Style Brief: Fashion for the Women's Briefcase

Allow me to brief you on the importance of the briefcase mes cheris. No longer the boring box that Mr.Cleaver brings home the bacon in, briefcases are chic and a must have for any working woman's uniform.

Style Brief: The art of the briefcase by fashiondiva304 featuring plaid handbags

Shoulder handbag
$1,274 - ralphlauren.com

Valentino handbag
$1,770 - stylebop.com

Louis Vuitton monogrammed bag
bagborroworsteal.com

Giorgio Fedon 1919 padded bag
$790 - forzieri.com

Piquadro leather bag
$549 - forzieri.com

Messenger bag
$398 - anthropologie.com

Strap bag
$195 - endless.com

KLING straw bag
$55 - modcloth.com

Plaid handbag
$55 - modcloth.com

Without any surprise, my favorite is of course the brown Valentino, the most expensive. But a briefcase is something you don't want to skimp with something cheap. This is the bag that is holding your professional career in your hands, not only do you want it to be sturdy enough to hold it, but to also look good enough to reflect the fabulous professional you are! Since this is an investment purchse, like your suits, be sure to pick something that is sleek and classic so that it will stand the test of fashion's time.

When shopping for a briefcase to serve you well, it should meet the following criteria:

1. Large enough for your laptop
        My laptop is wide screen which I love, but makes for a harder bag search.
2. Interior pocket dividers
       Don't let important papers crushed when pulling your laptop in and out.
3. Messenger strap option
       Not crucial but VERY convenient when commuting.
4. Organizational pockets for small accessories 
       You don't want to look like a tool man with a belt of gadgets, be sure there is a cell pocket, iPod pocket, business card slips, and pen holders at a minimum.
5. Sturdy stitching 
       This is a BIGGIE, make sure the seams look heavy duty because unless you own the Mac Air, your laptop is like carrying around a small child all day! You will need stitching to support this.

Fashion Rule: Stay True to Who You Are

In fashion, I'm a pretty big advocate for the school of thought, "When you find a rule, break it." Style is too personal to have every fad that graces the glossies apply to everyone. Generally, style is painting a portrait of who you are inside, for the world to see outside...and that may not always be the same picture. Some days I play the girly Sex and the City New Yorker, some days I subscribe to my laid back, music loving, Chuck wearing, weekender psyche. Fashion not only changes person to person, but within the varied moods and needs of each individual as well. 

{merci LookBooks}

The one deviation from this principle is quite possibly the crux of why I'm so passionate about fashion. You must stay true to who you are. Fashion exists to be a personalized, wearable art. To find something that makes you feel good in your skin and shine as the unique individual you are. Whether that calls for wearing white after Labor Day, black with brown, or even socks with sandals (!!!) you. be. you. I once read, "Just be yourself, everyone else is already taken." I really feel it is as simple as that. 

Lately I've seen many of the fashion elite running around New York in silk scarves....but I just can't do it. I think I just have internalized that as a Mom Jean marker rather than the classic stigma I'm fully aware they carry. 

Here is the silk scarf in the current (and classic) fashion :

{merci Pinterest}

I can completely agree this is a beautiful scarf, but every top I wear is generally low cut, so I have a hard time wearing things with a lot of fabric around the chest and neck without feeling frumpy. I do not know why...it just feels constricting. 

Here is how I wear a silk scarf:

It is still a classic silk scarf, Dolce & Gabbana no less, just with some added funk and flair...like me!

Fashion Rule: Stay True to Who You Are.

Fashion 101: Oscar de la Renta

There are so many great fashion designers in this world that have changed society in pivotal ways. It's hard when you sit down to decide who the very top houses are...but I don't feel that is so much necessary as knowing who the fashion royalty are in general. Valentino, Dior, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren, and of course Oscar de la Renta. Of course this list could be much longer, this is just me rambling off the top designers that are on my top of mind recall. I always love learning of how these great visionaries got their start, and I am always interested to learn how intertwined this industry is.

{Merci fashionista.com}

Oscar de la Renta was born in 1932 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. At 18, he moved to Madrid, Spain to study painting and quickly became enveloped by the world of fashion. He began sketching for top Spanish fashion houses until he landed a prominent apprenticeship for the couturier Balenciaga, not a bad start. From there he moved to Paris and began work at Lanvin as a couture assistant.

Working for incredible talents like Balenciaga and Antonio Castillo [Lanvin], I learned about the immense skills and creativity involved in couture work. Today, I apply some of that same detailing and artistry in some of my own designs. 

 In 1963, Oscar notices the future of fashion shifting to ready to wear and moves to New York to trail-blaze the path. Upon taking the advice of Vogue Editor in Chief Diana Vreeland, Oscar designs custom clothing for the Elizabeth Arden label where she will help promote his name and work that will advance his future line. Two years later, with grown public recognition, the house of Oscar de la Renta is launched.

I have always felt my role as a designer is to do the very best I can for a woman to make her look her best. Fashion is only fashion once a woman puts it on.

{merci ShinyStyleTV}

Being honored for his talent is no new territory for Oscar, as he has won many awards over the years for his excellence in design.  Oscar also served as President for the Council of Fashion Designers of America from 1973-1976 and made one big change that you may all be interested in, Oscar added the CFDA Awards! This allowed the fashion industry to award their own for a job well done, rather than going to an outside sponsor. Oscar has been awarded:

Coty Awards

1967 Fashion Critic's Award

1968 Fashion Critic's Award

1973 Coty Hall of Fame

CFDA Awards

1990 CFDA Lifetime Achievement Award 

2000 Designer of the Year 

2007 Designer of the Year 

Before expanding into his diverse and fabulous accessory lines, Oscar makes a detour from 1993-2002 to be head couturier of Balmain...the first American to do so for a French house! Oscar is able to turn Balmain, a failing line that had not sold a dress in two years, into a leading house for dress sales in France.

{merci brides.com}

Oscar de la Renta is equal parts designer and business man which is apparent when you see the deep footprint he has firmly planted on the fashion world. I always look forward to his new collection each season, as it prances down the runways full of color, life, and lots of embellishment!

{Merci The Fashion Mag Pie}

{dates and info thanks to Wikipedia and Oscar de la Renta website}


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Fashion 101: Yves Saint Laurent

It has been a while since my blog has mentioned anything about France now that I live in New York City. So for this lesson of Fashion 101 I wanted to feature a true legend to the fashion world, and France's own, Yves Saint Laurent.

As I just visited the Alexander McQueen Exhibition: Savage Beauty at The Met (don't worry that post is coming...and YES it was amazing), I was reminded of an equally great exhibit I had the honor of visiting last summer in Paris. That's right, I had so many posts and photos going up in the summer of 2010 that somewhere amongst the chaos of my cross-Atlantic move, I had a tiny little gold mine of snapshots that got lost in the recesses of my external drive! So here's to another great Fashion 101!

Yves Saint Laurent at the Petit Palais 

along the Seine River...my heart just melts as I think of it. 

**Please note: not all of these photos are the best, I was shooting from the hip...literally... as I was trying to discreetly capture the ambience of the exhibition for you guys without getting caught.**

At 17, Yves Saint Laurent started his career as an assistant to Christian Dior in 1953. Dior gradually accepted more and more of his sketch submissions and named him his successor to the House of Dior. In the Fall of 1957 Dior died unexpectedly of a heart attack and suddenly at 21 Yves Saint Laurent was to direct his first runway line. 

Here are the stats that any true fashionista should know about YSL:

1. Fused Art and Culture with Fashion

In his premier line for the Christian Dior label, he set the world on fire by creating Dior's signature "New Look" with trapeze dresses. 

 {merci Girl's Guide to Paris}

His life was all about art and culture and it was constantly cognisant in his collections. Including his famous YSL color block dress inspired by the well known Mondrian painting, and was just one of many art reinterpretations over the course of his fashion career. His influence was often found outside of Europe as well, and he is credited as the first designer to send ethnic models down his runway, including longtime muse, supermodel Iman.

{merci fashion freax}

2. Founded Ready to Wear

As many designers in the mid sixties meddled with a few pret-a-porter pieces, Yves Saint Laurent was the first to launch a full ready to wear collection in the Fall of 1966. In addition that Fall, he opened the first of his ready to wear stores which he called his Rive Gauche stores, in Paris. Catherine Deneuve was his first customer. 

Fashion fades, style is eternal ~Yves Saint Laurent

3. Uncovered the lost art of Couture

The sixties and seventies were a time where the golden age of decadent couture had long been forgotten, ahem... polyester suits. But as a couturier himself, Yves Saint Laurent's creations brought back haute couture into the spotlight it deserved. 

Haute couture consists of secrets whispered from generation to generation...If in ready to wear, a garment is manufactured according to standard sizes, the haute couture garmet adapts to any imperfection in order to eliminate it. ~Yves Saint Laurent

4. The women's tuxedo suit

YSL's partner and longtime companion Pierre Berge once said, "We often say Chanel has liberated the woman, which is true, but we can also say that YSL gave them the power." No truer words could be spoken. Yves Saint Laurent's designs were specific to empower the woman and pull out her beauty at the same time. In his Fall 1965 collection, YSL introduced Le Smoking, his women's tuxedo pantsuit that changed to female corporate look forever. YSL is also credited with other trends such as safari jackets, thigh high boots, and his coined beatnik look.

{merci wikipedia}

Yves Saint Laurent was a vital piece of the ever evolving landscape of fashion, and experiencing this exhibit was truly breath taking. In the Centre Pompidou on January 22, 2002 YSL showed his last collection before retiring, showcasing 30 new looks and a collection of 300 models emphasizing the highlights over his career. He died of brain cancer on June 1, 2008 in his Paris residence.

I want to thank all the women who have worn my clothes, the famous and the unknown, who have been so faithful to me and given me so much joy. ~Yves Saint Laurent

 {merci yoox.com}

 Thank you Wikipedia and the Petit Palais for your wisdom.

Fashion 101: Goodbye to a Legend - Elizabeth Taylor

It was a sad day yesterday, as the world said goodbye to the very last Hollywood Golden Age Legend. Elizabeth Taylor, dangerously curvy, fashion icon, died at 79 from heart failure that had her hospital bound many times in the last 7 years. Known for her many (8) marriages, to the likes of Nicky Hilton (Paris's grandfather) and Richard Burton, among others, she stayed very much in the public eye up until her death.

Setting the stage at 12 as a child star in National Velvet, Elizabeth's violet eyes, and talent transitioned her into great MGM roles as she grew...grew in to a curvacious sex bomb.  But MGM had yet to recognize this Golden Age Legend potential. Her first major movie was the original Father of the Bride in 1950.

She continued making many movies that she was not happy with, but MGM refused to cast her in anything higher. Finally she co-starred in Giant with James Dean in 1956 and her stardom catapulted. Her next 4 films were repeatedly Academy Award Nominations for Best Actress: Raintree County, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Suddenly, Last Summer, and finally winning for Butterfied 8.

By the time Cleopatra rolled around, Elizabeth Taylor was the highest paid actress, signing a one million dollar contract...two million after overtime...in 1960! This is when she began her scandalous infidelity with co-star Richard Burton. Later Burton would become her long time husband, as well as co-star in a total of 8 movies. One in which she received her 2nd Academy Award, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

Elizabeth Taylor had a passion for jewelry and was known for her fair share of opulence...including the 33.19 carat Krupp Diamond and the Cartier 69.42 carat Taylor-Burton Diamond. Oh and did I forget to mention the 50 carat La Peregrina Pearl Burton gave Taylor for Valentine's Day...that originally belonged to Queen Mary I of England?...yeah. So it made perfect sense when, one of the first celebrity endorsed (and most successful) perfumes, White Diamonds, was born.

{Merci WeHeartIt for photos and Wikipedia for Timeline}

Goodbye to the last of Hollywood's Golden Age

Elizabeth Taylor

1932 - 2011 

Fashion 101: History of High Heels

High Heels have a long history of adoration. Fashion has showcased an array of creativity for these feet adornments over the centuries...but where did they come from? Rumor has it that King Louis XIV was the man (that's right) that started the trend... but that's not entirely true.

"I don't know who invented high heels, but all women owe him a lot!"

~Marilyn Monroe 

 {merci weheartit}

{Merci Jessica Lee Jernigan}

High heels actually began their story with the Chopine dating as far back as 1000 BC Egypt! They reached as high as 20" at times and required servants to help the socialites walk around! These shoes were prohibited in Venice...but that didn't stop their fans. Catherine de Medici in Paris in the 16th Century was the first to have heels designed for her (she was rather short) where the heel elevated higher than the toe.

{merci Figlia}

Always a sex symbol, the English Parliament punished women (as witches) all who used high heels to seduce a man into marriage (oh la la)! But by the early 1700's they became necessity fashion in the royal courts, and leading the trend, King Louis XIV had many ornate high heels embellished with miniature battle scenes (very manly).

Heels reached as high as 5"...just as long as no one's were higher than the king's (complex much??).

By 1791 the man with the ultimate Short Man Complex banned heels with the French Revolution...yes Napoleon did that ladies. The ban was an attempt to show "equality"...yeah. High heel history stops for a bit as politics catches up.

{merci Goddiva Blog}

High heels were back in business in the 1860s when the invention of the sewing machine lent a whole new variety of design. The French high heel fashion continued to be the trend setter. By the 1920s high heels came in a variety of widths, heights and styles. This was a turning point for shoe history because the shorter style Flapper dresses now allowed shoes to become accessories to an outfit rather than a hidden undergarment. The T-Strap heel was a very popular style. In the 1930s American footwear began making its mark, as the glittery Hollywood heels of Ginger Rogers began to influence footwear!

{Merci Pookie from Laredo}

Post war, 1953, Christian Dior collaborated with designer Roger Vivier to create a curved feminine high heel to compliment the curve of his clothing line. This was the first stiletto ladies...not quite the provocative versions of today, but controversial then nonetheless. The term stiletto, Italian for small dagger, was appropriately coined.

{Merci Past Perfect Vintage}

{Merci oocities}

The Women's Movement of the 1960s brought heels low to "Liberate the captive foot of womanhood" but as the 1970s approached the Hippie culture embraced platforms as style, as their concerns became anxiety about the world's future rather than footwear. 

{Merci Christian Louboutin}

{Merci Manolo Blahnik}

In the Women's Movement of the 1980s the high heel becomes a symbol of power. From there, high heel history is well...history. In the 1990s specific footwear designers begin to have fame such as Manolo Blahnik and Christian Louboutin. Television shows such as Sex and the City, showcasing Carrie Bradshaw's ever committed relationship to her shoes catapult high heels to cult status and continues today.

What are your favorite high heels mes cheries?

Thank you Mysexyhiheels and Simone le Blanc for the fashion history knowledge. 

Fashion 101: New York Fashion Week

All too soon the white tents will pop up at Lincoln Center my dears and this little fashionista has ants in her over the knee boots, just giddy with anticipation! Mais, where did the elusive New York Fashion Week get its start I wonder?

{merci Herald de Paris}

The earliest American Fashion Show on record was in NYC (bien sur!) in 1903 in the Ehrich Brothers Emporium. Allegedly held to lure middle class shoppers in the doors, this success had became a trend by 1910 and by the Twenties a nationwide norm. But it was still Paris who held the crown for anything fashion related worth turning your pin curled head for.

{merci NYC Architecture}

That was until World War II. The nation was in a state of panic, with no money to be found anywhere, suddenly the fashion crowd of New York could not fly to Paris to attend Les Defiles! Oh la la! In 1943 Fashion Publicist...and game changer...Eleanor Lambert, took advantage of the golden opportunity to turn the lime light onto the ignored talents of American work. She organized what she called "Press Week" for fashion designers to promote their work for fashion journalists, who until then never bothered to care...success had birthed a phenomenon. Vogue & Co. began featuring American designers among their many glossy spreads of the French elite, and the world's very first organized Fashion Week had been created!!

{merci Guest of a Guest}

It wasn't until 1994 that the scattered events throughout the city became centralized at Bryant Park. The once more theatrical public shows became streamlined and chic "invitation only" events. And 2010 marked the end of yet another era as Bryant Park's tents went down for the last time and the next lustful name was born... Lincoln Center.

{merci photography friend Adam David Kissick}

Thank you Wikipedia and New York's Guest of a Guest for the info!

If only I can click my pretty red heels 3 times to get into this home...