Wanna know what I did this past week? Some shoppin. Although I find myself far too often in yoga pants and one of Tony's t-shirts, I find nothing quite like collaborating items to express myself. I have been asked on occasion for my thoughts on this belt or that pair of shoes or how on earth would I be able to incorporate those pink cellophane pants.....for church?! I always find a way. It's a challenge! I have a few friends who accompany me in this madness too. We're easy to spot. We all look similarly different. *wink
I spent LOADS of time when I was younger studying designers, so, if something is the "budget gal's" version that looks like the designer, I'll let you know how to find it and something about the designer themselves. A little history never hurt anybody, right? Also I have a very prominent nerdy side, so I like factoids.
One of my new favorite stores is.........................................Kohl's! I am a Target girl through and through, but Kohl's has me cheating. Several years ago Kohl's was a great place to shop.....if you just needed a replacement for your themed applique sweater vest and trouser socks and sensible shoes. Not that there's anything wrong with any of those (THERE REALLY IS!!! MOST ESPECIALLY THE VEST!!!), but my eye tends to gravitate towards things a little more 2013. As of late, Kohl's has upped their game to levels of AWESOME! What does that mean, Sarah? How do you know what, exactly, 2013 looks like? Well, I'll tell you. Let's start with the designers. Oh no, you say, I don't live life based on what those crazy, eccentric, millionaires dream up. Are you sure? Here's an apt quote from the book turned fashion indulgent movie The Devil Wears Prada:
This... stuff? Oh... ok. I see, you think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select out, oh I don't know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you're trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue, it's not turquoise, it's not lapis, it's actually cerulean. You're also blindly unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves St. Laurent, wasn't it, who showed cerulean military jackets? And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers. Then it filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic Casual Corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and so it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you're wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room. From a pile of stuff.
Let's begin with Oscar de la Renta since his name is mentioned in the above quote. Chances are, you've probably heard his name. I want you to know some things about him.
1. He was born in the Dominican Republic in 1932. He has 6 sisters. He is the only boy.
2. He did not spend his early life surrounding himself with fashion. He began his adult life as an abstract painter in Spain.
3. His first fashion endeavors were working for Cristobal Balenciaga (Who the fashion is that? We'll get there.)
4. He has had 5 marriages....to women, contrary to some generalizing stereotypes (Don't get me started)
5. He is a soft-hearted philanthropist. He funds a school in the D.R. for orphans. He never forgot his roots or the country that shaped him.
6. He started designs under his own label in 1965 while working with Jane Derby. That season looked a little like this:
Pretty, huh?
7. Got a "lumpy blue sweater" like Anne Hathaway's character? Wanna see why you have it for real? Well, Oscar didn't actually show cerulean gowns that year. But he did show something else. Recognize anything that has transcended to current wearability?
Apparently good ol' Oscar saw the tutu trend 11 YEARS AGO! Actually, it's immediately apparent that he toyed with it in '65.
8. This is what Oscar de la Renta dreamed up to offer us as textile self-expression for this winter:
When you look at these pictures, what do you see? Not what is your impression, but what do you see? I see peachy pink and nylon covered legs. I see small cartoon graphic print on solid colors. I see overtly girly aesthetic. I see mandarin Jackie Kennedy-esque collars (there's a reason for that. de la Renta used to dress the Queen of Camelot). I see a crocheted shoulder wrap. I also see.......a super cute jewel embellished headband!!! This makes me want one. Everything look a little over the top? Not that headband. You can rock that with your t-shirt and jeans, lady. Dissect the headband. Examine it, It's thick and gathered in the middle. It has a big jewel. It, apparently, is acceptable to wear in a variety of colors. It looks to me like you could wear it in any muted shade and treat said shade as a neutral: meaning, you don't have to wear black to look like you're not trying too hard. Silver, soft pink, gold, bronze, lavender, grey, CERULEAN! (if you wanna go cray-cray). *wink. Any of those would work. It's doable. It doooeeesss cost HUNDREDS of dollars....hundreds. The Oscar headband isn't attainable, however, Forever 21 has this: and Kohl's has this:
The headband is called the Knotted Velveteen headwrap. It will set you back $3.80. The brooch is the Lauren Conrad (and we LOVE her) Simulated Crystal Beaded Flower Hair Clip. Be ready to shell out a whopping $12.80. It was $18.00, but it went on sale. That's a total of $16.60 - before tax, of course.
Oscar de la Renta "style" doesn't seem so far fetched now, does it? Not so "not something I have time for" or "not something I could pull off". Who can't wear a headband with a pair of jeans and a black (or pink or teal or grey) t-shirt? You can do that. You probably already do, and now you know why. This headband trend this season is because of a little Dominican boy who grew up with a bunch of, incidentally, unfortunately unfashionable sisters. He had a vision. He saw beauty as a concept, as an idea, and he wanted to put it in your hand so you could know beauty, ultimately, because you're a woman, and if anybody can appreciate what a woman really is, it's a boy with 6 sisters.
So there it is. REAL post #1. This one is about fashion history with a small DIY at the end. I never do anything without knowing why. I don't expect more from you. I want you to enjoy a jeweled headband until springtime. Oscar de la Renta worked hard for it. Do him proud, honey.
"We're dealing with sophisticated customers. What's most important to these women is individuality. I have to create things she'll want to wear, no matter who she is."
~ Oscar de la Renta
Just love it, darling! And, love you!!
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