Dean and Dan Caten served some Nineties supermodel slash S&M Barbie realness at Milan Fashion Week. Once I saw the first look, I died. I loved every little thing about this collection. It was so much fun. Hot pants, leather, page boy caps, and chains: everything about it was awesome and I would loveeee to wear it. [photos via wwd.com]
This is my first time seeing Kit Willow's work. I really like how she took the lingerie as outerwear notion and reworked it using silk, leather, and organza. I love the cutouts and the biker chic elements and the overall attention to detail. Kit Willow is someone I definitely will continue to watch in the future. I would love to see what she does for autumn. [photos via wwd.com]
The reformed goth in me is very, very happy with Alexander Wang's latest collection. The textures ranging from croc to snakeskin to zebra and giraffe print were incredible. It looked literally like futurist sports uniforms. It was really cool to see his designs and especially awesome when the nine models stopped at the end of the show, stood there when the lights went down to show that the clothing were glow in the dark. It was such a cool collection and I really enjoyed it. [photos via wwd.com]
Prabal Gurung collection was filled with red, silver, and black, in which Indian artist Anish Kapoor inspired him to use and think about how that translates to how Eastern women dress. The collection was slightly sinister with a mix of violent red and pure white. Prabal had a mix dark edginess with girly layers. My favorite part of the show were the tees with bird wings. This was an interesting collection. I really didn't really know what drew me to the collection but I liked it. It's good thing it's my job to take photos of clothing and not review it.
If you know me, you know I like the colors black and gray a lot. "A lot" may actually be an understatement. If I could afford to wear Rick Owens and Gareth Pugh all day I would. Reformed Goth is what I call it (mind you, I was never a goth in high school. I was more preppy/ trendy). So what does this have to do with Zac Posen's latest collection at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week? Well, it is the exact opposite of that dark and structural design that I love but I am drawn to the flowy beauty of this collection. I don't know, maybe somewhere deep down in me I want to wear pretty, floral dresses. [Photos via wwd.com]
I don't know how I missed this show two weeks ago. If you haven't noticed from my previous NYFW favorites, I am a fan of black and gray. It's all I wear. As I was looking through some blogs I follow, I saw some photos from the Jeremy Scott show. I hopped over to style.com to check out the rest of the photos. I love how vibrant and fun Scott's collections are. I love how he truly designs for himself. The bright rainbow colors mixed with online references and 90s childhood memorabilia splashed all over his clothing. Emoticons on sweaters to computer icons on hoodies to multicolored keyboard dresses then paired with Bart Simspon looks to a giant Lisa Frank unicorn plastered on the front of a dress. People may be turned off by the fact that even though this is a ready to wear collection, it is not very wearable for most people. His clothing is meant to bring joy and happiness to the people wearing the pieces. Yes, you may get some double takes as you walk by but you will undoubtedly be bringing a smile to the faces of the people around you.
All photos are from style.com.
Zelda Kaplan
Yesterday Zelda Kaplan, the 95 year old fashion icon, passed away. She collapsed at a fashion show and was pronounced dead at the hospital. I wasn't too familiar with her but after watching some short interviews made me fall in love with her. She believed that dressing for yourself and not following trends was the only way to dress. Age does not matter when it comes to great fashion. Just because she was in her 90s it did not stop her from wearing loud prints or giant necklaces or bright colored hats.
Last night while on Twitter a friend of mine posted the trailer to Ari Seth Cohen's Advanced Style, based off of his blog. It is a documentary following a number of women age 50 and up and to me isn't just about style. It's about women who have lived through it all and who feel like their age is not a representation of their heart and how they feel. They just want to represent themselves through their clothing and by doing that, they are at their happiest.
Luckily for us, the Advanced Style blogger also has a YouTube channel with over a hundred videos featuring these fantastic ladies. I found them pretty late last night so I had to limit how many I watched because I could have been up all night watching these women speak on style, confidence, and self-love. I would say I hope to be the woman in the video below when I am her age. If you know me I love women in menswear so of course I think this woman looks amazing. I have to say that these women are the happiest people I've seen in this fashion world. They dress to please no one but themselves but by doing that they bring so much happiness to others. There is definitely something to learn from these ladies.
Chrisitan Siriano's show for this season New York Fashion Week was much more subdued then his previous collections. No showstopper finale gown this year, which I have always come to enjoy. If I had to choose a favorite look from this collection it would either be the one above or the other looks featuring a leather jacket with dress. It is definitely something I would wear. As I much as I enjoyed this collection, I think my favorite collection is from Autumn/Winter 2011. I loved the dominace of black and darker colors (can you tell I have a little goth kid living inside me?). All photos are from style.com.
I love that certain shows from New York Fashion Week are livestreaming online. I caught a rebroadcast of the Nicholas K show last night. Lots of layering and a focus on outerwear. I loved how she mixed textures, jersey with knits and leather. I loved the color palette. Neutrals with black and gray. Basically everything I love. The ten gallon hats were a nice touch too. The first photo I posted is my favorite look from the show. All photos are from style.com.
One thing I want to do with my blog in 2012 is to post more about me and my life along with my posts on photography. The blogs I love the most have that mix of personal and business, which makes me that much more interested in the blogger.
Today I am heading to New York with makeup artist Lauren O'Jea to go to On Makeup Magazine's latest issue's launch party. The last time I was in New York was December 2010 to see Rammstein with Shawn. Since we're just staying one night we don't have to bring too much (thank goodness). I have no idea what I'm bringing for clothing yet but I did pack up all my makeup.
I'm bringing:
Lauren and I will be hitting up the MAC Pro showroom so I'm sure I'll be bringing back much more makeup than I came with.
I had the pleasure of attending Style Week Providence this past week. It was awesome to be able to see such amazing local talent in the fashion and beauty industry. I met so many phenomenal people and made some great connections that I cannot wait to work with in the future. So without further ado, here are my favorite looks from each one of the collections from this past week.
Maria del Carmen Mercado
Denise Hajjar
Kara Wickman
Samuel Vartan
IMSY Swimwear
Šarka's Collection
Jess Abernethy
Avni Trivedi
Nicole Lebreux
Brianna Moon Designs
Viva Aviva
Jennifer Greeke's Harpy
JAS by Joseph Segal
I'm Your Present
New Laundree
Yellow Clover by Sarah Elizabeth
Andrea Valentini
Selador by David Chum
Jonathan Joseph Peters
Another style I like for Spring 2011 is wearing nude colors with a pop of bright color. It's great style for someone who wants to experiment with color blocking but finds that trend too intimidating. I made four sample outfits with the very addicting website Polyvore.
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This outfit would be great going out shopping and to lunch with friends on a warm Spring day.
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This is a cute date outfit with some bright hot pinks and a dash of green.
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This outfit would be great for lounging at the park or walking your dog around the city.
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Lastly this is an outfit I would find suitable to wear at the office. It's relaxed but still very classy.
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These are just a few example outfits. Have fun with the trend and don't be afraid to add dashes of bright neon color into your nude tone outfits.
My favorite trend for Spring 2011 is color blocking, which if you know my personal style, this might come as a surprise. 90% of what I wear on a daily basis is black or dark gray. The most color you see on me is a pair of blue Levi jeans. I bought a bright pink dress last month and when I wore it out I think I gave a few people heart attacks. I think this trend is a great way of experimenting with color and to see what color works best for you. My favorite color is pink (I know, another surprise right?) and I know I look best in green eye makeup. Why not make an outfit in bright pinks and greens (that might look a little too Lily Pulitzer so tread lightly).
Pick out your favorite colors and go crazy with color blocking!I like how Gucci started off their Spring/ Summer 2011 collection with two, three or more bright colors thrown together.
Gucci S/S 2011, via Style.com
Gucci S/S 2011, via Style.com
Gucci S/S 2011, via Style.comIf this might be too much for you, try easing into color blocking. Take a cue from Dior's Spring collection and pick one bright color, like a bright purple dress and pair it with yellow heels or an orange statement necklace.
Dior S/S 2011, via Style.com
Dior S/S 2011, via Style.com
Dior S/S 2011, via Style.comThe main point of this trend is break out the Winter doldrums and enjoy Spring! I'm planning on throwing more color in my wardrobe and I recommend you do too! Check out Erin Dudley, San Fransico makeup artist's blog post about color blocking with makeup!
SIDE NOTE: I'm thinking about doing more posts like this on my blog. Just to keep it more active and to talk about the other design stuff I love like fashion, makeup, and graphic design.
