Good jeans!

Shock of all horrors, the other day i wore a pair of jeans... This is a shock for me because i haven't worn jeans for a long time (think, maybe, 3 years hahahaha) and i am firmly a skirt person. I loooove skirts. I love the swishy motion they make when you move, i love how you can kick them out, move them in, twirl around... how lovely. 

But, as i'm sure you are all more than aware, jeans are great! i don't even know why i went off them for so long! They're so casual but are easily dressed up, they are simple to wear but can be an item of immense complexity, they have such stereotypes and cliches associated with them (i for one am guilty of thinking of jeans in that way) but they can transcend them in interesting ways. While i think what Christoper Decarnin is doing at Balmain is intensely over-hyped that does not mean i can't appreciate what he is doing, not only with shoulder pads and sequins but also with denim. 

People, myself included, often forget that jeans are not the only item of clothing made from denim. There are occasional moments when i am reminded, i can recall a picture of Carine Roitfeld striding through the streets of paris on the Sartorialist wearing a knee-length denim skirt, and then another moment when i was browsing through Barneys while in New York and came across a long trench coat in a magnificent indigo shade of deepest denim by Lanvin and Acne. And it is this recurring image of that dark blue denim (in life it is lightweight and soft, almost making you wonder why no-one has thought of denim as a beautiful silk-like material before) that has me trying on jeans again, has me wandering through the recently opened Acne shop in paddington running my hands through their sizeable denim collection, has me spending hours on the Lanvin Acne website debating over a considerable purchase of a denim skirt. 

Of course, me being me, i realised that all this denim energy (denermgy, if you will), would be better suited making polyvore sets and thinking of my fabulous future wardrobe in which denim will no doubt feature. 

Monday

Lanvin and Acne denim jacket, Christian Louboutin heels, Kahn tee shirt dress, ray ban glasses, alexander mcqueen ring, lanvin necklace, alexander wang bag.

Oh work. Why does it taunt you so! Early hours, tedious meetings, looming deadlines... the whole thing is such a waste of time. You almost long for the days of your student life in which you lounged around in denim cut-offs and drank beer with the boys instead of going to your english lectures. Nostalgia led your fingers unintentionally towards the Lanvin/Acne denim jacket that sat languishing in your wardrobe while you wondered if it was a good purchase. Admittedly, it was an impulse buy, but at the same time you thought there wasn't enough denim in your wardrobe. You dress quickly, a tee-shirt dress, a pair of nude pumps, a huge hobo bag and a few pieces of jewellery and you're done. But somehow throwing the jacket over it all adds something else to the outfit. The military-style piping is quite on trend, and the denim is so luxuriously soft you feel a little scandalised that it is, after all, just denim. But you shrug it off. Maybe it's just got good jeans. 

Tuesday

lanvin and Acne denim jacket, topshop shocks, burberry shoes, marni top, richard nicholl skirt, topshop glasses, lanvin necklace, marni bag.

You love interviews. Sometimes you get real good ones, where the subject enters into a lively and open conversation with you, maybe not even no-holds barred, but definitely exciting and engaging. Even the ones where the interviewee is recalcitrant can provide you with some humour later. And the features regarding people/places/things profiling is some of the easiest to write, but of course that has nothing to do with why you love it so much. You're told you're going to interview an artist whose new exhibition is making waves in London, you have a few mutual friends and his girlfriend used to date a friend of yours from uni. It's all happy families, basically. In the happy knowledge that you're going to be spending a whole day out of the office you dress down, a casual denim jacket thrown over fun patterns (circles and brocade, oh my!) socks will sandal heels, and a pair of thick glasses (who needs contact lenses when you're working?) It's fun and exciting and silly, just like you.

Wednesday

Lanvin and Acne jacket, christian louboutin shoes, Giambatista Valli dress, chloe earrings, Angie Gooderham bangles (various).

It seems like the only night you ever go out is Wednesday. You meet friends on Wednesday, you meet The Boy on a Wednesdsay, you have drinks and dinner and all manner of canapes on a Wednesday... today, or rather tonight, you are off to a Film Premiere, ever the solidarity girlfriend. Not wanting to show him off you reach for the trusty denim jacket to take the edge off whatever you wear, but then you are unable to disengage yourself from your desire to be glamorous, and on comes a heavily sequined Valli dress, frothy louboutin stilletos and armfuls of architecturally sculptured gold bangles you picked up at Browns. As you walk out the door, jangling and glistening you hope that the denim jacket dulls your shine a little. You had good intentions, you swear!

Thursday

Lanvin and Acne denim jacket, Alexander wang heels, the row shirt, lanvin skirt, marni and dinosaur designs bangles, michelle jank neclace, marni bag.

You had lunch with a friend today, followed by stalking the flea markets and high street. You always shop better with her, she's ruthless to a fault, but also has the best eye of anyone you ever know. She just knows... You dress carefully because you want to impress her, a fun zany hot pink leopard print is balanced out with a simple tee, perspex necklace, a canvas bag and comfortable (but still high ) a.wang heels. You never thought anything of the denim jacket which you picked up off the armchair in your bedroom where all clothing in heavy rotation at the moment is thrown, but your friend does. 'Loooove the jacket darling,' she drawls in her adorable Aussie accent. You smile, at last you've done something right!

Friday

Lanvin and Acne jacket, elizabeth and james gladiator sandals, warehouse shirt, givenchy bag, rick owens skirt.

Casual Friday, the most poisoned of chalices, but even more so at your workplace. Casual Friday for most of the girls and guys you work with means wearing 5 inch, not 6 or 7, heels. For you this means flats, oooh glorious flats, and a long skirt in draped jersey, comfortable and oh so swishy, a crisp, clean, simple white shirt... You always used to wonder what kind of jacket would be good to go with this, blazer adds a little too much seriousness, safari jacket is a bit passe. You end up resting your eyes on your denim jacket, a smile lighting up your face. Absolutely perfect! you shrug it on, fill your bag with notebooks, phone, ipod, money and keys, and then out the door you go. You're walking to work today, why wouldn't you, in heels and swishy skirts!

You have read this article dreams / fashion / future / inspiration / me / polyvore / style with the title May 2009. You can bookmark this page URL https://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2009/05/good-jeans.html. Thanks!

don't fence me in.

You see, that's what you get for pre-judging someone. For some months now i have been thinking that Alexa is turning more and more it-girl as the days roll by, her leather leggings, her dj-ing, her muso boyfriend and move to the states (to live in WILLIAMSBURG, hipster-ville if ever i saw it) were enough to cement all this in my mind. And she waned away visibly, getting thinner and thinner, cutting her lovely hair into a boyish boring bob, and ended up making me lose a little bit of interest in her style. 

But then she throws me a huuuuge curve ball, and suddenly all is right with the world. 

wireimage via tfs

There could be no better collection to herald the return to greatness of my favourite Brit than Christopher Bailey's English Summer collection at Burberry Prorsum. It has had so much love from me on this blog, including my dissertation length post covering ad campaigns to anne hathaway back in december. All that lovely 1940s goodness, the tea dresses, the muddy dip-dye effect, sandals with socks and flower prints and the lovely image of aristos drinking ice tea on a wrap around balcony while the heavens let loose around them. 

The dress is gorgeous, a stunning shade of murky blue brocade, and summery without being cotton cheese cloth and string bikinis. But of course Alexa is never content to leave well enough alone, and adds her own quirky brand of cool with the tweedy blazer (sleeves pushed up of course) and heavy, clunky even, patent black boots. The overall look is not exactly 'garden party' like the original collection, but playing it safe is for the b-grade actresses with movies to promote and cardboard cutter boyfriends, which Alexa is most certainly not. Her hair is messy, and still a bit boring, but her cheeky grin and exuberance is enough to make up for it. She still looks a little on the thin side, but here is the jokey, matey, painfully witty Alexa I used to love. 

Welcome back. 

X

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where there's smoke there's fire...

'It has always been my rule never to smoke when asleep and never to refrain when awake'

Mark Twain - and i'm not trying to be flippant, i just thought it was funny. :)

At the risk of sounding un-politically correct, which you all know i am loath to do, i have to say that i find smoking very, very, attractive. I know, i know, i'm well aware of the health issues and the dangers associated with it, i am an educated member of the public sphere, believe me i know. But at the same time i find this dereliction of smokers tedious, yes it's bad for you, yes it's poisonous, but so are many other things in society that are just as bad if not worse. Freedom of choice is so admired in situations except smoking, suddenly it becomes this selfish, anachronistic thing to be smoking. 

The way i see it people ought to exercise a little mature understanding. If you are a smoker, or if you have no problem with it, fine, but if you have a problem with smoking then make it known and smokers will do the considerate thing by you and desist (if they are, as i hope them to be, accommodating kind people). Acceptance is the key i think, and though your personal opinions may differ be safe in the knowledge that it is they, and not you who are smoking. And, if you feel very very strongly about it then talk to them about it. I would never smoke around a person who has expressly asked me not to. Consideration and Accomodation walk hand in hand. 

 Edit: like i said in the comments box, perhaps it is because i am not a heavy smoker, or perhaps because i am well-aware of the health-risks and also a little ashamed that i still smoke despite knowing them, i am more modest in my smoking. I agree that there is nothing more disgusting than a group of people striding past you on the street flicking ash every which way and leaving a cloud of smoke behind them. Smokers can, i think, forget that their habit is harmful not only to them but to others. I try not to smoke in public and when i do it is never around those who do not smoke. I am like Kate Winslet in some respects, she is a smoker too, she has been one for some time, but she is very modest in her habit and smokes with humility. She, like me, is aware of the health problems, still smokes, but is a little ashamed that she does it. But then the enjoyment that she gets from them outweighs her shame in some respects. 

My mother's main argument in her anti-smoking diatribe arsenal is that i'm only doing it to fit in with the fashion industry and as part of some deluded sense of grandeur. Both of these ideas are wrong, what my mother can't understand nor comprehend, although i don't think she really wants to, is that most of the time i really enjoy it. There are negative after effects that i hate, like the lingering smell hours and hours after. But in the heat of the moment, pun intended, with smoke waves wafting through the air around you, shrouding you in old-school mystery, you can't deny the instant glamour effect. Beside all that image stuff though i get a thrill out of it. I know, very very very un-PC. But there it is. It excites me, and not in a rebellious, i'm breaking rules, i'm being different way. It just... well... makes me happy. It calms me down, clears my head, and gives me a little buzz. And i do very little else in my life wrong, so why can't i have this one little thing? 

Ah it's like preaching to a stone, she's never going to understand me. I can see the issues she has about health, but she won't understand the issues i have about pure, unadulterated, base enjoyment. We are at an impasse that we reach every 4 months or so and that we never quite hurdle. And so i turn to a place where i can air these thoughts and concerns without being completely attacked and in a calm and rational way. 

I am interested to hear your thoughts, saturated as we are with social and fashion editorial of smoking...

jak and jil 

We all know Lara smokes... a lot. And yet we love her anyway (or most of us do). Why can't it be like that in real life? 

X

Edit: My main point in this post was not about the glamour of smoking, perhaps i didn't express myself as clearly as i should have. I said that i think smoking can be this fashionable thing, but that is not the reason why i do it. It is the gross misconception of my mother that the only reason i smoke is because i think it is fashionable. I know i sound un PC when i write this, but i do get enjoyment out of it. Smoking is very very bad for you, of that i am very well-assured. But at the same time i get enjoyment out of it. It's that catch-22 that i am never quite sure how to approach. And to add insult to injury i am aware, ashamed even, of the negative health effects. Which should be sacrificed, my one vice, or my health? 

You have read this article me / models with the title May 2009. You can bookmark this page URL https://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2009/05/where-there-smoke-there-fire.html. Thanks!

i want a girl with shoes that cut and eyes that burn like cigarettes.

Vintage blazer, stella mccartney for target skirt, bassike tee, black tights. 

I bought this blazer, this wild, slightly uncontrollable blazer in this mixture of bright colours in a bit of a despondent at uni haze. My friend bought a leopard print coat that was cute and 60s and very chic, and i bought this crazy jacket. And i'm still unsure whether or not i actually like it. But, in its defence it fits like a dream, and the pattern is quite oriental which i like. I'm not even really sure why i bought it, except that as soon as i saw it on the rack it made me smile. Which is as good a reason as any, is isn't it? 

X

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Legs-a-go-go.

A toutes Jambes

Models: Anja Rubik and Natasha Poly

Photog: Terry Richardson

Magazine: Vogue Paris June/July 2009

Stylist: Emmanuelle Alt

[tfs]

Maybe it's just me, or maybe my experience of Paris was a little different, but Terry Richardson's Paris appears to be very different to mine... Kisses with popped feet in front of cafes, sheer stay ups and bondage heels with coffee, roller skates in front of the eiffel tower, Balmania... Where were my trysts in lace and stay-ups? Where was all this chic fun? 

Wait a second, who am i kidding? i may be no Anja Rubik or Natasha Poly, and i may not have Emmanuelle Alt by my side constantly pointing out that ripped balmain jeans look great with big balmain jackets, or that too much balmain is never enough, But i think i can identify with these pictures of Paris, even if they seem a little bit too fabulous to be true. I mean, who hasn't sat on their suitcase desperately trying to fit their many paris purchases into the tiny space? Who hasn't run for a bus in the desperate hope of making it on time, your chanel (or something less chic, perhaps) flying in the wind behind you, who hasn't had their umbrella turn upside down from the wind? 

There is something very playfully erotic about this shoot, and it is more tastefully and cleverly and subtlely done than the Eniko and Guinevere by Mario Sorrenti S and M ed that burnt my retinas with its overt dominatrix allusions. Anja's shocked face as she answers the door to her hotel room in a negligee, the disapproving, or perhaps slightly envious glance of the old woman towards Anja's enviable pins, in fact, the legs-a-go go that dominates this editorial (inverted in front of the eiffel tower, running through paris streets, climbing steps, astride motor-bikes, sheeesh god forbid you're not 5"11' in paris). It isn't called 'A toutes jambes' for nothing, it would seem... 

Terry Richardson sometimes gives me the creeps, but when he delivers he delivers in a big shiny package with a big shiny bow. Who would have thought that subtle and terry richardson could be used in the same sentence at least not after the Gossip Girl shoot in Rolling Stone (which i did love, but it wasn't exactly disguising the sapphic allusions, now was it?). But this shoot oozes sex in a very subtle, hidden way. If you just glanced at the pics you wouldn't see the lace garters poking out from under Natasha's man shirt, nor the look of throwaway no-inhibitions as anja pulls off her bike helmet... Sexy is all in the details, kids. 

There is am exuberant and infectious energy to the shoot. Alt does her best work with fun, not-too-serious styling, sequined mini skirts with patterned tights and breton-esque striped shirts, lots of androgynous pieces paired with super high heels and stay up tights, sexy done in a very french, chic way. Alt really is a tour de force in the fashion world, able to spawn a hundred copycats with her leather, denim, bare long legs, tousled bed hair and who gives a damn style. She wears it in real life, and then styles her editorials in the same way, which can lead to a signature image, and can be a little bit of an overkill in large doses. But when you think about it, and in comparison to the view that some people take on fashion, is kind of refreshing.

Just like this editorial.

Fresh and reviving, bringing a smile to your face... Just like Paris. 

X

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tumble out of bed and stumble to the kitchen, pour myself a cup of ambition...

Josh Goot skirt, gladiators, bassike tee, sportsgirl jumper, elke kramer necklace

Last night i went to a dinner party at a friend's house where there was just the right amount of wine (read: too much), a long table groaning with cous cous, honey soy chicken and string bean salad, filo pastry with spinach and feta, rocket tomato and bocconcini salad with balsamic vinegar, a precarious tower of brownies and bowls full of strawberries and cream. I've had the most fun i've had in a long time, my cheeks aching at the end of the night from laughter, walking home in that dizzy champagne haze. The torrential rain we've been having in sydney paused long enough for me to walk home in the early hours of the morning, and then started again so i could drift to sleep to the sounds of water splashing against window panes. 

X

ps. the post title comes from the dolly parton song 9 to 5, the version i've been listening to is a remix by royksopp and 2 many DJs, and its simply marvelous for alcohol-fuelled girls nights with dancing on tables and sharing secrets. 

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easy and breezy

'Style? A certain lightness. A sense of shame excluding certain actions or reactions. A certain proposition of elegance. The suspicion that, despite everything, a melody can be looked for and sometimes found. Style is tenuous, however. It comes from within. You can’t go out and acquire it. Style and fashion may share a dream, but they are created differently. Style is an invisible promise. This is why it requires and encourages a talent for endurance and an ease with time. Style is very close to music.'

John Berger

Dasha Zhukova (editor in chief of POP magazine)

[vanity fair]

I feel myself reaching for these french basics time and time again nowadays. I'm not sure what it is, but i think i am finally coming to a realisation about what is fashion, and what is style, something that could fill an entire post alone, and so with great difficulty i will attempt to restrain myself to a few paragraphs. But my trench coat, striped top, pencil skirt, white tee shirt, oversized man's shirt, black fitted blazer and drapey cos stuff is getting heavy rotation at the moment. 

I read this quote from John Berger about the difference between Style and Fashion, and it seems to have resonated deeply. Now is not the time to enter into that debate, suffice to say that, in my opinion, style and fashion can co-exist quite happily (my wardrobe need stand as an example of that) and that, also, a style may also be fashionable, but what is fashionable may not necessarily be stylish. The world of fashion is fickle and frivolous, that much we all know. But the world of style is infinite and boundless. All who have cultivated their own sense of style are welcome. 

I like that thought. I like the idea of style being able to overpower the world of fashion one day. An invisible, but powerful force. Fashion for the magazines, but style for the streets. 

A little food for thought: 

[first two: sartorialist, the rest: garance dore]

X

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Cannes Cannes

Ah all this Cannes photocall perusing has led me down the daydream path that i too often stray upon. But one little time this week while i procrastinate my uni work won't hurt, will it? So let's have a peek into the wardrobe of Fabulous Future Me as she travels to Cannes for a week to support her boyfriend and soak up the glamour. 

Arriving in Cannes

chanel 2.55, burberry trench, petit bateau striped top, rocker distressed jeans, lanvin necklace, marni jumper, ray ban sunglasses, moleskine notebook, lanvin flats. 

When you arrive at the airport laden with suitcases the Boy seems a little dubious. 'We're only going for a week,' he says, eyeing up what seems to be a hatbox. You sigh pointedly. He really has no idea, you'll have to teach him of your ways. Cannes isn't just a film festival, it's a fashion moment, and you want to be there, enjoying every minute of it. And how can you if you don't have an outfit suited to every occasion? You always attempt to travel in comfort, which means forfeiting the heels you normally wear, but as many have often mused comfort need not mean sacrificing style. And as you step off the plane and into the warm, but not stifling french riviera air you are the picture of modern french glamour, all stripes, trench coat, and chanel, spiced up with coral accessories and a pair of dark sunglasses. 'You look like you fit in here,' the Boy muses bemused. You smile, that was kind of the point. 

Opening Night

marchesa dress, diamond earrings and cuff from cartier, alexander mcqueen clutch, christian louboutin shoes. 

This is it, you tell yourself as you survey yourself in the mirror. The Boy's acclaimed and, if you do say so yourself, brilliant film is opening tonight to a rapturous audience of industry insiders and celebrities alike. You are so proud of him, and can't help but smile not only at the thought of him all decked out in tux and ties, but also at the praise that he will no doubt be receiving at the after party. He deserves it. You're not too sure about whether it will be praise or censure with the Marchesa gown, for the Boy's premiere you wanted to play it relatively safe and not drag the limelight away from him with a misguided sartorial slip. You've chosen floor length drapey pink with ruffles at the top and a pair of dreamy louboutins. The Boy opens the door of the bathroom and peers in, an amused expression on his face. 'You look lovely,' he says, 'can't you see that?' You're not sure if its the glare of the diamonds blinding him, but you have to believe him. Grabbing his hand you leave the hotel suite and make you way to the red carpet. 

Photocall

marni dress, michelle jank necklace, lanvin heels, vanessa bruno blazer, topshop ring. 

Accustomed, as you are, to photographer's cameras there is still something essentially unnerving about the photocall. It's sole purpose is to capture photos, unlike the perfunctory photographers at the end of red carpets there is no promise of a premiere/opening/party/fashion show at the end, only of immortalising your outfit in film for all to see. And the thing is, you're not even sure if you should be there, but they want girlfriends/boyfriends/partners as well as they click away the photos for promotional use. You laboured over this outfit, apparently it's supposed to be 'smart casual' whatever the hell that means, and whatever the hell that's supposed to imply nowadays. As the cameras click away you think you've finally understood it, and then they decide that partners really is too much, and return the focus onto the principle players. You can't decide whether you're relieved or disappointed. 

Beach

dior ring, guiseppe zanotti sandals, zimmerman one piece, josh goot dress, chanel watch, mulberry bag. 

What's the point of coming all the way to the Riviera if you're not going to soak up some sun? You leave the Boy to his own devices, he ran into some of his acting buddies and they're all going to drink bourbon or something horrid like that, and so you just slip on something comfortable and head to the beach. You're not working on a tan per se (you applied +30 before you left the hotel) but you do just want to feel the heat on your skin and relax with a good book. The swishy folds of a josh goot dress are just perfect for that, and your zimmerman one piece underneath means that in the even that you want to go for a dip then you can. But the comforting warmth of the sun is not persuading you to leave your post anytime soon.

 

Shopping

seven for all mankind jacket, mulberry bag, marc jacobs dress, rayban sunglasses, marni necklace, lanvin shoes. 

Never miss an opportunity to shop, is your motto, and though it may not be poetic or obtuse it is marvelously easy to follow, which is rather the point when it comes to mottos, isn't it? Like always you can be found searching high and low for the perfect bargain, as well as indulging in some glamorous window shopping, and as much glamorous real shopping as your credit card will allow. You buy lots of little shell necklaces for your nieces, some beautifully crystal-stoppered perfume, a vintage bow tie from the 30s (you'll have to show him how to tie it...) and some other french goodies for yourself. Happy and content, refleced by your bright lanvin sandals and purple and yellow striped dress you return to the hotel laden with shopping bags, tales and stories. A perfect day. 

Interview

Burberry trench, lanvin bag, marni top, marni skirt, dries van noten jacket, marni shoes

Your editor would never miss the opportunity to work you to the bone, and she just jumped at the chance to ruin your holiday with some work. You're supposed to interview the fashion designer who made the costumes for a hugely anticipated 1940s film about dior. Though you were initially dreading the prospect, he turns out to be engaging and fascinating, with a lifetime of hilarious anecdotes and  a biting humour to go. The hours and cocktails line up, and yet you still don't want to finish it. In fact, you're even looking forward to writing this story. Who would have thought? 

Closing Night

cartier earrings, bottega veneta clutch, nina ricci dress, rick owens organza jacket, chloe heels. 

You really can't believe it's all over. It seems unfair, like you haven't gotten enough out of it somehow. There's been plenty of champagne and raspberries and cigarettes on the deck, but it seems like it's all been this blur, you want it to go on and on and on... You're sitting in your hotel room after the closing night gala, sadly wiping the make up from your face and taking diamonds from your ear. The Nina Ricci dress went down a treat, as did (it would seem), your legs. But still, despite all the fun you had you are sort of glad to go home. Every time you leave you think how happy you are to get away from it all, but there is a certain comfort in home and all your routines. You're glad that despite how many photographers flashes and how many premieres the Boy and you will still want to read the papers on Sunday in bed with boiled eggs on toast. Home, there's no place like it. 

X

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Cannes you do it?

God i love Cannes. You must think i say this about every event that requires more than a pair of distressed jeans and shredded tee shirt (from both the girls and the guys). And, well, i actually do. Why is this? Because i am a lover of glamour, unashamedly and completely. In fact, i don't just love it, i adore it. And so the pics from the Cannes Film Festival combine a few loves for me, french riviera culture, the glitz and glamour of a bygone era, and the beauty of the film industry. And not hollywood mind, i'm talking about interesting, fascinating, well-made, incredibly moving films (Samson and Delilah, the Australian film is showing there, and let me tell you i cried and cried and cried...) I wish fervently one day that i am that fabulous, perhaps fabulous future me will get an invite from her actor boyf, there for a film opening and some sun, and i can swan around in swathes of silk organza looking beautiful and sipping champagne at 10 in the morning. *sigh* 

Isabelle Huppert

[celebutopia via tfs]

She's wearing a Louis Vuitton tee-shirt in the way that someone supremely stylish wears a louis vuitton tee-shirt, that is, not caring at all. I chose this photo not because it showcases the outfit particularly well (the rest was jeans and a blazer), but because i think she is such a perfect example of ageing well and gracefully. She is so beautiful and yet we can see her age, is that really a problem? i will never understand the trend for age-defying plastic surgery and make up, when looking your age can be graceful and stylish in and of itself. It says that you have stories to tell, and don't we all want that? 

Tilda Swinton

[celebutopia via tfs]

Ah tilda swinton, that bastion of 'what is she wearing now?' gossip columns, that shining beacon of hope held aloft for avant garde designers everywhere, that completely, impossible graceful of actresses, that true brand of performer... Whatever she is wearing, whatever she is performing, whatever she is doing she is sure to elicit reactions across the globe. 

I for one find her fascinating in the way one finds aliens or gemma ward fascinating. She has this ethereal, odd beauty, it seems different and separate from normal prettiness somehow. She is striking with that pale pale hair and waxy skin and piercing green eyes. I like her with this blonde crop too, it is more eye-catching than the red, even if they may seem impossible, i think the fact that the blonde kind of melds into her overall skin colour is intriguing. 

But enough ranting about her, lets talk about the clothes. This is Haider Ackerman Fall/Winter 09, and though i love the cut and the style i preferred it in the charcoal black that it was on the runway. Still, she is bold, and went for bold burgundy, and she certainly looks regal and powerful and everything, as always. 

Ben Whishaw, Jane Campion and Abbey Cornish

[tfs]

Abbey looks nice, yep, i think jane's wearing a rick owens jacket, great... i'm more concerned with ben whishaw! oh dear god, he is that perfect successor to johnny depp's rumpled goodness. ahhhhh... look at his face! his ruffled hair, his man cardigan. he's so tall! he's so thin and lithe! ah i love him. *sigh*

Devon Aoki

[celebutopia via tfs]

i just love this colour on her, it's poetic and fairy-tale with her doll features. I'm not too sure of her relevance, but she looked a lot better than some of the people there in the first couple of days, rocking this one-shouldered dress with beautiful draping. The silk organza layers were just gorgeous, and the variations in the colouring of the lilac layers meant that the dress seemed to shimmer, it was alive. Ahhhhhh .... perfect. 

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like players at a theatre.

[getty images]

Trust Karl to make a one-sided front row. Whether it was because the fashionistas couldn't be arsed to go all the way to venice and thus he didn't have enough audience, which i won't believe because i would use any excuse i could to go to venice, or whether karl was just being hopelessly control freak i don't care. It's nice to think that they all sat there, like the audience at a theatre show, lit by the vintage stage lights, reclining in deck chairs, watching this spectacle strut by. And it makes for a nice picture, doesn't it? 

X

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No deaths in Venice.

There is some small comfort to be found, in times likes these, in the Chanel Resort/Cruise and Pre Fall shows. Firstly, the fact that Chanel even stages these shows, usually in glamorous locations with a cast of hundreds, a front-row showing of A-listers and clothes laden down with fanciful embellishment, is a marvel in logistics. Secondly that Chanel has enough money to produce resort and pre fall collections, let alone shows, is incredible considering the economic climate. And finally, the sheer spectacle and theatrics of the show are comforting in the way that a gauche, over the top musical is comforting, and the way watching the lavishly produced, exorbitantly made 'Cleopatra' with Elizabeth Taylor is comforting... We all love to indulge, even if that encompasses watching others do so and not ourselves.

There was no way i could NOT like this Chanel collection, i love every chanel collection this is true, but this one, peppered as it was with touches of 1920s/30s glamour, the whispers of by-gone eras where the lido deck in Venice was like a runway unto itself, when women dressed up every single day and when not wearing gloves outside the house was considered the height of informality. There were long, tailored silhouettes, plenty of structured ballerina length skirts and the usual boucle cropped jackets in stunning colours of titian red (subtle allusions to Venice continued throughout). 

There was a definite air of 'so what' about it. Karl is a man (all evidence to the contrary, i know) who constantly remarks that fashion is fashion, and will continue through recessions and long after them. In fact the 1930s silhouettes, think column dresses, wide-legged Hepburn pants, floppy hants and little sailors suits, were appropriate (more appropriate than they have ever been) considering the similarities we are feeling with the 1930s. And i'm not talking about women's liberation, the beginning of cinema, the golden age of couture... No i'm talking about economic recession. I suppose this is Karl's way of showing solidarity. We went through it then with all the glamour and glitz of the bright young things, perhaps we could learn a thing or two from them. Forget austere dressing, you can't maintain high spirits in black and grey. 

I, for one, am inclined to agree with him. Who could not raise a smile to their face when watching Marc Jacobs' FW show with all that bright neon and crazy 80s colours. Life is more beautiful in colours i've realised, and more uplifting. And Chanel always does colour in the most interesting way. There is the usual proliferation of black and white (this is Chanel after all), but mixed in there were the most gorgeous shades of crimson titian red, burnished gold, oranges and pinks in chiffon, even some deep purple in there. Colour, yes, but oh so tastefully done.

 

Karl always manages to involve influences and motifs from the country/location in which he is showing or upon which he has based his collection in the most ingenious way. Though some have maligned the lack of venetian imagery in the collection and its location (i suppose they expected the models to be sailing down gondolas through the canals) i think it was both an informed choice of location and well-done allusions. The choice of the beach outside the hotel excelsior was perfect, it was once the stomping ground of the bright young things, i remember a picture of Idina Sackville-West on the day she announced her engagement to Josslyn Hay on the Lido in the same kind of drop-waist white dress as seen on the models, the spitting image of the picture which cause scandal, outrage, and countless imitations across the jet-set. And the sunglasses with venetian mask handles was a nice touch too, you have to admit. As was the stunning finale of models stomping down with black hats and billowing silk organza capes. Their 1940s esque bra-let swimsuits a nod to trends no doubt, but in that irrepressibly 'chanel we dont care about trends' way. 

It was theatrical and over done, but well done. I am constantly amazed how Karl can manage to turn out these resort and pre-fall collections for Chanel that are so gloriously luxurious as well as manage to maintain the rest of the Chanel line, the Fendi house and his own personal design house and diffusion line. The man is a machine. When does he sleep? 

Never, it would seem. But if he continues to produce these beautiful, show-stopping collections of chanel staples and stylish extras then i won't complain. I promise. 

X

[WWD via The fashion Spot]

also how exciting to see Myf Shepherd, my favourite australian model in the show. She's definitely on the up, can't wait to see her rock couture (again). 

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