I wish I was there!!! I don’t have anything else to say.
Post with images coming soon.

For those of us who were not fancy enough to be invited to the opening of Chanel’s “The Little Black Jacket” exhibit or don’t live in Japan (or won’t be visiting any time soon), we can still see the stunning work of Karl Lagerfeld and Carine Roitfeld. All of the photos from The Little Black Jacket: CHANEL’s classic revisited by Karl Lagerfeld and Carine Roitfeld are on view on a new Chanel microsite devoted to the exhibit. The site is a bit interactive as hints of photos rotate you click on one to see the full photo. It will take some time to see all of the photos – I kind of wish there was a way to just scroll through them all but that’s just the rushed person in me who has no time for everything. By displaying the photos the way they did, I think Chanel intends for you to peruse and discover as you would in a real gallery. Enjoy!
http://thelittleblackjacket.chanel.com/
Check out the teaser below:
“[N]ature makes a good designer, no?” – Karl Lagerfeld, on the Chanel Fall-Winter 2012/13 Ready-to-Wear collection inspiration (WWD).
Karl Lagerfeld transported us to a place crystallized in time with larger-than-life stalagmites jutting through the floors of the Grand Palais in Paris and shooting toward the skies. The purple-grey tones set the mood for the 2012/12 fall-winter ready-to-wear collection. Lagerfeld’s quip about nature being a good designer is evident from his taking inspiration from nature for many of his previous shows including glaciers, burnt embers of the earth and the sea.
Referring to the crystals, Lagerfeld stated, “[t]hese shapes are millions of years old”, yet somehow they managed to inspire silhouettes and shapes in apparel that were new. Karl Lagerfeld has played with the skirts over pants look for a few seasons and he continued it again for Fall-Winter 2012/13. I admit, I am not a fan of this look – I like either pants or skirts – not both at the same time. That said, by pairing them together we see the flexibility you have to wear either or both and it’s nice to have options. My favorite items – apparel wise – from this collection are the cropped, ankle-length skinny pants. I’ve been hemming my pants to this length lately and seeing this look on the runway made me feel like Uncle Karl approved.
You all know I love Chanel but I was not a fan of the overall silhouette – simply because I felt like it wasn’t very flattering or pretty. The rounded shoulders were ok but the belling out at the hips of the coats and the skirts over the pants threw me off with some looks. It looked like something that would work only on the bodies of super-models, and even on them I didn’t think it was the most flattering. That said, the artistry, as always was spectacular. The rich tweeds, the delicate lace, the finishes on the fabrics to give them a metallic sheen and most of all the luxurious feathered pieces were all stunning in their deceptive simplicity.
Accessory-wise this was not my favorite show either – don’t hate me, I’m just being honest. I found that the cuffs with large crystals sometimes read a little bit New Age-hippy-dippy to me. That said, there were also spectacular pieces like the collars/chest plates, the sexy line of the shoes, the mesh gloves (and the length of the gloves!) and the handbags (not counting the crushed velvet ones). I’m sure as more detailed images are released I will find more to love.
All in all, I think this was a successful collection but it’s almost a relief to see a Chanel show and know that I won’t be pining away for every single item in the show. I’ll need a little breathing room to save for pieces from the next collection (or prior collections!). View the full collection below…
Images: Style

Sending lots of love, chocolate and hopefully Chanel your way! Have a great day!
xoxo
Gabriella
Styling and Jewelry Provided By: Liz Baca, The Goods!
Photographed by: Gabriella

Chanel is hosting Numéros Privés (“private numbers”), an eight-day invitation-only event/installation housed at the Wynn in Las Vegas. The event launched on Friday with a soiree and in true Chanel fashion, the company charted private jets to fly in important clients, friends of the brand, and celebrities including the darling Les Fidèles de Chanel. Entertainment included DJs Alexa Chung and Nick Cohen with a live performance by Imelda May and her band (retro rockabilly – video posted below if you’re not familiar).
Barbara Cirkva, Chanel’s fashion division president stated that the purpose of Numéros Privés is to “surprise and delight people” – and surprise and delight it did. With ten rooms all devoted to the signatures of the brand, the exhibition played on Coco Chanel’s lucky numbers 5, 2.55 and 31. WWD reported:
One room was filled with Chanel Bearbrick dolls and matching wallpaper, another displayed fine jewelry among sculpted topiaries. There was a recreation of Coco’s apartment at 31 Rue Cambon, and a digital room that decoded the making of the 2.55 handbag. It had quilted leather walls. But no room was as popular as the one filled with old-school carnival claw games, where mesmerized guests tried to grab little Chanel gift bags with a mechanical arm.
The event also coincides with the store re-opening at the Bellagio and with Chinese New Year when many international clients travel to Las Vegas.
I only have one question…where was MY invitation? It MUST have gotten lost in the mail:)
Source: WWD
Image of Rachel Zoe at carnival claw game: The Zoe Report
Chanel is big in Japan – and they know it. On March 21-23 Chanel will host three events: a presentation of the winter couture show, the opening a pop-up shop, and opening an exhibition devoted to Chanel’s iconic tweed jackets to showing images from Karl Lagefeld’s book “The Little Black Jacket,” and styled by Carine Roitfeld. WWD
The Manhattan Vintage show is February 3 & 4 in NYC – get your tickets to buy some great vintage Chanel. Manhattan Vintage

More for the new sport collection from Chanel including a Cane and Tennis Racket Set. Hypebeast
Chanel introduces the Premiere Flying Tourbillon – commence drooling now. Rare Delights
The Coveteur visits Massaro – the atelier responsible for making Chanel shoes and creating the iconic two-tone pump. The Coveteur
I want this for my car. Twitter
Meet Karl Lagerfeld’s kitten Choupette…Stylite
Chanel: Couture and Industry is one of the many new recent books that have come out about our favorite couturière, Coco Chanel. Unlike some of the more scandalous biographies, Chanel: Couture and Industry is a breath of fresh air because it focuses on Chanel in the context of fashion history.
Coco Chanel is synonymous with elegance, fashion innovation and modernity and in Chanel: Couture and Industry, Amy de la Haye examines the creative output of the House of Chanel from its infancy in the 1920s, to the present day under the tutelage of Karl Lagerfeld. Using the renowned collections of the V&A as her sources, fashion historian Amy de la Haye shows how Coco Chanel changed the way modern women dress.
Chanel: Couture and Industry includes beautiful images of original Chanel pieces – many of which can only be seen in museums – and many of which I have never seen before in any other Chanel publication. Chanel is the third book in the V&A Fashion Series covering key innovators in the world of fashion. If you are looking for a book that focuses more on Chanel in the context of fashion history then this is the book for you – or a great gift for any Chanelphile. Chanel: Couture and Industry is available online on Amazon.com.
François Lesage, the heir to the Maison Lesage embroidery studio, passed away last week at the age of 82 after losing his battle to his illness. Maison Lesage was created by François’ father and he took the helm when his father passed away in 1949. Though Maison Lesage was the embroidery studio for all of Paris’ best designers, this is particularly sad for Chanel because Chanel bought Maison Lesage in 2002 as part of Paraffection in a plan to preserve “petite mains” – the heritage of artisans, their age-old crafts and their couture ateliers. Looking ahead and knowing the delicacy of the situation, François Lesage started an embroidery school in the atelier. Maison Lesage will continue embroidering. I send my deepest condolences to the Lesage family.