Hula Hoop Handbags at Chanel.....

"Are you serious?"... should be the collective cry!!!
"Don't be ridiculous !"... is what my friend Philippe would say and it will invariably annoy me because you see as unbelievable as it may seem... (then again Fashion is all about make believe; make believe you can  afford it/ wear it and pull it off! )
.... the proof is right here in the pudding!!....

Chanel apparently caused quite the stir when it sent models down the runway sporting these giant Hulas Hoop handbags. Of course one never expects to see these "fantasies" come to life in the real world and yet...there it is!

Isn't it blatantly obvious that this gentleman can pull it off...in fact he can also pull it around his waist and shake his little tail feather and hopefully the bag that is trapped within this fashion travesty will come loose from its ridiculous bindings, fall to the floor to serve its real purpose: housing a small family of fashion conscious....chihuahuas! 

And.... doesn't it look heavy?

What would you put in there? And how long will it take for you to find it,let alone fish it out?...

"Don'cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me?"....

Bruno Mars - When I Was Your Man [Official Video]

Because it is Friday.... because it is raining .....because it is  Bruno Mars and he is beautiful....
Go on....indulge me.

Three - The Pony #DancePonyDance

This is for my dad "The Dad Hatter"...who not only loves this advertisement and chuckles his way through it but has somehow convinced himself that the pony is in fact a "pantomime" style pony...with 2 people inside....

Enjoy!

This one is for you, Dad!

"Pause Button Therapy":..read on.

I came across an article in the health section of last month's Red magazine inviting you to try: "Pause Button Therapy" (PBT) if you fly off the handle easily... teaching you how to visualise the likely results of your actions as if you were watching a film. 

Dr Martin Shirran,psychologist and co-author of Pause Button Therapy explains the benefits of using this technique prior to..let's say wigging out and blasting a colleague at work, your boss....etc.
But I say; why not use this for compulsive shoppers? Those that think that during the sales you have the unmitigated right to shop and buy simply because it is half price....cheaper and therefore your God given right. 
So let us all try this technique while we salivate before our Obsession du Jour...(I have mine...pick one of yours and concentrate...):

....."Stop for a few seconds and imagine your next course of action..." 
Well that's easy:Buy the blasted thing and make your heart ZING!!...Well, no!..cos...

...."That's when you press pause to give yourself some thinking time"....
Easy! Think about what these :(insert your item of choice)...would go with...Hmmmm,should I get them in this colour or not? Will my friends be insanely jealous...Yes Yes ....Yessssss!!

...."Then press fast - forward  and think about how things will go if you react badly-what will people think..."
More like what life would be like if  you don't buy this desired item...People will think that I am a cheapskate/easily manipulated!! and WEAK!!

...."What could it be doing to your blood pressure?"....Wreaking havoc! Heart racing,blood pounding as you wrestle with your inner shopping demons as you whip out your extremely tired credit card that is cringing at the task at hand.

...."Lastly,press rewind and imagine another scenario...."Easy your frenemy rushing in and snapping it up while you spend all this time pausing, fast-forwarding and bloody rewinding!!

NB: (as printed in Red magazine)
"..PBT is used in anger management, but it can be applied to any habitual behaviour such as reaching for a drink or cigarette as a way to cope when you feel angry or upset..."

Bloody right when you have spent so much time reflecting on why you shouldn't buy the item of choice.... that the item is now: 
a)Sold out!
b)Dangling from the arm of your not so best friend... You will need a glass of wine, a cigarette and a good kick up your ass.

If it looks good and your credit card doesn't wilt at the sight of the amount...GO FOR IT!

FROCK ON.

Barbara "THE BEAR " Bui : London Bound...

I have a large warm embrace of a sheepskin coat that I take out in extreme weather, it is vintage and by Barbara Bui....I call it The Bear.

The Bear and I were boarding a flight to London and I had to part with it prior to sitting down. I rolled him up in a BIG BEAR BALL and looked for an overhead compartment that was close enough and not filled to the brim with wheelie bags.
The lady beside me on the aisle seat saw me looking around in vain:
"I need a a place to put my coat...  The bear..." I said scanning above me.
"Look there' s some place here.." she pointed to the overhead bin an aisle behind me and I shoved my coat in.
On landing I proceeded to reach up to grab my coat and in doing so I heard a booming baritone of a voice saying:

"Aahhh! THE BEAR"...

My surprise came in 2 stages:
1) that someone actually listens to my nonsense and
2)that the baritone voice actually came out of a giant of a woman who slowly unfurled in the row behind me:

" Yes indeed!"I replied taking in the he/she person and wrapping my brain around the vista that expanded before me...."is it? isn't it?...what is it?!

"We are having a close encounter!" he/she boomed with continued fervour.

I laughed and moved along not wanting to appear rude by proceeding with my visual investigation on this Wo-Man.

So what is new on the shopping front?

Ri Ri has launched her collaboration with River Island... she appeared for 6 minutes at the launch party and then skedaddled to party the night away before receiving a bottle of Lucozade flung her way by a disgruntled fan, unhappy with her relationship with the infamous bad boy Chris Brown....someone could have gone the soft route and flung the clothes she designed for River Island instead....

Opposite River Island on Oxford street a whole new building has come up and brought forth more shopping opportunities, namely an "Asics" store and a huge "Urban Outfitters"...like I said before...it could be New York or London ...only the accents change.

On to Sloane Street and a whole batch of shops that have closed down to make room for the fashion Giants!....namely "Tom Ford"....

Yes the gorgeous one is back ! And will take up prime shopping space on Sloane street, neighbour to Harvey Nichols and Zegna. 

Talking about Tom Ford...Gucci is celebrating 60 years of the Loafer:

I for one look back fondly... when 20 years or so I was a proud owner of a pair of Gucci loafers in brown suede. My friend Rula and I (she had a few!) wore them with pride and always put our best feet forward. Would I go back down that route and spring for another pair?

Nahhh! Been there...done that. As for Rula? I'll have to ask her...

But rather a loafer that Beyonce's trainer travesties....come on! Do they need to be in ostrich, boa, ray and crocodile?...(have I left out an endangered species ??)

As lovely and as talented as she is...some people simply have more money than sense or style for that matter...A diamond encrusted,white gold dummy for baby Blue....??

COME ON!!

Enough said.

Latters!

Oscar Winner Jennifer Lawrence: New Face for Dior

Congratulations to the beautiful Jennifer Lawrence who has won an Oscar for Best Actress for her performance in Silver Linings Playbook...which I have yet to see.

New heights for this young actress,not only the much coveted Oscar, a Golden Globe before that and Now!.... the new face for Dior.

She may have tripped and stumbled under the weight of her Massive Dior gown but that is nothing....because she has captured all our hearts.

Walk With Me : Zanotti Selection s/s 2013

Here are a select few from the catalogue and the ones I singled out while checking out the new collection in the Zanotti boutique in Cannes...

Walk with me....:

SEXY, SEXY, SEXY!

I have my sights set on the flat fringe gladiator sandals....bizarrely enough they are not less expensive than their high heeled version....Hmmmmm!

Despite the snow and awful weather...head on down to your nearest Zanotti and feel the breeze on your toes as you close your eyes and think of Summer!