Maison Lejaby's 130th Anniversary Show at The Lido, Paris

Last week I woke up at the crack of sparrows and jumped on the Eurostar headed for The Lido in Paris to celebrate French lingerie leader Maison Lejaby’s 130th anniversary.  

The decadence of The Lido at the heart of the Champs Elysees was the perfect setting for the dazzling one-off, hour-long show the lucky audience was spoiled with.  Over seventy of the Lido’s infamous resident dancers, alongside several prima ballerinas, burlesque dancers and opera singers, took their guests throught the decades of the brand’s history, performing various enchanting routines whilst showcasing some spectacular Maison Lejaby couture, ultra-feminine RTW lingerie sets and striking swimwear.  

The highlights for me were the stunning Swarovski encrusted, boned ballet tutu (above, which took over 150 hours to create!) worn to open the show and an ethereal and mesmeric white silk gown worn during a solo performance to close (below).  

I thought the extensive Art Deco and Art Nouveau (below) collections were particularly elegant, and the flowing silk gowns and full-length chiffon robes extremely glamorous.  

Below:  A little (albeit quite fuzzy!) sneak peak of the show I made on my phone...

Maison Lejaby’s CEO Alain Prost, appointed in 2012, spearheaded the event and was emotional about the brand’s return to the French couture spirit.  Whilst on stage, Alain explained, “this event marks a new chapter for Maison Lejaby and gives us more strength and even more energy for our project Esprit Couture à la Française. This day will remain an unforgettable moment for our company and for the whole team for years to come.” 

BELOW:  Afterwards I went for the most delicious lunch off the Champs Elysees (wearing a skirt from H&M, heels from Zara, a vintage shirt from Budapest and a Mulberry Bryn handbag) where I had the most incredible fresh cream macaroons… Ooh La La all round!

Maison Lejaby now has a salon on the Rue Royale in Paris and offers the most beautifulHaute Couture, which of course represents the very essence of French luxury.  Lucky Londoners can head over to Rigby and Peller for an underwear makeover and buy their pretty Maison Lejaby sets (which come in an impressively wide variety of sizes) HERE. 

HAWT: Blake Lively at Cannes 2014

Hawt = A late 1940's and early 1950's acronym for "Having A Wonderful Time."
Now the word is used on the internet as slang for something reeeeally hot.

Look, I’m not sure what Blake Lively was doing at Cannes either, but what I am sure of, is that I’m mighty glad she was - in all her blonde bombshell glory.  Blake does good Cannes.  From the minute Mrs. Reynolds stepped her long legs and ‘nudist heels’ (these are now ‘a thing’ apparently) off her boat wearing a Giambattista Valli SS’14 Couture white textured mini dress with pink embroidery and crystal detailing (right) I knew we were in for some serious fashaaan moments from the actress over the two day festival.  I was quadruple right...
 Right:  Blake next transformed into my childhood dream Barbie, wearing a stunning, 3D, iridescent Chanel SS’14 Couture dress with Sophia Webster (one of TLC's faves) heels at the ‘Mr. Turner’ premiere.  The dress made her already teeny tiny waist look teenier and tinier and I adore the pocket detailing. 

Below:  Blake's two-toned bordeau Gucci Premiere gown, with it’s bold slit worn and halter-neck, worn with the actress' favoruite style of bed-head fish plaits to the ‘Grace of Monaco’ premiere, won red-carpet high fives all round.  Well played Blake, well played. 

Below:  Blake’s final look was a fifties-inspired, dramatic, white and black stapless Gucci Premiere gown, which she wore accompanying her utterly infatuated and beaming husband (who could blame him?!) to the premiere of his latest film, ‘Captives.’ 

Blake Lively, Blake Lively Cannes 2014, Blake Lively Chanel, Blake Lively Giambattista Valli, Sophia Webster, Giambattista Valli, Chanel,Chanel Couture, Giambattista Valli Couture, Gucci Premiere, Cannes 2014, Red Carpet Fashion, The London Chatter
 

Monica Vinader's Friendship Bracelets

At school some of my friends were renown for their sporting prowess, their academic superiority, or their ethereal choral charms… Me? Aside from an obvious flair for the dramatics, I was pretty revered for my (…drumroll) Friendship Bracelet making skills… Oh yes, take that you long-limbed netballers!   I was always making my school pals Friendship Bracelets in their favourite colours and if they managed to keep them hidden from all the matron’s eagle eyes, all desperate to confiscate anything which might allow your uniform some colour of charisma, they were enjoyed for a long while.  

You have to imagine my joy when I realised Monica Vinader sold Friendship Bracelets. Obviously far more chic, coveted and long lasting than any of my childhood creations, these bracelets still have friendship at their core and make the perfect presents.  

A large group of my girlfriends (which includes the beautiful Charlotte and Jessica, above enjoying smoothies at Moosh with me)  have spent the last year marking our birthdays and friendships by giving each other colourful statement Fiji bracelets, which we had engraved with our initials or names (a complimentary service offered in store).   

Available in silver, gold vermeil and rose-gold vermeil, and offered in a variety of adjustable and colourful cords, with a rainbow assortment of gems symbolizing different meanings (pink for love, turquoise for peace, nude for calm, etc) if so wanted, the three designs (Fuji, Bali and Esencia) can be worn alone or mixed and layered up together.  

Below:  There are some more expensive and elegant diamond chain bracelets now also available which are slightly more evening-dress appropriate, and I am particularly loving the recent festival and Ibiza-friendly fluoro additions which really pop in the sunshine.   

All Monica Vinader Friendship Bracelets are available in store and online HERE.

Make Up:  Charlotte Cowen
Photography:  Ross Ferguson 

My Necklace and Stacking Rings:  Monica Vinader
My tangerine bespoke Lined Notebook (from RRP. £55.00): Noble Macmillan
My Chinti and Parker Star Sweater (RRP. £350.00) and Jerome Dreyfus Igor Bag (RRP. £490.00) both available at Iris Fashion Boutique

Ralph Lauren's Ricky World Tour

Designed in 2005 and named after his wife, the Ralph Lauren ‘Soft Ricky’ handbag is one of the label’s most iconic and popular pieces.  To celebrate its success, Ralph Lauren’s giant ‘Ricky’ bag, that took a month to create and measures 1.8m high and 1.5m wide (so maybe juuuust big enough to fit all my stuff in!) begun its world tour last September, travelling to New York, Tokyo, Paris and now… LONDON.  Yes, that’s right, the ‘Ricky’ has landed at the Ralph Lauren New Bond Street store and I paid homage to the XXL accessory last week while it held court at Ralph Lauren and Vogue’s fun, cocktail-fueled shopping event in support of the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.

Above:  Accessorising my Zara top, shoes and statement necklace, and my new H&M embellished scuba skirt (available in store, RRP. £39.99) with my grandmother's aquamarine cocktail ring and my Lulu Guinness lips clutch (available HERE, RRP. £325.00) which I momentarily swapped for a gorgeous, coral-orange 'Soft Ricky.' 

Above:  Bag smoochin' with super stylist Martha Ward.  Below:  My great buddy DJ Izzy Lawrence and the delicious, rainbow-coloured Ricky bag biscuits to take home.

Below:  The multi-coloured Ralph Lauren 'Soft Ricky' bags available HERE (RRP. £1750.00)
#OneInEveryColourPleaseRalph!

Keira Knightley Recycled Wedding Dress

Keira Knightley was the epitome of a bridechiller this weekend, wearing a dress she last wore in 2008  (above right)  when she married Klaxon’s keyboard player James Righton in an intimate, low-key ceremony in the South of France last weekend.  To be fair, Keira's ‘something old’  was a Chanel Couture blush pink bustier tulle gown which I’m sure most brides would also choose to re-wear if one were just idly hanging about in their wardrobes!  Accessorised with wayfarer sunglasses, Chanel pumps and jacket, Keira looked amazingly relaxed, down to earth and ultimately, very cool.  Congratulations!

The 2014 Met Ball

This week the biggest A-Listing schlebs and schlebrutants gathered on the footsteps of the Metropolitan Museum for the 2014 Met Ball, hosted by Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and co-chair, the belle-of-every-ball, SJP (below, in Oscar de la Renta).  The dress code this year was ‘White Tie and Decorations’ to compliment the current Costume Institute's retrospective of the Anglo-American couturier Charles James.  As always, there were some style-winners and some style-misses… and then a whole new level of OMG! ('Oh Met God!') established by Kim Kardashian last year (HERE) and owned this year by a criminally dressed Kate Upton… #WhenBadDressesHappenToSuperHotWomen.

Below:  Fresh, relevant and so-very-freaking-fash, these three TLC style-faves NAILED modern elegance in a sea of pouff...  (L-R):  Marion Cotillard wore a classic Dior shape made from a modern, dark ink blue material accessorised with one enormous Chopard diamond earring and an orange power pout. I'm not crazy keen on her Dior Haute Couture heels but they certainly don’t distract from the over all ‘Ooh La La’ of her look.  Emma Stone looked perfectly pink in a two-tone Thakoon dress, carrying a Tod’s clutch and wearing a Disney-princess messy side-braid. Youthful and HOT.  A controversial choice, but I adored Alexa Chung’s ice blue, crunchy taffeta Nina Ricci dress.  Only Alexa, in her bejeweled shoes, with her un-done hair and rock’n’roll nonchalance, could make this dress with its multi-bow accents look so damn cool. 

Below:  Models Suki Waterhouse and Stella Tennant both looking WOW in Burberry.  

Below:  There was definitely a trend for classic black and white gowns on the Met Ball red carpet this year and my favourite of these was actress Anna Kendrick's modernly elegant peekaboo J.Mendal dress worn with Graff diamonds and Brian Atwood heels.

Below:  Couture Couples! Three beautifully dressed ladies with three mighty dapper accessories...  (L-R):  Beyonce looking mysterious and flawless in a beaded Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci gown with husband Jay Z, Diane Kruger looking lovely in lavender in Jason Wu for Hugo Boss dress with her boyfriend Joshua Jackson, and blonde bombshell Blake Lively in a glistening champagne Gucci gown with husband Ryan Reynolds.  

Below Clockwise (L-R):  35 year old Katie Holmes actually hurt my eyes whilst channelling ‘Belle’ from ‘Beauty and the Beast’ in this Marchesa dress. More beastly than belle.  Kate Upton in Dolce and Gabana.  OMG! O.MET.G! This is comedy-bad. WHO is responsible for dressing this majorly hot woman as a frumpy, buxom Austrian barmaid, complete with bonnet?!  Shoot them.  Lupita Nyong’o looking a little more fancy-dress than party-dress in Prada.  With a string of red carpet wins this year, I’ll let her off for this less than elegant flapper dress fail.  Reece Witherspoon looking a little too kitsch and way too ‘Legally Blonde’ in this pink Stella McCartney dress for my liking.  Maggie Gyllenhaal in a Valentinokaftan. A kaftan.  This has nothing to do with Charles James, and no place on the red carpet.  Rita Ora (can we please stop trying to make this woman ‘happen’ now?!) flashed her underwear throughout the evening in garish Donna Karen Atelier and a pair of thigh-high strappy heels. Classy as always...  Aaaand breathe TLC!

HAWT: Leslie Mann in Monique Lhuillier

Hawt = A late 1940's and early 1950's acronym for "Having A Wonderful Time."
Now the word is used on the internet as slang for something reeeeally hot.

I made it no secret that my favourite look from last September was the two-piece ensemble from Monique Lhuillier’s stunning SS’14 collection.  I was so excited to see that one of my favourite actresses, Leslie Mann, was the one to debut this show-stopping outfit on the red carpet at the LA premiere of her latest comedy ‘The Other Woman’ (which I naturally can't wait to see… DG however, may need some convincing/bribing!)  The bright pink, silk, strapless bandeau top and voluminous, poppy-red, floor length maxi skirt looked incredible on the cute-as-a-button actress, who accessorised with Oscar Tiye ‘Cleopatra’ heels and a punchy orange pout.  HAWT!

Leopard Love by Jenna Lyons

Kate Moss SS'14 for Topshop

It’s time to sharpen those elbow ladies, Kate the Great is back with a new, and highly anticipated, Topshop collection an achingly long three years after her last.  In a range that is considered to be a ‘wardrobe autobiography,’ we are set to expect fringe jackets and 1970’s boho dresses galore, recreating the perfect festival, rock’n’roll vibe that over the years the supermodel style icon has been famous for.  

The collection (ranging from £30.00 to £600.00!) boasts a wide range of styles comprising four style stories (Balearic Dressing, Pyjama Dressing, Cocktail Hour and Tailoring Noir), which everything from beach kaftans to pyjama-inspired pieces (which I have my beady eyes on) and sparkling evening-wear, including the one Kate Moss wore on the cover of this month’s British Vogue. Prepare for a scrum Ladies!!

"I am very excited to create a new collection that bears my name. Now more than ever with London being at the forefront of fashion as it feels like I'm back home working with Topshop"  - Kate Moss.

Below:  Some of The London Chatter's favourite pieces from the collection...

The Kate Moss for Topshop collection is available online and in store from April 30th.

Credit Buy: Cobra Society Najet Loafers

All of Cobra Society’s footwear is inspired by New York-based Alex Davis’s love of travel and all her designs have a wonderfully exotic appeal.  The brand’s signature Kilim fabric Najet Loafers, hand-woven by artisans in Morocco, are the perfect flat shoes to be wearing now that the sunshine is finally out and about in London-town. 

These vibrant and tribal beauties are pretty, well structured and sophisticated.  Perfect for running to and from meetings, I am currently loving welcoming my ankles back from their wooly hibernation, wearing my Peach Tapestry Najets  (RRP. £ 170.00) with skinny jeans.

Above (Clockwise L-R):  The Snake + Chain Najets, The Black + White Small Diamond Najets,The Orange Madder Roots Tapestry Najets, The Red + White Betania Najets.