Monthly Archives: September 2011

London Fashion Week – my picks

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A gown by Julien Macdonald

A gown by Julien Macdonald

London is where my heart is, and it was  so exciting to see the British S/S 12 lines,  set in the beautiful Somerset House and other amazing venues around the capital.

I really like what I saw in London, and under the absolutely stunning category I am going to put Julien Macdonald‘s collection. The short dresses were so fierce and wearable – I would happily don most of the designs presented. The long, flowing gowns were dreamy: the embroidery married with transparency was delicate and sexy at the same time.  The metallics are muted, elegant and in details, which gives all the pieces a very noble, glamorous feel.

Vivienne Westwood‘s Red Label collection dresses at the end of the show really  appealed to me, but what really caught my attention was the metallic hair, exquisite MAC make up with amazing eyes and multicoloured nails in shades of greens and blues.  Love it.

I very much like Henry Holland, and when looking at his collection, fresh was the word that sprung to mind, with the pastels and playful pieces.  And then, all of a sudden, it got fierce, with leathers, animal print and netting.

Meadham Kirchhoff

Meadham Kirchhoff

The textures on Holly Fulton‘s collection was superb – the embroidery mixed with zebra(!!!) print, patterns with feathers and jewelled collars , the sea theme – I like it all, quite a few pieces I would wear.

Jaeger comes very ladylike – the hats were fabulous (even though I don’t really wear hats, I don’t think they suit me!) and I really enjoyed seeing Sass & Bide‘s vibrant colours and sheen details at the Royal Opera House, the venue I consider to be the most stunning.

A feast for the eyes was Meadham Kirchhoff‘s collection. Dazzling the senses with an explosion of colours, the designs and the styling were pure fun – think circus meets pantomime in a fantasy world. Mary Kantrazou also showcased a colourful and exquisite collection, a delightful prints galore.

I also like the fringed, flapper-ish and the feathered dresses from Issa, the vinyl and structured, almost futuristic pieces from Richard Nicoll (some of them reminded me of The Jetsons), the colours and textures in Matthew Williamson‘s collection and the metallics and feathers on Giles‘ “Black Swan inspired” line.

I can bet on metallics for next summer, as well as prints and patterns (I love ALL animal prints – last season’s leopard was king, now giving way to snake for A/W11-12, maybe it is zebra time for s/s12?) and  pastel colours.

Overall, in my opinion,  New York faded in comparison to the flamboyance of London. Even though I fell in love with quite a few stunning collections showcased in NY, everything seemed more edgy, daring and innovative in the British version, and perhaps easier and more fun to translate from the catwalk to the streets.

Nails of the week

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Purple metallic nailsVenturing into blue last week was great, but somehow spoiled this week’s choice a little, as I expected to be blown away by every new colour (I know, too high expectations…) and this wasn’t the case this week. Don’t get me wrong, this metallic purple is lovely, but that blue had oomph – and lots of it.

This week I am wearing Purple Rain, another nail polish from Collection 2000’s Lasting Colour line. I found it a bit thin, the first coat was really see through, but the colour really showed on the second coat.  I wore the blue one for eight days last week, and it looked great until the end (I did apply an extra coat six days after my manicure just to give it a refresh), and the overall durability was great, it didn’t lose shine!

Differently from the previous purple I wore, this one is darker and it is not as glittery as the Colorama one I have.  It also has some iridescence about it, a blue undertone that comes up best in sunlight. Apart from the blue-ish undertone, the colour is rather similar to a MAC lipstick I bought recently, Odyssey. Overall good, but it is no blue, or green!

Might have to go back to them soon!

Happy birthday Shoe Galleries!

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Selfridge's Shoe Galleries

Last night I attended one of the events celebrating the first anniversary of the biggest shoe department in the world, the  Selfridges  Shoe Galleries. Situated on the second floor of the London store, the gallery is home to 55,000 shoes at any one time and 4,000 shoes on display, from over 150 brands. It is a fantastic place, on one hand, my dream, for obvious reasons, but also my nightmare, because I want to buy them all!

Upon arrival, I was lured to the area surrounding a small catwalk by the music of a live band.  Not long after I found a seat, extremely good looking waiters brought little bottles of Pommery POP champagne for the dozens of ladies waiting, and Grazia’s fashion editor, Sophie Ferguson Jones, opened the event by talking about shoes and handbags trends for this season. Soon enough, the more than F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S Miss J Alexander, from America’s Next Top Model, started running the show and picked girls from the audience to strut their stuff on the catwalk, giving them tips on how to improve their walk.

Beautiful ballerinas also made an appearance and there were other activities going on around the whole floor, such as foot mapping (like palm reading, but for the feet!), several prize draws and customisation.

I really love this type of event, overall it was a like a big party with lovely atmosphere, Miss J provided endless laughter and the champagne flowed enough to keep me happy – all surrounded by the most amazing shoes in the world!

For more on events at Selfridges, visit their What’s on page.

London Fashion week beauty

Posted in Beauty, Fashion, hair, Make Up by
Vivienne Westwood Red Label eyes, Topshop unique hair

MAC eyes for Vivienne Westwood; hair for Topshop Unique

Of course I love the clothes, but what really caught my eyes were the accompanying nails, hair and make up during LFW.

The nails, hair and especially make up at Vivienne Westwood’s Reb Label show were simply amazing – MAC delivered exotic peacock eyes and burgundy defined cheeks and nails were painted each in a different shade of green/blue. I adore bold eyes and will try to replicate at home soon! Also growing fonder of the mismatched nail colours, quite daring for me as to this day I have always painted all my nails one colour at a time!

Topshop unique, House of Holland and Vivienne Westwood nails

Nails for Topshop Unique, House of Holland and Vivienne Westwood

Topshop Unique delighted us with sensational, “gold-plated” locks (applying gold leaves on hair) and blue, gold and pink painted nails with hieroglyphics – pure “Queen of the Nile” lush.

House of Holland gave us “ombre” nails – colour at the bottom, no colour at the top of the talons. Elle has even published a “how to“, if you’d like to try – I don’t think I will myself, as the final aspect doesn’t seem very tidy, but I might try the technique with two colours!

Meadham Kirchhoff's model hair and make up

Hair and make up for Meadham Kirchhoff's show

Mary Kantrazou‘s models brought bold coloured lips to the catwalk, including blue, green and grey! Quite enjoyed seeing it.

I feasted my eyes with the styling at Meadham Kirchhoff show – a circus-like bonanza, with  bouffant wigs, neon and pastel lips and eyes, colourful nails with the cutest motifs (mainly, there was a vagina one!) and plenty of glitter.

I can definitely spot some trends here, such as  each nail painted on a different colour, patterns and bold eyes, as well as pastel colours on make up for the summer. The fresh-faced, natural look with barely there make up also graced a lot of shows.

As far as make up, nails and hair on the catwalk go, London outdoes New York by a mile, and even though light beige nails and a more natural make up, which were predominant in NY, have been spotted here, the opposing variety in London was far greater, and in my opinion, better and more fun!

Christian Louboutin: The Book

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Christian Louboutin: The BookSo I hear that to mark the brand’s 20th anniversary, Christian Louboutin: The Book will be out on the 05 October.

The idea of a lovely pink leatherette bound book containing Louboutin’s most iconic designs throughout these 20 years, his personal story and inspiration behind the sensational shoes, sounds absolutely amazing and I would be putting an order in if it wasn’t for the price tag of £85!

However certain I am of the book fabulousness,  I would still rather deposit those £85 into my Shoe Fund, and get myself real Loubis to grace my feet!

Read more about the book on Vogue and Stylist.co.uk

The Shoe Fund 2011 invested

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Christian Louboutin Décolletté Jazz 100The Shoe Fund has been mentioned by me in countless occasions, but now I am very excited to say that the time to convert an idea (and a number sitting in a bank account) into something that can actually go on my feet (and thus bring me happiness, satisfaction and prettiness) has finally come.

My first ever Shoe Fund purchase came in the shape of the beautiful and elegant Christian Louboutin Décolleté Jazz pumps, in black.  I am a massive fan of the red soles (damn you, beautiful shiny scarlet soles), so there would be nothing better to debut the fund.

I am fully aware they are black shoes, just like my previous Louboutin pair, but my line of thought was that I should start with the basics, build myself a solid classics collection and then branch out into the crazier ones – right?

They have manageable (I barely recognise myself, purchasing sensible heels) 100mm heels, delicate almond toes and not too shiny leather (not matte,  not patent:  it is nicely in between). A perennial classic in any wardrobe, these are shoes I will be wearing for a long time. As my Rolandos are so high and so shiny, I feel they are “special occasion” shoes. My plan is that these ones will get out more often – they were brought in to be my staple, ready to be dressed up or down.

Last year, I actually set off to get the Décolleté, but fell madly in love with the Rolandos – and left the last call to my boyfriend, who chose the latter.

Now that I got it I can assure no more black court shoes will be coming out of the Shoe Fund, which has just started again: the first deposit for 2012 has already been placed!

Countdown mode for the 2012 Shoe Fund on!

Lara Bohinc shoe crush

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Lara Bohinc's Constructivist Manifesto StilettoOooh, I’ve developed a new shoe crush – and I am not at all surprised it is over one of Lara Bohinc’s pairs – hers was also my favourite from the Elle Accessories Report.

The amazing “Constructivist Manifest Stiletto”  in cappuccino python and brown is so amazing and indeed as described on their site: a contemporary take on the timeless stiletto. I love the  whole shoe architecture, they are beautifully structured from heels to upper. The gold platforms and robust heels are complemented by the texture, pattern and colour – although the python black is just as desirable.

Lara Bohinc’s site is packed with gorgeous, exquisite yet wearable designs, well worth checking – I dare you not to covet!

I really need to start making larger deposits into my shoe fund, as my appetite for  these beauties is only growing…

Nails of the week

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Cobalt blue nails

Blue!!! Yes, this week I painted my nails blue, finally – and I am absolutely loving it!

Wearing green last week opened up a whole new world of colour for my talons. I had so far resisted the colder shades, sticking faithfully to reds or pinks – warmer hues in general – but this really changed my manicure life. I know, a bit dramatic, but I do feel there are so many more colours to be discovered – plus, I’ve had really bad flu for a few days now, and this really cheered me up!

Following the my experience with the super inexpensive Collection 2000 green Bongo Beats, with its reasonable durability (it lasted seven days, with a couple re-touches), and great colour and price, I decided to give the brand another go: I chose the aptly named Blue my mind, from their Lasting Colour line (which promises colour up to 10 days – I will probably never know, as I usually change after seven, but I am hoping to have impeccable nails for the week!).

This is a deep metallic cobalt blue with amazing shine, that looks even more stunning in daylight. It costs £2.99 a bottle – a bargain, especially if it lasts as long as it promises! Delightful!

I am very excited to think about what colour is coming next!!!

Elle accessories report

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It took me a while to go through the Elle accessories report, out a few weeks ago. There are so many choices that I decided to concentrate on my favourite types and created  picture gallery with my heel, bag and jewellery picks.

Just as I would with an outfit, I am starting with the high heel shoes: it might come as a shock but I haven’t fallen *madly* in love with any number in particular – none made me want to cash my shoe fund immediately.

Having said that, I could easily see Lara Bohinc’s Tatjana courts in leopard print gracing my footsies – definitely my favourites, these amazing shoes have a somewhat art-deco brass circles sitting on the leopard print calf and at the top of the heel, giving them an amazing texture. I really love the metal details on the shoes upper – Bohinc’s Tatjana collection is definitely worth checking!

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A self confessed heel lover, I am fascinated by their architecture, thickness, material and texture so I was immediately drawn to the heel shape in some selections, special attention to Miu Miu and Prada, with very exquisite heels  (I had to go to Selfridge’s Shoe Galleries to actually touch the Miu Miu’s – they are amazing!). Their shape was almost remitting to historical/costume footwear, with the back of the heel quite prominent and the high heel itself quite chunky and arched outwards, almost like a “C” at the back of the shoe.

Designer until then unknown to me, Chrissie Moriss stood out – amongst my favourites are the Liliana peeptoe shoe boots, the Metropolis and the Dakota – they play beautifully with geometrical shapes on the body and the black Liliana has very sexy heels with a “precious” stone at the end. Fierce!

Other favourites are Giuseppe Zannoti Design’s orange suede sandals, Jimmy Choo’s Kerfield, Flaxley and Kemp, Camilla Skovgaard’s grey peeptoe and grey and silver with zips stilettos, Charlote Olympia’s Cordelia tall boots, Alejandro Ingelmo’s Nighthawk (what a cool name, I am glad the shoes live up to the expectation!) and Pierre Hardy’s leopard print circle cut out sling back sandal.

Style wise,  lots of sparkle, multicolour compositions and loafers seem very strong. Platforms are still present.

Now, the bags –  I noticed that there are many clutches featured, especially box clutches. Amongst my favourite are the Prada python, Miss Dior jacquard, Valentino snakeskin box bag, Jimmy Choo Candy and “Lanvin Evening”.

Satchels and totes also appear quite a bit, as well as fur/pony skin. Other picks are Chloé’s Aurore, Celine Trapeze, Versace Metallic bag (with the iconic Versace Medusa head made in gold metallic mesh, with long-ish straps, lush!) and also from Versace, an embossed number with tassel, very pretty.

Victoria Beckham‘s bags appear a few times, with their clean, sharp cut, straight lines design, and my personal bag obsession, the Mulberry Bayswater, appears as a fox-riveted haircalf incarnation. I did miss Chanel, only one pick for Coco’s brand and that didn’t blow me away.

As far as jewellery go, big, bold cuffs are everywhere, chunky collars and chokers too.  Among my favourites are a Louis Vuitton collar, a BOSS Black red feather brass cuff (gorgeous!),  a Cavalli shell gold cuff and an owl ring, a Vionett gold cuff and a D&G star necklace.

Needless to say, the shoes are my favourite part – and I don’t see them as merely accessories! I enjoyed going through the report, and overall, it does provide me with plenty inspiration when looking at accessories to buy.