Thursday, January 27, 2011

Give Me Drama, Give Me Valentino!


 
The couture reviews keep on coming and this time it's Valentino in the ASFC (A Style of Culture) spotlight. Wednesday evening the merveilleuse Chiuri and incroyable Piccioli, the creative duo behind Valentino, presented a collection that included gowns that seemed to revisit the Edwardian Era with hints of the Elizabethan Ruff. 

In the latter half of the Valentino show,  gowns of dramatic, yet subtle detailing with frilled trims, tiered ruffles, and gathers of chiffon, nostalgic of the late-1800s to early-1900s, were shown. Reflective of the past, each look spoke volumes with the softness and weightless ease they evoked, as  the models walked with graceful fragility.

Unable to contain my excitement for these simple, yet skillfully constructed gowns, I chose my top four looks that captured the mood of the garments, for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!



(Images: Courtesy of Style.com)

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Elie Saab: Haute For 2011 Academy Awards



With Paris Couture Week well underway, there is one designer that seems to be offering quite a number of possible red carpet gowns for this year's Academy Awards. Being held on February 27th at Hollywood's famed Kodak Theatre, the Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, is the premier event of awards season. Therefore, female celebs make it a point to look their absolute best for this one night of ultimate recognition of theatrical performances.  

Elie Saab's couture show today presented beautiful gowns that offer up dazzling options for top stylists like Rachel Zoe to pull for the Awards later next month. Primarily solid colored gowns with soft textures, Elie Saab created a beautiful romance of elegance and style. With the combination of lace hints, weightless chiffons, and intricate beading throughout the collection, it is as if the designer was inspired by an ethereal figure.

Because Elie Saab's couture collection presents some amazing options for this year's highly anticipated red carpet event, I've narrowed the forty-one looks down to my top eight. Which glamourous A-list female celebs will walk the red carpet in one of these gowns? Only time will tell.




















(Images: Courtesy of Style.com)

Paris Haute Couture Collections: The Past In Full Blossom


 
Outside it does not seem like the weather is going to heat up soon enough for us to shed the layers of clothing we've been wearing all winter. However, in Paris things are getting Haute! The Spring-Summer 2011 Paris Haute Couture week has commenced and the fashion world is ready to blossom for the nearing warmer seasons.

With varying color palettes, fresh and flowy silhouettes, and designs much resembling those of the past, particularly those of the fifties, this week's shows, in my opinion, have seemingly reflected on fashion magazine covers of the past. I noticed that certain looks reminded me of  illustrations that have graced the vintage covers of Vogue. Therefore, I chose my favorite looks from the shows currently posted on Style.com and paired them with images of covers that could have easily inspired what is coming down the runway this week.
The mastermind behind his namesake label came up with a clever concept this season by creating gowns in both white and in color. With the white version coming out first and then followed by the colored version, there is a sense of the yin and yang being displayed with each look. I was drawn to this red gown, a colorway of the same silhouette in white. With its vibrant red hue against a white background, the look became reminiscent of this January 1950 cover.

















Mr. Armani will always be one of the greatest designers of our time and he never seems to fail each season, producing such great designs for women of the world. With the warmer months approaching,  he has a created a collection that speaks of fluidity displayed like liquid mercury swimming over the female form. Bold blues, rich turquoise, and ruby reds walked the runway showing an elegant edge of style. I loved this luminous jacket complemented with the metallic necklace, and topped off with a hat right out of the fifties, just like this cover from June 1950. 


















Lord Lagerfeld can never disappoint. He IS the master of fashion! With a palette of pale pinks and soft greys, Lagerfeld has yet again created another beautiful, wondrous collection of elegance and tasteful  style. With models walking in ballet flats, the garments felt light and effortless, with each model looking as if each step she took was soft and gentle. He managed to embody the idea of feeling playfully, pretty in pink (say that five times fast)! This look from the collection caught my attention as it helped to portray the essence of the show, luxury and richness with ease, like this cover from April 1952.

















John Galliano knows romance and he knows how to create it well! For this season he seems to have taken inspiration from the 1940s, which is apparent in everything from the make-up and accessories to the garments themselves. For Galliano the collection, as Tim Blanks writes on Style.com, was a:

"salute to René Gruau, the illustrator whose work for Christian Dior in the forties and fifties created the house's most iconic imagery, felt like it had been a long time coming, not just because of the designer's own early aspirations, but because it gave him another opportunity to indulge his passion for an era when couture was truly haute."

With its feather accents and dramatic gathers of fabric, I found one gown in particular to be reminiscent of the elegance of the twenties like this cover from January 1925.

















The creativity of Riccardo Tisci always seems to venture into an amazing world of fantasy. The edgy construction paired with contrasting romantic silhouettes, creates a mood both hard and soft, all at the same time. One element that inspired this visionary designer were the performing arts of Japan, as Tim Blanks detailed on Style.com. In addition, it seems as though, the garments also became inspired by the simple, structural modernity the Japanese display in everything from their architecturally clean lines to their disciplined way of life. I found this look to possess a chic elegance with a very structured top surrounding the bodice and then flowing into a very soft, weightless floor length petticoat-type skirting. It reminded me of this cover from November 1953.

















(Images: Courtesy of Style.com and Google Images)

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Dolce & Gabbana Do It Right!


 
As all of the  glamourous fashionistas, handsome fashionistos, budget conscious buyers, and fabulous editors gear up for the Fall 2011 shows for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, which kicks off February 9th, I wanted to do a last minute review of one of my favorite high fashion labels: Dolce & Gabbana.

Since high school, I have been such a big fan of Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana and the amazing work they produce each season. The two designers always manage to capture the essence of masculine sexy and cool. From the slim fits to the sharp, detailed construction of the clothing, these Italian masters of fashion design never fail to display and exude an unparalleled style that is all their own.

This season for Fall-Winter 2011-2012, the designers and their team decorated the Milano Men's show with tones of grey, hints of white, and shades of blood red. Walking the runway were supermodel regulars such as Noah Mills, David Gandy, and Adam Senn, who are all  apart of the core circle of models the designers use both on the runway as well as in their advertising campaigns.

One particular, yet simple piece that was of strong interest was a basic button up shirt that showed on the runway in white and charcoal. Although appearing non-distinctive at first glance, the shirt can be considered just a shirt and nothing more. However, with one simple twist of constructive detail, the designers added a built-in, fabric tie clip. Something as little as the utilitarian addition transformed a classic men's shirt into a fully functional, yet, ever so, stylish top. Yes, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to add such a detail, but the detail, however uncomplicated, was simply genius!

Another piece that had a fashion moment was the thick knit, black and white, wide-striped sweater that model Arthur Sales wore with such manly, lumberjack appeal. There is something that definitely makes an individual just want it (and I mean the sweater)! It reminds us of a take on a gorge Isabel Marant sweater a la Kate Moss for Isabel's Fall-Winter 2010-2011 campaign. Dies!

Whether horizontal stripes or vertical stripes, narrow and wide, become part of some of the big trends this upcoming Fall, Dolce & Gabbana still remain at the top of their game. The fabulous duo continue to turn out amazing, wearable men's designs that are sure to make any man feel molto provocante y fresco!

(Images: Courtesy of Dolce & Gabbana, Isabel Marant)

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Steamy, Sexy...Adam Levine


Earlier this week, the media highlighted the racy coverage  featured in Cosmopolitan UK's  STEAMY February 2011 issue. It all starts with their top centerfold male, Maroon 5 front man, Adam Levine in his uber sexy photos exposing everything except his most private asset (which we all know, if allowed, would be revealed without hesitation).

We all know February is the month of love with Valentine's Day representing that special time when all couples, lovers, and swingers alike will spend a day "loving" one another in their own personal ways. However, after seeing Cosmo's lineup of gorgeously displayed men in their birthday suits, there is only one thing on my mind on this year's cupid day. *wink*

Not much more to say here, except that all you straight women and gay men...ENJOY! Happy Early Valentine's Day!

For the rest of Cosmo's centerfold picks, click here.

(Images: Courtesy of Cosmopolitan UK and Google Images)


The February Frump



Frumpy? Matronly? What should be thought of a couple of February 2011 covers on stands for readers this month, has editorial become too comfortable? Or are they trying to  counteract any potential advertising slumps? We are all entitled to our own views and opinions. However, some well known magazines have left chic and edgy at the doorstep when entering this new year and they are keeping it simple, easy, and a bit dowdy.

The two women above, Gwyneth Paltrow and Victoria Beckham, are some of the most  attractive and most fashionable women celebrities today. Oddly enough, it seems as though Good Housekeeping and Vogue UK took a turn in another direction by keeping it basic and minimal this February. Could it possibly be because of the big spring fashion issues that will be coming out this March that they have decided to keep it bland the month before? Whatever the reason or inspiration may be, they have definitely kept their covers toned down. Although both women are mothers, it does not mean that they have to look the part, and in a bad way. 

Good Housekeeping lets it all hang out with Gwyneth in that poorly styled turtleneck that seems to have a bit more yardage than needed. Despite the fact that they are not a fashion magazine, the pieces used on Gwyneth could have been chosen more carefully.  Fortunately, Vogue UK kept it a bit more chic with Victoria's hair blowing and keeping the sweater tone a neutral, clay-like hue and sans  a visual on the bottoms.

Regardless of the February frump, got to love Gweny and Vicks, still so fabulous, so fierce!

(Images: Courtesy of Google Images)
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