The Short Story Part 1: Leather Shorts

House of Holland

Shorts are actually my favorite thing to wear, since it's always summer in my country. There is never a wrong temperature for me to wear shorts, that's probably the only good thing about never having winter and snow. I'm afraid that I have some very very good news: I'm not the only one who seems to think that shorts are THE way to go. I mean have you seen the "Shorts on the Red Carpet" trend? Trust me there's more to come with FNO (Fashion Night Out) right around the corner. I though it would totally be my pleasure to show you, what kind of shorts by which designers you will be seeing this summer and maybe even the rest of the year.

Shorts on the red carpet can be a fierce and fun way of showing off some legs every now and then but they should NEVER look like a didn't-have-enough-time-to-shop kind of shorts. That's the only thing I'm scared (to death) about seeing on the red carpet. If the shorts are not leather or too simple they are either not red carpet ready or not for the red carpet. There is definitely a big difference between them!

Solange's plain black shorts would not look out of place on the red carpet because she styled it very well. She gave it color with her red lipstick, yellow blazer and black&white heels. Sophia Bush paired her plain black shorts with a red blazer, two necklaces and black pumps. Both Solange and Sophia wore white tank tops under their blazers. On the other hand Ashlee's shorts at the Samsung LA event are 100% not not red carpet worthy! They look like beach shorts.
The other kind of shorts that I've also seen on the red carpet are sleepwear shorts or at least they look like them! I don't think that loose shorts or jean shorts or not well tailored shorts are for the red carpet, they look way too casual. Out of experience I haven't seen any shorts with prints do very well on the red carpet. They either seem too summer-y or too hippie for a red carpet event. I'm also not crazy about flats under shorts on the red carpet.
With that said it's NEVER appropriate to wear shorts (or jeans) to an important award show like the Golden Globes or the Oscars or the Grammy's. Shorts (leather or well tailored) are for movie premieres, runway events and events where something new is launched.

Solange Knowles

Sophia Bush wearing Rebecca Minkoff

Ashlee Simpson at the Samsung Galazy S3 Launch in LA

My point is, if this trend is going to continue I hope that it doesn't lead to a more casual red carpet, because that would be awful! I am now going to showcase the red carpet ready shorts and combinations that make for a possibly best dressed look!

The Leather shorts!

The most worn shorts on the red carpet are leather shorts because they don't tend to look too casual. Leather shorts also don't need a lot of prints, color and design so it's easier to do. The most common leather shorts are black or brown, but every now and then (especially for a Resort collection) we can see colored leather shorts.
For Resort 2013 we got to see colored leather shorts in A.L.C. (red), Alice + Olivia (green) and Fedi (blue) collections. I'm not shocked about A+O adding colored leather shorts to their final look, just like I wouldn't be surprised if Chris Benz added color. They are both know for their excellent mix of bright colors. I actually really love colored leather shorts because you can pair it with a plain white blouse or with a matching colored shirt with a print, just like A.L.C. did. A+O chose for a black and white top and jacket, which is also a good choice for such a difficult green.

Resort 2013: 3.1 Phillip Lim - Vasilisa Pavlova for A.L.C. - Chantal Stafford-Abbott for Alice + Olivia

Resort 2013: Andie Arthur for DKNY - Erjona Ala for Fendi - Suvi Koponen & Elza Luijendijk for Chloe

For Resort 2013 we saw black leather shorts in 3.1 Phillip Lim, DKNY, Chloe and Alexander Wang collections. Black tights often get paired with very short leather shorts, just like DKNY did. Black leather shorts are the easiest to style. They go perfect with a plain white T, a blouse with a loud print. It depends on your kind of style. I do prefer high waist shorts over normal shorts because I like the tuck-in-your-shirt trend better with leather. Hey! that rhymes!

Resort 2013: Tamara Weijenberg & Maria Bradley for Alexander Wang

For Resort 2013 Belstaff, Bally and Barbara Bui had brown leather shorts in their collections. I'm not a big fan of dark brown leather shorts. I think that the best way to style brown leather pants is to do it the way Belstaff did it (first look). The striped blue and white shirt underneath with the nude biker jacket is a great way to combine color and structure to the leather fabric. Mostly though I see a lot of people wearing just a plain white T or a white blouse with it.

Resort 2013: Maud Welzen for Belstaff

Resort 2013: Bally - Bally - Barbara Bui

There is someone I would like to name Shorts Leather Princess. I mean, she has worn so many leather shorts that I've stopped counting. There are more celebrities who wear a lot of leather but for the events I really keep track of she is definitely the winner. Her name is Olivia Palermo and here are three ways to wear leather shorts:

Olivia Palermo: 1st and 3rd look are Tibi leather shorts

 

Here are a couple of ideas on how you can wear your stylish leather shorts:

Rachel Bilson and Shay Mitchell's black leather shorts are perfect for the red carpet. They're the perfect fit and they both chose beige/nude colored tops. Shay's V-neck makes it more feminine and Rachel's printed long sleeved top makes it more vintage. Ashlee Simpson's red leather shorts are on the other hand more to the sporty side paired with her white half-tucked-in blouse.

Shay Mitchell at FNO 2011

Rachel Bilson at Sunglass Hut event

Ashlee Simpson in shorts by Alice + Olivia at the Samsung Galaxy S3 Launch in NY

Alexa Chung is also one of the celebs who wears a lot of shorts especially leather and jeans shorts. Alexa Chung always adds a couple of accessories or shirts to make her outfit more edgy and tomboy. Most people choose the sexy-short-leather shorts but tomboy can definitely be a choice. In the first look Alexa wore black tights under her leather shorts with a black sweater to make her look edgier. In her second look she tucked in an over-sized grey shirt with high waist leather shorts.

Rachel Bilson went for a flirty look with a blazer, an over-sized top and very short leather shorts. Leandra Medine went for nude colored leather shorts, which are not definitely not Man Repelling! Her white over-sized top and pastel green boots give her outfit a more resort feel.

Rachel Bilson at a Chanel event

Leandra Medine also known as "The Man Repeller"

Have you worn any leather shorts this summer and do you think they are red carpet worthy? Let me know which celeb has rocked the leather shorts trend and what you thought!

Much Love,

World Humanitarian Day!

You have not lived a day in your life unless you have done something for someone who won't be able to repay you

John Wooden

This year me and my family have decided to do something for World Humanitarian Day on August 19th 2012. My family decided to gather our useful books, clothes and electronics and we will donate them to children in need. I have signed millions of petition and me and my sister have set up a recycle project at our school but this day is about the usual.
The thing that makes this day so amazing is that you can choose what you want and can do for someone else. It's not just about your budget. It can be time or things, it doesn't matter how small or big. You can donate anything you want. It's also important that you spread the message and show some luv and not just on this day!

World Humanitarian Day

19 August 2012

Natural disasters, conflicts and other emergencies threaten the lives and health of millions of people every year. In the middle of such crises, thousands of dedicated humanitarian workers strive to care for those who have been affected and support local authorities to deliver assistance. On World Humanitarian Day, WHO and other international bodies are highlighting the roles performed by humanitarian workers, and remembering aid workers who have been killed or injured while performing their vital roles.

World Humanitarian Day offers the chance:

• for the public to learn more about the humanitarian community, what aid workers do and the challenges they face;
• for nongovernmental and international bodies and UN agencies, to demonstrate their humanitarian activities;
• to pay respect to those who have died or been injured in the course of their humanitarian work.

Beyonce "I Was Here" Project

Every day humanitarian aid workers help millions of people around the world, regardless of who they are and where they are. World Humanitarian Day is a global celebration of people helping people.
This year’s campaign "I Was Here" is about making your mark by doing something good, somewhere, for someone else.
Celebs like Lady Gaga, Michelle Obama, Danny Glover, Justin Bieber, Jackie Chan, David Guetta, Chris Brown, Kaka, Jessie J, Hilary Duff, Kelly Rowland, Shay Mitchell, Kellan Lutz  and Ben Affleck have also shown their support. Gucci, Stella McCartney, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, InStyle Magazine, People Magazine, MTV, United Nations and UNICEF have joined and have brought a lot of people with them. Beyonce herself has managed to bring in more than 43 million people to join. I hope that you will join too and help spread the word!

To join Beyonce and show your support for #WHD click here

For more info about this project click here

What have you and your family planned for World Humanitarian Day this August 19th?
Much Love,

& family

Lana Del Rey for H&M: Part 2

This week H&M released the rest of the pics from Lana Del Rey for H&M Autumn. In the preview they showed peach/pastel pink which suits her really well. I am pleasantly surprised by the newly released pictures because they continued with the soft and even the classic colors that fit her style and face. They also kept it very Lana Del Rey with her hair. LDR can immediately be recognized by her bouffant and vintage make-up and H&M paired their style with hers very well.

The looks are all very comfy and tailored. From the knitted green off-the-shoulder to the black and white bows in her hair to the tweed dress, the ad looks very good. These last two looks are my favs. The pants look like an art project and the white peplum top looks great with it. The last look is a tweed jacket with a white dress underneath. Except for the headband, that look is close to looking perfect.

 Lana Del Rey was not just chosen as a model, but also as a singer. I'm guessing that they will soon release the video campaign that comes with the contract. Can't wait to hear and see it!

Which was your fav LDR for H&M look? Let me know by leaving a comment! I'd luv to hear it!

 If you're interested in reading the previous post (Part 1) about "Lana Del Rey for H&M" click here.

Much Love,

All-star Supermodels Go for Gold

 The 2012 Olympics lasted seventeen days and the last day included a closing ceremony with mayor British celebs such as The Spice Girls, John Lennon, George Michael, Take That, Freddie Mercurry and One Direction. Also the world witnessed 8 British supermodels take the stage for the closing ceremony of the 2012 Olympics held in London. Not only will I miss the reporters with their very cute British accents but I also wish that their would be a Supermodel walk Part 2. Is that too much to ask?

Left to Right: Jourdan Dunn - David Gandy - Georgia May Jagger - Lily Donaldson - Kate Moss - Karen Elson - Lily Cole - Stella Tennant - Naomi Campbell

A couple of days ago Vogue UK released a preview of what we were going to see on Sunday August the 12th. They called it a preview, but they released all eight pics with nine models on them. One male and eight females. For the male model we had David Gandy and as for the females we had Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Jourdan Dunn, Georgia May Jagger, Karen Elson, Lily Cole, Lily Donaldson and Stella Tennant. These nine supermodels were all wearing gold, gold elements or hints of gold. It was amazing to watch and if it was up to me they'd all get get medals for their matching dresses. The gold-dresses were all specially designed by famous British designers and they had a futuristic look to them. Some might even say a more female-empowerment look except for David Gandy's look of course!

Lili Cole - Karen Elson - Kate Moss - Naomi Campbell

 The editorials were shot by Nick Knight for Vogue UK's September Issue. The gold gowns in this editorial were also worn by the supermodels for their Olympic walk. They certainly made fashion history in their high fashion gold gowns.

Kate Moss in Vogue UK

 This supermodel walk was led by Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell who showed that they still have "It" after all these years. Both Kate and Naomi are honorary supermodels who truly belonged on that stage.

Kate and Naomi both wore a Alexander McQueen. Kate wore a gold sequin gown and Naomi wore a gold gown with a glitter see-through cape and an Olympian crown.

Naomi Campbell in Vogue UK

David Gandy - Jourdan Dunn in Vogue UK

 David and Jourdan were the only duo featured in the Vogue UK editorial and they make a very good pair. David wore Paul Smith and Jourdan wore Jonathan Saunders and Stephen Jones with gold leather Christian Louboutin heels. David's metallic suit was perfect this occasion, he looked very handsome. The Jersey tube dress that Jourdan is wearing is graphically gold painted by Jonathan Saunders. The gold majestic feathered headdress is by Jones.

David Gandy - Jourdan Dunn at the closing ceremony

Georgia May Jagger

Georgia wore a high-shine gold dress by Victoria Beckham with a Stella McCartney gold belt and Giuseppe Zunotti leather heels. This is one of the looks that didn't feel futuristic but more "Back in Time". It's absolutely not a bad thing. Georgia looks great and Victoria did a fantastic job designing a sporty yet high fashion look. Victoria Beckham who is a member of The Spice Girls also performed yesterday.

Karen Elson wore a gold lace spaghetti strap, thigh high gown by Burberry. Accessories by Butler& Wilson and Jimmy Choo heels. Karen's red hair goes perfectly with this gold gown. She totally represents the Golden times of the supermodels and that is amazing.

Karen Elson

Lily Cole

 Lily Cole wore Erdem. This dress has a part that was woven in Italy, the lace is from France and it was hand-embroidered in London. Erdem admitted that this was a challenge because he never designed a gold or metallic dress before. Erdem wanted the dress to be English and romantic at the same time and it is a success. The platform heels are from Charlotte Olympia.

Lily Donaldson is wearing Vivienne Westwood.

Lily Donaldson

Stella Tennant wore Christopher Kane with leather boots by Christian Louboutin. Stella was the only one who wore pants. Christopher said that he made a trouser suit just for Stella because it felt right.

Stella Tennant

It's nice to see that London is a big part of the Fashion world. Not just by designers but also by models. It's also nice to see that a sport event can bring together so much different aspects of the world. It was lovely seeing all the sports and rooting for TeamUSA, I truly had a blast and I can't wait to see what will happen in Brazil. Brazil is our neighbor and South American countries are known for their Latin influences, so that will be interesting. Brazilians are also know for their Carnaval festivals and events. I am looking forward to that.

Much Love,

Resort 2013: Swimwear 101

Cara Delevingne for Dsquared2 Resort 2013

When I think of summer the first that really comes to mind is bikini! I love swimming and even though I don't swim a lot when I do, I truly enjoy it. Even runway fashion makes place for swimwear, Resort 2013 and some call it Cruise collection! I'll be featuring the best Resort 2013 collections for you to get inspiration on your summer swimwear. One piece, bikini or tankini it doesn't matter fashion doesn't discriminate!

Resort 2013: 

Chris Benz

Chris Benz stayed true to hisself for the Resort 2013 collection, with him being The Prince of Color of course. I'm not just talking about his swimwear but also about his accessories and beachwear. He went for plain white pumps and multi-colored prints for his bathing suits. For accessories he decided to include orange and blue triangle earrings and bright green and orange cashmere.

To neutralize his prints he went for plain bright, black or the same print jacket. He included a one piece, a tankini, shorts and a bikini. I happen to love prints for a bikini.
The rest of the collection is filled with neon colors and tropical prints. Chris (@cmbenz) admits that his mind set for this collection was on vacation in the Caribbean.

Model Marina Heiden.

Erdem

Erdem only included two bathing suits a bikini and a one piece. He paired them with matching heels. The bikini has a more disco ball effect which looks even more amazing in a photo shoot. His one piece is a blue print with a black background. I like his bikini more because his one piece seems more for the Olympics when his bikini is just for a cool summer day.

 

Bottega Veneta

 Bottega Veneta (@veneta_bottega) did not bother to include any color in their swimwear collection, not even for accessories. Tomas Maier, lead designer for Bottega Veneta, said: "I always start with color, then material, then shape". Even though I'm all for color for summer, I don't dislike these bathing suits. The first one has a lot of amazing details that wouldn't look right with any bright color. They made the background a bit lighter black so that the print detail can easily be seen. The second (right) one piece is practically a bikini because the part under her breast is see through.

Model (left): Josefien Rodermans.

Model (right): Nadja Bender.

Jason Wu

Jason Wu featured only one bathing suit in his Resort 2013 collection. Colorful and simple he kept it this time. My favorite colors orange and yellow were of course included in this bikini. His Resort 2013 collection started very somber with grey than he continued with bright blue and black. Aftet that he leaned over to the sporty side with neon orange and yellow. He finished with black and white prints. @JasonWu did a very good job for his Resort 2013 collection.

Model: Ondria Hardin.

Derek Lam

 Derek Lam (@DerekLamNYC) claimed to be inspired by Eddy Murphy's comedy Coming to America for his Resort 2013 collection. I never thought I would hear that one, but never say never right? This look is the only thing that comes close to swimwear. A navy colored one piece accessorized with white heels and a bag. On top of that he put a striped and plaid coat. If you look at his whole collection, you won't notice where his inspiration came from. His collection is very versatile by design and color. Derek Lam's other collection is 10 Crosby, but this collection doesn't have any swimwear for Resort 2013. 10 Crosby is a lower-priced collection.

Model: Monika Sawicka.

Lanvin

Lanvin's lead designer is Alber Elbaz and he has worked for @LANVINofficial since 2001. Alber said: "Resort is about solutions", and by this he meant that for the Resort collection he didn't focus so much on the Runway version but more on the RTW. A lot of designers have also focused on this strategy. Have you noticed that most of the Resort collections aren't shown on the runway? This look is very classic and I think that they intended on doing that. They added shades and black heels. This look also has a blue bag, Alber claims that he found out recently that bags are more important that he thougt, so he will be focusing on bag more. Lanvin's Resort 2013 collection includes a lot of black and white and nudes and on the side red, blue and yellow.

Model: Montana Cox

Herve Leger by Max Azria

I think it's only right that the King of bandage dresses, Mr Max Azria, includes swimwear in his Herve Leger Resort collection, and he did. I'm really glad that Lubov and Max Azria went with colorblocking for this Herve Leger collection because they're famous for their bandage dresses 

and they should mix it up every now and then.

Like Lubov always says: "they design for the same customer", and you don't want that customer to say, I already have that!

Four out of seven bathing suits are bikini's. They kept it colorful and chic with the black basic. They also did a fantastic job with the detailing.

 With the accessories they they kept it simple, aviator glasses with plain black heels. That was the right way to go since color blocking is already eye-catching.

With the one piece they did cut outs to flatter the waist and up. The @Herve LegerbyMA collection is definitely one of my favorite collections for Resort wear.

Michael Kors

Michael Kors admits that his Resort collection is one of the most fun seasons to work on and we can see why! MK (@MichaelKors) always looks so happy when talking about Fashion, not just about his clothing line. It is truly visible that he enjoys creating! 

 Maybe it's because exciting things are happening for him at the moment, he just opened three stores in Instanbul and he launched a new collection Michael Kors for Bergdrofs. For his Resort wear he launched only three pieces and they are all one piece. First I thought the looks were too simple, but then I noticed the gold little details which compliment the body as well as the colors he chose. It's a good way to not over design it and look like the rest. My favorite peice is the white one, because the gold goes really well with it. Throughout the whole collection he mixed gold, black and white and white with the exception of a couple of colorful looks.

Model (left&right): Bette Franke.

Model: Kelli Lumi.

Marios Schwab

Many can see that Marios Schwab stuck with a couple of ideas he also put in his previous Fall 2012 RTW collection. I'm not complaining because it doesn'y look like the same collection. His inspiration for his present and previous collection was Marlene Dietrich. @MariosSchwab was inspired by her loneliness and he descibes her as: "the woman who you don't know, but fall in love with anyway". Her face was most of the time covered with a hat, so low that you couldn't easily see her eyes.
It is very clear that Marios Schwab had comfort in mind for this Resort collection (the models are not wearing heels). Both of these peices are construced in the same way but they have different prints and colors. I liked both, the neon yellow is more for a stealing-the-show-at-the-beach kind of girl and the grey print is more for the girl who pays a lot of attention to detail.

Chanel

Chanel is known for their classic yet fashion forward looks. Their entire collection included brighter than the sun colored short cut bobs and matching colored shoes. I wasn't totally impressed by these @CHANEL looks, also not by the whole collection. Mostly because I was thinking, "which celeb is going to wear these" and no one came to mind. I like the right one piece more but the gold embroidering reminded me of the cover of Watch the Throne (yes Jay-z and Kanye's colab album!). That cover was designed by Ricardo Tisci of Givenchy.

Model (left): Karmen Pedaru.

Model (right): Melissa Tammerijn.

Christopher Kane

Christopher Kane's Resort collection was actually one of my favs, because he really mixed a lot of prints with great summer colors and pastel colors. It was very versatile, but they fit pretty well together. The reason why I loved his prints so much is because they look like pictures from nature on the clothes. The birds, the sun and everything green which can also be a part of one's summer. I mean not everyone wants to sit on the beach, some spent their summer hiking and falling asleep under the sun. This bikini has a more tomboy feel to it and I luv that!

Emilio Pucci

The Emilio Pucci Resort 2013 collection has a military and safari feel to it. Not only by color but also by structure, at least it started like that. It had a couple of bright yellow pieces and it ended with a couple of black, white and printed dresses. These two looks aren't the best thing about this collection, but they look good and they accessorized very well.

Model: Jourdan Dunn.

Zero + Maria Cornejo

Zero + Maria Cornejo's Resort collection has clothes for the same woman for morning, evening and night. The @zeromcornejo collection has prints, bright and pastel colors, and the classic and modern look on what women want to wear this season. The 1st and 2nd look are both very feminine and modern and not too simple. The third look has a more surf-girl kind of look. It's my fav look I think the combination was a very great idea.

Model: Ali Lagarde.

Tory Burch

This season Tory Burch featured a lot of neutral and soft colors, along with retro prints. Just like these looks, the collection has a lot of details and accessories. @toryburch focused more on the modern yet classy woman for her cruise collection. More than that I think she really showed how to style and wear these pieces. The one piece is my fav look, it looks very feminine and not too simple for summer. It also has a print that isn't too overwhelming to add another print. That can be seen with the tied blouse that also has a retro print.

Model: Ella Verberne.

T by Alexander Wang

T is a lower-prised collection by famous designer, Alexander Wang. This is @AlexanderWangNY's 1st swimwear collection for T. He kept it very simple and sporty and it looks good. Most of the tops from the bikini can also be worn as "crop tops".

His one piece has see through parts which look like they will slim down your romp.
I'm not very fond of a white bikini, to me it looks like a waste of color. It always reminds me of a white wall, which is boring. In another color they look good for summer!

Alexander designs for the Tomboy girl and clearly he has customers, because I like his style! The collection includes colors such as light and dark grey, black and white.

Model: Kasia Struss.









I prefer color for summer, but a couple of designers proved that you can still look great in neutrals or just plain black and white. These designers also proved that Resort is the most relaxed season of them all. This because they design with a vacation state of mind, they find their paradise. A different style doesn't have to be out of fashion, it can still look amazing and be eye catching. We can all appreciate Audrey Hepburn's style, but it wouldn't be fun if we ALL looked like her! You can even be the one who creates a new style because style is personality.
As you can see summer is all about having fun with colors and clothes. It's the perfect time to take a break from all the serious things you have been up to all year! It's really more of a mind-set. The best piece of advise I ever received was: "dress like you mean it". This piece of advise can be taken very seriously, but the way I see it, he or she was telling me to have fun and enjoy every second I get the opportunity to. With that said, I hope that you think of that every time you get ready, even if you're not leaving your house!
Much Love,