Fashion For The People & By The People

What is Polyvore?

Polyvore = Poly + Vore

Poly = a fabric or garment made of polyester.

Vore = a combining form meaning "one that eats" what is specified by the initial element: carnivore.

Therefore, Polyvore = one that eats polyester, or in more poetic terms one that loves passion.

Polyvore has become the newest buzz in the fashion world and it has nothing to do with designers or fashion magazines, but it does have everything to do access and creativity.

So where did Polyvore come from? Just like it's another Yahoo and Google word creation, it is also a descendant of Yahoo and Google. However, it is more of an adored bastard child than a legitimate bloodline descendant as it was never a Yahoo or Google creation, nor did either ever have any financial interests in Polyvore; but its founders did in fact once work for Yahoo (Pasha Sadri, Guangwei Yuan, and Jianing Hu) and it's new CEO (Sukhinder Singh Cassidy) was previously the president of Google's Asia-Pacific and Latin-American operations.

I like the concept behind Polyvore and can't wait to start playing dress-up and creating "Sets"...and will of course share!

For a more details on Polyvore check out the Alexandra Jacobs', New Yorker Article: Fashion Democracy

Diane von Furstenbrg & American Express Circa 2008

I'm going through my old New Yorker's that I know it hard to admit, I feel a bit guilty...it's bad, but that's a whole other story...point is that I loved the idea of the American Express card "follow your own style" advertising campaign.

In one of the September 2008 issues I saw an ad that was highlighting fashion icon, Diane von Furstenberg, apparently she likes hiking and she didn't always feel comfortable with her curly hair (now she does...yay), but my favorite fun facts that she points out in the American Express fill-in-the-blank questionnaire are, and I quote: "Fashionably late is being on time" and "Sexy is liking who you are" (both Diane von Furstenberg).

Chanel Margarita Fun Fact

It has nothing and everything to do with Fashion:

Our beloved Coco Chanel introduced the famed Chanel No.5 on the 5th of the 5th Month of the year. Cinco de Mayo - May 5th

Skirts ... Complementing the Goods

Why the skirt? And why do women still wear it and men don't?

My theory: It really boils down to the fact that the circular cut of a skirt, just like it was in the 1700s and early 1900s, has always emphasized and complemented the curvaceous body of a woman. And men, whether gay or straight, don't have an interest in wearing something that has such an innate feminine quality.

The Delphos Gown Circa 1907

Quite possibly the first patented fashion gown, Mariano Fortuny patented the world's Delphos gown from his office at the Palazzo d' Orfei in Venice.

The Delphos gown is a direct descendant of the classical Greek chiton. It was made in fine silks, dyed in effervescent colors, hand-pleated and it falls in a sleek column line from the shoulder to the heel.

Truly a classic modern design, 100 years later, the Delphos gown is still in fashion! 

Home is Where ME Makes It

How do we know it's home? 

How do we feel at home? 

How does it feel to be home?

It's about comfort, you just know when it's right. The beauty is that home can really be anywhere, it doesn't have to be in a constructed structure, the structure just makes it a house or an apartment, not a home. After all haven't you ever wondered why the words "house" and "home" exist? A house is an architectural structure created by a construction team. A home is created by a person or a set of persons putting their things and feelings into their space, it is their creation. A house can be empty or full but a Home is always full.  

I've been in transition, traveling from place to place and I'm still at home most of the time. I look at stuff, clothes, books, make-up and other essentials and they all make me feel at home. My clothes especially make me feel at home, and what I wear can influence my mood and behavior. What can I say, it's hard not to wander at Home.

Style Directions

Thou shalt follow the following fortune cookie advice:

"Be yourself, and you will always be in fashion"

Halloween Fashion...2007

Let's play the "Do You Know" game:

• Do you know that Halloween originated from the Pagan festival Samhain, celebrated among the Celts of Ireland and Great Britain?
• Do you know that the Church traditionally celebrated that day as the Vigil of All Saints (because all Saints Day is on Nov. 1st), and, until 1970, it was also a day of fasting?

Don't feel so bad I really didn't even know until I decided to Wikipedia-It a few seconds ago.

I have always associated Halloween with trick or treating, parades, parties, scary stuff and costumes.

• Do you know why we wear costumes...because ancient Gaels wore costumes and masks to the festivals in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits to placate them.

Picking a costume and putting it together really leads up to all the festivities. Most Halloween costumes for women tend to have one theme in common: sex. It doesn't matter if you're nurse, witch, Dorothy, etc., whenever someone asks someone like me what they plan to be, the answer 9.9 times out of 10 will always be: "A Sexy _____" if not you will get those looks, the "she's a weird girl" look. Is this how we blend with evil spirits?

Personally I don't always mind it, I just wonder if my costume really changes much from year to year. It makes things easier for me and I am not forced to buy those awful polyester outfits that cost and arm and a leg for cheap versions of items that I can find in my closet. Plus I feel that any great Halloween outfit really comes together with the accessories.

So do you know what you're going to be Halloween this year?

Oh Condé...Why Don't You Care?

Oh Condé, why don't you tell me more?

I'm constantly disappointed by the coverage of Fashion Weeks around the world. The news sources only care about the pictures and the show itself, but what about the reason that collections were even created?

Fashion Designers want to be taken more seriously as artists but how will that be if the treads of inspiration are not shared?

The picture coverage is phenomenal but most of the articles do not reveal anything beyond the make-up behind the image. Personally I don't care much about what so and so is eating or not. Plus people don't need to get ideas to eat Kleenex to feel full, we already have enough fuzzy girls running around thinking fuzzy bones are sexy. Yet these details make the cut along with trashy celebrity gossip, while more important details are overlooked, but then again who cares about civilization or the environment for that matter.

Yellow Lights on the C Road

Will the Council of Fashion Designers of America really be able to outlaw fashion copycat retailers and manufacturing companies?

So my question is:
How will regulating America regulate the world?

Fall 2007 Fashion - Blanks

A week or so ago I anxiously awaited my monthly Fashion news.

Elle supposedly came out with a new and improved layout, ehh it was A OK, not to different from before. I was hoping for more of a WOW factor but, but not the wow I got.

Personal Style vs. Market Style

My fascination with culture theory questions how the fashion industry really manages the phenomena and demanding needs of "independent styles" in an era of global mass production homogeneity.

Independent style is usually thought of as a dissident reaction to mass consumption. My style, though in my mind is unique; it is not truly unique, it simply has a unique interpretation of the trends of the time because it is still dependent on the products provided by the market.

In my short life experience, I have learned that constraints are a natural part of everyday life. The art of fashion design relies on the ability of a designer to mix creative span with the constraints of raw material access (such as textile type, color and quality), budgets, product marketing and sales, and of course profitability maxims.

Fashion designers provide us with tools to create our independent style and like them the art of our independent style relies on our ability to mix our creative span with the constraints of product options, market access and spending budgets. Because let's face it, we all want that hot Chanel or Gucci something or other, but can we all really afford them...the answer is no.

In the imperfect utopia outside of our little perfect world there exists an effervescent presence of constraints on our style choices. Fortunately, our style will not be compromised even if we do not always get our optimum fashion preferences because we will always still go with something that captures the general essence of our preferences.

What you wear will define your value system. The question is, how much are you willing to compromise because of constraints? The answer should be: Not Much.

So, how much do you compromise?

So what do I wear?

Every day we have to make many decisions, there are certain decisions that we must make everyday, one of those decisions requires figuring out what to wear. How will you face the world?

Think about it, is there ever a day that you don't ask yourself:
"So what do I wear today?"
No

Unless you're a nudist, but even if you are a nudist you probably don't live in a nudist colony so you still have to face this question when you decide to leave your 'humble' abode and roam the non-nudist world.

So how do you figure it out? How do you make that oh, so important decision, of what to wear?

My decision is usually based on my mood, where I'm going, and what's clean & available.

Defined by The "Authorities"

As defined by the Oxford Dictionary

Fashion: the popular style of dress, customs, etc. at a given time
Architecture: the art or science of designing buildings
Design: a combination of lines or shapes to form a decoration
Culture: the appreciation and understanding of literature, arts, music, etc.
Technology: the scientific study of mechanical arts and applied sciences

As defined by Wikipedia (abbreviated)

Fashion: a prevailing mode of expression, but quite often applies to a personal mode of expression that may or may not apply to all. Inherent in the term is the idea that the mode will change more quickly than the culture as a whole
Architecture: the art and science of designing buildings and structures
Design: the process of originating and developing a plan for a product, structure, or component
Culture: refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance
Technology: a broad term dealing with the use and knowledge of humanity's tools and crafts

New Year's Resolution ~ 2007

What's in store for 2007?

What design concepts will make me a better person?
hmmm...I wonder, but I am always a sucker for chic and sexy.

Fashion 101

~ Timeless and guaranteed elegance ~

One Word: Cashmere
One Concept: any Tone

The Palette Entourage

Color makes all of the difference, especially if black is in the mix.

Fashion: the Mode & DNA

I just saw a great exhibition at the LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) - "Breaking the Mode"- the pieces were great and no where near the commercial fabrics we see on a regular basis or the ultra magical haute couture wear that would otherwise be expected to be on display. To me it seemed as though a geometric theme, or rather genius, defined the pieces within the exhibition. My favorite contrasts were the particular pieces displayed in two different modes: one on a hanger and the other on the shape of the female body. It was clear; the pieces had a life of their own. The exhibition included designers that have challenged the traditions of shapes and forms in fashion.

There is another great exhibition on fashion across the pond. "Fashion DNA" is currently in process at the Nieuwe Kerk Museum in Amsterdam until October 22nd. Here the theme is Identity; the role of fashion on human identity, also known as human nature. I would go if I had the vacation days.

Le Vintage

Vintage is timeless. It is always in, otherwise it is not called vintage.

Fall Hues It is all about Glamour

Rich and royal purples; plush and simply Fabulous.