“My dream is to save women from nature.” Christian Dior
Dear Raf,
You do know you’re working for Dior right? Just checking because Bebe the autistic geriatrics from the Menorah House want their sketches back.
xx.
d
ps. shape ≠ architecture.
stripe. trapeze. appliqué. die.
Images courtesy of style.com & dresszebra
“My mom is so jealous of me.” Bridgett, Toddlers & Tiaras
Okay, I had absolutely no idea that Natalie Portman was the type of woman who dreamed of being a fairy child on her wedding day. I was totally fooled with those really chic Dior ads, but I guess the writing was on the wall. The wall of her imdb filmography… No Strings Attached. Where The Heart Is. Your Highness. Thor. Black Swan.
Come to think of it, I’m not really sure if I ever liked Natalie. Which is weird because I could’ve sworn I did. Maybe it was just the “love other Jews” thing I was brainwashed, taught in hebrew school. Which I guess she kind of missed– having just married a gentile. A French gentile. Which, I’m pretty sure is double taboo for Jews? I don’t know. What I do know is when Hillary out-chic’s you it’s time to give those “friends” of yours at Toys-R-Us Rodarte a call. And can someone please give me a call and explain why flower crowns are still a thing. Thanks.
Images courtesy of Fanpop
“I think we have to be aware that people are allowed to make mistakes in their life.” Christian Dior
These windows although really single white female in a Clue kind of way are exponentially more chic than Dior has daned to be in seasons… Before Simmons there was Gaytten in the study with the candlestick, and Chico’s Dior PF 2012:
Dior, 21 East 57th, 212.931.2950
Images courtesy of Style.com
So I know I’ve been giving serious SCW whiplash lately- windows, broadcasts, birthday shout outs, me… It’s a lot to take in, but I guess this is the direction I’m going in now, so elucidate on that.
This picture is actually not a window at all but a wall, and its deff not Jemima Kirke. Chanel is just like all over the place right now– as in a temporary location on Madison and Karl’s shiteous Little Bo Un-Chic 2013 Resort collection. Which really, I just have no words for. Other than no, and I’m sorry. Sorry that you had a full on aesthetic lobotomy Karl and with really poor timing too, because Chanel’s Resort retails the longest in stores. Whatever, it happens. I mean it shouldn’t, but people are people, and I can’t take it personally, which I totally don’t, but do you know who in the fashion world should be taking things personally? Dior. I mean, Bernard Arnault. So much time and money wasted trying to make people who aren’t Galliano happen… Which is so not happening. Anti semite or not, I’m not having him over for Baklavah, he’s designing for Dior. Brilliantly and beautifully. Something neither Gaytten nor Simmons have proven artistically capable of rendering. Crème Brûlée can never be Jello- and that collection, first Couture or not, was no fucking Couture, nor Dior at all. Tell me, how long can one really bite off their nose to spite their face? Bring back JG like now. No, like last year… And Karl, just stop with the Helena Bonham Carter thing.
Anyway, here is a look at Chanel Resort, then and now…
2007, 2008, 2009
2013
2010, 2011, 2012
2013
Images courtesy of style.com
Cherry picking a part of the body otherwise left un-seen by the public (with the exclusion of beaches, music festivals and House Bunny), every so often the fashion community takes an undergarment and makes it the must-have outerwear… Bloomers have been a wardrobe staple and Miu Miu mainstay for seasons now and last year everyone and their mother (no really it was scary) was rocking the lace bra as a tank look.
As beloved as it was, I’m happy to bid the trend adue and say hello to a more figure friendly one. And by figure friendly I mean my figure friendly– boobalicious. You see, a few years ago, Paris took the throne in an unprecedented itty bitty titty coup and almost immediately, big breasts fell hard from fashion grace. All of a sudden designers everywhere started to care more about the un-shapely people of the world. Amorphic looks flooded runways and magazines and then quickly hit the stores. If only I had known then that boobs would take a turn for the un-chic in 2004, I wouldn’t have spent the early part of the decade wishing for them to arrive. But we can’t go back. Not to then, or to A-line and oversized, caftan or bib front, boxy or drop waist, bandeau or maxi. Times that do nothing but shame busts into hiding. Dark times. Flat times. I shudder…
But, the more I see my therapist, the more I’m learning to forgive. And thanks to a paradigm shift in trends, which hopefully signals smoke signs of hope that designers have come to their senses, I’m happy to report boobs are back in! Seriously, burn that striped bandeau, it wasn’t doing much for you anyway and get lifted. Strap yourself into the “it” summer shirt– the bustier, or bralet. Sorry surfboards you’ve gotta sit this one out, but just remember that up until now you’ve had every single trend, you can shop anywhere at any price point and you can basically skip sports bras and bikini tops all together. so go fuck yourselves.
In honor of my excitement that graciously we’ve been given 1 hot trend in 8 years, over the next few weeks I’ll be bringing you the chicest looks inspired by some of my favorite bosom buddies. Yea… I’ll be dragging this one out.
The Sophia.
The Shades: Dior Cat Eye, The Bustier: Dolce & Gabbana Floral Jacquard, The Bag: Celiné Anthracite, The Shorts: Dolce & Gabbana High Waisted, The Shoe: Fendi Lace-up Espadrille, The Earrings: Lanvin Crystal Embellished, The Cuff: YSL Black Mamaba
Normally I’m not an advocate for the whole “in transit” look- bubble wrap, paper print. I mean tell me a time when old news was ever chic. Let me help you, there hasn’t been, and if you’re thinking Dior I’m thinking of shanking you in the kidney and paper cutting your jugular (hot ≠ chic). I still haven’t been able to vanquish the memory of the seriously awful duct tape situation that went down in high school. Everything covered in tape– wallets, pants, backpacks. It should’ve been their freak on a leash faces.
But, being that Manhattan Mini Storage told me they dig Sick City Windows and well, if you tell me you like my blog (and have sick windows like say, gowns made of packing material) theres a good chance you’ll wind up on it. Oh and did I mention they also have some of the chicest ads around… I’m kind of a junkie- don’t hate.
**Material Possessions…
Manhattan Mini Storage, 420 East 62nd
During the Cretaceous period flowering plants arrived for the fist time in nature, revolutionizing plant reproduction, the face of life in the natural world & countless catwalks.
Christian Dior Couture Fall 2010
Relying on insects and animals to carry their pollen from flower to flower, producing nectar ensured an animal’s return and a flower’s success. And although it was nectar these pollinators were after, flowers initially needed a way to attract insects and animals. After all, the sugary rich nectar bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and bats crave is hidden deep within a plant’s stamen. Cloaked in vibrant colors of intricate patterns and innumerable varieties, petals became the external marker of a flower’s internal sweetness.
This change in plants from spore germination to pollination marks a most important time in biology that affects all species today. It is the moment in which Beauty became a function of the natural order, wherein living things had to be aesthetically pleasing enough to ensure their survival in the long run. For the first time in nature, individual and collective survival was directly linked to the ability to visually stimulate; the flower’s attractive form necessitated by its function to thrive. And just think how beautiful flowers had to be to attract members of other species. Could you imagine if human survival hinged on our ability to attract flamingos or be found beautiful by zebras?
Viktor & Rolf Spring 2003 RTW
The flowers that didn’t make the cut, didn’t attract pollinators, didn’t pass on their genetic information and ceased to exist. On a grand scale this weeding out of nature’s most beautiful flowers from the rest gives us evidence today of what our ancient fellow creatures considered to be the most beautiful, and thus the fittest of flowers.
And because flowers are still thriving and we humans today are no less bewitched by beautiful things, natural and man made, it can be said that Beauty is an innate drive hardwired in all species to aid in evolutionary processes. It is no accident that our eye and brain are pre-programmed to pick out beautiful things from the rest. And serve nature well Beauty did, angiosperms are the largest group in the plant kingdom!
Diane von Furstenberg Spring 2009 RTW
Because flowers are so unanimously appreciated by many forms of life on Earth they set the universal standard of beauty. We don’t know if bees find alligators attractive or if birds think horses are sexy because their evolutionary mutualism would be evident today. And while there are many symbioses between the species, their profitable bonds were not born out of an aesthetically pleasing visual appreciation of the other like the flower. So we must give thanks to flowers for their part in making Beauty a survival necessity of the natural world.
Flowers have been an inspiration for countless works of art, bodies of literature and compositions of music. Millions of bouquets are given annually as a kind gesture and sign of good will and they grace the runway season after season; and rightfully so. Fashioning ourselves in the most beautiful of foliage is a way to appear more attractive, which as it happens to be, is the function of fashion as well. Talk about a double whammy!
Anna Sui Spring 2012 RTW
Although floral obsessions have since decreased from Tulip Mania, the period in time where the Dutch went so manic for tulips that a single bulb sold for the modern day price of a Fifth Avenue townhouse; we are no less behooved by their grandeur.
And grand they are. Whether you favor Lilacs, while I prefer Orchids, flowers are loved by all, to which we owe our thanks for bringing Beauty into the world and aesthetic appreciation into our lives. In honor of the flower, and in celebration of the birth of Beauty (145-65 million years ago this Spring), here is a look at some of my favorite floral moments in fashion:
Christian Dior Couture Fall 2010
Prada Spring 2012 RTW
Christian Dior Couture Fall 2010
Prada Spring 2012 RTW
Anna Sui Spring 2012 RTW
Viktor & Rolf Spring 2003 RTW
Images courtesy of Style.com
Although Dior’s 57th street honey hued windows are undeniably luxe, featuring the 2012 Resort collection, I have to admit that without design revolutionary & artistic visionary John Galliano, (despite how uncouth he may be in his personal life), Christian Dior just isn’t the same.
I knew that once the pen switched hands over to Bill Gaytten, the fashion house would undergo an obvious evolution of sorts, I just expected that like the many before him, Gaytten would work within the brand’s larger aesthetic and weave himself throughout the rich essence of Dior, not impede upon it. Which, happened to be the case with his inaugural and subsequent collections. 2011 Couture reminded me of a modern art deco painting hanging in a weird uncle’s bachelor pad, devoid of real depth and provocation. 2012 Resort wasn’t the least bit playful, and as we all know, the Dior girl just wants to have fun. And the SS 2012 Ready to Wear collection displays the skill set of a junior contemporary designer, with its safe proportions, amateur balance, and questionable harmony.
But, no hard feelings Bill, there is always next season (sometimes). Might I suggest that with a bar set as high as yours is, perhaps it is time to let Dior speak through you, not for you.
To check out Gaytten’s collections visit Style.com
Sometimes it’s not what’s in a window that’s alluring, but what’s on it. Which in the case of Dior Homme on 57th & Madison, is a male model sporting a very “Johnny Depp” wide brimmed hat, beckoning male and female alike inside. Much like LV’s windows, Dior took their runway concept to the streets, & windows if you will.
Photograph by Willy Vanderperre
The two sets of ladies in Dior’s 57th street windows, so vastly different from one another and redressed only weeks apart, make me wonder will the real Dior woman please stand up?
With such refinery in the first pair, it’s as if Chanel mannequins, who after a night out at The Russian Tea Room, decided to pose in the Dior window for a gag. These ladies dressed in black, white, and lace all over, are not trendy, they like their vodka straight and their music sultry, opting for the sounds of Beach House and Chet Baker. Such, is a far cry from the second pair of Dior women, who can be found romping around The Mondrian Soho, their bubblegum sweet chiffon dresses as much a fairytale as the Alice in Wonderland theme the Hotel boasts. Late night they opt for underground Apotheke, sipping on mixologist made specialties, dancing to Santogold, Teagan and Sara, and The XX. These ladies wouldn’t pop into another store window for a laugh, but smear one in red paint, which does happen annually to Burberry’s Soho shop.
Needless to say, with outfits and lifestyles so different from one another, the only thing these Dior leading ladies share is the window in which they dwell and the bespoke tailoring they wear.
Which Dior woman are you??
