Dior, 1948

What was Christian Dior up to in 1948? Well, for one thing -he was designing 'Abandon' for autumn & winter . Why don't clothes or houses have names anymore? I think a name can add so much! You wouldn't have a pet or child without one obviously! This dress of silk and cotton was noted for its plunging neckline. Supposedly, for more modest women, you could adjust the silk to cover up more......I'm not buying that. Still -it's a beautiful dress! Below is a more modern version of the dress -recognize it?

Pics courtesy of the Met

When ugly things happen to pretty people

Lets talk, Nicole Kidman. You're one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood. Why are you doing this to yourself? While pregnant, you stopped your 'treatments' and you were back to your old self; you even gained a few much-needed pounds. So why?? I'm one of your biggest supporters but if this is the train wreck we're headed towards - I'M OUT!
PS if you don't know what I'm talking about -look towards the mouth region.

Dior, the talent

While I can barely do him justice, especially in such a short post, I would like to just talk briefly about Christian Dior as I'm currently reading his autobiography from 1957. Dior believed that accessories MADE the outfit. After coming up with the initial sketches of a dress, he would then go on to chose the accessories right away, even before seeing the finalized dress! He worked with Roger Vivier often for shoes, such as this cheetah printed silk show above. Notice the beautiful details such as the rhinestone button and beautiful catch.

This is a detail photograph from 1954 of his dress called ' Moulin Rouge'. He wrote that he wanted to make women happy and gave his dresses fun, exotic and happy names.

This sketch by Gruau shows Ispahan from 1947 for the magazine 'Adam'. From the start of the Dior salon, it was a huge success. He wrote that after 1 year of business, it was such an established brand that he would hear people talking about it as if it had been around since the turn of the century! All he ever wanted was a tiny, small exclusive salon -he never expected or wanted all of the publicity and growth of his company.

Entry to the boutique. Housed in a grand but sedate mansion /townhouse at 30 Avenue Montaigne - he wanted it to be a simple take on tradition ala the style of 1910: Everything in shades of gray and white.

Cachotier from 1951 - I love this very architectural dress with the ruched gloves. It must be so uncomfortable though!

A dress from Fall / Winter 1954 -this shows the finished product on the right and the process on the left. Primarily known for his evening gowns, Dior was in the group of the moneyed classes who were throwing grand balls after WWII to forget the horrors and atrocities they witnessed -society wanted fun! Dior provided the dresses.

An ad from 1960 for shoes by Vivier for Dior. Drawn by Gruau of course.

Dior made the cover of Time magazine in 1957 -the year of his autobiographyThe models of the house of Dior from 1957. I love the model with alabaster skin and red lips in the black dress! So chic. Her name was Lucky! A sketch by Dior for the 1951 collections. Such expressive lines, evocative of Gruau.

All images from the book 'Dior' by Universe of Fashion by Marie-France Pochna; forward by Grace Mirabella. You can find this great little book online HERE very inexpensively used.

Lagerfeld Confidential

I spent the other night watching Lagerfeld Confidential. I always thought he seemed to be an overly eccentric crazy (old) man; but I was intrigued. After watching this semi-autobiographical documentary - I am totally in love with Karl! He comes off as very human, but somewhat fragile. A great sense of humor: very polite and friendly with those he comes in contact with, but very serious when it comes to work in a no nonsense German type way. Totally drop dead Chic. A big idea maker, not interested in the details. Solitary. Brilliant.The film is a series of interviews conducted over 3 years and just video watching Karl - very voyeuristic. It starts out slow but by the end you're into the very meat of the biography. You see him working, playing, eating and just hanging out. Topics cover his views on prostitution, fashion, society, life/death, religion, politics and his own childhood. He seems like he would be an amazing friend. I wasn't shocked to see that his entire world is very glamorous -very 'Chanel'. All black and white with no color -pure style. One thing I wondered is he protests so much about how he likes solitude, being alone. I kept wondering 'doth he protesteth too much'? Does he just want a big hug?! Who knows. Now for my favorite part of the film: the filmmaker is in a bathroom at Chanel and there is a sign that says (paraphrasing) PISSING EVERYWHERE IS NOT VERY CHANEL. Ladies and gentleman, I have found my new favorite phrase! I literally paused the movie to go and write this down. From now on, I will say something to be 'not very Chanel' whenever I'm not pleased with it. One more time for emphasis: PISSING EVERYWHERE IS NOT VERY CHANEL.
Karl Lagerfeld with Marc Jacobs posing with posters of their simpson's cartoons shown in August 2007 Harpers Bazaar.

British GQ

No one does style like the British and this photo essay from British GQ proves it. Not only is the photography beautiful, so are the clothes and the locations! Enjoy this saturday fun post :-)

Name the inspiration!

First person to name the famous photograph this cover from Vogue Italia is modeled after wins a prize.........the knowledge that they're VERY smart (sorry, I'm not a Rockefeller, no giveaways today!) and my undying respect and admiration!!
I missed this article from a few months back but maybe you heard about it (could be that I don't read Vogue Italia, lol ). I think it's very chic - proving Linda Evangelista is still a force in the modeling world!

All photos from Where the Lights End blog.