{sunglasses & leopard print}

{vlada, nimue & sara b for dolce & gabbana summer 2011: via fgr}

{the lighter side of freja}

{freja beha erichsen by patrick demarchelier for vogue UK, february 2011 via oh}

{runway inspiration: dolce & gabbana, milan}

{style.com}

{runway inspiration: d&g, milan}

{style.com}

DESIGNER ENVY- My soft spot for gimmicky heels

It has been awhile since I have had a full on designer shoe envy (probably due to being locked up revising in my room and spending less time on Style.com and Sea of Shoes if anything else)

But once I laid eyes on these DSqaured shoes which have a SPINE FOR THE HEEL (!!!) I fell a little bit in love.

"It's just such a genius idea!" I cried.
And then after getting a major deja vu I got thinking about the sheer amount of times I have said that after seeing a rather cool pair of heels.
After trawling the extensive albums of photos of shoes which are knacking up my computer hard drive I realised just how many gimmicky heels there are out there.
Shoe designers love a good novelty idea to get people talking and buying. (If this was a power point I would add the cheesy *KERCHING* sound effect here)
It makes sense really, I mean I know a girl can own a lot of shoes but there are only so many plain black sling-backs someone can have before they crave the crazy.

And I know I would rather have a pair of fierce, eye catching, compliment attracting, fabulous shoes than a pair of plain. fabulous shoes (remember my rant at the beige schmeige and boring ol' Celine's "Wardrobe Staples" ?)

So here are some more gimmicky heels I found.
I'll shut up now and let them do the talking:

Dolce and Gabbana 'Face' shoes- photo from Sea of Shoes

The Nicholas Kirkwood for Rodarte 'Melted Wax' heels (which I thought looked like the Wicked Witch of the West melting...) Source unknown

The legendary Chanel 'light bulb' shoes (source unknown)

And the lovely new 'Chandelier' heels from the Prada collection.

Can you think of any more shoe gimmicks?

I could go on but I really must go back to revising Vietnam and Womens rights for my exam tomorrow. Exciting I know.

Ciao!

Beth Ruby xoxo

ps) Happy fathers day!

{runway: dolce & gabbana fall rtw}

{dolce & gabbana via style.com}

{runway: d&g autumn/winter 2010}

{style.com}

List Mondays- Top 10 RTW Collections From Autumn Winter 2009

A post on my favourite collections from Spring Summer 2009 here (and also my roundup here) were very popular- and also very fun to compile- so I thought I would do another similar one here. But this time I am looking back at the best (or my personal favourites) from Autumn Winter 2009, with brand new contenders:

1. It was all Parisian gorgeousness including stunning LBD's and pretty draping at Lanvin complete with perfect shape and fit.

2. How could I possibly leave out the Louis Vuitton bunny ears that sparked their own unlikely trend.

3. Lust worthy sequins and silver sparkle at Balmain which proved that the shoulder pad trend was still going strong. (This was back when I still loved Balmain)

4. Pure and simple monochrome looks at Bottega Veneta with plenty of wardrobe staples to last you a life time.

5. Clinched in waists with a sprinkle of sequins were all the rage at Balenciaga.

6. Gorgeous prints and exquisite detailing at Jason Wu.

7. Donna Karen was all about the large statement necklaces, ankle boots and belted coats.

8. More beautiful floral prints from Erdem with quirky bubble hem shapes.

9. Christopher Kane just gets better and better. Here he went for strong structure and muted tones and let the detailing do the talking.

10. Full on elegance and glamour at Dolce and Gabbana with hyper coloured shaggy coats, huge ball gowns and lady like bags. Bows, frills and pearls were the icing on the cake.

Which was your favourite collection from Autumn Winter 2oo9?

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Beth xoxo

Lets go down to the fashion show, with all the pretty people that you dont know...

What with all the magazines and blogs going crazy about the autumn winter collections I thought I would look at my top 10 favourite looks from Spring Summer 2009.
I mean still is summer y'know...

1. First up is Christopher Kane, who definitely stole the show for me this Spring Summer. The whimsical shapes and structures of his clothes and his wonderful use of materials are divine. He managed to effortlessly mix fierce black primate inspired clothing with bright bold colours.

2. For me Luella was never going to disappoint. From the moment I laid eyes on her first ever collection I knew that she was a designer to be reckoned with. The florals, the bright colours (and of course the fascinators!) screamed summer.
3. As opposed to Luella's feminine fest of girly dresses Balmain went for a more edgy tomboy look with distressed jeans, military style jackets and a whole loada studs. I still cannot get enough of the clothes from this collection.

4. Lanvin S/S 09 was all about bold colours, asymmetrical sleeves, luxurious silks and a bit of sparkle. And how could I forget those fantastic advertisements- so far its my favourite ad campaign of the year!

5. Alexander McQueen is in at number 5 for his fantastic jewelled creations. These head to toe embellished designs are gorgeous.

6. Breezy flowing fabrics, soft tailored jackets, scalloped edged shorts and lots of bows, the S/S Chloe catwalk was pure prettiness.

7. Marc Jacobs was a winner with clinched in waists, stacks of bracelets and very cool boater hats. 8. The House of Holland collection was like a bomb of polka dots and florals had exploded on the catwalk. Henry Holland did what he is best at; quirky and cool clothing.

9. I was in love with the nautical theme at Dolce and Gabbana earlier on this year.

10. And last but not least Gareth Pugh. You can't really wear his architectural monochrome creations to the super market (though I would take my hat off to someone who did) but their impracticality does not stop me from marvelling at these designs.
Whats your number one S/S 2009 collection?

B xx