Chutzpah's Weekly Barometer

A light hearted look back over the past week’s good, bad and indifferent including the “don’t even go there’s”.


LOVING
Joseph Altazurra and J. Crew – Details of this stellar collaboration from CFDA Fashion Fund Award winner Altazurra and Jenna Lyon’s J. Crew are sketchy to say the least, so watch this space.

Courréges Blanc – This new fragrance, to be released in June, marks the revival of the iconic Parisian fashion house, whose ultra-modern designs encapsulated the Sixties. With Lionel Giraud heading the brand as Chief Creative Officer, we expect to see rejuvenation galore.

REN Bio Retinoid Anti-Ageing Concentrate - A complex of pure, potent 100% nature dervied Vitamin A, Pro Vitamin A and Retinoid Analogue that combats the appearance of wrinkles, imperfections and age spots, leaving the complexion visibly younger and brighter. Five drops applied to skin before bed is all you need (£42).  Available at Selfridges.

ASOS Revive – Channelling a so-now Nineties clubwear vibe, this collection from online fashion behemoth ASOS is strictly for those too young to remember the first time around.

Richard Nicoll, Vodafone, and Tusting – Chutzpah fave rave Nicoll teams up with London Fashion Week sponsor Vodafone, and luggage label Tusting, to design a magnetically-charged bag which’ll top up your smartphone battery, whilst an LED charm informs you of any incoming calls. GENIUS.

Vivienne Westwood & Fortnum & Mason Easter eggs – Made by Fortnum and Mason’s chocolatiers, these classy fashion eggs look as decadent and tantalising as they taste thanks to packaging designed by Vivienne Westwood. Limited edition yummy chocolates are presented in a quilted silk egg box, exquisitely designed with a delicate buttercup hued lace intricately featuring the Vivienne Westwood orb, overlaid on soft pastel backgrounds. The finely handcrafted Easter eggs are filled with an assortment of F&M treats from Rose and Violet Creams and Marc de Champagne truffles to chewy Splendid Sweets and Fortnum’s famous chocolates. We love.

Orange - On eyes and lips, bold orange is the new beige. From MyFace.Cosmetics Blingtone Tequila Sunrise shimmery orange shadow to Dolce & Gabbana's tangotastic bright orange lipstick in 'Delicious', the sun has made us long for brights. 


Joseph and Claire Barrow – University of Westminster graduate and illustrator Claire Barrow lends her artistic eye to a range of personalised hand-painted leather biker jackets, trousers, and handbags, exclusively available from West London retail Mecca Joseph.

Jewels for Hope: The Collection of Lily Safra – Christies auction philanthropist Lily Safra’s jewellery collection in aid of twenty charities, including the Claude Pompidou Institute for Alzheimer’s disease and the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village in Rwanda. Featuring the largest single owner selection of highly-covetable Joel Arthur Rosenthal (JAR) jewellery ever brought to auction, Katie’s been rummaging down the back of the sofa for spare change all week.

‘Fabulous Nobodies’ – Big screen adaptation by the makers of ‘The September Issue’ of notorious revenge novel written by former Australian Harper’s Bazaar editor Lee Tulloch. Billed as the next ‘Devil Wears Prada’, we’re hoping for so much more.

HATING

Dodgily copied D&G – The silk foulard prints of the final D&G collection have influenced high street collections at every level – but can you find the real thing in your local department store?  EPIC buying FAIL.

Pastels – We’re steering clear of this season’s sugar plum palette – as should everyone else over the age of eight. Note to many, pale yellow saps a person of colour.

Manchester Fashion Week - £40 a day, or £20 a show, to look at clothes already on the racks and rub shoulders with bored Cheshire housewives, WAGs, and no doubt the same liggers who turn up to every opening just to get their fill of free cava and their face in the Manchester Evening News.  Thanks, but NO THANKS.

“No Reservations” – No, not Katie after too much bubbly, but the policy of restaurants not allowing bookings, forcing you to spend a fortune at the bar whilst waiting an hour for a table.

Mischa’s Place – Former ‘The O.C.’ actress Barton, recently known more for falling out of late night West End bars than her elegance and style, has launched a Spitalfields store to showcase her eponymous clothing line. We’re giving it weeks rather than months.

Rihanna and Ashton Kutcher – I’m sure someone, somewhere in the world, gives a damn about this story. We couldn’t care enough, to be frank. Maybe Demi, who is said to be “REELING” – although we suspect that’s possibly the result of today’s prescription cocktail.

Tulisa’s ‘Young’ – A terrible record by anyone’s standard, and the sound of Linekers bar this Summer. Let’s hope this is the nail in the coffin of her talent judging career.

Neurosis – Apparently “neurotic is The New Normal”. No wonder Woody Allen’s career has hit a wall.

CoverBe diamond and sable laptop sleeve – No, not an April Fool’s prank. At $11m, so tacky that Liberace (ask your mum – or even your gran) or even Paris Hilton would declare it tasteless.

‘Titanic 3D’ – We care infinitely less now about this film than when it was released the first time, although it’s gratifying to know that Kate Winslet despises ‘My Heart Will Go On’ as much as we do.

DON’T CARE

The Abercrombie & Fitch man-on-man kiss – Abercrombie has been teasing The Gays for years with their advertising campaigns, and this sledgehammer-subtle slice of homoerotica from Bruce Weber will no doubt result in even more over-priced polo shirts on orange, middle-aged hairdressers from Pinner or the like.

Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Red – A great idea and a far-from-virginal shade of sticky red lipgloss produced in collaboration with beauty brand bareMinerals. Miss Chutzpah thinks it's a tad too gloopy and not quite 'in your face' enough, preferring matte as the way to go. Initially to be sold at Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse spas and the Retail Therapy in-flight shopping guide with bareMinerals stockists later in the year.

‘The Voice’ (BBC1) – We’ve given it a couple of weeks and we're still in two minds about this. The pantomime judges, the acts and the swivel seating may not be enough to hold out attention for prime time Saturday night TV.  Add in the cloying, fake sincerity, the spurious rivalry, the mawkish back-stories, all adding up to less than the sum of its parts. Whilst slumming national treasure Sir Tom Jones is forced to recite the list of more talented and successful artists he’s sung with, all eyes are on Will.I.Am, the only real revelation of the series and the only person appearing to have a good time. 


Barometer compiled by Lee Clatworthy (@TeamChutzpah) and @KatieChutzpah. Let us know your thoughts on this week's likes/dislikes.