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Quite a Ruffle at the Oscars.

If anything was a theme this evening for Oscar fashion it was ruffles; some big, some small and some so large they almost created another limb on the wearer.

Elizabeth Banks in Versace

Penelope Cruz in Donna Karen Couture

The female Oscar winners of old and new had some of the best dresses of the evening, as well as a couple of presenters.

Demi Moore in Versace

Elizabeth Banks, Demi Moore and Penelope Cruz wore draping and elegant gowns that were sure to be classy in their flowing style. While Vera Farmiga and Jennifer Lopez had dresses that had so large a ruffle that Lopez looked like her Armani gown had a third leg growing out from her side.

Lopez in Armani

Vera farmiga in Marchesa

Sandra Bullock was probably the best dressed appropriately with her Oscar win in a beautiful golden Marchesa gown. My personal favorite after Sandra’s outfit was Kate Winslet in a beautiful Yves Saint Lauren pewter colored dress.

Kate Winslet in Yves Saint Lauren

Sandra Bullock in Marchesa

Cameron Diaz looked lovely in a white and sequined Oscar De La Renta Gown and so did

Cameron Diaz in Oscar de la Renta

Helen Mirren in Mischka.

Zoe Saldana in Givenchy

Diane Kruger in Chanel

Who were the worst dressers? Well everyone has an opinion about that but other than Zoe Soldana in a purple ice cream dress of Givenchy. Diane Kruger and Sarah Jessica Parker did not wear Chanel well in my humble opinion, or shall we say the designer didn’t wear well in general, disappointing. However, all in all there were few fashion mishaps than other Oscar shows.

Fashion Week Finale Review and Eco Runways

A Fashion Week in New York Eco-recap for one of the countries most “eco-conscience” locations Boulder, Colorado. There is a strong focus on the Eco Couture in this year’s Fashion Week that is getting more and more trend attention in New York City. However, being in eco- conscience burnout here are first top list of “non-eco” focused designers. Michael Kors won and his runway was incredible.

1. Micheal Kors blew Marc Jacobs into 2nd place. Kors’ styles were slick and stylish with a feeling of the 1980s and Miami Vice and he pulled it off beautifully. He used very sleek fabrics and styles all of various colors and metallics. Pics below to celebrate this masterful artist and his works of art.

Kors

2. Marc Jacobs

Almost completely opposite of Kors, although extremely creative as well, Marc”s designs were of fairy tale fancies and whimsical effects of fabrics draping and fluffing on the runway. It’s hard not to imagine that the outfits were a part of a set for a broadway show or a modern day version of the movie “Big Trouble in Little China”. The dresses and models are nothing less than fun and flirtatious looking with a dash of high fashion sophistication that Jacobs does incredibly well blending this season.

Jacobs

3. Calvin Klein. The Spring look of Calvin Klein funny enough, seems to have the look of both Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors. A sleek type of fabric that blends sophistication with small doses of see through fabrics that drape in a flirtatious manner. Maybe not as compelling and strong of a statement as Kors and Jacobs , still a wonderful blend of classic style with hint of originality that only an experienced designer like Calvin Klein could offer.

Klein

4. Rodarte: Nice that they are trying to have creative high fashion with a low price tag..

Rodarte

5. Ralph Lauren.. Beautiful but some of the same feel.

Lauren

My favorites: Narcisco Rodriguez and Alexander McQueen R.I.P.

Rodriguez

The Van Gogh Of the Fashion World Alenxander McQueen:

McQueen R.I.P.

McQueen

Now for some of the Eco Designers who were wooed on the Runway.

1. Gary Harvey Eco Couture who loves using recycled clothing to create his own.

Harvey Made of Several Nylon Baseball Jackets

Harvey Rugby Shirt Dress.. Fabulous!

Harvey Wedding Dress made of Several Wedding Dresses

2. Casey Larkin or Mr. Larkin now, uses only sustainable fabrics like cotton, silk and bamboo. His clothing tags are made of seed paper that blossoms into delphiniums when planted.

Mr. Larkin

Larkin

3. Bahar Shahpar

Its nice to see more style and creativity with Eco Clothing, especially after being victim to the more mundane styles of Organic Cotton in Wild Oats for the last 20 years. I am sure everyone welcomes sustainable beauty and all of the interesting new ideas from these creative designers.. although I am still stuck on the old as well. This was an interesting Fashion week , amid so much sadness around Alexander McQueen and his death. Still I believe everyone deeply acknowledged what he offered to the world of Fashion and as an artist in all of the shows this year..Interesting times ahead for the world and as always fashion seems to reflect it.

-Lindsay Juliana

A Man that Fitted for the Queen So Long Alexander McQueen R.I.P.

Amazing, nothing less. One of the most priceless designers of this generation and of all generations, 40 years young, Alexander McQueen the brilliant fashion designer too young to be gone so soon. He was in the league of Eve Saint Lauren, Lagerfeld and Christian Dior. Celebs such as Madonna, Lady Gaga, Cameron Diaz and many others loved to wear his creative notions of costume an clothing.

Cate Blanchett

Alexander already had a Paris couture house by the age of 26. The Queen of England names him a Commander of the British Empire and he designed several British royalty and costume wear for Prince Charles and other royal elites.

Still, a bit more rebellious and humble, McQueen Scoffed at most celebrity status and superficial notions of fame. He bucked the trend and gave Kate Moss runway work when everyone else turned their back on her for her use of cocaine. He did a show with a woman on stage with prosthetic limbs that he designed himself for her to walk down the catwalk.McQueen’s main clothing line eventually became owned partially by Gucci in which McQueen kept creative control. He worked with Puma and started to have an international line with Target in March of 09.
Today I offer an ode to his death more in photos than a speculative life and death chronology that is already happening in the other press releases. Let us all celebrate these ingenious designs and visionary artistic wonders, this shy man who avoided the limelight but in which so highly deserved it! Here’s to you Alexander….Yes you were fit for the Queen and her family was fitted by you…farewell.

No Money For Fashion...That's No Excuse!

Natalie Portman

Jessica Szohr

One of the most frustrating things about high fashion for some women and men is the lack of money for the average person to dress the way they would like and deserve. “But I am here to tell you., there is something else.”- January sales frenzies! Being aware that cheaper box stores are now much more up to date on being innovative with their low budget clothing offerings, so much that you see celebrity’s like Michelle Obama wearing Isaac Mizrahi, Natalie Portman wearing Rodart and Jessica Szhor in Anna Sui all designers that are available at Target.

While many of these clothes are fairly well made, this time of year there are several more desirable discount options besides shopping at stores where a shirt may fall apart after a few washings,. This is now lending to my new marketing campaign “disposable clothing at disposable prices.“

Michelle Obama

TJ Maxx, Marshalls and Ross have excellent clearance racks in January and February .. Old Navy has been so marked down on their clearance prices you can pick up a shirt for $1.50, now that is a great deal!
One of the best places to shop if you’re a man or a woman during this time of year, is Dillards. Dillards has great clearance sales, the longer they go on the better the discount and it is happening right now. If women like dramatic clothes to wear clubbing or to a formal gathering one of the places to look is in the formal wear department of Dillards. These clothes have a high turnover rate and you may even get a beautiful sleeveless tank with beautiful beaded designs for under ten bucks.

You can wear such a beautiful vest with a pair of jeans and have a great and sexy look on the town. Usually any pieces you can get on sale in this department can be mixed and matched with normal clothing , to dress it down but really stand out in any night gathering place. Going over to the Nordstrom Rack to dig through some of their wildly marked down prices is also a fun experience as well during January, (or anytime for that matter). One can get interesting designs at a very discounted price.

formal wear

It seems that no one is daring enough to wear some of the fabulous shoes they have there. However, with a pair of jeans and a t-shirt wild and different shoes can make an outfit come alive with a flair for the unusual.

Speaking of the unusual, myself included, get creative with your discount fashions, celebrities do and they are too rich to care what people might say. Paris Hilton, Brittany Spears and of course Lady Gaga pull it off by wearing interesting ensembles most of the time, they don’t worry what brand they are wearing but more how they put it all together to make a statement for the public. So head to the sales or head back to Target, you will be able to make any outfit shine on a budget if fashion is what you love!

-Juliana

A Strong Influence of Art, Culture and Fashion Deeply Effected this Week

haitian art blue beauty and dreamy

Purse Haitian

How can one tie in a tragic event like an cataclysmic earthquake with fashion? Here is how: Haiti has some of the most rich cultural art in the world. Flavors of Caribbean color mixed with African magic and beautiful landscapes riddle canvases and influence creativity all over the west. Haitian art is strongly significant in a cultural context by its ability to tell a detailed story of history in a chronological and dreamy fashion. Famous artists like Jean-Paul Basquait, Antonio Joseph and Michele Manuel to name a few came from this impoverished nation.

Basquiat

The beautiful colorful paintings and creations from Haiti have somehow influenced various fabrics and textiles in the Western Hemisphere even though the nation was rarely visited by people of the United States.

: “La Sirene” Gerard Valcin 1923-1988

A Renaissance of art culture began to surface during mid century in Haiti that focused in on a different style of art. The art of Haiti is some of the most transcendent and beautiful works that one may look out in modern day. Vivid images in religious undertones of struggle between African Voodoo and Catholic reformation make for beautiful haunting images of this society’s cultural oppression.

It is hard to believe that this country must endure more hardship. I only hope that the preservation of their culture and art is a top priority when rebuilding this Haiti. The artistic wonderment that is produced there is highly under realized compared to other countries in the world. haitian painting

The art needs more recognition as it is perfect in telling the story of Haitian struggle with poverty and a highly corrupt government. Haitian Print blue Center of Haitian Art

Maybe people of the world will realize that there is a mystical beautiful gem in the Southern Caribbean, that has been influencing our clothing and creativity and needs to do so much more. Hopefully out of great tragedy this country and it’s talented artists will get the recognition and care that they deserve.

-Juliana

The Futile Fashion Feud of Lady Gaga and Roisin Murphy

Roisin-GaGa

While the Roison Murphy -Lady Gaga Fashion battle may have subsided, I decided to take a look deeper into the realm of their fashion choices and whether or not either of them can take sole credit for their unique ensembles.

If you are unaware of the fashion scandal that involved the two divas, here is a brief re-cap: Last spring, Roisin Murphy an Irish electronic pop star, accused Lady Gaga of completely ripping off her personal clothing style and had the pictures to prove it. While it did seem to be the case, Roisin may have been taking too much of the credit for her highly stylized stage look.

grace jones

The outfits that stand out the most, by Murphy and her supposed copycat Gaga are very reminiscent of Grace Jones and Dale Bozzio of Missing Persons from the 1980s, as well as past movie stars like Katheryn Deneuve.

Deneuve

It is safe to say that you can take several of their outfits from that mod punk era of metal sunglasses, giant shoulder padded suits and mirrored bras and they would no longer seem very unique in comparison to the pop-punk style of the times.

Grace Jones, while probably more revolutionary than the likes of these two, borrowed very much from the 40s, 50s as well as fashionable men’s attire, in her reign of the 80s punk scene. Like in most art genres the artist usually spawns an idea from somebody or somewhere before their time.

Missing Persons

Gaga has pulled the wigged polished look off better as a pop diva than Murphy it appears. While Roisin seemed to have a more unique approach to her style than Gaga, was the recent originator of the outlandish looks, many who were around for the 80s know that Roisin Murphy very much had borrowed her own flair as well.

Gaga

Basically a conclusion can be drawn that both of these sexy ladies need to stay humble, remember that most of their looks are not original, came from another era and other persons. Murphy Roison, with her looks and her talent needs to get over the style conflict with Gaga and give some credit where credit is due. People have fun looking at both of your gaudy attire. After all, shouldn’t you be focusing on the music?

Murphy Roisin

-Juliana

Fashion Icon And Show in Paris

As Christmas and New Years are upon us lets to take a moment to reflect on an important time and person in fashion history, Madeleine Vionnet. While her names is not as familiar to some as Chanel and Dior, Ms. Vionnet like Chanel, is one of the most important and impacting designers in history, especially for woman’s dresses.

Madeline Vionnet

Madeleine was born to a poor family in 1876, in Loiret, France. While this designer did not start out with a silver spoon in her mouth, she quickly worked herself into success in the design world and eventually took Paris and Hollywood by storm, with her new vision of dress attire for women.

After years of working as a seamstress and apprentice, Madeline opened her own shop in Paris, France in 1912, called “Vionnet”.

Ms. Vionnet became very well known for her newly invented “cut on the bias”, which allowed fabric on dresses to beautiful cling to a woman’s body that creates a slimming effect that became very famous in the 1920s -30s. Madeline was inspired by the Greek peplos that draped fabric around the breast and body making for a simpler but more elegant way to wear a dress. Vionnet often used silks and satin’s, along with dolls to test out the texture and effect that a dress would have with the specific designs.

Movie Stars of the Roaring 20s and Glorious 30s, absolutely adored her and the designs she created. Ms. Vionnet worked tirelessly to free women of buttons and corsets and accentuated the natural beauty of the woman’s body. This cut and style is still used today and her styles have never left the fashion scene since.

If you would like to get a glimpse of the work and history of Madeline Vionnet, you can see her exhibition in Paris, France until late January 31st, 2010. Pamela Golbin is putting on the show at Pureste De La Mode, 107 Rue de Rivoli, with over 750 of her designs and 125 dresses. It is sure to be a spectacular viewing of one of the most under recognized but one of the most important designers in history.

Vionnet dresses

-Juliana

Fashion Flash: Is Size Important?

red marc

Marc Jacobs took his 2009 line of handbags down in size for those of us who need some shoulder relief. There is finally an emergence of the middle sized bags that we all once knew not so long ago making a strong comeback, as well as some creative additions to this favorite small and large accessory.

Most women have noticed in the last couple of years is the ever growing girth of shoulder bags. I believe women’s feelings vary about this shoulder wrenching phenomenon. I know women who absolutely love being able to stuff everything including the kitchen sink into one of these giant haversacks and then those who feel they must frequent a gym three times a week to make sure that one of these beautiful beasts does not cause permanent injury. For me, personally, the smaller the bag the better. I sometimes use a silver cigarette case to carry just my very basic needs. I have always been a tomboy in some regard despite my passion for fashion. I think that sometimes women need to be given a simpler even more masculine option to express their high- toting style. In any case, the shoulder or handbag scenarios this year still have a wide variety in shapes and sizes.

Department Stores still have many clutches that are divinely decorated with sequins or metallic lace. Still, every where you look, it is common to see a shoulder bag the size of a small suitcase.

Marc Jacobs offers some very nice high-end smaller options that are quite styled like the 80s with gold studs and a cross pattern stitching that is reminiscent of traditional Chanel totes. Chanel, the classic designer, decided to really go for the gusto with their new line called “Coco Cocoon” with the advertising help of “rebel-pop star” Lily Allen.The new Chanel bags look like different shapes and sizes of small down parkas and are, of course, on the large side. I haven’t had the fortune of feeling one of these new cloud like wonders but at least they give the appearance of a light weight option for carrying on one’s shoulder. As for small, well, there are many designers like Jacobs, Michael Kors, Chanel and Coach who are putting out a small clutch as in addition to their humongous shoulder bags.

coco 2 lily allen

If storage space does not matter so much, you can always go down to your nearest smoke shop (if any exist near your domicile) or on the internet and find a dandy metallic cigarette case to fill with the barest essentials. This keeps life surprising simple and elegent for a night on the town

Fashion Flash!

While preparing for Black Friday, I was not hanging out in Wal-Mart or Target to get my hands on flat screen tvs. I was pleasantly surprised that no one got seriously injured or killed shopping for sales as in previous years. I felt quite victorious being able to avoid any calamity on Black Friday and shopped to my heart’s content. I am happy to report a bold discovery. As I was shopping around the mall and wanting to wrap up the discussion of tight dresses based on the 80s similar to last weeks wild short dresses, I noticed something even more compelling for this week’s style flash: Winter shoes, or should I say boots? I couldn’t quite tell because almost all of this year’s winter shoes by designers that were in the windows of high fashion stores are Peter Pan style boots. Wait! I mean shoes… No, I mean the combination of the two. Help! These new styles were so strangely unique but sooo gorgeous. Let’s not forget the 4 -to- 5 inch stiletto heels that accompanies these grand- looking pieces of art.

There are so many styles from Chloe to Madden that leave you gazing at the windows of boutique windows for hours. The lace- up sides to many of these are wide enough to be boots, but then you look down and wow– no heel and no toe. A giant spiked pump that leaves plenty of room on the side for the different types of textiles and the designers very own unique story. From princesses of fairy tales to the gothic queen of the night, every time you put on one of these shoes you will no longer be leading any type of ordinary life. The shoes are more than eye candy for the worst case of shoe fetish. They will create a whole new life with literally a new height and make you feel like you are a new person, especially a sexy one. You can wear these shoes with any outfit from jeans to fancy dresses but, be warned, if you wear these giant- foot accessories to the office- for better or worse-I imagine you will definitely be taking on a whole new persona for your fellow co-workers. Those who are not willing to get their feet wet in a chic and sexy look, these new bold creations are not for you. However, I do think every woman must have at least one or two of these ornate high- heel wonders. I am sure they can completely change the way you feel about your style and maybe your life!

Unique or Not So Unique? A few Surprises on a Midwest and Southern Fashion Trip

As I raced my car across the country towards the Midwest then South, I wondered what kind of fashion would come from a place where the most stimulating activity seemed to be me driving on a highway, trying to keep my car from ice-skating along the slippery cement roads. When I finally arrived safety in St. Louis, I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised to glance upon and then stay in a trendy hotel named Moonstone in the Loop District. That night I went downstairs to hang out with some of St. Louis’s “hip people” in the lounge.

I think the fashion in this Midwest city lacked any difference from the rest of the country and is even a bit mundane due to the dreary weather this time of year. I did get a glimpse of florescent yellow shoelaces and striped scarves which still seemed to be a mainstay there among the younger folks.

Many of the young city people I saw were eclectic in this lounge with the way they put their clothes together. While not being overly trendy or noticeable, they manage to be creative with the more conservative clothing they had to wear. For instance a parka being worn can be mixed with a glittery hat of sorts, instead of a normal ski cap that you would see in Colorado. A woman wearing typical faded jeans seems to enjoy the fact that she has on a loud colorful rainbow belt that stands out by her white t-shirt tucked in almost directly behind. These are the kind of things I noticed in St. Louis Missouri. The city life of course helps and the people are not fully going over to funkier fashion but are willing to add a glimmer of hope to a more conservative approach to fashion in middle America.

When I went to my next and main stop Music City as in Nashville, Tennessee I noticed the immense number of Baptist churches, adult book stores and liquor stores right down the block from one another. I remembered what an odd place this was when I lived in Nashville briefly 13 years ago. The number of blond barbie-doll types were in great amounts and while not always that attractive the women always looked well put together especially in public.

The trendy areas by Vanderbilt University were some of the central fashion scene but again because of the time of year everyone looks much more “East Coast” Boston than I expected. The main fashion trend I notice seems to be the tall leather boot. It did not seem to matter that there wasn’t a foot of snow on the ground. It seemed that even with no precipitation at all as long as little ole’ Mr. Sunshine was not out to play the women put their boots on over their tight jeans and were ready to go out for unexpected moisture of some sort.

Women in the south never want their hair to look bad so it always has some type of hairspray fixed in it and they always have lip-gloss on their lips but in general the lack of spunky fashion was apparent even in the college district. Could it be that it was this way because it was a very small, conservative and private institution? Perhaps, so I yawned at the local coffee shop Fido and went on my way. There are plenty of accessories in the malls in Nashville of Coach and Dooney and Bourke handbags but nothing one has not seen in any upscale suburban environment in other parts of the country.

Because of the glitzy country music scene, I presumed that there would be a little more of the overlaying of that fashion with the local people in Nashville. I saw it in tidbits of pearls and lace, but in general, the female fashion here was not quite what I expected.

Nashville is still a different styled city however especially some of the style for the men. The styles here for men are quite handsomely sexy, different than the west or like the conservative north east of the country. While the men still can wear their Brooks Brothers sweaters like the east that always relieves the women in his life because of easing shopping choices during the holidays. Christmas shopping for the hubby or father can be finished in a flash. However, in this instance this is where the country music scene and Nashville scene in general really can be noticeable, especially to a woman.

The men here, while sporting some of these conservative clothes, may also add a leather blazer on top or sport a more long shaggy-curly looking locks than the average country club gent of the East. It is refreshing to see the men dressing quite conservatively but adding a strong flavor of the country scene in a classy way. They make the ensemble work quite elegantly.

While many of their hair dos are quite long some also sport a more wild spiked faux hawk one might see more out in the west, as well as a nice looking beard that is trimmed for a classy and handsome mountain-man look.

Overall the fashion scene in both of these states, I would rate a 6 out of 10 only giving it higher scores for the difference in male attire and everyone always caring a lot about what they look like when the leave the house. ( Certainly a bit more than some people I know). Nashville overall regardless of any one person’s style is a great city to visit I highly recommend it for any occasion.

-Juliana

Lindsay Juliana Frisch is a native to Boulder, Colorado, she writes on topics such as Health, Politics, and the Arts. Lindsay travels all over the country, sometimes the world and whenever possible is a supporter of those who are willing to go against the grain, take on the mundane and fears not fighting the common system of ideals. This appreciation and service usually means helping creative people in all genres, this includes pop art, poetry, music, and politics. Lindsay Juliana plans on facilitating design contests on this blog in the future. She may be reached at:

fashion@scoopthedirt.com

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Send Me A Message

Quite a Ruffle at the Oscars.

Fashion Week Finale Review and Eco Runways

A Man that Fitted for the Queen So Long Alexander McQueen R.I.P.

No Money For Fashion...That's No Excuse!

A Strong Influence of Art, Culture and Fashion Deeply Effected this Week

The Futile Fashion Feud of Lady Gaga and Roisin Murphy

Fashion Icon And Show in Paris

Fashion Flash: Is Size Important?

Fashion Flash!

Unique or Not So Unique? A few Surprises on a Midwest and Southern Fashion Trip

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