It’s outrageous. I haven't posted anything in months..somehow I just couldn't find the time (i know it's a really bad excuse).

Back to fashion!

Everywhere i look, in magazines, on tv, on fashion websites, I see: Gareth Pugh.

He is one of the British designers of the moment, a fashion sensation.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the rebellious Britisch eccentricity but I just don't think much of Gareth Pugh. I can't help it, I wonder...is something wrong with me, do I stand alone in this point of view?

Here are some pictures of one of his collections, maybe you'll then understand what I'm going on about..











And now, I am as a self-respecting fashion addict supposed to appreciate this? I really can’t.
I'm sure the technique is wonderful and that he knows how to produce a well made piece of clothing...but this, I simply do not like. Fashion is all about eccentricity, i know, but I strongly believe that fashion also has the purpose to make the person wearing it look fabulous. To me, it doesn't look like these designs will do just that. I’m curious about your opinions....what do you feel is the purpose of fashion? Is it a form of art with no limits that has deeper meanings and is a way for people to make a statement or is it a to craft that is supposed make people look good?

A new year means new fashion..
So as I was looking through all the runway pictures, I couldn't help but notice a few similarities amongst them..

Metallics are still around,


Emilio Pucci S/S 2008

and this season it doesn't stop with the usual gold and silver..


Valentino was big this season on metallic accessories.

Black and White, alone or mixed together are big this year.


Some black at Burberry here...


While Fendi goes snow white...

Viktor & Rolf does a rather Clownesque take on things..

Geometrics also still go..


I was surprised by the Gucci show, pleasantly surprised!


Of course, Etro couldn't pass on the Geometric look..this was one of my favorites..

Also, a lot of pink was to be seen around, soft pink at Michael Kors, hot pink at Gucci and Burberry..
Lilac was popular with the designer's too..

Soft Pink at Michael Kors:


Hot pink at Gucci:


Lots of lilac at Valentino:


I think that one of the biggest changes in fashion this year will be the end of the short cut.
The designers are opting for a much more chique, sophisticated and powerful (as Lagerfeld mentioned..) look.
Even Roberto Cavalli, the king of everything sexy, went for this new length..



It's all coming back to glamour if you ask me, Dior's show was the highlight of this in my opinion..





All I can say is that I LOVE it and am looking forward to this coming season very much...

Here some more of my personal favorites, what do you think?


This dress at Versace, I adore the colors...


I will always love black, even in the summer.


This Balmain dress, is super cute..


The Balmain dress also reminded me of this dress at the Naeem Khan show, equally cute.


Alexander Wang is someone I will definitely be keeping my eye on, no doubt about that. Those jeans, the shoes, that cropped jacket, I'm loving it all the way..
___

And then there is Valentino, the LAST of Valentino. Alessandra Facchinetti has big shoes to fill, that's for sure..


That dress, that bag...need I say more?


Eternally Chique..

That's it for now, I've been trying to find information on Alessandra Facchinetti, it appeared to be extremely hard, all I could find is what I already knew, that she previously was the women's ready-to-wear director at Gucci, she apparently left after doing only one season due to a 'disagreement with management'.
Also she has been doing outerwear for Moncler.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed and will be waiting with excitement for Alessandra Facchinetti's work in Valentino's next show, but first I'll be enjoying Valentino's own show, his last after 45 years of exquisite fashion.


(Valentino together with Alessandra who is wearing what might be a preview of the upcoming show?)

First of all...I would like to wish everyone a very happy 2008!

As you might expect, one of my new year's resolution's is keeping up my blog..

Life's been pretty hectic, just recovered from an operation, nothing serious but have been in the hospital, a hospital without internet connection that is...anyway i'm back and hope to find a lot more time to keep up my blog in the new year...

xxx

Prima Donna



(For starters...here a shot of this STUNNING Hermes campaign that I have somehow missed before, featuring Gemma Ward..)

I don't know about the weather in America, but here in Holland it's freaking 28 degree's....and that means only one thing and I think we all know what that one thing is...

BIKINI-season *gasp* *horror* *shock*

I don't think I'm alone in this when I say that somehow, eventhough bikinis represent summer and fun, all I want to do is just pretend I'm sick and go sleep for 7 days hoping that the sun and great weather will have gone and I miraculously lost 20 pounds. Not that that is ever going to happen. And so, each year I manage to get myself into wearing a bikini and self-consciously parade around on the beach trying to project I think I look like a million dollars...even when I don't feel it.

I'm not even considering going on a diet. Seriously, If there were some miracle diet, don't you think the whole world would be slim right now? Losing weight is just a simple math sum. It's watching what goes in and what you burn out. So for the past week I've simply been watching what I eat and going to the gym 4 times a week. I look skinnier, but I didn't weigh myself yet still in fear of the numbers that might pop up. I never thought I was the type of person that could watch what she eated and blablabla...but it's really not difficult. And as I am a true chocoholic I wasn't looking forward to cutting it out of my diet and becoming a chronically sour bitch. I didn't. I found that when I craved chocolate, I could just eat 2 small pieces of dark (81% cacao) chocolate...It would calm my craving and I couldn't eat more as that would have been too sickning, also it's low in calories and actually good for your heart and veins. Plus, going under a tanning bed once in a while makes you feel and ofcourse look better too. When sporting a great tan, you automatically look slimmer...

It's not only about weighing what you want to weigh either, it's also about which bikini you'll be wearing.
I checked out some websites and LOVED the ones on www.net-a-porter.com, they're GORGEOUS.

Here are the ones I personally liked best...



This is the 'Love Print Bikini' by Emilio Pucci. There are more great bikini's by Emilio Pucci on the site...



The simple, always wearable Missoni Bikini.



This bikini by D&G, is so unbelievably cute...cherry's are hot in this season's fashion scene...(Diane von Furstenberg has got a particularly nice cherry-printed dress in her spring/summer 2007 collection!)



This simply chique Thomas Maier bikini will do it for any woman with any figure.



This was my absolute favorite...It is so Gorgeous and SO Diane von Furstenberg.


By the way, you guys probably still know that not long ago it was totally en Vogue to wear fire-red or black nail polish right...Yesterday, I was in the department store and came across the most amaaazing color..! I had seen it already a couple of times in a magazine but never paid further attention to it. I am not quickly over-enthusiastic about a nail polish but this was is just absolutely PERFECT...It's: 'Rouge Noir' by Chanel. It's such a sophisticated color and it stays on for days without your nails looking messy.

No, Tom Ford is not to be associated with cars...

Excuse me but since when do young woman living in the present EVER associate Tom Ford with the 'Ford' cars?!?!
The other day I was talking to a few people in a shop and I brought up the subject 'Tom Ford'. They first looked at me in a confused matter and then started babbling on about some CARS like a bunch of morons!?!
This world I am living in right now can not possibly be normal. It's kind of depressing, really...

Here's some advice, never move to Holland unless you happen to be a drug-addict.

People's knowledge of fashion here is next to nothing but it's not like Holland is situated in a different universe though..?
Anyway...
The next thing I did was call up some of my old friends from when I used to still live in (Gorgeous, Wonderful, Inspiring, Fashionable, Exciting, Lovely...) London. And there I was, thinking, hey....these people live in London right..? They know who Tom Ford is, right? Wrong.
Well, at least their minds didn't jump to the cars. Only 3 of my friends in London actually knew Tom Ford had something to do with fashion.
I'm still recovering from the shock.
Here the basics on the extraordinary man every fashionista should know about!


Tom Ford:



Tom Ford was born on the 27th of August, 1962 in Austin, Texas. He grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

He graduated from Parsons School of Design and after initially having studied architecture he started working for Cathy Hardwick and Perry Ellis. In 1990 he was recruited by Gucci's then creative director, Dawn Mello, to help design the ready-to-wear collections. Not too long after this, Tom Ford became the chief director of Gucci. In just his first year of working in this position for Gucci he was credited for putting the glamour back in fashion. In a short period of time Tom Ford transformed the label Gucci (which had been almost bankrupt when Ford joined!) into a multi-billion dollar fashion house. "We didn't have a photocopier at one stage," he admits. When Gucci acquired the house of Yves Saint Laurent, Ford was namen the creative director of that label as well...

In 2000, Tom Ford was named Best International Designer at the first VH1/Vogue Awards in New York.

So how did this man from Texas become one of the most influential people in the world of fashion? Ford himself believes that he owes his succes not to talent, but to his energy. Once, he told an audience at the V&A in London: "There are many more talented designers than me, but I have a lot of drive and won't let it go."

Then, in 2004 Tom Ford stepped down from Gucci in order to persue other interests. He has since created a high-end fashion company calles Tom Ford, which produces fragrances (Think: Black Orchid), sunglasses and a signature ready-to-wear men's line. It seems that everything this man lays his finger on turns into solid gold.

If you ask me, there is more to this man than just a lot of drive. I think he is truly talented and I expect we will all see a lot more from him in the future!

When walking around markets nowadays, it's hard not to bump into a stall selling fakes. You know, the usual Louis Vuitton monogram bags or the faux-leather Fendi spy bag, the Chloe paddington, the balenciaga motorcycle bag, and so on...

The world of fakes only has one single rule, as long as the logo/brand is too obvious to be missed..!

Everyone knows the bags on the market are fakes, but when thinking you've got yourself a bargain on e-bay..how can you be so sure that it isn't fake aswell? There are fakes being sold that are actually made of good quality leather, the quality of the bag might actually come close to that of the original, but it doesn't make it orignal.

What to look out for if you suspect the bag you are willing to buy might be fake..

- An authentic designer handbag won't show bad workmanship, EVER.
No wonky, big, dodgy looking stitches...
No flimsy zips...
No puckered leather...
No messy trimmings...
And definately no faux-leather..(You can test this by holding your lighter against the bag for a very few short seconds, if it melts, you can be sure it's plastic, leather does not melt.)

- Designer handbags always have their logo imprinted or carved in just about every part of the bag... (except with bags from the even more exclusive brands like bottega venneta..) so the monogram/logo should be clear, not smudged or faded..

- Also, very often, when you've seen the real thing in the shop, you'll reckognise the reals from the fakes...when even only thinking: 'Is it real?' Nearly each and every time it is a fake...when you do see the real thing pass by, you'll probably be stunned by the beauty of the workmanship...it shows!

Also, I found a very good ad in Harpers Bazaar a few months ago...it said: 'Profits from counterfeit sales fund organized crime including drug cartels, child labor, and even terrorist organizations. It's estimated that more than $500 billion worth of counterfeit goods are sold annualy. If you have any information about fakes being sold, visit iaccsleuth@iacc.org or send a fax to 202.223.6668. You don't have to give your name'

I found this good as it makes people aware that not only the designers suffer from these counterfeit sales, our whole society too. This is a reason for me never to buy a fake.

Officially e-bay is not allowed to sell fakes, but it happens...a lot. So instead of facing the risk of ending up with a trashy looking so called 'designer handbag' you still payed 200 dollars for, you could take a look at websites authorised to sell designer labels, some are: www.net-a-porter.com, www.eluxury.com, www.yoox.com.

'Fakes are never in fashion'

Meet Zandra Rhodes

Zandra Rhodes...when I ask people, they're like 'who'?

So now, I thought you should kind of get to know this british designer and style-guru...especially if you're an aspiring fashion designer like myself, she could be a great source of inspiration for you...at some fashion schools, students are even asked to read her book, 'The art of Zandra Rhodes'..!

Here some of my favorite looks from her spring/summer 2007 fashion show...













What I love about her is that she's in fashion, but not a subject to fashion...

She keeps doing her own thing without getting old.

That's it for now...

xxx