Chanel vs Zara
Here is one gem of a dress that has just hit the rails in Zara. We LOVE the ladylike cut and jewel print, which is on-trend for AW12, according to Karl Lagerfeld and he should know. We adore Chanel’s jewelled coat and crystal embellished accessories. For more purse-friendly prices, Zara is on board with everything jewelled. Get shopping early!
Stunning jewel print dress £69.99 at Zara
Chanel
Close up
Pics: Elle + Zara
Top 5: Couture dresses
Oh how we deliberated long and hard about this selection. Couture week is the stuff of fairytales but not so practical for us mere mortals where ‘social seasons’ are something we have learnt about in Gossip Girl.
This couture week was a mixture of gothic glamour and dark glittery textures as well as pretty dusky pinks, cute pom poms (we’re looking at you Chanel) as that symmetrical detailing that has been around for a few seasons. Oh and of course Raf Simon’s exciting and hugely successful debut for Dior.
So beautiful, subtle and elegant – must be Elie Saab
The Armani Prive show was so strong but love this dark, sexy look with tiny shots of colour thanks to clever sequins
Raf Simons makes his mark on Dior. The detailing and craftmanship is incredible and the sihouette classic Dior with Raf’s modern twist. I’d love to wear this to a party.
Valentino gets dark and mysterious in a signature way
Perhaps one of my favourite dresses ever. Chanel, bien sur.
Chanel + the Choupette bag rumours
Oh Choupette – the haute kitty so beloved of Karl Lagerfeld. We love @ChouettesDiary and Karl’s obsession with his pretty kitty friend. He kinda reminds us of a very fashionable Bond villain– maybe it’s the gloves and all the leather!
Anyway Karl’s kitty may be the inspiration for Chanel’s new IT bag, if you believe the fashion rumours. The New York Times’ fashion girl, Cathy Horyn tweeted that the Choupette bag is ‘knitted’ and ‘soft’…with a tail and ears – ok we made that last bit up. But how exciting!
Choupette has acquired quite a following after le Lagerfeld revealed that the cat has two maids and can use an iPad.. It is hard to separate the myth and reality of Choupette but the story goes that Karl was kitty sitting and refused to give Choupette back as she was ‘too cute’.
According to WWD, Karl said: “She has lunch and dinner with me on the table, with her own food. She doesn’t touch my food. She doesn’t want to eat on the floor. She sleeps under a pillow and she even knows how to use an iPad. She has two personal maids, for both night and day. She is beyond spoiled. When I am not there, the maids take down, in little books, everything she did, from what she ate to how she behaved, if she was tired, and if she wasn’t sleeping. In the nine months, we already have almost 600 pages.”
He is certainly smitten with his kitten! We can’t wait to see the bag.
Choupette in a bag – too cute
Ici, c’est la place du chat…bien sur!
On tour (pic: ShowStudio)
Ooh la la!
All pics: @KarlLagerfeld
Best dressed: Serpentine summer party
Where: Party at Kensington Gardens in London at the annual Serpentine Gallery party
Who: Celebs and models – arty like.
Style notes: Lots of Chanel, studs and metallics vs floaty boho dresses and vintage beading.
Here’s out heavenly seven:
Cara Delevingne wears Chanel (well!)
Laura Bailey works the metallic trend
Holly Valance looks super shiny in last season’s D&G
Stud-tastic – Jade Jagger
Amber le Bon goes boho
I love this look on Suki Waterhouse
My fav look: stylist Caroline Sieber’s vintage Chanel. J’adore.
Pics: The Daily Mail and Telegraph.
Top 5 Best dressed: Emma Watson + MTV movie awards
Oh the MTV Movie Awards. So many starlets and quirky awards. Emma Stone monochrome-d to the max, the peplum was big news and Emma Watson stole the show in Brood. Love it!
Emma Watson wears Brood with Tabitha Simmons sandals (pic:Daily Mail)
Kristen Stewart sticks to her micro mini formula – this time in GUiSHEM and Christian Louboutin
Jessica Biel keeps it simple and Chic in Chanel with Barbara Bui (pic: Daily Mail)
Charlize Theron rocks a Lanvin peplum with metallic Jimmy Choos (pic: FabSugar.au)
Emma Stone maxes out mono in Marton Grant, playful Brian Atwood shoes and lush Fendi clutch
Chanel Cruise Collection SS13
We always think it’s handy that Cruise collections come give you a glimpse of next year’s trends, helping you get more mileage from this year’s shopping picks. So thank you Chanel for letting us shop pastels, lace and lady-like shapes in confidence, knowing that we’ll be wearing them next Spring too.
The catwalk was the opulent gardens of the Palace of Versailles and the models crunched on the gravel in pastel confections that were oh-so-Chanel. Quilting, tweeds, structured dresses with fun takes on 17th Century sartorial favourites with LOTS of ruffles were the big fashion stories…but with a little punky twist, which reminded me of the TV show Casanova, while the pastel wigs and beauty spots were unmistakable Marie Antoinette. As most of Europe is pretty near broke, but the clothes are as OTT as you can get (in a typical Chanel fashion without having to cover everything in gold!) it added another dimension to the 17th Century theme!
Surely the exaggerated shape of culottes, peplums, and platform pumps (again) will be reimagined in a less theatrical way for the high street. As Monsieur Lagerfeld put it, this collection is all about ‘serious frivolity’. How refreshing!
Pics: ELLE, Vogue, Fanpop, AnotherZoeDay, Grazia, SandrasCloset.
Ear cuffs + nose rings get fashion-friendly: be afraid
The first thing you should know is that the Snap Fashion sisters are seriously averse to needles of any kind and so find this trend super scary.
Of course piercings of any kind have got more mainstream in recent years- Topshop and ASOS have both started selling ear tunnels. But shedding the EMO and underground image, more extreme facial jewellery has hit the catwalk – but thankfully most of it is pretend.
Givenchy debuted some serious nose rings and heavy-weight earrings that toyed with last season’s gothic and fetish trends, while Chanel embellished its models with plenty of stick-on pearl earrings running up and down ears and even the spine. But the real trend is for elaborate ear cuffs that conveniently hook over the ear and allow you to show off spikes, flowers or underwater decorations all down the side of your ear without any pain involved.
Here are our catwalk and high street favourites? Will you be giving this dramatic trend a go?
Extreme feather earcuff £16.99 from Topshop
Love the hair attachment with this ASOS spike ear cuff £10
leaf cuff earring £10 from Topshop
Chunky crystal necklaces ready for Chanel
Coachella kicked off this year’s festival season and one of my favourite (and laziest) summer outfits consists of well-loved denim shorts, a worn-in t-shirt accessorized with a kooky pendant and this year I have decided that rough-and-ready crystal is the answer.
As well as festival fun I plan on getting serious mileage out of some crystal beauties all through winter thanks to Chanel’s AW12 collection, where Karl Lagerfeld went crazy for amethyst and quartz shards on chunky bracelets (controversially similar to Pamela Love’s designs).
The best bit is that they are cheap and cheerful and if you’re into hippie things they also mean different things. I will just go by colour and prefer the silver with purple and pale stones to the bright ones in bullet cases and intend on stopping by a cute shop opposite King’s College in Cambridge to pick some up…or else try out one of countless new-age websites online. Hurray for hippies!
Setting the scene...Chanel's AW12 show
An assortment of crystal necklaces (not sure about the bullet thing!) pic: Tumblr
Fluorite point pendant £6.25 from http://www.crystalreflection.co.uk
Amazing crystal-inspired clutch and chunky bracelets at Chanel
Want! pic:tumblr
Ouch! Pamela Love vs Chanel! (Have to say I prefer Chanel's colour palette)
Sounds like something from Superman but I reallllly want this kyanite and quartz pendant. £9.95 from Crystal Reflection again
More! pic: tumblr
Heavenly 7: Underwater love
We are going a teensy bit crazy for SS12’s underwater trend. Take styling tips from Ariel (or Chanel and Versace) and team minty and aqua shades with shiny silvery metallics and sinuous sequins to make like a mermaid!
This must be underwater love! Thanks Karl
Super mermaid like (oh to be ginger!) Light green sequin mini dress £30 from River Island (was £50!)
Cute pearly clutch. It's called Paloma and comes from Coast (how apt!) for £60
Super cute cream mermaid print lace hem top from River Island £25
Team with this cute mint peplum skirt from Topshop for £34...it kinda has a tail!
A little bit of seaside - amazing brooch from Tatty Devine (accept no subsitution!) £54
Add some cute and shiny slingbacks - just £29.99 from Zara
Love Chanel’s Boy bag but can’t afford it? Problem solved
We love a designer inspired piece on the high street. Step forward Chanel’s latest IT bag the Boy (which is so beautiful…I stroked one in Selfridges last week and don’t care if that makes me tragic). The good news is that if you love the look but can’t afford the real McCoy, this £32 number from Asos will give you the look – at a distance at least – without breaking the bank.
ASOS Panelled Chain Bag £32
The Boy(s) are back in town
Snap Fashion 