WINTER WARMERS WITH A SPARKLE .....Hat, Tube Scarf and Gloves

Now it is cold and time to wrap up in a hat, scarf, gloves.........

My new winter accessories have this season's sparkle. 

In the photo above:

• Black moss knit hat and tube scarf in a polyester/acrylic yarn with a glittery metallic thread

• Black gloves with sparkle

all from H&M Kids department in the size that fits up to 14 + years.

Sometimes I find that one-size hats and tube scarves come up very large and are rather drowning on me.  These pieces are just right for my small frame.  

This department certainly has some great clothes for very young fashionistas.

DARK GLAMOUR

Now it gets dark early and late Autumn is taking us into Winter.  I'm thinking of those crisp, frosty nights with clear skies and bright stars.

Hoods have become so significant this season, not only on casual parkas but also appearing in a more romantic form. At Dolce and Gabbana there were hooded fairytale capes and medieval warriors in sparkling balaclavas.

I have bought a very basic piece - a black hooded jacket in a soft sweatshirt fabric.  The hood is jersey-lined and has a cord drawstring.  Whilst it's a welcome addition to my casual clothes, it also works well as a cover-up over my dark pieces in the evening. 
   

In the photograph above:

• Black hooded jacket and black wool mix mitten, both from H&M

• Pearl pendant on a silver chain and mini pearl bead bracelet with silver beads and pavé crystal, both from Accessorize

• Black Opium, by Yves Saint Laurent, Eau de Parfum.

BLACK OPIUM, YVES SAINT LAURENT

Black Opium, the new "glam rock" fragrance from Yves Saint Laurent, echoes the mood of dark glamour. Mysterious and addictive, it's a blend of Black Coffee, White Florals and Vanilla.  A splash of this scent is the perfect finishing touch.

AUTUMN PIECES

After a mild September in London,  October has brought the Autumn.  Now's the time to bring out my new pieces. 

In the photograph above:

top: a black acrylic long sleeved knitted jumper from H&M, perfect with my black imitation leather mini-skirt,  featured in my post, "Little Black Skirt" (06/09/14).  The little pearl pendant on a silver chain is from Accessorize.

bottom: a grey short sweatshirt from H&M with soft, fleecy lining, to team with jeans or leggings, (full view below).

I've not been able to find the right pointed toe flats yet but these black imitation suede ballet pumps from H&M look good with black matte opaque tights.

Fashion Note: Emerging this season, alongside the sixties styles, are influences from the seventies.  This continued in the Spring/Summer 2015 collections, presented during the recent Fashion Weeks.  In Paris, Saint Laurent's collection was seventies inspired and included glittering platform sandals.  Louis Vuitton presented a luxurious collection of seventies style bags.  

SILVER SANDALS

Silver, gold and sparkle were afoot at my favourite Autumn/Winter 2014 catwalks, Saint Laurent and Dolce and Gabbana.  As soon as I saw these little flat, silver leather sandals at Topshop, I thought they would be a good idea.

Topshop "Harley" Silver Leather Flat Sandals

They add an easy glamour to a lace shift dress.

Meanwhile, I'm still looking for that perfect pair of black, pointed-toe, flats!

BLACK OPAQUE TIGHTS

At the Saint Laurent Autumn/Winter 2014 show, mini-skirted models wore thick, black opaque tights.  I think this is an ideal way to wear this Autumn's shorter skirts, especially for those who are hesitant about showing more leg.

H&M do a  good selection of opaque tights and my two favourite pairs have the added benefit of being control tights, which help to give a firm, trim silhouette. 

The first pair, in the photograph below, H&M 100 Den Matte Black Control Tights are very thick and matte.

  

H&M 100 DEN, MATTE, BLACK OPAQUE CONTROL TIGHTS

For a finer, lighter weight option but still opaque and matte, I like these H&M Black Control Tights Tummy & Thigh Hold 50 Den below: 

H&M BLACK CONTROL TIGHTS TUMMY & THIGH HOLD 50 DEN

Now it's time to buy a pair of new shoes!

LITTLE BLACK SKIRT

So here is my first new piece for Autumn 2014

a black, imitation leather, mini-skirt with zips on faux pockets, from the H&M Divided range.  The material is soft and looks like leather.

A little skirt seems to be the new season's must-have. French Vogue suggested that the "little black skirt" is Autumn's version of the "little black dress".

As my new skirt sits low on the waist and I am petite, it isn't so very short on me, about 2 ½" above the knee.

I will wear it with black opaque tights (very Saint Laurent A/W 2014/2015) and pointed toe shoes, either flat or with low kitten heels.

I'll keep the look chic and sophisticated by teaming the skirt  simply with a little black jumper. 

A FIRST LOOK AT AUTUMN - CHANEL MAKEUP COLLECTION " États Poétiques"

Amazingly it's nearly September and the weather has taken a distinctly autumnal turn. I'm beginning to think about the season ahead.

Strong fashion trends this Autumn are "sixties" silhouettes, biker girls and leather, fairy tale and romance.  New makeup collections reflect these looks.  I started getting into the mood of the new season by looking for a pink-beige lipstick (very "sixties") and the striking contrast of a nail polish in one of the new stormy tones.

Chanel's Autumn 2014 Collection, États Poétiques is all about the contrast between soft and intense shades.  It includes: 

Rouge Coco Shine, Hydrating Sheer Lipshine in Intime (93), a pink-beige 

Le Vernis Nail Colour in Orage (631), a dark grey with a blue undertone.

CHANEL - Le Vernis in Orage (631) & Rouge Coco Shine in Intime (93)

The colours and textures of the lipshine and nail polish were just what I wanted!

LOOM BANDS - A FLASH OF ORANGE AND SHOCKING PINK

Loom Bands, friendship bracelets made from brightly coloured elastic bands woven together, were the latest craze from the playground. Now adults have caught on, especially since Kate, Duchess of Cambridge was seen wearing one given to her during the royal visit to New Zealand.

Penny, aged nine, is busy making them for family and friends in their favourite colours. I chose orange/black and pink/mauve, following the theme of my summer makeup (my post, "Pretty Pink Lips for Summer" 15th June).  In the photograph below, my Loom Bands are teamed with H&M Nail Polish in Summer Sunset (orange) and Pink Shock (shocking pink).

Currently, I am painting my fingernails orange, my toenails shocking pink and I'm wearing my fuschia lipgloss.

"IN OUR PARADISE..." EXHIBITION AT THE SAATCHI GALLERY

Last night I went to the Saatchi Gallery for the launch of "In our paradise...", an exhibition of recent photography from the Ukraine, curated by Galina Skliarenko.  The exhibition takes its name from a line in a poem by Taras Shevchenko, the 19th century Ukrainian poet and celebrates the 200th anniversary of his birth. 

The photographs exhibited are by five Ukrainian artists:

Oleksandr Babak and Anatol Stepanenko

Victor Maruschenko 

Tiberiy Silvashi

Anna Voitenko

and reflect a modern Ukraine and its current challenges.

The photograph by Victor Maruschenko, from the Dream Land series, (below) depicts a traditional Ukrainian landscape.....the fields, the building in the background with the little Russian style onion dome.

by Victor Marushchenko - Dream Land series

I was also struck by his view of Chernobyl (below).

by Victor Marushchenko - Chernobyl

The Soil (Terra/Fundamental) series by Tiberiy Silvashi is a group of photographs of soil from the Ukraine (1 example below).  Looking at them, I thought how symbolic and significant the soil, the earth itself, often is to people who love the land they live in.

   

by Tiberiy Silvashi - (Terra/Fundamental) series

The above are some examples from an interesting and well thought out collection.  The exhibition runs until 3rd August.

PRE-FALL COLLECTIONS FROM CHANEL AND SAINT LAURENT

The Pre-Fall Collections have arrived in the designer stores and there's a Western trend around.

Chanel's amazing Pre-Fall Collection, now displayed in their windows, was presented in Dallas and is very cow-girl inspired.

Chanel Pre-Fall 2014

Other designers have taken a lower key approach to this look but have included some Western inspired pieces in their collections.

My favourite pieces are from Saint Laurent's Pre-Fall collection:

Emmanuelle, a small ochre suede and leather fringed bucket bag

Western Cat Boot, a silver-studded black leather ankle boot with little heels

Western Debbie Boot in black leather with silver studs and high heels

Western Paris Boot in cigar suede with suede appliqué, silver toe tips and high heels

Curtis Jacket, in beige suede with fringes

They are all so beautiful!

Personally, I like the idea of teaming cowboy boots and a couple of pieces of Western style jewellery with jeans or a lace dress or skirt.  I could be very tempted too by a small, suede, fringed bag!!!

NEW MIDSUMMER PIECES

It's Midsummer Day and time for a few new summer pieces from H&M.....

a dreamy sheer black cropped top with wide lace sleeves......... 

Black Cropped Top with wide lace sleeves from H&M

worn with a pendant on a long fine silver chain or a long multi-chain necklace made from three different style chains in a dark silvery metal as below...

Dark Silvery 3-Strand Chain Necklace from H&M

and a pair of black lace ballerinas.

Black Lace Ballerinas from H&M

I will wear these pieces with dark denim jeans (or denim shorts perhaps).  One of the season's large floppy black straw hats would be good with this look.

Basic t-shirts are always an essential and my new one is the right shape for this summer - cropped, wide, short wide sleeves with turn-ups.

Short Wide Black T-shirt from H&M

After my Mid-summer night dreams, it will be time to wake up and look at the new Pre-Fall collections and the summer sales.

PRETTY PINK LIPS FOR SUMMER

Next weekend it will be the Summer Solstice and I was thinking about buying a new pink lipgloss for a summery look. 

Chanel describes their new summer makeup "Reflets D'Été de Chanel", as a "candy-bright" collection.  It's a mix or match of pinks, coral, orange and violet with a glint of copper or bronze.  The idea is to co-ordinate or clash these shades.  Lisa Eldridge demonstrates one beautiful way to use colours from this collection on  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6f--xQE4j0 …

Lèvres Scintillantes Glossimer lipgloss comes in 5 sweet, pretty colours:

Hello (184)   Glaze (03)   Sexy (185)

Happy (186)   Sunny (188)

This lipgloss has a smooth, gel texture and these new shades add just a light gloss of colour to the lips.   I chose Sexy (185), a fuchsia pink.

Lèvres Scintillantes - Sexy (185)

For matching, co-ordinating or clashing nails, Le Vernis Nail Colour comes in five new shades.  I must also mention the two new shades of Inimitable Waterproof Mascara - Violet Touch (67) and Orange Touch (77).

SANDALS, NAIL POLISH AND TRANSATLANTIC CRUISING

The trend this season is for flat, comfortable shoes. Fashion is talking trainers, flat sandals, pool sliders, espadrilles.........

Back in early April, in optimistic mood about the weather, I bought these Black Leather Footbed Sandals from Topshop.

Black Leather "Haven" Footbed Sandals from Topshop

Now that it's getting warm, it's time to paint my toe nails and wear my sandals.  There are so many lovely colours to choose from in my collection.  I could go for a subtle look with a brownish-pink, or think of desert sands and paint them in gleaming gold or bronze.  I think I'll begin by trying the mini bottle I was given of Essie's "Naughty Nautical" (266), a "brilliant blue green", like the ocean. 

Essie Nail Polish in Naughty Nautical (266)

Still in a nautical mood, I like Dior's "Captain" (750), red  

Dior's Captain (750) Nail Polish

and "Sailor" (700), deep blue,

Dior's Sailor (700) Nail Polish

both from Dior's "Transat" Makeup Collection for Summer 2014, inspired by smart Transatlantic cruises in the 1950's. The nail polish comes with a transparent sticker kit (shown in the photographs above) to add sailor stripes and a CD logo, if desired.  Just right, perhaps, with white leather pool slider sandals.

The "Transat" Makeup Collection echoes the theme of Dior's Cruise Collection 2015, recently presented in New York.  The collection was based on the idea of chic ladies travelling from Paris to New York on transatlantic liners.  Silhouettes were elegant and classic silk squares were used to create dresses or fluid tops. 

SAIL   AWAY!

WHAT'S IN STORE - PROMOTIONS AT HARRODS AND SELFRIDGES

During May, London stores, HARRODS and SELFRIDGES are offering shoppers exciting promotions and events.

At HARRODS, the theme is PRADA.  

On the 4th floor, there is an interesting and colourful exhibition, "PRADASPHERE". Delving into the PRADA archives, it presents the influences and inspirations behind their designs and a display of clothes, shoes and bags from past collections.

Downstairs on the ground floor, shop windows are devoted to this season's PRADA collection.

"PRADASPHERE" runs until 31st May.

Over to SELFRIDGES in Oxford Street, where they are presenting "THE BEAUTY PROJECT".  Shoppers are greeted with "Hello Beautiful" at the main front entrance!

It's a festival of beauty with various events, including debates. Beauty brands have been given the opportunity to present special displays and promotions.

DIOR has created "THE KINGDOM OF COLOURS" especially for "THE BEAUTY PROJECT".  

DIOR'S new "Transat" Summer Makeup Collection 2014 is now on display.  Taking it's theme from an elegant Transatlantic cruise, colours are red, deep blue and beige.

On the Yves Saint Laurent beauty counter, they too have launched "Bleus Lumière" their Summer 2014 makeup collection.  Again, it's in a maritime mood, inspired by the different shades of sea blues. 

For "THE BEAUTY PROJECT", they are "celebrating worldwide beauty" with their lipstick covered globe, below.

Those are just examples from two of my favourite brands. There's something for everybody here, whatever their age, style or concept of beauty.

"THE BEAUTY PROJECT" runs until 12th June.

MY NEW CHANEL GLASSES

My New Chanel Glasses

It was time for my routine eye test and for some new reading glasses, so I went along to my opticians, Chatoo, in Kensington (chatoooflondon.com).  They are excellent, well established opticians offering expertise in eye testing, glasses and contact lenses and carry a good selection of frames, including designer brands.   

I wanted some very chic, classic, Chanel glasses (most definitely Chanel!) and I chose flattering dark grey tweed effect frames.  The size and shape are perfect for a petite person's face. 

The silver double-C Chanel logo on both arms is small and discreet and the glasses come in a black Chanel hard case with a silver Chanel logo at each end (see photos below).

Detail of Chanel logo

Chanel case

Now I can look stylish when I am reading!

SEQUINED AND FRILLED - TWO NEW TOPS

Sequins, sparkle and frills featured in designer Spring/Summer 2014 collections, (at Saint Laurent there were little cocktail dresses in Eighties mood) and I have echoed this theme with two black tops I bought at H&M.

The sequined top, shown below, is in chiffon.  with adjustable, narrow shoulder straps.

Black Sequined Top from H&M

This silky top has spaghetti straps and frills.  The front opens with concealed hook-and-eye fastenings........ 

Black Silky Frilled Top from H&M

....and I can wear them both with my tuxedo jacket featured in my last post, "A New Tuxedo Jacket" (09/04/2014)!!!

A NEW TUXEDO JACKET

When the late Yves Saint Laurent first presented his "le smoking" or tuxedo suit for women, back in 1966, it caused a great deal of excitement.  

I have been looking around for a tuxedo jacket and I've found H&M's Dinner Jacket, which is from their Spring 2014 collection. 

Black Dinner Jacket from H&M

The jacket is short, even slightly shorter at the back and quite fitted. It is made from a woven fabric with satin lapels, has welt pockets at the front and is buttonless. 

Since Hedi Slimane became creative director at Yves Saint Laurent in 2012, he has revamped the legendary fashion house, giving it a new name, SAINT LAURENT  and a young, modern mood.  Whilst taking inspiration from contemporary fashion influences such as grunge and rock chic, he has retained the essence and tradition of Yves Saint Laurent and most definitely the iconic tuxedo!

Even the SAINT LAURENT stores have been newly refurbished to reflect the new image - see the Sloane Street store in London below.

Saint Laurent, Sloane Street

YVES SAINT LAURENT - the new film

Of course I just had to see  "Yves Saint Laurent", the new film about the legendary designer, who sadly died in 2008.  This very stylish French film is a treat for the eyes of those who love fashion and beautiful clothes.

The film traces his life from his early success and fame as a fashion designer at Dior at the age of 21.  We see the opening of his own fashion house and his eventual venture into ready-to-wear.  

It shows his long relationship, both in business and romantically, with his partner, Pierre Bergé.  We also learn of Saint Laurent's neurotic personality, his depressions and breakdowns and his drug dependency.

French actors, Pierre Niney (Yves) and Guillaume Gallienne (Pierre) gave very convincing performances.  Gosh, Pierre  Niney looked so like Yves!

I left the cinema feeling rather sad, but I was glad that I saw the film.

NATorigin POWDERED EYE SHADOW

NATorigin's cosmetics and skincare products are made from natural, gentle ingredients.  In addition to their excellent Pencil Eye Liner and Lengthening Mascara, they have now introduced a new product - NATorigin Powder Eye Shadow.

This is a really soft and gentle eye shadow, made with ultra-micronised shells of organic argan nuts from the Tree of Life and extracts of pomegranate.

Currently, it comes in 7 shades: 
Silver (81), Light Blue (84), Brown (89), Mauve (92),
Bronze (93), Golden (97) and Vanilla (98). I was given the opportunity to try the eye shadow in a couple of shades and I chose Bronze and Golden. Bronze and gold eye shadows have been used frequently on models in recent designer fashion shows.

NATorigin Eye Shadow - Bronze

NATorigin Eye Shadow - Golden

These are both lovely, glinting shades.

Taking my inspiration from the very effective but simple beauty look at the Dior Spring/Summer haute couture show, I will accent my eyelids with the Bronze eye shadow, add a little Black mascara (NATorigin's Lengthening Mascara of course) and paint my lips bright red.

The Golden eye shadow is perfect as a highlighter below the eyebrow and in the inner corner of the eye and is very beautiful when blended with a smokey eye shadow.

NATorigin eye shadows are made from 100% naturally sourced ingredients, are certified organic by Ecocert Greenlife and are approved by Allergy UK.  Ingredients are as follows:
 Mica, Talc, Organic Argania Spinosa Shell Powder, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Octyldodecanol, Zinc Stearate, Silica, Polyglyceryl-2 Triisostearate, Glyceryl Caprylate, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, p-Anisic Acid, Tocopherol, Stearic Acid, Punica Granatum Fruit Extract, Aqua (Water)

May Contain ±: CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77491 / CI 77492 / CI 77499 (Iron Oxides), CI 77163 (Bismuth Oxychloride), CI 77742 (Manganese Violet), CI 77007 (Ultramarines)

(Ingredients subject to change)

For further details, visit the NATorigin website (www.natorigin.co.uk)