The thought of buying clothes alongside my fruit and veg at my local supermarket isn’t exactly inspiring. Broccoli, check. Tampons, check. Toothpaste, check. A new swimsuit, check. Hardly lust-worthy is it?
However — and this is a big however coming from someone who loves shopping at high-end boutiques, with their scented candles burning, the quiet and luxurious changing rooms and lovely sales assistants — Coles (yes the supermarket) has launched an Australian first in fashion that I actually can’t wait to get my hands on.
Bringing fashion to the grocery aisles, Coles is launching an exclusive collection of clothing and accessories to be sold in selected supermarkets from tomorrow.
They are calling it MIX, every single item will be under $40 (t-shirts are priced at $8, swimsuits at $25 and cute summer dresses at $30), and the pieces are, well, adorable.
Designer Joseph Mimran (formerly of Club Monaco) has got it spot on, with his classic colour palettes, quirky prints and beautifully cut basics.
My favourite pieces from the collection are the mixed print pyjamas, cute reversible bucket hats, a sleeveless safari dress that would make even Lauren Hutton proud and a cute burgundy throw-on dress that will easily become my summer staple.
The range will be regularly refreshed every two weeks throughout the season, perfect for regular Coles shoppers who want something new to choose from with every supermarket trip.
And once choices have been made (which at these prices, choosing won’t really be a problem), you simply add your selection to your trolley and pay for the pieces together with your cornflakes and milk.
From now on I just need to make sure I don’t forget the actual groceries.
Your say: Will you buy clothes while you’re doing the grocery shopping?
Ita Buttrose. Photography by Hugh Stewart, styling by Judith Cook.
Forty years after she opened women’s eyes to sex, careers and a naked Jack Thompson, a television drama has made Ita Buttrose famous for a new generation. Jordan Baker talks to Ita about love, motherhood and her amazing career.
Australia’s queen of etiquette faced a quandary of her own one morning many years ago, when she opened her 17-year-old son’s bedroom door to find a girl sleeping in his bed.
As founder of Cleo, she knew more than most about sex, but as a mother and one-time Australian Women’s Weekly editor, she was squeamish.
“I said to my daughter, ‘What do I say?’ ” Ita remembers. “She said, ‘How about good morning?’ “
Pity the poor girl who emerged to a cheery good morning from Ita Buttrose, publishing pioneer, businesswoman and one of the country’s most recognisable faces.
“Ben probably didn’t tell her who his mother was,” says Ita, laughing. “Anyway, etiquette prevailed. It’s not what happened in my day, but it’s not my day anymore. It’s a different day.”
This ability to adapt to a changing world and, in some cases, drive that change, has been central to Ita’s extraordinary career.
From running the country’s biggest-selling magazine to leading the fight against AIDS, she has been a feature of Australian public life for more than 40 years.
In recent years, many thought her star had faded, but they underestimated Ita Buttrose.
At age 69, she is having a revival. For this, Ita can thank the ABC TV series Paper Giants, which charted her role in the launch of Cleo and introduced her to a new generation of women.
The response has been “phenomenal”, Ita says. “They didn’t realise what it was like or how much we achieved.
“What Paper Giants did was establish what it was like being a woman in the 1970s and share what it was like when women’s liberation came along, and how we all thought, ‘Wow, this is fantastic’. We started to encourage women to challenge the status quo.”
On the day of our interview, she warmly welcomes me into her lounge room, decorated with a white leather lounge and piles of novels.
Soon, we are laughing over anecdotes about her early days in journalism.
Ita makes tea as I ask her views on young women’s skimpy outfits (“I think the girls yearn for glamour”), cosmetic surgery (she denies having any, but doesn’t judge those who do) and women’s reluctance to self-promote (“I’ve had to encourage women more than blokes”).
Her children, Kate and Ben, are an architect and an academic respectively, and her grandchildren occupy any spare time.
As for love, Ita says she has not been in a relationship since her second marriage ended when she was 40, so she is used to and happy with life as a single woman.
“I don’t feel sorry for myself in any way,” she says. “You can’t just go out on the street and lasso a bloke. If it’s not meant to be, I accept it’s not meant to be. I’ve had two husbands and loved them both. Maybe that’s all fate had in store for me.
“I think it’s highly unlikely [I’ll meet someone]. It’s not number one on my list. Can you imagine if I went out looking on RSVP? They’d think it was a joke. But you never say never. Life takes you by surprise all the time.”
While there have been so many achievements, Ita doesn’t hesitate when asked her proudest.
“My kids,” she says. “I can look at them now and see how well they have turned out, and I’m pretty proud of them. Can you be in the public eye and raise children successfully? Yes, you can. I am proof of this.
“If your career is that important to you, it won’t suffer. You shouldn’t sacrifice motherhood for your job.”
Read more of this story in the September issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly.
Comedy kings Hamish Blake and Andy Lee finally look set to make the transition from radio stars to successful TV funnymen. Bryce Corbett caught up with the boys in New York for a chat about radio, TV and their enduring friendship.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before … Two men walk into a bar. One is a science geek — a hyperactive, perma-peppy ball of wit and enthusiasm — the other is a straight-A student with an overactive imagination, a keen sense of the absurd and matinee-idol looks.
They are both 19 years old, both studying commerce at Melbourne University and they have only just met.
They hit it off so well, they decide to skip lectures to sit in the Union bar, drink and write comedy sketches for a TV show that exists only in their imagination.
Ten years later, they find themselves in New York, hosting their own TV chat show for a major commercial network, with a multi-million dollar production budget.
The story of how two likely lads from Melbourne, Hamish Blake and Andy Lee, skyrocketed from the relative obscurity of undergraduate revues and community TV to become one of Australia’s most successful comedy duos is the stuff of showbiz lore.
It’s the tale of how a precociously smart, aspiring astrophysicist (Hamish) and his part-time rock star buddy (Andy) turned a friendship into an industry.
A journey whose latest instalment is being played out as we speak across the river from the Empire State Building in a down-at-heel, converted plastics factory in Brooklyn.
For 10 weeks, this little corner of Brooklyn will be a sliver of Australia in the Big Apple. A small patch of the world’s greatest metropolis in which sarcasm, laconic wit and dry Aussie humour will briefly reign supreme.
Tonight, they’re taping the third episode of Hamish & Andy’s Gap Year and as they bound out on to the stage in their trademark “traxcedos”, the boys are met with rapturous applause.
With their respectful demeanour, winning personalities and good looks, Hamish, 29, and Andy, 30, are the boys you’d want your daughter to bring home.
Or, as 43-year-old married mother-of-two Joanne Jorgensen-Casey from Sydney, would attest, they’re the boys many Australian women would quite simply like to take home.
Sitting excitedly next to me in the studio audience, Joanne, who has flown to New York from Australia only two hours beforehand, freely confesses her infatuation.
“I’m bordering on being a stalker,” she says, excitedly. “In my house, nobody can interrupt me between four and six on a Friday afternoon. That’s Mummy’s time with Hamish and Andy.”
As the tape rolls, Hamish and Andy lean into the camera. They are about to face the toughest test their decade-long friendship has yet endured.
The name “Hamish & Andy” has been trademark registered. What was once a casual friendship — two blokes in a uni bar with a shared, keen sense of the absurd — has now become a serious commercial concern.
The question then is this: if it all got out of hand, if the pressure of their success began to impact on their friendship, would they walk away?
“The friendship is paramount,” says Andy, emphatically. “As soon as we met, we started hanging out and pretty much haven’t stopped since. To then have someone turn around and say, ‘You two being mates is really important to our company’, well, it’s kind of funny.”
Hamish agrees. “Apart from my basketball card collection and my lovely girlfriend Zoe,” he says, “my relationship with Andy is the most important thing in my life.
“Back in the really early days, we just thought, we are having the best time as friends, let’s do a show together because that’s going to be fun and it will make our friendship even stronger.
“But the road before us is littered with the remains of similar pairs of friends who were not so lucky. And every now and then we do ask ourselves, do we want to go there? Do we want to risk this friendship? I guess we’ll see how it goes.”
Hamish & Andy’s Gap Year airs Thursday at 8.30pm on the Nine Network.
Bryce Corbett is The Weekly’s Associate Editor. Click here to follow him on Twitter and here to follow The Weekly.
Read more of this story in the September issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly.
Your say: What do you think of Hamish and Andy’s new TV show?
Twin brothers Bradley and Daniel Morcombe shared everything. They rode their bikes together, cared for their horses together and took turns in opening their presents on their joint birthday.
Twin brothers Bradley and Daniel Morcombe shared everything. They rode their bikes together, cared for their horses together and took turns in opening their presents on their joint birthday.
It was unusual then, for Daniel to go out solo in December, 2003. Daniel asked Bradley to join him on his trip to the shops to buy Christmas presents, but Bradley decided he would go the next day.
It was a decision that will haunt him for the rest of his life. Daniel never came home. His family has spent almost eight years searching for him, hoping he was still alive. But last month, a man was arrested over his murder.
“I wonder what might have happened if I’d gone with him,” Bradley tells the September edition of The Weekly.
“Perhaps it would have been both of us that disappeared. But I think that whoever came along probably wouldn’t have tried if there were two people. If I’d gone with him, it’s more than likely he’d still be here.”
Brad, now a fencing contractor, paid tribute to his parents, who have pushed for a resolution to the case since Daniel’s disappearance in December, 2003.
“Mum and dad are amazing people and I think they are inspirational,” he says. “The best thing has been that we can rely on each other, know when we need support and help each other through, even though sometimes it’s hard.”
Read the full interview with Bradley Morcombe in the September issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly.
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Video: Daniel Morcombe’s parents discuss their grief
A UK couple are giving a whole new meaning to interactive toys by opening a “doll boutique” where young girls can purchase dolls that look like them and dress them in the same clothes.
The UK’s Daily Mail reported department store My London Girl will open in London’s Westfield Shopping Centre this month offering young girls the opportunity to choose a designer outfit and accessories for themselves and then buy a doll to match.
The store is aimed at girls aged three to 12-years-old, with the same clothing range available to buy in doll-size. The 43cm-high dolls retail for £79 ($120).
Store owners Paul Neagle and wife Kathryn Fleetwood-Neagle, who were inspired by a similar store in the US, said the outfits available would be suitable for girls to wear on special occasions like birthday parties and weddings, with the ability to dress a doll the same way adding to the fun.
Apart from matching clothes, the dolls are available in different skin tones and eye color and the hair can also be as closely matched as possible with different shades from blonde to black available in curly or straight.
Mr Neagle said the store is not about encouraging girls to grow up too fast.
“It will be nice, fun, child fashion,” Mr Neagle told UK newspaper the Evening Standard.
“We will not be selling make-up or anything like that. We are not trying to turn little girls into adults.
“My wife’s background is in education, so she knows what little girls like and what’s good for their development in terms of role play.”
The current clothing range has been created by David Charles who designs clothes for UK stores Harrods and Selfridges, with plans for more British designers to take part in the future.
Your say: What do you think about the concept of the store? Does it encourage young girls to act like adults? Share your thoughts below.
While celebrities have been associated with a number of health and diet tips and tricks, supermodel Miranda Kerr’s tip seems to be one of the easiest to live by!
The 28-year-old new mum, who is famous for her organic lifestyle, swears by certified organic coconut oil for everything from her healthy glow to her after baby weight loss.
Kerr, who recently launched her new certified organic products for Kora Organics in Sydney and Melbourne, said she includes the healthy oil as part of her daily routine.
“I will not go a day without coconut oil. I personally take four teaspoons per day, either on my salads, in my cooking or in my cups of green tea,” she said in a recent interview.
Writing about the benefits of using coconut oil on a daily basis in her Kora Organics blog, Kerr has listed the oil as one of her favorite supplements. She also posts recipes which include the oil on the blog.
“Living a busy life as a working mum I recognise the importance of balancing our wellbeing; from making time for rest and relaxation, taking care of our skin and focusing on a diet that includes healthy, natural foods,” she wrote on her blog.
So how does coconut oil work?
Although the oil was once mistakenly found to be unhealthy because of its high saturated fat content, it has been found to be a healthy fat.
The difference in coconut oil compared to other natural oils is the fat molecules called fatty acids. The fatty acids found in coconut oil are more easily absorbed and metabolised by the body than other fatty acids.
Coconut oil does not have a negative effect on cholesterol and helps to protect against heart disease. The oil has also been attributed to giving hair and skin a healthy glow and shine.
Apart from coconut oil, Miranda attributes her super slender body to a few other supplements. Here are a few of her favorites.
Grants Liquid Chlorophyll: This product offers a vitality boost along with vitamins, minerals and every essential amino acid. It helps increase energy and improves wellbeing.
Tahitian Noni Juice: Miranda credits this vitamin-rich supplement to boosting her immune system and keeping her skin looking soft and beautiful.
Floradex: Suffering from low iron, Miranda uses this supplement to give herself an iron boost, along with eating iron rich seeds and nuts such as pumpkin seeds.
While his brother Prince William settles into married life, Prince Harry has been living it up on Croatia’s Hvar Island.
The partying prince, barefoot and wearing jeans, blue shirt and cap, danced at a local nightclub on the weekend before tumbling into the nearby pool fully clothed, the UK’s Sun reported.
But this didn’t bother the prince who jumped out of the pool, climbed back onto the pool’s ledge and continued dancing.
Throughout the evening he was spotted chatting to models and taking photos with people in the crowd.
Overprotective parents are raising a generation of anti-social, obese and excessively cautious children, experts have claimed.
Two parenting experts discussed the impact of ‘hovering helicopter parents’ in an article in the American Journal of Play.
The claim that today’s children have virtually no opportunity for unsupervised ‘free play’, leaving them prone to obesity, poor physical health and unable to develop social skills.
Lenore Skenazy, author of Free-Range Kids: How to Raise Safe, Self-Reliant Children, and Hara Estroff Marano, author of A Nation of Wimps: The High Cost of Invasive Parenting blame media hype about ‘stranger danger’, video games and social media for the decrease in free outdoor play.
Marano and Skenazy — who caused controversy when she let her nine-year-old son ride the New York subway by himself — say kids who don’t experience regular unsupervised playtime turn into uncreative, risk-averse and excessively cautious adults.
While many parents are worried lack of supervision will put their children at risk of injury or worse, Skenazy says they should be more concerned about the kind of kids overprotective parenting creates.
“I do what I call ‘yuppie jujitsu,’ which is that I take the critics’ fears about unsupervised play and try to turn them into fears about what happens if their children don’t play and don’t develop creativity, compassion, and communication.
“A child who doesn’t engage in unsupervised free play doesn’t develop the self-regulation that comes from hearing another kid say, ‘It’s not your turn, go to the end of the line’.”
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