November 2008 Archives

It's all about the smoky eye for House of Fraser-based make up range Lord & Berry.

Their Velvet Eye Pencil (£5.50) is available in five dark metallic shades which are "easily smudged" to create a smoky finish.

They have also launched a highly-concentrated Stardust eyeshadow (priced £6.95) to give a glow to the eyes.

Harriet Alexander writes about H&M's latest designer range.

Form an orderly queue ladies: H&M's latest designer collaboration is in the shops.

Style-savvy shoppers will be able to get hold of top-end designs at high-street prices, with Comme des Garçons creating a line for the store.

Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo, who founded Comme des Garçons in 1969, is famed for her avant-garde fashions. The label is a favourite among fashionistas with an eye for sharp tailoring and unconventional, edgy looks.

But how does this translate onto the high street?

H&M is certainly no stranger to high-fashion collaborations: their past contributors include Stella McCartney, Karl Lagerfeld and, last year, Roberto Cavalli.

Their enthusiasm for exciting designers was shown in their partnership with conceptual Dutch designers Viktor and Rolf: cynics said that the artistic, dramatic designs would not work on the high street, but their collection proved to be a runaway success.

And Comme des Garçons' offering looks to be every bit as successful. In Tokyo, bargain hunters queued for three days outside H&M.

The collection is in Kawakubo's traditional pallet of black, white and grey. I've got my eye on the tuxedo jacket (£59.99) and a useful white frill shirt (£34.99).

What do you think? Are designer-high street collaborations a good way of getting high-end brands at low-rate prices? Or are you just paying for the name?

Check this out for vintage glamour!

The new Vintage Jewels collection by Estee Lauder is like something straight out of 1950s Hollywood.

The Limited edition Signature lipstick looks fabulous with its beveled gold case and there is a matching Shimmer powder.

The lipstick is £15 and is on counter now.

Birmingham Mail reporter Harriet Alexander on Bond style:

Like him or loathe him, no one can deny that James Bond is a style icon.

And the latest film, Quantum of Solace, is certainly one of the most stylish yet.

The film's wardrobe designers have ditched the classic suits by Italian label Brioni, who dressed Bond from 1995's Goldeneye right up to Casino Royale, and replaced them with razor-sharp tailoring by uber-designer Tom Ford.

By now, you may have had a couple of Christmas party invitations drop into your inbox and only one thing is on your mind - what to wear?

In the shopping section of Birminghammail.net, we take the first look at some of the party dresses on the high street.

This goth-style take on the classic LBD caught my eye. It's by Debut at Debenhams but is fairly pricey at £90.

Have a look at the rest of them by clicking here

Check out the Debenhams website here