It was at the V&A's 150th birthday party that I saw Hilary Alexander looking incredibly chic in a MaxMara jacket and Jaeger dress that finally sent me down to Regent Streret to take a look.
Here she is, on video, talking through the store's makeover
Wednesday, 9 April 2008
Hilary Alexander explains Jaeger
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
11 comments:
Forgive me - this will sound truly rude - but I am most sincere when I ask if Ms. Alexander is considered fashionable herself? In Britain, that is?
As an American - an Angeleno, actually -I marvel that anyone, anywhere, would take fashion advice from a woman coiffed, made-up, and clothed as poorly as she is.
She looks fine to me. Slightly eccentric, but that's her look. You don't have to copy it.
I'm not too crazy about the first two dresses she showcased, but the third (blouse and skirt) looks more wearable.
I loved her striped sweater! Very Kenzo 70's and such fun. She has an urban look, and Hilary would fit right into Boston or NYC no problemo.
Best line of the piece: "..and best of all...this dress has pockets.."
Now, there is a woman who knows what's important to women. I get so frustrated when I try on things, no matter what the price, and there is no place to put a hanky or money or anything. Just drives me nuts. Men's pants never come with no pockets. Why is it women end up with rubbishy clothing with no pockets? Thanks to Hilary for showing this.
As for her appearance, I'm thinking that perhaps we are so used, here in the US, with our female tv reporters being constantly served up between the ages of 22 and 30(or painfully looking as if they are trying to look that age), that Ms Alexander doesn't "fit the mold". People who are involved in the fashion industry many times are much more adventurous than the rest of us...and certainly much more creative about their dress, hair, makeup etc. than Hollywood people are(and no, I don't think people such as the Olsen Twins are creative or adventurous or actually stylish at all..sorry). I think she is rather cute, actually; she is playing to her strengths in terms of being relatively thin and straight up and down and wears her hair in harmony with that. She's someone I'd certainly feel very comfortable sitting down for a meal and a chat with.
Further to the remarks about Hilary, I don't know her, but I've seen her several times at parties. She is in her fifties (I think) and has, as I say, a slightly eccentric look, always wearing statement modern jewellry with her signature bob. When I saw her at the V&A party, I thought she was the best-dressed woman in the room - she had managed to put together an outfit that was absolutely chic an totally suitable both for the event and for her age. That outfit was a big influence on me and I pretty much copied it. (Hommage, as they say in the art world).
Looking at American news anchors I think we in Britain find them very overdone. The hair too 'set', the make-up too thickly applied, the clothes too conventional.
I don't always agree with Hilary's choices - there are other things in store that I would go for, but I would never consider her poorly dressed.
Ms Alexander certainly doesn't look like a clone, that's for sure. I guess she's the kind of lovely, warm woman who grows more beautiful the more you get to know her. She has a face that moves too!
Geri
I'm with Lisa on this one. Ms Alexander does appear to be a nice person, but she's also a fashion editor so I think we might expect her to be a bit more image conscious. Why wear reading glasses when you're not reading, for example? And I couldn't believe it when she highlighted the fact that that dress had pockets.
After Linda's positive comments about Jaeger I was very disappointed to see the stuff that was highlighted. I particularly loathed the sleeves on the "pocket" dress. And why on earth did they get so close to the clothes that you couldn't see the whole garment properly?
I like Hilary A (I've seen her for years on Fashion Television) but I've got to say, this format doesn't seem to be ideal for her. Her presentation is uncomfortable - kind of like she's a writer who's been thrust in front of a camera. I don't need her to describe the black and white dress in such detail - I mean, I can see the pattern for myself. And the camera work was poor. Why didn't they actually pan over the pieces so that we could see the shape of the whole garment? Too bad...
Hilary is a New Zealander by birth and I love her idiosyncratic style. We like to think of ourselves as independent and outspoken so Hilary does us proud
I agree with Linda that Hilary looks fine - she has a great figure and looks good in horizontal stripes - a look only the slim can wear. To me she comes over as a working woman who enjoys her clothes. I imagine the working life of a journalist to be very intense, so a practical wash and wear hairstyle is a must. I would say she comes over as an intelligent, vibrant person with complete confidence in herself.
Post a Comment