'American Hustle' a portrait of swank '70s fashion

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- From Christian Bale's burgundy velour blazer to Amy Adams' plunging sequin halter dress, "American Hustle" is a cinematic romp through the over-the-top styles of the 1970s.

Set in New York and New Jersey in 1978, the film tells the story of a pair of con artists (Bale and Adams) forced to work for a cocky FBI agent (Bradley Cooper) bent on bringing down powerbrokers and politicians. This decadent world of power, crime and big money comes to life through ostentatious fashions and outrageous hairdos. All the characters are reinventing themselves, and it shows in their clothes.

"They had ideas, they lived large and they took risks," costume designer Michael Wilkinson said of the '70s styles that inspired his designs. "Clothes were less structured, had less underpinnings -- it was like people didn't give a damn."

Though the Australian-born Wilkinson said his childhood was drenched in American pop culture, "I approached this as a research project, just like you would study about the Greek ruins or outer galaxy."

He scoured Cosmopolitan magazine, along with advertisements, movies and TV shows of the era. "Goodfellas" and "Atlantic City" were particularly influential films.

"And 'Saturday Night Fever' from 1977," Wilkinson added. "(That) had the most pertinence to Bradley Cooper's character. He's a guy from the Bronx, and he lived life as a black-and-white moral shooter working for the FBI, and wears a cheap polyester suit that doesn't fit him so well."

The character ups his fashion game after meeting the dapper con-couple.

"He ends up in a silk shirt and silk scarf, which are pop-culture references," Wilkinson said. "And then he wears a leather jacket to the FBI."

The designer relished in Halston's vintage vault, to which he was granted access for the film, and he dressed Adams in authentic pieces from the '70s.

"The lines (of clothing silhouettes) of the late '70s, with designers like Halston, were reinventing the wardrobe of women," he said. "It was about being comfortable in your skin and walking tall."

Hair is so prominent in "American Hustle," it's practically another character. Lead hairstylist Kathrine Gordon studied old issues of Playboy and high-school yearbooks from the '70s for inspiration.

She and Bale worked together to create his character's elaborate comb-over, complete with fuzzy, glue-on hairpiece. The film opens with a scene of its careful construction.

"I came up with this idea to stuff it," Gordon said of the comb-over she cut into Bale's real hair. "And then (director) David (O'Russell) rewrote the script, and I taught Christian how to do it on camera."

Adams wears styles reminiscent of disco parties, Studio 54 and "the Breck girl" ads of the era. Jeremy Renner, who plays a New Jersey politician, has a fluffy bouffant. Jennifer Lawrence, an unhappy wife in the film, wears bouncy, sex-kitten updos whether she's going out or not. And Cooper rocks a tight perm: He's shown wearing curling rods in one scene.

Wilkinson, whose film credits include "Man of Steel," ''Tron: Legacy" and "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part II," said he especially loved playing with fabrics, colors and prints for Bale's charming con-man.

"I'm really proud of Christian Bale," the designer said. "It shows the possibility of an expression of personality in menswear. He explores his character in his clothes and he's a man of the world. He mixes prints

Are Fake Handbags Going Extinct? This Technology Makes It Possible

Even if you're a total expert on the Louis Vuitton linings and Chanel hardware, it can still be difficult to spot a fake handbag. So, the best way to keep track of the counterfeit goods that flood e-commerce sites and, yes, Canal Street? Make branding part of a carryall's DNA. Literally.

This is the technology currently in the works by Juan Hinestroza, a Cornell textile scientist, as well as Dr. Ken Kuno of the University of Notre Dame. “You can make signatures by coating individual cotton fibers [with nanoparticles of metal], like a barcode,” Kuno told Popular Science, explaining how their new marking system will only be trackable by metallic detectors. While the scientists have claimed that they're currently working with popular handbag brands, they haven't revealed which ones in particular.

Though there are other, similar DNA-like systems in place, this newest one also claims to be the easiest to use. Click over to read more about the new invention that could preserve the integrity of our favorite fashion labels forever. For real. (Popular Science)

Style File: Going down the Tube - London Underground inspired clothing called Roundel

Any mod worth their mop top knows what a roundel is – the circular insignia

often to be found on military aircraft was adopted by that movement many moons

ago. But the roundel that people may be most familiar with is that of London

Underground’s iconic branding.

Although the 150th anniversary of the Tube has been celebrated this year, the

roundel did not come into use until the early 1900s, and its use is fiercely

controlled by Transport for London. So a new clothing line called Roundel, and

rife with motifs familiar to any Tube user – from typography to Misha Black’s

“District” upholstery for seats on District Line trains,  created in 1978 –

definitely has the seal of approval.

At the heart of the collection, a collaboration with Slam Jam, which has been

creating and  distributing streetwear since 1989, is the motto “Thanks to the

Underground, we are all Londoners now”, which has been taken as a symbol of the

 inclusive and democratic nature of the public transport system that many love

to hate.

As well as T-shirts bearing slogans and logos, softly tailored pieces include a

work suit, school blazer and a selection of work shirts modelled on the

historic Underground uniform. Another updated classic is the MA-1- style

bomber, which has been a  symbol of youth style across the generations.

Trainers come in the form of Nike Air Max, two styles of which have been

created in a jacquard of woven polyester in Black’s “District” design.

Screw Factory offers Last Minute Market for all of you procrastinators

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Are you a last-minute holiday shopper? Do you find the best treasures when Santa's deadline looms? The Last Minute Market and Screw Factory Open Studio event was created with procrastinators in mind.

The Screw Factory, also known as the Lake Erie Building at Templar Industrial Park (13000 Athens Ave., Lakewood) will be brimming with holiday shoppers and art enthusiasts from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m Saturday, Dec. 21.

There will be fine crafts, fine art, funky art, high-end jewelry and fun gifts, when some of the 30 or so permanent artists open their studios and more than 100 jury-selected crafts people and artists set up shop on the building's second and third floors.

The show is organized by Cleveland Handmade Markets. Market organizer Kathy Patton says that the event began in 2008 in a borrowed Westlake warehouse as a year-end party for about 25 artists who knew each other from Etsy and from the Cleveland Handmade group. They all brought their leftover stock and shopped each other's crafts during the party.

They moved the party to the Screw Factory the following year, opened it to the public and invited the artists with studios in the building to participate. That year, there were about 60 exhibitors, and it has grown every year since.

An eight-person selection committee chooses the 100 invited artists out of more than 200 applicants. This has become one of the more a competitive shows around, Patton says, so there's great work around every corner.

The market will offer paintings, drawings, woodwork, ceramics, beauty items, bags, leather goods, clothing, photography, edible treats, hand-blended tea, jewelry, candles, home decor, glasswork, stationery, and even honey wine mead that is produced in the building. The Umami Moto food truck will be parked outside.

Templar Motor Cars made automobiles in the building from 1917 to 1924. Check out the Templar Room on the third floor for a look at Dave Buehler's collection of beautiful Templar cars. They were built in that room almost 100 years ago.

With all the offerings, you just might discover that Last Minute is really the best time and place to shop.

How Alyssa Milano Created a Fan-Gear Fashion Empire for Women

Alyssa Milano isn’t crazy about pink. “I was in Dodger Stadium, and I was freezing—it was the beginning of the season, before the poop smell sets in,” says the star of TV’s Who’s the Boss? and Charmed, recalling a baseball game she attended eight years ago. “I went into the store to get something warm to wear. And I was offended.” The only color available in women’s clothing was pink. “Their answer for female sports apparel back then was ‘pink it and shrink it.’ It was either that or buy something from the kids’ section. Which I did. I got a kid’s hoodie.” In Dodger blue.

Milano, 40, figured she could do better than the mini Pepto-Bismol tees. So in 2007 she paid a fashion illustrator to draw some less boxy, team-color-appropriate clothing. Her agent happened to be friends with someone at Major League Baseball’s marketing division and got her a meeting with some execs. They liked her idea enough to set her up with former New York Giant Carl Banks, who runs the sports clothing collection for G-III Apparel Group, the $1.2 billion company that has licensing deals with Levi’s, Guess? Calvin Klein and the major sports leagues. G-III Apparel agreed to manufacture and distribute her nascent line, Touch by Alyssa Milano, which had this motto: “Where the game meets the after party.”
“My idea was to make Touch fashionable enough for women to wear outside the arena,” Milano says. The line, which was launched in 2008, now includes $85 quilted jackets in team colors, $45 jeans with logos on the back pockets, and $30 pendant necklaces with the logo in a crystal-lined silver heart. Milano chose the designs and modeled every piece on her website.

Still, her pitch meetings were a bust. She had trouble convincing team buyers that she even knew enough about sports to understand what she was selling. “It was a lot of work to validate my passion and knowledge. It’s probably what every woman goes through when she’s a sports fan. Except I was trying to validate it to Jim Rome,” she says of being interviewed by the loudmouthed sports talk show host. Milano grew up in Brooklyn, where she bonded with her dad and brother over New York Giants and L.A. Dodgers games. (Her dad stayed loyal even when the Dodgers did not.) She’s dated several professional athletes, such as hockey player Wayne McBean and pitchers Carl Pavano, Barry Zito, and Brad Penny. She’s also had L.A. Kings season tickets since she was 15 and Dodgers season tickets for the past 10 years. Milano blogs for MLB.com; hosts segments on the TBS network called Hot Corner; and wrote a book in 2009 called Safe at Home: Confessions of a Baseball Fanatic. Her Australian shepherd is named Dodger Dog.

Dice Kayek: Architects of Style

Architecture and clothes - one way or another, they're both dressing the human body, the former on a grand scale, the latter far more intimately.

Even so, it's a brave designer who bases a line of clothes around famous national landmarks. But Ece (pronounced Eecchay) and Ayse (Eyesha) Ege (Edgay), the two Turkish sisters behind Dice (Deechay) Kayek, have done just that with their Istanbul Contrast Collection. The results are spectacular, not least because they couldn't be further from those half-hearted attempts to incorporate some decorative drawings of buildings into dress fabrics that some labels pass off as "architectural".

Preview to the V&A's Glamour of Italian Fashion exhibition

On the contrary, this is a full-blown deployment of some of Turkey's most stunning structures. There's the ravishing white organdy cocktail dress composed of diagonal folds that replicates Istanbul's famous Blue Mosque, for instance, and the weighs-a-ton, but exquisite, angel-winged evening coat, hand embroidered with antique blown glass beads and clearly inspired by Istanbul's Hagia Sophia Mosque.

Impressive, they're probably not primarily intended for wearing, since they're part of the sisters' victorious submission for the Jameel Prize, an international award presented bi-annually to an artist or designer inspired by Islamic tradition.

This year's judging panel includes Zaha Hadid, Thomas Heatherwick (designer of the new Routemaster bus and the Olympic cauldron) and Martin Roth, director of the V&A. The Ege sisters, who were named as winners last night, are the first fashion designers ever to be nominated.

In some ways this is a natural evolution for them. When I visited their labyrinthine studio in Paris in October, I saw at first hand how sculptural the clothes for their Dice Kayek label are - full of sumptuous A-line silhouettes in beautiful duchesse satins and silks. Matchka, a less expensive label they design and sell only in Turkey, is more of an everyday collection, with floaty, fluid pieces in lovely fabrics. I wish it were sold here.

Dividing their time between Istanbul and Paris, the sisters are, as you'd expect, great observers of architecture, if somewhat wounded ones - their fabulously modern apartment in downtown Istanbul is about to have its sea-view obscured by a newer, taller block. Such is the way with planning regs in Istanbul, they told me philosophically.

Perhaps the exacting task of interpreting some of their country's most dazzling architecture into another medium has been a soothing distraction.

Not all white: wedding dresses at the V&A

Then again, architects and designers have found one another fascinating for years. Each discipline, at its best, represents a perfect fusion of form and function that should make us look and feel sleeker and more powerful than might be the case.

The most significant difference is that a building can take years to come to fruition - while fashion collections sometimes materialise within a week. Perhaps that's why so many architects end up adopting a distinctive style of dressing. From Corbusier's trademark specs (still inspiring wannabe modernist architects) and Walter Gropius's bowties and check jackets (the origins of smart-casual?) to Daniel Libeskind's beloved cowboy boots and Zaha Hadid's collection of voluminous Japanese silhouettes, architects understood the power of a Signature Look long before Anna Wintour decreed it a necessity. Maybe architects like a uniform because it's something over which they can exercise direct and absolute control.

It's no coincidence that numerous designers began their careers by studying architecture. Rifat Özbek, Romeo Gigli, Gianfranco Ferré, Tom Ford, Roksanda Ilincic…. Plenty more succumb to architectural ambition. One of the few titles Christopher Bailey, son of a carpenter and creative director and CEO of Burberry, cannot lay claim to is that of fully trained architect. That didn't stop him overseeing the transformation of the company's imposing 44,000 sq ft flagship on Regent's Street or designing the slick HQ in London's Victoria. Increasingly, all designers are expected to have fully formed visions of how their brand's retail presence should look, before an architect is approached.

The Eges don't have their own shops, and Dice Kayek should be better known. Perhaps this victory will help.

Sali Hughes on beauty: Christmas wishlist

No one buys me beauty presents, assuming, understandably, that gifting me a lipstick would be like buying a film critic a cinema pass. But each year, as the Christmas collections emerge, I still compile a mental wish list, if only for my own amusement. Top of this year's is Japonesque. I've been using their professional tools for 20 years (they also secretly manufacture brushes for some of the best luxury brands, such as Tom Ford, though you didn't hear it from me), and now they're selling makeup exclusively at John Lewis (from £12). The unique packaging is beautiful, and the eye shadows are superb. Equally flattering are makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury's eye quads, perfectly compiled at £38.

No Christmas is complete without new scent, and currently nothing compares to Frederic Malle's L'Eau d'Hiver, the most elegant (and, at £130, prohibitively expensive) perfume I've found. I unfailingly want a Diptyque Baies candle (£40) and Laura Mercier Crème de Pistache Honey Bath (£31). Finally, I'd like APC for Aesop's Post-Poo Drops (£20) for my bathroom, in the hope that my sons will be kind enough to use them. These look stylish, smell great and make me smile, as all beauty products should.

It's all in the mix: the best fashion show music

"When you play something for a designer and you see their eyes light up, that's when you know it's going to work," says Rene Arsenault, the maestro behind Tom Ford's show music.

If you thought compiling the soundtrack for a top fashion show simply involves hooking up the designer in question's iPod to the venue's speakers and hitting 'play' you'd be seriously underestimating the process. According to Frédéric Sanchez, responsible for last month's Prada show pumping out Britney Spears's Work Bitch , "the whole process, which often ends hours, if not minutes, before the show - takes about 40 hours in total," he told Business of Fashion.

No surprise then, that the relationship between a top producer and a designer is an exceptionally close one, on par, perhaps with that of a woman and her hairdresser. Michel Gaubert, who made the inspired choice of Jay-Z's Picasso Baby for Karl Lagerfeld's art-themed show, has been working with the Chanel creative director for some 20 years and similarly, Simone Rocha turned to her brother, Max, to curate her own playlist which included the brilliant Atmosphere by Joy Division.

Gaubert was also charged with the music for Céline - a specially produced mix of Soul II Soul's Back to Life to match Philo's street style inflected collection. And when it came to the Sister by Sibling show, the designers turned to French producer Jerry Bouthier. They opened to You've Got Good Taste by The Cramps: "We though oh how brilliant to open a show with the line 'this one is dedicated to all you Gucci bag carriers out there,'" laughed Cozette McCreery.

As for the question 'what makes a playlist great?' the answer isn't cut and dried. "Anyone can play the newest sound in a show," continued Arsenault, but, "a good fashion soundtrack must feel unique." It's all in the mix - a mercurial one combining zeitgeist with taste and a certain je ne sais quoi…

Fashion’s Purest Visionary

Rei Kawakubo is about to redefine shopping in New York City. Her latest

collection for Comme des Garçons is strange, beautiful, singular and, for most

of us, unwearable. Yet fashion’s most powerful provocateur is also one of its

savviest commercial minds. While she is silent about her own creative process,

Kawakubo is a keen nurturer of young talent, bringing unknown artists and

designers into her fold. With the opening this month of Dover Street Market New

York, the sleepy neighborhood of Kips Bay is poised to become the epicenter of

the city’s fashion map.

Three pillars — fantastically decorated by three different artists — run

vertically through six floors of a vast former school building in Manhattan’s

Kips Bay neighborhood. Surrounded by curry and sari shops, it will be the

unlikely new home of New York’s first Dover Street Market, the multibrand store

from Comme des Garçons.

But this noble old building on Lexington Avenue has two other metaphoric

pillars, and these are names that lie at the heart of the current fashion

establishment. Miuccia Prada is building a permanent space on the top floor,

while Louis Vuitton is creating a three-month pop-up store in the main entrance

area.

“Prada have been amazing, and have created a special collection just for us,

with their iconic shapes in new materials and classic prints from 20 years

ago,” says Adrian Joffe, chief executive officer of Comme des Garçons

International and the husband of Rei Kawakubo, who, for once, has broken her

inscrutable silence.

The lauded Japanese designer, who recently turned 71, has a great deal to say

about this new Manhattan project as well as about the design transformation of

her existing flagship Comme des Garçons store in Chelsea.

“For Dover Street Market New York, I wanted to keep the no-rule, beautiful

chaos feeling of the first two Dover Street Markets,” the designer says in

Japanese as Joffe translates. She is referring to the existing stores, one in

London’s Mayfair section, which opened in 2004 on its namesake Dover Street,

and another that opened in Tokyo’s Ginza district in 2012. (They also have a

franchise in Beijing.)

“But in contrast to New York itself, I wanted to design it with extreme

simplicity, unsophisticated, almost primitive and with naïve artlessness,”

Kawakubo says.

The designer, who came onto the international fashion scene in the 1980s with

distressed black clothes that served as a counterpoint to the era’s thrusting,

androgynous outfits, has always led her own counterculture movement. It hasn’t

been so much a political as a visual challenge to clothes based on cut, stitch

and shape and definitions of current society. Kawakubo still thinks along those

lines and avoids pigeonholing or developing one particular style in her stores

as much as on the runway.

“In conceiving seven floors and the interior design of each space, I took no

notice of the traditional need to separate by category, by sex, by lifestyle or

by age,” the designer explains. “And by designing a transparent elevator that

pierces all seven floors through the middle of the store, I have tried to make

the whole shop as if it is one shop — one total experience.”
SLIDE SHOW

The sheer bravado of taking on this massive 18,000-square-foot building is

breathtaking. It once housed the New York School of Applied Design for Women,

which was for a time associated with Columbia University and helped young women

to pursue careers in arts and crafts. On the worn boards and plain walls you

can imagine the spirit of female endeavor. The pillared structure dates back to

1909 and is classified as a New York City landmark building. But none of that

was likely to put off a designer who never compromises her aesthetic vision and

continues to push the boundaries of what “fashion” is and whether that word

even has to translate into wearable clothing.

Her recent spring 2014 collection used elaborate workmanship to created

curvilinear designs that seemed more like body architecture than clothing. Like

her poetic 2012 “White Drama” collection and her 2005 “Broken Bride”

collection, these designs appear to be outside commercial conventions. Yet the

“hyper-imaginative” collection clothes are always on sale right alongside the

more commercial Comme des Garçons lines, like Play and Black, that provide a

sturdy base for the sales pyramid. The clothing that seems most unlikely to end

up in customer closets — like the now infamous “lumps and bumps” collection of

1997 — is similar to any other modern art form designed to stir the mind and

surprise the eye.

Kawakubo’s conception of the new Dover Street Market store as “beautiful chaos”

thus has a method to its apparent madness. The idea is of a magical coalition

of fashion, art and commerce. While the store will feature all 15 Comme des

Garçons brands (Homme Plus, Shirt, Junya Watanabe, to name a few), the list of

other designers who will be showcased in their own individual spaces reads like

a who’s who of inventive fashion today, and includes Prada, Saint Laurent,

Azzedine Alaïa, Thom Browne, Rick Owens, Sacai and Undercover.

The main floor is where Louis Vuitton is setting up its pop-up shop; and Rose

Bakery, the cult French bakery that is also in the London and Tokyo stores,

will be on the first floor and mezzanine. But just in case that might seem too

“establishment,” Joffe has installed an “experimental” sound system from the

Brooklyn-based musical artist Calx Vive, which will play from various

sculptures throughout the building.

Always ready to support new talent, Joffe and Kawakubo have made space for

burgeoning British talent like Simone Rocha and J. W. Anderson, and a fourth

floor “incubation” area with small customized spaces for young designers like

the Russian Gosha Rubchinskiy, known for his skate-inspired fashion, and Max

Vanderwoude Gross, the 27-year-old behind the up-and-coming New York label

Proper Gang. Other designers on the floor, which will be called the “Energy

Showroom,” include Lou Dalton, Phoebe English, Craig Green, Lee Roach and

Sibling.

“Dover Street Market’s core value is to share a space with people with vision,

people who have something to say,” Joffe says.

But what about this unconventional, out-of-left-field location, so uncool and

far from any stylish shopping zone?

Kawakubo has an exceptional sense of place. When Comme des Garçons opened in

Tokyo’s Aoyama district in 1975, the neighborhood was far from bustling, but it

eventually evolved into a fashion hot spot. Similarly, when she opened her

first Comme des Garçons store in New York in 1983, she chose SoHo, which was

mostly a place for artists, not the downtown epicenter of fashion. And since

she moved the shop to Chelsea in 1999, that area has evolved into a district of

high-end galleries.

Now it’s all changing in Chelsea, as the famous aluminum tunnel weaving through

a former automobile repair building is spun with gold. Make that GOLD! For in

order to emphasize the spirit of Comme des Garçons and redefine it for the

arrival of Dover Street Market, Kawakubo has gone on a gilt trip that starts

with golden tree sculptures designed by the Japanese artist Kohei Nawa inside

the store.

“For the renovation of Chelsea, I wanted to create an even stronger, even more

forward-looking, even more stimulating shop — to try to fulfill the hopes of

our core Comme des Garçons customers,” explains the designer, who sees the

actual Comme des Garçons stores as havens for “the fundamentalists,” as Joffe

calls the hard-core fans, the people who might have started buying the label

during the years when the Comme message was almost entirely black. But black is

now, apparently, no longer the signature color.

“I imagined this time a magical world using my third color after black and red:

gold,” the designer explains. “I know that when babies are given the choice of

colors, they often choose gold.”

“So in this spirit of gold being the most enjoyable color,” she continues, “I

have transformed the existing space and architecture to create a new intimate

and concentrated shop. And as well as Comme des Garçons, I have also chosen to

add personally, for the first time, some other brands and accessories that I

like. Everything here is 100 percent my eye.” The store will carry brands like

the Pop Art-inspired British designers Meadham Kirchhoff and the New York-based

leather designer Zana Bayne. The notion that a designer’s store expresses the

creative personality behind it is a given. But constant change is not. At Comme

des Garçons, the search for the new and the need to evolve is part of the

brand’s DNA.

Joffe says creative retail strategies embody the main pillar of Comme des

Garçons’ sense of values: the never-ending search for something new.

“We are always forward-looking, always evolving,” he says of the company’s

pioneering spirit and its essential beliefs.

Kawakubo expressed the same idea but put it more profoundly.

“Without creation,” she says, “there can be no progress and man cannot evolve.”

Appropriately Inappropriate for ‘Festive Dress’

Even in a world where nothing should be taken for granted — banks, climate, Miley Cyrus — one may persuasively argue that most people are pleased to receive a party invitation. The old joke still holds: What are the two saddest words in the English language? “What party?”
Related

But while most people may enjoy festivities, a party invitation can turn a mood ring to black with the inclusion of just one little modern-day directive: festive dress.

Perhaps you, too, are familiar with the stab of anxiety this edict produces? That little voice that cries out, “What do I wear that won’t make me look like the Joker, the Penguin or some other gleeful archenemy?” What, exactly, does festive dress mean?

“I agree, it’s pretty confusing,” said Zachary Sacks, an investment analyst in Manhattan. “I’ve read that it could mean black tie, or it could mean a tweed sport coat.”

The fashion designer Michael Bastian is more acerbic. “You need new friends, that’s what it means,” he said, laughing. “It’s so vague and confusing.”

Keep one thing in mind: Your potential host is not trying to torture you. A mood-killer for any party is bad décor, and like it or not, you are part of it. Nothing kills the fun faster than a bunch of guys who look as if they just finished moving stuff into storage, or just punched out at Dewey, Cheatem & Howe. There isn’t enough bourbon in the world to cut that ice. A good party requires a festive atmosphere, which requires guests who, however festive they really are, appear to have made an effort to look it.

One of the merits of a black-tie affair is that it offers a simple set of instructions — all you need worry about is whether your tux shirt is clean and pressed and the pants still fit. Festive dress, on the other hand, incites its own brand of fashion panic, its innocent-sounding premise being simply that you wear something special you wouldn’t ordinarily wear.

The trick comes in not under- or overshooting the mark. This requires, among other things, gauging both the setting and the host. Is the party in Lenox Hill or Vinegar Hill? At an apartment or an embassy? Is your hostess more Sally Quinn or Sally Bowles?

Your age is also a factor. The older or younger a man is, the more fun he can get away with. Who docks an 80-year-old or a newborn for style points? But a 40-year-old in a reindeer sweater may find that his name is, as they say, not on the list.

The advanced calculus required to gauge the appropriate degree of inappropriateness vexes even style veterans, though most have developed personal workarounds.

“I kind of have a uniform for office parties and Christmas parties,” Mr. Bastian said. “What I do is put on a basic tuxedo shirt with a solid navy or black tie, a tweed jacket, a red pocket square and some sort of fancy shoe or velvet slipper. I think a tuxedo shirt worn without a tuxedo is a great way to do it. It says, ‘I got the assignment, I made a little effort, but I’m still cool.’ I’ve been to parties where I’ve seen guys mess up. They’ve been dying to bust out those crazy embroidered corduroys all year long, and it doesn’t always fly. There’s still an expectation that you don’t abandon every shred of your regular style just because it’s a holiday. It’s not Halloween.”

Indeed, according to experts in such matters, part of what festive dress seems to suggest is that you steer away from anything that smacks of costume. (That includes the ugly Christmas sweater cherished by irony-loving merrymakers.)

In other words, leave the tinsel for the tree. “I see guys with gold vests and funky bow ties,” said Ralph Auriemma, design director for Paul Stuart’s Phineas Cole line, which seems made for festivity, with old-fashioned dandyish features, like colorful tweeds, peak lapels and three-piece suits. “Personally, I’m still an old-school advocate of elegant men’s wear, something with a point of view from another period of time. I’m not talking about Sherlock Holmes, though that would be festive.”

Men who overdo it are easy to spot and wince at, but there is no excuse for the many, many more who err on the side of safe. There are plenty of easy options, like a casually dressy sport coat or an elegant cardigan or pullover that’s a little too la-di-da for walking the dog. The velvet sport jacket that has come into fashion of late is perhaps the simplest and best example.

“Provided it’s well tailored,” said Madeline Weeks, fashion director for GQ, explaining that the soft, thick pile of velvet can make precise tailoring a challenge. All a man really needs, she said, is one item that shows you tried: a sharply cut silk sport coat with a dull sheen, silver leather tie or black-and-white spectator wingtips.

But make a plan, she advised: “Sometimes guys don’t think about it till it’s too late, and then run out the door in a T-shirt and a leather jacket. You don’t want to be the guy who didn’t make an effort.”

And taking a bit of trouble is, in the end, what it comes down to.

“ ‘Festive’ demands that you make an effort,” said Euan Rellie, a senior managing director at an investment bank, listing his own festive fail-safes: smoking jacket, tartan trousers, patent leather slippers (though not all at once). “Festive and sophisticated are not mutually exclusive,” he said. “It doesn’t mean ‘Pretend you’re a Christmas ornament.’ ”

While there may well be a formula for men anxious to compute exactly how much to channel the holiday spirit, it is also worth remembering that for more-daring souls, looking festive can mean flirting with decorum.

“Some people are good at dressing inappropriately,” Mr. Rellie said. “If you are confident enough, you can be underdressed when everyone is overdressed. When I was an undergraduate at Cambridge, we had the May Ball. The dress code was white tie. Rachel Gibson wore a denim miniskirt, and I fell head over heels in love with her.”

British Fashion Awards 2013: Christopher Kane Wins Womenswear Designer Of The Year

Scottish wunderkind designer Christopher Kane has made all the right moves every step of the way in his career. And now he can add winning the accolade of Womenswear Designer of the Year to his heaving cabinet of achievements! Fending off a challenge from Pheobe Philo (Celine) and Sarah Burton, Kane’s success was resoundingly toasted by the audience.

This evening Christopher was presented with his award by platinum haired fashion-titan Donatella Versace and he said the experience was 'truly amazing' and had special thanks for Donatella exclaiming 'I truly love her'. So do we Mr Kane!

From catching the eye of Donatella Versace while still at Central Saint Martins to selling his hit debut collection for S/S 2007 in its entirety to Browns, he burst on to the fashion scene with about the best credentials you could hope for. In the intervening years he has solidified his reputation as an ideas machine, coming up with iconic collections which have formed an archive of highly covetable pieces. Who wouldn’t want a piece from his Carrie inspired grunge collection? Or a zappy neon number from the ‘Princess Margaret on acid’ outing?

News this year that French holdings company Kering had made a majority investment in Kane’s growing brand was greeted with pride by the whole fashion community, and the influx of cash has enabled the designer and his sister Tammy to look to open their first store (planned to open on Mount street by the end of the year) and begin working on a debut bag collection.

It's Not Sheep Castration.. But Fashion Can Have Its Moments Too

I'm listening to Mike Rowe talk about his Aha! moment, castrating a lamb in Craig, Colo., a few hours north of my current Colorado foothills hometown, which some folks call, "The Brooklyn of Boulder."

I cannot say I've "been there, done that" on the livestock spaying front the way Rowe has.

But I relate to his eyes-wide moment of wonder as he approaches the task.

"How did I get here?" Rowe wonders. I relate to that, too.

My mind flashes back from the little lambs on that Craig, Colo. pasture to a pile of Dalmatian-print polyester on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, to a table of live doves at a Reagan-era fundraiser. We're in the field of fashion now, as opposed to animal husbandry.

But the leap isn't as far -- or as tame -- as you might think.

With thanks to Mike Rowe for the memories, here are two of my favorite Aha! moments in the NYC fashion biz. They're not as overtly ballsy as his lamb job, and I don't include them on my LinkedIn profile, because who would hire me to do them again?

But these tasks scared me senseless and/or made my heart sing. And isn't that what the best jobs are about?

"Counting the Carnet for Jean-Paul Gaultier"

The Task:
Count a hundred dozen-ish Dalmation print fake fur hats, gloves and accessories imported by French fashion maverick Gaultier for his first U.S. fashion show, to be held in a Big Apple Circus tent in Battery Park City.

My Workspace:
Seated cross-legged on the floor of Bergdorf Goodman's atrium, seven stories above Manhattan's bustling Fifth Avenue.

How I Got This Job:
My new boss called her last version of me and asked, "Do you know anyone crazy enough to do this?"

The Aha! Moment:
The executives see my job as dirty work, the kind of task that Cinderella's stepsisters might event. But counting the carnet is Zen-tastic to me. I'm sitting in a quiet, sun-filled space, connecting with objects of pure design genius.

Tomorrow, taking on another job no one wants, I'll ride shotgun in the truck carrying the collection downtown to the circus tent. The city will stretch before me. The oddly gorgeous objects described in the carnet -- properly counted -- will follow behind me.

Color me one lucky faux fur trucker.

"Supermodel Management"

The Task:
Stop six supermodels from going AWOL from a fashion show fundraiser with clothes by Italian fashion house Jenny, attended by President Ronald Reagan and a host of mid-1980s A-Listers.

My Workspace:
An unheated hallway in the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel in DC.

How I Got This Job:
My Uncle Sidney's neighbors' friend's daughter needs an Italian-speaking American gal Friday for an event she's producing over Presidents' Day Weekend, which will feature live Italian doves on each table, and a six-pack of supermodels on the runway.

I'm studying Italian at college in Philly, so I get the job.

I won't be paid for this gig in money, I'm told. But I will get some real-world experience.

The Truth:
The models -- faces I know from the covers of Vogue, and Elle and W and Bazaar -- are threatening to fly back to New York unless I take them some place warm to wait out the hour before show.

The armed guard at the ballroom says civilians who leave a presidential event will not be readmitted.

What do I do?

I'll have to decide this on my own.

My boss is sneaking Julio Iglesias through the kitchen to avoid the paparazzi. And her boss is drinking Champagne with the Princess of Savoy. Plus, did I mention, this is 1984: there are no cell phones?

As we walk back to the ballroom, I'm sure I'm going to be arrested by the CIA. Or (even scarier) yelled at by the booking agent for Ford Models! How will that look when I apply to law school? -- Sharon Glassman

The models want cheeseburgers. They want to watch the Winter Olympics on TV.

I can make that happen, I think. I'm 19 years old. I know zip about team management. But I know a lot about cheeseburgers.

I escort the models back to my hotel room. We order room service. They watch Brian Boitano skate.

It's like a slumber party with girls in $1,000 dresses.

The Aha! Moment:
Time to lead the models backstage. But how? As we walk back to the ballroom, I'm sure I'm going to be arrested by the CIA. Or (even scarier) yelled at by the booking agent for Ford Models! How will that look when I apply to law school?

But when we get to the Scary Guard, he just nods and waves us backstage.

Why? you ask. I don't know.

Was I terrified? You betcha.

The Bonus:
But scary jobs can lead to great rewards.

Earlier that day, I delivered a Jenny dress to Mrs. Grant's room. Her husband answered the door in a dressing gown, holding a handsome hand of cards.

I was speechless.

He said, "Thank you."

And maybe this is the moral of my "how did I get here?" odd-job story:

Six supermodels may trump an armed guard. But no one will ever trump my memory of Cary Grant.

Writer/performer Sharon Glassman's new novel-with-songs is called Blame It On Hoboken. Visit http://sharonglassmanlive.com for performance dates in Northern Colorado and beyond.

Galliano allowed to move case to labor court

Designer John Galliano was recently awarded the right to have the ongoing case against former employers Christian Dior Couture SA and Galliano SA, heard in labor court over a commercial court. The Paris Court of Appeals denied the appeal filed by Dior, which requested that the case would be moved to a commercial court, and ordered that the French luxury fashion house and John Galliano SA each pay the formerly disgraced designer 2,500 euros each in addition to any court costs, according to WWD. Dior and John Galliano SA have two months to appeal the courts decision.

The Galliano allowed to move case to labor courtbeginning of the ongoing case between John Galliano and Christian Dior Couture SA and his ex eponymous brand date back to 2011. In March 2011, Gaillano was formerly discharged from Dior and his own namesake brand after he made a series of anti-semitic remarks in in public in a Paris café, just before Paris Fashion week for Fall/Winter 2011-2012 was due to take place. Galliano had worked for over fifteen years as the couturier at Christian Dior and previously was head designer at Givenchy before Bernard Arnault, founder of LVMH moved him to Dior.

Addictions Galliano coping mechanisms for work stress
Galliano claimed that the outburst of public anti-semitic insults were caused by work stress, which led to him having a number of addictions, including an drug addiction. The designer is looking for compensation of roughly 6 million euros from his previous employers.

In February this year, Dior fought against the decision made by the Labor Relations Court that states it was licensed to hear Galliano's claims against Dior and his eponymous label. Christian Dior Couture SA argued that the case should be heard in a commercial court, due to the complicated and intricate details of John Galliano previous contracts with Dior and John Galliano SA.

The luxury French fashion house believes that Galliano should be seen as an “independent contractor of the companies,” instead of a employee of Dior and his namesake label and maintains that its choice to fire Galliano “as a result of these incidents is based on fundamental principles and the rule of law.” In a statement issued by Christian Dior Couture SA, the company stated that it “reaffirms its attachment to the rules of human respect and non-discrimination, which it expects all of its collaborators, without exception, to adhere to strictly.”

However Galliano's lawyer, Chantal Giraud-van Gaver of Colblence & Associés argues that Galliano was just another name on the pay roll, and Dior's justification to fire Galliano is not justified. She hoped that with the recent court ruling, the Labor Relations court will recognize the existence of a work contract, which is supported by “a lot of evidence and assessments of situations showing that he was a subordinate.” Giraud-van Gaver added that the recent ruling now allowed her to freedom to present the integrities of the case next year in front of the Labor

Plus Size Fashion News: Plus Size Retailer navabi Introduces 10 New Luxury Brands To Their Site

navabi is a plus size European retailer that offers one of the largest assortments of designer fashion in plus sizes in Europe. They offer sizes 12-28 in everything from evening wear to outerwear to even beautiful accessories. navabi prides themselves on being able to offer customers new items almost daily and they have recently expanded their selection by adding ten new luxury brands to their site.

For more information on this exciting addition to the navabi website, here’s official press release:

AIX-LA-CHAPELLE, Germany, Nov. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ – Since its launch in 2009, navabi has been a company with an unwavering mission to become the premier destination for plus size fashion worldwide by 2016. navabi ensures extending their assortment with new luxury brands on a regular basis.

As the leading global destination for premium plus size fashion navabi has made impressive milestones in the last five years of business by not ignoring the many plus-sized women with a good eye for fashion.

It believes catwalk style should be available to everyone, regardless of shape. In addition to providing women with plus size designs from top labels, it also supports them with inspirational, solution-oriented advice – not only from top fashion experts, but also real women who understand the challenges that curvy women sometimes encounter.

Bahman Nedaei, co-CEO at navabi, says “We are the only company worldwide that deals with plus size target groups in the premium segment for years and – thanks to our team of experts – benefit from valuable know-how that is indispensable in this sector.”

Currently, navabi has 132 designer brands; six occasion suggestions, 17 clothing and three outfit categories can be found on the website – along with new arrivals being introduced three times a week to ensure the customers have the pick of the best.

Recently, navabi has welcomed a raft of premium labels to the family, including Elisa Cavaletti, Ellbi, Igor Dobranic, Katrin Kiesler, Kekoo, Kiyonna, Lacoste, Nook, Privatsachen and Womanice by Anja Gockel.

Zahir Dehnadi, co-founder of navabi, also states: “Regular focus groups, online panels and surveys are part of our everyday work to understand our audience and their needs; this is why we are able to meet our goals. We thus have an advantage of around three years, especially in areas of buying and marketing.”

navabi sets a strong focus on the possibility to expand internationally and is constantly securing new brands on the site providing the latest fashion.

Selection of Wedding Dress

Wedding dress, a part of every wedding ceremony that rarely can get neglected. The bride needs to look like the most beautiful lady on that occasion and the groom the most hunky male all around, and the couple the best couple there. And the most perfectly crafted dress will be bring the desired look for them on the occasion, so while selecting the wedding dress you need to have a look at some of the most important things those are related to make the wedding dress the most perfect dress crafted for the couple and if you are going to select the dress from an online store some more components are needed to be looked for as compared to selecting the dress from a dressmaker.

This article giving a short list of components those you need to have a look before selecting the bridal wear. The first foremost thing in the list of things you should look for is the season of the year you are going to tie your knot. You have to select a different cloth for the summer and a different cloth for spring or winter. As the materials and the color of the dress greatly depends on the time. In spring and winter one will be looking quite comfortable with a dark patterned dress while in the summer most of the people feel quite easy with a light color dress. While selecting the color of the dress another thing that is most important to look out for is the skin texture of the bride or groom who is going to wear the wedding the dress. The color should match perfectly with the skin texture of the person going the complete wedding dress has some add-on components and without those the dress feels incomplete like head piece, veil and glove. So you need to have a look on the texture and color of the accessories as those should perfectly match with the gown.

Another important thing that can be taken care for is the size of the wedding dress don’t adjust with the size go for the exact and perfect peace as little adjustment in case a formal dresses management but it does not look nice when it’s a wedding dress.

If you are selecting a wedding dress from an online store then make sure that the store is delivering the same item as displayed on the website. If you don’t have so much time to make research on the wedding dress then the best option for you is log on to china stylish. Take a look at variety of wedding dresses so that you can come to a conclusion that what you need for the ultimate dressing. One thing that differentiates us from other online sellers is that we deliver the exact thing those are being displayed on out site. Which ultimately reduces your stress that you are getting the dress of the exact details that is being displayed.  So your most desired wedding dress is now just a click away.

Looking after For Your Style Jeweler and Outfit Jewelry

For most women, dressed in style jeweler is an easy way to try clean new looks or to improve your current clothing collection. Keeping your jeweler looking its best will help keep you look your best too. Fashion jeweler, also known as outfit jeweler is generally created from less expensive materials and ornamented with cup, plastic or artificial rocks. Compared with superb that can be renovated to like new situation, products of style jeweler that drops into a condition of disrepair cannot always be renewed. Looking after for your components consistently and understanding what to prevent will allow you to enjoy your awesome classic item or your clean new pendant, wristbands, band or set of ear-rings longer.

Taking break once a month to proper take good care of your components will keep it in excellent shape. Basically clean with a smooth pure cotton fabric to eliminate any surface area dirt. Use an extra smooth tooth brush to eliminate any dirt or waste that might be concealing in cracks or clasps, don't forget to check between pellets if your product has them. Then, just use the fabric to enhance the areas. This may be all you need to do to keep your components fit.

If your product is more seriously dirtier use light plate detergent and a smooth cloth or sponge or fabric to properly clean it. Try to prevent dipping your jeweler completely. Wetness can cause corrosion or sets to type so the less moisture your jeweler is revealed to the better. Don't use ultra-sonic cleaning solutions with your style jeweler as they are too severe. Be sure to dry well with a smooth fabric and touch up your item by properly improving with a smooth fabric.

There is also jeweler cleaning solutions available for outfit jeweler. If you choose to use these be sure that they specifically condition that they are for use on style jeweler. Fashion jeweler cannot hold up against some of the substances used to clean superb so make sure you know what your better is created of before use. As long as you follow the guidelines given by the maker you will be able to clean your items without problems.

You can also increase the durability of your style jeweler clothing collection by understanding what to prevent. Avoid ammonia, therapy, acidity and alcohol as these will rust your jeweler quickly to a non-repairable situation. Some more common ingredients to keep away from your jeweler are fragrance, hairspray and cream as they can quickly change the complete of your style jeweler. An excellent principle is to put on your jeweler after you get yourself ready in the morning and then eliminate it as soon as you get home. If you practice this you can quickly keep contact with ingredients such as these to a lowest. To keep style jewelry in excellent shape always eliminates them before cleaning your hands and/or implementing hand cream. Keep in mind that moisture can cause corrosion or sets to type on your jeweler so make sure to never wear style jeweler during a shower or shower or while diving.

Once you have eliminated your jeweler it is also important to put it away properly. Costume jeweler can quickly be scraped or broken by holding other jeweler or hard areas. Shop your style ear-rings, wristbands, pendants and jewelry independently in smooth pockets or containers. A segmented jeweler box would also be a great place to keep them if you have enough room to keep them individual.

Fashion jeweler is not intended to last permanently. Even with the best good care, eventually the complete will start to tarnish and the shine of the rocks will begin to reduce. There are plenty of new looks for you to try and because the prices are affordable you will not have to hurt your wallet in order to do it.

Small Women Style Tips

Provided that you are a petite lady, it is paramount for you to verify that you are dressing fittingly. Obviously, this is something that is significant for any lady, paying little mind to their shape or estimate yet provided that you are petite, it comes to be particularly significant since you need to give the manifestation that you are either leaner or more drawn out. This can frequently be finished utilizing the garments styles that are accessible, and additionally in the hairdos that you may pick. Here are a couple of prescriptions that can help you in picking something that will be a good fit for you.

The main thing that should be acknowledged is the things of attire that are truly worn under the attire. It doesn't make a difference in the event that you are wearing a 32a bra or whatever available size A bra, you need to verify that it fits legitimately. The excuse for why that is the situation, is since generally ladies have a tendency to feel that they are so petite it would be impossible be fitted legitimately for any sort of an undergarment. They might endure straps tumbling off of their shoulders or they might really drop out of their bra occasionally since it is too detached. This does not imply that your physique is excessively petite for those things; it implies that you are not wearing the right size.

The extent that your dress is concerned, there are a few diverse things that you can do to assist make it show up as though you are taller. One of the things that you might as well acknowledge is the plausibility of dressing in a solitary shade. This could be finished the distance from the shoulders down to your shoes. Assuming that you are attempting to include some thinning and additionally some expand in your stature, attempt running with a darker color since that dependably gives a thinning impact.

The lines of the dress are additionally something that needs to be recognized quite deliberately. Assuming that you are petite, it is critical for you to escape any sort of vertical lines since they can make you look rounder. A vertical line is set to make you seem taller and can likewise make you seem leaner. It is not dependably indispensible for you to wear stripes with a specific end goal to realize this reason. Assuming that the dress you decide to wear has any sort of vertical line, it is presumable that it is set to attain the look that you are wanting.

One other thing that you might as well recognize doing is wearing higher heels than typical. This not just serves to add to the dream that you are taller, and really adds tallness to your physique. Provided that you're set to be wearing elevated heels, you can wear sling backs or pumps keeping in mind the end goal to accomplish that reason. One thing that you might need to stay away from, on the other hand, is an excessive amount of straps that go up the legs. In spite of the fact that these may look great, they can really serve to split the vertical lines that you are utilizing as a part of request to build your stature and can make you look as though you are shorter.

Style Guidelines for All Forms and Sizes

Prepare to have your mind blown. You don't must be a tall, pencil-slight measure 4 to find incredible, polished apparel and look your best. Mold comes in all shapes and sizes. You can no longer utilization "But I'm short and tubby" as a reason for not upgrading your style uneducated wardrobe.

When you can begin on this excursion of patching up your whole storage room to begin resembling an angel, you possess to first figure out how to acknowledge your physique as it may be. Most ladies have an affection disdain association with their figures and are unvaryingly contrasting themselves and other ladies. Quit analyzing and begin tolerating! When you're there--or regardless headed straight toward "there"--you can begin studying how to dress stylishly in way that compliments your physique sort, and that makes you look and feel magnetic and even spellbinding.

The trap for victory here is picking extraordinary looking and brilliant garments that highlights your exceptional characteristics and camouflages you’re not-so charming ones. Tall, meager ladies ordinarily have it most straightforward, as they can wear best anything and not just escape with it however look incredible.

Yet you might have the exemplary pear shape, for instance, with wide hips, a plentiful honey, and adjust thighs. Pick attire than downplay your more level half and parade your restricted waist, slimmer upper form, and spellbinding arms and shoulders. Samples incorporate A-line skirts; contraband cut pants, and fitted stretch tees. As a general guideline, keep to darker tones on the lowest part and lighter or more vivid on top, and generally speaking, stay clear of too-shapeless or too-tight numbers.

Numerous ladies are fruit formed, with a thicker waist, softer center, a liberal cheast, and narrower hips with thin legs. Apparel that compliments the fruit molded lady highlight her legs and cleavage. Wardrobe cases incorporate V-neck, flat cut, and turtleneck best that develop well past the waistline, short skirts or shorts, and five-pocket pants or pants.

Regardless of your size or shape, provided that you sit down for a bit to get to know and like your physique and study what looks extraordinary on you, you will set out away with another style that not just makes you look attractive, and yet feel enchanting.