France 2012

After a long absence, hopefully a somewhat normal service shall resume here at House of Harps. I've been busy finding, buying, decorating and moving into a new flat. We're nowhere near finished yet but I will try to find the time to update when I can. For now, a few snaps from my summer holiday to the south of France. The summer months aren't terribly exciting for me- I prefer the layers and warm colour palette of Autumn and Winter- but I did my best to maintain elegance during the intense heat!

^ the villa we rented came with a cat; pretty awesome idea. Mischka thoroughly enhanced the holiday.

^ trompe l'oeil paintings covered this town

^ my Zara sandals sparkled so much in the sunshine

^ really thin château 

^ spot of shopping in a 1920's fringed shawl converted into a blouse

^ pretty badass car... the couple driving around in this looked like they were having the time of their lives. 

^ inappropriate bikini shot... the water was so so blue

^ my boyfriends Liberty bug shirt I bought him for our anniversary. 

Guilloché Gown

I'm not much of a Balmain fan, I found Decarnin's designs a bit Eighties and show-offy, though I could appreciate their ostentatious appeal. Rousteing's designs have been a bit more palatable thus far. I particularly enjoyed certain elements of the Fall 2012 show which combined needle-point panels with heavy crystal and pearl embroidery. Nicole Phelps at style.com mentioned Fabergé eggs in her show review, but I was instead immediately reminded of compacts of the early 20th century, in particular those with guilloché enamel work (a technique which was, incidentally, used on Fabergé eggs). These compacts typically featured geometric etched designs on white metal, with a central coloured guilloché panel, usually floral in design. A pale blue backdrop with coloured roses was a typical design; something which could be seen on many pieces in the Balmain show. The dress above is like a walking compact coming down the runway... well, to me anyway.   

 Images from: style.com; Etsy seller 'PowerOfOneDesigns'; eBay seller 'antiques-thru-time'; eBay seller 'cabinfeverantiquesandmarketplace1'; eBay seller 'sandy810'; Ruby Lane seller 'Charon's Spoils Antiques'; Ruby Lane seller 'Synergy Collectibles'; and Ruby Lane seller 'Kristiesdeals.' 

Lady,you look fab- Fan Bingbing (3)

Oh, to be Fan Bingbing for a day. Not only is she graceful and beautiful, she has exquisite taste in gowns and actually gets to play dress up in them. At the Beijing Film Festival last week, the actress wore my favourite dress from the Tadashi Shoji Fall 2012 collection; an alluring gown of red velvet and lace. She was head to toe perfection, with flawless hair and make-up, emerald jewels, and best of all, a pagoda shaped Judith Leiber minaudiere. This vampy look is seductive without being smutty, leaving me green with envy. 

Images from omg.yahoo.com, icpress, redcarpet-fashionawards, brecorder.com. 

She wore blue (green) velvet

Double outfit bonus post, yay! A couple of looks from last week featuring my beautiful 1970's green velvet coat. Honestly, it is a gorgeous deep green, however my camera would like you to believe it is a teal/blue colour. Metallic silver gloves and turban, a tassel rope belt and a lace blouse with a charming ruffled collar complete the ensemble. This outfit actually won me an amazing prize with the V&A as part of their Street Style Competition on Facebook. I was ridiculously excited to win as I adore the V&A Museum; thankyou to the fashion curators for choosing me. 

Bonus cat-picture. I'm a crazy cat lady who tries to befriend every feline within reach. This little guy recently moved in nearby and keeps following me home.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Outfit two is a pretty standard Winter Russian Princess look with a huge furry Cossack hat, lace dress and patent booties. A polo-neck for warmth, velvet gloves and an antique belt complete the look. I bought the hat at the start of winter and it has pretty much left all my other fur hats redundant due to its immense warmth, size and general awesomeness. 

The hat looks so good and fuzzy backlit