miss b loves......random photos of Dubai and an impromptu Fashion show.

We packed so much into our visits to Dubai last October and December... As usual I took so many photos! Below are the ones which didn't quite make it into the posts.......

miss b loves ......Fifty Fashion Looks That Changed The 1960s

Fifty Fashion Looks That Changed The 1960s is my latest book in the Design Museum's Fifty series. Paula Reed takes a look at the key pieces and fashion icons of this inspirational decade. 

Jean Shrimpton, Saint Laurent
David Bailey, Missoni

The book captures the main fashion highlights and explains in detail the looks which have continued to influence designers over the last forty years or more. It celebrates those swinging sixties styles which revolutionised fashion for ever. This was an exciting creative era, full of energy, bold, bright colours and psychedelic patterns .....

There was lady-like elegance too from Audrey Hepburn and Jackie Kennedy .... 

A wealth of fabulous photographs capture the celebrities, models and designers of the time including Courrèges, Pucci, Ossie Clark and Celia Birtwell .... and of course Mary Quant described in the book as 'The driving force behind democratic fashion.' Her store, 'Bazaar' on King's Road offered fun, inexpensive clothes designed specifically for young people. She was well-known for her mini skirts and colourful tights which matched the sweaters ....

miss b loves ..... 'Fifty Fashion Looks That Changed the 1970s'

I can't say that I love everything about 1970s fashion but there is no doubt that it was an expressive, colourful and fun era and certain looks have had a lasting influence.

In 'Fifty Fashion Looks That changed The 1970s', fashion guru Paula Reed explores the most revolutionary, prominent and definitive looks of the decade.

She details outfits from style icons of the time including Bianca Jagger and her famous Yves Saint Laurent wedding suit. I can't imagine her wearing a classic wedding gown! 

Diane von Furstenberg's elegant wrap dress of course gets a mention. It's one of the 70s icons that has become a true classic.

'Flower power' conjures up an image of hippies in their floral prints in the early 1970s and the Afghan coat, another favourite at the time, is featured towards the beginning of the book.

miss b loves.......the Design Museum, London

One of the highlights of my unexpected trip to London last month was a visit to the Design Museum. One ticket gives access to three fascinating exhibitions .....

'Hello My Name is Paul Smith' was due to end in March but by popular demand has been extended until 22nd June. Paul Smith is an established British Designer who combines traditional craftsmanship with cutting-edge, innovative design .... 'Classic with a twist' is the way he describes his style. The twist may be a flamboyant lining in a suit or adding vibrant colour to a conventional tweed.

There are recreations of his first tiny shop (just three metres square!), his Covent Garden design studio and his office, which has been described as creative chaos!

The walls of the gallery space are covered with framed prints and photographs including David Hockney, Andy Warhol and Banksy and works sent to him by friends, family and fans too. It's a small part of his collection from the walls and basement of his office.

"Is that a Paul Smith coat?"

miss b loves....pearls(Part 2)...... style icons and how they wear their pearls

Pearls symbolise understated elegance and class and have been strung around the necks of style icons over the decades. Screen goddesses in Hollywood movies and celebrities have certainly reinforced the glamour of pearls........

Coco Chanel, in the 1920s, gave pearls their iconic style status and she was rarely seen without her signature strings of pearls ..... 

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"A woman needs ropes and ropes of pearls" Coco Chanel

In the 1950s Marilyn Monroe wore a strand of Mikimoto cultured pearls given to her by her husband Joe DiMaggio while on honeymoon in Japan (and she famously wore them at the divorce court a year later too!)

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miss b loves ........ pearls and a special exhibition

Tastes in jewellery certainly vary but pearls have fascinated people for thousands of years. Unlike other gems they need no enhancement, no cutting or polishing.

Just before Christmas I visited the Pearls Exhibition at the V&A Museum (in collaboration with the Qatar Museum Authority) to find out more about these objects of desire which have been associated with wealth, royalty and glamour through the ages.....

A portrait of Jeanne de Marigny, about 1650-1660 greeted visitors .....

Pearls were a sign of
 wealth and status

The tour began with X ray images and a video showing the formation of the pearl. Contrary to popular belief, pearls do not form when a grain of sand enters an oyster! A parasite (tapeworm) enters the shell and the mantle then covers the intruder with layers of nacre (mother of pearl) the same substance used to create the shell.

The 'Pearl Fishing in the Gulf' section brought back memories of our trip to Qatar last October. 

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The most beautiful natural pearls came from the Gulf and the pearl fishing trade was the mainstay of Qatar's economy until the discovery of oil and gas. Apparently only one pearl would be found in every 2000 oysters!

miss b loves ......... the Vogue Fashion Dubai Experience

What a stroke of luck that we happened to be in Dubai for the Vogue Fashion Experience in the Dubai Mall!

Organised by  property developers Emaar Properties and Vogue Italia, this glamorous celebration of fashion, was held for the first time in the Middle East.

I headed straight to the atrium near Bloomingdales department store .......

..... to see a very special Haute Couture collection by such iconic names as Dior, Valentino, Armani, Chanel ...........

Atelier Versace
Spring/Summer 2009

.... but this Elie Saab gown was most definitely my favourite ....

Elie Saab Haute Couture
Spring/Summer 2013

and look who I spotted as we were walking along level one .....

Donatella Versace

A host of events had been organised including catwalk shows and exhibitions and all for a good cause too ......the charity Dubai Cares which helps to improve children's access to quality primary education in developing countries.

Our next stop ..... Level Shoe District, the largest shoe store in the world which was also celebrating its first birthday with a special extravaganza 'Let The Shoe Begin' and it all looked so glitzy and glamorous .........

miss b loves.......Paris Street Style

One of the things I enjoy about Paris is sitting outside a pavement café people-watching or rather admiring Parisian ladies with that 'je ne sais quoi' style .....those outfits that look effortlessly stylish .... I know that's a bit of a cliché but it's true.....they manage to look as if they haven't tried too hard yet they look so polished....chic, classic but with a modern twist.

Imagine my delight when I unwrapped this lovely gift 'Paris Street Style - A Guide to Effortless Chic' (by Isabelle Thomas and Frédérique Veysset), which was bought for me in Anthropologie, New York.

The Eiffel Tower heel immediately caught my eye! A book cover says a great deal about a book...I knew I was going to enjoy it....... 

This is not just a list of what to wear and what to avoid. Of course they include suggestions about the essential items we should have in the wardrobe but there are many tips on how to add a little originality. The book also encourages us to look again at old favourites in our wardrobe in order to add our own personal style to today's looks.

I  like the way the book features photos of people from the streets of Paris, as well as fashion icons, wearing a mix of high street and designer and there's a range of ages too. 

miss b loves.........dresses

Fashion has always interested me. I even used to create outfits for my Sindy dolls and in my late teens created quite a few designs for myself! (If only I'd taken photos!)

I'm also fascinated by the history of Fashion and I knew that I would enjoy the Design Museum's book 'Fifty Dresses That Changed The World' which describes iconic dresses which have had an impact on the Fashion World ...... going right back to the 1915 Delphos Pleated Dress by Mariano Fortuny which allowed a revolutionary freedom of movement ........

There's Marilyn Monroe's halter neck dress from 'The Seven Year Itch'.......
  

...... and probably the most famous little black dress, the Givenchy design, worn by Audrey Hepburn in 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'...

Of course to say that a dress can change the world is a dramatic statement but there is no doubt that many of the dresses in the book changed or influenced the way we dress.......

miss b loves .......shoe quotes and more shoes!

During our trip to Dubai last month I decided to return to Level Shoe District, the world's biggest shoe store. (You can read about my first visit here.) This time there were shoe quotes everywhere and I couldn't resist taking photos of a few favourites .......

I definitely agree with this one too ....

.....some good advice.......

miss b loves ...........bags

                                    

The number of bags in my wardrobe continues to grow almost as quickly as my shoe collection. This interest in bags has developed over the years and I'm just drawn to them in all their shapes and sizes. Fifty Bags that Changed the World by Design Museum was obviously the book for me...........

It describes each iconic bag which has had an impact starting with the original 1860 Gladstone red Budget Box used by dozens of
British Chancellors of the Exchequer on Budget Day........... 

......there's the carpetbag, newsboy bag, gas-mask bag and the schoolboy satchel (which seems to have had a revival - I especially like the Cambridge Satchel Company  range of sizes and colours!)

Of course the quilted  Chanel 2.55, allowing women to carry a handbag with their hands free, is featured........

miss b loves.........shoes and a shoe wardrobe update

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'Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world' 
 Marilyn Monroe

I have always had a thing about shoes(and handbags!)and I know that it runs in the family too! When I spotted this little book..........

........I had to buy it! If you too are a bit of a shoeaholic then you'll enjoy it........