Kick Off the Holidays with a Pair (or Two, Nay, Three!) of New Shoes

All the fabulous shoes on this even more fabulous list were most definitely not made for walking (except maybe for one lonely pair of flats, but even those are way too fancy and hence I wouldn’t dare to walk in out of fear of getting them dirty)

However, who cares if these shoes were not made for long hikes or an afternoon of frantic Christmas shopping (i.e. my forte)? After all, isn’t the only walking activity you will be doing on Christmas simply wobbling from the kitchen to the dinner table? Surely you will be able to manage that in these high-heeled beauties? So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and buy them!

If my words for some odd reason haven’t convinced you to buy a pair of awesome shoes, maybe these pictures will be able to persuade you. (Btw, for once I tried to remain realistic and listed only those shoes that are actually affordable. So no designer shoes this time, but splendid beauties from Asos and Topshop that will only set you back for a maximum of 100 euros! What a bargain!)

These are from Asos:

These are from Topshop:

And for those women who get soar feet merely from looking at these pictures, there is always this option:

My Quest Is Finally Over: I Have Found My Very Own Olivia Pope Coat

Loyal readers will know by now that I am probably the biggest Scandal fan on the planet.

I honestly love that show. It’s intrigue. It’s drama. It’s Kerry Washington in all her stylishness wearing the most power-exuding clothes imaginable.

I love it.

Love it, love it, love it, luuuvvv it.

I even based my thesis on stereotypes of African American women in US television on the character of Olivia Pope and Scandal. That’s how much I love it. (Shonda Rhimes, If you’re reading this, I’ll gladly come to ‘Merica to discuss the remarkable results of my research with you, if you like. )

Those of you who are as passionate Scandal fans as I am (hard to imagine someone can be as big a fan as I am, but hey…)will already have highlighted September 25 in their agenda (or in my case, I circled the date with glitter and surrounded it with pink fluffy cat stickers)

On that day, season 4 of Scandal will finally premiere and I have been looking forward to that day ever since last season had its very awesome yet earthshattering final last Spring.

The question that is probably on all of your minds right now is why the hell am I telling you all of this??

Well, dear readers, because something amazing happened yesterday that is intrinsically linked with Scandal. You see, for the past year I have been looking for my very own (read: affordable) Olivia Pope coat. Especially that one coat with the big envelope collar truly made my fashion-beating heart melt. As you can imagine, Olivia Pope’s designer coats are not within my budget (uhum), but that didn’t stop me from embarking on a quest to find a more affordable version.

I looked everywhere, but never ever found what I was looking for. Either the coat was way too expensive, or just not as elegant/sharp/ I-am-a-career-woman-looking as Olivia Pope’s.

I had even given up on my seemingly impossible quest and was trying to get the image of me looking all powerful and important with a starbucks coffee in my hands out of my head.

And then yesterday, as if God was rewarding me for my patience, I found my very own Scandal coat.

I bought it at Mango, it’s a charcoal grey colour, has a soft fabric and it makes me look like a sharp and elegant career woman.

And it has an amazing collar:

Conclusion: Miracles can happen!

Warning: I’ll be looking real Scandalous this winter!

PS: Yes, I’m aware hers is light and mine is dark, but with my pale skin, a cream coat is just not the way to go.

Men in RED: Really Exhilarating Dudes

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past week, you will most definitely have noticed that the official trailer for the Fifty Shades of Grey film has been launched. (and when I say “noticed”, I of course mean “watched it at least twenty times”.) It should come to no surprise that I am looking forward to its release like people in the desert look forward to rain, or like paparazzi look forward to another Bieber incident. (For once, I am actually excited about Valentine’s Day, instead of wanting to hurl into a bucket!) To honour this marvelous trailer (and the always marvelous, (almost) always shirtless Jamie Dornan in it), I wanted to dedicate a post to the clothes which I think make a guy look sexy. Admittedly, Christian Grey – as his name suggests- sticks to an array of grays and dark hues in combination with charismatic and power-exuding suits. There is definitely nothing wrong with that. (Hell, it is darn sexy!) But if it were up to me, every guy should wear red.

From classic shades such as ruby and crimson to darker berry hues and shiny blood orange tones… these fiery colours will definitely lit up a man’s wardrobe! Not to mention what it will do to my fashion-beating, sexy-dude-loving heart!

Merely thinking about a world in which all men wore red, makes my ovaries tingle… Oh my…

So dudes, please translate some of this summer’s heat into your closet, and I am sure the warmth will simmer through all the way to next winter.

Whether you opt for a head-to-toe look or go for a more nuanced outfit with one statement red item, red will always ooze power, confidence and last but not least CLASS.

So take an example of the following designers and start embracing your inner Christian Grey.

Dark burgundy for Valentino…

All elegance and style at Versace…

Lessons from Tom Ford: one key red item will transform your wardrobe

How can you not be drawn to the guy in the red suit from D&G??

Apparently Dolce & Gabbana must have gotten  reactions similar to mine to their campaign , because this is what their summer collection for 2015 looks like…

Hallelujah! If summer 2015 looks like that, we are all in a for a wild ride! 😉

 

The Revival We Have All Been Waiting For? The Return of Coloured Mascara

When I was sixteen years old, I went to London for the very first time. We were staying in a large hotel in the buzzing center of town and when we were on our way up to our room, a woman stepped into our elevator. She was clearly going to/ or coming back from a party, considering her rather extravagant (mind you, “extravagant” in this case is my euphemistic way of saying “slutty”) outfit.

Apart from her R-Rated outfit, there was something else that was entirely shocking: her fluorescently blue mascara.

Honestly, dear readers. I think those astronauts up in the ISS space station were able to see her lashes!

When she stepped out of the elevator, my mom whispered in my ear: “somebody clearly is stuck in the 80s!”

I giggled.

Surely, why would anyone want to wear mascara like that?

Why the hell was it ever popular to begin with?

I was utterly gobsmacked by her glow-in-the-dark presence and swore never ever (not in a million years!) to wear coloured mascara…

not ever…

not in my entire life!

Flash forward to 2014:

Surprise! What used to be a beauty trend linked with eighties teenage punk heads, has now become a statement signature make-up trend for avant-garde fashionistas, new wave hipsters and in-style ladies. Coloured mascara is hot.

I had never thought I would ever say it, but it is true.

Fashion world has gone colour-obsessed again.

And since I am already busy stating things I would have never thought I would say, here is another mind-blowing confession: I absolutely love it.

No, scratch that.

I am blown away/ crazy in love/ creepily obsessed with coloured mascara, the 2014 edition.

Sue me, but it is just so damn fab.

Because when used correctly, it is incredibly alluring and a sneaky tool to boost your natural eye colour. If you’re still not so sure about this whole coloured mascara thing, I advise you to start with darker colours such as emerald green or burgundy. They are very subtle, but still quirkier than the traditional black. If you’re ready to go all out, there is the traditional blue (in all its different shades), but do try some of the more “hipper” colours, such as purple, orange, or –my personal favourite- hot pink!

The summer collection for Chanel is worth spending your money on.

But my personal favourite is the Dior Addict It Lash Mascara. Not only does the campaign pictures looks sooooo coooool, they also have a flashy eye –liner collection (called It Line)!

Seriously, dear readers. Give me one solid reason why you wouldn’t want to wear this?

PS: if you’re still in doubt (wussy!) you can always apply one coat of black mascara first and then use a colored mascara to highlight your lash tips!

Cannes Closure: Red Carpet Recap

Yes, this is yet another Cannes post, but don’t worry,  it is the final one.

After eleven days of glitz and glamour at the Côte d’Azur, it is time to roll up the red carpet and look back on a fabulous edition of the Cannes Film Festival. Top honors went to Winter Sleep by Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, but I myself would like to take this opportunity to hand out my very own fashion Palm D’Ors to those celebrities who really took glamour to a whole other level.

YES THEY CANNES:

Sonam Kapoor

If I had the money to buy a dress like that, I would wear it every single day. Like, non-stop. It would make ordinary stuff – e.g.  buying tampons at the drug store- much more glamorous. Seriously. This Elie Saab gown is making my fashion-beating heart go into overdrive.

Lara Stone

I hereby give my body (in particular, my brain) to science, because surely there must be some biological explanation why I always fall for hot pink dresses. (I probably have some sort of gene mutation that makes me particularly susceptible to all rosy things) Whatever it is, Lara Stone’s dress is gorgeous!

Jessica Chastain

Descended from Mount Olympus, I present to you: Jessica Chastain! I’m so glad she dedicated some of her time to mingle with us mortals so we could get a glimpse of her sheer flawlessness…

Freida Pinto

I think the word you’re looking for is KA-POW! This Oscar de la Renta dress breathes drama and stylish bombasticism (And I mean that in a good way)

Léa Seydoux

This luxurious emerald green Prada dress is simply exquisite. (Also, I find it utterly disorienting how much sex appeal Léa can exude just be staring into the camera. )

Uma Thurman

In true Kill Bill style (and Kill Bill yellow), Uma took out the competition with this stunning, flowy gown.

Marion Cotillard

This short and funky Maison Margiella dress is made out of hundreds of small objects that the designers picked up on flea markets in Paris and Brussels, and it allegedly took the team 67 hours to sew everything on the dress. One word: RESPECT!

Unfortunately, there were also pretty disastrous dresses at the red carpet…

NO THEY CANNED

Irina Shayk

I’m all for using bright colours and bold silhouettes but this sh** is just too crazy, even for me. And when I say crazy, I do mean CA-razy! That hideous electric-mustard colour (I didn’t even know such a colour existed!), that failed Madonna-eighties-revival pointed bra (why do some still think that is stylish?) and don’t get me started on the wannabe “Can’t get you out of my head” Kylie look.

On the upside: at least from the back the hood in combination with the bare back looks stunning (that is if you are able to trigger acute colourblindness)

Frederique Bel

If they ever were to turn Game of Thrones into a nineties inspired porn film, she would be in it. And I do not mean that as a compliment.

Eva Longoria

I honestly don’t know where to start with this one. First of all, the colour. It looks like a 1940s granny pantyhose. Secondly, the shape. It’s like an oversized thermal underwear kinda thingy. Thirdly, the turtleneck. Yikes! And finally, the peek-a-boo breast slit. Sure, a little bit of skin is sexy but the way the fabric is just all ruffled together in the corner with some sort of silver pin(??) more resembles “DIY diaper” than “femme fatale”.

Jullianne Moore

Let’s start with something positive: I love the leather burgundy red top. Now on to the negative: everything else.

Sharon Stone

Dear Sharon, this is a red carpet event, not a gathering for Harley Davidson enthusiasts. That dress is too short, too sleazy and shoelaces should never ever serve as a trashy form of breast imprisonment. Oh yeah, and lose the aviators.

 

Grace or Disgrace: Red Carpet Fashion at Cannes Opening Night

Last night the much anticipated and controversial film Grace of Monaco kicked off the 67^th Cannes Festival. Although the mixed film reviews were hardly something to celebrate, the stars did manage to plaster a smile on their faces and stroll across the red carpet in true French Riviera style.

Unfortunately, not all of them embraced their inner Grace Kelly…

Here are the good ones.

Grace:

Zhang Ziyi

She wore my favourite outfit of the evening. Isn’t that just the most extraordinary dress you have ever seen? It is bold, daring and a bit bonkers but –damn!- it just looks amazing!

Blake Lively

Stunning as always, Blake Lively in deep red.

Jane Fonda

More deep red with Jane Fonda’s gorgeous Elie Saab gown. A legendary dress for an even more legendary woman.

Nicole Kidman

The star of the night did not let the bad reviews get to her. Why would you? She looks absolutely amazing in her embellished blue Armani dress, and that alone is reason enough to raise your glass!

Paz Vega

Nicole Kidman may be the star in Grace of Monaco, but on the red carpet Paz certainly looked as ravishing as her Australian co-star.

Now prepare yourself for the bad ones.

Disgrace:

Kendall Jenner

Just as Zhang Ziyi, Kendall opted for graphic black and white, but whereas Zhang blew everyone’s mind with her gorgeous gown, Kendall made us sigh out of utter frustration. What was she thinking?

Karlie Kloss

I think I might have missed the memo that said that all the models were to wear hideous dresses. Seriously. Kendall’s dress was bad enough, but Karlie’s truly made me want to run up the hills.

Laetitia Casta

Oh yes, yet another model in yet another ugly sack.

Met Gala 2014: Fabulous Dresses and an even more Fabulous Queen Bey

It must be awful to be a celebrity in Hollywood if your name is not Beyoncé Knowles. Here you are, at one of the most prestigious fashion events of the year, totally ready to flaunt your elegant dress in front of the paparazzi and with high hopes of landing one of the spots on every blogger’s best dressed–list or even becoming a trending topic on Twitter …and then in comes Queen Bey and ruins it all for you.

Seriously. I feel for the Emmas and Zoes of Tinseltown. Beyoncé’s dress wasn’t even that memorable. Especially not when you consider that this year’s theme was “Charles James: Beyond Fashion”, which meant that the stars could stroll across the red carpet in voluminous puffy gowns without feeling sorry. The theme allowed them to go big, but our dear Beyoncé strangely enough did not do that. She opted for a sheer, sequined black Givenchy dress. It was indeed really pretty… but also really really predictable.

I can imagine all those female stars secretly cheering and thanking God for Beyoncé’s safe fashion choice…

And then this happened…

Her dress may not have been big or pompous, but this tiny little moment of spontaneity (that turned out to be a stroke of marketing genius) turned Beyoncé and hubby Jay-Z into the biggest stars of the night. When Bey’s ring slipped off her finger, her knight in shining armour went down on his knees to put it back on her finger. You know what they say:  If you like a thing, you should put a ring on it…

A fake re-proposal in front of the cameras? No matter how big your dress may be, it will never be big enough to top that.

Poor Emmas and Zoes. Look on the bright side, darlings. Benedict Cumberbatch was there and you surely must have seen him in his rather awkward but dashing regal appearance.

That is something to be grateful for.

Now let’s move forward and give the female stars the proper attention they deserve. Here are my personal favourites.

Suki Waterhouse

In contrast to Beyoncé, Suki fully embraced the night’s dress code and looked stunning in her poufy yet elegant dress with dark red lipstick. Although I do wonder why she is looking so angry in this picture. She was Bradley Cooper’s date for heaven’s sake! Surely even Beyoncé getting all the attention cannot ruin that?

Zoe Saldana

One of my personal style icons. Zoe’s Michael Kors dress is perfectly balanced, with a clean and sleek top and an explosion of fabric at the bottom.

Emmy Rossum

Emmy embraced the floral trend  and went for bold colours in Carolina Herrera.

Now on to a couple of showbizz pairs…

Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield

Don’t they look übercute? I love Andrew’s silver-gray jacket and I am totally obsessed with Emma’s choice of colours. We all know how much I love pink, so this dress is definitely a winner for me.

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds

Damn it. Don’t you just want to throw something at your screen when you see this picture? I certainly do. These two are just too perfect and yes, in all honesty, it is making me bloody jealous.

Unfortunately though, there were some horrible dresses on the red carpet as well…

Katie Holmes

What was she thinking? Do you know Penelope Cruz’ character on the last Pirates of the Caribbean film? Well, it looks as if Katie borrowed Cruz’ pirate outfit, turned it into a gown and then fell into a giant tub of mustard.

Lea Michelle

Please scroll down as fast as you can, because I can assure you that staring at this dress for too long will permanently damage your eyes…

Rita Ora

The wet hair, that ill fitted golden bustier thingy (whatever that is) and those horrible shoes. Is she auditioning for a B-movie version of Gladiator we don’t know about?

 

To Clutch or Not To Clutch: It Should No Longer Be A Question

… Because clutches are absolutely awesome.

I have to admit that over the past few years, I have always admired clutches from afar, because even though they were adorable, elegant and wickedly cool, they always seemed far too impracticable to me. Especially in comparison to the ordinary bag, which you can just swing across your shoulder and use as a hiding place for practically everything (from make-up bags to blister emergency kits).

However, it is starting to get impossible not to fall in love with a clutch. They are everywhere. And they are pretty. So so so damn pretty.

Yes, they are still the most impractical bags on the planet, but oh my sweet Lord, some of them are just works of art! So now I am sort of obsessed with them and I really really want to buy one. They are the epitome of stylish extravaganza and they can pimp any ordinary outfit and turn it into something magical. The list below contains some of my favourite designer clutches. Needless to say that I cannot afford them. But a girl can dream.

In the meantime I will spend my time looking for a more affordable clutch that is at least slightly reminiscent of some of the absolutely bonkers clutches from my list.

Charlotte Olympia is the Queen of crazy clutches: this one is called “Shell shocked”

 

Marchesa’s interpretation of flower power:

Alexander McQueen: master of psychedelic prints

Jimmy Choo’s Cairo Clutch is simply divine

This beautifully funky Watermelon clutch is by Edie Parker

Christian Louboutin: elegant pastel studs, who knew it was possible?

Lounging in Lingerie: The Spring 2014 Edition

With May just around the corner, I am probably not the only one who has already spent vast amounts of money on the hottest trends of this Spring. A Pleated skirt, a pink bag, some floral prints,… Just a couple more items to go and I’ve got all the clothes on my Spring wish list. However, now that I’ve got the skirt, the bag and the print, it’s time to think about what goes underneath.

Yes, I’m talking about some fabulously feminine lingerie. Because what’s the point of buying an entirely new spring wardrobe, when the fabric closest to your skin does not ooze the same summery elegance?

Go for soft pastel hues for the ultimate Springtime experience. (I mean, just imagine how fabulous your ass would look in some delicate cotton candy coloured panties! )

Here are a couple of my favourite sets :

Agent Provocateur: pretty pink

Marie Jo: passionate pistachio

La Perla: lovely lace

Stella McCartney: seriously sexy

And my absolute favourite, Andres Sarda: fabulously flirty

 

So my message to you ladies: before you spend all your money on clothes, think about what goes underneath instead. You can thank me later 😉

The Skort: My New Fashion Obsession

The skort: part skirt, part shorts and nowadays hotter than hot in fashion land. Admittedly, the first skorts gained my attention when they started appearing on fashion blogs as early as last year’s summer, but they only managed to get my approval a couple of weeks ago when I bought one myself.

There were a couple of reasons behind my initial reluctance to buy a skort. The first one is obvious: that horrible name. Skort. It sounds like one of those ergonomic chairs from Ikea. Or the sound a choking patient makes when a handsome Grey’s Anatomy doctor performs the Heimlich maneuver on him…

You get my point. It’s not very sexy, the name skort.

And then there is the second main reason for my initial aversion: childhood memories. I remember when I was about ten years old, my mom used to dress me in a skort for school. I can still remember this lilac bermuda shorts (ouch!) with purple floral prints (double ouch!) with an apron-looking piece of fabric hanging in the front (triple ouch!). Basically, I looked like a flower-power girly version of Sweeney Todd. Not exactly the epitome of style and grace.

So no. The skort was never on my wish list. Until I noticed that the new stylishly tweaked version of the skort looked actually really elegant. And edgy. And fashionable.

My favourite skort type is the one with an asymmetric kimono-style skirt in the front, because it breathes elegance and avant-garde chic. And at the same time, you can ride a bike or sit cross-legged in the grass without having to worry about flashing your lace panties at innocent by-standers! 😉

What do you think, dear readers?

Pretty nice, huh?

So let’s forget the horrible name and the horrible childhood memories and embrace the awesomeness of the modern-day version of the skort! You will not regret it!