Blues win the "Most popular colour of the evening" Award, something that every colour vies for, but only one can win. Are you in a blues mood this winter? Perhaps you should aim to be ...

Wouldn't you love to have red hair? It's like an accessory. You don't need to add anything, just wear an amazing colour like this blue of Jessica Chastain's frock and bam! You're done.

If I had it my way? I'd go one-shouldered, like Diane Lane, who put her hair in a cute side pony.

Jane Lynch looked glamorous and was so humble when being interviewed by E! - even though she's one of the funniest women on the planet, she said she was star struck.

I'm not so sure about Penelope Ann Miller's dress. Something about blue lace and me having a pair of blue lace gloves in the 80's makes me not able to appreciate it as much as the next person.

How do you take your lace? Trussed up and cut finely a la Dita Von Teese (below) or slashed and sexy like Diane Kruger (above). They're both at the Sidaction Gala dinner in Paris and whichever you prefer, just be sure to wear lace this year at some point. Put it on your to do list to wear it in colour even, not just black. 'Cause it's the hue that's selling these frocks to me.

Kate Bosworth goes for red at the premiere of her film, Black Rock, at the Sundance Film Festival.

Nice dress, but it's the clutch which is really tickling my fancy. If you're in any doubt as to what to carry to your next formal do, a box clutch is top of the list. Kate's is a sleek envelope style in shiny silver, but they come in all shapes. Just make sure it fits neatly in the palm of your hand and you don't have junk spilling out the top (they totally enforce a streamlining of makeup to take for touch-ups).

I went to the world's most beautiful wedding on the weekend (I don't joke, it was like something out of The Great Gatsby) and a box clutch was the bag du jour. They go with everything from palazzo pants to bohemian maxi dresses and, as Kate demonstrates, sexy red cocktail frocks.

2011 will be the year that I remember for the new breed of celebrity who has emerged, who have been systematically assaulting our eyes with a plethora of overwhelmingly bad and tasteless outfits on the red carpet.
It seems that it's no longer enough to have talent and rise above the masses to become famous; but once fame has been achieved, the public need to be reminded how quirky and relevant certain celebrities are by wearing outfits that sear our retinas in horror on a regular basis.
Let's take a look through the year that was and continues to get more and more absurd:

January and Febrary:
Lil Kim shows us way more camel than is necessary in an outfit that sees her wearing sequin, fur, lycra and leather. It seems that along with the bleach, botox, collagen and silicone, Lil Kim is keen to show us how proud she is to be a technological by-product of the 21st century.
Katy Perry meanwhile, can't decide whether she wants to be a bride or a Las Vegas showgirl in costume as an angel or a mermaid. An Angmaid?

February and March:
Nicky Minaj attends the Grammy Awards dressed as the lovechild of the bride of frankenstein and a cheetah while Katy Perry shows us how fashion forward she is at Paris Fashion Week. To be honest, I don't actually mind the hair and the dress - but I draw the line at the fan Katy. When you carry an 'ironic' fan that reads 'Air Conditioning' - Katy you just went too far. Humour and fashion? Get out of here lady.

April and May:
Nicky Minaj performs in the US while Lady Gaga performs on the Good Morning America Show.
Where to even begin?
Lets just move on shall we...

June and July:
Lady Gaga. Or a magical leather clad punk studded stallion? Or Marge Simpson?

July and August:
Rihanna shows us her colourful crotch while Nicky Minaj covers her face with a shiny mask. No no no, Nicky; WE need the mask for our eyes NOT you. Silly.

August and September:
Ke$ha goes incognito while Rihanna reminds us that we need to check our breasts by using a circular motion with our fingertips. That Rihanna. Always thinking about her public. Puts some pants on lady.

October and November:
Jessie J. Oh Jessie J - who in October seems to have been suffering from some sort of gastro-intestinal upset while on stage. Whilst November sees her trying to emulate Milla Jovovich from the Fifth Element and well... a crazy person. She just looks like a crazy person in this photo.

So what are your thoughts on the level of crazy that we have seen on the red carpet this year? Do we need more of it or less?
Is it a modern day pre-requisite for pop stars to dress like they have literally lost their marbles?

It's been a long time CCLers.

But finally, the bateau neckline (in which shoulders are left entirely bare) is back. In all, not just some, of its collar-bone-gloating glory. 

I first fell in love with this neckline in Year Ten. A far cuter girl than I, in the year above, requested the style for her debutante ball (this neckline goes from casual to formal seamlessly).

I creepily, have kept pictures of her dress in my Hope Chest since, just in case, well you know...

Today however, whilst shopping for baby Jesus' birthday, my cursor ran straight into C. Sevigny's latest collection for Opening Ceremony (resort as it so happens). Blind Freddy even noticed that the array of bateau necklines Chlo had authorised confirmed those suspisions I had all ten-plus years ago: that these necklines were undoubtedly code for some sort of hawt (210+ degrees fahrenheit) couture.

The kind that needed to get to know my own, very (un) humble shoulders. This instant.

And before you do, don't assume this style is exclusive to your average eighties pretty woman (long sleeves seem to signify this), because sleeves can range all the way from string-like to long in length because the bateau is really flexible like that. 

Are you going to take your bateau and ball this Summer and go home? 

Or go out? 

Either way, bateau and you should rub shoulders, innit?

ZC

Prints have been big for a few seasons now, but at London Fashion Week recently it was apparent that this trend isn't going anywhere aside from getting bigger with many hot young British designers including Mary Katrantzou, Erdem and Christopher Kane all sending models down the catwalk in structured ladylike dresses with a range of loud prints.
Designer of the moment, Mary Katrantzou's dresses are in hot demand at the moment with super stylish celebrities such as Alexa Chung (above), Community actress Gillian Jacobs and Keira Knightley (below) all wearing her gorgeous signature print dresses to recent events.

The thing I love about this trend is how timeless it is. A structured print dress never ages and looks fantastic on a girl in her twenties or a woman in her fifties. This dress allows the wearer to tone down the accessories with a nude pump, fresh make-up and sleek hair as Keira Knightley has done or worn with vivid peeptoe stillettos and clashing clutch as shown by Gillian Jacobs.

Although I would love to get my hands on a very much in demand Mary Katrantzou dress, at a hefty price point of between $2000 - $10000 each for her iconic dresses, I will have to settle on a similar style by a different designer. 
Local designer Josh Goot produced a range of inspired structured dresses with vivid prints for his SS 11/12 collection recently which are available now.
Lara Bingle wore one of his dresses in Sydney recently and although I'm not a fan of the delicate pointy silver stilletos or the over the top bronze tan (what's with the clenched fists Lara?); I'm loving the futuristic print and flattering shape of the dress.

Hayden Panetierre is another celebrity who has succumbed to this trend by wearing a Tibi Rococo capped sleeve dress with a pair of Christian Louboutin peeptoe platform shoes that do a fabulous job of elongating her tiny frame.

The structured printed dress is my favoured dress for the party season and I love that a print is another way of embellishing a dress without using sequins. Although I am an enormous sucker for a sequin, a print has greater long-term wearability and guarantees that the dress can be worn well into the future; particularly given that it doesn't seem like this trend is going anywhere for a while.

Take Dakota Johnson for example, daughter of Melanie Griffith and some other random called Don. 

Here she is at the MOCA Gala in LA. The event was like a hats off to artists so the crowd was kooky and irreverent. 

I love that she does for the tuxe what Bowie did for guyliner but is it something you could trot out at say: 

- A wedding? 

- A christmas party?

-  A bar mitzvah? 

I used to know a girl who always wore these. Complete with top hat. She was nothing short of a trailblazer. 

Would you follow? In regard to the aforementioned events, I'm a yes, yes, yes. And you? 

ZC

The Harpers Bazaar Women of The Year Awards took place in London this week and I couldn't help but notice one recurring trend amongst some of the attendees.

Pictured above we have Florence Welch in a very regal gold lace Alexander McQueen gown and model Daisy Lowe looking a little bit goth in a mullet dress or blazer with a very dramatic tail and shorts?
Pictured below Elle Macpherson and Lily Cole are both wearing high neck fitted floor length gowns.

Amber Le Bon is featured below, also in a high neck fitted floor length gown. And I just had to get one more look at Florence and Daisy in that mullet outfit from a different angle.

Notice anything? Aside from Daisy in her mullet and Amber Le Bon in her very revealing cut out dress; when did fashion get so regal and respectable?
Up until recently an awards ceremony called for plenty of boob or leg action and aside from Daisy and Amber's digression, most of these ladies seem fairly well covered up.

What do you think of this neck to ankle trend? Personally I'm not a big fan of fashion that is as discriminating as this style of dress. To wear a fitted tube style dress that starts at the neck and ends at the ankle requires height and a very slender physique.  However, it is great to see ladies attending an awards ceremony wearing something aside from a strapless beaded gown. Also if I have to see one more mermaid style dress, I think I'm simply going to do something outrageous like... yawn. Or something.
Regardless of what we think about this new 'modest' trend, it's certainly going to be interesting to see what is in store for our eyes during the upcoming awards season.

At the Spring 2012 shows, crop tops were taken up a level (literally) with a slew of designers sending their models down the catwalk in bra tops. Versace, Proenza Shouler, Prada and Dolce & Gabbana paired theirs with '60s-style skirts that hit just below the knee. The key to rocking the look is choosing fun prints and bold colours. If you’re a little shy about baring all, make like Gwyn at the Emmy Awards and go for a longer style crop top. Note: Though killer abs aren’t essential, they’re certainly recommended!