One size fits all!

Take a stroll down Avenue Montaigne, still fashion's super-luxury destination in Paris, and there is no question about what is filling the windows of the upscale stores: handbags. And more handbags.
They come as mighty totes heavy with metal or as tiny clutches embedded with crystal. The shock is not that they now have prime place behind the plate glass. It is in the prices, which French law requires to be on display: €1,100, €1,700, €5,300. (Don't even think about what that means when translated into the flailing dollar.) When did the handbag break the €1,000 barrier? Why is it doubling that now?

It is handbag heaven for luxury-company honchos, who have found a product that, when powerful and creative design is injected, can become a hot property with a huge price tag. Where once the Hermès Kelly stood supreme, other brands have risen and exceeded its price level.

Yet in the luxury world, a self-interrogation is going on behind closed doors. What comes after the handbag?

The answer is high-end jewelry and watches, which are now the focus of all the major brands.

Why these precious pieces, rather than mere clothes? You might imagine, after a seven-year reign of absolute domination, when the handbag you carry defines who you are among the fashion elite, that clothing might stage a comeback. After all, the trajectory of the brands that have made the biggest waves over the last decade was from accessories to clothing (think Bottega Veneta, Gucci, Prada). Those fashion houses like Dior or Yves Saint Laurent, which were built on fashion, moved into accessories to boost the bottom line. But as the current New Look revivals show, fashion recognition is still the DNA of the image.

But no one is giving the big push to designer clothing, except perhaps to the commercial part of the collection not shown on the Paris runways. More accessible clothes have been repackaged as "cruise" or "pre-fall" lines and put on the catwalk in other cities to give the brands "second life" appeal.

Man Fashion: Man's cardigan

The cardigan has long been a staple item of clothing in the wardrobe of many a woman - but, while cardigans have always been a unisex staple of knitwear, the men's cardigan has recently experienced a fashion resurrection. In fact, the men's cardigan is one of this year's most essential male fashion items.

But this trend of male cardigans is nothing new. Famous male cardigan wearers throughout the twentieth century have included a range of personalities, from the American comedian Bill Crosby and the British comedian and TV presenter Simon Amstell, to the renowned children's writer Roald Dahl and even rock legend Kurt Cobain.

In fact, the Cardigan was first named after James Thomas Brudnell, the 7th Earl of Cardigan, who was a British military commander during the Crimean War; since this time the cardigan has always been worn by both sexes. The male cardigan even made the headlines in the twentieth century, when the outspoken Bulgarian-born broadcaster and dissident, Georgi Markov, was involved in an attempted assassination - a poisonous pellet was saved from entering his skin too deeply because he was wearing a very thick woollen cardigan!

The year of 2007 has brought a revolutionary transformation in the designs of men’s cardigans. These cardigans have changed the entire variety of men’s fashions right from the ramps of Los Angeles to fashion houses and designer boutiques. The men’s cardigan range has got everything for you, whether you are searching for cardigan to go along with your formal dress or whether you are looking for a stripped or cross cheque cardigan to give you a ‘free of tension’ casual appearance. In short it can be said that 2007 is the year to fill your cabinet with cardigans.

This season's collections sees many top fashion retailers in the UK take their influences from the Beatnik era of the 1950s and 1960s, with strains of Parisian chic and jazz-soaked fashion penetrating the Spring/Summer 2007 look. Casual cardigans were a large part of the sophisticated image perpetrated by both well-known French philosophers, like Jean Paul Sartre, and legends of the American beat generation, Jack Kerouac and William Boroughs. If this is the look you're going for this season, then make sure you invest in some stripy cardigans or plain woollen cardigans for maximum effect.

And as the summer fast approaches, cardigans could also form an essential part of your festival fashion wardrobe. In fact, the men's cardigan is one of the most flexible and adaptable items of clothing a man could own. For instance, a cardigan can be worn loose during the day over a t-shirt for a chic but informal look; however, paired with a skinny tie, smart trousers and formal shoes for an effortlessly stylish evening look. So make sure you're not left out of this year's men's cardigan revolution and give yourself the freedom to adapt your look!

Diamond: Man's new Friends

We always said diamonds are a girl’s best friend. However, trend has changed. Man are start to addicted to this prestige accessory too.

At Isetan department store’s Men’s Building in Shinjuku, Tokyo, about 20 jewelry brands vie for men’s favor with their products.

Many of them look attractive to female fashion connoisseurs, too, as the varieties include a wing-shaped pendant studded with diamonds and rings decorated with sapphires or other colorful gemstones.

Isetan buyer Oko Narikawa said men who used to enjoy silver accessories are beginning to go for high-end jewelry adorned with diamonds and other expensive materials.

“They enjoy these products as items inspiring them with beautiful designs. Some men are particularly fond of handmade jewelry, while others like to own something with a story behind it,” Narikawa said.

With the rising popularity of upscale jewelry among men, jewelry brands are enhancing their men’s product lines.

Diamond giant De Beers, for example, has launched a men’s line this autumn. The products include pieces designed by renowned British jewelry designer Stephen Webster, using rough diamonds.

Ponte Vecchio has designed rings to look like the waistband of a pair of jeans with diamonds as the belt buckles.

Shops specializing in men’s jewelry also are on the rise. Upscale U.S. jeweler Harry Winston opened a branch at the Tokyo Midtown commercial complex in Roppongi, Tokyo, in March. The shop offers a special, relaxed shopping environment to male customers, making them feel like as if they are trying on jewelry in a guest room at their friend’s house.

SJX, a men’s jewelry boutique at Omotesando Hills in Harajuku, Tokyo, has an urbane atmosphere with its gold and black interior.

Thanks perhaps to the spreading notion of choi-waru oyaji,” or middle-aged men who are a bit “bad,” or the introduction of “cool biz” summer dress codes, men seem to have become aware of a kind of beauty to which they did not pay attention before.

Source: njdiamonds.com

Photo by: kabdelhak51564