"A girl is just as hot as the shoes she choose..."

"I need some new stiletto's, can't walk down the street in those. You are what you wear, it's true. A girl is only as hot as the shoes she choose.." Fashion - Lady Gaga.

Classic Christian Louboutin's.

Quoting Lady Gaga is not a thing I usually would do, however, the girl have got a point. Shoes are indeed important to us girls.

To give you an example: I have a friend who were close to tears last week because she hated her shoes so much (new, perfectly nice ones from Topshop), I met her some days later, and she was happy as a bird again because she had been shopping some nice boots to replace the old (relatively new) ones. I suspect that the pattern will repeat itself next month. And I also suspect that the shoes was not the real problem either. Girls put some pretty interesting virtues into their shoes and clothes,e.g you have sweaters who can cure heartache, killer heels that rise your self esteem ten notches, and jeans who make all the suffering in the world go away.

Shopping has always been sort of an therapy for women, and shoes has perhaps been the most therapeutical shopping treatment of them all. You can not go wrong with shoes. As pointed out in the Cameron Diaz movie "In her shoes" ; shoes fits no matter what. It does not matter if you had a big dinner, or if you unfortunately gained some weight during Christmas.

I know girls who are the happy owners of over 300 pairs of shoes. And you know what? They still do not have enough of them.

That said, here is some of my favourites this autumn. And yes, I know the shoes I have chosen is of the crazily expensive kind, but just regard it as insipiration. If Lady Gaga is right, these shoes would indeed make the owner very hot...

The Over Knee's

See by Chloe - Over knee boots.

Camilla Skovgaard - Suede over knee boots.

The Boots

See by Chloe - Laced up wedges.

MiuMiu - Motorcycle boots (brown).

Camilla Skovgaard - Grey elephant style ankle boots.

Christian Louboutin.

The Party shoes

Jimmy Choo - Faxon mixed material ankle boot.

Camilla Skovgaard - Brown strappy ankle boots.

The Everyday Sneakers

Jimmy Choo - Patent/ leather sneakers.

New York, London, Milan , Paris s/s 2011

Marc Jacobs ss 2011 Resort Collection.

Just as we start to figure out the a/w 2010 must haves, the fast moving world of fashion is allready miles ahead of us. The autumn has not yet begun, but the fall fashion is soon becoming yesterday news, as the s/s 2011 is stealing all the glamour. The everchanging world of fashion sometimes can make you feel like you have hit the shuffle button a bit too many times. Living in the present is by far not the correct thing to do, as everything is about whats going to happen in the future (that is repeating the past in fashion curricula, e.g we are doing the 50's right now).

LFW is coming to an end, and the fashion royalty has fled to Milan to check out the Italian fashion week. New York opened the circus, and Paris is going to finnish it.

Are you one of the happy few who are going to the London Fashion Weekend? LFWeekend is an event open to us commoners, which allows us, by a fee of course, to shop designer items at reduced prices, zip champagne, and enjoy a 30 minute runway show. After the fashion royalty has gorged in fashion for days, it is finally your turn to enjoy the glamour, and it really makes you feel like you are a part of the fashionista gang. I am sad to say though that I am not going this year, as my agenda is a bit too packed. However, I promise to shop double quota next year.

So what trends are we looking at for s/s 2011? From what I have seen it is a mixture of patterns and colours, and I suspect that after this seasons classy and pure look it will lean towards two directions. Some will choose to continue with that purity, other will try to "fun" it up and give the coming summer a real attitude.

It was snakeskin, silver and studs at Burberry Prorsum, all black/white and monochrome at John Rocha and florals, butterflies and Art Nouveau inspired at Erdem.

My personal favourite so far was the Marc Jacobs New York show.

He had made a wonderful collection oozing of 70's glam and disco, where colours such as fuchsia, pink and purple played a leading role. Think oversized sunglasses, big hats and the sort of style and glamour that sends your thoughts dreamily away to the French Riviera. The garments consisted of silk and organza, and spanned from the shiny heavy dresses to supersoft floating veils. I loved it.

Marc Jacobs ss2011 Resort Collection.

I am considering ways to incorporate the look into my now so outdated summer wardrobe (bye,bye nautical stripes) and the tickets for Cannes in July are allready booked. I do wonder though, is pink the new black next season?

But you know what? It is so much nicer to live in the present, so pink aside, lets enjoy the autumn fashion for a little bit longer. We will have enough time to drowl over the spring look in February, while the fashion royalty is moving on to a/w 2011.

Inside Stacey's Closet...

My very fashionable friend Stacey agreed to open up her closet for me, and I got a sneak peak into how she is planning to rock the a/w 2010 look. Stacey opts for a trench in a darker shade, and rolled up grown up trousers. Stacey describes her style as casual, fuss-free, and a bit girlie. Her style icon is Jennifer Aniston, so "anything Jennifer Aniston would wear, I would wear" Stacey laughs. Stacey goes on telling me that "This autumn I will wear darker colours, like dark green and earthy shades, in addition to the occasional whites. I like high street brands. Because as a student I don't like splurging money I don't have. My favourite brands on the high street are H&M and Topshop, and Uniqlo does great trousers. When I can afford it, I am definitely hitting the Miu Miu and Mulberry stores. And I am definitely getting a bag from Bottega Veneta. My favourite brand for men is Ermenegildo Zegna. When I was seventeen, a boy bought a Ermenegildo Zegna coat for himself for my prom, so I could look at it, just because he knew I liked it. I really hoped he would take it off though, but that didn't happen..".

Dress-Dorothy Perkins, wedges-H&M.

Trench-Gap, top & wedges-H&M, trousers-Uniqlo, necklace-Dorothy Perkins.

Dress- Miss Selfridges, watch - from Milan.

Thank you Stacey, I hope You will get that Bottega Veneta bag very soon (or else I will..).

Check out that Tweet..

The world is as always evolving, and suddenly I am on Twitter. Noone is more surpised than I am, I can promise you that. Anywho... Follow me on https://twitter.com/stylebyelisabet

Fancy is'nt it?

Style Icons

Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's"

I have a thing for nail polish, and I love to try new, radiant colours. But those times I would like to try an entirley different look, or try a colour I feel that might could be a bit courageus for me, I always buy Chanel. Because noone can criticise Chanel, hence, noone can criticise my nails.

I was 18, at work in the shop, trying on a pair of Versace jeans for the first time, when the lady that owned the shop asked me if I liked the jeans. Inexperienced as I was, thinking that my opinion mattered, I replied that I did not like the length and that noone could possibly be that tall.

The fashion guru then frowned her brows and told me " who are you to say anything about Versace?".

That was the time I learned that you do not criticise fashion geniuses, you just nod, and try to replicate them.Intriguing is'nt it?

Coco Chanel

Everyone has a style icon. Someone that they think have the most faboulous style, and that they get inspired by looking at. You have the classical style icons, like Audrey Hepburn,Grace Kelly and Coco herself, and you have the more recent ones, like Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Sienna Miller, Alexa Chung and Chole Sevigny. Whatever suits you taste. Girls find pride in having their own style. But the question that could be asked is; does anyone have a style of their own anymore? My answer is no, you do not. When you wear those Mango shoes and that H&M dress, you do not do a new and groundbreaking thing. You just replicate. To judge who is best dressed and who has a gorgeus style, the question is rather who is the best at replicating what they have seen in the fashion magazines. There is nothing wrong with that. I think it is great that girls are interested in fashion, and that they try new combinations and shop the things they think is beautiful. As long as they do not think they are doing something completely new. You get your inspiration from somewhere, perhaps even the windows at the nearest Zara. We normal, mortal girls do not make the trends, we just wear them.

Coco Chanel, stylish as ever.

However, there are individuals that do break barriers and change fashion forever. And it was not until recently that I knew how much Coco Chanel actually did. I watched the gorgeus movie "Coco before Chanel" (highly recommended) and I felt a teardrop in my eye at the end of the movie when we could see her first collection. Knowing that at Coco's time, the women was wearing long, magnificent, extragavant dresses, big hats which made it almost impossible for them to turn their heads in a normal manner (or even think in Coco's eyes), jewellery, bows and rosettes and all this other extra "topping", they all looked like giant wedding cakes - it makes it more fantastic to think about Coco's style. It was so simple, but oh so elegant, and oh so groundbreaking and extraordinary. Her little signature suit, her love for black, and the way she made fashion easy to wear. Before Coco, women actually could spend up to two hours getting dressed, and they even needed help to do that. We owe Coco Chanel so much fashionwise, but most of us do not really know it. We just go on browsing the fashion magasines, not knowing that it was Coco that had the nautical stripes for the first time, and that most of her stuff would look perfectly sane and elegant on the street today. That is what I call timeless elegance.

Grace Kelly.

Another woman that has sculpted our view of fashion is the always beautiful Audrey Hepburn, and I have yet to meet a girl who has seen "Breakfast at Tiffany's" without feeling inspired. We still love her big sunglasses, her elegant lines, and her fantastic headband from the window scene. Grace Kelly unfortunately died way too young, but she managed to marry Rainier of Monaco, and also create a new standard for Hollowood glamour.

It is important to know who influences you, and who you get inspiration from. Those days you do not know what to wear, think "what would she wear", and perhaps you will have the best fashion moment ever that day.

As for myself, I get inspiration from everywhere. Women on the street, advertisements, movies, to mention some. However, I am aware of that I do not have the most exciting style. I love a good pair of jeans, some layers of t-shirts and cardigans, a big scarf and I am good to go. I love the notion of that you can look ok without putting too much effort into it. Just look at Jennifer Aniston. Her simple dresses on the red carpet, her jeans and effortless, but always right on the spot, style when private. She never wears too much make-up, she always has casually perfect hair.She reminds me of the commercial made for Jaguar some time ago which said:

"Gorgeus make effort look effortless".

I love fashion, and I know that some of it is thanks to all those fantastic women and men that have created the historic fashion moments we all remember. And as I have learned and grown older, I feel secure enough to actually mean something about the creations and looks I see presented on Catwalks or in stores.

But I will never criticise Coco Chanel.

Who are your style icon?

(And yes, as some of you might have noticed, this is a "recycled" post, which I have posted before. Reason for me doing this? My camera is broken, and I am in the middle of a dissertation. But I promise it will never happen again. Ever.)

Walk-in closet..

I have a dream...and this is how that dream looks like. Enough said.

British Fashion - is that a belt or a dress?

I am tempted to quote an old Shania Twain classic: "That don't impress me much". Now, do not get me wrong. This post is not about British designers, they actually do impress me, over and over again. I love Stella, McQueen (may he rest in peace) and the whole lot. I really do. No, this post is about how British people really dress, and in particular, the British girls - the young English roses.

As a Norwegian who for most of my youth was living in a pretty small city, situated between forests and farms, the fashion options was somewhat scarce. Later, living in Oslo, I experienced the "big city" aura, and found a broader shopping arena. Most girls in Norway dresses pretty nice (but believe me, there are exeptions). However, if you dress badly in Norway, or boring even, you actually have an excuse - the options are indeed limited, and the Jante law (you are not supposed to believe you are better, or anything different than anybody else) has a pretty firm grip on society, whether we acknowledge it or not.

But the British girls on the other hand, they have no excuse. They are surrounded with high street stores like Topshop and New Look, which all do a pretty good job copying the catwalk looks (often before the looks has even reached the designer stores). In addition, fashion comes cheaply (something I don't necessarily endorse), and I hate myself for saying this - even Primark sometimes can make something look rather decent ( again, I will never, ever shop there - it is a matter of sticking to my beliefs). So I hope I have made my case clear : The British girls has no excuse if they dress badly, they are surrounded with fashion, and it is indeed affordable. So how come so many of them look like they do not have a mirror(or abest friend to say "no-no") at home?

In my opinion it is a courtesy towards the people around you to try to look nice.

So does the British girls lack respect towards others? If you have never been to the UK, you probably do not know what I am talking about. And if you do live in the UK (and you are British), you are probably a bit offended by now. However, it is not my intention to offend (many of you look very nice), but I do intend to explain how some of the British girls have created a bad fashion reputation, making innocent stylish British girls suffer (or follow due to bad taste - as stated in an earlier post - bad taste is rather sticky and contagious).

For me what young girls in the UK wears and their fashion sense, can be placed in three main categories:

1. Amy Winehouse look-alikes (I never thought she could be a role model until I moved to the UK, but surprisingly she is). These girls wear way too much eye make up, their clothes are dark and often a bit shredded. They tend to be either a bit too fat or too skinny, but they never dress to their shape. Above all, they love high hair and false eyelashes. Their killer heels are sky high, and that often lead to very bad bruises after a night out. Bambi on ice.

2. Jordan wannabes( also known as Katie Price followers). Their dresses look more like big belts than actual dresses, they just LOVE to show off their panties. Every weekend they run off to the beauty saloon and get a refill of Fake-Bake and extensions, and then they run off happily to the club with their orange skin, showing off everything nature has given them, and drink themselves silly drunk while singing girl power classics.

3. Kate Moss/Agyness Deyn overachievers. They are too cool to be cool. These girls probably have the best taste, but they just don't know when to stop. They have chosen classy role models, but they pursue their look in a very unclassy way. They stack up on everything that is fashionable at the moment, they mix and match things that should never be mixed and matched- just because they can't choose which style to pursue. They want it all, and they end up looking like cheap wannabe's, and indeed, they love the belt/dress as well. All those mentioned above do actually. (Worth noticing: the real Kate and Agyness rocks though - FFL-Fashionista For Life).

Let me explain the belt/dress. It is those dresses that make you think "Is it a belt or a dress?Belt?Dress?Belt?Dress?I reeeaaaally can't decide...". They are often seen on supermodels, and lately the style has caught on like a bad flu (some few lucky chicks pull it off with style, and their dignity intact). But I have never been anywhere where the phenomenon has been as widespread as in the UK. The girls wear them in stormy weather, in snow, and in sunshine. They wear them regardless of weight, skintone and blemishes. Needless to say, sometimes it looks rather awful and trashy ( two words : stuffed turkey).

I have a very fabolous French friend who describe the style of the British as:

"They do not understand the art of suggestion".

What do my French friend mean? Well, while French girls is known for being (mostly) classy, the British girls really like to flaunt it. They don't let their clothes suggest whats underneath, they let the lack of clothes show what's underneath instead. Not always a good choice, and if you ask the British boys (nice young chaps), they will answer that showing it all off, makes you rather uninteresting and boring.

I could probably say a lot more about the clothing worn by a lot of British girls, and perhaps someday I will as well. However,my goal is not to trash a nations style. My goal is rather to guide you away from pitfalls that are pretty easy to avoid if you know about them.

So, here is my list of the top 10 things to avoid, if you do not want to fall into one of my three categories of british girls:

#1 If you are not sure if you are wearing a dress or a belt, it is always a belt. Always.

#2 If your heels are too high to walk in sober, you will not become any better at walking in them after a bottle of wine.

# 3 There is such a thing as too much animal print. Enough said.

# 4 If you wear a short dress, wear hotpants and forget about the g-string ( it is out of fashion anyway).

# 5 If you can't button up the top button in your trousers, they are probably too small, or you should stop eating chips all the time. (Chips is not a vegetable, and will never, ever be healthy, even though the british seems to think it is).

#6 If your lashes are too heavy to open your eyes, you have probably exaggerated on the lash extensions.

# 7 If your hair make you look like Barbie, that's how you are going to get treated as well.

# 8 Fake bake(the english term for spray tan) usually make you look like a citrus fruit. Never do it the same night as you are going out, and some should never do it at all.

# 9 If your boobs is almost falling out of the dress when you are home, they will definitely be falling out when you are hopping around in the club. Wear something else and give the dress to charity.

# 10 And for Christ sake, loose those UGG's during summer. No way it is comfortable in + 30 degrees celsius, and stylewise , it is so 2000&late...

A lesson learned, a lesson shared..

Just like every woman should have a black leather jacket in their wardrobe, every woman need a trench coat. I had been looking for the perfect trench since I was 15 (not that easy finding a classy grown-up trench in size xxs) when I during the spring of 2009 encountered a rather splendid one (size xs-s) from Benetton. I could not believe my luck and bought it asap. However, I did a stupid, oh so stupid, thing last fall, when I washed it in my brand new laundry machine (naughty naughty). Indeed the trench ended up being the size I longed for and was looking for at 15, but at 24 the same size did not actually fit that well anymore. I looked like a stuffed doll. So yet again, I was trench-less. I was on the hunt and pretty miserable until I found this gorgeous one from Gant. I am meeting the autumn with a smile, and I will do my best not to shrink any more favourite garments in the future. A lesson learned, a lesson shared.

Have you ever treated your clothes badly, or destroyed a favourite item?

"Beauty magazines only make you feel ugly"?

"Beauty magazines only make you feel ugly" is a saying most of us have heard. True or not, beauty magazines is a great source of inspiration for most uf us, when it comes to fashion, health and beauty. I love getting a sneak peak into the wardrobe of true fashionistas, and to get tips about the latest trends and the newest hot brands. However, there is in my opinion very variable how good a beauty magazine actually are, and after years of trial and failure I have finally found my favourites.

My beloved Elle UK.

Elle UK is like a jar of candy every time I open it. Lots of pictures and not too many "serious" articles. Because let us be honest, we do not buy fashion magazines to read about serious stuff (if we wanted that, we would by a newspaper instead). The pictures are beautiful and in overflow, the front page is always gorgeous, and the tips you get is actually worth noticing. Elle is also the magazine that usually are the first one out with a runway edit (very important for inspiration) in addition to always being spot on with the trends.

Some may say that there is too much advertising in the magazines. My response to that is: You are missing out on the very best part of the fashion magazine experience. I always spend at least 15 minutes flipping through and studying the advertisements who appears infront of the editors letter, before I emabark on the rest. The reason? If you study the fashion pictures and campaigns released by the brands by hard, you can easily get a little bit of extra fashion pow-wow. For example, I studied the new Donna Karan New York campaign, and I noticed that the models were wearing this icy blue nail polish, together with the camel /brownish and rough clothes, it gave them quite an edge. Next time I went to "Tammy's nails" (this very cute nail saloon in Portsmouth, who gives you the best manicure for only 10 £) I asked if I could get my nails done in that icy blue shade. I turned some heads on the street, some old ladies wrinkled their noses, but I felt utterly fashionable, and a little bit daring. I almost got the same rush as when I was working my socks in sandals in Honfleur - France- and the other visitors at the resturant could'nt stop staring at my feet - and their food went cold.

So read the ads, they are not just rubbish, they are inspiration.

Elle also does great Collection issues, they cost a little more, but they look quite fancy, and you get even more gossip and glory form the catwalks.

My Norwegian favourite - Costume.

Whenever I am in Norway, my favourite is Costume. Written by fashionable women for fashionable women. They do not waste my time with too much silly stuff, and provides loads of pictures, information about where to get it and what it costs, and reports about where you can buy the best vintage, the best outlets and so on. And they stear clear of all the relationship stories/ sex tips that so many magazines turn to, just to sell a little bit more (as everybody know, put "how to get better at this and that" on the front page, and you will sell a 1000 more copies). Last time I checked Costume was all about clothes, I really,really hope they will keep it that way. If they do, they will at least keep me interested.

The Collection issue of Elle a/w 2010.

When I was little I learned that if I did not have anything nice to say, I should not say anything at all. And I honestly try to live by that rule. However, I am a girl, and everyone knows how girls can be. So here is a little bit about the lesser great things in the beauty/fashion magazines.

I was not used to this particular part of the beauty magazines from Norway, so I was quite shocked when I first realised that the last 20 pages or so in the UK fashion magazines are ads for plastic surgeons and different ways of dieting. I think that is absolutely horrendous. It is sort of like saying "OOh, look at all these gorgeous models, look at their full lips, their perfect breasts and toned abs - and then BAM! You are never going to look that way unless you suck out all your fat through a tube, inject loads of chemical substances in your body or eat nothing but water and seeds. Haha!".

That young girls feel somewhat unsufficient after reading a magazine is bad enough, hopefully they get by know how much photoshopping there actually is going on out there. But to put pages and pages of ads for plastic surgeons in magazines that are read by girls that probably are as young as 15? What kind of message is that sending? Plastic surgery is completely normal, everybody does it?

I really hope that this particular trend does not hit Norway. It is a great shame that the fashion magazines in this way displays that they care more about selling ad space, than the message they are actually sending their often young and insecure readers. Right here, I will slap my favourite, Elle UK, over the wrist and say "shame on you". ( But these kinds of ads is sadly more the norm than a rarity in the UK).

***

However, keep on reading magazines, enjoy them with a Chai Latte or a steaming hot Americano, and for Christ sake, enjoy that piece of chocolate as well. Have'nt you heard that every girl should get her chocolate and coffee? Because we're worth it.

I have a confession to make...

I have a confession to make...I am a shopaholic. Always has been, always will be.

I could blame it on the fact that while I was working in fashion, I had both the access and the opportunity to binge on lovely items at reduced prices. Or I could blame it on the fact that working in fashion meant that I could not stay away from clothes even if I wanted to (that would have meant I had to call in sick, which is completely against my high working morale). So this continously exposed me to new arrivals, new seasons and new trends, and I of course, wanted them all. My shopping budget on clothes alone could in earlier days, when I lived at home with my parents, and earned money I had noe idea what to do with, feed a little African country.

However, I will not blame my addiction to clothes on any of those statements above,as I have loved clothes since the time I learned what clothes was, approximately aged 2.

Probably did not working within a fabolous boutique exactly help. However, it is my solid opinion that if you do not love fashion, you should not be selling it either. Hence, my rightful place were in a boutique surrounded by the things I love.

So how bad is it? As a former Marketing student, I know all the tricks, but I still fall for them every time I am out shopping. Two pair for one you say? 10% off you say? Ahhh....that...err...takes off 1, 20 £ on the price..jeeeez. I just saved the equivalent of 12 NOK. Oh, so that's the colour I should be wearing (even though it makes my skin look green)? That mascara actually makes your eyelashes grow? That lipstick will make my boobs bigger? Oh, I will definitevely have that!! What about a bum minimising pair of gloves?Yes, sir!

We have all been there, thinking that a particular garment will change our lives for the better, believing that there is some hocus pocus behind the designer cuts that in a magical way will shine its light over our lives, and make us into whatever we aspire to be. That is the magic of shopping. You may not agree with me, but if you think about, the truth is that whenever you buy yourself something new, you are - in some way or another - trying to improve yourself for the better. You don't just buy an outfit, you buy a lifestyle and an image.

This notion is what making shops, and designers, earn money. They create an illusion of a possible lifestyle and an image, which normal people like us will pay a lot just to get a little piece of.

This is also why every season, you can see something new on the catwalk. This year it was Mad Men and the 50s. The brands wants to sell you that nostalgia, and if you do not have (or had) a classy grandma just your own size, you will have to run to the stores and buy these things. There is no point in selling you what you allready got.

That's why the denim from s/s 2010, has turned into camel a/w 2010. No way you could confuse those two.

If you look at commercials, they will always try to sell you the image of what you do not have. An example would be that in the US where the divorce rates are through the roof, all the commercials are full of happy families. In China, where collectivism has been the norm, but the youth stride for individual recognition and success, the commercials displays happy individuals making it on their own.

You have just attended Marketing for beginners.

So where was I? Oh yes, I am a shopaholic. Probably they will not make movies about me, as I am not as hopeless and lost as Becky Bloomwood. Currently a student, my spendings limit themselves (and I kind of got tired of hiding the bags from the man in the house). But I do shop. However, sometimes I try to steer clear of the shops, as I am aware of all the false cravings they create in people. No matter how strong I try to be when I walk into Gant, French Connection or Ralph Lauren, I know that I within minutes will become weak, and feel that it is absolutely essential for my future wellbeing that I buy exactly that pair of shoes, or that coat ( I loooooove coats and jackets).

So sometimes I just stay by my computer, and browse through pictures and websites for my daily fashion rush. Luckily, I am not into online shopping just yet.