At first glance there wasn't much similarity between the ultra-chic, ultra-rich looks that Jean Paul Gaultier sent down Hermes' runway and the exuberant girlishness of Sonia Rykiel. Until, that is, I realized that both had added a little updated Victorian to their looks.

In the case of Hermes the homage to Victoriana was pretty literal with the touches of paisley, specifically the coats, which harkened back to the shawls which were the popular, and really the only feasible, way to keep warm whilst wearing one of the crinoline skirts of the period.

Sonia Rykiel's Victorian allusions were more subjective but, to me, the plastic discs which embellished several of the pieces were a nod to London's Pearly Kings and Queens...with the modern version being just as whimsical as the original, but hopefully lighter...I once got my sticky little fingers on an original Victorian Pearly Queen outfit and was amazed by just how heavy a few hundred pearl buttons can be.