Mancunian writings & baby bee.

Just to let you all know that you can read all of my contributions as Beauty Editor to The Mancunion at the following address: http://www.student-direct.co.uk/author/isabelle-dann/

Also, just thought I'd share with you the beautiful Alex Monroe baby bee necklace I received as a birthday gift back in September and haven't taken off since:

21st birthday present.

I'm turning 21 in just over a week, so I was most excited today when my chosen parental gift arrived, which combines my two loves: fabulous fashion and pretending to study:

Looking forward to not spending an age strapping my bowling-style handbag to the back of my broken bike rack anymore  -  cue permanent strap dents and the occasional inevitable road trip...

Wedding dress.

My cousin's getting married next weekend in Tuscany, cue fervent search for a dress that's both formal and summery and flattering for the unseasonal combination of platinum blonde and a ridiculously pale skin tone. Found this baby on Asos in the sale for £25, down from £65:

In terms of make-up / accessories, I'm thinking a dewy complexion complete with gold or silver lids, nails, and metallic shoes.

Macabre morning & internship.

Excuse lack of updates recently; I've been super-busy with my new internship at Wolf & Badger, which  -  just in case anyone was wondering  -  is a gorgeous concept store showcasing young independent designers with a focus on a luxury British lifestyle aesthetic.

The latest products to catch my eye are the stackable coffee cups by Phoebe Richardson, £44, which are delightful as hell (geddit?  -  okay I'll stop punning now). Call over some some friends for some comic relief with your coffee.

Bear in chains.

I'm coveting this necklace by Momocreatura at Wolf & Badger; it's both charming and darkly humorous:

Meanwhile, the notably high karat  -  22k gold-plate  -  is responsible for that luminescent yellow glow. Sitting a couple of inches below the collarbone, this piece evokes laid-back luxe for daytime while offering a subtle edge to nocturnal adventures.

Death by Bebaroque.

These various delights from Bebaroque are my latest temptations:

The sublime tree print.

Currently at the top of my impossible wish list are these stunningly original tree-printed leggings by Alexander McQueen:

Combined with moody heels (such as the McQueen pair pictured) or some Dr Martens and a sheer white t-shirt, these leggings would be perfect for anyone feeling a summer Goth vibe.

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NB: Apparently, this is my 100th post  -  sweet!

Spring addition.

These gorgeous seagull print tights by Gal Stern at Wolf & Badger are the answer to that awkward in-between weather (sunny and spring, yet still chilly) and would look perfect with an all-white ensemble, such as a white lace dress, toughened up with some black / suitably Gothic ankle boots:

Modern romance.

This amazing shot from a shoot in today's Sunday Times Style makes me feel dreamy:

Printed silk shift dress with bows at neck, £1,016, by Mulberry. Geisha shoes with lilac platforms, £385, by Kenzo. Handmade vintage velvet and linen flowers (in hair), from £40 each, by Marina Rendle, from The End. Pink sunglasses, £310, by Giles Deacon for Cutler and Gross. Drop earrings, £135, by Husam el Odeh. Vintage velvet and silk flowers (at neck), from £48, from Virginia Antiques. Crystal necklace, £750, by Paula Bianco.

Sexual man-shades.

I spied this pair of RayBan men's sunglasses today (although I think they would look equally chic on a certain type of lady), so enjoy the visual:

Hm. There's been more testosterone in my posts lately. 

De-stress dance.

It's essay overload / finals time, which means everyone should just get up and dance for a bit, obviously. Here's my fabulous friend Sandy and myself dancing terribly and de-stressing in the process:

Fashion's Night Out 2011 dates.

Today, Vogue announced the dates for Fashion's Night Out 2011: both the UK and USA events will take place September 8th, so put it in the diary, people.

Last year's event was truly amazing on a personal level, so I'll definitely be back. Here's hoping I get to meet the sublime Christopher Bailey (CEO of Burberry) all over again:

A Time Lord in Savile Row.

In all honesty, I'm not really a Doctor Who fan  -  no particular reason, I just never really got into it. However, I am a big fan of the dashing folk who play the titular character, most recently Matt Smith. And here he is, all pretty for a shoot in The Times, decked out in Savile Row's finest:

What can I say? I'm a sucker for a dandy.

McQueen exhibition.

I was ridiculously excited to learn today that there will be a retrospective Alexander McQueen exhibition  -  Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty  -  in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, running from 4th May-31st July (hence the excitement, as I shall be arriving in New York for the very first time on the 29th April for a long week!).

Considering that it is a little over a year since the designer's tragic death, as well as the house's role in the creation of Kate Middleton's wedding dress, the exhibition announcement comes at a most pertinent time. According to The Sunday Times:

"The show — which will feature about 100 examples of McQueen’s work — will span a series of galleries depicting the designer’s key themes, such as Romantic Mind and Romantic Primitive. Star pieces will include the dress worn by Shalom Harlow while being spray-painted by robots for his SS99 show and a gown made of silk and real flowers from SS07 that shed blooms as it went down the catwalk. (It will be displayed in a bell jar, adorned again with real flowers, which will decompose over the course of the exhibition to become potpourri-like)".

As the designer is a truly personal favourite of mine, this has to be my cultural highlight of the year.

Blake Lively for Chanel.

I've long thought that the beautiful Blake Lively would make a perfect Chanel campaign girl, so I was most enthused when I heard that Karl Lagerfeld had selected her to front a campaign for the iconic Mademoiselle handbag. Now that the pictures have been released, enjoy a visual treat:

NB: Yes, that is "Black Pearl" Lively is sporting on her nails, the latest 'it' colour from the brand  -  having purchased a bottle today, I can thoroughly recommend this shade of steely silver / forest first-hand.

Gaga catwalks for Thierry Mugler.

Paris fashion week has possibly never been so dramatic or, indeed, so fabulous:

English nostalgia.

Although Vancouver is proving ridiculously beautiful in a myriad of ways, I still harbour a very soft spot for my usual English habitat. Jourdan Dunn is one of my favourite models, and a fellow Londoner, and she's truly stunning in the Burberry spring / summer '11 campaign, which is shot on a gloriously moody Brighton beach:

Ubiquity of baby pink.

Just thought I'd share this passage from an insightful article by Colin McDowell in The Sunday Times Style regarding the spring / summer '11 couture collections. This particular excerpt focuses on the widespread nature of baby pink in the collections, namely in Chanel but also in many other houses  -  refer to previous posts:

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"Pastel pinks are too girlie for modern young women who buy their own clothes, but it is a shrewd choice for a collection created to be bought by men for women of a certain age (no woman uses her own money to buy couture), with their worrying hairstyles and make-up like a mask, snuggling into expensive furs. We catch occasional glimpses of them in the ritzier parts of London, but in Paris, they’re everywhere. And for these women and their men, the outrageously obvious, even crude bow to femininity that baby pink brings is absolutely in character with the part played by the wife or mistress of a rich, powerful man. Let us put aside our reservations, however, and instead admire Lagerfeld not only for understanding this market, but for meeting its needs so consummately".

The return of Gemma.

Without meaning to sound too fangirl-esque, Gemma Ward is my favourite model ever (pictured below on the cover of i-D), an accolade I don't award lightly.

Unsurprisingly, therefore, I was most cheered to read this article on the British Vogue website:

http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/daily/110201-gemma-ward-talks-heath-ledger.aspx

I'm just glad most of all that Gemma has begun to find mental peace. If this means she may come back to modelling in the not-too-distant future, then all the better.

More than Worthy.

I'm closing this couture sample special with some House of Worth spring / summer '11. Four words: crazy midnight butterfly war.

Who needs reality?

Oh my; the Elie Saab spring / summer '11 couture collection makes me want to play faeries in some verdant happy place:

Is it a bird? Well, yes.

I'm not dwelling on the Givenchy spring / summer '11 couture collection as I found it too analagous to autumn / winter '10, but I had to share this close-up shot of one of the designs:

Chanel couture.

I found one half of this collection rather underwhelming and the other the epitome of classic Chanel with a modern edge:

Painter in your pocket.

Dior is the first of the fashion houses to reveal its spring / summer '11 couture collection. Behold the beautiful mixture of architectural silhouettes and full-flowing fabric, combined with a painterly palette juxtaposed with bold red accents:

I missed my coat.

So I bought a new one  -  at $55 (£35), this was cheaper than shipping my camel baby over. It's chocolate faux-fur with mustard lining and gold-tone buttons:

Vintage + 50% off for you.

New location.

Just to let you all know that, since Monday 3rd January 2011, I have migrated to Vancouver in Canada on an university exchange, which is most exciting! I'll be studying at the University of British Columbia (UBC) for the Winter semester. Here's a sunrise view from my room, no big deal:

Festive greetings & mood.

Happy New Year, beautiful people! Hope 2011 makes all your dreams come true. Resolutions, anybody? Or is everyone just too cool / lazy?

Also, for no particular reason, here are some pictures of my London dressing table  -  what can I say, I was really excited about having a tidy room for once and I needed to test out my new camera, so let's call it some kind of virtual mood board: