Friends with Benefits...

I'm not going to lie, until I saw Black Swan I didn't have a girl crush on Mila Kunis. In fact, I couldn't even pronounce her name properly. However, us girls are fickle creatures and as soon as I saw her being a total babe getting down and dirty with Natalie Portman (I'm not a lesbian, but she is a hotty) my new girl crush was born. Since then, I've been really looking forward to all things Mila related and Friends with Benefits, despite my rom-com induced nausea, actually looks quite good; plus Justin Timberlake in it and he's pretty cute. This photo, shot by Carter Smith and taken from the August Issue of US Elle, perfectly sums up the whole 'relationship' fiasco that comes about from the slightly dodgy, friend + sex territory.

I for one was hoping that the rumours about Mila and Justin hooking up were true because aren't they just the cutest couple? I thought I'd stick to a film related post because I'm going to see Harry Potter at the IMAX at midnight tonight and I'm insanely excited. Is anyone else seeing Harry Potter this evening or am I the only one? What do you think of Mila and Justin as a couple; they'd definitely take over Brad and Angelina's hotspot as Hollywood's cutest couple...

photos from fashiongonerogue.com

Summer Lovin' with Jacques

I don't know about you but when it comes to Summer, I go a little bit crazy for a drink or two; nothing beats finishing work then heading over to the pub for a cheeky bevvy. That said, I've slightly exhausted the whole beer thing (spirits and me don't mix particularly well and wine makes me loco) which leaves little in the way of yummy drinks; Jacques, however, knows the way to a girls heart.

Give me a fruity, iced (alcoholic, of course) cider and a dressing up box - complete with in-house Beauty Parlour - and I'm one seriously happy bunny. The Jacques Townhouse, a vintage frock and fruity cider haven, is back again this Summer for a limited time from the 19th to the 28th of July and I seriously recommend you pop down for a visit.

This year, the Jacques Townhouse has a variety of cutesy features from the aforementioned Beauty Parlour to a vintage dressing up box and even an Enchanted Garden where you can get a massage and drink all at the same time; sounds perfect, no? To secure an invite head over to their Facebook page - the venue is being kept a secret until places are registered so get over there now!

How is everyone spending their Summer this year? I've just had some VERY exciting news but will let you know all about it at a later date!

Couture?

Haute Couture is often considered the pinnacle of fashion; it represents excess, elitism and craftsmanship more so than even the (not so) modest ready-to-wear collections. At least, that's what I thought. Obviously, the majority of us would never be able to afford a couture gown (unless we married into royalty) but to me, it always used to represent something completely unobtainable. It's a symbol of wealth - the fashion houses are never going to make a profit from couture collections because only the richest of the rich can afford to buy them and even then they probably would commission bespoke, one-off pieces anyway. With this is mind, couture should be the most ridiculous and excessive show of fashion, not a sombre and boring display of mindless expense.

As you have probably gathered, I'm thus far entirely unimpressed by Couture Fall 2011....

Left to right: Valentino, Jean Paul Gaultier and Chanel

Valentino, Jean Paul Gaultier and Chanel all showed collections as dry as Ghandi's flip-flop - ok so there were a few good looks but on the whole, each designer didn't exactly pull it out of the bag. Last season, I was equally as uninspired, maybe I've got the whole idea of couture wrong? Regardless, I was really quite disappointed by all three - especially given that the ready-to-wear collections are usually so brilliant. Dior was interesting as it was the first show without Galliano at the helm and sadly, it was really quite obvious; it all felt very amateur and lacked that great sense of Galliano decadence.

The only collections that I liked so far have been long-term couture favourites: Givenchy and Elie Saab. Last season, I would have died for every single Elie Saab dress because they were all absolutely stunning and Givenchy, well, Riccardo Tisci is just a God, no? This season both collections felt very 'high fashion wedding' but they were gorgeous nonetheless...

Elie Saab

Givenchy

Tisci can do absolutely no wrong in my eyes - every collection from the past year has been nothing short of amazing and although Fall 2011 is quite similar to last season, I still love it.

I know I went off on quite a tangeant but I just don't feel as though Couture is anything to get excited about anyone, is anyone else of the same viewpoint or I am just being slightly ridiculous? What has been your favourite Fall 2011 Couture collection so far?

photos from style.com