Punk Lovin' Met Gala faves

The Met gala happened Monday, and I have been sitting on this post a couple of days. The theme was punk, and what a DREAM. It's funny to see starlets with no punk in them do a terrible job of trying to interpret it (Jessica Biel's fake septum ring...?)

I think Anna Wintour could have made more of an effort, as co-chair of the event and she wore a short-sleeved long flower-print dress. Punk? Direct quote: "The curator of the exhibition told me that the colour of punk is pink so I'm in pink by Chanel." Really? One of the most undisputed directors of the world of style had so little opinion on what constitutes punk? And she said on the red carpet of The Great Gatsby that everyone intimidates her. She is actually a vulnerable girl playing a part sometimes methinks.... Enough of that, some people really killed it. Here are some of my faves.

Tommy and Dee Hilfiger with Marky Ramone! Yah yah. Dee got it. Debbie Harry also wore Tommy and rocked it.

This is a starlet example. Punk, or glam rock? I envy their legs though and they look fantastic in Atelier Versace and Balmain. 

Allison Williams in Altuzarra with Joseph Altuzarra the designer. Wish her hair were more severe and daring but the dress is perfect.

Kristen Stewart and Stella McCartney in same. Pantsuit, attitude, looking slightly stoned. Yes these girls are definitely punk. Stella's simple black and mussed-up hair is way more punk than many who tried too hard and failed.

Lily Cole gives chills. In Vivienne Westwood. Whoa. 

Love Dakota Fanning's Rodarte dress but if she had put her hair up and applied some super dark eyes or lipstick  (or both) she would've nailed it.

Taylor Swift in J. Mendel went for a similar gown and went for it more with the eyes makeup and crimped hair.

Ginnifer Goodwin's makeup and hair kills, but the dress is not punk. If only you could mix and match.

Rosie Huntington-Whitely actually channelled punk/dark rebel to me. Her breasts are not well-featured in this Gucci number but other than that she does the goth-y thing well.

This is so punk to me. Joshua Jackson in this Dior suit reminds me of the SLC punk scene where they say the straight-laced looking nerdy punks are the most hardcore of all, and that's what I get from this. And Diane Kruger in this Chanel, with the sheer almost choking her, is awesome. I love the pink tips of her hair that you can't see in this picture unfortunately.

I feature Gisele in this Anthony Vaccarello because when I first saw this collection I remember thinking I loved the edge, and with the carpet awash in Givenchy I was happy to see this designer there. And short which is a great statement. She shoulda gone more dramatic with updo and makeup however her locks are glorious...

And I've just found that Anja Rubik wore him too, figures only supermodels... And she channels punk much better.

I was waiting for someone to use an elaborate headdress to suggest a mohawk, and am not at all disappointed it was SJP. Hat Philip Treacy, dress Giles Deacon. Too bad she revealed some very lacy black underwear along with the over-the-knee plaid, but on second thought that is pretty punk of her. Don't listen to the haters, you commit and I love you for it!

Paloma Faith in Michael Cinco also committed, and love her pigeon tats (paloma=pigeon)

Lily Collins in Moschino. Like that she went for it with the makeup and hair, and the mix of studded leather jacket and that skirt is very dressed-up punk. Win.

Gwen Stefani in Maison Martin Margiela. I love that this top is risqué, as well as looks like a very elegant version of a scrap tied across her torso with ends going opposite ways. She again channels old Hollywood starlet in a new, sexy, dare I say slightly punky way. She looks great. 

The real coup was the fact that she changed into a more literal punky Atelier Versace gown with the same colour scheme. And Gavin Rossdale wore a Vivienne Westwood plaid suit and his hair in a hot bun and their combined look: WIN.

Madonna is 54. Enough said. Way to take a risk, and be yourself, and do the pantsless thing (in Givenchy) a million times better than Ke$ha or Christina Aguilera could hope to.

Ivanka Trump really surprised me here. She's a sexy mother (she is pregnant here), businesswoman, and just stunning woman. And she pulled her polished punk out, in Juan Carlos Obando, which is really weird to see but looks fab.

I am half in love with two Victoria's Secret alum and moms - Karolina Kurkova and Miranda Kerr.

Here is the former in Mary Katrantzou, and it works. So hot, she smoulders. And it's sorta rough and edgy and punky. 

And I will include the latter, in Michael Kors, but am disappointed - clear example of added spikes just cause you feel you should. I thought she would dirty herself up more. Different jewellery, makeup and hair would have really done the trick. We all know you are perfectly beautiful, time to add dimension Miranda!

Minka Kelly in Carolina Herrera. I am feeling this look and the shoulders.

Similar vibe with Florence Welch in Givenchy. Wish these women had tried harder with their hair!

These shoulders rock pretty hard too. Excellent use of spikes, which many others seemed to add just cause they felt they had to. Taylor Tomasi Hill with designer Thom Browne.

Done for now! I wish I could dress up like this...

Bridal Spring 2014 roundup! And other looks I love...

As a soon-to-be (sorta, it's not our number one priority) bride, I find myself viewing bridal couture purely from a 'would I wear it?' perspective, even more than usual with fashion. The dream image for me so far is the following, a dusky rose-clad divine flowy dress called the 'Amelie' from Samuelle (whose whole collection is an amazing dream and you should click on that link and look at her website immediately.)

Consequently, in terms of aesthetic I have to admit I am a bit bored by most of the bridal runways, and by bridal looks in general. If I have to choose I veer more towards Elie Saab (who did not have a Spring 2014 bridal collection) than Vera Wang (who did, and *yawn*) But there were some definite highlights for me when browsing that I have to share.

Theia White... I almost wish I could get married in this. I would probably change into this for the later portion of my night, or wear this to a shower/bachelorette. Or, anytime.

This is simple and sweet and flattering but I don't quite have the same post-baby body so I doubt flattering would be the term.

I liked this because of the beautiful beading and diaphanous skirt/veil, and the confidence in the model's face. When I saw this I thought, if I had to look more traditional, I would not mind this at all.

I do like this Kenneth Pool look very much, but still find it a bit too form-fitting and shiny. Very beautiful though, with different, not so severe hair.

Probably my favourite collection was Temperley... With the vintage, simple, elegant and feminine feel, these are more my dream dresses than any others I saw.

(Unfortunately if I can see this model's ab muscles so clearly, I doubt I could pull it off haha) 

And if I were to wear strapless, which I doubt, it would be something gorgeous like this.

I wish the Lela Rose collection had not been presented against such a stark white background, making it hard to appreciate the sartorial details, but I love the silhouette of this dress.

This is an Elie Saab Spring Couture 2013 dress... And I absolutely love it and just had to add it cause I love his aesthetic so much.

Now I am just excited about sharing bridal looks. Also adore Jenny Packham's Azalea dress, 2013 collection. I think by and large I prefer a British, more understated look to my bridal.

And the following is a Chloe Resort 2012 that I have liked for a while as a bridesmaid's dress if I were to have any, a little risqué but soo pretty.

20's

These are the last months of my twenties, an era of discovery, youthful madness, a nostalgic time for the rest of anyone's life I think. We reserve the same nostalgia for the twenties (1920's), and we forget just how transgressive people were in that era. In many ways society is more repressed now.

A lighthearted take on this theme is Sophie Kinsella's Twenties Girl, a great little book I read recently and recommend. It gives tidbits of twenties fashion which I love love love. That old glamour from the 20's-40's is so beautiful and feminine. Tiffany & Co. had a twenties themed bash Thursday in NYC (so close to me... I constantly am aware that Manhattan is a mere 6 hours away, why do I not live there?) and three of my favourite ladies pulled out their twenties glamour.

SJP in Vicky Tiel, GP in Ralph Lauren, KH in Reem Acra.

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These three have been major celebrity crushes for a while, I think they are all amazing actresses, wonderful mothers, and super hot women. I am inspired by all their styles, pretty well embodied in the three looks they chose that night - Sarah Jessica fashion forward, statement-making and fabulous, Gwyneth more classic, simple and elegant, and Kate sexy, body-conscious and feminine. I am so jealous of whoever took that picture (Steve Eichner I guess, shoulda been me).

If I have to grow up, I want to do it like these ladies do. I just bought GP's new cookbook It's All Good not because of the hype but because I genuinely loved the recipes I looked at and I unabashedly love her :) Is Kate Hudson staring at her breasts?! LOL yes Kate, your dress does a better job of holding them up :)

Gotta close up on some of those amazing diamond and sapphire Tiffany jewels SJP is wearing...

Look Muses - Alexa, Jane and Francoise

I became curious about Alexa Chung today, when I realized that I inadvertently have very similar hair after growing out my now blonder bob and getting impromptu bangs. She said in an interview that she was really just ripping off Jane Birkin and Francoise Hardy, bringing that sexy back to the new generations who forgot about these muses. So I revisited I compared:

Alexa 

Jane Birkin

With Serge Gainsborough and incidentally, I find it ironic that we seem to have forgotten any raciness we indulged in in the past and scream moral outrage an astonishing amount in this day and age.

Francoise Hardy, what a stunning woman.

Now that is aging gracefully in my opinion!

Lovin' the menswear... MTV Movie Awards and CK

First off want to share a few outfits I loved at the MTV Movie Awards (which I did not watch as I cannot stand awards shows, hours of privileged people self-congratulating)... BUT man the clothes. This one is cool because they can be more casual and therefore actually provide daily inspiration.

Zoe Saldana in Givenchy... Love this look. Can be adapted, you could wear something similar to a date and it is covered up but still so hot.

Melissa McCarthy's look is so my style, all black, covered up and flowy but still showing off curves, comfortable and sexy, with a hot pair of shoes. And some great jewelry. Total win.

Eddie Redmayne's look is also so me, I would wear this entire outfit as is, with some jewelry.

Next Calvin Klein Fall RTW ... I generally find CK a little too clean for my liking but they do make beautiful simple classic pieces.

I like these skirts very much although I HATE turtlenecks (make me feel like I can't breathe...) and this girl looks too buttoned up and old-fashioned. But I think I need to get a skirt like this, it is lovely for work.

Of course closing the shirt, I like the vibe of the outfit on the left very much. I no longer own a single pair of bootcut jeans and I suddenly remembered how good they can look. 

This trio is the highlight for me. Absolutely love the combo of black shirt (minus the turtle), grey blazer, black coat, wine skinny pant and patent shoe look in the middle, am definitely inspired. This look can go casual with maroon skinny jeans, a black t-shirt and a grey boyfriend blazer, an outfit I may just have to wear this week. 

I love the length of the skirt and the luxe combo of colours and textures with the long coat. The look on the left is simple and professional and very much a work outfit I am going to emulate. 

I seem to be more inspired by men's fashion in this post which is not I suppose unusual since I think menswear on a woman is super comfortable and hot.

All images Getty.

Catch-up: Paris and Tokyo

I have been so busy the last month that I haven't been paying much attention to fashion, other than trying to get hired by one of my fav Canadian brands lululemon. However, my desktop has been cluttered with Paris and Tokyo offerings I loved, so I am going to post'em up!

First is Valentino... so classy, feminine and soft-looking...yum absolutely love Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli's aesthetic, they are perfection.

Next, Stella McCartney looks I love, she is a such a master at dressing so a woman feels breezy, elegant and modern.

Across the world to Tokyo, which I know very little about so it was nice to peruse with virgin eyes...

I really liked The Dress & Co's slouchy-sexy look.

Somarta's patterned tights were something else. This is fashion architecture.

And Tiit's show was so me, I want to wear all of these outfits. I love layering like this and will definitely be inspired when dressing by these looks.

That's it that's all much to do. Have a fashionable and pleasant day all! I hope I can peruse Toronto Fashion Week's offerings in the next few days, feels disloyal not to :D