Bazaar Report aw08 - Part 2

I'm really glad that many of you have enjoyed reading this Bazaar Report. Therefore, ready, steady, Part 2!

Long & Narrow can create a timeless evening look! Look at this sensual Bottega Veneta below! Together with a loose hair bun and a statement bangle, I will put on some 1930s elegant gowns in rich luminous ink colour! I'm thinking about deep purple or navy in silk satin - the sexy lighting will reflect on your amazing dress and create that speechless silhouette! Of course, I need to fix a serious date first....

Plaid & Tartan can create such a quirky and uplifting look! You only need to invest an signature piece that will last for years! I personally really love the Vivienne Westwood's creative blazers and Balmain's slick look.

Lace is probably one of the most romantic trends this season and it is my all time favourite! It can make even the simplest dress shine and feminine instantly! Oh my, that Prada dress is to die for!

I have never been so creative on colour, but I will surely give a try this fall! I will start with mustard yellow! I love to team it with olive green, various tones of grey and petrol blue!

Sleepy Hollow is soooo daring! It needs a good look in front of the mirror before going out to make sure "I'm fierce and stylish, not scary"! However, I may get some long chains and gorgeous blouses to start with. That Alexander McQueen below has just stole my heart...

I love hood for casual day look, but it may not be the easiest cloth for night! Unless you match really well, it may give a more sporty look than it is shown on the runway...

Bazaar Report aw08 - Part 1

I always find January and July very exciting. Not only there are sales everywhere, it is also the start of the new season. Particularly, I love the fashion magazines in July. Actually, I should say all the August issues. They are always 1 month in advance, right? I've just got my Harper's Bazaar - one of the best issues this year! So, I will try to update their Key Look Reports in the following posts for all of you who haven't got British Harper's available :)

I love Fierce Chic! The rock chic look goes more glamorous and sophisticated this autumn! The make-up and outfit are simply together and mysterious.

The belt-up look is my long-time favourite, since I got a vintage fur scarf from my mum. For me, this is the best way to wear it for a more day look - a new modern classic! I will carry on this winter.

I'm always a round-toe shoe girl, but I can feel pointed-toe is coming back this winter in a more dressy and sexy way... Then, I'm looking for a romantic pair, maybe I will get a pair of almond-toe platforms... yummy!

The structured silhouette is just amazing! It gives power into our winter outfit! I love both my slim trousers for a super long-leg sleek look and also my volume ones for my figure hugging cashmeres. Marc Jacobs has just created this perfect silhouette for Louis Vuitton. Girls, all we need is some simple clean make-up and a good wallet :)

Who's That Girl? Do We Know Her?

Flipping through some old magazines, I all the sudden notice that interesting trivia of how some heavyweight people in fashion come into this industry! We always do "tagging" between bloggers, so I thought that maybe "tagging" them can be quite fun!

- Girl No. 1

• She served cod, chips and mushy peas at 17. One of her regular customers in the chip shop was Henry Holland, designer and creator of the House of Holland rhyming slogan T-shirts. Now, she is the face of the house.
  

• She went to London and worked in a burger joint in the day and a bar at night.

• She visited Model 1, slammed down a portfolio and refused to leave until she was signed.

• She was recently dropped by Burberry after Mario Testino dubbed her "over-publicised". He was tired that she had been promoting her face everywhere. He has replaced her with Rosie Huntington Whiteley.

• She is Agyness Deyn.

School Photo

Agyness (was named Laura) with mother Lorraine

Photographed by Terry Richardson for i-D, may 2008

Photographed by Terry Richardson for i-D, may 2008

Paul Smith Women 05 Fall

- Girl No. 2

• She moved to New York in 1979 to study Ancient Chinese Art and shared a flat with the actress Catherine Oxenberg.

• Starting as an assistant to Anna Wintour in 1981, she then soon assisted André Leon Talley, now U.S. Vogue’s editor-at-large.

• She discovered Alexander McQueen with the purchase of his entire graduate collection for £5,000, paying it off in weekly £100 instalments.

• Discovered model, Sophie Dahl, & described her as "a blow up doll with brains".

• According to a 2002 interview with Tamsin Blanchard, it was she who brokered the deal in which Gucci purchased McQueen's label. Her friend, Daphne Guinness, said that “She was upset that McQueen didn't take her along when he sold his brand to Gucci. Once the deals started happening, she fell by the wayside. Everybody else got contracts, and she got a free dress".

• She is Isabella Blow.

- Girl No. 3

• Her father, legendary Charles Vere Wintour CBE, was an editor of the Evening Standard; and her mother, Eleanor Trego Baker, was the daughter of a Harvard Law professor.

• At 15, her father arranged a job for her in Biba boutique. She soon started dating older and well-connected men. She briefly dated Piers Paul Read, then 24. In her later teens, she dated gossip columist Nigel Dempster and became a fixture on the London club circuit with him.

• Dropping out of school at 16, one of her boyfriends, Richard Neville, gave her first look at magazine production when she hung around the offices of his controversial Oz.

• She entered fashion journalism in 1970 when Harper’s Bazar merged with Queen, and the new magazine needed editorial assistants.

• Her salary is reported to be $2 million a year and generous perks including Mercedes S-Class, a $50,000 shopping allowance, and the Coco Chanel Suite at the Ritz Paris during Pairs Fashion Show. Condé Nast president Si Newhouse had also provided her an interest-free $1.6 million loan to purchase her townhouse in Greenwich Village.

• She encouraged fashion houses to hire younger, e.g. her invention of John Galliano for Christian Dior.

• She gets up at 5:40 am everyday, plays tennis and gets to Vogue's offices at 8am. She seldom stays at a party over 20 minutes and gets to bed by 10:15 every night.

• An intern at Vogue was told she must not make eye contact with her or initiate conversation with her. One day in the hall, the intern saw her trip and stepped over her rather than violate this taboo.

• She is Anna Wintour (with her trademark bob since age of 14).

- Girl No. 4

• At 18, She began modeling, having been scouted on the street in Paris by a British photographer's assistant.

• She then became a writer and then a stylist for French ELLE.

• She worked as a consultant and muse for Tom Ford at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent for six years.

• She describes her professional progress as a series of accidents. She was working as a freelance stylist and her daughter was in a children's fashion shoot. The photographer was Mario Testino. They hit it off and began working together as a team for American and French Vogue.

• She said: 'You can wear a completely transparent shirt and show all the breasts - I don't care. But I prefer to have my hands in my pocket than to have a nice little bag. So I am not good for all these fashions. They have to sell bags, bags, bags, bags, bags, bags. I hate handbags.'

• She is Carine Roitfeld.
  

Carine Roitfeld in Purple Magazine

What's in the Magazine, Vogue Italia May 2008?

I went to Borders the other day and had a quick browse Italian Vogue May issue. Steven Meisel photographed Eva Mendes, 34-year-old Cuban-American Actress, for the cover. How are the pictures? To be totally honest, I am not actually so sure. Well, Italian love “sex”. Still I felt that I’ve got the wrong magazine somehow. Did I just pick up Esquire? Eva looked very sexy, actually over sexy in some photographs. Don't get me wrong. I like Eva Mendes. She always look great. Some of her pictures in Vogue Italia look great and erotic, but since she’s naturally sexy enough, the others look a bit trying too hard... a bit more “desperate housewife”… or maybe because sex and edginess sell?!

On the other hand, I cannot figure out why similar photos of Kate Moss looked so much more artistically sexy, rather than ... Well, there are different definitions of sexiness.

I cannot help comparing these pictures with some old editorials of Kate Moss from Vogue and Numéro Magazines ...