Saturday 30 October 2010

Halloween Chic




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Zoe and Morgan Spider Ring
  
Regular readers of The Style Eye will know I am fond of a bit of dressing up now and again. Over the past year alone I have transformed myself into a vintage vixen many times with the highlight being Mrs Mussolini, and a masked cat woman for a carnival party in Italy -  to name just a few.  Halloween is here and of course, I shall be attending a themed dress-up party in the evening. Sunday Happy Day at The Century Club in Shaftesbury Avenue is the direction  we are headed for and I don't fancy walking through London town as a scary ghost or ugly witch en route or for the duration of the night even. Instead I am going to do it my way. Incredibly long Viktor and Rolf for Shu Uemura eyelashes, dark purple glittery lips, a fluffy feather tippet, Ksubi T-shirt with 'AC/DC' style fonts naming classic composers, a black leather mini I've owned for over 20 years, fishnets with ready made holes and a pair of frighteningly high Louboutin stiletto ankle boots.
The result will be a sexy-meets-fashion-with a Halloween edge  look. If you too aren't quite feeling the fully bandaged mummy look this year then dip in with Ksubi's bondage/bandage style trousers. Or accessorise with a scary spider ring by Zoe and Morgan. Get inspired make-up wise by Pat McGrath for John Galliano too, capped off with tousled, messy hair and trashed top hat.

Friday 29 October 2010

Spice Up Your Life

Happy Accidents! Where would be without these little things that start off as being a problem and then evolve into something we couldn't do without. The iconic red soles of much the coveted Christian Louboutin shoes started off as a happy accident. After working on creative ways to match the soles to the design of the footwear, Louboutin grabbed a red Chanel nail varnish of an assistant who was working in his studio and painted the sole of a shoe that he felt was otherwise too dark to complement the overall look. And there we have it.. a unique selling point and trademark that is recognised instantly by his adoring shoe fans. My happy accident of last weekend is a rather simple one, but nevertheless effective and handy when on a night out. In the ladies loos at a recent gig, I needed a little flush to the cheeks after going a bit overboard with undereye concealer. Nars Multiple in Orgasm, my usual go-to product for a touch of colour and sheen on the cheeks wouldnt fit into my little evening purse so, I pencilled on three little cat whisker stripes of my Mac Spice lipliner to see if that would give me the little lift my cheekbones needed. Once rubbed in it did indeed do the job, and I was swiftly complemented by the ladies at the next vanities who both tried it and loved it. My advice for this weekend, girls, is that you don't always have to have an Orgasm , just try Spice-ing up your life a now and again.

Monday 18 October 2010

Stocking Up

Henry Holland for Pretty Polly

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Topshop 'Love' Tights

'Tis getting rather chilly out there now and about time to start stocking up on this season's hoisery and tights. Last winter, the hottest legwear trend was all about the swiss dot style stocking, as popularised by Balenciaga's 2009/2010 catwalk presentation. It was the first time in years that a sheer ten denier tight had been seen in mainstream fashion for a long time. After years of the standard-for-winter black opaque tights, a lighter, smoother finish on the legs seemed just right for last year, and this autumn the humble ten denier pushes this ideal even further by being splattered with patterns and trompe l'oeil effects .With clothing and fashion becoming more and more clean and minimalist, it's no wonder that style experimentation has moved onto tights making an fashion impact to an otherwise simple outfit. It's the perfect way to stylishly dodge the bothersome recession too. The majority of these fancy pantyhose cost around £12.00 tops, so its an economical way to make a style statement on a budget. Styles to look out for this season are the back seamed versions and I'm particularly fond of the 'Love' style from Topshop. Henry Holland's collection for Pretty Polly are pretty cool too. The trompe l'oeil Suspender style will keep the boys entertained for hours trying to figure out ' is she or isn't she wearing a garter belt' much to their (and your) fascination. On a trompe l'oeil tip, take a look at the Bonny tights by Les Queues de Sardines from Luna and Curious complete with a hand gun in garter..  just for fun of course!





Sunday 17 October 2010

Paris Fashion Week Picks Spring/Summer 2011


Ann Demeulemeester
Chanel


So its true next summer will be filled with lots of bright colours and in fact brights and the hot 'orange' shade were all over the runways of Paris at the latest round of shows. So, I guess we know that trend is well on our way to being big next season. Therefore, I am now looking at the other trends that will dominate our fashion choices for next spring.
The Biker trend continued at Balmain where Rock 'n' Roll style is always a standard and also at Balenciaga. Jackets came in a variety of finishes and styles. Quilted at Balenciaga and loose and sexy at Balmain. Leather is looking to be a big trend too. Next season invest in a piece, be it a jacket, skinny cropped pants or if you dare - a pair of leather stockings from Chanel.
When it comes to footwear, the leading style is the 'Geisha' sandal again. Chanel showed blocky soled sandals with wrap around ankle straps. Next summer will be all about the sole. Balenciaga paired chunky Rockabilly crepe soled suede shoes with their latest collection.
50s hard edged Rocker glamour is the high priority message from Paris Spring/Summer 2011
Chanel

Friday 8 October 2010

Milan Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2011

Fendi
Prada
So last week, in my London Fashion Week round-up I was describing how London is international fashion week's wild card when it comes to the trickier and more out there trends and, how cities like Milan usually go for a more play it safe option. For next Spring though, Italian fashion houses have pulled out colour schemes not normally on their radar. When starting to plan their palettes, designers in Italy must have been taken in by popular advertising and heeded the slogan 'The Future's Orange' because eye-popping shades of orange, tangerine and acid shades of citrus were  dominant for next season. Prada, Fendi, Gucci, Jil Sander and Marni all included orange in their collections and paired it with other bright shades of purple, jade green and electric blue.  The beauty to complement this trend was to wear nothing more than bright bold lip. This was showing to be the big make-up statement for next season in Milan.
Gucci
As with all major trends there is always a polar opposite. So it was the electric shades versus romance and purity. Dolce and Gabbana , Francesco Sconamiglio and Antonio Marras embraced this trend with near on all white garments in their shows in pretty and romantic textures and fabrics such as Broderie Anglais, subtle floral prints and silks.



Sunday 3 October 2010

London Fashion Week - Spring/Summer 2011

Michael Van Der Ham
Burberry
Charles Anastase

Acne
London can always be relied on to provide the more leftfield side of trends. Slapped in the middle of New York and Milan, the cities where playing it safe and a heavy dose of commercialism reign high, London is always there with the trends that perhaps won't necessarily sell well, but are fun and frivoulous, lightening the international fashion week trawl up a notch or two. Crazy Lace, acid bright colourways and Good and Bad taste all featured in the week of Leftfield London. That said, trends that are key and will sell for next season also made an appearance on the British catwalks. Burberry stands out once again with the key jacket shape of the season. With the popularity of  their Autumn/Winter shearling Aviator blouson, Christopher Bailey moves on to an edgier version for spring, which comes in the form of cropped motorcycle jacket taking its styling cue from the brand's classic trench coat. Acne also included a shoulder studded biker jacket in their spring /summer presentation. At Erdem and Michael Van Der Ham, peasant patchworking was a key fabric of the season. Erdem's floral  triangle-cut prints served to create a beautiful full skirted fifties style prom dress and Van Der Ham played with cutting and pasting random garment parts to form colour blocked dresses. After a winter season of dainty kitten heels, London designers have decided that for spring our feet will be back in patforms, although the newness next season will come in the form of oversized wood block wedges with 'Geisha' style leather toe-thongs and ankle ties.

Erdem