tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40831797472545226652013-04-05T02:43:08.907-04:00Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04594918236296834243noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083179747254522665.post-43553753028288013742012-01-15T00:00:00.011-05:002012-01-19T06:18:58.060-05:00

Charles James evening gown, 1954, at the Museum at FIT. Dark emerald green silk satin. Gift of Robert Wells, in memory of Lisa Kirk. Balenciaga dress and shrug, 1967 at the Museum at FIT. Black wool jersy and white mink. Gift of Mrs. Parker J. Coller. Yes, there was an embarrassing late minute name change of the exhibit from "Great Designers" to "Fashion, A-Z" (I thought it sounded like much

Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04594918236296834243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083179747254522665.post-81039007961067231492012-01-13T00:00:00.189-05:002012-02-06T22:54:51.084-05:00

Source: Apple Media The Cause: In early January, journalists discovered that if you so much as wave a camera in front of any Dolce & Gabbana stores in Hong Kong, a security guard would immediately show up and stop you from taking photos of their merchandise in the display window. The policy is in effect in stores located inside a mall (arguably a private property) and those on street-level (most

Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04594918236296834243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083179747254522665.post-52427686230690500002011-11-30T00:00:00.349-05:002012-03-21T01:08:46.533-04:00

Hailee Steinfeld in the banned Fall 2011 Miu Miu campaign, ostensibly upset at being left alone at a railway track. Photographed by Bruce Weber. I had a friend who worked briefly in the business of approving television commercials. By her account, it sounded like a miserable position with little in what they call 'job satisfaction'. There is a set of clear guideline for her to follow in

Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04594918236296834243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083179747254522665.post-84717936466959359922011-11-29T00:00:00.157-05:002012-03-21T01:13:16.539-04:00

Actress Samaire Armstrong plays Summer Edgecombe in an episode of The Mentalist Season 4. The run of the mill cop/laywer/doctor drama shows on network television are not places to look for interesting fashion; the main cast on the shows are often dressed boringly and identically episode to episode, season to season. I guess it conforms with the viewers' mindset that these characters are

Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04594918236296834243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083179747254522665.post-50799388742048496512011-11-25T00:00:00.014-05:002011-11-26T21:24:52.891-05:00

A Catherinette wearing her special hat for the day. Monsieur Balenciaga looking on. "Donnez-moi, Seigneur, un mari de bon lieu!"

Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04594918236296834243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083179747254522665.post-40382513193277419862011-11-21T00:00:00.030-05:002011-12-06T05:13:11.565-05:00

Nine Worthies fresco in Castello della Manta, Piedmont, portraying late fourteenth century fashion: Deipyle wears a houppelande with dagged sleeves, Sinope in cotehardies with ermine hem, and Hippolyte dons a dramatic chaperon but I don't see her magic girdle. Source: Fondo Ambiente Italiano. I'm listening to Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous Fourteenth Century on audiobook

Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04594918236296834243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083179747254522665.post-10217891311080431412011-11-17T00:00:00.001-05:002011-11-20T17:26:32.561-05:00

Silly beautiful flamingo headdress from Giles Deacon spring 2012 collection presented at the Thompson Toronto on Nov. 3, part of a lunchtime fundraiser for Princess Margaret Hospital. Sorry Toronto Star, I had to steal your photo. Read Jeanne Beker's interview with Giles Deacon.

Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04594918236296834243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083179747254522665.post-79618702220883853822011-11-15T00:00:00.712-05:002012-02-23T13:11:24.981-05:00

A scene from the movie W.E. where King Edward first encountered the ravishing Mrs. Wallis Simpson. Actress Andrea Riseborough, portraying Wallis, is wearing a Vionnet gown that is recreated by the House of Vionnet for the movie, and actor James D'Arcy, portraying Edward, is wearing a navy tuxedo with tails. Source: W Magazine. The premiere of Madonna's movie W.E. about the romance of Mrs.

Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04594918236296834243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083179747254522665.post-16292289026963784102011-11-13T00:00:00.131-05:002012-02-23T14:21:09.520-05:00

Balenciaga stripe dresses and original sketches, 1938-9. Click here to see the version they inspired in Madonna's movie W.E. If you like stripes, also check out this outfit of Gypsy Rose Lee, the Queen of Burlesque. These two stripe day dresses of Balenciaga from 1938-9 strike me as an anomaly in Balenciaga career taken as a whole. They are unusual in the first place because of the trends of

Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04594918236296834243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083179747254522665.post-79811746044697359852011-10-22T00:00:00.036-04:002011-12-06T04:42:12.063-05:00

A lovely pair of purple sandals with bows from the 1940's in the Museum Permanent Gallery devoted to the Japanese-Canadian community. "The American Blind Stitch Machine" used by Dodek Fur Company to sew fur interlining. The company, owned by Max and Mandel Dodek, was located at 721 Robson street circa 1935. A box of antique unopened blush imported from China for the ladies An All-Canadian

Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04594918236296834243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083179747254522665.post-34697868321205889282011-10-20T00:00:00.008-04:002011-12-06T04:18:06.422-05:00

Neon Sign for Annette Dress Salon in Vancouver, circa 1960's. Part of the "Neon Vancouver | Ugly Vancouver" exhibit at the Museum of Vancouver. In the 1950's and 60's, neon signs were regarded as visual pollution, littering the city landscape. City councils and activists in Vancouver and other North American cities pushed for laws that limit their existence. Now, removed from the original

Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04594918236296834243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083179747254522665.post-32486725679404267642011-10-16T00:00:00.016-04:002012-01-19T10:52:06.439-05:00

Bhutan Royal Wedding: The newlyweds, King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck and Queen Jetsun Pema, poses at the Punakha Dzong, in Punakha, Bhutan, on Oct. 13, 2011. The shoes. Need I say more?

Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04594918236296834243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083179747254522665.post-31839832010312386232011-09-27T00:00:00.013-04:002011-09-27T07:50:17.894-04:00

Sailor suit for small girl, 1897. Part of the photo collection from the former Union Française des Arts du Costume, now Musée de la Mode et du Textile. "In the name of the moon, I will punish you!"

Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04594918236296834243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083179747254522665.post-88789453221669955552011-09-20T00:00:00.015-04:002011-09-21T03:50:58.526-04:00

Fashion Machine by Ruben Toledo. Proceed goes to the support of Victoria & Albert Museum. Check out their online store. A dear friend went off to London to chase his fashion dream. He got me back this card. Isn't it nice?

Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04594918236296834243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083179747254522665.post-27312589608242292502011-09-13T00:00:00.031-04:002011-11-23T16:42:45.921-05:00

Madonna on the red carpet her movie W.E. at the Venice International Film Festival, September 1 2011. Source: Celebitchy. Not impressed with the Vionnet dress that Madonna sported for her W.E. premiere. It's borderline sacrilegious in that there's no harmony in the embroidery design; the butterflies look like they're caught up in a multiple-bug collision. Mme. Vionnet would not approve.

Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04594918236296834243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083179747254522665.post-52033709011165801302011-08-26T00:00:00.259-04:002011-11-06T02:04:12.806-05:00

Anna May Wong in a Chinese-style dress embroidered with peonies and leaves plus a glittering embroidery of her name, 黃柳霜, on the collar. Source: Alice Japan. It began with one photo: Anna May Wong’s Vionnet fur coat from the Costume Institue and inside the lining was her Chinese name embroidered in absurdly big but gorgeous character: Yellow, Willow, Snow. I started scouring all over the

Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04594918236296834243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083179747254522665.post-971835623799542632011-08-04T00:00:00.022-04:002011-09-16T23:10:10.048-04:00

"Dhobi Ghat laundry has about 700 washing platforms where about 200 washer-men families have been washing clothes for decades" (from The Globe and Mail). Click here for Full Album. Makes my own laundry day look relatively easy.

Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04594918236296834243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083179747254522665.post-27363168268597206622011-07-24T00:00:00.363-04:002011-11-16T10:09:09.617-05:00

Left, Mona von Bismarck in a gold(?) lamé dress with a cigarette case set with diamonds and emeralds once given to Stanislaus by Louis XIV. From Vogue, February 1, 1938. Source: Style.com. Right, Sonia in an identical Vionnet design, photographed by Horst, 1937. Sonia also modeled the same dress for a Man Ray photograph. Mona wearing a sequined evening dress. Source: Mona Bismarck Foundation.

Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04594918236296834243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083179747254522665.post-86662695794339731772011-06-01T00:00:00.038-04:002011-10-02T06:16:13.511-04:00

Interview with jewellery designer Lara Bohinc from Tatler magazine, June 2009 issue. Flower applique dress from Stefano Pilati for Yves Saint Laurent SS2007. See rest of the collection here. Oh...I can imagine! Btw, here's a story of someone else's adventure-inducing dress. Can't vouch for veracity though.

Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04594918236296834243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083179747254522665.post-25974037433126072272011-05-08T00:00:00.043-04:002011-09-17T00:35:53.356-04:00

A snapshot of a beautiful Italian handbag that belongs to a friend. Some controversies sell, some do not. I applaud this anonymous Italian handbag maker who elegantly duck what would otherwise be a very very sensitive issue. Bravo.

Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04594918236296834243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083179747254522665.post-62228690833140750472011-03-25T00:00:00.015-04:002011-11-06T02:03:19.432-05:00

Postcard from the Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition, Sarah Brodsky (age 21). These days, the words 'union' and 'labour movement' can evoque different reactions on either end of the political spectrum. But let's take a pause and remember how shitty things were back before either word enter the public conscious. To learn more about the Triangle Fire: Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition

Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04594918236296834243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083179747254522665.post-30821764970136769332011-03-05T00:00:00.102-05:002011-09-12T03:17:55.628-04:00

Hailee Steinfeld in Prada at the Screen Actor's Guild Award, January 2011. It's a perfect dress for a teenage star like Hailee; it's sweet, not glamourous. Or put it in another way, you don't need to be glamourous when you're that young. Somehow I can't imagine an established movie star pulling off the same look. There are so many things I like about this Prada dress: The silhouette is

Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04594918236296834243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083179747254522665.post-25872880466391572582011-02-06T00:00:00.000-05:002011-09-19T19:32:18.589-04:00

Kitaiskaya Street, Harbin, circa 1930. Source Unknown (If you know anything else about this photo, please contact me!) Reading Shirley Yamaguchi's memoir, Ri Koran: Watashi no Hansei (李香蘭 私の半生), her description of interwar China that she had grown up in reminded me of this photo. It's a picture that encapsulate the complicated society that once existed in that region; one made up of refugees,

Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04594918236296834243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083179747254522665.post-60133311631962037422011-02-04T00:00:00.001-05:002011-09-27T03:42:07.134-04:00

Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04594918236296834243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4083179747254522665.post-38092331452673214282011-02-02T00:00:00.006-05:002011-09-21T19:21:50.956-04:00

Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04594918236296834243noreply@blogger.com