Fashion Blog,Fashion

Unless you weren’t already convinced of Alexander McQueen’s dark genius by the pictures of the clothing from his show, we submit to you: the shoes.

What we got from this collection (among other things) is perhaps the most ostentatious, progressive approach to footwear that we’ve ever seen from a major designer, at least in recent memory. The shoes were, on average, a full ten inches tall with huge platforms in the front to make them at least somewhat functional for walking. I pray for the models’ poor little ankles, but it was worth it to see these looks in their full form.

They came in three main varieties: first, ultra-high booties that looked more like prosthetic lobster claws than shoes you might see on the racks at Neiman Marcus, in keeping with the apocalyptic-aquatic theme of the show. These came in exotics, smooth leathers, and a variety of exterior embellishments, including shards of turquoise. The second type were booties that looked like something a resident in Wall-E’s post-apocalyptic Earth might wear. The heels were covered in an amalgamation of industrial metal, creating perhaps the most wearable shoes of the collection. The third type were intricately carved porcelain platforms that were reminiscent of a coral reef, held on to the foot by clear plastic straps.

These are the shoes that a mermaid would wear, if a mermaid had feet. Luckily, the ones in McQueen’s show did.

Personally, I’ve always gravitated towards vintage. In a room full of dresses, my eye immediately goes to the slightly romantic, ’20s style piece (actually, I have an affinity for all things antique—from ’40s jackets to sweeping ’70s dresses). While watching Marc Jacobs’ lovely fall collection last week, my heart skipped a beat as the finale dresses—a dreamy mix of slip-like fantasies—floated by. How would you describe your fashion personality? Take our style quiz and find out if you’re a Wild Child, Romantic, or True Lady; then shop out the perfect pieces for your next date night, weekend getaway, or girls’ night out.

Paris is cold enough this week but Karl Lagerfeld decided to make it a bit colder this morning at Chanel with a misting set of icebergs seeming to float in an Arctic-blue sea. The setting was the Grand Palais, and the bergs were hidden from the audience under a huge wooden box that mechanically rose when the show started. It was a lavish production, needless to say, with classic tweeds, cute knits and thick fur chaps dragged through the enormous wading pool by the models. All the fur, by the way, was fake. Any comment about climate change and melting ice caps was probably unintended. The Ice Hotel in Sweden provided inspiration. When asked backstage if he had ever visited the hotel, Mr. Lagerfeld, dressed in a Dior peacoat and bleached jeans with a vintage Cartier stickpin in his black tie, shivered and said no.

A dress from the fall 2010 Louis Vuitton show in Paris.

Miu Miu.

Louis Vuitton seemed to provide the perfect bookend to the Milan-Paris ready-to-wear season, which ended tonight. Between Miuccia Prada in Milan and Marc Jacobs at Vuitton we saw the return of the lush, full-hipped woman, her breasts served up like ripe fruit. Do those dry, sober minimalists have a chance next to Laetitia Casta, who opened the Vuitton show in a pinstriped gray sundress? Mr. Jacobs’ full-skirted silhouette, with corsets and sometimes a neat little jacket, was somewhere between Brigitte Bardot and Doris Day. The look certainly caught a sexy mood, but if you seriously thought about dragging those gathered skirts around, you’d be tuckered out by the time you reached the corner to hail a taxi.

Ms. Prada effectively closed the Paris season with her Miu Miu show. It was adorable, one of her best, with shapely black wool dresses with scalloped edges, high necks finished with a cord bow, and flowers or buckles in mirrored silver. Some shifts had a stiff, overlapping flounce at the hem, and other dresses and mini coats came in lavender and orange. The music was the 80s, the style had vague overtones of the 60s, but the look was fresh and wearable.

Gucci was founded in 1906 by Guccio Gucci who was the son of a craftsman. Guccio’s primary skill in design was his ability to create leather goods and thus started his career by selling leather bags to horsemen in the 1920’s. In 1938 Gucci opened his first retail shop on the Via Condotti in Rome.

During the 1950’s the brand had created some of its most iconic products that are still popular and very much sought after today including luggage, handbags and ties and enabled the label to open stores in a range of global fashion capitals including Paris, Beverly Hills, London, Palm Beach, and Tokyo. The 1960’s saw the brand becoming popular with the celebrities with Hollywood stars as Grace Kelly, Peter Sellers and Audrey Hepburn, favouring the brand and associating it with chic and sophisticated. Jackie Kennedy was also snapped sporting the Gucci shoulder bag, which subsequently became known as the famous ‘Jackie O’.

Gucci Sunglasses – Frida Giannini

In the 1990’s, Tom Ford became the Creative Director of Gucci and was responsible for the introduction of further product lines including a wider array of leather goods, fashions, perfumes, cosmetics, shoes, watches, jewellery, silk scarves and sunglasses. Frida Giannini was appointed as the Creative Director of Leather Goods and she oversaw the design of the range of Gucci sunglasses in addition to many other accessories by the brand. When Ford left in 2005, Giannini took over as Creative Director.

Gucci Sunglasses – The Styles

Gucci sunglasses are the ultimate in luxury and glamour and the brand is highly associated with only the most sophisticated and fashion aware individuals. The style remains classic yet constantly on trend and the collection of Gucci sunglasses includes a great selection of oversized, wraparound styles, aviators, and shields or visor styles, all complete with the famous Gucci logo.

There are some stunning new styles for 2010 which include a selection of oversized frames that take retro inspiration with their more square shaped and defined lenses and flat top frame section. This is a sunglass style which has become very fashionable over the past season and is a key trend for this season. In an array of colours including white, brown, black and tortoiseshell there is something to compliment every skin tone and style preference. Of course, the classic oversized sunglasses as worn by Kylie Minogue, Lucy Liu and Gwyneth Paltrow are a firm favourite and again experiment with vibrant and beautiful colours such as blue, turquoise and violet – perfect for stepping into spring! The new aviator styles are also delicately beautiful and a little more subtle than the classic oversized frames. Fine detailing is also popular within the collection, particularly positioned on the arm hinge whereby the Gucci logo is often presented in either the double GG style or as the crest logo. The logo is more overs

tated in some of the more typically glamorous style Gucci sunglasses.

Gucci Sunglasses –A Proud to Own Accessory

Gucci is a designer label that is highly renowned and respected for its quality products and incredibly sophisticated style. You will always be proud to own a pair of Gucci sunglasses that are timelessly classic but always on trend.

For Nicolas Hoult, luck is on his side with a movie role being accompanied by a campaign feature. Photographed by the designer himself, Hoult appears alongside Carolyn Murphy in Tom Ford’s latest eyewear campaign. A cheeky endeavor, the campaign features a nude Carolyn getting cozy with the English actor.

Clogs made a return to the fashion scene thanks to Chanel’s Spring Summer 2010 Ready To Wear Collection. We review this trend (with an open mind) and want to hear your thoughts – Are you Clog crazy? Have you already ran to your wardrobe to dust of your vintage lovelies?

Ladies who are looking to state their individuality through their jewelry may well be interested in Chanel costume jewelry
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Chanel costume jewelry is instantly recognizable through its combination of style and flair. The designs often feature the distinctive Coco Chanel logo. Chanel costume jewelry is different from the range of Chanel fine jewelry. Unlike Chanel fine jewelry that is created using traditional materials such as gold, platinum and precious gemstones, Chanel costume jewelry take a more unusual approach. The range of costume jewelry includes items that have been created using leather, ribbons and resin. Not only are these materials more unusual and therefore perfect for creating unique designs, they are also lower in cost making the costume line of Chanel jewelry accessible to more people.

The Range of Chanel Costume Jewelry

The full current range of costume jewelry can be found on the Chanel website. Unlike the fine jewelry section, the costume jewelry can be found under ‘Accessories’. The range changes with each season therefore it is a good idea to bookmark the page and keep referring back for the latest styles. Some typical examples of Chanel costume jewelry includes:

Chanel Earrings

The range of Chanel earrings is varied and exciting. It includes small and delicate earring styles through to more unusual and dramatic pieces. Many of the earring also include the Chanel logo. Chanel logo earrings are very sought after and are a popular style. Many of the earrings have an unusual fitting that looks like a loop, allowing the earring to dangle, but is secured with a butterfly clip.

Chanel Necklaces

Chanel necklaces include bold chains that are interwoven with colored leather through to crystal encrusted choker style neck pieces. One unusual style is a crystal tie that would make a very dramatic statement when combined with a little black dress.

Chanel Bracelets

The costume range of Chanel jewelry includes many unusual style bracelets and cuffs. The resin bracelet that is formed form a crystal clear resin that is inset with the distinctive Chanel logo is extremely stylish and would work well with both casual wear and formal attire.

Hair Accessories

In addition to traditional jewelry, the costume range of Chanel jewelry also includes hair accessories such as hair clips. These are stylishly designed from high quality materials and feature the Chanel logo. These are the perfect way to add Chanel style to an outfit.

Buying Costume Jewelry from Chanel

The Chanel website has information about stockists of Chanel jewelry. This is a useful way to find local retailers and can save many wasted journeys. Buying from an approved Chanel stockist ensures that only real Chanel jewelry is being sold and that there is no risk of buying fakes. To find a local store that sells Chanel costume jewelry simple go to the ‘Store Locater’ section of the website. Here, there is the opportunity to enter information such as ‘country’ and ‘town’. Chanel boutiques are often included in large department stores.

Looking After Chanel Costume Jewelry

All costume jewelry takes a little extra looking after to keep it looking in perfect condition. It is important that costume jewelry is kept clean and that dirt and grime is not allowed to build up on the surface. This is because the dirt will stop the jewelry from shining and looking its best. A gentle rub with a lint free cloth is generally all that is required. Materials such as resin can be damaged by harsh chemicals therefore refer to the manufacturers instructions for any special information about cleaning the jewelry.

Storing jewelry in an organizer will help to keep it clean and free from damage. There are a wide range of jewelry organizer available and these are perfect for storing different types and styles of jewelry.

Costume jewelry from Chanel, whether it is earrings, necklaces or one of the many other styles availa ble, is a great way to demonstrate your individuality without breaking the bank.

Swedish Hasbeens are possibly the only ‘comfortable’ shoes in recent memory that don’t make the wearer look like an elephant in a plaster cast, so we heartily approve of any new styles we can work into our wardrobes.

These high-heeled jodhpur clogs are particularly nifty, since they take in all of the season’s old Amsterdam styling with the springiness of the SH heel and the practicality of a black ankle boot. Sold?

In honour of the modest bit of sunlight that’s poked its way through the clouds in at least some areas of Britain today, here are some cheekily minimal shoes that will look great on our feet for the year’s first heatwave (all bets on as to when this could be!)

There’s not a lot you can do to a basic flat sandal to make it look great without crushing its delicate beauty in the process, but I like what they’ve done here: sun-gold is the shade to go for this summer, and that’s provided in abundance by the Chanel-style detailing on the strap. A triple heel strap adds extra sex appeal. Now bring on the sun!