To all of my viewers around the world: Happy New Year to you and thank you for being so lovely and faithful to Sandra`s Closet! May 2010 be sparkling, vibrant and joyful, bringing along many reasons to celebrate. And celebrations need fantastic outfits! So enjoy those stunning looks I put together for all of my fabulous cosmopolitan readers.
Let`s make a resolution for the New Year to experiment more and to enjoy unleashing our inner fashionistas.
May all your dreams come true!
LoL, Sandra
After the mint green “Jade” phenomenon, Chanel is setting another trend for your finger tips and this time be early enough to get your hands on one of those bottles coming out in the beginning of the new year. The grayed taupe colour with a brown undertone named “Particulière 505” was featured at their S/S 2010 fashion show.
To be honest, Chanel is only confirming an already established trend by OPI. Their colours “You don`t know Jacques” (a dark grey), “Over the Taupe” (a beige brown) and “Parlez-vous OPI” (a greyish purple) are in the same colour family and existing bestsellers. If you want to cut down your waiting time for Chanel`s shade, opt for those substitutes.
I love all these colours anyway as they are soft, subtle and suit most of the skin colours and outfits well.
See you at the Chanel counter or OPI shop!
LoL, Sandra
Photos: Courtesy of the Brands
A modern take on Marie Antoinette in Versailles and a tribute to the milkmaids in the Alpine countries, that is how I would like to describe Karl Lagerfeld`s Chanel runway show for S/S 2010. A harvest of everything, dirndl meets Chanel tweeds– only Lagerfeld can manage to take you elegantly to the country, inventing a new and younger style for the fashion house.
The collection has been amazingly balanced between classic elements like those signature chains plus Chanel-famous little jackets with contrasting edges and current season tendencies like rough textures, transparency, lace and wodden clogs. The look is fresher than ever and Lily Allen performing on a hoedown platform was the perfect addition to the barnyard spectacle.
Stay tuned and find out more in the next days about all the different trends at Chanel!
LoL, Sandra
Yesterday I had the priviledge to meet the Parisian jewelry designer Lydia Courteille.
Lydia Courteille with me
An amazing woman with a special aura that designs outstanding jewels. The scale of her creations is absolutely incredible. Mostly big pieces inspired by historical periods show her fantastical imagination. She uses a lot of ancient stones that the passionate antiquarian has collected over the years. A certified gemologist, Lydia Courteille uses her expert knowledge to design jewelry that is vibrant, colourful and unexpected.
Each collection has its story. There are “The 9 Planets” : for example the “Cabinet of Curiosities”, “African”, “My Secret Garden”, just to name a few.
She explained to me her love for skulls as a symbol of vanity showing that in the end everybody is equal no matter how rich, beautiful or intelligent the person was. To her it recalls the humility of life. For the rest of her collections, she is pursuing her love of floral or forest landscapes, following her take on gothic elements or using animals like frogs, snakes or elephants for the beauty of their forms. Just looking at her creations you feel her fairytale spirit.
LoL, Sandra
The bracelet is one of a kind made of pink gold, pink sapphires, diamonds and a pink beryl combined with a beautiful ring in the shape of elephants.
One of my favourite collections is „The 13th sign“. Here you see me wearing the Ring of the Aquarius (my sign).
This beautiful setting holds a pink tourmaline in the center of the flower.
This amazing piece of rubies in a black rodium setting belongs to the "To Cassandra" collection.
Trudi Götz and Theo Grigoriadis. The famous Swiss lady with her incredible sense for outstanding designers brought Lydia Courteille`s creations exclusively to Switzerland and sells them in her Trois Pommes Boutiques in Zurich, St. Moritz, Basel and Gstaad.
Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht
Black and White is always a great combination and was seen a lot on the runways. For winter houndstooth was a must-have. For the upcoming summer 2010, stripes, op-art and graphic prints, some of them with an influence of ethnic ornaments, appeared on the runways.The top by Gareth Pugh is on sale at www.brownsfashion.com and a great buy for the next season.
If you are not so into patterns, you can also achieve the look with an accessory like a black belt on a white dress or combine the two colours by wearing a light top and a dark skirt or vice versa.
As I am a big fan of the nautical look, I like the black and white striped tops that you can order at www.topshop.com. They are cool, not so expensive and will give you an immediate fashion-update. Optional you can go for a black and white bag or shoes.
It is definitely a trend that you will have already in your closet. So start now and enjoy!
LoL, Sandra
Designers made colour one of the essential elements for their spring/summer collections. Turquoise, fuchsia, apple green and pale pink are at the top, all with a little touch of the 70`s.
Colourful accessories with beautiful details are a great way to turn up the va-va-voom factor as they will make an outfit look ultra-fashion forward and you will need just one single piece for that effect.
LoL, Sandra
The ethnic influence is undeniable this spring/summer. Numerous were the sources of inspirations that designers used for their creations. Embroideries, coloured beads, leather thongs and pompoms appeared everywhere. Embellishment is not the only important factor, to my eye the shape is essential, too. A lot of “gym bags” combined with add-on charms and tassels were seen on the runways. A leader of the trend is Marc Jacobs with his collection for Louis Vuitton. You should definitely get your hands on one of those bags. Good luck!
LoL, Sandra
The hype has started already last summer when stars like Sienna Miller and Claudia Schiffer were spotted on the streets wearing this ultra-cool Chanel nautical top. It seems like Coco Chanel sparks another trend from her grave as she has transformed the navy and white striped, authentic French sailor`s working garment into a style essential. (It was said that this stripe might help locating a man fallen into the sea).
And the nautical trend hasn`t come to an end yet.
In the movie „Coco before Chanel“ that hit the cinemas early fall, the look was refreshed again by Audrey Tautou when she appeared in a striped boatneck breton shirt playing the famous French couturier.
For the recent resort collections designers are still loving the nautical theme. Maritime colours, stripes and rope belts were seen a lot. Therefore the Lido in Venice was the perfect location for Karl Lagerfeld to show his Chanel Cruise 2010 collection (see the pictures above) that is an hommage to the fabulous Coco and the 1920`s.
My recommendation is not to go head-to-toe nautical. Snap up a great striped piece for youself like the ones above and team it with skinny jeans and high heels. I am totally in love with the flower embellished one by Marc Jacobs
. It is a great addition to your summer wardrobe and will accompany you for many years.
And for those who love cruising, I have the perfect idea: the WHY. Two luxury goods companies, the yacht maker Wally and Hermès, got together to design this amazing boat. Go to their website www.why-yachts.com and get a tour. Enjoy and start dreaming.
LoL, Sandra
As I have never outgrown my passion for Barbie dolls, this one is on top of my wishlist for Christmas: The Cat-burglar Barbie® by Christian Louboutin. Launched this December and first in a series of three, she received a complete head-to-toe Parisian make-over as envisioned by Christian Louboutin: “She needed great shoes, a thinner ankle and, to me, as I’m obsessed with feet, a foot more curved.”
The master of fabulous footwear completed her black cat-suit with four different versions of his statement red-soled heels that all come with miniature shoe boxes and cloth shoe bags (how adorable!!!). Also included with every one of the first Barbie® by Christian Louboutin limited edition dolls is a chic collectable calendar that documents all their jet-setting adventures together. Barbie “went” to Paris for one year exploring the designer`s ultra-fashionable life and visiting all his favourite places.
In February a safari-themed Barbie® by Christian Louboutin will be launched and the series will be completed in May with a creation dedicated to the Cannes Film Festival. If you do not want to miss them out, go to www.net-a-porter.com.
Merry X-mas to all of you! May all of your wishes come true…
LoL, Sandra
Matthew and me in one of his amazing dresses from his recent winter collection.
The absolute highlight during my stay in London last weekend was my visit to one of my favourite designers: Matthew Williamson.
The 1971 born king of bohemian chic founded his own fashion house in 1997. Since then he is known for his brilliant play on colour and print. I am so in love with his exotic shades, vivacious candy-tinted creations that are mostly embellished with exquisite embroidery and beading. When I think of him, I see vibrant kaleidoscope patterns with an inimitable touch of relaxed sensibility.
The award-winning English designer also worked for 3 years as Creative Director at Emilio Pucci and had a collaboration last spring with H&M. In 2007 the Design Museum London even held a retrospective exhibition dedicated to his 10th anniversary of being in fashion.
His first flagship store opened the Central Saint Martin`s graduate (one of the best schools for fashion design in the world) 2004 in London at 28 Bruton Street. I took some photos for you to see the mesmerizing display of ionic pieces, the asthetic wallpaper and the little rain forest in the middle. Just to be in the shop is an experience….! If you don`t have time to go to London, have a look at his webshop.
LoL, Sandra
