Ever since Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo of Comme De Garcons and Issey Miyake appeared on the fashion scene in the eighties, I have been a big fan of Japanese designers. Yohji designs the most beautiful and graceful clothes often with an aspect of assymetry. This collection was no different to his previous collections, but just repeated his very successful formula perfectly. In the simple black and white colour scheme simplicity was the key, but when executed so beautifully who needs anything else.

The serenity of this show was some what refreshing after all of the buzz and glitz of the shows so far.

I love this outfit it looks to relaxed and easy to wear

 I love the cut of this jacket it is the ultimate in understated chic.

The assymetrical cut of this jacket looks a bit unusual and the different materials in the skirt also add a bit of interest to this outfit whilst still keeping it really simple.

This outfit is just very elegant, great for wearing to work.

This dress is gorgeous, I can imagine wearing it on a hot summers day and still feeling cool and relaxed. The tennis shoes really finish off the cool look.

If you can’t wait until next Spring for some of Yohji’s super cool clothes, try this raw cut turtle neck jumper in light weight knit by Yohji Yamamoto.

 pictures from www.style.com

In an attempt to take everyones mind off the doom and gloom of the financial markets etc, I decided to post today on the Balmain show at Paris fashion week. This is definitely one to cheer you up. With military style  jackets teamed with ripped jeans and sandals, mini bodycon dresses and pouffed up ra ra skirts everything was encrusted with crystal, sequins, diamantes or studs.

There was a  definite feel of the eighties about the collection with assymetric dresses, big shoulders and micro skirts. The collection was awash with bling and could well have been inspired by American soap Dynasty. But instead of just rehashing the same old eighties stuff, Christophe Decarnin  has done it more stylishly than the first time round. The clothes have been finished with couture like details- just look at the shoulders, far more appeaing than the original American football player, eighties versions.

If you love a bit of eighties bling as seen at Balmain, this Diamante T Shirt is just the thing.

pictures from www.imdb.com

I love watching film and I love fashion, but what I really love most is watching films with great fashion in them. The Sex And The City Film was great and the clothes were amazing. Over the years there are lots of films that have had a huge influence on the way I and others dress.

For me one of the most influential fashion films is Breakfast at Tiffanys. Audrey Hepburn in her role as Holly Golightly was so polished and lady like in her little black dress, pearls and gloves. This film quite rightly elevated her to the status of style icon and made the Little Black Dress what it is today.

Some of the other fashion films I love watching are:

Pulp Fiction. The white shirt and black capri pants worn by Uma Thurman are classic and proof that its not about what you wear it is how you wear it. The film also sparked a trend for Chanel Rouge Noir nail varnish which is still my favourite colour nail varnish of all time.

Love Story is also a classic with the American Preppy look that was popular in the seventies.

Mahogany featuring Diana Rosshad great retro clothes were also also designed by Diana Ross and inspired the Marc Jacobs Fall 07 collection. 

I think I might spend a cosy afternoon in front of the TV watching some of the best fashion films with this DVD box set including Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Sabrina and Funny Face.

pictures from www.elleuk.com

I have been known to be less than complimentary about Gareth Pugh in the past but a girl can change her mind, can’t she? Brit designer Gareth opened Paris Fashion week with a collection that was full of his usual theatrical and fetish type clothes. His latest collection however was slightly more wearable than previous collections.

The collection began with an outfit clearly referencing Elizabethan dress with large ruffle collars. There was a strong element of structural engineering involved in their construction, I am sure. The collection however, moved onto to some much softer pieces using fabrics such as chiffon and organza combined with the traditional Gareth Pugh fodder of patent leather. The collection was a noteably more wearable collection than many of his  previous collections. I did not find myself asking as I have many times before “but who would actually wear  this?” Gareth definitely seems to be maturing and developing as a designer and I will be interested to see what his next collections hold instore.

If you love patent leather like Gareth Pugh, you will love this Nicoli Frame Patent Leather Shopping Bag.

Yes I am feeling glad it is Friday. The sun is shining and the whole weekend lies ahead. Cheer up your day even more by having a read of the best of this weeks fashion and style blog posts.

Laboured and Lovely - Susie Bubble states her case for why clothes should not be minimalist, I can’t help but agreeing with her

Fall Wardrobe - Get an insight into professionally trendy’s very trendy wardrobe. Some lovely ideas for autumn.

 Goldin Girl - Queen Michelle of the Kingdom of style looks at the amazing collection from Louise Goldin and comments on why her Topshop collection bears little resemblance to her signature work.

Quote of the Day - Catwalk Queen gives us a happy thoughtfor the day with this gem from Simon Doonan of the Guardian.

Thrift Star of the day: mixing decades - A great outfit and perfect for those on a budget. Painfully Hip shows how to mix up clothes from different decades.

I like to take an interest in fashion as you might have noticed. Some may even say it is a bit of an obsession (but I wouldn’t call it that). I like to regularly read fashion magazines and websites and so today I thought I would share with you some of my favourites which give me much enjoyment and insight into to the latest trends.

Style.com - This is the most comprehensive website I think. It has all the trends, all the fashion shows and a lot more. I look at it practically everyday at least once.

Elleuk.com - again this site has great coverage of all the major catwalk shows, excellent trend reports and some great fashion and style features. I get the magazine by subscription don’t need to read it very often. Fashion156 - This is a great site if you love art/photography. They do great fashion shoots, often using slightly more unusual clothing and retailers.Dazed and Confused - This has some great feature articles and information on the latest designers.

Derek Lam has been hailed as something of a fashion hero lately and today I am wanting to investigate why. Derek Lam hails from San Francisco and graduated from Parsons school of design in 1990. He worked at Michael Kors for 4 years beofre a spell in Hong Kong with a retail chain and he then returned to New York and became the vice president  of design with Michael Kors. He launched his own label in 2003 and then debuted at New York  Fashion week.

Lam has become so popular mainly due to his ability to design for real women. His clothes have sleek clean silhouettes in luxurious fabrics that convey an iresistable femininity and girlishness. Some of the key pieces that he is know for are his sheath dresses, wide legged trousers and pea coats. Here are some of the examples that I think have led to his loyal following of fashionistas.

Autumn 05

Autumn 07

Autumn 08

pictures from www.style.com

If you are a definite Derek Lam follower you will love this Derek Lam shirt.

I am very pleased to say that tailored trousers are in this season and I will quite happily ditch my jeans. As practical as they are, I sometimes want to feel like I have made a bit more of an effort and actually the right pair of tailored trousers can do wonders for the figure. So where so you start finding just the right pair?

Well this season there are so many trouser shapes to choose from. I have already blogged about the ankle skimmer but there are lots more styles and The harem trousers which I have also previously posted on are a great look but need to be chosen carefully with proportion in mind. They can shorten the legs so petites need to be especially careful and high heels are a must.

Masculine trousers have been around for a few seasons now. The key to wearing these loose and baggy trousers is to balance out the masculinity with some feminine bits perhaps a frilly blouse or some high heels.

Skinny or narrow trousers are quite flattering on many body shapes. If you are worried about your curves try heels and black trousers for a streamlined look. Balance the shape of the trousers with a more volumous top.

The wide legged style of trousers are great for lengthening the leg especially when worn over high heel shoes. This seasons variety also often has a high waist which again lengthens the leg and is great for emphasising the leg.

These Vivienne Westwood Red Label trousers are a very flattering style and great for any occasion.

In my last post I was just a little bit negative about Milan fashion week and this was just an overall feeling I got about it. There were of course some good bits and as promised, in my much more positive mindset today, I have managed to find them. Enjoy!

I love this dress for Bottega Veneta- it may be slightly sack like but I love the colour, the way it hangs and the sophistication it oozes

I love  the colourfulness of this Marni outfir and the kind of mish mash look that Marni does so well.

Jil Sanders  has a reputation for minimalism and this sleek and elegant outfit is almost that with some great texture to add a bit of interest.

To quote style.com , ‘there is no one who can turn up the thermostat of subversive sexual provocation quite as high as Mrs. Prada.’ I couldn’t have said it better myself, her collections just get better and better.

pictures from www.style.com

If you only ever wear jeans and T shirt then get some Milan style by wearing a Prada T Shirt.

When scouting the pages of www.style.com to see what lovley stuff I could post about from Milan fashion week. I was struck more by what I didn’t like than what I did like. This is quite unusual for me as I am usually a glass half full kind of girl. But I just couldn’t really spot anything that made me think wow, I would really love to have that.

Probably the biggest yuk from Milan fashion week was this outfit from Alberta Ferretti. Usually a  designer who I love  for her feminine and flattering clothes. What was she thinking when she designed this. If it makes a stick thin model look like a weeble, what will it do for the rest of us?

And from  Etro, a disappointingley mediocre collection. Is it me? Are my expectations just getting too high? I can’t really imagine anyone looking good in this shapeless trouser suit ina  completely nondescript colour.

And last but certainly not least in the yuk stakes, this dress from Blumarine. Again very non descript and actually I would have expected better from Anna Molinari. Who actually would this dress suit because it certainly didn’t do anything for the model? That said the rest of the collection wasn’t bad, again just kind of middle of the road.

 I promise in my next post I will find something good to say about Milan fashion week. Perhaps I am just suffering from a  little bit of fashion week fatigue.

However it is not all bad news- Something great from Italy is this Pellevera Italian Leather Handbag.