picture from www.elleuk.com

Theses Yves St Laurent Black patent leather caged boots seem to be every where at the moment from fashion shoots to websites and blogs. I love the style and they are cetainly very innovative and a bit different. I have only one concern (apart from the price), comfort. I realise that sometimes we have to make certain sacrifices in the name of fashion but cold, blistered and uncomfortable feet is just too much for me to endure. There is also the danger of all sorts of debris including cigarette butts, chewing gum and the like getting caught up in the cage like heel. Of course if I had the money to buy these gorgeous looking boots none of these things would be a problem, as I would no doubt be chaffeur driven every where with no need for walking.

I have found myself the perfect alternative to the Yves St Laurent Cage boots. These laser cut Diesel boots are definitely more affordable and practical but still really stylish and will look great with all sorts of dresses and skirts in my spring wardrobe.

There will be an exhibition of the designs of Hussein Chalayan in association with Creative Puma. Hussein Chalayan is the creative director of Puma and has twice been named as the British designer of the year. He is recognised for his use of technology and innovative fashion designs. He is one of the most forward thinking British designers and challenges the perception that clothing is purely functional garments. His designs have been inspired by all sorts of themes including cultural identity, displacement and migration. His work also crosses boundaries between architecture, design, philosophy, anthropology, science and technology. The exhibition will include ‘wearable, portable architecture’ in which furniture literally transforms itself into garments.

The exhibition will be held at the Design Museum until 17th May 2009. If you don’t get the opportunity to go along, you can always enjoy looking at some amazing designs by other British Designers. I love this Anenome wrap dress by Sara Berman.

I am not a complete tree hugger, but lately have started to become a lot more aware of how my consumer choice can effect the environment, particularly where clothing and fashion is concerned. Recent years have shown a move by some fashion retailers to produce and sell cheap and badly made fast fashion to keep up with the latest trends as dictated by the industry. Whilst on occasion, I have been tempted and have even bought some of this fast fashion, I have been very quick to realise the errors of my ways. I have come to the conclusion that you get what you pay for, very cheap clothes generally look very cheap. Whilst they may be cheap in price, there is also an additional price to pay.

Fast fashion clothes are usually worn just a few times before been thrown away. The quality of the clothes means that they usually have very little second hand value and so are unlikely to be recycled. The disposal of clothes into landfill contributes to the methane emissions, a green house gas which is released from landfill as waste breaks down. Even worse, many synthetic materials do not break down at all and so remain in the ecosystem for ever.

Whilst I am concerned about environmental issues, I am determined to still look stylish and believe it is possible to be a responsible and stylish shopper. Here are my stylish tips for being stylish and minimising the environmental impact of your fashion choices:

• Where possible, choose natural fabrics produced locally
• Choose well made clothes that will last for more than season and can be sold recycled once you no longer want them.
• Take good care of your clothes - often mending or repairing can be an economical alternative to just throwing them away.
• When you have finished with your clothes sell them, swap them or donate to charity.
• Develop your own personal style so that you do not have to change your wardrobe every season to keep up with the latest fashions.

This wool Amanda Wakeley coat will last you for years and will definitely not end up as landfill in the near future.

pictures frm www.style.com

I always look forward to the Dior couture shows for their amazing unbridled creativity. John Galliano did his usual with fantasy creations and historical references. Again as with the other couture designers he paid little attention to economic outlook commenting that  ”there’s a credit crunch, not a creative crunch”. It was definitely true that the recession had not in any way stifled his creativity.

The collection was full of Dioresque full skirts, lavish feather hats and shaped clothes of sculptural proportions. His inspiration was Flemish painters and Dior himself. This explained the New Look shape which was liberally applied throughout the collection but he took this classic shape on to the next level with the twisted and shaped skirts. It was a beautiful collection, definitely the stuff day dreams are made of. Not particularly suitable for an evening at the pub, but then isn’t that what couture is all about?

If you love Dior and want something stylish but a bit more practical, try these very chic Dior sunglasses.

pictures from www.style.com

The season started in Paris with the Couture shows and the usual drama and spectacular style. At Chanel, Lagerfeld  did his best to turn his back on the doom, gloom and economic depression that is currently gripping the world economy. In an act of defiance his couture collection was white with analogies of a clean sheet of paper. The collection was definitely pristine and clean but struck just the right balance between minimalism and delicate detail. In fact it was the delicate detail that I really loved about this collection, particularly the head wear.

Paper flowers were used to create the most amazing head wear that would have looked at home in a bridal boutique but also managed to compliment perfectly the modern classic chanel suits which for this season included a line skirts, cropped jackests with square shoulders and  stand away collars. The paper like quality and crisp whiteness of the flower head wear gave them such a fresh spring feel.

Lagerfeld has proved that attention to detail is key for a beautiful couture collection. If you want to perfect your make up, pay attention to detail and start with a clean sheet using this Chanel Teint Innocence Makeup.

This week I have been reading about how to stay stylish and keep warm. Here are some of my favourites:

Painfully Hip shows us a great alternative to a plain black coat in Thrift Star of the day: Winter Wondergirl. A great way to brighten up a winter outfit.

Queen Michelle of Kingdom of Style has some gorgeously kermit like trousers that she makes some gorgeous outfits with in he post Frogs Legs.

Flying Saucer manages get her hands on a gorgeous floral jumpsuit in Jump for My Love. She makes some lovely outfits with it.

Disney Roller Girl reflects on the latest casualty of the current economic climate in Is it curtains for fashion shows?

Bits and Bobbins gives a great insight into the wardrobes of others in Wardrobe Remix(ers) O’ the Week. She is so right when she says “it is not what you wear, it’s how you wear it”

If Kingdom of Style has inspired you to get your own pair of green Kermit style trousers, try these demi couture Deploy Katherine Cargo Pants.

In my enthusiam for new year clearing out and cleaning, I have been through my wardrobe organising and tidying. It now looks perfectly tidy and organised and I am ready to face the year ahead. My jumpers are neatly folded and everything hung on it’s own hanger with enough space to hang rather than just being squashed in. My handbags are all stored in cloth bags to prevent them getting scuffed and damaged and then carefully stacked in a box.

The final area of wardrobe organisation that I need to tackle is my shoes and boots. They are lined up on a shoe rack but still seem to get dusty and squashed. I cam across the perfect answer for keeping my shoes and boots in top condition - the transparent shoe box. They are available in 3 sizes - shoe size, ankle boot size and knee length boot size and are clear so I can see what I have got. They look so good that I am going to also use them for other accessories like belts.

picture from www.news.yahoo.com

I have been paying a lot of attention to the news and everything going on in America over the last few days. Especially what Michelle Obama was wearing for the Inauguration ceremony. This will probably be one of the biggest days of her life and I am guessing that no expense was spared when it came to choosing what to wear- although I very much doubt that it cost as much as some of the outfits in Sarah Palin’s campaign wardrobe.

Her choice - a dress by a relatively little known Cuban American designer Isabel Toledo, worn with some green patent Jimmy Choo pumps and green gloves. Michelle Obama’s choice of clothes have become top headline news since Barack won the presidential elections. The views of the public on this outfit are very mixed as would be expected. With comments ranging from elegant and lady like to unflattering and just plain wrong for the occasion. My own opinion is that, I would not have chosen it myself but it looked good on Michelle. I think there would be criticism whatever she wore.

If like Michelle Obama, you love yellow, you will love this beautiful yellow chiffon evening dress.

I apologise for the name of this post and realise that everyone is probably more than fed up with talk of the credit crunch and recession. Even more irritating though is talk of credit crunch style, recessionista’s and the like. There is something particulaly uninspiring about finding a new outfit for under £50 or rehashing all those old items in your wardrobe that you thought you would never wear again.

But as much as I like to bury my head in the sand and pretend it is not happening, the credit crunch and recession is probably affecting almost everyone in one way or another, including myself. It would be foolish to ignore the state of the economy and plough on with my usual spending habits regardless. So I have pledged to stop spending as much on clothes, for a little while anyway. But when I do buy some thing, I am going to be sure that is something that I really love.

Whilst doing a bit of online window shopping I came across this Adidas dip dye dress and after a bit of though and consideration, I think that it definitely fits all of the criteria for a credit crunch purchase.

1. I love it

2. I will wear it all the time

3. It will wash easily so will last for ages and no dry cleaning bills

4. I already have shoes that will go with it so no need to spend more money on shoes.

5. I love it!

pictures from www.style.com

Rei Kawakubo has never been afraid of being different and doing her own thing. In the eighties she almost revolutionised fashion with her use of dark inky colours and masculine styles in her designs. More recently, Rei has used colours in her clothing but the influence of her earlier collections, on fashion is most certainly  is still being felt. For spring summer 09, when most designers were showing collections filled with pretty pastels, bright cheery colours or minimalistic neutrals, Rei was back to her favourite blacks, grey and sombre colours.

The collection was clearly inspired by geometric shapes, with hexagonal pieces sewn together in a patchwork effect, creating interesting sculptural shapes that are very typical of the Comme Des Garcons look. The use of vinyl leather and the way that it stands out instead of draping further added to the sculptural qualities of the clothes. I especially loved the first dress above and the shape that the smaller hexagons in the bodice gave and the larger hexagons for the skirt.

This striped top was designed by Junya Watanabe who designs for Comme Des Garcons.