Sandra‘s Closet

I am in Paris for the Fashion Week at the moment.

This morning, I went to see Stella McCartney’s S/S 2011 show which I have absolutely loved.

The first looks were iconic, confidently masculine tailored in fresh pastels. Further on, Stella tried a new take on denim and gave it a modern feel by playing with proportion and volume. My absolute favourites were the printed long silk dresses with box pleats and slit legs. Understated seduction in perfection.

Another must-have is definitely the sleeveless trench coat. If you like it bold, you will adore the symmetric botanical citrus prints. Everyone can find something in this collection, very versatile with signature looks and a new foray into sexiness.

Enjoy all my impressions, the celebrities, famous stylists, and for sure all the beautiful new looks for next summer. As you see, I had a blast.

LoL, Sandra

 

At a ladies luncheon in Beverly Hills, I sat next to Bonnie Star who turned out to be not only a very interesting woman, but also a fantastic jewelry designer. She invited me to her beautiful house the next day and showed me all of her fantastic work. Being a former artist, Bonnie has a total eye for shapes, fabrics and colours. She uses sterling, crystals, ornate stones like turquoise and agate along with a mix of vintage pendants and toggle clasps to create her unique pieces. Most of her designs can be worn in different ways as she loves multi-functional jewelry.

My personal favourites are her romantic tulle necklaces.

Bonnie leads a fashionable life being the sister of Darren Star, the mastermind behind our beloved television series like Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place, Cashmere Mafia or Sex and the City. She was looking for the perfect jewelry to go with her outfits for all the special events she has to attend. What started as something just for herself, ended in a sparkling business. Her line ranges from $180.- to $380.-. Enjoy some photos of her creations below.

Bonnie Star Jewelry is currently sold at Fred Segal in Los Angeles or contact: info@ bonniestarjewelry.com, phone +1 310-993-7292. Worldwide shipping is available on request.

Be a star!

LoL, Sandra

Sarah Jessica Parker attended yesterday in London the S/S 2011 Burberry Prorsum fashion show in an outfit that made her the style candy of the day.

The trendsetting actress wore a brown lace dress from the F/W 2010 line by Burberry Prorsum together with a stunning leather jacket from the upcoming Resort 2011 collection. In case you do not like to wait and would love to save some money, mytheresa sells a very similiar one on sale.

Sarah Jessica Parker topped off her look with a pale rose bag by Alexander McQueen and some killer heels by Nicholas Kirkwood.

Thumbs up!

LoL, Sandra

The nail polish is back and fashionistas all over the world crave for the newest It-colours. Celebrities even go a little further and wear sparkling glitter stones to leopard prints and striped designs. Arabian princesses might like master manicurist Leigthon Denny, who has an original nail boutique at the Urban Retreat Day Spa & Salon at Harrods in London and offers his Diamond, Sapphire and Ruby Encapsulization manicure for only $32.000.- . For this amount, you will get nine carats of precious gem inlays. O.k., this is totally insane!
But let’s come back to the actual question: Is nail art tacky or chic?

Let’s investigate this. Having the logos of Oreo cookies and Goldfish decorating your fingers is definitely ultra-tacky. Fruits, Hello Kitty and more have also no style factor. Ultra-long and sharp filed nails look more like a witch going to the carnival and who would like to be touched by those?! Ouch!

Short nails up to 2-3mm over the fingertip are very elegant and stylish. With this length all colours look beautiful. The key is to pay attention when applying the nail polish. Better make sure you do it more than perfect. It might seem tacky to match your nails to your dress like the Miu Miu version above but I am in love with this.

Half-moon manicures like Dita van Teese parades them are absolutely the style of the moment due to all the 50s and 60s inspired trends.

I also love my camouflage design. I took the three limited Les Khakis de Chanel for that. Khaki Brun is the base colour, Khaki Rose and Khaki Vert the spots.

 

 

 

 

 

For special events, Sephora by OPI offers self-sticking foils in all sort of designs for your nails. I think that they are kind of hard to apply but they can be fun.

So Ladies, experiment a little but keep in mind only well-groomed nails look really good. See your manicure as the crowning touch to a perfect outfit!

LoL, Sandra

 

Isabella Blow was a fashion editor and  an international style icon. Her unique, free spirit was admired and she inspired many artists and designers. High-profile names in the fashion industry owe their start to her, Philip Treacy, Alexander McQueen, Sophie Dahl and Hussein Chalayan among them.
In 2007, Isabella Blow committed suicide after having severly suffered from depression and ovarian cancer.

Today is the official launch of an amazing book dedicated to her: “Isabella Blow” by Martina Rink with an introduction by Philip Treacy. First presented in Berlin last Thursday at Fashion’s Night Out at The Corner, it is an hommage to her original, outrageous personality. This lavishly illustrated volume includes reminiscences and stories along with personal letters written exclusively for this book by Mario Testino, Manolo Blahnik, Dita van Tesse and Anna Piaggi, just to name a few.

The author Martina Rink is a Parisian-German born Fashion Director who began her career working with Isabella Blow as her personal assistant. Her insight knowledge makes this oeuvre so special. £29.95, Thames & Hudson, ISBN 978 0 500 515358.

LoL, Sandra

Yesterday, I flew to London to celebrate the city’s biggest shopping spectacle: Fashion’s Night Out. Being a fashion addict, I felt like having arrived in heaven. The streets were filled with stylish people for whom fashion still has a thrill, an inspiring mood was in the air. The events were numerous, from Giorgio Armani’s cocktail party, Manolo Blahnik unveiling the World of Manolo pop-up store at Liberty to Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s DJ performance at the Juicy Couture store. Everywhere was something exciting to see or even to win.

The evening served also a good cause. Vogue launched a limited edition T-shirt for the night designed by Sanna Annukka of which all profits go to charity Kids Company.

There was so much to do it had been hard to decide where to start. Superstar appearances were guaranteed at the parties that required an invitation like the ones at Stella McCartney or Matthew Williamson. I was lucky to be there and had the best time ever. The photos I took speak for themselves. Enjoy my very own exciting moments of last night.

LoL, Sandra

While beeing in Los Angeles, I met with the Queen of the Eyebrows, Anastasia Soare, herself.  Being widely referred to as the Beauty Innovator and The Definitive Brow and Eye Expert, the charming lady of Romanian origin developed over the years her own Golden Ratio technique to shape eyebrows and to enhance the overall eye area. Today, she is the CEO of a beauty empire, including two full service beauty salons and exclusive brow, skincare and colour products that are sold at select Nordstrom, Sephora and International locations.

Her success has no end. While I was with Anastasia, Kim Kardashian texted her and David Beckham was scheduled later. Celebrities like Oprah, Madonna, Jennifer Lopez and Sharon Stone, line up to get their eyebrows done by her.
So you can imagine how happy I was when she did mine. She told me that I was tweezing too much and that my shape is the so-called high-arch. After explaining her technique to me and giving me the gorgeous brow kit, I can perfectly do it by myself now. I have been receiving so many compliments since then. The right shape of the eyebrow makes such a big difference to the whole face. It can even make you look so much younger.
Above you will find the most important steps.

I truly recommend her products to you. The brow kit makes the shaping so much easier.

 

In case that you are in the L.A. area, here are some insider tips. Try to book a long time in advance. Her technicians are also doing a great job. You will lay flat during the treatment, it is very relaxing, not painful at all.

If you are dreaming of seeing Anastasia herself, she takes walk-ins from 9-10am. On Tuesday, she is in her Brentwood store (11933 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025) and from Wednesday to Saturdays, she works in her famous Beverly Hills location on 438 North Bedford Drive. But please call the store first, as she is travelling a lot.
The beauty salons offer full service from eyebrows to hair styling to make-up and waxing. See the price list for the complete services.

Thank you, Anastasia, for giving my brows the perfect arch! I am loving them!

LoL, Sandra

I am a total yogini. I just love every bit of yoga. And while practising, I still like to look and feel good. Nike and Juicy Couture offer a great selection of yoga clothing along with some gorgeous accessories. Juicy Couture has some fun slogan tops that I truly adore and that work all day long.

In case you have not tried yoga yet, be brave and give it a chance. But be careful, it will depend very much on the teacher if you like it or not. So give several studios a chance. Believe me, it is worth it. Yoga can be a great workout and for all sportmaniacs, you can sweat a lot, too.
It will make your muscles nice, tight and long and will give your body a lot of flexibility while integrating the mind and your emotions.

In Los Angeles, I was very lucky to train with Steve Ross, the so-called Yogi to the Stars by Instyle, with his own show “Inhale” on the Oxygen network and retreat leader at Maha Yoga.

Conveying his message perfectly, he gave me a signed copy of his fabulous book “Happy Yoga”.

„Here’s the yogi truth: There’s nothing to worry about. You are whole, complete, perfect, beautiful, loving, and blissful, and you know everything there is to know.“ – Steve Ross

With this in mind, you will look fabulous each day!

In Zurich, I am also very happy to practice yoga on a regular basis with Vasili Vlachos, an amazing teacher of Greek origin that has received his essence of yoga while living and studying several years at the famous Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) in Pune, India, the home to the living legend Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar (Guruji) himself.
Iyengar yoga uses props, such as wooden gadgets, belts, ropes, to achieve perfection in your asanas more easily. It has become my favourite way to practise.
If you are living in Zurich and are interested, please feel free to contact the Iyengar Yoga Center of  Maya & Vasili Vlachos.

Namaste!

LoL, Sandra

Since a few season, we have been seeing slim, slouchy, harem-style gray sweatpants on the catwalks and designers have not yet become tired of them. One of the reasons might be that we love the comfy luxe loungewear look during the day so much that everybody is holding on to it. Combined with a pair of sharp high heels, the former gym attire transforms into a real statement fashion must-have.

Rihanna shows how fierce the sporty look can be in her studded Stella McCartney sweater and sweatpants that she wears with ultra-sexy shoes by Nicholas Kirkwood.

If you are looking for a fab pair of gray sweatpants, above are some of the most exceptional pieces available at the moment.

I am combining the stud-embellished sweater and matching sweatpants by Stella McCartney with a pair of Miu Miu sandals and my Elsie bag by Chloé.

Steal the show in a totally relaxed way. How cool is that?

LoL, Sandra

Yesterday, at the 62nd Emmy Awards 2010 in Los Angeles, celebrities went on a berry hunt. The most beautiful dresses were the ones in the must-have berry shades of the season.
Those tones will remain for Resort 2011. Enjoy the sneak preview as most of the gowns have already been from the upcoming collections.

The US-series Mad Men won again in the category top drama. I would give the award fashionwise in the category “top drama gown” to their supporting actress Christina Hendricks in her lilac Zac Posen Resort 2011 dress that flaunted her curves perfectly and looked so stunning in combination with her flame-red hair.

On the F/W 2010 runways, berry tones were seen everywhere as if the designers have had all mixed berries for desert while creating their collections. The bright shades were combined in all ways.

I put some outfits together to show you how those hues combined together can make a strong statement and instantly update your wardrobe.

Red with violet, fuchsia with ruby, vermillion with plum- everything is possible, just let your imagination run free.

This winter, the LBD (Little Black Dress) is taken hostage by the LRD (Little Red Dress). So chances are very high that you might get scarlet fever soon. The bright vibrant tone is very contagious especially when worn tone on tone. Accessorize it with matching pumps and a bag in the same colour family for head-to-toe chic.

I am totally in love with Bottega Veneta‘s tone on tone looks. How about you?
Have I whet your appetite for mixed berries?

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of the Brands