Chanel

Celebrity Style

Celeb Style: Alexa Chung's On-the-Go Cool

In an Etoile Isabel Marant colorblock sweater and one very cool pair of suede boots, Alexa Chung gives us a glimpse of a cool Fall look.

In an Etoile Isabel Marant colorblock sweater and one very cool pair of suede boots, Alexa Chung gives us a glimpse of a cool Fall look. Mixing up skinny black jeans with menswear-inspired layers up top, Alexa's look draws from the upcoming Fall trends we love, and creates a pulled-together, on-the-go style. To finish, a classic Chanel bag in a bright red adds just a pop of color and a little visual interest to an otherwise subtle gray palette. Looking to channel the same laid-back street style? Just shop our editor's picks below to get Alexa's look.

Shopping

Shop the It-Bags of Fall 2011

>> The bags we ogled on the Fall 2011 runways last Spring are finally starting to hit the stores, and not a moment too soon.
Fall 2011 It-Bags: Chanel Boy Bag, Mulberry Carter Bag, Alexander Wang Marion Bag

>> The bags we ogled on the Fall 2011 runways last Spring are finally starting to hit the stores, and not a moment too soon. From lady-like box bags (and there are plenty!) to hard-shelled clutches to everything in between, here's a drool-worthy round-up of some of the season's most-wanted handbags. Click through to see — and shop — them all.

 

At left, Lanvin Fall 2011 handbags await the runway backstage. Photo by Greg Kessler.

 

Chanel

Chanel Gets Into Face Tattoos and Pink Eyebrows

Just when you thought face tattoos would forever be the realm of Mike Tyson, Chanel comes along and makes them not only haute, but also elegant and even .

Just when you thought face tattoos would forever be the realm of Mike Tyson, Chanel comes along and makes them not only haute, but also elegant and even . . . pretty? For its upcoming Cocomation campaign, the fashion house released these cool making-of photos with surpassingly beautiful Lagerfeld favorite Freja Beha Erichsen getting the iconic locked-C logo applied under her eyes in temporary tattoo "tears." Freja has several other extremely cool looks for the campaign, including pink eyebrows and a bombshell Marilyn Monroe look. It might just be the edgiest Chanel campaign yet. See the rest of her looks below.

Celebrity Style

Celeb Style: Hilary Duff

Mom-to-be Hilary Duff was all smiles rocking a cute and casual ensemble while leaving a maternity Pilates class in Toluca Lake.

Mom-to-be Hilary Duff was all smiles rocking a cute and casual ensemble while leaving a maternity Pilates class in Toluca Lake. She rocked a striped tee, David Lerner leggings, and a black Paula Bianco wrap with whiskey Chanel boots. She finished off her laid-back look with Ray-Ban wayfarers, silver hoop earrings, and black nail polish. Shop now to get Hilary's exact scarf, leggings, and Alexander McQueen keyfob.

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Chanel

Chanel Revamps Coco's Final Perfume For Her Birthday

One-hundred-twenty-eight years ago, one of fashion's most influential icons was born.

One-hundred-twenty-eight years ago, one of fashion's most influential icons was born. What better way to mark Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel's birthday than to update Chanel N°19, the last fragrance made under Mlle Chanel's guidance? House perfumer Jacques Polge has reinterpreted the original green scent from 1970, adding soft, musky powder notes to its original iris accord. The resulting Chanel N°19 Poudré is très Chanel: fresh enough to feel contemporary, yet classic enough to wear for years. This isn't the sort of faddish fragrance that you'll wear for a few months, then forget. It's womanly, unusual, and complex — which, come to think of it, describes Coco Chanel to a T.

Books

New Biography Alleges Coco Chanel Was a Nazi Spy

>> Coco Chanel would have marked her 128th birthday tomorrow, and though she's been gone for just over 40 years now, new allegations keep popping up about her life.

>> Coco Chanel would have marked her 128th birthday tomorrow, and though she's been gone for just over 40 years now, new allegations keep popping up about her life. One upcoming biography, out this November, recently made headlines for positing that Chanel did drugs and was bisexual, and now another biography — just out this week — alleges that Chanel was an anti-Semite and a Nazi spy for Germany's Abwehr military intelligence organization.

Citing evidence culled from archives around the world — and recently declassified documents — author Hal Vaughan makes such claims in Sleeping with the Enemy: Coco Chanel's Secret War. The book was spurred by an accidental find in France's national police archive, Vaughan says: "I was looking for something else and I come across this document saying 'Chanel is a Nazi agent, her number is blah, blah, blah and her pseudonym is Westminster.' I look at this again and I say, 'What the hell is this?' I couldn't believe my eyes! Then I really started hunting through all of the archives, in the United States, in London, in Berlin and in Rome and I come across not one, but 20, 30, 40 absolutely solid archival materials on Chanel and her lover, Baron Hans Gunther von Dincklage, who was a professional Abwehr spy,"

Vaughan also suggests that Chanel's alleged anti-Semitism caused her to capitalize on laws permitting the expropriation of Jewish property — allowing her to gain control of the Chanel perfume lines from the Jewish-born Wertheimer brothers, who'd helped make her Chanel No. 5 a worldwide best-seller.

In response to the book's allegations of anti-Semitism, Chanel released a statement: "Such insinuations cannot go unchallenged. [Coco Chanel] would hardly have formed a relationship with the family of the owners or counted Jewish people among her close friends and professional partners such as the Rothschild family, the photographer Irving Penn or the well-known French writer Joseph Kessel had these really been her views. It is unlikely."

"We also know that she and Churchill were close friends for a long time. She apparently approached him about acting as an intermediary between the Allies and the Germans for a peace settlement known as Operation Modelhut. No one knows for sure exactly what happened or what her role was to be. There are several different versions and it will no doubt always remain a mystery."

"More than 57 books have been written about Gabrielle Chanel. To decide for yourself, we would encourage you to consult some of the more serious ones."

As for Chanel's relationship with alleged Nazi spy Baron Hans Gunther von Dincklage, Chanel noted: "We know for a fact that she had a relationship during the war with a German aristocrat she had met in Paris in the Thirties. The timing of this romance with a German was unfortunate even if Baron Von Dincklage's mother was English and their relationship started before the war."

Shopping

Suddenly Everywhere — Collar Necklaces

>> Embrace Fall's prominent-collar trend with the season's newest batch of collar-shaped statement necklaces.
Fall 2011 Jewelry Trends - Collar Necklaces

>> Embrace Fall's prominent-collar trend with the season's newest batch of collar-shaped statement necklaces. These decadent (and detachable!) riffs on Peter Pan or tuxedo collars are the perfect way to transfer a bit of glitz to any ensemble, and suddenly we've been seeing them everywhere. Lanvin, Isaac Mizrahi, and Louis Vuitton (left) all currently offer equally dazzling versions, and Chanel debuted a dreamy diamante style for Resort 2012. Click through to shop 15 drool-worthy versions, now.

Image by Greg Kessler

Celebrity Style

Celeb Style: Ashley Olsen

Ashley Olsen stepped out of her NYC apartment sporting a ready-for-Fall look.

Ashley Olsen stepped out of her NYC apartment sporting a ready-for-Fall look. Her tobacco pants, oversize gray tee, and red Chanel slides were perfect for a stroll through the city. She amped up her easy breezy ensemble with a croc envelope clutch, oversize black sunglasses, and a gold watch with a unique blue face. Shop now to re-create Ashley's seasonal style.

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Celebrity Style

Celeb Style: Lauren Conrad

Lauren Conrad joined a slew of other celebs at LA's Palihouse to preview the new shoe collection from Alice + Olivia by Stacey Bendet.

Lauren Conrad joined a slew of other celebs at LA's Palihouse to preview the new shoe collection from Alice + Olivia by Stacey Bendet. Lauren rocked a colorful printed Alice + Olivia wrap dress with suede Christian Louboutin pumps. She kept her accessories to a minimum — a single bangle, pearl pendant necklace, and feather headband — and finished off her party style with burnt orange nail polish. Snag LC's exact dress with other like items when you shop now.

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Celebrity Style

Celeb Style: Ashley Tisdale

Ashley Tisdale stepped out of the Byron and Tracy salon in Beverly Hills looking cute and casual.

Ashley Tisdale stepped out of the Byron and Tracy salon in Beverly Hills looking cute and casual. Her knit Free People sweater, light gray skinnies, and knee-high Loeffler Randall boots were perfect for a day of errands. Not one to travel light, Ashley toted a creme Chanel bag and oversize Balenciaga weekender. She completed her laid-back look with Oliver Peoples sunglasses and a simple pendant.

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