allow me

to introduce you to my new style persona.  the slightly reclusive, distantly european royal, glamourous starlet.  i wander 'round my estate all day, dressed to perfection in the event that anything spectacular might happen at any given moment.  these are the clothes i will be wearing.  this is what Elie Saab's couture collection did to me.  my initial reaction was just being knocked breathless at the sheer loveliness of it all.  but it's impossible (at least for yours truly) not to begin forming very specific and detailed fantasies when things are this beautiful.  so if you will pardon me, i must get back to my little dream world...

 photos:  GoRunway.com

Chanel, si belle!

by nature, couture collections are generally an amusement park ride of imagination.  a trip inside our female collective "i want to be her" fantasies, brought to life on a runway.  not usually the sort of clothing you immediately relate to in a "i could totally wear that to lunch" sort of way.  this Chanel presentation teetered on the tightrope of being fantastic AND wearable.  there were loads of signature styles.  classic tweed jackets mixed up with unexpected bottom pieces like a sequined skinny pant.  OUI.   beautiful, fluid fabrics layered in longer, softer looks.  a number of early sixties shaped coats and shift dresses with gorge detailing that separate the sublime from the mundane.  LOVE.  lots of eclectic, fun, modern layering.  some of which was a bit "not sure which pieces to go with, so i will go with all of them" and some of which was spot on perfect Chanel chic.  most of my favorite couture shows end with me deeply entrenched in a new character fantasy which will wind its way into wearable pieces in my closet.  this show has me deeply entrenched in the desire to immediately win the lottery so that i can run to Paris and stock up on closet-fulls of Chanel.

when old is new, a la Dior

i love a good dose of old fashioned glamour.  not that there is anything wrong with modernity, i do love to see what is new and upcoming.  but sometimes a girl likes to feel like a girl.  the Dior couture show in Paris was all that with a cherry on top.  at times theatrical, always pure lady-like glamour.  a number of  looks were very reminiscent of the New Look of Dior, nipped waists and flared skirts.  LOVELY. all of the looks were drop dead CHIC.  the fabrics, the colors, the silhouettes, all if it just oozes the sophistication of  ladies in Paris in days gone by.   here's to dressing up and here's to ladies looking like ladies.  let us all join in a chorus of "oui!"

all photos GoRunway.com