Sparkle & Shine

December 31, 2012









Something magical about glitter and gold. The little girl in me never got over my deep love for sparkling things.

Top Fashion Moments of 2012

December 27, 2012

It's been a hell of a year for fashion. Here are some of the highlights:

Diane Kruger: Queen of Cannes
Diane Kruger in Vivienne Westwood at Cannes
I've always been a devoted fan of Diane Kruger, but since she took the world by storm at this year's Cannes Film Festival, everyone seems to be a Kruger fan. Most starlets have as many hits as they do misses when it comes to fashion decisions, but Kruger has proved herself to be one of the most consistently-stylish women around. No wonder Karl Lagerfeld can't get enough of her!

Raf Simons Takes the Reigns at Christian Dior

After over a year of scandal and rumor regarding the departure of longtime Dior designer John Galliano and his replacement, fans of the French couturier can rest peacefully knowing that Raf Simons has taken over. His stunning Fall 2012 couture show, with its floral wall runway and "New Look" silhouettes harkening back to the style that made the label famous, has done much to reassure worried fashion followers that Christian Dior is in good hands.

Blake Lively Becomes the New Bombshell
Blake Lively in Zuhair Murad Couture at the Savages LA Premiere
Another personal style icon of mine, Blake Lively, turned heads everywhere at the Los Angeles premier of Savages this summer. The hair, the makeup, and damn that dress!- everything is just flawless. Gossip Girl may be over, but I know this girl's got a bright future ahead of her, and certainly more stunning red carpet moments.

The 'It' Sweater of the Year
image from Upper Attitude
Each season there seems to be one "It" item that every off-duty model and fashion editor seems to fawn over. This year it was the Kenzo Tiger sweater. It's just loud enough to make any outfit stand out, and it's comfy enough (it is a sweatshirt, after all) to actually be a practical statement piece. Some may be sick of the sweater by now, but I still dream of wearing a tiger of my own.

London Takes the Gold
2012 was a heck of a year for London. A new future queen, a Diamond Jubilee for the current queen, and, oh yeah, the 2012 London Olympic Games. The city pulled out all the stops for the opening and closing ceremonies and made sure to include British achievements in all areas, including fashion. One of my favorite parts of the closing ceremony was watching the top British supermodels -Kate Moss, Stella Tennant, Naomi Campbell, and Lily Cole, to name a few- strut out in designs by Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, Christopher Kane, and more (all in gold, of course) to David Bowie's "Fashion". It was an iconic moment that I will never forget.

Carrie Who?
the cast of Girls for Glamour magazine
It took me time to warm up to HBO's new series Girls, heralded as the "Sex and the City for the new, younger generation, but I finally have found a place in my heart for these four strange, misguided, and hopelessly beautiful women living in New York City and trying to find their way in the world. Each girl is an individual and each one has her own distinct style, but don't try to fit them to a Sex and the City character: these four girls are all there own.

The New 'It-Girl' Bag
Lana del Rey is the new songstress and muse. She's sung for Chanel shows and done a collaboration with H&M, and now she has her own 'del Rey' bag designed by Mulberry. Perhaps it will be the new Kelly or Birkin? Either way, you know you've made it as an icon when you get a bag named after you.

What were your favorite moments of 2012, fashion-wise?

Cabin Fever

December 11, 2012

Nothing makes me think of winter more than a steaming cup of hot cocoa and a cozy fair isle sweater.


Brave

December 6, 2012

Pixar's newest movie Brave was apparently very inspiring to Karl Lagerfeld. The movie focuses on a teenage princess named Merida trying to find her destiny in Medieval Scotland, where magic spells and mysteries abound.

Also, kilts.

Chanel's annual Metiers d'Art pre-fall show traveled this time to the highlands of Scotland and featured every combination of plaid and argyle a 90s prepster could dream of. Inspired by the tragic life of Mary, Queen of Scots (but also probably by Merida) Lagerfeld took us through all the staples of Scottish wardrobes and dazzled with a more subdued extravagance compared to some of his other metiers d'art collections.

The clothes are beautiful. Costume-y and ridiculous, yes, but what more could we ask for from fashion's favorite daring diva?


Costume Review: Anna Karenina

November 23, 2012


Though I can't say I've ever read the Tolstoy masterpiece -outside of required readings, I'm lucky if I find enough time to manage browsing an entire magazine- my mother and I went to see the film adaptation of Anna Karenina tonight and I must say it was quite lovely! Keira Knightley's character may go down a road of self-destruction, but my does she look good doing it! Set in 1870s Imperial Russia, the film follows the dramas of Russia's upper class, all in marvelous fashion. You can understand why the communists had an ax to grind with the ruling classes- the sheer amount of excess of fabrics, jewels, and yes, furs would probably drive anyone crazy with jealousy after a while. Or you can just sit back, relax, and admire the fabulous costumes. Here are some of my favorites:

Ugly is the new Festive

November 21, 2012

When browsing the Urban Outfitters in Pasadena last weekend (after a devastating football loss to those silly UCLA bruins, but that's another story...) I found a most humorous site: the store, under its Urban Renewal vintage restoration line, was selling legitimately Ugly Christmas Sweaters. They were worn over sequin skull T-shirts, of course.

Ugly Christmas Sweaters seem to be the preferred holiday garb of the ironic young hipster set. The more bells and glued-on ornaments, the better! But for those of you who cannot quite pull off ironically wearing your grandmother's knitted holiday sweaters, designers have come up with the perfect solution: the Ugly (but Stylish) Christmas Sweater!!!

 

Out on the Streets

October 5, 2012

With the rise of street style photography, the front row fashionistas and their inventive ensembles have become as important as the shows they watch during Fashion Week. Tommy Ton, with his ability to capture unique details, patterns, and personalities, has elevated certain extravagant ladies to street style icons. Here are some of the favorite looks outside of the Spring 2013 shows.














From Paris With Love

October 3, 2012

Bumble bees, renewable energy, and Edie Sedgwick. Paris was an abundance of eclectic inspirations, but all in all some pretty strong conceptual shows came through.

Nicolas Ghesquière at Balenciaga experimented with sensuality by accentuating the curves and silhouettes of women. Chanel's Karl Lagerfeld, with a solar panel runway and windmills lining the Grand Palais, was influenced by renewable energy and energy in general, in more figurative meanings of the word. At Louis Vuitton, as with his synonymous collection, Marc Jacobs focused on the Mod movement of the Sixties with day-glo yellow checkerboard prints. Alexander McQueen's Sarah Burton used bees as her main inspiration- honeycomb hexagons, amber shades, and beekeeper headwear.

Paris, as usual, was full of hits. Here's the rundown of my favorite shows. What shows did you most enjoy?

Balenciaga

Cacharel

Chanel

Lanvin

Louis Vuitton

Alexander McQueen
 Valentino