Quick Bites: Rodarte swan (guess who?), the ultimate bag lady, Halle Berry, iced beetroot soup, Stella & paper frocks

• First images of Rodarte’s costumes for Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan (featuring a fiercely beautiful Natalie Portman) have been released. The film will open the Venice Film Festival on September 1. She is one chic bird.  fashionologie

• Check out the new campaign for Longchamp F/W 2010 featuring Kate Moss. Love! fabsugar.de

• Today’s need-it-now — Jill Dupleix’s Iced beetroot soup. Tastes amazing and a great colour to boot.  jilldupleix

• Halle Berry has been cast in the film Shoe Addicts Anonymous, an adaptation of the best-selling novel by Beth Harbison. More First Wives’ Club than Sex and the City, it is about four Chicago women who come together because they’re all obsessed with shoes and wear the same 7.5 size. wwd

• Stella McCartney is one step closer to redesigning the Royal Guards famous bearskin hats worn at Buckingham Palace. The new prototype will be made of plastic fibre.  Go Stella! vogue.uk

• How adorable are these paper dresses? Made by set designer Natalie Ferstendik from bespoke invitations by luxury stationery designer Ruth Kaye, these stylishly dressed mannequins represent Kaye’s new foray into youthful, stylish, everyday party invitations, paper napkins and homewares. vogue.uk

Frock fantasising

Having spent my entire year’s wardrobe budget already (sob!) and furiously secreting a vast financial windfall, I am restricted to shopping inside my head. That’s right. Frock fantasising.

Actually it’s rather fun since my faux-budget is absolutely open-ended! Here are my two wish-to-God I could wear them right now outfits.  An easy-peasy frock, fab shoes, stand-out bag and minimal yet high-impact accessories.  So fantastic so FFF! 

Victoria Beckham dress, Stella McCartney satin heels, Alexander McQueen clutch, Balenciaga sunglasses net-a-porter.com, Irene Neuwirth lapis & turquoise earrings barneys.com

Stella McCartney dress, Kara by Kara Ross cuff net-a-porter.com, Kara by Kara Ross ring, Lanvin clutch barneys.com, Oliver Peoples sunglasses, Alexander McQueen heels harveynichols.com

Tip-Topper

With fashion seasons merging and more women dressing trans seasonally, the item everyone needs to own is the perfect topper.

Be it a man-style jacket, tailored blazer or luxe tux, it’s the fashion lifesaver that will take you from day-to-night and season-to-season. Slung over a fatally fab frock, it imparts that irresistable masculine-meets-feminine fashion contrast that is easy peasy and eternally chic-to-boot.

Just don’t forget the non-negotiable deal breaker; truly great shoes. Your topper is the dominant piece in this ensemble and needs another super-strong item to anchor it down. As if you need an excuse for truly fantastic shoes.

Left to right: Jennifer Aniston in Valentino frock and Alexander McQueen tuxedo jacket, Sarah Jessica Parker in Stella McCartney, Jessica Biel in Thakoon dress and jacket images via people.com, instyle.com

Paris Fashion Week: Oh Stella Bella!

Keep it clean, mean and modern is fashion’s catch cry for the new season. Hot on the boot heels of Celine’s chic, sleek collection this week, comes Stella McCartney with a range so minimal and simplistic it makes you want to turf out your jewellery (well almost). McCartney is a mean tailor with a cut so precise you could cut your pinkie on it. We are in raptures over her thigh-high tunic dresses, citrus-hued silk gowns with short cropped front and flowing tails, slashes of black and nude mesh, immaculately cut toppers and our new fave pant shape; straight, flat and cut to the ankle. Oh and note to those who are reeling at the high hem lines; don’t despair simply slip leggings or said pants beneath and voila you are officially Stella-ed!  Love!

images via style.com