Valentino, Yo

 The Valentino brand has evolved so much since Valentino himself left the brand in 2007, I fall more and more in love with it with every passing season.  About two weeks ago I pinned image above and it has since received over 100 repins and over 50 likes and counting...

I can't get over the craftsmanship and the detail on each of the pieces, I think I'd start to cry very real tears if I were ever able to try any of these pieces on.  

This white dress is quite possibly one of the most beautiful dresses I've seen ever.

Valentino Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2013  lookbook shot by Gian Paulo Barbieri, modeled by Sasha Luss and styled by Robert Rabensteiner.  

Sartorial Roundup: 2013 Academy Awards

I wasn't blown away yesterday by dress choices, but then by the time the Oscar's rolls around, I feel like I usually am not.  It seems as though people always come out swinging at the Globes and then there's too much pressure for the Oscar's.  But, there were a few big winners in my book, scroll through to find out who I loved.

 The shape of this Dior dress is where she totally won me over.  It's stunning.

Amanda Seyfried in Alexander McQueen.  I still wish she would have done a dark lip...

 I wasn't planning on putting Jessica in Armani on my faves list, but the art deco designs in the beading are just too good.

I surprised myself by loving Stacy Keibler's look, the dark beading on her Naeem Khan drapes perfectly with the shape of her body.

Sunrise Coigney always looks amazingly cool on the red carpet, this is a dress by Zero Maria Cornejo.

Sally Field was perfect in red Valentino.

 When Kerry wears Miu Miu, she always wins, as evidenced by this years' Golden Globes.

Oscar for Best Dressed...

Quality is absolutely better than quantity.  That's why I couldn't have been more thrilled with the four dresses that wowed me {out of how many?} at Sunday's Academy Awards.  

 Michelle looked divine in this Louis Vuitton, the peplum, the texture, the color!  It was all quite perfect, I was so relieved since her other dresses had been nice, but not stunning.  This dress also reminded me of the red Louis Vuitton that Zoe Saldana wore a couple of awards seasons ago.

 Emma Stone of all people is one we should call on to pull off a massive neck-bow.  She looks gorgeous in this deep pink Giambattista Valli dress, my only qualm with this look was when you saw an up close of her makeup, her eyeshadow was pink...but that's besides the point...best dressed!

 IN LOVE with Rooney Mara in this Givenchy.  The perfect antidote to her dark tresses, and even darker role.

Shailene Woodley looked effortlessly perfect in Valentino Couture.  I love how unexpected it is, a girl under 21 who isn't wearing a sparkly ball gown?!

Of course the evening's honorable mentions are as follows...

Jessica Chastain in Alexander McQueen, Kristen Wiig in J. Mendel, Gwyneth Paltrow in Tom Ford, and last but not least the coolest girl "who runs the world," as Beyonce would say, Meryl Streep in Lanvin!


photos via style.com

Valentino in the Spring

This time of year is so exciting, when all of the new ad campaigns are released and slowly begin to filter into our magazines.  This week I was particularly blown away by the Valentino advertisements.  The dresses are so perfect and ethereal, yet I love that they're positioned against rocks and broken down structures.  Take a look at the gorgeous images below...

I am absolutely in love with the final three images.  The reds and tans, the lace gowns with neon accents and these black ones, so ridiculously beautiful.

photos via fashion gone rogue

Sartorial Compass: Kate Bosworth, Rest of the Best

So today is the 5th Sunday in January, and Kate Bosworth's last day as Sartorial Compass.  Here are, in my humble opinion, the rest of the best looks that she has rocked over the past few years. 

With Sartorial Compass alumni Chloe Sevigny at an event for Valentino on the left and at an event that they co-hosted for Chloe on the right.

I'm typically not the biggest Chanel fan, but I think that if I ever were fortunate enough to wear it, I would wear it like Kate in the photo to the left.  She makes it so cool and young looking, the Burberry feather dress is so great too!

The dress on the left was supposed to be in the Short & Sweet post but I missed it.  She wore the studded skirt and jacket to a Burberry show a few seasons ago, and the fur is Fendi at a show that used The Great Wall of China as the runway.  This Rodarte dress is so simple, yet clearly a product of the Mulleavy sisters.

Last but not least, another amazing look that she just wore to a CFDA event, from Proenza Schoulers' current spring collection...SO good!!  Happy Screen Actors Guild Awards day, looking forward to some great things tonight!

photos via justjared, popsugar

Sartorial Compass: Kate Bosworth, Red Obsessed

Kate knows how to make a statement, and what better way than with the color red.  Two of her favorite items of clothing make quite the splash so check them out in the below photos...not to mention her love of red in the Short & Sweet post and Casual Cool.

 Kate's go-to for casual footwear is this pair of Chloe booties.

She also loves to make a statement on the bottom...I love this red skirt of hers {the photos on the right are from the spring of 2009} she was clearly WAY ahead of the midi-skirt trend.  The red leather pants are by Valentino, love the bow at the waist.

Still inspired by all things red in this post from way back when, I am STILL trying to find the perfect little red cross body bag.

photos via justjared

Sartorial Compass: Kate Bosworth, Glammed

Despite not being the most billed actress in the whole world (aka...can't remember the last time she was in a movie) she still tends to make it to a lot of big time, very glam-my events.  Some of her brightest moments have been at the Met's Costume Institute Gala, and various Chanel sponsored events.  Have a look...

At the Met Gala over the years she has tried many different looks, Chanel in 2008, Valentino in 2010, Stella McCartney in 2009 and Prada in 2007.

The first dress is by Jil Sander and I love that it is a gown despite essentially being a t-shirt and skirt.  She looks wonderful in blue hues and the Calvin Klein on the far right is so perfectly simple.  

I love that she never appears to be trying too hard with her makeup or hair, always letting the dresses (etc...) do the work.

Fall Favorites

I adore autumn for plenty of reasons so I want to share with you a few of my favorite things about fall.  Everybody has their favorite fall treats, these are mine...

Okayyy so I'm making apple crisp on Friday and I cannot wait, I'm making a recipe that includes blueberries too, so I'm pretty sure it's going to be wonderful!  The middle photo is a fig bruschetta with goat cheese, last year I discovered the magic of figs while working at Floriole Bakery in Chicago.  And lastly (going against everything I believe in) the Salted Caramel Mocha from Starbucks...SO SO DELICIOUS.

These are a few other things that get me excited about autumn...

First and foremost, the COLORS!  So excited about the greens, yellows, tans, reds, and oranges!  The dress is from the Valentino F/W 2011, love the color combo and the long sheer sleeves, the other runway image is from Chloe F/W 2011 with some great high waist denim and that beautiful gold blouse.  I cannot wait to wear leather jackets like the one above from J.Crew!  The booties are from Aldo I'm pretty sure they'd be a great addition to my fall wardrobe!  Lastly, I cherish autumn for the new nail polish colors!!  The one in the photo is A-Taupe the Space Needle and I can't wait to get my hands on it...or it on my hands?

Residents of the Runway: Seriously Feminine

This edition of Residents of the Runway was originally inspired by one house.  I noticed it the first time I was in Charleston in May and it melted my heart.  It is so adorable, its address is 82 1/2 also cute, and it's nestled right in between two other homes making it super cozy too.  There's really nothing else to say except for prepare to fall in love...

This is another precious house that I passed by on a walk once upon a time.  Both of these homes are perfect examples of another one of the big Spring/Summer 2011 trends (that they obviously set); frills, florals and pink all rolled up into one.  Typically those three words are not in my vocabulary, but how could you possibly dislike any of these darling dresses??

So in love with the Nina Ricci confection on the right, all I want to do is wear it and dance ALL NIGHT...and I'm being serious because I LOVE to dance.

This is where the flowers come in, so pretty and romantic!  And the Valentino dress in the center is just too cute I couldn't resist featuring it on Sartorial Roadmap twice (first seen here on Ginnifer Goodwin).  I don't know what it is about Summer 2011 but I find myself gravitating a lot more to pink than ever before.  I'm going to chock it up to a trend, instead of assuming an entire change of lifestyle...however, for your piece of mind go forth and invest in frills and floral's because they're not going anywhere soon!

photos via style.com (dresses l to r antonio berardi, nina ricci, marc jacobs, valentino, d&g)

Sartorial Compass: Ginnifer Goodwin

This week's Sartorial Compass is none other than last week's S.C. (sartorial compass...just checking to see if ya'll are paying attention) Chloe Sevigny's t.v. life sister-wife, Miss Ginnifer Goodwin.  A beloved cover girl of one of  my all time favorite mag's (and one of a few dream employers) Lucky, it's safe to say that I first discovered my adoration for Ginnifer on their pages.

In many of her television and movie roles she plays an average looking woman with dowdy taste, nowhere near her actual daring style sensibility.  But as a true Southern lady she is always polished in a funky (but never raunchy) way, and she knows how to accentuate her curves (especially in the striped dress!).  Below are my favorite G. Goodwin looks, let her guide you to a classic yet quirky place this week...

As evidenced by the photos below, Ginnifer is not afraid of color, or daring haircuts.  The orange dress is from the Premiere of "He's Just Not That Into You" and it is one of my all-time favorite dress moments ever!  Also the emerald Topshop dress at the Met Gala this year was so stunning, and the pink Valentino is such perfectly girly way to counteract her tough 'do.

So this week when you use Ginnifer as inspiration wear bright colors, try something a little bit crazy with your hair, and accentuate your assets!!