Unstable

What seems to be on everyone’s mind these days is finding the best bargain.  Americans are looking for the best way to spend their hard earned cash.  Now, this by no means is a new idea.  People work hard for their money and should spend it in the way they see fit.  With the unstable economic times, people are obviously trying to save as much as they can and save for a rainy day.  This has lead people to cut back drastically on their spending, which has, in turn, damaged the fashion industry.  Again, this is all old yet still relevant and upsetting news.  We were all prepared for the changing times but I think many of us still didn’t see what really was to come. 

The high end labels and household names of the fashion industry are looked at to lay the groundwork for trends, set the industry standard and produce some truly remarkable artistic pieces.  However, as a result of the American population pinching their pennies, these big deal expensive labels are making less money.  Less money, means fewer funds to produce their awe-inspiring pieces. 

In order to preserve their companies and stay afloat until this economic pothole is patched up, the fashion houses are protecting themselves by changing their design aesthetic, which ends up changing the entire industry.  What draws so many people to the fashion world are the exotic clothes that are shown on the runway.  Designers create pieces that are full of fantasy and like nothing anyone has ever seen before.  That said, these remarkable clothes are only affordable and wearable to a small percentage of people.  Thus, the fashion houses that are known for radical creativity are forced to reel in their imaginative inspiration and produce a collection that is more commercial.  As a result of this, some of the true geniuses in the fashion industry are being lost.  Their ideas are being refocused and changed to become more cookie cutter just so they can sell garments. 

One famous brand to follow this path is Nina Ricci.  For two years now Olivier Theyskens has been the head designer for this French fashion house.  His designs were widely appreciated for their dramatic construction and dramatic and daring style.  Olivier Theyskens brought a certain “wow” factor to Nina Ricci that critics could appreciate but were not fully understood by the mass market.  So in order to stay in a safe financial zone, Nina Ricci parted ways with the talented Olivier Theyskens and hired a designer with a more commercial appeal, Peter Copping.  I, personally, found Olivier Theyskens designs worth dying for and am devastated to see him leave.  Peter Copping is a very talented designer who should be revered by the industry, but I’ve never been drawn to designs that fall on the “safer” end of the fashion spectrum.  Give me wild fabrics, shoes they defy gravity and clothes that really look more like sculptures because that is where progress comes from.  Trends can only move so far forward when you create things that seem a little too reminiscent of previous trends.  Dainty ruffles, delicate lace, pastel pinks and skirts paired with cardigans will always be a great choice.  But I look to the runway to see innovation and creations that confound the mind and take my breath away.  I understand needing to make a profit but letting a talent like that go is a real loss. 

In addition to brands going for a safer aesthetic, we have to worry about losing haute couture fashion moguls like Christian Lacroix.  The haute couture designer and fashion celebrity has filed what is comparable to Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  But without haute couture from Lacroix, the fashion world will simply not be the same.  His designs have been widely popular since the 1980s and he is known for his luxurious, thematic designs that have a huge impact on the industry.  I think we can be certain that Lacroix will not fade into the background and for the time being we will have to just wonder what his couture show might have looked like. 

But will everything go back to the way it was after the economy has stabilized?  Or will designers live in fear of the next economic crisis and stifle their creativity for a more commercial approach?  There is no way to be certain, but fashion keeps changing to be more about the business and less about the art.

Nina Ricci Fall 2009 Ready-To- Wear Olivier Theyskens



Nina Ricci Spring 2010 Ready-To-Wear Peter Copping


Chrisian Lacroix Spring Couture 2009



Christian Lacroix Fall Couture 2009 


Article about Lacroix's bankruptcy

images from style.com


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Sequined Blazers: the perfect party jacket...




try one for yourself in black blue or gold ...

the Ultimate Luxury



Ashish Sequin Jacket: get it here

the Super Splurge



 Diane von Furstenberg Short Didi jacket: get it here


the Big Spender

Antik Batik Walice jacket: get it here


The Super Saver

Silence & Noise Sequin blazer: get it here




images from lefashionimage.blogspot.com, netaporter.com, urbanoutfitters.com


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Model of the Moment: Snejana Onopka


images from nymag.com


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Filed Under:

Look of the Week: Boy by Band of Outsiders




image from style.com


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Filed Under:

Not Just For Warmth


For many seasons now, one accessory that has been seen on celebrities and style icons worldwide is the scarf.  From winter through summer scarves are a predominant style staple and add some flair to even the plainest outfit.  Scarves have become so widely popular because of their unique versatility.  They come in nearly any color and pattern one could imagine and in a huge range of fabrics and prices.  Whether you have money to burn or need to keep your spending to a minimum, a scarf is an item anyone can buy.  One of my all time favorite scarves is black cotton with jewel tones woven in and cost me a grand total of four dollars.
A scarf can be paired with nearly any ensemble and can dress anything up or down.  If you are heading out for the night, either to a nice dinner or show, you can dress your outfit up with a silk scarf in a pretty but dainty pattern.  Whenever I am running late, my go-to outfit for a night out is a pair of dark jeans, a nice black or white shirt, a blazer and a silk scarf.  Try Matthew Williamson’s silk-chiffon scarf if you need to update your outfit.  The mix of soft and vibrant colors keeps it looking modern and makes it easy to wear.  To start you off, try pairing the Matthew Williamson scarf with the Urban Outfitters Silence & Noise Black Long Party Blazer with the Vivienne Westwood Anglomania cowl neck shirt underneath and a pair of Forever21 dark Skinny Jeans and Vicky Strappy Heels.  This outfit is a mix of splurge and save items that when you put together look trendy for your night out.


If you are trying to make a casual outfit less boring adding a scarf is a great way to do that.  If your outfit is plain, like a white t-shirt and jeans, try adding a big, full scarf in bright colors with a fun pattern or interesting detail.  For a more edgy look try the Tolani Stud Scarf.  The gold detail adds an interesting texture and unexpected element to an everyday look.  For another way to make a simple outfit pop, try this Virginia Johnson scarf in fuchsia or the Honeycomb Tolani scarf.  The bright colors and bold patterns will make you stick out in the crowd.   If you’re wearing a patterned shirt, try wearing a plain scarf in a complimentary color, like this SVS scarf in purple or the Essential Pash Wrap (shown here in teal) from Urban Outfitters, which comes in six basic colors.  
Whichever way you decide to wear one, adding a scarf will always make your outfit more interesting and chic!   





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Model of the Moment: Lindsay Ellingson




image from altamiranyc.blogspot.com


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Filed Under:

Look of the Week: Sienna Miller




image from lefashionimage.blogspot.com


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Filed Under:

Dress to Impress

Q: What would a celebrity never do in a million years?
A: Wear the same outfit to two separate events.  Ever.  It just is not done. 
Celebrities are expected to wear a completely new garment to every event and party they go to.  They even get tabloid attention if they repeatedly wear the same pair of shoes or carry the same purse numerous times. 
The rest of us normal people understand how ridiculous it would be to purchase a new outfit for every time you leave the house.  We buy our clothes to wear over and over again and love forever.  Personally, I would be heartbroken if I couldn’t wear my clothes repeatedly for fear of the world noticing.  I buy pieces because I love them.  I get excited when I wear my favorite things and I like to style them in numerous ways.  I admire celebrities who are not afraid to wear the items they love on many occasions.  Sienna Miller, for example, loves her white leather oxfords and creates some truly great looks with them. 
            Now, one thing I do understand is that you simply cannot wear the same formal gown to more than one event.  It is just one of those unwritten rules (actually it probably has been written down somewhere) that should never be broken.  But formal gowns can creep up into the thousands dollar range, and who has the funds to pay that kind of money for a gown they will wear once? 
Well, most celebrities actually don’t pay for most of the clothes they wear.  In order to get exposure, designers lend out gowns to celebrities for events.  Should the given celebrity wear their garment, it could be photographed and displayed all over the Internet and in the tabloids, giving the designer a ton of attention (i.e. free advertising). 
But then again, most of us are not celebrities.  We cannot afford to spend ridiculous amounts on pieces we wear once.  So what do we do?  Well, believe it or not, there is a solution.  Renttherunway.com is a new website that lets the users rent extremely expensive garments for much less.  They send you the dress you requested in two sizes, guarantee that it will arrive on or before the date you need them and let you keep them for a few days to wear to your event.  The cost of the rental ranges from $50 to $200.  Not bad when that same dress may retail for $4,000. 
When I first heard of this site I thought was an excellent idea.  I can see many people preferring to spend up to $200 on a dress they will probably never wear again versus several hundred to a few thousand.  I was curious to see how someone who attends more events than I felt about this new website. 
Over Thanksgiving break I showed it to my mother who agreed that the site was very practical.  As someone who goes to several events a year with the same people, she doesn’t like to wear the same garment too many times.  She also is extremely picky, fashion obsessed and loves to wear designer dresses.  However, she knows that spending over five hundred dollars on a dress is a luxury that cannot be repeated very often.  She told me, “I would be completely comfortable paying a max of $200 for a dress I’d only get to wear once.  I’ve definitely spent more than that on a dress I wore once and then realized I hated and never wore again.” 
This website can also let people take more risks with their wardrobe choices.  There are many dresses I have seen that are very trendy and chic at the time, but I could never buy them because they are too “of the moment”.  In a few months, that trend could be dead and I wouldn’t want to wear it again.  Also, there are numerous dresses I have seen on the runway and dreamed about wearing but knew I never could because I simply do not have hundreds or thousands of dollars to spend on one garment.  So ladies (and possibly gentlemen), check out renttherunway.com next time you have a wedding or charity event.  They might have that great Giambattista Valli gown or Proenza Schouler cocktail dress you’ve been wishing you could wear but never thought you could!



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Models of the Moment: Dorothea Jorgensen and Sara Blomqvist





image from altamira.blogspot.com


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Filed Under:

Look of the Week



image from lefashionimage.blogspot.com


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Filed Under:

Tattoos of the Future

Most people are very opinionated regarding tattoos.  Some like them on other people, but could never imagine getting one themselves.  Others cannot wait to turn 18 to decorate their bodies with all the symbols they feel reflect their life.  And some just cannot stand them whether they are on themselves or on another person.  Tattoos are often considered a fashion statement.  They are a way to express what kind of style you like, your personality, or to help you create a certain persona.  A huge factor for many however, is the permanency of the tattoo.  I know many people who would love to get one … if they could erase it painlessly in two decades or so.  Many don’t love the idea of being a seventy-five year old grandparent with a butterfly “tramp stamp” or looking like a wrinkled brick building covered in graffiti. 
 Luckily for those of you who want to get inked yet have commitment issues, there is a new technology you might find interesting.  Scientists are working on electronic tattoos that are implanted in the body underneath the skin.  The electronic circuits are inserted under the skin using a silicon-silk device that eventually dissolves into the body.  After the silk is gone, only the silicon electronic chips are left in the body.  The material is flexible making the electronics capable of conforming to the shape of the body’s tissue.  These tattoos can function as LED display screens turning a person’s skin into a video screen.  The tattoos could project patterns, designs, television and, potentially, blood sugar readings.  Also, they can be turned on and off at the user’s command. 
I’m not sure how the scientists envisioned this project working out, but I see the future of the punk population trading in their old still life tattoos for these crazy, moving, blinking ones.  I am pretty uncomfortable with the thought of humans turning into something out of a sci-fi movie and becoming walking versions of the Las Vegas strip.  As a form of self-expression, I have no issue in tattoos and find that at times they can look quite artistic.  If a person wishes to display something that represents who they are on their skin, that is their choice, and, if done well, it can really add to their appearance.  Take Angelina Jolie, for example.  She would not be nearly as exotic without her array of artistic tattoos.  Or David Beckham, he would simply not be Beckham without his signature ink. 
Being someone who can barely commit to anything, the permanency of a tattoo is not something with which I can reconcile.  While the idea that a tattoo can be turned on and off is intriguing, the thought of being implanted with electrodes is not.  I’m going to keep my fingers crossed that these morphing tattoos don’t grace the runways or the streets for a while and remain being studied for medical purposes.  So, for the time being, I’m going to stick to having my skin look the way it was meant to be, LED technology free. 


David Beckham and Angelina Jolie
Images from google images







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Model of the Moment: Frida Gustavsson


image from knighttcat.com


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Filed Under:

Look of the Week



image from lefashionimage.blogspot.com


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Filed Under:

Runway Reality

As an avid fashion follower, there is nothing more exciting to me than seeing what is shown at fashion week.  Well, actually, there is nothing more exciting to me than seeing the photographs of what was shown at fashion week posted online.  As the pictures go up, I sit at my computer for hours glued to my computer screen scrolling through every piece of each collection that my favorite designers have created.  It is so exciting to see how the old silhouettes have changed and what completely new ideas have been created.

I loved the Alexander McQueen Spring 2010 Ready-To-Wear (RTW) collection so much that I e-mailed a few of the runways shots to my friend to share in my feeling of awe.  The collection was a mix between futuristic and animalistic styles, full of uniquely constructed silhouettes, and lots of short dresses in vivid, complex prints.  And let’s not forget the shoes, which were constructed in a way that I have never seen before.  However, her response was not exactly what I expected.  “Whoa,” she said, “that collection is really cool.  But who would ever wear that stuff?”.  To me, I thought of these designs as individual pieces of art.  Each one was like a sculpture because of its construction and a painting because of the intricate patterns.  I considered them to be created solely for artistic purposes and hadn’t completely thought about how the public would conceive their wear-ability. 

Alexander McQueen Spring 2010 RTW
           







But designers clearly need to make a living.  They are people just like you and I.  And if their designs are so radical that no one can wear them, why are they created and shown at over the top shows?  Alexander McQueen has been a successful brand for years; therefore, people must be buying these outrageous outfits.  Which leads to the question of who these people are and where are they wearing these extravagant designs?  Only a small population would be able to afford any of these pieces and an even smaller population would be able to look good in one of these dresses. 


A runway show is there to inspire creativity and give the masses fresh ideas on how to dress and what styles to embrace.  The fashion show (which can sometimes seem like a wild performance) is used not only to showcase the designer’s art, but also to help us understand it.  For example, McQueen’s runway show illustrates the mindset and concept behind his designs.  At the Spring 2010 RTW show, the models were made up to resemble aliens with space-age hair and make-up that did not necessarily look human.  Seeing the clothing in the context of the runway show, we understand the theme and concept behind the collection. 
Camilla Belle in Alexander McQueen
To demonstrate the wear-ability of their clothing to the public, designers look to celebrities to wear their clothes and start trends that include their pieces.  In her latest music video, Bad Romance, Lady Gaga is seen wearing an Alexander McQueen ensemble straight from the runway.  Lady Gaga enthusiasts will see this look and understand that she is wearing it as a costume but will make note of the futuristic trend.  In a more tangible setting, Camilla Belle was seen wearing only a dress from the McQueen collection.  In this setting, you see that a piece on it’s own is completely wearable, but looks gorgeous in a real life.  When you dissect the individual runway looks, you discover that there are many great, original pieces.  You realize that you don’t have to be Lady Gaga dancing in a futuristic music video to wear McQueen.

Designers like Alexander McQueen are the real geniuses because they can create clothing that is both wearable and art.  Next time you see a runway show with seemingly impractical clothing remember two things.  Know that the catwalk is a showcase of the designer’s art and examine the individual pieces as something that can be worn.






















images from style.com and lefashionimage.blogspot.com








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