It's a Gingham Thing

I was very interested to see Christopher Kane's use of gingham in his Ready to Wear collection for 2010. As if to prove he is not a one-trick pony and to invert people's expectations Kane has taken a dramatic u-turn from frightening larger than life gorilla prints and wildlife images to girlie gingham. Subverting our conservative associations with gingham check and luxe materials such as cashmere by giving us slash neck sweaters and gingham skirts with thigh high slits. Gingham is a thing once ubiquitous in childhood, the embodiment of perhaps a well-behaved little girl. However in adulthood it is a check scarcely seen. With Christopher Kane's influence gingham is set to become as pervasive next summer as the perennial plaid shirt has been for the past few seasons.

It was Acceptable in the 80s

In this flashback sequence, fashion forward Carrie is a dead-ringer for Madonna circa Like a Virgin and Lucky Star. I think the way Patricia Field has worked her magic on this throw-back look is absolutely genius. She has kept the girls so thoroughly in character and I think that Miranda's high-powered New York business woman look 80s style is particularly spot-on, especially with her heinous crop and gold earrings. True to form Charlotte looks like the perfect Hamptons country club wife, while sassy Samantha looks like a groupie for White Snake. The pictures almost make me feel prematurely nostalgic for perms and Walkmans...what do you guys think?

Her name is Rio and she Dances on the Sand...

I let out a squeal of delight when I saw the cover of this week's Sunday Times Style supplement. The front of it bearing the heavenly face of Brazilian goddess Gisele. Officially the first female model I was ever obsessed with. Yeah as a youngster I thought Christy Turlington had wonderful bone structure and Cindy Crawford was the ultimate sexy Super. Kate Moss is the best chameleon and takes an excellent picture. Kate is a great model because she can work around her quirks; not very tall, the bandy legs, lacklustre hair, imperfect teeth and the half collapsed nose but I must say, sorry public, she is not my favourite. When it comes to abundant natural beauty Gisele is number one, the long lithe limbs, the hair of pure spun gold, the long straight nose, the steel grey eyes, the killer teeth and the almighty boobs!!

The article in Style is written in the words of Gisele's Latin American broken English about the last-minute photo shoot that took place between her and uber photographer Mario Testino. She speaks of their mutual fondness for Rio de Janeiro and the connection between them, I wonder why there wouldn't be one - they are surely a match made in fashion heaven; Brazilian beauty and Peruvian fashion photographer. She says

"Mario holds a special place in my heart. He has been there with me from the beginning...I think he understands what I want...He is Peruvian by blood, but I think his heart is Brazilian."

She goes on to describe the electrifying experience that was her first Rio carnival, saying she bumped into Testino there, and they danced the night away together in the magical heat. Does it get any better? This anecdote fills me with such glee, and exceeds my deepest fashion fantasies. You couldn't make this tale up; this pair is tantamount to fashion royalty. And the idea of them shaking their stuff to the percussive beats on Copacabana beach is too much. Cannot wait to buy Testino's new tome 'Mario de Janeiro'. The pictures are sure to be steamier than the Brazilian Heat.

I'll admit, in recent years, I got used to the idea that Gisele's sexy star had started to fade. I started to tire of seeing her in Cavalli and Versace ad campaigns only. I even believe that something about her brand of sun-kissed perfection in the model world that has been ruled by 'edgy individuals' like Alice Dellal and Agyness Deyn and the more classic Lara Stones and Lily Donaldsons started to feel (dare I say) irrelevant. However when I saw her in a wild haired, open mouthed, make-up free, eyes closed revelry I felt immeasurably happy. So I obviously missed her. Here are some pictures to remind us why:

In the PINK

Observing the recent penchant for a 'Smells like Teen Spirit' attitude and indulging my current fondness for the punkier side of style, I found myself looking through the celeb back catalogue of rose tints and full on fuschia dye jobs. Here we have Miss Moss going pink on more than one occasion as well as ever avant garde Gaga, Aggy and Lily. So take a look and see for yourself the good, the bad and the plain dodgy. Makes me kinda wish I had the bottle to reach for the pink dye and go candy floss myself!

All that Glitters is GOLDIE

This fashion week, being as I was, very much on the outside looking in, when a family friend turned designer invited me to see her first show I jumped at the chance. She presented her Spring/Summer 2010 to a party crowd at Jalouse, the blingtastically designed club in Hanover Square. An ideal location given the high fashion associations, steeped in British fashion history and credentials as home to the Voguettes. I thought the venue was well-chosen because while much of the crowd was clearly made up of friends and fashionistas alike, there were a handful of Wednesday night hedonists, merely there for the music and cocktails. This, therefore was a guaranteed way to expand her audience and raise awareness for the brand. The brand in question is Goldie, pioneered by South African designer Michelle Goldie who started off selling customised pieces and costume jewellery on market stalls in Portobello and Spitalfields market. People started to take notice when Mischa Barton was snapped wearing one of her dresses and since then, gained further publicity and enjoyed distribution in Selfridges.

Goldie's designs are always feminine, flirty and very wearable. The classic mold is tunic tops or short dresses in simple colours with a little glitter detail or frills or a fur gilet in winter. I enjoy the rock-romantic ethos of Goldie's designs. They are lovely pieces best paired with a tougher shoe like a black shoe-boot, gladiator sandal or masculine brogue. I best enjoyed the simpler colours, many of the white dresses would be so nice on sun-kissed skin on a holiday evening. I also liked the classy wearability of the grey and slate tunics. The line also featured a few dresses in coral and electric blue stretch cotton overlaid with black lace. Shorter tops were paired with black sequin hotpants, and for me the star of the show were a pair of cropped leggings emblazoned with black sequins, not sewn flat but lovely and textural. Unusually a few floral summer prints were included, but I much preferred the plain whites, greys and brights. Who knows maybe this is because my winter state of mind cannot process flirty summer floral right now. I have been too busy immersing myself in over the knee boots, coloured tights and vintage fur!

Don't Get Jaded

In case you have not already heard the new nail colour du jour is green; not apple or lime but jade. The Chanel ready to wear show for Autumn/Winter 09/10 featured an unusual injection of mint and pistachio to a habitually very monochrome collection. Runway models were sporting this very shade on their nails, and since then we mere mortals have been waiting to get our manicured paws on the polish. The limited edition colour has just launched and is available only at Chanel boutiques so believe the hype and get your name on that waiting list!

Hot Hi-Tops

Urban footwear goes luxe in the shape of elaborately designed hi-tops. Make a statement that you are serious about your sneakers with any of the beauties pictured below:

1. Jeremy Scott for Adidas' winged hi-tops

2. Lanvin trainers

3. Jaime Creepers by Alexander Wang