Hair for Summer

For Spring/Summer 2012, it's all about the (very) pretty up-do. Hint: start growing now.

Louis Vuitton. I really love this photograph.

Embellished and wet-look at Chanel.

Simple but beautiful at Roberto Cavalli. I love the loose strands, very late 90s.

Twisted plaits, like crowns, at Valentino.

Soft and demure at Christopher Kane.

And now for something a little different at Versace:

Barbie: long, shiny and soft.

As I said above, start growing now.

Fantasy Fashion - Chanel S/S 2012

Karl Lagerfeld's Chanel show really does deserve an entire post.  And I still won't be able to display all the photographs (which I might add are not my own, but belong to Condé Nast  for Vogue) that I would like.

 

The catwalk was a white underwater scene complete with giant shells and seaweed, while ethereal singing from Florence Welch served as a background for the show.  The models were like sea creatures emerging from the water; it seems that Karl has taken the aqautic theme of the S/S 2012 shows to its creative peak.

 

Oyster white:

 

 

A beautiful, smiling Freja in Chanel's classic tweed suit with silver moon boots!

 

Gold sands:

 

 

Like golden sunshine on the shore. I adore this princess suit, and the miniature metallic clutch.

 

Seashells on the seashore:

 

 

Sparkling pale blue and a shell pink ruffle skirt.

 

Aquarium:

 

 

A sea turquoise jacket with black piping detail.

 

Tropical reef:

 

 

The colours and print of this dress remind me of a haze of coral.  Breezy and relaxed holiday ease.

 

Glittering mermaids:

 

 

I can envision wearing this alone on a dessert island somewhere...this ensemble is somewhat poetic.

 

Moonlight on white sands:

 

 

I love the irrisdecent shimmer of the jacket, and the pearl oyster clutch...I want the pearl oyster clutch...

 

Beauty trend alert!!

 

 

Chanel always sets the trend when it comes to nail colour...well okay, everything. But take note, coral orange will be the one you buy next Spring (hey, it'll go with all the blue you'll be wearing)!

 

 

And fushia pink! I love the pearl encrusted bag also and the repeating shell pattern of the dress.

 

Ocean blue:

 

 

This dress reminds me of a swirling, stormy sea.

 

Mister Sandman:

 

 

The structure of the outfit and pattern of the skirt remind me of those sand scultputres you see on holiday!

 

Shell geometry:

 

 

Curves, angles and texture, like seashells.

 

Seaweed green:

 

 

Shiny laduree-green hotpants and booties!

 

Galapagos turtles:

 

 

A wet-look ensemble of skinny trousers and rainy-weather jacket.

 

The little mermaid rainbow:

 

 

I want this multicolour bracelet...

 

Pale blue tide:

 

Knotted shirts are back!!

 

Ocean waves:

 

 

I love the ribbon rippling its way down this dress.

Shipwreck:

 

The sheer cropped shirt - my new favourite beach cover-up.

Beautiful creature of the sea:

 

I love the string of pearls around the waist - this may be going on my Summer wishlist, considering next season's crop-top trend.

Sea-bird:

 

Freja dressed in a stunning pale turquoise and gold feathered dress, like a bird of paradise.

Mother-of-pearl:

 

An oyster-white masterpiece with a shimmering high-neck overlay.

Goddess of the Sea:

 

I wonder if Karl's bags will be the most lusted-after items next Summer?

The stage is set:

 

Florence Welch singing from inside an oyster.

Backstage:

 

Painstaking detail.

Pearly reflection on midnight water:

 

Perfection - if anyone can achieve it, it's Karl.

Sexy

Everything sexy is having a moment. And we're talking more than usual.

Chanel A/W 11 make-up:

It's all in the eyes. Check out Chanel's new range of evening eye-shadows that have a perfectly pearly texture and iridescent sparkle:

My favourites? The green and purple.

Cut-out dresses:

Emphasise your curves in a peek-a-boo dress. I'm pretty sure that everyone's favourite is Stella McCartney's polka dot example, as paraded above by Natalia Vodianova.

Heels = essential:

They elongate your legs, raise your bum and just exude sexiness. They make any outfit so so much better on your body.

Tiny waist:

It's what boys love. Eat dark chocolate, plenty of protein and wholegrains, wild salmon, apples and almonds and walk alot to make other girls hate you for yours.

Lace:

This season's sexiest trend. The above is by La Perla. And this baby-doll:

Perfect your underpinnings:

Good lingerie is not just for the night. It makes your clothes look different, good different, in the daytime too.

Are you onto the sexy trend?



Maison Lesage: Makers of Beauty

When I was younger, my friends and I would make bracelets painstakingly from tiny beads. Well, when an American friend of mine with a similar passion for fashion and design sent me information about the House of Lesage, I knew I had to share it here.

Similar to my long love of beads, Maison Lesage has been adorning fabric with sequins and stones for top designers in Paris for 130 years (and for Lagerfeld since 2002 when he bought the studio for Chanel). Items produced by the shop are all custom made, costing hours and hours of sewing time and thousands and thousands of euros...

Jewelled swatch for a Chanel design

Not only a place where haute couture current designs are embroidered into reality, the House of Lesage is also a museum for thousands of swatches of beaded material from its past creations.

My equivalent of a candy store - rows and stacks of different coloured beads arranged on the wall

Oh how I would love to be one of the worker's at this French studio...

Inspiration from Lagerfeld for the designs is said to come from singular words such as "trails" or "Russia" - someone else like me who connects fashion to the environment, beauty and the world we live in.

Fashion under the needle

Can I come and work for Chanel now please?

Beauty A/W 2011-12 - Chanel

I had to post about two exciting new looks from Chanel this season:

1. The new nail varnish shades

Okay, I say new, but the middle turquoise, I was wearing a similar shade this summer. The denim collection is available now from Selfridges London and Chanel Bond Street, and from all Chanel boutiques from tomorrow, the 10th. Wear with burgundy chords or jeans and a leather jacket, or with any 40s style dress or outfit this autumn.

2. Couture beauty

The eyes really do have it. 60s lined eyes are huge this season, and I love the smokiness with the lace veil, again by Chanel. Sexy is so in fashion right now...

To Buy or Not to Buy?

Investments. One can justify anything as an investment when you fall in love with it. Like these Miu Miu lilac shoes:

The ubiquitous camel coat however, I could justify, even from Gucci. When something is this classic and enduring, the expense is worth it.

The same goes for the always stylish and age-defying Chanel suit, for which I have already started saving!

I wonder though if the same can be said for the Burberry aviator jacket, heralded by many as this season's 'must-buy'.

As much as I love this jacket, I suspect that next Autumn's heroine will have become another model to adore and lust-after.

And then there are the things that are so unbelievably you, it is not fashion that is compelling you to buy them, but a sense that owning them only reinforces your own style. That is the case with this Miu Miu bag, which I WILL track down:

I'll be wearing this bag with a camel coat this Autumn and through Winter into Spring. Sometimes one person's disaster is another person's style.