It’s All in The Detail (Super Spectacular!)

One of the easiest ways to wear clothes is in block black, striking colours, or simple separates. An attention to detail always helps for the final coup de grace: make sure you have well made seams (keep an eye out for French or bound seams - designers love them), and the garment will be sure to hang itself off you almost as if you were a mannequin in a Chanel/Dior/Prada store window (delete as appropriate). However, one might want to go a little further by heading for a touch of embellishment, material pleats, or beading, et cetera. I chose the leading shot for this piece because of its wonderful intricacy (please don’t wear this down the King’s Road. It’s just for inspiration guys). We’re talking high class design, architectural splashes of inspiration, & the real way to flash a bit of clash without the trash.

At first this might seem a bit dauntingly expensive a pursuit. Beads, gems and handiwork labourers do not come cheap in this economic climate. But then there was vintage.  Like the answer to many a fashionista’s sourcing query, vintage stores & sites enable us everyfolk to get our mitts on some pretty fabulous stuff. Check out these pics I took recently of a really cute dress hanging in an uber-trendy clothing store whilst in New York:

(fyi: lower east side, manhattan, near nyu. Unfortunately I forgot to take down the name of the shop, so anyone over on that side of the pond, well you’ll just have to get out those fashion antennae & do a bit of searching in the city...)

Below we have our beloved LC demonstrating a gorgeous Jenny Packham dress. What I love with this piece (& that makes it fit effortlessly into LA without being too high-glamour) are the jewel & coral tones: a reflection of the sand dunes & the sweet, sweet blue skies of Los Angeles but mixed up with the delicate beads & feathers of an artisan at her most inspirational. & fyi, this from a London-based designer.

The best of late, however, has to be Diane Kruger in Valentino. A breath of fresh air in canary yellow, she turned up in this in stunning ensemble but a few days ago & certainly wowed the crowds, as always. Speechless. What more can we say? C’est tout.

Liz Hurley (with Eva Herzigova) is a devoted fan of Jenny Packham. Don’t let this put you off. (Let’s face it, this dress would look one thousand times better on Kate Moss, or Eva, if you know what I mean):

Now these clearly weren’t created with a simple Singer machine & one pair of hands. Dior, Spring 2009:

Pleats & fringes, swings & roundabouts. Exciting ways to embellish:

Another of my pics from nyc, love this shop! Note to self: keep a pen & paper handy if you can’t be arsed to remember the name of an amazing little one-of-a-kind boutique in a fairyland store.

Picture Sources:

Leading pic: Chanel: http://farm4.static.flickr.com

Lauren Conrad: in Jenny Packham, http://thetrendsetter.files.wordpress.com

Liz Hurley in Jenny Packham, Diane Kruger in Valentino: www.instyle.com

Dior: http://images.teamsugar.com

Emma Watson & Natalia Vodianova: www.dailymail.co.uk (please do not be hatin’ on me for sourcing this pic from here, it was what Google images threw up!)

Young Lady, You Will Not Leave The House Looking Like That!

Taylor Momsen, Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears: all continually lambasted for their age-inappropriate, racy ensembles. But what about the other end of the spectrum? It’s one thing to dress your age and not your shoe size, quite another to dress like you’ve been through a DUI, seen through several minor recessions, and partied through numerous hot nights at (former speakeasy) Club 21 in midtown Manhattan before you’ve even reached your fifteenth birthday. Hang on a sec. What if - can you even visualise this? It might be just a bit disturbing in a parallel vortex sort of way – instead of dressing older than you are in pursuit of presenting a provocative facade, dress as to impress at a board meeting or the school run.

Yup, Hayden Panettiere didn’t let fame go to her head. (Well, let’s put aside the minor embarrassment, say, of her dating Laguna Beach alumna Stephen Colletti, for...how many days did it last? Each to their own). Ironically, she actually gets criticised for dressing like she’s in her mid-twenties/thirties. Hell, what’s wrong with a pencil skirt, a bit of rouge and a chignon?

Over on this side of the river, guess who's soon to graduate from Hogwarts? (- hold your breath, there’s still another Harry Potter film due for the publicity junket this summer). Emma Watson, hoping to attend a liberal arts college in the US next year, currently feeds her love of style and fashion in an extremely grown up way. She even attended last year’s Paris shows suitably attired from head to toe in the key colour of the season & the city. (Black, need you ask?) I hope she has a ticket for this year’s shows. Starting next week, I hear they’re selling out fast...

In Dior, & then Chanel:

Follow these guidelines & you’ll be sure to attain that haute elegance & icy exterior that previously only the elder (read: wiser) of the fashionistas could exert. Of course by then you might want to revert back a few years to a youth forgotten: no one could forget the bikini pic of 2008.

Helen Mirren looking fantastic at 63:

Babe Paley, fashion editor of Vogue and swan of Capote, once said (& I’m paraphrasing here) that a lady should always dress a couple decades older than her actual age. That way, when said age was reached, no-one would be any more the wiser.

Suitable at every age: Hayden in a classic trench

Signing autographs, Emma wears Chanel:

Want to show off an asset? Do it the classy way, from behind. Hayden at the Berlin Film Festival, 2008:

A girl’s gotta keep up with her philanthropic work: Hayden at the 5th annual Innovation and Inspiration gala, hosted by the Alfred Mann Foundation at Vibiana in Los Angeles:

Sorry, how old are you Scarlett?

Picture Sources:

Hayden in Berlin: www.contactmusic.com

Hayden inTrench: www.hollywoodgrind.com

Hayden headshot, red lipstick: www.thebestdamnthingever.blogspot.com

Hayden in Pencil skirt with blouse by Nu Collective; at Vibiana; Scarlett Johansson: www.instyle.com

Emma in Chanel, leading pic: www.emmawatsonphotos.blogspot.com

Emma in Dior; & in Chanel: www.people.com

Helen Mirren pic: www.northstandchat.com

NB: For legal purposes, I can’t guarantee that Emma Watson wore Chanel when signing autographs in Paris, but it sure looks like Chanel to me! Post a comment if you think otherwise!