7.18.2010

Couture,Couture: Fall 2010 Couture

This season, I was underwhelmed with some and overwhelmed by many. Couture is essentially taking the time to sit and focus on molding fabric into pieces of art and yes, some of that was seen this season, but it wasn’t much. I felt like some of the designers I am used to seeing the best from slacked off, while designers I never thought to take a second look at took the step to becoming designers now imprinted in my mind. Overall I would say the collections were O.K., not fantastic as a whole, but still worthy of taking the time to delve into what these designers have done. Here are my reviews of each collection and remember to check out the shows in their entirety on Style.com.
While reading this, you may think I went a little hard on some of these guys but, hey, that’s fashion. You either like it or you don’t. But don’t be swayed by my opinion. Wear what you love and love what you wear and don’t ever be intimidated by anyone who doesn’t like it.

Bouchara Jarrar
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Let’s start with the show I was least impressed with. For her sophomore season in couture, Bouchara Jarrar deserves respect for being the only one of two women to show during this couture season. Kudos to Jarrar for being an ambitious, strong woman who can stand up for herself in a world largely dominated by men. On that note, I was really disappointed. Maybe it’s my love of frills, lace, sparkles and everything that’s girly, that is keeping me from having any feelings of delight from this collection, but I really can’t say that I was jumping out of my seat from excitement. The straight lines of each garment combined with the dehydrated color choice of white induced feelings of discontent. Impeccable tailoring? Yes, but still unworthy of high praise. Blehhhhhh. That’s really all I can end the review of this collection with. You’ll get it next time Bouchara.

Armani Prive
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Since I’m moving in the direction of collections I hated the most to collections I loved the most, next in the hate line is Giorgio Armani’s collection. If I could stop writing profusely and use one word to describe this collection it would be: DRY. Ughhhhhh Why would anyone take the time to create a couture collection full of boring separates and the over usage of the unappealing camel color that seemed to show up in just about every single outfit in this collection? I could go on and on about how boring this collection is, but I won’t. Luckily I found two options that weren’t quite as boring as the rest.

Jean Paul Gaultier
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The next collection was not bad at all. I actually enjoyed the simplicity of the collection. I am all for bells and whistles when it comes to dressing, but I actually found it quite refreshing to see a man that does somewhat extravagant pieces, do a collection that is much more simpler than what we are used to. What struck me as the most interesting piece of the collection was the random pops of color that appeared throughout the collection. They were a pleasant surprise. I also was thoroughly impressed with the gorgeous headpieces. That said, I miss the extravagance, but it was still a job well done.

Chanel
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Karl didn’t do a bad job. This was a very interesting collection and I don’t really know if I completely hate or even completely love it. It of course was beautiful (anything Karl Lagerfeld does is beautiful) but in, my opinion, it was lacking the magical touch that Chanel shows usually have. The whole lion theme was fabulous if I say so myself, but there was still something missing. It wasn’t terrible by any means, but I just wish he went the extra mile with this one.

Alexis Mabille
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I was truly surprised when I took a look at this collection. I’ve never really given Alexis a chance. I’ve found his collections to be uninspiring and just not for me in the past, but as I began to go through the collection, my mind was quickly changed. The beautiful lace detailing on some of the garments was simply delectable. I also enjoyed the little elements such as some ruffling and the appliqué that was seen on the last dress. He did a marvelous job and I would wear every single piece.

Valentino
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FINALLY! Something my eyes can handle. I haven’t been fully impressed by anything that the house has produced after the master of fashion, Valentino Garavani, left the house, but this was fabulous. I would describe it as austere glamour. The bows added a whimsical, feminine touch to the somewhat architectural structure of the dresses. Not to mention that the shoes had me on the floor. They were unforgettable. I loved this collection. Pier Paolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri should give themselves a big pat on the back for doing such a wonderful job.

Elie Saab
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I’ll start off this review by saying I wanted more. It was just lacking or even better put, Elie was slacking. It didn’t feel like e was putting his best out there, but who am I to judge? He usually blesses us with beautifully constructed extravagance but I didn’t see or feel any of that. I found two pieces that I thought were the most interesting and here they are. I hope he comes back to himself with the next collection.

Christian Dior
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Ahh yes! This is what I was looking forward to see the whole time while I was browsing the collections. The flowers were just what I needed because at a point I was getting discouraged. John never fails! He did the most amazing job of taking inspiration from nature and creating lovely pieces out of his interpretation of natures beautiful gift of flowers. What an amazing gift he has! I really have never seen a collection that this man has done without feeling some kind of awe or wonder and this collection was no exception. Well done Mr. Galliano.

Givenchy
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Last but not least is the mother of all collections. Deciding to show make their couture collections more intimate and private was the best decision the house has made to date. I believe this added to the specialness of this collection. I was literally in tears when I began to go through it and each garment after had me feeling a different emotion. This is what I want to see and feel when I look at a couture collection or any collection for that matter. The power of well made clothing should sweep you off your feet, or inspire you or take you to another place, and this collection certainly did that and more. I was fully impressed by the fine detail and craftsmanship of each garment. Riccardo my eye is definitely on you.


Hope you enjoyed my post!
Love,
Ashley


7.13.2010

Red Jubilee


Hi guys, I thought I might introduce you to my family. So here they are.
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The Family and my lovely Grandma sitting down with my precious new cousin!


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Mom and Auntie Josephine wearing the same shoes. Too funny! I bet they planned it.

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Our family's amazing little bundle of joy! This is the newest addition to our family and words can not describe how much we love her!

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Grandma with her first daughter and her first grandaughter. Priceless. I'm wearing a beautiful red dress by City Studio with a belt by Icing.

Happy 70th Birthday Grandma! The theme of Grandma's party was "Red Jubilee" so all the women of the family wore red to celebrate the 70 wonderful years that Grandma has been blessed with on this earth. I love my family so much and I'm glad I got to share a litte peice of them with you. Hope you enjoy the pictures!
Love,
Ashley

7.06.2010

Valentino The Great

This post is dedicated to the master of fashion Valentino Garavani.
A couple months ago I had the pleasure of meeting Matt Tyrnauer, the director of the masterpeice, Valentino the Last Emperor. He gave us some insigntful information about his experience filming the documentary and tips on how to sustain sucess too. This post is a little overdue but bear with me.

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After we watched the documentary Mr.Tyrnauer gave us his review of the movie and described his opinion of Valentino in the most interesting way. He highlighted the pompous yet comical nature of Valentino and the people surrounding him. It was funny to hear him say that the average person would be overwhelmed to be in a room full of those egoes. He said that although he had little to no experience in the fashion industry, he was fascinated by Valentino and his astounding success and chose to follow him around with a camera to capture the work behind his success. He mentioned that filming the "diva" Valentino was an experience that was sometimes challenging, but definately worth it.

Meeting Mr.Tyrnauer was an awesome experience and he gave some great advice too.
He Said:
1. Hard work and confidence in what you're doing is key.
2. Have someone you can confide in and someone to constantly critique your work.
3. Get an internship ASAP!
**Fashion is a trade, actually anything you do is a trade and a has trade secrets. These secrets aren't learned in school so an internship can open up the door for you to be able to learn these secrets and gain entry into the world you may have never been able to have access to. **
4. Don't be affected by starting small.
**Remember bigger isn't always better especially when you're just starting out.**
5. Finally, don't expect to rule the world in a day, these things take time and dedication.
**Learn your trade!**

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Writing this reminded me of all the work Valentino has done in the past and here of some of my favorite detail shots showing them.

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Look at the beautiful intricate handwork that was put into the flowers!

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I love that beautiful butterfly.

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I heart those sparkles! hahah

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The contrast of the aqua and gold against the black is absolutely fabulous.

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Another beautiful butterfly.

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This hat sends chills down my spine. It's unreal...

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The lovely purple bow pops so nicely against the red in the outfit

All photos: Style.com, Valentino Spring 2008 Couture Collection

Oh and please excuse the horrible choice of outfit I wore to the event.

Love,
Ashley

7.04.2010

We Salute You

Had some fun taking pictures in this crazy outfit. Happy Fourth of July! This post is for all the amazing men and women who have helped to protect our freedom with their lives. Freedom fighters is what I call them. They are the true reason why our country has been able to remain free for 234 years. I love you America and I certainly love our troops. I salute you. America salutes you.

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Hat: Forever 21, Dress:Lux, Tights:Walmart, Shoes:Dollhouse
Love ,
Ashley

6.29.2010

What is A Lolita?

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I've been a little obsessed lately witht he whole Lolita look in Japan so I delved a bit into its history. Hope you enjoy!

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In the late 1990s the new subculture called Lolita began to emerge and is one of the most popular styles found and created in the Harajuku area of Japan Girls, who want to all mostly look like the image of a Victorian doll, which is predominant in the culture, usually wear the Lolita style and subculture known for its detailed look.Lolita began in Harajuku, Tokyo in the 1980s when Omotesando and Takeshita-dori, streets in the Harajuku district, were closed to traffic on Sundays. The closing of the area allowed for young people to gather in Yoyogi Park and the surrounding streets to listen to rock music performances, shop and simply spend time among other young people and their friends. Young people and street performers started appearing in wild, unconventional outfits, which gradually developed into recognizable styles such as lolita, gyaru or kogal, decora and ganguro. These styles were catalogued by a street photographer, Shoichi Aoki, in his magazines STREET, started in 1985, and FRUiTS, started in 1997 and photos from FRUiTS have been released as a book and toured both Australia and New Zealand as a photography exhibition, allowing Westerners a glimpse of this “grass roots” Japanese street fashion movement. Lolita fashion was popularised with the establishment of brands such as Baby, The Stars Shine Bright in 1988 and Manifesteange Metamorphose Temps de Fille in 1993. Other brands include Angelic Pretty, Innocent World and Mary Magdalene. While most brands cater to the Japanese market, the advent of Western interest in the lolita subculture has meant that some brands have begun selling to Northern American and other Western countries; some brands such as Metamorphose have developed English-language websites to cater to this interest. Primarily, however, brands still aim their clothing at Japanese girls in their teens to mid-twenties.

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The clothing is inspired mainly by the Rococo and Victorian eras of fashion, and covers a large group of different sub-styles. Mostly females wear the Lolita look, as there is no male counterpart of Lolita. Men who want to look like Lolitas often turn to Ouji, a unisex fashion, worn by both men and women, related to Lolita, or Japanese gothic fashion . Also, Cross-dressing males, known as brolitas in the western part of the world, exist.

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The origin of the name Lolita has been left unconfirmed, but it may be from wasei-eigo, Japanese pseudo-anglicisms. From 2000 to present, Lolita fashion has undergone an extensive metamorphosis. Early designs were rather simple, and often in the now infamous black and white color scheme. Gothic, Kuro and Shiro were incredibly popular, and Ama Lolita was very toned down. Up to 2005, clothing prints were relatively rare, and the few that existed consisted of simple motifs. During 2006, the brand Angelic Pretty introduced the beginning of the Ama Lolita style as it looks today. The prints got more intricate and detailed, floral prints became more rare. The style changed from a more classic look, to a more childish and cute over-the-top look. Ama Lolita is presently the most popular Lolita style.

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The Lolita style was influenced by music, and inspired by designers like Vivenne Westwood, Jean Paul Gaultier, the movie Alice in Wonderland, and Japanese anime. It is the collaboration of all of these influences that completes the Lolita look. There are a few different types of Lolita fashion that all have slightly different implications and appearance. Many people try to decipher the meaning of the style but are really unaware of what the Lolita wearers are portraying. People make it out to be much more than it really is.

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In Japan, a band called Dir En Grey helped to spread the Lolita style. They are a “bijuaru-kei rokko bando” which in Japanese means, “visual-type rock band”. This metal music helps to describe the tone of the style. American rock star Marilyn Manson is a fan of H. Naoto, the designer of the Lolita style, and when he toured in Japan, Lolita clothing sales rose five times the normal amount. Just seeing Marilyn Manson’s band influenced people to buy the style. His style and genre of music are similar to that of the Lolita fashion and therefore helps to influence more people to buy it. There are a couple types of Lolita styles; Ama Lolita and Gothic Lolita. Ama means “sweet” in Japan and is the more innocent and girlie Lolita style, whereas Gothic Lolita emphasizes more elegant and grown up ways. Ama Lolitas use more pastel colors and whites and have enhance the look with ribbons and bows. Gothic lolitas use black and white with occasional red and were inspired by Victorian clothing, mainly the Victorian mourning dress. Gothic lolitas have two different styles; knee length skirts that are frillier and girly and full-length skirts made from velvet and brocade and are considered more luxurious and grown up. Both ama and gothic lolitas tend to carry around dolls or stuffed animals to further enhance the look of innocence and specifically in Japan, they both have knee high socks incorporated in the look.


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A common misconception of the Lolita style, is that they refer to the book by Vladimir Nabokov, “Lolita”, about a man who is obsessed and sexually involved with a 12 year old girl. People believe the Ama Lolita style portrays sexuality or is a “reflection of men’s sexual desires”. Lolita style is worn because it is an expression of one’s true self. People who wear Lolita fashion wear it to distinguish themselves from the masses of people and like to identify themselves by the unique clothing. There is no larger message of strife or anxiety or any political message revealed. As designer H. Naoto, who started the Lolita fashion, says, “It is simply a style”. In fact, the Lolita subculture tends to be worn by those who behave themselves at home and school and are not rebellious in ways other than fashion.

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Many people also tend to see Lolita fashion as coming about because of cultural angst during the economic insecurities during the 1990’s. In a way, these people are right simply because Japanese were longing for peace and happiness during the recession and turned to a style of clothing that let them escape their reality. Lolita fashion emphasizes a desire for simpler times but also relies on the influences of Western Literature to suggest a more innocent time before contact with the West. It’s a nostalgic style based on a fictional past that Lolita consumers would have liked to have. In the current world, there are many uncertainties for Japanese; for example, it is hard for them to find jobs so many end up living with their parents until they are in their late 30’s. The Lolita style allows these people relief and to dream of a more stable and beautiful world than the one they live in. Those who wear Lolita fashion are automatically a part of a network of like-minded people and are accepted by people that aren’t mainstream. These people get the benefits of rebelling against traditional expectations of society while having a supportive community base.

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The Lolita style is composed of many different parts and can make for a complicated look. One type of Lolita is the Kuro Lolita, a style that is comprised only of clothing and accessories that are black, even their hair is dyed black or a dark shade of brown. Another type is a Shiro Lolita, a style comprised only of clothing and accessories that are white; and these Lolitas tend to have light hair color, mainly blonde.

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There are many different types of headwear that are the beginning piece of each Lolita’s outfit. Beginning with the alternate types of head wear, the staple of head wear for Lolitas is called a headdress, which is a rectangular or circular hair accessory that ties under the chin with ribbon. The most basic type of headdress is the bonnet. A bonnet is a hat of cloth or straw with a large brim, held in place by ribbons tied under the chin . Similar to the bonnet is the half-bonnet, which is a bonnet with no back; it looks more like a headdress with a brim . The simplest of all Lolita headdress styles is called the Kachuusha, a headband, most often with a big Alice in Wonderland bow on top.

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Next, one should examine the shirts and blouses that make up the Lolita fashion style. Like the bonnet, a blouse is the commonly worn among Lolitas. A blouse is a feminine style of up formal shirt made of woven fabric. If one is going for laid back look a Lolita may wear a cutsew, which is a slightly more casual Lolita blouse made of jersey/knit fabric. If a Lolita wishes to have a more upscale look they can don a jabot: an ornamental cascade of ruffles or frills down the front of a shirt, blouse, or dress.

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The third component of Lolita style is the dresses and skirts. Most Lolitas will wear a bloomer, which are loose shorts gathered at the bottom and worn under a skirt to protect modesty. Another item of clothing worn under skirts is pannier or petticoat, which is usually made of tulle and worn to give a skirt volume . There are two types of dresses primarily worn by Lolitas, a jsk or jumper skirt and an op or one piece. The jsk is a sleeveless Lolita dress usually worn with a blouse. An op is a Lolita dress that has sleeves .

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The final part of the Lolita style is the shoes and accessories. One of the more popular style shoes worn by Lolitas is called a rocking horse shoe. They are a pair of shoes that are very tall, with a heel made from wood or cork with a notch taken out of the back, made popular by Vivienne Westwood. When it comes to accessories, sock toppers and wrist cuffs are commonly worn. A sock topper is a decoration that sits at the top of one’s sock usually made from ribbon and lace; and a wrist cuff is like a bracelet made from lace.

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Gothic Lolita on the left seen wearing white lace cotton Jabot underneath a black cotton Jsk with white lace tights and lace up ballet shoes. Sweet Lolita on the left seen wearing frilly pink, lace jsk with frilly pink lace jacket, white lace petticoat, and patterned tights with pick doll-like shoes.

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In Japan, the Lolita style of fashion led by mostly young groups of people greatly influences fashion trends within their communities. The emergence of this style of fashion also known as the “CosPlay Movement” reflects the young people’s internal selves that many find hard to express verbally. The Lolita style provides its group with entertainment, fun, and also more of a sub-cultural community. This distinct and unique style of fashion has put an end to the old and traditional western views of Japanese styles.

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The Lolita members are bound together by their stylistic expression and have created a subcultural community around that fun, child-like expression of themselves.They communicate face-to-face or online and make handmade Lolitas. They have also created their own slang that is not understood by others . Membership to a group of Lolitas is voluntary and many of the Lolitas often express that they fell like a child when they wear the Lolitas style It is true that Lolita and gothic originated from western world but Lolitas have not been concerned with assimilating western culture.


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All Images: Gothic Lolita Bible

Love,
Ashley


Where I got all my information from and where you can find out more about Lolitas:

About the Fashion. Retrirved April 5, 2011 from here

Anatomy of a Lolita Outfit. Retrieved April 6, 2011 from here

Hirano, K. (Oct 21, 2004). LOLI GOTH POP. WWD, p.62S. Retrieved April 10, 2011, from Academic OneFile via Gale: here

Kawaruma, Y., Mears, P., Narumi, H., & Steele, V. (2010). Japan Fashion Now.
New York: Fashion Institute of Technology.

Lolita Culture. Retrieved April 5, 2011 from here

Tidwell, Christy. May . Street and Youth Fashion in Japan. In Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion: Volume 6 – East Asia Retrieved 10 Apr. 2011, from here