It’d hard not to like Jennifer Connelly, she is muse to Nicolas Ghesquiere (along with cool girl Charlotte Gainsbourg) and is one of those actresses who manages the keep the balance just right of maintaining a CV of some rather credible films, but keeping her private life out of the clutches of Perez Hilton’s wrath, resulting in a clean and dignified image.

So if, as a top fashion glossy, you manage to secure Connelly as your cover star, you’d want to mix it up a bit wouldn’t you? Hire Steven Klein, give the lady a wardrobe that gives her some well earned dirtysexy MILF appeal; whack some grubby bronzer on, and grease up her hair a bit..

Well, I should point out that this is US Vogue, so that is most certainly not what they did, thank you very much! Testino was the man to do the job, naturally. The shoot consisted of the usual clichéd Ralph Lauren poster girl look, against a backdrop of the sea. A couple of “edgy” shots thrown in for good measure; a ‘W’-esque one, with bright rich tones, “interesting” angle and a few extra points with head to toe sexy Balenciaga.

Just another “glamorous mom-shoot”; you know the one I mean; it applauds the rich, made up character for packing so much into her day as well as being a mother! What a woman. Granted, it’s not as bad as it could have been, but shame on you, Vogue, look what you had to work with...

A not so good week for The Olsens...

I hate to say it (honestly) but Ashley and MK, do you think you could mix it up a little bit? This week in particular, your identikit outfits have left me a little weary. The pieces on their own are great, and yes, Halloween may be coming up, but why so much black?

Leave the black to Angelina and let us see your adventurous sense of style that we love you so much for? Mary Kate, you were a genius to bring your Balenciaga motorcycle bag out of hiding, and Ashley, I salute you for wearing that bright orange dress.. More of this please!

But It's a great week to be Gwen...



Gwen Stefani has really been on top form this week, reminding us why we love her so much. Obviously one of her favourite looks of the moment is plaid and she's been wearing a lot of it. Without a doubt, the best thing she's worn recently has to be those fantastic black and white tight trousers which joyfully clashed with Kingston's Burberry shirt (see, it can be done!)

And top marks for her get-up to the book launch of style.com's "Stylist: The Interpreters of Fashion”. This is one of the best outfits she's worn in a long time and with Anna Wintour among the guests, Stefani fully proved her capabilities, aas well as coming across all Marilyn Monroe.

interview: the teenagers

Newcomers The Teenagers are a band to know. Half Brit, Half French, they sing about Scarlett Johannson and homecoming queens. I had a short but sweet chat with lead singer Quentin and tried to delve beneath the mystery...

Firstly, why "The Teenagers"?
Because we are not THAT much older!


What kind of approach do you have to fashion? Do you consciously think about your own sense of style?
My own style comes quite naturally but you tend to be influenced by the people around you, trends and Trinny and Susannah. I’m kidding...

Do you have any issues with real fur being used in the fashion industry?
I love a good PETA warrior hijacking shows!


If you could swap lifestyles with anybody, who would it be?
Mmm, my landlord so I could fix the fucking boiler!


If you were limited to shopping at just three shops or fashion houses, which would they be?
Any second hand store.


Paris or London... Explain!
London now and then Paris later; that’s the plan.

If you could be photographed by any photographer, who would it be?
Juergen Teller forever!

How much input did you have into the Homecoming video? What kind of inspiration was used for the idea?
We chose Kinga Burza! (London based director who has also worked on music videos for Kate Nash, Calvin Harris and The Thrills) and had major input. She came up with a good pitch which was about having a very sweet and very soft video that was not narrative, since the song is a rude and narrative it was a smart move. We love the feeling of it.

If you would be the muse for any designer, who would it be?
Christopher Bailey

Describe your style at the moment.. Cardigans + Jeans= Love!

As a band, do you and Dorian and Michael make a conscious decision about the band's image, style-wise?
No, we don’t have style rules.

In addition to making music, what else do you do to express yourself creatively?
I do the artwork for The Teenz; from covers to tees. It’s cool to do but I’m a self taught Photoshop user so its gets tricky sometimes!

What do you hope that The Teenagers will achieve with their music?
Make people dance.


Are there any celebrities whose style you admire?
Price James, who did our Starlett Johannson video; shorts and high socks and glasses!


Do you think that fashion magazines will be able to survive with so many style blogs popping up?
I don’t see blogs taking over magazines in the near future. You still want to see seasonal fashion adverts in the magazines, don’t you?


Name one of your current favourite songs.
Gimme More by Britney Spears.


Anything else you'd like to get off your chest before you go?..
Starlett Johansson single is out 12th November and Homecoming on Kitsune with really ace remixes on is out now too and lastly, album to come March 08. I feel better now!

When Cool Kids Dress Up

Halloween is just around the corner and you know what that means don't you? A lot of photo opportunities Mr Bone's Pumpkin Patch and plenty of costumes to feast our eyes on. Granted, the Brits certainly don't get as excited about Halloween as the Americans (and I was always a little envious of this..)
No one can pull off geeky fancy dress costumes as well as MJ; a pigeon anyone? So here are some sights to get your pumpkin juices going (eww). John Galliano must be the king of dress up and Sofia naturally exuded cool in her red indian (ahem, native american) get up.

Time to bring out the Ouji boards and scare ourselves shitless, but remember to look good at the same time!

Good Things Come In Twos

Will 2008 be the year of the Girl Power comeback? With the Spice Girls reunion just around the corner, Nylon certainly seem to be ahead of the game wih their covers. Forget promises of Jennifer Aniston spilling her "secrets"; It seems that hot cover duos maybe the way to boost magazine sales. The Millers have gone all Olsen on us for November's cover. They're rocking the body con trend (nope, it's not going anytime soon..) with their Row ahem, Twenty8Twelve pieces, while ironically Cory and Taylor come over all ex-Sienna hippie (with a twist of LA hipster).

Favourite look? With Sienna rocking those Burberry studded heels, I think who wins for me.

A subtle nod of recognition

First, I'd like to let you know, Katie, that we have noticed that you're looking a lot better these days, and you have the "dignified" yummy mummy look down to a tee. (Even if you do look a little like you'd give an un-nervingly stony stare if I reached for the last cucumber tea sandwich...) Though really it's inevitable that there should be an improvement in the wardrobe department considering that you have the cashflow of one of the world's richest actors at your disposal.

You're putting VB to shame!

But now I'd like to have a little word. Really, I don't think that it is a clever idea to opt for a worn-already dress if you can't take it in a more daring direction. Sienna wore this Balenciaga dress back in March and looked pretty hot, but come on Katie, you could have taken it to the next level instead of playing it safe with opaques, pffft.

Some of Katie's recent high points...

The Art of Styling for a publicity tour...I've been so excited about the releases of both The Darjeeling Limited and I'm Not There for rather a long time now, and I feel extra satisfied after a peek at what was worn to the premieres by the stars.


Natalie Portman (The Darjeeling Limited) and Cate Blanchett (I'm Not There) have obviously both hired themselves one good stylist for each of the publicity tours that they've been taking them all over the world for their various new films and projects. They've both been looking particuarly gorgeous recently.


The boys joined in too, at The Darjeeling Limited premiere. Wes Anderson (a fact for you; my favourite director closely followed by Coppola) donned his usual geeky suit (He's like the understated Chloe Sevigny, you guys!) and Adrien Brody surprised everybody with his fantastic metallic suit and skinny tie combo. I would expect it from Justin, but well done to Adrien for beating him to it. I love these guys, they're like the ultimate Indie family, with Bill Murray as the Dad. It's like Brothers and Sisters for cool people (yes, I'm envious!) and they're all obviously rallying around and supporting Luke.


Natalie was looking radiant in that red satin shift from the Lanvin Fall collection, that perfectly complimented her skin tone.


And Cate has been looking equally as stunning; she's the queen of effortless dressing and definite MILF material. She has shown us that she can wear navy without looking like the Queen. I think I have an "older woman" girl crush developing..


[written sixth october]

Dear Diary,

So the last month has gone very well indeed.

Thank god I hired that stylist when I did, I think everyone has forgotten about those shitty wardrobe malfunctions from last month..

I'm really giving Victoria Beckham a run for her money, and whats more, this style icon shit is so easy, you just have to hang out with Karl and the rest is history. He even invited me to his Dinner Party last friday, and I got papped with him and Gary Pugh. My agent told me I did really well being seen with those two... Apparently Perez has been posting about me more than usual too, score!

I've made lots of new friends, after sharing sex tips with Marc Jacob's BF, we hung out on the front rows of all the Paris shows together, and guess who else was on the front row at Chloe? Chloe Sevigny! She's so quirky; I think this gives me major cred. And that chick out of the Harry Potter movies is hot shit in Paris, so we swapped phone numbers afterwards, too.

Sharon Osbourne called me a has-been. All I have to say is; she's sitting next to Kylie's sister and some irish guy everyweek, and I'm hanging out with Mario Testino and Kanye West, so you do the math, bitch!

More later, about to have my wax,
Courtney.

A Different Perspective

[Hmm lets experiment with a runway review post. anyone can copy and paste some style.com pictures, but lets give things a new perspective..]

As expected her collection didn't fail to impress; it never does. And it seems that she's been reminising about the opulent colours and teeny tiny hems that we saw back in the 2006 fall collection, but the pieces have been given a lighter and (yes, it is possible) even sexier edge.


Creating a challenge
I'm thinking this collection has certainly given us some food for thought.

The footwear really isn't floating my boat. A certain contrast from those chunky cone heels. These seem very prissy and although I'm not keen, in a way I kind of like this concept, it's like Miuccia is challenging us to think in a new way every season.


The Perfect Housewife

So something else that she may have changed my perspective on is the midi skirt. I have previously said that I didn't quite understand this trend, but those floral print Prada balloon skirts can't be hated. So what are your thoughts? I know that the mini has been gracing the runway for yet another season, but I'm starting to feel a bit of a backlash, and covering up in a long skirt with clunky boots is beginning to look like a nice antidote. The skirt makes me think of a english wartime mother with soil stained knees, a vegetable patch and five small children running around her ankles...

An Unlikely Muse
Thoughts on the Kimberley Mathers inspired lip liner? (See top pic) You gotta love the trashy elements, y'all! It just looks so chic on the runway. End of.


Same Difference:

Left, SS08, Right, AW06

Left, AW06, Right, SS08

Left, AW06, Right SS08

The Kaiser jumps the bandwagon

A fantastic collection; some very exciting new spring colours (the green/yellow hybrid), eyecatching accessories (the plastic spiked headband) and the sexiness of the sheer trousers is a stroke of genius.

Just one complaint; Isn't it a little late for this Karl? Luella was sending Rayban rip-offs down the runway two seasons ago..

Not quite sure what was going through the head of whoever chose the dress that Sienna Miller wore to last night's Stardust Premiere. The dress isn't particuarly special, and the shoes just save her. It's just not very her, no? She seems to have a habit of trying to spruce up for the Red Carpet, and not being able to translate her rugged street chic look that everyone loves her for.

If The Olsens can do it...

More of this, please.

"I do"

Engaged? Really? I'm not sure about this...

Well, there could only be one guy

Click...