I know that I swore to myself that I wouldn't buy any bags until after Christmas. Well, to Hell with that! Last weekend myself and a few wonderful women from the Purse Forum had a Louis Vuitton meet and went on a great shopping spree. The highlight of the trip was when Sarah ordered her first Hermes Birkin.
I ended up buying a Louis Vuitton Damier Neverfull which is now my all-time favourite bag. It's really large but so light that I can stuff it with a bunch of stuff like my laptop and it won't get heavy. It's a miracle bag.
Also my Yves Saint Laurent Muse Two arrived this week and it's gorgeous. I haven't used it yet because of the shitty weather but I can't wait to take it out.
Normally I look at the runways and fashion bloggers like Susie Bubble and Fashion Toast, to name a few, for fashion inspiration. However recently I have been noticing the people who bring fashion to the masses- editors. I find photos of them on the Fashion Spot, The Sartorialist and Style in the City, among other blogs, and have come to appreciate their sense of style.
These are just a few of the editors who make me wish I had them as personal stylists.
Evelina Khromchenko - Editor-in-Chief, L`Officiel Russia First of all I LOVE her haircut. If I could carry off bleach blond hair this is how I would do it. I think it's great that she doesn't have one uniform look- she plays around with punk rock vamp, red-carpet diva and flirty suit businesswoman. And her legs are to die for.
Kate Lanphear - Style Director, US Elle Ahhh Kate. Everyone loves her. Yet another head of hair that I wish I could carry off. Kate usually rotates between greys and blacks and never strays to bright colours. She has a mix of Yves Saint Laurent-like men's suits, simple striped tees and killer shoes. It's effortless and beautiful.
Miroslava Mikheeva-Duma - Fashion Editor, Harper's Bazaar Russia Miroslava first caught my attention with her gorgeous YSL Muse 2 bag but when I looked at the rest of her ensemble I fell in love with her style. Her look is very grown-up: slim dresses, pleated floral skirts, tweed blazers and designer bags. Somehow her colours look coordinated without being so, and they always look good on her. And she has incredible bangs.
Claire Dhelens - Fashion & Accessories Editor, Vogue Paris Parisians remind me a lot of New Yorkers; they love wearing super-tight, black clothes and Claire is no exception. Her silhouette is very slim, with simple, classic lines. Nothing too flashy except for odd moments of bright colour.
I really need to rip up my credit cards. Yesterday I had time to waste before meeting a friend to see "Rachel Getting Married" so I went to Holt's just to look at beautiful bags. Nothing caught my eye (thank God) until I wandered into the Chanel boutique. And I saw them. The perfect pair of flats ever created. Black lambskin leather with a black patent toe. They were perfect. I had the SA put them on hold for me and I'm supposed to pick them up today. But holy shit they are expensive. And I'm really starting to think that $650 for flats aren't worth it, even if they are Chanel. Hmmm. So I've been debating all day whether I should get them after I get off work. Which means I have four hours to make up my mind.
I took my question to the Purse Forum and asked the ladies there what they thought and got some mixed answers ranging from "Yes they will last forever" to "are you crazy for spending that much money?" Noted.
I do want classic black leather flats but I know I can get amazing ones for way cheaper. But they won't have Karl Lagerfeld's stamp of approval. And I want a whiff of Lagerfeld in my shoes. I am leaning towards not getting them since I just maxed out my credit card for the Yves Saint Laurent Muse Two bag and I can spend the money saved on Christmas presents. I can't wait for Christmas.
Update: I decided not to get the flats. I'd rather get Christmas presents!
From overstock.com. Even though I swore to myself that I would not buy anything for myself until after Christmas. But it called my name. And there was only one left! How could I say no to my new Holy Grail bag? I just couldn't pass this by.
This isn't the original YSL Muse Two I wanted to get; at first I wanted to get the embossed Crocodile version but I realized that I like this one better. As I was clicking the checkout option I could hear Rachel Zoe and her assistant Brad enabling me to just get it, even if it costs more than rent. This is why we have economic problems. It's all my fault! Damn you credit cards!
Today at work I started browsing Amazon to get Christmas gift ideas. Naturally I found books and dvds that I wanted to get for myself so I started picking out a bunch of stuff and added them to my cart. When I checked on my cart I realized that I had picked out 17 items, most of them books about fashion. What can I say? I'm obsessed. Since I knew it would be hazardous to spend several hundred dollars when I have unpaid credit card bills, I emptied said cart, and bought one book: Influence by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.
There's been a lot of press around this book, especially today when both twins did a bunch of interviews and a book signing (the one with the list of peculiar rules. ) I had no intention of buying the book until the media flooded me with images of the twins and my stupid brain fell for their marketing scheme.
But if you can believe bloggers, the book is supposed to be really good. The twins don't talk about themselves (a relief because I am thoroughly sick of them now) instead it talks about, duh, their influences. They talk to Chanel master Karl Lagerfeld, actress Lauren Hutton, John Galliano, Diane von Furstenberg and more fashionable people. These are people who I admire greatly and so I'm excited to see what they talk about to MK and Ashley, who, like it or not, are fashion icons.
I was never a fan of MK's boho bag lady look but she inspired a whole new movement who will now only wear sack dresses that look like they came from the attic, bug sunglasses, unkempt hair and gladiator sandals. That look defines our time. Well maybe not anymore, but it did. I loved it when the sisters were photographed at the Chanel show last season decked out in head-to-toe Chanel. They were so glamourous. And the fact is they are influential. Everything they wear gets copied. It's undeniable.
Here is Ashley's interview on Good Morning America.
I already stated that Morales was my favourite show of the week, but RUDSAK came in second with gorgeous leather jackets, pants, to-die-for bags and the hottest male model I've ever seen. My co-worker whispered to me after the first couple of looks came out, "This is so you." And it really was. Short and tight leather bomber jackets in black, brown and best of all, coral; super short leather shorts; colourful scarves were wrapped tightly around the neck; white and black leather skinny pants; belts with large, shiny silver plaques; classic white blouses; mini vests; fingerless leather gloves and leather fedoras. It was all very rock n' roll and all-out sexy. Definitely my style.
And the bags. My favourite was a leather coral handbag which looked so buttery soft I wanted to take it from the model right there. The designs were so simple and classic. White shoulder bags with outside pockets and adjustable straps; black leather clutches with ruching in the middle; satchel bags that could also double for handbags; and for men, large carry-on and travel bags and beautiful side-bags.
My other favourite part of the show had nothing to do with clothes or accessories: a gorgeous male model who smirked his way down the runway had all the girls (and guys, including Project Runway Canada winner Evan Biddell,) swooning in their seats. He had blue bedroom eyes, perfectly chiseled cheekbones and a swagger to knock us off our seat. Hot.
My camera was dying at this point so I'll put up CP photos instead.
I'm going to say this right off the bat: Morales was my favourite show of the week. Gorgeous ruffled chiffon dresses in canary yellow, lilac, white, black and eggshell blue; textile prints of city landscapes, cherry blossoms and trees on flowing silk dresses; organza and shredded and pleated tulle mini dresses in light blue and vivid orange; and the best look, long silk dresses with prints of animé children designed by Japanese pop artist Yoshitomo Nara.
Chiffon dresses had sheer backs as well as keyhole backs. There were some 20s flapper references on the bottoms of some of the dresses and sequin underlays.
But the real show stoppers were the hats, or headbands, as I later realized: Silk flowers cascading down in front of the head. They reminded me of a Philip Treacy design. They were so beautiful I couldn't stop staring at them.
Some beautiful accessories too: Coiled gold necklaces, long, blingy gold necklaces with crosses and peep toe black ankle boots.
To me, this is the Canadian couture. All of that detail, the quality materials, the innovative designs, the luxurious fabrics have the making of haute couture.
I've been doing a lot of shopping recently, party for fashion week and partly because I need new clothes for winter.
After I picked up my pass for L'Oreal Fashion Week at the Drake, I came across a vintage shop called 69 Vintage. They had amazing clothes: Soft men's leather jackets, military-style coats, poofy dresses, sparkly clutches and other great finds. I wasn't looking for anything in particular but a bomber fur coat caught my eye and I decided to try it on. Now fur is not a look I normally go for. I think it takes a lot of confidence to pull off an all-fur coat (those jackets with fur trims on the collars don't count.) But this was so soft, warm and in excellent condition so I bought it for a bargain of $70. I haven't worn it yet because I'm a bit worried that people will throw things at me so I'm going to wait until it gets colder. But it's magnificent.
My second amazing find is a Elie Tahari black lace cocktail dress I got at Winners for $200. It's stunning. The top has lace detail with a cream lining so you don't see through it. It has a square neck line. The fabric just below the bust is ruched and then the rest of the dress just sits perfectly on the body. It reminds me a bit of Audrey Hepburn.
There are a ton more clothes I bought but I don't have the time to photograph them all so I will list them:
- Dark wash Silver skinny jeans - H&M vest - H&M purple taffeta dress - H&M men's graphic tee - H&M studded belt - H&M purple and black tights - H&M lace skirt and lace top -Zara men's Superman tee - Black Danier leather jacket - DC Comics Batman tee - Jones New York men's classic white shirt - GANT navy blue blazer with crest
And I'm sure there is more but I can't remember. And now I'm done shopping for myself for a long, long time.
First of all I LOVE her haircut. If I could carry off bleach blond hair this is how I would do it. I think it's great that she doesn't have one uniform look- she plays around with punk rock vamp, red-carpet diva and flirty suit businesswoman. And her legs are to die for.
Ahhh Kate. Everyone loves her. Yet another head of hair that I wish I could carry off. Kate usually rotates between greys and blacks and never strays to bright colours. She has a mix of Yves Saint Laurent-like men's suits, simple striped tees and killer shoes. It's effortless and beautiful.
Miroslava first caught my attention with her gorgeous YSL Muse 2 bag but when I looked at the rest of her ensemble I fell in love with her style. Her look is very grown-up: slim dresses, pleated floral skirts, tweed blazers and designer bags. Somehow her colours look coordinated without being so, and they always look good on her. And she has incredible bangs.
Parisians remind me a lot of New Yorkers; they love wearing super-tight, black clothes and Claire is no exception. Her silhouette is very slim, with simple, classic lines. Nothing too flashy except for odd moments of bright colour.
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