Author Archive
Paris Couture: Autumn/Winter 2009/10
By Milton
Givenchy (Above)
Here are some highlights from the first round of the Paris Couture shows for Autumn/Winter 2009/10. Haute Couture is French for “High Sewing” or “High Dressmaking”. Couture collections are defined by the quality of materials used, custom tailoring, and intricate by hand needle work. A single piece in the collection can take a designer any where from 100 to 1000 hours to create, it’s all in the details. All though today fashion houses generate profit from their ready to wear collections, couture collections allow the designer to exhibit excellent artistry, setting the tone for ready to wear fashion while earning recognition for the design house.
A common theme through out the first round of shows was streamline tailoring and over the top embellishments. Chanel’s collection was full of bejeweled and feather trims, Giorgio Armani Privé was also full of beautiful bead work and perfect tailoring with pantsuits and red carpet dresses. Riccardo Tisci also stuck with the strict principals of tailoring in his collection for Givenchy, mixed with exotic Moroccan inspired shapes, and more modern looks using studs, spikes and chains. Although it appears that this may be Christian Lacroix’s last couture show, the designer did not miss a step with his Autumn/Winter collection. The collection was flawless with a perfect mix of draping and fitted tailoring and the Byzantine inspired embroidery details were icing on the cake.
Giorgio Armani Prive (Above)
Chanel (Above)
Christian Dior (Above)
1 comment July 8, 2009
Milan Menswear Spring 2010
By Milton
Alexander McQueen
The first group of menswear ended yesterday in Milan. The shows included Alexander McQueen, D&G, Dsquared, Emporio Armani, Etro, John Varvatos, Marni, Salvatore Ferragamo, Z Zegna, Bottega Veneta, Burberry Prorsum, C.P. Company, Calvin Klein Collection, Costume National, Dolce & Gabbana, Ermenegildo Zegna, Gianfranco Ferré, Gucci, Giorgio Armani, Jil Sander, Missoni, Moschino, Neil Barrett, Prada, Roberto Cavalli, Trussardi 1911, Undercover and Versace. Here are few a highlights from the Milan shows. All the fashion excitement is moving to Paris tomorrow, where more designers will present their collections for the Spring 2010 for four days.
Bottega Veneta (Above)
D&G (Above)
Dolce & Gabbana (Above)
Gucci (Above)
John Vervatos (Above)
Prada (Above)
Roberto Cavalli (Above)
Salvatore Ferragamo (Above)
Versace (Above)
1 comment June 23, 2009
Details from the Resort 2010 Collection
By Milton
Chanel (Above)
Many times, small details are the ones that give life and personality to a garment. Too often, we overlook these details and don’t realize how embellishments can make a piece look beautiful.
To demonstrate this, I picked 7 looks from the Resort 2010 collection. They have different kind of embellishments and they all work perfectly. Notice how without the embellishments, they wouldn’t look the same or they would probably look dull. Most of them utilize sequins plus a different element such as beads, crystals or mirrors. Others, like the look from Zac Posen, use beautiful buttons and ribbon. You can also make any piece you already own special, just find the right embellishments and have fun being creative with them.
Alexander Wang (Above)
Diane Von Furstenberg (Above)
Marc Jacobs (Above)
Oscar De La Renta (Above)
Zac Posen (Above)
Marc by Marc Jacobs (Above)
1 comment June 8, 2009
Nautical Style Makes a Splash on Street Fashion
By Milton
This summer nautical fashion makes a come back and has been incorporated in many ways into urban wardrobe. Some of the details that are visible in runways and street fashion are: white and blue stripes, anchor buttons, bullion crests with sailing-inspired details, like the ones from Arena Home, spring/summer 2009. Other collections inspired by the nautical lifestyle are Dolce and Gabbana spring/summer 2009 and Chanel¹s Resort 2010, which was inspired in Coco Chanel’s first visit to Venice. I made this striped grosgrain and anchor buttons belt, it’s easy to make and perfect to get the nautical look.
Materials:
- 2 yards striped grosgrain ribbon in navy
- 2 1”D rings
- 1 24mm and 2 15mm anchor buttons (42387)
- 1 15mm snap (11425)
- 1 tube of Unique Stitch Glue
- Needle and thread
Directions:
- Measure your waist.
- Add 6”to this measurement and cut ribbon this length.
- At one end create a finished edge by folding the edge over ¼”and securing it with a drop of Unique Stitch Glue.
- Thread the same end through both D rings at ¾”fold and secure with glue
- At the other end of the ribbon create another finished edge by folding the edge over twice in ¼”sections. Be sure to create the fold in the opposite direction as the first.
- On the non face side of the end you just finished sew 1 part of the snap ¾”away from the edge.
- Measure 10 ½”and sew the other part of the snap
- From the second part of the snap measure ½”and sew 1 of the 15mm buttons.
- On the face side sew the 24mm button ¾”away from the edge, this will hide the stitches holding the snap in place.
- Sew the other 15mm buttons ½”from the 24mm button.
- Wear, enjoy!
Add comment May 28, 2009
DIY Multi-facet Swarovski Jewel Bracelet
By Milton
People often ask me what’s my advice when it comes to fashion. My reply is “Accessorize, accessorize and accessorize some more”. Accessories can really help enhance what you’re wearing; unless you’re already wearing something that sparkles all on its own. Some examples would be a sequin dress or an overly embellished jewel dress.
The Swarovski bracelet I made today would look great with an outfit that doesn’t have any embellishments on it. Like your “Little Black” dress. So let’s get started.
Materials:
- 4 – Multi-facet Rectangle Swarovski Crystal Jewels
- 4 – Multi-facet Oval Swarovski Crystal Jewels
- 11 – Silver Jump Rings
- 1 – Set of Toggle Bar Closures
- 1 – Pliers
Instructions:
- Lay out your pattern. As you can see, my pattern switches between the rectangle and oval jewels.
- Carefully using the pliers open and add a jump ring to the circle end of the closure.
- Add the rectangle jewel to the jump ring.
- After that, add another jump ring and add the oval jewel to the jump ring.
- Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you run out of jewels.
- At the end of the pattern, add five jump rings and then add the long end of the closure.
- Now you’re bracelet is ready to be worn.
Add comment April 7, 2009
Headbands
By Milton
Ladies, it’s that time again. This Sunday, M&J Trimming will be hosting another headband workshop. You’ll be able to learn how to create some dazzling DIY headbands like the one I made here. Call 1-800-9-MJTRIM to register.
For this headband, I used a large plastic headband that I got from a local discount store. With a 2″ wide satin ribbon, I simply covered the headband using unique stitch glue. After that dried, I glued a beaded appliqué onto the side. Then Tada! It’s really that simple.
Add comment March 3, 2009
Satin Bow Headband
By Milton
Headbands are undeniably popular, thanks to Gossip Girl. Girls across the world can’t seem to get enough of these lovely accessories. However, these headbands do come with a large price tag at the department stores. Recently, a lot of people took a different route and started making their own headbands. I’ve put up some instructions on this new piece that is quite popular.
Materials:
-
1 thin headband (Available at your local convenient store)
Instructions:
- Turn the glue-gun on and leave it to heat up for about 3-5 minutes.
- After the glue is hot, carefully place a tiny dab of the glue long one end of the 1.5″ satin ribbon. Do this for both the 12 inch and 14 inch long ribbons.
- Then take the other end and place it over the area that you applied glue to.
- After a few minutes, turn both ribbons inside out. Apply a little bit of glue to the area where you see the ends that were already glued together. Then hold the ribbon together in the center so that there are two loops. (One on each side)
- Flip the ribbon back into place. Apply a little bit of glue along the center of the 14 inch long ribbon. Then place that glued area onto the headband. As you’re adding the ribbon, pinch the ribbon into place. (As shown in the picture above)
- Repeat step 5 with the 12 inch long ribbon, but this time place the ribbon over the other ribbon that you glued onto the headband.
- Once you’ve done that, add a little bit of glue to the 5/8″ satin ribbon and wrap it around the center of the larger ribbons.
- Leave it to dry for a minute or two and you’re done.
3 comments January 21, 2009
DIY Headband For New Years
By Milton
It’s pretty obvious that the headbands from Gossip Girl have been inspiring girls everywhere this year. As long the cast from the show continues with this trend, sporting these stylish headbands isn’t going away anytime soon.
This week, I’ve decided to create a different headband using sew-on jewel trims. They’re great for that extra sparking finish to use on New Years Eve. There are different colors available to match almost any color garment you might be wearing for the night.
Materials:
- Regular headband
- Sew-on Jewel Trim
- Note: You can pretty much use any beaded trim but I used the sew-on jewel trim)
- Glue gun
- Scissors
Instructions:
- Measure the trim so that it wraps around the top of the headband
- Cut the trim
- Carefully use the glue gun to add glue along the top of the headband
- Add the trim from one end the other and let it try
- In just minutes, your headband is ready for use!
Happy New Years Everyone!
3 comments December 23, 2008
Fashionable DIY Gift Ideas For Winter
By Milton
It’s getting pretty cold around this time of the year. I guess you can say winter is one of the most fashionable season. Fashionistas gets to demonstrate your abilities to set a trend. One of this season’s popular trend is to look stylish while rockin’ out to some of latest hits on your mp3 player. It’s out with the small earbud headsets and in with the full ear cover headphones. You can get them from a department or electronic store for a resonably good price. Now for the stylying part. Cut out enough fur trim to cover each side of the headphones. Use hot glue gun to attach it the headphones. Let it dry and in just minutes, your gift is ready for wrapping. For the price of the headphones and one yard of fur trim, you can make a few of theses for friends and family. Happy Holiday!
Add comment December 9, 2008
A Glimpse at Pre-Fall 2009 Collection
By Milton
Doo.Ri
Zac Posen
Narcio Rodriguez
Burberry
Chanel
These are some looks from the Pre-Fall 2009 collection. This was the first Pre-Fall for Doo.Ri, which were mostly dresses and used mainly black, white, gray and pale blues. Zac Posen’s collection was inspired by the forties, (his signature look). Narciso Rodriguez flows with references from Spring ‘09 with a peek of Fall ‘09; showing more of a classic look with cocktail dresses and classic two piece suits. From Burberry Prorsum I can only say that I simply love every single look.
6 comments December 9, 2008
