Westfield Mall Riccarton is safe; latest update for you........

Warm greetings fellow Angels; I just wanted to post this update for you:

As you may be aware, there has been widespread concern as to the safety of our dear Westfield Mall, as a result of our recent quakes & aftershocks.  I am one for wanting to know the facts from the horses's mouth so to speak, so I contacted the Westfield Mall Centre Manager today, & I have permission to share this most recent media release for you:

WESTFIELD RICCARTON IS OPEN AND SAFE TO OCCUPY

Mr Justin Lynch, Director Westfield New Zealand:

For the people of Christchurch and in particular our own Westfield staff, it continues to be a challenging time.

We recognise and acknowledge the community is dealing with a changing environment and as a result there may be misinformation in the marketplace.

We wish to reassure our customers, retailers and all Westfield stakeholders that Westfield Riccarton has been given full safety clearance.  Please note that the Centre has been given clearance from the Council during its inspections and it has not been “red stickered” at any time.

We have a very strict procedure of structural and life safety checks which are carried out after each major aftershock to ensure Westfield Riccarton (including the car park areas) is safe to occupy prior to recommencement of trade.  Westfield has used a team of independent engineers and contractors to facilitate this work.  We have tried not to burden the resources of the local authorities and emergency services who are working in areas of more significant affects of the earthquakes.

Each stage of the past developments was structurally designed to fully comply with the New Zealand Building Act current at the time of the development.

The safety of our customers, staff and retailers is paramount and we have taken every step to ensure Westfield Riccarton is a safe place to work and shop.

Westfield Riccarton engages Xona Consultants as their independent safety assessors for the structure of the building.  Xona are responsible for carrying out all structural checks and Beca are responsible for carrying out services checks after each aftershock.  Xona and Beca are reputable companies within their disciplines.

Westfield is undertaking the necessary remedial works to the damage sustained to the building and shops in any of the earthquakes or aftershocks to date.

We thank you for your continued support during this process.”

Customers can view updates on our shoppers’ website http://westfield.co.nz/riccarton/or by contacting the centre’s direct line on 03 983 4500.

SHAKEN & EXHAUSTED - IT'S TIME FOR A COLOUR INJECTION!!

SHAKEN & EXHAUSTED - IT'S TIME FOR A COLOUR INJECTION!!

Mmmm; that heading was intended for my dear fellow ChCh folk; what a week it's been!

My heart & thoughts go out to those that have been further impacted by our latest events..........it is certainly a challenging time to keep creative.........and, I had promised to offer some fun accessory options on this page, but alas, have instead fallen prey to the scourge of sleep deprivation & exhaustion that has been one's lot lately here in ChCh, mmmm........

However!  With saying that, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to meet up for lunch at Merivale yesterday with two awesome friends / ex-schoolgirl buddies (From our days at Westland High in Hokitika); doing our best to grab hold of spots of normality!

And of course, us being the Big Girls that we are, we're always looking for a MAJOR/minor excuse to dress up for fun!

I opted to be as colourful as possible..........& I wanted to at least put ONE pic up for this weeks' Mid-Week Fashion Inspiration!!

So, check this out!!  Yesterday was a cool day, so we went all-out for wool; this fun dress was a treasure that I found at Rangiora's Red Cross shop last year, for the princely sum of $5; 100% wool (Quite weighty in fact!); and surely to have been home-made; no labels to speak of.......

The neckline is a plain round scoop, with the teal edging; VERY 1970's, don't you think?!  & the bright slash of red is a throw-over cowl-wrap; picked up from the Asian store that used to be at the back of Whitcoulls in Cashel Mall (Awesome girls in there; I used to love walking thru to see what treasures caught my eye!)

And, the bright red beret of course helped keep the wind at bay.

Add a colour-punch with mustard-coloured tights & a happy big teal bling-ring, brown boots, & all set to go!

And then, there's the option of a final layer of warmth, in a 'don't-run-me-over' slash of bright red COAT!

Isn't it FUN???!!!

With whammo colour like these, it is advisable to keep away from black, for fear of "deadening" the brights; hence the brown boots.


This is a must-look for the faint-hearted; a real much-needed winter rev-up!!






I hope that has been a bit of fun for you?!  Brief, tho it is; delivered with appreciation of fun & colour.

And speaking of colour, I WILL be posting some HOT looks on my Blog from Denderah Designs; in fact, if you're like me & can't wait to take a must-see peak; check out their latest postings at Facebook HERE!

& let me know what you think - I look forward to your feedback, ladies!


Meanwhile, keep safe, keep colourful, & be INSPIRED!!  The world needs us!!


Blessings,

Jackie Farina

Your mid-week Wardrobe Inspiration - PRE LOVED CLOTHING in CHCH!

We deserve some mid-week Wardrobe Inspiration!!

Pre-Loved clothes shopping in ChCh!

Phew; quake-brain has struck me this week - big-time!!  What a busy, un-nerving week for us Christchurch residents!!  So, rather than spending some time gathering my promised inspirations together, I have been helping out friends-in-need (& LOVING it; loving the opportunity to do so!!), & generally walking around in an on-edge daze!!  (All this shaking not good for us sensitive creative types; or any of us, for that matter!)

I did hear that Westfield Mall in Riccarton had been closed temporarily due to the floor lifting inside; not sure of the status of things there, but makes for interesting news....

However, there ARE places that we still can venture safely, & I will endeavour to offer a bit of a listing of some fav pre-loved clothing spots here to inspire you to treat yourself.........I will apologise ahead of time if I have missed anywhere that may not be operating at present, however, I know that it's a tricky & important time to share updated news where-ever & however we can, in terms of our awesome retailers that are trying their best amongst all this forever changing chaos.........my heart & thoughts go out to those awesome ladies who have had gorgeous wee shops & have lost them in our recent events.........


Meanwhile, check these out:

SAVEMART - New Brighton; Hornby; Clarence Street  (Apologies; not sure if Sydenham is open again?!)
MENAGE A TROIS - 175 Seaview Road, New Brighton  (I trust they got through the latest shakes safely?!)
DRESS FOR EVEN LESS - 35A Acheson Ave, Shirley
WAIRAKEI BUDGET BOUTIQUE SHOP - 5A Springbank St, Bryndwr
2nd HEAVEN - 169A Wairakei Rd, Ilam
THE DRESSING ROOM - 151 Madras  (North end, over Bealey Ave)
LABELS of LATE - 135 Aikmans Road, Merivale  (I DO hope she is still operating there; an awesome wee shop!)
NURSE MAUDE HOSPICE SHOPS - Merivale (Opp Merivale Mall); Merrin St Avonhead; Sumner (I hope they made it through these last shakes.....)
SALVATION ARMY CLOTHES STORE - Church Corner end of Ricc Road; opp Bush Inn
RED CROSS SHOP - 14 Yaldhurst Road, Church Corner end of Riccarton
DRESSED UP - 30C Yaldhurst Road
MINI MOOCHER - 292 Lincoln Road, Addingtown
WEAR ELSE - 77 Somerfield St, Spreydon
PRELOVED CLOTHING - 3A Milton Street, Spreydon

I have a few more to add, but need to check on their status first.............

I invite updates & additions from local ChChians so I may add pre-loved clothing retailers to my list for those of us in need of visual & tactile inspiration!

***  I hope this makes up for my lack of visual inspiration for this week!!  ***


Lots of love & textile inspiration to you all..........

Warmly,

Jackie Farina

Mid-Week Inspiration - For the LOVE of Tunics!!

Winter is upon us.  That means the need for more layering.  The introduction of tunics through the last few seasons has certainly opened up a succulent source of new fashion inspiration for creating so many new options of choice over our our much-loved leggings, merinos & boots; I'm no exception to loving that trend!  (In fact; I'm an '80's leggings girl from way back!)

And, with being a Southern (Cantab) Girl, we DO get C O L D down here, so I'll be sharing some snuggly inspirations over the next few weeks............

I have been having fun shopping on Trade Me as of late, & have picked up a few bargains; thought I would share with you for our Mid-Week Inspiration  (And some of my dear friends have already seen these outfits scooting around!)  I have asked my Alter Ego Jackie Farina (AKA:  Me!) to model them for us..........

This little beauty of a snuggly soft moss-grey jersy tunic (Yes folks; WOOL - I'm in Heaven!) came from a lovely lady in Nelson; thankyou Sue!  I'm a typical Summer season, so can wear this shade, matching in with the cool grey merino & tights & cool-based brown in the boots.

 

However, warm coloured Autumns could brighten this with oranges, yellows, & of course, the browns, & russet-red, too.

       

And for extra warmth, I do tend to add minis to my layers; this one's a cool-based brown shade...

Blazers are big news this winter (Yay!) & I picked this one up (The brown blazer to the right) for $2 from Toff's in Ferrymead; whom I know have survived the quakes & are still open for your shopping pleasure   ;-))   I find blazers great for us "straight-up-&-down-girls" for helping to create shape, with the nipping-in of the waist area, & the carrying of the blazer colour through the middle of the tunic area, therefore creating that added visual line of colour-break down the outside of the body that helps accentuate a slimmer line.

 

For another layering option, try a shorter, shaped wool jacket - I have taken away the wool mini skirt, to create a cleaner, more "hip" mini-look which suits the shorter length of this jacket.

And, for another look using the same tunic, I've used denim as my accent colour, taking the long-line denim vest to create that slimming & lengthening illusion.  (Denim leggings are just GREAT, thankyou Trade Me!!) 



The colour-change is amazing, isn't it - when you start to get creative & brave with colour!!

This pic is for my dear friend Maureen, who gifted me with this suuuper funky beret; it has all the awesome cool colours to take a Summer-& Winter-coloured girl anywhere!  Plus I love the velvet & textured fabrics!

I've added my grey wool tunic here as a base colour, & layered it over with my purple tunic-coat ($5 from my fav Salvation Army clothes store, which was down Lichfield St; a fav haunt of mine before the Feb quake.....), & a polarprop top (Picking out those colours), & brown boots (Black would be too harsh a colour with these tonings; too strong for a Summer, but would suit a strong Winter colouring.....& Merlot-Puss is keeping an eye on fashion-proceedings in the background (& she also reminded me to remove my other clothes off the bed before taking photos!

This gorgeous red wool tunic (Also from Trade Me; Thankyou Hazel!) creates a yummo splash of colour on our cloudy Canterbury days..........keeping it classy with black under-layers & brown boots to "lift" the colour more, & adding a playfully-coloured loose-knitted beret for a more casual weekend look.

Plus, to add another dimension of colour, pop on the slimming brown coat, & a fun brown textured beret.

With this final tunic-option from Wardrobe Angel's Treasure-Chest, this is yet another Trade Me treasure tunic  (I'm giving away my trade secrets here!!), that I just LOVE..........a bit of Parisian chic!   Add black edgy low-heeled boots for urban walking, or high stiletto boots for class in the City; I like to pop on an old navy blazer (That still happens to fit me from the '80's!) to aid in slimming, & fav black beret.......

I do hope that's been a fun inspiration for you!    Keep an eye on my Blogpages for accessorising tips & tricks.............

Meanwhile, be kind to yourself, & energise yourself with lots of colour! 

xxxx  Jackie Farina