Fresh lip color for Fall/Winter

This season we've seen a shift toward a dark, bold lip. Much like the red lip trend, finding the right shade can be a little intimidating. My advice is to look for shades in the bordeaux family. Those purple-red hues are simply stunning, and work with various hair and skin tones.

Application can be intimidating, but if you follow the steps I outlined in this post, you should  be good to go. Remember to keep the rest of your makeup fairly neutral, and have fun! 

1. NARS lipstick in Afghan Red  | 2. Topshop lipstick in Mischief | 3. Maybelline Color Sensational Lipcolor in Plum Perfect | 4. Chanel Rouge Allure lipstick in 109 Rogue Noir | 5. Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture in 31: Rose Fusain

Style Icon: Coco Chanel

A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.

-Coco Chanel

If I had the money, I do believe I'd be a bit of designer label addict. I'm not ashamed to admit it. And the brand that I laud as the holiest of all brands is Chanel.

Don't get me wrong, I respect the artistry of Valentino, the spice of Versace, the construction of Dior, the demure elegance of Prada-- but in my mind, it is Chanel that trumps them all.

Perhaps it is the woman herself, born Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, that most captures my interest and admiration. Her fashion sensibility, especially within the confines of the world she lived in, was as inimitable as it was exciting. Though I love pieces that imbue a delicate femininity, I also love clothes that are well made and figure flattering. Chanel managed to encapsulate both of these seemingly opposing ideas and did so seamlessly. I literally dream of owning a Chanel suit one day.

(Sensibly paired with a pair of Louboutin platform pumps, of course.)

What impresses me most about Chanel's aesthetic is her belief that clothes could be comfortable, without being casual. She scoffed at the idea that a corset is more feminine than a simple black dress, or that a hat must be over-ornamented with feathers and fluff. She demonstrated that a flawless silhouette that leaves something to the imagination is far sexier than copious amounts of decolletage. She cut up and reworked male shirts and wore pants in a era of dresses. She had the gumption to succeed in a man's world. She left an imprint in the fashion world that will never be forgotten.

She literally changed the fashion world for the better, and her legacy lives on.

(P.S. If you still haven't seen Coco Avant Chanel yet, I highly recommend it. It's an excellent representation of Chanel's formative years, and is beautifully made.)

Chanel revisted...

I couldn't help posting a few more shots from the 2009 Spring Haute Couture show. Because I think it was that beautiful.

all images courtesy of chanel.com

Karl Lagerfeld, you are a genius

I just took a look at the Spring 2009 Chanel Couture collection, and I'm still drooling. I think that Karl Lagerfeld is the best of the best of designers today, and he has evolved the Chanel brand into something that is nothing short of magical.

For this collection, Lagerfeld said he "started with a clean sheet of paper." Indeed, the backdrop of this show was completely white, and paper was used for the models' headpieces. And instead of coming across as thoroughly minimalist and boringly monochromatic, the collection demonstrated a sense of intricacy and detail that was quite appealing. Oh, and the fabrics! Sorry, I'm drooling again. Here are a few of my favorites from the show. For pictures of the entire collection, please go here, and enjoy. This is one of the best collections I've seen in a long time.

all images courtesy of style.com