Look, I adore Miss Blake Lively. I know not all of you share my sentiments. But I think that she is a doll. And exactly the right sort of young woman for the kids to look up to. She is ambitious and determined — but on her own terms. She is hard-working but not at the expense of seeming like fun to hang out with (even Christian Louboutin (see below) and Anna Wintour appear to enjoy her company). And she is hot. Beautiful and sexy without being skinny. In other words, on this International Women's Day, she is the personification of a strong, beautiful, modern woman.
And she is of course the new face of Chanel handbags — this being the first image from the campaign.

I did think it was rather clever of Kaiser Karl Lagerfeld to have her reflected in the mirrors at the launch dinner this week, 'mirroring' the ads, which he shot himself. All that 'reflection' is laboured but smart from a brand perspective.
All this, BFFs with Florence Welch, self-styled and now a dream come true. “I had other opportunities and I would say, ‘Thank you so much, but I am holding out for Chanel,’ ” Blake told the NY Times. “That’s who I want to be the face of. And people would say, ‘Well, that’s unrealistic, they only hire Europeans,’ and I said: ‘Well, how great. I’ll be the first then.’” Done deal. Well played lady.