La Fea y La Hermosa

Meet the Queen of Tunis in 1513:

Yes, I'm aware she is far from the most attractive thing in the world (my Mom even speculates she could be the missing link), but this one portrait is what inspired artists such as the legendary Da Vinci to look for and sketch all the "Grotesque Heads" he could find.

Recently, I have found, even the directors of Chanel were inspired by this as well.

See the resemblance? Okay, not really. But whenever I see hair like that I remember that portrait. You gotta admit they're similar, right? Right? Sans the veil. And the ribbon. And the...Fine. The only thing that's the same is the silhouette. Kinda.

Seriously speaking now, Chanel came up with a number of good, quirky styles for their 2010 Haute Couture Collection that I appreciated. Take these for example:

I thought the whole necktie trend was out as soon as Avril Lavigne was not the hottest thing on the planet anymore, but Chanel has proved me wrong. Not to mention, it has also proven all the people who said ties for formal events belong only on men.

The dress on the left I like because of the ruffles peaking out of the solid dress, but the one on the left I especially like because of how the empire cut is done a la directoire period -- mostly white with a short jacket that comes up higher than the waist. Of course, in the 1790s the skirt wasn't that short, but that's a pleasant modernized twist.

Now this would definitely be incomplete without mention of one eye catching thing: the shoes!

Elegant, no? But I can't help but wonder which tables have legs a few inches shorter now. Kidding. In all seriousness, the heels are wonderful and I would love to own a pair. To go with my table cloth. No, just joking. Okay, I'll stop now.

*Images from http://samknowsgoodlook.blogspot.com/2010/01/chanel-pe-2010-haute-couture.html