Cleopatra As Fashion Muse from the fall catwalks to Sex and the City 2

Beauty & Jewelry Trend Report: Miss Cleo the Modern “It” Girl

The Miss Cleo trend in beauty at L.A.M.B. for Fall 2010

The Miss Cleo trend in beauty at L.A.M.B. for Fall 2010

Why wait for fall?

Everyone wants a jump on a fashion trend, especially when it’s something that you can glom onto, run with, and make personal… before it is even “in season,” the proposed season, that is.

Look no further than some blunt bangs, heavily lined cat eyes, and very royal and sensual jewelry in a BC kind of way.

Hold your cobra, Cleopatra is our favorite muse of the moment!

There certainly was no shortage of models with a ‘Walk Like An Egyptian‘ vibe on the fall catwalks, or even some not so subtle nuances to Elizabeth Taylor‘s portrayal as the fabulously glamorous pharaoh in the 1963 movie, “Cleopatra.”

“The Miss Cleo trend has a royal aura without being ostentatious —it is all about the accessories,” says Christina Mannatt, Cultural Editor at the trend forecaster Stylesight.com.

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Not to mention some bold Cleopatra smoldering beauty. Lanvin had every model in a black wig with blunt bangs. The heavy charcoal cat eyes could not go unnoticed at Isabel Marant, Vivienne Westwood, and L.A.M.B. Go for it, a little kohl and blunt bangs are the cheapest beauty investment you can make to look regal right now.

Come fall, notes Mannatt, you’ll be seeing the Egyptian look from designers, with a focus on Etro, and Bottega Veneta, with historical references at Erin Wasson, whose collections are accented with scarabs, ankh crosses, usekh (it means broad or wide) collars, regal bibs, cartouche and hieroglyphic pendants, and other designers with a focus on armbands, cobras, and Egyptian-inspired body armor pieces for a modern take on Cleopatra chic. Avant-garde jeweler, Litter even has an array of shoulder and elbow jewelry.


Cleopatra As Fashion Muse from the fall catwalks to Sex and the City 2

Cleopatra As Fashion Muse from the fall catwalks to Sex and the City 2

Cleopatra As Fashion Muse from the fall catwalks to Sex and the City 2

Cleopatra As Fashion Muse from the fall catwalks to Sex and the City 2

Cleopatra As Fashion Muse from the fall catwalks to Sex and the City 2

Cleopatra As Fashion Muse from the fall catwalks to Sex and the City 2

Cleopatra As Fashion Muse from the fall catwalks to Sex and the City 2

Cleopatra As Fashion Muse from the fall catwalks to Sex and the City 2

Cleopatra As Fashion Muse from the fall catwalks to Sex and the City 2

Cleopatra As Fashion Muse from the fall catwalks to Sex and the City 2

But leave it to “Sex and the City 2” to bring one of fall’s strongest fashion trends front and center for summer. It’s almost impossible to think of Desert Chic and not have Cleopatra come to mind.

Kim Cattrall as Samantha in "Sex and the City 2" wearing Cleopatra earrings from Wendy Brandes

Kim Cattrall as Samantha in "Sex and the City 2" wearing Cleopatra earrings from Wendy Brandes

Cleopatra Gold & Diamond Earrings from Wendy Brandes as seen on in Kim Cattrall in "Sex and the City 2"

Jewelry designer Wendy Brandes has her “Cleopatra” gold and diamond snake earring featured in the movie, pictured in the still above, on its most obvious Cleo clone. “Samantha is definitely the most Cleopatra-like of the “Sex and the City” women. If anyone were going to deliver herself to a lover in a rolled-up carpet — as Cleopatra famously did with Julius Caesar — it would be Samantha,” says Brandes.

However, YOU may simply want to only roll out some red carpet-esque Cleopatra glam. The Egyptian upper class wore wigs, jewelry, and cosmetics as a status symbol, notes Mannant. So pile it on as they did.


 

Runway photos courtesy of Stylesight.com
Wendy Brandes jewelry photos courtesy of Wendy Brandes

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