Project Runway for Bitten

I don't know if you guys caught Project Runway last night but the design challenge was for Sarah Jessica Parkers line Bitten. Victorya, the winner, designed the cutest two piece outfit and it will be in the Bitten Fall/Winter 08 collection. I can't wait!

Paris Finale

Some last words on Paris. Walking around knowing that you had nothing pressing to do but just to enjoy yourself for the last two days in Paris is a luxury.

This must be like the millionth time I've mentioned the LV store, but this time I actually have something interesting to share besides how awesome I think it is. From now until some time soon (not sure when) there is a Louis Vuitton Exposition on the 7th floor in the LV building. Very few people know about it, just go in through the scary official looking side entrance and they'll take you up a completely black elevator (seriously, black felt covered with NO LIGHT) and drop you off at the exposition where they have awesome displays of LV coolness, like this hot air baloon hanging bag, flat screen suitcase, the MJ room, the Vuitton bag columned terrace, sleek designs, LV wallpaper...totally gorgeous.

Another thing I loved about Paris was the food. And since I have a sweet tooth, the chocolatiers especially. There is Pierre Herme here, where I bought this delicious chocolate lollipop thing (right) with caramel inside.

The Maison du Chocolat. I had high expectations for this after all the raging from my friends. The chocolate cake was delicious.

But my favourite was the Jean Paul Hevin which I had with HG. We sat down and each had a chocolate cake. They were completely DIVINE.

Another thing I had with HG was this very good valued 6 course meal for 38 euros off Lourmel. It came first with a pumpkin mousse thing.

Then a soup.
Duck and Foie Gras (i still have not acquired the taste for it)
Scallops and lobster thingys thats like small prawns which I cannot remember the thing of. Lagoustine? Well anyway, this was my favourite.

Shephards pie, which was better then I expected. And the my friend had deer meat (right) which i heard tasted "not bad"
Cheese and a chocolate cake which was so good I forgot to take a picture of.

At night, may I suggest the bar at the Hotel Plaza Athenee where they filmed Sex and the City? We didn't even realise it was here. But the decor was totally chic (although the drinks were all a whooping 24euros!)

For something slightly cheaper, there is the Mandalay Club(did I spell it right?), which is a restuarant and a club (after 12ish). Cover charge is around 20euros with a drink including. But then you can stay there all night...where you can head over to Quick afterwards for a quick bite!

On my last day, I spent 5 hours on the Eiffel Tower (the lines are horrendous!!!) and 1 hour taking pictures of and with it from the Grand Palais area where this gorgeous bridge is. It also sparkles for 10 minutes every hour. And that concludes my adventures in Paris. Goodbye Paris!

Paris Spring/Summer 2007 Wrapup I

Ooo... It's finally the last, and most exciting fashion week: Paris.

Balenciaga
One of the most, if not THE most anticipated show of the four weeks of fashion weeks. Nicolas Ghesquiere surprised everyone with a new theme and innovative use of material. Next season's hot theme is going to be robots and futuristic er, people. So expect to see many cyber-themed editorials in style magazines next spring and summer.
Gone are FW06's horse-riding caps and in are the space googles, which is very smart of course seeing how shdes are mainly summer's accessories. Even with the not-so-down-to-earth cyber theme, Balenciaga's clothes are still cut and put together impecably. Black and white are still the main colours. The most memorable item in the collection? The gold robot trousers.
Loves this collection!

Christian Dior
When I looked through the first 20 looks on style.com, I thought, wow this is so boring. But then, there are many loveable dresses that follow the suits. The dresses' cutting and theme seem to be continued and only slightly evolved from the Resort collection. This doesn't mean the dresses aren't pretty of course. As usual, John Galliano managed to come up with many pretty yet very sellable dresses for Dior's RTW collection. The only thing I have to complain are those ugly shoes. Check them out in look #4-6 below.
I can totally see some actress wearing the glamorous dresses in the last two looks below to some award ceremony.
Ann Demealemeester
While Demealemeester is not a huge brand, I do love that dark, cool and black & white look. I usually hate tye-die things, but the black and white tye-die is done so fantastic here. There are the typical cool clothes: the suits, the black vests, thin silver chains. The silhouette continues to be long tops and skinny pants. OK, so maybe I'm not going to be buying clothes from Demealemeester in the near future, but I'm definitely going to try to imitate its looks.

Paris Spring/Summer 2007 Wrapup II

Valentino
I've never really liked the Valentino collections in the past, but this collection was sooo pretty! The whole collection is made of spring colours -some soft, some bold. There is a lot of pleating, ruffles, bows and flowery prints. While I don't know how these would look off the runway, they certainly looked great on the runway. These clothes are definitely made for the super girly girls.
Caroline Trentini and this red dress (below left) are absolutely stunning. And Jessica Stam (below right) looks like a magical princess in the pale ice blue pleated dress. So gorgeous.
Karl Lagerfeld
The whole Karl Lagerfeld collection consists of black, white and navy. There are many puffy sleeve shift dresses in this collection which I didn't like, but there are also a lot of other cool looks (see pictures below.) Many looks have lacy flowery stockings and as any typical Lagerfeld shows, the makeup is another focus point. Again, Karl came up with a modern and chic collection that should sell well.
Dries Van Noten
OK, I liked DVN's FW06 collection but I was so disappointed by this one. I may be biased but I absolutely hate the sporty look. Sporty looks should stay at suitably sporty occasions and venue. Dark-coloured parkas looked smart on the Prada FW06 runway, but parkas are terrible on the SS07 runways. Afterall, why would we want to wear parkas in warm temperatures?
But thank goodness in the middle of the collection, there are a few of those silk, printed dresses and tops that I do so love from DVN. DVN's silk garments always have this expensive and edgy feel to them. Now if only I could afford them...

Paris Spring/Summer 2007 Wrapup III

Finally, Paris fashion week. My favourite week of all. Its so weird to think that one is actually IN the city where these shows are taking place instead of it being miles away. Although of course, the closest I actually got to a fashion show was probably on my way to the Palais Royal from the Louvre, although we didn't even got that far as we made a detour and had ice cream at Hagan Daz instead. LOL. But anyway, after many hours of battling with my faulty wireless connection (I'm finally catching it at a good time) here is what I think of the shows so far.

YSL
This is actually one of my favourite collections from Stefano Pilati. Everything was all very Parisienne chic and the proportions are all perfect to flatter the female body.

Even the check patterned outfits were cute and stylish and doesn't look like a picnic cloth at all!Although some of the proportions were still a bit off. Like these outfits. The first two looks like a very well tailored ninja uniform.
What I completely adored though, was the gorgeous gorgeous outfits at the end. I love the violet flower theme, the billowing chiffon flowers are just so romantic and beautiful. I especially like the purple dress (far left). And the presentation, on a flower strewn runway was a fabulous touch, although it does look rather painful to walk on.

Givenchy
Ricardo Tisci's third collection at Givenchy was. . interesting. I can't say I didn't like it, most were aesthetically pleasing, but some of the elements were just a little be too futuristic and geometric for my taste.

These are the few that I liked. I think that tuxedo black jacket would make an excellent addition to anyone's SS07 wardrobe.

Outfits like these looks cool, but I'm just don't think that it is has the elegance and sophistication that one usually relates to Givenchy.

Apart from the black and white palette, he also did something different with these African prints. I thought the prints were done alright, like this dress here (far left), although it didn't really go too well with the overall theme of the collection.
I thought these evening outfits were pretty interesting and geometrical. They all looks really nice, if a little strange. I wonder how the almost triangle shaped dress Gemma is wearing hold up?

And what is with designers this season all going for these ugly frills??

Paris Spring/Summer 2007 Wrapup IV

Chanel
Mostly I thought this collection was refreshing, very different from the very detailed Chanel of the past seasons, with the splashes of color and crazy biker shorts. This collection was simple, elegant and of course- very Chanel as always. It never ceases to amaze me the number of ways Karl can shape the classic Chanel look into something new.

Simple chic Chanel outfits accessorized with gold chained jewelry, that perfectly compliments the black and white.

Love the suit jackets and the flowing dress shirts. The chiffon bow softens the rest of the structured look. Personally I think the outfit on the far right is a very lovely and ladylike bathing suit. But it could also be a pretty ladylike shirt paired with weird skanky shorts that resembles diapers. . . I guess this is open for interpretation.Then there were these chic evening wear. The silver dress is very reminiscence of Mischa Barton at the Marc Jacobs show, but still, very cool. And the black and gold dress is very regal and chic- I love it!

There were also a few pieces that I am not entirely crazy about. Like this pink covering the head thing. I sincerely hope people won't be wearing that on the streets any time soon. There were also a lot of LBD's, although the frills and bows were a little too much for my taste.

Chloe
Admittedly this collection was not exactly very exciting, but compared to their last collection I would say that it is definitely an improvement. For one thing, no one looked like they were wearing a bag (well, maybe only one did). The collection was very Chloe as we were used to. Boxy structured silhouettes, clever layering and beautiful chiffony flowing creations- enough to satisfy the appetite of any Chloe girl.
Chloe for the streets.

Chloe for work.
Gorgeous chiffon creations. I adore the outfit on the far left- its sooo cute!

The smashing gold embroidered shift styled dress and royal blue silk dress is very reminiscent of outfits we've seen before, but still, very pretty, although the frills on the blue silk look a bit too much, like a bib, too cutesy. And I absolutely LOVE the flowing dress on the far right.

Then there were a few that I just didn't know what they were thinking. The first one is mismatched. The middle one is absurd. And the last one looks like she's wearing a bag made out of origami paper.

Paris Spring/Summer 2007 Wrapup V

The last SS07 fashion week post. I don't know whether to be happy or sad.

Miu Miu

Miu Miu is always one of my most anticipated shows, but I was really disappointed with this collection. These were the only outfit I liked. So ya, don't want to talk about it. Maybe I just need more time to understand the collection?

Lanvin
On the other hand, I am usually not that interested in Lanvin or Vuitton clothes, but both these collections were amazing -in different ways of course. I really really like this Lanvin collection. It's got sophistication; it's got edge; it's minimalism with pretty bits. I love the cute A-line dresses and short shift dresses. Of course, one wouldn't actually buy clothes from Lanvin unless one had a formal and high-class event to attend.

The whole back outfit Lily Donaldon (right) is wearing looks amazing on her, but I can't imagine most of us would be able to pull it off.
The last dress (right) Du Juan is wearing is SO stylish!

Louis Vuitton
Wow. Usually Vuitton clothes are so not my taste I jump to the accessories' photos, but this collection is just, wow. This collection was super cute and pretty. Per normal, Marc Jacobs and his team managed to put together seriously amazing outfits. And I love how it's obvious how this collection feels like a continuation and evolution from the FW06 collection. This collection has a pretty spring colour palette: white, khaki, pale blue, pink. There were also lots of flowery prints. There were so many great looks I took so long just choosing which ones to post:
(Top) I love Vlada's look -white long shift sweater with flowery scarf. The pretty pale blue mini dresso (right) really reminds me of this season's Miu Miu borocade dresses.
I LOVE Jessica Stam's look (left) -it's so casual yet chic and cute. Am so in love. Now I have to think of a way to get that look next season!
Marc Jacob's Vuitton version of layering.
Check out the 'LOVE' on the white shirt -Vuitton never ceases to amaze me with the different number of ways to put 'LV' on its items.

Btw, if you haven't done so, I seriously recommend you to check out the 'close up' shots at style.com. Those flowery head pieces are GORGEOUS, and the accessories are simply irresistable.