Saint Tropez, living the dream

The thing that struck me when flicking through Chanel's Resort 2011 collection was its general vibe.  The models look relaxed as the show seemed to be underpinned by a genuine sense of fun as more often than not they, with tousled hair, carried their shoes.   And i guess Georgia Jagger clinging onto Sébastien Jondeau on the large motorcyle at the end was fun too, awkward, but fun nonetheless.  And at the end of the day it's Saint Tropez, why not?? It took me a couple of rounds through the collection to start to understand its relevancy, but as the vast number of looks flew by i began to pick up hints of trends that have stood so strong this summer: the long sweater dressing, the bright brights, the sporty edge, the prints... Perhaps verging outdated more than retro, it's not my favourite Chanel collection to date, but (as seen below) when Lagerfeld gets it right he gets it RIGHT.

For full collection see here via Style.com

The commute

I was standing on the tube sulking, looking at the floor. Whilst doing so i noticed the girl that was standing next to me. Instinctively, i looked at what she was wearing. I'm not sure i liked it. Then i flicked to her wrist and noticed that she was wearing one of Chanel's transferable tattoos. Amazing, i thought. So, with renewed interest i re-examined the ensemble. Ugg boots, leggings, a slightly too short strap top with lace frill and a Ted Baker denim jacket. Nope, i still didn't like it. The thing with logo incorporated design is that, more often than not, it needs to be worn with a sense of irony. For example, Florence Welch's shoot in this week's NME, in which she wore a massive "Chanel Palace" print tee, worked. Whilst put the girl (please excuse the predictable stereotype) walking down Fulham Road in the very same tee, and it would have been a much different, softer and boring story. The kind of story i wouldn't read.

I disagree with the sentiment that one will instantly look good/ impressive if they are to buy something expensively branded, and think that it was this instrumental buying of brands such as Burberry and Louis Vuitton in the early 2000's that led to the explosion of naffness that design teams have battled against since. It is this sub-conscious train of thought which is probably why it annoys me so much when i see something so INTRINSICALLY COOL like Karl's SP10 body art, be worn so badly. Maybe i'm reading into tube girl's choice of body decoration too much. Maybe it was a birthday present. Maybe next time i'm sulking on the tube i'll cover myself in Rodarte's Spring tattoo of choice and stop taking life so seriously....

Images via style.com