Gatsby is Great

Ralph Lauren's 2012 Spring collection personified the sunny, flowery season at Paris Fashion week with pastels and florals leading the trend in his 1920's inspired designs. 

Many steer away from the flapper style as it is concentrated around boyish silhouettes and isn't thought of as sexy or feminine. In the 1920's some women went as far as to bind their breasts with tape to create a more masculine frame to simply fit in with the trend. Lauren's collection, however, oozed femininity even with his straight lines and boyish looks- his colours and fabric worked perfectly together as the models floated on the runway. His evening wear was simple yet elegant and one could picture Daisy Buchanan herself in any of the day wear.

It's no surprise that Ralph Lauren finally decided to use The Great Gatsby as his inspiration because he was, after all, the costume designer for the 1974 hit film

Terri*

Valentino Spring Haute Couture Collection 2012

Valentino designers, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli had big shoes to fill with the retirement of Valentino himself and they filled them with ease at this years showing..

They chose the likes of Marie Antionette to inspire them for their Spring showing at Paris Fashion week yesterday with floral prints and pastels being the main theme. Long flowing dresses gracefully entered the runway on tall slender models bursting with old fashioned femininity, each piece having its own sense of romance. When asked to comment on their Haute Couture collection, Piccioli simply said "Fashion needs culture or it becomes empty."

They used eighteenth century ideas and created twenty-first century shapes with their high necklines, raised waists and slight puff sleeves. 

Alongside these gorgeous, weightless dresses were tailored pieces consisting of trousers, skirts and blazers with not a single ounce of stiffness

It was revealed that a total of 3050 hours of labour went into this collection. This number reflects just how much time, energy and passion goes into putting together a top class couture collection. Their workmanship was incomprehensible with stitching so fine it seemed non existent.

To view the full collection please visit Vogue Spring Collections 2012

Terri*

Lovely in Lace

Awards season is upon us and the red carpets are teaming with gorgeous ensembles, with lace being a favorite. We have seen it on the runways since mid 2011 and now in 2012 it is everywhere.


When I used to think of lace the first thing that popped into my mind was my granny's horrid tablecloths that covered her ancient ball and claw dining room and coffee tables. The thought of it gave me a bad taste in my mouth but now lace has taken over and boy am i glad it did.


Gone are granny's tacky tablecloths and sexy, sultry lace has arrived

 

Runways are full of the feminine fabric 

Celebs have caught on to the trend and are holding on with dear life. Some show us exactly how to pull of this chic look

 

And some show us how to get it horribly wrong...

Either way the trend seems to be here to stay

Terri*