Beyonce's Maternity Style Includes Leopard Print Scarf

Up front confession here. I love a scarf. I mean LOVE a scarf. I probs wear a scarf four days of the week. Easily. If not more. I must have bought ten new ones in Spain last week. But my all-time favourite and the one you will see me in most often is leopard print. I wear that a lot. And it is the one in my Twitter avatar. So imagine my joy at seeing a glowing and beautifully pregnant Beyonce rocking a scarf very similar yesterday in New York City.
Let's not forget that the rest of the outfit is pretty sharp too. Love the structured red jacket, worn with the skinny jeans. If this isn't a clear message that skinny jeans aren't just for the very skinny, I don't know what is. I mean, Bey has junk in her trunk and she is preggers. Bam. And just look at her. Hot as the fires of hell. Go get yours now!

Kate Middleton Wins Best Dressed Woman of the Year in Britain

Beating off the obvious competition, Kate Middleton, The Duchess of Cambridge, has been named at the number one spot on the annual Harpers Bazaar list of Best Dressed Woman of the Year in the UK. Based, of course, largely on her triumphant wedding dress by Alexander McQueen, Kate has been praised for her combination of show stopping British couture and pretty, flippy high street style. Overlooking her terrible taste in hosiery, and her rather dull shoes, this accolade is well deserved, if only from the sheer excitement and anticipation for each and every one of her appearances - to see what she will wear. And she and Wills are making an appearance today in Geneva. You can bet your bottom dollar that you will come back to the blog tomorrow and find pictures of her outfit right here. See you then.

It is worth mentioning that the other members of the top 10 list included Florence Welch in second spot (love!), Kate Moss in forth, the amazing Tilda Swinton in fifth, and Alexa Chung in ninth. Designers Stella McCartney and Phoebe Philo also made the list, as did eco-designer Livia Firth. Great list right?!

Adele Covers Cosmopolitan Magazine. In Full.

I don't necessarily love this cover image of genius songstress, Adele. But despite that, I love it. Let me explain. Adele is universally loved. Well, mostly. My 13 year old niece finds her music utterly irritating due exclusively to the fact that her mother listens to it all the time. But, with the odd adolescent exception, everyone pretty much loves Adele. However she is not a stick thin girl. She is not the type of girl who finds herself on the cover of a fashion magazine. And if she does, she will be cropped to just a floating head. We have seen it before and we will see it again. Only not this time.
Cosmopolitan has decided to actually stick the girl in one of the usual Cosmo cover pose. Just like everyone else. So, while she looks faintly like she is going to faint with the uncomfortableness of it all, she is in fact there in full. Looking amazing. Yes, I am quite sure that the photoshot brushes have been deployed, but she still looks like Adele. And I am pretty sure that beautiful face is having the last laugh. In our faces. Good for her.

Candice Swanepeol Launches New Fragrance, Angel

Victoria Secret's new fragrance was launched yesterday, appropriately called 'Angel'. Hosting the launch was our very own South African angel, Candice Swanepoel, together with one of her model besties, Erin Heatherton. And didn't the girls look beautiful in their white dresses?

Candice has had a great week, having been voted as one of the best dressed on Halloween. Not bad for a girl from the wilds of Kwazulu Natal.

Zara South Africa. Everything You Need to Know.

Hey local fashion gang. You want to know what you are going to be able to buy at the new Zara store when it launches in SA? Well take a look at this picture. That, my friends, is a small selection of what you will be able to buy. Soon. Right here in Sandton.

When we were at the offices last week we met the team focused on South Africa, together with the trend forecaster team, with whom they work super-closely. And here is the thing. We will not be waiting six months for the 'summer' trends. Oh no. We will get exactly the same trends that the northern hemisphere gets. Every week. Twice a week. Within three weeks of the trend being identified. Seriously. It will just be in different fabrics and with tweaks for the weather. Amazing, right? If this doesn't fundamentally revolutionise SA fashion and consumer expectations, I don't know what will.

And the stores will look like all the other stores in the world. Which all look like this one here, the pilot store, which is not a store at all but a staging area in the office in Spain. That's me there on the left, sandwiched between Chris Viljoen and Dion Chang. The other thing worth knowing about the stores is that they are eco stores. Although you wouldn't be able to tell by looking at them. But, like all new stores in the world, the Joburg site will get either gold or platinum certification for environmental sustainability - which takes into account both the running of the store and the impact on the staff and customers. It is properly impressive. And the only way forward.

While we were there last week, they took us through the seamless process that they follow which allows them to take a trend - fed into the system by the actual customers in the stores i.e. you - and turn it around and place the actual product you have asked for in all the stores around the world within three weeks. Yes. End to end three weeks into your local store. So here is the thing, peeps, if there is something you want, you HAVE to ask for it. If you just slink out of the store disappointed, you will never get what you want. In the Zara case, by asking for it, you get it. Boom.

These guys here are the buyers/country peeps who speak every day to the stores in the various geographic territories, feeding the information into the system that kicks off the three week process of design and development. They also take the repeat orders from the stores - like when that item you wanted desperately has already run out in store, get the store manager to phone her/his assigned guy at this commercial table, and get them to send some more. OK? It is that easy.

Albertus Swanepoel for Target Now Live

We spoke a while ago about the announcement that our very own South African milliner to the international fash pack, Albertus Swanepoel, would be designing a line of his famous hats for supermarket chain, Target, just like Zac Posen and Missoni have done. And now they are live and available as of yesterday. And they cost all of $20. Seriously.
Albertus has long worked with Marianne Fassler, and we did see a few of his lovely head pieces at her recent African Fashion Week show in Joburg. But usually, his hats are seen gracing the ramps of New York Fashion Week. And now the average person can also have a piece of the hat action, which is fashion democracy at work. Well done.

David Beckham Calendar 2012. That's All.

This is just a little vision of beauty to make this a happy day. It is an image from David Beckham's new calendar. We've seen it before, but whatevs. It is just so pretty. Enjoy gang.