Love Gwen

I'm sorry, but I have a question. Have men officially gone CRAZY? Bad enough that Tiger Woods, Jesse James, Ashley Cole and the rest of the idiots are humping anything that moves (don't care about them anyway) but the allegations that Gavin Rossdale cheated on Gwen Stefani are too much! Who in their right mind would cheat on GWEN STEFANI???????? She's so beautiful and is my style idol.  Friends who know me well, still remember my obsession with Love Angel Music Baby and her "What you waitin for?" video.  She rocked Galliano couture in an Alice in Wonderland themed video before Tim Burton even knew what it was probably. Absolutely NO ONE works red lipstick and leopard print better than her. I just decided to post some of her old photos. Love her. Adore her.

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Trash The Dress!

I can't believe I did not hear about the Trash The Dress movement before!  I found out about it through a fashion photographer that I have met the other day, and after looking it up I came up with the conclusion that this is one of the most beautiful things that I have seen in a very very long time, both intellectually and aesthetically.  The idea behind it, is that straight after the wedding ceremony, the bride goes and completely destroys, kills and trashes her wedding dress by ripping it, rolling in mud, jumping in water etc.  It's meant to symbolise the bride's commitment to her marriage because it is as if she is saying that she has no intention of ever getting married again or wearing the wedding dress.  As a person, I struggle to throw away my dirty, smelly slippers because I get so easily attached to them, so the idea of destroying the most important and (possibly) the most expensive dress that you will ever have is horrifying, to say the least.  But then again, if you think about it, what's the point of keeping it nicely wrapped up in your closet, only for it to be eaten by moths?  It's not like you can ever wear it again.. Plus it's so refreshing to see a different kind of photography besides the "this-is-me-and-my-husband-and-we-are-so-happy-and-the-sky-is-blue-and-we-have-a-palm-tree-behind-us" scenario.  As I have mentioned before, destruction can sometimes elevate and make something ideal.  This is a fashion version of the Hara-Kiri (Japanese ceremonial suicide carried out by the Samurai warriors in order to die honourably rather than with the help of an enemy) don't you think? Better to destroy it yourself and have amazing photographs to remember it by, rather than risk it getting lost, stolen, eaten or reminding you how much slimmer you were back in the day hehe.  I'm certainly not the "Omg, I can't wait to get married" kind of girl, but this is mind-blowing and maybe I would even consider doing this myself one day (Sorry Elie Saab/Vera Wang).

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Victoria Beckham for Vogue Germany

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VIP Preview at Salon Contemporary

Johan Andersson, 2009, "Philippa"

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, the crowd on the sidewalk of Westbourne Grove is there for the private view of Salon Contemporary Gallery. On Wednesday, I went to see the opening of the "Best of the UK" which is an exhibition of 7 fine art graduates, picked out after a tough competition by the Salon Contemporary. Something tells me that when you see a woman dressed in a green monster costume lovingly massaging the temples of any random volunteer in the display window, you know that you are in for a treat.  One of Johan Andersson's portraits was the first thing I lay my eyes on and though, "crap, someone spilled green and red paint on it, uh-ohhhhh, I hope they got an insurance..."  But as it turned out, the colorful smudges were all part of the paintings. Personally, I thought the quality of the light, shadow and detailing were beautiful and weirdly enough, the imperfections made the paintings more perfect.  As the artist told me, it's the mistakes that are at times more important that the final product.  Art pieces (or anything else in life) that you consider to be a failure are the ones that you go back to and learn from because sometimes you need to allow a bit of destruction into your life. 

Johan Andersson, 2009, "Courage"

Johan Andersson, 2009, "Untitled"

In fact, I think this theme was also present in Ben Fielding's "Procrastination Table" which was a table with piano hammers and a saw handle attached to it.  It's pretty difficult to explain, but when u pull the saw handle, the hammers start moving and give the impression of cutting into the table.  When I asked the artist about the idea behind it, the reply was simple: he wanted to let everybody experience the pleasure of destroying a table. 

Ben Fielding, 2009, "Procrastination Table"

 There were two pieces that provoked the most conversation between me and other lovely guests, one of them being the playful "Flying Machine" by David Lisser.  It is an antique sewing machine with bird's wings attached to the sides and if you turned the wheel to try and make a stitch, the machine would suddenly come to life and attempt to fly away (bastard!). The point is, darlings, technology won't save us and no matter how many wings or feathers we attach to yourselves, it will probably be some stupid volcano that will finish us off.  As fascinating as the flying machine was, I felt uneasy about those wings (I had a pet parrot once) and I was discussing how hypocritical it was of me to feel this way the moment i eat meat, wear leather, suede and fur but that's an entirely different discussion. 

David Lisser, 2009, "Flying Machine"

 The piece that I just couldn't figure out though, was called (get ready) : "The time I played on pirate territory I met a Somali fisherman who told me one cannot expect to draw borders in the water for oil or money or fish" by Louise Thomas. No idea what it means. I spent a good 30 minutes trying to figure out and couldn't. Please leave a comment if you get any ideas.

Louise Thomas, 2009, "The time I played on pirate territory I met a Somali fisherman who told me one cannot expect to draw borders in the water for oil or money or fish"

If you're into contemporary art, then this exhibition is definitely for you and keep in mind that I've only included my favorite pieces, there's loads more to see!  The bottom line is that when you're in a building full of food for thought, a glass of chilled wine, and lovely people who speak the same language as you (and I don't mean English), what else do you need and isn't that the whole point of art altogether? Thank you Salon Contemporary for a lovely night, and oh, that Lady Gaga will be mine one day!!!!!

Miaw.

Couture Coke

Karl Laggerfield has designed the new Coca-Cola Light bottle, which according to him, should be made out of alluminium instead of glass, say "Light" in bright pink, bear his autograph and of course his world famous silhouette! He was in charge of the advertising campaign which features Coco Rocha and Baptiste Giacobini.  I love it!  The best design since Matthew Williamson!

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Sarah Jessica Parker by Mario Testino

These beautiful photographs are by Mario Testino for May issue of US edition of Vogue.

Chanel

Dior Haute Couture Hat

Giambattista Valli bolero and dress, Suzanne Couture Millinery Hat

Dior Haute Couture

Stella McCartney Dress

Stella's clothes are always so beautiful.  No wonder this printed satin ruffle dress as modelled by Natalia Vodianova is currently sold out.  If you look closer, you will see that it's actually a pink camouflage print.  I love the huge frilly shoulder detail, don't you?

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New passion for...teacups?

Versace

Hermes

I don't know what's happening to me.  It may be going through some sort of mid-young-adulthood crisis, but recently I've developed a love for teacups.  I have never payed any attention to any sort of ceramics, especially crockery but here I am dedicating a whole post to it.  It all started after I saw an Hermes cup  in a magazine.  It's mosaic-like design exhales this aura of something precious, luxurious and deeply-rooted in antiquity like the Roman mosaics.  Straight after that came the thought of what I would do to someone if they ever came over for tea and broke my Hermes cup.  Crap, I don't even want to think about such a tragedy!  Same goes for the Versace teacups that I've been familiar with for years.  Anyway, I was in Portobello Market the other day, and whilst being persuaded to buy a 40's mink fur collar (complete with a head and eyes) and being given evil looks by owners of an antique furniture shop because I was interrogating them too much about a 5000 pound antique french sofa, i came across a stall with the most beautiful antique china.  Stupid me, didn't take a picture but the closest thing to those antique teacups is a make called Weloveokaoru.  The designer is a Central Saint Martin's alumni and makes china according to the traditional British methods (with a twist).  They come in white, beige and black and have amazing detailing such as 22 carat gold plated or platinum handles and rims.  Basically the ultimate couture cup!  The designer also does cups with big letters on them which is cute.

Welovekaoru

Welovekaoru

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The new Sex and the City 2 trailer!!!!!!!!

Click on the link below to see it!! Reveals loads of clues about the plot and omg Aidan is in it!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsZEcn-yZ_Y

Think Pink!

 I think no one can argue that Chanel is hugely influential when it comes to our beauty choices, though most of us don't even realize it.  Chanel nail varnishes is the top choice for all fashionistas around the world, because what else can give you a designer update at the cost of about 16 pounds?  Each season, the nail colours that the brand launches are then imitated by the less top-notch beauty brands.  Just think of the midnight blue colour from a few seasons ago that invaded the hands of any groomed girl, or the green minty colour, as spotted on Alexa Chung and company?  Then came the grey-ish mink colour and now it's time to introduce the sweet candy floss shades from the Les Pop-Ups collection.  There's also the cutest shade of lipstick that I'm in love with.

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If you wanna ride, you ride a....EA bike!

I love West London, the best area in the whole wide world! Look what I  found on my way home last night.  Who said that riding bikes is geeky? I can think of a few guys who would probably trade in their cars for this beauty.

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Couture Technology

Hello Kitty headphones by Victoria Couture

Paul Smith headphones (limited edition of 500)

Philips for Swarovski headphones are a classic (but tend to fall out of your ears)

Vertu Bluetooth (apparently state of the art black resin and stainless steel). Can even remember the shape of your ear..

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Nails Gone Wild

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My friend's cool nails.  The best nail specialists live in Cyprus!

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If you are below the age of 10, look away NOW

Thank God I am not eight anymore. Otherwise I would have had a nervous breakdown after visiting the Wonder Room in Selfridges in London. Since the 16th of March until the 28th, there was an exhibition of different Barbies open to the public but you couldn't actually buy them (muahahah in your face lil brats!). The images above are the collaboration of Chrome Hearts and Barbie. The dolls are 39 inches and are wearing identical to the real-life original pieces by Chrome Hearts. The amount of detailing on the clothes is craaaazy! The hairstyles were designed by Oribe, the celebrity hair stylist. The exhibition will visit Tokyo, Las Vegas, Miami, Los Angeles and New York. The Barbies below are also a sample collection of black dolls wearing Rocawear clothes. The Ken is hot. There was also the Diana Ross Barbie, Ghana Barbie and the very inappropriate (I think), independent businesswoman Barbie.

Miaw.