Carine Roitfeld, we salute you

Farewell to the amazing Carine Roitfeld who has announced she will be stepping down from Vogue Paris after a decade. The polar opposite of her US counterpart Anna Wintour's polished bob and buttoned down tweed-look, Carine is the quintessential edgy, bad-girl rock-chick, all long fringe, smoky eyes, and spiked heels. This is a woman unafraid of animal print!

Anna Wintour & Carine Roitfeld

A fashion icon and hero of mine, I have long been impressed by the way that such a stylish woman who is over 35 STILL rocks the rock-chick edgy look to perfection with impeccable style and class. It can be done! She looks glam and sophisticated whilst never straying from her rock-chick sensibility. She also loves a good suit and combines man-style dressing without compromising her femininity.

“I love the combination of a masculine piece with a feminine piece. It’s very French, it’s very sexy. It’s my culture. It’s the way I was raised...And then there are the clothes, which are every bit as sharp as that hair. They are well-tailored and unafraid of sex. They are not nostalgic, or sentimental, or romantic, or pretty. They do not dabble in haute bohemia or the intellectual frump of recent fashion. They are harsh and clean and always, always, worn with a stiletto heel. Roitfeld herself says it is “very sexy, but very woman, and always some rock and roll, eh?” NY Magazine Interview, 2008. Here's to you Carinne!

Here with her stunning model daughter Julia Restoin-Roitfeld

 With Tom Pechaux

With Gucci's Frida Giannini

With Marc JacobsWith long-time collaborator Tom FordMert Alas and Marcus Piggott's Carine-inspired editorial for Paris Vogue

Tis the season for Cool Jewellery

Dallas & Carlos chunky DXC bracelets in Cosmo mag

Over the Christmas and New Year I become more of magpie as usual, on the hunt for sparkly, colourful, BRIGHT eye-popping pieces to wear over the reckon they'd be great layered around wrists or ankles at the beach! Very Jade Jagger boho, beachside cool. These super cute ones are by Jewell Rock to be found at the fab Superette store.
I'm LOVING these funky acid bright pieces from Aussies Dallas and Carlos, an accessories label by styley Melbournians Katherine Etheridge and Jess Constance. The picture below is also from Cosmo, featuring the studded cowhide Vinnie Bracelet.
"The name Dallas and Carlos comes from when they were living in a small island in the south of Brazil called Florianopolis. They were living in the middle of town on the island in two separate apartments. “In Brazil, apartments are given names. I was living in a block called DALLAS and Jess was in a block up the road called CARLOS. Every morning we would chat and she would ask, ‘what’s happening in Dallas?’ and I would ask ‘what’s happening in Carlos?’, and that’s how the name was born.”
I love their use of popsicle -right colours and the chunky bracelets and cuffs. The Black Mail. Sexy, cool awesome stuff, available here from Superette. Check our their Facebook page for more.
Switching to more gypsy-boho, I adore Aussie jewellery designer, Cat Hammill. I fell in love with Cat's designs when friends introduced me to it her range in Melbourne last Christmas.
"In 2000, after travelling through Central and South America, Cat was inspired by the vivid colour and the amazing artistic ability of local Artisans and began importing furniture, primarily from Mexico and Central America. It was during this time that Cat began her foray into jewellery design, sourcing beads and charms from around the world to make for herself...Cat draws inspiration for her label through her travels to Asia, Paris and the US, with Los Angeles providing a colourful canvas of markets and vintage Hollywood stores to traipse through and gather ideas. Quirky, one-off vintage pieces inspired from a 60’s and 70’s bohemian era are sourced, adorned with a modern, fashion-forward touch but always keeping their authenticity."
Designed to be mixed, matched and layered, these are beautifully crafted made pieces made with leather, beads are sourced primarily from Brazil and Asia, hand-dyed wooden beads and Czech glass. The charms and trinkets are exquisite with lots of beautiful long drapey necklaces with charms & trinkets such a crosses and angel wings hanging from them - part luxe Boho, part Rock Chick with a good dose of Captain Jack Sparrow thrown in! I adore my angel wing leather necklace and really want this tasseled 'Pirate' necklace too! Johny Depp would be proud.
I've always loved Boh Runga's jewellery and her latest range, The Tiger Collection, is no exception.
"Each of the 12 Chinese Zodiac signs has unique characteristics and those animal traits can mean harmony or conflict in their relationships with each other. Half the fun is recognising the traits in yourself. Some of The Tiger characteristics are strength, energy and passion. I consider The Tiger pieces to be for everyone, not just for those who are born under the sign. The Tiger is a great totem to wear – it is a symbol of courage and adventure. " Love the chunky tiger's head ring.
Stolen Girlfriends Club is another favourite jewellery designer. More subdued with that dark brooding Goth-Kiwi look, Marc Moore and Luke Harwood's had an urban, rock & roll edge and some fantastic designs. This 'Baby Don't Go' pick necklace is a favourite that I've mentioned in a previous post.
And apparently Bono bought this Pyramid Onyx ring when U2 played here last month.
Available from Superette again, and another fave local store, Black Box at The Department Store. See MORE fabulous jewellery HERE!

Happy New Year - Bling it Up!

Real girls

Crystal Renn, Tush Magazine, 2010

Carrying on from my previous post, I love a curvy girl. And leading up to Christmas, this email has been sent to me by many a girlfriend. How very true. Curvy girls seem to always be smiling, they look like they shag a lot, eat good food and have a dam good time. Not angsting over how many calories they have ingested and pinching at their skin. Surely the stress would send you to an early grave, if that lack of nutrition didn't first.
It seems the fashion world has taken a shift lately in praise of models who are over a size 0. Last year, Size 18, Beth Ditto appeared on the cover of the inaugural LOVE magazine, and now has her own plus size line for sizes 14-32 at British store Evans.

'Curvy' Lara Stone goes from strength to strength (although she is not exactly large - but is quite Amazonian with those amazing legs and boobs).

Lara Stone, Vogue Italia 2010

Lara Stone, Vogue UK January 2010

In quite a scandalous statement for the fashion industry, in April this year Creative Director of Calvin Klein Francisco Costa vowed not to use any models under a size 0. "Calvin Klein has discontinued their use of the Size 0-2 Models and traded them in for a 2-4...a sign of the times indeed," Even 'Kaiser' Karl Lagerfeld - who has long been a lover of the skinnier models (saying in 2009 "Skinny models just look better") - featured 'plus size' model Crystal Renn three times on his catwalk this year:
The brilliant Andre Leon Talley from American Vogue said "Lagerfeld had cast the show with a slightly more curvaceous model named Crystal Renn, not seen on any Chanel catwalk before. This in itself was groundbreaking for the house, but there was also the return of personality models encouraged to be themselves instead of robotic look-alikes. 'Each girl was cast because of her sense of individuality,' Lagerfeld said enthusiastically."

Crystal Renn for Dolce & Gabbana

Crystal Renn, Vogue Germany, May 2006

Crystal Renn, Vogue Paris, August 2010

Crystal Renn is also a firm fave of Jean Paul Gaultier, Dolce & Gabbana and Tom Ford, who says has long been a fashion fave for her crazy curves, although she has shrunk somewhat of late. In her shoot for Tom Ford she is veritably tiny - but I love this shoot for ELLE Canada by Leda and St Jacques. The light, the colour, the angles, the makeup, the clothes,the pretty horses! Absolutely beautiful.

Cystal Renn, ELLE Canada, August 2010

In another leap for normal sized women, Robert Duffy of Marc Jacobs announced in August this year that they will be creating a line of clothes for Size 14. "We are in talks now. For plus sizes," Duffy Tweeted. "Listen, we are in the very beginning stages of talking to a partner about plus sizes...We gotta do larger sizes" Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi and YSL are rumored to follow suit. For his Fall 2010 Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs featured 'real women, using famously sexy, curvy models on the catwalk in an homage to 'and God Created Woman':

Alessandra Ambrosio, Coco Rocha, and Adriana Lima walking for Louis Vuitton Fall 2010French babe Laetitia Casta (fresh from her role as Brigitte Bardot in upcoming film) leading the charge, followed by a rare return to the catwalk by 'The Body' Elle MacPhearson and Victoria's Secret gals Bar Rafaeli, and my two faves, Alessandra Ambrosio and Adriana Lima.

Laetitia Casta, Bar Rafaeli, Adriana Lima, and Elle Macpherson, Louis Vuitton Fall 2010

Marc says of the show “I wanted a variety of ages and sizes. We set out to cast gorgeous women, women who feel happy to put their make-up on, get dressed up, get all their accessories.” “It’s a bit old-fashioned, I know, but I think it’s nice for a change.” French Vogue used a nude Crystal Renn here, and it is interesting to note that curvy bombshell Penelope Cruz guest edited the issue. Speaking of which, love these actresses with killer curves like Penelope Cruz, Salma Hayek, Sofia Vergara, Scarlet Johansson, Christina Hendricks and Eva Mendes. They have figures like real girls - hips, boobs and bum. Va va voom!

Penelope CruzSofia VergaraScarlet JohanssonChristina HendricksEva Mendes