Una Domenica a Milano

In The Mood For: Cute Prints

Fur & Tiara

Fun in Florence

Doll Me Up Photoshoot

I absolutely love working on photo shoots, especially concept shoots. This shoot in particular was even more fun because I got to work with 5 lovely models, a fabulous make-up artist, and an awesome photographer :)
The make-up was done by KissNMakeup and photography by Lee Folkard Photography, and styling of course by me :)

The concept for the Doll Me Up photoshoot was to have the girls look like dolls, or rather Barbies ( And you know I'm a fan of Barbie ). And so, this had to be illustrated through clothing, make-up and poses. And as usual, there was a twist in the form of an evil, Gothic doll. This was fun to work into the shoot.

 

When I thought of what the models should be wearing, I immediately saw tutus in my head. Simple, but fun & youthful. I accessorised with colourful plastic jewellery, tiaras and wands. The Gothic doll also wore a tutu, excpet hers was black rather than a pastel colour. The black tutu was paired with a bustier rather than a white vest. The look was accessorised with lots of rings and a rosary.

For the second look, I thought of something a lot more casual, much like the Barbie Basics Collection 002. You cant go wrong with jeans and a white vest.

The other looks were swimwear and a formal / smart-casual look.

Here is a behind-the-scenes video:
 

Go Get Now: Cropped Pants

If you're not quite ready to go back to flare, these are just the right option for you. They're amongst the pants of the moment and I'm pretty sure that they'll stick around for a while. Go get them now! 

R.I.P Elizabeth Taylor, We Will Always Remember You

Fashion Entrepreneurship

I am really excited and pleased to now be apart of the Fashion Entrepreneurship Programme :) This course is a joint venture between the KZN Fashion Council , and The Centre for Entrepreneurship at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal.

I believe that a programme like this is especially useful to anyone in the fashion industry. Learning how to run a successful business, and to bring ones ideas for that business to reality is important, and I am excited to take in in as much as I can, and to share it with others. When studying fashion, business knowledge is especially neglected, and there isn't much information out there when it comes to being an entrepreneur in the fashion industry. And so, I will be updating all of you out there with what I am learning throughout the programme, and hopefully it will be helpful to at least one person.

For now though, here are a few books that may be helpful to you:

Fashion Entrepreneur ( Sandra Burke)

The Fashion Designer Survival Guide: An Insider's Look at Starting and Running Your Own Fashion Business  (Mary Gehlhar)

How to open & operate a financially successful fashion design business (Janet Engle)

Watch this space for more info :)

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Dolce & Gabbana Autumn/Winter 2011/2012 Fashion Show

Watching Milan Fashion Week on FTV the other day, it was hard to miss Dolce and Gabbana present their stunning new collection for Autumn/Winter 2011/2012 . The two designers have met the expectations of the experts who are admiring the collections that we will wear in the next winter . Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have taken everything that�s in the female and male, and have made a collection which, however, is not androgynous. This time the result is cheerful and light-hearted in which the detail makes the difference.

On the catwalk alternate pinstripe suits to adhere totally dresses, made of lace or floral prints, and socks worn with shoes (strictly high heels of course). The trousers, with a classic vest for men comes in the scene before the bustier-dress with musical notes. Also interesting are the pants straight from the shoulder straps, and skirts worn with a blouse star-in-musical fantasy. They mixed menswear into the girls� wardrobes for Autumn/Winter with drop-crotch pinstripe trousers, cutaway waistcoats and huge bright yellow or pink blazers worn with trilbies perched on the back of the carefully coiffed hair � a tribe of Eighties mods to take the girls out partying.

And they have plenty to wear on the big night � the black and white star print came on stretchy dresses with lace panels, in sequins on disco shifts and in fur on black and white jackets, and then it was interspersed with a print of a musical score on chiffon dresses, flat clutch bags and Eighties style pointed heels (worn with bobby socks). There was glitter everywhere � from the blazer lapels to the huge star-shaped earrings, curvy shift dresses to miniature handbags that were attached to waistbands in a reinvention of the bumbag with bigger ones carried alongside them.

The house signature � a fabulous finale � was as good as ever as the girls trooped out either in their black and white star dresses or as boys in white shirts, black trousers and braces � it made you want to join the party as a boy, or a girl, or both.

The Art of Passion

So, one of the highlights of my last Friday was attending the Tod's The Art of Leather exhibition at Plaza Indonesia Shopping Mall. And what made it so interesting was the guests were able to see directly the making process of the iconic Tod's D bag.

Here's the artisan who was especially flown in from Italy to demonstrate the craftsmanship skill. Well, in my opinion, he looked very passionate about what he's doing. What an example!

The Tod's D Bag itself, which has been a favorite with celebrities from all over the world. Including Princess Caroline de Monaco, Katie Holmes, Diane Kruger, Freida Pinto, Jessica Alba, Julianne Moore, Demi Moore, Kate Middleton and many others,

On that day, I was kinda in the mood of wearing warm tone, but still not forgetting to add some catchy socks. Utterly trying to put some attention on the bottom.

wearing sheer shirts and printed pants - Pasar Senen, socks - unbranded, ankle boots - ZARA

Feeling So Floral!

Simply love everything about this latest collection from Onlyi : FLOWER is Oi!

For more info, go to their Facebook account and follow @DIAMONDHURTS on Twitter.

Let's keep supporting our local designers!

Jerseylicious Style : Tracy

I am addicted to reality television. It's seriously no joke. I especially love Jerseylicious. Set in the Gatsby hair salon, it follows the personal and professional lives of all those who work there. While the characters are very endearing and every show is entertaining the main reason I tune in is to see what everyone is wearing. With their style consisting of 'Orangina tans, long-nailed manicures, cleavage-baring fashions'

It is very different from anything I have ever seen before which is what makes it so fascinating. My absolute  favourite out of all the characters is hairstylist Tracy DiMarco, seen below. She is so evil, I cant help but like her. Most people want to kill me when I confess my adoration for her but Im a lost cause. And other than the fact that her clothes can be a little tight, she has decent style, in my opinion.

If you've been following this blog, you would've seen my earlier blog on another Jerseylicious star's style - Olivia Blois Sharpe (pictured with Tracy below). If you haven't seen it yet, it was posted earlier this week on Monday 7th March 2011, so be sure to check it out!

SHEER UP!

Attention shopaholics! Major trend alert: Sheer dresses and skirts are definitely HOT HOT HOT right now. Are you still reading this or are you out shopping? Let me know what your finds are!

Has fashion gone too far? Is retouching in fashion magazines ok?

When will fashion be real?  

MOST readers of fashion magazines are aware that all photographs, at least to some degree, lie. More often than not, images have been altered � historically with painstaking tricks of lighting and exposure and, more recently, with retouching software that can make celebrities and models look thinner, taller, unblemished, with brighter eyes and whiter teeth. Seemingly perfect.

The ethical issues of retouching have been discussed at least since the 1930s, when George Hurrell manipulated characteristics of Hollywood actresses in photographs to make them into icons of glamour. But technology has changed the scope of the debate, fueling a long-held criticism that magazines are promoting an unattainable standard of beauty.

In the early 1990s, as the first programs for digital manipulation came into use, some art directors began exploring the potential for creating images with a heightened sense of reality, actually as a reaction against the prevailing images of supermodels that looked too perfect.

Photoshop, the go-to graphics editing program that got a foothold in the 1990s, has become so ubiquitous that most of us gaze at faces, bodies and landscapes, not even registering that wrinkles have been diminished, legs lengthened and the sky honed to a dream-like shade of blue. And, unlike its predecessor, airbrushing, anyone can use it.

Here are a few pictures of celebrities and models who have been on the Photoshop-diet.

Kim Kardashian (above) has practically made a living off her curvaceous figure. But she was looking a little less shapely in Complex magazine. Her body has been reduced by about a dress size, her legs have been smoothed to near-perfection, and even her skin has been lightened.

Kimora Lee Simmons (pictured below) was famously fired as CEO of Baby Phat for going over budget, and paying herself exorbitant fees for ad campaigns even though she used body doubles. Thousands of dollars were spent on airbrushing her because she is a size 10 not size 0. Apparently, the photographer would shoot another model in the clothes, and take Kimora's head and put it on the body of the model. And it's quite obvious when you look at the pictures below. Does she think the public is stupid? She actually looks sick in the ad campaign picture. Her head is clearly too big for the body!

After looking at the above pictures, I decided to see exactly what the Photoshop-diet does. Now anyone who has seen me knows that I'm not overweight or anything. But who better to try it on than myself. I watched a few tutorials and spent an hour or two working in Photoshop, but I think illustrated the point I am trying to get across. Please note that I am no professional, so it's not perfectly Photoshopped, but I did try.

You will notice in the above picture that my breasts have been enlarged, my thighs and overall body shape has been thinned, and my arms are drastically thinner. Its a small difference, but a difference none the less. Oh and, the strings on the bikini bottom have become distorted (I'll say it again, I'm no professional).

I think that the perfect bodies we see in our favourite magazines have a terrible effect of how women feel about their own bodies. It no wonder approximately 8 million Amercians and 1 million South Africans have an eating disorder. And those are just the recorded numbers. What's even sadder is that this is the kind of society we are bringing children into. I'm by no means saying that its OK for people to be obese, I just think that the standards that we are held up to are kind of ridiculous. Living a healthy lifestyle, regardless of your size should be the most important thing.