Harvey Prince giveaway winner

Congratulations Tamari! I will contact you soon and hope you enjoy your Harvey Prince fragrance! Thank you so much to everyone who took part in this giveaway! If you didn't win, no worries, there are more giveaways to come!

2011 is already coming to an end, 2011 was a great year and I hope 2012 will even be better. I hope you all have a great New Year's Eve and I will be seeing you in 2012!

New in: Christmas Presents

I love Christmas for many reasons, but opening presents just makes me so happy! Seeing all of the wrapped presents, seeing loved ones open up gifts, and seeing what other people got for you… it just makes me really happy :)

My presents this year:

Photo 1: Zara heels, Zara star print blouse, H&M trend necklace, H&M fluffy wallet, Chanel Sublime de Chanel mascara, Chanel eyeliner Ecriture de Chanel and Le Vernis Chanel Péridot and Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat.

Photo 2: Topshop studded loafers, Vogue accessories and Chanel Le Vernis Graphite.

Hope you’re having great holidays!

Sequined

Hope you all had an amazing Christmas? Mine was so great, I celebrated it with my dear family; we opened up some presents under the Christmas tree and ate way too much hehe..

Here is my look of the day; I stayed in a festive mood by wearing this sequined skirt from Love, the blazer and sweater are from H&M, the necklace is from Peerlesscharm, the ring is from Versace for H&M, the Casio watch is from Dressrepublic, the nailpolish is Chanel Péridot, the snake bracelet and the Chanel bag are vintage and the boots are from Romwe.

P.S. Don't forget to join the Joie contest here where I will be guest judging!

Merry Christmas!

My dear readers, I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas! I am spending this Christmas surrounded by the people I love, so I couldn't wish for more!
These are a couple of shots of my Christmas decorations.. Enjoy your Christmas!

Love, Iris

ADVENT DAY 24: THE TRUE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS

Posted by Bethan and Melanie

In past twenty four days we have brought you some of the most fabulous and covetable fashion items out there. As people who work in fashion, that's our job and we adore it. Fashion is a part of our culture. But fashion does not exist in a vacuum. This year we have seen riots on the streets of London and more stories of economic woe which are likely to continue into 2012. Today we think it'd be nice to remember that there are many people who cannot pay rent, let alone buy into their fashion fantasies.

Around 4,000 people sleep on the streets of London every night and experts are saying that that number will probably go up next year. That thought is bad enough on any normal night but with Christmas upon us- a time for being cosy at home with our families and friends- it doesn't bear thinking about.

There are a few charities out there who are transforming another bleak day on the street into an opportunity for the homeless of cities across the UK, one of them is Crisis. For almost 40 years they have been helping the homeless, serving traditional Christmas dinner and providing all kinds of activities as well as practical assistance to help guests get out of rough sleeping. Amazingly, for just £23.39 (you probably paid more for your Turkey) Crisis can give one homeless person three good meals, advice, skills sessions and somewhere friendly to be on what should be the friendliest day of the year.

So, we reckon on the final day of advent, and in the spirit of giving shelter and food to those in need (Mary and Joseph were given shelter and food too) forking out for 5 places at a Crisis centre could be the best £116.95 you've spent all year.

Fashion Editor at Large just donated £116.95 on behalf of all of you who read us, helping Crisis give five homeless people a special day on December 25th.

                                            MERRY CHRISTMAS!

“Just as modern motorways have no room for ox-carts or 


wandering pedestrians, so modern society has little place for 


lives and ways that are too eccentric.”



― A.C. Grayling, The Meaning of Things: Applying Philosophy to Life

ADVENT DAY 23: THE BLACK SWAN COMETH

Posted by Melanie Rickey, Fashion Editor at Large

The Black Swan ring created by Boucheron

We are reaching the end of our Advent journey. Work at FEAL towers came to a halt at midday today, until 2012. I'm now at home in front of the fire wrapping presents, playing cheesy Christmas songs and putting away home made mince pies. My guess is you are or soon will be doing much the same. I love that Christmas seems to be the only time of the year when we all stop and take time to reflect on the year behind us, and the one ahead. The penultimate advent post celebrates the incredible beauty of Parisian fine jewellery. I'll leave the description to Boucheron...

Not surprisingly, the price is given on request. 

"In nature we never repeat the same motion. In captivity (office, gym, commute, sports), life is just repetitive stress injury. No randomness." 

Nassim N. Taleb, author of Black Swan, The Impact of the Highly Improbable

For today, I'll leave you with an astounding scene from Black Swan in which Natalie Portman demonstrates her awesome power as an actor.  Give that girl an Oscar!

Harvey Prince giveaway

For this giveaway, I am collaborating with Harvey Prince, an emerging fragrance company which features cruelty-free, luxurious fragrances with stories behind them, as well as the science of scent to back them up, which empower women to feel young, happy, slim, and sexy. Its fragrances have been featured in the New York Times, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Vogue, The Early Show, and more.

And now you have the chance of winning a 1.7 oz bottle of my favourite Harvey Prince fragrance; Eau Flirt; a warm fragrance with tempting notes of pumpkin pie & lavender..

What do you need to do to win this early christmas present? Well:

1) Like Harvey Prince on Facebook.
2) Follow Fashionzen with Google friend and like fashionzenvintage on facebook.
3) Leave a comment here with your emailaddress so I can contact you if you are one of the winners.

This giveaway will end on the 30th of December. There will be one lucky winner and the giveaway is open for national and international readers, good luck!!

THE WEEK IN FASHION: DECEMBER 19th-23rd

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

I may have said that last week's fashion news was the last of the year but then stuff happened and we agreed that it wouldn't be right if we didn't tell you all about it.

Despite the rest of us winding down, the week has been full of pre-fall collections and SS12 campaign imagery. We'll bring you pre-fall news later in the festive period, for now here are the major campaigns which have been unveiled in the past seven days.

NINA RICCI: Raquel Zimmerman shot by Inez and Vinoodh

VALENTINO: Zuzanna Bijoch, Bette Franke, Maud Welzen and Fei Fei Sun shot by Deborah Turbeville

Very beautiful. I love Deborah Turbeville's work and it's nice to see a major label using a photographer outside the usual band of names called upon for the ad campaign job.

VERSACE: Gisele Bundchen shot by Mert and Marcus

YVES SAINT LAURENT: Mariacarla Boscono shot by David Sims

PRADA: Natasha Poly, Meghan Collison, Elise Crombez, Ymre Stiekema and Katryn Kruger shot by Steven Meisel

This is so much more prim and grown-up than AW11's surreal campaign. It underlines the observation that this is Miuccia Prada's most commercial collection for some time.

GIVENCHY: Gisele Bundchen shot by Mert and Marcus

Gisele also stars in the Versace campaign. Funnily enough, Givenchy and Versace were two of the labels whose SS12 made us think of Under the Sea. For their campaigns, they've gone super modern, super sexy mermaid- the water is there but it's in no way whimsical or mythical.

CHANEL: Joan Smalls and Saskia de Brauw shot by Karl Lagerfeld

Similarly, this could have been so mermaidy, but is instead very riviera. Mademoiselle would surely approve.

BALENCIAGA: Laura Kampman shot by Steven Meisel

All campaign images are from fashiongonerogue.com

In other news...

Marques' Almeida (image via catwalking.com)

The AW12 line-up for Fashion East has been announced this week. The panel decided to stick with the success of SS12 and so there are no new names to report. James Long, Marques Almeida and Maarten van der Horst have been given a chance to build on the success which their collections shown in September have achieved. Panel member and FEAL favourite Sarah Mower said:

‘Fashion East’s 2012 cohort of designers excelled so remarkably that all their Spring collections have already been picked up by stores. So having them back to show together again for Fall 2012 will give buyers and journalists a second chance to spectate as these contenders take off in [the] Olympic year.’

James Long (image via catwalking.com)

Maarten van der Horst (image via catwalking.com)

Giambattista Valli has been officially admitted to the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. The label showed in July as a guest at Haute Couture week but has impressed so much that the usual five year process for acquiring membership has been fast-tracked. President of the Chambre Synidcale, Didier Grumbach said:

“It was clear from his show [in July] that he has caught the attention of a new generation of customers, and he immediately took important orders for his couture ... it’s true that the haute couture appellation gives him legitimacy, but objectively speaking, he is already part of the system.”

A look from Valli's July show (image from nymag.com)

Duchess Kate's five-outfits-in-a-day for Christmas at Sandringham may be causing hysteria among certain sections of the media, but here at FEAL we're slightly more interested in the announcement this week that Princess Diana's dresses are to be displayed at Kensington Palace from 26th March next year. Proper fashion history.

Diana meets Princess Grace of Monaco (image from telegraph.co.uk)

Tempted to dress like a panto fairy? Take this Christmas fashion advice from Karl Lagerfeld, via Courtney Love, backed up by Karl's muse Lady Amanda Harlech:

"One time I was standing at the Mercer and Karl Lagerfeld goes, ‘What are you doing in this tutu?’ and I say ‘I have a record coming out.’ So Lagerfeld says to me, 'you are not getting laid in a tutu.' And Lady Amanda Harlech, who I adore who works for Karl, goes 'Courtney, you’re really not getting laid in a tutu.' And I realized, you know, that I did look like Baby Jane Hudson."

Karl says NO (Image from telegraph.co.uk)

Everyone seems to be holding their breath for a challenging 2012. This week, Paul Smith announced a 36% rise in profits to £34 million despite the fact that Japan, one of their biggest markets, has had a turbulent year. More pessimistically, Prada's share price has plummeted by 32% since July. Analysts predict that even Chinese consumers will be cutting back on spending in the New Year. Given that over 40% of Prada's revenue came from this market in 2010, that forecast paints a dim outlook for the label into 2012. Hence the commerciality of SS12 perhaps, clever Miuccia. 

We may be awaiting news of Chanel's SS12 campaign but it was revealed this week that Alice Dellal will be the new face of the Boy bag campaign. After spotting Dellal at a photoshoot several months ago, Karl Lagerfeld apparently couldn't get her out of his mind. Chanel said: "Alice Dellal represents the perfect incarnation of all that is unique about the Boy Chanel handbag collection, which strives [to be] far from conformist notions of femininity." In the teaser image which has been released, Alice is looking super girly- where's that undercut?

Image from Vogue.co.uk

Bruno Guillon has been recruited by Mulberry to take over from current Chief Executive and Chairman Godfrey Davis. Guillon is leaving his position as Managing Director at Hermes to take up the position. Mulberry's growth has been nothing short of jaw-dropping but this move makes it quite clear that label has no intention of slowing down. There is plenty of room for Mulberry to expand with more stores abroad. It seems that with Guillon working alongside Davis (who becomes non-executive chairman) there will be the know-how in place to one of Somerset's finest exports a properley global brand. 

Finally, in case you've been living on Pluto then you will know that fashion's favourite TV show, Absolutely Fabulous, is back with new episodes for Christmas after a hiatus of more than seven years. Edina has apparently embraced blogging and tweeting and has replaced her love of Lacroix with a Stella McCartney obsession. Be sure to have the Bolly on ice for Christmas Day at 10 sweeties. 

A sneak peek...

For old time's sake...

. 

Multi-tone

I found my new favourite sweater at Zara, I love the multi tones and the different knits. I am wearing it here with vintage leather shorts, a burgundy hat from H&M, a snake bracelet and claw ring from VJ-style, a Versace for H&M flower ring, a Casio watch from Dressrepublic, Chanel Péridot nailpolish and boots from ASOS.

ADVENT DAY 22: A RUCKSACK, BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

The Row Leather Backpack £2,635

 It was not so long ago that rucksacks represented the anitthesis of what we wanted from a bag. It was all about the arm candy, the It-ness, the glint of a designer tag. There were stories of women developing major back and shoulder injuries as a result of tucking their Lariat/ Alexa in the crook of their elbow for far too long. The inevitable return to a more practical model has seen the rise and rise of the satchel over the past year. And, more and more, the rucksack. Despite the usual connotations of practicality, techy fabrics and a pouch for a water bottle, there are a number of super luxe versions for those of us who can only handle this trend when it is taken as far away from potential Jansport comparisons as possible.

Enter The Row. While all their contemporaries are wearing bargain army surplus finds or battered up vintage leather versions of the rucksack, 25 year-old squillionaires Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have created a rather stunning £2,635 taupe objet de back art. Whether anyone besides themselves will be purchasing it is slightly doubtful but it is a thing of beauty we simply had to share. I went to view The Row's SS12 collection in Paris earlier this year. It was pristine and beautiful, all the materials and details hummed with luxury. I spied Mary Kate and Ashley in the corner of the vast room being interviewed. I can only describe the way they looked as reminding me of toys which had never been taken out of their box- so bright and shiny. Their collection is so covetable yet to have an item from it would really only be of any use if you lived your life away from the hum drum of grimy streets, public transport and well, reality.

'Contemplation seems to be about the only luxury that costs nothing' Dodie Smith

Lucy Rose is a friend of a friend. She works with Bombay Bicycle Club and has been supporting Ed Sheeran recently. If you're feeling the effects of pre-Christmas frenzy, close your eyes and listen to this this. Bliss. 

New in

Look at these bunny ballerinas from Le Bunny Bleu, aren't they adorable? The Peter Pan collar dress is from Romwe.
Enjoy your day!

ADVENT DAY 21: I WANT OPYUM

Posted by Melanie Rickey, Fashion Editor at Large

YSL 'Opyum' high heel pump, £440 at Yves Saint Laurent

While out in central London this morning doing the last of my Christmas shopping I couldn't resist popping into Yves Saint Laurent. YSL is the label that most closely resembles my high fashion ideal. If it were possible on a journalist income, which it most definitely isn't, YSL would dominate my wardrobe. 

Nevertheless, the black interior of the brands' Old Bond Street store has cocoon like qualities which swiftly lulled me into a trance while flitting between cabinets of (relatively) affordable and striking costume jewellery and recessed areas displaying shoes and bags. To give you an idea, a large gilt pendant on thick black rope was £365 at YSL, while across the road at Prada a fairly standard diamante necklace with rose motif cost an astronomical £870.  

I had absolutely no intention of purchasing anything at YSL until, upstairs, I came across a new line of shoes from its cruise collection.  One of them is above. It is an elegant pump called Opyum (the brands most famous fragrance is called Opium) and it was love at first sight. Heads up: elegant shoes with refined silhouettes are back in favour for spring as fashion's first adopters are slowly moving away from the platforms, wedges and chunky blingy shapes of the last few years.

So, darn it that the Opyum range, in store for just six days so far, and offered in slingback and with different toe tip colours, was already low on stock. 

I did what I had to do. They are available to buy online if you click the link above.

“Did they know why they knew? Not at all. But 

they Knew!” 

― Malcolm Gladwell, Blink

British singer/songwriter/musician Anna Calvi is on my radar for 2012. Her eponymous debut album was shortlisted for the 2011 Mercury Prize, and as we close the year both Frida Giannini of Gucci and Karl Lagerfeld are citing her as an inspiration, and she features in this months French Vogue.  Calvi's music is an acquired taste but her look is straight from a Helmut Newton photograph. I love this video for the track "I'll be Your Man." 

ADVENT DAY 20: CLICK CLICK CLICK!

Posted by Melanie Rickey, Fashion Editor at Large

Heaven is Real (Kate eyes shut) 1991 by Corinne Day

Heaven is Real (Kate eyes open) 1991 by Corinne Day 

In my other life I collect fashion photography. Also in my other life I would have these prints on the wall of my study and looking up at them I would feel happy and soothed by the angelic beauty of the Mossy aged 17.  As it is these prints are top of my fantasy Christmas wish list. I gave Corinne Day's gallery Gimpel Fils a quick call just now just to see how much they cost, a step I haven't taken before. I usually just admire them on the website. They cost £10,000 each + VAT.   

      

"Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of stupidity." 

                    ~Frank Leahy, Look, 10 January 1955

En Vogue "Hold On" 1990 

Tuuuuuuune!