A Dose of Doctor Lagerfeld

Much to the disbelief (and quite likely despair) of Daniel, it has been my somewhat shallow, but lifelong dream to spend my first proper pay cheque on a Chanel bag x the new season quilted number below for example, would do just nicely x I’m not fussy you see x Now, the reason that Daniel despairs (in what I believe to be an over dramatic fashion), is because of course, this is no 10quid bag...no no x try £1000....plus x He genuinely marvels on why I would choose to pass on the horribly sensible things which inevitably come with having ones ‘first pay cheque’ e.g. food and water x and for some time, I’ve got to say I genuinely struggled to find a sensible explanation other than well...I just WANT one x Well ladies and gentleman...I have finally come up with my answer...and if I may say, it’s a bloody good one x Allow me if you will, to present my star witness...a Miss Lily Allen x

First noticed for her prom dresses and Jeremy Kyle jewellery, I never really thought Lily would become the fashion icon that she is considered to be today x In fact, I blame the oversized hollow gold heart shaped earrings I not only own, but wear regularly, on a certain Miss A...who knows...it might even be a knuckle duster with ‘Chaz’ embossed on it next...x Anyway, like it or not, the pop starlet who could once have passed for Bianca Jackson’s sister, is now as pretty as a picture and incredibly enviably, a face of Chanel x Never backwards about coming forwards, Lily has been an infamous blogger, from revealing personal insecurities to campaigning for anti piracy laws x This woman has a quick mouth and a witty opinion and she ain’t afraid to use it x There is of course, absolutely NOTHING wrong with this...but I believe that what Karl Lagerfeld gracefully described as her ‘typical English reserve’...was in fact good old fashioned misery x Her permanent faceache was boring to say the least and it comes to something when godfather to the stars Elton John has to dish out a public telling off...x That said, it has not gone unnoticed that of late, Lily has been an embodiment of happiness, something which she puts down to personal fulfilment and her ‘lovely’ boyfriend x I however, have a distinctly different theory to explain Lily’s recent turn around x and that is, her good ol’ dose of Doc. Lagerfeld x In the campaign shots, Lily is sultry, sassy and most importantly, smiling x Quite frankly, if being photographed by Karl Lagerfeld himself whilst holding copious Chanel bags looking like el rock chick supremo doesn’t make you happy, then I bloody do not know what would (I don’t have all the answers...) x I for one am pleased that Lily is smiling again, not as she first sung, through leaving a cheating boyfriend, but through glamorously exiting a Chanel Studio...laden with the bags that I so enviously covet...and hopefully the tiara too!

So there we have it x my EXTREMELY valid justification for wanting to spend my first month’s hard earned wages on a fashion accessory x This is no ordinary fashion accessory, but a handbag sent from heaven with the life changing powers that I believe no woman could honestly say they would turn down x Grown up full time working life is hard (so I’ve been told) and we could all do with a smile on our faces like Lily’s x so if cutting back on life’s little necessities (food, heating, friend’s birthday presents etc) is what it takes to help you towards this self assured confidence and unfaltering happiness, then all I can say is... ‘Paging Doctor Lagerfeld!’ x

Carrie Bradshaw: Dress Big, Dream Bigger...Or Just Compromise...Whatever

Admittedly, I was far too young to appreciate Sex And The City when it was first catapulted into people’s unsuspecting living rooms during the late 90s x Hell, let’s face it, at the tender age of 11, I realistically wouldn’t have been allowed...even if I had wanted to put down my Spice Girls CD and Premier League football sticker collection for 30 minutes x and anyway... the sex, cocktails, glamour and general fabulosity would have been entirely lost on my Minnie mouse legging, patent green bomber jacket wearing self x That was after all, long before the days of myself and my friends spending a ludicrous amount of educational minutes obsessing over drawing pictures of oh-so-trendy outfits for each other, that we would attempt to deceive many a bouncer in during the weekends (Please Note: We Failed.... sneaking into MacDonald’s to change coats/stealing older siblings car keys does NOT work) x

Anyway...I am older now, and every day I pray that I am slightly less embarrassing x One thing that I can safely say HAS changed is my SATC fancies x it is a programme that I now relish, the characters, the scenarios, the drama and especially, the fashion x Carrie Bradshaw in particular (along with Mario Testino) has given me faith in glamorous layering and eccentric style that burst with enviable personality....even a penchant for cutsie ankle socks that I could arguably have preserved from my pre SATC days x As a character, she is everything about fashion that I love, girly yet edgy, statementy, passionate and fantastical x Everything about the way she threw on a fur coat, sequin beret and pair of Jimmy Choo’s to hop, skip and jump across a snowy New Years infested New York City to get to her faltering friend in need, exudes the type of care free whimsical frippery that many long to have x

Here’s the catch though – I am almost entirely and absolutely EXCEEDINGLY vexed by the style queen herself, Carrie Bradshaw x there x I have said it x my name is Charlotte, and I am vexed be Carrie Bradshaw x Obvs – she is fabulous x but what I cannot and will not get passed is the fact that this is a woman who is part of a quartet of empowered females who taught us to dress big and dream bigger...but in Carries case...just compromise...whatever x Big is of course the operable word for Carrie x A man who waltzed into her life and wrapped her up in a frenzy of emotions, from love to sadness to love again over nearly a decade x Fine, relationships aren’t perfect and fairytales always have little holes in somewhere... x but the fact is, she compromised where no compromise was needed x THAT dress, THAT location and THOSE bridesmaids could not have been any more perfect...yes it is ultimately about being with the one you love...but this was HER day x Ok, so no one would have blamed Big for perhaps being confused or even slightly frightened by what appeared to be an exotic bird on her face, but jilting your bride at the alter??!!!!HELLO??!!WAS NO ONE ELSE WATCHING??! That is absolutely mortifying and in my mind the most cardinal of all sackable offences x The fact is, we ask for one day to become a real live princess and after that, we will become wives, mothers and grandmothers, working hard and loving harder to turn our lives and relationships into the happily ever after that we hope they will be x

So bah and humbug to you Carrie Bradshaw, for giving into the hapless male who pushed you from pillar to post to utter bewilderment, flaking and faltering until he finally pulled your dream out from under you and you just well....compromised x I do not doubt her magnitude as a style legend... she is certainly someone who I will continue to gain fashion inspiration from, but when it comes to lifestyle inspiration, I think I’ll just stick to my guns thanks x

The Supers

Daniel says I have interchangeable levels of annoyance/excitement x That is, when I say something ‘makes me die’, some interpretation is needed from the person on the receiving end of my outburst as to whether I am vexed, or in fact, delighted x With this is mind, I will begin x It was during my dreary Monday morning happenings that the aforementioned ambiguous outburst of emotion first occurred for the week x When stumbling upon this month’s Harpers Bazaar, I literally did nearly die as before my very eyes was the incredible, Cindy Crawford x Needless to say, from this point on – the usual mental battle that occurs between Vogue or Harpers was rendered forgotten x Alexa Chung vs Cindy Crawford?! X Exactly x One of the original Supers, she is a woman who personifies endurance, beauty, hard work and importantly femininity and true womanly magnificence x Looking at her on her on the front cover makes me just sigh – she looks, quite frankly, like sex x all flowing locks and pouty red lips, I defy anyone to find a man, woman or child who wouldn’t turn their head as she glided past them (Supers don’t walk in my head...) x What pleases me most about this cover, which is promoting an issue that celebrates women, is it seems to be screaming for the return of the Goddess x i.e more va-va voom please x It is a massive departure from seeing pretty, but skinny, pale, childlike and emaciated models on stage and screen who are closer to representing fashion orientated greyhounds than actual women x I’m not even talking about the old skinny vs size 10 debate, I’m talking about women who make me go – ‘I would literally die to look like her’ because they look and quite simply are, hot, sexy, radiant and timeless. Soz if this has all been said before x buts it important x and I think Harpers have proved that x Super Model? NO x Super Woman x Thank you Sara Buys for an ab fab piece on a Super legend – it made me die – in a good way x I hope the ‘Cindy Crush’ is here to stay!x