Who Was the Best Video Star of 2009?

The other day I was thinking about Beyonce's music videos, and how great they've all been this year*. And I think we all know Kanye agrees with me....
I was ready to crown her the Queen of Music Videos 2009 when I remembered Lady Gaga. Now I'm not a big Gaga fan (I own all B's albums and none of Gaga's singles) but you can't deny that she pulled out the stops this year.
So who do you think had the best music video style this year? Beyonce and her Single Ladies, or Gaga and her McQueen shoes?

Who was your video star of 2009?
	Beyonce
	Lady Gaga
pollcode.com free polls

*I'd just like to admit that the video for If I Were A Boy is the most confusing thing ever, and I had to watch it four times before I understood what it really about. I thought it was a love triangle in the police force the first time around.

images screen capped from youtube

The Temperley London Amnesty International Candle

I just had a package delivered from Temperley London, which was obviously very exciting. After a struggle with the scissors to open the box (the box which my cat Mr Twiggles has now decided belongs to him) I unwrapped their Amnesty International charity candle.




The candle can be ordered from www.temperleylondon.com for £35, and all profits will go to Amnesty - whose purpose is to 'protect individuals wherever justice, fairness, freedom and truth are denied.'
It will make a great Christmas gift for any label lovers. The top notes of the candle are blackcurrant, rose, frangipani and ylang ylang. I know this because it says so on the box - I don't just have a very well trained nose.

A big thank you from me to Temperley for the candle. And Twiggles thanks you for the box.

ELLE Spoils Me

I am so so so excited about UK ELLE's January issue. Not only is it a model on the cover, it's a supermodel. Helena Christensen (shot by Jan Welters) is one of my favourite models, and she looks especially fabulous on the subscribers cover.


UK ELLE was the first fashion magazine I ever read, and I don't think I would have really "discovered" fashion if I hadn't picked up that first copy, aged 13. And it still remains a favourite of mine today. Their 2009 covers were amazing (I loved Kate Hudson and Courtney Love's the best) and looking at their January cover it looks like 2010 will be just as good.



I can't wait for the postman to deliver my copy. If you're not a subscriber the issue hits newsstands on Wednesday.

Who do you hope gets a cover in 2010?

images from telegraph.co.uk and thefashionspot.com

Hit and Miss of the Week: Paltrow in Pastels

I was thinking this week was pretty boring in terms of the red carpet. There was Cate Blanchett in a stunning Armani dress and then not much else. Until Gwyneth Paltrow made an outing. I love her pale pink draped dress - it looks beautiful on her.
Also this week Zac Efron is continuing to look cool (do I smell a stylist?) and Ashley Greene pulled off a red pinstripe trouser-suit. As always, let me know your thoughts on the weeks looks in the comments section.






images from celebrity-gossip.net and thefashionspot.com

Handbag Politics

"If you go into a high-street shop and pay £5 for a handbag, you've got to wonder where it came from."
- Emma Hill, creative director of Mulberry tells The Times Magazine.

Luckily (or unluckily - however you see it) I was born with expensive taste. I've never wanted a cheap handbag in my life. At the moment I'm dreaming about Mulberry's hot pink Bayswater, at the luxury price of £995.
The fact it's sold out makes me feel better about not being able to afford it anyway. I'd rather admire labels from afar then walk into Primark.

What's your dream luxury handbag?

The Kate Moss Vibe





I love these photos of Kate Moss, taken by Jürgen Teller in 1996. She looks fabulous in the headdress.

images from thefashionspot

Fancy Wearing a Moss Frock?

If you've ever wished you could pinch something from Kate Moss' wardrobe, today is your lucky day. The Topshop 'Dress Me Up' project launches in the Oxford Street store today, giving customers a chance to hire dresses from celebrities and designers for the Christmas party season.
You'll be able to browse the selection of dresses, and try things on for size between the 26th of November and the 6th of December, before the hire period which runs 7th – 23rd December.
For £40 you can hire any of the dresses for one day. All of the hire fee and proceeds from the auction will go to Topshop’s chosen charities Age Concern and Help the Aged.
I think this is such a good idea, why didn't anyone think of this before? It's great fun and is going to raise so much for charity. Freida Pinto's Burberry dress is definitely going to be in high demand.
See my favourite frocks from the collection below:









Great selection, no? And rumour has it Lady Gaga may be making a donation too. One can only imagine what that could be...

Which dress is your favourite? I'm loving the Burberry dress but I'm also really into
Erin O’Connor's Zac Posen.

And Happy Thanksgiving American readers!

It's All In The Drape

The London premiere of The Lovely Bones took place last night, and actress Saoirse Ronan was dressed in a gorgeous Burberry drape dress. I love a bit of draping, I'd even call myself a drapeoholic, if such a thing even exists. The draping at the Burberry S/S 2010 show made it one of my favourite spring 2010 collections.


You may recognise Saoirse from Atonement, she played the young Briony, and she's playing Susie in The Lovely Bones. I started reading the book once but gave up because it was too sad. The film has a great cast (Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci...) so I might check it out.
Anyway, back to Burberry's draping... Freida Pinto has also worn one of the dresses, and I doubt these two will be the only celebs to wear pieces from the collection. It has red-carpet written all over it.


I'd love to see Rachel Bilson or Dakota Fanning in one of the drape dresses. Who would you like to see wearing the collection? And has anyone read The Lovely Bones? Do you think it's worth checking out the movie?

Saoirse Ronan image from Burberry, catwalk images style.com, Freida image from thefashionspot.com

What We Can All Learn From VB

There's an interview with Victoria Beckham in Grazia this week. And the quote they've picked out in the headline is "I never follow trends."

Now I love Victoria Beckham, always have and always will. She sometimes goes way too over the top with fashion (especially at the airport) but it all adds to her charm. Yet, when I first read the quote my immediate thought was "liar, liar, dVb pants on fire!" If there is ever a trend in fashion you can count on Victoria giving it a go. She doesn't follow trends? Whatever.

But then I gave this some more thought. Sure, she always wears the hottest fashions, but the key elements to her style have stayed the same throughout the years - the ultra-high heels, the pout, the Hermes handbag and the little black dress. And I think Victoria's at her best when she's in classic Posh Spice mode. We can learn a lot from her practised looks.



The full-skirted LBD she wore to the Burberry spring/summer show (the one I complimented her on and received a 'thank you' for in return) is from her own collection. If you're looking for the perfect LBD for festive parties this year it's the shape to go for.

Victoria's design has the most dramatic skirt and the highest price-tag, but Topshop has a great version for £50 and Alexander McQueen's McQ dress looks a lot more voluminous on than it does off. All of the dresses would look fantastic with a statement necklace, but you could also go super-chic and minimalist like Victoria, and just add a pair of black pumps. Either look will be totally 'major'.

So yes, thinking about it more I agree with Victoria. She doesn't follow trends, just sometimes sets them. Agree?

catwalk image from style.com

The Cowboy Boot Romance

The rumours about Sienna Miller and Jude Law dating again have been around for weeks now, and though it seems unlikely the gossip blogs and magazines are sticking by the story. And I have to admit, I kind of hope it's true.
Sienna and Jude were such a photogenic couple, and they were much better as a pair than they are separately. Even though I love Sienna's style, I do think it was at its best in the Jude-era, all those flippy skirts and cowboy boots. At that moment in time everyone wanted to dress like Sienna. And it's not that I dislike Jude Law or anything, but without Sienna Miller he's just doesn't have much appeal.



Despite the fact Jude cheated with the Nanny - the Nanny who I seem to remember wore pink UGG boots (something that horrified me more than the affair at the time) - they still seem so perfect for each other. And if they can get over that there's no reason why Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson can't work things out. Why, oh why, did Nick and Jessica have to break up?

What do you think of the unlikely rumours? Hoping it's true too or do you prefer them apart?

images from sienna-miller.org

The Crystal Bird Purse

The other evening I watched the episode of SATC where Mr Big gives Carrie the crystal duck purse. It's one of my favourites - I love season two. Then, to my surprise, I found some Judith Leiber crystal bird purses on Net-A-Porter. I'm not sure why I was so shocked to see them, I guess it's just because I'm used to seeing Mulberry in their bag section, not parrots.

I'm thinking the parrot should make an appearance in the SATC sequel. Perhaps Mr Big could give it to Carrie as an anniversary gift? There's also an owl, but I think the parrot has a lot more character, look at his cheeky little face.


Looking at the price tags though (the owl is £3,470 and the parrot is £4,680) I think a more suitable SATC storyline would be Carrie selling off her vintage duck purse to buy some new Manolos.
Mr Big will never know...

both bags from net-a-portet.com

My Prada Dreams

I'm still head-over-heels in love with the S/S 2010 Prada collection. Every time I visit style.com I view the collection again, just to check it's still there.
It's the styling I love; they're grown-up clothes in grown-up colours, but the proportians are really small and the models are so girlish with their bunches. It's a great contrast.
In the summer I'd wear the grey and black looks in the day, and then switch to the sparkly white numbers in the evening. Always with my hair in bunches, of course.




I can't wait to see the collection in magazines. I'm already betting on W doing something amazing with the little girly shorts and beach-print dresses. Maybe with Lara Stone and Mert and Marcus.

What S/S 2010 collection is still on your brain?

images from style.com

Hit and Miss of the Week: Chloe's Miu Miu Week

You've gotta love Chloe Sevigny. She wore not one, but two Miu Miu looks this week. And looked fabulous both times. Also looking good this week was Kristen Stewart (I think she's finally looking comfortable on the red carpet) and Zac Efron. Yes, that's right, Zac Efron made it into the Hit and Miss.
Not doing so well this week are Leighton Meester and Mary-Kate Olsen. On both occasions it was the makeup that put me off their looks, particularly in the case of Leighton. Serious, what's going on with that lipstick?







images from celebrity-gossip.net and thefashionspot.com

Spy On The Wall


Tom Ford by Mario Testino for Let Me In

Gywneth Paltrow by Mario Testino for Let Me In


Kate Moss by Mario Testino for Let Me In

I have posted about Mario Testino's book Let Me In before, but I just had another flick through my copy and felt it deserved another post. If, like me, you love looking at images of celebrities you'll love Let Me In, which is a collection of photographs of actors, singers and fashion personalities. I adore the above picture of Tom Ford.

Today the whole concept of fame can be very trashy, but Mario's photos are so beautiful it brings the glamour back to celebrity. Plus all his pictures are of the A-list only, no trashy reality stars here.

images from thefashionspot.com

Christmas Shopping

I know a lot of people dread Christmas shopping but I love it. Choosing gifts is just as fun as choosing things to buy for yourself. I've been looking at all the online stores a lot this month, and these are some of my favourite gift-worthy selections.

1. Leather passport cover, £65, Smythson at Net-A-Porter. 2. The September Issue DVD, from Amazon. 3. Gold plated snake key chain, £110, Roberto Cavalli at Net-A-Porter. 4. “Bella Wishing” silk briefs, £45, Stella McCartney at Net-A-Porter.

1. Star Drop Earrings, £54, Kenneth Jay Lane at My-Wardrobe. 2. Flash Camera, £14, Paul Smith at My-Wardrobe. 3. Vogue subscription from vogue.co.uk. 4. Leopard print cashmere gloves, £158, Christopher Kane at Matches.

What are you wishing for this Christmas?

Nine

I can't tell you how excited I am about Nine. I've been excited since the beginning of the year, and in exactly one month it will finally be out in the UK.
If you're not too familiar with Nine, it's directed by Rob Marshall (who also directed Chicago) and stars and insane amount of Oscar winners: Daniel Day-Lewis, Penélope Cruz, Judi Dench, Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard and Sophia Loren. As well as my favourite Hollywood girl, Kate Hudson (could it be her time for an Oscar?), and Fergie from The Black Eyed Peas.
Today I've watched the trailer about nine times. I'm so excited, and I don't even like musicals. The wardrobe (courtesy of Oscar-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood) looks amazing too. I'm loving Kate Hudson's 60's look.





You can watch the trailer here, although I warn you, if you do you'll be singing the words "be Italian" all day.

images capped from the offical trailer

SJP and JT Share Their Boots

Those who have been reading this blog for a long time will know I'm obsessed with studs. I'm not sure why, I guess because they're shiny. So when I saw this image of Justin Timberlake in InStyle my first thought wasn't "what is that pose?" it was "wow studded boots". I then remembered seeing them before - on Sarah Jessica Parker, who wore them throughout her ELLE editorial.



The identical boots are both by Bess. I've had a look at their website and their A/W collection is very stud-heavy. Ironically, looking at the styling of their lookbook SJP and JT now seem totally out of place in their designs. If you're after some Bess boots check out their site for a full list of stockists. In London Bess can be found at Joseph.

And the killer question. Who wears them better? SJP or JT?

images from thefashionspot.com

Tell Me When to Stop

I know, I know... It's another Dakota Fanning post. But I can't help it, she's on a style roll at the moment. It feels odd to be so obsessed with the style of a 15-year-old but she has some serious sparkle.
There's been a lot of Dakota conversation between my friends lately, and the overall verdict is she's going to become a major style icon as she gets older. And it seems you guys agree, as the post on her Teen Vogue cover received the most comments last week.
Here she is wearing Valentino on the red carpet at the New Moon premiere last night. Perfection, no?





What do you think - style icon in the making or just a stroke of good luck?

And does anyone know who her current stylist is? Because they're good!

images from thefashionspot.com