Tribeca Film Festival 2011 Red Carpet Winners

The Tribeca Film Festival in New York is one of the more dressed-down film gatherings on the circuit. It allows the attendees to reveal more quirky and personal outfits. And some did. But the real winners on this year's red carpet are actually those that went with classic elegance.
Both Naomi Watts and Rachel Bilson went for shortish, beaded Chanel. If you are going to do both short and shiny (and please note Jozi girls, neither of these outfits is tight-fitting), then you may as well bring the class with Kaiser Karl's design genius. Both look beautiful and Naomi's shoes are amazing.

The usually very quirky Riley Keough (that's Elvis, The King's granddaughter, you know) looked beautifully elegant in a more retro black coat and dress. I loved this look most of all. And the ever stylish, Chloe Sevigny went in the opposite direction with the latest in little white dresses - in lace - hitting the high fashion notes. Can we also take a moment to note my latest obsession item, the denim trucker jacket, clutched in her paw. Seriously, like I can steal it from here.
Well played ladies.

Nicole Richie Amps Up Her Style

This past week has seen Nicole Richie bounce back from the 'pregnancy' rumours in the best way possible - by looking impeccable. Some of the tabloids have, of late, noticed Mrs Madden wearing loser-fitting tops and speculated that she was pregnant again. Nicole hit back saying that these sorts of comments were 'hurtful' and very unconstructive.
Then she stepped out looking like this, in white skinny jeans, a top from her own Winter Kate collection and a perfect face. And like this, in short, black velvet from Sophie Theallet and the head piece from her own collection. BOOM. That shut them up then.

 Also, it didn't hurt that she looked incredible on the cover of the latest THAT magazine. Don't you just love that cuff? House of Harlow, of course.

Royal Wedding Style: All Hail the Queen

It is the day of the Royal Wedding. All next week I will be posting about the guests, the dress, the designer and the honeymoon style. But today it belongs to the Queen. It never hurts to take a moment to reflect on HRH's perfect style. She is in her 80s and still manages to rock the style boat, like the fuschia and fur outfit she wore to the Christmas service last year. Just gorgeous.

With a tried and tested dress and matching coat and hat combination working for her for her day events, the Queen is also a great proponent of the sensible shoe, the marquisette brooch and the silk scarf - all of which I emulate in my day-to-day wardrobe.

Even her dress down style is starting to creep into our fashion vernacular, with her khaki parkas and lace-up brogues. Seriously, add some jeans and that's how I dress on the weekend!
She really is a very special style icon who has rarely put a foot wrong in 50 years. Let's home the new Princess Catherine can say the same in years from now.

StyleGuideCT is a Cosmo Twitter Queen

Alongside some amazing women like Arthur C. Clarke award-winning author Lauren Beukes, foodie journalist and twitter news reporter Jane-Anne Hobbs, hilarious youngster and music writer Tecla Ciolfi, my friend the giraffe Liezel van der Westhuizen, mate and macaroon eater Alex van Tonder and my web site host, Sue Rutherford, I spent International Women's Day being shot for the Cosmopolitan Twitter Queens feature - now out in the May issue.
And that was just the Cape Town gang.
Anele, Kirsty, Bonang, Melanie, Lize, etc, etc were all shot up in Jozi for the rest of the story. I bet they didn't have as much of a supportive group as we had in CT. Everyone was a bit nervous. It's understandable. Most of them stay well out of sight behind a screen to make their impact on the world. But all the Twitter Queens really encouraged each other, dishing out the flattery and compliments till we all felt great. I loved meeting all the girls and have added several new names to the list that I follow.
Go and grab a copy of Cosmo to see the full story - and follow us. Because we're worth it. Ha!

PS: I am wearing Jimmy Choo silver wedges, Levi's straight leg CurveID jeans, a silk parka by local label August, a collar chain by local design house The Summit. My hair and make up was done by Luciano dos Santos and the photographer was Morne van Zyl.

Rebecca Romijn

Lacey Schwimmer

Kelly Ripa

Scarlett Johansson

Michelle Williams

Emmy Rossum

Michelle Branch

Katy Perry

Heather Graham

Amy Adams

Royal Wedding Style: Mario Testino Wedding Programme Portrait

I have just seen the details of the Official Programme for the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, taking place tomorrow. And one of the lovely surprises is the new image of a relaxed couple, wearing matching white shirts, that is included in the programme. I am not allowed to use the image in its clean format without license so I reference US Weekly's exclusive first view of the image for you to enjoy. You can go and read their piece by clicking here.
The portrait was shot by Mario Testino, again, in the style of the last shoot he did with Princess Diana. The clean, white shirt is the motif he chose for her too, and is able to communicate formality and informality, warmth and distance, both men and women all at the same time. Very smart, I think.
In addition, the website of the wedding has this to say about the programme,

"The Official Programme includes the full Order of Service (as used by guests in Westminster Abbey), a personal message of thanks from Prince William and Miss Middleton, and a photo of the Couple taken by photographer Mario Testino at the time of the Couple’s engagement.  The Official Programme features Prince William’s recently updated Coat of Arms on the front cover and Catherine Middleton’s new Coat of Arms on the back cover. The Order of Service includes full details about the processions, music, hymns, prayers and readings.  The Wedding Service follows the Book of Common Prayer (Alternative Services: Series One).  There will be one Lesson during the service, which the Couple have asked James Middleton to read. " 

I am a bit confused as to why the 'Couple' is referred to as a proper noun, but I intend to consult with the chief sub on the magazine immediately in this important issue! Enjoy the portrait.

Royal Wedding Style: Cat Deeley Reports on Royal Wedding for CNN

The gorgeous and smiley Cat Deeley is in London town for the Royal Wedding. The So You Think You Can Dance presenter is reporting live all day tomorrow for international news channel CNN. For the past few days she has been larking around doing all the preparation work with co-presenter Piers Morgan, tweeting up a storm (of course I follow her - she is practically a member of my fantasy book club!). She has also been looking wonderful, dressed in Mulberry, Jimmy Choo shoes and Links of London jewellery, for which she is the 'face'.
Great fashion brand ambassador. Great, fun, warm presenter. Entertaining Tweeter. What more can one ask for?
PS: I realise that this post is Royal Wedding related, but not too tedious, I hope. Couldn't go through the day before the wedding, without something on all the shenanigans!

Ladies Love Levi's Trucker Jackets Too: Joy Bryant

I posted a couple of weeks ago on a little bit of history of the Levi's Trucker jacket (or classic denim jacket to you and me). Then earlier this week I spotted the actress Joy Bryant (from one of my absolute favourite TV shows of the moment - Parenthood) looking divine. I thought to myself, "self, this is probably the cutest outfit of the week." And then I reaslied that the reason that I was loving it so much was that darn jacket. This time worn by a lady-person. With an amazing sunshine dress.
I am still searching for a replacement for the denim jacket I owned back in the '90s. And this little Levi's one is just the ticket, no? Perfect for throwing over the ditsy floral dresses that will be around all winter and well into next summer. Ideal for throwing on when wearing chinos and a button down shirt (with buttons secured all the way to the top this season). And exactly what I need for my dress-down weekend look in the country. So what am I waiting for? Time for yet another trip to the store before I head out for the long weekend. Sigh.
PS: No, I am not suggesting we all start wearing cowboy boots. But these look great on Joy. Same colour as her skin is the ticket.

Five Fashion Reasons to Buy Marie Claire This Month

This is a very busy local magazine month. The May issues are great and I urge you all to buy O magazine (obvs, my fashion is in it), Cosmopolitan (I'm in it as a Twitter Queen - more on that next week) and Elle SA (I'm in it as the Queen of Hearts). But for no other reason than it is a really good read for fashion lovers, I also encourage you to snap up the Marie Claire this month. No, I am not in it. But lots of cool stuff is. Check it out:
1. The most compelling reason to buy it is that gorgeous, smiling, Michelle Williams cover - and the story inside about her life. I love, love, love smiling covers right now. So clean and fresh;
2. The Designer Dossier is about Chloe Townsend of Missibaba. And you all know how I feel about the 'Baba leather goodies;
3. About a Blog features Justine Stafford of ifor1 independent fashion blog who is delightful and a friend;

4. Extras fashion story by Sharon Becker - a sumptuous journey around the luxury accessories block;
5. The Fall of the Great Galliano - a moment in time reflection on the fall of John Galliano. Worth a read.

Surely that is enough to compel you to go and get it. Now go.

Sylvie Says: In Which Bastien Gonzalez Tells Me Why I Never Became a Prima Ballerina

At some point last week I started to wonder if I was the only beauty journalist in the Southern Hemisphere who had not got to meet and experience the Bastien Gonzalez’ pedi-cure at the One&Only. His name became as familiar to me as my own children’s as the twittersphere filled up with songs of his praise. And hallelujah, there by the invitation of Manley Communications and by the grace of her Doily I too was hooked up with an exclusive consultation with Bastien himself. 
Here are some facts.
1. Most women who apologise about their feet prior to a treatment are generally the ones who have less to worry about – tick. 
2. The arch of the foot – or the contraction of the arch of the foot - is the first point at which blood is pumped back to the heart. To quote Bastien,"you’re not going to die if you have flat arches." but we’re talking about optimal health, starting from the feet up, and BTW girls, any heel more than 6 centimetres will prevent the contraction and relaxation of the arch and result in heavy legs. Massage behind the knee to get the blood pumping
3. My 1st metatarsal is shorter than my second, and THAT is why, Dear Doily, I did not become a prima ballerina. My balance is slightly off and the mechanical imbalance can cause calluses (of which I have very little he is pleased to note)

Now I know dear readers, that you are of the shallow variety that don’t especially want to hear about the intricacies of the treatment or the innovations for that matter, and I assure you they are innovative and extraordinary – think dentist drills, generations old chamois buffers, exquisitely special products laced with pearl granules and an idea that took root in Gonzalez’ youth where he holiday jobbed for his architect uncle, when he was made to continuously buff and skim walls until they had reached a fine polish. Which is exactly how he reached the pearly natural pinky shine that is currently taking residence on my toes. Oh, and a foot and leg massage to die for, in a heated reclining chair. Just saying.
I asked if he was afraid that by imparting so much of his information that he would be copied. "No," he said without a heartbeat. If you teach people the exact way you do something, they will always do it your way. And boy, is he connected. We gossiped, we whispered, we rolled our eyes, we discussed our Mac fetish and we had a ball. And I cant tell you a word of it. Then we kissed, a lot, had a final little gossip on the step and I bounced off with my twinkling toes!

Some Bastien Facts

• He has 16 studios around the world partnered with the One&Only Hotel
• He has a range of products – Reverence de Bastien – which is sold in salons – he realised when in New York recently that (Said in a strong US accent) REVERENCE of Bastien was NOT going to wash on shelves with women who have single handedly been responsible for taking obey out of the wedding vows!
• He personally trains each of the therapists that work in his studios.

Some Nail Facts 

•  Dry your nails with a towel in a buffing motion EVERY time you bath or get them wet, this promotes growth and maintains shine
• Don’t dig away at the cuticle, it is there to protect the ‘mattress’ of the nail – where the nail grows from
• File nails only in one direction but buff in any direction – but only with a chamois
• A blade in a practiced hand is the best technique for callous removal, followed by a foot peel – which dissolves built up skin and lastly by using an abrasive foot file, which sadly is more effective when wet than when dry.
• Vertical lines running up from the cuticle generally indicate dehydration, and horizontal waves indicate compression – too tight shoes, and too long nails. 

It was a glorious afternoon, my feet look fabulous and I cant wait for him to come back. 
I strongly recommend you go too. It is fascinating, enlightening and a pure treat.

Dannii Minogue Returns to Work in Style

You know that I love Dannii Minogue. Of course I love Kylie too and already have my tickets to her concert taking place in Cape Town on the 13th July. Well, it is my birthday and it would be rude not to. But Dannii has a coveted spot in my fantasy book club so she is defs my favourite.
She has been lying low in Melbourne for the past few months, enjoying down time with her new little family. But last week she returned to the UK to start promoting her various projects and she turned out in some style. Having shed some weight, she is looking very lean. She needs to watch that in the face - as we get older the face shows signs of age quicker when very slim. However, can we just have a moment for that utterly stunning coat? Can we dwell on the nude heels? Marvel at the lines of the one-shoulder? Ok, good. As you were. Carry on.

Other Royal Style: Princess Letizia of Spain, Queen Rania of Jordan and, um, Melanie Griffith

While we all know that the big royal news this week is The Wedding, duh, there is actually some other royal shenanigans going on in Spain and it is looking rather stylish. A few days ago Princess Letizia was on a State visit and met the very beautiful and elegant Queen Rania of Jordan. Looking not altogether dissimilar, both royal ladies worked pastel wool and some drape to excellent effect.
Then last night, at a gala in Madrid, Princess Letizia looked amazing once more in regal purple as she greeted actress Melanie Griffith. Also looking amazing at that event was Sheikha Mozah Bint, dressed in modern-traditional white.

Returning to the UK royals, this Easter Sunday, they were out in force, attending church. Please note young Princess Beatrice's beige frock with leather peplum. Racy for a royal, no?

Sienna Miller Stage Door Style

Back when I used to live in the UK, I would always make an effort to see the big-name stars in theatre productions. I saw Helen Mirren at the National, Rob Louw in A Few Good Men, Richard E Grant, Colin Firth, John Malcovitch, and many more in shows all over town. And I would have gone to see Sienna Miller in her West End production, Flare Path. You know, if I still lived there.
But since we can't go and see the show, we can make up for it by keeping a watchful eye on her stage door style. Last week alone she produced a few looks that I was rather partial to as she left the theatre at the end of the night.
That fringed cape. Those striped heels. That wooly jacket. That fedora. Those ankle boots. Sienna is always excellent value for money when it comes to style ideas and we will keep you updated on what she has in store for us for the rest of the play's run. Which look is your favourite?

Victoria Justice