"I want to be a living work of art"

Marchesa Luisa Casati uttered these words in regards to her outrageous fashion sense. She caught every eye of her public. She was rumored to walk two cheetahs on a leash, and wear snakes around her limbs as jewelry. She almost died from an electric shock due to a wardrobe malfunction, when there happened a short in the circuit of her literally electric outfit. The Marchesa was born into luxury in Milan, and died in London in poverty. Though her extremity was probably due to a personality disorder and large amounts of opium, she remains to this day a muse to designers. I believe that the inspiration surrounding The Marchesa is due to her impeccable understanding of what fashion is. It is a "living work of art". I think mass production and trend following has drained this idea and every bit of art from the purpose of fashion. Anyway, she has a really great style. A few of these photos were taken by renown Man Ray who was equally inspired.

Transformer Fashion Show

This is one of the craziest pieces of fashion runway. Hussein Chalayan, who I mentioned in a previous entry is fascinating. I think this collection is a beautiful testament to the personalities our wardrobes can demonstrate

First spring Wish List

So Here are the things that I want now to start progressing into spring. The sandals are VPL x LD Tuttle...of course. I thought since I have a fall pair and a winter pair may as well delve into the new season with a spring pair. They are BEAUTIFUL in person! The nude leather strip at the top of the foot really elongates the leg.
The white skirt is by Helmut Lang and has a large slit up the side with a tad bit of rouging for some needed hip flattery.
The swimsuit is also VPL. Basically I love most things VPL. I think the copper nude combo is nice for spring/summer.
The jeans are Rag and Bone. They remind me of the cherry red Acne used for spring 2011. I love it, so here is to the bright pop of color that I aspire to attempt.
The grey print pants are actually a hazy python print, and they are slightly sheer chiffon. They are great, so cool and light.
Photos: compliments of Kick Pleat and Barneys

Looklet

Looklet is an amazing site that gives the designer inside me a chance to come out to play, even if its only virtually. Basically there are endless amounts of clothing, accessories, shoes, backgrounds, props and models. You get to be your own stylist. Its pretty challenging at times, but great. Here are a few of my favorite looks I created this past year

Colors

Hussein Chalayan Spring RTW 2011
Acne Spring RTW 2011
Missoni Spring RTW 2011
QUEENS OF COLOR

I like black. I like grey. I like tan. I like white. These have been the colors of my wardrobe for the past mmm year probably. Lately I have been so afraid of color for some reason. Yet working in retail has led me to understand that more women than not are somewhat afraid of color as well. Perhaps it is the idea of standing out too much, being overly seen, or wanting to have a louder voice out of their mouth than their body. For me personally, I believe that the reason is simply that I have grown to love and sympathize with the humble colors. I always believed that grey was the most humble of all colors, because it has the ability to make every color that chooses to be its partner stand out with bold intensity. I like wearing this idea. Maybe my modest dress would make everything shine around me. Its not like I didn't experiment with crazy shapes, or wear fierce accessories to inspire intrigue in my ensemble, because I most assuredly believe in accessories. I guess I just like neutrals.
Ok, so, this blog is absolutely not aiming to be a keeping-up-with-the-ultimate-trend blog, but on colors, I do want to encourage (and I am also speaking to myself). Try a POP of color. Instead of thinking, "I am going to wear florescent yellow today," think about the juxtaposition of the yellow with a neutral, say a nude. How cool do these two hues look next to each other? Super cool!



And even more, how about putting color into artistic terms. Like if you decide to wear blue, try thinking about blue's opposite in the color wheel, orange. By wearing opposing colors you create a very interesting dynamic. This opposition creates balance.



Lastly, what if you were to try pairing several different shades of the same hue? I think this would be an interesting way to approach color. Even start with gray, varying shades as your wardrobe too, like mine, is a monochromatic scale. Anyway, despite the school lesson, I think that wearing color does not have to be as drab as merely choosing a purple skirt or a red top. Moreover, with this beautiful spring encouraging me to lighten my dreary wardrobe, I thought I would try to encourage the same. But don't be confused if you still see me in all black.

Masai Tribe

Fashion week has once again come and gone...I remember a time I used to relish in the idea of fashion week. I was thrilled to look at blogs about who stole the show and who decided to mimic their previous collection, but possibly add a fur collar...
Here is the thing- I am pretty tired of fashion. Perhaps it is not fashion that irks me, only trends. There seems to me a huge gap from the runway to RTW, and even further, the mass production of design that inevitably follows. I think that somewhere down this fashion food train the creativity and originality that designers present to us get lost in translation. The solution? I have no idea...keep persuing creativity and originality I guess. But, here is a little taste of style still pure and wonderful and based on tradition-that is untouched by our societies hunger for seasonal trends.





***Each color in their handmade jewelry pieces represents something different. Like for example green is the hope for the land to grow and be plentiful for their cattle, which are almost sacred beings to their village.

Balenciaga FALL RTW 2010