A very Lagerfeldian Halloween!

Lucky boys (and/or girls), this Halloween post is for you!

If you haven’t decided what to wear tonight, Karl Lagerfeld’s persona is a feasible-enough costume.

A little background... 

Karl Lagerfeld

In his 25 years as head designer and creative director of Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld has not only secured the strong legacy and story of Coco Chanel but has also enhanced it by turning the house into one of the most powerful and profitable brands in the world.
Along the way, Lagerfeld has himself become a legend. With his white powdered ponytail, signature black sunglasses, and fingerless black gloves, he is the most recognizable fashion designer in the world. He is also known as the industry's resident Renaissance man. Indeed,

he knows all about change when it comes to the fashion industry. His extensive body of work -- currently for Fendi, Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld -- explores a wide variety of always evolving looks.

And now, a couple of pointers...

 

Shirt: Cheap Monday, Blazer: Zadig & Voltaire, Boots: Marc Jacobs, Leggings: Zara, Bow Tie: Gemma Lister, Gloves: Club Monaco

Just grab yourselves a strong blazer, skinny tie (or in this case velvet bow tie), fingerless gloves, skinny pants, and dark aviator shades.

And if you feel adventurous enough, sport a white wig, tie your new white hair into a ponytail, aaand…

Ta daaaa! I present you the Kaiser, showing off his Diet Coke bottle, faux canvas “Karl Who?” bag and his beloved Ana Wintour!

Happy Halloween style dissectors! xoxo

A retrospective of horror tales...courtesy of Viktor & Rolf

Alright, just because Halloween is around the corner and I got extra inspired, today's post won't be your typical history lesson--think of it as a retrospective of fairy horror tales.

They say in fashion, one day you are in and the next day you are out. Designers are constantly faced with the challenge of inventing and reinventing, and to do that they draw their sources of inspiration from art, novels, photography, architecture, design—anything in the arts really. Viktor & Rolf’s Fall 2011 collection, inspired from the Medieval and Silver Ages, certainly did not fail to raise eyebrows. The duo's signature avant-garde shapes with armor-like pleats and large flower motifs which served as a sort of coat of arms were worn by red faced models strolling along the runway. You can definitely judge by these two pictures without even having seen the entire collection that this was a strong  showing for the Dutch pair—which especially put me in a Halloween mood (oh how appropriate)!



Strangely, Viktor & Rolf's interpretation of the Medieval and Silver Ages reminded me of the infamous Tin Man and Warlord Demon, portrayed below: 

Spooked yet? I think yes!

Dissecting Today's Detachable Collar Craze - A Resurrection Of An Early 1900's Innovation

Today's dissection is devoted to this season's most popular neck piece: the detachable collar. 

First, a little bit of history: It is believed that the detachable collar was first invented in 1827 in Troy, New York, by Mrs. Hannah Lord Montague, a housewife who was having difficulties with her husband's "ring-around-the-collar" and therefore proceeded to snip it off his shirt to wash it, then sewing it back on. The manufacture of detachable collars and the associated shirts eventually became a significant industry in Troy.   

Surely, with the prescribed format of men's clothing firmly in place in the 1900's, detachable collar and cuff styles offered a sophisticated yet practical bit of variety within the code of white shirt, paired with brown, black or grey trousers, a waistcoat, topcoat, gloves and a hat. These pieces quickly became a hit at a time when laundering garments was extremely expensive. Precisely, they could be cheaply purchased and guaranteed a clean and polished look by way of being detachable, while the body of the shirt was laundered as needed. 

Sears Catalog, Fall 1889

Detachable collar, 1910

And now--a look at the 21st century, and browsing through my own little collection of trinkets...

I personally am all over my Gemma Lister gold sequined Peter Pan collar. Here again, we are dealing with the play on masculine and feminine codes: the round edges balance out the roughness that can be suggested by merely wearing a collar in the first place. A piece quite modernized from those presented above, and let's not forget - who else but an advocate of femininity would wear a SEQUINED piece? Certainly NOT ta man living a century ago!

Like what you see? Get your own here!

An Ode to Masculinity & Metallics...and Daphne

If your mind has been dwelling over yesterday's post and you are all about Yves--a little birdie told me about a YSL Sample Sale going on, starting this evening and until Friday....

Now back to business.

Masculinity and metallics are an imposing trend this season. And if you know me, you already know of my love for all things boyish. 



Coco Chanel

The play on proportions has surely evolved in dressmaking since Chanel first took a 1920's Paris by storm with the look of La Garçonne. The play on simplicity which hid the female silhouette and adopted androgynous forms behind Chanel's little black dresses has set the stage for our contemporary designers to explore even further the play on masculine and feminine codes. 

Photo courtesy of Style.com

Stella McCartney's gold quilted bubble coat from her 2011 AW collection exemplifies the designer's ability to adapt menswear on women - and leaves us (ME especially) in awe. The balloon shaped silhouette, paired with a sporty collar, and not to mention the gold metallic finish make this piece a shining show-stopper. Anyone who is able to snatch this little number will exhibit the effortless chic we all aspire towards. 



Speaking about metallics and redefined shapes, look what I  found the other day at H&M, courtesy of my beloved Blackberry. That's right, a silver oversized fall jacket that oozes chic--perhaps a "wink" at Stella's mastery...

My new jacket reminds me of Daphne Guiness and her sharp shoulder silver jacket...it may sport a different style but surely like mine it didn't go unnoticed...Pair that sweeeeet piece with what I've concoted below to sport her stylishness, and clicky clicky below to find out where to purchase the fabulous pieces I listed!
 

Sandals: Alexander Wang, Collar: Gemma Lister, Dress: Alexander Wang, Clutch: Alexander McQueen, Headband: Madame Framboise, Bangles and ring: LeiVanKash 

Until we speak again...have a brilliant day!

This fall, plaid shifts and color blocks become pure art form

Photos courtesy of Vogue

Who said plaid was passé? From blouses to trousers and dresses, these geometric patterns are super in vogue this fall. Prada surely takes this trend to another level with her hodgepoge of color blocking forms and plaid shifts with these two outfits I like to call "night and day", because of their mirroring color compositions. 

P.S.: notice the tricolor python boots? I think we've got you all covered dear animal prints!

One cannot consider the above dresses as anything lower than pure art form. The multi-size blocks of cold winter tones can first seem a little too kaleidoscopic, yet they all come together to form a cohesive design delineated by intersecting black lines, evoking the beauty of a Mondrian piece. I definitely gasped while inspecting these pieces, as they immediately reminded me of YSL's 1965 Mondrian dress (shown below).
   

French Vogue, September 1965, Couturier Yves Saint Laurent's Mondrian Dress

In 1965, Yves Saint Laurent transported Piet Mondrian's Broadway Boogie-Woogie painting to a shift dress. Yves did not fail to recreate the intersecting black lines and blocks of primary colors based on the Dutch painter's abstract painting. His application of these geometric-shaped silhouettes to his dresses, dubbed the 'Mondrian Look', marked the start of the Pop Art movement in couture fashions. Harper's Bazaar even described this sensational piece the "dress of tomorrow". It is specifically Saint Laurent's way of treating his dresses like canvases that proved his undeniable ability to predict upcoming trends in fashion, a gift he was recognized for and still is today. 
A visionary and legacy, YSL is still in our hearts - and apparently also in Miucca's.

Head-to-toe prints: the fabulous evolution

To continue on our little dissection of prints--and not to mention my insane excitement for the coming of Spring (although Winter has barely even hit us yet--*sigh*)...I will focus on a trend that emerged in the late 1960's and that has hit the hot spot for 2012. You named it, head-to-toe prints are in! What had been considered a no-do for a while is now hitting all the runways.

Photo courtesy of Vogue

I am particularly lusting over Celine's floral ensemble, from the 2012 Resort collection. A Flower Power shirt and pants could very well be screaming "I am a dainty girly", but here a bomber jacket is paired with the ensemble to add the touch of dandy that makes my heart melt. I won't be dissecting this outfit without making a reference to Marimekko, the Finnish company that made a huge mark in 1960's and 1970's fashion with the introduction of brightly-colored printed fabrics and simple styles, used both in women's garments and in home furnishings. Applying graphic designs to textiles was a first in this era--a method also adopted and reinterpreted by Emilio Pucci with his psychedellic designs, and later Alexander McQueen with his Spring 2010 RTW collection.

A good example of Marimekko’s legacy is the Green-Green fabric (also in black orange shown above), created in 1975 by Japanese designer Katsuji Wakisaka. As stated by Marimekko, Wakisaka’s “refreshing take on color, basic illustrative technique and inspiring imagery produced popular patterns which helped revitalize the Marimekko brand during the 1970’s."

Refreshing is definitely an appropriate term to describe our little preview of the Spring's collections...

    

Stepping into the wild: dissecting animal prints et cetera

Dissecting animal prints goes a long way...literally. Emerging in the 1940s during the early stage of the women's movement, these little wild adornments were first worn by Liberator pioneers such as Bettie Page who became the inspiration for animal print to be sexy and fashionable. 

 vest: Jack, blouse: Nasty Gal, leggings: Zara, booties: Prada, bag: Chanel

Sexy and fashionable...those are you to decide. I definitely went all out in front of another rad graffiti wall. Figured the explosion of color could add a playful twist!

pink quartz and ruby bracelet: Satya, croc effect leather bracelet: Miu Miu, skull bracelet in rose gold: LeiVanKash, brass heart pendant: In God We Trust, turquoise flower ring: Dicha

Queen Bling definitely gave a new meaning to Queen B...

From snake and zebra prints to leopard...we are dissecting all things wild--and even included Malo, Jehdy's adorable little dog! 

Leopard print became an all time favorite of 1950′s fashion designer Christian Dior’s muse, Mitzah Bricard. Dior's accessories, lines, and campaigns became infused with leopard, associating animal print with chic sophistication and elegance. 

The 1970's brought the dangerous side of animal print, particularly with nightgowns infused with animal prints, leopard print jumpsuits, bell bottoms, and even zebra print platform shoes. This era was also marked by the emergence of street art and hip hop music (hence our desire to incorporate graffiti wall art in our little photo shoot project).

And so the trend of the leopard print continues to mesmerize the fashion world. Here, we blend leopard chic with Native American prints and ripped tights. Peeking into the gate of nature and wilderness has never been so rad. All I can say is: hats off! 

leopard maxi dress: Nasty Gal, booties: FNO for Aldo

dis·sect (my) style

dis·sect/diˈsekt/

Verb:	Methodically cut up (a body, part, or plant) in order to study its internal parts. Analyze (something) in minute detail.
Synonyms:	anatomize - analyze - analyse

style/stīl/

Noun:	Displaying an understanding and respect for the rules and history of fashion while outfitting oneself in one's own way. This also includes a tendency to defy, interpret and reinterpret these codes as one pleases.
Verb:	Design or make in a particular form.
Synonyms:	noun.  fashion - manner - mode - way - genre verb.  name - call - term

Stay tuned - your style is about to get dissected...