Make-Up Monday – Berry Beautiful

This past week I have been inspired by lipstick, berry and burgundy shades in particular. A little late to the party admittedly, but look at these stunning images of Christina Hendricks from  LA Times magazine back in July, where she rocks differing shades of lipstick and quirky accessories like no other. What a stunner.

I have had a really mixed relationship with lipstick. I have often admired from afar the use by others, generally older or cooler than myself, and opted for pale gloss, choosing to vamp up my eyes instead. But just recently I’ve felt inspired to experiment more. A very kind and generous colleague recently bought me a Benefit lipstick in a berry shade which has turned out to be a firm fixture in my handbag and in turn on my lips. The joy of these shades is that you can wear them to their full pigment potential, or you can blot a touch of colour for a slight stain, and then add to it for a bolder evening look. In addition, there is a shade that works for everyone whatever your colouring, and the autumn/winter months couldn’t be a better time to try them out.

If money was no option, I would recommend one of the shades from Giorgio Armani’s Night Queen collection, which not only gorgeous, stay on for ages (even through food and drink, I promise).

Either I’m getting older or lipstick is back. Let’s go for the latter.

V

Christina Hendricks in Harpers Bazaar

I think this video does more justice to Christina Hendricks than the resulting photoshoot, especially because although she’s been a model, actresses always look more beautiful in action.

Harper’s Bazaar had really grown on me as a magazine – I would never have considered buying it a few months ago but it has interesting cover subjects like Marion Cotillard and Vanessa Paradis, and I keep seeing photoshoots from it on the internet and realising that quite a few of my favourites keep coming from its pages.

Christina appears on the US version while we have Karen Elson this month. Incidentally, Christina has a story about Karen Elson: “Oh, I have a story for you,” she says conspiratorially. “I was in Milan, and you would see the same girls at castings. There was one girl—she was like, ‘I can’t get any work. I’m so sick of this, I’m ready to quit. I love your hair color. What do you color your hair with?’ and I was like, ‘Oh, it’s red. Here’s my formula.’ It was Karen Elson. A couple of weeks later, she had bright-red hair.” Christina leans into the tape recorder and says, “Sorry, Karen, but you did ask about my hair color. Then I saw her on the cover of Italian Vogue, and the rest is history!” She laughs. “Karen is amazing. I’m such an admirer of hers.”

S

Dream covers

I get the feeling that if there was a DiscoNap magazine, A would be the Anna Wintour figure and I would be more your Grace Coddington, right-hand woman type. I don’t have any particular skill in styling, unlike the great Cod, but I do have strong opinions on covers. There’s been some pretty ropey covers on some of my favourite magazines this year and Elle in particular seems to have lost the plot, recycling the same cover stars within a year. I cannot tolerate another Kate Hudson or Lily Allen cover in the foreseeable future – it’s occurred to me that I’d rather see Goldie Hawn on a magazine cover if we have to have one from the family.

My suggestions follow. I would dress:

Rachel Bilson in…Cacharel. Everyone still loves her and apparently she will be back on TV soon. I’m hoping for something as game-changing as True Blood was for Anna Paquin.

I like Anna Paquin’s spirit and I also love True Blood. She has quite an edgy, sex-kittenish look but I’d like to see her in something clean and balletic like…Chloe.

Or, if we just can’t help ourselves (or we have a September Issue moment and it’s just not working, a la Sienna’s hair) we’ll put her in Lanvin:

Christina Hendricks in…Versus. I love this collection in its entirety. I would also really like to see some UK covers for the actresses from Mad Men. I adore the show and the women in it are beautiful and part of something special.

Christina will just have to wear two dresses because I can’t choose.

Therefore I’d also like to see January Jones in…Christopher Kane. And with big messy hair.

I think DiscoNap magazine would try and feature British cover stars where possible. I would put Gemma Arterton in…Erdem. Oh yeah.

Never Let Me Go is about to come out so we’ll almost certainly be seeing Keira on the front of magazines again. I want to see her in Rodarte.

I’ve chosen all celebrities because both Vogue and Elle, arguably the only titles in the UK that walk the line between being women’s magazines (Glamour, Marie Claire) and fashion magazines (Tank, Purple), tend to go with actors rather than professional models – it’s the Anna Wintour touch. I do like model covers when they do something interesting with them – often it’s a choice between your standard Kate Moss Vogue cover or the Terry Richardson-dominated school of iD, Dazed etc. I hate editorials where you can’t even see the clothes.

xx S Coddington

The best Emmys dresses

I stayed up and watched the Emmys red carpet online last night and there were a lot of beautiful dresses – I noticed I have a tendency to like best the outfits worn by actors who play my favourite characters in my favourite shows but I think based on reading the internet reviews that Christina Hendricks is generally viewed to have been one of the greatest dress success stories of the night.

My other Mad Men fave January Jones has been cussed for wearing a pseudo-Madonna esque cone bra thing, and for wearing Versace rather predictably since she had a hit with the white and silver futuristic dress at last year’s Emmys.

She looked beautiful but we’ll see what happens with this red carpet theme of having only half a dress at the front.

Lea Michele and Jayma Mays from Glee were dressed rather similarly, as were Rose Byrne and Kim Kardashian, but it was all very nice – Rose Byrne’s dress is stunning whereas the others will just do.

I find that McQueen dresses often need a few moments before you get what the wearer is going for. Next to all the more mainstream dresses usually worn on the red carpet they can look like a miss at first but I think generally they reward a second glance. This dress is sort of weird and not perhaps the most “pretty” or even flattering of dresses but Anna Paquin isn’t a classic beauty – she’s quirky and if you watch True Blood you’ll know she has charm and sex appeal. So I think a dress like this is a better choice for her than some girly gown.

Images from dailymail.co.uk and justjared.com.

S

Make-Up Monday – Awards Season Part 1 – The Golden Globes

The Golden Globes is my favourite of all the award shows. It seems a lot less pretentious than the other ceremonies and it brings together the bold and the beautiful from the worlds of TV and Film, basically 2 for the price of 1.

Last night it was raining in Hollywood so the stars were accessorised with umbrellas. I would love to say that this didn’t dampen spirits but I have not been bowled over by the glamour of the night.  Most opted for safe, natural beauty, with lots of berry and pearly pinks, glossy lips, with lots of shimmer and shine, and soft up-dos and tousled curls. There was definitely a nod to old Hollywood with bold red lips, but with a fresh, younger feel.

So here’s a round-up of some of the looks (all courtesy of Just Jared who always has the best close-up shots!)

I will leave you to decide what you think, how diplomatic of me.

Zoe Saldana – the franchise queen, working the pinks

January Jones – 60s swing - the beehive and red lips

Courtney Cox-Arquette – simple lips but steaming hot with smoking eyes

Christina Hendricks – making the Men Mad with red on red.

Marion Cotillard - Love the steely blue/grey on the eyes

Ginnifer Goodwin – something different with a gorgeous pixie cut and cat-flick eyes

V

Christina Hendricks’ wedding dress

I’m usually interest-free to the point of bitchiness about wedding dresses – they are always white, long and strapless, so what is there to add? Now I am of a different mind. Maybe it would be nice to wear something so frou frou it is borderline insane, just for one day.

Suddenly I understand what it is like to watch someone you love (I really do love Christina Hendricks) wear the most amazing, over-the-top, special dress of their life and look stellar. I also now believe that comparing a dress to a meringue is not necessarily a bad thing: they are sweet, dense, white piles of delightfulness after all.

Who made this confection? Who was bold enough, in 2009, to put this royal icing ruffle thing on the back of a dress? I salute that person.

Pictures respectfully yoinked from JustJared.com.

S

Sexy, non non non?

Some definitions of “sexy” as decreed by fashion strike me as being really berserk: platform shoes are my pet example currently. It’s subjective of course – are we talking about what straight men find sexy? Or what makes another woman look at what you’re wearing with love in her heart? Is it about what makes you feel slinky and soft and lovely? Is it voluptousness and sensuality, or slimness and restraint?

There’s as many versions of “sexy” as there are people in the world, but there is one look that seems to endure, mainly through the utter, blind dedication of Messrs. Dolce and Gabbana, whose new collection is like the distillation of their views on what makes a lady delectable. These cups don’t spilleth over, but if I translated this look into my life, or more importantly, Christina Hendricks did, they would. And that would be awesome.

Style.com trumpeted this S/S 2010 collection with the headline “Blogger’s Delight”. It is indeed easy to like and would be nice and easy for H&M to knock off, although I think it would be far the nicest to have a perfectly fitted D&G version. I’ve been tempted by high street versions of this in the past and I may need the luxury element to counteract any tackiness. Although, we really need to get over the idea that showing flesh in certain areas is obvious or not cool. No one wears trousers anymore; I think it’s reasonable that if you have breasts, not to worry about revealing them.

Scarlett Johansson’s adverts for D&G makeup also epitomise this beloved look of theirs. She looks magnificent, and there’s a sort of pseudo-real world I can imagine where you might wear something a bit like this around the house, but with straps and a big woolly cardigan over it. If you wore it to a party, you’d need a dress version and probably something in a tint more dissimilar to your skintone to avoid street harassment. I’m really looking forward to seeing someone wear this look in real life, if it ever happens. You need a lot more poise to wear something like this than an airbrush t-shirt and leggings. You have to think like a woman and not a little girl or it will be weird and look terrible.

I love the deconstructed nature of D&G bra dresses and tops. It’s like seeing the steel girders under the concrete – a sexy metaphor right there I think you’ll agree.

S

Disconnected thoughts on the theme of White

Image courtesy justjared.com

January Jones from Mad Men at the Emmy’s t’other day finally lifted me out of my bored state of mind when it comes to the red carpet. Clearly what we need is more “pretty robot” style. After Christina Hendricks, January Jones is my new Prettiest Girl in the World. Mad Men is superlative and she just looks more and more beautiful as episodes go on.

Obviously I won’t be popping out to the shops in white robo-gowns but there is something beautiful about an all white, snuggly wool outfit in the gloom of winter. I saw a girl last year in white and gold with beautiful cream-coloured hair done in a crown of plaits. She was standing at Lewisham bus station but really deserved to be going to the Crillon ball, dressed by Chanel.

Image courtesy justjared.com

At the other end of the scale of amazing TV, Leighton Meester of Gossip Girl is in white too. COINCIDENCE? Yes.

I wish designers would hem everything though as I am very tired of the deconstructed, flyaway threads look.

Osman

I went to this show but decided not to review it as I wasn’t very inspired by it other than this look, although I sat next to a really nice girl who was in raptures. You can read my burblings on it over at Amelia’s Magazine. It did show that white isn’t just for little girls or the bridal look you often see on American TV actors. I personally have an absolute yen for white cotton frocks, although this is a summer past-time so I am safe for the minute.

S

[Christina Hendricks related] Signposts

• Mad Men: it returneth on August 16. Oh Christina Hendricks! What will you wear this season?

Gratuitous image of Joan Holloway.

• Coco Avant Chanel looks great; I love Audrey Tautou in everything I’ve seen her in (Dirty Pretty Things, Amelie etc) and her gaze on the film poster is terrifically heavy-lidded and judgemental. I think Coco and Don Draper would have been quite a match. Vogue has a gallery of her costumes from the film.
• Christina Hendricks has chosen a dress for her upcoming wedding. “I’m wearing Carolina Herrera. It was the first dress I tried on and it was magnificent.” PLEASE SELL OUT CHRISTINA. I want to see that dress.
• Another modern take on the 50s and 60s is on display over at a Finnish blog called The Freelancer’s Fashionblog I just found by a Helsinki-based burlesque style enthusiast. I’m not into burlesque personally but I appreciate the detail she goes into with her clothes (in fact the subtitle of her blog is “a slave to the details”), many of which she makes herself, and she looks beautiful.

S