Dolce & Gabbana unveils their Christmas Tree Design for Claridge's Hotel

Last Tuesday I had the pleasure of spending the evening at  Claridge's – my favourite London hotel – to celebrate the unveiling of this year's Christmas tree designed by Dolce & Gabbana. As you might expect, this is no ordinary tree. The two designers brought the flavour of their native Sicily using 450 hand-painted Italian baubles depicting images of the sun, citrus groves, almond blossom and prickly pears. The base stood out particularly thanks to the 30 hand-crafted Sicilian Pupi of Medieval inspiration. Colour was obviously the other big focus of the design, especially greens, red, yellows and blues, which finished off the beautiful tree that will stand at Claridge's foyer for the holidays.
Dolce & Gabbana always bring out the coolest guests in town and this was no exception. Stefano Gabbana looked so happy as he greeted muse David Gandy, Heva Herzigova, icon Joan Collins and heartthrobs Thom Evans and Oliver Cheshire – all very appropriately outfitted in their best attire by the designers.
I had the best time walking around the stunning building and enjoying the Christmas vibe (and the awesome nibbles) while the super stylish guests chatted away. Make sure you stop by Claridge's this Christmas!

David Gandy and Stefano Gabbana with Eva Herzigova

Sam Webb, Andrew Cooper, Isaac Ferry, Tara Ferry and Oliver Cheshire

James Cook with Poppy Delevigne and Joan Collins

Oliver Cheshire, Thom Evans and Laura Bailey

I am not Frank.

Courtesy of Dolce & Gabbana / Fashion, Frankly

Frank's Top 10 Christmas Wishlist

1. Marc by Marc Jacobs shearling bomber jacket, 2. An Extraordinary Theory of Objects: A Memoir of an Outsider in Paris by Stephanie LaCava, 3. Slowear plaid cotton chinos, 4. New Balance ML574 Backpack Trainers, 5. The Unknown Hipster Diaries by Jean-Philippe Delhomme, 6. Alexander McQueen wool and cotton sweater,

7. Jil Sander dinosaur tie, 8. Oliver Spencer leather brogue boots, 9. J.Crew leather iPhone 5 cover,

10. Sandro checked bomber jacket.

Dressing for Christmas

If you haven't heard yet, Christmas is coming. This year will be a little more different for me because I'm spending it with my family but we're taking it to a new scenario in the south of Spain, in a city called Granada. While I am unaware of the temperature there, I am guessing it'll be quite different from Madrid's icy Christmas so I am preparing nice outfits that either don't require a coat or in which the coat need not be accompanied by much layer underneath. I've put together a little inspiration post of what would make my perfect holiday wardrobe with photos from menswear editorials from the last couple of months to pay a bit of attention to FW10 trends.

My staple outfits for Christmas always include velvet at some point and some well-combined green and red. This year I will be taking my red-wine and my black velvet blazers with a selection of colourful shirts and bow ties for dinner. I will also give the "Tom Ford for Gucci" a go —aka: turtle neck jumper with a blazer (preferably velvet). I have thought of this for such a long time that my black velvet blazer and my tweed trousers are already getting refitted for a polished Christmas look.


My ultimate favourite casual look this winter, stereotypical as it may be, is the denim shirt and heavy knit combo. Especially if the latter includes a cozy neck and winter motifs. Over the years I've realised how having the back of my neck well protected makes me feel at easy no matter where I am, which is why I love those kind of jumpers or coats with fluffy lapels. I love the touch of the denim shirt in winter because it plays with the idea of a country look but it still looks put together.

I will also be packing my tuxedo shirt, which I'll probably wear with a cardigan or a normal blazer. I love traditional men's tailoring with all my life but I feel like it makes more of a statement if you wear it when it's unexpected rather than to a black tie event. My only two wardrobe regrets to date are not owning a plaid suit (best by Band of Outsiders or John Varvatos) and one of Prada's fw10 knits, which, to me, are simply a must-have this season.

[Pictures: Coute que Coute, The Fashionisto]