Where have we been hiding?!

Apologies for the limited number of posts these past couple of weeks. Genuinely chuffed we've been missed, but we're not really going anywhere :) 

If you want to get your daily fix of everything you found on Fashion Compendium and more, please check out the truly amazing My Fashion Life every day, where I will be posting for a bit and keeping its readers up to date on the latest goings on in the fashion world. See you there! x

Beyonce covers November’s Harper’s Bazaar

It’s not often we say we prefer a subscriber’s cover to a newsstand one, but Beyonce’s November cover of Harper’s Bazaar is one of the rare exceptions. Maybe it’s because it’s a full-body shot and she is arguably the sexiest woman alive, we’re not entirely sure but there’s something captivating about it. 

Queen Bey flaunts her figure (obviously taken before she was visibly pregnant and not because she is wearing a fake baby bump as reports today have strangely speculated) and makes women worldwide jealous. In the interview, she talks about why she and her hubby waited so long to have a mini-Bey and Jay-Z , as well as who her style inspirations are. Hint: lots of them are British and we couldn’t be prouder!

Head to Harper's Bazaar.com for more pics, a behind-the-scenes video and more snippets from the interview. 

What Rachel Zoe Needed ALL That Luggage For (in her own words)

A few weeks ago, Rachel Zoe tweeted a picture of a luggage trolley containing no more and no less than 13 suitcases, which she was taking to Paris with her for fashion week. She jokingly said that she wasn't going to live it down for a long time, but she tried to clear her name in an interview with US InStyle. She said: “I was basically gone from Los Angeles for five weeks. I was in New York for two weeks, London for a week and a half and Paris for a week and a half. So, it’s all different climates. It’s a lot of stuff.” 

Not to mention, she had baby Skyler to pack for too: “He had all his clothes, too. He changes two or three times a day. I mean, there’s spit up involved. You have to have changes on hand.”

Well there you have it!

Daily Style Crush: Hilary Duff in Isabel Marant

Isabel Marant is the mystery designer behind Cheryl Cole’s trousers of the same print; it was originally thought they were a tribute to Simon Cowell and the X Factor, but it turns out it’s just a happy coincidence. 

As much as we adore Cheryl Cole and her enviable figure, we prefer the dress to the trousers and we completely love how the glowing mummy-to-be Hilary Duff accessorised it. We love the coral coloured Vanessa Bruno blazer on Hilary just as much as we did when it adorned Rachel Bilson. Perfect styling, Hilary!

Hermes goes Asian!

The Parisian fashion house is heading to India to try and tackle the Asian market. Hermes is going one step further than its classic, signature and down right exquisite scarves and is using them as inspiration for a new line of Saris. Hermes is launching a 27 piece collection of Saris inspired by the prints on their classic scarves to be sold in stand-alone shops in India. Do you like?

It's Mischa Barton's Turn to Get the Tyler Shields Treatment

No black eyes though! Mischa Barton is the latest celeb to pose in front of Tyler Shields' controversial lens and although she is essentially holding a slab of raw meat to her eye in one of the pictures, it's all very tame and uncharacteristic of the photographer. Maybe that's a good thing though, seeing as he received death threats over his scandalous pics of our beloved Heather Morris.

 

 

Hopefully these pictures will go down well, because Tyler is currently exhibiting some of his work at London's Imitate Modern. Will you be going to check it out? Plus - anyone who says they are shocked and offended by a slab of raw meat in the eye has clearly been living under a rock and missed Lady Gaga's meat dress....

Daily Style Crush: Stacey Solomon at the Spirit of London Awards

She may have Essex-chic down to a tee but we love her for it. Sure she’s a tad over-bronzed but we can’t deny that she looks beautiful and we strangely love her dress. Maybe only Stacey Solomon can pull it off though – unless another celeb comes out and gives it a go, we will never know. But for now, Miss Stacey S is our style crush of the day, just because she is always herself and looks gorgeous in the process!

Dressing Marilyn: How a Hollywood Icon Was Styled by William Travilla out THIS Thursday!

Dressing Marilyn: How a Hollywood Icon Was Styled by William Travilla… written by Andrew Hansford. It’s quite a mouthful to say and takes a long time to type but we guarantee it’s worth reading.

Any vintage, style and of course, Marilyn Monroe fan should go and pick this book up when it hits shelves on Thursday 13th October. It features an in-depth look at some of Marilyn’s most iconic dresses made by William Travilla for her movies and the inspiration and story behind them, as well as lots of other little gems. 

One aforementioned gem is a hand-written note to William Travilla by the Hollywood icon herself, reading: “Please dress me forever, I love you, Marilyn.” 

You’ll be surprised with just how many of Marilyn’s iconic dresses the designer was responsible for… and yes, he was the man behind the classic white halter neck dress that she wore in The Seven Year Itch (above). 

WATCH Cheryl Cole Behind-the-scenes For Her Debut Shoe Collection

It kills us how cute Cheryl Cole is sometimes. A few weeks ago we told you that the pint sized Geordie would be collaborating withy Stylist Pick for a shoe collection and now we have evidence of her in the designing process. A must-see video that shows Cheryl's hands-on approach to designing that warms our hearts. Welcome back Cheryl!

What did Blake Lively spend $15,000 on?

Poor Blake Lively (although not literally)… fresh from splitting up with Leonardo DiCaprio, the Gossip Girl beauty treated herself to a shopping session at the Edit Boutique on the Upper East Side in NYC. Sounds very Serena Van Der Woodsen, doesn’t it? 

Apparently, Blake splashed out on two Proenza Schouler bags (tres jalouse), Fendi booties and a few pieces from Isabel Marant. No biggie, obviously. 

If life after Leo is this stylish, maybe he should break up with women more often...

Daily Style Crush: Lady McCartney Nancy Shevell in Stella McCartney

Even though we were majorly crushing on all the outfits worn by the X Factor judges this weekend, we have to say that Nancy Shevell’s bridal outfit pipped them to the post ever so slightly. And how nice is it that Stella McCartney designed and custom-made her step-mum’s wedding outfit as well as her father’s? The happy couple looked blissfully happy as they emerged from Marylebone Town Hall in London after having a low-key wedding ceremony and we wish them a lifetime of happiness together!

Cheryl Cole and Zooey Deschanel in Same Moschino Dress

Both Cheryl Cole and Zooey Deschanel went to red carpet events in this black and white Moschino dress from the Autumn/Winter 2011 collection, but who do you think rocked it more?

Zooey wore hers to the Our Idiot Brother premiere while Chezza wore hers to the opening of Shrek The Musical, where she was supporting BFF and bandmate Kimberley Walsh.

Zooey wore this dress a few months ago and we've named her our clear winner. The dress suits her fun, edgy style a whole lot more; plus it fits her like a glove! And we think you need a bit of a quirky personality to wear this dress, which is basically Zooey in a nutshell. 

That's not to say Cheryl doesn't look good though - Cheryl could wear just about anything (although evidently not purple flared trousers…) and look stunning, but the Fashion Compendium crown goes to Ms Deschanel.

WATCH The My Week With Marilyn Trailer

Check out the brand new trailer to My Week With Marilyn, starring the gorgeous and sometimes uncannily similar to Marilyn, Michelle Williams.

Emma Watson's dodgy wig aside, we are loving absolutely everything about this trailer and the film in general. We can't flaw the casting; we know they won't disappoint us when we finally go and see it.

Brand New: Katy Perry for GHD's Scarlet Collection

Katy Perry shows her versatility in these sparkly adverts for the brand new GHD Scarlet collection. How much do you want those red stylers? So cute! Katy plays the part of the Evil Queen and Snow White in a photoshoot inspired by the classic tale. We have to say we prefer the first one; that pose is so fierce! If Katy ever wants to get into panto, that role would be perfect for her!

Jennifer Aniston Covers American Elle November

LOVE this picture of Jennifer Aniston on the cover of Elle US. The styling, the pose, the angle, the clothes…everything about it! Yes it's a tad over-Photoshopped, but what isn't these days? The main things that caught our eye were the stunning shorts from Balenciaga that we are honestly quite obsessed with and some bracelets from David Yurman that are also particularly beautiful to look at.

Rihanna and Kylie Galavanting Around the UK

So, Rihanna got the tube (the Jubilee line to her own gig at the O2 if you must know) and Kylie Minogue was in Essex to collect an honorary doctorate from the Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford. Such massive national pride right now!

Although she was accompanied by an entourage and bodyguards, Rihanna swiped her very own Oyster card at the tube barriers, as she travelled underground to her very own concert at the O2. Naturally, Twitter went mad and we even got pictures for proof. The above pic is courtesy of Lisa Marie O'Keeffe, via Twitter. Those are some very lucky people! And for those of you who can never get a seat during rush hour, you're not alone - Rihanna was made to stand too! 

Elsewhere in the UK, a newly brunette Kylie Minogue travelled to Essex and was given an honorary Doctor of Health Science award, in recognition of her work for breast cancer awareness. She even gracefully signed autographs for adoring fans - what a sweetheart!

Did Kim Kardashian Rip Off Another Designer's Jewellery?

Well, we don't seem to think so, alas Kim Kardashian is once again accused of drawing a little too much 'inspiration' from a designer for her jewellery line Belle Noel. 

The Kardashian's were accused of copying a Monica Botkier handbag for their Kardashian Kollection for Sears and took the bag down from their website before it could properly heat up. 

The designer in question this time, is the one and only Alexis Bittar, who also used to lend Kim his designs once upon his time. His reps said that he won't be doing that anymore...

Now we've had a bit of a nosey on his website and looked at the Belle Noel collection and we've come to a conclusion. We've made this decision based on the use of our eyes and a bit of common sense and it has nothing to do with the fact that we are major Kardashian fans. We don't think the designs even look that similar; we can cook up a million examples to prove our point but what do you think?

Catwalk Catchup: PFW Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2012

We should technically say Presentation Catch-up, but that doesn't quite roll of the tongue in the same way. We weren't disappointed with the Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2012 presentation, even though there was a teeny tiny part of us that was relatively sceptical. Sarah Burton stayed true to the brand and the man himself; there were lots of bird-inspired pieces which we have a sneaky feeling is a tribute to the late designer, as he was famously obsessed with the creatures.

A versatile, classic collection that captures the essence of the brand perfectly!

Daily Style Crush: Jayma Mays in Rachel Zoe and ASOS

Yes, we know we've had two Glee style crushes in just as many days, but can you blame us? We are currently on Glee overload after having it back in our lives again! Jayma Mays looks super-duper cute in her designer/high street mishmash ensemble, doesn't she? We've been toying with the idea of purchasing that ASOS horse-print jumper (or a very similar one) for a while now, but Jayma has persuaded us to definitely go for it! Loving the Rachel Zoe jacket as well - Jayma's styling was perfect (although we don't like the hair that much…sorry, J)

Johnny Depp Covers Vanity Fair November

Swoooon! Who says a cover star has to be a female? Johnny Depp is arguably still one of the hottest men in Hollywood - a heartthrob if you will. We applaud Vanity Fair's decision to put him on yet another one of their covers and think other mags should follow suit. We know there's plenty of Johnny to go around!

Catwalk Catchup: PFW Chanel Spring/Summer 2012

No Fashion Week review would be complete without mentioning Chanel. Their Spring/Summer 2012 offering at Paris Fashion Week was a sea (literally) of magic! It was an underwater fantasy complete with the hottest models in the biz and one Miss Florence Welch singing to the crowd from a shell…true story. 

 

Karl Lagerfeld was keen to mix it up a little this season, opting to step outside the box and create a collection that wasn't "very Chanel". Why? Because Kaiser Karl so rightly mentioned that Chanel's style is being done by many other designers.

What do you think?

Watch Louis Vuitton's S/S PFW Show, Complete With Kate Moss & Carousel

The music sends a shiver down our spines! Kate Moss was on hand to make sure the show went out with an almighty bang, as she sat atop a horse on the carousel and pouted her lips Mossy-style.

Brand New Rosie Huntington Whiteley & Ryan Reynolds M&S Ads

Although Rosie Huntington Whiteley may not be the average M&S shopper (how many leggy blondes with enviable bodies do you see shopping in M&S or, let's face it, any high street?) we hope women will learn to love Marks and Spencer's new recruit as much as the men will.

Plus girls, Ryan Reynolds is pretty cute to look at, right? And on top of that, look how fab the clothes are! Lots of winter staples in there; we can't wait to have a good old browse when the collection hits stores.

Amanda Seyfried Covers Glamour UK November

The November covers are rolling in and quite frankly we are loving it. Another blonde bombshell covers a British November mag and this time it's none other than Amanda Seyfried. She's looking a whole lot more like her youthful, girly and modern self in this cover as opposed to the W one she shared with the sexy Justin Timberlake in presidential gear. You wouldn't think this was a November cover, but then again, English weather is very unpredictable (we say as we recently had to dig out the summer gear) so who are we to judge?

Karlie Kloss For Dior Rouges Or Make-up Christmas Campaign

The teen model is the face of Christian Dior's Les Rouges Or Holiday 2011 Make-up Collection (that was quite a mouthful) looking like a red hot golden girl in the process.

Will the collection make you look every bit as flawless as Karlie? Well, probably not, but it may bring you pretty close. The shiny new collection consist of eight lipsticks and four nail polishes - each one a gorgeous, shimmery colour with some added sparkle just for good measure.

Daily Style Crush: Lea Michele in ASOS

Yep, that's right, Lea Michele is rocking the red carpet in good old high street favourite, ASOS. Notice how we've left out the word 'dress'? Well, that's because strictly and very literally speaking, Lea didn't wear a dress - it was a top. Not a tunic - a top.

There are no ifs or buts about it, Lea Michele either forgot to put on trousers or purposely wore a top as a dress. Usually we wouldn't condone this but funnily enough, Lea looks the furthest thing from trashy. Maybe it's because she's so petite and just screams good clean wholesome fun she can get away with it? Who knows…it makes our heads hurt to think about it. Don't follow her lead though, unless you're equally as petite or very, very brave.

WATCH A Teaser for Emily Blunt's YSL Opium Ad

Wasn't it only a few weeks ago we announced that Emily Blunt had been named the new face of the controversial Yves Saint Laurent Opium perfume? (The previous ads have been controversial, not the perfume itself, obviously).

Emily Blunt's been a busy lady and hasn't wasted any time - she's already filmed the TV ad, a teaser of which you can see above. And as speculated, she is in fact sharing the screen with a very large feline. She is strutting her stuff down a hallway, followed by a very large and in charge cheetah. She doesn't seem too fazed by it though.... What will happen in the commercial next? We'll just have to wait til December to find out! Oooh, the little teases!

Kristen Stewart Finally Feels Like A Woman

Looking at this sultry, young woman on the front of what is essentially a lad's mag, you wouldn't guess that Kristen Stewart didn't feel feminine for a long time. The Twilight leading lady was quoted in November's UK GQ magazine as saying: “I looked like a boy for a long time…Now I feel like a woman.” Good for her; we're pretty certain this shot will send any red blooded man's pulse racing!

Kate Winslet Covers Harper's Bazaar November

English mag, English rose - it all makes perfect sense. Although we don't usually see Kate with the feline eye flick favoured by the classic Hollywood greats like Brigitte Bardot and even Cleopatra, she manages to look both classic and contemporary all at the same time. And despite the heavy make-up and inevitable airbrushing, she still looks herself. Kudos to photographer Tom Munro, he's done a gorgeous job

Do you like Rihanna's Madame Tussauds Waxwork?

Rihanna's waxwork was unveiled at London's Madame Tussauds yesterday, sporting THAT look from her performance with Matt Cardle on last year's X Factor final. We love the styling - the thigh high dress is definitely one of Ri-Ri's signature looks!

Facially, we think the waxwork is perfect, which sadly cant be said for some of Madame T's other creations. As much we love both MT's and Lady Gaga, the waxwork housed in London bares little to no facial similarity, which is a shame. How do you think it compares to the Berlin waxwork on the right?

Emma Watson covers Elle November

Another English rose cover star for you  - spoiling you, we know.

We won't lie, this cover looks like it was accidentally hacked off by an intern with a grudge..why oh why you would purposely choose to cut someone's jaw off is beyond us! Nevertheless, it strangely enough still works.




This is only the subscriber's edition though (i.e. you've already subscribed; you're lumped with whatever they give you) so we'll just have to wait and see what the newsstand version looks like. We do like the feathers, we really do…but why choose to hide Emma's cute and youthful face? Questions, questions!

Jason Wu is Target's Next Big Name Collaborator

There were lots of cryptic clues and teases on Twitter, but now we can finally reveal the designer's identity…say hello to Jason Wu! Hands up if you already guessed?! We hope for everyone's sake that the Target website doesn't crash in the same way it did when the Missoni for Target collection launched. We don't know if this will have anything to do with it, but while Missoni had over 400 pieces, Jason Wu will offer approximately 40. No official word on when the collection will launch, but we will of course inform you in good time to set those alarm clocks!

Daily Style Crush: Cheryl Cole in Victoria Beckham

Cheryl Cole seems to be back in business and more gorgeous than ever. Apart from those being honoured at the Pride of Britain Awards, Cheryl Cole stood out as the shining star for us. She left the grungy, revealing outfits alone and opted for full-on elegance in a pale pink floor length Victoria Beckham Gown. She even enlisted the help of her Twitter followers to choose her earrings - bless her!

Jennifer Lopez Almost Unrecognisable in L'Oreal ad

We don't think we would have guessed in a million years that the beauty fronting this L'Oreal Elvive ad campaign is our favourite Latina American Idol judge, Jennifer Lopez. The 'on the floor' diva looks almost unrecognisable amongst all the airbrushing, don't you think? It's quite a shame because she has such a distinctive, unique and most importantly, instantly recognisable sexy look that could have made the campaign stand out. Instead, it just blends in with the rest of the hundreds of other generic beauty product adverts. It's just basically a pretty girl with nice hair posing pretty for the camera…

Elizabeth Hurley and Shane Warne Get Engaged

Congrats to newest Gossip Girl recruit Liz Hurley and her Aussie cricketer boyfriend Shane Warne - word is he popped the question while the pair were holidaying in Scotland at the weekend and she obviously accepted his proposal. Aww. Apparently the magic happened while they were enjoying a romantic date at the Road Hole Restaurant at the Old Course Hotel.

The couple then spent the rest of the weekend enjoying the sunshine in each other's company and even taking part in some celebratory golf. Congrats again to the happy couple; Fashion Compendium luck all round!

Catwalk Catchup: PFW Viktor & Rolf Spring/Summer 2012

Paris Fashion Week got off to a slow start but we definitely got what we bargained for as far as the weekend's shows were concerned. There were so many collections to keep track of we almost (notice how we said almost) regretted wishing for more.

Viktor & Rolf truly captured the essence of a Spring/Summer show in terms of the outfits themselves, the styling and the show as a whole. Bold colours, vivid prints, cute silhouettes - they were all there. Plus, any catwalk that features Miranda Kerr instantly gets a head start. Definitely one of our favourite collections; can you blame us?

Kristen Stewart Covers November's Glamour

She may not be as glamorous as she was on the September cover of W magazine, but this is by far our favourite K-Stew magazine cover since…well, ever! Why? Because she looks comfortable and more like herself than we've ever seen on a magazine cover before and that earns lots of Fashion Compendium points. Plus, Kristen's magazine cover appearance only reminds us that Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 1 is almost upon us and we could not be more excited!

Rihanna covers British Vogue November

What's this? Rihanna covered up?! Well we never! In all seriousness, Rihanna looks just as sexy in clothes as she does without them. She oozes class and sophistication on this front cover (it's a totally different story in the editorial pictures, mind - more on those later) and officially says goodbye to her signature bright red locks. Is anyone else in complete and utter love with the Armani Prive dress Rihanna is rocking? Well done, Vogue. After only Adele's face made it onto their October cover, it's nice to have an almost full-body shot!

Little Princes Wills and Harry Play The Piano

We know it's all about Wills and Kate these days, but back in 1985, clearly the greatest royal double act was Prince William and his baby brother Harry. Watching this video has actually made us a teeny bit weepy; bless them! Check out Princess Diana as well - never a moment where she isn't elegant and gorgeous. Do you think they should have pursued a career in music?

Daily Style Crush: Leighton Meester in Christian Dior

Aww…it's a bit weird seeing Leighton Meester without a cute Blair Waldorf style head accessory but she looks just as gorgeous and stylish without one. Loving the fringe (or "bangs" as our reader across the pond say) too - we love a good fringe and appreciate that not everyone can rock one; Leighton isn't one of those unlucky people though as you can clearly tell.

LM is the perfect model for this Christian Dior dress; the style sums up everything we love about the Gossip Girl actress. The triple bow Louis Vuitton pumps add to the cutesy look so kudos to whoever was in charge of accessories!

Catwalk Catchup: PFW Balmain Spring/Summer 2012

Balmain got a whole lot girlier this season and we are loving it! Balmain got a bit grungy these past few seasons and although we liked the edginess, we're glad its back to doing what we think it does best. Heavy detailing, sharp structuring and fine embellishment aplenty, this is the Balmain we know and love. And with the new diffusion line coming out, we think it's about time the line went back to its roots.




Paris Fashion Week got off to a mediocre start, hence the lack of posting (we only comment on what we utterly adore) but the Balmain show alone more than makes up for it. Just like the white and gold goddess inspired outfits, this collection was heaven sent and we genuinely can't flaw a single piece. Plus, some of our favourite models were strutting their stuff on the runway, including Abbey Lee Kershaw (naturally), Freja Beha Erichsen, Anja Rubik, Natasha Poly and Arizona Muse.

We think this might be the new Dolce and Gabbana star obsession for all the magazines…and we bet the celebs are already forming a disorderly queue to be the first ones to be draped in the outfits.

WATCH Eva Mendes Star in Thierry Mugler's Angel Ad

We've seen the early pictures, now it's time for the actual video advertising campaign. What do you think? And if you are enjoying the dulcet, melodic tones in the background, they do in fact belong to Eva Mendez herself. See, not just a pretty face!

Heidi Klum Launches Her Shine Fragrance in Hollywood

That's quite a big bottle there Heidi, you sure you can carry it?! Although we probably won't be buying such a large version, we are more than tempted to try it as we know Heidi Klum won't put her name to something unless it's pure perfection. We love it when advertising goes back to basics and is very literal, so we assume that the mandarins and pears scattered around mean they are incorporated in the smell? If that's the case, we are even more willing to try it!

We Will Learn Dior Successor In Next Few Weeks

If we're honest, we're getting a little bit bored now. This has been dragging on for what feels like centuries so we just want to get it over with and read an official statement from some men in suits so we can all get on with our lives. This isn't to say we aren't on the edge of our metaphorical seats though; whilst we don't actually have a preference, we would be a bit surprised if John Galliano's successor isn't Marc Jacobs. Lord knows there's been enough press surrounding his alleged appointment and talks with the company. 

This could well be like the whole Kate Middleton Sarah Burton wedding dress saga, whereby they all deny it until they're blue in the face while they wait or the 'right time' to do the big reveal. We think there's been enough tension and drumroll moments…come on Dior, we're ready when you are!