Go On...Get it, Vogue!!

Well, McCall's Patterns is on fire this month! Their latest Vogue pattern release is full of modern and creative clothing with angles, fabric manipulation, and asymmetry...just the way I like it!. I loved so many of the designs this time.

However, I want to focus on the obvious Duchess of Sussex/Meghan Markle love story they have been creating since 2018:

How could you miss recognizing Meghan's Oscar de la Renta peplum blouse as Vogue 1636? I loved this piece when she wore it to an engagement in Fall 2018 and was hoping someone would knock it off!

Vogue 9373 was in the last pattern release as a version of her Stella McCartney wedding reception dress, having been simplified by the elimination of the open back and train.

Don't forget that in an earlier release there had first been Vogue 9355, an obvious homage to her "last night as a single woman" Roland Mouret "Barwick" dress.  It could also be adapted to resemble the gray "Clover" dress she wrote in New Zealand. I own this pattern and hope to make both!

I would also include Vogue 9293, whose first view, when made without the tie belt is similar to the Carolina Herrera denim dress HRH wore to a polo match in 2018. All one would need to do is widen and lower the neckline and replace the attached bow with a wide belt.

What I love is that the below patterns could easily reproduce a DIY wardrobe worthy of any Windsor duchess:

Vogue 1631 is a take on the "Royston" dress by Roland Mouret, whose designs have been worn by both the Duchess of Sussex and Cambridge.

However, Vogue 1649 is ALL Duchess of Cambridge! Made in a solid color other than black, this could be one of her many Alexander McQueen coats, don't you agree? In fact, in a lighter color it would look just like this one:

Ok, I admit, I probably missed a few less flashy designs, but I'm a big fan of what Vogue is doing. To be honest, the wardrobe is the only thing I envy about being a royal, so thanks for helping a thrifty girl out!

The Met 2013 Punk: Chaos to Couture Gala - Part II

Here are more great examples from the 2013 Metropolitan Museum PUNK gala worn by people you may not already know but who are...in one word, FABULOUS!

I am beginning with my nominee for Queen of the 2013 Punk: Chaos to Couture gala, fashion executive Linda Fargo of Bergdorf Goodman's. She's wearing a custom latex Baroness gown and the silver hair is natural but not the barbed wire that's twisted into it. Pretty hard core, right? Check out the back of the dress below!

You see what I mean? Bow down NOW.





   

With Ken Downing from Neiman Marcus, who could easilly win the title of Goth King*, right?

     

Cara Delevingne in Burberry



Model Lily Cole in Vivienne Westwood



Constance Jablonski in Wes Gordon

Alexa Chung in Erdem



Giovanna Battaglia in Dolce & Gabbana

Yup. Giant gold safety pins. luv it



*Here, he looks like a cross between David Bowie, Peter Murphy, and Martin Fry from ABC. He doesn't normally look like that!

Images: Ibtimes.com, stylesnooperdan.com, dailymail.co.uk, vogue.com, afashionalbeparadise.woodpress.com, runwaytostyle.blogspot.com, Elbows & Knees, DFR: Daily Fashion Report (a truly awesome fashion site!) 

The Met 2013 Punk: Chaos to Couture Gala - Part I

Of course I just wrote about not being able to finish a post and here I am with one started on the same day!

I normally don't cover things like this, but after checking out the coverage on all my bookmarked entertainment/ fashion sites (Tom & Lorenzo, Go Fug Yourself, The Daily Mail UK*) I wanted to blog this. I was bothered that all the sites wrote how most attendees of the Metropolitan Museum's Punk: Chaos to Couture gala "got punk wrong." I have to admit it did seem many got confused and actually thought the theme was Goth to Couture because following that criteria there would have been loads of hands-down winners, but still:

1. The exhibit (May 9 to August 14, 2013) is titled Punk: Chaos to Couture and it's goal is to "examine punk’s impact on high fashion from the movement’s birth in the 1970s through its continuing influence today." Which basically involves borrowing certain visual elements, hardware, and shapes while also juxtaposing the punk DIY aesthetic versus couture's made-to-measure practice; anti-establishment versus elite establishment.
2. Dressing according to the theme of the Met's events is and has always been optional. It's a chance to dress up, period.
3. I believe the essence of Punk was/is unconventionality and irreverence not just safety pins, leather, Doc Martens, and ripped fishnets. Those elements are punk "shorthand". 
4. Having not been a punk (I was into New Wave, thankyouverymuch) I wouldn't dare to make a statement on what exactly "a punk" looks like. For starters, English punk and American punk had cultural differences and big city punk was also different from small city suburban punk.

Some fashion websites participated in either awarding participants for including those shorthand elements while also deriding others for incorporating some of those same elements. My favorites among the one's you may have seen were January Jones, Sarah Jessica Parker, Anne Hathaway, Miley Cyrus, Ginnifer Goodwin, Carey Mulligan, Hailee Steinfeld, Debbie Harry, and believe it or not, Taylor Swift. Personally, what I noticed was  people who either got it near-perfect by showing what punk has become or instead incorporated some irreverence while still following the basic rules for gala wear. Here are some examples you may not have seen that I found through other sites. Definitely check out the image links at the bottom of the post. I hope you enjoy/appreciate these as much as I did.

Designer Donatella Versace in Versace

 

Emma Roberts in a subtle Diane Von Furstenberg



Designer Zandra Rhodes in her own design



Carey Mulligan in Balenciaga

Lele Sobieski in Christian Dior



Kerry Washington and Vera Wang in Vera Wang



Aubrey Plaza in Marios Schwab


Totally not on theme, but this next one is just plain gorgeous! What else would you expect from Isabella Rossellini's daughter and Ingrid Bergman's granddaughter?

Elettra Weideman in Prabal Gurung

Images: Style.com, Vogue.com, Stylesnooperdan.com, InStyle.com

I Love This Dress...

Actress Carey Mulligan in Prada

What I like about it:

• it is purple*!
• the fabric has texture and a metallic finish (it is a lurex jacquard)
• the style
• the neckline
• the fit
• the simple black leather belt
• it looks a lot like Vogue 8701 with a dirndl skirt and slightly longer sleeves!

Click here for more pictures of the dress in action at the Palm Springs Film Festival on Jan 8th.

*or violet, or eggplant depending on what wire service describes it. I say it's PURPLE!