Stylin': 1950's New Look

Inspired by the full skirts and nipped--or "wasp--waists not to mentioned the beautiful polished looks from the Spring runway shows, I decided to look back to Christian Dior's iconic and revolutionary New Look of the 50's.

His line actually launched in 1947 but was popular throughout the 1950's.

The New Look represented the post war optimism and prosperity--Dior would use up to 20 yards of fabric for his designs. Photo from Flickr

Photo from In Fashion Life

Photo on Buctopia

I styled an outfit inspired by Dior and the complete, polished looks of the 50's.

 

 

All 50's vintage pieces: Dress from Gumby Girl, beaded gloves, lucite handbag, diamond brooch and earrings, kitten heals with bow detail and platter hat.
 

Artist Series: Dale Chihuly Glass Sculptures

Everyone who has been to the Bellagio in Las Vegas has probably seen the spectacular glass sculpture ceiling by Dale Chihuly.  The first I had heard of him, my husband was working for an architect that used one of his "chandeliers" in Claridge's Hotel in London.  I was intrigued and amazed by the movement, color and composition of these imaganitive works of art.  He has many different themes, but I have chosen just a few.

  

 This has multiple themes with his tower, reeds and floats.

My personal favorites are his chandeliers.  They're so dramatic.

This is at the Victoria and Albert museum in London.

I love the juxtaposition between the modern glass sculpture and the old building.

His Reeds series.

I'd love to have this in my garden.

These are his Niijima Floats.

I love how he works his sculptures into nature.

This is his Ikebana floral arrangement series.

A fantastical garden.

A ceiling installation from his Persian series.

The artist by one of his glass tower sculptures.  All photos are from Chihuly's website.  Since this is only a small fraction of what he does, it is definitely inspiring to explore his site and read about him.

NYFW: The Real Show (Outside Lincoln Center)

While I enjoyed the energy and excitement of the fashion shows, the most inspiring part of New York Fashion Week happened outside.  The Real Show was the people coming and going through the plaza of Lincoln Center.  In a way, it reminded me of Comic-Con for fashionistas.  Sure, they go to get their picture taken, but unlike Comic-Con, they're just too cool to pose.  So, keep that in mind looking at these shots--some are cut off and blurry.  I was like the dreaded papparazzi.

That's a good idea: get a bag to match your hair.  Any thoughts on the white jumpsuit?

Pink going out of the frame and pink coming into the frame.

I'm just standing here to show off my Christian Louboutin's. 

Mua, Mua (air kiss).  Little Miss Louboutin found her friends.

His coolness shows even through the blurred photo.

Did I mention that everybody wears black and acts trendy?  Love the shoes and bag of the girl on the left, though.

Sorry, girls.  Wrong place.  Casting for the New Jersey Housewives is down the street...

This outfit wouldn't have worked without the vintage LV overnight case he's carrying.

This girl was cute, until she over-worked it.  Little Miss Starved for Attention?

Love all the shoes here.  And the flower wristband.

Again, the shoes.  Love them.

Love the colors!

That's all for my NYFW series--at least until next time!

NYFW: Betsey Johnson

Yesterday I posted pictures from the Rebecca Minkoff show at New York Fashion Week.  The Betsey Johnson show was an actual runway show.  The energy and ambiance reflected her quirky and unconventional approach to fashion.  She started her own line in 1978 and has kept true to those post-punk early 80's roots.  Her Spring 2011 show had elements of that post-punk era mixed with Urban Skate, mid-'80's fluorescent, Americana prairie, and even Sailor.  Where I was sitting, I couldn't get any good pictures, (although I've included a few shots) so I used the pictures from Style.com.

I had a side view of the runway.

This was as good a picture as I could get.  It's nice to see a little of the crowd, though.  On to the professional photos:

A little better view of the girl above.

A Keith Haring-inspired print.

It's nice to see models smiling on the runway.

I just loved these gowns with fluorescent accents.

The wacky designer herself--of course she would ride a bike down the runway with training wheels on!  In fact, her theme from the show was "Ride Me".

She had many more styles in the show, but these were my favorite.

 

NYFW: Rebecca Minkoff

Last week I went to New York City for Fashion Week.  I went to the Rebecca Minkoff and Betsey Johnson shows at Lincoln Center and enjoyed the "Real" show of people watching.  I also spent the rest of my time shopping the stores, checking out the window displays and "trending".  Poor me.

The Rebecca Minkoff show wasn't a traditional runway show.  Instead, the models were all lined up along a square platform in the middle of the room.  It was great for viewing the line close up and getting better pictures.  As for pictures, I brought along my new office camera that I'm still getting use to, so the quality could be better.

Rebecca is known for her gorgeous handbags, which were very much a part of her line.  It's like she designed her clothes around the handbags.

What was the Whoopi Goldberg quote..."they make $2,000 an hour and they still look pissed off".

Love the tweed faux bustier--and her shoes!

Loved the styling of this whole outfit--especially...

...her hair!!  (The last time I was inspired by short, striking blonde hair, I chopped off my long, natural locks and went platinum...hmmm).  I also loved their make-up by Stila.

Some of these girls look like they wanna cut me.

I heart bags.

This whole ensemble is gorgeous--including her red hair.

The designer.