Designed in New York. Made in Italy. Worn with affection.
Shoes transport you: From the cobblestoned streets of SoHo to the cafes and canals of Venice, comfortable, chic, shoes allow us to explore fashion and culture. With this in mind, J.Crew’s new Italian shoe collection has the style of New York and the craftsmanship of Italy. To check out which ones are your favorites, click here 
please.
Personally speaking, I love the Janey patent flats in lime green and the Etta pink leopard sequins pumps (see above).
Great news for you, my dear readers! Here is your chance to receive a trip for two to NYC, a tour of the Vogue offices, a $1,000 J.Crew shopping spree with a Very Personal Stylist, and dinner for two at a NYC Italian hot spot. All you have to do is to share your interpretation of how your world reflects the mix-and-match fashions of NYC and the cultural community of Italy.
HOW TO ENTER
– Subscribe/log-in to Pinterest and follow J.Crew on Pinterest.
– Create a board entitled “My Shoe Story”.
– Pin 5 shoe or product images from jcrew.com or J.Crew Pinterest together with images of the places that inspire you.
– Use the hashtags #jcrew and #myshoestory in the pin descriptions.
– Click here to enter.
– The contest ends on April 29, 2013.
LoL, Sandra
Photos: Courtesy of J.Crew
At the moment I am obsessed with braids and biker jackets. The two of them in combination add just the right amount of sweetness and rock allure to every outfit.
Today’s look: Black leather biker jacket 
(also available in red) and suede ankle boots, both by Saint Laurent, flared barnacle-intarsia dress by Alexander McQueen, cashmere and silk-blend cardigan by Miu Miu, earrings by Dolce & Gabbana, ring by Etro, Birkin bag by Hermès and black velvet deluxe tights 
by Wolford.
LoL, Sandra
Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht
Bourjois is celebrating its 150th anniversary and I received a package filled with some amazing products that made my heart leap for joy. My favourite: “My lips fashion book” with the wonderful ROUGE EDITION collection of 18 lip shades direct from the runway. Of course all those hues are pretty tempting, but FUCHSIA is the must-have lip colour of the season!
Here is my list of the best fuchsia hues available at the moment.
ROUGE EDITION by Bourjois in 07 Fuchsia Graffiti
Calling all fashionista’s out there… this new lipstick is for you! The perfect shade for your new season outfit! Available now for CHF 18.90
ROUGE VOLUPTE SHINE by Yves Saint Laurent in 06 Pink in Devotion
An innovative and comforting lipstick enhanced with fruit extracts rich in vitamins and antioxidants that leave lips visibly softer and smoother with up to eight hours of hydration.
Available now for CHF 50.00
SUPER STAY 14 HR LIPSTICK by Maybelline in 160 Infinitely Fuchsia
This lipstick won’t weigh you down. Super rich colour with super staying power. No dragging. No drying. No letdowns at all. Available now for CHF 16.90
GLOSS D’ENFER by Guerlain in 471 Prune Zip
Intense colour and shine for a bare lips sensation in fuchsia.
Available in Switzerland from May 2, 2013 for CHF 43.00.
SATIN LIP PENCIL by Nars in Yu
A modern, long-wearing, vitamin-enriched formula in a jumbo pencil format to provide great wear and intense color with a satin finish. Use for lining, all-over shading, or pairing with another lip product. This hue is inspired by the romantic garden in Shanghai’s old town.
Available now for CHF 45.00
(This is the shade I am wearing on my lips on the photo in the first collage).
HEAT WAVE SUMMER 2013 by Smashbox in Fuchsia Flash
Make your pout shout with this mega-juicy gloss that is part of a collection of 4 vibrant shades.
Available now for CHF 40.00 the complete set exclusively at Marionnaud.
LoL, Sandra
Photos: Courtesy of the brands and © Sandra Bauknecht
In January 2013, CHANEL opened at Hysan Place, the new luxury temple located at the centre of the island, its largest boutique in Hong Kong. To celebrate the event, CHANEL presents the exclusive limited edition HONG KONG COLLECTION. The uniquely modern elegance and glittering beauty of the Chinese metropole inspire a luminous colour palette. Exclusive creations for eyes and nails are infused with a metallic glow, evoking the lights of the city as they reflect in the waters of the China Sea.
OMBRES MATELASSÉES
The elegant rectangular case reveals an original combination of five shadows embossed with the iconic quilted motif of CHANEL. Like the shimmering light on water, the PEARL RIVER palette offers a harmony of golden white, a vintage gold nuance and intense peach for a soft, radiant effect on eyelids. Ideal for sculpting the eyes in a natural or more sophisticated makeup look, intense brown is paired with a very luminous silver white shade that makes eyes look bigger and illuminates the entire face.
LE VERNIS
Two contrasting nail colours echo the extremes of the eye palette. Elegant and modern EASTERN LIGHT is a luminous, very opaque white enamel. Deep and intense WESTERN LIGHT is a chocolate brown glowing with a pearly red heart.
Like a city combining multiple influences, the two nail colours can be worn together for an original effect. To reinterpret the elegance of a French manicure, apply the light colour to the bottom edge of the nail and apply the dark colour from the centre to the tip of the nail.
Great news for my Swiss readers, the collection is now available exclusively in Switzerland at Jelmoli in Zurich.
LoL, Sandra
Photos: Courtesy of Chanel
Any clue what those icons have in common? They all have their birthday today!
I have been truly amazed when I stumbled upon this fact. Marc Jacobs for example is celebrating his 50th and Jean Paul Belmondo his 80th birthday. Any astrologist among my readers who can explain me this phenomena please? Being born under the sign of aries, they are all creative and fashionable…
1 Jean-Paul Belmondo, French actor; 1933
2 Martin Margiela, Belgian fashion designer; 1957
3 Anna dello Russo, Italian style icon; 1962
4 Marc Jacobs, American fashion designer; 1963
5 Paulina Porizkova, Czech model; 1965
6 Leighton Meester, American actress; 1986
7 Sara Blomqvist, Swedish model; 1989
8 Kristen Stewart, American actress; 1990
9 Elle Fanning, American actress and Rodarte muse; 1998
Happy Birthday, also to Hugh Hefner (1922) and Dennis Quaid (1954)!
LoL, Sandra
This was my look that I wore to the Omega press conference with Nicole Kidman in Vienna for the launch of their new Ladymatic models:
Stretch-jersey crepe top by Alexander McQueen, pleated brocade mini skirt and tiger-embroidered leather shoulder bag, both by Kenzo, suede ankle boots by Saint Laurent and black velvet deluxe tights by Wolford.
I am very much in love with this Kenzo bag as I still adore the tiger embroidery but had seen too many of the iconic sweaters on the streets recently…
LoL, Sandra
Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht
In 2012, Karl Lagerfeld and Carine Roitfeld joined forces to curate ‘The Little Black Jacket: Chanel’s Classic Revisited’, which presented stunning photographs of stylish celebrities boasting their interpretation of Chanel‘s timeless and iconic black jacket. Over the last year, the book and exhibition were celebrated in cities across the globe.
Some of those photos were even the inspiration for Karl Lagerfeld’s artwork Fire Etchings, presented at Galerie Gmurzynska in February 2013 in St. Moritz.
This year, a new expanded edition of the book will go on sale (Steidl, Göttingen, 2013, 280 pages. Available in selected bookstores, €78).
For this occasion, Karl Lagerfeld has once again focused his lens on twenty or so international celebrities and close friends of the House, including Keira Knightley, Diane Kruger, Carla Bruni and Carole Bouquet. The photo shoot took place in Paris in the couturier’s studio in January 2013. Taking time out from their busy schedules, the celebrities all enthusiastically reinterpreted the little black jacket in their own inimitable style. Once more Karl Lagerfeld illustrates the universality of the Chanel jacket, one of fashion’s most legendary and timeless pieces.
Here is a sneak preview of how stunning Diane Kruger looks in it:
The exhibition is at the moment in Milan and opening next in Dubai on April 27, 2013. For more information, please click here.
LoL, Sandra
Photos: Courtesy of Chanel
Sorry for bringing you bad news twice today, first we have heard that Lilly Pulitzer Rousseau’s passed away at 81 yesterday and it has been announced that former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher died this morning peacefully following a stroke. She was 87 years old.
The Iron Lady was not only an outstanding politician, but also a fashion icon. On both sides of the Atlantic, Maggie Thatcher is being considered as the originator of the power look for women. She opted for tailored skirt suits and pussycat bows. One of her clever tricks to show power was funnily enough that she never wore pants. Her signature pearls, shoulder pads (to stand literally “shoulder to shoulder” with men), handbags, and royal blue hues were a sign of control. Throughout her career, she turned her looks into POWER DRESSING!
Let’s honour her with this look inspired by her: Iris wool-twill blazer and matching Alyssa pencil skirt, both by Stella McCartney, polka-dot silk-twill pussy-bow blouse by Saint Laurent, Amelia patent-leather pumps by Jimmy Choo, croc-effect and textured-leather bag by Lanvin and multi-strand pearl necklace by Kenneth Jay Lane.
R.I.P. Maggie Thatcher!
LoL, Sandra
“She’s a rose with thorns, don’t mess with her. She’s a girl who goes to extremes. When she can, she soothes; and when she wants … ! Her fragrance lifts you higher, she rocks and shocks.” – Serge Lutens
Inspired by Marlene Dietrich, a German-American actress from Berlin’s ‘Golden Twenties‘, Serge Lutens’ newest fragrance launch pays a poetic tribute to a woman who is beautiful and delicate on the surface but strong, independent and mysterious underneath. The Eau de Parfum is a concentrate of red roses: subtle and powdery yet spicy and extremely long-lasting.
LA FILLE DE BERLIN (A Girl from Berlin) by Serge Lutens
Oriental Floral
Top notes: Red rose and black pepper
Middle notes: Violet
Base notes: Musk, amber and woody notes
In stores now for €82.00 (50ml).
Lutens is a very intellectual perfumer. His ideas and inspirations seem mostly abstract and highly fascinating. If you are interested to read an interview with him, click here please.
LoL, Sandra
Photos: Courtesy of Serge Lutens, © GDW
According to an announcement on the company’s official Facebook page, iconic fashion designer Lilly Pulitzer Rousseau died Sunday in Palm Beach, Florida, at the age of 81, surrounded by her family. “Lilly has been a true inspiration to us and we will miss her,” the statement said. “In the days and weeks ahead we will celebrate all that Lilly meant to us. Lilly was a true original who has brought together generations through her bright and happy mark on the world.”
It all started with a juice stand. When 21-year-old Lilly married Peter Pulitzer, they moved soon from NYC to Palm Beach where the newly married wife opened a juice stand next to her husband’s citrus groves. To hide the stains from the juice, she wore a sleeveless dress in colourful printed cotton.
Lilly Pulitzer – the clothing label was born. The “classic shift dress” shot to international fame and demand when Lilly’s old schoolmate Jacqueline Kennedy née Bouvier, now the First Lady, was photographed wearing a “Lilly” while on vacation. “Jackie wore one of my dresses – it was made from kitchen curtain material – and people went crazy. They took off like zingo. Everybody loved them, and I went into the dress business.” (From the book: Essentially Lilly, A Guide to Colorful Entertaining). And the rest is history.
Lilly Pulitzer is not as known in Europe than it is in the US. When I lived in Lake Forest, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, I spotted those colourful prints for the first time. I have to admit that I never really warmed up to them but somehow they always remind me of the great time I had living there and I have a great respect for the company the iconic fashion designer built up. I even mentioned it once in my column.
R.I.P. Lilly! My thoughts are with the Pulitzer Rousseau family.
LoL, Sandra
Photos: Courtesy of Lilly Pulitzer
Photos: Courtesy of J.Crew
