Book Review - "Alexander McQueen: Blood Beneath the Skin" by Andrew Wilson (#25 - 2016)

Alexander McQueen: Blood Beneath the Skin by Andrew Wilson

I always seem to read (or re-read) a McQueen book (and watch endless McQueen videos on YouTube) between Christmas and New Years.  Always.  I love him, I love his work, I love his shows, I hate he's gone.  This book may be my favorite biography of him, it went into a lot of depth and there was a lot of information that I wasn't previously aware of.  It's a hard read at times because of his troubled soul but following his journey is so fascinating.  You didn't want it to end in a way because you know what was coming.  I highly recommend this book.  It's a must read for any McQueen fan!

Here are the McQueen books I own and love: 

Alexander McQueen: The Life and the Legacy by Judith Watt (link to my review)

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty

Love Looks Not with the Eyes: Thirteen Years with Lee Alexander McQueen

Book Review - "Alexander McQueen: The Life and the Legacy" by Judith Watt (#2 - 2016)

Alexander McQueen: The Life and the Legacy by Judith Watt

I make no secret of my love of McQueen and his work, he was hands down my favorite designer of all time.  I'm dating myself here, but I followed his career from almost day one and was in shock for a solid day when he died.  This book took a deeper look into his life, how he got his start in fashion, timeline of his work and a super helpful breakdown of each of his collections.  It was so interesting and insightful.  I've read a lot about him and have this book and this one (both of which I recommend and both make great companions/references when reading this book).  My only complaint was that I wished it had more pictures, but I had to remember this book was more about him, his inspiration, motivation and not as much about the actual fashion.  So I ended up referencing both books I mentioned before and YouTube.  If you search on YouTube you can find almost every collection in whole or part.  Bottom line, this is a must read for any McQueen fan or anyone who wants to learn more about him.

Best Dressed - Golden Globes 2013

First of all I'm guest posting over at Miss Information today, head over and check it out!

Like almost everyone else in the blogosphere, I'm going to put in my two cents on who I thought brought the gorgeous last night at the Golden Globe awards (I only caught the first 1/2 hour, but I could tell that Tina and Amy totally rocked as co-hosts).  Here are my picks for best dressed:

Jennifer Lawrence in Dior Haute Couture

And yes, the "wonky boob" that I referred to in my review of this collection made an appearance (why doesn't someone tell Raf to rip those flaps/folds off?).  Wonky boob aside, this dress was just gorgeous on her, perfect color, great belt, and she has the body to pull it off (it looks better on her than it did on the runway)! Oh and check out the guy in the sunglasses behind her - he's all like "Hello, Miss Lawrence!"

 

Naomi Watts in Zac Posen (about the only time you'll ever see a Zac Posen pick on this here blog - his clothes usually grate on me) the color is gorgeous on her and the back (which I saw on TV is really beautiful with the fabric mix).

 

Rebecca Miller in Marc Jacobs - didn't see this on the carpet, but when I saw this picture I just fell in love. The length with the tall boots, so unexpected and quirky, it works and I want it! If you have to tag along to an event like this, this is how you do it!

Kate Hudson in Alexander McQueen - she just looked so radiant (her hair was fabulous)!

Did you watch? Who were your picks?

Images via Style.com

 

Alexander McQueen Spring 2013 Backstage Video

Hi!  Just popping in to say hello and share this beautiful backstage film of the Alexander McQueen Spring 2013 collection (check out my picks from the collection here).  So beautiful!


I'm in the middle of a big project at work, so posting will be light this week.  See you on the flip side!

My Five - Alexander McQueen Spring 2013

Ahhh, I can always count on Sarah Burton to bring it.  This collection was all about bees.  Yep, you heard me, bees.  Honeycomb patterns, gold and honey colors, bee encrusted jewelry and embellishment.  It sounds a little cheesy, but trust me in the hands of Ms. Burton it's sophisticated and girly.  As always, I'm consistently blown away/inspired/in awe of anything that marches out on a McQueen runway (I'm sure I'm biased considering Lee McQueen was my favorite designer of all time).  Here are my many picks and trend takeaways, enjoy!

 

 

 

This is my favorite look!

 

 Now for the detail shots - ahhh:

 

Trend takeaways:

1. Gold

2. Tortoiseshell pattern accessories (like an awesome cuff bracelet)

3. Bee jewelry (a nice brooch or two)

 

Images via Style.com

Recent Purchases

Happy Monday!  I hope you had a great weekend!  I watched a lot of Olympic action (mixed in with a few episodes of Hoarders - why do I do that?  It's usually upsetting and I just don't know why I torture myself).  Anyway did you catch any of the women's gymnastics last night?  My heart was breaking for Jordyn Wieber.  Of course that's what makes the Olympics compelling, the highs and the lows - really it's all about the competitor's stories. 

Moving on, I wanted to share a few purchases that I made while I was m.i.a.  A little background, I have a rather strict budget and generally I don't make a lot of extraneous purchases.  Certainly not like the pre-kid and working full time days when I had a lot more wiggle room in the "wants" part of the budget.  Ahhh, memories.  Well, I had just signed up to BaubleBar (when you sign up you get a $10 credit!  So if you haven't signed up yet head on over and do it!).  My friend emailed me a blog post (which I can't find so I can't give a proper shout out) that featured this skull bracelet from BaubleBar!

Colorful Cranium Wrap bracelet

Aren't they so cute?  And at $20 each not too bad, but remember I had a $10 credit so it would only be $10! Sold!  I got the blue and silver one second from the bottom. And I love it!

I also had a $25 Amazon gift card burning a hole in my pocket so I (finally) got the Alexander McQueen book from the Savage Beauty exhibit at The Met.  Let me just say this is one gorgeous book, worth every penny (which was only $6.50 after using my gift card)!

I'm seeing a bit of a skull trend here...hmmm.

I'd say all of this was $16.50 well spent! 

Images via BaubleBar and Amazon respectively

My Five - Alexander McQueen Resort 2013

Super wearable McQueen collection from Sarah Burton!  A good mix of sharply tailored pantsuits and dresses for both day and night (leaning more towards night).  I loved all the metallics, textures and embellishments (dragon flies anyone?).  Here are my picks:

Images via Style.com

This or That - Skull Bracelets

Alexander McQueen Twin Skull Bracelet

or

Jules Smith Skull Cuff

Alexander McQueen Enamel Skull Bangle

or

Metal Skull Stretch Bracelet (top)

Tarina Tarantino Horus Bracelet (middle)

Tarina Tarantino Momento Mori Skull Bead Bracelet (bottom)

Love This! - Alexander McQueen Clutches

It's no secret that I adore everything Alexander McQueen.  About a year ago I shared some of my favorite clutches from Alexander McQueen here.  I've been gathering some new favorites and thought I would share.  Enjoy the gorgeousness!

Have a great Thursday!

My (way more than) Five - Alexander McQueen Fall 2012

I hope you had a great weekend!  I've been so sick since Thursday, it just knocked me out.  I'm on the mend now thankfully.  Let's start this week off on a fabulous note with my picks from Sarah Burton's collection for Alexander McQueen.  It's a really beautiful collection that brings to mind fluffy flowers, light and air.  Sarah Burton continues to blow me away with every single collection.  God Bless her for continuing McQueen's legacy.  Here are my favorites:

 The heel-less shoes are pretty incredible:

Images via Vogue.com