Too late for Bonnaroo

Alexis Petridis ponders the sartorial nightmare that is the outdoor music festival:

I'm sure you shouldn't heed the advice fashion mags tend to dole out this time of year. It inevitably comes attached to a photograph of Agyness Deyn, Nick Grimshaw and Henry Holland backstage and a suggestion you get their look: a riot of spotless thrown-together designer gear. They look that way only because they arrived in a Swarovski crystal-studded airship, from which they were lowered into the VIP area, where they stayed, eating veal paninis and enjoying cocktails made with hors d'age cognac and poor people's tears.

You really should be following Karl Lagerfeld on Twitter

Some gems from @Karl_Lagerfeld:

For me, Chanel is like music. There are certain notes and you have to make another tune with them. —5:23 AM May 9th from web

My dream? Transparent fur. The hair on plastic and not on leather. We’ve tried, but nobody has found it yet. —9:34 PM Feb 18th from web

Nothing scares me more than people with some doll collection. As a child, I never played with anything like toys. I wanted to be a grown-up. —6:14 AM Feb 10th from web

After the couture, I am spending a quiet weekend in my all-glass apartment, floating over the river on Quai Voltaire. —8:55 AM Jan 31st from web

Believe it or not, I love rap. —9:46 AM Jan 19th from web

On this day each year, I soak the previous year's calendar in my mother's favorite perfume and then set it ablaze. Here's to a fresh start —2:13 PM Jan 1st from web

For Esther, with Love and Spandex

Oh, the things I've learned from MGM musicals! As a very small girl I knew what life was supposed to be: glamorous, exciting, colorful, filled with music and choreography.

I was madly in love with Esther Williams, and when my Mum signed me up for swimming lessons I simply could not wait. At seven, I was not an excellent swimmer. My dog paddle was strong, but I understood the need to work on some of basic, prerequisite strokes at the beginning of the program. By lesson three, though, I was frustrated. After a bit of aquatic sulking, I finally asked my instructor: "when will we get to the synchronized swimming and the part where I'm underwater standing on the giant shell?"

This was not the last time I felt disappointed by the decided lack of glamor in the world around me, and pretty much sums up the way I feel while shopping for swimsuits. Have you ever been in a Hollister store or looked through a Lands End catalog? There is something terribly, terribly wrong with this world.

As a remedy, here is a small collection of stylish swim attire —all allow the wearer to be alluring while maintaining her mystique, no Brazilian bikinis in the bunch.


This high-waisted petal pink two-piece suit looks like the perfect modest two-piece. If only it came in black!
The Betty Swimsuit
Mod Cloth
$134.99


Halter Swimdress, aka 'The Marilyn Swimdress'
Esther Williams
$89.00



Dottie Swimsuit
Stop Staring Clothing
$98.00



A lovely pastel colored and petal covered swim cap, you've always wanted one. Today is the day.
Petal Swim Cap
Headcovers Unlimited
$14.99



This is a cute, classic black one-piece from Urban Outfitters. I wanted to see this on a girl with a slightly curvier figure, or at least a girl who did not have the hips of an adolescent boy, hence the sloppily edited version on the right.
BDG Retro One Piece
Urban Outfitters
$59.99(on sale, typically $88.00)

Liberty of London Accessory Showcase

I adore my vintage Liberty silk scarves. Here are a few accessories that evoke a garden afternoon with flowers birds and bees:


Silk Twill Peacock Scarf 90x90, Liberty of London



The Elizabeth, Liberty Of London
Oversized clutch in hydrangea print leather



Black Jewelled Bug Pouch Bag, Liberty of London
This bag is amazing. Drool.

More at the Liberty of London website.

Marion Cotillard is Lady Noire

The first in a series of short films for Dior, directed by Olivier Dahan (the brilliant director of "La Vie en Rose"), is a dark, sexy, Hitchcockian ode to a handbag.

This is an exceptionally well made, visually stunning film that is, to me, much more exciting than the bag itself. Masterful art direction invites the viewer to experience a entire world crafted of the bag's silhouette, cannage quilting and implied mystique.

Best to see this in full screen at Ladydior.com.

Follow Lady Dior on Twitter for deliciously mysterious clues and updates.

"Rose Festival Dress" by Anna Sui for Anthropologie

This is the perfect dress for a summer party. The print —in rich gold, pinks, reds and browns— reminds me of my favorite vintage 60s bark cloth curtains.
Cotton and silk with a raffia belt, made in USA.