Sandra‘s Closet

Pack a slice of Asia wherever you go and beat the heat with the most stylish leather and horn fans, you might have ever seen! Handmade by skilled artisans and inspired by the market stalls of Java, Putri Soediono launched Pubumésu, after cutting her teeth designing theatrical accessories for Vivienne Westwood.

Putri Soediono

A third culture kid with a traditional and eccentric Asian upbringing, she holds a degree in Fashion Accessories from London Cordwainers. For her designs, that also include bags, she combines the traditional shadow puppet making of her native Indonesia with a passion for statement pieces.

Banana leaf printed leather and horn fan

Conch shells printed leather and horn fan

Watermelon leather fan

Pineapple printed leather and horn fan

Here you can enjoy some photos of the outstanding craftsmanship that goes into the fans. Every cut, stitch, shaping, forming, and treatment is conducted in the brand’s Indonesia – based factory, involving a team of classically skilled craftsmen and women, dedicated to the art of leather craft.

The team uses 100% tanned leather from cattle locally sourced on the island of Java, that is carefully treated to provide you the signature distressed look for that little edge of punk. The outcome, an entirely handcrafted piece of leather accessory you can call your own.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Pubumésu, Instagram @pubumesu

«Vivienne Westwood was one of the first designers who made me dream to become a designer myself and when I first started at Burberry, I knew it would be the perfect opportunity to approach her to do something. She is a rebel, a punk and unrivalled in her unique representation of British style, which has inspired so many of us. I am so incredibly proud of what we will be creating together.»
Riccardo Tisci, Burberry Chief Creative Officer

Andreas Kronthaler and Vivienne Westwood

Vivienne Westwood and Burberry revealed the campaign for their collaboration
which was shot in London by David Sims.
The campaign features an eclectic cast wearing looks from the limited-edition collection
created as a collaboration between Riccardo Tisci, Vivienne Westwood and Andreas Kronthaler. The cast includes: Kate Moss, Sistren, Leonard Emmanuel, LadyFag, Josh Quinton,
Andy Bradin, DelaRosa, Claudia Lavender, Marco Motta, Sashadavai
and Jacob Shifrin as well as Vivienne Westwood and Andreas Kronthaler.

THE COLLECTION

The collection celebrates British style and heritage and is inspired by Vivienne Westwood’s iconic collections, taking a unisex approach across styles.

Vivienne Westwood’s famous designs – from classic double-breasted jackets, a hugger jacket and a mini kilt to lace up platforms and a beret – are all reimagined in Burberry’s Vintage check. «Vivienne Westwood & Burberry» is the first collaboration for Burberry under its newly appointed Chief Creative Officer Riccardo Tisci and is now available online and in select Burberry stores globally.

COOL EARTH

Vivienne Westwood and Riccardo Tisci were united by a shared vision to support and promote Cool Earth, a UK based non-profit organisation that works alongside rainforest communities to halt deforestation and climate change, through this collaboration.

At the heart of the collection, is an oversized T-shirt dedicated to the charity, with a handwritten message from Vivienne. She will also customise four exclusive items from the collection to be auctioned to raise further support for Cool Earth.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Burberry, © David Sims

In the ’90s, John Galliano gave the famous Union Jack a high fashion rehabilitation and in the beginning of the century, Vivienne Westwood’s interpretation of the red, white and blue became an icon for post-punk British creativity. The Union Jack of today has shed its skin of sneery Cool Britannia rebelliousness. Now, Gucci‘s Alessandro Michele shows us that it is all about flying the flag, just not as we know it.

My look: Fur coat by Etro, Union Jack embellished wool sweater, fur-felt wide-brim trilby hat, skinny denim pant with embroidery and Horsebit-detailed collapsible-heel metallic leather loafers, all by Gucci, classic Union Jack inspired flap bag by Chanel. Horsebit blue topaz diamond white gold ring by Gucci Fine Jewellery.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht

For more than 15 years, the name Lola Paltinger has been standing for an unmistakeable creative signature which combines Alpine tradition with pleasurable eccentricity. At the heart of her company is her bespoke dirndl atelier in Munich’s city centre. Lola is like my humble self a former ESMOD student. Later she trained with Vivienne Westwood and has been running her enterprise with her mother Brigitte since 1999. Her timelessly beautiful couture dirndls delight every woman’s heart in search of an outfit for the Munich Beer Festival, a wedding or another, very personal crowning event. All the models are produced and finished off in the ateliers in Germany.

Designer Lola Paltinger on the streets of Munich in one of her designs.

Lola Paltinger Couture

Let your dream of a timelessly glamorous couture dirndl come true in Lola Paltinger’s atelier! Only materials of her own creation are used for the unique dirndls and Bavarian style ensembles: luxurious, sometimes hand-painted materials, combined with magnificent embroidery, buttons and charivaris. All the models are produced in the ateliers in Germany, on request even within 24 hours.

Here are some of my favorite couture models:

Couture 1015
Piqué dirndl in soft blue with printed Alpine motifs, decorative borders, floral bouquet, embroidered cotton blouse and glitter apron: € 2,800

Couture 1016
“MARIE” red-check dirndl with hand-embroidered, ornate rhinestone border, lace and ruffle trims, taffeta underskirt, lace blouse and hand-embroidered, bordered velvet apron: € 3,200

Couture 1019
Jacquard dirndl in denim blue with hand-embroidery at the front, decorative borders and taffeta underskirt, high-necked lace blouse and glitter apron: € 3,100

Couture 2020
Dirndl ensemble consisting of bodice and skirt “MARIE” bodice with hand-embroidered insets: € 1,550, Flared skirt with decorative border: € 1,200
Combined with: High-necked lace blouse: € 550, Patch apron with decorative borders: € 550

Couture 2021
Jacquard dirndl with lace borders, floral brooch and patch apron: € 3,000

Couture 2025
“MARIE” jacquard dirndl with hand-embroidered insets: € 3,100
Combined with: “PEGGY” blouse in pink, Patch apron

Lola Paltinger with one of her famous clients Kim Kardashian.

Happy Heidi

This limited-edition less expensive collection of prêt-à-porter dirndls, which appears annually right in time for the Munich Beer Festival, is bright and cheerful, and highly fashionable. The enchanting combinations with apron and charivari or embroidery are made from specially created materials and are rich in elaborate and lovingly placed details. They come in several attractive colours and are complemented by blouses which are available separately.

Happy Heidi 5137
HAPPY HEIDI printed linen dirndl with brooch, taffeta underskirt and taffeta apron: € 699
Combined with: Cotton blouse: € 139

Happy Heidi 5139
HAPPY HEIDI “UNGARN”  jacquard dirndl in bordeaux with brooch, taffeta underskirt and taffeta apron: € 699
Combined with: Cotton blouse: € 139

Happy Heidi 6145
HAPPY HEIDI cotton dirndl with embroidered inset and organza apron: € 699
Combined with: “SALZBURG” lace blouse: € 159

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Lola Paltinger

Last weekend, I went to the preview of the new James Bond movie SKYFALL (directed by Sam Mendes) in Zurich, in which Bond’s (Daniel Craig) loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the sacrifice.

Personally speaking, Skyfall is one of the best Bonds in its 50-year history. I truly enjoyed its outstanding dose of Bond-esque humour and Javier Bardem is excellent as crazy bad-guy Silva. Of course, there has to be a female temptation for 007 and Bérénice Marlohe showed off why she’s the new Bond Girl on the red carpet for the royal premiere in London this week.

The beautiful actress, who plays the character of Sévérine, worked her curves in a sizzling red draped couture gown by dame Vivienne Westwood. The show stopping frock featured designer’s iconic corset and was accessorized with Stephen Webster fine jewelry pieces from his F/W 2012 collections ‘Forget me Knot’ and ‘Deco Haze’ set in 18ct white gold with hematite and white diamonds. That is what I would call “dressed to kill”.

Inspired by the new Bond film, Skyfall, Stephen Webster has created four exclusive designs for Swarovski which encapsulate all the movie magic of 007’s latest adventure. On screen, French actress Bérénice Marlohe is wearing select jewelry pieces from the collection. As Stephen Webster stated: “Without question, collaborating with Swarovski on the jewelry for Skyfall has been exciting from the word go. The themes in the film seem to fit perfectly with the design aesthetic of the jewelry I create, and the many creative meetings at Pinewood Studios between Swarovski, ourselves and the Bond team have only added to our enthusiasm for the project. We can’t wait to see the jewels, shaken not stirred within the movie.” The beautiful collection is available in Swarovski stores worldwide.

If you are interested to find out more about Stephen Webster, I recommend this previous interview I did with him this summer.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Swarovski, Stephen Webster, IMDb and © Getty Images

Last night, I went to Volvo‘s VIP event “Switch to Pure”, the official presentation of their new V60 Plug-in Hybrid car.

Opening the evening, the acclaimed futurist Matthias Horx delivered the keynote speech about sustainable luxury: “Luxury and sustainability are no longer contradictory. Global markets, future mentalities and consumer behaviour change. One of the biggest trend over the next ten years will be ‘womanomics’, which is reflecting the increased influence of women in society.” Speaking of which, here are some quotes of powerful women in fashion:

Coco Chanel brought it to the point: „Luxury is not the opposite of poverty. It is the opposite of vulgarity.”

And British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood said in the Oct. 4, 2007 edition of The Telegraph: “Buy less, choose well. If you ask me what I think people should be getting next season, I’ll tell you what I’d like them to buy—nothing. I’d like people to stop buying and buying and buying.”

Speaking of choosing well, here is my “healthy fashion” look:
Cropped leather jacket (from a previous season) by Prada, eggplant-print silk-organza dress, raffia-trimmed PVC waist belt, cameo and onion clip earrings, eggplant and bell pepper bracelet, all by Dolce & Gabbana, “Diorette” ring by Dior Haute Joaillerie, flap-over zip bag by Tom Ford and studded leather ankle boots by Valentino.

During his speech, Matthias Horx said: “The woman is responsible for most of decisions made within a family, even which car should be bought.”

With this in mind, dear ladies, you should have a closer look at the new Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid. You get three modes in one: Pure, Hybrid and Power, this is like a closet of cars. Each day, you can choose in which mood you are.

Green thumbs up!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht

Yesterday’s post about the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee inspired me to take out my “Union Jack” bags. The use of the Union Jack in fashion is obviously nothing new and I have always been a huge fan of the British flag. As for me, it has already become a fashion classic.

My Union Jack classics from left to right: Bag by Chanel and clutch by Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen is probably one of the main perpetrators of this trend. The brand’s veritable explosion of Union Jack patterns on clothes and accessories make fashionistas drool with desire. Seriously, it’s like the flag just takes every outfit to a complete new level of style.

To shop those fashion classics, click on the highlighted text.

LoL, Sandra

Red, blue and white crystal box clutch “Union Jack” by Alexander McQueen

Beige crystal box clutch “Union Jack” by Alexander McQueen

God Save McQueen printed modal-blend scarf by Alexander McQueen

Distressed Union Jack wool and silk-blend scarf by Vivienne Westwood

Vintage Union Jack-print Wellington boots by Hunter

Photos: Vogue Italia and © Sandra Bauknecht

2012 marks the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II. The celebration of her Diamond Jubilee will be going on throughout the year.
Interesting to know is that Queen Victoria in 1897 was the only other monarch in the histories of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and a few other Commonealth realms to have celebrated a Diamond Jubilee.

Explore some of the cool limited editions to be launched for that special occassion:

In honour of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, Harrods has created together with the famous perfume house Bond N°9 a limited edition fragrance, called Harrods Jubilee . The scent consists of amber, musk and sandalwood along with Lantana leave, dry leave and mace. It is available now from the store’s Perfumery Hall and retails at £290 for a 100ml bottle.

In April 1926, Floris had released a pretty floral scent called Royal Arms to celebrate the birth of Princess Elizabeth earlier that month. It had notes of rose, violet and ylang ylang.

To commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, Floris, the only perfumer to hold a Royal Warrant from the Queen, slightly changed the original recipe but keeping the original floral character formed by essence of rose, the queen of flowers.

Royal Arms Diamond Edition EdP is on sale at John Lewis at £99 for a 100ml bottle (and at florislondon.com). There is also a limited amount of Royal Arms Diamond Edition in perfume strength which will be decanted into only six antique crystal dressing-table bottles of which one will surely be given to Her Majesty.

The most eccentric British fashion designers of all, Vivienne Westwood, pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth’s jubilee with an honorary collection featuring ready-to-wear and fashion jewelry that will be available in May in all Vivienne Westwood stores.

The Red Carpet Capsule Collection stays true to the opulent Westwood archive and was inspired by outfits that the Queen has actually worn. The patriotic designer’s logo is a royal ORB with a cross on top, bejewelled and impressive as befits the Queen of British fashion. Westwood became Dame Commander of the British Empire in the 2006 New Year’s Honours List “for services to fashion”.

For this royal occasion, the “Kaiser” Karl Lagerfeld, himself will be offering live commentary of the official event on French television channel France 2 on June 3. He will surely enjoy his latest assignment as fashion commentator as he already did last year, when the Chanel helmet participated in a French live broadcast about the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, attracting five million viewers.

And there’s no doubt the Queenie is one seriously stylish muse. After 60 years on the throne the queen’s outfits on her thousands of visits and tours have proved she is a bastion of good taste and style. She loves tone on tone looks with blue being her favourite colour choice. I mean there has to be a reason that blue is called royal. I know this fact thanks to a recent report featured in Vogue magazine for which editors have studied every outfit Her Majesty has worn in the last 12 months.

A year ago, all eyes were on the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Congrats to the couple on their first wedding anniversary today!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Vivienne Westwood, Harrods, Floris, Getty Images and Vogue

My dear readers, just a little joke to start off your weekend on Friday, the 13th! You see when it comes to fashion, most people like to copy… and this is not always good.
Getting it wrong: Princess Eugenie of York in Vivienne Westwood and Princess Beatrice of York in Valentino haute couture, hats by Philip Treacy.

And they all lived happily ever after! The End!

LoL, Sandra

Can you guess where we are in time-travelling after my lastet posts about lace and rocking hot black leather? Yes, we have arrived in the `80s. For some people, the golden decade was the worst one fashionwise but since a few seasons designers have relied on some of the worth recycling styles. The leggings  and skinny jeans came back around 4 years ago and who would have ever imagined their ongoing success?! They have definitely conquered my closet and I never want them to vanish again as the modernized versions are stylish and comfy in one.

Designers have returned 20 years this F/W 2010 to find the `80s ma-ma-material beauty and so can you. Let`s begin!

You might feel like a virgin in a sharp leather pencil skirt, sequined blazer and fishnet stockings. Add lots of accessories like the iconic safety pins, stacked bracelets and big cross pendants for the ultimate killer look!

Balmain launched a real boom with the return of the shoulder pads. The last seasons, fashionistas have crazed all over the world for the must-have blazers and jackets. The hype is definitely not over yet! Party like it`s 1982 in those brocade and patchwork nightclub nostalgia pieces from the F/W 2010 runways. Absolutely screaming hot are red leather leggings, another must for this winter!


The `80s encouraged self-expression with eyecatching neon colours and rainbow dyes. I would not do the complete look but you can easily embed one sparkling bright piece into your daily wear. One thing I am not so sure is about the über-teased hair…. probably a little too much retro-style. But nevertheless the point of fashion is that girls just wanna have fun! So let`s start experimenting….

In case that you are looking for your personal Jesus, try black leather and fringes. So hot! Sequined leggings combined with a denim jacket would turn you also very fast back to the `80s without looking disguised.

If you want to find the fashion cure for this winter`s style heritage, you could opt for a goth look with an asymmetrical cropped sweater or some cut out off-shoulder-tops. And I am sure that this Friday, you will be in love.

My personal `80s-inspired object of desire is this gorgeous suede buckled V-neck dress by Balmain. Available from today at net-à-porter. This is rock glam chic at its best! Hard to beat it.

LoL, Sandra