I’m all for clothing that looks good on women with hips and busts. I love the idea of putting the “curvaceous” Victoria’s Secret models on the designer catwalks. But I don’t like clothing that makes models look rounder than they are. God knows what that will do to real women. Louis Vuitton’s collection was certainly not what I’d call flattering.

I Love…

this full-skirt dress.

the discreet, flattering pleat detailing on this dress.

I Loathe…

this boring, unflattering coat.

a skirt that makes your hips look very big.

the fact that I had to look up this model just to double check she wasn't a plus size model. Because she looks like one here.

All images from Style.com.

I’ve got high hopes for Peter Copping at Nina Ricci (and its not just because we used to hang out together in Paris, while he was still working with Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton.) His fall winter collection has all the elements of what I think a Nina Ricci collection should have: pinks, flowers, lace, but without being overly feminine and predictable. And it also looks very commercial, which was not something Olivier Theyskens managed to do for Nina Ricci, he didn’t sell enough clothes, but I think Peter Copping will.

I Love…

Peter Copping's version of the fur sleeve muffs. Everyone seems to be doing it for next season, but at least these ones are not gorilla arms.

the shape of this suit and the skirt hem details.

a fabulous pink satin dress that has just the right balance between sweet and sexy.

the floral appliques on the top and skirt. But no nipples please.

I Loathe…

that this look is a bit too fantasy goth, I think it is the long coat.

All images from Style.com.

I don’t loathe the fact that this is a garbage bag turned into designer handbag, these days $2000 for a designer Louis Vuitton trash bag is not that big a deal, considering the inflated prices on some luxury products. It’s ridiculous, yes, but so are $2700 shoes and $43,000 suits. What I loathe is the fact that the design isn’t that great. It doesn’t look good, at all.

P.S. I dare you all to take a garbage bag, attach an old leather belt as a strap, and paint interlocking C’s on it. Just for fun…Le Sac Poubelle Chanel.

P.P.S. Louis Vuitton are bloody smart. I doubt they expect to sell many of these, but the amount of press they’ve gotten on them is worth way more than the profit they’ll have on the bags. I am sure store traffic will increase with one of these things in the window. Damn they’re good!

The collaboration we are all dreading: Jimmy Choo and Ugg.

There has been so many new product launch announcements in the past few weeks.

• Armani is doing a collaboration with Reebok
• and… Armani is making chocolate
• Diane Von Furstenberg is launching home decor
• Acne has launched furniture
• Paris Hilton is launching swimwear and lingerie
• Bebe is collaborating with Kim Kardashian (barf)
• Versace is launching a cell phone
• Tory Burch and Alexis Bittar are giving Barbie a makeover
• Gucci is launching couture
• Steve Madden is collaborating with Diana Ross

Great to hear these brands are doing so well that their allocating ressources to brand extensions, but isn’t it a bit strange that no one seems content to stick to what they do? Are these new products really going to expand profits or increase profiles, or are they just activities to get short bursts of media attention? I’m all for brands expanding into relevant product areas and interesting collaborations like Louis Vuitton’s artist series and H&M designer collections, but some of these brands are overdoing it, don’t you think?

Image source.

Before I talk a little about my Vancouver dislikes, I need to say that when people say it is one of the best cities in the world to live in, trust them, because its true. Cheap sushi, nearby beach and mountain, and an excellent standard of living are only some of the reasons. People are nice, genuinely nice. You can drink tap water. The views are phenomenal. Education and public services are great. You can buy Chanel and Louis Vuitton, but in two hours by car you can be in the middle of nowhere. So generally, Vancouver=good. But there are a lot of crappy things about this town, and one of them is the way its residents perceive it.

Some people say you’re as old as you feel. How about, you’re as cool as you feel. So many people here say “Vancouver is casual” or “Vancouver is laid back” or “we just wear casual clothes here, we don’t care about fashion”. Well, Vancouver, if you keep thinking like that you will perpetually be the town “where people are healthy and dress badly.”

I moved here and I want it to become more hip and interesting, so we can have the best of both worlds. This ridiculous “The World Needs More Canada” display at Chapters book store doesn’t help us one bit. In preparation for the Olympics, we are promoting ourselves and Canada as a great place. People know that Canada is a great place, but they might change their mind when they see idiotic displays like this one.

It basically sums up every Vancouver stereotype I hate, all nicely put together in a dsiplay in a store on our busiest shopping street.

1. Hockey. I have no problem with hockey or sports, but I have a problem with this cities obsession with hockey. I lived in Engand for 10 years, and aside from during the World Cup and Euro Cup tournaments, I could always escape football (soccer) beacuse the Brits understood that not everyone wants to watch a match or a game when they are eating or drinking. But not in Vancouver. Here, every single restaurant and bar has a hockey match playing on a TV.I was in a greek restaurant, watching a belly dancing performance, and they still had the hockey on.



2. Umbrellas. Yup, it rains here, non stop, so I guess the tourists will want to be buying these umbrellas for their stay here, or maybe take them back to their home country as a souvenir of the town that always rained. (Brits, you think england rains? It doenst rain half as much as rains here.)



3. Reusable water bottles. This is for use during exercise and yoga, and that is important because that is how we spend 90 percent of our free time here in Vancouver (the other spare time is spent watching sport, ie. Hockey). I am against disposable waterbottles because I hate the idea of all the waste, but I can’t bring myself to buy one of these reusable ones because A-it means I have officially moved back to Vancouver, and I’m not ready to admit that, and B- I won’t get the thrill of having everyone in my bikram yoga class give me dirty looks because I’m using a disposable water bottle, instead of a reusable one.



4. Reusable shopping bag: Vancouverites like to think they are super environmental, and I am very pleased that I use cotton bags when I grocery shop. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, this is a town where people buy gas guzzling SUVs to drive from their middle class neighbourhoods, 20 blocks east to the mall and then home. Oh yeah, they also drive 15 minutes to get to an area where they are going to go running for an hour. And the best part is, everyone is coming from the same neighbourhood, driving to the same running path, running together, and driving back again. In seperate cars. I am not exactly the most environmentally conscious person in the world, so I won’t criticize that sort of behaviour, but please don’t tell me you are environmental Vancouver, because you aren’t.

Ok, I am being critical, but what’s the solution. Well, if I was going to make a little display of things I love about Vancouver, here is what I would put in there. This is what the Vancouver area means to me.

1. Some aboriginal clothing, like these amazing moccasin boots, which I spotted on one of my students. They are made from local moose leather and rabbit fur, and cost less than $200!!!!
   
2. Smoked salmon: yum. It is bloody good here. Get it in a nicely painted box too. Image source.



3. BC bud: There is no denying that this is what Vancouver is famous for, even Tommy Lee was talking about it on stage Sunday night at GM Place. Of course I don’t endorse this sort of thing, but I have HEARD its really good. Here’s a picture of the Olympic torch, which is said to resemble a joint. Was that an accident, or a reflection of the culture here in Vancouver? Image source.



4. California rolls: Vancouver’s local dish is sushi. Ask anyone. And we do it super well. Tojo’s has been named the best Japanese restaurant in the world, outside of Japan. In the world!



5. A Douglas Coupland Book. We are proud of him!



6. Some local artwork. Something totally unappreciated by Vancouverites, so get it while it isn’t too expensive. Here are two of my favourites, Roselina Hung (top) and Dougal Graham (bottom.)



7. A tree. Can you sell small ones? I guess tourists can’t bring it home on the plane, so experience a tree. See a really big one on the way to Tofino, sit on a log on English bay beach, hike through them in Squamish, or burn some in a campfire on long beach. Be sure to bring a dog along.



8. Vintage clothes. The secret is, everyone here is two years behind the rest of the world when it comes to fashion, so they vintage stores are full of good stuff because the Vancouver people haven’t figured out its cool yet. Image of True Value Vintage, source.

Louis Vuitton does many things well, but when it comes to clothing, they truly excel in the quality and materials. All of the Louis Vuitton clothes I have fondled (or worn, unfortunately those are rare occasions) were constructed perfectly with the finest of materials. You can see the high quality of the menswear collection even in these low resolution images. And I love the delicious tones of blue, grey, taupe, chocolate, and purple in this collection, the colours are divine.

I Adore…

the beautiful colours and the contrast of the burgundy leathers and the greyed purples.

the coat layered over the little anorak, the streamlined boot, and the trousers tucked into it.

the beautifully cut leather blazer. Not sure about the feminine bag though...

more beautiful tones of taupe, and this perfectly cut bomber.

this handsome puffa coat, and the bluish greys in this look.

my favourite colour combination of dark brown and tan. Plus the shoes are perfect.

I Loathe…

the riding boots, the backpack, and the gloves, this look is very dorky.

that this jacket is too pale, the glasses are cheesy, and I am definitely not digging the riding boots worn like this.

All images from GQ.com.

Here is Part 3 of my summary of the last decade. Click for Part 1 and Part 2.

Building BRIC Countries. Brazil, Russia, India, and China have become new industry superpowers. Luxury brands are opening shop in these newly wealthy countries. China is reveling in its manufacturing powers and looking to bank in on creativity as well. Russian oligarchs own…almost everything. High street brands are opening all over India, with an estimated 700 million Indians living in cities by 2050 (Goldman Sachs.) And Brazil has the world’s 5th biggest population and a huge amount of natural resources.

Louis Vuitton’s Shanghai store under construction.

Too Fat and Too Thin are the words used at some point to describe almost all of the celebrities in the past ten years. With obesity rates rising globally, the blame shifted to the thin people, in particular the fashion industry.

Another distorted fashion image.

Socialising Change. How has society shifted in the past ten years?

A new language is born.

The Axis of Evil. Image source.

Twitter, tweets, tweeting, retweet, etc…

Swine Flu, Bird Flu, H1N1, the flu had many new names.

Image source.

There has been many goodbyes in the past ten years,including the Yellow Pages and the fax machine.

Green is the New Black, certainly when it comes to lifestyle. The words fairtrade, ethical, sustainable, and organic have become a part of our everyday vocabulary. How green are you?

Eating Locally

The Electric Car. Image source.

We all understand what this sign means now.

How many of you grow your own? with the help of your compost…of course.

And the garbage gets smaller as our waste gets redirected to compost and recycling. Image source.

Of course we all carry around reusable bags for our groceries… Image source.

And lets not forget, no trend is a real trend unless a giant American company manages to profit in some way. Here’s to the king of organic food.

When Fame Meant Talent. Our obsession with celebrities intensified in the past ten years, and fame became more achievable. Celebrities don’t just sing songs for us and act in our movies, they design our clothes, the model clothes in our magazines, they make perfumes, yoga clothes, hotels, and nightclubs. And anyone can be famous, land yourself a gig on a reality TV show, and you too can be the next big thing.

Big Brother: the source of way too many useless celebrities.

Gwen Stefani’s L.A.M.B. One of the few celebrity collections that has a teeny bit of credibility. But not much.

According to UK Vogue, putting a celebrity on your cover guarantees way more sales than using a model, The only exception being Kate Moss, who seems to be an exception to a lot of things.

Poor Paris. She is just…so uncool.

The Hills: I can proudly say I have never watch a whole episode of these ditzes and their boring life. Would it be possible to do a reality show about some people who are interesting, intelligent, AND talented? Or does that defeat the purpose?

The i-Generation. Remember when a blackberry was a fruit? Phones were used for calling people? Maps were used for finding your way? And you used a CD player to listen to music?

And… A few more people to sum up the decade.

Politicians these days have to ride bikes. Image source.

Celebrity chefs: some were cool, some made good good, and other were *?@*&%€ !!!! Above, Jamie Oliver.

“shoes, sex! cocktails, shoes, men, Manolo, shoes, sex! dildo, New York, shoes, Manhattan, shoes, sex! orgasm, shoes, shopping, dress, shoes, New York. And sex!” The Sex and the City girls (or should I say ladies?) certainly liberated the plus forty single woman.

No many artists can go mainstream and still be cool. Banksy = an exception.

Remember when Karl Lagerfeld was fat and carried a fan? Photo from Vogue France.

Not many celebrities can be filmed doing cocaine, not make any statements to the media, and then double their fees.

Three really annoying guys who were generally a nuisance to everyone.

Sex Wizards sells. Image source.

Best Looking Couple. Oops! That award goes to Brangelina. The Beckhams get the Most Annoying Couple.

Let’s also take a moment to think of the many tragedies suffered in the past ten years, particularly the tsunami victims, Hurricane Katrina victims, and everyone else killed in wars, terrorist attack, or from starvation. There was FAR too much of that in the past ten years.

Happy New Year everyone and here’s to a prosperous 2010!

All images from the brand’s or person’s website, except all catwalk images from style.com, unless otherwise noted.

Thanks to the Grahams for their help on this list!

Here is Part 2 of my summary of the last decade. Click here for Part 1.

New Blood in the fashion industry and on the catwalks. Images from Style.com

Christophe Decarnin for Balmain.

Tomas Maier for Bottega Veneta.

Christopher Bailey for Burberry Prorsum.

New designer Gareth Pugh.

Ricardo Tisci for Givenchy.

Alber Elbaz for Lanvin.

New designer Marios Schwab.

New designers Rodarte.

New designer Giambattista Valli.

Stefano Pilati for Yves Saint Laurent.

New designer Zac Posen.

Nicolas Ghesquière for Balenciaga.

And I am not forgetting Jonathon Saunders, Proenza Schouler,  Alexander Wang, Philip Lim, Richard Nicoll, and many others (including revivals of Halston and Ossie Clark.) In fact, when I was researching this post, I realised that in Fall 2002, Style.com showed 114 designers’ catwalk collection on their website. For Fall 2009 the number was up to 262.

A New Retail Perspective resulted in an shopping evolution, or revolution.

Dover Street Market in London.

Dover Street Market, considered one of the “best” stores in the world, opened on London’s Dover Street. Curated by Rei Kawakubo from Comme des Garcons, the store continues to innovate.

Primark’s first central London location had people queuing over an hour to buy £1 tights and £3 t-shirts. Dubbed “Primani”, the store continues to attract crowds and has not felt the recession as badly as most high street retailers.

A new retailing concept: The Pop-Up Store. A temporary retail space, opened for a short period of time, sometimes with a limited edition product. This one is a pop up for Louis Vuitton’s collaboration with Rei Kawakubo from Comme des Garcons for a collection of handbags.

Net A Porter changed the way consumers shop for luxury online.

ASOS (As Seen On Screen) started as a site selling copies of celebrities outfits, but as turned into one of the largest, most-successful multi-brand online retailers.

Gilt Groupe is one of the many discount luxury retailers thriving in the recession.

American Apparel sold basics tees with a new angle: using sleazy and sometimes pornographic images to sell a product made in the US in factories where workers had holiday and sick pay.

A Decade to be Forgotten. How many of these fashion trends do you look back on and smile, or cringe? (in no particular order…)

Kate Moss wearing gladiator sandals, first seen at Balenciaga.

Luxury denim, aka the $300 pair of jeans. These ones from Rock and Republic.

Lingerie becomes fashionable again, thanks to brands like Agent Provocateur.

I remember when there were one hour lineups outside the Birkenstock store.

Bling: a trend I definitely did not embrace.

Nu Rave. The worst trend of the 00s. What were they thinking? This look by Cassette Playa.

The IT bag: Chloe Paddington anyone?

and we certainly cant forget the Motorcycle bag by Balenciaga.

The new IT bag: The IT shoe. From top to bottom: Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo, and Christian Louboutin. I think we have Sex and the City to thank for this.

On second thought, Crocs were definitely the worst trends of the 00s, with Nu Rave coming in a close second.

Not wearing pants. A Lady Gaga phenomenon, lets hope this one doesn’t last. Image source.

Leggings. These ones by American Apparel.

Boho, Hippie, Hobo, whatever. A look that kept on giving. Sienna Miller image from Dave Hogan/Getty Images.

Skinny jeans helped us to discover the muffin top. These ones by Topshop.

Maybe it was a decade of really bad shoes…. But unfortunately we still haven’t seen the end of the Ugg boot.

Wellington boots by Hunter. Remember when there were for farmers, not festivals?

If anyone had told me that a company would make millions buy selling velour jogging suits, I would have never believed them. Nauseating.

The Birth of the Recessionista and the credit crunch will probably be one of the defining events of the last decade, even though it took place at the end. The losers were the big luxury brands that didn’t have a strong brand identity, hedgefund managers, department stores, anyone selling cars or furniture, and the millions who ended up unemployed and homeless. The winners were the discount retailers, online retailers, anyone selling an education, and MacDonalds.

Susie Bubble as a Recessionista.

Catch Part 3 of 3 “Remembering the Noughties” posts tomorrow!

All images from the brand’s or person’s website, except all catwalk images from style.com, unless otherwise noted.

Everyone seems to be getting excited about the upcoming Spring Summer 2010 advertising campaigns. I guess in fashion terms that is something to get excited about, however I rarely get worked up about an advertising campaign unless there is something amazing going on.

I have always been obsessed with these Versace campaigns shot by Steven Meisel. The models are Amber Valleta and Georgina Grenville, and it was for Autumn Winter 2000. I am also very excited that I found the entire series today on this Russian photography site, they are quite large versions, and I like to have a record of great fashion things like this.

This campaign was turned into a small exhibition, and there are a few reasons why it was so well received. The models, although young and beautiful, are styled to look old, which is very unusual in fashion. The way they sit, their hair, makeup, everything, makes them look much older than they are. Also, they are staring straight into the camera, which is a bit eerie. The Beverly Hills mansion where these photos were taken must have been a locations scout’s dream, it is so perfect for the clothing. Someone pointed out to me that in nearly all the photos the models were smoking cigarettes, which were then airbrushed out. Take a look, you can see their fingers are in the right position. If you spend a few seconds looking into each photo, you can appreciate how amazing theses shots are, they are a bit weird, but fabulous. This is definitely my favourite fashion advertising campaign ever.

Here are some of the Spring Summer 2010 campaigns, which will start to come out in the January magazines, and make a full appearance by March. I got all the images from Refinery 29, except the Dolce and Gabbana ones, which were published in Italian Vogue.

Here’s Lara Stone for Louis Vuitton. She is the model of the moment, and has just replaced Madonna, who starred in the campaigns last season. I am looking forward to seeing this in more detail.

Louis Vuitton Spring Summer 2010: Lara Stone shot by Steven Meisel

Everyone was surprised by this Akris campaign with Daphne Guinness. The heiress is known for her amazing, eclectic style and her haute couture collection, and she is loved by so many designers. It was a surprise that she chose to work with Akris, a little-known brand.

Akris Spring Summer 2010: Daphne Guinness shot by Steven Klein

This Gucci ad looks amazing and I want to be next to that swimming pool right now.

Gucci Spring Summer 2010: Natasha Poly and Ryan Kennedy shot by Mert & Marcus

Marc Jacobs’ campaigns, always shot by Juergen Teller, are often slightly unusual. He is the only designer whose campaign involves taking five $1500 handbags, throwing them in the dirt, and then putting Sofia Coppola next to them. So it is no surprise that his next campaign has a model with her foot in a toilet.

Marc Jacobs Spring Summer 2010: Jamie Bouchert shot by Juergen Teller

The Lanvin campaign looks pretty cool, as does everything from the Lanvin label at the moment.

Lanvin Spring Summer 2010: Jamie Bouchert shot by Steven Meisel

I think this Dolce & Gabbana ad, featuring Madonna washing the dishes and doing other very “Italian Mamma” looking things, looks great. I am surprised how many times she can be reinvented.

Dolce & Gabbana Spring Summer 2010: Madonna shot by Steven Meisel

This week, like next week, is the time for a lot of socialising and meeting friends. Vancouver seems to have a lot of good restaurants, many of which I have yet to explore.

I met my friend Hannah on Tuesday at the Secret Garden tea shop in Kerrisdale. The concept is interesting, tea and cakes and lunch in a cutesy tea room environment. The location is perfect, as there are a lot of people around Kerrisdale that can probably afford to take long lunches (let’s just say the typical Kerrisdale lady is probably pretty time-rich as well as cash-rich.) We met at 3pm and it was almost full, so they must be doing quite well. When I sat down I saw this lovely tea cup with sugar cubes on the table, and looked at the menu, which had an amazing selection of teas.

The decor had a lot of potential. personally I would have bought old chairs and tables, so that none of them match, but the counter area had a lot of charm.

The tea and cakes was lovely, but I have to say I was really disappointed by their tea pots and cups. Why go through all the trouble with the decor and the pretty tea cup sugar holders on every table, when you are going to serve the drinks in these generic, boring tea cups.

Another slightly disappointing drinks situation was last night when I went to Uva with Debra, Valdimir, Tin, and the husband. Great company, beautiful venue, fantastic decor, great wine list, but very disappointing service. In fact, I am regretting the 10% tip I left, they deserved less. But at least everything looked good.

Love the light fixtures!

These wall patterns look great, definitely something to consider for a wall in our living room.

Speaking of looking good, today I used my Oonagh O’Hagan bag for the first time. Oonagh is an old friend, we studied together at St Martins and we have stayed close ever since. She is the author of a fantastic book, called I Lick My Cheese and Other Real Notes From The Roommate Frontlines. It is a book filled with notes that people have left for their roommates. I supposed I could say I was the author of one or two of the notes in there, but I won’t tell you which ones, as they weren’t very nice.

She did a limited edition run of bags early this year, which were only available at Browns, a beautiful little department store on South Molton Street in London. in London. Her design took after the famous Anya Hindmarch “I’m not a plactic bag”, which sold like crazy a few years ago but was criticized because it wasn’t ethically friendly and it was made in China.

Marisa V’s version was also very funny, I never got around to buying one, but I defintiely wish I had.

Anyway, here is Oonagh’s bag, I don’t think you can get it anywhere anymore, but you can definitely enjoy my picture!

Its a cotton bag with a photo of a Louis Vuitton bag printed on it.

SO cool!

Perfect size for my MacBook.