Clothes women fancy, on women men fancy.

Finally, common sense has arrived… and its looking good.

The next few pictures feature just a few of the icons on Vogue Italia’s ‘Vogue Curvy’ website.

Vogue Curvy

Mad Men Star Christina Hendricks

‘Mad Men’ Star Christina Hendricks says ‘Being bad is sexy.’ I like that, a lot.

Forget about the rest of her; Liv Tyler- hands down the best legs i've ever seen.

'K-Dash' working the play-suit the only way we know how- by actually filling it.

Kelly Osbourne in New York 2010 - My absolute favourite dollface.

Lizzie Miller: The notorious 'Spare tyre' model. I see nothing wrong here.

I stand tall with the new age of thinking. Not just curvy girls, but any girl – tall, short, skinny, curvy, tomboy, voluptuous – who cares?
Everyone can be beautiful.

Hi Five, Bettie. x

Anna Chlumsky, I love you.

Actress Anna Chlumsky attends the The 2009 Women of the Year hosted by Glamour Magazine.

I just watched ‘My Girl’. It was filmed in 1991 when the child star Anna was a mere 11 years old. She was cute as a rosy smile then, and now she’s just beautiful. She holds sheer testament to the notion that child stars can actually become real humans, as opposed to broken, Jacksonesque weirdos. And this girl’s got quite a brain on her too, according to my friend, the Internet, she graduated with a BA in International studies at the University of Chicago and ditched the whole Hollywood circus until quite recently. Apparently she has now concluded to return and do some formal training in the field, Take That might say she’s back for good…ah. Bit of Sunday night humour.

Anna as Veda in 'My Girl'.

Ultimately, Chlumsky (pronounced kh-LOOM-skee for the nervous types among you) is everything i could hope for in my later life. You know, the life where i decide i want to look less like i try too hard, and more like a sophisticated 20-something. She is very much a role model to my generation that is for super duper certain, and for one reason predominantly. Her body. YES, you knew this was coming. After watching ‘My Girl’ i found myself eager to see what had become of, well, My Girl. And it delighted me to see that she looked so unbelievably healthy; her body is a testament to the beautiful effects of that underused word “moderation”. She looks like she eats- but not too much. She looks like she exercises – but not like Madonna. She looks like she doesn’t worship the sun like a typical A-lister poolside rat. And mostly, she looks stunning – like an older version of her 11 year old self. I hope that eventually, some day, i too won’t look like a previous freaky child star. I hope that one day, I’ll look like Anna Chlumsky. I hope i master moderation.

Attending the Broadway Opening after party of 'Promises, Promises' @ Broadway Theatre on April 25th 2010.

Fun Fact – She has a cousin, Vik ‘Vikki’ Foxx, who is the drummer for The Veronicas.

Love, Bettie. x

RED ALERT!

Mrs J Rabbit does Rouge effortlessly... do you?

Red Red Red. Oh my, our love affair started years ago… you blew me away with your personality, your charm, your sexiness. I never knew then that it would be a relationship to last a lifetime. Suffocated cruelly you were by the years of dirge! grunge! and sad-sock wardrobe behaviour – yet since I’ve reached the beginnings of adulthood you have become a trusty friend, an ally when I felt I had no other, a release from the darkness of my predominantly black wardrobe. My first true love, Red, you complete me.

Enough of that, what got me started on my petit histoire d’amour? I mentioned to a very good friend (see ‘I FOLLOW’ section below) my admiration of the ever famous, ever ridiculous, Mrs ‘Jessica Rabbit’, and that quite frankly got me going. Wink, wink, nod, nod. Now seriously – Jessica Rabbit – she is the queen of red, she masters it, and boy can it master you. Year after year you see so many people get it SO wrong. What does it take to pull off post-box red? Some might say a slight figure with a big bust, copper hair, and fair skin. But I say ‘Boo!’, red scares the last of the personality out of banal celebrities, and that’s the magic ingredient. I hate to trash on Lindsay Lohan again (blatant lie), but her lack of “it” within shows she’s without. To wear red you just have to have “it”, that little word that absolutely changes everything.

Heigl @ The Oscars '08.

But who has said phantom “it”? In a world of asexual, robot GaGazoids and seemingly more celebutants contracting Andy Warhol nostalgia syndrome is it even possible? Perhaps someone you never imagined, such as the pretty yet bizarrely “ordinary” looking Katherine Heigl might just be a killer in disguise. Nothing special hey? You’re wrong, put her in a red dress, in front of a camera and make her smile – you have “it” and supposedly from nowhere. But that’s everything; it’s the human that brings out the sexy. She’s a woman, not a little girl. She’s not trying to attract attention – she just does. Being down to earth is seriously underrated, and it shows everywhere. Just look around you, on the street, in the tube, in that coffee shop you’re wifi-ing this from… the ordinary woman. She has “it”. And that is why Red is my best friend. Its bringing back sexy – for you, for me, and for everyone. Hello Jessica Rabbit!

Recommended Red –

Karen Millen One-Shoulder Dress in ‘Rouge’
Chanel Lipstick in ‘Audace’
Red Lizard Napala Court Shoes by Manolo Blahnik

Lipstick Kisses, Bettie. x

Satellite – 1/10/10 -The Cockpit, Leeds.

The Camel Coat Always Rings Twice!

 

The Camel Coat

There were two kinds of women in the 1940s; the ‘femme fatale’ and the ‘mother figure’. You see, life was a lot simpler back then according to the big bucks at Hollywood Inc, and women only seemed to have the natural instinct to complete themselves as humans by conforming to these categories. The ‘mother figure’ was plain, the “safe” looking office secretary or the wife, and the ‘femme fatale’? She was a whole different kind of woman. She was pure sexuality and style, classic man-eater curves and a pout with more ups and downs than Lindsay Lohan, and most importantly – a coat to die for.

Just another Dame.

Now, I know you’re probably thinking, “Has this broad gone postal?” No Mr Detective, Sir, I have not. The camel coat is back, and what better to help us understand the cultural background, the birth of its ‘cool-factor’ than the Noir Crime Thriller. Books, Dime store short stories and those all unpredictable films directed by the likes of Alfred Hitchcock, all tell you one thing. These women know how to dress. What leads me to the camel coat is this – the censorship at the time of writing ensured that the sex appeal and notoriety of these ‘femme fatales’ came not from a reveal of flesh, but at times an outright cover up. All these factors ensured that at one point or another many men, and some women were all thinking exactly the same thought – is she wearing anything under that coat? The sexuality of the coat, although continually reassessed over time, does usually come back to one thing – the Trench Coat. The Trench, like the camel, creates a sense of abandonment and togetherness all in one. The buttoned up belted woman’s trench does two things – creates curves, and conceals flesh, causing a whirlwind of seduction and mystery. These women have the powerful tool of sexuality, and boy do they know how to use it; murders, adultery, embezzlement, the works. 2010 may be the year of the coat, but the one lesson we need to learn is how to use it, and what better than the Italians to show us how. Demonstrating the power of the ‘femme fatale’ in November 2009’s Vogue Italia, Lara Stone models for a Noir style shoot photographed by Paolo Toversi, and wearing an Agent Provocateur lingerie set under an open Louis Vuitton trench coat. There’s absolutely no doubt that the raw sexuality of this splendid coat is displayed – because unlike the 1940s, you finally get to know just what is going on under her coat.

Lara Stone for Vogue Italia, Nov 09.

Love, Bettie. x