Sample Sale Whisper- ASTLEY CLARKE

Show me a fashionista who would love to take advantage of fabulous sample sale prices without leaving the comfort of their Nottinghill Gate apartment, and I will show you a very happy shopper.

So it is on this note that I whisper to you that accessory label Astley Clarke has made it possible, their online sample sale is now on. So why not flex that credit card in your pajamas and with a cup of brew for company.

Visit:

http://www.astleyclarke.com/

Happy shopping!

Office Store embraces Doc Martens on heels- must be seen to be believed!

The new collection for high street shoe store Office is arriving in store. For all those avid fashion fans of Office the news is not good.

I am a high street shopper, and a big fan of mixing designer with good quality high street but for some reason they remind of me of my frightening childhood fashions. Having grown up in the 90's AKA the decade of some of the most ugly shoes- i avidly remember the platform revival- shudder!!!

Besides the purple/grey suede and leather mix boot you see below- which are cute-......

...... i must also add that I was informed of this new collection from the Office PR person and found myself eagerly looking forward to receiving the images, especially as i was promised that they are the kind of shoes that will "be snapped up fast". I mean when you promise such a thing to a shoe lover and then not deliver you are just asking for a stroppy shoe lover- not a pretty site!

So it is on this note that i say fellow fashionistas judge for yourself and take a sneek peek by visiting http://www.prshots.com/?clid=2237

because maybe i am being to harsh...mmmm nah!

By Champagnista M

The Champagnista's are nigh...

Bonjour Champagnista.com readers;

The Champagnistas are pleased to invite you to a Pre-London Fashion week cocktail party to introduce the blog Diary of the Champagnistas to the fashion set of London.

Described as a “must read site" by Fashion Capital, as keen readers you wil have noticed that champagnista.com dares to be different by not being afraid to embrace and critique the fashion world.

Champagnista.com is making a name for itself for its light tone and down-to-earth attitude to fashion news reporting, interviews of those behind the creation of today’s style, its informative trends analysis, and write up on fashion events.

Officially launched on Monday 1st September 2008, champagnista.com cocktail party will be taking place on Thursday 11th September 2008 at 12 New Burlington Street (via private entrance on new burlington mews)from 9.30pm until late.

Invited guests include Jodi Harsh, Daisy Lowe, Jade Jagger, Tara Palmer Tompkinson and naturally the fashion's glitterati.

Also in attendance will be Silver Films, a television production company who at the moment are developing a three part series on the History of Fashion and will be looking for great contributors and fashion commentators to feature in the show. Living TV will also be attending to conduct short interviews with invited guests for their online site.

For more information on Champagnista.com or if you feel like joining us for the evening, please contact please contact Josephine Daphne-Jones at http://uk.mc282.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=champagnista@ymail.com , before September 8th with your name and the names of your guests.

A BIG thank you for your support and we hope to see you at the launch!


-Gros Bisous-

Champagnista Girls
xx

How to avoid an AW08 wardrobe malfunction- By Sophie Hay

With summer fading slowly into autumn, the gladiator sandals are not going to cut it with this beautiful English weather – wet feet and mud splattered up the back of your maxi dress just isn’t a good look! With this in mind, any budding fashionista (if they haven’t already) needs to consider what to wear for the up and coming season. What will be big for Autumn/Winter 2008-9?

In great contrast to the floaty florals of the summer, this season is all about fine lines and tailoring. These new shapes have much more mature and demure feeling and ooze sophistication. With this trend of structure comes the new skirt shapes hitting both the designer showrooms ( Nina Ricci, Marc Jacobs and Giles Deacon to name a few) and the high street. We are now being confronted with cocoon shaped black numbers and as well as skin tight pencil skirts; a girl is really spoilt for choice! Not only does this trend apply to skirts, we are being drowned in a flourish of body-con dresses, men’s blazers and tighter than tight formal trousers. Power dressing is back on the agenda ladies!

Another trend that has been hitting the catwalks worldwide this season is checks. Yes, this sounds like a generic trend that will be all over the high street, and yes that is probably true, but you can encompass this trend with a statement piece that will see you through the season. Henry Holland embraced this trend in a bold purple, whilst Dolce and Gabanna went for a traditional red check ruffle dress. Tartan isn't only for kilt wearing bagpipes players as this winter sees plenty of plaid making its way down from the highlands and onto the high streets – particularly in the form of shirts and kilt skirts. Think "boyfriend style" rather than "mean girls".
Colour-wise this season, black is back. You can never go wrong with a little black number, and this season is no exception. With almost every designer debuting a little black dress, it seems to be the item topping every fashionistas shopping lists. However, if the whole "goth chic" look is a bit to dark for you, jewel tones paired with lush velvets or lace are good ways to embrace this trend.

And finally, where would we be without accessories? Hosiery is big this year, with bold and beautiful tights making a comeback. This is an easy to embrace trend and can instantly transform a plain dress. As for shoes, the sky-high heel has not left us and the ankle boot is very much in vogue. Bags are shrinking, with the clutch or the cross body bag being the arm candy for those in the know this season. And with this dire English summer coming to an end, what could be more thrilling than planning your new wardrobe?

By Sophie Hay (sophie.hay@hotmail.co.uk

Champagnista.com contributor

Images courtesy of House of Holland and Dolce and Gabanna

Gold statue of Kate Moss

A few years back Vogue Paris applied Da Vinci's golden rules of beauty to several supermodels: according to the article, Kate Moss' face would be perfect, completely harmonious, if her mouth was just a little bigger.

This slightlest of imperfections does not seem to bother British sculptor Marc Quinn, best known for his statue of Alison Lapper Pregnant, which was displayed on a piedestal in Trafalgar square until a few months back. Quinn created a statue of the model made of pure gold, reminiscent of the golden statues Egyptians erected in adoration of their gods. The statue, called Siren, features Moss of all women because she is, in Quinn's mind, 'the ideal beauty of the moment'. Don't you think the idea is mildly pagan? I would find it ironic if Moss wasn't already in every glossy magazine, on every cover of every tabloid, and in every beauty-related documentary...

The artwork will be presented at the British Museum along works by Damien Hirst and other contemporary sculptors. The exhibition, called Statuephilia, asks the question of the social role of sculpture throughout history, and opens on 4 October. It's an event you should not miss.

Image from Telegraph.co.uk

NY fashion week- Already DAY 3

First and foremost lets take a moment to admire these fabulous shoes from Rock & Republic

Ok, lets continue now, with New York Fashion week already on DAY 3, and every website/magazine drowning on the whos wearing what, who is sitting front row at all the shows, what designer has the best collection blah, blah blah, I have made the decision not to bore you with words, but instead to let you use your eyes to judge SS09's emerging trends on the catwalk this season.

Making waves in NY are labels such as:

Rock & Republic
Rag and Bone
Alexandre Herchcovitch
Lacoste
Julie Haus
Rosa Cha
Abaete
Charlotte Ronson

I want a Tartan dress!

D&G

Just Cavalli

House of Holland

Carolina Herrera

I never thought I would say that but I do, I do... I want a Tartan dress!

If you were one of these kids whose mother sent to school wearing a tartan kilt and a velvet headband (or a bermuda and deck shoes if you were a boy), you will know where I come from. It's the kind of traumatic experience that leaves scars: it took my whole years of teenagehood (and all the money I made baby-sitting from the age of 13) to reconstruct my fashion sense and my wardrobe... At that time, I swore I would never wear a kilt again, and would avoid check in general at all costs.

And here I am, perusing the September fashion magazines and window-shopping in London, and I confess: I love this new Tartan trend, I love the superposition of tonal checks in different sizes at Just Cavalli, the floaty transparencies at D&G, the chic hunting-style tailoring at Carolina Herrera, I love the way designers reinvented the pattern, combining textures and volumes and playing with waistlines and transparencies to make it the new sexy... and I want my share of it!

I wouldn't recommend the queen-like scarf on the head alla D&G: you want to keep it modern, accessorize a skirt with a tonal shirt or blazer in patterns of different sizes, make it colourful with a pair of crazy tights or feminine and airy by going for a silk dress cinched at the waist. The good thing is that there are definitely some timeless pieces in there, you just have to make sure to pick the right one and dress it young.

Images from Style.com

Olsen sisters' new jewellery range

Mary-Kate and Ashley already had a clothing line called Elizabeth and James, and they are about to launch a jewellery range in collaboration with top jewellery designer Robert Lee Morris for their apparel brand. Between Mary-Kate's style and Robert Lee Morris' skills, the collection should be exciting. Featuring chunky brass and silver rings, turquoise stones, daggers, crosses and other statement pieces, the line was born from the twin's modern interpretation of Morris' past designs.

The new collection will be sold under the name Robert Lee Morris for Elizabeth and James and will hit the US stores in September. I am looking forward to my next New York trip...

When will the size zero debate die out???

I am sick and tired of the size zero debate!!! Every time a new catwalk season approaches everybody starts rambling on and on about it, having council conferences and remembering about so and so model who died of a heart attack after years of annorexia. Not that their fate is not sad and shouldn't be remembered, but while all that empty discussion goes on, is there anything being solved? No. What it really does is put pressure on every single woman who is remotely interested in fashion and make them paranoid about these extra pounds they suddenly remember how desperately they want to get rid of.

I read in Le Nouvel Observateur a few months ago that 75% of women go through an eating disorder at some point of their life. And if this is not necessarily caused by the size zero debate, it's certainly not helped by it. Everybody knows how retouched fashion pictures are, but maybe it's still worth remembering it again and again every so often.

For having worked on photoshoots I can tell you this much: models never ever look like they seem on glossy pages of a magazine. They're not that tall, not that smooth-skinned, not that well dressed, most of the time you wouldn't even notice them in the street.

Recently I had an affair (how glamorous) with a fashion photographer... Mr Olderly Man. God was he gorgeous and did I use to get paranoid about all these models batting their eyelashes around his camera! And then I spent some time watching him retouch the fashion stories he was shooting, and I was shocked to find out that he would not only erase some girls' pores and thin up their forearm because it looked 'fatty' (!!!), but he would also plump girls up when they looked to skinny: I remember seeing a model on whose back you could see every single bone!

There is no such thing as perfection. We're all women, and it is not size or curves or pounds that make a difference: it's the way you wear it and how you dress it that changes everything. It is not because you are round or skinny that you are not going to look fantastic with the right outfit, and so much more noticeable than a model before post-production. So you gained a few pounds on a Christmas holiday? You can lose them after a few salads: pick up a voluminous new look vintage style dress that will accentuate your waist and hide your thighs if you feel more comfortable about it, you will look fantastic and men won't tell the difference! Style is a real skill, it is an art... not eating isn't. Wearing too tight a pair of jeans and showing your love handles because you refuse these passing extra pounds isn't.

Lose the weight obsession, embrace style, and forget the size zero debate, it's an evil fantasy!

Street style, Piccadilly circus, August 2008

Japanese girl on Piccadilly circus. I love the maxi skirt layering: it's really feminine and cozy, and it was beautifully floaty in the breeze...

She didn't speak a word of English, French or Spanish, but she still unerstood 'fashion blog' ...

Lets talk underwear...

Okay ladies ( and gentleman) lets talk underwear. We know fashion is all about trends and leaving your fashionable mark on the world, but surely one must also pay attention to the underwear that compliments the outerwear.

We all love our comfortable bucket knickers, made fashionably acceptable by bridget jones making them the norm that was until the super sexy pearl thong a la sex and the city made its debut.

I myself have never worn one, nor would i, but i am sure it is a very uncomfortable piece of wear. I mean us women already own alot of uncomfortable wears such as 4 inch heels, waist slimming corset, underwire bras, itchy tights etc and to add the pearl thong to that list is a "i dont think so" situation for moi.

On the whisper, i have spoken to a lady who owns one and she has confirmed that for her it is an experience that hits the spot for her!!!! mmmmm the mind wanders what she means- wink!

Champagnista London Launch Party on 11th September 2008. For more information please contact Josephine Daphane-Jones at champagnista@ymail.com.

Fashion Faux Pas' (a must read for the fashionably challenged)

*We are no meanies but the following has to be said avoid like the plague, heels that make your ankles look fat. Solve that problem by wearing round toed shoes if you have naturally thick ankles, because there is nothing more unattractive then looking like a hippo in heels.If you are prone to doing the “Whoopi Goldberg” walk when in heels then for the love of God learn how to walk in them. I can confess having had the Whoopi Goldberg walk once upon a long time ago but I taught myself to walk in high heels by walking around my house in my Choos until I got the hang of it. Oh let me add just because you are finding walking in heels hard is no excuse to go and buy shoes that look like they belong in Herman Munster’s wardrobe!


*Always trust your de ja va fashion instinct. For example do not buy those shoes/dress/skirt in a style that feels familiar because it probably 2 or 3 seasons old and magazines are using old celebrity pictures in to get the naive shopper to buy the been there, done that, has been's that any self respecting Fashionista would avoid at all costs!


*Get to know the hot up and coming designers who havent quite hit Alexander McQueen status but are definitely on their way because you will always have access to great never worn before clothes that will most likely be made to suit your figure to pure perfection- camera, pose, fantastic.

*Clean out your closet once in a while and get rid of all the fashion has been’s. Remember never look, back it distracts from the now!


*When you go shopping always repeat these following very important statements, because they are as true as Christian Louboutins' are fabulous:“It might look great on the hanger but that does not mean that it will look great on me.“Just because I love the outfit, it does not mean that the outfit will love me or my figure.”


*Remember Tube Tops are for 15 year olds who know no better, and can probably pull them off more than a 25 year old in fashion denial. Your teen years are gone and are never coming back- Thank God- so please do not take the time tunnel it is so not a good look, especially on those fabulous fems blessed with a well endowed chest.


*The most offensive shoes ever created (besides white stilletos/shoes) are the thick-heeled shoes that are usually 3 inch wide with a 2-inch heel. I mean ewwww only a person without taste could have had the audacity to think that those can actually make our legs look pretty. If heels are not your thing try the ballet pump/shoe, it is so much cuter and always in fashion.


*Okay this is going to sound a tad harsh because we all have that little tummy that wont go away including yours truly but please take note if any part of your body continues to wobble after you have stopped moving (excluding the bosom) then you should avoid wearing the following:Low rise Jeans- the spare tire over the jeans is very unattractive and will never be hip no matter what you tell yourself.Bikini- Ok we all havent got the Jessica Alba body nor can we all hold our breath for long periods of time- unless you are a trained diver- so therefore if you cant be bothered to tone your body but still want to look sexy on the beach try the tankatini.


*Lycra in any form is not your friend because it makes your wobbly bits look larger than life.


*Wearing too small shoes is just asking not only for corns but also for trouble! Scrunched up toes are just not pretty.Do we all know what a ‘pedicure’ is? Because I do not understand how girls still in this day and age have the audacity to wear open toe shoes without so much of a foot scrub- the mind boggles. Please remember that crusty heels and broken toe nails are not cute!

*If you flap your arms and your feet pretty much leave the ground then avoid vest/tank tops at all costs because they are the enemy. If you must wear the vest/tank top then at least buy the ones with the thick straps. As for my buffalo wings and I, we plan to invest in pretty light cardigans to go over my cute vest/tank tops!

*Backless tops are made for those who do not need to wear a bra. There is nothing more fashion car crash then seeing 36dd’s in a backless top with no bra- ouch!

*The world of D on D is my personal hell! Denim on Denim is such an awful combination that I never know what the people who wear this as an outfit (especially men) are thinking. Very few men can pull off D on D and the D&G team are pretty much the only ones. As for women, I am yet to meet one that can make D & D fabulous.

Wearing a top that exposes your LHB (Low Hanging Boobs) is a fashion crime. Just because you have them does not mean that you have to have them hanging out literally. Have some dignity and invest in a wonder bra and push those puppies up!

*Skintight flowery jeans are a big No-No in every language except in the world of Donatella Versace. We have to forgive her for her many worst fashion crimes because she continues to make Versace Vogue-Fab. As for everyone else it’s just a big fashion faux pas so just dont go there- ok?!?!?

As for white shoes.....I am just not going to go there as i have already voiced my opinion!With all that being said, do take note that YOU must be the one to make an outfit work, just be sure to not make the outfit turn you into a fashion faux pas!

DISCLAIMER:These are fashion tips written in jest and are not meant to be taken literally. So do not let the tips offend your fashion sense/taste, keep being and looking fabulous the only way you know how.

Champagnista London Launch Party on 11th September 2008. For more information please contact Josephine Daphane-Jones at champagnista@ymail.com.

Are Skinny Jeans here to stay?

Hands up those who are still wearing their skinny jeans with pride? If you are, then you are not alone.

It seems that it is not only the mere mortals holding onto this craze, that celebs are also holding on tight to their beloved skinny jeans, and making sure that the skinny jean trend is one that will not be easily dismissed and fearfully be made fashionable again in some back town local newspaper’s fashion pages A.K.A the fashion cemetery of has been’s.

This season is predicting the wide pants/trousers as the way to go but i say "hold on there sister i love the way my bum looks in my skinnies". Ok some could argue that it is a trend that is well on its way to taking over the skinny jeans trend, and is no longer the coolest clothing item to own but by heck, they are still fabulous.

Kate is adorning hers so i say skinny jeans are here to stay, and may they continue to reign until some fickle minded fashionista’s decides “off with the skinny”!

Fashion Around the World- Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Can the fashionable south rise again? In some parts of the world fashion is something that cannot be dictated. There are people who actually dress to the beat of their own drum. This could essentially be considered a good thing but when its bad, then its really bad! During my visit to Atlanta, GA, I have seen a fashion style that has made me cry out "Oh Why".

Admittingly it wasnt that people were walking around with neon shell suits or white high heels with socks, its just that they seem to put very little effort in what they wore, and when they did they seemed to take it that little bit too far. It seems that comfort plays a big part in how Atlanta women dress. You know what i mean, the man jeans, the sweatshirt, and trainers (sneakers to some of you). Then when it comes to dressing it up, I feel like explaining the take one piece of theory known to all fashionistas.

Granted the style i am describing is not the style adopted by all, but it was indeed the style of the majority. Last words? Come on you Atlanta southerners jazz it up a tad. You have great weather down here, cute boutiques both vintage and designer and your prices are out of this world. So come on be part of the rising of the fashionable south and shine with pride!

Hints: Here are a few cute places that became home to me and should be a must visit in Atlanta for those fashionistas who love individual style at great price-

Junkman's Daughter- Moreland Ave, Atlanta GA-Psycho Sisters- Moreland Ave, Atalnta, GA-East Atlanta Village, Atlanta, GA- especially check out Sugar Britches-Virginia Highlands, Atlanta GA-Lastly, for those who enjoy shopping at a more recognised chain store check out Forever 21 for the cutest dresses a girl fashionista can ever own!!!

Champagnista London Launch Party on 11th September 2008. For more information please contact Josephine Daphane-Jones at champagnista@ymail.com.

White Stilleto phobia....

With our aw08 wardobe beckoning i feel the need to inform those not in the know, that embracing fashion faux pas like how a "big boned" person might lovingly embrace a Krispy Kreme is not the done thing if you wish to continue to walk down carnarby street with your head held high. Take a pen and pad and please take note:

This Seasons... Fashion No No’s

White Stilettos- I have honestly ever witnessed one person who beyond fashion nature actually managed to pull off white stilettos and that was Kate Moss. Stop tryingto re-invent the fashion wheel because Kate Moss you are most likely not. So I beg of you please leave this fashion faux pas out of your wardrobe.

Big Hair- Think Rachel “size zero”Waistcoats- they have served their time and it is time to lay this fashion has been to rest.Glitter- anything that sparkles like an over decorated Christmas tree should be avoided at all costs, unless it’s a Harry Winston.

Leggings- Every time I walk past every high street shop, every mannequin is wearing this offending item. It is a piece of fashion history that belongs in the Cyndi Lauper era, so why for the love of God is it still adorning fashion rags!Anything with Stripe’s- especially tops with black and white horizontal lines. I mean that style is so like 4 seasons old, yes that’s right 4 seasons old people.

Jeans with embroidery- Flower power and smiley faces embroided on jeans in fuchsia and offending neon colours is fashion suicide at its best!

Tweed Shorts with tights- actually any shorts accompanied with black opaque tights are very offensive and way over done. What you are all not aware off is that this was some High level fashion stylist’s idea of joke that has been taken too far, I mean how else can I can accept how this fashion offence came about but to believe that it was joke.

Fashion Must Have’s

First and foremost allow me to confirm that skinny jeans are still rivalling the boot cut and winning. So make them a staple must have.Think about making your fabulous your wardrobe more fab with something belonging to the purple/violet family or the colour forest green.

Brightly coloured tights will be the must have that will jazz up any black outfit or make a short denim skirt look just marvellous.

Vest Tops in contrasting colours layered together to make an outfit scream unordinary. Think Brown vest top married with an orange vest top and skinny jeans with pointy heals (at least 3 inches to lengthen those legs) or if you are going casual then think converse trainers.

Chunky Jewellery is still reigning in fashion, and is wonderful for jazzing up plain outfits. Imagine a black wrap around DVF dress with bright red chunky necklace and earrings- fashion fab!

Silk Head Scarves accompanied with the latest channel sunglasses- for visual think Jackie O- the South of France days might be over but this look is hot for AW08, just be sure to wear the right colours ladies (and some gentlemen).

Lastly here’s a beauty tip- thicker sculptured eyebrows are the no argument must have, definitely worth the shame of going through the humiliation of letting your eyebrows grow back before visiting you eyebrow shaper to get them perfected. Go on, give it a try I dare you!

Champagnista London Launch Party on 11th September 2008. For more information please contact Josephine Daphane-Jones at champagnista@ymail.com.