New York Fashion Week: Marc Jacobs FW12

Whilst at a birthday party this weekend, a friend of mine turned up wearing an oversized, red woollen jacket and what can only be described as a floppy, misshapen top hat. Eyebrows were raised at her dubious choice of head-wear; little did we know that she was one step ahead of us all. Enter Mr. Marc Jacobs.

There's no denying that Marc Jacobs is an absolute genius and although (initially) I was a little perplexed looking through his Fall/Winter 2012 collection, it's clear that he has once again created a masterpiece. Rhinestone encrusted pilgrim shoes, giant knitted scarves (complete with giant safety-pin), paisley prints, floral prints, leather panels, fur panels, buttoned wool stoles, tulip skirts with padded hips, metallic jackets, geometric knitwear and to coin a term from the brilliant Coco's Tea Party, Stephen Jones' 'Jamiroquai' mink hats. Jacobs' had it all.

And yet, in spite of the mish-mash of different pieces, the collection is extremely coherent, typically stylish, wearable and in true Jacobs style, desirable. On paper it shouldn't work and at first sight it's all rather overpowering but when you look closely at the finer details you see a fantastic collection bursting with Jacobs' inimitable creative touch. The witty use of colour and the unlikely combination of textures are central to the success of this collection, cementing the knowledge that Jacobs' truly is an outstanding designer.

I think you'd agree that that's enough shameless flattery/arse-licking for one day (though I am desperate to try out the ankle socks, printed midi-skirt, contrasting geometric knitwear and oversized woollen stole combination). What is your opinion on Marc Jacobs' Fall/Winter 2012 offering and will you be doing the 'Jamiroquai' any time soon?

photos from style.com

Pre-Party Inspiration

This gorgeous photo of Carey Mulligan from this evenings Moet British Independent Film Awards got me thinking, what on earth should one wear to a Christmas party?!

Prabal Gurung has been worn by every hot-young-thing in recent weeks and this dress looks as though it was made for Carey. Unfortunately Prabal Gurung is a little out of my price range (OK so it's massively out of my price range) but I really love the simplicity of this look and think we should all take a leaf out of Carey's book this Christmas. 

I've put together 9 going-out looks for the inevitable onslaught of festive parties and although I'm a creature of habit, mainly a LBD habit, I've experimented with a touch of colour. What do you think?

Topshop never fails when it comes to party dresses, cheap and cheerful is definitely going to be my motto this season and these outfits won't break the bank. Unless you've got superhuman powers then black tights are an essential this time of year and all of these looks are great with or without. 

From left to right: Antonio Barardi dress, Charlotte Olympia heels. Christopher Kane dress, ACNE wedges, Mary Katrantzou dress, YSL heels.

Matches, although on the slightly expensive side, has more amazing dresses than you can poke a stick at. I'm particularly fond of the Christopher Kane number and have been drooling over all of the shoes since I first clapped eyes on them; the ACNE wedges have been in my sights for quite some time now, early Christmas present to myself? I think so.

From left to right: 3.1 Phillip Lim dress, Marc Jacobs bad. Issa dress, Valentino bag. Marc Jacobs dress, Herve Leger clutch.

The OutNet has some great party-pieces but I wasn't so taken by the shoes and have instead replaced them with bags instead - a girl always needs a good bag, right? These dresses scare me a little because they're so colourful but I'd happily wear any of them because they're so pretty. 

I definitely think its all about fun mini-dresses teamed with black tights for Christmas because everyone's so god damn depressed at the minute. If you want the designer label but not the designer prices, head over to Girl Meets Dress where you can find hundreds of gorgeous dresses to hire. You only need wear something once and they have a massive selection - perfect for partying! Check it out, you might be pleasantly surprised.

What will you be wearing this Christmas? Will you keep it simple like Carey or go the whole-hog and don all the tinsel you can find?

photos from matches.com, topshop.com, theoutnet.com and justjared.buzznet.com

J'Adore Couture

To my own amazement I rarely follow the Couture shows, I just have one of those irrational 'I can't afford any of this' fears and therefore avoid it altogether. However, last season I (like many others) got suckered in by Chanel's Couture Collection and finally started paying attention - albeit several years too late.

This season is no different; the shows haven't even gotten into full swing (I'm super excited about Chanel) and I'm already smitten. Christian Dior was a massive surprise as it was totally opposite to the AW10 Ready-to-Wear and it was just so colourful...

Aside from the massively obvious floral references, I saw a little bit of Marc Jacobs SS10 and a little bit of Taylor Momsen's hair from The Grinch years - either way I actually kind of liked it. It's way too colourful and flouncy for me to ever consider wearing (if I won the lottery, it might happen) but I can already see most of the dresses being worn on the red carpet.

But it's Givenchy that's been the stand-out collection so far, I mean these dresses are seriously beautiful...

Inspired by the uh-mazing Mexican painter Frida Kahlo and her three obsessions: religion, sensuality and the human anatomy, Riccardo Tisci has really put himself out there as a serious couture contender. I'm usually quite dubious about feathers and embellishment but Tisci's got the balance perfectly, who wouldn't want to wear either of these pieces?!

I can't wait for Chanel, Papa K will undoubtedly present a blinder of a collection and when he does I'll be the first to gush. On a more serious note though, who can actually afford to buy this stuff? I'm pretty sure I'd have to sell my house to afford one piece, let alone every season...

photos from style.com

Es Muss Liebe Sein...

According to Google translator this is German for 'It Must Be Love...', don't worry I'm not going to start posting in German or anything but I really love their latest issue of Vogue. I recently said I've never really bought the foreign issues of Vogue, but their editorials seem so much more exciting than the British version!

I was sceptical when I saw that Victoria Beckham was on the cover (I generally dislike celebs covering Vogue) but her editorial diminishes all cynicism.

Victoria's always going to be a WAG in my eyes (for anyone who doesn't get the WAG abbreviation, look here) but she scrubs up right good and proper; I guess it helps when you have a jawbone that could slice cheese. She also had a hand in Marc Jacobs positioning on the Time 100 Most Influential People list and being the only designer to make the cut, this makes me love her a little bit more.

But back to German Vogue, her editorial was just one of many that were really impressive...

Apparently the issue came in a denim cover, how cute is that? So along with Korean, Italian, French and American Vogue, I now want to buy the German edition - my shelves are literally going to fall apart at this rate!

What do you think of Victoria's editorial? I'm a Victoria convert, are you?

PS. The fact that Marc Jacobs was the only designer to make the Time 100 Most Influential People list is just unbelievable. Miuccia? Lagerfeld? McQueen? Westwood? Why aren't any of these incredibly talented people on that list when people like Taylor Swift and Robert Pattinson are? I can safely say that I haven't EVER been influenced by either of them nor will I be, its embarassing.

PPS. Apologies for the giant post, I'm trying to make up for lost time!

Photos from thefashionspot.com

Tag Team

The lovely lady over at Electric Feel 'tagged' me yesterday and although I'm completely at a loss about what this actually means (I think the idea is to answer the questions and then tag the people you want to answer them), I thought I'd have a stab.

FAVOURITE

Band/Artist:

This is a tough one because it changes every other month but right now it's Mumford & Sons

Video:

This incredible Australian Vogue editorial With Catherine McNeil and Abbey Lee

Australian Vogue in HD from Greg Kadel Studios on Vimeo.

Movie:

I have too many to narrow down to one, so here's a top 5: Shawshank Redemption, Clueless, X-Men, Mean Girls, Snatch

Book:

I wish that this wasn't, but unfortunately it is - Twilight (ahh cringe, cringe cringe!)

Designer/Label:

Prada/Balmain (but I love Marc Jacobs, McQueen and Chanel just as much!)

Festival:

Definately Reading but Glastonbury is an extremely close second.

TV Show:

Skins, ANTM, The Hills, Miami Ink

Icon:

Ooh another toughie. I'm gonna say Grace Coddington as a career icon and MK & Ashley as style icons.

The last two questions were pretty lame (Favourite City and Favourite Memory) so I left it at Icon. I'm not going to tell anyone else to do it, but, if I were going to I'd chose The Virtue of Style, That Girl Lucy and Cindy Whitehead because I love their blogs!

Best Dressed...

I've really become more of a dress girl this past year. I used to live in jeans and only ever wore dresses for occasions because I thought they were too girly. However, recently there have been so many dresses that I LOVE, its hard to avoid them any more.

I'm never going to be a prom dress kinda girl because I'm too scruffy and just can't handle the idea of having to keep something clean. I've just ordered myself a basic black jersey maxi-dress from ASOS which I'm sure I'll have fun accessorizing (I'm thinking boots, leather jacket and rings). Here are just a couple of outfit ideas I thought were cute - I'm pining for a nice mac and this one is lovely although I doubt it's an outfit I'd realistically wear.

The second outfit is definately something I'd wear and I love that burgandy colour with grey and black.

all clothes from TOPSHOP

Alexander Wang dress, Marc Jacobs leather jacket, Fendi ankle boots,

RayBan glasses, Miu Miu leather bag, all from Net-A-Porter.com

What outfits are you loving at the moment and how would you change my choices?

On The 1st Day of Christmas...

Although I'm strongly opposed to any notion of Christmas before 1st December, I couldn't help but compile a wishlist of accessories.

Accessories are definately my guilty pleasure and although this is more of a dream wishlist, one can always hope. I really love the Lanvin cuff; to me it's such a statement piece and would have to be worn with a really clean and simple outfit (and of course skyscraper heels - my favourite).

From (top left) clockwise: Marc Jacobs bag £4,100, Chloe python tote £1,745, Lanvin embellished bird cuff £585, Burberry Prorsum platform pumps £395, Albertus Swanepoel faux-fur cossack £265, Marc by Marc Jacobs skull necklace watch £150.

In the run-up to Christmas I'll be posting weekly wishlists with my favourite items around at the moment. What is everyone else going to be wishing for this Christmas (aside from a mistletoe moment)?

Photos from net-a-porter.com

MUM DOES MARC

When leggings came back into fashion my mum frequently reminded me 'I used to have loads of leggings, they would have fitted you now aswell...'. When platform soled heels came back into fashion my mum made a point of telling me 'I used to have a great pair of platforms, they would have fitted you now aswell...'. And so it goes on, season after season I am frequently reminded that my own mother had an amazing wardrobe, in what would have been my size. Were it not taken to a charity shop for strangers to devour, that is.

So when mum recently claimed she had a pair of boots 'just like the ones at Marc Jacobs, they would have fitted you now aswell...', I wasn't expecting material goods, as along with the rest of her 'amazing wardrobe' they were probably sitting in the hands of Cancer Research.

How wrong could I have been? It turns out she had stashed these bad boys - practically unworn - purely for the fact they cost £300 in the 80s. I think I struck gold, and of course, they do fit - like a glove.



IMAGE COURTESY OF STYLE.COM


I should probably grow another 7 inches before even considering wearing these beauties in public, but I can't see that happening anytime soon.

Mid thigh is the new over the knee.