Oscars 2011 Best Dress

Like every fashionista and stylist, I watched the red carpet for the 83rd Academy Awards and every single arrival with anticipation.  I decided not to make up my mind until I saw the pictures of the dresses again.  It was clear that the trend on the red carpet was divided into 2 camps.....bright colors, mainly red and the other camp the nude trend which shined about everyone else. 

My two favorites of the night, which out shone everyone else were Michelle Williams (which I thought deserved to win the Oscar to best actress for Blue Valentine) in Chanel Couture and Cate Blanchett in a lavender Givenchy couture .  Cate can do edgy like no one else, and while a lot of bloggers were not convinced, I thought there was no contest between these two ladies and the rest of the pack.

The other ladies that shone on the red carpet were as follows:

Mila Kunis wearing an stunning lavander Elie Saab dress with a plunging neckline, but to me it felt really femenine and ethereal and she pulled it off beautifully.

Hailee Steinfeld yet again in the list of best dress.  She was one of the ladies wearing the nude trend, a beautiful Marchessa dress reminiscent of the 1950's.

Gwyneth Paltrow looked stunning in a glistening Calvin Klein, the dress was very clean lines with a brooch details marking the hip which matched her earrings.

Halle Berry redeemed herself from the disaster at the Golden Globes by wearing a strapless shimmering nude gown by Marchesa and looking the Hollywood star that she is.

 Last but not least, another lady rocking the nude trend was post baby Celine Dion wearing a very simple column Armani Privee dress and a emerald pendant as the only jewelry and looking stunning.

1970 Trend

Spring/Summer 2011 the biggest trend from the catwalk was the 1970 look.  The trend was mainly inspired by inspired by last year’s Yves Saint Laurent retrospective in Paris, which I visited.  Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton, Gucci to name a few have paid homage with their version of 1970 inspired clothing.

I usually look at the catwalk show photos and who is wearing what and how and then adapt to my body type and style.  Maxi dresses with floppy hats, white suits (will do a separate section on this one), palazzo pants, bold geometrical prints, le smokin, the safary look....of of them are 1970 looks.  Hope these ladies inspire you as much as they have inspired me; there is lots of copies on the high street to adapt to everyone's taste, pockets and bodies, embrace it and have fun with it.

Next big trend - Skinny cargo pants

It was hailed as the biggest trend for spring/summer last year in the States and while a few celebrities were spot wearing this trend, it never really took off.  This year, most high street retailers have made a version of it.  While cargo pants tend to be wider on the leg, the skinny version is more versatile and can be dress up or dress down.  Ann Taylor and Banana Republic have great version in various colours.  On this side of the Atlantic Sisley has produced two versions of the skinny cargo to suit most people.  It can be dress up with a blouse, nice necklace and smart pair of shoes or dress down with a top, flirty and romantic top & a cardigan; the key is to wear it with high heels.

Even denim companies have jump into this trend and produced versions, both 7 for Mankind and J Brand (see below the Houligan from J Brand).  Be the first to get your hands in one of this babies and be ahead of the trend!

Hot Pink

One of the colors of the season is Pink in all is glory.  Most women think that pink is a hard color to wear but, like jeans, there is a pink hue for everyone.  If you have a fair complexion, soft & bubble gum pinks would be ideal.  For brunettes or people of a darker complexion you can wear shocking pink even fuchsia.

I love Michelle Williams, Louis Vuitton dress, my favorite look so far this year.  This is a fantastic style with the black edge so close to the face for those worried that might not be able to pull the look.  It is flirty and feminine with a very retro silhouette, bravo Michelle!

Also love Renee Zellweger's Caroline Herrera softer pink one shoulder dress & nude pumps to compliment the outfit.

How about this proposition from Dakota Fanning? wearing a leather Miu Miu dress with brown pumps and a baby pink cardigan to soften the look?

Fergie shows us how to do Pink in a very edgy way by wearing a pair of Helmut Lang leather leggings and D&G lace blouse and hot pink Tuxedo blazer. 

Bafta Awards 2011 best dress

So the Bafta's came and went and was surprised to see the choice of gowns for the evening.   There were quite a few "disasters" on the night. I t was more a competition of who got it wrong, rather than who got it right!  Still for me there were three clear winners on the fashion stakes last night in London:

Emma Watson wore the most exquisite one shoulder lace nude with hints of pink flowers Valentino haute couture gown.

 Hailee Steinfeld in Miu Miu seethrough top with jewels and black bottom; minimal jewelry and as a pop of colour a purple Miu Miu clutch.  She was the definition of chic and elegant while age appropriated.

Tilda Swinton in Haider Ackerman in a striking black trouser suit with a black shirt with a champagne satin lapels to add just a little bit of colour, genius.  Definitely the most stylist of the night.

Jesper Høvring Spring/Summer 2011

Jesper Hovring is a danish designer or as he calls himself a dressmaker with an impressive following, from royalty to famous faces in his native country as well as outside Denmark.  His clothes go from the very understated and elegant clean lines to over the top, fantasy dresses with rushing, pleats and the most incredible detail work.

Here are my favorite pieces for the S/S 2011.

Copenhagen Fashion Week - Wackerhaus

Wackerhaus was founded in 2003 by the young designer Trine Wackerhausen and the label has gone from strength to strength since becoming one of the favorite fashion labels for the fashionistas in Denmark.

True to her main philosopy, Trine sent a collection of timeless pieces down the catwalk in 3 main colours black, camel and grey.  The pieces were very clean cut, playing with the masculine shape in the rounded-shouldered jackets and the femenine side on the choice of materials and adding details such a lace or ruffles the dresses. A very clean collection, well put together and quite minimalist. These are investment pieces to bring out season after season and still make you look chic and elegant.

Copenhagen Fashion Week - TSH

Tina Stefenakk Hermansen is a Norwegian designer that has quite a following in her natal country.  Her latest offerings from the Copenhagen Fashion Week was an explosion of colour, which was a welcomed changed from all the muted colours shown by vast majority of designers.  Tina is not afraid of colour and it was showed on her prints and block colours, sending dress after dress on the catwalk in the most gorgeous blues, corals, shocking pinks, black satins, gold and a psychedelic prints.  She gave us an offering of floating dresses, maxi dresses, short dresses, one shoulder dresses, strapless dresses....there was something for everyone and for every figure type.