Glitz & Glam in Tinsel Town

It was a starry, sparkly night at the Oscars as the best, and worst, dressed Hollywood A-listers took to the red carpet once again for the ultimate ceremony of glam!
As awards ceremonies go, this is the crème de la crème and the pressure to dress right on the night is as agonising as delivering the perfect acceptance speech.
With the worlds press poised and eager to feast on the biggest fashion faux pas of the night, that little strip of red floor insulation is enough to strike fear into the most seasoned starlets!
So much riding on it, weeks, even months, of planning, preparation, tweaks and fittings with designers & stylists precede this glamorous event.
So lets see who rocked and who flopped at Tinsel Town’s most prestigious night for the film and fashion industry.

A firm favourite of the night, Jennifer Lawrence looks stunning in Dior Couture. Although she may have regretted her choice slightly after her unfortunate trip on the stairs whilst collecting her Oscar, oops!

This sparkly sequined number worn by the beautiful Nicole Kidman was inspired by the paintings of Gustav Klimt. Swiped straight from the catwalk of London fashion week’s L’Wren Scott, designer girlfriend of Mick Jagger, this was outfit no.27 on the runway just a few days before!

Amy Adams made an excellent choice with this show stopper by Oscar De La Renta

Elegant and sophisticated and with a cute new crop to match, Charlize Theron chose well with this Peplum dress by Dior Couture

Naomi Watts looks electric in a modern metallic stunner by Armani

Catherine Zita Jones goes for golden glamour by Zuhair Murad

Alicia Vikander wears my personal favourite, gorgeous vintage style lace and sequin dress by Elie Saab Couture.

The fabulous Adele is doing it for the Brits in an elegant black tulle Jenny Packham gown

Classic beauty Jessica Chastain looked every bit the old school movie star in this bronze strapless Armani Privé gown with Swarovski crystal overlay.

However, not everyone pulled it off with such savoir faire. Fashion mishaps were fairly subtle with no major disasters, but here’s some of the lesser favourable gowns on the night…..

Amanda Seyfried looked a little dated in this dress by Alexandra McQueen, to me, that neckline just screams 90s!

Another 90s style creation, and probably my least favourite of all, Anne Hathaway chose pale pink Prada, but looked more 90s Prom Queen than 2013 Oscar winner. Unfortunately, there were more column inches devoted to her nipples than to her Oscar as the poor girl became the talking ‘point’ of the fashion press for all the wrong reasons!

Not too sure what to make of this one! I can’t decide if Halle Berry looks like a contemporary style goddess or a spruced up ordnance survey map!

As the award show ends so the swanky parties begin and the stars take the opportunity to show off another fabulous outfit as they make the change ready for a night of Champagne revelry. A couple of favourite party dresses worth a quick mention….

Jennifer Lawrence chooses another hit, this time a slinky metallic dress by Calvin Klein.

Kate Bosworth showing why she deserves the title of modern style icon in this delightful girly number by Giambattista Valli

Not much changes in the way of men’s fashion on the red carpet, a sharp suit or slick Tuxedo is all that’s required. But this year saw a definite trend emerging amongst the guys, the hottest accessory of the night was some well groomed facial hair. Proving to all non believers that a good beard can be incredibly sexy!

The gorgeous Bradley Cooper looks super hot with his new beard

Ben Affleck, George Clooney and Justin Theroux all sporting the manly bearded look, and doing it very well indeed!

For me though, the best pictures are the candid ones, the moments where the stars are caught off guard, acting natural instead of posed and contrived..


Jennifer Lawrence and Jennifer Garner having a giggle

Adele and Jennifer Aniston catching up before the ceremony

Kristan Stewart hobbling about on crutches!

Bradley and Jennifer joking around

Jennifer tending to her fiancé and his bow tie malfunction! Bless.

Whoopsy! Jennifer Lawrence proving she is human after all as she trips up the steps!

Love this one. Adele and John Travolta having a drink and a natter!

But one of my favourite shots of the night has to be this one……..

Jennifer Aniston (looking a little preoccupied) with fiancé Justin Theroux and husband and wife team Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr.

The Thrills & Frills of London Fashion Week A/W 13/14

Another inspirational season of catwalk shows has come to a close, and what a dazzling showcase of British design talent it has been!

With 56 runway shows squeezed into just 5 days, fashion royalty Tom Ford showing for the first time in London, Julien Macdonald making a return to LFW and the London debut of L’Wren Scott (complete with dinner at the Café Royale co-hosted by her boyfriend, Mick Jagger) it certainly didn’t disappoint the eager global fashion crowd with a whirlwind of excitement, celebrity and creativity.

Unable to go this year I had to make do with drooling over the weird and wonderful creations from the confines of my desk. No way near as exhilarating but certainly a lot warmer!

Of course the usual suspects were there in the prestigious front row, strategically placed to gain maximum exposure for themselves and the fashion brand on show!

Michelle Dockery, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Freida Pinto, Rita Ora and Kate Beckinsale at Burberry
Alexa Chung, Daisy Lowe and Sarah Ann Macklin at J. W. Anderson.
Olivia Palermo at Antonio Berardi
Juno Temple, Lana Del Rey and Alexa Chung at Mulberry
Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake at Tom Ford
Kate Bosworth at Topshop Unique

The emergence of young British ‘Model of the year’, Cara Delevingne, as “the next Kate Moss”  has created quite a buzz, consequently she could be seen on all the major runways….

Cara Delevingne backstage

But the celebrity limelight it seems was stolen by none other than Rihanna as the pop singer unveiled her first collection for British retailer River Island. The British press has reported she is being paid around $1.2 million to front the collection, not bad considering she probably didn’t design a single piece of it!!

Rihanna for River Island

But that’s enough about the glory hunting celebrities, it’s London’s designers that are the real stars of the show!

So what were the emerging trends for this winter? Monochrome had a huge presence at numerous shows, black & white was everywhere. But as an antidote to the black & white theme, colour makes an unexpected appearance with bold and bright yellow, pink, green, orange and blue popping up all over the place. Yep, no more dull winters in grey and somber shades, winter 2013 is set to be a surprisingly rainbow bright affair! But if neon winters are not your thing, never fear, a deep palette of burgundy, wine, navy and bottle green was also very popular. Other key trends include metallics, colour blocking, animal print (leopard and zebra in particular), polished tailoring, boxy jackets, cut-out detailing, shiny PVC, tribal patterns, florals and stripes.

Here are some favourite outfits from my pick of the most beautiful, creative and contemporary collections on show this year.

David Koma

Like works of sculpted art, David Koma’s stunningly constructed collection was inspired by sound, rhythm and movement.

Ashish

Fun-loving chic with a touch of humour, Ashish’s collection is a visually ironic take on urban/rural work wear.

Burberry Prorsum

An absolutely gorgeous collection by Christopher Bailey at Burberry. Cute sweet-heart prints, stylish leopard print and trench coats with metallic silver, bronze and gold panelling detail, this collection is among the most wearable, chic, feminine and flirty. Love it!

Matthew Williamson

As always, a beautiful collection from Matthew Williamson, full of vibrant colour and glamour.

Sass & Bide

Stunning, elegant and contemporary, Sass & Bide worked the monochrome, metallic and cut-out trends with a vibrant splash of bright yellow throughout. Born out of an exploration into internal structures and mechanics, the collection references industrial frameworks and mechanical notions which are sensualised by contrasting elements of nature.

Mary Katrantzou

Beautiful bold graphics and creative pattern cutting, the collection focuses on architectural structure of both nature and man, mapped around the female form.

KTZ

More monochrome at KTZ with some acid brights and a nod to the occult.

House of Holland

Prints don’t come more retro than these! HOH must have looked to 70s style lounge walls for these bad boy graphics!

Vivienne Westwood Red Label

All time favourite Vivienne Westwood never disappoints, cleverly constructed, edgy glamour is what she does best.

PPQ

Acid brights and sharp, feminine tailoring add a new aura to powerful dressing at PPQ.

Julien Macdonald

You can always rely on Julien Macdonald for unashamed sparkle and glamour. This collection sees the use of metallics in a big way creating sexy, high octane clothes for powerful, liberated women.

Moschino Cheap and Chic

A fun and sassy collection from Moschino with monochrome, bold animal prints and bright girly pink.

And of course it just wouldn’t be fashion week without some outlandishly conceptual creations. Here’s a look at one of the more eccentric British designers, Pam Hogg, and her take on fashion for winter 2013. Clearly warmth and practicality are not high on her list of priorities! I don’t think I’ll be adding any of her range to my winter wardrobe in a hurry!

Pam Hogg

And so, 1000 air kisses and a tonne of hairspray later, life gets back to normal as the fashion pack jet off to Milan for the next round of catwalk creations and autumnal trends, Italian style.

Menswear Vintage Coats

With no sign of winter letting up, we all need a warm winter jacket to help make those bitter mornings

and blustery nights that little bit more bearable.

The Stellar Boutique‘s new collection of Men’s vintage winter jackets has something for all the fashion
loving guys out there. We’ve got classic vintage US army jackets with quilted lining for extra warmth,
vintage flight jackets, 80s vintage fleece lined denim jackets and a selection of US army jackets from
different eras.

At the Stellar boutique we know that a winter coat can be the most expensive clothing purchase of the

year so you’ll find our vintage jackets at reasonable prices and no doubt they will last as long as one that’s

brand new! So if your looking to wrap up warm till spring, check out the new collection at The Stellar Boutique.