Archive for the 'Fashion' Category

Spanish music enjoys worldwide popularity, but now it’s also being heard in outer space, thanks to an innovative competition organised by NASA.

Music fans were invited to listen to the entrants online and cast their vote for their favourite act. The prize for the winning musician or band was the privilege of having their music played on the spaceship Endeavour during its final flight; after 24 years of service, this stalwart of the US space programme will be retired to the California Space Station.

Spanish band’s career given a stratospheric boost

Famous for his simple yet elegant haute couture, Ralph Lauren is perhaps less well known as an aficionado of vintage vehicles, but this is soon to change as his wonderful collection of classic cars goes on display in Paris.

Forever connected to this most romantic of cities by his phenomenally successful store in St. Germain, Lauren has selected the Musée des Arts Décoratifs as the setting for this formidable display of automotive excellence. Curated by Rodolphe Rapetti, the exhibition guarantees to make the most jaded fan of classic motors turn green with envy.

Ralph Lauren presents his vintage car collection

Vicente Gracia is a jeweller like few others. Not content to produce luxury pieces for wealthy clients, he is more of an artist that has chosen the sculpting of precious metals and stones as his medium. The result is a style that draws on ancient inspiration to redefine jewellery as we know it today.

The shaping of Romanticism

Female wedding guests are traditionally placed in a quandary; they must look smart enough not to disgrace their family or insult the bride, yet not look so sartorially stupendous that they detract from the bridal dress.

This nicety of etiquette is even more important when attending a royal wedding, a very public event after which the outfits of the guests are endlessly analysed and criticised in every newspaper, from the sensationalist tabloids to the usually stolid and unexcitable broadsheets.

A right royal success

Much comment has been generated about Western society’s current obsession with appearance, so we are far from happy to report that economists at the University of Texas-Austin claim to have evidence to support the idea that beautiful people in fact are happier, wealthier and generally more successful than their plainer counterparts.

This new study asked participants to reveal their own levels of happiness before their looks were rated either in face-to-face interviews or in photographs. Those placed in the top 15 per cent rated themselves as 10 per cent happier than those rated in the bottom 10 per cent.

Beautiful people really are happier – it’s a fact!

When designing or shopping for that perfect wedding dress women consider many factors. Can we get away with the classic white meringue or would another colour be more flattering and/or appropriate? Should we include a mountain of taffeta and lace or would a simple sheath dress flatter the figure more effectively? Can we afford an expensive designer outfit, or would it be more sensible to enlist the help of a dressmaker friend and spend any money saved on furniture and kitchen equipment for our new home?

Look good enough to eat on your wedding day!

The battle of the e-reader has been fought for some time, but most critics agree that the current leader is Amazon’s increasingly popular Kindle. First launched on November 19th 2007, the Kindle has revolutionised the publishing industry and seduced millions of readers who swore that they would never contemplate using anything other than a good old-fashioned paper book.

Kindle and the future of the e-reader