CLIO GOLDBRENNER

I read about her for the first time in an article in the September issue of the Belgian Marie Claire, titled 'Young Talents to Follow'. The article wasn't at all about the products that she designs, but about the woman behind the brand, and I was immediately captivated by her inspiring story. 

Born in a family that owned a leather shop, Clio studied commercial sciences at university and specialized in finances. Not long after having graduated, she found a job at L'Oréal, a company for which, I assume, most young girls would want to pull each other's hair out.

Clio, however, felt differently about that. 'I had just bought myself a new hat', she explains. 'A big, furry hat. I loved it! And I could see people staring at me in the streets like I was some sort of crazy woman. It was wild!'. It was then that Clio discovered the power of accessories, and that she decided that that was the industry she really wanted to be in. Using her leather knowledge from when she was little, and her financial specialization from University, Clio started up her own brand: Clio Goldbrenner. 

Today, she has over twenty points of sale.

As I said, I felt really inspired by the article on Clio and felt even more passionate about fighting for my own dreams after reading about Clio's switch from the marketing business to the designer business. Luckily, I read that article on my way to a job interview, so, as far as motivational speeches go, I think that was a pretty good one.

About a week later, I bought myself an all new batch of fashion magazines (yes, I have an addiction). 

And flipping through all the specials covering ' the fall/winter must-haves', '12 new trends for 2012' and 'you NEED this in your closet NOW', I noticed a very elegant, very signature style brand, not coincidentally called 'Clio Goldbrenner'.

The Clio Goldbrenner logo is derived from her last name. 'Goldbrenner' is the German word for 'goldsmith', so it was a logical decision for Clio to choose a gold sign as her signature mark. As she didn't want the logo to be all bling bling, she went for a simple golden rectangle. Pure elegance.

Her inspirations? 'I tend to think back to the ancient greek myths and their beautiful women when I look for inspiration. I, myself, was named after the daughter of Zeus, so I enjoy looking at back other greek muses and try to translate their style into a modernized look. Terpsichore, for example, the muse of dance, was my inspiration for the sophisticated evening bags.'

Polymnie

Clio

Erato

Caliope

Terpsichore

So, whaddayathink? Let's get Goldbrennerd? No, let's think of a new catch phrase first. 

But FIRST, let's get our fashionable selves to a Clio Goldbrenner point of sale as quickly as we can! See you there!

x Magel

ESSIE

O.P.I. better watch out, 'cause there's a new nail polish queen in town! 

She calls nail polish the new lipstick, because, on your nails, you can still enjoy the colour after you've applied it. She says there is no cheaper form of therapy, as you can change your mood along with the colour of your nails. She has a basic collection of one hundred shades and launches four collections annually to make sure our nails stay on-trend throughout the year.

But who exactly is Essie again?

Essie has been famous in the States for quite some time - she launched her first nail polish collection in 1982 (in Vegas, where else?) and her colours have been seen all over the fashion runways during New York Fashion Week. Sadly, in Belgium, the Essie bottles were only available in nail salons and selected stores, so, with us, they weren't very famous yet.

BUT! On Monday, October 17th, Essie came to Belgium to introduce herself and her fabulous line to beauty bloggers and journalists from around the country. After showing all her pretty colours and being the sweetest lady in town taking her time to talk to everybody, Essie announced that she would launch her 100 most popular colours in Di and Ici Paris XL from November 2011. Yay!

You can take a sneak peek of her 2011/2012 collection here, and if you wanna continue tripping on your Essie high, you can visit her website by clicking on this link!

Enjoy that therapy! ;-)

x Magel

Want! Want! Want!!!!

Checking out fashion websites on a daily basis for the blog, I've seen some things that are coming our way this fall, and let me tell you: things are looking gooooood.


So, for this post, here's an overview of some quintessential F/W 2011 MUST-HAVES! Yay!!




1. CARINE ROITFELD: IRREVERENT

First and foremost, a fine piece of fashion literature.

After her resignation from French Vogue in December 2010, Carine Roitfeld hasn't exactly been hanging in a hammock in Hawaï, sipping Pina Coladas and enjoying her well-earned retirement. Au contraire!

Since then, she's already collaborated with American department store Barney's (editing, styling and modeling - the woman can do it ALL), teamed up with renowned fashion photographer Terry Richardson, and made guest appearances at every major fashion event that mattered.
And now, the lady is bringing us her first ever book. "Featuring a selection of 250 magazine tear sheets and covers from pivotal editorial shoots and advertising campaigns, as well as intimate visual ephemera, this book gives an inside view into Roitfeld's creative thought process and sensibility. A must-have for those interested in cutting-edge fashion and femininity, this book will empower women to follow Roitfeld's lead and take risks with their personal style."
Sadly, we still have to wait 'till October 18th for the book to finally hit the stores, but for the real fashionista's among us: you can already pre-order it on www.amazon.com.




2. ISABEL MARANT




Just check out the IM F/W 2011 show, and you'll get a pretty good idea.

Leather sleeveless jackets, jeans shirts (yes, they're still doing it), glitter dresses, frilly boots, ... The collection has got it ALL.




3. SILVER NAIL POLISH
 


You've seen it in the fall/winter 2011 fashion shows, you've seen it on Beyoncé in her new video 1+1, hell, you've even seen it on Tori Spelling's son Liam (don't believe me? check out this picture!). There's no denying that silver nails are HOT this season.


Now, the only thing you have to do is try to pick your fav between all the brands that are bringing out their silvers.




My preference personally goes out to OPI's Your Royal Shineness, as it brushes on very easily, dries really quickly and isn't too glittery (as opposed to many of the other brands, in my opinion) - it's kind of like aluminum paper coated on your nails. Neat!


The only downside is that you can't buy it separately, and are sort of obliged to buy it together with OPI's Servin' Up Silver, which is basically a clear glitter coating. Not really my cuppa'.
But, other than that: rrrrauwtch!

The Serena Williams Glam Slam package which contains Your Royal  Shineness and Servin' Up Sparkle

So, you know what? Bring It On, winter!

Enjoy!

x Magel

Where fashion meets reality.

Seriously.

WHAT IS UP with this whole pairing up between the fashion industry and reality television?

First, we heard that the Kardashians (from reality tv show Keeping Up With The Kardashians - but I'm guessing you already knew that) teamed up with OPI to launch their very own line of nailpolishes, 'Kardashian Kolors'.

Then, there was the whole Situation situation. 

Apparently, Mike Sorrentino (a.k.a. The Situation) from reality tv show Jersey Shore - but I'll bet you knew that too! -  wore too many Abercrombie & Fitch clothes, and the brand was afraid this would disadvantage its reputation. A&F therefore decided to pay The Situation and the show's producers a whole lot of money as long as they'd promise he would never wear the brand ever again. Poor guy. 

But you know what's weird, though? A&F's bestselling t-shirt last summer was emblazoned The Fitchuation (No Kidding.  http://www.dailyfinance.com).

Clever marketing is what I'd say.

 



And now it seems Jersey Shore's (yes, again!) Nicole - Snooki - Polizzi has started designing her very own line of accessories, 'Poof Nation'. 

She already designed a range of bedroom slippers, 'Happy Feet', but come fall you'll also be able to buy your very own Snooki sunglasses. Excitedly she posted on twitter yesterday: "My sunglass line coming out in the fall! Black frame pink writing says POOF NATION =D"

- I love how she says 'sunglass' in stead of 'sunglasses' :)

And why 'Poof', you ask? Well, here's a hint: it's got something to do with that big hunk o' hair she always carries on top of her head (a poof).

So, there we have it: we can paint our nails with the Kardashians, wear the Fitchuation, and see the world through Sooki's sunglass.

And that's hot.

x Magel

TRENDSPOTTER: Glitterama

Let's get one thing clear here: if you want to get with it this winter, it's all about the glitter shoes.

Miu Miu Glitter Boots. Image via www.net-a-porter.com

It's especially Miu Miu's A/W 2011 collection that caught the attention of every tweeting fashionista and fashion connaisseur at net-a-porter and the NY Times. People are dying to get their hands on a pair, and looking at these Miu Miu pictures, it's not hard to understand why:

 

Looks like sneakers will have to be glitterized as well, this fall. Glam it up!

It's just too bad these fashionable glitzy's have very unfashionable pricetags (unless you're okay with paying €340 for a pair of sparkly sneakers?). But not to worry, I did a little research today and found some acceptable alternatives that will still leave enough money in your wallet to spend the rest of your winter budget on some other much needed necessities (H&M's collaboration with Versace, anyone?).


For budget-friendly glitter shoes, visit Steve Madden's website, www.topshop.com or www.asos.com.

  GOSFORD Multi Glitter Mary Jane Heels@ Topshop
€ 69

BITTTER @ Steve Madden

$129.95

TROUSR-G @ Steve Madden

$79.95

 

MYLEY @ Steve Madden

$129.95

So, I guess you know what to do this autumn. Head to Topshop, get your hands on those fabulous Mary Janes (my personal favourites in the heels department), pair them up with some black socks or stockings and claim your time to shine!


x Magel

Goodbye, CondeElevator, and thanks for the memories.

Well, it was fun while it lasted. 

On August 6, a new twitter-account, CondeElevator, arose to the surface. Boldly descripted as 'Things heard in the Conde Nast elevators do not stay in the Conde Nast elevators', the attention of gossip and fashion lovers worldwide was drawn instantly, and the entire world was suddenly deafened  by the sound of  the dropping jaws of every Vogue reading, Anna Wintour glorifying fashionista.

The person behind the illustrous account was (and hopefully, still is) an employé of the Conde Nast Imperium (housing - amongst others - the Bible, also known as Vogue) and amused all his followers with squirky comments and sneaky jokes that were told in the Conde Nast elevators. With hot posts such as

CondeElevators had followers in the five digit zone faster than you can say 'thoseteenvoguekidsaresooointrouble'. Unfortunately, like all good things, the Conde Nast live feed didn't live a long life. 

With one last post last night,

CondeElevator went as quickly as he/she (she? I think it's a she) came. Bummer.

And no, Goldman, and not even you, Hearst, neither of you should try to follow in CondeElevator's footsteps. 'Cause you know what they say: the sequel's just never that good.

R.I.P., CondeElevator

x Magel