Since Milan Fashion Week reached its end, I couldn't just let it pass by without mentioning the Fashion Week which battles for first in my book (Paris or Milan? I have yet to decide.). MFW hosts my favourite designer duo - Domenico Dolce & Stefano Gabbana and an influential leader of the fashion pack - Prada. I've blogged about the Dolce & Gabbana Menswear Fall/Winter 2012 show here. And as always they did not let us down when it comes to detail. I find that the best and heart of Milan lies in all that is baroque. Basic, albeit contrasting colours and just-right flamboyancy at Prada with the hint of the usual minimal baroque, and romantic baroque at Dolce & Gabbana where intricacy of design and exquisite detailing are vital - are just what Milan is all about.







On the other side of the Milanese spectrum lies Prada.








Equally immortal in fashion. Who needs classics, when the fun in fashion lies in its impermanence?

For another Milan Fashion Week review, read my article on Platinum Love Magazine on Raf Simons' last collection at Jil Sander here.

This weekend was a rather hectic one for me - I can't reveal anything for now - but I promise I'll update you all soon. I know there has been a lot of promises - none of which actually materialised YET, but they will be so just hang in there! This is a second batch of photos, and another look from the photo shoot I took with Stefan Vella (who has just created a facebook fan page - click here). Basics make the most part of this look, with a single statement piece that really brought the whole outfit together. I find wedges and opaque black tights to be my uniform in rainy days.

The black sheer shirt has been a life-saver this winter. If you haven't bought one by all means find one!! I bought mine from Miss Selfridge, they might just have it on sale now. You may want to check out Topshop or New Look for a similar one.



I tried to keep the jewellery minimal - but kept the armour theme going through the utility shirt, dark silver armour cuff and ring.

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Along with genes, I inherited passions from my mum - particularly my love for make-up. When I was little, my mum used to give me Burda magazines to play with (if I'm talking jibberish to a few of you - Burda is a clothing pattern magazine) - guaranteed hours of sheer fun. I blame my love for clothes on that. Back before I was even born, my mum used to do make-up for the bride and her party. Pity she didn't take that up as a career - think of all the extra make-up I'd borrow from mum. Just like she let me rip apart her pile of Burda and fashion magazines, when I grew a bit older she, occasionally, gave me her make-up bag to supposedly 'sort'  all of the broken compacts and blunt pencils. I would empty it and rummage through it like a kid discovering a hidden jar of sweets. I'd try on every single make-up item and as any other toddler, my curiosity got the better of me. 'What is this?' rolled off my tongue too easily. And that's what I blame my love for make-up on.

The next lot of images show the primary basics of make-up. Why do I have two shades of foundation you ask? For contouring. That's the beauty of make-up. (side note: have you ever realised that the phrase 'the beauty of make-up' is rather ironic/ tautologous?) At least that's what I bought them for. In reality, the times when I actually use both compacts are limited.

The brow shaper in the second image is one of those products I can say without a doubt I can NOT live without. incidentally, I didn't know that before I actually bought it. I find eyebrows to be an eminent feature of any woman's beauty and femininity. It's a misfortune that many unfortunately neglect shaping them well. I already blogged about the beauty of the brow here. Personally, I'm fond of mine and I do get compliments for my brows, but this Revlon Brow Enhancer just makes them so much better. It fills all the empty gaps. To be honest, I don't really find much use in the illuminator tip of the brow enhancer.

Two Essence products I've found to be staples are the brow gel/ transparent mascara (which I use as a brow gel to keep my brows in place) and the volume & gloss lipgloss (which I wear over lipstick). The lipgloss is one of the only few glosses I've actually found useful.

A few weeks ago my best friend, Andrea, thought I should blog about the blouse. There and then, I realised how sometimes I tend to oversee the simplest and most basic of clothing pieces. We hardly go through a season - spring, summer, autumn or winter without wearing some form of the blouse - and it's natural to fall into a rut and cease to formulate new styling options with this season's blouse. I myself, have fallen into the rut of wearing a blouse buttoned up and tucked in high-waisted cigarette pants, or under a jumper. But there are other options of course - and as always I've turned to the catwalk for some inspiration and innovative styling options...

You may have gotten used to me now - and my motto is - when in doubt, look at the Runway. Indubitably - the Spring/Summer 2012's Queen of the blouse is Chloe.


GET THE LOOK:

TIP #1: Pair loose with loose - loose blouse, loose shorts and leave the belt hanging low.
TIP #3: It's time to get those chunky belts out again.
TIP #3: Pair your prints and florals with crisp white pieces.

I've created a few looks with stuff picked from high-street shops - that way you can refer to this post whenever you're in desperate need of new ways to wear your blouse.

I'll post more if new ideas come to mind! Don't be afraid to mix texture with print - and most importantly HAVE FUN getting dressed. It will show if you don't. ;)

I have been a very bad blogger and you must all hate me for abandoning this blog these past few days, I've been very busy and in the little free time I had, I spent catching up on London Fashion Week - because what kind of fashion blogger would I be if I didn't follow fashion and not be up to date with all that's happening? I finally bought next Spring/Summer's ELLE collections mag - this year they seem to only be selling it in one place here in Malta (tweet/ or email me if you want to know), and loved it. It echoes next spring/summer's mood perfectly.

Anyway - back to catching up with you, rouge-lovers. As I mentioned a few posts ago, this week saw the beginning of London Fashion Week. Frankly, I haven't seen any show-stoppers (quite literally) - but the innovative manner by which the collection I'm about to mention was presented deserves a 10/10 only for effort. I'm not doing it justice by calling it a show - it was a 'Special Presentation' - but nonetheless a Main collection with all the bells and whistles that come along. I'm talking about the Stella McCartney show. Quoting Stella - "It's a main collection. And the one in Paris will be main collection too." Because you see - there's going to be yet another main collection in two weeks time, in Paris. The same woman who will be designing the Team GB kit for the Olympics, and the mother of four children.

Here it is:


The seperate pieces deserved a standing ovation on their own.

If you are, read on!

We've seen it everywhere. Well, you can easily say you've seen it everywhere when Anna Dello Russo (ADR for future reference) has been sporting it on every occasion she deems worthy enough of her presence. I don't blame you if you've gone... Fausto who? Fausto Puglisi - a Sicilian designer who has collaborated with big brands like Versace and Anna Molinari. His designs are one of a kind and the 90s' Versace influence is eminent. He's been featured on Spiga2 - Dolce & Gabbana's Young Designers project. You know something's going to be big when ADR works it in every colour. The woman never wears something twice - except this dress apparently. The Puglisi creation is my dream dress. It puts 'Greek' and 'cheerleader' in one sentence. The added bonus is the heavy, gold 'armoury' and the cute pastels. And here I thought edgy and cute weren't possible. This is exactly my kind of dress people.


It's been on my wishlist for a while now. Oh well.
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