I think Alber Elbaz probably prefers a piece of chocolate before bedtime more than most women...

While I’m a lover of all that is Lanvin, this quote really, really annoyed me.

“For me, all women around the world are alike. They all like a red dress, they all like a bit of chocolate before bed, they all cry at the same things. I don’t see there is a difference, in the end, between an Asian woman and an American woman.”

It is one thing that so many gay men seem to dictate what women wear, but it is another when they generalize us and presume we all snivel at the same things. I’m not offended by the generalization about the red dress (they ARE great) and the chocolate (yum) but saying that we “all crying about the same things” is highly offensive. That’s like suggesting all men are attracted to women with big asses or that every young girl likes Barbies. It is a highly derogatory generalization. Finally, I’d like to point out that very few things make me cry, in fact, I think the last time I cried properly was when I saw The Wrestler. Is this one of the “things” that Elbaz thinks we cry about?

And yeah, I am not going to even start on the comment about American and Asian women. I’d be offended by it if I was American or Asian. You’d have thought, given his style, he’d be embracing the differences rather than making us all out to be the same.

Sigh. Why can’t designers keep their mouths shut. (Except Roberto Cavalli. He is ridiculous-hilarious.)

Quote from WWD. Image from here.

Ok, first of all, I’m bored to death of seeing photos of models and celebrities (and daughters of famous people, as it is in this case) while they are nearly naked and pregnant. It is boring, and one of those lame trends that has been DONE TO DEATH. Plus this one is even more nausea-inducing, because it is Carine Roitfeld styling her own pregnant daughter for the cover of a magazine. Her obsession and constant promotion of her kids is pathetic. I’d love to hear about one thing that either Julia, or Carine’s son Vladimir, accomplish on their own, without the help of their mother. She is the ultimate definition of a helicopter parent.

And while we are on the subject of feeling nauseated, here’s how Julia defended the image: “I loved that my mum dressed me sexy like that.” Am I the only person who thinks that ANY situation where your Mom dresses you up “sexy” is effed up? I used to really respect Carine Roitfeld, but lately, she seems to have become predictable and boring. I am OVER HER.

p.s. This is one of eight covers for this particular issue of i-D. What is up with magazines all needing to do tons of versions of covers for each issue? Can’t they just do ONE great cover, instead of (in this case) eight shitty ones?

p.p.s. Remember those creepy photos of Carine and her son for the Barney’s campaign? Ewww….

Image and quote from Fashionista.

I think it is safe to say that I am obsessed with Mawi jewelry and now my mission is to find somewhere that sells it in Canada, or somewhere that will ship it without nasty customs surprises. Because I need to get myself some of this amazing stuff.

When I read through my archives, I ask myself, is it bad that I’ve barely evolved? Or is it good that I stand by the things I believe in, like the fact that I loathe, loathe, loathe celebrity fashion designers. Here’s a fun fashion list of my 5 least favourite. And even though this post was originally published in December 2012, it is still quite relevant today.

The 5 Worst Celebrities Who Meddled in Fashion

My long-time readers will know that I despise celebrities who meddle in the fashion industry. For some ridiculous reason, people seem to think that anyone can be a fashion designer, and that having a few nice frocks means they can design a clothing collection. Let me clarify that this is not true. You do actually need a design education to design clothes. Some fashion designers come from backgrounds such as textiles, graphic design, or architecture, which is fine as those are transferable skills. Behaving like an idiot on a reality TV show, or singing in a crappy girls band does not suddenly grant you the ability to compete with Karl Lagerfeld or Alber Elbaz.

Here is my list of the worst celebrities who have “decided” to do fashion. If these five women dropped off the face of the earth, perhaps the fashion industry could regain some its lost credibility. (This is list is in no particular order, but I did start with my least favourite.)

Victoria Beckham "It's so emotional I was thinking about wearing waterproof mascara.” and Lindsay Lohan "Sometimes being that thin doesn't look healthy. I kind of didn't realize that.”

1. Victoria Beckham. If I have to hear one more time about how she “designs” her collections, which are essentially unimaginative copies of Roland Mouret and other top brands, I will be sick. This is the woman who claims she dresses “sexy in a virginal way.” She is an idiot. That is all.

2. Lindsay Lohan. The Ungaro disaster. And a collection of leggings. This is no fashion icon.

Lauren Conrad "I don’t really have a talent... all I can do is be myself" and Kim Kardashian "If Paris Hilton thinks my butt looks gross I really don’t care."

3. Kim Kardashian. Please go away. And take “Dash” with you. Their parents must be so embarrassed, imagine if all your daughters let their boobs spill out of every outfit and were famous for nothing. I’d disown any children like that.

4. Lauren Conrad. Waste of space. Let the publishing world have her…she is a “novelist” now.

Sarah Jessica Parker on her role at Halston "I'll do it like everything else I've ever done." Does that mean, badly?

5. Sarah Jessica Parker. I explained my reasons for loathing her a few weeks ago. Leave Halston now, or I shall curse you.

Image credits: Victoria Beckham, Kim Kardashian, Lauren Conrad, Lindsay Lohan, and Sarah Jessica Parker.

PARTNERED POST

I’m usually really lazy with my hair (I don’t cut it enough, I don’t style it very much) but some of these summer hair trends are getting me excited about making an effort with my hair. Here are a four great summer 2012 hair trends.

Painted hair at Narciso Rodriguez.

The painted hair trend is definitely for the brave, but small painted areas could be fun for a night out or a special event. Pastel colours are idea to pull this off, and it works best with hair that is tied back or put up.

Effortless festival hair at Givenchy.

It bothers me the way everyone does “festival” collections and “festival” fashion now, but the idea of festival hair is quite nice. It should be long, a bit messy, and totally effortless. They did it super well at Givenchy. Speak to your stylist at Rush Hair about layering your hair so that you can get the festival look with very little effort (which is the ultimate goal for most hair styles…)

The wet look at Alexander Wang.

Alexander Wang did an extreme wet look for his spring summer 2012 catwalk show, but you can easily tone this down a bit, so you don’t literally look like you came out of the water. This is a great look post-beach.

Messy braids at Michael Kors.

Braids are a huge trend this season, wear them wrapped around the top of your head, falling down your back, or as part of an up do. And they can be slick, neat, or super messy, like the ones from Michael Kors (pictured.)

Images from Vogue.com.

The lovely images in this blog post are the work of Mary Binding, a recent fashion design graduate of London College of Fashion.

Ask Alexandra is my advice column. Have a question you want to ask me? Fill out the form here.

Hi Alexandra,

I am extremely determined to succeed as a designer in the fashion industry. I am 19 and about to start a 3/4 year course Fashion Design and Technique at l’Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale. My dream has always been to study at Central Saint Martins, but I was just rejected for the BA, so I will go to study in Paris.

My dream is now to go to CSM to do an MA, when I have finished with La Chambre Syndicale. Since I know you have studied at La Chambre Syndicale, I was wondering how many years you studied there, and how did you manage to get onto an MA course, having not done a BA? I thought that was one of the requirements.

Can you get onto an MA at if you have only a diploma from the Chambre Syndicale? I would also love to hear about your time at La Chambre Syndicale, even though I think the course has changed since you were there…

Dear Julia,

I joined the three year course at La Chambre Syndicale, and started in the second year, as I’d done a diploma in Canada and already gained a lot of technical skills. I only ended up staying for a year, as an internship in the production department at Sonia Rykiel turned into a job on the design team, and I knew this was an opportunity I had to take. When I applied to Central St. Martins’ (CSM) MA a few years later, I got in based on my professional experience, which they deemed equivalent to a BA. I believe that CSM will make exceptions on their MA course, if you have several years education or work experience, even without a BA, you can usually apply.

When I was there, La Chambre Syndicale was extremely technical, which gave me incredible skills, but there wasn’t a huge focus on design. The best part about the school was the internship opportunities, they had contacts with all of the big brands. Take advantage of this, as its more likely to lead to a job than the internships in London, which are essentially slave labour. I don’t know how the course has changed, but I am presuming it has evolved a bit to meet market demands.

The important thing for every student in your position is not to get obsessed with studying at CSM. While I can’t say enough good things about the school and the MA course, there are a a lot of other schools that can provide an excellent education. (Here are a few.)

With a good education, you can still be successful, even if you don’t have CSM on your CV. It helps to open doors for you, but many schools will help to open doors, and it is essentially about what happens once you’ve got your foot in the door that will determine your future. Get as much experience as you can, as an intern, and be fantastic intern: work hard, be enthusiastic, be responsible, be pleasant and listen. If the word gets out that you are a great intern in Paris, then you have an excellent chance of getting a job (Paris has way more jobs than London, and if you speak French, there will be a lot more opportunities available to you.) Your dream should not be to go to CSM, your dream should be to have a successful design career. There are many great designers in the industry who are not from CSM and they do just fine. If your talent matches your drive, I’m sure you will, too.

Images from LCF Showtime. Mary Binding is a 2012 fashion graduate from London College of Fashion, here details can be found here.

A student introduced me to Larissa Hadjio yesterday, and I have to say I am very intrigued. While I normally don’t favour gimmicky accessories, these ones (part of her Deep Sea collection) have really caught my eye. They are simple, statement pieces, and I could totally see myself walking around with my keys and phone in a fish clutch.

I really had to edit down this post, originally I had 50 dresses to comment on, but that would have been too long for this blog, so I cut out all of the looks that I didn’t feel very strongly about. Here are the best and worst outfits from the ball last night.

I love…

Anna Wintour in this Schiaparelli-esque Prada dress. The gold lobser looks amazing. (Not a huge fan of Miuccia's outfit, but then again, I expect her to be unconventional.)

Milla Jovovich in classic Prada. She looks great!

Linda Evangelista, who looks killer in Prada. In my opinion, the belle of the ball.

Gwyneth Paltrow in Prada, although in some shots I saw some side boob, which was not attractive.

that we finally get to see some Haider Ackermann on the red carpet! Worn by the beautiful Constance Jablonski.

Carey Mulligan wearing (surprise, surprise) Prada. Does she ever look bad?

Rooney Mara looking slick and fabulous in Givenchy.

A bunch of girls in Mugler dresses, whihc re-ignites my hope for the brand (all this Lady Gaga-ness and overhype was making me lose hope in the brand.)

I loathe…

Anja Rubik and a very scary leg and hip showing out of this Anthony Vaccarello dress. This could have been stunning, but I didn't need to know she isn't wearing a underwear.

Sarah Jessica Parker in a Valentino dress that makes me ashamed about having worn Valentino to get married.

Rachel Feinstein wearing the ugliest accessory from the fall winter 2012 catwalks (Marc Jacobs' Dr. Seuss hats) and Marc Jacobs being an attention-seeking fool in his Comme des Garcons lace dress. They both look like idiots.

Mary-Kate Olson looking 85 years old in The Row.

Lauren Santo Domingo in shouders by Oscar de la Renta. Is this a joke?

Kristen Stewart in Balenciaga. This is SUCH a lame choice, surely Balenciaga could have found something prettier for her to wear?

Jenna Lyons wearing J Crew (I presume) that looks sloppy and badly fit.

Florence Welch trying to be amazing in Alexander McQueen, but instead just looking like a fool.

Coco Rocha in vintage Givenchy. Couldn't Givenchy have stopped this tragedy from happening?

Chloe Sevigny looking like a cheap go-go dancer in Miu Miu.

Cameron Diaz looking old and totally uncool in Stella McCartney (which is so wrong, because she is supposed to look young and cool.) And of course Stella looks a bit ridiclous, too.

Images from WWD.

So by now you’ve all heard about Natalia Vodianova sticking her foot in her mouth by saying “It’s better to skinny than fat.” a few weeks ago. Although this is controversial, it does ring true in the fashion industry, whether you like it or not. But of course people were going to make a fuss.

Maybe Natalia is lying down because she is so hungry?

The problem was not this ridiculous quote, it was her defense of it.

“Our industry is scrutinized for giving false image and criteria of beauty and provoking eating disorders however there are other industries that might be even more to blame like food industry that is constantly reinventing ways of pushing food on us.”

Yes, wow, imagine that. The food industry wants to sell us food. Does that mean the food industry is to blame for the obesity epidemic? Partially. But let’s face it, the food industry is not using emaciated fifteen year olds to sell their product, like fashion. And hold on! She goes on.

Skinny might be considered "better", but protruding ribs are not.

“I wish I did say at the time, that I assume there is very little Anorexia or Bulimia issues in countries like Africa, China and Russia today!”

I looked up a bit about eating disorders and the Western World, and found this: “One of the reported explanations for the development of eating disorders is the social pressure resulting from the standards of female beauty imposed by modern industrial society or Western culture.” (source) So basically, the fashion industry is partially to blame for eating disorders. But what was Vodianova trying to get at with her ditzy quote? I am presuming she was referring to the fact that those countries are poorer than the Western World (well, not really, China is rich, but I digress…)  but so what? They should be “happy” that they don’t have eating disorders? Or we should look to those countries to find out why they aren’t as fat as the Western World? Is it a good thing they have less food, but less eating disorders? Who knows what she was trying to get at. My advice? She should just shut up and look pretty.

Images from here and here.

It is that time of year again, when our toe nails suddenly need a lot of maintenance. (By the way, can I just share with you my nails painting tip? If you drive to work, get into the car in the morning, put your seatbelt on, put your keys into the ignition, and release the emergency brake, then paint your nails. They dry while you drive! This works best if you have a long commute, like me. This also works if you go to work on a train, but you have to deal with dirty looks.)

Anyway, back to cuticles. OPI‘s Mini Nipper is a fantastic cuticle clipper and also deals with the dreaded hangnail. This is going to be my go-to for summer, since I don’t have time to get my nails done every few weeks. OPI’s mini nipper has contoured cutting edge, a retractable spring, and handles really well (I’ve tried it. I know.) They’d also like us to get excited about this limited edition purple version, although I don’t care what colour it is. In this case, I’m more interested in efficiency, and if it does what it says on the box. This product most definitely does.

Available at salons and spas for $21.95.