Jessica Alba's über-chic Parisian trip

Jessica Alba is definitely on a roll. I have been keeping a close eye on what she's worn for the last 5 weeks and she has proven that she has a great personal style. Not only her red carpet and party dresses have been excellent choices but her street style is even more spot-on. This week we have seen a lot more from her as she travelled to Paris to attend some of the Haute Couture shows and Paris Vogue's Gucci party. For the latter she donned a sparkly cocktail dress by the Italian house, which looked almost like a big jewell wrapped around her body. This dress would have looked rather slutty on mostly anyone else but Alba makes it look sexy and subtle. The drapey shoulder detail is a great call. I just hope we get some side and back shots to appreciate it fully.

My favourite thing about her style is that she doesn't really wear anything any woman wouldn't. And what I mean by that is you don't see outrageous stilettos and Hervé Légers to go grocery shopping. She loves her black and her leggings and always accompanies them well with a dash of colour. I am particularly keen on her leather-armed parka. Get me one, please.
I'm off.

[Pictures: JustJared.buzznet.com, AllPosters.com, concorde-hotels.com]

Blake, reine de Paris

If you haven't heard, the cast of Gossip Girl is in Paris shooting scenes for the first episodes of the 4th season, which is still a long way from airing on September 14th. Day one was Blair and Serena devouring Ladurée macaroons and walking around Paris in not-too-fantastic ensembles. Later that day, Serena grabbed some grapes and wine for, I presume, a very stylish picnic by the Seine. After that, we saw Blake rubbing shoulders with Anna Wintour at the Christian Dior show (by Anna's request, I suppose) and then again at Chanel, where Blake looked beautiful as ever with kind of surfer-girl hair and an amazing pair of turquoise and coral earrings.

She graced us with some more Serena fashion moments to remember like the one with the wide-legged pink trousers (oh, those legs!) and some sheerness at the top. In the meantime, she managed to make some time for a Vogue US shoot (another cover?), so I am hoping for at least a few more looks before they wrap up their European leg and head back to the big apple to shoot some more episodes.

I'm off.

[Pictures: Zimbio.com, JustJared.buzznet.com, Style.com]

printemps de mode

I have been looking for an intellectual excuse to go back to Paris for a while. It seems as if strolling down Champs Élysées and stopping for cafés before an hour visit to Colette are not enough for most people. Well, now I have that excuse. A very good one. This Spring the city of lights hosts, among others, three exhibitions about some of my favourite people in fashion —Steven Klein, Yves Saint-Laurent and Dries Van Noten.

In the first, an unpublished video of the enfant terrible of photography portrays a decadent and deteriorated America. The Saint-Laurent retrospective looks back at the designer's work through 307 haute couture and prêt-à-porter pieces that go from his debut in 1958 at Dior to his late work in 2002. At the Van Noten exhibition, images of the Noailles family are projected onto the walls in contrast to those of the world of the Belgian designer —a walk through Dries' inspiration and savoir-fair. I am getting my Eurostar tickets as soon as this bloody volcanic cloud fades and prices come down.

I'm off.