fashion – Page 19 – Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION.

ART in FASHION

The Fashion Illustrator

Last Wednesday I posted about wearing ART as Fashion. This time I want to discuss ART IN FASHION.

I love looking at fashion illustrations almost as much as the real thing because of the beauty and artistic value. Unlike fashion photographers, illustrators normally don’t have to work with models to create fashion illustrations. Their models could be in their minds or referred to some photos. The artists have more freedom to connect emotions, artistic style to the essence of their work.

For instance, The above image was used on the front cover of Cally Blackman’s best-selling book, 100 Years of Fashion Illustration. The crystals shimmer in the night light and as if accident would have it, Downton lands one single circle of red paint precisely where the model’s nipple is hidden.

Before fashion photography, illustrators were integral to the industry and their work featured throughout the best magazines. Today, fashion illustrations appeal to collectors as art in their own right.

Fashion illustrators can work in a variety of environments, including fashion houses, design studios, and as freelancers, and the work can be quite diverse and interesting, especially in the case of people who are very talented.

Gloria Radio – Graphic & Fashion Designer, Barcelona, Spain. — **Gloria Radio** – Graphic & Fashion Designer, Barcelona, Spain.

Work in this field usually requires a degree from an art or fashion school, along with extensive experience in the industry. One of the most classic jobs for a fashion illustrator is in the sketching of concepts which have not yet been realized. When fashion designers start to develop a new line, they rely on fashion illustrators to bring their ideas to life so that they can have images to use in design and to sell the line before prototypes have been made. A fashion illustrator may work on everything from shoes to hats, developing and fleshing out concepts for designers.

Long live the fashion illustrator! I hope you enjoy the samplings chosen for this post.

FUN

style: the ART of dressing

DOES THE ART WEAR YOU or DO YOU WEAR THE ART?

Crossing the line between fashion and art becomes more blurred when we look to the current examples of how fashion is presented, evident on the Spring/Summer 2014 runways.

There are moments when designers become artists, artists become designers, or both entities becomes something different entirely.

The key differences: fashion is, by its nature, a fleeting thing. You’re in fashion one moment, and out of fashion the next. A good work of art should stand the test of time, not the test of taste. Art and fashion do sometimes fuse, with mixed degrees of success.

The genre of fine arts and fashion design bare the affect of trend and social temperature, but their changing relationship to one another is also reflective of society as a whole. Perhaps some collaborations are more successful than others, but what is primarily important is the dabbling, the mixing, and fantastic results that come from the imaginative play of the creations. Furthermore, designers are always pressured to come up with something fresh for all the different seasons. I think there might be five seasons now, if you consider RESORT as one.

You can decide from the images shown on this page what and how you would integrate this look into your wardrobe. Let’s have some FUN!

Are you an Artful Dresser?

I love this Chanel purse that has the address of the design house — I love this Chanel purse that has the address of the Paris design house.

the ARTful nail - as seen in Allure Magazine. Who has the time? — the **ARTful nail** – as seen in **Allure** Magazine. Who has the time?

FUN

Style: from Runway to Street – RUFFLES

ruffled skirt – BALMAIN

You’ve got to be a girly girl to love ruffles.

Blouse - Dov Micah To order: http://www.dovmicah.com/ — Blouse – **Dov Micah**
To order: http://www.dovmicah.com/

My wardrobe holds many items that have ruffles from mini skirts (yes, still) to ankle boots. Good thing too because the Spring/Summer runways showed plenty of them. They’re pretty easy to incorporate into the street/party/office/office party.

Balmain show – taken from images

From stylish it blogger Leandra Medine (The Man Repeller), to Balmain’s designer Olivier Rousteing’s, Spring- Summer 2014 collection, girly flirty skirts are enjoying another season.

taking it to the street

Ruffles (they’ve never completely gone out of fashion) are fluttery, eye-fooling flounces of fabric that can focus attention away from trouble spots. It’s best to keep ruffles away from areas of your body that are already full.

Pairing ruffles with simple, structured pieces also prevents the style from overwhelming your entire figure.

Blouses: Ruffled blouses are an easy way to look glamorous and put-together. Try a simple pair of trousers or a pencil skirt with a top with flowy fabric gathered at the neck. Make a more subtle statement with a top that has ruffles only at the cuffs or around the hem. If you prefer clean, classic looks, update your go-to white button-down shirt by replacing it with a blouse that has small, tight ruffles only on the collar or along the front. Ruffled tops also look great with

Bottega Veneta Spring 2014

jeans or dress pants.

Bottega Veneta Spring 2014 — **Bottega Veneta** Spring 2014

Bottega Veneta: For the spring 2014, it’s all about ruffles, bows and pleats, which creative designer Tomas Maier manages to turn from “girlie” into feminine chic.

Paula Patton – a bit over the (shoulder) top.

Celebrity Style:

What do you think about RUFFLES & bouncy, flouncy skirts?

FUN

personally…this is MY kind of Supermarket CHIC

Photo: Garance Doré

What would I wear to go shopping in a place like this?

Paris Fashion Week – CHANEL goes grocery shopping with boxes of “Tweed Tea“, “Water” (Eau de Chanel N°0) and even “COCOChoco” Cereal amongst the creative & humorous packaging.at its very own shopping centre.

Trés Chic!

Photo: Fashion Blogger Garance Doré. Apparently they even had Chanel Ketchup bottles.

Karl Lagerfeld is a genius. He comes up with the most exceptional fashion show extravaganzas every single time.

from images — Lagerfeld and model – taken from dailymail.co.uk

from images

The Fall/Winter 2014-2015 women’s ready-to-wear collection show for the French fashion house was held at the Grand Palais and transformed into a “Chanel Shopping Center” during Paris Fashion Week on March 4, 2014. Pure luxury in the form of shopping for groceries.

A Catwalk down the grocery aisles:

photo: Garance Doré.

A girl can dream…

FUN

On the Runway – Renaissance

RENAISSANCE: 15th Century Is Making A Come Back.

That’s refreshing because I completely missed the era and it’s so unlike fashion from the 60’s, 70’s & 80’s.

Like Renaissance art, look feminine and romantic with opulent embellishments and elaborate prints (think upholstery patterns & textures).

I love the lavishness of it, especially after wearing neutrals all Fall/Winter. It’s great as long as only a little bit is incorporated into your wardrobe at a time. Of course the runway is always more detailed but you can include a piece like a decorative jacket (I’ll get out my David Meister brocade) or even an ornate neck piece to jazz up an outfit. My full length opera coat would be perfect but I’m still not sure about wearing it in a city where people wear jeans to an actual opera. Hey, maybe it would look great with jeans!

Valentino

Valentino has released its complete spring-summer 2014 campaign. Valentino’s line is romantic with dreamy lace looks inspired by costumes found in the Renaissance.

Other designs featuring renaissance looks are found at Dolce & Gabbana (no surprise here) and Alexander McQueen.

Palette: eggnog, pale gold, peach, pastel blue, plum, brick reds
Materials: Velvet, lace, pearls, golden details, embroidery.

What do you think? Love it or Leave it?

FUN

style – on & off the runway: the belted coat

I’ve always loved the idea of tying my coat with something other than the belt it originally came with.

You can get creative here too. For instance, in the past I’ve used long scarves & a long thin leather studded boot-belt accessory to tie light coats and shirts and even a removable long patent purse handle (which sounds kind of strange). Here are a few other examples which are ideal:

Best Looks: From left to right, Reed Krakoff, Altuzarra, Max Mara, Edun, Paul Smith. Photo – Garance Dore. She says: “This idea of tying them with a tiny belt or string or ribbon (or whatever you can find?! ) is a fun way to play with proportions and keep your coat closed!” I agree.

What do you think? Have you tried this trend?

Follow our style board on Pinterest at: http://www.pinterest.com/intrigueimports/style-inspiration/

FUN

Style – what lies ahead for Spring

Bags – Shoes – Clothing. What’s to like – what’s not to like?

New York Fashion week just ended so now we can look ahead to see what we have in store(s):

Longer skirts (the Midi is back) and midriff tops (definitely means back to the gym). Choose your trends carefully.

Fringe, Color, Snakeskin — **Fringe, Color & Snakeskin abound**

A real mix bag….of shoes from kitten to clunky.

Some basics worth hanging on to – Cardigans, Checks & Florals are always IN style. (Harper’s Bazaar)

I love a jumpsuit

More fringe?

FUN

style & substance – in Neutral

Mastering MINIMALism:

The LESS-IS-MORE look requires more work than you realize.

See things in black & white. FilmMagic (left & center), Getty Images (right).

In theory, the minimalist trend seems fairly easy to pull off. It’s all about simplicity, so there’s no complicated pattern mixing involved, or piles of jewelry to layer just so. The “is this too much?” stress of glitter, sparkle and embellishment isn’t a factor either, and loud colors are usually kept to a palette of one or two—if that. Most pared-down outfits are centered around neutrals. Yet, for such a perfect-sounding sartorial scenario, less-is-more dressing requires some serious finesse. Unlike the bigger-is-better ensembles, there’s no room for error: with only a few pieces to work with, the styling job needs to land somewhere between jeans-and-T-shirt basic and beautifully breathtaking. The basics:

Black and White is the easiest and fastest way to nail down this look.

Making color the Main Event:

If you’re going to add color in a minimalist look, you’ve got to really add color. Display your hue (or hues, but you really shouldn’t do much more than two—it complicates things) of choice in a big splashy way, and keep the rest of your outfit quiet.

Stick with Statement Accessories:

Never, ever coordinate matching earrings, bracelets and a necklace—it’s better to go with one bold piece. Pick something striking (like a high-shine metallic or chunky crystal accent piece) to balance your otherwise unadorned look.

Consider Shape and Texture:

Details like pleating, an asymmetrical hemline and multiple layers of the same colored fabric make the best understated statement.

one of my favourites - neutral on neutral — **keeping neutral** – a favourite

Are you more Minimal or Maximal?

Follow our style board on PINterest: at: http://www.pinterest.com/intrigueimports/style-inspiration/

FUN

pure style – Garbe Luxe

IT’S A GARBE LUXE LIFE!

Can’t say enough about this casually chic, comfortable, eclectic clothing line. You won’t need to give up comfort for pure style – you can have both. Some pieces you’ll just want to use for working out (or at least look like you are) but for the most part, the separates are worn in a tasteful relaxed manner – Made in California style with an edge. Like the girl who designs it, my friend Natalia. She’s a natural so of course I was excited when she first told me about this line…but aside from the fact that she’s a friend I wear Garbe Luxe a lot…because it’s so well made and I love it. Thanks Nat for creating these cool cutting- edge designs.

All photos from the Spring/Summer 2014 Lookbook.

The Pants: For instance, I find myself more often than not reaching for the (not so) basic and seam leggings to wear in place of jeans and the Luca (leather-like) legging for informal evening wear. The moto legging I wear for both running and as a basic legging for a sporty cool vibe. The VIV Foldover I’ve even worn out dancing – feels great for movement and resembles a dress pant. They all wear very well and keep their shape after washing which is a BIG plus.

The Tops: I don’t have ALL of them just yet but I do get plenty of wear from the striped Piper shirt + Biko super cozy pocketed sweatshirt right now and the low-back tank and classic undershirt tank (which is great for layering by the way) when the weather is warmer. The material is made from super soft high quality organic cotton. The long and the short of it: both style bra tops are worn regularly for gym or running. They keep me secure, are breathable, comfy and flattering – something not always found with these types of tops. They are not like the others even if they resemble some that are

out there – trust me on this.

Last year the lifestyle line was picked up by Neiman Marcus in 18 stores. They currently have orders from over 30 retailers and are featured in ShopBop.com – the world’s leading online fashion boutique.

Garbe Luxe was featured recently in Elle Magazine (wait-listed hottest item the GARBE LUXE Moto legging) and was featured in Garance Dore’s blog (one of the most popular fashion bloggers) on the list as her favorite things packed for her Bali vacation! Hey, they were also packed for The Girl Who Would be King’s mini vacation to Palm Springs over the holidays.

Check out the trouser sweatpants at ShopBop.com:

http://www.shopbop.com/trouser-sweats-garbe-luxe/vp/v=1/1560662787.htm?fm=search

For a complete look at current styles including bra tops please visit Website: http://garbeluxe.com/

From the website: GARBE LUXE is a lifestyle collection designed for the fashionable woman that desires to look stylish in both her casual and active wardrobe. The result is a thoughtful clothing line, which integrates functional design, technical fabrics, and impeccable construction with a stylish edge.

GARBE LUXE is proudly and responsibly designed and manufactured in Los Angeles, California.

Like them on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Garbe-Luxe/721596941207115?ref=profile

FUN

Arts/Music/Fashion – Alluring GRAMMY Attire

The 56th Annual Grammy Awards just aired and it’s usually fun to see what kind of kooky, colourful looks hit the red carpet. This particular awards show has a history of bringing out the music world’s craziest characters—and last year, for the first time ever, CBS cracked down on Grammy dressing regulations by requesting that stars avoid overly revealing outfits. We’re pretty sure that some of the looks posted here had a little something to do with that particular mandate. So in honor of the Grammy’s and just for kicks let’s check out 12 of the most daring looks of all time:

Jennifer Lopez’s Down-to-There Versace, 2000

Arguably the most iconic Grammys look of all time, this ultra-plunging tropical print gown made Versace a household name and rocketed J.Lo into the style star stratosphere. It’s been 14 years, and we’re still talking about this one.

Rihanna’s Revealing Ruffles, 2011

Rhianna - WireImage — Rhianna – WireImage

Aww, it’s like a bunch of little white censor bars all over her body!

She’s a princess.

Pink Gets Taped, 2010. On the bright side – at least she didn’t use duct tape.

Nicki Minaj Does Little Red Riding Hood, 2012. Only an artist as fearless as Nicki would accessorize her Grammys look with…a pope.

Toni Braxton’s Toga Party For One, 2001. That’s all.

Reportedly inspired by Memoirs of a Geisha, Madge wore this crimson Jean Paul Gaultier couture kimono while performing “Nothing Really Matters.” Props for coordinating her drink to her dress…?