Wheres my Invitation...!!!?

Jealous much??

Here it is: the Chanel Autumn~Winter 2011/12 Haute Couture show invitation, which takes place in the Grand Palais on Tuesday 5th July...! Oh how I wiiiiiish I was one of those exceptionally fortunate fashionistas set to attend one of the most anticipated winter collections of the year... some day...

Bitta Ring Action. . .



In the green...





Moustache ring, definately getting!!!

Architectual...nice!!



Striped zebra...<3

Images: Topshop.com

Colour Blocking Beauties. . .

Fendi Silvana Bag



Good aul Topshop...

 I really cannot stress enough how resembleming High Street designs are of Designer brands...!!! Look at how similar this Topshop cross body bag (40 euro approx) is in comparison Fendi's Silvana bag whose price isn't even listed~ yes more than you or I could afford!! I've even seen a version of this bag in Pennys/ Primark for less than ten beans..! This bag is perfect for working that colour blocking trend and for the extremely reasonable prices on the high street there is noooo excuse not to bag one...!

Style Envy:Rachel Bilson. . .

A perfect mix of pink and yellow...!

Rachel's take on Chanel two tone...

Casual chic with a pop of red accessorising (love!)...

Again in Chanel, girly/ rock...

Hermes 'Constance' bag making this casual look...

Rachel Bilson is one of my favourite style icons-if you must! For me she is right up there with Alexa Chung and all those syonomous fashionistas, who's style everyone wants to emmulate. What I love about her style is that she is a simple dresser. She doesn't over accessorise or under accessorise, her balance is always right. She teams alot of denim shorts and jeans with casual tops and then accentuates this effortless style with a designer bag. Whether its Chanel, Hermes or Burberry shes always has that it bag of the moment on her arm. Bilson never trys too hard, and for me thats what style is all about...!

Two Toned Up...



How Chanel are these heeled pumps??

 Due to the unfortunate reality that Chanel clothing and accessories are... well out of my price range, I do be ecstatic when I come across Chanelesque finds, like these little heeled pumps!! At just 45euro, these River Island lovelies are a great buy! Not only is the two~tone look very similar to the fashion houses's signature, but the small heel will give your legs a bit of a lift, if like me you were'nt blessed with exceptional tallness...!


Image: RiverIsland.com

Chloë Sevigny for Opening Ceremony. . .

My favourite look from the collection...leopard print and leather...oh so edgy...!

Loved Sevigny's high necked leather tunic, with shoulder cut~outs teamed with legging shorts...

Sevigny's take on androgynous safari...

My second fav look...denim and leather mixed with a pop of red...genius...!

I was exceptionally impressed with style icon Chloë Sevigny's Cruise Collection 2012 for American based clothing company Opening Ceremony. The show was bursting with Sevigny style, with buttoned~up collars and a series of contrasting textures including leather, leopard print and denim. Shoes ranged from black runners and (super high!) shoeboots to monochrome heels, loafers annnnd sandals~ my ideal choice of shoe...! The colour palette ranged significantly also from dark blacks and browns to pinks, reds, blues and whites. Overall the style was androgynous with a hint of a feminine touch. I would gladly wear any piece from this extensive collection...!

 Chloë in her own design, with those sky~scraper shoeboots...!

Images: Vogue.fr

Pleating Please. . .

Erdem Spring/Summer '11 show, floral action...

Derek Lam Spring/Summer 2011, monochrome effect...

I have fallen in LOVE with pleated skirts of late. They were big news at shows Erdem, Derek Lam and Tommy Hilfiger for Spring/Summer 2011. A tricky trend to pull off, pleated skirts are sooo effective when teamed with the right elements...! Keira Knightley, whose style I craved to copy when I saw it, paired her lemon maxi skirt with a simple crisp white shirt, knotted just above her stomach to show off her vintage~style belt, with matching brown satchel. Fearne cotton aestheticised her androgynous, monochrome look with a bright fushia pleated skirt and amazing chunky black wedges. Stylist Angela Scanlon's take on the pleated look grew on me slowly, teaming her nude coloured maxi skirt with a belted rock tee and shoeboots. I will be getting my pleat on for sure...!

Keira Knightley, my favourite take on the pleat...

Fearne Cotton with her colour~pop pleat...

Angela Scanlon rocking up her maxi pleat...

Gotta Love Some Loafers. . .

I love loafers. For me, they are the perfect balance between brogues and pumps~ not too masculine, yet edgy and stylish. My personal favourites are brown loafers, as seen here on Pixie Lott, matching hers up with a brown belt and floral Lipsy playsuit. Black loafers are a little more formal, but patent ones add that extra umph. Alexa Chung dresses down her Chanel ensemble with these black flats. Loafers look great with a bit of legage, but I love them teamed with skinny jeans, particularly coloured ones. Here are some of my favourites from River Island and Topshop online:

Stripe Out...!

Stripes were HUGE for Spring/Summer '11 with designers Miuccia Prada, Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton all having the horizontal line being a signature staple for their collections. We've mostly seen stripes with full blown pop colours like blues, yellows, oranges~basically your rainbow tones..! However I've noticed lately that the Highstreet has a lot of striped tops, yet in slightly more muted tones, with one dominant primary colour and a neutral one. This look was seen on Sienna Miller who worked the light knit with dark skinnies and brogues, which looked effortless, yet casual chic. Sienna's striped jumper is from Topshop, yet I've found a cheaper version again online, from A/Wear. At 32euro (+ student discount.!) I'll be heading straight to A/Wear to stripe out...!

Collaborations,Collaborations. . .

As you probably guessed already I LOVE statement shoes...! These bad boys are designed by Kat Maconie for Felder Felder. German twins Annette and Daniela Felder are synonymous for their rock chic~with a feminine twist creations. What I love about these peeptoes are the gold rings and leather cutouts. Now personally I am a huge fan of gold, has more of an edge for me so these shoes really hit the nail on the spot. Great especially since its festival season and these would go perfect with denim cut~offs and a simple rock tee. At £310 (Hmmm well over 350 euro Im thinking) these are pricey but theres always wishing...!!

Images: Vogue.com

The Androgynous Side. . .

During my last semester in college before summer, we were learning about feminist writer Virginia Woolf and her theories concerning 'Androgyny'. Of course while our lecturer was expressing deep and psychological meanings of this term, I was thinking of Androgyny not in terms of literature but style ...(shock!) Im really fascinated by this look. In essence, it combines perfectly both masculine and feminine elements to create a most perfect harmony~ if its done right...! Yves Saint Laurent was arguably one of the first designers of the women's 'tuxedo' and changed the way women were to dress. . .forever?~I think so!

The Androgynous look is widely sported by many celebrities and my personal favourites are Alexa Chung (major shock!) Chloe Sevigny and Edie Campbell. I suppose you could describe this sort of boyish look as 'kooky'. What these style icons all have in common is that not only do they make their looks personal and unique, but their balance (take note~N.B term for this look..!) is puuurfect! So how do I get the balance right..? Well firstly to keep this masculine look feminine, its quite simple! To make sure that you don't entirely look like a boy, add pumps for a daytime look or heels for nightime. Perhaps keep the structure of the outfit masculine, yet let the colour show your feminine side. Pussy~bow blouses are great if you're not brave enough to master (dramatic much..!) the buttoned up shirt look. Scraping the hair back off your face in a bun and adding a pop of lipstick is another way to work that androgynous look. The most important thing you will need however~ and I'm sure you'll agree is. . . CONFIDENCE...! Wear the clothes and don't let them wear you! In the words of Dar-rell from that hilarious video Can I have your number??
Owwwn that collar! Work that buttoned-up do...!!

The Tribal Effect. . .

If it were possible to be in love with a pair of shoes, then these are those shoes!!! How amazing are these tribal wedges created by up and coming New York shoe designer Julian Louie for Aldo...? The designer who has worked with fashion house Calvin Klein described these showstoppers as 'architectural' and I certainly could not agree more!! These skyscrapers come in real African, earthy tones and would be the key vocal point to any outfit. At £85 these bad boys would cost well over 100 euro, but lets be honest here, they are well worth the splurge...!

MTV 2011 Movie Awards: My Favourites. . .

Emma Watson working an amazing white Marchesa dress, with her stunning grown out crop...!

Leighton Meester in a showstopping jewelled long sleeve Balmain ensemble...

Showing that less is definately more, Cameron Diaz in a 3.1 Philip Lim black playsuit and Lanvin heels (love!) ...

ToteTastic...!

I was in A/Wear the other day and could not BELIEVE how much this bag resembled the Prada cobalt blue tote from Miuccia's Spring/Summer 2011 show. This A/Wear version costs a mere 35 euro in contrast to a cool 1,150 euro for the Prada version. It just proves how accurate the high street is in copying these bang-on-trend bags, minus the pricetag...!

My Next Purchase: Coloured Trousers. . .

Isabel Marant kicked off this trend in her Spring/Summer 2011 Ready-to-wear collection and since then many celebrities including style icon Alexa Chung and our very own (Irish!) stylist Angela Scanlon have sported this funky look. Topshop in particular have great varieties in store now and this look is also great to rock the colour blocking trend, sported by Gucci. However try not over do it with too much colour contrast or else you'll end up looking like Cheryl. . .enough said!

I Heart Rodarte...!

Please excuse the extremely cheesy header but I'm really loving sisters Kate & Laura Mulleavy's amazing label Rodarte! Their Autumn/Winter 2011-12 collection excited me just as much as their Spring/Summer 2011 show. The designers really made the most of their neutral palette through layering of textures, shapes and patterns. Their mix of triangles and squares added a unique dimension to cosy jumpers and structured midi dresses. As cited by Marc Jacobs on Vogue.com, this duo are certainly ones to watch...!