Japanese video game character or .... Madonna?

Madonna's new advert for Louis Vuitton (by Marc Jacobs) is about to hit the printed page. Some shots of the campaign are above.

Now forgive me for casting a critical eye over the whole affair but seriously? Are we supposed to be seduced by these pictures of a woman who resembles nothing so much as a Japanese virtual sweetie or a video game character?

That's just plain weird. Air brushed to within a whisker of existence. To me that's not selling a bag. That's an invitation to have people go "OH MY GOD!"

Twiggy - you are so lovely!

The UK National Portrait Gallery is to publish a new large photographic book of the original super model, Twiggy.

To coincide with Twiggy's 60th birthday there's also a big exhibition of Twiggy pictures to be shown at the same time.

The photos of Ms Twig are taken by super star photographers Cecil Beaton, Bert Stern, Steven Meisel and Annie Liebovitz.

I love Twiggs! She was so nice on America's Next Top Model, so great in the 1960s (that cor-blimey voice and those knobbly knees), and I love the adverts for Marks and Sparks which feature her. And she is so lovely now.

Happy Birthday our Twiggy! Still a supermodel at age 60.

Coco avant Chanel

I saw Coco Avant Chanel over the weekend and was terribly terribly disappointed. the direction was so conventional and so leaden, and the story uninspiringly told.

There were many wonderful things about Coco: she was in many ways a plain woman who created a true style for herself and turned herself into a great icon, she had an eye for the unusual. Her distrust and dislike for the idle moneyed classes made her long for a more structured and less frou-frou style. She created iconic costumes and pieces. She constantly reinvented herself. She was enigmatic and told fabulously large lies. She was a one of a kind.

Oh dear, the film is so pedestrian I could have wept tears of frustration!

If you want to find out about Coco I suggest that you grab a beautifully large coffee table book and luxuriate in the images of all the style she created.

Have you seen it? What did you think?

Thinking About Michael

The following article from Andrew Sullivan at the atlantic online, about Michael Jackson really says it all. In the rush to lionise him let us not forget the tragedy of his life that led to very deep flaws.

There are two things to say about him. He was a musical genius; and he was an abused child. By abuse, I do not mean sexual abuse; I mean he was used brutally and callously for money, and clearly imprisoned by a tyrannical father. He had no real childhood and spent much of his later life struggling to get one. He was spiritually and psychologically raped at a very early age - and never recovered.

Watching him change his race, his age, and almost his gender, you saw a tortured soul seeking what the rest of us take for granted: a normal life.

But he had no compass to find one; no real friends to support and advise him; and money and fame imprisoned him in the delusions of narcissism and self-indulgence. Of course, he bears responsibility for his bizarre life. But the damage done to him by his own family and then by all those motivated more by money and power than by faith and love was irreparable in the end. He died a while ago. He remained for so long a walking human shell.

I loved his music. His young voice was almost a miracle, his poise in retrospect eery, his joy, tempered by pain, often unbearably uplifting. He made the greatest music video of all time; and he made some of the greatest records of all time. He was everything our culture worships; and yet he was obviously desperately unhappy, tortured, afraid and alone.

I grieve for him; but I also grieve for the culture that created and destroyed him. That culture is ours' and it is a lethal and brutal one: with fame and celebrity as its core values, with money as its sole motive, it chewed this child up and spat him out.

I hope he has the peace now he never had in his life. And I pray that such genius will not be so abused again.

Shame on you l'Oreal - because you are not worth it.

L’Oréal, the French cosmetics giant, has been found guilty of racial discrimination in a French court.

The court proved that L'Oreal deliberately sought all-white sales teams to sell it's Fructis Style shampoo (in the Garnier range). for considering black, Arab and Asian women unworthy of selling its shampoo.

Memos and internal notes were admitted in court which proved that L'Oreal only wanted to employ "white French people" whose mother and fathers were white and French.

What a blow to the image of the world’s biggest cosmetics group! And aren't we glad we found out about it.

Remember last year when Beyonce Knowles did a big L'Oreal campaign and the company were accused of photo shopping her skin to make it look lighter (see picture above)? They rubbished the suggestions then, but looks to me like this company may have some serious issues with race.

Victoria's make under (thank god!)

Has anyone noticed that Victoria Beckham seems to have been taking a few Audrey Hepburn pills and has started being a little more on the stylish side recently?

Now, to be honest, I don't think Victoria has much of a chance of ever reaching the heights of Audrey or Jacqueline Kennedy or even Kate Moss, but she seems to have had her boobs reduced, stepped out of the tanning booth, lengthened a few hems, committed to a decent hair cut and basically classed up her act.

For which we should all be most thankful. Seriously. Look at the before and after pics (above). If I have to read my trashy magazines and see Mrs Beckham at least I am no longer blinded, because honestly, when she was channeling Cher and Pamela Anderson she just never got it right.

Style it down Victoria, the make under is fabulous!

Possibly the world's worst haircut?

Leaving aside the terrible exploitation that Kate Gosselin has put her children through, can I just say, that I do believe that she may be in possession of the world's worst haircut.

What can she be thinking????

Out fake spot!

I have just been reading about a huge haul in Sydney, Australia of over half a million dollars worth of fake designer clothes and accessories. The copies were of including Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Tiffany among others.

I don't know about you but fake just doesn't cut it with me. I mean, I am hardly going to spend $1000 every year for a new 'it' bag but I don't want to spend $25 on a knock off either.

I know there are some fabulous knockoffs in a higher price range - a friend bought a really really good red fake Chloe bag in leather, with lining and expensive looking trimmings that cost her $125. But she said it felt tawdry and she felt like a tart when she carried it - so she hardly ever used it.

What is the psychology behind this do you think? Why can't we have a $125 bag that pretends its more expensive and feel happy? Are we really snobs, or do we just crave authenticity?

Size Zero?

The size zero model controversy has been firing up this month after British Vogue editor batted the blame for the craze away from her door back at the designers. She claims samples sent for fashion shoots have become so small that even the skinniest models can't fit into the clothes.

So really really skinny girls get hired, we see the pictures and if we are gullible we think that a body that looks like it is wasting away from a terminal disease is actually beautiful.

Models also agree that getting jobs is getting harder because you have to be minute to get a gig. A friend of mine - a very successful model in NYC - has been on a permanent diet for the past 2 years because the current demand is for her to look like a stick. Truly. She is all jutting bones and looks like a gust of wind will blow her away. But that's what designers are demanding.

“The problem lies at the heart of the catwalk modeling industry, which traditionally demands a girl of a very specific shape and proportion. Only about 10-12% of working models have the right look for this type of modeling, and of these 85% are either eastern European or Brazilian. Nobody in this world is perfect. Who needs this kind of pressure?” Sarah Doukas, chief executive of Storm Management recently told The Guardian online.

I resent all of this. Truly I do. If the designers made clothes that were a size two, then bigger models would be hired. Can someone explain to me why they have a problem with size two? Or even size four?

What do you think?

Picture this: Irina!

It's super model Irina Lazareanu's 27th birthday today! Happy birthday girl friend. (Also it means your career is nearly over, better start looking at the job ads).

I love this model because she is so fiercely unconventional looking. Someone spotted it obviously, because you see her on the runway and it's poetry.

Irina features in a new film about the modeling world called PICTURE ME which follows one models rise into the supermodeling stratosphere. I haven't seen it yet, but you know me - an absolute sucker for documentaries about fashion. It apparently is quite revealing - and not in a kind way - about the predatory nature of the fashion world.

Ah! the sweet smell of soap

I really don't like to use this blog to plug anything...... but recently a friend bought me the most delicious soap I have EVER EVER used and there's a fabulous story behind it worth sharing.

Arghand soap can be bought in the US but is made in Afghanistan and is being made as substitute industry for poppy farming. Make no mistake - this soap isn't some poor, welfare, charity soap, it is beautifully luxurious with a wonderful lather and a variety of perfumes that last for ages. Apricot sweet almond, cumin and anise. Pomegranate, coconut, pistachio, rose ....... wonderful! The soaps are made to resemble pebbles.

The story behind Arghand is so inspiring that I had to post all about it on my blog. Find the website here. When I was looking up Arghand I came upon this article written by the founder of the enterprise. It is a fascinating look into making the soap business work. I tell you if you don't want to buy some soap after reading this article you have ice in your veins.

I have always always loved soap, and now I love Arghand soap.

Is SJP boring?

I have this sneaking suspicion that style maven Sarah Jessica Parker is actually very boring. And be boring is kind of unforgivable really.

I loved her as Carrie Bradshaw (as consumerist and self absorbed as she was) and I adored Sex and City (except for the movie which was awful) ..... but every time I see her interviewed she just sends me to sleep.

Now don't get me wrong. I don't think she is being private and protective and not too giving. I also don't think she is dumb, or stupid. But every time I see her speak I have to get a blanket and cushion and lay myself out for a snooze.

She is wonderful to look at - that classic jolie laide that I adore but what else is in there? It seems there isn't.

Any thoughts?

Audrey Hepburn Speaks Words of Beauty

I was very taken by the new Audrey Hepburn photos released this week (see below). It reminded me of one of my favorite quotes of all time, which in fact comes from Audrey.

“For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.”

So I looked for other words of beauty from Audrey and these are the best ones I found :

On failed love : “Your heart just breaks, that's all. But you can't judge, or point fingers. You just have to be lucky enough to find someone who appreciates you.”

On friendship : “People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.”

On life : It's that wonderful old-fashioned idea that others come first and you come second. This was the whole ethic by which I was brought up. Others matter more than you do, so 'don't fuss, dear; get on with it.'

Audrey - at her rarest

Please see below four very rare photos of Audrey Hepburn that have just been released.

Audrey, oh Audrey!

This week a rare German stamp of her with a long cigarette holder was sold at auction for $50,000. The stamp, part of a celebrity series from 2001 was never released as Sean Ferrer, Audrey's son objected to the photo depicting and glamorizing smoking.

Seems we still cannot get enough of Audrey.

Audrey.

Heidi, ready for cooking

I love Heidi Klum. She is stylish and seems like a lovely person. But yesterday she looked like she was ready to put her bun in the oven in this roasting foil dress by Michael Kors.

Seriously, I felt like pouring olive oil over her. (Love you Heidi).

Imelda, you are shameful

Imelda Marcos has just had over 300 million dollars worth of jewellery returned to her from the Philippines courts. Not because she actually deserves the jewels but because they had no legal ability to keep them.

The Marcos family are alleged to have stolen over 10 billion dollars from the Philippines people.

Now you know I am all for style. I think I can safely say you love style too. But when you are so deluded that you actually say "Filipinos want beauty. I have to look beautiful so that the poor Filipinos will have a star to look at from their slums" you absolutely, unequivocally, without debate, have no style.

Anna Wintour on The September Issue

Obsessed by Anna

Does it seem that my blog has become a little Anna Wintour obsessed lately?

I vehemently disagree with Anna Wintour about wearing fur. But then I am a vegetarian and I don't believe people should kill animals for food. It doesn't mean that I cannot live side by side with them and admire and respect them. And boy do I respect Anna.

She has been editor at Vogue for 20 years - an outstanding achievement. And although many other glossies outsell Vogue (yes, it's true!) there's nothing as serious, elegant or essential as buying it, reading it or better still being in Vogue.

I saw a documentary on Anna about 10 years ago and I so admired her style. Always prompt, always on time, always gracious, turns up when she's supposed to, leaves discreetly (the documentary showed her leaving via a kitchen side door to avoid attention), and a work ethic that makes me pale.

And look at her! She's natural. Her teeth are dodgy and British and her face seems never to have seen a botox injection. Oh Anna, gotta love that.

So I am very excited about the new film, "The September Issue". The director says that once Anna was board, she was impeccably professional and accommodating. Apparently Vogue's creative director, Grace Coddington was not so gracious about being filmed and the best scenes are when Ms. Coddington has creative summits with Ms Wintour and speaks her mind. (Go Gracie!).

I LOVED The Devil Wears Prada, because I LOVED Miranda Priestly (though I would have emptied the contents of one of her huge bags all over her head and lasted less than a day as her assistant).

Can't wait to see The September Issue.

Miss Fleur Cowles - a true classic.

There's nothing more chic than having Cary Grant as best man at you wedding - and that's exactly what Fleur Cowles did. She was style personified, in a way we just don't see anymore.

She always wore well-tailored suits, loved large dark-rimmed glasses and an air of mystique. Her signature were large cocktail rings and fresh roses.

In the great traditions of reinvention Ms Cowles was an absolute artiste. She was named Florence Freidman when she was born. Her birth records said 1908, Ms Cowles (or should we call her Flo?) said 1917.

She started as a copywriter in a department store then in advertising in Boston. By 1931 she was writing a daily fashion column in New York which was considered witty, amusing and irreverent.

She launched the fashion magazine Flair in 1950. It was the first of the new wave of magazines for women - featuring art, travel, ideas, fiction, discussion. It failed after a year - losing millions.

By 1953 she was back at the top again - attending the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth as an official US ambassador and doing good works for famine relief - traveling the world meeting the leaders of the times.

In 1996 Cowles wrote her memoirs - She Made Friends And Kept Them. The English Daily Telegraph said of the book, "names were not so much dropped as hurled in a barrage."

Ms Cowles was a new age woman before we could come to terms with what that meant. A gifted art historian, tireless charity worker, stylish woman and terrible gossip - what more could you want? Rest in peace Fleur.

The classic white shirt

My dear friends, you may recall me banging on in the past about "wardrobe classics" and how I am not a fan of all those things one is supposedly obliged to have (eg: classic beige trench and the leopard print shoe).

However, the same cannot be said for my love affair with the classic white button down. It is a wardrobe staple and throughout every look I have ever had, it always has been.

I am very much on the side of "the plainer the better". I don't like fancy add ons, frou-frou, dress ups and novelties added to my white shirt. I like it plain and timeless.

That being said, I will spend money on it. Not big bucks, but not bargain basement either. You need a generous and sensible fit, a good length (too cheap and they skimp on length, I find from bitter experience), and good quality cotton.

And I can wear it with pearls (inside the shirt or out), colored beads, jacket, cardigan, coat, waist coat, scarf. But most of all I like it plain, plain, plain.

What do you look for in your white shirt?

Anna tells Oprah - you're too fat!

Anna Wintour once told Oprah Winfrey that she was too fat to appear on the cover of Vogue and that she "had to drop a few pounds" before the photo shoot.

In un-aired segments of Wintour's recent interview on 60 Minutes, Ms Wintour admits to telling Oprah that she was too fat for Vogue.

She said :

“It was a very gentle suggestion. I went to Chicago to visit Oprah, and I suggested that it might be an idea that she lose a little bit of weight. I said simply that you might feel more comfortable. She was a trooper! She totally welcomed the idea, and she went on a very stringent diet. And it was one of our most successful covers ever.”

I doubt that it was a successful cover because Oprah was skinny. It was successful because it was Oprah. I am so glad that Oprah was happy and receptive to Wintour's suggestion. But you know, Oprah is Oprah and that's the reason we love her. I don't need her to be 100 pounds or 250 pounds, I just need her to be Oprah.

And you know I look at the cover and she looks kind of ....starved, and unhappy.

What do you think?

Jackie OH!

Yesterday we learned so much from Carine Roitfeld about how to have sex appeal.

Today, we reveal marriage advice from Jackie Kennedy Onassis as told to a group of advice young girls at a literary event held at Boston’s Kennedy Library.

And isn't it loaded?

‘I like to share what I’ve learned with all young women I meet, because I wished I’d have known it at your age — never marry, never mix your money,” she said.

Lacroix darling, Lacroix!

French fashion house Christian Lacroix was finally placed under administration this week after filing for bankruptcy protection last week. The global financial crisis hits again!

But Christian himself feels confident that his house will remain open and operating. He wrote a letter to his staff - "I don't know what tomorrow will be made of, if indeed there is a tomorrow, but I will do everything to ensure we remain a couture house 200 percent."

Christian was always one of those mega high end fashion brands that made luxury priced clothes that always looked highly disposable. I never bought any Lacroix but it always struck me as the kind of attire that you definitely could not wear season after season after season. It always was too quirky, too now, too in-your-face for sustainability.

Perhaps in these times, when people are prepared to fork out for luxury brands, the 'of the moment' feel of most Lacroix outfits just made them fall right off the shopping list?

Carine oh Carine!

I am reprinting here a Q and A by Carine Roitfeld done for the Guardian UK. J'adore Point 6!!!!!!

Lessons in Sex Appeal, by Carine Roitfeld.

1. Don't work too hard when you're young.
"It's like when you squeeze a lemon too hard, you run out of juice. Me, I have plenty of juice."

2. If you have figure flaws, move around a lot so people don't notice them.

"If you don't have perfect ankles, still you can move your legs in a certain way and look very sexy."

3. Don't do drugs or hit people.
"I don't want pictures with violence, I don't want drugs, I don't want horrible things like that."

4. Also, cigarettes are so last year.
"Me, I don't smoke. Smoking can be a beautiful gesture for a picture. But it's easy — it's too easy — to make a beautiful picture with a beautiful girl smoking a cigarette. And what is the picture saying, when you have a beautiful girl and she has a beautiful outfit and a beautiful handbag, and a cigarette? No. We have to find a new gesture, I think. Because smoking, it is not good for you. Or for your teeth."

5. Take your clothes off.

"I like to have something every month that is — how you say? — not politically correct. A little bit at the limit. Sex, nudity, a bit rock 'n' roll, a sense of humour. That is very French Vogue."

6. Draw style inspiration from ugly outfits you see in airports.
"Sometimes, when you go to airport and look at the people, you see the worst looks — but the worst looks can give you more ideas than the best looks."

7. Above all else, please the young people.
"When you get older, you have to stay a bit rock 'n' roll so that young people will still be interested in you. The way you move, the way you talk, maybe the way you have your hair in your face a little bit — this keeps you interesting."

How to wear red lipstick?

Yet again, concern about lead content in lipstick has hit the headlines, with the FDA outing several brands as being potentially toxic*.

I would love to be able to carry off red lippie but have never - NEVER been able to. All that advise about plum shades for pink skin and red shades for amber skin makes no sense with my coloring - NOTHING works.

Someone once said that the only time to really get away with wearing red lipstick is after the age of 70 - because you can get away with anything when you are old. I fear this means that people will think that you are a nutty old bag and titter behind their hands.

Anyone have great suggestions for a fool proof totally red lipstick?

*Worst offenders: - L’Oreal Colour Riche “True Red” lipstick (with a lead content of 0.65 parts per million) and Cover Girl’s Incredifull Lipcolor “Maximum Red” (0.56 p.p.m.). Price had nothing to do with lead levels: less expensive brands, like a $1.99 tube of Wet and Wild Mega Colors “Cherry Blossom,” contained no lead, whereas a $24 tube of Dior Addict “Positive Red” contained 0.21 p.p.m.

I am addicted to my Chuck Traynors .... but.....really?

Isabelle Mon Amour.............

Can you believe Isabelle Huppert? I was watching the coverage from Cannes, where Ms Huppert she was this years jury president and fell in love all over again with the stunning 55 year old actor who again proves that certain something about the French.

In an interview she was dressed in a plain white frock, face apparently void of make up except for a matt slash of lipstick and totally without pretense.

Isabelle has often been called the 'anti-star' - she ignored the call of Hollywood and has maintained a very French dedication to art house films and cinema. She is political, intellectual, stays up late talking, drinks wine, eats cheese and bread and sausage.

For that alone I love her. But look. The bone structure! The hair! The smile! The intelligence! The face covered with incredibly sexy freckles!

Isabelle - encroyable!

Apologies for short silence

I have been away from the blog - changing continents, clothes and attending to various non-blog activities. I am back! And happy to be here.

The September Issue

The much anticipated documentary about our the fashionista to end all fashionistas, Ms Anna Wintour has been much heralded. But the producers have kept it under very tight wraps. We all wonder why? There are rumors that people who have seen it have been forbidden to talk about it. It all sounds so terribly terribly Wintour!

I can't wait to see it! I am a sucker for fashion and movies about fashion. But so far there aren't even any trailers on youtube.

Ooooh the anticipation is building .... I'll keep you updated here.