 74… plus there’s the small issue of Valium recently prescribed – and quickly rejected – for a nocturnal jaw-clenching habit (stress-related).

Still, there’s nothing that a shot of mighty retail therapy can’t fix... perhaps even a sore jaw? Here we go, onwards and upwards! 

My stand-out favourites:

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Left: Taswa dress, $2398 (this has a great racer back detail with exposed zip and gold trim. Seeing is believing – it’s GORGEOUS!); Top right: Jacqueline jacket, $2198 (this sharp tux jacket is a perfect evening cover-up when Hong Kong cools down) with Eve dress, $2798; Bottom right: Jenna jacket, $1998 with Belle dress, $1798.

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Left: Belle dress, $1798 with Jenna jacket, $1998 (a great winter wedding outfit if I’ve ever seen one!);
Top and bottom right: The Kai Coat, $5998 (remember statement coats are BIG this season).

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Left to right: if you’re looking for a party dress give these some serious consideration – Lauren dress, $2198; Eve dress, (prepare to dazzle and show-stop in this number) $2798; Hazel dress, (elegant and chic – need we say more?), $2168. 

Photo 5 ALYRACHELLE 5Left to right: Beth dress, $2698 and Eda dress, $3698. Instant Goddess had to show you these shots from the press campaign so you can really appreciate the detail of these dresses – remember leather is a MAJOR force to be reckoned with this season and all the better if you can work it into a bodice teamed with a contrasting softer material, as in the Eda dress above.

At the time of going to press, the A/W collection was not yet available to buy online at ALY & RACHELLE but watch this space as we’re sure it will be available very soon. Can’t wait? You can buy ALY & RACHELLE at their next pop-up shop event with Aroxta at Pure Restaurant on 8 October 2013. Alternatively, ALY & RACHELLE are launching a new personalised fitting service, where you can make an appointment and visit their showroom to try before you buy. Simply email ALY & RACHELLE on [email protected] to arrange an appointment, stating your normal dress size and they will provide two different sizes on the day to ensure you get the best size and fit. They accept credit cards and the showroom is open Monday to Friday with a weekend opening in the near future.

FASTING… over and out!

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If you’re one of my regular readers you will remember that I embarked on the 5:2 Diet over a month ago, and I promised to give you an update. After buying into all the hype and being so enthused about this wonder diet that the UK is going bananas about I have to admit that (shock horror!) I’ve been left disappointed. That said, I am willing to hold my hands up and admit that it’s probably my fault that it didn’t work for me.

The problem: I basically didn’t lose any weight (!) while doing the diet for a month, which, from reading the reviews is pretty rare – yes, it seems the Instant Goddess is a freak of nature!. The book says something along the lines of fast for 2 days, then eat well for 5. I think the crux of my problem was the “eat well for 5 days” bit, which I don’t think includes binge drinking… oh, and I started to eat more and more cake for some reason! I’m not usually a cake person but this diet had me tucking into a lot on the non-fast days. That, and it was making me miserable on the fast days… I was wishing my days away, so I decided I didn’t want to live my life like that as I love my food too much! So, the VERDICT: I’m quite happy with the weight that I’m at now, maintained with exercise 4 times a week (a mix of interval training and Pilates), and sticking to a low carb, high protein diet for the majority of the week… with a spot of binge drinking here and there! (I’m being honest, and the definition of binge drinking in the UK is a mere 3 glasses of wine!).

However, if you have a lot of weight to shift, I think this diet is still worth serious consideration as so many people have had such good results on it, and if it doesn’t work for you then so be it but at least you tried! Also, we shouldn’t forget the people with high cholesterol levels and other bad blood markers that have seen remarkable decreases in these levels. I also still agree with the main premise of the book that it’s good to give your body a rest from all that consumption every so often.

Midweek Meal Inspiration

So, it’s back to GLORIOUS food… what’s cooking this week, good-looking?

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Superhealthy Salmon Burgers from BBC’s Good Food, which weigh in at just 292 calories per serve, so are definitely to be embraced. The Instant Goddess does love a burger – and a fishcake for that matter – so when you get a cross between the two but lighter and healthier than either, then she really can’t help herself! These have an oriental twist – when in Rome and all that and they get a super duper 5* deluxe rating from all the willing cooks that have tried them. Fast? What fast?

Yogi tea saying of the week: “You have to have the bad to appreciate the good”.

Instant Goddess saying of the week: “Oust that Valium… the drugs don’t work!”

And remember Goddesses you are ALWAYS, ALWAYS worth it!

Until next week XX

more sassy mama

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