Winter Coat!

Here's a liitle look at my choice of winter coat this year - this week I'll give you a run-down of my favourite coats for winter, as well as the low-down on WESTFIELD LONDON!!! Check out the sneak-peak of 'what's going on at Westfield' below: a special edition Grazia!

T.H.2058

Last week I found myself at the opening of Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster's new installation in the Tate Modern Turbine Hall, T.H. 2058. To walk into this work is like walking into a sci-fi movie - a deeply disturbing, rather dark experience in which you the viewer project your own narrative and your own anxieties on to the piece. And, I suspect, with TH.2058, Tate has another Turbine Hall hit on its hands. Not only does it have at its heart the kind of "interactivity" that is so popular among visitors to Tate Modern, but also, with its apocalyptic vision, it seems deeply in tune with the times.
I've included a photo of the description which the beholder is encouraged to read before passing through a curtain of green and red plastic and being transported 50 years into the future where the Turbine Hall is filled with 200 yellow and blue bunk beds scattered with suitably titled literature in English, French and Spanish. The sound of constant rain overwhelms you the moment you enter the space, as you move into the room however, you become aware of music - one lone radio is playing near the front of the hall, behind which The Last Film (stills below) is playing on a large screen. This isn't really a film, rather a montage of scenes from different sci-fi films, including Solaris, Repulsion, and Zabriskie Point, fictionalizing this experience which by this point has become very real to you.
This is not to mention the bizarre collecion of familiar-seeming sculptures which dominate the room - isn't that Louise Bourgeois's Maman, the huge steel spider that's in the Tate's collection? Only... it's much bigger than you remember it, and when you walk up to it and feel its cold surface, you suddenly realise you are feeling warm painted polystyrene. There's a vast Alexander Calder here too - his soaring red Flamingo - again bigger than real life. And an oversize Bruce Nauman, and a giant Henry Moore. It is as if they have grown (the insistent rain has fed these strange animals, we are told). It seems no coincidence that some of the sculptors here have been responsible for previous Turbine Hall installations, although this will most probably be lost on the majority of visitors to the work.

Ciao For Now!

Tomorrow morning I'll be heading off to the airport for a little trip back home, so it's unlikely that anything will get posted this coming week!
Have a great week and don't forget Gossip Girl on Monday and 90210 on Tuesday!!!!!!!
xxx

Label Love

Ever since Eleanor first put Blair in that navy and yellow Lorick dress, I have been a little obsessed by Abigail Lorick, the woman behind the Waldorf collections. The clothes are classy - well-cut, in great fabrics, understated and elegant, as well as being fashion forward. For the fall, 'The Lorick Lady' looks set to be the perfect blend of youthfulness and classics - a sort of city-meets-country chic. Here's the blurb from the website (and no, I have no idea what in the world the 'English Highlands' are...!!)

Taking my pick of the collection to share with you was pretty difficult, as it's all fabulous, but here are some of my favourite looks...
And incase you were wondering (I was), here's what Abigail Lorick has had to say about the collection and her work with the Gossip Girl wardrobe dept...


"I was friends with someone in the Gossip Girl wardrobe department. They knew that I was launching a collection and coincidently there was a character on the show who was a fashion designer. I showed them Lorick and they thought it would be a good fit for the line behind Eleanor Waldorf."

"Blair wears a lot of Lorick, and there are scenes where she gives away Lorick clothes to Jenny as hand-me-downs. At Eleanor's big photo shoot Serena is wearing one of my skirts with a crinoline underneath it and a bustier top. At the end Blair and Serena have the backless dresses on as they run around the city. I also had a cameo in that episode as one of Eleanor's assistants!"

"After the episode with the backless dresses we had 20 girls a day calling wanting that dress. I couldn't believe that everyone was so influenced by it. They didn't even want to try it on -- they just wanted it!"

"Blair definitely is a Lorick lady. That is our concept -- a contemporary, preppy chic classic line. The whole concept is bringing this modern elegance back to my generation of women."

"I'm hoping to inspire women to dress-up again, to wake up in the morning and throw the scarf on, wear gloves in the summer or pair a T-shirt with a full skirt. Women today don't embrace that excitement."

"A lot of my pieces are classic and timeless, but there's a twist, like the backless dress. From the front it's a classic and then from the back it's so sexy. It's finding that line -- keeping that timelessness but being sexy, fun and quirky at the same time."

"I love the concept of women going to work and putting a little polo on over their dress, then going out after for cocktails, taking off the polo and having this great, fabulous dress on underneath. Our generation of women is working. They love their jobs, but they also want to go out and have a good time."

"It's been important watching the show and being friends with Meredith [Markworth Pollack, one of Gossip Girl's costume designers] and seeing how the girls respond. When you watch something on TV you're getting a completely different perspective. I don't know if? it's necessarily that I am designing for Blair, but it does allow me to step back and say "Okay, this is how this looks and this is how people perceive it."

"The show helps me see what the best sellers will be. Seeing the girls wearing the clothes lets me see how other girls are going to be wearing these pieces, what looks the best and what doesn't."

And Abigail's 3 essential for every girl? A trench, an Oxford shirt and a black dress.

The Dawn Of A New Muse

I have a new muse - a new love - and I'm not sure entirely how it happened. Perhaps the fabulousness of the Chanel Couture show, the emergence of Carla Bruni-Sarkozy as an uber-chic first lady, or my obsession with 'What Would Blair [Waldorf] Wear?' contributed, but I somehow landed at Grace Kelly. And my-oh-my what a stylish woman.


Grace Patrica Kelly (later, Her Serene Highness, Princess of Monaco) was an Academy Award winning film and stage actress who certainly knew how to wear clothes. This became quite obvious to Edith Head, Paramount's chief costume designer on the 1953 film Rear Window. Under the direction of Alfred Hitchcock, Grace's character, a fashion model "who never wears the same dress twice," sports an extremely stylish wardrobe: glamorous short evening dresses, an impeccably tailored suit, a full-skirted floral dress, and casual jeans all contributed to establish the "Grace Kelly Style". She collaborated again with Hitchcock and designer Edith Head on To Catch a Thief in 1954. The glamorous costumes play a role almost as great as the plot with Grace Kelly, as a spoiled American heiress, dressed in fabulous clothes and jewels. Her friend Edith Head also designed the dramatic ice blue satin dress and matching coat she wore in March 1955 at the Academy Awards ceremony where she won the Oscar for Best Actress for her role in The Country Girl. A favorite of hers, she had worn it before at the premiere of the movie and donned it for the cover of Life magazine in April 1955. Cartier, Mikimoto and many of the world’s leading jewelers created magnificent precious pieces and the world’s foremost designers flocked to dress and accessorize Her. Hermès, the French haute couture fashion house, created and named a hand bag - the Kelly bag – in Her honor and it has since become one of the world’s most sought-after luxury products. Her look was clean, classic and simple - something startlingly different from the voluptuous screen sirens of the 1950s. She wanted to be considered serious and was the antithesis of the showy starlet. She wore elegant outfits: shirtwaist dresses, understated evening gowns, well-cut tweed suits, hats with little veils, low-heeled shoes, and gloves. She made no secrets of the horn-rimmed glasses she needed for nearsightedness. Her tasteful style, rare in a young Hollywood star, appealed to many in the 1950s. In December 1955, Women's Wear Daily ran a feature of the opportunities offered by the Grace Kelly Look for the clothing industry. Soon her stylish image was everywhere, including department store windows. She had started a whole new trend in fashion. After her engagement to Prince Rainier in 1956, Grace Kelly's influence on fashion reached new heights, spreading from the United States to Europe. Before leaving for Monaco in April, she spend two weeks in New York to complete her trousseau, a who's who of America's designers. Accessories, a major part of a ladylike look, included silk chiffon scarves, shoes, hats and gloves. On April 19, 1956, she married Prince Rainier in a legendary wedding dress offered by MGM, created by the studio's wardrobe department and designed by its costume designer Helen Rose. Fifty years later, the high-necked, long-sleeved dress with a fitted bodice and billowing skirt made of rose point lace, yards of silk faille and taffeta and seed pearls, is one of the most elegant and best-remembered bridal gowns of all times. As Princess of Monaco, She continued to influence fashion with Her natural sense of style: dazzling at social functions, chic and stylish at official events, casually elegant on the town. Today She remains one of the most admired women in the world for Her beauty, poise and style.
(biog and images from VisitMonaco.com)

How To Go Back To Black

After a summer of day-glo, neons and gorgeous brights, this autumn’s return to all things dark is a marked change which can be daunting if you’re unprepared for the change. This is, of all the looks this a/w, the easiest, chicest, and most universally recognized as on-trend, and the look that earlier this summer, I dubbed London Girl. Under this heading comes all things dark, from the classic LBD, to lace, leather and chiffon, to goth and grunge.

It doesn’t have to be black per se, in fact some of the best looks for this season come in such chic shades as plum, mocha, forest and midnight, which all look gorgeous placed alongside their jewel-coloured equivalents – royal purples, ambers, rubies, emeralds and sapphires.

Whether you want to look rock n roll, classically chic or to just allude to this season’s top trend, this is the guide for you.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Topshop Unique, Roberto Cavalli, Luella, Givenchy, Botega Veneta.


I've selected these particular outfits because between them they show us the spectrum of looks that can be achieved by attempting this trend in just the one colour: black. And after much consideration of the a/w catwalks and the new collections filtering onto our high streets at the moment, here are the key pieces for this trend, which can all be styled into a more 'niche' style or personal look!

• The Trousers: If you've got the guts, then they're super-skinny leathers (black, of course), if not then shiny black leggings or perfectly tailored skinny black trousers. The look here is sleek and sophisticated, so definately avoid the (inevitably fading) black denim jeans. Keep it skinny.
• The Blouse: This is a tough look, so contrast heavy elements (like leather trousers, for example) with sheer or chiffon blouses to take the edge off! Be careful not to go too girly though...
• The Top: Tunics are made for skinnies, so layer a tunic in a flowing fabric like silk or even jersey over the top.
• The LBD: A super-tailored LBD is always the definition of chic, and this season is no exception. Keep hemlines and necklines high.
• The Dress: Is another LBD but a different piece to the classic. This one wants lace sleeves, preferably long ones, and a solid black body. Avoid flesh slips with lace overlays and keep it all black.
• The Shoes: It's all about killer heels in the shoe department. Shoe-Boots are especially fabulous for this look as they are neat yet fashion-forward.
• The Boots: If you can get your hands on them, then grab a pair of over-the-knee boots, which are made for a dark, mysterious look like this one! Avoid any details though, and just go for super-high heeled plain black leather.

How to transform these key pieces into real life outfits? It's all in the accessories! Check out the images above again to see how different looks are created by the use of different types of accessories: Givenchy (this is the inspirational image of the season, so get a copy any stick it next to your mirror!) piled on the chains a la Madonna to create a rock chic look, whereas in contrast, Botega Veneta used short leather gloves to create a very classic lady-like look, which still rocks this trend and avoids looking dated.



So, go back to black this season, and enjoy creating some stunning looks from these basics and tips!

How To Get Dressed In August PLUS Gossip Girl Spoilers!!!!!

August. The word itself conjures up images of long sunny days, seaside holidays, ice cream vans, blue skies and barbeques. The reality, however, can be quite the opposite. But even if it's 10 degrees outside and the skies look menacing, here are some ideas for super-summery looks which will take you anywhere!

1. THE SHOES
Espadrilles, espadrille.com.
Espadrilles are not only the most timeless type of summer footwear, but they're especially on trend if you want to embrace ethnic and 70s-inspired looks which are fab this summer. Espadrille.com sell classic blues, reds and whites which look great with nautical-themed outfits, as well as more adventurous fabrics from aztec prints to blue denim.

2. THE DRESS

Lace detail sundress, asos.com
Lace is a massive trend for the fast-approaching new season, so why not start easing yourself into it now with the super-summery take on the trend. In white it's perfect for showing off a tan, and the drop-waist makes it very easy to wear!

3. THE BAG


Poppy Valentine Vintage Bag, asos.com
This gorgeous shopper is made from vintage 1970s fabric, and can bring retro to even the most average outfit! Keep your outfit pretty simple (don't go all-out flower power!) and let the print do the work!

4. THE JEWELLRY
Earrings, topshop.com
Boho chandelier earring are perfect for summer style. In fact, it's probably the only time of year when you can get away with wearing them and not look like Pat Butcher! I really love these topshop ones because the tarnished metal has a sort of greco-roman coin vibe, so they look great with glads! The simple gold also works as a quirky element in a nautical look, and of course any 1970s inspired look would be incomplete without such fab chandeliers!

5. THE SWIMWEARSwimsuit, toast.com
Isn't this swimsuit just fabulous? Not only does it embrace the nautical trend that you'll definately want to embrace at the seaside, but the 50s-inspired halter-neck cut is not only chic and super-flattering, but looks so much classier and more stylish that any cut-out-gold-lamé-backless-frontless unwearable nonsense which is all over fashion magazines 'top swimsuit' pages!

aaaand here's some EXCITING GG spoilers!!! I'm wishing the month away until we get to see this!!