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A brighter word than bright

Miss Emalise will be moving to Blog Spot. I’m working on a similar set up but with better features. And a new “logo”.

As soon as it is official I’ll make an official post with a link to my new home.

♥

Potterwatch

I could go on and on about how much I love Harry Potter and why it is such a wonderful series. I love some of the characters almost as if they were real people. Like members of my family. I know quiet a few people who feel the same way. Yet, some people don’t share that same passion. That is fine. For now. But either way, you can’t deny the fact that Harry and his friends have become cultural phenomenons. They’ve influenced the lives of people who’ve never read the books or seen the movies. One place they’ve been rather successful: fashion.

A clean, elegant, and educated finish tends to be popular in the fall as people head back to school. Girls become bookishly beautiful in blazers and cashmere. Boys look well smart in sweater vests and pressed button-ups. But recently, pieces reminiscent not just of school uniform touches but magic school uniforms have appeared. Starting in 2006 capes are making a comeback on the runway. The short cape is a more functional, modern, and affordable alternative. (Sorry, there is still no break through on bringing a line of invisibility cloaks to your near-by department store.)

Richard Chai Fall 2006 RTW, Giles Fall 2008 RTW - www.style.com

In fact, Chloé creative director Hannah MacGibbon counts her friend Clemence Poésy, the actress who plays the stunning Fleur Delacour, as one of the women in her life who inspires her.

Chloé 2010 Spring RTW - www.style.com

Belstaff helped the film’s costume director dress Harry in the new film, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. In the past Belstaff also styled other big screen Indiana Jones and Bruce Wayne - two geeks who still dress well and have a comparable fan following. Buy the New College Blouson. (source)

With the strong marketing strategy of Warner Brothers quirky accessories such as wands, feather quill pens, and jewelry are available at The Noble Collection which sells duplicates of favorite props. For those fans who want to dress for the day without looking like they just left a convention or premier party try adding just one item that echoes your love for Harry and Hogwarts. Jewelry specifically provides a subtle touch to outfits in a simple yet unique way. Buy the Trophy and Bolt earring set or buy the necklace. Both are by Anna Sheffield for Target.

Or take notes from the number of people who have gone a step further and have actually stepped into Harry’s shoes, so to speak. (And when I say shoes I mean specs.) Natasha Cowan for the Telegraph reported that when Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince came out there was a 100% sales increase for the round, silver rims at Glasses Direct. Buy the glasses. (source)

But it is not just the books and movies that are the only sources for inspiration. The young actors who grew up on the camera over the course of the six current films have also become icons. Emma Watson personifies the young, fun, put-together English lady. Her ad campaign for Burberry epitomizes the classic taste from across the pond.

The bleeding over of JK Rowling’s fictional world into our reality just goes to show that magic isn’t always part of your imagination. Fashion brings fantasy to life. Just remember, “It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”

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Sites I Like

Here are the three fashion sites I check on a regular basis. Hopefully, at least one will end up in your bookmarks and quickly become your favorite as well. Yes, they’re that good.

Garance Doré - This is my absolute and eternal favorite. Garance is an illustrator (above) who lives in Paris, is dating The Satorialist, and is exceedingly talented and classy. But so very funny as well. “I figured before I became a T-Rex, I should try for a few years to be a real woman, right?” And that is what I like: she is a real woman who writes about real women. She is the perfect Frenchwoman that we all wish we could be. I love her street-style pics and witticisms. I can’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t.

What I Wore - This is similar to Weardrobe but it is the personal fashion blog of Jessica Schroeder. She has her own style and posts daily/weekly pictures of her outfits. She isn’t a model-skin-and-bones blogger - she smiles in her pictures. She is the kind of girl that you want to be your best friend and shopping buddy, especially when you see how she always manages to have the best vintage pieces. In fact, many of her readers so often ask her where the good vintage stores are she started Vintage Where. Also, she recently got engaged so check out her What I Wore Down the Aisle.

Daddy Likey - Winona Dimeo-Ediger, author of Closet Confidential: Style Secrets Learned the Hard Way, is absolutely hilarious. She’s smart, sassy, and has the best tips. Fashion is not as serious as it seems and this lady is the perfect example of how much fun it actually is. “Daddy Likey is a blog about fashion. But sometimes I write haiku about chlamydia.” Excellent bits: Affordable Etsy find of the week and Don’t Show-cha Your Chocha.

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Green is the New Pink

The holiday season may be over but it is never too late (or out of fashion) to find ways to give back to others. And to our beautiful planet. There are many wonderful sites that provide tips on how to live green.

Ecotoolbox Nature Moms Blog Organic Picks

The best part is that you don’t have to be an expert to live healthy or to live green. It is really very simple. It is all about the choices you make. Start by making small changes. Buy a tote and use it when shopping instead of the store’s plastic bags. When not using an appliance leave it unplugged. Buy local produce. Carpool with friends, use public transportation, ride your bike, or walk. Make small choices. Make day-to-day changes and before you know it you’re happier. And Mother Nature is happier too.

Here are two projects I’ve stumbled upon that I found particularly inspiring:

The Uniform Project

“Starting May 2009, I have pledged to wear one dress for one year as an exercise in sustainable fashion. Here’s how it works: There are 7 identical dresses, one for each day of the week. Every day I will reinvent the dress with layers, accessories and all kinds of accouterments, the majority of which will be vintage, hand-made, or hand-me-down goodies. Think of it as wearing a daily uniform with enough creative license to make it look like I just crawled out of the Marquis de Sade’s boudoir. The Uniform Project is also a year-long fundraiser for the Akanksha Foundation, a grassroots movement that is revolutionizing education in India. At the end of the year, all contributions will go toward Akanksha’s School Project to fund uniforms and other educational expenses for children living in Indian slums.”

Glove Love Shop

“Glove Love is where Green Thing rescues lost single gloves that have become separated from their original partners, calms them down and gives them a hot bath, then pairs them up with brand new glove lovers. These lovingly hand-washed and matched new Glove Love gloves come with names (Five Finger Fiona, Red Fred), labels that tell you where they lost their old partners, plus a glorious Glove Love letter - and we sell them for just a fiver (plus VAT and postage). The money goes to Green Thing which is a not-for-profit organisation set-up to inspire people to lead greener lives and which gives all profits to its registered charity Green Thing Trust. Organisations like the Ambassadors Theatre Group, First Group and London’s Natural History Museum are already kindly donating lost gloves and if anyone in the Green Thing community wants to send in their single gloves too then we’d be enormously grateful.”

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Cute Knittens

Fashion evolves with the seasons. The change in temperature requires a change in how one dresses. When its hot you wear less. When its cold you wear more. The change in nature inspires a change in trends. There are colors, cuts, shapes, and styles for each spell of the year.

To be honest winter has never been my favorite. I’ve always felt the fashion was so dull because it is tricky to look good and be warm. This time around I’m determined. So sitting at home, cozy on the couch with blankets, using my computer charger as a foot warmer I’m perusing the internet for inspiration. This is what I’ve found: wool knits - beyond sweaters and scarves.

Here are my favorite discoveries. They’re all lovely and fairly priced.

Madeleine Shrug by Any Other Name on Etsy - $40
The colors are beautiful. I especially love the ribbon detail and it reminds me of Jane Austen.

Cable Sweater Dress by Shop Mamie - $59 sale! $23.60
The knit dress is nothing new. This is a fresh and young version where I find most others to be rather frumpy and homey.

Jane Headband by Absolam on Etsy
I’m a sucker for the classic hairbow. This shop is full of unique knits but its been selling things rather quickly this past week so if you like it buy it now.

Doubs Gloves by Need Supply Co. - $28
Brass buttons! I originally saw a nearly identical pair in The Coveted’s post but couldn’t find them on Zara’s website. Then What I Wore blogged the above in her post about Christmas gift ideas.

Aviator Cap by MBG Designs on Etsy - $35
This is ideal for you beauties with short locks. Channel your favorite 1920’s starlet.

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I heart tights.

They’re comfortable (when you find a pair that fits right and doesn’t give you wedgies.) Depending on the outfit tights can be classy or they can be funky. They can be grunge. They can be high-end. Or they can be entirely unique like the ones shown below.

The Clothes Horse made these and posted her tutorial here. They are based off the Emilio Cavalli heart tights but I like her version much better.

We Love Colors, as you might expect, has tights in nearly every color you could imagine.

And there are clever styles like these by Henry Holland for Pretty Polly. You can easily make your own pair with your own message if you follow The Clothes Horse tutorial. Just use a stencil.

I’m finally warming up to lace tights. At first I was wary because for some reason they seem like lingerie or part of some naughty French maid costume. But now I see them as Victorian and Romantic. So I bought a pair today that are somewhat similar (and cheaper) to these by Banana Republic.

However, despite all of the above these below, from designer Shabd Simon-Alexander, are my absolute favorite. Inspired by imagines from space each pair is hand dyed individually. No two pairs are alike!

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Libro Luxurio

“Like my clan back home, this collection is hard to define, part memoir, part fiction, part kid’s book, and a chance to do some drawings,” says New York based designer Cynthia Rowley. It sounds as though she is describing her newest collection to go down the runway. Lively, mischievous, unique, and whimsical. But she’s referring to the contents of her book, Slim: A Fantasy Memoir.

At a little over a hundred pages it is more than a narrative journey from childhood to adult life. From creative little girl to successful fashion designer. Rowley incorporates dreamy, vivid illustrations that are just as much a part of each chapter as the accompanying text. This visual motif is precisely for which the Italian publishing house Rizzoli is known.

It is evident from the beginning of the book that Rowley was destined for a career in fashion. In junior high she learned that her home-made coats, jewelry, and dresses awarded her a certain social notoriety. These weren’t just any do-it-yourself projects. She made earrings from the furniture in her dollhouse, a skirt from the fabric of an umbrella, and a hat of mismatching mittens. Ingenuity and creative flare seems to run in her family. In 1968 when astronaut Neil Armstrong came to her family’s hometown in Illinois Rowley’s mother sewed her own gown for the formal occasion (only to realize upon arrival that she chose the same brocade which furbished the dining chairs). Instead of buying his children a go-cart Rowley’s father enlisted her and her brother to help him make one. Simply stick two wood planks and an old lawn mower engine together with Elmer’s glue, take it for a spin, then try to explain the racket to the police later.

The lines between fiction and reality blur at times. Was it really her balloon-sleeved dress that carried her to a parking lot a few towns from her own? Or was it only her inflated imagination that did the carrying away? Rowley clearly never lost her youthful spirit. It translates wonderfully into her present career. Her past few collections have been accompanied by short films which acted as previews before the full runway premier. One shows a group of girls playing musical chairs. Another is of a game of hide and seek in Central Park. (Visit www.cynthiarowley.com to watch.)

She dedicates an entire chapter to her passion for making her runway shows real productions. Real shows. Shows which are all about the fantasy. They whisk you away to a fairy tale land, or pull you down the rabbit hole to a strange yet fascinating world. In September, at New York Fashion Week, her Spring 2010 RTW collection opened with a magical twist. A white cloth floated down from the ceiling, guided by invisible wires which pulled it perfectly flat over the catwalk, and stunning the audience in the process. Music from the original score of Dario Argento’s 1977 horror film Suspiria contributed to the sweet but eerie illusion.

“It is definitely an evolution from what we’ve done in the past. Its less girly, less frilly. And its definitely more body conscience and grown up. A little bit athletic, a little bit sporty, but very clean and graphic. The whole idea of season-less dressing was very important,” she says of the collection backstage. The crowd of models, colleagues, and reporters bustling about, eager to speak with her are testament to her talent in design and style. But she has a real playfulness that is rare in fashion, and of which one can only truly understand from familiarity with her character or by reading her memoir. The book will delight readers of any age, and inspire women both young and old that following your dreams should be the most natural thing in the world.

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Fashion & Film: Coco Before Chanel

I read a review somewhere for Coco Before Chanel and was saddened by the negativity. It’s critique was that there is no point in making a biopic about someone to whom nothing ever happened. This is how it’s not the average biopic.

Obviously the film concentrates on Chanel’s life before she was a successful designer. Before she revolutionized women’s fashion by doing away with the corset. Before she released her own perfume that was “All about scent and nothing about the bottle.” Before she popularized the “Chanel suit”, a knee length skirt and collarless jacket combo trimmed with black. Before she invented the little black dress. Before she used the soft, comfortable jersey fabric. Before she created a new idea of elegance. Which, in my opinion, is the only real elegance. And unless you know all these things I can see where the film might not be as engaging as it was to me.

For someone whom deeply admires Chanel for all the ways in which she shaped the modern woman it was fascinating to see a movie about Chanel the woman, not Chanel the designer.

Audrey Tautou, one of my absolute favorites, wasn’t an actress playing dress up for an audience. She was Chanel. She was a young woman disillusioned with the painful and opulent style of her day. She was a woman  with an independent, inspired, and determined spirit.  All the experiences that influenced her career, those special moments of realization and inspiration, are spread subtly throughout the film. They are allusions nestled softly in the flow of the story. She has a simple, ankle-length black dress made for a night of dancing - the little black dress! She steals away one of her lover’s shirts because the fabric is so comfortable and forgiving - jersey fabric!

And there’s the love story between her and Boy Chapel. They never married but he was the first figure in her life to believe in her. When she had the chance to marry a rich Etienne Balsan and live a comfortable life, forever provided for, Chapel convinces her that she is destined for far greater things. Don’t settle girls! There is a Boy Chapel somewhere out there, ready to love and support you along the way to blossoming into the amazing woman you are meant to be.

Perhaps, I’m a little biased, considering Chanel is one of my idols. The set is perfect. The cinematography is beautiful. The costumes are just as much part of the story as the acting. In short, it is a film I highly recommend for every woman. We can’t all be Coco but with a little bit of inspiration we can be elegant, confident, and successful Chanel versions of ourselves.

(Its only showing in select theaters but for the trailers and some great clips go here. And if you haven’t seen the N°5 short film starring Tautou you must go here. Its so magnificent.)

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