A Year of Pretty - December 28, 2014

We are almost at the end of another year. Which means I am almost at the end of my A Year of Pretty for 2014. I think after 2014 is through, I am going to go back to posting under some of the headings I have used in the past - "Delicate and Pretty", "A Little Bit of Lovely", "Shoes and More Shoes".

While it has been fun to bring a daily dose of something pretty, it has also been a bit of a time grabber. Not so much in the actual posting each day, but in the researching and finding background information, chasing broken links down a dark rabbit hole to try and credit original sources; and of course.....hours spent scrolling through Pinterest and other such sites.

(For those that want to admire a whole bunch of Pretty at one time, I invite you to a collection called "oh. .  pretty!" that I have curated, both for your enjoyment and my inspiration).

There has not been any snow so far this December in Vancouver. Well, up on the mountains, yes. But not in the city itself. So for today's Pretty Post I thought I would bring the snow to you by way of this STUNNINGLY GORGEOUS suit ensemble from the Chanel Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2014 / 2015 collection. I have watched (a number of times) the videos on how these pieces are hand crafted and painstakingly put together. Utterly amazing.

It would take me years...YEARS ! to complete a garment such as this. So I can understand the astronomical price tag that this jacket and pants would go for. If I had to hazard a guess, I would put this at being no less than $35,000.00. Yes, thirty five thousand dollars.

Okay, so back to the garment itself. The detailing is smart. The play between the expanse of white in the jacket and the cording effect of the beading is beautiful. The beading not only acts as a decorative detail, but serves to contour the lines of the body. Essentially, it is a tuxedo jacket with a mandarin collar that morphs into a long tunic. I'm noticing now that in one of the pictures (above), it is worn with leggings, in another (right) the model's leg is visible. In a show, these two looks would be presented one after the other. Which means the jacket combo was made twice?


No, but wait! It's a tuxedo jacket with biker shorts! Now that I have watched the video of the fashion show again, the model is clearly wearing a tuxedo-jacket-cum-tunic over a pair of long biker shorts. Only Chanel could make biker shorts this glamourous. Here is a screen shot from the youtube video (left).

But my train has left the tracks. Back to this Winter Wonderland look. The beading reminds me of Christmas tinsel and holly berries, with all the twiggy bits poking up out of the snow.

So while beaded biker shorts may not be your kind of thing (and honestly, for me I would do without them and wear plain leggings, either in the same warm winter white or in red to match the red "berries" with a cable knit pattern and red patent leather stilettos), this tunic would definitely be a show stopper at any company Christmas party or New Year's Eve gathering. But heaven forbid Carl the Clumsy from Accounting doesn't bump into you with his glass of red wine, or your Uncle Leon drop his plate of Swedish meatballs on your lap as he leans over to kiss you hello.

If you are interested in watching the whole production, the youtube video is here:

A Year of Pretty - October 06, 2014

Fall; it's definitely Fall. I am posting this blog in early October from my room in a villa in the north of Italy, just outside Alba. The mornings are cool and foggy, the afternoons crisp and bright. The view is spectacular, the people are warm and inviting.

Warm and inviting is a good way to describe these pearls from Chanel. The colours remind me of autumn leaves; each different and unique.

Enjoy these fall colours, along with diamonds, amethysts and citrines; and I hope your day is crisp and bright wherever you may be.

A Year of Pretty - February 05, 2014

Today's Pretty Post is a backstage look at Chanel's Spring 2014 collection. Really, I don't have a whole lot else to say . . . . the photo says it all.

(the original source for this photo is kinda obscure . . and kinda not. The link on Pinterest was broken, but a little digging around brought me to a holding tank for images for the look book for Chanel's SS2014 collection. In Italian. Where the credit is given to FotografÍa: Cortesía de Chanel / Olivier Saillant. Which is more than the Pinterest post gave credit for)

A Year of Pretty - January 25, 2014

Today's Pretty Post . . . is sheer beauty. The blouse, the pearls, the necklace, the brooches, the hair, the make-up . . .even the texture and simplicity of the backdrop. Just beautiful.

So the necklace is supposed to be the focus of the picture. I know, "wait, she's wearing a necklace?"

Yes, she is. And it's by Canadian-based designer Charlotte Hosten.

From the designer's website:
"Charlotte Hosten is a jewelry and accessories designer who offers her clients fantasy and feminity. Her famous fabric necklaces have reversed the usual cycle of dressing up. Women tend to wear a Charlotte Hosten jewel as the base for the outfit : creating their look around the necklace.
Born and raised in Belgium but now living in Montreal, Charlotte has traveled the world. A self-made designer, she instinctively learned to create jewelry at the age of 15. The idea of mounting a piece onto fabric was introduced in 2008,  when she couldn't find a clasp she liked to support her creations : she then started to embroider beads onto fabric. Ever since, her necklaces have become luxurious sculptures; sometimes made of one of a kind antique jewelry pieces or, for the custom made pieces, with the treasures her clients bring her. Charlotte Hosten's work was recently featured in Elle Québec, Fashion, The Gazette and Châtelaine, just to name a few. Her necklaces are now distributed everywhere in Canada.

What is unique about Ms Hosten's creations is that she is very aware of the efforts to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle within her company. Most of the trimming waste is kept to be reused; and some of the necklaces (the sari collection for example) have been elaborated using almost only trimming waste. She uses a lot of vintage beads, brooches and necklaces to which a second life is given.

Charlotte Hosten's Atelier Boutique is at 122 Bernard W. in Montréal (514)274-8511

A Year of Pretty - January 24, 2014

Today's Pretty Post is this beautiful jumble of cameos, pearls and pearl strands; all linked together to form one 'super pearl" necklace. So interesting, so unique, so . .Chanel.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find an original source except for Pinterest.

I bring you this post today as a follow up to yesterday's silver lace Chanel dress. And because I liked the image of the round, refined necklace with all its luster against the rough, weathered boards.

And because it's something I would wear.
And because it's Friday and I wear pearls with my jeans. With heels.
True story.

A Year of Pretty - January 23, 2014

I can't believe it's already only three months until my birthday. My big birthday. The big four-zero. Yikes!

Onto something more positive. Today's Pretty Post is the GORGEOUS Chanel dress, found via Pinterest, linked back to walkingthruafog. And there it ends.

This is stunning. This is glamorous. This is Chanel.

This reminds me of some lace I have that I will be using on my Great Gatsby Challenge, due in . . .a month. Yikes again!

While my design will be no where near this elaborate, it's still nice to think I haven't got it ALL wrong.

(the shoes are pretty awesome too)

Anyhow, enjoy today's post and wish me luck as I continue with designing (which right now is really just a bunch of ideas with editing and a good dose of compromises).

oh Chanel, how I adore thee

So I'm browsing on the Chanel website, deciding on my next purchase (ha!). There are the usual suspects: the white gold and diamond rings, the strands of creamy white pearls with the classic double CC. And then I come across this little number. So different, so avant garde . . and yet classic and refined at the same time. Which when you think about it is everything the Chanel brand stands for.

Listed in their Les Intemporelles de Chanel (The Timeless Chanel) collection, the description reads only "Diamonds and white gold necklace". Of course there is no price attached because I think at this point, if one were seriously considering adding this necklace to their collection, the price would be something dismissed with a lofty wave of a well manicured hand.

Now I'm not a big fan of making a fuss and big gifts at Valentine's Day. But for this? I would make an exception....

sweater weather

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the fresh days of spring and the lazy warm air of summer. But there is something about September and the approach of cooler weather that I enjoy.

For me there are essentially three things that sum up Autumn in Vancouver: walking through one of our city’s many parks and hearing the crunch of brightly painted leaves underneath, the harvesting and cooking of apples to make applesauce, and pulling the sweaters off the top shelf in my closet.

Oh, how comforting a favorite sweater can be. Admit it, we have all experienced the small pleasure of pulling on a cherished sweater, stretching the cuffs of the sleeves over our fingers, and raising them to the neck in a gesture of welcoming the warmth.

Putting on a sweater is also very economically-environmentally friendly. While growing up, if someone in our house complained of being cold, the rhetorical answer was always, “Then go put a sweater on!”, which was usually in my case followed by “ . . and some socks while you’re at it!”

I’m not one for knitting. Crochet I can handle; there is only one needle and it has a hook on one end. But two (or even sometimes four) needles are just too much for me to get a grasp on (yes, pun intended). So I appreciate the skill and effort it takes to make a hand knitted sweater.

Below are a few examples of some great hand knitted sweaters to give you warmth.

MIA hand knitted cardigan with pockets by ovejanegra shown left

RIONA hand knitted cardigan coat in cream by ovejanegra shown right

If you’re feeling chilly now and can’t wait for a custom ordered sweater, Victoria Secret offers (among other things) a wide selection to choose from. Shown left and right are two that I find rather, ah-hem . . . inviting.

If you’re looking for a sweater that goes for the extra wow and don’t mind dropping a couple grand on one piece of seasonal wear, then be sure to take a look at these beauties below designed by Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel featured during Paris Fashion week 2010 (I mean, really . . . who doesn’t like Chanel??), as well as a nicely detailed article by theclotheswhisperer. The iceberg set design I like, the Wookie boots I can do without.

So go ahead . . . bundle up . . .it’s getting cold out there.