mag(rac): yellow is the new black

I've always considered Harper's Bazaar as being the 'smart' womens magazine, so imagine my total shock and dismay that it has a full feature on the Simpson, transforming designers and their clothing into the yellow realm. I kid! I actually got really giddy once I saw the spread, even wondering how they took Homer to Paris and he didn't mess anything up or wipe his greasy hands on all those expensive dresses. Back to reality. I appreciate the times when fashion doesn't take itself so seriously. You can find The Simpsons and their designer cartoon counterparts are in the August 2007 US edition, illustrated by Julius Preite.

"The Simpsons go to Paris with Linda Evangelista"

All four are wearing shirt dresses from The Gap:

Striped French cuff shirt dress 

Solid French cuff shirt dress

Striped ruffled shirt dress 

Next are Marge and Evangelista in Versace gowns with Donatella Versace in the background.

Chanel's Karl Lagerfeld with Marge and Evangelista wearing Chanel. Even Homer is stylish in Chanel.

Lanvin's Alber Elbaz with Lisa and Evangelista. And Homer is back to his old self.

Jean Paul Gaultier walking the streets with Evangelista and Marge.

Rolf Snoeren and Viktor Horsting (Viktor & Rolf) with Evangelista, Patty and Selma.

Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton. Bart, Lisa, Maggie, Evangelista, Marge and Homer.

from thestylemusings.com

runway photos provided by style.com

vital(scene): luxury

Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel
Evening chemise
Pink silk crepe chiffon
Circa 1925, France

The Museum at FIT currently has an exhibition from May 23 - November 10, 2007 about Luxury. You can even view the online exhibition for items like this vintage Chanel Dress.

"[the exhibition] covers 250 years of fashion history, and features more than 150 extraordinary garments, accessories, and textiles from the museum's permanent collection of 80,000 objects. The exhibition encompasses aristocratic luxury fashions from the 18th century; contributions from great couturiers such as Chanel, Dior, Worth, and Poiret; and contemporary accessories by Hermès and Lanvin.

Among the garments in the gallery are a brocaded silk dress, circa 1735, a reception dress from the 1880s by Worth, and a 1950 white silk evening gown with gold embroidery by Dior. Accessories include gold Chanel gloves from the estate of Tina Chow, circa 1932, as well as a contemporary Hermès handbag, Louis Vuitton shoes, and a Lanvin necklace.

The exhibition begins with a look at the politics of luxury in the 18th century. Against the traditional idea of luxury as excessive and morally corrupting, there developed a new belief that luxury could be a positive contribution to the wealth of nations. Private vices, such as extravagance and vanity, could be public virtues because they provided work for countless artisans.

Haute couture, the ultimate luxury industry, emerged during the era of high capitalism in the 19th century. Great couturiers, such as Worth and Poiret, became recognized as "artists of luxury." Companies, such as Hermès and Louis Vuitton, also became iconic purveyors of luxury products. The 'new luxury' of today remains a symbol of distinction, but it is no longer restricted to a tiny elite. Marketing luxury to the masses is a multibillion dollar business, and, increasingly, there are many different kinds of luxury. "

from thestylemusings.com

grazie gianni con amore

It is hard to believe that it has been 10 years since the Italian designer, Gianni Versace, was murdered in Miami on July 15, 1997. Obviously, I didn't know him but I remember being a teenager deep into my Vogue and W, and hunting down Versace perfume just to have a piece of the Versace dynasty.

Ten years ago, I was creating my first website and I wrote about my shock and sadness over the lost of one of my fashion idols. There isn't much more that I can add that hasn't already been said and memorialized. Grazie Gianni Con Amore.

from thestylemusings.com

love(notes): giuseppe zanotti

I present to you the Maryjane Wedge by Giuseppe Zanotti. It is an 100mm open toe maryjane with covered wedge and contrast piping detail.  Currently on sale at Barneys.

from thestylemusings.com

ciné(screen): karl lagerfeld is never happy anyway

Made in 2000 and a little less than an hour long, Karl Lagerfeld is Never Happy Anyway is a documentary directed by German filmmaker Gero von Boehm. The film is a behind-the-scenes view of Lagerfeld's life during fittings, sketching and his overall perspective of life and society - expressed during  interviews with Lagerfeld chopped in throughout.

It is by no means a mega insider's view or gossip riddled; plus, with most of the dialogue in German (there are subtitles) you do have to pay attention. I appreciated that during the fittings the focus was not so much of the critiquing of the models, but the work that is going on to create the show. At the fittings,  I loved how there are three or more different languages spoken on top of each other at any given time and then there is André Leon Talley weaving from English to French back to English and so on without missing a beat.

Karl Lagerfeld is a man of extremes and excess but certainly has an interesting drive,

    "Why do I have this drive?  
    Because the good moments scare me even more, than the bad ones do.  
  You can fight your way out of the bad ones.
    But fighting is not enough to hold on to the good ones...
     Reminds me of Marcuse – He said that happiness and a comfortable life are indecent."  
    -Karl Lagerfeld     

from thestylemusings.com

style(hunt): shiny legs

If you watched Live Earth then you were probably inspired. Measured your carbon footprint and started looking for more energy efficient gadgets? Me too, so that is why I don't feel ashamed sharing that I also found fashion inspiration. I know that leggings are still in style but I was halfway over them. However, when Madonna came on stage - I asked myself - "are those shiny black leggings??" Now, I love Madonna but it was hard to concetrate on her performance because I was trying to get a closer look at her outfit. She finally took off the skirt portion and suddenly I was not only inspired to unplug my cell phone charger when not in use but to also hunt down some new shiny black leggings.



On closer inspection of Madonna's outfit, I am pretty sure that she is wearing a body suit/leotard/whatever but that is why we call it "inspired by" and I actually envisioned something a tad longer. So imagine my excitement when I found these at American Apparel (see below) - "Shiny Nylon Tricot Legging" for $34 plus they come in thirteen other colors than black. I am probably not going to wear them sans skirt or dress or long shirt; actually I can promise you that I won't. [Oh, and as an added bonus check out the custom Christian Louboutin Mary Jane's!]

Shiny Nylon Tricot Legging

from thestylemusings.com

photos of Madonna provided by Getty Images

intrigue(motif): stina persson

Today, I stumbled upon my new favorite artist. Her name is Stina Persson and here is an excerpt of her bio from her site -

"Stina Persson has lived, studied and worked in Tokyo, New York, Florence and Lund, Sweden, where she was born. She says her illustration style is basically about "finding the right balance between the edgy and the elegant the raw and the beautiful." To achieve this, she uses ink, watercolor and gouache, as well as Mexican cut paper (used at ceremonies and festivals)."

I love the colors, the details and her style has a hippie chic look. Check out her huge portfolio; I especially like the watercolour section.

from thestylemusings.com

love(notes): celine

This is the new Celine Sweater Dress for the fall season, currently available at Net-A-Porter.

Tan camel hair fine knit sweater dress with ribbed waistband. Celine dress has a ribbed trim, button fastenings on front, tulip sleeves, falls to the knee and simply slips on.

I really love the label Celine. Their stores are so miniamlist but I always find something that I like. I first was drawn to the collar of the dress, but the sleeves also let me live out my Popeye fantasy.

from thestylemusings.com