The Balenciaga Bag FW05

So the much coveted Balenciaga motorcycle bag is not on the Balenciaga FW05 bag collection anymore. Instead, we have the box, the shopping and the twiggy. But would Balenciaga's "it" bag status be preserved for the next season?

My verdict? I don't think so. Frankly, after seeing it absolutely everywhere for the past year or so, I've just had about enough of it. Besides, they don't even sell the original "it" motorcycle bag anymore. I have personally come into contact with the box and the twiggy-in exactly these colors too-and the twiggy is too small while the box is too fat. It just lacks the "just right" quality of the original. It is time fashion moved on to the next "it" bag.

Haute Couture FW05 Day 2

Wow, the Haute Couture shows are truly amazing. Each piece is just so intricately beautiful that it fully shows the creativity and skill of the artists of the fashion world. And the Givenchy and Christian Lacroix shows this season is an excellent example of this quality.

To start off with, the Givenchy show. I LOVED how Riccardo Tisci, their new artistic director, made the show not in the form of a runway, but as if one was walking through a museum and viewers are just surrounded by models wearing clothes in different settings-very artsy! And the pictures are very artsy as well. Definitely very innovative! As for the clothes, Tisci used a mostly a pallette of black and a creamish white color vogue.co.uk calls oyster. And the effect? Elegance and style.

That has got to be one of the most stylishly modern poofy jackets I've seen so far. So poofy yet so chic. And I LOVE the black dresses. So sleek. Their pose is just soo graceful too! And is that an asian model I see wearing couture?

These oyster pieces are beeeeeautiful as well. Combined with their very graceful and natural looking poses (although I am sure a LOT of throught has gone into these poses) and the background, it is just oh-so-romantic!

While Tisci focused on black and oyster, Lacroix used a vast array of colors and along with the rich details of beads, laces, corsets, flounces and satin. The result was a very vibrant and irresistibly delicious show.

Hm. . doesn't the volume, the fur, the hat and rich coloring give it a bit of a russian flair as well?

Sleek black, poofy black, both are just as gorgeous and fascinating with lacroix.

Wow, I'm in awe of the intricate detail and skill involved in the creation of these two magnificient pieces.

I usually prefer the sleek and chic, but these two are just SO amazingly brilliant and colorful that I can't help but love them. In fact I LOVE this whole collection. One can just see russian princesses dressed in these stunningly vibrant and rich pieces to balls and wherever russian princesses go. You simply must check out the rest of the collection here!

Haute Couture FW05 Day 1

Hurrah! The beautiful days of haute couture has started! The collections this season is looking very gorgeous indeed.

First let's start with the Valentino show. I was not so impressed by it even though the critics were. The couture featured were mediocre -the whole collection didn't have a strong central theme.

These two are just ugh. No comment.

The collection is however slightly redeemed by these two very elegant and slinky dresses.

Next came Armani Prive. His first ever collection last Spring must have been a big seller, because this collection is much larger and more commercialised than last time. Perhaps it has lost its fresh feeling, but I can't gush too much about it this season, except it is of course, typically Armani-slick and sleek. (It could also be due to our lack of sleep in the past few days.)

Prive had a wide selection of ready-to-wear this season. Can't you just imagine a really rich successful European lady waiting for her ride outside the Ritz?

It's these sleek pieces that make this Armani show a couture show. Black dominated the show, but there were a few gorgeous white pieces at the end.

Lastly, the Dior show: THE most beautiful and elaborate affair of all. John Galliano celebrated the 100th anniversary of Christian Dior's birth by recreating a lot the old looks, such as the looks from the New Look circa 1947. The show started with a real grand horse carriage pulling out of the iron gates of Granville, the old home of Christian Dior. The whole show was an outstanding work of art, in the Dior fashion of course. The pieces were so fabulous that we could not pick which ones to show you:

Go to style.com to take a look at the whole Dior show. The art and creativity will stun you.