Monday, October 21, 2013

Marchesa di Gresy for I. Magnin Women's Suit- Perfectly Polished

Another delightful estate sale find. I. Magnin was a famous fashion and luxury goods department store. Think Bergdorf's (I have been there, Bergdorf's is amazing). I couldn't find much about the designer, Marchesa di Gresy, but what I do know is that she was an Italian woolmaker who won the Neiman Marcus Fashion Award. She shares this award with the likes of Gabrielle Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli.


                                     Me looking like a happy ''Carrie'':

                             And the shoes that are too amazing to stop posting:

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Last Chance

                     Besides finding out I won't be meeting Alfie Deyes tonight, I found out today Marc Jacobs is leaving Louis Vuitton. How sad is that? He totally changed the Vuitton house from just a pricey bag store into a high end fashion empire. And it was all so beautiful, nothing like, say, Marc Bohan at Dior, when he became the designer and turned it into a money machine. This final collection was beautiful, celebratory, and melancholy for obvious reasons. While many ready to wear shows are thrown out in a hurried flourish,this had elevators, fountains, a carousel, a loud ticking eerie clock... Darkly beautiful.
                   Look 1 wasn't really an outfit, more of an Edward Gorey style art piece. While not an outfit, it was a quirky piece. 2, 3, and 4 were made of black velvet, which is the world's greatest fabric (along with tulle) in case you didn't know. The cut outs weren't a favorite, but a black slip underneath would look fine. Look 6 was an elegant gothic version of the much worse tassle looks from the Marc by Marc Jacobs collection. 7 was another sheer, but it had details and glitter besides just being sheer. Repeat after me: wear a slip! It will look awesome! I feel a little bad about 8, because I can't tell whether the fluffy black on the pants is a super low skirt or part of the pants. Either way it's beautiful. 10's black and conservatively glittered cape was the first cape I've ever liked, and doesn't remind me of Sherlock Holmes.
                   One of the big themes of this collection is 20's (and the most fashionable color from back then, black!), and look 13 was a modern/flapper dress. Not costume-y, and not stupidly modern. Very few modern things are actually nice. The military-esque looks of 15-20 weren't my style. Not very fitting with the theme. 22 ripped off Gucci a bit much. 24 was one of my favorite looks. Dark blue/black with glittery vines. Seeing a floor length dress with a train (the most unlikely thing on earth nowadays!) that actually looks beautiful and ladylike was wonderful. And of course next you get 25 *sigh* 27 was a too much. Clothing, people, clothing! 28 as an art piece was beautiful. Not all that wearable, but it has that ''wow, it's just...wow so beautiful'' factor. 29 had too much bulk.
               Me being the lover of fluffy ostrich feathers, look 31 was another favorite. Dark black (like everything in this collection) jacket with ostrich feathers <3 LOVE <3. Look 33 looked a little tacky. Too much going on. 37 was yet another favorite look. well fitted and pinched in, with shoulder pads and Baroque/20's dress embroidery in the middle. The last look was like 37, but had the embroidery all over. Just as amazing.
               I honestly can't believe one of my favorite designers is leaving one of the main companies he works for. Being the creative director (designer) for such a huge label is super hard. If you do one thing majorly wrong, the company could be ruined. But I can't keep from feeling sad.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Classical Chic

                 Everyone knows the very basic parts of the Chanel style. Tweed, braid, and quilted purses. The interpretations of this style by the Chanel house has always had a wide variety. There was 80's Chanel, 90's Chanel, and of course the original. This collection was a nice revival of this classic style. Plenty of tweed.
                  3 and 4 were two of my favorites. 3 with it's spunky bright colors, and 4 the pale pinks and blues I love so much. Look 5 was very plain. Just blue and white plaid. 10 had a predictable yet chic contrast with the light blue and dark blue border. 11 was another boring piece. Plain colors that do not go together. 12 was delightful. A little bulky, but the fluffy variety of colors against the normal tweed was so unexpected. So artistic. Look 13 was a longer version of this jacket, and with less plaid, which made me like it even more. Plaid is okay only when it's done perfectly. Look 14's print was much too T.J. Maxx swim team. 15-32 were so boring! The colors were too loud and metallic, and the white or black looks were predictable. Many filler pieces.
               Look 41 was just another cleavage piece. Gosh, when will people realize how dumb that looks?! 42 and 43 were pretty horrifying. So not Chanel, on this extreme level. Like this ugly version of sports wear ( as if sportswear wasn't ugly enough). The slouchiness was the worst part. Many of the looks after this one were these (yet again) horrific washed out denim outfits, and 49 was the worst of them. Unoriginal, ugly, just ew. Does the world really need another washed out denim vest? That big, especially? Chanel's collections are always the ones you look forward to, and when they disappoint this much, it's super lame. After 49 everything was slouchy version of something that could look good. The skirt of 58 was actually a favorite, light, airy, and with the cutest little white bows. 63's gray/black look with Celtic inspired print was terrible. Like one of those prints you see in a thrift store and wonder how something so hideous could be conceived in someone's mind.
                Look 65's one sleeve sweater had a beautiful camellia flower design. I love sweaters, so having a sweater that's wearable in spring or summer would be nice. 67: EW MIDRIFF CUT OUT! Look 70's medical tubing sweater was a bit disturbing. 73 would've worked without the little dashes of black. The black made it look dirty. 76  would be perfect for a True Value hardware uniform. Look 83 actually looked good with the paint blotches, and the lace. I also like the diagonal collar. 85 looked miss matched. Like when you have a two year old get dressed. 87 and 88 looked broken. The very last look was okay, but not Chanel.
        The beginning of this collection was very beautiful, but it kind of veered off into boredom and weird prints that should never be together.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Better Faster Stronger

          Something about the 80's reminds me of fast things. Like those ridiculous race car movies, or dumb horror movies (okay, those have been around forever and into eternity).  My ever expanding collection of crazy sweaters just got a new addition. The obnoxiously amazing puffy and furry shoulders gives it that faint military look.


                                     The only good selfie I have ever taken:


Pretty Pink Peony

                   Elie Saab represents everything lacy, frilly, and gorgeous. His clothes are some of the most elegant pieces I have seen, by far. Unlike many designers, he doesn't forget to design well for his ready to wear shows.
               One of my favorites was the first look, a light pink jumpsuit with lightly layered flowers on the top.  3's jumper is a perfect look for spring. Cool and in a spring color. The white looks were just as good. Look 8 did look a little winter-y, but the beauty of this dress makes up for any seasonal confusion. Snow fairy costume. 16's cape in the back put an elegant, modern spin on what could have been a plain white dress.   Look 19 was a chic white shirt with white flowers. Perfect if you have a super boring job but still feel like dressing up.  20 was an overly perfect white version of the first look.  
              The green ivy colored looks weren't as great as the previous looks. 23 was plain and over-glittered. Look 24 was too long. It just looked wrong. And 26 was downright dumb! Ah! I hate filler. 29 was my favorite of the white floral print looks. For the others, the print just didn't translate well enough. Embroidery is more my thing.
              37 was my favorite of the bright red. Minimal details, with a full flowing skirt. Look 38 was another filler piece. Filler pieces are so lame. Like who wears them, label happy Kim Kardashian? 39 through 46's patterns were just too, well, patterned. No structure, just a pattern. Like an Izod shirt. The only reason you truly want it is the alligator. Pitch black was the last color group. Too many ''just barely dressed'' looks. An exception, 52, was a long, elegant maxi dress, with a very gothic look.
            All in all a pretty good collection, with a few filler pieces and sheers.