Chanel Resort Collection 2013

About a week ago, I did a posting about a book I was reading, The Essence of Style by Joan DeJean.

http://styleintoaction.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/book-review-essence-of-style.html

It provided a beautiful history of the reign of King Louis XIV, which began circa 1660 when France had no particular association with elegance. By the end of his reign, the French had become the arbiters of taste and style, together with a dominance in the luxury trade that continues today. The book speaks of clothing, hairstyles, fine food, nightlife and how Louis XIV made Versailles the exquisite location it is today.

Well it seems I am in good company - the Chanel 2013 Resort collection was held in the gardens of Versailles, specifically around three of the furiously sprouting fountains for which Versailles is famous. 

Guests then trained through the grounds to the cocktail at the Bosquet des Rocailles, where Louis staged theatrical productions. 

This is

Cara Delevingne (ELITE)

Kinda reminds me of an Oompaloompa....

 

 

The Chanel collection was a gleeful mash-up of hip-hop edge and the feeling of the court at Versailles. Who would have thought you could mix these two? If anyone can, its Kaiser Karl.

Lagerfeld has proved himself a master of the high-low mix. Formal eighteenth-century details, like panniers and fichus, were re-created in casual twenty-first-century fabrics—chambray, tech denims, even plastics—dressed up with frothy lace ruffles and cuffs, and dressed down with gold platform trainers and short shorts, culottes and skirts. Lagerfeld glazed one tweed in gold, sequined another in pale blue, embroidered a tiny sundress with gold bullion, and applied the most delicate floral beading to snowy white handkerchief linen. 

The lightness, the girlishness, of the clothes had a balletic quality, reflective perhaps of Louis' own love of dance. Lagerfeld said he wanted something floating and frivolous. "Frivolity is a healthy attitude," he said after the show. 

Inès de la Fressange jokingly said he had too many ideas. 
 
Do you agree with her? Is this all too confusing?

The show consisted of 72 looks. In this post I have extracted the main trends for you. Every photo shows at least two of the trends...watch closely.....


The next step is to start shopping your closet - see if you already have some of these trends in your wardrobe....

Trend #1

Chambray

Trend #2 
Culottes

 

Trend #3

Flatforms

Only one mullet dress (phew), but loads of flatform sneakers. 

I did a recent post about flatforms - 

http://styleintoaction.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/shoes-get-ready-for-creepers-and.html 

Trend # 4

Water colour prints

Trend #5

Full skirted dresses
 

Rose Smith

Trend # 6

Knickerbockers

Trend # 7

Little boy pants

Trend # 8

Banded shoe

Trend # 9

That whole baroque thing (in case you hadnt noticed - LOL!)

Trend # 10

Petticoat junction!

Trend # 11

Teeny tiny, weeny mini dresses

Trend # 12

Straw boater

Trend # 13

The clear plastic purse

Trend # 14

THE Chanel bag of the season

Colour trends:

Chambray, pink and blue pastels, gold, white, black

Back to Ines....

Inès de la Fressange jokingly said he had too many ideas in this collection. 
 
Do you agree with her? Is this all too confusing?

Book review: The Essence of Style

If you love fashion and history, then this book is for you.

The Essence of Style by Joan DeJean takes us through how the French invented high fashion, fine food, chic cafes together with style and sophistication. 

Wait there's more....it also covers the history of diamonds (the Hope Diamond), champagne, nightlife, antiques, cosmetics & Versailles. TDF information.

When the reign of Louis XIV began (circa 1660), France had no particular association with elegance, but by the end of his reign, the French had become the arbiters of taste and style, together with a dominance in the luxury trade that continues today.

Did you know that in the beginning, all clothing was haute couture? It was all made to your measurements by tailors and fitters that came to your home. Your hair was done at home too. Wow! I wish I lived amongst the upper classes in the 1660s.

Whilst the nobles had their fashions and accessories made to measure, the vast majority of the population has simple clothes made from coarse homespun fabrics. But as soon as Paris became the centre of style and fashion began to spread through out France, even the lower classes could start to own accessories, stockings and cheaper fabrics, but lovelier than what they had previously from which they could sew at home. 

 

Louis XIV then brought trendy boutiques, hairdressing stores and cafes into existence which were exquisitely decorated and had stylishly dressed sales women to attend to you. Until that time, there were no communal shopping precincts or shops as we know them today. He also invented the concept of the fashion seasons and the Paris press commenced writing and advertising for them. It was the first time fashion had taken a place in daily newspapers.

Until about 1650, the imbalance between mens and womens clothes was not terribly significant. Since Louis XIV, womens clothes outsell mens clothing by over four to one.

All I can say, is we owe a lot to Louis XIV.

Book Review: Feng Shoe

Feng Shoe by Lao Shu, 2004
ISBN: 978-1-59359-952-2

Here are some snippets - I think they speak for themselves.












Enjoy!

Style books edited by fashion magazines

I bought a lovely little book a few days ago about style. Its handbag sized but its packed with fashion information and cool photos.

Its edited by US Harper's Bazaar which is one of my favourite magazines.


Here is a photo of an inside page with the heading of "Polished Pieces" what to look for that adds the most polish to your look.



It got me thinking about all the other books on my bookshelf about style, but specifically those which have been edited by magazines.

This post is about that book and also about other similar style books which have been written in association with magazines.

I wont kid you here - all these books cover similar style topics.

Well, maybe similar but not the same.

So I have to buy every single one of them for my library, as they get published.

The other excuse I use is that every few years, as trends move along, I need to buy the new version of the book, to stay up to date. So for example, all the books may identify a white shirt or a black skirt as key wardrobe pieces, but the book in 2000 will have a different "look" of a white shirt and a black skirt compared to the book of 2012.

The typical topics covered by these books are as follows:

1. Finding your style preference

Are you glamour? romantic? classic? bohemian? sporty? euro-chic? grunge?

They often show photos of celebrities to give you a flavour of their different styles, making it easier for you to identify with others who exhibit your style.

2. Identifying your body shape

Are you an apple? triangle? inverted triangle? column? petite? curvy? thin?

They then outline the best ways to hide flatter your shape - ie: hide your bad bits and enhance your good bits.

3. Identifying your best colours

While everyone is different, there are some common groups of colourings of eyes/hair/skin that help to identify your best colour palette.

4. The wardrobe basics

The importance of basics in an effective wardrobe.
How to wear basics in different ways to bring more versatility in your wardrobe.
They often also show what may be more appropriate for varying age groups

5. The embellishments

Ways to add sass and flair to your wardrobe - how to stand out in a good way including how to do the high-low thing with your wardrobe.

6. Accessories

The basics required for various typical occasions & different ways to wear them in order to get maximum value from them.

7. Evening dressing

They explain the different types of dress codes and what is suitable, eg: black tie, white tie, lounge suit, cocktail, dressy casual, creative black tie etc.

Some also list the types of events and explain what is appropriate, eg: wedding, christening, meeting the in laws, lunch, work xmas party etc

8. Warm weather holiday dressing

You my think this is simple, but these books help to hone in on the different styles depending on whether you're at a resort, at the beach, sightseeing in a big city, on safari or exploring interesting locations.

9. Travel wardrobe

Some of the books explore this from a suity work perspective, others from a non suity work point of view. Others explore a non work travel wardrobe for exploring cities or back streets or the country.

They help you to understand how to pack a minimal number of pieces and get the maximum number of outfits. You may have heard this called capsule dressing, where you pack a capsule of say 10 things & everything goes with everything else.

10. Maternity basics

The aim here is to mix and match to get maximum wear as well as ideas on how to be able to use your existing wardrobe in new inventive ways.

11. Casual clothing

Personally I like this topic as it affects all of us - it shows you how to use clothing and accessories to create easy stylish looks for every day - the emphasis her is on easy. Think of the mommie run, shopping, coffee with the girls etc.

12. Grooming & make up

This area is broken down to hair, skin care, cosmetics, nail care, weight, diet and even the best shape/colour of glasses to suit your face/colouring.

13. How to shop effectively

This is my absolute favourite topic by far. How to develop an editor's eye and be able to scan a store with military precision for what you want, what homework to do before the sale starts, how to get into sales before everyone else does, how to plan for a sale, how to dress on the day, how not to be intimidated by shop assistants and understanding your rights when a purchase goes bad.


Here are some of the covers and an inside snapshot for each one:









not sure why this one has rotated during the upload....gremlins....





2 inside photos for this one.....




NB: Lucky is a US magazine "all about shopping". Its basically what the Aussie mag, Shop Til You Drop was modelled on. I used to buy it at Borders. Once they closed, I havent found anyone else in Sydney who stocks it....bummer...











I hope you have now got a flavour of what these books are about and maybe I have even interested you enough to buy one.

I'll be reviewing more style books in due course.

In the mean time, if you want any feedback on style books, just ask via the Styel into Action Facebook page or via the blog comments.

Ciao!

Book reviews: Fashion memoirs and lessons from retail therapy

I recently connected with a reader about Tim Gunn's book, Gunn's Golden Rules: Life's Little Lessons for Making It Work. I had managed to score it for $5, she has seen it for $30 and of course we talked about being able to transfer the bargain situation to her as well.


The outlet which had the $5 book (many copies in fact) have since transferred them back to the warehouse, so they are in the process of bringing one in for me. At a price of $5. Woot, woot.


This led us to talking about fashion books and she indicated she was interested in titles about leading a stylish life and how fashion etc was a part of that. There are a gazillion books out there on wardrobing, style and how to kit yourself out beautifully so that you can achieve more in your life. In fact, that is the central theme of the name "Style into Action"...namely that by cultivating your sense of style you can develop your confidence and take more effective action to improve your life.


As one woman once said to me: "I can accomplish anything in an Armani suit." Amen.


In due course, I will highlight all these in blog book reviews.

In this post however, I want to highlight books that are a bit more cerebral than the gazillion style books on the market. Cerebral (I love that word!) because they talk about how clothes impact our lives, how what we wear (& dont wear) says so much about who we are and the feelings and memories that our clothes evoke.


My fave cerebral fashion books are:


Alligators, Old Mink & New Money


A celebration of everything vintage that captures one woman's memories and imagination.

Written by a Parisian/Manhattan model who loved fashion and after her catwalk days, opened a vintage store in Brooklyn, that store is still there and thriving.




A Life in Frocks

I bought this to read on the plane going to New York, then my sister in law gave it to me for Christmas a few weeks after my return. Didnt have the heart to tell her its was duplicated - doesnt she know me by now, to know I have every fashion book ever written?

Written by a woman who is passionate about clothes - her first and most enduring love affair. She adores the ritual of getting dressed each day, buys far too many glossy magazines, spends half her life shopping and still wonders why she has nothing to wear.

Over the years clothes have comforted her, given her confidence, made her invisible, secured jobs, lured lovers, aged her and given her back her youth.

A beautifully illustrated mix of memoir, philosophy and fantasy.




Money, A Memoir


This one knocked my socks off.



The author shines a spotlight on the ambivalence women have about things financial - they love nice things but feel guilty when they have them and resentful if they dont.



It covers women's mixing up of money for love and the fact that such a mix up is an awful lot to ask of a paycheck and yet many women never challenge the belief that it can happen. It talks about how a sense of value and security doesnt depend on cash nor who a woman is married to, nor what she did for a living.



Thoroughly recommend this one.





The Thoughtful Dresser



One of my ultimate favourites.

For centuries, an interest in clothes has been dismissed as the trivial pursuit of vain empty-headed women. Yet, clothes matter, whether you are interested in fashion or not because what we choose to dress ourselves in defines our identity.

For the immigrant arriving in a new country to the teenager who needs to be part of the fashion pack or the woman turning forty who must reassess her wardrobe, the truth is that how we look and what we wear, tells a story. And what a story. For example, it tells us how a woman’s hat saved her life in Nazi Germany, looks at the role of department stores in giving women a public place outside the home, savours the sheer joy of finding the right dress.

Here is the thinking woman’s guide to our relationship with what we wear: why we want to look our best and why it matters. This book celebrates the pleasure of adornment.



Retail Therapy - Life Lessons Learned While Shopping



A cartoon cover, but dont be fooled.

Shopping and style advice, yes, but so much more.


Intertwined with the ethos of how you shop is actually how you live.


About learning to say NO, about saying YES loud and clear to the things you wish for (even if they are expensive). Why? Because good things have a way of finding us if we are just clear about what we want.

This book is for you if you love shopping, but occasionally have asked yourself Is there more to life than shopping?

My Mother's Wedding Dress

A book about what we wear but also what lies beneath.

Told as a sequence of stories about the author's various outfits and starting with her mother's black wedding dress.

Totally engaging.

Mommy Dressing



Tells of the author's childhood, her mother being a fashion model who knew everything about clothes and nothing about being a parent. Shows how despite the fact that her world was full of glamour and riches, she was very truly deprived.




The Classic Ten



Takes ten classic items, such as the white shirt, trenchcoat, little black dress and uses examples from literature, magazines and film as well as personal stories to trace their evolution to icon status.



Heart & Sole



One woman's memoir of her life though her shoes told as a mix of shoe advice (toe cleavage is sexy), memories (her first pair of heels, move over Suri) and warm hearted observations (shopping with girlfriends and the power of red shoes).

Need I say more?




Its in the Bag



Looks at many many bags, both iconic and IT bags and discusses what they say (& dont say) about the carrier.



"When a woman fondles her beautiful Bottega, what she experiences has little or nothing to do with transporting her keys and wallet. "Its all about the feeling," he says, "about something that's a joy and a delight. The things we like give us pleasure."

Amen




The Necklace




Surprisingly wonderful


13 women purchase and time share a $40K diamond necklace.


The book tells of how they become friends as a result of the purchase and sharing arrangement as well as how their relationships evolve.

Each chapter focuses on one of the women and how the bling affects aspects of her life - whether its a marriage, their passion for life, their inspiration to become more healthy and raise awareness of women's issues.



The purchase also affects their communities as they use the necklace for fund raising develop a media profile in the process.


It truly is an inspiring book.





Style



Kate Spade talking about people and experiences that have inspired her style.
She emphasises its about knowing who you are and having self confidence. Sound familiar?



PS: She also has an equivalent book called Occasions (red cover) and one called Manners (blue cover).









A Guide to Elegance



A French woman writes a how to, about fashion as well as life topics such as men, alcohol, funerals and matters financial. Viewed as a classic style bible for a timeless, chic and graceful life.



Ok - I snuck this onto this list even though its a style book. Couldnt resist.




Screw Inner Beauty - trash the diet and self loathing and get on with your life




OK - I have snuck this in too, even though it doesnt fit the mould of the cerebral fashion books of this post. But I couldnt help it - how can you not read a book with a title like this one??



The authors show you how to live your life with joy, pride and plenty of healthy self respect, no matter what dress size you wear. They teach you how to eat what your body asks for, to exercise because it feels good and to ignore all the haters as well as forget the number on the scale.



Very clever and insightful ideas.






I do have a few more titles that would qualify as cerebral fashion however I could not locate them ATM. Stay tuned.

In the mean time, please let me know if you have read or read any of these and what you think.

If you know of any others that I can add to this list, please also let me know.