Back in shape

After some dissapointing last collections, seems like Marc Jacobs is back in top-shape.! And I'm back in love with him!

Let's see :

NYFW : -Marc Jacobs. Whoaaaaa

-Marc by Marc Jacobs : Cuuuuuuuuute!!! I want it all!!

Paris FW : Louis Vuitton.

OMG. LOUIS VUITTON!

I loved loved LOVED it!! It was so crazy and colorful and just so creative!! Like some kind of neo-african-tribal remix on acid worn at a black-tie event. Truly inspiring. One of my favorite shows from Paris.

First, the colors. A lot of them! They were all so rich and deep and beautiful! On their own, and mixed together.

Then, the clothes themselves : whoa. The patterns are amazing, the textures aswell (I know, feather skirts? Nothing new, and very last season. But on to become new season! ). I loved the way blazers were reinvented, worn on bare skin and cinched with neo-kimono belts, looking all but your conventional blazer look! Ie, a crazy, colorful, very creative look ( Haha slighlty repeating myself )

I was seriously in love with the bags, which is a big first for me ; I usually never take a look at bags, let alone at LV monogrammed ones!! But these...haaa. YUM

And to top off....the more than stunning shoes. because, as Glossy said it, "shoes are the exclamation point to your legs" ( on to become my favorite sentence and I shall use it even more as seen the only posts in preparation I have are about...shoes! ) Anyway they left me breathless.

All in all, a collection that may seem to complicated, to busy, too many things going on...but that's precisely what I love about fashion! Remember : too much is never enough.

Witty Fashion Move n°1 : Become an Art Nerd

Because art makes life better , trust me.

Reason n°1 : No, fashion is not only superficial.
Forget about H&M, and turn to the just-finished Couture Week, especially Galliano. He makes all his shows such a delirious genius spectacle I wish I could eat it over and over again (That might make no sense). I was especially amused when I saw his Klimt-inspired dresses. I've loved Klimt since forever (obnoxious much?) but got even more fond of his art since I saw them , for real, in Prague and Vienna (click on city names to see!). His art is just so beautiful and touching, complicated and simple at the same time.

Maybe it's just me, but Roberto Cavalli was also quite Klimt-y. I'm talking about the big, 1900's big hair. Also,What ever happened to Roberto?? No skin, no glam, not even outrageously slutty but subtly sexy? Talk about change! I'm digging it (even though I do love slutty revealing clothes -who doesn't?).

Another unrecognizable designer show? Dolce & Gabbana!! I don't know what isup with Italians but they all of a sudden gave up on glitter-glam, favoring a more natural and fresh look. Their collections definitely stands as a favorite. Their highwaisted brocade skirts are opulently gorgeous, and the peep too ankle boots are really cool. For once I felt like their collection was more about a certain atmosphere, a certain way of putting the clothes together than actually just the clothes themselves. Get creative and channel your inner Jackson Pollock by buying fabric-paint and splattering it randomly all over old tees.

Reason n°2 :You'll meet people. Hang out in galleries, buy a Museum Pass, et put your glasses on (real or faux, to each her own. But lensless? Forget about it, too 2007) , tuck your shirt in your supercool highwaisted Chloë Sevigny pants and act brainy ( a notepad will do it) . Who knows, you may meet some supercute geek who seems even more interested in art than you (hum, not hard!) . Share some opinions about use of clair-obscur, the twisted portraits of Egon Schiele, and the latest it exhibition -not that you'll understand much (it's not the point anyway). But because you do not want to be that disorientated : Taschen books will save you (cheap and clear). For once you'll be seen reading something else than a fashion magazine (bonus points on your mum's esteem) and soon enough you'll become what you actually seem to be. YAY

Reason n°3 : It's a great source of inspiration : colors, patterns, different time eras....

Check this post from fellow blogger Lotta : http://reinedelaseine.blogspot.com/2006/09/i-seem-to-find-inspiration-in-all.html .

Reason n°4 : New hobby! Why not just fill up a blanck canvas , you may find out unexpected talents...Doing it in style is even better, as seen in a recent US VOGUE photoshoot .

And, You will surely impress everyone and prove that you're more than just a pretty face with killer style (juuust kidding)
I hope this was enough to convince you to extend and open up your culture! Trust me, you'll be really thankful. And, admit it, you couldn't do this without me. ;D Right?

I'm so excited / I just can't hide it

Whoa! Well done, Jean Paul.

Jean Paul Gaultier is the one who truly got me very excited with his F/W collection. As a whole, I love its energy. Everything is just so vibrant, electric, strong, and in-your-face. The details are very creative, original and still beautiful. It seems like the epitome of fall clothes to me. The colors, furs, plaid, ethnic inspirations and the like. I have never been so amazed by a show....you have certainly already felt that way, as a fellow fashion blogger, hah!
So maybe this collection means nothing special to you, but I'm literally in awe and by this post hope I will make you will feel the same way I do...at least I'll try to. Le's start on my favorite collection so far.

Gemma's coat is gorgeous. Opulent, heavy, luxurious, rich texture. The clash of leather with the plaid wool skirt is very interesting, love the shiny tough/soft matte contrast. The all-black outfit is so simple yet so interesting. And the mix of plaids and tartans is too much, but never enough.

The hair was amazing! I've never seen something so interesting. New age haute couture punk rebels with feathered hawks. It's so rough and structured, and just so original! I so love it

My favorite part is probably the face ornaments. I have never seen this before and it looks just so beautiful to me. Ancient traditional tribal meets gorgeous beauty of the 21st century. Present and past together for the best. The beads and metallic decorations are fabulous, in a hide/show off way. Just so mysterious and enchanting. So sexy and seducting, old feline getting her paws out. Hypnotizing. Mesmerizing. Anything izing. (And when was the last time crochet looked this hot? )

This article may probably the poorly written -est ever, but it was just honest and spontaneous and really came from my heart.

Ultimate Battle

This fall, who will win? The super sexy femme fatale, or the edgy badass?

What ever look you choose, one thing is sure : those are both for strong, confident women. (okay we're still girls -whatever)

Now...Fight !

Competitor number one : The Femme Fatale. Think glam and feminine , think deep red, opulent furs, leather, long gloves, emphasized waists (belts!) , dark colours (such as navy blue, black, red,bottle green) and lots, lots, lots of leopard. Rich lipstick is a must, while for eyes, eyeliner hits the spot. Hair is glossy, smooth and soflty wavy. Inspirations : Old Hollywood glamour, 40's, ...

Competitor number 2 : The Badass! Badass girls are tough, but it ain't enough. Modern-day knights work their edgy look with all of the following: Black. Lots of black. Leather jackets, leather bags, leather dresses, everything leather. Kilograms of metal. The absolute must-have dress? Burberry Prorusm, as worn by Georgia Frost. Crocodile officer-like coats, also at Burberry, keep you warm while protecting you from psychos as no one will dare approach you in such tough gear !

Or, if like me, you can't decide if you'd rather attract boys or make them scared of you, give up fighting and choose a mix of both looks. Make love , not war! Peace in, at least, fashion world.
How to become a feminine badass : Yes for leather jackets, if with fur. Yes for black, if waists cinched. Then heels, tiny bags, long gloves, the list goes on!

I Love Surprises

Flipping through style.com , I randomly fell on Anna Molinari's S/S show. Oh!! Oh the surprise!! I had never paid attention to her shows, and I was like "How could I? How did I miss this?? ". The wonderful draping, all the quirky details such as lovely ruffles, satin touches, ruching....


I immediately fell in love with the paradoxical intention : sweet-eroticism, the perfect oxymoron to describe the collection ; an at-first innocent virginal look contrasted with sexy details such as sexually sheer tops or lingerie inspired clothing. Sweet and subtly slutty, in an elegant way. Bingo!


The color palette for this collection was mostly in neutral tones like nude, beige and white (all topped off with wonderfully chosen electric violet lipstick and cool messy after-sex hair), but some black was there too , adding an edgy, strong, powerful-women feel.


One word to describe the collection? Orgasmic.

Despair is the way to beatitude

Yes, blame it on my philosophy homework for the (serious) lack of my wonderful (ahem) posts.

If despair is the way to beatitude, then I must stop hoping to get the Prada turbans , or else I'll never be happy and reach beatitude. I have to live my life the way it is (designer-free) and not dream it (designer-full).
Hope less, to live better.

Who'd dare say that fashion is superficial now?
(for any further information, read Traité du désespoir et de la béatitude by A. Comte-Sponville. Or attend at my philosophy class. I'm sure you'll do both)

Okay, so I'll stop hoping, but I can still look at the pictures, huh?

This spring, heads on the runway were tottering (does that actually mean anything?) proudly adorned. Be it satin, gems, glitter, lace or even fabric-flowers, anything goes, as long as it's not everything at the same time. Decadence, yes, but measured. You don't want to end up looking as if you stumbled and fell on your head and attracted everything that was on the ground. Or do you? (okay, that was shit. I couldn't find anything better)

At Louis Vuitton, models looked romantic with perfect-in-time-for-spring delicate flowery angelic head-ornaments but still modern and edgy with an unexpected slash of silver eyeshadow right under the eyes , whilst at Sonia Rykiel heads were decorated with Cristal-like princessy tiara-headbands(not pictured).

Chez Valentino, puffy hair was tamed with red elastic straps. So chic and sexy, plus, you can easily try this feminine look yourself! (I'm the living proof. Try H&M to find the red straps). The makeup was fresh and young, with lovely golden eyelids and a glossy bright mouth.

Marc Jacobs did tack tack tackyyyy wide fishnet-headbands with giiiigantic gems, pile in the bejewelled trend( remember). Only for the not feary. I WANT ONE! To pull this off, better keep the rest simple. Or don't.

Lazy casual-cool messy turbans and headbands with super bright matte color block crayola lipstick owned it at Marc by Marc Jacobs

Sporty wrapped up clean mess (perfect oxymoron, I know) black headbands, plus neu cat-eye makeup? Dries Van Noten, fo sho!

Glamorous, opulent, decadent...20's inspired flapper-style headbands at Ralph Lauren (Lace? Yes! Glitter? Oh yes!) I feel like I've travelled through times with a time-machine, I can already feel the extra-long feathers touch my nude back and see the dropped-waist dresses and women smoking in extra long cigarette holders. OH YES.

Oh, how could I devote an article to headwear and not mention the now infamous Prada turbans that would make Jasmine's dad proud! The shine, the jewel-toned rich colors, the shape, the the the... the everything. (And! Just look at the makeup. It simply makes me go waaaah)

SIGH

So many options, not so much money...

Party Time !!! Ceeeeelebration nanana come on!

The best thing about December, except the snow (when there is some) , the holidays and Christmas, it's of course the numerous parties.

When you think party, you think (well I do) eating, but you may think dressing too (obviously). And then starts the stress: "OMG like what am I gonna wear like OMG Jeez?" and you start swearing and saying OMG at least once every ten words. And there, ladies, come the Power Rangers to rescue you. So now I'll just pretend we all have money and eat caviar pancakes for breakfast with champagne and have Louboutin slippers and a gigantic bed with silk bedspreads and that , for parties, we of course all wear designer. Ready? POWER ,RANGERS, GO!

First, if there's one thing you have to remember, it's the word shine (also see my other article :http://powerrangersgo.blogspot.com/2006/10/shiiiiine.html) . Everything has to shine. Because the world is much better with shiny minidresses and shoes and because it's the only time of the year when you can over-dress and be tacky as hell without anyone making any comments because, let's face it, it's new year's eve party and anyway everyone is too drunk to say anything.

• Gold.

Ahhh....Gold. Is there anything more luxurious, more shiny and tacky and epitome of richness? No. And that is great. Wear an overload of golden accessories, with golden dresses and golden makeup. Drink and eat in golden glasses and plates and paint all your house gold (okay, maybe not that extreme)

• Drapey-ness

Because there's nothing sexier than a bright, jewel-toned, silky, drapey minidress. They enhance your curves and flatter at all the right places. Shexy feminine without being (too) slutty. The master is undeniably Versace, whose (slap me, but I don't want to lie) evening dresses I adore. Okay, now you can slap me but I won't change. I LOVE VERSACE. Mwahahaha (Cruella Devil laugh).

• Glitter

Ahhh...my passion for glitter. Glitter makeup, glitter shoes, glitter tights...Is there anything better than glitter when you want to shine? Party-perfect dresses and skirts were all over the runway with glitter dresses, so-tacky-they're-beautiful glitter tights at Gucci, and so on. The magnificence of glitter shoes (last year's Miu Miu) is also magnificently wonderful. the right touch to make a blah-day go supercalifrahilisticiousyougetit. And the best way to be the hot girl at a party.Woohoo!

• Brocade.

Yum. Luxurious, tapestry-like, over-the-top, wonderful. If it's all those adjectives, it has to be brocade. Dries Van Noten had marvellous brocade jackets and skirts, whilst Miu Miu ruled the runway with its shiny brocade minidresses and baroque-style wedges.

Now, if you don't rock the party and have all the guys swoon over you and the girls get jealous and try to kill you, there must be something wrong with you. Sorry!

Sniff Sniff I'm Sniffing A Trend

Yes.

Beejoowelled. Bejewelled.Bijoux-jewelled. Jewels. Jewelry. Bling-Bling. The bigger, the tackier. The tackier, the better.

I remember when I was about 6, my grandma told me that if you put small rocks in water and let them stay for a night on a full moon, the next day they will transform into shiny jewels. And it did. I got up and discovered a few "diamonds" and already started thinking about how I'll start my business, cover all my clothes with those diamonds, become rich and make money for us because at that time, it was a hard period money- wise for my parents but you don't want to know the rest.

Of course, the diamonds were fake plastic ones, but I didn't discover it until...I don't know. when grandma flew back to Serbia? My grandma is the best ever. She taught me to read Cyrillic alphabet when I was young, she told me tales every night and every day and made me believe in all sort of silly Little girl's things such as fairies and the said diamonds. I love my grandma.

So, back to the point. Jewels were literally everywhere. Viktor and Rolf, Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu (last summer) and a more toned-down way at Chloé. But of course, who got the trend first? Eliza, fo sho! And if Our shiny Princess feels it, then it's going to be big, trust me ( http://insanityandstyle.blogspot.com/ ).

Remember, S/S 06, the Miu Miu bejewelled flats? Now it's Marc Jacobs' take on shiny with blingy flapper-style headbands, shoes, and necklaces. At Viktor and Rolf jewels where everywhere and most surprisingly...even on leggings!!

If you have to remember one thing for next summer : Enjoy and let the real Barbie Princess you are re surge on the surface!

(Viktor and Rolf, Marc Jacobs, V&R leggings, Eliza , Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu S/S 06 , V&R. )

Edit : Jewels/rhinestones are also good used as...make-up! From fashion156.com

Vena Cava S/S 07

"If Vena Cava clothes had sex organs I would jump on them and have a shag. They are so fit " , as pointed out by Lloydy ( An Alien in NY). I couldn't agree more.

Shiiiiine

It's all about being the intergalaktikalest-shiniest-supernovaest girl out there ,with a sumptuous royalty feel in glitter, rich shiny brocade, gold and suprising details.
*The Golden Dress

(Sophia Kokosalaki , Fendi)
*The Rich Brocade

(Dries Van Noten, Miu Miu)
*The Shiny Dress

(Anna Sui)
*The Black Glitter Skirt

(Alessandro Dell'Acqua , Ashish)
*The Gold Gloves

(Ashish, Miu Miu)
*****

NY Fashion Week's Best :

Marc by Marc Jacobs, S/S 07.
Exactly the boy-toy I need

Marc by Marc Jacobs F/W 06/07

I pretty much hated most of the stuff.
But hopefully, not everything.
The Good :
*The extra-wide legged trousers topped with suspenders and navy-ish buttons. Gettin' you refreshed from the skinny pants attack.

*Grey coats.

*The layers.

*Details : Cool makeup with smashed eyeliner (Ah! Finally a look that doesn't need eyeliner to be applied carefully!!), over-the-shoulder patent bags.


The Bad:
*Ugly shoes ugly belgian people who have no style wear . You can find similar ones in cheap discount stores. Plus, jean skirts should never be longer than knee-lenght.

Marc, for once your clothes are better than your shoes! At least you never stop surprising us...
Aye