The Paris couture shows are taking the runways by storm this week, and while folks generally take a gander at the often-outrageous looks and wonder who on earth would ever wear such nonsense, I find couture gawking the perfect indulgence – especially in these trying times. It’s like rolling around in a vat of Cherry Garcia or having that third - ok fourth - margarita.
So imagine my dismay when I came across the Karl Lagerfeld show for Chanel. It’s all white. It’s suit skirts. It’s a jewelry wasteland. Of course there were fabulously intricate white hats that dazzled the well-heeled crowd, but I’m not in the mood for white right now, Karl. This economy blows. I’m no longer getting my hair highlighted. I want an escape, not a reminder of how bland life is now that I'm off the $4 lattes.
Thankfully, Christian Lacroix is my new ‘white’ knight in shining couture. Not only are there colors exploding all over his catwalk, but the jewelry is an over-the-top display of decadence the likes of which I’ve never seen before. It’s like going down a bauble-filled rabbit hole on crack.
Dinner plate-sized hoop earrings, stacks of mismatched lacquer and crystal cuffs, multiple layerings of giant necklaces, gilded heart-shaped lockets, faux fronds of coral, beaded everything but the kitchen sink… Clearly, words don’t do the show justice, but Style.com’s reviewer comes close:
“(The show) was a pleasure to witness and something to be inspired by. Even if only the very few will own a part of this collection, there's an idea in there for every fashion watcher: If you've got jewelry, it's time to bring it out and try piling it on all at once.”
So perhaps we mere mortals can take a lesson from the ivory tower of runway fashion. If you’ve got it, flaunt it. Anything goes. If you’ve still got those rubber bangles from the 80s, put 'em on with your diamond necklace and that beaded choker you're afraid to wear for fear it makes you look 'easy'.
I may be getting a little couture-crazed, but if you don't want to scare the neighbors, you at least have to get the full effect of the Lacroix jewelry dreamscape by checking out the dizzying pics on Style.com. And be sure to pair your viewing with a nice pint of New York Super Fudge Chunk. You’ll thank me for it later.