Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Spring 2014 RTW - London

L'Wren Scott
Most posted pictures from the shows on Twitter are blurry and pointless, but all posted of this show just captured Spring to me. I picture this woman (the designer and the woman she designs for) as the perfectly put-together sophisticate. She doesnt think too hard about her clothing, but demands the each piece and each thing in her life is precise. This is what each of these cameraphone pictures were able to capture. Pristine white tables with lacquered bento boxes and subdued vases of white flowers, achingly beautiful dresses and jackets with a Japanese foundation.

Mary Katrantzou
Part of me thinks this is the most ridiculous collection, bordering on costumey and unwearable, but the other part of me needs to own every single piece here. There is something magical about her prints, the colors, the flowers (that are nowhere near grandmotherly), the ruffles.  The beginning part of the show with enlarged prints of wingtips and other leather goods are unexpectedly gorgeous. The photorealism is so attractive to me, with the flashes of light.  These clothes also look so comfortable, just dresses to put on and not think twice. You dont even have to try hard because the dresses do so much speaking.

Tom Ford
What's my most reference rule of thumb? If the model looks frumpy and cheap in a particular piece of clothing, then it will not look magically better on you. I like a luscious, buttery leather as much as anyone, but the amount of leather in this show was a bit off-putting. It seemed like overkill (har) and I will still never understand, till the day I die, who decided that anyone wants to wear leather in Spring and Summer. This leather dress is just perfect (for Fall?). She looks so soft, I want to hug her.  The cobwebby head to toe looks are sexy. I like that you cant tell where the pants end and the boots begin.

Ipsy Again

I cant believe I havent tried out the Skyn Cooling Eye Firming Gels. It's that whole waiting for the right occasion.
The NYX shadow was nice - a smoky, navy blue that actually stayed really well. I'm pretty impressed with the NYX stuff - cheap but with good texture and wearability.
The Starlooks Obsidian Kohl was pretty great, as well. The black liner I usually use (Urban Decay) is nice, but not as inky and smudgy. Two different looks.
I was excited to try Cailyn tinted lip balm. It's a hideous packaging, but there's a hidden brush in the upper part.  Unfortunately, the brush is too small and too stiff to actually use for anything more than lining. Lip balm makes me think that it should be applied with a finger, but the base containing the balm is actually hard to get your finger into.
Lastly, more mascara. Blah blah blah.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Spring 2014 RTW - New York - Part 3

Trying to watch shows on Vogue.com while blowdrying one's hair is an exercise in futility. Holy shit, that's a shitty site. For what screen size/resolution did they build it?  It looks like shit on a mobile and even shittier (and longer to load) on a desktop. You cannot have an autoplay slideshow with an dynamic ad on each slide. That is just a shitty thing to do to your readers.

Anyway, with that out of the way, I will head back over to NYMag and look at shows the way we were meant to.

Rodarte
My twitter was abuzz with Chola SoCal flavor over the Rodarte show. I'm thinking 90s Gwen and that time I saw Morrissey in LA and I was one of maybe 5 non-Hispanic fans in attendance (thinks girls with high poufs, big thick gold hoops, Smiths shirts fashioned into corsets, painted on eyebrows, teardrop tattoos on cheeks, like extras in "Mi Vida Loca").  Sadly, this show is not that.  Ruffles on skirts and hotpants and halters.  Meh.

Oscar de la Renta
My spring workin' girl wardrobe, plus gowns for the occasional ball! Sign me up for every single print here: gingham, polka dots with flowers.  Oscar truly, truly, truly has the most amazing laces. I never dream of lace except when looking at Oscar.  Classic 50s WASPy goodness, when you're dressing like a good girl.


Monday, September 09, 2013

Spring 2014 RTW - New York - Part 2

Donna Karan
I always like the idea of Donna Karan, especially the thought of her stretch jerseys and uniforms - on the fence about the bodysuit thing, does she still do those?  But the reality is I'm not crunchy or zenny or yoga-y enough.  I would feel like a big faker phony in these clothes.  Like Ralph Lauren in his cowboy gear. I like costumes as much as anyone, but I guess not quite so literal.  I do like this skirt and the crisp white blouses. I wish I could be trusted with white clothes.

I hadnt thought of Carolina Herrera in a while, but the cover photo of the show on NYMag has me intrigued.  Ahhhh, the 60s makeup, that updo! Oh, this is what I want.  Oooooh, but dramatic Victorian skirts, I can do this too.  Geometric prints, sheer shoulders, clearly the Carolina woman doesnt have an office job, but I'm ok with it. I can quit.
Since I'm stuck on the concept of office dressing, I will only judge collections by my ability to wear it to work. (Ignoring the fact that I'd need a few extra non-office jobs to cushion my clothing allowance). Perhaps I just dont understand fashion enough to get the Celine aesthetic, but I felt Victoria Beckham was a bit too minimalist Celine for my tastes.  Victoria is still minimal in style, but with some excitement with pleats and patterns. Sweet without looking too young. Ooooh and perfect hair.  





Sunday, September 08, 2013

Vague Sketch of a Fantasy

I feel like things are so good right now.  I'm scared to even say it out loud. How long will this feeling last? My home life is so very good, but that's my constant.  It's when I'm out in the world being me, all by myself, that things are hard.  I didnt remember how to be proud of myself or what it felt like to be confident and happy professionally. I didnt know that I could enjoy going to work.  I'm certain I'll revert to my usual miserabilism eventually, but oh I want this good feeling to stay so very badly.

Spring 2014 RTW - New York

Can you believe it's only Sunday and this many shows have already happened?  How do people who actually attend shows for their job actually fit them in? Or select which to see?  Just sitting in my own home, with little free time to indulge in show watching anymore, I can barely fit in the time to quickly skim through just a handful of slideshows.

While I know that history shows that VB shows are heavy on the minimalism, clean, edited, classic, elegant looks, I'm a bit at a loss for anything to say.  There's nothing *wrong*, but not anything I crave or envision as my Spring look.  I love the flounce of the skirts and I love that a person with such a sexualized image sent some seriously girlish and unsexy looks down the runway.  In ways, this seems a little less polished and more casual, like her lower-priced Victoria line. 
This is what I'm dreaming of. Starting a new job with a seriously corporate edge after two years of working from home, I've been on the hunt for new pieces to make it through each week.  I've found a blouse here, a trouser there, but nothing that gets me excited. I'm buying clothes just to have something to wear, not as part of a vision.  This is like having to eat McDonalds when you're starving. Eating just so you wont die.  
I realize I'm dramatic, but I hate nothing more than eating just to eat. I love food too much to waste a meal on something that doesnt excite me.  I'm not saying I need minibar each meal, just something to get my tastebuds tickled. I dont need a Valentino jacket and Stella McCartney trousers each day, but I do need to be true to my love of fashion, I need to feel confidant, I need to feel like a success. 
Skinny trousers with a rock vibe, mid-calf pencil skirt with a sexy slit and a little undone to give edge and remove inhibitions, perfectly cut tuxedo jackets that bring so much cool.  The stripes are fresh and elegant, could be perfectly corporate and perfectly fashion. This is the bridge I've been looking forward. Now to find my trust fund.

Prabal Gurung
I have to talk about this show simply for the *makeup* (Oprah voice).  Holy crap. That pink will haunt me forever. I have dreamt of this pink for years, but I do not have the skintone to pull it off. Oh, so very cartoony.  [Oooh, North by Northwest is on. The dreamy grey suiting of Cary Grant (a bluish silver that I have never found in real life) would be so wonderful with this pink. Imagine.  Oh, now I'm picturing the perfect suit. Cropped, skinny, flared trousers. Boxy 60s style jacket with 3/4 sleeves. Everything a bit shrunken. A bit vintage.  A strand of costume pearls worn as a bracelet. Maybe some Catherine Deneuve hair, black headband.]  Oooh, ask and ye shall receive. Boxy jackets, love pink prints, I think I even love this purple satin. I cant abide by the back slit skirts, as the model looks frumpy in them. I have a hard and fast rule that if the model looks frumpy in a piece of clothing, then no human should ever wear it. Oh man, cropped trousers!  It's amazing the power of makeup. I saw this one lip. ONE face in the show and it conjured so many fantasies. I must say this is the best showing of makeup as related to the clothing that I've seen.
As I skim the slideshow of each show, I open my favorite looks in a new browser tab(so that I can insert the picture here). I currently have 12 tabs open. Now how to choose my favorite handful?
This isnt perfect, but you know how I detest perfection. I love the colors and the fantasy and the bit of the coolest inflections of retro. Plus, the eveningwear is perhaps the sexiest neckline I've ever seen. I cant even imagine the underpinnings I might need now, but oh my 25 year old self would have rocked that.

Diane von Furstenberg
Of course, DVF is always quite wearable and cute and safely in the realm of fashionable-but-not-too-daring.  It's like a downtown Tori Burch. No one would ever criticize and of course you will be beautiful and sexy-but-not-too-sexy.  None of this is bad, of course, just I dont have much to say. I will say, I adore these moody-islandy-tribal prints, front-zipped dresses, and Naomi (though I do not agree with the choice to cover her body this much and *so loosely*. Also, who the hell did(nt do) her makeup?).