Look of the Week: Blair Waldorf

*****SPOILER ALERT*****

Just a little warning, if you haven't yet seen Season 5 Episode 3 of Gossip Girl, then you might want to skip this post.

Whilst she may have disappointed us all by revealing that she is in fact carrying fiancee Louis baby and not Chucks (I'm still holding out hope for false DNA results), Blair Waldorf did the opposite when it came to this weeks wardrobe choices.

First up is this gorgeous blue floral dress with the black sash by none over than french power house Louis Vuitton (well she is technically marrying a French Prince).  Not so dissimilar from that which Claire Danes wore earlier on in the year to the SAG Awards (below).  The dress was short, feminine and totally Blair.  So stunning that after visiting Chuck to give him the not-so-good-news in it that he finally started to cry.

Next up is actually a Gossip Girl favourite - Jenny Packham.  Blair wore this stunning embellished grey dress from the Spring/Summer 2011 collection.  Those of you who have seen the episode cant deny that it looked better on Blair than on the runway....

On an extra note I this week found the writers of Gossip Girl on twitter (@GGWriters), so all together now, lets bombard them with tweets demanding baby Chair!!

Gucci Sweatshop Claims

A Gucci store in China has today come under fire as five employees of the Shenzhen store in the countries Guangdong Province wrote to the Italian brands senior executives via an open letter in Chinese newspaper The Global Times citing that employees had even suffered miscarriage due to the strain of working in the store. 


In the letter the listed around a hundred rules they had to adhere to, many of which, to be frank, are inhumane.  The list included rules such as having to stand up for 12 hours with a maximum of 5 minute toilet breaks and having to work until 3 am to do inventory - 5 hours after the store closing time.


Each of the 5 members of staff are seeking 100,00 yuan (almost £10,000) in unpaid overtime wages, whilst a spokesperson for Gucci has released a statement saying that 


'Gucci does not and will not endorse or tolerate the alleged malpractices' and 'Gucci has proactively engaged external consultants to conduct a comprehensive review to support ongoing actions that can enhance our organisational structure, the welfare and training of our people talent recruitment and retention and other business practices in China'


Seriously, between this, Frida Giannini stealing half of our models for LFW and the proposal that has convinced the rest of Milan and Paris to set their 2012 fashion week dates to clash with ours, remind me again why they are one of the most respected brands in the world??

Payday Purchase

So everyone by now will know how much I adore winter.  This week I found this gorgeous coat online on Matalan.  Not usually the kind of place I shop but after seeing a feature piece online on their coats I have to have a further look.

This Brown Collar Boucle coat is the perfect way to stay looking stylish throughout the colder months, and at only £40 it really is a steal.

Buy it here Matalan Brown Collar Boucle Coat

Miu Miu SS 2012

The penultimate show of Paris Fashion Week and indeed of all shows for Spring Summer 2012 was Miu Miu and what a show it was.

Oscar Wildes 'Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months' was taken quite literally here,with garments so hideous that they somehow became strikingly beautiful and forcing us to have to purchase to see who can pull it off best (hmm kind of like UGG's).

With hair to rival Jessie J and striking red eyelashes, this season Miu Miu put on a show of full a line skirts that were so high waisted the could have become rather odd boob tube dresses.

Model wore mules with heels that would have made McQueen proud and cute little swinging bags, this collection had a definite vampy feel about it, and with all the hype for the penultimate Twilight film being released next month, what better theme could have been chosen.

No doubt about it, the lace was the main feature of the show, with lace coats, skirts and dresses it will be a wonder if consumers aren't sick of it by the time the trend trickles down into the high street.

Once the overuse of lace was finally over we were introduced to some fun and energetic paneled prints.  let us not forget the strange cape/shrugs that came in all different colours and were tied with ribbon.  Whilst not particularly wearable there is a certain French/Little Red Riding Hood air to them.

Whilst this collection is definitely going to be a hard one to pull off, I can see it being a major hit with fashionistas the world over, because what's fashion if not to express ourselves?

Louis Vuitton SS 2012

With all the 'will he, wont he' debates going on concerning Marc Jacobs and Dior in the last few months, its not hard to say that Marc Jacobs is one of the most powerful men in the creative industry at the moment.  A statement that was cemented at the Louis Vuitton show this morning.

What could potentially be Jacobs last show if he were to move to Dior was an array of beautiful dresses of pastel pinks, greens and yellows with oversized doily collars (reminding me of Cinderella for some reason).  There was a definite late 50's/early 60's influence hear, the attitude of the clothes were carefree and could only be described as 'tidy and polite'.

Unlike most shows, the models here didn't walk down a runway, they strutted around a huge carousel (Chanel 2008 anyone?) carrying the statement handbags that Louis Vuitton is so well know for, with cute tiara's on top of their neatly done hair.

Most of the dresses were razor cut lace with added detailing such as applique flowers and feathers that were coloured deeper the further down the dress.  For the finale Kate Moss worked her way around the catwalk in an intricate white mini dress with a full volumised skirt and white pointed courts.  Whilst being slammed for smoking a cigarette on last years show, she personally requested to do the show, to which Jacobs replied 'Why not'.