Born to blossom, bloom to perish

I don't wear a watch but if I did I so wouldn't mind being the owner of this new LAMB watch.
Gwen was inspired to design a range of watches after giving birth to Kingston:
"I just designed watches. I've never worn one before, but it's a necessity with my baby. I have to know when to feed him!"



1. L.A.M.B. 'Renaissance' watch, $275 at nordstroms

New logo

Gwen has been accused of stealing this new logo from Guess and/or Gucci. She has always admitted to being a fashion thief but I don't think this is the case here. I mean, in how many ways can you draw the letter 'G'? The double 'G' might stand for Gwen and Gavin. Cute.



1. The double 'G' on the new album cover.

Classic beauty 2

When talking about classic beauty it's a little scandal not to mention Marilyn Monroe.

Growing up I was very fascinated by her and read every book and saw every movie I came across. I guess one of the things that makes her so fascinating is the combination of her beauty and her very complicated personal life.

I remember asking my mother to make me a copy of one of her most famous dresses, the one Madonna wears a copy of in the Material girl video. She tried in a gentle way to explain to me that the dress might wouldn't fit a skinny teeanger that well. So I ended up with a modified knee-length velvet version with shoulder straps. :)

Anyway, lets have a look at a few pictures of Marilyn througout her career.


1. The young starlet posing at Malibu beach
2. The diva


3. A happy moment with latest husband Arthur Miller
4. Very famous picture by Milton H. Greene. Clothing designer Ann Klein sent various outfits to Milton's studio for Marilyn to wear. The outfits, however, were two sizes too small and all of the poses in this serie amusingly had to deal with the problem of holding up the front of the ill-fitting toile and satin dress. The most recognized image from this sitting was chosen as one of Time/Life's three most popular images of the 20th Century.

"I knew I belonged to the public and to the world, not because I was talented or even beautiful, but because I had never belonged to anything or anyone else."

Glamorous weekend

1. Friday: Blue metallic dress. Saturday: Black velvet dress

Classic beauty

Some things never go out of style. Just look at the classic pearl necklace. This was the trademark of Grace Kelly. Looking at some pictures of her it's amazing how everlasting her style was. Obviously she was one of the leading style icons of her time and has been an inspiration for others. And still is.

1. Grace and Frank Sinatra.
2. On a movie set prior to meeting her prince. What a stunning dress.

3. Grace in private wearing her trademark: the pearl necklace. Very elegant.

4. Posing in a Chinese inspired slik jacket.

Cool

Gwen looking great at the 2006 American Music Awards last night.


1. Gwen and Gavin at the AMA's

She's propbably preparing for massive publicity with the release her solo album, The Sweet Escape, on Dec. 5.

Update: Gwen's eyewear is by Cazal, model number 905. They are vintage.

Tips and tricks

A few tips for adjusting your outfit to different occasions from net-a-porter:

• Go classic - with elegant heels
• Look edgy - with black opaques and open-toe pumps
• Dress down - with a cardigan
• Dress up - with an opulent brocade jacket (tie with brown leather belt)
• Contrast - a show-stopping gown with a casual pony-tail
• Add a finishing touch - with elbow length glows

Code of conduct

I took part in an interesting lunch discussion yesterday. Every day when me and my collegues go to lunch we see this guy who is wearing track pants at work. Not once in a while but every day.

My collegues are always commenting on this and some are actually quite provoked by it. They think it's not appropriate to wear track pants unless you are actually working out. For example at the gym or if you're out jogging.

I was quite surprised by their strong opinions. Is there really an unwritten dress code? I guess to a certain extent there is. We don't wear long dresses and tuxedos when we go grocery shopping. We don't wear track suits at weddings.

I wish people weren't restricted by such rules. If someone wants to wear something unusual I think they should. If someone gets provoked by people wearing track pants at work (in an office) I think they should put their energy into something more important. :-)

Long live individuality.


1. Bjork broke 'the rules' when she wore this swan dress at the 2001 Oscars ceremony. And got her picture in every magazine (and blog).

Gold

As Mae West said: Too much of a good thing is wonderful. And these Roberto Cavalli boots are the perfect example of this. The gold brocade print on merlot velvet and the gold soles are so close to the border of being too much. But it's not.
They are an ideal option for evening wear if you really want to get glammed up. Perfect for Christmas parties.


1. Roberto Cavalli boots, £ 575,15 at net-a-porter.com

Ooops 2

More celebs in identical dresses. This Gucci mini-dress is just brilliant. It's from the autumn/winter 2006-2007 collection. I think I looks good on both. This kind of dress requires a "Gucci girl"-look with strong hair and makeup.


1. Celebs wearing Gucci dress
2. The same dress on a model at the Milan runway

Brit in LAMB

Britney Spears wore a LAMB dress when arriving at The Late Show studio this week. Great choice that gives her a classy and sophisticated style.


1. Britney Spears dressed in LAMB

Agent provocateur

Agent provocateur opens a store in Oslo before Christmas. The lingerie brand is designed by Vivienne Westwoods son Joseph Corré and his wife Serena Rees. Lots of celebs loves this brand, including Madonna, Kylie and Gwen Stefani. Kate Moss fronts the label in their latest sensational ad campaign, a series of four short films.
The store is expected to open in Bogstadveien and will include a champagne bar.

Checklist

Net-a-porter presents a checklist of what's really hot today. Very few surprises.

• The belt
• The tweed city shorts
• The Jersey dress
• The shoe boot
• The wallet
• The retro-look dress
• The skinny jeans
• The tunic dress
• The velvet jacket
• The bell skirt

The waist belt, the city shorts, the 60's inspired dresses and the skinny jeans have all been around for a long time now. The shoe boot is an alternative to the ankle boot but I don't think it will have the same impact.

1. Black suede shoe boot with brogue detailing from Fendi. 2. Large quilted wallet from Marc Jacobs

I love velvet and would like a velvet jacket. The problem with jackets it's that I seldom wear them. It's too cold to wear thin jackets outside and too unpractical to wear them indoors. When it comes to velvet the use of the fabric should be restricted. Velvet pants for example, can have an enlargement factor. Velvet dresses on the other hand looks great.

3. Burberry Prorsum Velvet jacket

If you want a bell skirt I suggest you try to get the V&R for H&M raspberry coloured one.

No more cold feet

I'm prepared for yet another long cold Norwegian winter. Bring it on!


1. Timberland winter boots

Ooops

It's always a drag finding out that someone has the same outfit as you. If you're a a celebrity I guess it's even worse since everbody can compare pictures of you. Lindsey Lohan, Sienna Miller and Nicki Hilton have all been photographed wearing this Pucci minidress. I think Sienna wears it best. The black stockings goes very well with the dress.


1. Flowered Pucci minidress

Girls who are boys who like boys to be girls...

Sometimes the stars choose to wear something different than a dress at public parties and social events. A popular twist is the masculine look with tuxedo pants or a full suit. Not everybody can pull this off. Let's first have a look at what can go wrong.

The main mistake seems to be oversizing. Look at Jennifer Aniston in this outfit. The pants are too long and the flowy top doesn't look good tucked into the pants. A tighter top in a metallic colour would look much better. Drew Barrymore makes the same mistake combining a loose blouse with the pants. Kirsten Dunst is yet another example. The suit is too big, making her look shapeless and plain. Another common mistake these girls make is the lack of accessories. Bright nail polish and lipstick is required with such masculine outfits.


1. Jen Aniston wearing a Chloe top tucked into tailored Versace pants.
2. Drew Barrymore chose a Marc Jacobs blouse and Versace pants.
3. Kirsten Dunst in a three-piece Dior Homme tuxedo.

Well, enough of the bad stuff. Lets look at some good examples. Reese Witherspoon looks so cute in this outfit. The black suit fits her perfectly and the top and the red details gives it a feminine twist. Katie Holmes does the same. The suit looks like it was made for her and not her husband (Well, I guess this was not the perfect example since her bf is actually smaller than her...).


1. Reese Witherspoon in a black Miu Miu suit.
2. Katie Holmes seems to be comfortable in this classic tuxedo combined with a black silk blouse.

MTV Europe Music Awards

Looking at some pictures from last nights event I can't resist commenting on some of the outfits.
Mira Craig. I read somewhere that she makes her own outfits and is a fan of knitting. That's a nice hobby but maybe she should stick to knitting kettle holders? Evidently this is one of her homemade dresses. I think she's trying to be sexy but this is just tacky.
First of all the dress looks too small. The belt looks cheap and homemade and the shoes are just horrible. Such a shame, she could have looked so stunning if she dressed more classy. Just look at the outfits Rhianna and Sugababes wore.


1. Mira Craig in a knitted dress at the MTV awards.
2. Rhianna proved that it is possible to look sexy and elegant at the same time.
3. The Sugababe girls in matching black dresses.

The sweet escape

Apparently this is the cover of Gwen Stefani's new album The Sweet Escape. Obviously this is inspired by one of her latest inspirations: Michelle Pfeiffer in the Scarface movie from 1983.

Marc Jacobs

Seems like everybody wants a pair of MJ boots this season. They are featured in all the fashion magazine articles and they are always the stylists favourite choice.

I'm not too crazy about them but I guess I could learn to love them. The rubber soles are supposed to make them very comfortable and suitable for winter.


1. Marc by Marc Jacobs Lace up Boot with Buckles