Fashion Tricks - 1

One of the greatest fashion inventions of 1960th was a miniskirt. And not only skirt. For the first time so mush of the body was presented uncovered. Probably some ladies didn't feel comfortable in unusually naked outfit. And there came a solution: body paint! Painted body doesn't look undressed at all.
Advertisement says:
no body who loves mini, kicky, bare-as-you-dare fashions looks dressed without it. So roll on a body paint. Go green, blue, mauve. Or try a flesh tone (pick from four). Delicious pearlized colours leave skin gleaming. Smooth. Even covers flaws. Non-smeary. Stays on 'til you soap-and-water off. Can of Body Paint, complete  with roller and pan. 6.00. Comes with all three colours. Or one flesh tone. Coty Originals.

Have you noticed that arms and legs covered with tattoos provide the same  'dressed' effect?

Old Photo Pick - 3

Dreams and Science

I've always wondered why there are magically stunning photos and... usual ones. Learning style helped me to understand and explain the magic, at least sometimes :-)
Magic beauty of the look comes from harmony in between all elements, clear message or idea that look delivers, and ... face and clothes. We can learn a lot from couture photos, because magnificent artists are working there.
This is a Dior picture from 1967. It is not high-contrast dramatic image we got used to associate with the word 'beautiful' nowadays. It brings the idea of calmness and thoughtfulness. It is in the static pose of the girl, softly rounded geometric forms, clear horizontal lines of skirt and jacket hemlines. There is another horizontal line - of the girl's chin. Her face is based on geometric straight lines too (as fas as we can see on the old photo, they are not very clear). 
And of course colours. Dull dusty blue and white. Colours of the sky and clouds. Rounded shapes of the hat and jacket, and even gloves remind us about clouds too, though hat texture is more shape-stable. The only sharp pointed things are shoes, and they go with the stiff line of the chin and red lipstick. 
In the 1960th space costumes were one of the main fashion trends (it's understandable). No direct link here, but hat shape keeps a hint of a helmet.
I can find and describe nuances of this look for hours, but main point that makes it stunning is a delicate play of soft and sharp, of rounded and straight, dreams and science. Magnificent.

Little Black... Trousers

What I really love is uncommon and intriguing detail or two in common garment. Such as classic black pants. Of course they fit, of course fabric is nice, but that's not enough. I want them to make a style for me or my customer. Such as these free-form flowery inserts and leaf-shape beaded detail on the waistband. Flowery fabric goes well with the plain black, because they have the same slight shimmer, so they blend into one another a little. With dull black fabric it won't work. Cuffs are flowery too. They might be not very visible all the time there at the ground, but they when they come into sight, in brighter sunlight for instance, they finish my design beautifully.

Old Photo Pick -2

This week I picked several photos for you.
I like these two old photos. They both represent outfits for going out, for going for a walk. And there are 70 years in between them.