A girl who turned into a swan

Unless you've been hiding in some kind of underground bunker for the past couple of months, you've probably, by now, heard some talk of the film Black Swan. Every blog post, Tweet and Facebook update that I've seen lately, seems to mention something along the lines of "went to see Black Swan yesterday, it was amazing!" which is fair, because it is seriously bloody good; I thoroughly recommend it.

[Images from imdb.com]

Ballet is one of those things I really wish I'd done when I was younger - it's so amazing to watch and I'm very jealous of people who are able to dance like that. And the costumes are so beautiful! I've always had a bit of a thing for tutus; anyone who's read some of my older posts may remember this one about my favourite photograph of all time, Les Pointes, by Isabel Munoz. There's just something about the movement of all those layers of tulle that is so magical and lovely.

I was particularly excited to discover that Kate and Laura Mulleavy, aka the designers behind the label Rodarte, designed and made all of the ballet costumes in the film. You can't really tell from the two images above, but the costumes are insanely detailed and covered in hundreds of feathers. I think it was a brilliant idea to have the Mulleavy sisters design the ballet costumes, as they're renowned for producing intricately detailed clothing which is often beautiful with a dark or gothic edge; perfect for Black Swan. I've had these images from their Fall 2008 collection saved on my laptop for about a year but never actually used them for anything - now seems to be the perfect time as there's definitely something ballet-like in the full skirts and tight, pulled back hairstyles;

I WANT those tights.

[images from style.com]

*SIGH* It's all so beautiful!

Back to the film - I'm not going to go into the plot or anything like that - there's plenty of reviews out there on t'Interwebs (especially here!) and like I've already said, it seems most people have seen it by now or are planning on going. All I'm going to say is, it's absolutely stunning and the performances are incredible (Natalie Portman is surely a shoe-in for the Oscar). However, if you haven't seen it yet, and you're as wimpy as me, be prepared to be a bit freaked out in parts because there are some seriously dark, gruesome moments!*

*To be fair, I really am a MASSIVE wimp - I'm too scared to watch 127 Hours, even though I love James Franco, because I don't want to sit through the arm cutting off scene - so maybe the stuff in Black Swan isn't actually that bad. Have you seen it? What did you think?

Gowning around

Now, as we've already established, many times on this blog, I'm a sucker for a pretty dress. My inner princess is literally screaming to get out, swathe herself in layers of tulle and silk and dance about singing "someday my prince will come". Sadly, when you live in merry old Liverpool, there's not a lot of opportunity for that kind of madness (at least not that I know of...). So I tend to spend my days, living vicariously through the people who do get to dress up all fancy-like on multiple occasions; celebrities. Which is why, when awards season comes around, I start getting a bit bloody excited. Couture gowns, sparkly, sparkly diamonds and plenty of preening and posing? This is my heaven.

You may remember that last year, I did a post about my favourite picks from the Oscars and, where I could, I tracked down the original catwalk versions of the dresses that the various stars wore. Well, I've decided to do this again, because I think it's really interesting to see how things are styled differently, and also, it makes me feel like a special fashion detective, trawling through images of dresses on style.com until I find the correct one. I wish I was a real detective...

First up we've got the Queen B herself, Leighton Meester in a Burberry Prorsum dress from the 2011 pre-Fall collection. It took me a while to work out whether this was the same one as the dress on the right, but it definitely is, they've just pushed the sleeves up and teamed it with a thick black belt. I prefer the way Leighton's wearing it though; the long sleeves and high neckline make her look positively demure, while the sheer fabric and thigh-high split keep it youthful and the right side of sexy. Very pretty.

Lea Michele has fast become one of my favourites on the red carpet, but I'm assuming she's got a seriously good styling team behind her as she ALWAYS looks perfect. Seriously, go to her IMDb page and look at the photos of her from different red carpet events, the girl has never once hit a bum note. (pun intended!) This pink Oscar de la Renta gown from the Spring 2011 show is super girly and by teaming it with gently tousled curls and soft, feminine makeup Lea is definitely channelling her inner princess. It may not be the 'edgiest' gown on the red carpet, but she looks beautiful and, honestly, what girl WOULDN'T want to dress like this for a day?

Lea's co-star, Dianna Agron, is another lady who always gets it right on the red carpet. This Grecian-style J Mendel dress from the 2011 pre-Fall collection is a subtle but glamourous choice, and I love how she's glammed it all up with a vintage-inspired hairdo and lots of diamonds. Is it just me, or is the model in the second photo actually quite terrifying? Smile!

Pink and champagne seemed to be the hottest colours on the night; aside from those I've already mentioned, we also saw Megan Fox, Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, Clare Danes and a whole load more sporting pale, feminine shades. The stupidly beautiful Mila Kunis, however, went for a vivid jewel green Vera Wang gown. I searched for a while to find the original version and I'm guessing that it's this one from the Fall 2011 Bridal collection; the bodice and shoulder detaling are the same, but it's been made in a different fabric, so the draping is a lot looser. I don't really know how it works when a celeb wears a "custom" gown; did Vera just offer to make it? Or did Mila give her a call and go "hi Vera, listen, this dress, I mean, it's great and everything, but I was thinking, could you do one in green? Yeah, thanks!" Either way, the green is a perfect choice against Mila's skin and dark hair and provided some much needed relief from the sea of pink/champagne. (oooh! A sea of pink champagne! Yum!)

Looking a lot less frilly and flouncy but still bloody gorgeous, was Easy A star Emma Stone in a very simple peach Calvin Klein dress. This is another dress that I simply could not find in the Calvin Klein archives, so I'm guessing it's also custom or a secret dress that nobody knows about. Emma's become famous for being this cool, indie chick, so I think it's quite fitting that she wore something a lot more modern and edgy. It's ultimately a very long t-shirt, but I think it works! Though I do prefer her as a redhead.

I know we shouldn't poke fun at other people's fashion choices, but I feel that I had to show this because it serves as further evidence that Heidi Klum is completely and utterly mental. Heidi, listen up, ok? Last year, we thought "oh Heidi, so what if she's dressed as a mermaid? It's ok, she's still beautiful. Maybe she's gone for a whole underwater motif, because her husband's name is Seal." But now, Heidi, we're all really starting to worry. You can't just drape yourself in some old curtains, tie a sash around your waist and call it a dress. That's not how it works, not at the Globes. And asking your kids to do your makeup was silly, wasn't it? You know better than this, Heidi. YOU'RE better than this. There, I've said what I needed to say, now let's move on...

There's only one way to end a post like this and that's with a photo of a man in a suit. I was torn between who to pick but ultimately settled on Joseph Gordon Levitt because he's adorable. I don't care what designer he's wearing, you don't care what designer he's wearing, let's all just have a good, long stare...

Who do you think was the best dressed? Even better, who do you think was the worst dressed??? Is anyone else REALLY excited for the Oscars now?!

Red carpet images from IMDb, catwalk images from Style.com, Vera Wang image from the official Vera Wang Facebook page.

Snuggly buggly

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley's lips are ridiculous. In a good way. Ridiculous though.

As much as it pains me to say it, the cold weather seems to be well and truly here to stay. All that talk of an 'Indian Summer' was clearly LIES, because I've seen nothing but wind, rain and oh, what's that? More rain. I'm already recovering from my first cold of the season and it's not even October yet. BLEURGH! Fortunately, while it's cold outside, I can stay warm and toasty inside with a cup of tea, my fluffy pink dressing gown and Ian Somerhalder's strong arms the new series of Gossip Girl and The Vampire Diaries. However, while I'd love to pretend that I'm a squirrel and spend the next few months hibernating, I'm not sure how happy my job and social life would be with that arrangement so there will probably be occasions when I'm forced to leave the house and brave the elements. Conclusion? I'm going to be needing something significantly more snuggly to stop me from freezing to death. And my first choice is a big, chunky shearling lined jacket.

Burberry Prorsum

Mulberry, Topshop Unique and Wunderkind

ADAM, DKNY and Giles

If money was no object, I would absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt, be sporting that khaki green Burberry Prorsum jacket (the middle one). I would wear it everywhere, probably even in bed. Sadly though, since I'm pretty sure that I don't have a spare £3000 lying around (I'll check down the back of the sofa, just in case, but I doubt it), I'll have to settle for a high street version instead.

Faux Sheepskin Flying Jacket, £78 Topshop

Pilot Jacket, £24.99 H&M

Quilted Shearling Aviator Jacket, £290 ASOS WHITE

Sessun Short Duffle Coat, £199 Urban Outfitters

Of all the shearling jackets I've found online at the moment (and there is A LOT - these were just a few picks), this is probably my absolute favourite - it just looks SO WARM! And it's very similar to the Burberry one. Sadly, I found this on the Topshop website a couple of weeks back but it must be out of stock at the moment because I just checked back to get the price and I can't find it on there - anyone know how much it costs? And whether it'll be back in stock?! I hope so, because I feel this might be the coat that will help me survive the next few months of coldness and misery...

Camelot

So, as promised last week, I'm going to spend some time focussing on the big 'trends' for this season. (Have you ever noticed how the word "focussing" always looks wrong? I just checked; that is the correct spelling, I swear.) As coats are generally quite an important factor for the chillier months of the year, I figured where better a place to start than with the camel coat?

This is another of those subjects where I feel like I have a lot to say (you wouldn't think there'd be that much to say about what is ultimately a beige coat, but you know, there really is!) so please bear with me while I try to format this into something that makes at least some sense.

The Fall 2010 shows were literally bursting at the very seams with neutral shades, with khakis, browns, greys and beiges all neutralling down the runway, proving that a stark, yet classic palette is big news this season. Camel was the neutral of choice for countless designers and, while it wasn't just coats that were seen in a sandy hue, it was the camel coat that became one of the most stand out and talked about garments since sliced bread. (what do you mean sliced bread isn't a garment?!)

Now, this might make me sound a bit stupid but I'm going to say it anyway, how does a trend like this actually come about? What I mean is, how is it that seemingly every designer under the sun decided that Fall 2010 was the season to resurrect the camel coat? Was there a really good deal on camel coloured wool at The Big Trendy Haberdashery? Or did all the designers get together for tapas and discuss it in advance? If they did, I think the conversation went something like this;

Jean Paul Gaultier: "So basically, I've been thinking, you know what colour I've not really used in a while? Camel."

Hussein Chalayan: "Camel? As in the colour of camels?"

JPG: "Exactly. Camel has so many wonderful connotations - camels...sand...er...llamas... and yet it's simple and classic at the same time. It's elegant, like a camel. Aaaah the graceful camel."

Hannah Macgibbon: "You know, I think he's on to something! Let's do it, let's do something a bit different for once...Philip Lim, can you PLEASE stop hogging the garlic mushrooms?"

JPG: "Yes Hannah! Different! Crazy!"

Carolina Herrera: "Well, JPG, I'd hardly call camel a 'crazy' colour, but it would make designing my new fall line a lot easier - I mean, camel goes with everything. Think of the possibilities for coats!"

JPG: "Yes! The camel coat! So graceful, so chic! CRAZY!"

Carolina Herrera: "Er... yeah, ok JPG, think you might have had a little bit too much sangria. But we're all agreed then, camel is the colour for Fall 2010?"

Michael Kors: "Yes, definitely, I mean JPG is a full on nutter, but he's right, the camel coat will be seen as a classic investment piece - everyone will want one!"

Hannah Macgibbon: "Then we'd better get designing! Quick designers! To The Big Trendy Haberdashery! I hear they've got a sale on camel coloured wool! We'll take the Chloémobile! Oh, and Philip Lim? If you get one drop of olive oil on my suede interiors, you're walking..."

The little curly girl - giving you an (entirely accurate) look into the minds of fashion designers since 1972.

Anyway, I understand that there are always trends; whether it's a certain theme, such as "ladylike" or "grunge", or a colour, or even just a specific accessory - if a certain thing crops up on several catwalks in a season, then it's likely to become a trend. And since fashion often recycles old ideas (albeit in new and different ways), it makes sense that if a colour or style of garment hasn't been seen on the runway for a while, then it's only a matter of time before it makes a comeback. That being said, I still find it a little crazy that so many fashion houses seemed to champion the camel coat for this season. It just seems like a quite a big coincidence, I mean there's loads of them! See for yourselves;

3.1 Philip Lim

Aquascutum, Carolina Herrera, Hermès

Hussein Chalayan, Lanvin, MaxMara

Tommy Hilfiger, Chloé, Michael Kors

[images all from style.com]

Of course, fashion being as it is, even though so many designers have 'done' a camel coat, they're all somewhat different (I LOVE the 3.1 Philip Lim one with the black piping and the double breasted 'boyfriend' style one by Hussein Chalayan) and I suppose that's part of the reason why every blogger and fashion journalist this side of Nebula 53X1 (I just made that up. What is a nebula anyway?) has been going crazy about camel coats since the Fall shows back in February. The camel coat is an easy to wear, versatile piece that goes with most things and instantly makes you look classy and chic (well it does to an extent; if you're wearing a pair of Crocs and one of those beer can hats, you can pile on as many camel coats as you want but you'll still look completely ridiculous). It's what I like to call a 'grown up lady coat'.

However, as the epitome of classy, chic, smart, grown up lady fashion, the camel coat is kind of supposed to look expensive. And most things that look expensive are expensive. Now, I've been trawling the Interwebs looking for camel coats, and while there are some high street versions, I worry that they may, in person, look a bit cheap. And I don't think you can get away with a cheap looking camel coat, it's positively paradoxical. So here's a few 'proper' camel coats, for grown up ladies with grown up salaries that can afford grown up coats.

£225, Karen Millen

£119.90, Mango

£225, Reiss

£129, Zara

See? Pricey. Maybe it just depends on how much you're willing to spend on a coat. Currently I've got about £3.64 in the Franki's New Coat fund.

But Franki! You're missing the point! As Michael Kors said in the completely non-fictitious conversation above, the camel coat is an investment piece! It may be expensive but you'll wear it forever and ever!

But I won't, will I? Because this time next year, there'll be another 'must have' coat and the camel coat will be long forgotten. Oh fashion, you are a fickle mistress!

So, in conclusion, the camel coat is lovely, versatile, classy and makes you look and feel like a real, live grown up type. Will it be my coat of choice for this season? Judging by the ones I've found online so far, possibly not. Although, H&M Magazine did recently feature this image;

and while I've not actually seen it instore yet, if the price was as reasonable as most H&M things are, I could be tempted.

The only thing that's still bugging me? What about all the camels? Haven't they suffered enough?*

*camel coats are not made from real camels.

I'm not calling you a liar... but don't lie to me

I know that the world and his wife (and their children, the dog and the nosey neighbour next door) have already blogged about this collection, but you know what they say, if you can't beat 'em, get a bigger baseball bat join 'em, so here I am, jumping on the bandwagon like a big, bandwagon-jumping maniac.

Chloë Sevigny is one of those people who can do no wrong, she is just cool. It's the kind of cool that cannot be learned or developed over time, you either just have it or you don't and she has it. By the bucketload. And the bucket is leopard print. And really cool.

This is her third collection for Opening Ceremony and it's so incredibly simple - it's all stuff we've seen before; leopard print, florals, polka dots, flippy skirts, cut off tee-shirts, standard stuff that's been very 'current' for a while now. And yet, Chloe waves her magic (cool) wand and it suddenly all looks so fresh and new and I literally want to own all of it.

I don't really need to say much more; the images speak for themselves, but

THE SHOES

THE TIGHTS (especially the floral ones)

THE SUNGLASSES

AND ALL THE DRESSES. ALL OF THEM. I WANT THEM ALL. NOW PLEASE.

images from style.com

Ooh la la

The Resort 2011 collections are upon us and I've not been particularly fussed on many of them so far. Last year, I did several posts on Resort 2010 because there just seemed to be such an amazing array of colours and prints and shapes and I had so much to say, but it feels a bit like this year, a lot of designers have done a complete one-eighty and are now in a very minimalist place. While minimalism can be great, (less is more and all that) sometimes, I just want to replace 'minimal' with 'boring'.

Fortunately, one of the labels that never fails to impress, is Dior. Oh how I love Dior. I think, out of all the fashion houses out there, Dior is probably the one I look at most and think "yeah, I LOVE this collection". John Galliano is my hero.

This collection had a 60s 'mod' theme with beehived hair, big sunglasses and lots of bright block colours with white details. There was also a French influence, with chic tailored trenches, Breton stripes and sexy little neckerchiefs and chokers. With regards to styling, there was something for everyone, with both masculine and feminine looks making their way down the catwalk; dotted amongst the super-pretty dresses was a selection of boyish blazers and trousers, topped off with fedoras (or trilbies? I never know the difference) and baker boy caps. Of course, for me, it's all about the dresses; Galliano seems to be really celebrating the female form, with lots of nipped in waists and short, figure-hugging skirts. 'Sheer' was also a theme here, with organza and chiffon playing a big part (I'm not entirely sure what would be the best kind of underwear to wear with some of this stuff). I'm also loving all the cute, girly details - Peter Pan collars, embellished roses, pleats and frills. And of course there's loads of lovely couture gowns for us all drool over - long, feminine and floaty, in ice cream colours such as mint, peach and pink. It's just a gorgeous collection - I've only posted a few pictures, but I urge, if you haven't done already, to go here and have a look for yourself!

All images from style.com

little black book

André Lorenz Stock is an 18 year old Swedish tee-shirt designer who founded the label Black Book. His designs are quirky and unusual, using a combination of photographs and a few humourous words, which he prints as transfers and then assembles, collage-style onto cotton tee shirts. On their website, it says that the Black Book philosophy is summed up by their logo (pictured above);

"A subtle word with a mysterious meaning that makes you wonder what's written in the black book while the leopardpig screams out for attention"

You gotta love that leopardpig.

Anyway, the label has been so popular that recently, H&M collaborated with André, giving customers from all around the world the chance to submit their designs with the best fifteen being selected by the designer to be made into tee-shirts and sold in H&M stores worldwide.

The final fifteen tees are a varied selection of witty, silly, random and downright weird designs and are available to buy instore right now (some are in the men's section and some in the women's but to be honest, I'd say they're all unisex really). Here are my favourites;

MALE COUTURE, £7.99

BILO THE MONKEY SO WRONG YET SO RIGHT, £9.99

ONE EYED REDHEAD, £12.99

LEOPARD BEARD IT'S REALLY TRENDY, £9.99

You can see all the designs on the H&M website - which is your favourite?

[image source]

Factory Girl

I've been trying to write this post all week, but I just had too many words to say and ended up having a small breakdown. Don't worry, I'm ok now, but following on from my breakdown, I'm thinking that the best way to write about this particular topic is to break it down... (you see what I did there? I am just SO street!)

First, let's all share a moment and look at this;

I know, I know, crazy/epic/mental/ridiculous/fabulous/insane right? But what's even more exciting about this is that moments before this photo was taken, that gigantic ruff/cloak thing was actually this skirt;

How Franki? How? And why? And also what? And who? And when? But mainly how? Explain all, please, for we are so confused by these images of strange and wonderful things.

Well children, are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin...

Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoering, also known as Viktor & Rolf, the crazy-cool Dutch design duo, have always been known for their whacky but wonderful approach to fashion. I've mentioned them briefly in previous posts but not really gone into great detail about them... that is UNTIL NOW, because, having been rendered completely and utterly dumbfounded by their Fall 2010 show, I have to comment.

Imagine the scene; a fashion show. The runway is completely plastered with images of cogs, gears and screws and the music is layered with the mechanical sounds of a factory. The lights dim. Kristen McMenamy (a popular face of the 90s... I've never heard of her) heads down the runway wearing a ma-hoo-sive fur and tweed cape. The designers follow her and the three of them stop on a rotating circle in the centre of the runway, where Viktor and Rolf then proceed to remove said ginourmous cape from the model, who is standing as still as an extremely still mannequin (that's VERY still). Another model appears on the runway, steps onto the magical rotating bit and the designers dress her in the cape, which, with a few minor adjustments, becomes a coat. This process is repeated again and again as it is revealed, on removal of the giant cape, that McMenamy is actually wearing several layers of coats and jackets, which are each removed in turn, transformed into another garment through the magic of drawstrings, zips and fasteners and then placed onto another model, who then carries on down the runway, while McMenamy is STILL STANDING STILL!

You want a cape or a coat? Voila! You can have both!

Once all the layers are removed and McMenamy is stripped down to nothing but a nude bodysuit, the process starts again, this time in reverse, with models wearing various dresses, which are then removed, turned into yet more coats and placed back onto McMenamy, who, believe it or not, is STILL STANDING STILL! Is she a robot? Possibly.

First it's a dress, then it's a coat. Ah, the things you can do with a drawstring.

Basically, the whole thing was insane. I don't know what I was more impressed by; Viktor and Rolf's ingenuity and precision when removing/transforming/replacing garments or Kristen McMenamy's ability to wear twelve million layers of clothes while maintaining an air of zen-like coolness.

But what was the reason for all this? Are Viktor and Rolf telling us that layering is going to be such an important aspect for the Fall season that we should just wear all our clothes at once? Were they taking tips from that video of the 1930s future fashion predictions where they thought we'd all be wearing clothes which could adapt for day and night? Or did they just want to play dress up with a life-sized Barbie doll? (Don't we all?)

No. Don't be silly, it was none of those things.

The show was entitled "Glamour Factory", the runway (I think) represented a conveyor belt and the designers were like the two little workers, busily producing new garments. They were also playing with the concept of "Ready to Wear", as the pieces were somewhat extreme but, with a few tweaks, became instantly wearable.

I'll be honest, I don't really get where McMenamy and her layer upon layer of coats came into it all, but I'd like to think she represented a big stylish onion, which could be peeled to reveal more and more lovely things.

Regardless of what it all meant, I think it was brilliant, simply because it's a nice change to see a runway show which involves something a bit more than models just walking. Even so, having read several reviews, it's clear that the spectacle and theatrics of the show managed to overshadow the actual clothes, which is a shame because they were really gorgeous;

Those circle-lens sunglasses do remind me of Judge Doom from Who Framed Roger Rabbit? though;

Anyway, Viktor & Rolf have to be commended for the brilliant design features which utilised a simple drawstring to conceal or reveal volume, allowing garments to transform effortlessly from one thing to another. It was never a case of "oh that coat looks a bit like a dress now"; the coat was DEFINITELY a dress.

I also think it's great to see the designers taking an active role in the show, as usually, designers don't seem keen to enter the runway at all. I'm hoping that next season, designers will take their cue from Viktor & Rolf and we'll see Karl Lagerfeld whipping out a sewing machine on the Chanel catwalk and making all the clothes from scratch, right there and then. Brilliant.