She Shut it Down



This is Jessica Alba at the People's Choice Awards, wearing Antonio Berardi (nice choice), last night. Along with all the MTV awards I never expect much from the People's Choice red carpet. But, along with Diane Kruger, Jessica made a flawless fashion statement last night.
I'm not really a Jessica Alba fan, I've always thought she was very pretty but her style was never quite there, so I'm really impressed with this look.



I have a sneaking suspicion she's been working with Rachel Zoe recently, which would explain the sudden fabulousness. If Rachel is behind this look she'll be happy this morning, because Jessica's dress owned the event. Best dressed? Of course!
Are you impressed with Jessica's makeover too?

images from justjared.buzznet.com

Feeling Ruffled?

Designers have a knack for all 'feeling' the same look at the same time, and for spring summer that look is romantic. Think ruffles, think frills, think flounce.
This is the only thing I want to wear right now.



Imagine how much fun you could have spinning around in one of Chloe's ruffle dresses? Watching all that chiffon spinning around in circles.
Who else is loving this look? Which designer do you think does it best? I've got to say my favourite frills are by Chloe and Stella.

images from style.com

The Issue of Retouching

Yesterday the Marie Claire Australia cover was causing some interesting discussion online. If you're not familiar with the story they've put Australian model Jennifer Hawkins naked an un-airbrushed on the cover. The cover is supposed to make women feel good about themselves - but some questioned how a naked model is supposed to make regular women feel good about themselves, whether they're retouched or not.



To be honest the whole issue of weight/airbrushing/size zero bores me to death, so I wasn't going to post about this story (if you're bored too scroll down for a nice accessory report instead).
But then I saw this weeks Grazia cover (I haven't ventured out to buy it yet, but I will, I'm a Grazia addict) with the promise of 'naked!' Sadie Frost unretouched. And then annoyance set in.



I don't care if the models or celebrities in magazines are retouched or not, I just want a good picture. And I certainly don't like the way magazines are now bragging about the fact that they haven't airbrushed the images - as if they're doing us some great favour. Sure, airbrushing has got pretty ridiculous in the sense that sometimes you can't even tell who the person is any more, but that doesn't mean I want to hear every publication telling me they haven't retouched their images to make me feel better about myself.
I know I don't look like Jennifer Hawkins, I know I'm not a model, and I'm cool with that, and I'm sure most women are too. I am also not stupid enough to think what I see in a magazine is real life. So why is this still an issue?

I'm interested to know what you all think about this too, so leave a comment if you have time.

images from graziadaily.co.uk and thefashionspot.com

Spring 2010: The Details

Everyone loves a good accessory, and the S/S '10 collections have provided many lust over. Three of the details from the collections that I think will be big business this summer are bows (whether they're in your hair or on your dress), white sunglasses with circular frames and ultra slim stiletto heels. Add them to your look now to stay ahead of the game.




Which accessories will you be working come spring?

images from justjared.buzznet.com, celebrity-gossip.net and style.com

Visible Undies

I'm sure most of you have seen the photos of Leighton Meester in a lace body with her bra visible below by now [if not scroll down]. The look would have made the Hit and Miss of the week but the images came out too late. When I first saw the photos my immediate reaction was bad. Lets be honest, those are not the best trousers to pair the top with. I really admire Leighton for experimenting, but I don't think this look worked as well as she hoped.


Visible underwear is always rather hit and miss, and annoyingly (or not - if you're Lady Gaga) it's a big trend for S/S 10. The problem with bra-flashing is that you never know how it's going to turn out until your boobs are on show and it's too late. You're far more likely to end up looking like Leighton than you are Carrie Bradshaw, no matter how much work you put in.


Carrie is the queen of the visible bra, and 9 times out of 10 her visible bra looks worked, because of Patricia Field's genius. In the book Kiss and Tell Patricia says "A bra is underwear, but a T-shirt used to be too. Before 1950 no man or woman would have worn a T-shirt out in public because that was underwear. Once James Dean and Marlon Brando did it the T-shirt became the most common form of top for everyone. I see the bra the same way. It is not something that needs to be hidden."

And hidden it is not. Bras and briefs are visible everywhere at the moment. At Dolce & Gabbana the lingerie was the clothing, while Marc Jacobs took into account the fact it might be rather cold to wear underwear only - so he kindly dressed his models in cotton shirts with satin bras on top.


I think the most subtle way to work this look (apart from merely flashing a colourful bra strap) is to work a lace top - Stella McCartney style. She sent her models out in halter neck lace tops tucked into denim skirts. It's casual but still flirty, and slightly more foolproof than flashing your bra.


What do you think? Do you like Leighton's look? Does underwear work as outwear?

images from thefashionspot.com and style.com

Hit and Miss of the Week: The Year of Nicole Richie?

It's 2010, and some celebrities are off to a great style-start. Leighton Meester looked amazing in a Christopher Kane mini earlier in the week, she should wear Kane more often. Then there is Nicole Richie, who everyone loves but who has also been rather absent from the blogs the past year. She's off to a great start, three hit looks in one week, so don't be surprised if she's the celebrity to copy this year.
Then there is the not so great. Jennifer Lopez appears to be stuck in the last decade. What happened J-Lo?






images from celebrity-gossip.net and thefashionspot.com

Following the Church of ELLE Magazine



Impressive, no?
Obviously you can't ever go wrong with Natalie Portman on the cover of your magazine, but ELLE UK never fails to produce an amazing cover.
I can't wait to receive my February issue, I hope the subscribers cover is just as good. I actually think I'm going to buy the newsstand edition too, because I adore this cover.
So far for 2010 ELLE UK have had Helena Christensen and now Natalie P. Both great choices.
Who would you like to see on their cover later this year? I'm thinking a double GG cover with Blake and Leighton would be cool.

And Happy New Year! Hope you all had a good one.

image from thefashionspot.com