"Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street. fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening."

So said Coco Chanel and I think that in Second Life, the accessibility of fashion and especially haute couture gives us so much opportunity for experimentation and self-expression with our apparel that her words are especially relevant here. In fact it's one of the main things that keeps me interested in this "game".

Coco also stated that "Elegance is refusal". I love that! And today I guess I must be particularly elegant, as I turned down a pretty tempting offer that I won't bother going into the details of here and now. Trouble is, I'm not sure whether I can hold out, and refusal followed by giving in to temptation probably doesn't count.

This new ensemble from BareRose Haute Couture sent me off hunting for Chanel-style bits and pieces and I'm quite pleased with the result, especially in terms of the contrast with my last post. It's good to mix things up a bit and that's yet another of the delights of Second Life - the ability to explore different roles and possibilities in a relatively safe and accepting environment.

So today I'm doing elegant and sophisticated with two Chanel-inspired looks one for daytime, one for evening. And tomorrow? Well, who knows?

September is the month when fashion houses go for the hard sell. But what makes a successful advertisement? Penny Martin reveals the industry's secrets

Many people read fashion magazines for the editorial shoots, but the industry itself is more interested in the adverts, and none are more popular than campaigns which appear in the September and March issues.

Just twice per year, in these months, major brands stake hundreds of thousands of pounds on creating and placing just a few advertising images. The finest – and most expensive – photographers, art directors, models, hair and make-up artists and set designers are all hired to distil the company's current design "vision" down into a commercial message that will seduce customers, while also asserting the brand's cutting-edge aesthetics.

The "collections issues" are where the next season's campaigns are launched. And, as ever, the questions are: who shot what?; who won the prize for "best photographer"?; and which models got the starring roles?

Apart from the collection itself, the advert is the biggest risk a designer takes all season, and the images are an acute barometer of the socio-economic climate in which they are produced.

Penny Martin, is the professor of fashion imagery at the London College of Fashion

1. YSL

After the brouhaha over the "all-black" issue of Vogue Italia in July, all eyes were on the autumn/winter campaigns to see whether fashion would put its (advertising) money where its (editorial) mouth is.

read more...

Here is the break down of Laura Bush's outfit (Source: Vanity Fair):

Laura Bush
Oscar de la Renta suit: $2,500
Stuart Weitzman heels: $325
Pearl stud earrings: $600–$1,500
Total: Between $3,425 and $4,325

Cindy McCain
Oscar de la Renta dress: $3,000
Chanel J12 White Ceramic Watch: $4,500
Three-carat diamond earrings: $280,000
Four-strand pearl necklace: $11,000–$25,000
Shoes, Taryn Rose: $475
Total: Between $299,100 and $313,10

Oh and I forgot to mention, the prenatal vitamins for 17 year old Bristol: $30-$100

But hey, they WON'T RAISE TAXES AND HELP THE MIDDLE CLASS!!!!

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Fifi de Chanel. Essa é uma das ilustrações a venda nesse site por US$30.

Aqui Fifi de Luella, também a venda.

Mrs. Lapin com um look criado por sua criadora, que além de vestir a coelha, dá dicas de estilo no blog.

Fifi in rollerskates e meia rosa! Fofa.

Além disso, Fifi Lapin acabou de desenvolver 3 estampas para mochilas, malas e bolsas da Le Sportsac, que são lindas e amáveis, como ela.

Coleção Fifi Lapin para Le Sportsac.

Fervo adora a coelha mais fashionista do mundo... Depois da Hello Kitty, claro!

Pastini anyone?
pic from a Carla Bruni slideshow on Vanity Fair

This would be perfect for today's too fucking hot weather.

WWW.rabtelevision.spaces.live.com

plus....Renee Ashley Baker's Mother (The Beautiful Mrs B) and her "people" (below)....

 Doris Duke

Doris Duke (aka "The Richest Little Girl In The World") was the only child of tabacco and electric energy tycoon James Buchanan Duke and his second wife, southern aristocrat, Nanaline Holt Inman.  Doris maintained three spectacular homes, they were: "Rough Point" (a 115 room Victorian manor-style mansion in Newport, RI); "Shangri-La" (an estate she built in Honolulu Hawaii);  and "Falcon's Lair" (the former estate of movie screen legend Rudolph Valentino).

plus....Barbara Hutton

Barbara Hutton (aka "Poor LIttle Rich Girl") was the only girl child of Edna Woolworth (daughter of Frank W. Woolworth) and Franklyn Laws Hutton the co-founder of the respected E. F. Hutton & Company.

plus....Brooke Astor

Brooke Astor (nee' Roberta Brooke Russell) was the only child of John Henry Russell, Jr and his wife Mabel Cecile Hornby Howard.  She was named for her maternal grandmother, Roberta Traill Brooke MacGill Howard and she was known as "Bobby" to close friends and family.

My Mother's Million Dollar Diamonds....

Cartier (Cost: $1 million dollars) 

                                           Chanel (Cost: $1 million dollars)

Harry Winston (Cost: $1 million dollars) 

                               Tiffany & Co (Cost: $1 million dollars)

plus....

Renee Ashley Baker's Jimmy Choo 33 1/3 carat Diamond Shoe.  Cost: $1 million dollars.  (not pictured above) 

DISNEY CORPORATION will distribute Renee Ashley Baker's first motion picture, in movie theatres worldwide, under an "output deal" valued at $53.5 million dollars.  Renee Ashley Baker will "Executive Produce" and U.S. Senator Edward M Kennedy will co-produce/consult.   Renee Ashley Baker will make a "profit" of $104.3 million dollars.....

NO TO DENVER COLORADO.  Denver Colorado is a poor, broke, C-list, shakedown cowtown that is going to STOP "extorting" Renee Ashley Baker for money....Madonna and Lourdes are both "DOGS".

special thanks:  Wikipedia

SCROLL DOWN....

I'm a big fan of what he does, his Chanel couture shows are fantastic and so innovative and his persona is so interesting.    Furthermore, he is the genious behind Fendi. Mr. Lagerfeld has very outrageous and creative ideas about fashion.

He came up with the idea ages ago to make fur that has a gold covering. After years of scientific such and such, they have finally figured it out. I realise I am taking a bit of a risk here because fur is such a politically incorrect thing to adore, but there you have it.  Fashiontweet LOVES fur.... please send me your comments on this subject if you have any, I will post them.

damn, wish i had cable. I wish australian tv is gonna show this.

and if you havent already watched this docu of the fashion house and karl lagerfeld, here it is.

Fashion Intel here,

I didn't make it to the Hamptons this year, much less ride the Jitney. I still cannot believe I lived on Long Island for a year (how awful). This Fall I have been most excited about the return of one of my favorite shows EVER, Gossip Girl. Summer didn't feel quite over as Blair, Serena, Chuck, et al. took us along for a ride around the Hamptons - on a stylish bike no less. This season will undoubtedly fulfill our fashion cravings and inspire new trends abound. You can always count on the Fashion Intel to bring you the best Gossip Girl fashion moments.

1. "eggshell [color] gives me a migrane." - Jenny's Boss
2. Blair's highlights = nolikes!
3. Boys in summer sweaters are absolutely adorable. Chuck in schooners, V-Neck for the Lord.
4. Do we spot a Alexis Bittar lucite bangle on Blair? Of course we do.
5. Prints. Prints. Prints. Love the Milly.
6. Gosh Serena, you get all the purses we want. Chanel, sigh.
7. My mother is buying me a bike for my birthday, have you got yours yet? Blair does.
8. Can we finally say this - BLAKE LIVELY HAS FAKE BOOBS!
9. Remember browsing Bergdorf's and contemplating the scalloped MBMJ dress? Me too, and now it is sold out.
10. Chuck, our dear lovely, we love your Balenciagaesque blazer. Marry me?

From L to R: Milly Jungle Leaf Dress ($263), Marc by Marc Jacobs Joelle Scalloped Dress ($268), Forever 21 Argyle knee high socks ($3.80), Forever 21 Logo Patch Blazer ($32.80), Alexis Bittar Organic Lucite Bangle ($120), Chanel Crackled Patent Puzzle Purse S/S 08, Urban Outfitters Livity Be Fair Fedora ($19.99), Schwinn Allow Seven Cruiser ($339.99)

Like, I wasn't shocked when the drama girl was doing drugs and stole money from the girl with the Chanel bag to cover her habit. I wasn't shocked when Naomi plagiarized Annie's paper... If you've seen Degrassi, then you know that this new 90210 series can definitely be better, I know the limits, and they're not pushing them! I like to torture myself, so I will continue watching.

What did you think? Did you see the commercial for the Shopaholic movie?

EDIT: Wait. Whoa. First scene with Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth just came on. It was chilling. I felt the awkwardness.

What's In There?

To this day, the Chanel Company will not disclose what the formula is for Chanel No. 5.  Under laboratory tests, this best selling perfume seems to be made of six essential oils and a fixative of the musk from civet cats.  This is harvested in an inhumane way. In order to keep the best selling perfume from dropping out of sight because of animal rights activists, the Chanel Company has admitted that civet is used in Chanel No.5.  In 1998, they also announced that they had found a good enough synthetic replacement for real civet musk.

A perfume is a symphony of scent, made up what perfumers call "notes". The top notes are what the perfume first smells like.  These smells quickly fade, letting the middle notes take over.  The middle notes tend to be the harmony to a perfume.  But the longest lasting impression of a perfume is made up of the base notes.  These are usually all made up of essential oils.

In the world's best selling perfume, the top notes are of ylang ylang and neroli, the middle notes of May rose and jasmine.  There's nothing too unusual there.  These are all flowery scents – the neroli quite orangey – considered standards in women's perfumes.  But the base notes use much more masculine scents of sandalwood, vetiver and vanilla.  Vanilla is known to be an aphrodisiac to men and is now a staple in many best selling perfumes.

But it’s the addition of sandalwood and vetiver that really was made Chanel No.5 so distinctive and revolutionary (well, revolutionary for perfume, anyway).  In 1921, it all women's perfumes were made from the essential oils of flowers, with perhaps some ambergris, too.  All women were expected to smell like flowers.

Sandalwood is aptly named, with a complex, woody scent usually associated with men.  Sandalwood has also been used in religious rituals in Asia for centuries, so there was the bit of the sacred associated with the scent.  Chanel No.5 is a very complex, multi-dimensional scent, much like women themselves.  This nod to women's masculine side is perhaps one reason why it is the world's best selling perfume.

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Happy (belated) Labor Day, Americans! I figured that after that rut I was in a couple of days ago I should move on to happier things. I've been meaning to post this for a long time (yes, 2 weeks is a long time), but I only got on my tush to do the pictures yesterday. So here she is, my latest addition to the coveted Chanel family... The Chanel Marron Fonce Jumbo Classic Flap in Caviar with silver hardware! In a way she'll be the September's special too, since it's September already. Here's the breakdown that some of you are already so familiar with:

She came in a nicely wrapped box - I'd thank Jennifer for that! She's a gem amongst SAs, many of them totally oblivious to what customer service is. (Jen gave me an extra keepsake box complete with the ribbons and bag too, "just so"! You should've seen the looks I was getting holding 2 giant Chanel bags walking to a nearby Italian restaurant for lunch!)

...at the camellia, it's the signature flower of Coco Chanel and really cute! I have a couple of these that came with my Chanel buys, and I'm pretty sure the other ladies here get them too. (Thereby debunking the rumor someone said that only the SAs at the Rue Cambon boutique in Paris give these.)

Resting in a messy bed of dust bag, stuffing and what-not. It may look messy, but I've cultivated a habit of tidying my things up so I'm practically clutter-free since living here. (And then I became a zen nun rearing unicorns that prance on meadows overlooked by rainbows that sprung up from the sheer cleanliness. True story.)

Lovely shade of brown - I chose it over the white because white can get dirty so easily and go yellow even with conditioning (whether you use it or not!) which is an ABSOLUTE HORROR to me. This dark chocolatey color goes with almost anything, and the interior space is HUMONGOUS. Did I just hear someone say, "Hot dayum!"?

I guess you can pretty much say that I'm addicted. It's really hard to look at other bags once you get them - it's a shame 'cos I haven't been using my other bags at all! Other than the Balenciaga for school, the rest are tucked away in their dust bags/boxes in the closet. I should really rotate them more often, I know!

*****

Went about town this Labor Day, and I just had to bring her out.

And with the camera on hand, who can forgo that little bit of narcissism? Not me. :P

wywy and I went shopping at Bloomies and I got my first official eyeliner! (I don't use eyeliner all that much - previously I'd just grab mommy's Bobbi Brown if I needed it - and I figured I should.) The SA at the Chanel Make-up counter actually demonstrated the application by drawing on his own eyelid! OMG I was so surprised - 'cos he's male and looks more like a bouncer than someone selling make-up - and that's when I realized that he's got eyeshadow on already! This was what I got, and it glides on like a dream (at least that was how it looked like when he did it)!

[caption id="attachment_389" align="aligncenter" width="195" caption="La Ligne de Chanel"][/caption]

We went around goofing for a while...

Alright folks, my Labor Day was fine and I hope you had a good one too! :)

*****

Here's a little shout-out to Lin: 나도 보고 싶어요! (Just got your postcard. Talk soon, babe! Love loads ❤) And Rei-baby: I hope school's going fine!! Tell me how the music thing is going! ❤ (Aww, do try not to let your mac slip off again babe, we know how 8flags is so inefficient and understaffed!)

Secondly, the responses to the contest have given me so many new lemmings that it's positively unhealthy.  What can I say--makeup is like Kryptonite.  It makes me as weak as the Man of Steel when I'm exposed to it.  So many people have referenced the Dior Iridescent Leather quint that I now think I MUST have it even though I've never owned a Dior quint in my life.  If MUA wants it, I want it.  Heh.  Maybe I'll have to feature it in my next makeup giveaway.  What do you think?  Personally, I think that I need to get my hands on one to try first!  This Dior gem caught my eye while I was surfing Sephora tonight, too.  I'm wondering if it's similar to the Dior IL Quint shade-wise?  It's gorgeous to look at, that's for sure.  In any case, I do believe Dior is high on the list of brands I really want to try.  Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent are on that list too, so please tell me the must-haves, ladies!  I'm a neutral-loving taupe hoor so give me recommendations please. 

Another item I'm just drooling over is the upcoming MAC for Manish Arora palette.  Even though the shades go against my typical love of neutrals, the packaging is just so stinking cute that I really NEED it.  I also think the Kiss Manish lipstick from that collection looks lovely.  Thank you to Specktra.net for the information on the upcoming MAC collections, and also for fueling my makeup addiction.  As if I needed encouraging. 

I think I also need to know more about these Giorgio Armani Lip Waxes I keep hearing so much about.  I'm a sucker for nude and berry lip shades, and the range of colors on these babies looks right up my alley.  I'm curious about the consistency, pigmentation, and durability.  Is this like a lipstick, balm, or gloss?  Or is it a hybrid of one or more of those?

Of course, my number one lemming still remains the Clarisonic Skincare Brush.  Oh how I want this...maybe the makeup fairy will drop it in my lap for my birthday?  *hint hint*  It's made by the same company that makes the Sonicare tooth brush, which is an AMAZING product.  I just recently got the Flexcare brush and I can't believe the difference it makes.  I can already see that my teeth are whiter and I've only been using the brush for a few weeks.  If the Clarisonic is even half as good as the toothbrush I think it would do wonders for my skin.

I'm off to bed now and I'm pretty sure I'll be having sweet makeup-filled dreams tonight.  Thanks again for all the new lemmings ladies, and don't forget to leave me comments with your thoughts on the Dior Iridescent Leather quint, must-haves from Chanel and YSL, and the Giorgio Armani Lip Wax.  Inquiring addicts need to know!

Hello my name is...

Virgil Abloh d/b/a V.A.A.L.L.C.

I represent...

a well of CREATIVITY, hard work and positivity.

The reason that you are reading about me is...

because I am more about 'doing' than talking about what I am gonna do.

Right now I'm working on...

the perfect one button suit.

I am inspired by...

those who have less than myself and have changed the world.

I can not live without...

Dior Jeans, A goal in life & Loved ones to share in that pursuit of happiness.

I love...

knowing I am just gettin' started.

My favorite brands are...

CHANEL, NIGO®, Apple, Fendi, Bernard Arnault, Raf Simons, Balenciaga, MMM, Comme des Garcons and M.I.A. at the moment.

You need to listen to...

in general...Gilles Peterson, Benji B and Annie Mac...google them.

I would love to give a shout out to...

everyone who I ever borrowed something from.

You can get more info about Virgil at Virgil Abloh / THE BRILLIANCE / PASTELLE