I got an IM from Polaire Aeghin the other day asking me to take a look at her collection for Prelude. Little did she know that I had recently visited the store and picked up a few items to blog, but the clothes she dropped on me were so fun and so versatile, they completely jumped the line.
My father played banjo and sang in a country/bluegrass band and I have lost count of all my cousins and other relatives who are in the music industry – so I come by a head packed with musical references quite honestly even if I inherited my singing voice from the “sings like a sick cat” side of the family. Everytime I see a newsboy cap like this one from Haute Style Company, that old Jimmy Brown the Newsboy song pops into my head… and it just won’t go away. No matter that the real Jimmy Brown sang “I got no hat upon my head, no shoes upon my feet.”
I admit I have favorite designers – and Sissy Pessoa of Baiastice is one of them. She brings such whimsy and joy to her work that her clothes often make me smile. She’s generous with her group, providing monthly gifts that can bowl you over. She creates new silhouettes and has new ideas – and most of them work well. Then she turns around and makes some delightful bit of fun like this Kali jacket that all you can really say is that she is unpredictable.
So while wandering the shops at Ivy Falls I came upon a shop with a mixed bag of clothes from different stores. Above the door, almost invisible to the casual shopper I saw this ballgown that seemed sort of anachronistic. The sleeves and skirt and all seemed like a historical gown, but the shirt fabric with the elephants was clearly modern. It occurred to me that bringing it into the future with a mini skirt would be kind of fun and be a great example of how mixing and matching can make 1 plus 1 equal 3.
I picked up the marvelous Exile Shir hair – a fundraiser for Heart of Love – and love it’s classic looks and its flexibility. That clip holding the french twist in place is color change, but it’s also modifiable, so I could color it to be as matchy-matchy as I wanted. Now how fun is that? And if you get this marvelous hairstyle you will also be helping the Heart of Love campaign. It’s the epitome of win-win. Then you can wear it with the over the moon wonderful watercolor sweater and skirt from Uncle Wiggily.
I am wearing a gravity-defying gown designed by Callie Cline. I love the luxurious fabric and the rich cinnamon color, but I will be the first to admit that it’s a miracle it stays up. Particularly while I am wearing the Chai Double Shot skin, you get one guess as to whether I am wearing the Cleavage or not.
Okay, sometimes when I am trying to shove the sweater drawer closed and cursing under my breath as I lean again the dresser, I guess I think there is such a thing as one sweater too many, but other than that – no, it’s impossible to have too may. Sweaters are transformative. This sweater, from Sysy Chapman, changed my jeans and t-shirt from a simple jeans and tee combo into an Outfit. Now instead of looking like I grabbed the first things that showed in my inventory, it looks like I planned and thought about what I wore. That’s what sweaters do, they keep you warm and make you look planned and put together.
Regular readers know I there are a few designers that simply flip my switches. What they do just appeals to me on a different level than most fashion. Most designs that I like, I can admire and evaluate relatively objectively. If it’s reasonably priced, I will buy it. If not, I won’t. Then there are those whose designs disconnect my brain from my wallet and blow my budget. They do something unique and new. Their clothing doesn’t remind me of anyone else. It’s wholly their own. LadyThera Taurog of Lady Thera’s Art & Fashion is one such designer and if ever there were a case of brain disconnection, it is this dress.
Brown is the color of some of the best things in the world, like coffee and cocoa and chocolate. The earth that sustains us all is brown, so why doesn’t brown get the sort of respect that black does? Why when we think high impact fashion, do we think of black, white and red? Seriously, it’s the Rodney Dangerfield of colors. And that’s so unfair because it works so hard at making us look good. Whether the light tan of this sweater dress from Axel or the rich brown of the argyle socks from BettiePage Voyager, brown is working its heart out in this outfit.
Boom has yet another enticing and lovely outfit – a dress this time – called Celebration. However, please don’t store this in your Christmas Clothing and Jewelry box to molder away until next year. It’s a lovely dress that can be worn year round. Here you see it with the delicate lace jacket from Zenith – a tintable froth of a jacket.