Promo Trail!

Michelle Williams - who just won a Golden Globe for her performance in My Week with Marilyn - has been hitting the campaign trail with aplomb. Pulling out elegant look after look, here she is in Jason Wu, Chanel, Miu Miu and then Jason Wu again. Some people find her style a bit too cutesy or whimsical, but I love the fact that she has a style 'persona' but it still happy to experiment too. And I LOVE her hair.
I read the books that the film are based on during a plane trip the other day. The first book The Prince, The Showgirl and Me was a fun and gossipy read about life on a film set in the 1950s. It appealed to the old movie buff in me. My Week with Marilyn (the author's supposed 'lost week' where he had an almost affair with Marilyn Monroe) was only so so, but I could see the filmic potential in it. I'm looking forward to finally seeing the finished product.

And what of the rest of the Golden Globes? I love to look at pretty dresses any day, any time, but these big events of late tend to be a bit ho hum. It's not very often that you see a truly dramatic dress. So, for me, my pick from this year is Evan Rachel Woods in Gucci Premiere. Not necessarily something I would wear but ERW looks smashing in it. And what's not to love about a plunging neckline, sequins and feathers, all in the same dress.

Frock of the Week: Back to Her Best?

It has been a while since I've done a Frock of the Week post (maybe I should rename it The Occasional Frock?), but there were so many lovely at the Grammy's and BAFTA's this week (hooray for awards season), that I couldn't resist posting my favourite: Nicole Kidman in Jean Paul Gaultier.

Spectacular!

Remember when Nicole, in the late 90s and early noughties, was setting trends on the red-carpet and rarely put a foot wrong? This look harks back to those halcyon Nicole days for me. The woman has a figure made for drama, but lately she's been playing it quite samey and safe. I've got my fingers and toes crossed this is a sign she'll pull something amazing out Oscar night. Couture please?

And now for a little trip down memory lane ...

Nicole married Keith Urban in 2006 and her Balenciaga wedding gown totally brought the drama. I love, love, love this dress (although don't you agree Nicole looks better as a redhead than as a blonde?).

Nicole apparently pocketed $2 million to wear John Galliano for Dior couture throughout the awards season in 1997. The lucky lady was not only rolling in cash, but the alliance seriously upped her profile in the style stakes too. This chartreuse is still remembered as an Oscars fashion highlight 14 years later.

And for some Cinderella out there who has access to more credit than me, I just spied this John Galliano for Dior gown over at 1stDibs. From the same collection methinks? Regardless, it is lovely.

Ten more sleeps til Oscar night!

Red-carpet Vintage Spot

I always love seeing vintage on the red-carpet. Glee actress Dianna Agron wore vintage Chanel couture to yesterdays Screen Actors Guild Awards. It's a navy lace strapless dress courtesy of Rare Vintage, although I'm not sure what era (although the nineties can be considered vintage now, right?). I love the length of this dress, and it is classic, beautiful, flawless Chanel. I'm not totally loving her hair and her shoes - a bit clunky perhaps - but I'm loving everything about January Jones in brand new Carolina Herrera on the same carpet.

All this Chanel talk has got me lusting after vintage Chanel suits. Suits or gowns, what a pity I can't afford either. Knock off anyone?

Chanel, Chanel ...

Apologies for my complete and total absence this week. I've been busy travelling around the countryside with Di Morrissey (currently the number 1 bestselling author in the country, woo hoo!), and have barely had time to breathe, let alone blog.
My friend Jane, before she scooted over to New York for a holiday, lucky lady, gave me a copy of Justine Picardie's gorgeous new biography of Coco Chanel. After a slew of films and other books, you'd think everything that could be said about Ms Chanel would've been already, but critics are calling Picardie's tome the definitive biography. As I've been flying so much, I haven't got stuck into the lovely hard back yet, but I have looked at the gorgeous images, and I was particularly enamoured of this lovely lady - Marie-Helene Arnaud - who was one of Chanel's favourite models around the time she made her comeback after the war.

For even more Chanel love - and plenty of other designers and home dressmakers too - Charlotte Smith (the owner of the fabulous Darnell Collection) has just released her follow-up to Dreaming of Dior: Dreaming of Chanel. Grant Cowan again provides the beautiful illustrations and with the volume of vintage in Smith's collection, I doubt she'll ever run out of stories to tell. You can check out her blog here.

Both books are published by HarperCollins.

Dress of the Week: Chanel Couture

I haven't loved everything Lagerfeld has done for Chanel over the last couple of seasons, but when the man gets it right, by God does he get it right.
The ever gorgeous Keira Knightley - and the face of one of Chanel's perfumes - wore Chanel couture to the London premiere of Never Let Me Go. The details on this dress are utterly exquisite, and the well placed cut-outs and impeccable fit make the dress both beautiful and sexy.
I finally read Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go while I was in Fiji. Like most of Ishiguro's novels it has a quiet sadness that creeps up on you stealthily. He is a master of teasing out suppressed suffering and unrequited love.
I'm really looking forward to the movie now and I can't wait to see Carey Mulligan in the leading role.
And I always love seeing both Carey and Keira on the red-carpet.

A trip down memory lane for the Spring/Summer advertising campaigns

In our post post modern world it seems almost everything is derivative, but that doesn't mean that a homage done well can't fill with delight.

It is almost spooky how much model of the moment Karlie Kloss looks like Lauren Bacall in the Dior S/S 2010 ad campaign. I love the use of shadow and her perfectly coiffed hair. These pics also got me thinking of the other 2010 fashion campaigns I've spied that have tipped their hats to the past.

Super Claudia Schiffer channels Grace Kelly on the French Riviera - where she met her Prince, no less - in the latest Salvatore Ferragamo campaign.

And Karl Lagerfeld proves his mettle as a photographer as well as a designer having shot, in the streets of Buenos Aires, the latest Chanel campaign himself. If it wasn't for the brief length of the skirts and Claudia's long, long hair, this could be a romantic travel adventure in the 40s or 50s. I LOVE the first shot in the doorway (thanks Liana).

And is that Mrs Robinson or is it Carolyn Murphy getting cosy with young actor Nicholas Hoult? Lets presume the reason she is naked - apart from a wicked bouffant and a heavy lashing of black eye-liner - is because she's hoping to get lucky tonight.

This is the 2010 Tom Ford eye wear campaign and seriously, who would have thunk that the awkward little kid from About A Boy would grow up to be so darn beautiful?

And while it is a bit off topic, I feel compelled to tag this amazing post I read on Jezebel yesterday about a recent CFDA seminar on the health of fashion models. The comments by a number of the attendees are frightening, but hardly surprising. I am so happy to see 'mature' models like Claudia and Carolyn still successfully booking campaigns, but the reality is that there are thousands of girls in the industry who will never reach that stratosphere and who are forced into extreme actions to fit the modelling sample size. And unfortunately that sample size continues to shrink. In the 80s and 90s - when I first started hoarding Vogue - models were out of this world beautiful, but their weight resembled something that might be achievable for a small selection of genetically blessed adults. These days there is barely a genetically blessed child that could be that thin.

With the death of McQueen and the frightening thinnification of (mostly) teenage models, there is a lot to be sad about today. I think I need some happy time with one of my Marilyn or Audrey DVDs.

Frock of the Week: Haute Couture Heaven

I love Haute Couture week. The Chanel show was, typically, amazing. Here is my favourite frock.

Best Red-Carpet Vintage of the Noughties

Grazia, in their red-carpet collectors edition, calls 2001 the "back to vintage" year, saying Julia Roberts led the way in vintage Valentino when she collected her Best Actress Oscar for Erin Brockovich. And I've got to say, it was - and is - an amazing dress.

But Winona Ryder actually kicked off the predilection for vintage couture on the red-carpet the year before when she wore this sultry but chic Pauline Trigere at the 2000 Academy Awards.

Winona has long been a vintage fan and it has been a lovely trip down memory lane looking at her pretty face and petite figure working lots of hot frocks. The Dior dress below is another favourite. Remember when Winona was the be all and end all It girl? Let's hope her acting career can start to soar again soon the way she always soars in her dress.

Red-carpet style in the 1990's was all about simplicity and understated elegance. Think suits, slip dresses, halter-necks and jersey. But as Bronwyn Cosgrove says in her fantastic book Made for Each Other: Fashion and the Academy Awards (Bloomsbury) "vintage dresses and couture harking back to Hollywood's Golden Era became the mode adopted ... as the twentieth century gave way to the twenty-first." I've had a lot of fun selecting my favourites, of the vintage variety, from the last decade.

Jean Desses knocks my sock off and so do Renee, Jennifer and Marisa in their amazing vintage frocks. These are three of my all time faves.

Considering that Valentino Garavani's modus operandi has always been classic frocks that make women look beautiful, it is pretty unsurprising that when celebs choose vintage for the red-carpet, he is such a popular choice. Calista Flockhart was a definite favourite at the 2008 Oscars (just ignore the school formal hair), and Renee, Kim, Jennifer and Gwen are all flying the vintage flag with grace.

Chanel makes me happy. Vanessa, Michelle and Kyra all look divine and even though some bagged Kate Bosworth's multi-coloured, bedazzled sheath (picked out for her by Karl himself, as she was his Met Ball date), I think it is a brave and beautiful choice.

I know there are a lot of people out there who seriously covet Sienna's wardrobe, but I feel somewhat indifferent about her. However, I feel anything but indifferent about this jaw dropping sexy vintage Ungaro. Backless all the way, I say.

Vintage Dior was also been hugely popular in the noughties. Some thought Reese Witherspoon looked mumsy, but I can't think of anything lovelier to wear to accept Oscar than 1950's Dior.

Plus I can't think of enough superlatives to describe how much I love Marisa's frock.

And while, for me, the heady days of Kate Moss: Style Icon, are over, I consider this dress one of Kate's parting gifts. What a show-stopper.

Rachel Griffiths is a huge vintage fan. Mates with Cameron Silver from Decades, I think Rachel wears vintage on the red-carpet more than just about any other celeb. And she's Aussie. And I loved her in Six Feet Under. And she looks modern and chic in a 1950's cocktail dress, proving that a beautiful & well-made dress can have many, many lives. Love her.

Following in the footsteps of Julia and Reese, Penelope proves that vintage is good luck. She wore this Balmain ballgown to collect her Supporting Actress Oscar last year.

Nicole's former stylist Rachel Zoe introduced her to the wonderful world of vintage, and now she hasn't looked back. I particularly like this vibrant Halston.

Kristin Davis is another vintage fan and snaps to her for wearing Guy Laroche to the SATC film premiere in 2008. She's as pretty as a picture.

So I know that Kelly Brook and Kate Moss are on footpaths rather than red-carpets, but when vintage party frocks are this influential, I need to be a bit flexible. I don't think any dedicated follower of fashion has forgotten that yellow dress in a hurry ... after all, it launched a hundred Kate Moss for Top Shop rip offs.

I wish desperately searching for more vintage Balenciaga on the red-carpet, so thank goodness that the iconic label has got a look in via model Hilary Rhoda.

(BTW I hate the over-use of the word iconic, so it is saying something that I use it here.)

And finally, representing for prints and their awesomeness when featured in evening-wear, is Emma Watson in Ossie Clark, Angie Harmon in Oscar de la Renta and Chloe Sevigny in Yves Saint Laurent.

Eight days into a new decade and I'm hoping fervently for a little more 'brave' on celebrity red-carpets. I'm thinking some of the more experimental and structured Christobal Balenciaga ballgowns and cocktail frocks. Or how about some Jacques Fath? Queens of Vintage just ran a story on Fath and a selection of gorgeous images appeared on My Vintage Vogue this week.

If you've made it to the end of this long, long post, I'd love to hear about your favourites. There were many more frocks to choose from.