Gwen Stefani Covers Harper's Bazaar US September 2012

Gwen Stefani looks stunning on the September 2012 cover of Harper's Bazaar US. Wearing the much coveted pink strapless dress from Raf Simon's final collection for Jil Sander and a matching, voluminous Alexis Mabille hat, the pink-themed editorial references a scene from one of my favourite Audrey Hepburn movies, Funny Face. 

The accompanying editorial photographed by Terry Richardson is equally as brilliant as the cover, with Gwen modelling designs from The Row, Alexander McQueen and Versace. Of course, the hype around Gwen has intensified since No Doubt reformed earlier this year, yet what really intrigues me is how she seems to have not aged a day since the band took a break back in 2004. She looks truly sensational!

Gwen on finding her signature look: 

"It was like I'd unlocked the key. I remember feeling like, 'I have arrived. This is me. Finally.'" The red lip came when her grandmother gave her a crimson lipstick when she was in high school. "I remember sitting in my ghetto, beat-up Honda Prelude and putting on that lipstick in the rearview mirror and being like, 'Uh-huh, I like that. That's the shit right there.' I never stopped after that."

      

You can see Gwen's full editorial at Harper's Bazaar US website now. 

What do you think of Gwen's cover and editorial? Will you buy this issue? I've never bought Harper's Bazaar US before, but I will for this!

Fashion: Two of My Favourite Things

Two of my favourite models, Ginta Lapina and Daphne Groeneveld, model for Versace's spring-summer 2012 lookbook. While this is by no means 'new news', in the relative absence of my top models (Abbey Lee and Magdalena, where are you?), I'm loving the fact that Ginta and Daphne are remaining favourites of Donatella. I've been a fan of Daphne for a long time, but Ginta captivated my attention more recently in the Louis Vuitton SS12 show. She always looks insanely beautiful, don't you think?

While Versace isn't always one of my favourite labels, I love the simple, white dress worn by Daphne and the incredible triple-bag hybrid modelled by Ginta.

Are you a fan of Daphne or Ginta? Who are your top models?

Fashion: Designer Pugs for Charity

Worryingly, too many of my friends can envision me winding up as a crazy cat lady in my old age. There was a period in my life when it seemed all cats within a 2 mile radius of my house turned up at my bedroom window. What can I say? It's a gift.... Ironically, my own cat abandoned me a couple of years ago and, despite tracking him down and cat-napping him back, he wandered off again never to return. I've actually really been missing the presence of a pet in my home recently, but with plans to move away soon, it's just not feasible that I can buy one. I try and fulfil my wish for a pet (cat or dog, I'm not fussy) by either 'borrowing' the neighbours' cat or visiting my local jeweller who owns a whole troop of dachshunds (my favourite breed of dog). However, fashion, as if often the case, has come to my rescue with the launch of the charity fundraiser 'Pug Dogs for Happy Kids'. The campaign sees top fashion houses including Valentino, Balmain and Versace collaborate with Luisa Viaroma to give toy  pugs a style-over - quite possibly as close as I'm going to get to the real thing! The toys will then be auctioned on eBay to raise funds for UNICEF to help children living in impoverished conditions in Bangladesh. There are 20 pug toys to bid for altogether and my bid will be going to Giambattista Valli's quite fabulous creation:

To see all the dog creations including the designs of Mary Katrantzou and David Koma, and to learn how to bid, click here.

Wednesday Wishes 16

1. This Versace dress has made lilac and its close friend, powder blue, my current colour crushes. So pretty, yet so unaffordable. Net A Porter

2. Another item on the dream list - the Mulberry 'Tillie' bag. I get a bursary once a year at uni, which I use to get a couple treats and then pretty much waste the rest of. I've been debating whether to treat  myself to a nice handbag instead this year. At least I'd have something that will last me for years and years, and will actually be something to show for the bursary. As much as I love this bag, if I decided to do this I think I'd have to go for something a bit more 'classic'. Net A Porter

3. I own a pair of leopard print pumps, but they're from Primark and hurt my feet almost as much as heels do!! I have quite high arcs and they barely even have a sole, so no matter how much I love them we just don't get on. As soon as I saw these on the ASOS site I wanted them and was pleased to see that they're totally affordable and not over priced. River Island at Asos

4/5. After my lust after red and camel combinations last week, I'm tempted to recreate it with this apricot silk shirt and red trousers. I love that they're cropped too and the shirt will go with so much. Topshop

Happy Wednesday!