Sunday 29 August 2010

I could of been staring at this dress for hours !

Whilst at the V&A I also had chance to walk round the fashion section which hosts dresses from throughout the last century right up until modern day .
By seeing things like this is shows how some shapes and fits of dresses have been re-worked at updated, for example how a large bustled dress that the queen wore in her early rein, to this amazing dress by Vivienne Westwood in the 90's. This is one dress I could quite happily stare at ALL day. I find the volume and colour so amazing it reminds me of a dress I would of imagined a fairy godmother to wear when I was little.


The dress and this childlike element gave me the thought of using childhood memories as a collection, in my sketchbook I've made a collage of childhood picture from times such as Christmas' and birthdays and even found a picture of myself in a Christmas frock with a full emerald green taffeta skirt just like this Westwood dress.

The other item in the exhibition I thought was marvelous was this fully tailored Paul Smith suit
I have a Paul Smith obsession at the best of times, but Paul Smith in menswear is like art, the way he tailors his suits and the linings in the jackets are so precise and smooth it just makes it that little bit smarter. Thinking a Paul Smith men's shirt may be getting added to the shopping list !!

Thursday 26 August 2010

I don't want to dress up a picture with just my face. Grace Kelly

Sorry for being a hopeless blogger, however very busy few weeks working very hard !!
However as part of a whistle stop trip to London to a trade show I did manage to grab a peek of the fabulous Grace Kelly exhibition at the V&A museum . (note : no photography allowed ...but I nabbed some from Mr.google :) )

Grace Kelly was a HUGE style icon during the 50's - 60's Hollywood cinema movement, her look was incredibly glamorous yet understated and she always new how she wanted to look and had a very personal sense of style. It was also a time where style columns in magazines and newspapers fed movie fans all over the world and they would look to stars such as Grace Kelly for inspiration. Grace Kelly was a particular style favourite to follow as she was very accessible to follow for different backgrounds of people. For example Grace would go from the average “girl next door” look to a "on-screen Hollywood" siren .

At the exhibition a range of some of Grace Kelly's most beautiful dresses were on show designed for her by the likes of Balenciaga, Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent as well as dresses from her famous film roles such as " High Society"

For me the best part of the exhibit was seeing how Grace Kelly transformed from a hollywood star into Princess of Monaco after her marriage to Prince Rainier. Although keeping her svelte look of pure and classic elegance she added elaborate hairstyles as well as fabulous jewellery which made her look even more important. By combining her royalty and celebrity she also became known on a much wider international basis and therefore became more of a global style icon. This was a huge helping hand when it came to her supporting charities as she was a friendly and well known face that appealed to many people

All in all , I really enjoyed the exhibition , Grace Kelly is a fantastic style icon especially coming from the times of beautiful Parisian Christian Dior tailoring. My favourite piece of the exhibition was her wedding dress that she wore in 1956 , it was so simplistic , yet she looked so elegant and sophisticated and the slimline yet amazingly long veil just made her one of the most gorgeous brides I have ever seen and working in a florist's i've seen many .