Best Dressed of the Weekend: Kiernan Shipka wears Miu Miu
Getty, Courtesy of Miu Miu, Celebrity-Gossip

Penélope Cruz seems to be looking better now than she did before having a child and I'm glad she's showing it off. I love the wet hair look, which adds a beachy feel to her stunning Michael Kors dress. The accessories were neutral but added to the chicness, especially the Roger Vivier clutch.
Kiernan Shipka is quite simply the most stylish 12 year old in the world. I love seeing young stars enjoying dressing up but being aware that there's always plenty of time to experiment when you're old enough. Her Miu Miu dress with floral macramè embroidery was as fashion-forward as she can get.
Lady Gaga, who has been a bit off the radar lately and wearing slightly toned down looks (by her standards) stepped out in a great gown from the Atelier Versace collection – not one of my favourites but pretty amazing and even conservative for her.
And, of course, Emma Stone. I have a feeling I am going to be posting quite a bit about her over the next few weeks. For the Moscow stop of her Spiderman press tour she wore a floral Lanvin dress. I love the black strokes over it that make it look like an unfinished painting. The only flaw was her slightly odd eye shadow.

Cruise 2013: The best bits so far
Style.com

Is it me or have the Resort collections never been this good? We always knew that this and Pre-Fall were the most important collections commercially because they're the ones that stay on the shelves for longer, and hence make the money. But a few years back I was the first one complaining about how bland and pointless they were.

Well, I am changing my tune. Cruise 2013 is full of hits and excellent pieces! Balenciaga's collection was full of great ideas – cleavage cut-outs, hello? But I was especially keen on the footwear. The bow effect Ghesquière created on the bicolour leather boots might just make these as big a hit as his gladiator boots were back for SS08.

I also fell in love with Bottega Veneta. More precisely, with their tracksuits. I can solemnly swear that I have never, nor will I wear a tracksuit outside a gym but these are so cool. There's a 70's vibe to the colours and lines that, together with the nice fabric, makes it chic – there, I said it. These would have been so perfect for Farrah Fawcett in Charlie's Angels.

Michael Kors is doing great stuff at the moment. His Resort collection has this perfect balance between the relaxed relaxed and the super luxe – reluxed? I especially like the gold pieces: lamé, lace and knits that are just timeless.

Best Dressed at the 2012 CFDA Awards
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This year's CFDA awards had me particularly excited for two reasons. The first was the fact that Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were nominated for Best Womenswear Designer for The Row. The second was the fact that this year, for the first time, I voted for all the categories myself. So I feel like I had some part in making Ash and MK the big winners of the night.
The Olsens obviously chose to wear looks from The Row. They felt a bit more summery than they usually do, which probably has to do with the fact that they belong to their latest Cruise 2013 collection. I was also gladly surprised to see Mary-Kate has gone brunette again. I think it really suits her and it sure makes a lot of journalists' job much easier.
Joan Smalls accompanied Michael Kors in one of his designs. I loved the skirt cut and the sort of scalloped hem line. It was very much summer wear but extremely chic and Joan rocked it.
Hilary Rhoda, who has the most amazing eyes ever, went for a silk Rebecca Minkoff number. It was an unexpected choice for an event of this sort but I like the elegant yet slightly casual air of the dress. The colours and cut out details are super chic and they sure bring out her eyes.
No fashion event feels whole without Kate Bosworth so I was chuffed to find her amongst the attendees. She wore Altuzarra and was the designer's date. I was also super happy for Joseph Altuzarra, who won the Swarovski Awards for Womenswear. I, too, voted for him.

* Take a look at my blog for Harper's Bazaar Spain to see more of my favourite looks.

Michael Kors FW12: Red, checks & amazing coats
Style.com

I feel like Michael Kors' collections are getting better and better every season. Or maybe I am more and more of a sucker for preppy East-coast styles. Perhaps both. The truth is I absolutely love the FW12 collection. We see a lot of alpine style fashion in the winter collections but it's usually approached from a 'weekend getaway' perspective: a city girl who goes to the mountains and wants to be comfy but chic, blah, blah. This time it looks like Kors has flipped the tables. This looks more like a super sophisticated woman who lives in the country and decides to show everyone in the city how it's done.
The coats are, as you can see, my favourite. And I would always love a thick knit and flannel pant any day of the week. There is an ease to everything, like you can throw anything on and you know it will look and feel great.

JustJared

I was originally thinking of doing a 'Best dressed of the week' post today but going through the pictures I had been saving lately I noticed there were mostly of these two ladies. So I decided to write about both of their very stylish last few weeks instead.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley has really become a celebrity during her 'Transformers 3' promo tour. Everyone is talking about her. And how could they not when she has consistently smashed it on the red carpet and at tv appearances.

There has been quite a lot of Michael Kors. The most memorable have been the fuchsia side-slit (I loved how the closed neck was balanced with the showing leg), the black leotard and the belted sheer maxi skirt and the nude jumpsuit look. I loved the variety and the fact that she completely changed the hair and make up to suit the dresses.

I also loved the yellow and black number from Gucci's fw11 collection. It was almost like a night version of Michael Kors' sheer skirt but she wore it so well. We have seen people like JLo in pieces from the same collection but they've let the dresses wear them. Rosie does the opposite.

JustJared

Cameron Diaz has also been on a promo tour, for her 'Bad Teacher' film.
In her case we've seen no variation in terms of designers (apart from some J Brand jeans) because she was apparently wearing Akris exclusively. Anyone else would have probably looked very boring in a few of these outfits but Cameron gives anything that California girl playful twist of hers. I did absolutely love the sandals, which funnily enough were the only item not by Akris (by Serio Rossi).
Her looks were a lot less fashion-y than Rosie's but I love how Cameron's style sense is quite down-to-Earth and almost quintessentially American. She looks better than most people in skinny jeans and stilettos so why try anything else?

Are you a fan of Rosie's or Cameron's fashion choices?

The fashion at the CFDA awards is never ad grand as that of the Met Ball but it's so interesting to see which American designers models and celebrities wear to the event. Last night we saw the usual pretty but plain Calvin Kleins and Michael Kors but also a handful of very stylish and even edgy looks made in America.

My two absolute favourites were Jessica Alba in a custom-made Diane von Furstemberg and Kristen Dunst in Patrick Ervell. I loved Jessica because the colours are very seasonal, the sort of pregnant take on the wrap dress represents the designer and the accessorising adds just the right amount of bling. And Dunst I loved because it was completely unexpected. We've seen so much Chanel with the hair down that we almost forgot what she's capable of. The matching of the nail polish colour and the velvet lapels was exquisite. I was also very keen on the (chavy?) detail of the loops. I can't say why but it works!

Second and third on my list are Miranda Kerr, who I used to hate, in Michael Kors and Karolina Kurkova in a green sequinned Diane von Furstemberg. They were both simple but the side-slit and golden cuffs on Kerr and the hood and Louboutins on Karolina really made them stand out.

The big disappointment of the night were the Olsens, mostly in The Row with a dash of Chanel, LV and Manolos. Ashley's granny look was messy and felt cheap and MK, the better of the two, got the colours and proportions wrong. The only good thing were they The Row bags, which were premiered then. A little Victoria Beckham, no?

[JustJared, Style.com]

Best dressed of the weekend: Leather is in

JustJared.buzznet.com, Zimbio.com

I had been looking out for great celebrity spottings during the weekend but, apart from the classic Jessica Alba weekend moment, there was nothing I wanted to post about. That changed this morning when I came across these pictures of Kate Bosworth and Leighton Meester in Chloé and Michael Kors. You would think both dresses are by the same designer as they seem like the cocktail and gown version of the same dress, no? I love how the Chloé number looks very Bosworth (aka: girly but simple and not too form-hugging) and how Leighton looks much like an amazon. Her hair really compliments the look.

My other spotting (picture on the right) has me quite excited. Elizabeth Olsen (A & MK's younger sister) made her Sundance debut this weekend while presenting "Martha Marcy May Marlene", her first movie. She had had very small parts in her sister's films from back in the day and now she's breaking through. And I say I am excited because it sounds like she is very talented but also because she has clearly inherited the Olsen genes of beauty and style. She is incredibly cute! She's got that broad Olsen smile and her style, while very different from her sisers' fashion-forwardness, seems quite cool so far. What do you think?

Ticking the boxes

I am not sure there is such a thing as set standards for Cruise collections. Personally, I feel there are certain things that always must be present —a maxi skirt and dress, a cocktail dress, an LBD, a tailored cotton trouser, a well cut blazer, shorts and a slightly loose knit jumper. Then, of course, they are to be played with and more interesting pieces to go with them are to be added but I feel a good resort line must include all of the above to be considered so.
Looking at the Cruise 2011 collections shown so far I have to admit I am a little impressed with the improvement. I suppose designers are also learning what to make of these odd and season-less lines they must produce. Since we can't speak of trends per se, for that is the whole point of these collections, I looked at colour. Along with white and black, orange has been very present in most collections. It works in a multitude of tones, it looks fresh but it's not too wild, and is apt for any scenery.

YSL and Michael Kors are two of my favourite Cruise 2011 collections. The first felt very fresh, as Stefano Pilati rarely uses any colour, let alone bright ones. The designs were along the classic lines of the French house but had a very cool edge that I personally loved. Kors, who usually plays it ridiculously safe, really surprised me with his line. The clean lines and simple clothes were full of East-coast coolness. I want more of that in his regular collections!

Oscar de la Renta's show was odd. The first half of the collection was all over the place, with sloppy combinations of garments, colours and prints while the second was this explosion of glamour. Gowns in the best colours, prints and shapes walked the runway until the end. My favourite was the white polka-dotted one above.

I found Rachel Roy's Cruise 2011 collection absolutely stunning. There was a lot of maxi dresses and skirts and some very cool layering and see-through-ness. She really made her collection look completely new using wardrobe staples and twisting them with very chic hands.

Which collection did you love?
I'm off.

[Style.com]

CFDA 2010 awards

I feel like I haven't posted in years and today I am so inspired I could make about 12 posts. Alas, I am only human so I'll stick to a chronological order to relevance so neither of us go mental. Let's start with the CFDA awards from Monday night. This year I was quite excited for one of my favourite new designers, Joseph Altuzarra, to win the Swarovski Womenswear Designer of the Year award. But, apparently, it had to go to the more unoriginal Jason Wu. I was also disappointed by Marc Jacobs' win as I feel slightly iffy about him, both as a person and as a designer. However, the fact that Richard Chai and Alexander Wang won the Swarovski Menswear and Accessories awards, respectively, made me very happy.

Fashion wise it wasn't a super exciting edition. I was happy to see the Olsens on their first official appearance at the awards as CFDA members but, even though they looked great, I always expect them to outshine everyone else. Something that didn't happen this year. My list of best dressed at this year's event even surprised me. My favourite above all was Vogue's Tonne Goodman, who won the Eleanor Lambert Award, in a Michael Kors outfit that pretty much epitomised classic East-coast style. Jessica Biel showed she can actually get it right every so often. She looked absolutely stunning a 30's glamour version of Diane Von Furstemberg's classic wrap dress. I can't explain why I like it so much but I look at it and it just feels right. Iris Apfel totally made my day by wearing one of Nicolas Ghesquière's Balenciaga jackets from SS09. I simply love the fact that a lady of her age can be so fashion-forward and still look appropriate. I really wish she was my grandma.

What I always love about both the Met Ball and the CFDA awards is the fact that designers attend with their muses dresses in their designs. I thought Hayden Christensen in Richard Chai was absolutely genius, they both look so not-bothered. Pretty relaxed as well looked Altuzarra and Vanessa Traina, in a custom-made dress from the SS10 collection turned black for the occasion. Zac Posen looked better than his companion once again. He is a bit of a roller coaster when it comes to collections but he can dress, there is no doubt about that. And then we have Dakota Fanning, who gave Marchesa such a spin it didn't even look it had come from the hands of Georgina Chapman.
I'm off.

[Pictures: Style.com, Zimbio.com, JustJared.buzznet.com, Tommy Ton for Style.com]

"The way of the future"

Once again I couldn't help myself. Something of the like happened the last time I watched Out of Africa, the film sucks me in and I cannot stop thinking about it until I put together something like this. This time the film is The Aviator. Funnily enough both of them were movies I had seen several times before but it seems as if once never suffices. I was surprised by how contemporary and fashionable the styling looks in the film.

Howard Hughes and Katharine Hepburn mix tailoring and knitwear like pros adding round sunglasses and fedora hats as finishing touches.

Above: Jenny Jayne F/W09, DiCaprio and Blanchett in their alter ego's ensembles, and Ralph Lauren F/W09

Hepburn epitomised the boyish look. Suits and shirts à la homme far from body-con yet extremely sensual.

F/W09 - Hutson, 3.1 Phillip Lim and Dolce & Gabbana

F/W09 - Etro and Dries Van Noten

DiCaprio walks around in his leather Belstaff jacket that was made into a special edition. A look from which Hermès and Richard Chai draw inspiration for next season.

Ava Gardner could easily be a fashionable woman of today. In contrast with Hepburn's style, Gardner was more pompous and exhuberant. Striking colours and cuts mixed with big accessories.

From left: Gianfranco Ferré and Louis Vuitton

Now, these I have been trying to track down on the Internet. They are my most desired item of the season. Sadly, Proenza Schouler did not commercialize their metallic version from the runway.

From left: Michael Kors S/S09, DiCaprio wearing my desired shades, and 3.1 Philip Lim

[Picture credits: Style.com, Imdb.com]

I'm off.

eternal sunshine of the spotless ACCESSORY, part 2

It is what you all were waiting for, and here it is. The second part of the S/S 2009 accessories special. Stare, dream and comment away!

We are always looking out for the shades of the season, and here they are. And they are also the best homage of Mary-Kate Olsen. Dries Van Noten managed to take ethnic into the future, and in what a way!

Chanel is the quintessential runway to look at when searching for classic that for magnificently on season as well. Their high heels à la Blair Waldorf add a classic with an edge touch and that plastic-like bag will most likely be all over the place.

Next season's Fendi accessories are the best twist for any outfit. Their take on the Hermès Birkin bag and the colourful peep-toe wedges do not seem to go very well together but might be two fantastic options for an edgy summer ensemble.

Giambattista Valli decided not to create something new but to take his very own approach on the classic stiletto shoes. Add interesting colours and fabrics and a little platform and you are on business!

Givenchy keeps following the gothic line that made them one of the top brands this season to create the chicest leather shoes that will make the delights of all those Rock'n'roll lovers out there.

Even though Marc Jacobs colletions for his own brand and Louis Vuitton very much hold hands the latter contained excellent pieces showing the biggest variety of colours, materials and shapes.

Marc Jacobs brought his inspiration from the Louis Vuitton collection into the bags for his own brand. His classic shapes and chains add up to the fresh colours very originally mixed.

Michael Kors not only brought the aviators to the limit but his pattern-mixing for men are nothing but preppy-ly exciting.

A collaboration with Christian Louboutin always pays off and Phillip Lim knows it. The flower-like leather shapes make his shoes the most glamorous item to own next season.

Ralph Lauren came up with a 21st-century Great Gatsby and created beautiful hats and sunglasses made for those romantics like me who dress like back then because they could not live it.

Viktor & Rolf's shoes are not made for just anyone. However, if you are so picky you will only wear unique pieces and you are not afraid to be risky they are most definitely for you.

If sunglasses above are not fit for your taste you might have to look at Yohji Yamamoto's. His shapes are innovative in so many ways but look back at the past instead of into the future unlike must other designers'.

[Pictures credit: Style.com]

I'm off.