It was one of the most cringe worthy fashion moments of the 90’s when Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake turned up on the red carpet in matching denim outfits.  But who was to know that they would become the muses and inspiration behind the top design houses for Spring/Summer 2010… Double denim is back with a bang, yes, wearing head to toe denim is now actually acceptable.  Attempted originally in the 80’s, where permed hair was also acceptable, then reprised by the aforementioned tween pop stars and now finally hitting the catwalk and every magazine as the hottest trend of the season!

D&G, House of Holland, Chloe, Ralph Lauren, Jeremy Scott, all have the denim-on-denim done to perfection!  Denim jackets teamed with jeans, skirts, dresses and even hats.  But the best part of this trend is the re-invention of this classic all-American original was denim into jumpsuits, dresses and even suits.

House of Holland took denim to a new level with looks inspired by bondage and suiting, while Chloe attempted a daring dolly look with denim patchwork.  Chambray seemed to be the denim colour of the season which is a lighter than light denim-wash… this was seen on the Jeremy Scott models, while Ralph Lauren and D&G kept it retro classic with almost cowboy country inspired looks.  Lauren kept his American cool vibe he has every season, while D&G spiced up the generally casual fabric with detailing like ruffles on denim dresses and skirts and showing flashes of skin.

So how can we get away with this tricky trend off the catwalk?  Well, if wearing the same tone denims in one outfit like Jeremy Scott, then break it up with colourful or tan accessories, like a belt or jewellery.  Another way to wear this look is to mix up the denims with different washes, dark, light, chambray etc.

And if you are still unsure about this look, why not opt for the safer version and wear coloured denim jeans like white or peach, and team with a plain denim jacket!  At least that way it isn’t as obvious and you are easing your way into the trend.

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Date for your diary ladies, Friday 12th March – Mount Juliet, Image Magazine and Harvey Nichols are holding this Spring Salon Fashion Event at Mount Juliet.  The event is in aid of Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, featuring an exclusive salon-style showing of the Harvey Nichols Spring/Summer 2010 Fashion Collection, as well as an opportunity to Shop the Show in the luxurious surroundings of the Mount Juliet House Presidential Suite.  It’s set to be an unmissable evening of fabulous fashion and beauty… Ooh la la, I’m there!

Fashionistas will have an opportunity to view the latest designs from the collections of Vivienne Westwood, Armani Collezioni, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Donna Karan, Sportmax, Alexander McQueen, D&G and Elie Tahari in the unique setting of the historic Mount Juliet House. Accessories will be key for 2010 and the Spring Salon will offer ladies a preview of pieces from Christian Louboutin, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga and Jimmy Choo. Harvey Nichols will also be previewing their exclusive range of DVF sunglasses in addition to Tom Ford, Chanel and Tiffany, while IMAGE magazine’s resident wardrobe mistress Triona McCarthy will share her style nous in an ultra-exclusive fashion workshop on the evening.

Guests will also have an exclusive opportunity to shop this season’s trends in fashion and beauty with expert advice from the Harvey Nichols team of Personal Shopping and beauty experts, and will be treated to hand massages and mini-facials, making this event the ultimate Spring Summer Treat.

The event starts at 6.30pm, tickets for the Mount Juliet Spring Salon Fashion Event, in association with IMAGE magazine and Harvey Nichols, cost €65pp. Fashion show starts at 8pm. Tickets include fashion show and after-party with music from DJ Poppy Lloyd, champagne reception, canapés, Harvey Nichols goody bag and access to the Shop the Show event in the Presidential Suite. Overnight accommodation in Mount Juliet House costs €94.50 pps and club house accommodation is available from €79.50 pps.

Please call Tracy Ryan on 086 0436490 to purchase your ticket. For further information on the Mount Juliet Spring Salon Fashion Event please log on to www.mountjuliet.ie/fashion.

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For anyone taking note you will have noticed that Jimmy Choo was THE key accessory to be worn at the Golden Globes. There was a plethora of celebs in attendance all donning the must have designer shoes.  Wow.ie got the inside track on who wore what from the Jimmy Choo collection at this years awards.

We start with Marion Cotillard (as Édith Piaf in La môme) who wore JC’s ‘Drake Shoe’ in snake skin green to match her green satin dress. Next to trot her JC’s down the red carpet was Emily Blunt, you’ll have to take our word for it as we can’t actually see them under that fabulous rose pink tulle and chiffon dress by Dolce & Gabbana.  Ms. Blunt opted for Choo’s Quinze shoe (that’s a mouthful!) pictured below for a mere €1295! These suede and crystal embroidered sandals come in this seasons hottest trend – nude. Why, oh why cover such a masterpiece? Sinful Emily, sinful.

Moving on from that let’s take a look at Drew Barrymore‘s choice of Jimmy’s – the Zena shoe.  Compared to Emily’s they seem to be rather well priced at €765, and would work well on a more casual basis. These natural snake print leather sandals with wood effect and perspex heels create an elegant silhouette, and again we’d love to see her show them off again in a shorter dress. It’s a shoe that would see you right through Spring/Summer with jeans (another hot trend) and dresses alike – just in case you are putting a case together to justify a purchase…

Courtney Cox also opted for the Zena shoe and, went a step further on the ‘Choo scale’ by choosing their glitter fabric Tube Clutch bag in black to coordinate with her dress costing €795.  Courtney looked fabulous although she did play it safe in black.

Next we move to Maria Menounos – of Kickin It Old Skool and Fantastic Four… we weren’t sure who she was either and quite frankly we’re only interested in her shoes!  Maria is wearing Jimmy Choo‘s Keenan Shoe which is described as a crushed patent platform and the ultimate caged sandal.  To own a pair of these ‘ultimate caged sandals’ you’ll have to part with €725.  Once again they’ll give you endless opportunities to wear with jeans, skirts, dresses blah blah…. yes, I think you get the message, another expense you can justify.

Also supported in Choo comfort were Lisa Edelstein (Ally McBeal, Felicity and Almost Perfect) wearing their Hepsie shoe, and Alfre Woodard (most recent films American Violet and Reach For Me), opting for the flat Perfume sandal.

So there you have it, the most popular footwear designer on one of the biggest nights in showbiz was Jimmy Choo, no big surprise really.  You can now consider yourself armed with the knowledge of what’s hot to trot or even hot for your trotters!

For more on the globes check out our previous Globes post.

Images courtesy of Just Jared.

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Under my Umbrella, ella, ella, eh eh could have been the song of the night at The Golden Globes 2010, the rain just didn’t stop… but that didn’t prevent our stars from gracing the red carpet in style!

Globe Goodies…

Christina Hendricks (of Mad Men fame) looked sensational! She was waving the flag for all curvilicious women out there! There are some old rules about dressing bigger frames, like stay away from volume and always dress in darker colours… well, Hendricks threw caution to the wind and wore a dress in a peachy champagne colour with extreme cascading ruffles… and she looked stunning in it! To top it all off, she was supporting young designer and project runway winner Christian Siriano.

The Brit star that seems to have taken over Keira Knightley’s former crown is Emily Blunt. She looked delicious in a rose pink tulle and chiffon strapless gown with ruffle detail by Dolce & Gabbana. It was delicate and effortless compared to some of the over-done American stars! The romantic trend is one of the biggest of Spring/Summer season and Emily wasn’t the only star rocking this floaty trend. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Elisabetta (George Clooney’s latest arm candy), Chloe Sevigny and Heidi Klum all followed this sweet fairytale look.

Fergie, who was a pleasant surprise on the night, looked like a Grecian goddess in an Elie Saab chiffon gown, again following one of the bigger colour trends of the season in a lilac colour, with a crystal embellished waistline and ruched skirt. She looked like a movie star with softer hair and make-up and has shunned that vivacious popstar look she is known so well for.

Some will absolutely hate Drew Barrymore’s dress… and I can see why! But being a fashion fiend, I have to love it, I do! I love sparkle, I love figure-hugging silk, I love the champagne colour, I love the embellishment and I love Atelier Versace… I just didn’t love them all on this dress! I also don’t know if I liked the clusters of sparkle embellishment block on her hip… why, oh why, would anyone want to add inches there? But she gets on the best-dressed list purely for old-school glamour effort.

The undecided…

Diane Kruger is always a fashion risk-taker, which I can commend; however, I still haven’t made my mind up to whether I love it or loathe it! The tie-dye mixed pink Christian Lacroix dress she wore was a little too couture for the red carpet, love Kate Hudson, and I love Marchesa just as much… so I felt bad about putting the two of them, on this list! Maybe it was the bad weather that made this frock look out of place? However, the white, origami structural-inspired creation by Marchesa just didn’t completely win me over! But like I said, it’s Kate Hudson who is gorgeous no matter what she wears!

Sandra Bullock, what can I say! Colour… gorgeous, shape and fabric… disgusting. Basically, she looked like a ‘Quality Street’ wrapper! Not good, Miss Congeniality, not good!

Lea Michele… the star of the new hit cult show Glee did look stunning at her first Globes show, but there is still something a bit off about her outfit. Oscar de la Renta is known for his dramatic dresses, and although it is a stunning dress, I think it drowned out her tiny frame. Perhaps this dress would have looked better on someone with fair features and a taller frame, Cameron Diaz for example!

Another star who usually always gets top marks for red carpet style is House actress Olivia Wilde. But her black and silver Gucci shimmery gown reminded me of a ‘90s’ Mariah Carey. The dress was exciting with a daring neckline and subtle draping. But the fabric cheapened the look a bit, which is why I am unconvinced.

Golden Grossness…

Light grey hues is a big colour trend for Spring/Summer… Patricia Arquette shows us how not to wear this colour! Her dress, made mostly of a dingy, grey flowy fabric, had a bizarre subtle animal print on it, and underneath was a gross metallic underlay. The criss-cross detail just made her look bigger than she is… a grey hot mess!

Penelope Cruz is not one to usually be on a worst-dressed list… however, borrowing a dress from Mortisha Adams wardobe is just never a good idea! Firstly, black on a red carpet is always a little too safe… so it would want to be an amazing dress. The mermaid style dress was over-fussy and the lace detailing was just too mumsy and totally lacked any of her natural sex appeal. She should have picked up some style tips while modelling for Spanish label Mango.

Another Mad Men star, Elisabeth Moss, looked like she was channeling Wendy from Peter Pan. The strapless, pastel-blue empire dress looked more a vintage nightie than a red-carpet dress and made her look frumpy, while the long necklace looked cheap and didn’t even suit the style of the dress. She gets points for on-trend pastel colour but that is it!

Dear, oh dear, there is not one positive thing I can say about Julianne Moore’s dress. It was shapeless like a bag of potatoes, an awfully dull and dark shade of grey (yes it is one of the IT colours of the season… but you got the wrong grey!!!) And then to top it all off, she had a fur trimming along the top that drooped down on her arms. I’m not even going to tell you who designed it, it’s that awful.

And the worst dressed of the night… gorgeous Avatar actress Zoe Saldana. I know it’s impossible to think anything could be disgusting on her, but this Louis Vuitton ruffle mess just did nothing for her. I have absolutely nothing positive to say about this look! At all!

See our post on Jimmy Choo at the Globes.

Images courtesy of Just Jared

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Lee is synonymous with denim to both old and young.  James Dean was the icon for the older generation looking all mysterious clad in Lee denim giving attitude.  Nowadays it’s the likes of The Arctic Monkeys and Kings of Leon that don this label continuing to attract a new audience.

Denim is also a big trend as we saw from the D&G Summer 2010 fashion show. Good news is that BT2 have just welcomed Lee to their stores so if you want in on this trend check them out.   They have a huge variety of jeans within the usual bootcut, relaxed, slim and straight leg so it should easy enough to find something for all shapes and sizes.

The first look above is the Lee REVA regular fit straight leg next to Lee AMY slim fit tapered leg.  Pictured below is the classic Lee LYNN slim fit straight leg.  If denim isn’t your thing you’ll pick up well cut shirts, casual jackets and well fitted t-shirts also.

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We saw a lot of leather on the runways recently with some of the big fashion houses using it to create a more classic vintage look. Others used it to vamp up the rock-chic look sometimes borderlining on a fetish vibe! The ’09 colour palate was vast but the leather for 2010 seemed to be more earthy and monochromatic. That eighties grey leather is definitely back but black is always there it’s not your thing. If you liked the D&G country girl theme then go for browns. All this ties in well with the seasons thigh-high boot look (all except the cow girl that is!).

Balmain (above),really took it to another level with their uber fitted leather minidresses and jackets with their immediately recognisable peaked shoulder pads. Slouched buckle detail boots were something all Balmain looks seemd to share.

Miss Sixty (below) had their take on leather along with their prints and corset style tops. They’ve included mini skirts, jackets, dresses and skinny leather trousers but most outrageous of all are their leather hotpants!

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The tailored look is everywhere and this winters must have.

This 3 piece suit is available with Dolce & Gabbana, Brown Thomas for a mere €2225. Fear not as every high street shop is doing their own take on it.

Tweeds are mixed with silks giving real contrast. AWear have a great tweed ‘Lurex Bow Front’ grey skirt for €40 and various shirts/blouses to team up with it.

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