We are Creatures of the Wind...

Greetings! Today is Monday. Normally that would mean fatigue, mild headache and a semi-wasted day spent doing the minimum but, since I have a week's holiday, it still means fatigue, mild headache and a completely wasted day doing nothing - other than writing this, of course. :)
Anyway, so today I have decided to present you with a collection that I was intending to present you with as far back as Thursday or Friday where I believe my commentary would have still been quite fresh. Instead, I am posting it today. Ha - I care not a jot for the limitations of time... except when I have a coursework piece to hand in and I am being threatened with detention.

"This bridge will only take you halfway there
To those mysterious lands you long to see:
Through gypsy camps and swirling Arab fair
And moonlit woods where unicorns run free.
So come and walk awhile with me and share
The twisting trails and wondrous worlds I've known.
But this bridge will only take you halfway there -
The last few steps you'll have to walk alone."

 - Shel Silverstein

So, in contrast with my relatively reserved Giulietta post, here comes 'Creatures of the Wind'  - Autumn 2012 collection.

Shane Gabier and Chris Peters are designers with a unique, offbeat vision. Their latest collection, they explained, was inspired by The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns, and Fairies, a seventeenth-century book by the Scottish Episcopalian minister Robert Kirk in which he collected his parishioners' tales of the supernatural.
I do not think there was anything extraordinarily otherworldly, per se, about the clothes, but they were certainly creations with a difference. Exhibit A: a white button-down blouse embroidered with a quote from The Last Unicorn.
Also appearing was a trim blazer constructed from distressed leather and Lurex-shot striped wool with a heat transfer of multicolor Swarovski crystals on its back... and a lace skirt dipped in silver.
The overall feeling was folksy, but with a couture touch - though if I had organised the show it would have finished with morris dancing or a 'rite of spring'-alike sacrifice. We could have picked the one with red hair and the beautiful black dress (one of my favourite items in the collection) and tied her to a stone table. Alas, that may have shocked the audience slightly and I might have failed at encouraging them to join in with the maypole dancing.

"What is plucked will grow again,
What is slain lives on,
What is stolen will remain
What is gone is gone...
What is sea-born dies on land,
Soft is trod upon.
What is given burns the hand -
What is gone is gone...
Here is there, and high is low;
All may be undone.
What is true, no two men know -
What is gone is gone...
Who has choices need not choose.
We must, who have none.
We can love but what we lose -
What is gone is gone." - Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn

Probably not a recipe for surefire retail success, and I am all the more relieved for it, but Gabier and Peters might have something better: a finale gown made from tiers of pale blue chiffon and taffeta with a silver lace yoke that, should it be worn at the Oscars by the right Hollywood Star (one of the ones I have heard of) could earn them renown.          

<<< I think this is strangely gorgeous. I thought the colouring was similiar to this pre-raphaelite painting painting on the right - >>> - since I can't resist any opportunity to thrust the pre-raphaelites under my willing victim person-who-I wish-to-educate's nose. Oh, and this is the one we're going to sacrifice. (That is a Joke. I do not in any way recommend or support any form of human sacrifice or ritual killing, including having people entombed in walls, buried alive, strangling them with colourful silk scarves in the name of Kali,  building wicker figures with humans inside which are then burned, Sati/Suttee, any form of sacrifice involving an altar, headhunting or cannibalism. Unless of course, you wish to fight a war against Troy, where I would promote it.)


<<< Another beautiful dress, though less waist than I generally like. If I were a hollywood star (which I should be ;) I think I would wear it, although this sort of layering in the skirt is not normally what I opt for. It would look nice with a bun or half-ponytail, simple heels - maybe bright red - and no jewellery .

>>> Evidence of some peplum inspiration in the collection. I would have said that I would not be seen dead in that skirt, but I have a new policy of giving anything a go - apart from that strange cardigan concoction. *Shudder*

If I had the money to waste (because, never in a million years am I going to find a high street alternative) I would possibly wear the skirt with a simple black turtleneck, a high bun, some black high heels, a slick of red lipstick and a tape measure about my neck.

<<< Clashing patterns add to the Folk feeling... though I think the shoes are horrendous. If there is no figure in an outfit then, at the very least, a pair of stiletto heels should be worn. That's just the laws of common decency. ;)

<<< This one is actually really cool. I am still wholly unappreciative of the shoes, though I am sure a lot of hard work was put into creating them. On the other hand, the hat looks really sumptuous and I think that (with the possible addition of a slim belt) the clothes themselves look gorgeous too.

^^^ Absolutely gorgeous hairstyle. Maybe I can find someone to do something like this for me since (when it comes to hairstyling) I am all thumbs. ^^^

On a last note, anything slightly 'The Wicker Man' about the collection?

"All the ancient classic fairy tales have always been scary and dark." - Helena Bonham Carter

Thank you for reading my wild ramblings (I wish to stress one more time that I do not actually approve of human sacrifice, or animal sacrifice for that matter) and I encourage you to comment. I enjoy reading them, even if they are negative, just as long as they are based on a fair and informed judgement. Oh, and please follow. :)


Ciao!

Slightly ecclesiastical Giulietta

Salutations! Forgive my temporary absence in the face of a dreadful cold and variety of other things. So, having spent a day obsessively listening to The Ditty Bops and Doris Day, watching Anime, probably being the last person I know to find out about Whitney Houston's death, and drinking Pepsi Max like the addict I am, I am quite tired. More commercially, I have also been keeping an eye on all the updates from New York Fashion Week and watching the BAFTAs, where The Artist rightly won Best Actor, Director, Screenplay and Film. Moi = Satisfied.

So... what from New York Fashion Week? Well, although I intended to analyse something else first, I have come to Giulietta's Autumn/Winter 2012 Collection... which was far better than the Spring 2012 one, in my opinion at least.

 

 Of course, there was rather a lot of brown (not necessarily a bad thing in most circumstances) but I was sold on the pussybow blouses and dresses. Puffy, whimsical or lady-like blouses have always been a clothing win for me. I do not have enough of them. I need Poet Shirts, and Pirate Blouses... Pussybow blouses are (in many ways) simply a toned down version. The Official 'I-want-it-so-badly-it-hurts-that-I-can't-afford-it' of this collection, was this beautiful yellow dress with gorgeous sleeves and pussybow. *Sigh* I think I am going to try the sweet, ingenue look again. If I could only find a dress somewhat like the white one to the left, and some beige/black ballet pumps with strap... then I could tie my hair back in a half-ponytail with a white ribbon and have a go at the wide-eyed innocence. I can act as candid and wholesome as Mary Pickford - though she was a good 10cm less than me and often played children. I shall re-evaluate. I can act as candid and wholesome as a less-blonde version of Doris Day. Until I get angry, of course. On that note, when it has all been arranged, I will make sure you are the first to know. Cross my heart and hope to die. I read with interest the suggestion that Visconti's 1963 Italian film “Il Gattopardo” (which I know under the name 'Le Guepard' and, for the english-speaking, the Leopard) set the tone for Sofia Sizzi’s Autumn Giulietta outing. It started with a brown cashmere vest worn over a white collared blouse and pleated skirt - it felt a bit ecclesiastical yet was still wearable - culminating with the fancy ball gowns, such as a citrus green below-the-knee dress with crystal beads. I suppose I see where the suggestion comes from, and it gave me a wonderful excuse to pop the DVD into the player at two o'clock in the morning, just to evaluate how true. Any reason to be watching Alain Delon circa 1963 is appreciated... oh, and Claudia Cardinale in beautiful dresses.  Otherwise, what else can I say about the collection? Waists on every outfit, which is always nice to see. Great collars and some fantastic monochrome patterns as well as a few floaty skirts (Yes!) almost none of which were too short. Some lovely shoes, mostly in neutral tones, with a couple of light blue metallic colours, some shiny red and orange. Very simple hair. Low Ponytail (which I honestly prefer to the high one on most people's faces)  and white tights. Indeed, if I have picked up anything, then it is the belief that investing in a nice pair of white tights would be a valid style decision.

 Suffering from immense fatique and the beginnings of a migraine, so all I have left to do is to say 'over and out', ask you to comment and encourage you to follow.

On a last note, just look at this blouse on the left! *Flails hands wildly* Gorgeously, luxuriously wonderful sleeves. I am going to have a huge amount of trouble finding a charity shop or high street equivalent. Wish me luck.

Frolicking around in the Snow...

Greetings to you all! Here to post, and hoping it will cheer me up after a freezing cold day accompanied by headache and swelling in the jaw area. Yippee for me.
Anyway, though I am feeling utterly miserable and am experiencing a good many symptoms of fatigue, I am posting these photos which I took yesterday.

What was my aim for this outfit? Well, I wanted to show the contrast between the whitness of the snow and the darkness of the coat as well as showing off my gorgeous cloche hat, "Chic, no?" and gloves... also, to some extent, giving me a good reason to go outside when any sane person would be happy looking at the snow, sitting on the sofa and drinking a cup of hot chocolate. Honestly something I should have done.

The Snow that never drifts —
The transient, fragrant snow
That comes a single time a Year
Is softly driving now —

So thorough in the Tree
At night beneath the star
That it was February's Foot
Experience would swear —

Like Winter as a Face
We stern and former knew
Repaired of all but Loneliness
By Nature's Alibi —

Were every storm so spice
The Value could not be —
We buy with contrast — Pang is good
As near as memory —

Ignore the fact that the video says 'Richard Burton' instead of 'Richard Harris'. Minor mistakes in the editing are worth it for the sake of superior quality. Anyway, I hope you enjoy because this scene does sort of mention snow and I wanted to share it. The music is beautiful - as is Vanessa Redgrave - and Richard Harris presents it so wonderfully. Sadly, this is a new discovery of mine. Camelot is not one of the musicals my Mother bred me on during my childhood.
On a last note for this video, do you not think Vanessa Redgrave's facial expressions are simply perfect?

Here are a couple of vintage pieces. A Vogue Cover of which I do not know the date (if you know, do not hesitate to comment) and a French Advert for the Mont Blanc.

I tied these in because they sort of went well with the theme I had set by wearing my cloche hat. I simply adore cloche hats, and I love the sophistication they give an outfit.

Mont Blanc is the monarch of mountains;

They crown'd him long ago

On a throne of rock, in a robe of clouds,

With a diadem of snow.

Thank you for reading! I would love to write more, but I have pledged solemnly to attempt to tidy my room, and my throat is hurting terribly again... and my sister is shouting because a poor little mouse, probably very hungry, has nibbled at her dress. I understand where she is coming from but, to be honest, it was not a very nice dress to begin with. Too tight. Too short. It did not flatter her figure and I think the mouse might have done her a service.

Please comment and do follow if you like!

Oh, and the poems are by Emily Dickinson and Lord Byron respectively.