Spring Fashion in Florence - La Trenchiata!

I just spent some super quality time in Firenze, and decided that while I was there I'd find you some fashion statements.

Firstly I have to say that every time I set foot in Europe I am blown away by the care, attention and pride that the average woman takes in her appearance, even when you get out of the main fashion metropolis into the smaller towns and villages. 

The women there turn it on.

But back to Florence.

There was one striking trend that crowned them all, 

and that was the divine, chic, timeless, ubiquitous trench.

in many colours

 styles and shapes

zipped up the back

 youthful in blue

ever present

effortless in beige with a white flat

ageless

 

 great with a simple jean and a pony.

la triumvirate, la trenchiata

perfect for a workday lunch break with the girls

perfect heading to a trattoria for lunch or to an expresso break.

Many fabrics

 

and leather!

I die I die I die!

The one that got away, the white leather trench I should have bought

at Toscany Pars on the Via dell' Ariento in San Lorenzo.

How did I leave that one behind???

It now rules my most coveted list.

It owns it.

As much as I love my hot fuchsia trench, my life won't be quite right until I have the white leather...

Karlie Kloss - The Hottest Runway Model

18 year old American model Karlie Kloss was being referred to in Paris last week as the hottest runway model of the moment.

At the Paris Spring/Summer 2011 Fashion Week she opened five of the sixteen shows with her trademark walk.

Shows including Lanvin, Dior, Dries Van Noten, Elie Saab, and (I think she opened) Chanel.(my french isn't quite 100%...)

at Elie Saab

at Elie Saab

struttin at Michael Kors

how killer is this green???

 She is also the face of Marc Jacobs Lola

Straight up - girl is fabulous!

Penelope Cruz Covers US Vogue June 2011 and British GQ June 2011

Penelope Cruz is everywhere right now with the imminent release of

Pirates of The Caribbean On Stranger Tides.

Here are two covers that she is gracing for June 2011.

First up American Vogue June 2011, shot by Mario Testino

 

Do you love??? 

Testino gave her a fresh faced, touchable look, so translucent that you can see her freckles.

The image was leaked via Tumblr by Stefano Gabbana of Dolce and Gabbana, who dressed Cruz for the shoot.

You would never guess she had just had a baby!

 

How fabulous is she in this Dolce and Gabbana bodysuit?

Would you not just die to have that body suit? Or a body like that. 

(For me that's a "yes" on both counts!)

How furious do you think Anna Wintour is with Stefano for leaking his advanced copy??

Also in June Penelope Cruz covers British GQ magazine, with a much different look.

Shot by Mario Sorrenti, this time Cruz rocks her inner vamp, looking drop dead sexy.

In the accompanying interview she talks about working with both Rob Marshall (love him!) 

and Johnny Depp whom she is great friends with and who she first worked with on the movie Blow.

The photospread inside is sensational

images courtesy of the Stylist Site

B-B-B-Bombshell!!

Which cover do you like best??

Six Fashion Statements For Spring Summer 2011

Last week in Paris I spent some quality time with the very fabulous La Mode La Mode La Mode, and while being inspired half out of my mind and caught somewhere between fashion A.D.D and fashion O.C.D, I came away with their 6 Fashion Statements for Spring/Summer 2011.

And here they are:

1.) Bold Blocked Color,
a la Jil Sander

This is a total fun, sexy, bold look, easy to wear, spontaneous and super glam.

 

2.) Stripes, 

especially deckchair stripes, seen here at Prada and at Jil Sander

Fierceness at Prada

 

Billowy stripes at Jil Sander

3.) Makeup!

Eyes are the big trendy accessory for spring summer 2011, whether bright white and bold at Prada

or bold bright at Louis Vuitton

 

4.) Yves Saint Laurent's 70's trend 

showed up in some exciting places, including his Marakesh period seen at

Marc Jacobs in New York

straight up sexy 70's at Gucci in Milan

or the opium style at Louis Vuitton in Paris,

the imprint of the master, Yves Saint Laurent was apparent.

5.)Minimalism.

There was a distinctly 90's feel to the minimalism at Celine,

causing a thrill that even had Anna Wintour clapping in the front row of the show.

6.) Punk Rock. (with a high fashion twist)

It was fun and exciting to see a little edge at Balmain,

Balenciaga

and check out the Joan Jett/ rock n roll hair at Gaultier!

Oh how I love Paris! And La Mode La Mode La Mode!!

Tom Ford - How To Be A Modern Gentleman

Ciao Tutti!

I'm in Italia at the moment. Instead of posting this when it first came out, I decided to hold on to it until now.
As with all things Tom Ford, it just gets better with time, so I'm going to enjoy re-reading it, in the piazza with a cafe americano...

Tom Ford.
I swear he is the sexiest man-beast on earth.

He's on the cover of the current AnOther Magazine and inside he has a fabulous chat with Jefferson Hack, about his Five Easy Lessons In How To Be A Modern Gentleman.

Here they are:

1.)You should put on the best version of yourself when you go out in the world because that is a show of respect to the other people around you.

2. A gentleman today has to work. People who do not work are so boring and are usually bored. You have to be passionate, you have to be engaged and you have to be contributing to the world.

 3. Manners are very important and actually knowing when things are appropriate. I always open doors for women, I carry their coat, I make sure that they're walking on the inside of the street. Stand up when people arrive at and leave the dinner table.

4. Don't be pretentious or racist or sexist or judge people by their background.

5. A man should never wear shorts in the city. Flip-flops and shorts in the city are never appropriate. Shorts should only be worn on the tennis court or on the beach.

Love him.

My Goodness, My Guinness (via StyleCave)

I'm in Italy today, so I have a guest blog for you from one of my absolute favorite blogs, the very, very fabulous StyleCave.

I am intrigued by Daphne Guinness, and wanted to make sure you got to see these gorgeous images, and read these lovely words...

My goodness, my Guinness!

I didn't know that she married at 19. I didn't know she had three children and i didn't know that her eldest son dated Paris Hilton. I didn't know she produced films and don't recall her childhood memories of swimming for countless hours in Salvador Dali's lobster infested pool. It seems, i don't really know anything about Daphne Guinness.

She's heiress to an aristocratic legacy- that, i do know and am fairly familiar with her unapologetic flamboyance and brashly extravagant love for couture. But what is her job title exactly? With this ambiguous fumble, I'm retreating swiftly back onto uncharted territory, questioning words such as model? socialite? stylist? designer? muse? But does it really matter? With her affluent faculty, enviable wardrobe and iconic persona, Daphne Guinness has a license to venture.

In the loosest terms i have generously branded her an "icon"; dictionarily defined as "a representation of some sacred personage". Does she follow the narrative? not strictly, but in vulgar modern ideology she is, in part, a "sacred personage". Her adherent dedication to the art of couture is not only influential but admirable at least. She devotes herself wholeheartedly to projecting a portrait of creativity, subconsciously acting as a vessel for true designing talent. 





She may fit many arguable subtitles but Daphne Guinness is NOT just a clothes-horse, despite avidly championing high fashion artistry. Alexander McQueen was among her closest friends and she would often, publicly advocate his designs and continues with the creative promotion, even after his death, leaving a lasting trail of tributes with every step she takes. Notably adding to her couture catalogue, last year she adopted the remaining entirely of Isabella Blow's wardrobe. It was an act which, at first evoked bewilderment, but is now rightfully perceived as commendable; Daphne not only strengthened her integral bond with the fashion world but, most poignantly, she heroically salvaged something which defined Issie's little dent upon the world. 


Admittedly, Daphne Guinness is no stranger to provocative commentary (many may recall an incident in which she, may or may not, have called Victoria Beckham "an ugly pig ") Nevertheless, her tabloid exploits are just a small excerpt of her unfolding biography. She's so much more than we could humanly identify with and will, undoubtedly, continue to evolve.


To be honest, i might not know much about Daphne Suzannah Diana Joan Guinness but i do know that she's open to interpretation. 

“What was so incredible about him was he could do the simplest things and the most complicated things. He was a proper genius, and that is a very overused word. If he’d done art, he would have been the best; if he’d done architecture, he would have been the best.” (Daphne on McQueen)