Style Illustrated

Friday, June 15, 2012

Resort So Far

Bottega does Versailles Illustration by Jolain

What is Resort anyway? Donna Karan introduced her collection as “the collection before the next”. Why not call it Pre Spring just as we have Pre Fall, or is that too predictable for the fashion world? Even the show schedule is loosey goosey with Chanel and Oscar de la Renta showing full out extravaganzas a month ago and then a trickle of presentations that has since become a steady stream.

But what is Resort? In the olden days it was a small collection for ladies seeking warmer climes in the winter. Then resort evolved into a hybrid resort wear, wear now pick-me-ups for the winter doldrums. Now the resort end of it is all but dropped in favor of a laboratory bridging winter to spring. Whatever it is here’s what I like so far.

Celine

Calvin Klein

Nina Ricci

Giulietta

Chloe

Stella McCartney

Erdem

Michael Kors

J. Mendel

Gucci

Carolina Herrera

Tory Burch

ALC

Kelly Wearstler

Richard Nicoll

Balenciaga

The Row

Givenchy

Bottega Veneta

Lanvin

Preen

Donna Karan

Valentino

Temperly London

To sum it up so far...

-Lace and saturated prints are still going strong

-Pants are getting longer and looser

-Comfort and ease

-Romantic dresses everywhere

-Fewer shoes as furniture

Above images from style.com

Friday, June 8, 2012

Summer Fantasy Hair

Illustration by Jolain

Summer, my favorite season, is upon us and as I strategize my summer style my thoughts turn to hair. Summer poses a particular challenge for my notoriously unpredictable and uncooperative hair. Humidity gives my hair license to do whatever the hell it pleases and letting it dry naturally is not now, nor never has been, an option. A friend suggested Brazilian straightening for the summer but I feel I look freakish with stick straight hair and personally find all this obsessive straightening banal. So let’s step back and fantasize for a moment.

In a perfect world I would have the hair of the stunning 60’s Italian screen star Monica Vitti. The ultimate bed head, thick with languid waves, it epitomizes the elegant, undone, I just threw myself together after a day of boating, Italian Riviera feeling. Okay, most of the following inspiration shots are movie stills that no doubt had a genius of a hair stylist waiting in the wings to perfect each shot (see fourth picture). But hey this is a fantasy and why shouldn’t we all aspire to perfection, at least in our dreams!

The six shots above are from her most famous film, the stylish masterpiece L'avventura directed by Michelangelo Antonioni

Dream on!

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Eye on Neil Barrett

Illustration by Jolain

Neil Barrett, the Milan based British designer best known for his masterfully tailored men’s wear with an A-list clientele, is making his mark on women’s wear. Barrett graduated from Central Saint Martin’s School of Art and Design and earned his masters in men’s design from the Royal Collage of Art in London before moving to Italy where he designed for Gucci and Prada. In 1999 he launched his own collection followed by a women’s collection in February of 2006.

Barrett’s women’s collections are naturally born of his penchant for impeccable tailoring, though they never look too rigid or masculine. His women possess a cool chic nonchalance, which have elicited comparisons to Helmut Lang. I’ve compiled a sampling of my favorite Barrett pieces starting with his superb Fall 2012 collection. See for yourself and I think you’ll agree he is worth watching.