Thursday, 28 February 2013

Tuesday, 26 February 2013

Dolce and Gabbana play with crowns and medieval art.

Considering the recent announcement of Pope Benedict XVI's decision to retire from his papal office, the Vatican has been in the limelight of late. Dolce and Gabbana's recent collection combines the ritual of religious practice and religious art upon the catwalk. The parallels between the theatrics of religious ceremonies and runway shows are apparent and one can draw comparisons to modern consumer culture and our idolising of labels, celebrities and objects. The fashion house imbued their garments with motifs from mosaics in Monreale. The twelfth century mosaics in Monreale Cathedral are particularly striking examples of colourful Arabic, Norman and Byzantine influenced Italian medieval art. (Not to be a know-it-all, but it's not baroque - that didn't come for five more centuries.) I tried to match more of the prints to specific episodes from the scheme. This turned out to be unbelievably difficult and so I only have two examples.

This dress:


features the figure in the architectural setting on the left, who is part of the scene of Jacob being blessed by Isaac and comes from the nave of the cathedral.



And this charming man


is King William II, the patron of the cathedral, presenting a model of the building to the Virgin to whom it is dedicated.  


The colours, too, draw religious parallels - reds, blacks and whites. We imagine the luxury of the cardinals and pope in reds and jewels and nuns and priests in more stern blacks and whites.  





Pomp, ceremony, luxurious prints and crowns - what more could you ask for?

There are many more beautiful pieces that deserve attention but I didn't want to go on and on. See the whole collection here. 

(All images of the collection are from vogue.co.uk and the images of the mosaics are from wga.hu)

Sunday, 24 February 2013

Being an Aesthetic Perv

Road-tripped with Dad today which led to a lot of design, architecture and landscape perving. Here's the fruit of my staring. Enjoy x

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Saturday, 23 February 2013

Things that aren't pants

Maximalism for S/S 2013 and A/W 2013-14

So,  I promised on facebook to post about some shows that had excited me. I said two, but now it's three; dsquared2, Meadham Kirchhoff and Just Cavalli. Cavalli and dsquared2 featured in the recent A/W 2013-4 fashion week and the MK collection that intrigued me is their S/S 2013 showing.

This blog has been a better mirror than any I've ever known. My awareness of what I like, what works for me and what I like but works for me has increased exponentially. I've realised the difference between, "That's cute," and "That's something I'd wear." I find myself shopping smarter. As a result, I've come to the conclusion that I'm a minimalist - because of both form and function. My life is too uncertain to wear anything too fussy as I never know what I'm going to be doing or where I'm going to be going on any given day. And while I love princessy dresses, even I realise that tees make more sense on a daily basis.

But I find my heart swayed by maximalism on the runways. Dsquared, with its tailoring, sexiness and modernising of styles past, is a label I've been loving more and more with recent collections. Elements of how their outfits are put together are very wearable and have birthed in me a particular love of kid gloves and cat eye sunglasses. Now, while the overall result of their looks is a tiny bit much for a day in the library, it's a little more restrained than the following collections. There's a lot going on - socks + sandals, fur, coloured fur, jewels, big hats, gloves, dramatic coats. The gangster vibe is wonderful, as is the play on masculine/feminine clothing and the wonderful but complimenting colours and fabrics really pull you in.




Plus, men in uniform:


Cavalli and I have a tumultuous relationship - we often don't mesh. But the latest showing really wowed me! The combination of print and refreshingly modern silhouettes really works, as does the overall "ethnic" effect, without seeming twee or uber-costumey. The very short skirts and animal prints haven't been abandoned but they fit into the collection in a different way.





And then we get to Meadham Kirchhoff. Dear, dear, Meadham Kirchhoff. A little bit Bo Peep, a little bit English belle. Mostly the little girl in me, but also the teenage punk, loves this!





(All images from vogue.co.uk)

Sunday, 17 February 2013

Ease

DSCF5668

First outfit post in a while and it's an easy one but that's not always a bad thing. I've gotten pretty lazy about it but I like the new directions that having limited time has lead me in. Anyhoo, this outfit encapsulates a lot of what I'm loving at the moment - navy jumpers, statement jewellery, cut-out shoes and boyfriend jeans. 

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DSCF5669

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Friday, 15 February 2013

Boyfriend Jeans

So, I've always been adovocate of the skinny jean. Anyone who knows me will attest to the fact that I very rarely wear any other cut. Admitting this, I've come to love another cut; the boyfriend. There are many reasons for this; comfort, coolness, time-to-move-on-ness etc. But mostly it's just because they're super-chic and totally the way forward. Expect to see them everywhere.

Best worn with a cute knit and sneaks or super-minimalist, super-skinny stilettos and a cute tee.

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I particularly like the ones on offer in Zara and Topshop - super-soft and lovely.


Boyfriend Jeans



Monday, 11 February 2013

Hope Sandoval - Dream pop / Sartorial dream


Of Mazzy Star fame, she's very talented, stylish and a beaut to boot. The nineties photography is lovely and the girl just can't seem to take a bad photo. Her wardrobe choices are pretty relevant all over again, this coming season.



last.fm
last.fm
last.fm

last.fm
hopesandoval.com