Perfect black jacket

There is no more perfect black jacket than the simple collarless boucle jackets Chanel produces every season. Now Karl Lagerfeld had created a book of photographs with Carine Roitfeld - in it a wide variety of famous stylish people all wearing the same little black jacket. Men too - Kanye West is particularly hot looking and Mark Vanderloo's (still) killer abs peaking out are... well I am feeling beklemmt. Maybe one day I'll be smart enough to stop snacking on high street fashion and start saving for the real thing.

Don't miss this book - pre-order it here.

For your fridge

Since it's bikini season I like to stick some inspiration to my fridge at this time of year. Dutch Doutzen does the trick. Especially when there is a giant pav left over in the fridge just waiting for me to be bad.

French mani

French mani gone horribly wrong. 

Ikea nylon box

Ikea makes these nylon drawer organizers which work really well for make-up. They don't fit in my particularly narrow drawers, but I just leave it on top of the table in my wardrobe. They also come in white and are, of course, dirt cheap.

During a recent make-up workshop at The Strand (check it out on www.thestrandhk.com), the make-up artist said that a clean brush is your best friend - for softening harsh lines and blending colors. I bought a MAC brush for this purpose and some of their brush cleaner, which cleans brushes perfectly in seconds. The make-up artist used a MAC eye shadow called Honesty on some of us. It's the peachy color (bottom right) in the open compact in the middle - very pretty.

Impulse Cinderella

I nowadays manage to stay away from impulse buys - internet shopping has made it much easier, you put in the basket only to realize the next day that you don't really want it that badly. Or if you do still love it, you know it's probably a decent use of your money.

And then Carven arrived at the Landmark.... On the second floor just below DVF is the loveliest brightest happiest shop ever, with more Carven in one room than I have ever seen before. It may be the whole collection, and there are shoes and bags as well. Carven presents such impulse danger, that I shall never go to the Landmark again. But that's too late now. They do too many Cinderella pouf skirts and I can never resist one of those. Add a bow or two, and I revert right back to being 6 years old. Luckily for me, Guillaume Henry actually makes pouf skirts cool with heavy materials like cotton canvas, faille, and gros grain, giving them a slightly more tomboy-in-Paris than Cinderella look. But please don't go there, it's dangerous.

I dream of Grange

I love the furniture of French company Grange. Every time I look at my messy house I think one day I will have organized wardrobes like this. A colorful French country kitchen maybe as well. I have found real gems in their showrooms in Paris and London, where they often sell floor samples. But if you order, you can choose from a very wide range of colors and finishes. See www.grange.fr for more pictures.

Www.thecorner.com

                

Www.thecorner.com is such a good source for special shoes. It has a beautifully edited selection of the most interesting shoe designers in the world. Clockwise from top left: Costume National, Nicholas Kirkwood, Opening Ceremony, and Neil Barrett. The clothes and handbags are just as good. Do check it out!

Turquoise and Red

I made this "set" on www.polyvore.com, which is probably similar to www.pinterest.com, you basically make mood boards, and although Polyvore seems to focus mostly on fashion and interior decoration, you could create pretty much anything you want. I love turquoise and red together. If you do have something turquoise but nothing red, you can always do bright red lips.

Color your world

Kevyn Aucoin nostalgia

Wish list: all of Kevyn Aucoin's make-up books. The Art of Make-Up, Making Faces and Face Forward were beautiful make-up tutorial books, and although I owned them at some point, they have vanished one by one over three transcontinental moves. At the Fall shows there were so many bare pale faces, it made me nostalgic for Kevyn, who unfortunately died very young in 2002.

Kevyn introduced us to the art of contouring, which can totally transform a face

Karen Mulder in a Versace show in the 90s - a typical Kevyn style smokey eye

Kate Moss grows up?

Look at this very ladylike picture of Kate Moss. She does grungy better than anyone else, but I love her all cleaned up.

Get inspired by the queen

And then take some lessons in style discipline from Wallis Simpson. Currently reading Sally Bedell Smith's new biography of Queen Elizabeth II. If you like England, have ever lived in England, or are interested in politics or monarchy - it's a must read. Her Majesty's discipline and dedication to the job (since her coronation in 1953) are beyond inspiring and make a winning argument for monarchy in general. After she goes, I am not so sure. King George VI, whose life was portrayed by Colin Firth in the 2010 film The King's Speech, was Elizabeth's father.

Happy Easter from Singapore

Although my first impression of Singapore style was that there isn't much style, I must admit my view point was most often from tourist contraptions like ferris wheel pods, safari trams, or taxis ferrying me to such destinations. And with such relentless heat and humidity and a daily downpour, who would be up for dressing in anything other than Ts and shorts anyway? A super short walk around Orchard Road revealed that I was pretty much entirely wrong at least where the locals are concerned - and the amount of shops to choose from is staggering so I am vowing to come back without kids at some point.

Fellow tourists in the Singapore Flyer

Celebrity restaurants which way?????  Mall planning taken to a new (absurd) level.

Stefano Pilati's awesome accessories for YSL - so sorry he got fired