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I love the changing seasons and the new fashions that they bring.
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Friday 25 May 2012

THROUGH A LENS

On Tuesday evening I went to the private view of "Out of Focus: Photography" at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea.  This was a very interesting exhibition of work by different contemporary photographers.  I was very stirred by Katy Grannan's portraits of people who displayed the ravages of time and lives that had not been easy or pampered. Each had their own individual style of dress, bravely showing their wrinkles, cellulite or obesity.  To me these were candid pictures of real "street-style".  I also loved Sohei Nishino's Diorama of Paris, one of a series of maps of big cities, where the streets seemed to come alive.






The Saatchi Gallery is located on Duke of York Square.  This former historic military site underwent a redevelopment about a decade ago. Now it's an attractive public square with an art gallery, shops, cafés and little fountains springing up from the ground.  It provides a very pleasant venue for shopping in the summer with a variety of fashionable shops including Joseph, Zara, Jigsaw and L K Bennett.  Patisserie Valerie is great for lunch or tea, or an ice cream would be nice in their Gelateria Valerie, a small pavilion in the middle of the square.



Seeing the Saatchi exhibition made me resolve to learn more about photography.

Friday 18 May 2012

LACE, LAGERFELD AND MARIE ANTOINETTE

Inspired by the beautiful lace dresses and separates included in Dolce and Gabbana collections over the seasons, I have built up my own collection of lace pieces. Lace is a feminine and flattering fabric for everybody but its delicate and fragile nature is marvellous for petite women.

My lace collection includes black dresses and tops, a black pencil skirt, and a cream top and now my latest addition, this rose pink lace top from H&M Divided.










I will wear these pieces in different ways with different accessories, often influenced by new designer collections and trends.

Talking of new collections, Karl Lagerfeld presented his Chanel Cruise Collection 2013 at Versailles on Monday.  His inspiration was Marie Antoinette and 18th century men.  Skirts were often short, above the knee but full, echoing the crinoline, necklines were feminine and reminiscent of the period with ornate choker necklaces and earrings.  Then there were the jackets and breeches based on male fashion of that era.  His models wore little bobbed wigs with a fringe, in different colours (black, blonde, pink, silvery, blue) on the crown and at the back a pony tail tied with a large bow at the nape of the neck, reflecting the 18th century men's hairstyle.  Makeup was pink (eyeshadow, blusher, lips, nails) and the finishing touch was a "patch" - a tiny, black interlocked "c's" Chanel logo, on the cheek below the eye.  Amazing!

I am busy now pulling out all my gold/pearl/crystal necklaces and earrings and delighted that I bought pink makeup for this season!  


Wednesday 9 May 2012

LOVELY LOUBOUTINS, ESCARPINS AND FRENCH CINEMA

After a cold bank holiday weekend, I wasn't really thinking about Summer.  With enthusiasm, on Tuesday evening I went to the Private Preview of the Autumn/Winter 2012 Christian Louboutin shoe collection at Harvey Nichols.  Guests were welcomed with a glass of champagne and shown his beautiful shoes and ankle boots, inspired this season by Scotland. There was a wonderful pair of red tartan court shoes with high thick heels.  Predominant colours were black, red, leopard or pony, grey snakeskin, cameo rose, and a peacock/purple/black combination. My personal favourites were a pair of peep toe pony ballerinas, trimmed with black and a black bow, with their matching, exquisite little baguette-shaped clutch bag, suede court shoes in black or red with the most delicate high heels, pony or leopard ankle boots and evening sandals in cameo rose or black satin with a bow at the heel.  These were shoes to dream of.

From red soles to green soles.  On Twitter, Chloe Green is doing a countdown to the launch of her new CJG shoe collection on 17th May.  The shoes really are going to have green soles and the collection is going to be sold as a concession at Top Shop.  I'm looking forward to seeing it.


I think it's worth investing in very good shoes.  The most flattering shoe for Petites is probably the classic, pointed toe court shoe with a slim, high heel.  This is the shoe which adds height, elongates the body and lengthens and slims the legs.  A  black pair is an essential for me. A shoe like this in a nude or light tone is good too for bare legs in the summer.  For me the flat option is a ballerina.

For a long time, white shoes were not considered stylish but now once again they are chic.  In their April edition, French Vogue's fashion pages, "L'Amour en Fuite" (Love on the Run) featured white dresses with white patent leather "escarpins" (court-shoes) by Gianvito Rossi.  "L'Amour en Fuite" was of course François Truffaut's 1979 film.  I love French films and plan to see "Café de Flore", a new film in French released in 2011.  It's actually a Canadian film but stars Vanessa Paradis.  (From Friday 11th May at the Ciné Lumière in South Kensington).  

TIP: To improve faltering French, Google's Translation site is marvellous. 


Thursday 3 May 2012

WINDOW SHOPPING


I love to go window shopping, even at night when the shops are closed.  My favourite shop walk is Sloane Street with it's designer shops.  I like to gaze at the Chanel and Christian Dior windows because their mannequins are completely dressed from head to toe - from their hair and their lipstick to their painted nails.  It's like a mini catwalk and an inspiring style guide.  One amazingly fine and springlike evening this week, I looked at the current Chanel window. 




On the left: white dress trimmed with black, gold bag, beautiful high-heeled sandals in black with green snakeskin.

On the right: green jacket trimmed with black with a green camellia on a black flower at pocket level, teamed with a white skirt trimmed with black, deep green bag and black high-heeled sandals.




The black and green snakeskin sandals.




Hair and Makeup

Hair was parted off-centre and smoothly wrapped round to a low chignon, with pearl studs placed in the hair to follow the curve.  Lips and nails were a pale peachy pink.

Summer Beauty Note:  Chanel Rouge Coco Shine is a hydrating, sheer lipshine in a lovely range of colours.  My personal favourites are Boy, no.54, a soft blueish-pink and Liberté, no. 46, an orangey-peach.