Tag Archives: paper couture

An Investment Dress

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The Shimmy Dress from ICING is one of those wardrobe foundations that you can build a wardrobe around. It has all the hallmarks of an investment dress – a classic silhouette that is never out of style, multiple layer options to coordinate with other clothing, colors that work in every season, and quality construction that is deceptively simple. These are qualities that make a dress take on a different mood as its styled with different accessories.

This is the dress for the quick change artist in you. In this post I will show you how easy it is to take a good investment dress and make several looks from high fashion to funky bohemian to vintage classic, all with a few accessory changes. Don’t for a second think this was all, either. I had several other possibilities in mind, but thought five was more than enough to make the case for this investment dress.  There are many investment pieces out there. While not making it an official “challenge” I would love to see what ideas you have for investment purchases that build a versatile wardrobe.

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I Am Easily Amused

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Seriously, I got far too much of a kick at wearing L’Abel at La Perla – an la-diculous la-incidence that more mature people would not even notice. Oc course, I am one of those people who can get fixate on a word and play with it, pulling it apart, removing the wheels and inspecting the undercarriage. I keep a dictionary for bathroom reading. My college offered a Linguistics major and though it was not my major, I spent many hours in the Word Room where my incipient love of words deepened into a life time love affair. L’Abel is a perfect store name for me, a neologism that references the creator’s name (Neferia Abel) and makes light fun of the emphasis on labels and branding in fashion marketing. It’s sly, clever and witty. Speaking of sly, clever and witty, what about that hat?

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So Much Goodness

Shiki Japonesqe

Shinichi Mathy, of Shiki, released a sweetly feminine collection at Modavia Fashion Week. Using a gentle palette of blues and greens with dainty and delicate prints, there are threads from his native Japan woven into this collection. From the straight lines of his gowns to the delicate textures and fine fabrics, you can see him paying homage to his culture in this collection in ways as subtle and delicate as the clothing itself. This one is called Japonesque.

SHIKI Kyoto Dress

The fabric in the Kyoto dress show a much more direct inspiration. I love the soft, organic colors and the subtlety of this print.

Shiki Motomachi Girl

The Motomachi Girl dress is  beautiful gown that hugs the figure. I love the sheer batiste bodice and collar and the soft, natural green.

Ginza Party Girl

And then there is the Ginza Party Girl dress, an explosion of blue fireworks and femininity that like much of this collection draws your eyes to the neck and shoulders.
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Gasqhe: the Joy of Discovery

Gasqhe Wen

One of the joys of events like Modavia Fashion Directory is the discovery of new designers and new stores and sometimes, as in the case of Karija Azalee, whose collection for Gasqhe blew me away. I was struck by the originality and the unique vision of her collection so planned to check out her store and saw no info in her picks. I im’ed to suggest she put her LM in her picks and she confess she didn’t have a store yet, but would in the near future. In the interim, she has a boutique booth at Moravia. The booths will stay open for two months, so there’s plenty of time for you to get there.

Gasqhe Jils

I think I compared her textures as Cezanne on Acid. They have the muted, soft look of watercolors. This dress, Jils, makes me think of a bed if irises. Irises were my mom’s favorite flower and they always find a soft spot in my heart.

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Modavia Fashion Week 2011.18

CIA

The final day of Modavia Fashion Week opened with the Dutch design house CIA from Ayla Strading in a joint presentation with Joy Laperriere of SHI. I am new to CIA and am thrilled with the introduction. I love the bright, saturated colors and definitely plan to pick up at least that black top with the floral embroidery.
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Modavia Fashion Week 2011.07

Anubis Mouche @ Modavia Fashion Week

Anubis Style has a bright, bold floral print that is full of exciting fashion details from the S-curve zipper to the yellow dashes down the legs, from the fingerless cerise gloves to the striped contrasting shoulder pads, this is an outfit to dazzle. One thing to note, the skirt of this dress is not a pencil skirt and is supposed to rest off the body. That means that switching to a skirt shape could actually exaggerate the silhouette and a regular shape will look more natural.

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Let's Burn Down the Cornfield

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Randy Newman’s “Let’s Burn Down the Cornfield” is one of my favorite songs thanks to its stunning emotional power. Truly great songs are covered a lot – and often produce great covers.  When I hear the original with Randy Newman and Ry Cooder, it’s all about lust and obsession. Alex Taylor’s version is menacing, dangerous and powerful. When I hear Etta James perform, it seems anthemic, a metaphor for revolution. Lou Rawls is pure rebellious jazz eroticism. Charles Musselwhite makes a scary spine-chilling blues number with guitar licks that seem to hunt you down. Then there’s The Walkabouts who didn’t understand the song at all and turned it into pop treacle.

Let’s burn down the cornfield
Let’s burn down the cornfield
And we can listen to it burn

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The vibrant fires in the dress come from the inimitable Marni Grut of Royal Blue.

You hide behind the oak tree
You hide behind the oak tree
Stay out of danger ’til I return

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I love how well the necklace from Paper Couture plays off the colors in the dress. The earrings from Mandala coordinate in both color and mood for a really hot look.

Oh, it’s so good
On a cold night
To have a fire
Burnin’ warm and bright

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The shoes are also from Paper Couture and make the fires in the dress pop.

You hide behind the oak tree
You hide behind the oak tree
Stay out of danger ’till I return

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The hair is from Lelutka, a new release called Brigitte. It can set fires on its own. Add the heat of Verve's Ina in sunblush and you have an inferno.

Let’s burn down the cornfield
Let’s burn down the cornfield
And I’ll make love to you while it’s burning

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This cornfield is at Hollow Hill and you note I keep a bit of distance so my hot, hot dress doesn't make it spontaneously combust.

****STYLE NOTES******

  • Poses: Del May
  • Skin: Verve Ina Sunblush – Platinum Hunt
  • Eyes: Poetic Colors
  • Lashes: Lelutka
  • Hair: Lelutka Brigitte
  • Dress: Royal Blue Cirque du Soleil Warm – Platinum Hunt
  • Shoes: Paper Couture Suede Platform Pumps Wrapped
  • Jewelry: Mandala Senjyu Earrings, Paper Couture Dragon Fly Fabric Necklace
  • Location: Hollow Hill

Bippity Boppity Bloom

Please Let Me In!

Salagadoola two chicks'll boola Gidgery-Cajsary-boo === Put 'em together and what have you got Gidgery-Cajsary-boo

Our story opens at Hollow Hill’s Arkham Theatre where Gidgery Bloom is trying to buy a ticket for They Call Me Cthulhu. Gidgery pleads, “Please let me in, I swear I am over 17.”

Cajsary scoffs, “Over 17 inches, maybe.”

Bloom Dolls on the Hunt

Salagadoola mechicka boola Gidgery-Cajsary-booWe'll do magic === believe it or not Gidgery-Cajsary-boo

Gidgery was undaunted. “Well, if you won’t let me in, let’s go do the Platinum Hunt.” “Hmm, Blooms on the Hunt. Sounds fun,” muses Cajsary. “The film for the  movie has melted anyway.”

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Maxine, Maxine, Maxine

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I fell for the Maxine dress from District even before I knew its name. I love the fabric that seems inspired by kente cloth patterns in a subtle cream and beige print. When I saw its name, it was case closed. My former roommate had a cat named Maxine who really liked me a lot and constantly competed with my cats for lap space. She was a black and white ragdoll, adorably cute in that long-haired lap cat kind of way. She was also quite possibly one of the most neurotic cats on the planet.
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The Bluebell

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The delicate touch of blue in the skirt of the Suzana dress made me think of Emily Bronte’s The Bluebell and the amazing poetry installation at Empyreal Dreams. While most of the poems they capture so beautifully are portrayed predominantly in black and white, The Bluebell is a riot of color. 

The Bluebell is the sweetest flower
That waves in summer air :
Its blossoms have the mightiest power
To soothe my spirit’s care.

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