SPRING and The Grand Budhapest Hotel

Checking Out, Vouge

&

The Grand Budapest Hotel

If any art form was going to rival and beat Wes Anderson to the punch it would be Vogue. 

 This fantastical photo shoot show cases the best couture of Spring published in Vogue March 2012. This was published just as couture was become revitalized with new energy and wonder. Frothing like a french pastry the shoot lets Kate Moss show off her amazing skills while paying homage for the Ritz Hotels closure in Paris. 

All this striking imagery reminded me of the best visual movie of the year: The Grand Budapest Hotel. 

With visual luxuries,  grand dame/supper model, love, and a historic tend setting hotel. 

What more could you need to set your spring fashion imagination soaring?

GRUNGE for a Northwest Winter (we invented it for a reason...)

 ...the reason this season is the rain! here in the great mist green of the northwest we always need the layers, always needing boots and always needing a hood or a large scarf to pull over your head to keep those droplets off. But all of these challenges are no excuse to dress like a perma-hiker or a slob, Grunge takes effort or at least thought to how you put these elements together. Bad Ass and ready to conquer the slippery asphalt with a fierce style.
note: more pants!

White as Winter White as Paper

The following looks are all about the trendiest of non-colors 
to wear for winter, the clean the fresh white. 
The article below is about using paper techniques, such as origami,
to create structured dimension in clothing. 
It come out via Vogue a few season before the resurgence of minimalism dressing
 which still makes use of strong angles edges and detail much like the crisp folding of a paper.









A Spring Dripping in Honey

"As Egyptian mythology has it, swarms of bees migrated across the desert first tumbled to Earth as tears from Ra, the ancient sun god. In keeping with Alexander McQueen's romantic, macabre sensibility, Sarah Burton's latter-day insects rendered in brass-each glimmering with a topaz-crystal abdomen-are meticulously handcrafted by Italian artisans ans affixed to tortoiseshell-patterned Plexiglas cuffs. It's all enough to make us buzz like... well bees on a honeycomb."
 -Vogue March 2013







GUCCI's  idea of Bees.  
 
Original Painting by Arielle Adkin
A Spring Dripping in Honey
I can not deny how struck I am by the artistry
of the Alexander McQueen Spring 2013 collection.  
It is a sartorial take on the natural beauty of honeybee, it's hive and those that keep them. However literally gorgeous the hive dresses and veiled hats, this collection goes beyond into a darker fantasy. The allure of sweet honey and the sting of the bees. I recognize political aspects in collection with the bridging of urban fashion world with the natural world that Sarah Burton has addressed in her collections before. The life of the honey bee is threatened, celebrate this subtle and spectacular bring of awareness to the adornment of our necks, wrists, and bodies. This beauty is worth the risk of the sting, and the that is the true sensuality of spring. 

β€œThe collection is a study of femininity. We looked at erotica. Vargas girls, cages, corsets and crinolines and the idealized female form. Nothing is set in a particular period. It’s about sensuality and skin but not nudity. We also wanted to express lightness, for the clothes almost to hover over the women who wear them.” 
Sarah Burton

Then and Now



  Altuzarra: Then/ 2010




 
Altuzarra: Now/2013

 

Prabal Gurung: Then/2010

 
Note the ruffles! very spring 2013


Prabal Gurung: Now/2013


 


 Matthew Ames

 

Gryphon 





 Article via Vogue 2010
This was Vogue's artical about up-in coming designers in 2010,  so intriging at the time now some are so famous, like Altuzarra and Prabal Gurung and others still extesting in the fridges, of art house, Matthew Ames, or small labels, Gryphon. You desided if their perdictions were right on or if they have yet to make there mark on the fashion world.

 
The two Jewelry designers mentioned above are linked here:






Layer in Aura Colors









Layer in Aura Colors
I once read in a very new-Aggy, very awesome book, that people look best in the colors that most closely match their aura.  I'm sure one could look great in color that contrast their aura as well, what an interesting day that would be.
 This season is, quite arguably, is when we need color most and I am thrilled with the current color riot trend. The key is to pick classic cuts in your favorite vibrant color (maybe one that matches your aura) in this way we can insure that this color tend will last. I particularly, love that all of this color taps into your creative side, the final outfit being a bit art-nerd chic with a vibrant up lift of the color vibes themselves and the compliments of "Wow, you look so great in green!"

 Note the solid gold accessories to make everything pop!

The Green and Grey of It




In keeping with the style theme of the "new neutral" these wardrobe building piece are even better in alternative greens and greys. The clean and polish is there but with a bit more of a tomboy, masculine twist, army green is the ultimate modern girl neutral.

New Neutral



This image (shown above) began my love affair with Valentio. His dresses are clean with the perfict balance of femmine with and edge. Build your wordrobe around one of these dresses and you can't go wrong.
Newtral: for a New Year.
After all the glittery tensile, red and green, the overall sensory overload, lets clean the plate with some wardrobe building neutrals. Chic in their simplicity. They also allow the wearer to be that much more creative with their wardrobe. It’s all about the versatility that can re-inspire you to wear what you all ready have in your closet.

Miu Miu Of a Different Age yet Timeless


 

It is impossible to speak of a 40’s cinematic aesthetic without 
Miu Miu’s 2011 fall collection.
I gushed over this collection when it first debuted, at the time, on my Tumblr page I wrote:
 "Out of all the fall's collections this was my most coveted. Subtle in its’ play on classic silhouettes it becomes about the art of the finish details. The large buttons the floral the sequined birds create a tone of whimsy while still these looks demand a elegant seriousness. A glamour not to be trifled with but can still spark fantasy." 
Looking back I still swoon but more importantly I see its relevance to the fall collections of now. The silhouette speaks to the return of suiting, and turns to a different proportion one that is larger with shoulders (bye -bye maxi dress), the appliques of glittery birds and florals hint to the hyper embellishment that is now in,  then the modernizing of fur, and the use bright color that is now every wear!  Miuccia Prada is ever pushing us forward in how we dress  and she certainly did so with a classic kid-glove and this 
stunning collection. 


I

 To re-experiance the whole collection visit:

Mood Board #7 The Cinematic 40's





So Cinematic
Taking inspiration from the 1940's, the era of the cinematic Film Noir, these looks are iconic and timeless in there glamour, polish and refinement. I find it's just the right mix of femme fatale and serious suiting. It's the season to layer up in the mystery.

Mood Board #6 Fall Wind Storm





Beautiful Faye as Bonnie                                           Mood Board #7 Fall Wind Storm                                                                                                                                As we feel the crispness in the air, the chilly breeze, we begin to put on layers. This can be such a wardrobe conundrum, to find the right combination with all our own rules. I personally don't want to wear a coat in till I have to, or skin jeans tucked into boots (Portlands staple in the rain) until the last second! These inspired looks are a modernized take on 40's style, with a layered, slightly unkempt look. I must call attention to the iconic film "Bonnie and Clyde". The fashion in this film is truly inspirational and speaks to a resurgence of this sweater girl style I see more and more on the street. Just look at the seductive Faye as Bonnie. Well, hipsters we now know where some of your looks originated!

The Old Hipster or Vintage Dressing

This is an article about hipster fashion as defined by the vintage, Western, distress clothing phenomenon. News flash, to the fun fashion hipsters of Portland Or. and beyond, because this trend has hit the main stream (high fashion like in a Vogue publication, see artical) then it is no longer a "hipster style." So has the hipster look died with H&M and thick rimmed glasses on everyone, or will it morph into something new? 
I am waiting to see what the freaks and geeks on the street come up with. 
Come on hipster's show me what you got!!! 
Definition of Hipster




 

A New Light. Mood board #5




A New Light
For this transition into early fall I start to think about those long shadows cast by a sinking sun. The photos in this mood board conjure the elegant contrast of a California light.  Th  editorial shoot featuring Mia Wasikowska expresses dressing for the west cost life, in a glitzy yet laid back mix of black, cream and gold (and desert Kachina print dress by Hermes). Classic, rock and roll, and Hollywood these contrast will make you strut into a new light.
Find inspiration in this light from The Row

Bijoux #2





This is another great jewelery design mood board. Different shapes and trends all inspired by the deep green of the emerald. Not only a redheads best friend but it remains a classic amongst the color craze of late. Think emerald is the new navy. This color is so rich that even the fine cut dresses (one the most refined by Jil Sander Spring 12 line) seem to act like full body jewelery. Confident, daring and mouth watering. Just like the redheads who wear it well!

-I am dedicating this post to my sister, as this is her favorite color for a reason! I hope she packs some emerald in her luggage as she sets off for a summer in Rome! Kiss Kiss.