Sandra‘s Closet

Swiss luxury watch manufacturer IWC Schaffhausen opened its first US Flagship Boutique in New York City this month – with 3,000-square-foot the largest of its kind worldwide.

“The opening of this Flagship Boutique in New York City marks a major milestone for IWC Schaffhausen,” says CEO Georges Kern. “It not only reflects the success of the brand, but also pays tribute to the home country of the company’s founder and to our American heritage. We are looking forward to welcoming our customers at this marvelous location at Madison Avenue and inviting them to experience IWC’s spirit and philosophy.”
In fact, IWC founder Florentine Ariosto Jones, an American entrepreneur who launched the brand in 1868, was born only a few miles away from the company’s new landmark.

Today, customers can explore the brand’s watch families – Aquatimer, Pilot’s Watches, Portofino, Ingenieur, Da Vinci, and Portuguese at this outstanding bi-level boutique.

I would like to invite you to check out IWC’s newly launched NYC Globetrotter Guide that offers lots of insider tips for the city that never sleeps. Just click on the highlighted text.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of IWC

Welcome to Pet Kingdom at Harrods – the world’s premier shopping destination for canine chic and feline trends.

11,000 square feet of emporium dedicated to your furry, feathered and fishy friends. There is a large section with designer dog clothes and accessories to pamper your puppy prince or princess. Moreover you can shop for dog apparel, collars, toys, beds, Halloween costumes, trendy cushions for cats and much more. See for yourself:

If your four legged friend is as fashionable as you, you might want to dress him in the newest Mulberry for Dogs collection!

For a seriously pampered pet, book them an appointment at the Pet Spa which promises a whole menu of animal friendly services including behavioural counselling, full body massages and animal reiki as well as nutritional advice, personal training sessions and grooming. Owners can also choose from signature treatments including thalassotherapy mud baths, blueberry and vanilla facials, deluxe pedicures and even book their pets onto a full Spa Day Experience.

The Pet Spa is located on Harrods Fourth Floor. Treatments start from £59.95. To book please email or call 020 3036 6222.

Isn’t that hilarious?!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht

The windows of the Louis Vuitton store on New Bond Street in London looked so beautiful this week that I had to photograph them for you. Filled with the most beautiful objects of desire for the summer season, it was a true pleasure looking at them. I am in love with pastels and the feminine eyelet lace.

My absolute must-have is the tiara that will be in stores this month…

… along with the bi-colour pointed-toe mules (see photos below).

Happy window shopping!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht, Stills: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

Let me introduce you the Ombres Matelassées, the new eye palette from Peter Philips, Creative Director of Chanel Makeup, that offers a new interpretation of the iconic quilted effect so emblematic of Chanel.

Held in a black rectangular case, the five shades Pear, Pale Gold, Gold, Golden Khaki and Black Night are presented in a harmonious crisscross arrangement. Simply apply as desired to the eyelids, using the double-tipped foam applicators and brush.

Application tips:
– Use the foam applicator to apply the eyeshadows and the brush to gently blend them, for a makeup look that mixes different shades.
– The two darker shades can be used damp as an eyeliner. Simply apply with the tip of a foam applicator, along the base of the lashes.

Available in Switzerland at Chanel boutiques from the beginning of April for CHF 85.-.

In Paris, the Ombres Matelassées palette was pre-released at the re-opening of the Chanel boutique on 51, Avenue Montaigne last week.
This 600m2 boutique houses the unique world of Chanel and all of Karl Lagerfeld’s creations – Ready-to-Wear, handbags, shoes, jewellery and other accessories – as well as fine jewellery and watches.

The two floors of the new space were inspired by the finesse of Mademoiselle Chanel’s private apartment at 31 Rue Cambon.

The conception of this new address was entrusted to New York architect Peter Marino, who is responsible for all of the Chanel boutiques across the globe.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Chanel

The most exciting part of my trip to Paris was the launch event for the “Mary Katrantzou for Longchamp” collection at the famous concept store Colette. As you know, I am a huge fan of Mary and her designs. Her talent is truly outstanding and I was so happy to see her again. (For a previous post, please click here.)

Below you see the text from the official press release. Can you imagine how honoured I felt to be mentioned in the same breath with Emmanuelle Alt,  Suzy Menkes or Glenda Bailey.

Please enjoy the photos of the evening and have a look at those beautifully printed bags:

For this occasion, the facade of the famous colette concept store was spectacularly covered with one of the exclusive prints from the “Mary Katrantzou for Longchamp” collection. It will stay like this one week.

Sweet Mary Katrantzou with me wearing (of course!) Mary Katrantzou

A unique “Mary Katrantzou for Longchamp” Le Pliage bag, 1 meter high and 2,5 meter large, was exposed in the interior courtyard.

The bags on display.

Love this tote bag with the poetic digital “Lanterne” print, €320.

The “Aquarium” print on the tote bag , €350, is awesome. The little pouch, € 55, to the right is already in my closet as each guest got it as a gift. Thank you so much!

The bottles of champagne served were all printed with the colours of Mary’s inspirational theme “When East meets West” for this new collection.

Some pieces of Mary’s must-have S/S 2012 collection were already on display. I am crazy for those dresses! Flower prints and underwater world inspired themes are huge fashion trends for the season.

Mary’s ultimate accolade: Fashion’s most powerful ladies all came to see her designs.

Suzy Menkes, Mary Katrantzou and Sophie Delafontaine, Artistic Director of the Longchamp House

Jean Cassegrain, Owner of Longchamp with Glenda Bailey, editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar US and Mary Katrantzou.

Mary, you can be so proud of yourself!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Longchamp and © Sandra Bauknecht

A city arises from the middle of nowhere in a feverish vision, like a mirage. Under the azure blue of a cloudless sky, Las Vegas keeps the desert dust at bay in the hypnotic ballet of neon lights. Along the Strip, the luxury hotels and casinos set the scene for a modern fairytale in which all dreams are possible. Amongst them stands the Bellagio Hotel. Its sumptuous gallery will welcome an entirely remodeled CHANEL boutique in end of this month.

Peter Philips, Creative Director of CHANEL Makeup, creates a gold-plated collection and strews stardust over polyester dreams.

The iconic gold of CHANEL elegance slips into every texture. A silky powder on the skin, sunny lacquer on the nails or a sheer whisper on the lips, it highlights a radiant face that’s on a lucky streak.

LUCKY STRIPES

The Exclusive Creation of the collection concentrates the entire spirit of Las Vegas in its traditional square case. Lined up in rows, four shades of sand and bronze sweep through every variation of a fabulous desert in which gold embraces the sun and shines. On the surface of the colours, an embossed star design seems to extend a warmwelcome to the city of dreams. For an illuminating makeover, a beveled brush is ideal for choosing and blending shades, sweeping lightly over the cheekbones, face or eyelids.

CHF 85.-

ROUGE COCO SHINE BRILLANT

The extremely melt-away texture and playful spirit of the most mischievous CHANEL lipstick get into the game with a total golden look. BRILLANT: faithful to the style of Coco Chanel, its sheer golden shade gives a fun twist to the traditional codes ofelegance.

CHF 46.-

LE CRAYON LÈVRES VEGAS GOLD

It accentuates the centre of the upper lip with a golden line. A makeup tip that adds a touch of light and emphasizes the fullness of a sparkling smile.

CHF 34.-

LE VERNIS GOLD FINGERS

A semi-sheer golden lacquer glides over nails like a talisman for a Midas touch.

In Switzerland available starting February 20, 2012 in CHANEL stores only.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Chanel

If I whetted your appetite for some serious Tom Ford shopping, have a look at the retailers list by clicking here. Good news is that a new Tom Ford boutique just has opened its doors in St. Moritz on the famous Via Serlas (see photo above).

Germany has got its first Tom Ford shop since last month in Munich.The 1400 square foot, two-story franchised flagship store is located at Falckenbergstrasse adjacent to Maximilianstrasse (see photos below).

My New Year’s Resolution for 2012: I want a “Ford Fiesta”!
With this in mind, Happy New Year!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Marion Heinrich, © Sandra Bauknecht

This year, Pomellato‘s Nudo Ring celebrates its 10th anniversary. For the ad campaign, the Italian jeweler is again teaming with Tilda Swinton.

I have been loving the sleek jewels from the beginning. You can wear only one or stack them up to two or three, playing with the colours.
For its anniversary, Pomellato presents a bigger, stronger version of its iconic piece, featuring gems in bold tones, including London blue topaz, Madera quartz, amethyst, lemon quartz, along with a limited edition in olivine and mandarin garnet.

Rings in rose gold and white gold with blue London topaz, Madeira quartz, amethyst, prasiolite and lemon quartz, £ 2.020

Nudo in amethyst.

Nudo in blue topaz. New Nudo in madeira quartz.

Nudo in madeira quartz, blue London topaz. New Nudo in amethyst.

New Nudo in lemon quartz, peridot. Nudo in lemon quartz.

Nudo in madeira quartz. New Nudo in tangerine garnet, madeira quartz.

Rings in rose gold and white gold with peridot and tangerine garnet, price on request

Good news for my Zurich based readers, we have our own Pomellato store since last week at Weinplatz 10.

Dear Santa, please bring me one or two or three… such a wonderful gift!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Pomellato

A little Christmas greeting from Paris, where I am at the moment, that hopefully will fill you up with holiday cheer! The gigantic tree at Galeries Lafayette is pretty impressive and puts you immediately in the mood for shopping. Paris during the festive season is absolutely the best.

Next to the Galeries Lafayette, the famous department store Printemps attracts the customer with a Chanel – installation of miniature Karl Lagerfeld puppets doing all sorts of things.

There is only one thing to say: “J’adore Paris!”

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht

Seeking inspiration this Christmas? Looking for something truly special that your beloved one will always remember? A special piece of jewelry or those one-of-a-kind Altiplano watches by Piaget are a gift that everyone’s guaranteed to love. One detail that makes them so special is the enamel orchid motif on the dial.

The craftsmanship of enamelling is difficult to master, and the artisans possessing such skills are an increasingly rare breed. With precision and technique, successive layers of crushed raw enamel are applied and baked, increasing both the intensity and the purity of the colours. Although a highly risky process, after over 20 separate firings in an oven, the enamel image is set forever, and its colours retain their radiance down through the ages.

See for yourself the one-of-a-kind works of art of the enamel specialist combined with those of the Piaget watchmakers:

Piaget Altiplano watch, 38 mm. Case in 18K white gold set with 78 brilliant-cut diamonds (approx. 0.7 ct.). Dial in enamel orchid motif. Manufacture Piaget 430P ultra-thin hand-wound mechanical movement. Unique piece.

Boutique exclusivity

As those beauties are unique pieces and boutique exclusives, you will have to visit the Piaget store nearest to you to explore them. For a store locator, please click here.

For my Zurich based readers, I recommend a visit to the new store on Bahnhofstr. 38. that opened its doors last Thursday. Please see photos below.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Piaget