Mad Men Continues to Influence Fashion

With Mad Men set to air its fourth season this Sunday, fashion lovers anxiously await the newest wardrobes of the infamous Drapers and their retinue.

Unless you’ve been cloistered away on an intergalactic space shuttle, you’ve probably noticed that since the series began in 2007, Mad Men has successfully reintroduced the grace and glamour of the early 1960s style. We see the show’s influence almost everywhere: in beauty (boujour rouge!), fashion and even furniture.  The full skirt is more at home on a push-pin settee anyway.  Yet, what intrigues me most about the Mad Men phenomenon is that it has successfully transformed both men and women’s fashion. Not surprisingly, since every Betty needs her Don.  I can’t help but admire how stylish men’s clothing can be, and I welcome back the attention to detail, from the tailored lapels to the French cuff.

There is no sign of the Mad Men craze slowing down either. Case in point, the many Fall 2010 collections from fashion’s top designers. The runways welcomed the female silhouette for a change, where the typical boyish figure has been replaced with the contoured Maidenform frame, replete with bounding cleavage and va-va-voom hips.  Take a look at the recent Vogue photo shoot with Ewen McGregor and model Natalia Vododianova playing the typical late 1950s married suburban couple.  The elegance of the era and restrained passion are both superbly captured in this layout.  Ultimately, the modern interpretation of the mid twentieth-century clothing proves that class is indeed timeless.

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Spanx a Million

So just when you think nothing can make you look leaner, longer and sexier in your clothes than a pair of traditional Spanx, creator Sara Blakely introduces her new  line of  couture hosiery, which makes you look all of these things but without your clothes!  The new collection of sumptuous shapewear includes her traditional seamless designs with more flattering features. These new silhouette enhancers include satin and lace detailing creating a much more feminine undergarment. You can now done the confidence boosting underwear without dreading a Bridget Jones’ granny pants moment! Blakely launched her Haute Contour line of Spanx at all major high end retailers and now they are available online. Check out her lookbook here and the video below. At last our better bottom shapewear is  boudoir friendly!

‘Gilty’ as Charged

I haven’t seen this much shine since I visited the Swarovski headquarters in Innsbruck, Austria.  Swarovski crystals have been embraced by this year’s greatest fashion designers. The God-given right to sparkle and shine is apparently no longer reserved solely for the Christmas season. The Spring 2010 collections are beaming with crystal brilliance and metallic hues. Check out the latest video from Elle Magazine.com that features the vivacious vim of the runways. To match the sparkle of embroidered crystals are the metallic fabrics also gracing the runways this Spring. Case in point: the divine new Balmain collection. The light-weight fabrics in bronze and platinum are counterbalanced by the Balmanian strong shoulder and elegant silhouette. If only Nefertiti could magically appear in the front rows this season. She would certainly show a lady how to sashay in crystals, gilt and gold!   To be dazzled by the entire collection go here.

Tight Club

Want a leg up on your trendsetting friends? Pick yourself up a pair of patterned tights! They will instantly update a favorite outfit or give you courage to sport a new look. Skin-toned fishnets are all the rage, and reinterpreted plaid and paisley tights will add a much needed pizazz to this season’s staples. Try crocheted stockings or stark red leggings too! It is fair game out there. Trust me, a little skip to your step will emerge the next time you step out in your booties with a new set of stems!

A Room of One’s Own

Virginia Woolf famously declared in her lecture ‘A Room of One’s Own’ that a woman requires but two things to succeed as a novelist “money and a room of her own.”  This philosophy holds true for today’s modern woman seeking to style her wardrobe as cleverly as Woolf styled her prose. Enter the most exciting venture to happen in Canadian high fashion this year: the revitalization of the St. Regis Room at the Hudson Bay Company.  This enterprise is the brainchild of Bonnie Brooks who recently took the helm of the historic retailer and has since embarked on a mission to breathe new life into the time honoured brand. ‘The Room’ (its charming new moniker) is an absolutely glorious space!  When visiting the store we were impressed with the bright and modern design of the floor-wide displays.  We instantly remarked that the space rivaled NYC’s most luxurious department stores.  (more…)

Island Elegance

‘Tis true that I was on a bit of a hiatus over the last few weeks.  I was visiting my beloved Isle out east and just got back to TO in time for the Film Fest.  Although I mused about updating Livelovely on PEI, it was simply not conducive to blog while indulging in Malpeque’s finest oysters. The weather was divine and the Island’s russet soil, green vales, and hay-stacked fields were as breathtaking as ever.  It was great  to step out of one’s gladiators long enough to enjoy the beach like a proper East Coaster, and it was a great way to end the summer.  Not to fear, my lovelies, the much awaited fall fashions were never far from my mind.  Even though the feel of the surf was heavenly, the lingering thought of  this season’s hottest footwear stayed with me.  Last Spring, I had the very fortunate opportunity to have a tête-a-tête with Flare’s Senior Market Editor, Tammy Palmer, and I asked her to divulge, in a word, 2009’s most important autumn trend.  Without missing a beat she replied – “Over-the-knee boots.” And then graciously tossed me another gem before bidding adieu:  “Oh, and velvet, velvet, velvet!” Needless to say, I felt in the know all summer and therefore was little surprised to see September’s issue of Flare promote the thigh high boots in full force, as well as velvet!  What delighted me even more was to see that the photo shoot, ‘East Cost Escape’, took place on PEI!  Since Ms. Palmer also hails from the Island, it is no wonder that she would suggest to Fashion Editor Elizabeth Cabral and Photographer Max Abadian that they capture the beauty of the coastal region.  I’m sure that Tammy felt the picturesque vistas would be a fantastic backdrop for these fabulous editorials.  Bravo team Flare! I am very proud to have our modest homestead in one of the nation’s leading fashion magazines.  Mind you, it would take me much courage and much vino to work one of these outfits in downtown Charlottetown. The rubber-booters, I fear, are not quite ready. Yorkville, on the other hand…

Your Support Can End Breast Cancer

Through the veneer and glamour of the, at times aloof, Fashion Industry, comes shining moments of goodwill that remind us that Fashion truly does care. In 1994, a campaign targeting breast cancer arose out of one simple idea, with one simple graphic on one simple white tee.  Today, the campaign has grown and evolved into a legitimate effort to eradicate this terrible disease worldwide.
This year, The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), in partnership with NET-A-PORTER.COM. the world’s premier luxury online fashion retailer, and Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, announced their new crusade: New York Fashion Targets Summer Fridays – “a nationwide, grassroots campaign to inspire unity among women and their co-workers in the fight against breast cancer.”

Participants can purchase a limited edition Fashion Targets Breast Cancer (FTBC) polo shirt, designed by Ralph Lauren and available exclusively at NET-A-PORTER.COM to wear on “Summer Fridays” from now until Friday, September 25, 2009.

This philanthropic campaign reminds me that amidst the fickle trends and unforgiving attitudes of the fashion realm, its members do rally at times of need.  The Style adjudicators are far from heartless after all, and for that I give them due praise.

In Canada, we too join the fight.  On September 12-13, thousands of men and women unite to walk 30km in one day or 60km in two days in an effort to raise the funds needed to end breast cancer and other women’s cancers. My team has pledged to raise over $11,000 for this worthy cause. To contribute, please visit my site or my team member’s site.  We may not be a brigade of supermodels, but we can carry the torch with as much conviction and with as much panache as they can! Thank you and remember that there is a divine strength in numbers and together, as a global community, we can achieve anything.

The Uniform Project

Starting May 2009, Sheena Matheiken pledged to wear one dress for one year as an exercise in sustainable fashion and as a means to fundraise for the Akanksha Foundation.  Here’s how it works: “There are 7 identical dresses, one for each day of the week. Every day she will reinvent the dress with layers, accessories and all kinds of accoutrements, the majority of which will be vintage, hand-made, or hand-me-down goodies.” Matheiken explains her credo thus: “Think of it as wearing a daily uniform with enough creative license to make it look like I just crawled out of the Marquis de Sade’s boudoir”. (more…)

Bazaar Asks Coco

As the long awaited biopic about Coco Chanel quickly approaches its release date,  Harper’s Bazaar’s creative interview (with the help of Karl Lagerfield) brilliantly captures the essence of the legendary designer. The reimagining of what Coco may have thought or mused is certainly something to share.

Harper’s Bazaar: What’s the chicest age to be?

Coco Chanel: It took me 100 years to come back. I’m 40 again!

HB: What are your thoughts on how women dress today?

CC: They say old elegance is apparently dead, so I have to invent a new one.

HB: Your clothing liberated women in the 1920s. Are you still a feminist?

CC: I was never a feminist because I was never ugly enough for that.

HB: What would you change about your looks? Would you consider Botox? (more…)

Zip it!

The 120-Zipper dress from designer Sebastian Errazuriz is the latest questionable fashion piece to hit the scene. Can you imagine what this novelty dress would feel like? I give the man props for creating an unusual and original design, but after Gianni’s brilliant interpretation of the ‘fastened’ piece on Liz Hurley in 1994, this just looks silly. What do you think?