Russian Perfection

“It was God who made me so beautiful.”

Indeed it was!
My lastest “model obsession”: Natalia Vodianova. I've been raiding the internet for pictures of her ever since the day I saw her on Bazaar.
Vodianova went from selling fruit on stands in the streets, to being a 27 year-old model and mom. Mom? Yes, Mom.
This “Russian Princess” has appeared in editorial spreads in world-famous magazines and participated in advertising campaigns for Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, DVF ( oh yes ), Miss Sixty, Pepe Jeans, Calvin Klein and even Chanel.

How does she do it?

Hot and Cold

I find the weather bipolar these days. Sometimes it’s cold in the morning and later in the afternoon it’s warmer. It's like, get your shit straight Weather. So today, after checking the weather online, I decided that I had to come up with a plan: find outfits that work in both weather conditions. I went on urbanoutfitters.com and came up with this wonderful outfit (see image below). Of course, you can do it differently, but I tried to keep this “effortless” boho look with the loose cardigan, the ripped shorts, etc.. I love leggings and boots together and here they work with the shorts that aren’t too tight. You see, I find it a “fashion faux pas” to wear leggings with tight, (black) shorts. Trust me on this. Also, if you’re a fan of patterned tights like me and have some in the back of your closet, don’t be afraid to wear them! I go by the rule of “daring”. You don’t necessarily have to follow a trend, or do as everyone else does, just find what you like and don’t be afraid of what people might think! Have the guts to dress the way you feel like. I love to mix and match; I hate simple, solid outfits. I need patterns or motifs, that’s why I chose the khaki green print leather scarf to go with the messy cardigan. The bag is also great because of its warm color to tone down and to complete the rest of the outfit.

Anyway, this is perfect for the weather, at least the weather in Maryland. So it doesn’t really apply to the citizens of New York or Antarctica.

Hope it inspires you, and remember, be bold, be daring.

Love,
Lula.

FASHION MONTH

As you all know, the "fashion weeks" are held in the leading fashion capitals of the world, Paris, New York, London and Milan. The schedule always begins with New York, followed by London, with the penultimate fashion week in Milan, ending the festival in Paris.

Okay, so my list of collections at NY fashion week will include varied and different designers so that we get a more interesting view on the fashions. I give my personal opinion on the clothes and designers, so a lot of times you might disagree with me, which is what I'm looking for, some debate! Feel free to comment.

I’m going to start by Phillip Lim (see image above). I have to say that I hated it; the golds looked cheap, it was everything but feminine and elegant, and the pale colors of the outfits were the same as the models’ skin tones. They looked like dead people walking.

As always, Anna Sui follows her unconventional instincts with a lot of colors ranging from blues to reds, and with eccentric shapes with a lot of metallics and crazy feathered hats accompanied with a lot of “stars” (star necklace, belt…)

Barbie. I had never heard of such a brand, (except for the real barbies I played with when I was 9) until NY Fashion Week. It must have been a fun show with the large variety of outfits. However, most of the clothes were hideous: the “Miss Barbie” dress is unforgivable, so were the rest of them, except maybe one, the “pretty in pink butterflies” dress that for me might have saved the designer’s reputation.

The Barbie collection was excessively audacious, whereas BCBG MAXAZRIA kept it risk-free, simple and elegant. But unfortunately it didn’t quite fit my taste.

Calvin Klein’s clothes showed striking sophistication with a lot of black suits, and metallic dresses worn by very depressed and angry models. Sorry, still not my taste.

However, Carolina Herrera never fails. Her collection is simple and refined with very elegant outfits revolving around the same color tones (metallics, grays, blacks, with some deep purples and blues).

Charlotte Ronson is in da house! I was very excited about her collection as I had never seen anything from her before, and I sure wasn’t disappointed. The outfits are “boho chic”, with mostly blacks, goldens, plaid shirts and trousers, which I love.

DKNY. Donna Karan, she always plays it safe and still manages to make beautiful and sensual clothes. Her fall collection is the perfect example: her curve-fitting outfits are sophisticated yet very feminine with some loud reds and deep greens. She even adds striped, plaid coats, and print shirts to make for a classy, casual look.

I’m not a big fan of Michael Kors. Not a fan at all actually. Is there such a thing as too sophisticated? like Victoria Beckam too sophisticated?

Zac Posen’s collection left me hesitant and undecided as I had mixed opinions about his clothes. I liked one or two dresses, but the rest of them looked like cabaret dresses, others like aluminum foil, and I have to say that the beige leggings with diamonds are the same as the ones figure skaters use.

Wow, the Ralph Lauren collection was simply one of my favourites. It just blew me away. Unbelievable dresses, I had to gasp for breath. The cream, beige colors are appetizing and the sumptuous dresses make you want to be a princess. Sigh…

And finally… [drum rolls] the most anticipated…the one and only… DIANE VON FURSTENBERG!! I adore her, I WORSHIP her. She’s one of my favourite designers. Once more, her outfits amazed me and I was speechless. She’s just brilliant. Just brilliant. Here, her fall collection involves opulent clothes, with wild colors and patterns. “La pièce de résistance" of these funky, unrestrained outfits, is of course the warm, “ball of yarn-like” Hat.
Conclusion: PERFECTION

My investigation doesn’t stop here, the rest is still to come: next time I’ll examine the most interesting fashions at the London, Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks!

Love,
Lula.

London Calling

I’m in a hurry (I have a dentist’s appointment in thirty mins.) so I’ll be very brief London Fashion Week:
On the first day, what struck me the most was the Ashish collection. In fact, I wonder if the designer smokes hashish to come up with his extremely bright and eccentric clothes. I didn’t like it too much, but I admire his audacity. Talking about eccentricity, PPQ showed many bright and versatile colors, and I have to admit that I quite liked it even if I’m not a fan of flashy, loud clothes. Twenty8Twelve was also there which was exciting, first because of Sienna Miller and because I like their casual clothes (Sienna and sister Savannah ). I wasn’t too thrilled with Luella, I was hoping for better, and the only thing I noticed were the very odd hairstyles…
To sum it up, I think we agree that Fashion Week held in London showcased a lot lot lot, of VERY extravagant and sometimes very bizarre looks.

If you want to know more or see more, click on the following link: http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/catwalkschedule.asp?CategoryTypeID=1

Hope you enjoy it; I have to get a tooth removed now.

Lula.

Milan Milan

Milan Fashion Week was loaded with beautiful clothes with names such as Jil Sander, Prada, Gucci, Versace, Salvatore Ferragamo, Just Cavalli and many, many more. Dolce and Gabbana and Roberto Cavalli presented dramatic outfits, from checkerboard dresses to leather jackets and skintight boots. On a more habitual note, Missoni decided to follow the knitwear tradition with a lot of layers, cardigans and warm scarves. Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, a brand that I wore a great deal of times when I was about 12, brought the expected: a fun show that made me smile with those witty, humorous clothes. However, it was the Burberry Prorsum collection that made me fall in love: the outfits almost spoke, they were poetic and inspiring, with a lot of velvets, voluminous trenches, and the best of all, the light, airy, silk dresses. So romantic.
Overall, a great week in Milan.

Next and last city: PARIS!

Lula.

Paris Is Burning

The most prominent fashion designers presented their clothing lines in Paris; Alexander McQueen, Channel, Chloé, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Lacroix, Karl Lagerfeld, Jean Paul Gautier, Lanvin, Dior, etc... Many of them were very sexy, especially the Hermès collection which was very independent-woman like, with the aviator theme. Chloé was also very feminine in a casual, "sportsy" way. Some of the dresses showed at Paris Fashion Week were amazing, but the Valentino collection was somewhat disappointing. Only one dress in that collection caught my eye; the little red dress, that Valentino red that I love so much (see image below). Speaking of dresses, I’m going through an Elie Saab phase. His collection didn’t let me down as I found an unbelievable amount of dresses I loved. Very pretty and very carpet-ready.
I always leave the best one for last, and for Paris, I think that it was Alexander McQueen who stole the whole festival. His collection oozed theatricality and aggressiveness. His dark and artistic dresses were true masterpieces.

Fashion Week for me is pure bliss, it’s like a succession of never-ending runways with never-ending styles. Like “a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get”. I could never overdose on Fashion. Or on chocolate.

Lula.