Yang Du

"I prefer people to look at my work as a strong expression of beauty.  Understanding it is important.  Superficial beauty is not enough."

-Rei Kawakubo

Yang Du established itself as a surrealist fashion label in 2009, when designer Du Yang began showing her collections in London.  Du Yang is known for her whimsical designs and surrealist approach to fashion, as exhibited in her latest collection, "It is a Dream in Colors."  According to her website, the collection "blurs the lines between art and fashion," and she describes her style as "relaxed, humorous, and sexy."  Du Yang, has experience working for John Galliano, Vivienne Westwood, and Giles Deacon, so  the watchful eyes of fashion will follow her lead as she seeks to make a name for herself in a world that values a unique sense of perspective above all else.  

The styling in this picture is spot-on.

If these superhero mod-style dresses aren't the cutest damn things in the world, I don't know what is.

These are some of the most expressive, innovative, and practical dresses I've seen in a long time.

I can hardly stand how cute these t-shirt dresses are.  I could wear one every day of the week.  The googly eyes make my heart melt and her playful approach to fashion is endearing to say the least, and completely indicative of my personal style.

I absolutely adore the Twiggy-esque make-up styling.  

Hmmmmm, I can't decide which one I want most.  What's your favorite?

The make-up in these pictures screams 1970's Twiggy.

All pictures from StyleBubble.com

Aquilano Rimondi

"Fashion is at once both caterpillar and butterfly.  Be a caterpillar by day and a butterfly at night... There must be dresses that crawl and dresses that fly."

-Coco Chanel

Aquilano Rimondi's Spring 2011 collection is one of the many to reflect on the "radical chic" era of the late 1960's and 70's, a term coined by American writer Tom Wolfe.  Throughout the duration of this period, young counter culture became synonymous with anti-materialism; wherein the young and trendy took to wearing secondhand apparel and adopted the "vintage" look.  It was a time that allowed for all sectors of society to participate in the fashion parade.  According to Caroline Evans, "Similar to nineteenth century dandyism, getting it right depended more on originality and talent than on money."

Being that much of the world is in a state of financial ruin, designers are having to deal with the socio-political and financial impacts of what is now considered the Great Recession. Vintage and vintage inspired fashion trends have been all the rage for the past few seasons because they provide a way for style conscious women to maintain their sense of fashion without going bankrupt.  We've seen top stylists like Rachel Zoe obsess over just about anything vintage, and designers like Aquilano Rimondi have definitely taken notice of this notion.  Their S/S 2011 collection was inundated with colors and patterns that make me want to listen to a Beetles Album... Sergeant Pepper in particular.

Here are my top five favorite looks from their collection:

All Pictures from Vogue.com

Vera Wang

"Fashion is an endless process of elimination: in and out, now and then, new and old, right and wrong...  Fashion's compulsion for change means it is only ever a matter of time before you are out, rather than in, you are wrong rather than right."

-Alicia Drake (The Beautiful Fall)

I look forward to fashion week just as much as I dread it, because while I can hardly wait to see what my favorite designers have produced, it's also the time of year when I want to spend money like a complete lunatic.  Vera Wang in particular makes me want to whip out my check book and spend thousands of dollars that I don't have.  Her S/S 2011 collection fell nothing short of spectacular.  It was infiltrated with clean lines, geometric compositions, and an elegant color palette.  Instead of floor length sun dresses with  upper-thigh slits, she gave us a sort of Yves Saint Laurent, 1940's inspired collection with elements of Grecian goddess and Japanese geisha intertwined.  

Here are a few of my favorite looks from her spring collection:

 

All Pictures from Vogue.com

Joseph Altuzarra

"Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months."

-Oscar Wilde

Now, I'm not so sure that quotation is true- that fashion is a form of ugliness and that is why we have to change it every six months, but fashion is no doubt a reaction to itself.  If one season tattered, rock-star inspired clothing with studs and leather is in, then we can almost be certain that the subsequent season will be much more refined, tailored, and perhaps softer in its sentimentality.  

Moving on to more important matters... Next season's spring/resort wear is BLOWING my mind!  I haven't been this excited about spring in a long time, so I wanted to share with you some of my favorite looks from Vogue.com.  I don't normally take pictures from other web sites, but unfortunately I can't attend fashion week in person, so I live vicariously in it through Vogue.  

It seems that fashion is in a very experimental place right now.  We're seeing designers really play with color combinations and there's an element of unpredictability in their fabric selections.  White is definitely the color for S/S 2011, and snakeskin has taken center stage, so move over leopard print.  

Joseph Altuzarra, originally from Paris, is definitely one of this generations designers to watch.  His designs are impeccably polished and there's a definite point of view in his S/S 2011 collection.  There's a thread of refinement and sophistication that ties each look together, making his one of my favorite shows so far.

Gorgeous!  I would wear this dress in a heart beat.  

Altuzarra's use of black in this dress causes your eyes to move over the entire look

This asymmetrical black and navy dress is one of my favorite silhouettes.  Check out the lime green bracelet she's wearing and the white shoes.  Such an unpredictable color combination.

His take on the professional woman.

His use of snakeskin in this dress is unprecedented.  Another simple silhouette that relies on detail to stand out from the rest.  The fabrication is sublime.

Simplicity at its finest.

Innovative hemlines make my heart melt.

Altuzarra wasn't the only designer to play with vibrant, unnatural hair colors, but I think it was an effective styling technique that created an overall edge to his otherwise very classy and stylish collection.

Vegas Baby

"One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art."

-Oscar Wilde

Allow me to preface this blog post by apologizing for my lack of posting... mainly to myself and my two loyal followers.  I was in Vegas this past weekend, sick as a could be, holed up at Circus Circus, which just may be the worst place on the face of the earth to be sick.  But never mind all that... I'm back!  

If you live in southern California like I do, you can perhaps relate to me when I say that I feel completely robbed of a summer.  We are now going into Fall and I can't say that I'm upset about that because I love fall fashion so much more than spring and summer, but I can't get over how little sun I've seen.  I do, however, love all my wrappy, sweatery, snuggly, wooly capey-type things, and since I've been feeling a bit under the weather, Fall couldn't have come at a better time.  

Now, please forgive me for my whining about the weather, but I am a true southern Californian, so whenever it drops below 70º and I can't see the sun, I simply don't know what to do with myself.  But alas, Fall is here, and I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to wearing all of my sad and neglected coats and boots.  Oh, how I've missed them.  You might be thinking, Kelly, what on earth are you talking about?  Southern California has no winter, or even any real seasonal changes.  And my response to that would be... It's all in your state of mind.  Even though I've been able to wear most of my light weight jackets and close-toed shoes this summer, it just didn't feel right, but now that it's officially Fall, bye-bye bathing suits and hello parkas.  Yes, that is correct, I said parka.  I feel that since this summer was so cold and dreary I'm going to wear an even more exaggerated fall wardrobe so that I can feel some semblance of a contrast in my wardrobe.

Anyway, enough about all that.  Look how adorable my little cousins are.  Actually, I couldn't believe how big they'd gotten since the last time I saw them.  My family is spread out all over the country, so we rarely see each other.

Ahhh, yes.  The sweatery, wrappy, snuggly, capey-type thing I speak of.  I live in these kinds of things during fall and winter.  And lets be honest, they're great for days when you just aren't feeling up to par.

Where are my damn keys?  Everyone knows I love anything and everything that has to do with owls, so you better believe I went to see Legend of the Guardians on opening day (yesterday) and to my dismay there were only about three people in the entire theater.  Bah, am I the only one in the world "whooooo" is obsessed with owls?  I think so.  Did you get that little joke?

Dun Dun Dun Dun.... Here I go into the movie theater all dressed in black.  The movie was quite good by the way, but then again, I think I'd like it regardless just because it's about owls.  

Worn with my brown studded Jeffrey Campbell wooden wedges.  I would have posted them sooner, but you know how I am.  Never wanting to show off things when they're at the peak of their trend cycle.

And that's all for now.  I think it's time for a pedicure.

Elizabeth and James

"Elegance is fluid.  It consists of desire and knowledge, grace, refinement, and distinction."

-Rene Gruau

If you love fashion as much as I do, then you no doubt watched and read everything and anything that had to do with Fashion's Night Out.  Aside from all the glamour and big names that headline the fashion industry, it was a nice change of pace to see the less "heralded," as Anna Wintour put it, gain some recognition.  Fashion's Night Out began just one year ago and has already become a global phenomenon.  The concept is great, but I'm curious to know just how effective the event will be long term.  

Conceived by Anna Wintour, Fashion's Night Out called together the international editors of Vogue to brainstorm a way to stimulate economic growth within the fashion industry.  Designers and celebrities alike poured out onto the streets of New York, this September 10th, to demonstrate their support for the cause, while even the most humble and behind-the-scenes people in fashion were recognized for their work.  I'm not sure Neil Patrick Harris was the ideal candidate for the job, but I ate up his coverage nonetheless.  

The most important thing to remember about fashion is that it isn't nearly as glamourous as it appears to be, and that while designers like Oscar de la Renta and Karl Lagerfeld stand at the epicenter, the fashion industry could not, and would not exist without retail sales associates, buyers, manufacturers, pattern makers, textile experts, sewing machine companies, fashion schools, writers, editors, and even interns.  I could go on and on, but you get the point.  It is all a very intricately woven web and I think Fashion's Night Out did a very honorable thing by bringing attention to that very notion.    

Since I never posted my interview outfit I figured better late than never.  The dress is by Elizabeth and James, my new favorite brand.  I'll definitely be keeping my eye on this label in the coming seasons.

Weeeeee. So in love wit my Henri Bendel bag.  It's like a little striped suit case that always makes me smile.

Check out the draping on the shoulders.  It's perfection.

Hard to tell from the pictures, but the dress is navy and the belt is black leather.

Had to sneak one more picture of the shoulder draping in because it's so lovely.

Also worn with some of my vintage lucite and silver jewelry.

The End.

Laughs for the Past

"Change is often too slow to see, but the world we experience is a snapshot from a continuing drama."

-Malcolm Hollick

So, I haven't blogged in over a week and I suppose I have only myself to blame.  I started this blog as a way to record the evolution of my fashion sense because the reality is that sometimes I look back on things I wore only a week ago in shock and dismay.  Don't you think it's funny how we look back at periods in fashion and gawk at how silly we looked?  I know the eighties came back in full force this year, but the elements that reflected "eighties" fashion, like big shoulders and genie pants, were modified for the sake of modernity.  I wonder how long it will take before I look back on this Rachel Pally jail bird top and black genie pants and say, "what was I thinking?"  

Unfortunately, it usually takes a very expensive designer staple to maintain any kind of longevity in my wardrobe, and like most girls, I can't afford to buy Chanel this and Dior that, so I rely on designers like Rachel Pally and Diane Von Furstenberg to decorate my closet.  I absolutely love jersey fabric because it's comfortable and easy to move in, so I buy a lot of Rachel Pally.  

I just got these silk genie pants from Nordstrom and they are the most comfortable things in the world.  They're by a line called Heather and they're so comfortable, they make me feel like I'm wearing pajamas.

Worn with my black Vera Wangs from her Lavender collection.

Have a Great Weekend!