Looks I Love – Olivia Palermo
Posted: December 21, 2011 Filed under: autumn/winter, easy style, Looks I Loved | Tags: fashion, Olivia Palermo 1 Comment »
Olivia Palermo (images via instyle.com)
Ladies, in case you’ve been wondering how to make your legs look longer, you’re in luck – Olivia Palermo just happened to give us a masterclass. I will freely admit that I love Olivia’s style. That makes me sound like a 16-year-old fan of reality TV stars but I honestly think she has great style and that she has earned her stripes.
A skinny bell-bottom (I may have just made that term up, it’s somewhat contradictory, isn’t it?) paired with a fitted top that hits just below the hip and heels will do the trick. Personally, I would wear the trousers an inch shorter because I prefer to look like I have feet. Otherwise, this is how it’s done.
Surface To Air comes to New York
Posted: September 9, 2011 Filed under: autumn/winter, easy style, fashion and art, New York, retail | Tags: fashion, Federico Masotto, Jérémie Rozan, Kid Cudi, Leigh Lezark, Mr Rager, Surface To Air 2 Comments »On Wednesday night French brand Surface To Air opened their first stand-alone store in the US. I went to check out the space and, as a fan of the brand since my days at Browns, to ogle the autumn collection.
Accessories display at Surface To Air's New York store
The store was designed by architect Federico Masotto and reflects Surface To Air’s aesthetic by using materials such as marble, concrete, wood and slate. To the left, the menswear section is outfitted in black marble, while the women’s area down the right of the shop features a whitewashed brick wall. A huge slab of concrete in the middle serves as a display for accessories (there’s also a jewellery display hidden in the back) and modern seating furniture completes the look. The overall design is the perfect mixture between gritty and sleek and works very well within its New York setting.
Kid Cudi in Jérémie Rozan's video 'Mr. Rager'
Next door a video directed by Surface To Air founder Jérémie Rozan featuring Kid Cudi and the S2AxKid Cudi leather jackets played. The rapper and actor fights a gang wearing his jackets to his song ‘Mr. Rager’. To be perfectly honest, I still have no idea what was going on in that video apart from the collaboration being promoted. Visually, the short film is very interesting and beautifully shot. My personal feeling, however, was that it was a bit style over substance. But do you know what Kid Cudi looks like? Exactly. That’s why I’m really not complaining at all.
What I'd like to borrow from the boys
Wishlist item #1: red leggings
Wishlist item #2: red wedge booties
Lastly, the autumn collection. As always on this blog, I’ll ignore the menswear for the most part. This is because as a stylist I rarely do menswear which results in me not knowing enough to comment. There also may or may not be a discrepancy in interest between the two. To put it in the proverbial nutshell: I WANT IT ALL! Pretty much. Just like previous collections this one consists of pieces that are basic and a bit tough at the same time. There’s not much print, which I personally like, but lots of texture otherwise. Red is not a colour I wear that much (mentally going through my closet, no, nope, not a single piece) but I desperately fell in love with red leggings with leather appliqué and a pair of red wedge booties. I also found their hammered silk dresses lovely, as well as a beige coat that I didn’t manage to photograph well enough to post, unfortunately.
Surface To Air boots: Yes, please!
Surface To Air shoe designed by Leigh Lezark
Time to get ready for Bloggers’ Night Out now! It’s still a bit unreal that apparently I’m a blogger now. When exactly did that happen?
Don’t forget to check out the new Surface To Air store at 27 Mercer Street, New York!
Mary Portas: reshaping the retail landscape
Posted: August 19, 2011 Filed under: bags, easy style, London, retail, shopping the highstreet | Tags: Cinnamon Creative, Clarks, fashion, House of Frasier, Karen Cinnamon, Mary & House of Frasier, Mary Portas, Radley, Whistles 5 Comments »Mary Portas’ new shop at House of Fraser opened yesterday, in the department store’s Oxford Street flagship. The aim is to cover a market that is both obvious and badly served: the over 40s. Inspired by her own frustration with how women of that age group are treated by the industry – they pretty much become invisible – Mary took matters into her own hands. Expect a mix of clothes designed by Mary herself, edits from her favourite High Street brands like Whistles and a handful of collaborations with brands like Clarks and Radley. And it’s the Radley collaboration that has caught my eye.
Compton: a slouchy tassled hobo
Holloway: an easy to carry cross body saddle bag
Gracefield: a boxy grab or shoulder grab
Shopper: a contemporary and functional tote
Mary worked with the British brand on a limited edition handbag collection that comprises four ranges: Compton is a rather trendy tassled hobo, Holloway an easy to carry cross body saddle bag, Gracefield is a boxy classic, and Shopper is a functional tote. Every bag is made of beautiful leather and sports exceptional detailing such as heavy stitching, bombardier piping, oversized zip pulls, and hand woven tassel fringing. Some models are available in goes-with-everything black but I love the more colourful ones. Orange is obviously a colour of strategic importance in this case but I think it will be great to brighten up any outfit, too. There’s also plenty of middleground with brown, blue, teal and cream. The range truely offers something for everyone.
The line is available at ‘Mary & House of Fraser’ on Oxford Street, www.radley.co.uk and the microsite www.houseoffraser.co.uk/MaryPortas. The later happens to be designed by my friend Karen Cinnamon of Cinnamon Creative. She is a very talented graphic designer and branding expert who has worked with New Look, Marks & Spencer, organic clothing line Saf, London Fashion Weekend and many more. With all that retail & fashion experience she was definitely a great choice and I love the final product.
Putting that spring back in your step – Cocorose London
Posted: August 3, 2011 Filed under: accessories, easy style, shoes | Tags: Bafta, ballet flats, Cocorose London, fashion, Janan Leo, shoes 3 Comments »High heels are amazing. I don’t wear them nearly as often as I would like too. I find them especially tricky when I go out at night. The thing is you never know what will happen and how far you’ll end up walking. So when in doubt, I’ll wear flats.
‘Well, pack a pair of flats to change into then!’ I hear you said. That is a really good idea except for the fact that my handbag is never big enough to hold them. Not that I run around town with a clutch like I’m from Essex or New Jersey (just kidding!) but I tend not to take a shopper along. For obvious reasons.
From the Cocorose London AW11 collection: 'Glamour-Glitz' Black Rose with Diamante
That must have been exactly the problem that Janan Leo wanted to solve when she founded Cocorose London only four years ago. She doesn’t simply design ballet flats but foldable ballet flats. There are a bunch of flimsy ones out there but let me assure you that these are different: Cocorose London flats feature a thicker, sturdier sole that is simply split in two which makes it easy to fold them in half, pop them into the little purse they come in and store them away in your handbag. That usually should be enough to carry an emergency pair at all times but Cocorose London goes one step further and makes them pretty enough so you can – and want to – wear them every day.
From the Cocorose London AW11 collection: 'Classic Elegance' Lifestyle in Black
Cocorose have also been invited to design a special shoe for the BAFTA to go into the giftbags presenters and nominees got to take home at the 2011 awards earlier this year. Any pair of shoes usually retails for £45 and the brand is stocked at Fortnum & Mason, among others. For a full list check Cocorose London’s website.
The label also maintains a very cute blog that shows Janan ‘Cocorosing It’ in Manhattan, Cannes or Melbourne – all styles from the current collection.
When will you start Cocorosing It?
Summer Hair
Posted: June 30, 2011 Filed under: easy style, hair and beauty | Tags: Brigitte Bardot, fashion, hair and beauty, summer hair 2 Comments »I am very skilled at doing my own hair. NOT. In fact, I just tried a fish braid this morning and failed miserably. When you meet me, I’m most likely to have one of the following: loose hair, a messy knot I haven’t taken out after showering, a high ponytail, a low ponytail (which more often than not is what the previously high ponytail slowly morphed into). Exciting, right? So the style dilemma combined with the fact that temperatures are in the 90s most days here in New York had me searching for relatively easy hair styles even I can achieve.
I’m relatively good at teasing my hair (now that’s a bankable talent right there!) and thank God quite partial to the Bardot look. My hair is long and quite slippery. A hair dresser friend once announced to me that it’s far too healthy and that’s the reason it’s so uncooperative in updos. Of course I have the patience of a 3-year-old so any attempts can’t take longer than about 5 minutes. Max. So after extensive research (read: googling), here’s what I came up with:
Summer Hair
I think I can manage these. None of them is too precious so I should be fine even if things don’t go quite as planned. There’s room for improvisation, I think. I’m aware that they’re all quite same-y. But hey, I do know what I like. The first one I’ve attempted before. Of course it looked nowhere near the picture but it was fine. The second one (black and white picture) is pretty much my go-to party hair so maybe this toned down version could work during the day. The third one looks super-easy. You just put a headband on and then tuck in the ends. But I think I’ll do it without the cheesy flower. The fourth one looks a bit tricky to me so I’ll only give it a shot after I have mastered the other 3 (summer 2013 if we’re lucky!). It seems to me that it’s much neater than the others and I will have to figure out where it begins and where it ends. Also, my hair might be too long for that anyway. We’ll see.
What are your go-to hair styles for summer? Any easy tips for me?
Summer Sales – SANDRO Edit
Posted: June 24, 2011 Filed under: accessories, bags, easy style, retail, shoes, summer sale | Tags: Abstrait, Accordeon, Arbi, fashion, Regne, Sandro Paris Leave a comment »
Arbi boots were €395 now €276.5, Règne dress was €175 now €122.5, Accordéon belt was €95 now €76, Abstrait bag was €195 now €136.5
Running back to the other end of the spectrum, let’s have a look what French label Sandro has to offer. Here it seems to be all about accessories for me. I love the neutrals which are very current and every piece has interesting detailing.
FR by Fashion Rocks Sale
Posted: May 27, 2011 Filed under: accessories, bags, easy style, emerging designers, jewellery, leather goods, rock 'n' roll, trends | Tags: anchor, Angel Jackson, Bjorg jewellery, blazer, charm, draped dress, draping, fashion, Fashion Rocks, Feathers, Forrest & Bob, insect, Joseph, necklace, pendant, Preen Line, See by Chloe, t-shirt, tote bag, tux Leave a comment »
1 Forrest & Bob t-shirt was £41 now £20.50, 2 Bjorg Love Story Classic Charm 65 was £60 now £45, 3 Joseph blazer was £479 now £359.25, 4 Angel Jackson bag was £495 now 247.50, 5 See by Chloe vest was £140 now 105, 6 Preen Line dress was £350 now £175
The Fashion Rocks online shop has a sale!
Most of us know Fashion Rocks as the event that brings together the worlds of music and fashion to raise money for charity. But they also run an online shop stocked with great pieces by household names and less well known designers alike. The sale going on at the moment offers up to 50% off. I had a look through and picked a few hero pieces: Anything with an anchor on it instantly gets my attention. I think it has something to do with my stripes obsession… When you look back a couple of posts, you’ll find out that I’ve been trying to persuade everyone that insects are a trend for a while now. Same goes for white tuxes – are you convinced yet? I can picture Kate Moss carrying the Angel Jackson bag. I don’t think you need any more prove of its rock credibility! This See by Chloe top satisfies my craving for something unabashedly pretty and I can never resist some deconstruction in a garment, dresses in particular.
Unfortunately, Markus Lupfer is not discounted but so incredibly cool I’m happy to pay full price. There’s also a ravishing collection of (discounted!) Red Valentino pieces on the site. I love so many of the items (minus that dreadful clog) I couldn’t decide which one to include in my selection. So I decided to link to all of them.
Zara Plaited Shopper
Posted: May 25, 2011 Filed under: accessories, bags, easy style, leather goods, summer essentials | Tags: fashion, Olivia Palermo, shopper, tote bag, Zara 2 Comments »
Zara plaited shopper £79.99
Aaaaand I’m back!
I saw this bag on Olivia Palermo a few days ago and then found it in Zara. It’s a really beautiful shopper for summer. You can’t really see it in this shot but the handles are plaited which is enough detail to make the bag look interesting while keeping things simple. Carry it as it is or tie a colourful scarf around the handle to add some extra personality. The item is available in three colours but I like that one best. It reminds me of a saddle and horses and it feels very classic without being stuffy or boring.
Not that I ever thought Zara was not good but recently I’ve loved them more and more!
Metallic Mulberry Alexa
Posted: May 18, 2011 Filed under: accessories, bags, classics re-imagined, easy style, leather goods, London, trends | Tags: Asos, bag, Cambridge Satchel Company, fashion, Mulberry Alexa, my-wardrobe.com, pink champagne Leave a comment »
Mulberry Alexa £868 at my-wardrobe.com
Are metallic bags back? First The Cambridge Satchel Company issued an amazing metallic version of their classic satchel on asos.com and now there is a metallic version of Mulberry’s Alexa bag on my-wardrobe.com.
Buy the Mulberry Alexa in Pink Champagne here
Hervé Léger Fabiana booties
Posted: May 17, 2011 Filed under: accessories, easy style, leather goods, shoes | Tags: ankle boots, booties, fashion, Hervé Léger Fabiana, shoes, The Outnet Leave a comment »
Hervé Léger Fabiana booties now £260 at theoutnet.com
The fact that Hervé Léger do shoes has somehow escaped my notice. Cork soles normally aren’t my thing but in this case I’m far too busy checking out the ankle straps. They are the perfect colour for summer and the little studs along the sole are cute. These little babies come with a 60% discount which is a really nice deal.
