TREND I-SPY

The photographs of the British royal family by Sir Cecil Beaton (1904-1980) were central to shaping the monarchy's public image in the mid-20th century. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was still a young princess when she first sat for Beaton in 1942. Over the next three decades he would be invited to photograph the Queen on many significant occasions, including her Coronation Day in 1953. The most memorable of Beaton's images combine the splendour of historic royal portrait painting with an intimacy that only photography and film can convey. His detailed diary accounts reveal the complexities of each sitting, from the intense planning and excitement beforehand to the pressures of achieving the perfect shot. Beaton bequeathed his archive of royal portraits to his devoted secretary Eileen Hose. In 1987 she, in turn, bequeathed the archive to London's Victoria and Albert Museum. Photographs, diaries, personal letters and press cuttings combine to...

Hermes S2010 with Karlie Kloss by Paolo Roversi It's London Fashion Week and designers such as Basso and Brooke and Mary Katrantzou are showing conversational prints for Fall 2010 of the sort Hermes and Gianni Versace made popular in decades past. The Hermes Spring campaign is similarly eye-catching. Mary Katrantzou, Fall 2010 Basso & Brooke, Fall 2010 US Vogue, July 1989

Acne, Fall 2010 The Fall 2010 runway season has begun. Hip Swedish label Acne got a head start on the majors, showing a few days ago in London to great reviews from the press including that of Sarah Mower at Style.com who wrote, "The models who flew into London for the show had spray-painted foreheads and greasy glitter around their eyes and stomped onstage wearing cartoonish boots with Lego-like soles, dressed like some postapocalyptic alien militia." Also notable were the scarves wrapped around some of the girls' heads. Was it a political comment? Ironic that something which has for centuries been a custom of religious significance should now be at the center of controversy. For their Christmas 08 issue Playboy Mexico stunned Catholics with their cover depicting the Virgin Mary dressed ONLY in a white head garb Maria Florencia Onori , Playboy Mexico, Dec 2008 As a non-Catholic, some spectators were surprised by Michelle Obama's choice to don a dramatically long bl...

Royal Variety Performance December 09 The Queen meets Lady GaGa December 09 Glenda Jackson in Elizabeth R, 1971 Cate Blanchett plays Elizabeth 1, 2007 Elizabeth 1 1533–1603 In Blackpool last week Queen Elizabeth II met Lady GaGa dressed as Elizabeth I. No, it's not a bizarre dream, it actually happened at The Royal Variety Performance, and here are the photographs to prove it! GaGa's red latex dress had a gorgeous ruff which made me long for one myself. When I googled, I found two things, first, that Suzie Bubble of Style Bubble (one of my favorite fashion blogs) was onto this trend two years ago and second, that she already did the research and found them at The Very Merry Seamstress. British l'enfante terrible, Gareth Pugh showed ruffs for his infamous S09 collection in Paris. Gareth Pugh S09 The Very Merry Seamstress, $50-$60 Another good looking ruff can be found at Clockwork Couture and it's versatile too! It can be worn either of the ways shown here. Cotton Ruff...