Strong Suit

Maybe it's just a mini-trend, or perhaps it's in retaliation against a dictate from the latest President of the United States that women dress "like women", but we are currently seeing more women in suits on the red carpets at this year's awards season.

Evan Rachel Wood kicked things off at the Golden Globes earlier this year, and it has been carried on with sparkly aplomb by Emma Stone in Chanel and Meryl Streep at the BAFTAs, all the way through to the kiddies, with Blue Ivy nailing the trend at the Grammys.

Can't see the pants?

There they are!

 

Following Streep's highly political address at the Globes, I'd have to suggest her choice of outfit was a definite statement.  

So there you have it Trump: here in the 21st Century, dressing like a woman means dressing however the hell we want to dress.

Chanel Does Cuba

This week, hot on the heels of the Met Gala (and consequently lacking the star power of most Chanel FROWs) Chanel launched its resort collection on the wide, picturesque avenues of Havana. Cuba is currently Flavour of the Month, having recently played host to the Rolling Stones, the Obamas and the first cruise ship full of 700 Americans since economic and diplomatic sanctions between the USA and Cuba - in place since the 1960s - were historically loosened in March this year.

This week, Karl Lagerfeld (without having visited the country previously) released an entire collection based on his perceptions of this time-warped and beautifully ageing country. Models cha-cha'd down the catwalk (Havana's Paseo del Prado flanked by Cuba's notably colourful cars from the 1950s), some smoking cigars and others decked out in Che Guevara-esque black berets.

Cuba is indeed a picturesque spot, and while I think it's great to promote tourism to the area, a small part of me feels a little discomfort between the dichotomy of ultra-luxe Chanel (which most of us in the developed, Western world can't afford) in Cuba, a country where people earn about US$20/month and food remains relatively scarce and subject to rations (for example, ice cream is only available on certain days of the week).

I will attempt to overcome my white, middle class guilt complex though, and go with the flow. Go and visit Cuba! It's a most fabulous country - beautiful, complicated and full of a the vim for life that can only come from a nation of people truly living an island life: unaffected by constant change, glorious concerns generated by the multitude of options that economic and social progression offers, and the pressure that social media and a bombardment of advertising imagery so well-advanced in its psychological manipulations that it can push the buttons of even the most confident of cats. And if you can afford to take your Chanel slip-ons, then best of luck to you - please spend lots of money in this wonderful country.

Cuban drivers catch a glimpse of some of the world they've been missing these last few decades

Blake Lively

Blake Lively - best known for her turn as  New York's best dressed teenaged socialite, Serena van der Woodsen, and more recently for marrying Ryan Reynolds - has returned to the red carpet in a major way. She announced her arrival in sparkling form on the Met Gala red carpet - famously proclaiming she channels Gisele for red carpet events - and rapidly followed up her Met Gala gorgeousness with ever more triumphant appearances at Cannes.





Glittering in Gucci at the Met Gala

Upstaging basically everyone at Cannes with a dazzling array of couture gowns, Blake not only cemented her position on best-dressed lists everywhere, she also brought back boobs (real ones, or at least not enormous fake-looking ones) as a covetable feature of the female form.





In Gucci again at Cannes

In the waist-defining Chanel dress

The curvy figure hasn't enjoyed a fashion renaissance since what felt like, well... the Renaissance. With a brief resurgence of curves during peak Mad Men hysteria, buxom breasts quickly shrunk back to fashion's stock-in-trade waif and nymphette frames. Female models aren't quite as dramatically slim as 90s-era cocaine chic, but they remain sufficiently skinny for us to empty our pantries of choc chip biscuits and rue the days our parents bestowed us with B+ cupped chests. With 14C now the average bust size in Australia and the USA, I think it is suffice to say that the flat-chested dream is more accurately the exception rather than the reality.

Check out this fascinating map of average cup sizes globally. Holy Russia!

The fact is that breasts dramatically change how an item of clothing hangs, causing much angst in dressing rooms globally as shirts and dresses somehow defy glossy promotional pages' promises, and we are left with a front that is shorter than we may hope for, or the desired silhouette is simply unattainable. I'm still not entirely sure why we desire that ruler-shaped look, but we do. To the peril of Cherry Ripes and Magnum ice creams everywhere.


So I'm rather heartened by Blake Lively's proudly curvaceous red carpet appearances, and again I hope we see healthier and more diverse body shapes accounted for by couture designers and appearing on catwalks. The Devil Wears Prada very succinctly explained how it is that couture guides our mass-fashion clothing options, so it is essential designers get on board the Boob-exalting Express.



Magnificent in Gucci

Black Swan / White Swan: Cannes Cannes Cannes

                       

 

Cate Blanchett knocks it out of the park in this stunning one-shouldered gown by Ralph Lauren, looking, dare I say it, a wee bit Galadriel-ish...

One word: flawless.

But the ladies in black were pretty amazing too...

If all else fails, you can of course mix the colours as Milla Jovovich did in Chanel.

Shoesday: Prostitution or Perfection?

Things have dramatically frozen over here in Adelaide, going from a lovely-in-the-sun 22 degrees (this used to be freezing in my books, which goes to show I am acclimatising - slowly) to today's hideous 17 degrees, no sun and bucketloads of rain. The remainder of the week doesn't look much better.

In anticipation of this distressing turn of events, I began researching boots over the weekend. In particular, the over-the-knee boot (also known as the OTKB in blogger talk). This is a tricky trend to pull off - firstly if you're not a supermodel with lengthy, slim-line limbs and secondly if you don't want to be confused with Julia Roberts' perfect rendition of a prostitute with a heart of gold in Pretty Woman. 

There are a lot of OTKB boots out there in retail-land, be it at bricks & mortar retailers or online. As they're slightly costlier than their to the knee little sister, you don't want to mess this up. Somehow, this decision seems very difficult, and one misstep could lead to complete wardrobe disaster and worst of all, I'll wear them once and banish them to the back of my wardrobe, only to hope to sell them on ebay many years hence when the trend is well and truly over. 

The first trick appears to be to wear the OTKB with a mini skirt of some kind. Pants don't seem to get a look in. I'm ok with that, as I have an aversion to wearing pants anyway (Beyonce, Lady Gaga and I have loads in common). 

Secondly, stick to black. It's safe, sexy and you'll wear it season after season.

The third trick seems to relate to where on your leg the boots finish. Some (like in the above pic) finish just scraping the top of the knee (the more common variety of OTKB), and others go nuts and slink halfway up your thigh. In that case, I suppose they are technically thigh-high boots... 

 

Finally, and inevitably like all items of clothing, shoes or fashion items of any kind, it really does help to be a supermodel.

What are your thoughts on this trend? Root, shoot or marry? 

Happy Friday: Time

I post about time quite a bit, and certainly spend quite a bit of time thinking about time. You can't help but be a watch checker, and cognisant of hours slipping away when you're sitting at a bus stop, staring at the departures board as your flight's delay is announced, and as you impatiently wait a week for the next episode of The Good Wife (addicted).

As a wedding gift, my husband gave me the gift of time, both figuratively and literally (there was a lovely box from the Rolex shop too). As he so eloquently explained in the letter that arrived on the morning of our wedding, he was giving me the gift not only of his lifetime but also all of his time, devoted to me - and all he asked from me in return was my patience. *sigh*

Advertising for watches is generally pretty standard: some sophisticated looking man or woman (depending on the watch, obviously), dressed fairly conservatively, doing something luxurious - strolling with a polo horse, popping off in your private aircraft for a weekend in France, effortlessly winning a tennis Grand Slam, sitting with lengthy legs crossed looking sumptuously relaxed.



Karl Lagerfeld has delivered a watch campaign for Chanel that challenges this notion (but also rather fits the type also, I must say). Below are a few images shot by Patrick Demarchelier from the campaign. Essentially, the model's body is positioned in such a way as to mirror the placement of the hands on the watch. I'm not sure if there's a deeper meaning here - synchronicity, in-tune with you - but the images are definitely representative of a certain type of elegance.

Shoesday: When Engulfed in Flames

How insane are the London riots? It does pose a very important question, though: what are the best shoes for leaping from a window?

Something flat, obviously. Runners, for a quick get-away? Or lovely flats? To play gorgeous damsel in distress, rescued by equally gorgeous fireman?

Chanel, of course.

Dilemmas.

Black Beauty

Jessica Stam at the opening of the Chanel store in Soho, NYC.

Boom Boom

The Paris haute couture shows have certainly delivered in the drama stakes (particularly referencing the return of ostentatiousness). The backdrop/centrepieces at the Dior and Chanel shows are key signs of a fashion luxe recovery.



Speaking of Chanel, the curved shoulders suggest we may not have robotic, 80s shoulders for too much longer.


I very much enjoyed these looks from Stephane Rolland and Armani Prive (in order of appearance).

Oscars Colour

We were treated to one big splash of colour from Paula Patton...

Orange is a huge risk on a big red carpet.

Trend Alert: Grey Streaks

Yes folks, it's Granny Chic! You may have noticed from my Chanel couture post that the models were sporting not only enormous bows in their hair, but also greyish-blue streaks usually reserved for those at your local RSL bingo night. As our population ages, are the fashion houses seeking to reach the Blue Rinse Set? Or is it just another unfortunate trend unlikely to be replicated by the masses?



Does Kate Moss fall within the "masses" category?

Spring Couture

The couture shows are always a happy time for clothes horses, with all your wildest fashion fantasies strolling down an elaborately staged catwalk solely for your viewing pleasure. Haute couture (direct translation "high dressmaking") of course refers to the old art of bespoke tailoring - the creation of made-to-order, custom fit clothing made from only the best fabrics and by the best hands.

Chanel's latest couture collection for Spring 2010 is very much a collection of lovely sorbets mixed with some space age-y silver (check out the stockings in particular: not at all flattering, even on the stick insect models). Chanel's couture is always much more wearable than other labels, however the big shapes and in some spots chunkiness (check it all out here) did make me furrow my brow a little. Please don't tell me this signals a return to belly-hiding baby dolls? Speaking of dolls, I do adore the hair and the oversized bows - very Gaga/Hello Kitty esque.