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.

Tulip Pants and Looks with them

New model - tulip pants. If there is tulip skirt, why not trying tulip pants? They look like trousers with the fly-off front panel, and this panel is gathered in pleats, like tulip skirt is. Idea of such trousers came to me when I've seen this fabric with wide stripes of tiny flowers, like garlands. I just couldn't stand the temptation to arrange these stripes or garlands in different directions so they can meet each other and part, and create diagonal lines, like lianas or other rainforest plants.
Another feature (unfortunately not seen very well on the photos) is that there is no left side seam there. Fly-off panel is one detail with the back part, so pattern of the fabric is not broken, and no extra bulkiness added. Last is really good for hot weather, bulky seams are really annoying in summer. 

Old Photo Pick - 1

One dress a month... One ritual a lifetime. Some people just don't like custom sewing. No, they wouldn't mind a new dress, but the process is killing them as they say. It is soooo much time!.. Fittings! To tell you the truth, average fitting session takes about 15 minutes. Well, there is measuring one, one fitting session, and voila! - on the third time you get your dress. Or trousers, or jacket. Sometimes there is the second fitting session required, but trust me - in this case you'll spend years more to find dress for you in-store. 

Upside-Down Wardrobe

What does your wardrobe consist of? How many ‘tops’ (blouses, shirts, t-shirts etc.) and ‘bottoms’ (skirts/pants) have you got?

Some ladies prefer to wear dresses - you don’t have to think about combinations. Put a dress on - and your look is ready.

Style theory teaches us, that we need 3-4 ‘tops’ for each ‘bottom’ to make an easy-to-combine wardrobe. That is, for example, for one skirt you need button-down blouse for office, sequinned top for party, t-shirt to go out quickly and a jacket for cool days. You can mix and combine these garments, add scarves or printed stockings, and get a new image twice a day.  Sounds really cool!

But at the same time we can make vice-versa wardrobe and turn out closet upside down. Imagine… 30 skirts. All different. All suit your shape and personality. All deliver a message you want. All made of fabrics you’ve chosen yourself. 

What kind of top do you need for this skirt? The basic one. The simple one. The one that is not demanding. Easy to care about.  The skirt has made a statement already. 

Style in brief: prints, colours and textures

Here are some good and bad examples for you. I did my best to make experiments as pure as possible, keeping the same pose, the same background, the same hair do and make up. This is to get clear view how appearance can change in different colours, prints or even textures.

Shoes painting, colour styling and… personal philosophy

Have you ever painted your shoes? Made them another colour with any medium?

I did it twice! And quite successfully, so there is nothing impossible if you want to change the colour of your footwear. 

First time was a few years ago. I needed my black shoes to be brown. Back there I had a period of my personal style when I avoided black at all. I created mostly harmonious looks in warm hues, from top to toes. 

Burda Magazine Facing Fashion of the 1960th... How did it look like?

Burda Moden 02' 1969

Burda Moden 02' 1969

This is my new source of constant joy. What do you feel looking at these fashion models, especially on the faces?  I am overjoyed. Burda magazines for me mean not only patterns - as patterns I can do myself. It is life mode, mood, world view, philosophy, - all about how ladies of the time saw their ideals and expressed themselves. 

Burda Moden 02' 1969

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I love these happy faces of excited schoolgirls! Fashion of the late 1960th is wonderful - hilariously bright, everything is short and cute. 

Looking at these faces… I bet they really had a youthquake happened to them.