Monthly Archives: December 2012
The Most Memorable Colors of the 20th Century
Jewel Tones, 1900s
With rich jewel tones gaining popularity in the early 20th century, the names of the gems became a part of the vernacular. Pantone defines these shades as Rich Gold, along Victorian Blue and Chateau Rose, names inspired by glass and enamel crafts (shown).
Cocktails and Laughter, 1920s
The passage of the 19th amendment and the rise of jazz music made the roaring ’20s a game-changing decade for American women. To celebrate, women raised their hemlines and cut their hair, earning the nickname “flappers.” Fittingly, the Pantone colors of Dusty Pink, Apricot Brandy and Desert Rose were assigned to this era.
The Wizard of Oz , 1930s
The Judy Garland film became iconic for many reasons, from the promise-filled Yellow Brick Road to the innovative use of technicolor. Though it was Dorothy’s ruby red slippers that provided a touch of glamour. Pantone colors in Poppy Red, Virbrant Green and Spectra Yellow illustrate the memorable fairy tale.
Film Noir, 1940s
Artful lighting and careful costume design became trademark aspects of the film noir, a genre of Hollywood films that emerged in the ’40s and ’50s. The dark, deceptive tones of these subtly romantic movies are highlighted by Pantone hues of Gull Grey, Raven and High Risk Red.
Teen Angels, 1950s
The American teenager came to life in the ’50s amidst the birth of rock n’ roll music and the rise of celebrity culture. And no heartthrob was more revered than the dapper, dimpled James Dean. Pantone swatches in bright red and moody blue capture the colors of this decade.
Movie Goddesses, 1950s
Kodak developed 35mm color film in 1952, which allowed emerging actresses Grace Kelly and Audrey Hupburn to embrace pastel tones of lavendar, azure, apricots and pale yellows for the camera. Kelly’s aquamarine silk satin Oscar gown came to symbolize ladylike elegance for decades to come.
Cosmetic Superstars, 1950s
Oh, what a little lipstick can do! Advertising campaigns like “Fire and Ice,” along with the rise of sultry superstars Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe, contributed to the ’50s woman’s obsession with rouge lips and pale skin. Women began to channel their inner movie stars, as red clothing popped up on the shelves department stores. Pantone’s Powder Pink and Lipstick Red embody the glamour of this decade.
Night Life, 1970s
Thanks to 1977’s Saturday Night Fever epitomized the phenomenon of disco nightclubs. Glitz became the new glam as women worked bedazzled dresses and boogied under mirrored silver balls. Pantone shades of this era mimicked the lights of the dance floor.
To the Manor Born, 1980s
The horseback-riding look rose to fame thanks to all-American Ralph Lauren’s tweed suits and oxford shirts as well as the “Sloane Rangers,” a class of horseback-riding Brits whose style was adopted by Princess Diana Spencer. As a result, the Pantone colors of Evergreen, Deep Forest and Crimson Pantone came to symbolize’80s prep.
The Book
Pantone: The 20th Century in Color chroniclebooks.com.
Filed under BOOK
Say ‘No’ to the Dress
Enough with the LBD. Play mix-and-match with fanciful pieces to achieve the thinking woman’s evening look.
Still, when it comes to what to wear for evening—whether it’s a festive little get-together or an all-out, knock-’em-dead gala—dresses are the standard. Even semantically, the words “cocktail dress” roll off the tongue in a way “cocktail skirt” never will. But special pieces such as a beautiful brocade skirt, a beaded lace blouse or a jewel-encrusted jacket are rich with possibility—if you have a little imagination and know-how (or some excellent advice) DAH… To be continued and keep reading of the run up twice a week start from next week 19.12.12
Ciao
Filed under PrOJECT, RUNWAY REPORTS
An hour of Anna Wintour talking.
An hour of Anna Wintour talking. In 2000, the BBC profiled Wintour for a very ‘September Issue’-esque, documentary called ‘Boss Women,’ both focus on her steely determination and legendary work ethic. Also keep an eye out for the John Galliano, Tonne Goodman and Plum Sykes cameos throughout;
“The clothes that people wear here during the day are the clothes that most people would wear on their most glamorous night of the year! Who else would wear a Dolce & Gabbana chiffon skirt like THIS to the office? Only me or only someone who works in Vogue, you know!“ Plum Sykes.
Filed under PEOPLES
“The colour ‘cerulean’.”
Not see many designers are venturing to far into the colour spectrum these days. This VB’s clutch or “pouch” as the fashion pack like to call them is another piece I “cerulean” with down below watch, “You Think This Has Nothing to Do With You” (The Devil Wera Prada);
This… ‘stuff’? Oh… ok. I see, you think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select out, oh I don’t know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you’re trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don’t know is that that sweater is not just blue, it’s not turquoise, it’s not lapis, it’s actually cerulean. You’re also blindly unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves St Laurent, wasn’t it, who showed cerulean military jackets? And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers. Then it filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic “casual corner” where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and so it’s sort of comical how you think that you’ve made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you’re wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room. From a pile of “stuff.”
#loveloveit #MarylStreep
Filed under SHOPPING
AOOOOOH
This year the multitasking Ms Victoria Beckham designed a collection of printed scarves exclusively for Selfridges. Inspired by Emily the Strange, the two different colourways both display an illustration of a cat complete with a Harper-esque hair bow. For more information check out the Selfridges Victoria by Victoria Beckham page here.
Filed under RETAIL NEWS
Infographics
In and Out of the Creatives
Two faces of fashion
Architecture and Fashion
Manolo’s Creations
Filed under RETAIL NEWS
Portrait of A Woman
And what you meant to say.
You like to kill a butterfly. You broke my heart to stay alive. And when run away you looked so dashing I could cry. Do I really care? on what you have to say.
And what you meant to say. And what you menat to say.
You like to keep the chase alive. There’s so much you can have. And when you run away. You looked so dashing and you survive.
And What You Have To Say.
Filed under STYLING&PHOTOGRAPHY
Fooooooood
Breakfast 07:00 – 8:00
Brunch 10:00 – 12:00
Lunch 12:00 – 2:00
Dinner 5:00 – 20:00
Night night #decaf
Filed under LIFESTYLES
Goodreads
Bonjour Tristesse Françoise Sagan, Maison Martin Margiela , Raphael Mazzucco Collected Art
xoxo
Filed under BOOK
It’s Not About Who You Are. It’s About What You Want To Become
It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want to Be.
It’s Not Just the Degree, but What You Study
It’s Not How Much You Spend But Where You Spend It That Matters.
Filed under CULTURE
Marion Cotillard: “I Think I May Have Been On Too Many Magazine Covers”
W Magazine: Red Hot: Marion Cotillard
“I think I may have been on too many magazine covers,” Cotillard, 37, told me in New York, three months after the festival. “In France, they like the underdog.” She shrugged—other countries would embrace her work in Rust and Bone. “In America, they appreciate success.” Cotillard was in town for the premiere of Batman: The Dark Knight Rises, in which she plays a mysteriously alluring woman. Perhaps it’s her large haunting blue eyes or her innate elegance, but Cotillard always looks like she’s harboring a deep secret. That tantalizing sense of privacy is what makes her characters so intriguing. “It is much easier for me to understand something vast and complex than something light and uncomplicated,” Cotillard explained. “Perhaps that makes me very French.” She laughed. “Tragedy is almost always interesting to me.”
Filed under PEOPLES
Raf Simons: “And Now I Stand In This World”
Vogue: Monsieur Simons: Raf Simons at Dior
Simons was born in January 1968 to Jacques Simons and Alda Beckers in Neerpelt, which was “in the middle of nowhere, a village between cows and sheep.” Both parents came from big families, and gatherings with aunts, uncles, and cousins fostered a sense of community and togetherness that Simons, an only child, was drawn to. “I’d run to the next farm, where they had ten kids, and I would become the eleventh.” It wasn’t a life of privilege or wealth, but it was one of absolute love and dignity. “I am superproud of my parents—my mother was a cleaning lady, and my father was a night watchman in the army,” says Simons. “And now I stand in this world, and yeah, it’s a bourgeois environment, in a house that’s seen in France as the most important position in fashion, along with Chanel. But I don’t care about that. What I find amazing is that it’s a beautiful house where I can make clothes to make women happy. I was raised in a very happy nest by very happy people, and I like to think that those are enough ingredients to make me succeed at Dior.”
Filed under PEOPLES
Suzy Menkes On Elegance
AnOther Magazine talking to Suzy Menkes:
How would you connect fashion to elegance?
I don’t really believe in elegance. Ever since I first came to France, many
years ago, to do the Chambre Syndicale course, I always felt I was somehow
lacking, first of all being British – obviously a disaster! But I was also
puzzled with this idea that you have to tie your Hermès scarf just right or
you can only wear black. I always felt that this kind of rule should only be
made to be broken. So I don’t really believe in elegance. However, I believe
in natural elegance: the way certain people can put on their clothes and
wear them in what looks like an unstudied way. Jacqueline Kennedy would have
been a great example of somebody who always looked fabulous even with
something very simple. When I actually saw the clothes on display at the
Metropolitan Museum, I realised that a lot of work went into those clothes,
and that they didn’t look much until she peopled them. So I don’t set
elegance as a high standard in anything that I review or anything that I
wear myself.
Filed under CULTURE
Legs In Rhythm 