Not since Linda Evangelista, Nadège du Bospertous and Stella Tennant in the 1990s, had I come across another short-haired brunette making it to the top in the modelling industry. I’m talking about Dutch beauty Saskia de Brauw.

Short-haired beauties
Clockwise from top left: Linda Evangelista, Nadège du Bospertous,
Saskia de Brauw and Stella Tennant
Image source: London College of Fashion Library

I first spotted Saskia a couple of months ago in the Versace ads for A/W11 but she is now a regular in the fashion magazines, although not quite making the covers yet (I’ve only seen her in five so far). Mind you, since Anna Wintour realised that ‘celebrities playing models’ sold more magazines, every fashion publication seems to have followed suit and these days seeing a top model on the cover of any fashion magazine has become a truly rare occurrence. But we’ll talk about that some other time…

Some of Saskia's covers so far
Image source: Condé Nast, Numéro and Hearst Magazines

Saskia started young as a model but quit at 16 to study textile design at Rietveld Acadamy in Amsterdam. After graduating, she went back to modelling and one of her first jobs was to replace fellow countrywoman Lara Stone as the face of lingerie brand Eres. Her big break though came shortly afterwards at the hands of none other than Carine Roitfeld and Franca Sozzani, both of whom chose Saskia to done the covers of the March 2011 issues of Paris Vogue and Vogue Italia, respectively.

Needless to say that Saskia has been a ‘busy bee’ since, doing campaigns for Chanel, Versace, Moncler, Dsquared2, fashion week shows on both sides of the Atlantic and countless features in the top fashion magazines.

Chanel Resort by Karl Lagerfeld
Picture courtesy of Chanel's Press Office

At Caradiaz collection we love Saskia’s natural beauty and wish her every success with her already sky-rocketing modelling career.

Veel succes, Saskia!

Not happy with floral prints every spring/summer, fashion designers have now extended their love of camellias, dahlias, daisies, gerberas, roses, tulips and other ‘blooming’ flowers to their winter collections.

Don’t get me wrong, I do love flowers but I much rather use them to decorate my home than my wardrobe, unless it is in the form of a corsage, a necklace (see Caradiaz’s Flower Power collection) or some other kind of accessory.

Caradiaz Flower Power

This season, Jil Sander has taken it to extremes for my liking, with their ‘full bloom’ looks for this season, whereas Versace and Cacharel have -thankfully - gone with more wearable versions and Paul Smith has opted for a bit of ‘Chinese blossom’.

Clockwise from top left: A/W11 Jil Sander, Versace, Paul Smith, Cacharel
Image source: www.style.com

All in all, it looks like we have a very flowery winter ahead!

Have I told you that I am crazy about (my husband would probably say ‘totally obsessed’ with) handbags? Yes, the ‘bag gene’ runs in my family: my sister has it, my niece has it and even my 3-year old daughter is already showing the signs.

Luckily for my bank account though, I’m not designer-crazy so I’m as happy with my Mulberry Bayswater from last year, as I am with the leopard print and black leather River Island tote I bought a few weeks ago. As long as the bag is my style and I love it, I’ll have it.

Designer versus High Street:
Mulberry's oversized Bayswater tote vs. River Island oversized tote

I was very tempted by the new Fendi felt shopper bag when I saw it in Grazia magazine about a month ago. I really like felt bags not only because they are very light but because, unlike suede or other delicate materials, if you get caught in the rain or the snow, the bag and its contents don’t get totally ruined. Still at £390 for the Fendi, I thought my money would be spent better – or even saved – elsewhere. I may still put it on my letter to Santa Hubby though…

But I did manage to find a very nice – and much more reasonably priced at £98 - felt bag at Swans Fashions (a Caradiaz stockist) in Cranbrook. It’s by German shoe and bag maker Abro. OK, it’s not a Fendi but who cares? It may serve me even better. Not only is it a capacious handbag in a very discreet way – it’s not at all bulky - but it’s handles are just long enough to allow you to carry the bag on your shoulder, as opposed to the Fendi one which, as a shopper, comes only with short handles and it would be a pain to carry after a while, considering the amount of stuff I carry with me on a regular basis...

Fendi felt shopper versus Abro felt shoulder bag

I took the Abro catalogue home and when I looked at it, I wish I hadn’t done it. Their Autumn/Winter collection is absolutely gorgeous and I would have any of them any time. Unfortunately though, it seems that the company underestimated the success of its collection and most of the models I enquired about are no longer into production, apparently due to lack of raw materials. An oversight or just playing it safe?

Some of the Abro beauties

I am feeling a bit cheated by the lack of everyday clothes in the Spring/Summer 2012 prêt-à-porter collections – that is, unless your life revolves around fancy yachts and cocktail parties…

Forgive me if I misunderstood fashion after all these years, but I was under the impression that the ready-to-wear collections were the ‘wearable’ ones and the couture collections were where designers let their imagination run wild and had their true bit of fun producing outrageous, one of a kind pieces so painstakingly – yet skilfully – made that it justified their astronomical prices. Ask couture collector Daphne Guinness.

But after four weeks of non-stop fashion shows where designers - and the odd celebrity aspiring to the title… - have spared no expense to show the world what will be ‘in’ next Spring/Summer, I didn’t actually find as many pieces to include in my everyday wardrobe as in previous years.

There were interesting pieces by some of the emerging talent, so all is not lost. But still, passing on Oscar de la Renta in New York, Armani in Milan or Givenchy in Paris makes me feel like a bit of a heretic…

SS2012 pieces by Oscar de la Renta, Armani, Givenchy
Not quite the clothes to do the school run in
Image source: www.style.com

Is it an age thing? Am I just getting too old (sometimes not old enough!) for some of the clothes? Or is it rather a lifestyle issue? Surely, I can’t be the only 40-something working mum in the world looking for understated luxury, chic yet uncomplicated clothes to make me look and feel fab everyday without having to call Rebekah Roy to sort me out!

Whatever the reason, things seem to have clearly changed from my end and whereas a few years ago I was drawn towards the likes of Gaultier, Kenzo, Moschino and Versace, these days I’m more of a St. John / Nicole Farhi / Max Mara / Maiyet / Trias / Veronique Leroy woman.

SS2012 collections
Clockwise from top left: St. John, Nicole Farhi, Max Mara
Veronique Leroy, Trias, Maiyet
Image source: www.style.com

One thing remains unchanged though: I continue to rely on Caradiaz for the finishing touches, of course!

The new season at Caradiaz starts with a new face: model Florence Clarkson.

With the original face of Caradiaz, Marian Masiá, now based in Spain and away from the limelight and her successor, Alice Phillips, off to university, we had to put our skates on and search for a new girl. Luckily for us, we didn't have to look for long as I bumped (quite literally!) into Florence in the street. Her natural beauty (her nose is just as perfect as that of Yasmin Le Bon), tanned skin, gorgeous hair and overall 'effortless chic' look made her just perfect for Caradiaz and I was delighted when she said 'yes' to coming on board.

We have now done three photo sessions with Florence and... well, see yourselves how amazing she looks!

Aida necklace - and a bit of a Cheryl Cole look, don't you think?

Stunning Mia necklace

Alexa necklace

Oh, and Florence is not just beautiful, she's also great fun to work with, extremely helpful and cooperative, punctual and totally reliable. A true gem - quite fitting for a jewellery business!

Taking a little break in between shots. Florence is wearing the Navajo necklace

We're really excited about working with Florence and can't wait for the next shoot!