The Luxe Chronicles

Style: Lessons in Elegance from Christine Lagarde

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Christine Lagarde
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The only real elegance is in the mind; if you've got that, the rest really comes from it. So said the formidable Diana Vreeland and if France's Finance Minister Christine Lagarde is any indication, then Vreeland was bang on. It can't be easy in these troubled times for any political figure (let alone a French political figure) to submit to an interview with Jon Stewart yet Lagarde handled it with tremendous grace and aplomb.

Luxury: A Well Kept Secret No More (...)

Nothing pleases me more than witnessing someone with great talent being plucked from obscurity and given the recognition he/she so richly deserves. This is precisely what is happening to a very talented milliner who has been toiling away for years in a tiny studio in New York's Garment District, a well-kept secret for the likes of Marc Jacobs, Proenza-Schouler, Carolina Herrera and Thakoon.

Luxury: Amidst Long and Deep Recession, Hermes Set to Create New Employment

It's reassuring to know that while we may be in the midst of one of the worst economic downturns since WWII, French luxury brand Hermes is set to expand its production of petite maroquinerie (small leather goods) including its iconic handbags. In order to meet demand for its products (which rose by a healthy 14 per cent in 2008), Hermes has announced plans to ramp up production at its MHM (Manufacture de Haute Maroquinerie) plant in Aix-les-Bains in the Savoie region of France.

Book Review: Heights of Fashion: A History of the Elevated Shoe

I recently had some friends over for drinks one evening and they insisted on seeing my shoe collection. They're "fascinated" that any one person can own so many pairs of shoes (or perhaps a bit aghast by it and just too polite to admit it). The truth is that I don't really know where my shoe habit comes from and I've never really felt the need to delve into the deeper meaning of my obsession. I merely enjoy them.

Of Film & Fashion: Is It Any Wonder It Caught On?

Paris is all a twitter over the banning of the upcoming Coco Avant Chanel movie poster by Métrobus, the advertising arm of the RATP (France's public transportation commission) because it features the film's star, Audrey Tautou, smoking a cigarette. The ban was issued under the terms of the loi Evin, a law adopted in the early 1990's that seeks to ban advertisements which directly or indirectly promote smoking or drinking.

Luxury: How Do You Spell "Brand Dilution"?

C-A-V-A-L-L-I.

Travel: Of Lisbon's Cobblestone Streets and Stilettos

I had been dying to go to Lisbon for quite some time. Whenever my husband and I began discussing vacation plans, Lisbon would always make the short list but somehow, we would invariably end up going somewhere else instead. Finally, I put my Louboutin-clad foot down and off to beautiful, romantic Lisbon we went.

Fashion: Lessons in Elegance from Hubert de Givenchy

I just returned from a brief holiday and was catching up on the events of the past week when I read with dismay of the verbal sparring between Azzedine Alaia and Oscar de la Renta, two designers I admire and whose clothing I proudly wear. The tiff reported in WWD reportedly came about after de la Renta's remark questionning the appropriateness of Michelle Obama's attire when she attended a reception at Buckingham Palace during the recent G20 summit in London. The whole spat seems genuinely silly to me and it made me wonder why someone as revered as Alaia would even bother getting involved in something so trivial.

Travel: An Ode to New York City

The Lost Tribes of New York City from Carolyn London on Vimeo.

As many of my regular readers already know, I've lead a rather peripatetic life. For this, I am and will always be immensely grateful. My life/career has lead me to settle (for a time at least) in some of the world's most vibrant and culturally rich cities and each one has left an imprint. The essence of one of those cities, New York City, has been captured in a brief documentary by urban anthropologists Carolyn and Andy London entitled "The Lost Tribes of New York City" which I've posted above.

Luxury: Subtlety in Advertising

There's really nothing I appreciate more than a little subtlety in advertising. Wouldn't you agree? Take for instance the new Moet et Chandon campaign featuring Scarlett Johansson.