chanel paris shanghai the film 3

chanel paris shanghai the film 2

chanel paris shanghai the film 1

fashion bandits?!?!

"i'm still me even after all that's happened."

- victoria beckham

victoria beckham is said to be devastated following the news that 75 pieces from her ss10 shipment to neiman marcus new york, valued at gbp350,000 were stolen at knife-point as they were being driven to london's heathrow airport. the van left 19 entertainment's offices and was broken into as the driver made another delivery. the trucks padlocks had been clipped and two men escaped with a box each, pushing the driver to the side as they made their getaway. mrs b hoped that the dresses could be remade in time although her first priority was the well-being of the driver.

blogger-phobia

"i hate to see my stuff in stores! i don't know why, it's weird, i know, but i just really hate it. even stores i love like barney's in new york - i can't look!"
- christopher kane


christopher kane on bloggers: "it's a bit mad, isn't it? it feels like it's happened all of a sudden and at some shows this season the front row was just all bloggers. i think it will die down though, and people know what they are doing. no one who wants to read a serious review of a show is going to look at what a 14 year old thinks. but it has become more critical; people can say what they want about anyone on a blog without consequences and that's quite scary. there are real repercussions for a designer if a photo of something is leaked by a blog; it can be copied in a fortnight and that can really harm a business. you have to be much more careful now."

lanvin pour la poste

"words are only postage stamps delivering the object for you to unwrap."
- george bernard shaw



alber elbaz designed these adorable postage stamps for the french postal system, la poste, as part of lanvin's 120th anniversary, available for sale next year. now, how on earth to we get our sticky paws on these precious chickens?

tse warehouse sale

"it's the same seduction that one first feels when touching cashmere or fur.... nobody touches fur once, or cashmere once."
- joshua wesson


'tis the season for jolliness and cashmere....

happy

constance

"my kitchen's pink, like skin-tone pink, and i lowered my spice rack so it's eye level - it's true! - and my phone, so i can reach it when i fall, it's right there."

- amy sedaris

mary kate with ashley's hermès constance

i want her sister's constance too. but in flamingo pink lizard.

grown-up glitter

"and above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. those who don't believe in magic will never find it."

- roald dahl

illamasqua birthday lashes

thierry mugler lip wax in yellow gold

nars glitter pencil in le sept

mac glitter brilliants in sifted silver

guerlain meteorites perles imperiales

barry m liquid eyeliner

make up store blend & fix

the body shop define & sparkle mascara and eyeliner

this season, glitter is no longer a sprinkle of fairy dust over existing makeup. it is to be worn in solid blocks, most elegantly on the eyes. sparkly substances have appealed to the human eye since 40,000 bc with flakes of mica being found on cave paintings. experts say glistening surfaces draw an emotional response from the limbic system, the brain's most fundamental level. some application suggestions include:

- trace a brightly coloured line of glitter over black eyeliner

- sweep a gel glitter layer over mascaraed lashes - "the sparkle only when you blink (is) incredibly alluring," says david horne

- black glitter in black liners or brow powder can be super subtle, just like nude or pale gold glitters in lipgloss

- pat mcgrath gave the models glittery tears at galliano

- apply before dressing and always have a lint roller on hand

chanel paris shanghai

"there's no chanel collection without black. (it) will never exist. who can live without some black clothes."

- karl lagerfeld

chanel's 5,160 square foot shanghai store opened last thursday at the peninsula on the bund. according to architect peter marino, the space was inspired by mademoiselle chanel's rue cambon apartment and furnished with hand-picked art and antiques - "the result is comfort, quiet elegance, timelessness. the chic of chanel." products exclusive to the store were created especially to celebrate its opening. these included a classic quilted handbag embossed with "shanghai karl lagerfeld" on the inside flap, sling-back heels with a metallic cc logo and several rtw styles (look out for the tweed jacket and skirt with gold trim!!). waiting for the celeb pics....

chanel paris shanghai episode 7

chanel paris shanghai episode 6

chanel paris shanghai episode 5

chanel paris shanghai episode 4

chanel paris shanghai episode 3

chanel paris shanghai episode 2

chanel paris shanghai episode 1

miss selfridge ss10

"no nude, however abstract, should fail to arouse in the spectator some vestige of erotic feeling, even if it be only the faintest shadow - and if it does not do so it is bad art and false morals."

- kenneth clark

why hasn't anyone brought miss selfridge to hong kong? their ss10 themes look sassy and fun and vintagey in a great way. love the nude story. and accessories galore!! anyone travelling soon?

salvatore ferragamo sale

"thanks to an early start, we are in a good position - and we have to make sure we maintain it.... at the top end of the market, they appreciate especially things that are not made in china. and we are 100 percent made in italy."

- salvatore ferragamo

first markdown at 30% off now. final sale starts mid-dec with reductions up to 70%.

holiday

"ruche (rsh) n. - a ruffle of pleat of lace, muslin or other fine fabric used for trimming women's garments. french, from old french rusche, beehive, from medieval latin rsca, bark of a tree (used for making beehives), of celtic origin."

- thefreedictionary.com

h&m's holiday campaign is sexy and cute at the same time. get in fast to avoid disappointment - especially that black ruched number on sasha pivovarova!!

party planning

"i was ecstatic they re-named 'french fries' as 'freedom fries'. grown men and women in positions of power in the u.s. government showing themselves as idiots."

- johnny depp

french connection ribbon dress

hkd999

getting your party wardrobe ready for this year's round of christmas cocktails? french connection has this fabulous hervé léger-inspired knit number in electric blue (also available in black) for under hkd1,000. and great quality too. hurry while stocks last - S is already out.

belle du jour

"wore a victoria beckham dress for the first time yesterday - the derizet in black - and good lord, is that thing figure magic. not sure if it's worth the pricetag, but if anyone has a spare grand around and happens to be feeling generous.... a pair of red louboutins wouldn't go amiss either...."

- belle du jour

dr brooke magnanti (aka belle du jour) on no longer being anonymous: "looking back over my diaries is sometimes embarrassing, sometimes hilarious (often unintentionally so). after a page or two i'm right back there – living in london, keeping up a double life, with all the effort that entails.... which is just too difficult to do long-term. i suppose i always thought that the part of my life i wrote about would fade away, that i could stick it in a box and move on. totally separate it from the ‘real me’. what it took me years to realise is that while i've changed a lot since writing these diaries – my life has moved on so much, in part thanks to the things that happened then – belle will always be a part of me. she doesn't belong in a little box, but as a fully acknowledged side of a real person. the non-belle part of my life isn't the only ‘real’ bit, it’s ALL real. belle and the person who wrote her had been apart too long. i had to bring them back together. so a perfect storm of feelings and circumstances drew me out of hiding. and do you know what? it feels so much better on this side. not to have to tell lies, hide things from the people i care about. to be able to defend what my experience of sex work is like to all the sceptics and doubters. anonymity had a purpose then – it will always have a reason to exist, for writers whose work is too damaging or too controversial to put their names on. but for me, it became important to acknowledge that aspect of my life and my personality to the world at large. i am a woman. i lived in london. i was a call girl. the people, the places, the actions and feelings are as true now as they were then, and i stand behind every word with pride. thank you for reading and following my adventures. love, belle."

calendar girls

"i'd consider it - why not? i don't know if it would be very impressive, though."

- james blunt on posing for the pirelli calendar

the infamous calendar, now in it's 37th year, is only available as a corporate gift to pirelli's exclusive customers and vips each year. 2010's version was launched in london on friday and now the images are available to you via get away nasty baby. the sloth is actually kind of cute.

your signature pose

"actually, my grandma's brother's name was blake, and my sister wrote it down when she was reading a family tree. and they said, 'if it's a boy, we'll name him blake, and if it's a girl, we'll name her blakely.' and everybody thought i was going to be a boy, and then i came out and i was a girl. and they had already been calling me blake for months because they were positive i was going to be a boy. and they had been calling me blake for so long, they just kept it."

- blake lively on the origins of her name

just like your chicken scratch defines who you are on paper to the legal world, your stance on the red carpet/at company annual dinners/during random drunk nights out is the photographic characterization and record of who you are. blake has fine-tuned hers to T - legs shoulder-width apart, hand on hip, slight tilt of the head. this is great for showing of her toned, endless pins, keeping the upper arms flab-free and using her long, blonde mane to best effect. in addition to all this, it makes for an interesting photograph as she is not simply symmetrical from top to bottom (which is traditionally what the human eye finds attractive). have you got one? you need one. go and get one today.

chinese tonic soup

"only the pure in heart can make a good soup."

- ludwig van beethoven

chinese wild yam -

淮山

("wai san")

promotes muscle growth and repairs worn-out tissue

lotus seed -

蓮子

("lien zi")

can stop sweating, palpitations, anxiety and insomnia

wolfberries - 杞子 ("gei zi")

natural supplement for improving eyesight and liver

fox nuts - 芡實 ("chi sut")

beneficial to the kidneys and enhances sperm production

as the weather cools, the only thing that can warm right to the freezing core seems to be a hot bowl of chinese tonic soup. one of my all time favourites is "wai san, lien zi, chi sut" with lean pork shin.

1. rinse a handful of wai san, a quarter of a handful of lien zi, half a handful of gei zi (i use double this as i LOVE gei zi), half a handful of chi sut and six pieces of dried conch meat in cold water. set aside.

2. place the pork shin in a pot of cold water. turn the cooker on. watch the water come to a boil. switch off the cooker. strain away the water and quickly rinse the meat. repeat this process two more times. it is important the water in the pot is cold to start with so that the impurities (blood residue) is forced out of the meat - hot water to start with will not achieve this.

3. place all of the above ingredients into a large (the largest you have) pot of boiling water. boil for two hours on low heat then leave to seep for two hours. reboil before serving.

black story

"the world goes up and the world goes down, the sunshine follows the rain; and yesterday's sneer and yesterday's frown can never come over again."

- charles kingsley

miss juliette nuit

hkd3,990

miss juliette bracelet

hkd3,390

miss juliette croc

hkd1,820

miss juliette satin

hkd1,280

forget your hunters - it's time to invest in a pair of aigle's black story limited edition miss juliette functional rain boots. get to festival walk or times square fast (they are only available at these stores). how great would these look in the snow!!

nic's dress

"what's the point of doing something good if nobody's watching?"

- nicole kidman

contrary to many bloggers' comments, i do not think this l'wren scott dress flatters nicole kidman. l'wren scott often dresses her in beautiful columns but this one just doesn't fit properly up top.