Focus on waist

The feminine silhouette is back. The waist is highlighted by beautifully crafted corsetry and gorgeous fabrics. Loving it...

Dior Couture. Dior Resort. Elie Saab Couture. Badgley Mischka

Donna Karan Resort. Alessandro Dell'Acqua. Alexander Wang. Balmain. DSquared2. Fendi. Giles.

Ann Demeulemeester. Betsey Johnson. Christian Lacroix. Anna Sui.

Louis Vuitton. Brian Reyes. D&G. Vera Wang.

Yves Saint Laurent. Ungaro. Hussein Chalayan. Jean Paul Gaultier Couture.

Photo Sources: Allure, Vogue China, Vogue Spain, Vogue Germany, Vogue Japan, Elle, Vogue UK, Estetica, style.com

Softly, softly

Velvet is back and it's official. It softly drapes around the body, its colours are deep, rich and glossy and the texture is luxurious. Gorgeous shades of golden leaves, berries, red wine and autumn sky add more chic to it. Pair your velvet pieces with gorgeous silks or lace or add a little baby-soft leather and you are ready to step into Fall 2009.

Versace. Jean Paul Gaultier Couture. Armani Privé.

Giorgio Armani. Givenchy Couture. Ralph Lauren.

Fendi. Prada. Proenza Schouler.

Burberry Prorsum. Chloe. D&G.

Bottega Veneta. Diane von Furstenberg. Sonia Rykiel.

Photo source: style.com

Style Shake

Have you ever dreamed of owing a bespoke dress? Well, yes, the one and only that hugs and highlights every curve of your body because it "knows" where they are. How wonderful would that be? Just imagine...

Now imagine that YOU will be the one who designs the dress that highlights every curve of your body and shows your individual style.

Well, now stop imagining and go on-line because there is a website where you can pick the fabric, design your perfect garment (dress, top or skirt) and have it made and sent to you within about two weeks. This place is called StyleShake. It's the world's first fashion creative platform and I think it's fabulous. I have to warn you that it's quite addictive and once you register you may find yourself spending hours creating your dream dresses. They say, there are about 15 million possible designs you can come up with, so chances are you can have a dress that would look like something you saw on a catwalk.

Until recently the choice of fabric included silk, cotton and linen. Now StyleShake also introduced a jersey category that features body-con options, trapeze trends, sultan and strapless styles, balloon skirts and also fabulous Grecian wraps, which shows how varied designing your own personalised fashion can be. Jersey is stretchy, working to fit everyone perfectly and its benefits include durability as it retains its shape and colour, despite numerous washes.

Now, the best bit. As a part of the jersey launch StyleShake is kindly offering all newfashiontodayblog readers 10% off any design created on StyleShake. The discount is valid until 20 July 2009 and you will need to enter the code blog10 at the check out.

Photo source: style.com

Elie Saab Haute Couture Fall 2009

White magic....

Photo source: style.com

Valentino Haute Couture Fall 2009

It's always interesting to see what happens when a fashion house changes its designers. This collection was created by Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli, Valentino's former accessory designers who, in my opinion, brought a fresh young spirit to the house. Although some dresses are quite simple and could easily be used as pret-a-porter, others are true masterpieces, beautiful displays of workmanship and talent.

Overall, it looks like a magical ball of Elves - the colours (powdery golden nudes, silvery greys, classic velvety black), the ripples, the fabrics and lace, the flowery "tattoo" on bare skin effect, the head pieces are something from a fairy tale or The Lord of the Rings. And I love the simple and youthful make-up. It was quite nice to get away from a heavy evening version and red lipstick that was often a signature colour of Valentino's collections.

Photo source: style.com

Make a statement

Lets take a quick break from an overwhelming emotional gorgeousness of Haute Couture and talk about summer accessories before the season is over. "Sunglasses are one of the key pieces for spring/summer 2009 and if you want to make the best choice, then chunky large frames should be on top of your list.", I mumbled to myself while browsing the web and looking for something interesting and different...

...like these stylish treasures created by an Athens-born Brit designer Romina Karamanea as a part of her ready-to-wear spring-summer '09 collection. So beautiful... The handmade pieces finished with an iceberg pin detail come in classic muted colours including sand, flesh and black and certainly have a unique architectural vibe. You don't wear them to hide behind tinted lenses or to join a crowd of fashion victims - you choose these sensually curved shades to make a statement, stand out, express your emotions and show the entire world how stylishly unique you are. And yes, of course, protect your eyes from harmful UV A's and B's.

Available for £195.00

To order contact sales@rominakaramanea.com or call +44 (0)208 533 9380.

If you would like to learn more about Romina, click here to read her interview.

Photo source: rominakaramanea.com

Alexis Mabille Haute Couture Fall 2009

Last night I checked style.com for new haute couture reports and found a gem. I felt as if this collection was inspired by Françoise Sagan's Bonjour Tristesse, hot summer days and mellow and velvety nights in the south of France, where the air smells of flowers, coffee, melted heat, cypresses and sea (although not so romantic ones refer to the latter as smell of iodine and seaweed, but really, who cares). These clothes are so feminine, wearable and stunning, one can honestly and frankly say that couture can be worn without any special reason, but simply because it makes you feel beautiful. I am in love... Totally and utterly in love. I wish I could own at least 2/3 of this incredibly gorgeous collection and, if fairies are for real, please, may I at least, have those shoes with ribbons?...

Photo source: style.com

Christian Dior Haute Couture Fall 2009/10

Christian Dior Haute Couture 2009 is breathtaking, stunning and out of this world! The clothes are so beautiful it's almost painful to look at them - you experience the same kind of sensation by looking at the sun. I think Galliano is a genius artist who just created yet another collection of master pieces that represents everything you can possibly dream of: chic of 1947 Dior New Look, colours of 2009-10 (nudes, reds, fuchsias and yellows) and essence of French glamour and sensual femininity.

After admiring these photos I found myself faced was a dilemma. I wanted to post some them here and I wanted to find a special way to do it. Suddenly I thought of an old Dior advertisement that was exactly what I was looking for. The result - a series of post cards created by myself that show my favourite pieces from Dior Haute Couture Fall 2009. What do you think?

Photo source: style.com