Guilty pleasure of the day - Assouline albums

I must have been around 15 when I first heard of Assouline and, at the time, I was going through a secret "I want to be a chic Parisian" phase. My dreams of growing up consisted, mainly, in dressing in neutral black and white, sensually smoking cigarettes over a glass of wine and living in an apartment with books on the floor and beautiful art albums. So, when I found out about Assouline and first touched one of their albums, I immediately integrated it into my dreams. And that's because they were just right - beautiful luxury books about the 'savoir vivre', in all the different shapes it can take. Responsible for some of the world’s most beautiful and luxurious books, Assouline publishes subjects that represent the full spectrum of its two founders’ interests, the very pinnacles of lifestyle: art, design, travel, and of course, fashion. For it isn’t just knowing how to live, but knowing what to cherish, what to immortalize, and what to present to the world. 

The story behind the brand is just as marvelous as the albums it publishes. Prosper and Martine Assouline are two very interesting, erudite people (Martine is African-born and Swiss- and South American-raised; Prosper was Morocco-born and Paris-bred) that, in 1991, they fell in love, married, and then had their son Alexander. The couple welcomed their second “child” in ‘95, in the form of their first published collaboration. With words by Martine and images by Prosper, the book depicts La Colombe D’Or, a charming hotel in the south of France they call a “second home” — and which also boasts one of the world’s most impressive collections of modern art. Since that first book, they've published over 1,000 titles, running the gamut from 'Picasso' to 'In the spirit of St. Barths' or 'The Trench Coat'. My favourite? 'Gaia', Guy Laliberté’s collection of photographs of the Earth shot while aboard a private space voyage, 'Barbie', 'The big book of Chic', 'Bals' and 'Dior'. Five different topics, but all equally guiltily luxurious and necessary for a truly stand-out lifestyle.

The high and lows of Golden Globes after-parties' fashion

I wish I could announce that we're resuming our series of presenting this season's ad campaigns, but that will have to wait until Monday, because today we have something more important on our plate... namely finishing our debate of the Golden Globes fashion with a look at the after-party dresses (red carpet or no, the after-party is where the fun is at). And since some of our leading ladies changed outfits for the parties going down, there was no way we were going to be missing out on that fun...

Here goes :)

Emma Roberts in Maria Lucia Hohan - 3 times bravo! Once for choosing a very talented Romanian designer (who I absolutely love). Twice for the dress itself, which is the perfect combination of sassy and classy. Thrice for the overall look, down to the shoes and to the cute up-do and jeweled headband.

Nina Dobrev in Oscar de la Renta - Black Swan Emma Roberts, step aside... here comes prima ballerina Nina Dobrev in a beautiful light aquamarine hued dress with overlays of flowery organza. It was sweet, it was flattering and it was very much out of a fairytale for little girls. And I'm all for fairytales in life! And before I forget, kudos for the Jimmy Choo's ;)

Jennifer Lopez in Zuhair Murad - Another beautiful Zuhair Murad, another win for Ms. Lopez. I'll admit I love it better than the red carpet version she chose - it's more grown-up, mysterious and dark, just how we like her :) PS: Please check out the feathery train, it's something you don't see every day!

Miranda Kerr in Zuhair Murad - Zuhair Murad seems to be the weapon of choice for the bold, sensual woman. Orlando Bloom's sweetheart looked anything but sweet in her deep burgundy low-cut dress, and we all loved her for it!

Berenice Marlohe in Monique Lhuillier - JLo, look-out, someone else was going for the sizzling dark beauty award and the stunning navy embroidered tulle illusion gown by Monique Lhuillier damn near won her the prize. Now, you are big girls, you can share, can't you? :)

Nikki Reed in Jenny Kayne - Such a simple gown, but the colour sends it right to the top of "by God, this is a beautiful dress" list. Well done, Miss Reed. No need to look so bashful!

Ashley Tisdale in Issa - It's simple, it's effortless, but it's also a really good look. I like the side cutouts that add just the needed touch of sexy and the simple accessorizing - it's what a confident woman chooses.

Selena Gomez in Atelier Versace - Wow, a Versace gown really can work wonders. As in this case, transforming a Disney doll in an uber-glam sexy young woman. Sign me up for one too!

Vanessa Hudgens in Jenny Packham - Unlike her friend Ashley Tisdale, Miss Hudgens pulled all the stops: long and form fitting - check; sequins all around - check; very revealing low cut neckline - check; gold embellishments on the shoulder - check. Result? Little girl playing dress-up. Sorry, better luck next time.

Freida Pinto in Antonio Berardi - Ah, Freida, Freida. I missed you on the red carpet and this is why. This beautiful dress by master Berardi with a unique holographic-embroidered carbon-fibre details is why. Because if you had heads turning and spinning at the after party, can you imagine what you could have done on the red carpet?!

Jessica Alba in Louis Vuitton - Chess anyone? I'm guessing somebody informed Mrs. Alba that it was a "dress as your favourite object" party or else this dress has no excuse.

Archie Panjabi in Basil Soda - A bold look, with a lot of decolletage, but quite clean and elegant overall. Would have loved it much more if it didn't look so much as a "wedding dress".

Michelle Monaghan in Vera Wang - I love the colour, I really do. Unfortunately, it's about the only thing I like. The dress just doesn't make sense to me... why does it look like it's made from three incongruous part sewed together? They ran out of fabric after doing the skirt and they had to improvise for the upper bodice? That sure would explain the weird and unflattering whole between the breasts. Next time, let's go for a full dress, agreed? Ah, and also - accessories that match the colour of your dress to the very last Pantone shade? I really think we could be just a tad more inventive than that. 

Kate Beckinsale in Gucci - This looks like the dress I made for my Barbie when I was 6, right down to the shade. No, I was no seamstress whizz-kid. So no, this is not a compliment to her look.

Julianne Hough in Jenny Packham - Punk rock in pink satin, that's a nice touch. Too bad the night did not end too well for the dress.

Louise Roe in Manish Arora - Of all the shiny choices, where to look first? Should I go for the tank top with a golden fishing net overlay or the pink gold, uber-shiny patterned skirt? I just cannot decide. That can't be good, can it?

Mary Elizabeth Winstead in Roksanda Ilincic - Wrong, wrong, oh so wrong. Where to start? Should it be the nun-like white high collar, the sheen of the black fabric, the strange single-bar detail at the bodice, the flat hair? It just made no sense stylistically and was certainly not nice to look at.

Sophia Bush in Lisa Ho - Between the too-long bangs and the very frothy details on the shoulders (it looked like many flyswatter sewed together), I just cannot say for sure if Sophia Bush was actually in there. Could you?

Lana del Rey in Houghton - I love women in suits, I swear I do. I just don't love when they're wearing suits that are two sizes too big. I think I'll just stick to your CDs, your voice is just the right size.

Amanda Peet - White dress with big blue polka dots and opaque black tights that seamlessly bledn into some quaint pointed-toe black Mary Janes? Coupled with an uncertain length that subtracts about 10 inches of your height? Suuure, I'd probably also check the mirror and think I look good to go out.

The not-so-good looks of the Golden Globes (part 2)

And the list continues...

Eva Longoria in Emilio Pucci - Why, why, why? The petite actress usually knows so well what works for her, so it's surprising to see such a major misstep from her, especially as she's wearing a custom gown (custom as in made specifically and only for her). The dress, with its deep neckline, thigh-high split and open back, sure did bring drama - the drama of a bad look that made the beautiful Latina seem short and bulky. Sure enough, the Snooki puff she was rocking did nothing to help.

Nicole Kidman in Alexander McQueen - Of all the Alexander McQueen gowns out there, why did she have to pick this one? Nicole has such a sculptural frame and an elegant figure that it's usually difficult to make a wrong choice. And yet this one has too much going on, from the golden ornaments around the neckline to the sheer material covering the midriff area and the lines of material over the same area. A beautiful woman needs much less to show off her looks.

Rachel Weisz in Louis Vuitton - It pains me to have to put yet another beautiful and talented actress on this list, but this look does not do her any favours. In fact, it looks more like, in a panic over having nothing to wear, she picked up any old office dress and added some polka dotted materials to turn it into an evening gown. Sadly, this is not usually what lands you on the right side of style.

Alyssa Milano - Alyssa, run... the dress is looking to swallow you whole. For a moment, I thought I'd missed her pregnancy announcement, but then I realized that this was just a very unfortunate drape. As well as a most unfortunate colour, which clashes with her skin tone and with her turquoise accessories. So, take a bad shape, an unflattering colour and a too long dress and what do you have? A spot on the worst dressed list.

Emily Mortimer in Jenny Packham - No, no, no! I am all one for appreciating this English rose's attempt at daring fashion, but, unfortunately, the silver sequin gown was just that little bit too tight and clung in all the wrong places. Perhaps it would have worked if the neckline were not as high and the cut not quite as austere, but on this occasion there was nothing to save it from looking as if the Tin Man got into designing evening wear.