Fashion IllustratorOpera gloves, couture gowns, fancy summer beaches – Rene Gruau made glamour more glamorous with his simple, elegant, witty and industry changing illustrations.
Beyond being the pinnacle of couture illustration, Gruau is well known for his sumptuous Dolce Vita poster.
His designs, while accurately portraying the high styles of their time feel modern and getting lost in them is exhilarating and inspiring.
Fashion IconThis is such sad news. One of high fashions most unique and distinct icons has passed.
Anna Piaggi, who Lagerfeld called muse, was vibrant, eccentric, and theatrical and dressed accordingly.
A fashion journalist and true lover of clothes, she inspired the industry with her work as creative consultant at the excellent Italian Vogue.
Pop of ColorIt’s a simple effective way to spruce up old shoes.
I got some colored laces from J. Crew for only $4 a pop.
directed by Douglas Keeve (1995)I adore the documentary Unzipped. I have probably seen it a dozen times and all those times, seen it alone. Of all the passions and tastes Jim and I share, movies about the fashion industry just isn’t one of them so they’ve become a private pleasure.
With this Isaac Mizrahi ode to high fashion being on Netflix instant, I couldn’t help but indulge in another viewing.
Before Project Runway, before any of the many fashion docs, there was this movie. Its inside look at the creative process was truly inspiring and amazing to me as a young woman and still fills me with joy to watch. Mizrahi is charming, the show is excellent (looks as fresh today as then), the cinematography is beautiful and even the score is perfection.
I feel like this movie is almost forgotten and buried behind The September Issue and realty tv but any lover of fashion should see it right away. It’s divine.
from New York Public LibraryWhoever’s in charge the New York Public Library online stuff deserves a big kiss from me.
First I flipped over the menu archives now I’ve found an amazing collection of fashion sketches from the Andre Studios.
While much of the business information about Andres is gone, their drawings remain.
They were extensively employed by big fashion houses who used these detailed sketches as reference material (much like European shopping trips or trend services of today that help everyone knock off each other .)
If you love fashion you could get lost in here for weeks.
Thank you NYPL for making these which were once only available to researchers online for all of us to view and fawn over.
Long before pre fall and fall there was Couture and these were my favorite looks:
Leave Your Dress as a CommentIt’s that time again – to watch the red carpet, scoff through the introductory song (anyone recall the damning performance by Snow White and Rob Lowe or the embarrassing rework of Hey Yeah?)
Its also time to pick our dresses and before Paris Fashion weeks even begun (no fair).
I’m going off kilter and choosing a dynamic, quirky gown from visionary Mary Katrantzou. Add a structured top knot and Rodarte clunky heels to top it off and I’d be set.
What about you? What’s your fantasy Oscar dress? Tell us!