Sandra‘s Closet

This week, I seem to have a red thread as I realized that I posted so many things in this festive hue. Today is no different as I would like to show you the world’s most eternal fragrance in Gabrielle Chanel’s favorite colour. For the first time ever and for a limited time only, N°5 dresses in red.

N°5 EAU DE PARFUM
An abstract floral bouquet composed around may rose and jasmine, brightened with citrusy top notes.  Aldehydes create a unique presence, while the smooth touch of bourbon vanilla leaves an incredibly sensual trail.

N°5 L’EAU
Fresh and sophisticated, complex yet easy to wear, N°5 L’EAU offers a new definition of femininity.

The unique limited editions are available as N°5 L’EAU Eau de Toilette and N°5 Eau de Parfum (both as 100 ml for CHF 202) in mass-dyed red glass and as 55 numbered red Baccarat crystal bottles for a collector’s edition of the N°5 Parfum (900 ml, price on demand).

Personally speaking, I am a big fan of this classic. This limited edition bottle makes a great gift for every CHANEL-loving fashionista  and it is already under my Christmas tree. If you get a chance, try the body products as well. They have an amazing quality and the scent is true to the EdP and very long-lasting.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of CHANEL and © Sandra Bauknecht

In yesterday’s post I showed you a head to toe red leopard print look. Today I would like to show you even more options. Keep it going bold with these red animal print dresses – perfect for the effortless seasonal chic and a modern way to uplift your festive appearance.

Happy Shopping!

LoL, Sandra

Button-embellished leopard-print velvet mini dress by Balmain

Pussy-bow pleated printed silk crepe de chine dress by Givenchy

Lace-trimmed leopard-print satin dress by Koché

Open-back leopard-print jersey mini dress by Tom Ford

Leopard and tiger-print wool-blend skater dress by Valentino

Leopard-print silk-jacquard maxi dress by Alessandra Rich

Photos: Courtesy of the Brands

Animal prints were trending on the F/W 2018 catwalks and so it is time to take a walk on the wild side. But this season, it means vibrant colours, preferably red, and definitely not for the shy… as the bold prints are worn head to toe as seen at Tom Ford. I wore this outfit last week for a X-mas cocktail among dear friends and got lots of compliments for it.

My look: Tiered leopard-print silk-crepon mini dress, red leopard print tights, leopard print pumps, and Natalia mini leopard-print velvet shoulder bag, all by Tom Ford, earrings by Prada and rose diamond ring by Piaget.

For the winter season, Tom Ford Beauty introduces Tom Ford Boys & Girls, a decadent collection of 15 clutch-sized mini lipsticks, named after the friends, intimates and collaborators Mr. Ford admires. My favorite shade: Hudson, a perfect rosy beige.

Scent: Lost Cherry Eau de Parfum is a new scent, that is part of Tom Ford’s Private Blend collection. It includes the following notes: black cherry accord, bitter almond, griotte sirup Scenttek™, rose absolute Orpur®, Peru balsam, and roasted tonka Orpur.
I feel in love with it from my first spritz and not only because of the name. If you like gourmand fragrances like me, you will adore this blended mix of warmth and sweetness of cherries and vanilla with a hint of rose coming through combined with almond.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Sandra Bauknecht

Exciting news – flash sale at NET-A-PORTER: I don’t want you to miss out on the top designers, now for less!

Up to 50% Off, plus enjoy 15% off last minute gifts. Valid on all ‘Sale Must-Haves‘ – enter code LASTMINUTE15 at checkout. This promotion will be live for 24 hours only – it will launch on Monday 17th December 12.00am GMT, and will end on Monday 17th December 11.59pm GMT.

TO SHOP THE FLASH SALE, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Net-à-Porter

Fortune favours the bold. This Lunar New Year, get lucky in five fearless red lipsticks, including new shades Lotus Light and Lucky In Love. Take on even more fortune-kissed colour with the blossom-adored special deco packaging of a Powder Blush Duo and 139SH Powder Blush Brush. Share all the good luck by curating a customizable gift housed in a peony-printed gift box.

LIPSTICK
Ruby Woo very matte vivid blue red (retro matte)
Russian Red intense bluish red (matte)
Lady Danger vivid bright coral red (matte)
Lotus Light intense pinky red (amplified)
Lucky In Love mid-tone pinky mauve (matte)
CHF 28.00

POWDER BLUSH DUO
Melba soft coral peach (matte)
Lovecloud bright mid-tone pink (satin)
CHF 35.00

BRUSH
129SH Powder/Blush Brush
CHF 54.00

Exclusively available in Switzerland at M∙A∙C Stores Lucerne and Zurich, M∙A∙C Jelmoli, M∙A∙C Manor Lucerne, M∙A∙C Globus Geneva and at www.maccosmetics.ch.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of M∙A∙C Cosmetics

Here is my outfit that I wore to the event that I hosted with Prada past Tuesday at their Zurich shop. All pieces are from the Resort 2019 collection and in stores now.

My look: Roll-neck floral-print mini dress, chunky plex chain necklace, plex earrings, silk headband, Sibylle bag in blue and black, and sling back chunky heel pump, all by Prada.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © David Biedert Photography

On Tuesday, I hosted a lovely event with Prada at their Zurich store on Bahnhofstrasse to explore the new Resort 2019 collection. In a previous post, I already wrote about the beautiful pieces and how pioneering Miuccia Prada‘s designs for the new season are. In case you have missed it, I invite you to click here for more information.

Enjoying a glass of bubbly while indulging in fashion among friends, do I have to say more? Everything was just perfect. I put together some of my favorite looks and explained how I would style the looks to achieve this interesting kind of twist. Below you can enjoy some impressions and more details about the must-have pieces.

I adore these new shirts so much. It seems to be a traditional striped classic, but if you look closer, you will be surprised by its updated look with brocade ruffles and a zipper.

The new mini suede skirts come with a ruffled hem and are surely among the bestselling pieces.

Here is a look I styled with everything I love from this collection: the ruffled leather skirts, brocade fabrics, knitted loafers and the fun mix of colours.

The knitted footwear also comes as a pointed toe version with a high heel in several colour combinations. To die for!

Everyone loved the headpieces in silk that are available in several colours.

I am also a big fan of the patterns – something Miuccia Prada is famous for.

These trapper hats are the perfect way to stay warm and stylish at once.

The new Sidonie bags – a curvaceous, ergonomic shape, a modern classic rediscovered.
For a previous post, click here please.

A pair of brocade pants will spice up every look.

The new jewellery pieces that I also wore that night are extremely beautiful and easy to wear.

Thank you everyone for coming and Prada for having me!
Everything you see in this post is available now in the Zurich store, pass by… it is worth the visit!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © David Biedert Photography
Photos in collage: Courtesy of Prada, © David Biedert Photography © Sandra Bauknecht

We all have this girlfriend that inspires us constantly and that we admire. Mine is Ljuba Manz.

A life full of stories. Her mother’s family lost their hotel and country estate during the revolution in Russia. The father, an Austrian, fled from the Nazis to Kharkov in Ukraine, where Ljuba Manz-Lurje was born in the middle of World War II. She experiences occupied Vienna and the hardships of the previous years of war – and wants only one thing: to leave this poverty behind her.

Today, Ljuba Manz-Lurje is the most famous hotel entrepreneur in Switzerland and leads in third generation othe Manz Privacy Hotels, which also include the «Hotel St. Gotthard» in Zurich.

Ljuba signing her book at the cocktail reception.

This month, her multifaceted biography hit the shelves and we celebrated it with a cocktail reception two weeks ago. It is a good and inspiring read reflecting on her life in all its details, a great gift for a dear friend for Christmas. You can order the book, published by Stämpfli Verlag, by clicking  here.

With Ljuba at the ASW Winter Weekend in 2016.

It shows a woman who first stands on her own feet as a vedette dancer, then becomes a businesswoman in a male-dominated world, marries the Zurich hotelier Caspar E. Manz and fulfills a legacy after his death: to retain and increase the family-owned hotels. Social splendor and human abysses tend to be close together. The great conductor Paul Sacher brings musicians from all over the world to the «Hotel St. Gotthard». At the same time a plot is hatched against the landlord – she is reported to the authorities as a presumably Russian spy.

Pure joie de vivre: Ljuba on stage at the book presentation with her husband since 2014 Marco Conte and presenter Silvia Affolter.

I am proud of my friend, a strong woman full of energy and joie de vivre, who always did it her way. An entrepreneur and a mother of twin brothers who knew how to combine work and private life during times when the term «work-life balance» was still a foreign word. A woman, we can all learn from. Thank you, Ljuba, for being my friend!

LoL, Sandra

So proud to be in her book! What an honour!

Fashion cannot be missing: An Emilio Pucci outfit on display that she once wore to a gala.

What an experience! I was Ljuba’s guest at the famous Vienna Opera Ball this year.

Many famous people came to celebrate Ljuba, here you see her with Alt Bundesrat Merz of the Swiss Federal Council.

With Raquel Marquard at the book premiere.

On display many memories from Ljuba’s past.

Sabine Hirsch-Avram also joined this wonderful occasion.

Proof that Ljuba counts many fashionable ladies among her friends: those Gucci, Dior and Marco de Vincenzo shoes had to be photographed.

Photos: Courtesy of Ljuba Manz, © Zuza Speckert, © David Biedert, © Sabine Hirsch-Avram and Sandra Bauknecht

PRADA REINVENTS ITS OWN CLASSICS FOR RESORT 2019
Established in 1913 at Milan’s prestigious Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Prada is one of the world’s most iconic luxury fashion houses. Contemporary art and society inspire its collections, which are designed by visionary Miuccia Prada, granddaughter of founder Mario. Miuccia is fashion’s undisputed trendsetter and mood maker.

In the mid-90s she made ugly chic. For Resort 2019, she went exactly through her rich archive to revisit her famous ’90s decade. In times when everybody is doing more, she takes us back to minimalism but in a modern and updated way – spiced up with geek chic athleticism and playful embellishments.

Many of the pieces felt like revamps of prior Prada classics: a quirky mix of chunky loafers, the famous «yes, they are bad, that is why they are so good» patterns, low waists, kick flares, and opulent brocades combined with leather polos, sequin-studded tights, plastic necklaces and trapper hats. Think of me, once again, it’s Prada’s inimitable way with texture… Miuccia has started a wave. More is more or let’s say more is less. Maximalism is not over, just different.

LOCATION
In May 2018, Miuccia Prada chose the seventh floor of the Herzog & de Meuron–designed Prada HQ in New York as the venue. The transformation of the former piano factory was the first project entrusted to the famous architects by Prada in 2000. It was a kind of a striptease of the existing building: all architectural elements were removed so only the naked concrete structure remained.

THE SHOW
The space was kept as open and empty as possible for the fashion show. Only one new element was added to the space: large floating panels reflecting the cityscape outside and thus transferring images of the real city deep inside the space of the presentation. In addition to the real image of the city, other images of virtual cityscapes were projected onto the boards for an intriguing mix of inside and outside, of analogical and virtual realities.

PERSONAL NOTE
I have been a fan of Miuccia Prada from the beginning. A Prada nylon backpack was my school bag and I always felt very strong in her designs. When I studied fashion design, I realized how advanced her thinking is. She is a true pioneer and with her Resort 2019 collection she got the ball rolling again. Is the world ready for a return to minimalism? Probably in a different way than what we are used to. Look at the manicure for the Resort 2019 show, it is minimalistic yet maximalist. It depends on the way of looking at things… as Miuccia says: «Fashion is instant language». Do you speak Prada?

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Prada

«Art is the flower… life the green leaf.» – Charles Rennie Mackintosh

This holiday season, LOEWE is launching a special capsule collection inspired by the work of renowned Scottish architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928). Regarded as one of the originators of modernism, his seismic influence on the 20th century arts & crafts movement is still being felt to this day.

With a full accessories line and ready-to-wear for men and women, the holiday collection celebrates the vast scope of the designer’s work, from his architecture through to his furniture design. Playing with the various facets of the Mackintosh universe, LOEWE honours his distinctive aesthetic by incorporating his signature grid patterns, stained glass windows and botanical watercolours across the range.

When I was in Madrid mid November, I was happy to explore the collection in the brand’s flagship store in the Salamanca district before it is now hitting the shelves worldwide.

The CASA LOEWE is all about interior design and customer experience thanks to LOEWE‘s creative director Jonathan Anderson. The lifestyle store spans three floors (totaling over 10,760 square feet) of a landmarked 19th-century building.

To delve deeper into Mackintosh’s mind and genius, I invite you to look at this fascinating collection:

Black T-Shirt

Rose-print wool dress

Print crepe blazer

Sweatshirt dress

Gate leather shoulder bag

Patch pink mohair blanket

Stay tuned for an outfit post with my favorite pieces from this collection!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Loewe and © Sandra Bauknecht