theasceticlibertine

The Return of the Chunky Heel

I had a reader ask me recently whether the chunky heel is back and I sort of roundaboutly (new words! courtesy of me!) responded that trends are for sheep and it doesn't matter what's in or out as long as you look good and you can rock what you're wearing.  All true, but looking good is relative and you don't want to be caught wearing this:

When what's "in" is this:

 

Or maybe you do.  Rest assured, if you're going out a la the Munster clan, you'd better work it.  I'm not entirely sure you can, though.  All of this aside, the chunky heel *is* indeed back, but in this configuration:

Note the lack of platform.  I recall first seeing this type of shoe done by Calvin Klein, but I can't find photographic evidence so maybe I was just smokin' the crack.  Regardless, I am the type of girl who cannot wear a 4-inch heel unless there is a forgiving 1-inch platform gracing the front of the shoe, therefore I will keep to my wedges this spring and summer and eschew this particular trend.  For those of you wondering whether you can get some chunk back in your trunk, the answer is yes, but for all of our sake's do it with sophistication and flare.  Don't be boring!  That is all.

Charlotte For Ever

I am a Charlotte Gainsbourg fan from way back, and in honor of her album 5:55 being released here in the States this month (I bought it in France last year, lucky me), here's a picture of her that I love from last year's Costume Institute gala.

How perfect does she look here? 

So damn perfect.  This is my dream outfit.  The dress, the boots, the belt, the jeweled flower--all of it.  Stunning, yet casual at the same time, which is why I love it so much.  Her hair is a bit messy, her face is made up to look very natural and she's wearing opaque tights--a fashionista no-no, apparently--but she makes it all work.  She looks like a punk rock princess.  It's no easy task to have a face like a muppet (a cute muppet!) and yet manage to be consistently gorgeous and chic, but she does it.  It's that French way of dressing that no woman on the other side of the pond can master.  No wonder she's one of Nicholas Ghesquière's muses.  At the risk of overstating the obvious, what he has done and continues to do for Balenciaga is genius.

Pic courtesy of Style.com.