I love tea parties and this one was for the launch of Red or Dead’s Watch Collection. I think a tea party is always a great event - what girl doesn’t love cake?! I love cake; it always looks so inviting, so delicious and tempting that I can’t decide what I want. I almost can’t think at all! Yet somehow cake always seems to disappoint me, it’s never as delicious as it looks, it’s so deceiving; the excitement and the high of choosing a piece of cake is so grand that perhaps the taste cannot live up to my expectations. Ice cream, on the other hand, although not as aesthetically pleasing as cake but nice enough, generally seems to taste quite nice. I am almost never disappointed by ice cream, but the anticipation just isn’t there.
The watches were quite lovely and fun. Lots of bright colours and some really great styles. I never wear a watch to tell the time, I use my mobile for that, I think a watch has really become an accessory. More so for a women than men. I think a watch is still really a status symbol for a man and of course it can be too, for a certain type of woman but for the most part I think we wear a watch more as an accessory.
This is Katie Greenyer, the creative director of Red or Dead. How super cute is she!
Cavalli has designed outfits for The Spice Girls’ comeback tour, which starts Dec 2 in Vancouver, Canada! Apparently Victoria Beckham has been personal friends with Cavalli for a long time, and that’s how they got him to design for them. It pays to have a fashionista in your band!
Here they are back in the day - what a great image!
I recently went to Iceland, where I met up with Icelandic fashion designer Thelma Bjork. She makes embellished headbands, and I love them! I’m a bit intimidated by the hat, but the headband I have no issues with: somehow it’s easier, less of a commitment than a hat but it makes an equal statement! While she specializes in handmade headpieces with embroidery, Thelma also works with knit and crochet. She first learned needlework from her grandmother when she was just eight years old, and hasn’t stopped sewing since! Thelma studied at the prestigious Ecole Lesage (atelier de broderie) in Paris, where she now lives. She sells in Japan, Sweden, Iceland, Italy, London and Le Bon Marche in Paris.
You never know what will be an inspiration for a garment. Sometimes all you’re given is a swatch of fabric and that’s where you begin! I think it’s great fun and inspiring!
I love working with Christopher Beales. He’s a fantastic tailor and pattern maker!!! He’s so great; he’s one of London’s best kept secrets - but I don’t think he’ll be a secret much longer since he has started making suits for Prince!
Zhao Bandi is a Chinese artist who put on a fashion show as part of China Fashion Week, and apparently annoyed Chinese officials, who are going to respond by creating laws prohibiting the “demeaning” use of panda imagery (??).
I love going to costume houses and going through all the rails. I’m doing some prep work looking for some items for an upcoming video shoot for The Feeling!
These don’t even look like hats; they just look like huge ornaments or crazy big flowers but actually they’re hats. Some of these hats were used in the film Titanic! How cool is that!
Cate Blanchett is one of my favourite style icons - she looks great in just about anything. One of the most difficult challenges for an actress is figuring out what to wear to events before announcing to the world that you’re pregnant. You don’t want to look out of shape, but once you’ve announced your pregnancy the more your pregnancy develops the easier it becomes to dress. This grey column gown by Alberta Ferretti drapes beautifully around Cate’s neckline. The bejeweled shoulder detail and the metallic heels add just a touch of glam. And of course the dress hides any hint of a bump!
The A/W trends are all about making statements and being seen! From shoes and handbags littered with rhinestones to the head-to-toe blocks of colors, the clothes on London’s fashion streets shout: look at me!
The ‘hot’ trends begin with the sweater dress. This comfortable and versatile piece is perfect for going from a day at the office to a night on the town. Check out Paul & Joe Sister’s Frill Ribbed Sweater Dress, colors range from neutral gray and beige to red and purple. Also, check out Urban Outfitters’ Fornarina Key Hole Back Sweater Dress (ex 2: £90), and Full Circle Crochet Back Mohair Tunic (ex 3: £65) in navy. For an easy day to night look, team it up with bright gem colored tights (or leggings) and patent leather shoes!
One of the best things about cleaning out your closet is giving your unwanted clothing away! I’m not minimalist by any means but I hate having unwanted stuff around. It’s always better to give it to a friend or to a charity shop.
There’s lots of things about putting your clothes in an Oxfam bin that we never really think about. Please wash your clothes because Oxfam isn’t able to afford to dry clean or wash the items. Oxfam deposit boxes are everywhere and they are really quite large - on occasion people have been found living in them! I heard that one person even got stuck inside! Also, if you put a pair of shoes in you should tie them together or put them in a bag. Also, don’t just drop clothes in the bin: put them in a bag first and tie up the bag, that way they stay clean. There are lots of annoying people out there who dump garbage into the clothing bins, anything from dirty nappies to beer cans to used needles.
There are more clothes in these bins then you think! And everything gets recycled, if it’s not wearable it can be made into rags!
I used to live in Montreal and everyone there cycles. Except for winter, it’s the perfect city for cycling as there are lots of dedicated bike paths throughout central Montreal. I never had a bike this cool or this expensive (approximately £6200), but I love it!
Chanel also includes in the collection - bejewelled bicycle clips for trousers!
Louis Vuitton won their lawsuit regarding the Britney Spears’ 2005 video for “Do Something” for the use of Louis Vuitton’s “Cherry Blossoms” design on the dashboard of the Hummer in the video. Britney Spears herself wasn’t found guilty, but Sony BMG and MTV Online were ordered to stop broadcasting the video, and were fined 80,000 euros (USD$117,000).
First of all, let me just say it again: counterfeits and fakes are just wrong. A big question for fashion and prop stylists is what can and can’t you use in a video or advertising? If Britney was carrying an authentic Louis Vuitton bag in a video would that be ok? It’s all about marketing and product placement.
I like styling strong brands as they understand their image and even without using the brand name you know the product because of their signature look. Now that’s branding!
Photographer Jason Moore
Stylist Rebekah Roy
Hair Takashi Sano
Make-up Kate Hughes
Most designers offer perfume, shoes, sunglasses, clothes etc so what does Cavalli do? As part of the publicity campaign for Cavalli at H&M, H&M has posted on it’s blog Cavalli’s favorite recipes:
Pasta al Pomodoro INGREDIENTS:
2 packages angel hair pasta
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups roma (plum) tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 minutes or until al dente; drain.
Saute onions and garlic until lightly browned. Reduce heat to medium-high and add tomatoes, simmer for about 8 minutes.
Stir in basil and cooked pasta, tossing thoroughly with sauce. Simmer for about 5 more minutes and serve topped with grated cheese.
Risotto alla Milanese A successful risotto can only be made using a particular type of Italian rice. The rice must be able to absorb lots of liquid to give it that creamy texture while still delivering an al dente firmness to the bite. The three types of rice Italians favor for risotto are arborio, vilano nano, and carnaroli.
INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion chopped fine
1 teaspoon saffron threads
2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese
In a heavy bottomed pot, heat the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened and translucent, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the saffron and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the rice and stir with a wooden spoon until the rice is well coated and opaque, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add the wine to the rice, and then add a 4 to 6 ounce ladel of simmering broth and cook, stirring constantly, making sure to wipe the sides and bottom of the pot clean as you stir, until all the liquid is absorbed.
Continue adding the stock a ladle at a time, waiting until the liquid is completely absorbed before adding more.
After about 20 minutes begin to taste the rice. It is ready when it is tender and creamy, but still a little firm to the bite.
Stir in the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter and the Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese until well mixed. Transfer to serving plates and serve.
Seafood Spaghetti (Spaghetti allo scoglio)
INGREDIENTS:
175 gram Mussels
175 gram Small clams
350 gram Spaghetti
10 millilitre Extra virgin olive oil
25 gram Butter
1 small Red onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 Garlic cloves peeled and crushed
1 small Fresh red chilli seeded and finely chopped
2 Bay leaves
4 Cooked Mediterranean prawns in shell
4 Cooked crab claws in shell, thawed if frozen
15 ml Brandy
50 ml Dry white wine
50 ml Fish stock
30 ml Chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
15 ml Chopped fresh dill
4 Fresh sage leaves finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Scrub the mussels and clams, scraping off any barnacles and pulling off the beards. Discard any mussels and clams that remain open when tapped on a hard surface. Set aside until required. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the spaghetti and cook for 7 minutes, or according to the directions on the packet. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large frying pan. Add the red onion and saut‚ for 2-3 minutes until just soft. Stir in the garlic, chilli, bay leaves and all the shellfish. Cook for 1 minute. Quickly add the brandy and ignite to flamb‚. Once the flames have died down, add the wine and stock. Cover the pan and cook for 3 minutes until the mussels and clams have opened. Stir in the chopped herbs and season to taste with salt and freshly milled black pepper. Drain the pasta, then either mix it into the shellfish sauce, or divide the spaghetti among the serving plates or bowls, piling it in a tall mound in the centre, and spoon over the shellfish sauce. Serve immediately, with more freshly ground black pepper.
This shoot was great fun. We shot at Wasps Stadium inHigh Wycombe. I had never been to a rugby stadium so I was really looking forward to it. We lucked out and had good weather too!
We had two professional rugby players, Sarah Marsh and Susan Cass and one model, Cassandra @ Bookings. Our athletes were amazing and they were able to fit into all the PR samples & their bodys were rock hard! They even both worked out before the shoot!
We were mainly focusing on the New Zealand brand Canterbury. They’re known for their great rugby wear but they also have some great cashmere tops! There are so many great sports brands but I wasn’t supposed to mix competitive brands, so it makes it a bit of a challenge – which is good actually!
Unfortunately the red swimsuit Gwen wears reminds me of Special K commercials but I do like the final outfit as I love her high waisted shorts!
I don’t like most perfume commercials as they seem to adhere to a different aesthetic than most advertising: they’re a bit too self indulgent for my taste. I love perfume ads that tell a story, like the ads featuring Estella Warren for Channel No.5:
A few months ago I was auctioned off as part of a “day of luxury and pampering” for a charity auction. The recipients, 2 best friends, started their day with a massage and manicure, followed by a chef cooking them lunch in the privacy of their own home. I was next as their personal stylist for a day! So of course I wanted to start with their closet.
It’s always kind of fun rummaging through someone else’s closet. A closet is very personal & private - you’re happy that it has doors so that you can hide everything away. You might have an immaculate home and a pin neat office but your closet might reveal another side of you. You might even be quite messy & leave bric-a-brac all over the house yet you’re immaculately groomed and your clothes are neatly organized and even grouped according to colour! In high school one of my friends asked me “Why do you hang up all your t-shirts?” Duh, I thought, so they don’t get creased! I hated that crease down the center or the 2 folds down the sides. Of course ironing could have solved that problem but hanging them up seemed so much more efficient: no creases and I could see everything: all my clothes were all accessible and I knew exactly what I had.
I loved the closet that Dr. Niles Crane had on the tv series Frasier - it was obsessively organized.
This closet was a huge walk-in wardrobe at a location shoot and we used it as our dressing room. It was well organized but most importantly you could see everything. Sad but true: most of us don’t even know all the things we have in our closet! If you treated your closet like a shop, you’ll probably find a dress or a even pair of shoes that you forgot you had and still actually like!
Guess Jeans founder George Marciano bought the largest brilliant-cut top - quality diamond ever to be offered at an auction. The diamond received the highest possible grading from the Gemmological Institute of America (GIA), making it the purest ever to appear at auction in a round cut shape. The diamond weighs 84.37 carats and was bought for just under 16.2 million USD. Marciano has named it after his daughter, the “Chloe Diamond”! What a great dad!!
Source:Reuters
I do love accessories, although I have to confess I often run out of the house without being bejeweled at all, only to find myself hours later feeling naked, disheveled and a bit unhappy. I find if I wear something shiny and it catches my eye during the day, it some how pleases me and makes my day a bit nicer. I was recently visiting jewellery shops on New Bond street and was partial to some lovely necklaces in Boucheron. I love platinum - I’m not really a gold girl. But, oh to go to the Sotheby’s autumn semi annual jewel sale in Geneva. Wouldn’t that be a treat!
Sky has released a limited edition set of designer HDTV boxes, by Basso & Brooke, Gareth Pugh, Giles Deacon, Preen and Jonathan Saunders. The HDTV boxes are priced at £199-£299 with subscription, or £399 without.
Here’s a page from The Hairdresser’s Journal. I was asked to do a quick writeup on Jaime Pressly. Here’s the text just in case you find the image a bit small to read:
So is Jamie Pressly a style icon just because she has been voted one of the sexiest women in the world and she has her own clothing line? Jamie has a great figure (she was a gymnast for 11 years) and you can’t help but love her as Joy on “My Name is Earl” but as a style icon she just misses the mark with this look. The dress is not a bad choice, in fact it’s a good choice: the wrap dress is flattering on anyone with a larger bust and small waist. Satin can be a difficult fabric as it’s quite unforgiving, showing off every lump and bump, but this dress shows off Jamie’s figure fabulously! So actually the dress is good and the shoes and the bag are nice, but what we don’t really see is Jamie’s individual style, and that’s just a shame: it would be better if her look expressed how bubbly and fabulous she is!
