Yes, you heard right! Je-suis-style @ blogspot now has a sister site on tumblr!
I created a tumblr mainly to share bits of fashion and artsy inspiration with you all. My blogspot will continue to be my main site and that's where you'll find the more lengthy posts about all things fashion and style, but head over to my tumblr for some visual fashion delights!
Yes, Vogue España has done it again! Take a top model, add a kitten and a snake and throw in some spectacular clothes...Voilà! You've got one super-hot editorial spread that'll knock your socks off!
Although I loved the other editorials of Vogue España's april issue, top model Edita Vilkeviciute's striking cover shot captivated me right from the beginning and I wanted to flick through to see the rest of the shoot straight away!
The 18 page spread, entitled "Surf Urbano" (shot by David Vasiljevic,) was no less than a visual delight! The editorial taps in to some key summer trends - digital, tropical, floral, animal and graphic prints in bright and bold summery colours. Edita strikes great poses in a range of fitted bathing suits and dresses, whilst interacting with a kitten and a snake! The dynamism and playful energy that Edita exudes in the shots are testament to her eye for showing off the garments and her fluidity in movement - that snake has sure got some competition! ;)
Take a look at the pictures below! (The snake pictures are my favourite - and that's saying something, given that I am usually quite creeped out by them!)
I have been meaning to update my blog with a review of Christopher Kane's Autumn/Winter 2010 collection for a while, so my apologies for my blogging absence!
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For London fashion week, the Christopher Kane 'woman' has once again shifted identity. Kane says farewell to his Lolita phase - the sickly sweet pastels, gingham and checked prints were tossed aside for what appeared to be a foray into a darker world of leather-clad "juvenile delinquents" and religious cultism.
Never one to pander to expectations, Kane's designs were visually impactful due to the jarring fusion of matte or patent black leather and PVC, contrasted with bead/gem embellishment and embroidered flowers that resembled parochial Women's Institute craftwork.
Kane cites the robes of the Vatican and Priscilla Presley “before Elvis got his hands on her" as two sources of strong inspiration for the collection. His desire to convey a perversion and irony in this collection has been deftly pulled off, through his unusual and somewhat scandalous splicing of the prim and proper with 'bad girl' rebellion.
However, although I am a huge Christopher Kane fan, I feel like I have developed a 'love-hate' relationship with the actual garments from the show. There are elements of the collection that I love and those that I really dislike:
The good: (The simple feminine cuts, subtler gem detailing and lace panelling work for me.)
The bad: (Check out that fur and leather abomination and the scary leather collar shirts!)
Emma Watson and Carey Mulligan have been snapped sporting pieces from Kane's Fall collection, but do you think they did the designs justice?
I think Emma rocks her Kane dress - I have always liked the way that he plays on the idea of underwear as outerwear, so the weird leather/flower combo is less accosting. I'm not feeling Carey Mulligan's outfit though, as it is a tad catholic school-girl gone wild!
So, what do you think of the collection as a whole? In my humble opinion, the collection is very interesting - it is unpredictably avant-garde and authoritative in its execution, but its commercial wearability remains strongly in question. I love the lace panelling that remains a signature for Kane and the lace-up leather heels are great! I especially like these lace-up gladiator shoes with gem detailing (I would buy those if I had the cash!):
Clip from the show:
All I'm wondering is...what will Kane do next?!
je-suis-style xox
(With thanks to Nytimes.com, fabsugar.co.uk, ssense.com and mylifetime.com for the pictures.)
I think it's the first time I've hit a store on the day a designer collaboration collection's come out (N.B. omitting the time I stayed up most of the night waiting to see Christopher Kane's 2009 Topshop capsule collection go online!;)), but I was keen to see what the atmosphere would be like in my local Spanish H&M for the new Sonia Rykiel collection. I had quite a busy day, so arrived around late afternoon to encounter a much busier H&M than usual. The atmosphere was civilised (no pushing and shoving at all), much to my relief! (I think my preconceptions about exclusive collection launches have been coloured somewhat by the media..)
Anyway, I walked through the men's section, straight towards what appeared to be a treasure-trove of bright colours and glinting rhinestones. As I'd expected, there was quite a range of age groups - from girls around my age (mainly looking at the dresses, jumpers and accessories), to mothers with young daughters (a double breasted blazer in one hand, whilst trying to force a pink beret over a cranky 7 year old's head!) and a few older, very well dressed women (who were looking at the Rykiel knits.)
I was immediately drawn to the Rykiel iconic stripe dress, but looking at the price tag, I was surprised to find it more expensive than I'd expected (See previous blog for the Sonia Rykiel look-book and english prices) At 60 euros, I wondered why a random price inflation had taken place..I'm not sure what the prices are like in England, but everything was more expensive in euros! I tried on a couple of things which were nice, but nothing that particularly said 'wow' to me. The one thing I was tempted to buy, was the "Mon pull Rykiel" jumper, which I talked about in my last blog post. Priced in Spain at 40 euros, I decided that if I did buy it, I'd be paying solely for the brand and not garment quality, as it was very thin material!
I am glad, however, that I took a look at the 'accessories section' of the Rykiel collection, as I picked up a "mon pull" rhinestone brooch and a limited edition Sonia Rykiel UNICEF shopper bag. At a mere €2.95, i figured I couldn't go wrong, and I love that the bag's for charity. The proceeds go to a project called “All for Children”, which is a five year initiative from UNICEF and H&M, which aims to protect and improve children's lives in areas of cotton cultivation in India.
I love French-inspired clothing and accessories, so the "mon sac Rykiel" UNICEF bag and "mon pull" brooch are perfect for me. (The pink carrier bag my purchases were put in is also super cute and good quality!) I'm looking forward to pinning my "mon pull" brooch on all sorts of cute knitwear and jumpers (See picture below right - me with my brooch and shopper bag!)
All in all, it's been a successful day in many respects, so I'm full of 'joie de vivre'..and not just because of my Sonia Rykiel goodies :)
Women and heels have had a very long relationship..they lengthen the legs, give the wearer poise and empowerment, and well, they're a treat to the eye even when displayed in a shop window!
Christian Louboutin's famous red-soled stilettos are no exception in their aestheticism - the flash of red underneath a classic stiletto is enough to make any woman (or man for that matter) dizzy with lust! The red soles are a Louboutin trademark and are instantly recognisable. It's no surprise that Louboutin red soles are as covetable as ever since their introduction in 1992!
Christian Louboutin explains the inspiration to the red soles: “I did not really choose the red sole. It's more like the red sole came to me and had to stay with me. It started as a happy accident, which I kept. I was very inspired by pop art so all my drawings were really full of colours. So the first prototype arrives...but something was missing. Thank God I had this girl with me who was painting her nails..I grabbed the nailpolish and I painted the sole..This was such a success that it became a permanent fixture.”
So, Louboutin shoes were inspired by nail polish! Perhaps it's interesting and ironic that a craze of recent months has become "The louboutin manicure"! Just as the name suggests, the manicure involves painting the nails black and the underside in a racy, scarlet red! Manicurist Zoe Pocock, stated: "Your nails should be worn to match your shoes or handbag!" The paradox to which my title refers can be explained as follows: A nail trend inspired by shoes which were inspired originally by nails!
I, personally, really like the idea of recreating the Louboutin red-soled heels with nail varnish. I think that it's important to only try this look on very, very long nails as otherwise the effect will appear less sophisticated and couture and more Dracula!
My new year's resolution should now be to grow my nails really long, so that I can try the 'Louboutin manicure'! It's certainly a good way to 'nail' the Louboutin look without a humongous hole in your wallet!
I am lucky enough to be spending 8 months in Spain (on a year abroad) and apart from experiencing a new and rich culture and improving my Spanish, I could hardly ignore the fact that I would be surrounded by a plethora of exciting new shops that don't exist in London!
Some of the new shopping delights I have discovered consist of a few local markets, which are great to rummage around in on a Sunday afternoon(I bought a lovely vintage-patterned scarf for a mere €2 in a market here!) Of course, there is also a dazzling array of high-street stores, such as Blanco (which has become my personal favourite), Sfera, Stradivarius, Bershka and the well-known fashion giant Zara (which is better in choice and price over here!)
The sales are also on at the moment, so I jumped at the chance to pick up some nice pieces for my wardrobe (which is currently just a fraction of my one back in the UK..dratted suitcase weight restrictions!)
Here are a couple of things I picked up recently:
I bought the black boyfriend blazer in Stradivarius for €20 and it's very lightweight and comfortable. Perfect to throw over pretty much anything - a real wardrobe staple.
The studded skirt is from Blanco in the sale reduced half price to €16.50! I'd seen an identical skirt in Topshop a few months back which was around £65 - seen on both Alexa Chung and Mischa Barton. I was thrilled to find this gem - the only one in my size and half price..what's not to love?!
Finally, I bought these cuff shoes in Sfera. As soon as I tried them on, I loved them. The heel height is perfect (enough to make an impact, but not too high that they make me ridiculously tall!) and they're super soft and comfy! I'm a sucker for peep-toes really! I can see these getting a LOT of wear!
Anyway that's all for now! Hopefully I won't get too tempted by the 75% off signs going up in all the stores near me!!
This is 'je suis style', a blog written by a 21 year old fashion fanatic, shopaholic and style magpie.
A little about me:
-In a nutshell: Most likely to be found wandering around art-galleries, bargaining in London markets or trawling the internet for fashion news and generally stalking Christopher Kane.
My style:
I would describe my style as being quite elegant and romantic, with a touch of edgy glamour..Think a mix of vintage, high street and designer. I have always loved floaty grecian maxi dresses, elegant corsets, sheer-ruffled blouses, vintage chain waist belts, sheer fabrics and clothes embellished with lace, studs, bows or pearl detailing. I adore the look of a glamorous 'going out' dress with a leather jacket thrown over the top to edge it out. Depending on my mood though, my style changes, so one day I may just be feeling a bit rebellious and go for something a little less 'obvious' for me and a little bit more 'avant-garde'.
Favourite designers:
Chanel Hervé Léger Valentino Chloé Christopher Kane Matthew Williamson Betsey Johnson Moschino Colleen Quen Jay Godfrey YSL Oscar de la renta Miu Miu Vera Wang Versace Manoush Twenty8Twelve Balmain Wheels & dollbaby ...to name a few.
It's pretty much my life's goal to own a real one of these (!):
My philosophy:
I think style is knowing what looks good on your figure and dressing for yourself rather than for others. It's something that can't be learnt. In the words of Coco Chanel, "la mode passe, seul le style reste". What is in today, will not be in tomorrow, but investing in items that will endure, will give you a fashion 'grounding'. From that solid base, you can let your fashion creativity run wild. Fashion, in my eyes, is synonymous to art. You can portray yourself however you wish and from day to day you can become whoever or whatever you want to become. A fashion icon is timeless and keeps reinventing themselves. They never fail to keep people guessing and embody someone who challenges our perceptions of the meaning and connotations of the word 'fashion'.
