Viral Style: Designer Emojis, Instagram-Powered Beauty Looks, And A New Way To Take Selfies

From regularly slamming celebs to the weirdly obsessive behavior with his cat, not everyone's a fan of Karl Lagerfeld's well-publicised eccentricities—but you have to admit, the man does know how to market himself. This week saw the designer launch a brand new fashion emoji app, called—wait for it—emotiKarl. Users can send mini pics resembling the famous fingerless gloved hand in a variety of gestures, others of the designer's face and even, er, images of his new fragrance. Well, those old emojis were sooo passé anyway, right?

Speaking of KG, Londoners might be aware that the Chanel creative director opened his first store in the British capital this week, focusing on pushing the apparel and accessories from his eponymous line. Whatever, though—we're more interested in the kinda-genius concept installed in the changing rooms, where built-in tablets let shoppers snap and share their selfies rocking Karl's garms. There are even exclusive Lagerfeld filters to apply to the shots, and a digital guestbook to sign… talk about next-level branding.

Of course, no selfie shot is 100% perfect if the angle isn't on point—or worse, if your arm just isn't long enough to get everything in the frame (looking at you, Bradley Cooper). However, help is at hand (sorry) with selfie sticks, also known as 'monopods.' The camera on a stick concept isn't that new, admittedly, but at the recent Mobile World Congress, new designs were revealed specifically aimed at smartphones. Not just a useful prop to hold devices, these accessories are also able to focus the shot and use time-delay software. So if you're really keen on getting that perfect selfie, it might be worth investing in this bad boy.

In the best news I've heard since I found out that you can customise M&Ms, it's now possible to make all your painstakingly-taken Instagram shots work for you, ladies. A new Kickstarter project called NailSnaps is currently raising funds for their app, which allows users to select their fave Instagram image, and have the company transform it into unique, easy-to-apply nail polish stickers, which are then mailed out to you. On the downside, with all the endless style possibilities this opens up for your talons, maybe it’s time to branch out from just taking moody X-Pro II photos of your dog?

We’ve all been there—you order a totally sweet piece of apparel online, only to discover it doesn’t fit IRL and you have to go through that whole returns hassle. Sucks. However, a new app called Virtusize aims to change all that, allowing people to compare items they already own with similar items in e-tail to ensure you get the right size. When browsing online stores with the Virtusize app enabled, simply find an item of clothing you like and click the logo button—this opens your personal virtual wardrobe (complete with saved sizes or tagged styles you’ve entered previously), meaning you can place the design on top of existing items to compare the fit, from arm length to waistline.

This week, Twitter went crazy after a rumour that Ralph Lauren had unintentionally leaked a promo code for 65% off all their products went viral. Originally meant for employees and their families, the brand had not given authorization for the code to be shared, and quickly deactivated it—but not before the site was flooded by overexcited shoppers. Kudos to Ralph Lauren though; most purchases are still going to be honored (except ones made by people trying to sneak things in their basket like $1,000 handbags or chandeliers). Who wants an album leak when you could get a designer clothing leak?

@char_mcmanus

@williamewright