I was flipping through some magazines the other day and I got so bored seeing the same look on the same and the same celebrities, it was like watching “star wars: attack of the clones” and it wasn’t even one of the good parts, in the name of Dior. Same weight, same height, same lines, all hidden behind oversized sunglasses. (I like big sunglasses, but as long as they hide your eyes and not your chin). Likely, not all celebrities dress from the same closet, following directions from the it-super-guru-stylist of the year. Take Cate Blanchett for instance. She has elegance, presence, she simply radiates feminine power! George Clooney, (…. daydreaming….),  masculine, strong, the definition of cool, who can forget his cover  smiling and rubbing his eye!

 

 

Style is showing your personality not hiding it behind huge handbags.

Many compare the two of them to Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant correspondingly. I see the resemblance and if a remake of the “Bringing Up Baby”, my favourite Grant-Hepburn movie was made with these two, I’d watch it gladly

Diana Vreeland started her career in fashion magazines with her column “why don’t you?” in Harper’s Bazaar. In 1962 she works in Vogue in a red office. Her exotic editorials in places like Israel and North Africa are legendary, but not as legendary as her own style ans her obsession with the colour red.

I’ve been reading her autobiography: D.V. and I find her writing so unique and captivating. The book is perhaps not so well written. The way she wrote it is more like she was talking to a friend, more eager to pass on her enthusiasm on colours and fashion, rather to tell her own story. Her text is full of exaggerations. A journalist once asked her: “Is this fiction or facts?” and she replied “It’s faction!”

keys of her style : Red lipstick, black hair, cashmere sweaters, and passion about colours

When accessorizing always take off the last thing you put on.

                                                                       CoCo Chanel

The fabric along with the seams is what defines an article of clothing. It’s structure, it’s feel, it’s fit and it’s style. Cashmere jumpers, no way you can go wrong with them! So fine, soft, light and warm at the same time. You want to feel feminine, ethereal, ready to flow into the dancefloor? Then you need a silk dress. Everyday, humble, innocent cotton can offer you a sense of freedom like no other, let your skin breath already!

So the fabric of your clothings must always be on your mind when you shop. But what if you just can’t figure it out? Sometimes the labels on the clothes are not just made in China, they are written in Chinese too!

So before you hit the stores do a little homework here :

http://www.mysteryfabric.com/

http://phrontistery.info/fabric.html

http://www.answers.com/topic/fabric-cloth-material-textile

So you wake up, run to work and grab your coffee to go. Instant coffee or instant fun? Style up your coffee cup with imaginative cup sleeves, like the ones you can find on cupcouture.com.

These cupcoats are also a great gift idea for friends and co-workers.

So here is my shopping list for this winter (up to now that is, you never know when you’ll fall in love next )

black ankle boots

grey leather bag

v-sweater with rhombs

red coat

black cashmere  jumper

beige closed-toe slip-ons

violet velvet blazer

wool pants

wool dress

Am I forgetting  something?

I was checking out some amazing Proenza Schouler dresses, which  I absolutely cannot afford right now over at yoox.com.

 These drapes are right on the money. Clothes with movement are so mesmerizing.

I hear fringes make a comeback this winter, and they are just what a girl needs to put her in the mood for some dancing.

Fashion is about expressing yourself, about thinking outside the conventions and the humdrum routine of everyday life.

To have a personal style one must not fear to raise his own voice, when everyone else is humming the same tune.

The key to the perfect closet is the deep knowledge of yourself. What serves best my lifestyle? What is my body like? What are my strengths and weaknesses? These are the riddles one has to solve in order to wear his clothes and not the reverse.

Don’t buy clothes for a stranger buy them for you. Bear in mind your silhouette and your proportions. Pay attention to the details, like the quality of the fabrics and where the seams go. They define the fit and the fit makes the clothes work for you.

Dress your best self and let the fabrics, the colours and the designs serve your own exquisite style.

Amalia