in the bag

Chick Crush Honorable Mentions Part 2

This is the last post of this nature! Just some more honorable mentions :)

Gwyneth Paltrow - movie star gone country. best legs ever.

Ashley Greene - gorgeous little vampire

Kate Mara - absolutely love the color of her hair

Adriana Lima - umm the definition of sultry

Victoria Beckam - daily fashion show

Marissa Miller - best body ever! possibly best hair too

Jessica Biel - love the structure of her face

Lake Bell - so unique and I think she's hilarious

Rachel Zoe - I die.

Kate Hudson - just love her.

The Voguettes

So the Fashion Week marathon kicks off this Friday which will be a mega fest of fashion shows, launches and parties. Such a hard life eh? Who would want to be a fashion journo? New York, London. Milan and Paris hosts four of the most prestigious fashion weeks where the best designers across the globe take part in. Journalists from all over the world attend the shows to check out the latest trends; from indie websites, local bloggers to upscale glossy magazines. Of course no self respecting fashion show would start without the editors from Vogue(s) present. The magazine's influence on style and fashion is immense and a nod or shake by a certain bobbed editor has been known to break or make a designer's career. Anna Wintour (American Vogue), Alexandra Shulman (British Vogue), Franca Sozzani (Italian Vogue) and Carine Roitfeld (French Vogue) are the ladies who everyone will have their eye on during Fashion Week.

American Vogue - the commercial title that brings in the cash

Editor: Anna Wintour

Age: 60

Editorship: Since 1988

Previous: British Vogue, House and Garden

Trademark: Her razor sharp bobbed hair, sunglasses worn inside and clip British accent

Highs: Turning American Vogue from a flagging and staid publication to a very successful one. Being the subject of documentary, The September Issue.

Lows: Controversy over the April 08 issue with Gisele and LeBron James. Rumours that she is on her way out.�

In a nutshell: Anna is simply the most powerful woman in the fashion business and over the years has become a fashion icon. She is also known for her icy nature which makes her revered by her staff. The character, Miranda Priestley in The Devil Wears Prada is rumoured to be based on her. Anna expanded the Vogue brand by introducing �Teen Vogue, Vogue Living and Men's Vogue.�

British Vogue - The girl next door

Editor: Alexandra Shulman

Age: 51

Editorship: Since 1992

Previous: Columnist for Daily Telegraph and Editor of GQ

Trademark: Alexandra Shulman is probably the most ordinary and down to earth out of all the Vogue editors. If she walked into a room you would probably not look twice but she has a dry sense of humour and is not scared to voice her opinion.

Highs: Taking the magazine's readership to a million due to the legendary Gold issue that celebrated the Millennium.

Lows: Criticisms�that she is making the magazine very bland by putting B list celebs such as singer and X Factor star,�Cheryl Cole have been fired her way. Admitting to buying a dress from Victoria Beckham's collection was not her finest hour either.�

In a nutshell: Alexandra has proved herself to be a very savvy business woman who understands the publishing industry very well. Also she is always up for a fight hence her snarky remarks about Heat magazine in their hey day.

Italian Vogue - the arty one out of the bunch

Editor: Franca Sozzani

Age: Late 50s

Editorship: Since 1988

Previous: �Editor of LEI�

Trademark: Long flowing blonde hair, black coat over a black dark dress.

Highs: The all black issue that sold out immediately that they had to reprint more issues.

Lows: Although her All Black Italian issue was well recieved, The Africa Issue in L'Uomo Vogue was not so popular and Franca was accused by a journalist at The Washington Post for running magazines that are politically incorrect.�

In a nutshell: A woman who is not scared to take risks and put her money where her mouth is. Italian Vogue is testament to that as it is the least commercial out of the Vogues and often contains provocative images.�

French Vogue - the kooky cool one of the group

Editor: Carine Roitfeld

Age: 54

Editorship: Since 2001

Previous: Consultant for Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent

Trademark: Just got out of bed hair, Brooke Shields eyebrows dressed in outfits with straps and buckles.

Highs: Persuading Kate Moss, Sofia Coppola and Charlotte Gainsborough to guest edit the magazine. Styling a model in a shoot that paid homage to Anna Wintour here, not sure if it was a compliment or if she was simply taking the piss.

Lows: An interview in the New York magazine where she declared her desire for her staff to be skinny and beautiful.�

In a nutshell: Carine breaks conventions in fashion by putting edgy and dark images in the magazine. Her approach to the magazine is pure abandonment with no concern for conventions.�

For more info on the four Queens of Fashion then check out this funky guide here.

The September Issue

Vogue (both UK and US) have received a bit of a bashing over the last few months. UK Vogue has been accused of going over to the dark side and being all bland, boring and predictable by draping its cover with generic stars such as Cheryl Cole and Victoria Beckham. Whilst US Vogue has been criticised for losing its edge and replacing its wonderful creative fashion spreads with dull and lifeless shoots. Fellow Blogger, Chloe Tejada aka Fashion Journalist in the City ponders the stance of US Vogue here while Michele Obi from myfashionlife discusses the dilemma of the British counterpart in this fascinating piece. This combined with ever growing rumours that Chief whippersnapper, Anna Wintour is hanging up her heels and sunglasses means that life is pretty full on at Conde Nast towers. It is ever so mind boggling that they even entertained the idea of having cameras in the Vogue offices to make a fly on the wall documentary about the magazine. Unlimited access was given to director, R. J. Cutler to make, The September Issue which is a reality film that focuses on the production of the largest edition of Vogue which was published in September 2007. The film was shot over nine months and captured behind scenes at fashion weeks, staff meetings, photo shoots as well as moments with Anna and her family and close friends. The movie also shows the relationship that Anna holds with Grace Coddington, a dynamic redhead who is Vogue's Creative Director and according to Time; the most influential Fashion Editor. I will be honest and admit that I have never heard of the lady but 20 minutes of research later and I can tell that Ms Coddington seems as formidable of icy Wintour herself. Christ how interesting would it be to see those two at work? The September Issue made its debut at the Sundance Film Festival yesterday and the rights for the film have been snapped up. I have not read the review for it so I am not sure how it was received but those who were after a real life The Devil Wears Prada have been granted their wish.

Check out the trailer for the film below and tell me what you think? Compelling or just another reality film?

Life Style: How to Pin Down the Pin-up Within You

Ok I find this book very confusing. Glamour girl cum TV presenter cum Actress, Kelly Brook has penned a new book simply called, Life Style: How to Pin Down the Pin-up Within You. First of all I am getting a tad bit bored of all these super long titles that dominate style books. We have Victoria Beckham's, That Extra Half Inch: High Heels and Everything in Between, fashion journo, Hadley Freeman's, The Meaning of Sunglasses: A Guide to Almost All Fashionable and countless others. What's up with that?! Can't style writers just conjure up a simple title that sells the book? Anyway back to Kelly, Life Style tells us all about her life and displays all the influences that has played a part on her childhood and career. The book is divided into two sections; Part one is Life and Part two is Style. The first part depicts her experience at stage school, Italia Conti, her short stint at The Big Breakfast and her entry into Hollywood. The style aspect comes in shape of features on Kelly's Hollywood heroines such as Sophia Loren, Jayne Mansfield and Marilyn Monroe. None of the names here are surprising as they are all buxom beauties like Kelly herself.

This book seems to be a bit of a jack of all trades but master of none. It can't seem to make up it's mind as to whether it is an auto biography or a style book. In the initial part we have Kelly harping on about being demonised by the press on The Big Breakfast and then she is talking about her outfits on Celebrity Love Island. I think the main problem is that Kelly, as popular and pretty as she is has not quite had the sort of career that warrents a riveting bio but at the same time she is not up in the style echelons to be taken seriously in the fashion stakes.

As noted in the press release it is pointed out that the book is 'packed with stunning, never-before-seen photographs.' Hmm well that is indeed true, although I cannot comment on the 'never seen before' aspect as I do not follow Kelly's career much. Rest assured that the publicist is true to her word about the photography, most of it is amazing and contains a lot of pictures of Kelly posing in skimpy attire. However while reading the book these images did make me feel like a bit of predator. No doubt there are plenty of males who would give their right arm to swap places with me. I think this book would make a great Xmas pressie for someone who is a huge Kelly Brook fan and I mean huge!!

The Meaning of Sunglasses and a Guide to Almost All Things Fashionable

Not content with doing the ghost writing thing for people such as Victoria Beckham, uber fashionista, Hadley Freeman has gone and written her own book. The Meaning of Sunglasses and a Guide to Almost All Things Fashionable is a book that covers the humour, eccentricity and joy of fashion. Freeman who is The Guardian�s deputy fashion editor co-wrote Ms Beckham's style book, That Extra Half an Inch, High Heels and Everything in Between. In her own book she goes beneath the mystique of fashion and the cliquey culture and more or less brings it to the masses. However, take note, The Meaning of Sunglasses is not meant to be an A-Z of fashion or a guide to wearing clothes. Its USP is its irreverence. So there you go, another one to add to my long list. Boy is that coffee table is getting heavy. Hadley�s book is expected to hit the stores next February and is published by Viking.

Style Bibles

Victoria Beckham aka Posh is famous for many things; being the wife of one of the greatest footballers in the world, being a former Spice Girl and also being as thin as a rake. She is also renowned for being a shrewd businesswoman with products such as designer jeans, his 'n' her perfumes with hubby David as well as a style bible called That Extra Half an Inch: Hair, Heels and Everything in Between. All this has not gone un-noticed by Glamour magazine who have awarded her Woman of the Year. Posh's book is one of the most stylish I have ever seen; it is full of gorgeous pictures and amazing illustrations. Moreover the book offers practical advice on clothes, shoes, bags and accessories that every lady needs. Ok the advice may not be ground breaking but the design of the book is so seductive that you will just have to buy it to add to your collection. Another style book that I adore is The Goddess Guide which is written by Gisele Scanlon. This title is completely sumptuous and amazingly put together and covers topics like style, beauty, design, home and lifestyle. The Goddess Guide has a suede cover that is intricate and you cannot get anymore luxurious than that. I absolutely adore this book, it is so special and unputdownable. I also love Shopping for Vintage: The Definitive Guide to Vintage Fashion which is penned by Fummi Odulate, an A-Z to buying vintage and like Posh's book it is also equipped with yummy illustrations and graphics. Plus it is also compact and handy to carry round in your handbag. These are three books that I will never let out of my sight.

Picture from amazon.co.uk