Fashion Lists

EUROPE PREVIEWS SPRING 2009

Fashion Week didn't stop in NYC. It continued on in London, Milan, and then Paris. Stylelist has their top picks for the spring 2009 looks at European Fashion Week here.

Madge Flash

MATERIAL GIRL TO SHOW HER GOODS

For the first time in her expansive career, Madonna will exhibit over 300 personal items next year. Naturally, most of the items will include clothing, most notably the pink Marylin dress she wore in the Material Girl video and dresses she wore in Evita. The exhibition, which will be called "Simply Madonna: Materials Of The Girl" will be held between Feb-March of next year at London's Old Truman Brewery.

Pass the Ketchup Please!

THOM YORKE ROCKS RED PANTS

What was I just saying about people being fashionably fearless in London? On Wednesday, June 25, we were lucky enough to catch our fave band, Radiohead play at Victoria Park. In a bold move, Thom Yorke rocked out in a pair of ketchup-colored skinny jeans. Who likes ketchup with their hot dogs? We do!

London Loves

ROYAL FASHION WHORES

Leave it to London to make me feel like a big fat fashion zero. I would never be caught dead wearing a fanny pack, a visor, or tivas, but I always feel so under-dressed and touristy when I'm there. The people of London are fearless when it comes to style. They're not afraid to pair things that you would never think of putting together and they always make it work. I saw women in their sixties wearing mini skirts and looking good, women wearing hounds tooth paired with polka dots, girlies wearing black tights and white shoes. Anyway, you get the picture.

No matter what they have on, they always look so effortless and stylish, like they just stepped out of Nylon Magazine or even Vogue. And that goes for the lads as well. While they're not overly metrosexual , I never saw sweat shirts or trucker hats.

Here's a look at the fabulous unsuspecting victims of my sneaky camera (CCTV anyone?) while tooling around the lovely royal city.

The Ladies

The Lads

The Hair

We're Away on Vacay

PLEASE STANDBY
While I gather all the latest fashion dish in London.
Cheers!

Yes Please!

BUTTERED UP

I just found out about a nail salon called Butter London. They make nail polish in fun shades and are known for having salons in airports and not using any toxins in their products. Lucky for me, they've just opened one up in Dulles Airport in D.C.

The website is gorgeous (love the crow in the crown!), but I can't figure out if they're actually a British company and have salons IN London. The founder is from Seattle and most of the salons are in Washington. In any case, this is the description of Butter London from the site:

butter LONDON is famous for two things: Our rapidly growing chain of airport nail salons, and our stunning, non-toxic product line. Our stores are like no nail salon you could ever imagine, with huge black chandeliers, nail stations hand-made by carpenters, and privately commissioned wallpaper from a famous British company. You might expect to pay a fortune for a treatment at one of our stores, but our manicures are $20, and pedicures only $40!

Stuff I Want

CHASING PAPERCHASE

My favorite stationary company has some very cute bags available like this colorful bowling bag that I'm absolutely in love with. I'm excited to actually shop in a Paperchase store when I'm in London next month. Perhaps I'll grab this bag if it's still available (and they don't have it at Borders where some Paperchase products are available).

Hump Day Style Icon

JULIE CHRISTIE

Julie Christie made Omar Sharif swoon in Dr. Zhivago and had her hair done by Warren Betty (who she became romantically involved with ) in Shampoo. Born in 1941, the British beauty (originally born in India) was a style chameleon.

She has embodied the blonde bomb shell, but was just as convincingly a brunette and redhead. She has sported every hairstyle imaginable from curls and ironed-straight tresses to bouffants and short cropped hair. It's hard not to imagine her without the Cossack hat she wore in Dr. Zhivago or as a sun-kissed glamour puss.

In the 60s, she embraced the swinging-London trends and was one of the first celebrities to bring the mini skirt into the limelight. French director François Truffaut, who directed her in Fahrenheit 451 in 1966 has said "Julie's was the first miniskirt I laid eyes on. It wasn't common at the time. I thought she was a bit crazy... In fact, she was merely ahead of the times."

Despite her influence on fashion, she has been a reluctant style icon, saying that her beautiful face has gotten in the way of more important things (she temporarily retired from Hollywood in the 70s to live on a farm in Wales and got involved in political activism). Surprisingly, she was reportedly very nervous and awkward in person and was never happy with her looks. Now looking back she has said, "I think I'm probably so vain it's quite impossible. But I look back now and I see photos and I think, "Coo! Phwoar!" And I think, wouldn't it have been nice to have had that knowledge when you were walking into a room?"

Now 66 years old, Julie has returned to acting, most recently winning a Golden Globe for Away from Her. She's still as gorgeous and stylish as ever, challenging what it means to look like a "senior citizen."

Hump Day Fashion Icon

TWIGGY: HIGH FASHION SUPERHERO!

This week's Hump Day Fashion Icon is inspired by a dream I had a couple nights ago. In my dream, I was looking in the mirror over my vanity. As I frosted the rims of my eyes in thick black eyeliner and drew on big bottom lashes, I realized I was looking back at Twiggy.

No surprise that I would dream of seeing Twiggy as she's one of my all-time favorite fashion icons. After being discovered by an agent at sixteen, the skinny girl born in London was advised to change her name from Lesley Hornby to her childhood nickname, "Twiggy."

Soon after, she became one of the first "supermodels" and the "Face of '66" in Britain. Her mod look was heavily inspired by Mary Quaint and "swinging London." Now 59 years old, the former supermodel has been a guest judge on America's Next Top Model and proves she's still got style and glamour to boot.

She was never one to toot her own horn, however. Looking back she says, "At sixteen, I was funny, skinny little thing, all eyelashes and legs. And then, suddenly people told me it was gorgeous. I thought they had gone mad." Not mad at all, actually. Tall, androgynous, with big doe eyes and a kicking bob, Twiggy is a fashion superhero!

GOODBYE NEW YORK, HELLO LONDON

NY Fashion Week ended last week and Sunday marked the beginning of London Fashion Week. So far, designers including Ben de Lisi, John Rocha, PPQ, and Jaegar London have shown their Fall 2008 collections. Up until now, most of the lines have been very understated and monochromatic Those with the most charm like PPQ, Emma Cook, and John Rocha have been my favorites.

John Rocha

PPQ

Emma Cook

To see all the collections, click here.

(all photos taken from londonfashionweek.co.uk)

YOU LOOK SMASHING, LUV

London's Fashion Week kicks off On February 10. Designers will be showcasing their Autumn/Winter 2008 collections. Here's a blurb about it from the official London Fashion Week website. . .

London Fashion Week is a creative hub with new stars emerging every season.

Each season, designers unveil their collections to a professional audience of press and buyers who pay visit to the capital from the UK and cities across the globe. These talents are housed at the specially constructed tents at the Natural History Museum and at inspiring venues across London.