Style Resolutions for 2011

WOW! It’s been such a long blogging break for me. Not good!

Quite a few things have happened since I’ve been away. We crossed into a New Year for instance. So, better late than never. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The fashion wheels never stopped turning, regardless of the holidays. There’s been all the buzz about rock bottom sales and the excitement about Spring 2011 fashion is getting more intense every day. I can’t wait to blog about my favourite Ad Campaigns.

In the spirit of catching up, I’m thinking about New Year resolutions. Every year, I have Style resolutions and this year is no exception.

I’m sharing mine for this year, you can adopt them, just in case somehow you haven’t got any. Some are reminders, some are new challenges. Here goes:

1. This year, know your body shape and stick with the right clothes for you.  Now, let’s face it, the body con is just not for everybody. What matters in the end is how you look in what you’re wearing, not the elements of the outfit. Knowing your body shape helps you know how to play with proportions and balance out your look. And there are so many options for what to wear, it obliterates any excuse to wear the wrong thing.

There are quite a few guides online for knowing your body shape and what to wear. You can look up http://www.bodyshapefashionadvice.com/questions.php

2. Wear clothes that fit. A close follow up to understanding and dressing for your body shape is wearing clothes that fit you. Tight clothes revealing unflattering lumps and bumps should be banished this year.

A style savvy lady knows that clothes should skim, not squash her body; all detailing should lie flat and not be scrunched between body parts. There was so much talk about Spanx and body shapers last year, they’re a wise investment, they do help to smooth out the shape under clothes and they were not made for the plus sized only.

Victoria Beckham is one style icon who makes no mistakes with fit

3. Be more adventurous with style: This year, more than ever, fashion needs to be about fun. Experiment with something you’ve never worn before, a new cut, new color or fit. Try out a kimono, high waist pants or a bright yellow dress. Spring 2011 is full of colour, that’s a good opportunity to do something fresh and new. What’s the fun in wearing the same old stuff year in, year out. It becomes a drag.

SJP is the eclectic dresser, pretty obvious she's having fun with her clothes

4. Accessorize Accessorize Accessorize. This is almost cliché but definitely worth repeating. It’s amazing what one layered necklace can do to a basic tee. Accessories can transform in ways beyond the imagination, they are a work of art in themselves.

I love Accessorize Ads, they tell you things you never knew about accessories

Pile on the pearls on an LBD for instance

5. Keep it appropriate. There’s a new obsession with nudity in fashion, it literally went crazy late last year, what with the Vogue Paris calendar!  I thought fashion was about the wearing of clothes???? Well, we are not going down that road! Not with the tons of things there are to wear.

Carey Mulligan was Harper’s Bazaar’s best dressed woman of 2010 and no one dresses more appropriate than this young British actress. We all can borrow a leaf this year.

Carey Mulligan is your classic ladylike chic, evoking class and elegance

6. Have the courage to express yourself fashion-wise.  Once again, fashion is about getting dressed but it’s also about having fun. It becomes bland when everyone plays safe and no one dares to wear that turquoise silk blouse with the pink tulle skirt or the huge head-dress. Daring to express your individuality with what you wear is so liberating. There’s no case for blending with the crowd, that just stunts your inner Picasso.

Anna Dello Russo, call her crazy but she's one of the few bold enough to pull off some looks

With Daphne Guinness, fashion is some form of art everyday

7. Work your wardrobe. Who says you need to have a separate work wardrobe, day wardrobe and party wardrobe. The fun is in the mix and match. The same top or dress can go across the work, day out, night out spectrum. It all depends on how you work it. Given how much is spent on these items, they need to work as hard as possible.

I have an example here of what you could do with one lovely top.

 

These here are the seven gems of wisdom I will be seeking to live by Style-wise in 2011. Really looking forward to it being an exciting year for fashion. Have a truly wonderful, fulfilling and expressive year!

Pictures via Daily telegraph, Fashion Gone Rogue, Vogue

Carine Roitfeld: Rounding off a decade of Style

Carine Roitfeld is one of the leading ladies on my style icon wall of fame. Love her bold, eclectic and sometimes eccentric style; she can pull off a Tee and denim skirt and still look as fabulous as when she’s under a massive fur coat.

My biggest attraction is that very down-to-earth, vivacious personality; the polar opposite of Anna Wintour. She’s giggling, laughing, hugging, kissing people at fashion week. She’s a dedicated family woman, always seen hanging out with her son and daughter and is so energetic and full of life. And wow, does she live and breathe that effortless Parisian chic or what? She personifies the i-just-dropped-out-of-bed-looking-fabulous.

She’s literally synonymous with French Vogue, think French Vogue and Parisian Chic, think Carine Roitfeld.

So I definitely share the shock of the fashion world to hear that she’s resigned from French Vogue (after 10 years) to concentrate on personal projects. All hope is not lost though, i know the fashion world hasn’t heard the last of Carine. And of course the speculation is on about  her replacement, as if it’s not already been decided, i think it just might be her right hand chic and loyal fashion director, Emmanuelle Alt.

I had always wanted to do a blog post on Carine Roitfeld as my Style icon, so i guess here goes. Check out the stunning style of the outgoing French Vogue editor.

with her daughter Julia and Karl Lagerfeld

with Giorgio Armani

French Vogue will miss Carine sorely but we, we’ll be on the look out for her because we know she’ll be around.

Pictures via Zimbio, JakandJil

Style Personified: Gabrielle Coco Chanel

Timeless and never out of style, Coco Chanel keeps inspiring the fashion-forward decade after decade since her death in 1971. It’s just as she put it herself, ‘Fashion fades, only style remains the same.’ Coco’s style can best be described as infinite and she’s the timeless style icon. She didn’t just embody style though, she created classic fashion till she was old and grey and for this we love her.

How do we love thee Coco Chanel? Let us count the ways

We love thee for…

1. Breaking the fashion status quo in your day, setting women free from the bondage corset and reinventing the way they dressed.

2. Creating and perfecting the art of effortless chic

3. Doing wonders with tweed and inventing the all time classic Chanel suit

4. Making a signature out of the quilted chain strapped bag

5. Against all odds, Creating the little black dress

The ABC of being Coco Chanel

A – Gotta love black

B – Pile on the pearls

C – Get a wardrobe full of hats and master the art of the stylish perch

Coco Quotes

“Elegance is not the prerogative of those who have just escaped from adolescence, but of those who have already taken possession of their future.”

“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.”

Photo Credits: The Guardian

Emmanuelle Alt: Parisian Chic Supremo and Global Style Icon

This week, I will be celebrating my favourite Parisian style queens. I’ll kick off with this lovely lady.

Emmanuelle Alt, world famous style icon, Parisian Chic personified, ultra polished and extremely chic. She works as Fashion Director of Vogue Paris alongside the legendary fashion icon Carine Roitfeld, she’s also stylist to designers like Isabel Marant.

Emmanuelle literally owns the rock chic, edgy, balmain-esque  look. She obviously refreshes the style with various stunning pieces in the ensemble, but she looks super stylish and effortlessly chic ALL the time. She’s one of those people who possess innate ‘non-contrived’ style.

I literally have never seen her in a dress, in bright colours or obviously feminine outfits; with Emmanuelle, it’s noir and edgy. Her make up is au natural, almost looks like she rolled out of bed looking fabulous. There’s a certain je na sais quoi about her that enhances the stylish aura.

And it is so beautiful that she’s also a doting mother, with a lovely daughter who is obviously a mini fashionista already. What with a mom like that.

Viva Emmanuelle! She’s in my style icon hall of fame, right beside Carine,  Giovanna Battaglia and a host of others.

 

Emmanuelle with Carine Roitfeld

 

I shall close with this beautiful quote from her:

‘Forget trendy designer labels. Jeans, a sweater or a t-shirt worn under a jacket that seems welded to you. When it’s just right, when you don’t see the effort, it’s irresistible’

Totally agree with you Emmanuelle.