Alex & Ant

Mother’s Day

caterina — Mon, 14 May 2012 03:55:43 +0000

I am always amazed at the beautiful bits & pieces that come home with my children from school and daycare. The teachers and carers go to so much effort and they don’t just pull on our heart-strings, they wage a full tug-of-war! Yesterday, I was brought to tears by the simplest of things…my son gave me a brown paper bag filled with very random, everyday items. However, the note that accompanied them was so precious and amusing I had to share it with you.

A Mother’s Day pack just for you, Mum.

A pencil – because you colour my day
A Smartie – because you are so smart and always know what to do
A rubber band – to remind you that you need to be flexible!
A paperclip – because you know how to hold everything together
A marble – for when you lose yours
Googly eyes – for when you need eyes in the back of your head
A Band Aid – for when things go a little wrong
A chocolate heart – to remind you that I love you.

From everyone here at Alex&Ant we hope you all had a very special day.

Fleur x

Dancing Queen

caterina — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 00:38:59 +0000

Is your daughter dance crazy? We still have stock of our stunning ballet-inspired pieces in our webstore.

Frills & Thrills (& Spills!)

caterina — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 23:55:00 +0000

Isn’t it so lovely watching your first dance classes?

Olive wanted to wear her beautiful ALEX&ANT shirred frill top as a skirt so that it would twirl as she turned. All the Mums said she looked so adorable and I have to agree! I think it’s great when kids can play with their own outfits to suit their moods…

Summer Collection Inspiration

caterina — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 10:58:19 +0000

Welcome Summer, we missed you – you always make us smile …

And so here it is the story behind our Summer Collection. We hope that someone special to you will become part of our journey with a little outfit from A&A.

Anyone that knows me well, knows my love of Chanel. My first handbag was a hand me down quilted Chanel bag from my mother. I still have it and I still love it. When I see Alexandra playing dress ups I feel the most wonderful moment of déjà vu.

Every special moment in my life has had a touch of Chanel. On my wedding day, my beautiful mum gave me her white Chanel camellia, for something borrowed. She told me to tie it to my purse, instead I got some satin ribbon, pinned the camellia on it and tied it around my neck, instantly I felt complete, I loved the way it looked, the way I felt wearing it.

When I gave birth to Anthony & Alexandra, I was wearing Chanel Allure perfume, a present from divine husband. My coffee table holds my 2 favourite books -Eternal Chanel & Collections and Creations from my gorgeous girlfriend Mel, who also shares my love for the fashion diva.

And in every Collection of ALEX&ANT, I always add a camellia like flower, a small tribute to a woman who has inspired me so much.

Designing the latest Summer Collection was done with a smile. Dressed in warm clothes, with the fire burning, I got lost in the thoughts of the beautiful scents of summer – the sun, flowers, the ocean, the sound of laughter, love and joy.

I wanted to introduce playful colours to our collection while still keeping to our gentle palette of colours. Beautiful flowers become another inspiring force, gentle shades of lavender, soaring sky blue, soft khaki and a spectrum of pinks weave playfully and naturally into our signature palette of gentle hues.

…and living by beach, inspired us to design a practical, beautiful and natural beach story complete with soft voile kaftans, luxurious beach hoodies and jackets to covet.

For our boys, wonderful wonderful boys – the gentlest fabrics to lie on their skin, practical designs to never stop them from playing freely & to rock this summer!

An ALEX&ANT Summer is as fresh as the breeze and as playful as flying a kite.

We’ve sourced the most gentle of fabrics and we have woven them into playful designs that look beautiful and feel great!

We design beautiful clothing for all of the picnics, play-dates, days at the beach and parties. And of course, those perfectly lovely lazy summer days!

“A life without love is like a year without Summer” Swedish proverb.

Here is to a wonderfully happy summer!

With love & a smile

Caterina x

Splish Splash Style

caterina — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 21:57:46 +0000

We’ve never before seen a more beautiful hoodie towel creation, but we are a little biased! Part practical towel, part colourful dress, this is the ‘must have’ accessory for your girls this Summer. Who knew that one garment could take you from the beach to the cafe in total style? Contact your local Alex&Ant stockist and place your orders now….we have a feeling they may sell out! Deliveries of Alex&Ant Summer have arrived at retailers’ doorsteps all over the country, check our facebook page for comments from our loyal stores (they’re all very lovely comments, thank you).

Enjoy ~
Love Fleur x

Over the Rainbow

caterina — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 06:47:41 +0000

My husband’s birthday is a week after Father’s Day, so talk about spoilt!!! He loves the water and surfs every day, so I tried to make him a cake that looks like the ocean. You may recall I used a similar theme for my daughter’s cake last year, with individual layers of blue, choc & vanilla and Madelaine biscuit “shells”. This time I’ve swirled the colours together and used milk buds on top to look like waves. It was heaps of fun to make and very delicious, it’s no wonder when you look at the list of ingredients…..naughty.

5 cups (750g) plain flour, sifted
3 teaspoons baking powder
31/2 cups (770g) caster sugar
500g butter, melted
8 eggs (!)
21/2 cups (625ml) milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pink food colouring (or blue, or whatever colour you like)
1/2 cup (50g) cocoa (Dutch is best)
1/3 cup (80ml) milk, extra
desiccated or shredded coconut to serve
Chocolate Butter Icing
500g butter, softened
4 cups (640g) icing sugar, sifted
1 cup (100g) cocoa
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Place the flour, baking powder, sugar, butter, eggs, milk & vanilla in a large bowl and mix until well combined. Divide the mixture into 3 equal portions. Add a few drops of food colouring to one portion and stir to combine. Add the cocoa and extra milk to a second portion and stir to combine. Drop alternate spoonfuls of the coloured, chocolate and basic cake mixtures into 2 x 22cm round, lightly greased cake tins lined with baking paper. It is SO FUN to do this with the kids, plopping cake mixture into the pans. Use a butter knife to make swirls and then bake for 55-60 mins or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool cakes in tins for 5 mins before turning out onto wire racks to cool completely.

To make the chocolate butter icing, place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 6-8 mins or until pale and creamy. Add the icing sugar, cocoa and vanilla and beat for a further 6-8 mins or until light and fluffy!

Trim the cakes if you want to (mine cracked a bit on top), then place one on a cake stand and use a palette or butter knife to spread with 1/3 of the icing. Top with the second cake and use the remaining icing to ice the sides and the top of the cake. Sprinkle with the coconut to serve.

~ Enjoy,
Fleur x

Bows & Ties

caterina — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 04:08:24 +0000

The ALEX&ANT love affair with the bow and the ribbon will always shine through our collections, it is such an elegant gesture. A staple element of french couture and ready-to-wear, one is never too young or too old to appreciate its classic form.

Much like the girl who wears a bow can be perceived as a lady, the bow tie on men suggests some breeding or intellect coupled with a “geek chic” appeal that is so “Gossip Girl” & “Glee” right now.

Bows are so very charming and are guaranteed to elicit a smile.

We still have plenty of these iconic pieces available in our webstore and they will never date. Pick up something for the remainder of Winter or buy the next size for next year!

http://alexandant.com.au/shop/shop/floral-bow-romper/

http://alexandant.com.au/shop/shop/leggings-with-dancer-ties/

http://alexandant.com.au/shop/shop/mary-dress/

~ Fleur

Random Acts

caterina — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 03:28:57 +0000

Don’t get me wrong, I do love some of the rituals of Winter, but I have to admit they are mostly related to food. I could spend all day in the kitchen when there is nothing especially appealing about being outside. Mostly though, the season is very labour intensive, inconvenient, sluggish, often boring and a little depressing.

I think what we forget during the cooler months is the ability to do things simply and with any spontaneity. So when the sun comes out it’s so liberating to dust off a bunch of sandcastle toys, throw the kids in the car in whatever they’re wearing and head to the coast for a good, old-fashioned beach-comb.

There was absolutely no preparation in this trip except to bring the sand toys. In my world, that kind of reckless behaviour would normally end in tears for all parties! Not this day….it was so perfect.

Fleur xo

Summer School

caterina — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 10:50:32 +0000

“In the depth of Winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible Summer” ~ Albert Camus (Algerian/French author). This quote really resonates with me as it offers us the sense that to think and feel the season of Summer is to be truly happy, regardless of the reality of one’s situation or surroundings. The wonderful optimism and friendliness in the air is what I love most about Summer.

What does Summer mean to you?

Tell us in 25 words or less and the comment that delights us the most will win a $100 voucher to purchase from the beautiful ALEX&ANT Summer 2011/12 collection (once it is available in the ALEX&ANT webstore). Post your prose on our facebook page before August 8th (5pm EST) and the most creative entry will be announced on August 15th.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/ALEXANT/216064142887?ref=ts

Best of luck ~ Fleur x

Vintage inspiration

caterina — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 03:32:02 +0000

I’m going to make a strong statement here, we do not do ‘cute’! It’s no wonder that we look to the classics and I love to go on excursions looking for inspiration. Here are some stores you may like to visit in your travels (they’re all located in Sydney, I’m sorry.)

A very quick post this week…

Images from Antiques General Store, Narrabean

Images from Pulp Creative Paper, Balgowlah

Images from Neck of the Woods, Manly