THE QUEEN"S DIAMOND JUBILEE

Let's just say, it has been a very royal weekend! The royals were out in force to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee (60 years on the throne!). And of course, we had hats galore. It's so strange that we're not a part of the whole hat extravaganza in the States. We're wondering who are the crazy ones...us or them? Regardless, we thought Kate's hats looked great with both of her Alexander McQueen looks. We guess that if a designer like Sarah Burton (who also designed her wedding dress) happens to be working out for you, you might as well keep them! And seriously, isn't it amazing that even the guys get in on the top hat action? Sadly, we couldn't find a good enough picture of Prince William in his. 

Wish we could have been there this weekend. It sounds like it was quite the royal party!

THE REST OF CANNES 2012

Doutzen Kroes in Elie Saab 

Alexandra Maria Lara in Elie Saab Couture

Diane Kruger in Chanel

Berenice Bejo in Giambattista Valli Couture

Aishwarya Rai in Elie Saab

Kirsten Dunst in Dolce and Gabbana

Diane Kruger in Prabal Gurung

Kylie Minogue in Dolce and Gabbana

Elodie Bouchez in Chanel Couture

Caroline Sieber in Alessandra Rich

Marion Cotillard in Chanel

Reese Witherspoon in Versace

Here are some of the other looks from the Cannes red carpet. I don't think we ever realized how dressy the festival was! Anyway, we were so happy to see Berenice Bejo wear one of our favorite Giambattista Valli gowns (that we posted about here) on the red carpet! You can also see that Elie Saab was EVERYWHERE this year (just look at our other fancy red carpet posts and you'll see Mr Saab's designs all over the place). We also think Diane Kruger was consistently awesome throughout the festival. The Chanel look (near the top) was seriously RIGHT off the runway. The Chanel Resort 2013 collection showed while Cannes was going on. So everyone was way surprised to see her wearing one of the looks a few days later. Not to mention the collection seemed a bit crazy (some people were saying it was as if Marie Antoinette were to go on a cruise) but then again, we've been surprised when other seemingly unwearable collections show up on the red carpet and they look awesome.

Well there you have it! Here's our official goodbye to Cannes for this year!

CANNES 2012 HIGHLIGHT - Tilda Swinton

Tilda has chosen her go to designer Haider Ackermann in both looks here. She has had quite the history with the designer in looks like this, this and this to show just a few of the myriads. She even showed up with him (which she does quite often) at the Chanel Cruise collection held during the Cannes. We've always admired Tilda's fearless, often menswear inspired, style. She's definitely got a look that no one else in Hollywood has. It's strong and edgy but somehow always "Tilda." It's funny how we can't even look at Ackermann's lines these days and not see Tilda. It definitely has come to define the collections to a certain extent....

THE GOWNS AT CANNES 2012

Naomi Watts in Marchesa

Dianna Kruger in Nina Ricci

 Anne Consigny in Alexis Mabille Couture

Cheryl Cole in Stephane Rolland

Jessica Chastain in Gucci (we know it's low cut, but we couldn't resist something so beautiful!)

Li Bingbing and Frida Giannini (Gucci designer) both in Gucci designs

Jane Fonda in Roberto Cavali

 Barbara Palvin in Valentino

Eva Longoria in Alberta Ferreti

Fan Bingbing in Elie Saab

Fan Bingbing in Valentino Couture

So many beautiful gowns have been seen at Cannes this year. Yet, here are the more modest red carpet looks. We'd have to say that Fan Bingbing (who we've posted about before, here, and different from Li Bingbing up top) has been hitting the looks out of the park. I mean seriously? Her other looks worn at the festival are equally as stylish, but they happen to be strapless or too low cut etc. But man! That girl's got some style. Naomi Watts looked incredible in her Marchesa gown as well as Jessica Chastain in Gucci. We definitely have a soft spot for Jessica since she's a fellow class mate of ours, and we think she has looked amazing in every look at Cannes this year. We know the one pictured is low cut, but oh what a beautiful dress! We also absolutely loved Dianne Kruger's Nina Ricci dress. And funny enough Ms. Cosigny's Alexis Mabille Couture dress we have on our pinterest boards here. We also have some looks from Tilda Swinton coming, so stay tuned!

CANNES 2012 HIGHLIGHT - Eva Herzigova in Dolce and Gabbana

 
We're not the only ones who noticed it, but this look of Eva's reminds us so much of this scene, it's crazy. Something about the hair, the diamonds, the red carpeted stairs and the men in black all around her, have made us want to start singing "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend!" For your sake, it's a good thing blog posts come without sound.  OK we'll try to get beyond the Marilyn Monroe similarity, but truly, she looks stunning don't you think?

MODEST LOOKBOOK - Eva Green in Tom Ford

Looks like Eva Green has picked Tom Ford twice for two of the "Dark Shadows" premieres recently (the new Jonny Depp/Tim Burton movie). You can view her other look here. We've loved all of the Tom Ford looks as of late. They're simple, yet extremely sophisticated and classy. Oh and in case some of you are confused as to why we share modest red carpet looks, runway looks, etc., even though so few of us can ever afford such clothing? It's because we feel that if women and girls saw how many celebrities are wearing, and designers are creating, looks without a lot of skin, maybe they wouldn't feel so alone if they chose to cover up more. We felt alone when we looked for gowns, dresses, tops or skirts that covered enough and were stylish enough. Then we met and worked with the designer Zac Posen in dressing us for his fall 2009 line. When we told him some of our requirements in coverage, he didn't blink an eye. He said "oh, well we have MANY requests like that" - like it was no big deal. We were stunned. We weren't alone after all. It was then that we realized it went beyond religion. Many older women have similar requests, or younger women who don't want to show certain parts of their bodies because they think them unflattering. So that's why we created this blog. 

    But back to religion... some people really don't realize how big of a deal it actually is within religious families, communities and cultures.  It's something you grow up with, or convert into. And we'll admit, we haven't always dressed "modestly." But for some reason, when you walk into a church, cathedral, temple, or sacred place wherever you are in the world, you suddenly feel a bit self conscious. Or take that a step further... why do you think there is "office wear"? We tend to feel self conscious showing skin in these places because they are environments where the mind or the sacred is supposed to be the focus. And believe us theoretically, fashion and religion or fashion and office wear don't mix terribly well. But that doesn't mean we all need to wear boring black suits or long linen skirts with long-sleeved cotton t-shirts (even though we think this is an awesome version of the look :)!

    For instance, you all remember the royal wedding right? Did you notice that every single woman as a guest at that event wore what most of us would consider to be "modest" in coverage of their bodies (we're not talking about the broader definition of the word)? There's a reason for that. No one feels a need to go into a religious or sacred place showing skin. And that's the mentality we and others have for our daily lives. That's why the blog. That's why the red carpet looks, the runway looks, the street style looks. We just want people to know that there are options out there. And hey, we'd say Tom Ford is a pretty good one today!

THE DUCHESS - wearing Roland Mouret

 

On the topic of formal wear and red carpets, we might as well include this look that Kate Middleton wore the other night to a Thirty Club event where William was speaking.  We think it's hilarious how everyone is calling it a "daring dress." Why? Because of the slit up the middle. How interesting, that she's all covered up and people call it "daring." In any case, we love the overall look and are glad she threw on the sassy Jimmy Choo shoes. They're definitely a change from her usual prim look. By the way, what do you all think of the term "daring"? Fitting or not? (Eh hem...we must give you all of the evidence....)

MET GALA 2012

Linda Evangelista in Prada

Caroline Trentini in Theyskins' Theory

Liya Kebede in Tory Burch

Mia Wasikowska in Prada

Tory Burch in Tory Burch

Rosie Huntington Whitely in Burberry

Jaime King in Topshop

Ginnifer Goodwin in Monique Lhullier


Lily Collins in Valentino Couture

Camerin Diaz in Stella McCartney

Rihanna in Tom Ford

Sarah Jessica Parker in Valentino Couture

Karolina Kurkova in Rachel Zoe

Dakota Fanning in Louis Vuitton

Anna Wintour in Prada

Mary-Kate Olsen in The Row

Here are the more modest looks from the Met Costume Institute Gala Monday night. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the event, some have come to title it the "night of a 1,000 dresses". It's an evening wear who's who in film, TV, runway and print take their favorite designers to one of the glitziest balls of the year. So really it's just a night of crazy designer fashion and celebrity. And again, we were pretty excited to see so many sleeved looks this year. Now it's your turn for some input... do you guys have any favorites?