The Lilac Mannequin : Shop Til You Drop

Take the lift up to the fifth floor and say hello to the team at Shop Til You Drop, or head to the tenth floor to observe Madison's latest editorial shoot, or perhaps take a visit to the sixth floor to Australia's highest selling magazine, The Australian Women's Weekly...But don't forget to drop past Harper's Bazaar and admire high fashion at it's very best! Take the really slow dock lift down and pick up a few garment bags..Then head to the fashion wardrobes, where the little fashion interns work their magic..Then watch the editors frantically create a masterpiece in order to print on time... Just an average day at ACP Magazines! In Australia there are three major printing houses, ACP Magazines which is home to magazines including Harper's Bazaar and the Australian Women's Weekly, Pacific Magazines which is home to Marie Claire and Instyle and News Limited which is home to Vogue. I've seen shows filmed at the US magazines and we all saw the making of The September Issue.. But now it's time to head behind the scenes at one of Australia's largest printing houses, ACP Magazines. The show called 'Park St', will head behind the scenes of magazines including Shop Til You Drop, Cosmopolitan, Cleo, Madison and Dolly. Whilst I currently work at one of ACP's other magazines, I have interned at one of those magazines featured, therefore I'm really excited! I'm curious to see just how much of the atmosphere working at a magazine is captured by the camera crew. It's so busy, frantic, you never stop and sometimes... not so glamorous, but when the magazine hits the shelf, it's all worth it! The show will air on Arena TV Feb 23rd. So swipe your security tag and welcome to ACP Magazines!

The fashion frenzy ended with Shop Til You Drop's Fashion Weekend Sydney. The last time I attended Fashion Weekend Sydney was back when it very first started about three years ago. Since then it has evolved dramatically! They have definitely become a lot more popular. The best way to describe Shop til You Drop's Fashion Weekend is basically shop till you literally drop. What started as a few hours ended in a whole day! Did I mention that the clothing was discounted?! Included with the never ending shopping was a catwalk show to completely tempt everyone to shop even more! The catwalk shows were on the hour and included collections by Lucette, This is Genevieve, Fleur Wood, Hussy, Laurence Pasquier, Muccia, Shakuhachi, Little Joe Woman, Life with Bird, Camilla and of course the one and only Nicola Finetti. The collections were supported by models from Vivien's Model Management, Make Up by NP Set, Hair by Toni and Guy, Nails by Essie and Shoes by Peeptoe. Other designer stores included designers such as Ellery, Marnie Skillings, Maurie and Eve (where I bought a cute little dress), Ginger and Smart, Bracewell, Shona Joy, Seventh Wonderland, as well as my friends from Fashion Forward Weekend, the guys from Flipsters! I love how there was a combination of established designers as well as new comers.

And if you got tired of shopping (that's impossible, well for me anyway!), you could sit back for a beauty makeover, get your hair styled, your nails done, have your photo taken, place yourself on the cover of Shop Til You Drop or just sit back and relax at the cafe or the Tempus Two Bar. You were pretty much pampered to the max and well who wouldn't enjoy a day like that! One of my favourite parts was the Shop Til You Drop Fashion Clinic. Here you were given the chance to meet the Shop Til You Drop team, in which they gave advice regarding the seasons trends (yes I already knew the trends, but I love listening to the best and their interpretations). The Fashion Clinic also included a Make Up Masterclass, Hair trends from the runway and designer interviews. You could even purchase the latest Shop Til You Drop magazine at a cheaper price. (Unfortunately this had to be the one issue I assisted on through work experience at Shop Til You Drop) Apparently there was even a Nintendo stand to entertain all the male companions. I didn't know about this, it took a male friend of mine to inform me.

Shop Til You Drop's Fashion Weekend Sydney pretty much covered everything and gave everyone the knowledge and tools to cover them from this upcoming, cold, more like freezing, winter season. I think the only thing that annoyed everyone was the payment system for purchases. While the payment booths seemed like a good idea with regards to consistency, it became really frustrating! Comparing the last time I went with this time, yes they have gone above and beyond, but I miss the goodie bags! The one with the Shop Til You Drop Magazines and other ACP Magazines. But what Fashionista wouldn't want to attend Fashion Weekend! They are normally on about twice a year, so be sure to check out the next one!