Dear readers, members, customers and simple passers-by,

It’s with great sorrow that I must inform you we’re shutting down the private outlet website for the UK as well as this fashion blog, for the time being.

Unfortunately, as of today there will be neither new sales on the website nor new posts on this blog until further notice.

So for now it’s goodbye i’m afraid…

Photo - all rights reserved

For those of you that still have ongoing orders and/or inquiries, your accounts will still be active on the website. Just log in here as ususal to check up on your orders’ status or contact our customer service if needed.

It has been a pleasure for us to bring you the sales and news that quenched your thirst for fashion and trends since 2007. We would also like to thank you for all for your business and feedback over the past 4 years.

This being said, who knows what will come next? We for one haven’t lost all hope yet and are pretty sure we’ll be back soon enough, bringing you more fashion relief than ever!

Sincerly,

Sassy Lizzie and The Private Outlet Team

Glamour of the Gods: Hollywood Portraits at the National Portrait Gallery, London

7 July – 23 October 2011

A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at stars and celebrity glamour before paparazzi, before Photoshop (but not without retouching!) in 1920-1960, Hollywood’s golden age. Before the concept of paparazzi, fans and the press had to wait for the latest photographs, unimaginable in today’s world.

Alfred Hitchcock with the MGM lion, 1958 by Clarence Sinclair Bull

The National Gallery’s show features 70 portraits from this time period, many of them publicity shots and up until now never exhibited in the UK, which not just marketed stars and the glamour of Hollywood but played an important role in their creation.

Clark Gable and Joan Crawford for Dancing Lady, 1933 by George Hurrell

Featuring Rita Hayworth, Elizabeth Taylor, Louise Brooks, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Marlon Brando, Rock Hudson and many more.

Marilyn Monroe, 1952 by Ernest Bachrach

All are part of the vast John Kobal Foundation collection, the founder of which was one of the first to see the value of these shots and to collect them as well as the original negatives. As a film historian, he recognized these studio system photographers, such as Eugene Robert Richee, George Hurrell, Clarence Sinclair Bull, Laszlo Willinger, Robert Coburn, William Walling and Ted Allan, as artists and dedicated his career to documenting and putting names to the oft-uncredited scene stills.

Clarence Sinclair Bull photographing Clarke Gable and Vivien Leigh for Gone with the Wind, 1939 by Fred Parrish

One aspect that Kobal found so fascinating about these photos was that they revealed sides of the stars’ personalities previously concealed in their film work, freed from the constraints of the script, other actors and the director’s vision. What appealed to him, the original recipients of the photos, and to the spectators of this exhibition, is the purity of the actor, the star quality, in these photographs.

‘If you are in the business of being photographed, you must like to have your picture taken, otherwise you shouldn’t be doing it. It’s part of your job.’

- Katharine Hepburn

All Images © the John Kobal Foundation

Taking a look at the Autumn/Winter 2011 shows of a few of Couture’s masters and also newcomers…

Elie Saab’s presentation featured simple shapes that followed the lines of the body, always with plenty of fabulous embellishment, of course. Word is, he’s breaking away from the red carpet parade and setting his sights set on a younger couture clientele.

Even newer on the Couture show scene is Bouchra Jarrar, formerly an assistant to Nicolas Ghesquière, who offers perfectly tailored modern separates with a defined shoulder in her own line.

Karl Lagerfeld’s latest for Chanel featured no jewellery whatsoever, just the sparkles on the clothes (all manner of sequins and jewelled buttons), fingerless gloves, feather-lined bowler hats to match each outfit, and boots that revealed little leg, except for the sheer versions!

The sparkles were, however, head to toe, and also in the air!

Short or long, the ensembles had a straight or peplum silhouette, slightly exaggerated shoulders, and often a portrait collar.

Jean Paul Gaultier was apparently inspired by the Black Swan (even for men!), and he revisited his classics such as the trench coat, in a slightly more sombre manner than in other collections.

There were some New Look-esque full skirts that still had a natural waist, with wide shoulders for visual balance and to fit with the tougher, almost masculine mood.

Also: tonnes of feathers!

All photos – All rights reserved

Why not do something in honour of France’s national holiday on July 14^th?

While some might celebrate by trying that new French restaurant that just opened in their neighbourhood, we can’t get enough of that famous French je ne sais quoi!

Catherine Deneuve

Brigitte Bardot

Anna Karina

Romy Schneider

Photos – All rights reserved

Here’s the message from December’s big winner, Miss Marielle L., after enjoying her prize: a luxurious trip to New York!

February 7^th, I read the email: You’re the Winner!

The prize: a shopping weekend in New York for two in a 4-star hotel and 500 Euros for the shops.  I can’t believe it…it’s something I’ve always dreamed about…

June 13^th: Our grand departure for New York

I chose a hotel in the centre of Manhattan where we could walk to everything: 5^th Avenue just three minutes away, Times Square five minutes. The view from our room on the 22^nd floor is magnificent, we can see the skyline and the famous yellow taxis.

Photo: Marielle in Times Square

We were able to experience all the wonderful museums and monuments (the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the MOMA, the Guggenheim, the Top of the Rock, the Empire State Building, the Statue of liberty, Central Park, Wall Street) and different neighbourhoods (Nolita, Little Italy, Chinatown, SoHo…). Our visit to the Ground Zero site was especially moving.

We also took advantage of the glorious shopping opportunities of 5^th Avenue (Saks, Abercrombie and Fitch, Apple, Hollister…) and Times Square, where the sheer number of stores is amazing.

Photo: How many shopping bags?

In the evening, we checked out the trendy hotspots, including Gramercy where we tasted the famous Cosmopolitan cocktail, the Marriott on Broadway (with a rotating restaurant featuring a 360° view, you need a strong stomach because the elevators are glass and bring you to the 47^th floor at the speed of light)!

One of our favourite spots was the terrace of the Kimberly Hotel that overlooks New York. Enjoying a cocktail with the gothamites and a view of the most beautiful buildings, it’s a wonderful moment…

Photo: On the terrace of the Kimberly Hotel

Emmanuelle and I would like to thank Private Outlet for this wonderful gift that we will never forget.

There’s nothing like a girly weekend shopping trip to New York to relax and forget your cares…

Marielle