IFB's Links a la Mode

Fashion Blog Improvement

Edited by Jennine Jacob of Independent Fashion Bloggers

Whether you are contemplating starting a blog or if you’ve been bloggging for a while, getting to know the ropes is a never-ending journey. This week we have a nice round up of bloggers sharing how they do it, what they find important about blogging. From taking your own photos, whether or not to have comments, and how to cover the fashion shows with your own twist, this is the week to buckle down and learn. Well, before the holidays set in anyway!

Links à la Mode: September 30th

• Boheme Noir: Burberry S/S 11 Show Coverage
• Brachman’s Sparrow: So you want to know how to grow your blog…
• Chic Steals: Marshall’s and the World of Off-Price Retailing
• Dramatis Personae: Fashion vs. Fatfashion Blogger
• Dressful: Fashion is Art, Not Trivial!
• Fashion Pulse Daily:New York Fashion Week Team’s Top Spring 2011 Trends
• Fete a Fete: Dolce & Gabana Evocative Beauty Fall 2010
• Hello Beauty: Bobbi Brown Black Velvet Fall 2010 Collection Review & Video
• Independent Fashion Bloggers: The Importance (and Unimportance) of Being Niche’d
• Leia’s Delights: No Comments?
• ModlyChic: How to Take Your Own Outfit Photos
• Retro Chick: Revies Illamasqua Lipstick
• Scarlet Letter Style: Are Boobs Really Back?
• Style Spotting: The Women of Warpaint
• The Column of Samantha Tyler: Decoding: Bestiary of the IT Girls
• The Coveted: Getting Inspired by The Metropolitan Museum of Art
• The Lingerie Addict: How to Dress Like Dita von Teese
• The Simpliy Luxurious Life: Tips for Looking Fantastic Each Day
• Vogue Gone Rouge: New Upcoming Designers Show
• Wit & Whimsy: Getting to know designer Phillip Lim and why everyone’s talking about him and his line

Decoding : A future without catwalks

We now are into the period of the Fashion Weeks, and the models are bustling about going back up the catwalks. The catwalk, symbol of fashion, engraved in people's mind as the only way to show collections for what it seems to be forever. But, already back in July, when I saw that Givenchy chose to exhibit only few dresses in a private lounge, to happy few, I started to ask myself if the catwalk wasn't out of date. My impression is now confirmed by Gareth Pugh's choice for his Paris Fashion Week presentation.

He showed a video clip, directed by Ruth Hogben, a name that you surely will heard again in the future. The video possesses an aesthetic quality which bluffed me. The video, quite long, is a game of moving images of model Kristen McMenamy, wearing Pugh's incredibly gorgeous collection. But what amazed me the most, is the designer's statement. He claimed that it was the 'modern alternative' to catwalk shows. Pugh is of the avant-garde, a sort of Cassandra of Fashion. Could he be right ?

Can we imagine Fashion without catwalks ? No more plethora of models and outfits, no more front row icons, no more direct contact with fabrics, no more journalists. We would go to see a collection like we go to see a movie or an art exhibition. We can even imagine 3D movies projected in streets, monuments or museums, a technological version of Chanel, catwalking at the Grand Palais, in Paris. It would place Fashion in the domain of Fine Arts again, and allow creators like Gareth Pugh to express all their creativity.

Givenchy chosed an elitist version of this futuristic caltwalk, bringing back fashion to luxury and patricians. But, with Pugh's vision, we could imagine a democratisation of catwalks, where everyone could witness designers's collections. Which direction will we choose ?

But, maybe this is only a passing snobism, a Fashion equivalent of singer Prince's reaction to online downloading. Only future will tell us, but Pugh's initiative is certainly refreshing. Would you like a world without catwalks ? I, I would like to see more videos like this in the next years, and less private lounges.

Gareth Pugh's video : http://vimeo.com/15395630

Photos Ron Rox, Chanel, Givenchy and extracts from Gareth Pugh S/S 2011 Collection's video.

Spotlight : Frida Adore

Difficult to resist this sweet seventeen Swedish angel. Frida Gustavsson was noticed by an agent while she was shopping in Stockholm, and since then, she had made her way through the world of fashion. Her elfic face is often admirable in the greatest magazines, and she models for many brands and designers. I was especially stricken by her photos for brand Paul & Joe, and her shots for talented French photographer Patrick Demarchelier, who succeeded in conveying her ethereal aura. As some pictures are worth thousand words, these are my favourites.

Sources : Models.com, Wikipedia.com

Photos : Noir ( photographer unknown ), American Vogue ( photographer Patrick Demarchelier ), Jill Stuart ( photographer Mario Sorrenti ), Paul & Joe ( photographer Patrick Demarchelier ), Elle Sweden ( photographer Andreas Sjodin )

New Design

Hi, I have finally changed the design of the Column with success. I would like some feedback : how do you find it ? Do you like it ?
xoxo Sam

Trend : Venus in Fur

PETA was very happy when the crisis showed its face, the association of defense of the animals thought that, forced to cut their budget, the rich grannies would stop buying furs. But it was without counting on the asteroid of the season. Coming back from the ages, the fur muscles into the modern fashion's debate. Of course, some are fake, but some animals, not threaten of disappearance, are still used to make clothes. That doesn't seem to cause a stir in the Fashion world. This Winter, fur is everywhere, the new whim of fashionistas, and they stick by it. That will make the fur fly !

Adieu snobs and villains ! Fur is the new leather, a decadence which flaunts itself on every catwalk, from Chanel and its Teddy Bear silhouettes to Burberry Prorsum and its adventurers of the ... Lost Chic. The wire woman is over, now is the time of the bouffant, spicky and bulky furs. Every part of the fashionista disappears under it : the face seems tiny under the gigantic fur hats, no more necks, muscular-like shoulders, muffs of patholigical thickness, and Chewbacca's legs used as boots. Cold, what's that again ?

Well, that won't be a convenient trend to wear in your overheating office, and you risk to faint in the middle of your fitting inside the Fendi shop. But in the subway, you will always find a seat, all the allergics having turned tail seeing you coming. Yes, I am a fierce defender of the usefulness of Fashion : every trend has got its positive points, even the most improbable. And this one is a winner, all categories. Alexandre Vauthier already saw it coming, and even offered to wear those 'little bubbles of blaze' in plain summer. The more masochist, the merrier.

But, like every fashionista, I can't resist this little weakness. So, I plan to move to far-off lands : I hesitate between Minnesota, Siberia or Greenland. After all, 'ermine fur adorn the imperious', and I guess it would be the hypest to open a Balmain shop in the middle of an Inuit village. Or not. Actually, I think I will stick to lined coats and boots and fall for an adorable bag made of fur. I would be too afraid to make a grizzly angry. And it will prevent me to choose between eco-freak and trend-freak ...

From high to down and right to left :

- Tilda Swinton in her role of the White Witch in the movie The Chronicles of Narnia : The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe of Disney, coat Fendi, our majesty Elizabeth II, Freda Beha Erichsen for V Magazine, Dita Von Teese for UK Glamour

-Fur hat Maison Martin Margiela, coat Chie Imai, jacket Valentino, photo Thomas Sing, fur hat Pamela Roland, coat Michael Kors, boots Roger Vivier, Disney's Cruella De Vil

- coat Topshop, Raquel Zimmermann for Vogue Paris, bag Mango, The Woman With Ermine of painter El Greco

- Liane Haid, coat Balmain, coat Escada, bag and boots Chanel

- Dress Miu Miu, coat Alexandre Vauthier, bag Cartier, Kasia Struss for Numero Japan

photomontages by Samantha Tyler

A girl, a style : Ginnifer Goodwin

These days, I think the actresses more and more awfully adviced in their fashion choices. They think that a dress is made to impress, not to emphasize their beauty, and they all chanel their inner Gaga. It's not the case of Ginnifer Goodwin. Long-past, Ginnifer had been one of my favourite stylish actresses. She understood that Less was More, and that girly and sophisticated outfits fitted her angelic face marvellously.

The 32 years old American actress, most famous for her roles in HBO's Big Love and the chick flick He's not that into you, has got a taste for designers, but she never chooses the snazziest
dresses. Marc Jacobs, Prada, 1 OAK, Escada, Stella McCartney, Yves Saint Laurent, Brian Reyes, Moschino, Bottega Veneta ... She knows who the best are, and is always one trend in advance.

One proof is her Pixie Crop, done before everyone, and which really suit her appearance and style. She plays with fashion, sometimes wearing cute little dresses, sometimes effortlessly elegant in boyish jumpsuits. I especially applaud her choices of jewellery, not always her choices of make-up, which should be a bit more visible. Aside that, she scores a deserved A.

I hope that more actresses would follow Ginnifer's steps and think about their wardrobe a bit more, because clothes are very important for their image. Keeping dressing in black little dresses makes you look dull, and it's certainly not good for your career and social life. Like Ginnifer, dare the colors, prints and various shapes Fashion has to offer. And more importantly : choose what fit you best, don't just stupidly follow the trends, you have to be more picky.

Decoding : Bestiary of the IT girls

Each day in the Vanity Fair, these mysterious creatures appear, dressed in their best attire. The general term which differentiate them from the usual Fashion fauna is 'IT girls'. But, as every family usually countains different species, I studied them, and classified them into 5 different animals, all exploited in the business of fashion.

The stoat

This distinguished animal loves media coverage. Always changing of appearance, it prefers to go out at night, where the wild life is, and invades the places that attracts the right sort of people. All smile and pin-up attitudes, the stoat girl remains a carnivore : she knows exactly what to do, where to go, who to befriend and why. She has got career plans and you won't be in her path, unless you want to be bitten.

Alpha female : Chloe Sevigny
Experienced females : Blake Lively, Peaches Geldof
See also : Taylor Momsen, Pixie Lott


The crocodile

It is the sulfurous kind. Always edgy in its attire, the crocodile likes dark water and the compagny of its fellows, underground artists, rockers and bad guys. The crocodile girl cultivates her dangerous mystique to impress, which always induce people to celebrate her like a goddess. She eats almost everything that pass near her teeth, and attacks every kind of job, as long as it is provocative and sexy.

Alpha female : Kate Moss, the Great Goddess
Experienced females : Agyness Deyn, Daisy Lowe
See also : Lindsay Lohan, Lou Doillon


The rabbit

Among the IT girls, it is the most adorable looking one. The most widespread, the rabbit girl is always of good company, in the fashion shows or in the parties, she is always nice and popular, thanks to her appearance of plush. In fashion, she likes experiments and doesn't hesitate to wear outfits that are sometimes mocked by the Fashion fauna. It doesn't matter : cute things can wear everything, they always will be cute.

Alpha female : Drew Barrymore
Experienced females : Alexa Chung, Rachel Bilson
See also : Emma Watson, Nicole Richie

The lynx

That is one mysterious animal. It always seems to live in another space, preferably a dark, wild forest. Its physical appearance is very recognizable, with its fascinating eyes, its rolling gait and its out-of-time outfits. Placid, the lynx girl is even the most active, and you can see her everywhere. Perhaps because she is always the first to get up, in order to get the best jobs first.

Alpha female : Raquel Zimmermann
Experienced females : Freja Beha Erichsen, Casey Mulligan
See also : the Olsen sisters, Poppy Delevigne

The lamb

It is the most glamourous one. The lamb girl always looks juvenile and is always dressed with the latest trends, insomuch she passes as a featherbrain. But take care to her beatific smile, she will not hesitate to show her teeth if you try to put a foot on her grass. Under the most luxuous outfits, she still have a country girl side, which is always a bit wild.

Alpha female : Jessica Alba
Experienced females : January Jones, Natalia Vodianova
See also : Taylor Swift, Donna Air

***As you can see, I haven't drawn for a long time and it's still a bit crappy, but I'm working on it.
Miss Stoat's outfit is inspired by Dolce & Gabbana, Miss Crocodile's by Hermes, Miss Rabbit's by Chanel, Miss Lynx's by Fendi and Miss Lamb's by Christian Dior.

IFB's Links a la Mode

Are You a Follower of Fashion?

Edited by: Ann of Holier than Now

Last week marked the end of New York Fashion Week. Post-show, the editors, buyers and bloggers went to work to define and list the trends, hoping we’ll follow along. But for many of us, the sheer shirts of Spring ’11 were are about as realistic for our wardrobes as a meat dress. Instead, we looked outside of Lincoln Center at the street style of individuals, hoping to find the inspiration to zig when everyone else is zagging. This week’s post celebrates the path less … followed, with counterpoints on everything from current trends to blogger compensation and competition.

Links à la Mode: September 23

• Any Second Now: Dolly Bats & Clobber at Bona Drag
• A Pretty Penny: Newsprint Manicure
• Beauty and The Recession: They Put WHAT in Your Lipstick?
• Beautifully Invisible: The Meat Dress: Fashionable, Art or Just Controversial?
• Beyond Fabric: How To Pull Off A Bow Tie
• Cloud of Secrets: Wishing for a Spirit Style Guide
• Despising Life is So Passe: The Glories of Thigh Highs (and How to Make Them Work)
• Gretchen Blogs: When To Work For Free
• Holier than Now: Animal Print, Rainbow Hair, Layers – It Must Be Fall ’10. Or Is It?? A Contest.
• Independent Fashion Bloggers: Evolving Influence Recap: Love & Links
• It’s Symmetrical: A Shopping Revelation Inspired by an Anonymous Comment
• My Closet In Sketches: Unlikely Combinations for Fashion Inspiration
• Oranges and Apples: On Competition in the Blogosphere
• The Button Owl: On Liberation in the Age of Implants, Pornography and Pole Dancing
• The Chic Addict: A Pale Skin Girl in a Tan Obsessed World
• The Column of Samantha Tyler: A (Sarcastic) Look at Winter’s Hot Trends
• The Daily Julie: fashionSpark: Fashion Design, North Carolina Style
• The Pursuers: A Love Letter to Legwear
• Tickle Me Chic: Labels that Lie: How Vanity Sizing has Become an Epidemic
• View from 5 ft. 2: New York Fashion Week Street Style – The Pictures You Haven’t Seen
• Violet Revolution: Edgy and Stylish Fall Fashion

SPONSOR:

Latest at Shopbop: Denim -Madewell - Skirts - Under Ligne - Obakki -Dresses – DKNY

Trend : The Little Red Fashion Book

Winter is coming, the trees are turning red, so does Rihanna's hair. The fashionistas are positive : the red will set fire to our wardrobes.
Red like a guitar : it will be the color of the rock attitude, of the provocation. Red leather, carmine nails, and bloody lips will be the essentials of the winter.

Greyer the sky will be, brighter the red must be. This season, it also will be really classy. Suits, elegants sweaters and feminine shapes, you must forget your shyness and dare the red domination. A vibrant tribute to the oldest symbol of feminity.

Almost all the great designers spiced up their collection with the obsessive colour, but also the department stores, so you will find affordable pieces of red : if you don't adapt your wardrobe, it will be inexcusable ! From head to toes, in total look or subtile points, you can play with it to infinity.

So, red clothes at night, fashionista's delight, red clothes in the morning, fashionista's dazzling ...

Red Alert : Givenchy outfit, Mango jacket, YSL nail varnish

Red Thread : Dior bag, Giorgio Armani coat, Irene Van Ryb shirt, Chanel pants, Naf-naf sweater

Rouge de jalousie : Givenchy outfit, New Look boots, Giorgio Armani dress

Red Passion : St John coat, House of Harlow bangle, Louboutin boots, Cerruti outfit

Red fusion : Marchesa dress, Dsquared dress, Furla bag

photomontages by Samantha Tyler.

Tribute : If it's Greek, it's Chic

A soft heat is coming from the ground. Far off, the silhouette of a woman is walking toward us on the country road, lined with ancient olive trees. She is now closer, and you can admire her extreamely gracious outfit. A silk tunic, almost diaphaneous, is emphazing her body, hooked-up at the shoulders and tightenned at the waist by a braided leather belt. The cloth is floating around her, waved by the breeze, creating the illusion of a slow dance.

This woman is not a model, nor a contemporary woman : she is a vision from Ancient Greece, the cradle of our civilization and of our fashion.
Ancient Greece’s women were already extremely found of fashion, and adored luxuous accessories to the point that their husbands, annoyed of buying them more and more expensive clothes, adopted a law, giving some magistrates the right to supervise the sumptuousness of their wifes’ toilettes !

And yet, Grecian women didn’t have much choice. Their outfits were always constituted of the same pieces.
First, the chiton, a sort of overall, fastened at the shoulders and the waist. It was usually white and really thin, nearly transparent. Then, they added the tunic, a long dress of plain colour with a strip of crimson. The himation, a shawl, or the peplos, a sort of coat, protected her from the cold, while the calyptra, a transparent veil, hid her from the sun and the looks.

And that’s was all. The only variety came from the way women draped themselves into the large cloths, which changed according to their cities or their vanity. The colors were also important : a woman with a multicoloured tunic and a golden belt was certainly a courtesan, and despised by honorable women, who prefered white colour. Younger women loved crimson, saffron or olive green tunics. The clothes were also adorned with embroderies, famous for their geometrical friezes.

Yet, a wind of modernity already blew in the ancient fashion. Spartan women invented the mini dress, while Minoan women, found of tiny waists, invented the corset.

But, almost everything, the accessories were women’s real pleasure. They always carried fans ans sunshades while walking in the streets, and even if they often went barefooted, they were the Carrie Bradshaw of the History. Indeed, they were obsessed by shoes : ankle-boots or leather sandals, every model was unique, dyed in black, red, yellow or white, and often decorated with glass pearls and pieces of metal. No suprising then, that the Spartan shoes made their comeback last year in our wardrobes.

Gold also fascinated them, and they wore enormous jewels, which would made Miranda Priestly grow pale : earrings, brooches, cameos, bangles, necklaces and tiaras, all with complex patters and fine details.
Their heads were bare, except for the Minoans, who wore a sort of conic hat, and the hair was extreamely elaborated, with headbands, numerous braids, hairpins with precious stones, hainets, curls and even wings as dyeing didn’t exist at the time. Amy Winehouse’s hairdo ? Deja-vu !

Another very important thing was the make-up. Inspired by the Middle East, Grecian women used a lot of foundation cream to lighten their skin, and often had white faces. To compensate for this paleness, they used blush on their cheeks and bold lines of khol on their eyes, which gave them a magnetic look that fascinated the artists. Though, they never used lipstick; red lips were reserved to the prostitutes and to the actors, who were playing female roles, and often mocking them. Women were forbidden of acting, but they practiced a lot of dancing and singing, and particulary take care over their appearance in these occasions.

All this almost sounds modern, doesn’t it ?

It is because Ancient Greeks have always been our models, and what we have learnt of their civilization, through their texts and their sculptures, especially the ones called Tanagras, have strongly influenced us and still are. For example, actress Rose Byrne wore a Grecian-style Gucci dress on the Emmys 2010’s red carpet : a timeless elegance.

We are, and we always will be obsessed by our appearance. And thanks to Aphrodite, goddess of the beauty, we don’t have magistrates who prevent us to have splendid outfits anymore !

Trend : This winter, we will all ...

This winter we will all thank our grandmother's knitting skills
Indeed, the stitch is the latest trend of this winter, and Grandma will be so happy when she will see you at Christmas, in a total knitwear look of D&G : "Oh, Darling, you should have asked me, I would have knitted you a jumpsuit !" Remember the ugly Fair Isle sweater she gave you the previous years ? It is time to take them out and to wear them boldly in the next party. Soon, nobody could catch you out in wool art. You will worship the Great Goddess of Knitting, Sonia Rykiel, and hint your friends about the next big things, Lilly Marthe Ebener and Clarissa Labin. For once designers realized that winter meant cold, we are not going to complain that we all look ridiculous ...
This winter, we will all own a Time-Machine
Who could have thought that Doctor Who would become the fashion icon of the season ? The Past is the new Future. So, this is time to search your attic for some old-fashioned things. To look like a rigid housewife ? You're not even scared, especially if you are wearing Louis Vuitton. You suddenly have troubles of memory : you totally forgot that you hated the color camel, the oversized skirts and the butterfly glasses when you have seen the last collection of Prada, Chloe or Cacharel. Now, your friends don't recognize you in your monastic-chic outfit, with a cape, s'il vous plait. You just really can't stand the bodysuit ... Sorry Gaga.
This winter, we will all look like our boyfriend
"Good Lord, Honey ! I can't go out with you tonight, you look like my little brother !" Nevermind, you can go out alone. With your man suit, you look like an italian mafioso, and nobody will pick a quarrel with you. Besides, the bouncer will certainly congratulate you for your Chloe or your Balmain suit, the very same he just bought the day before. Inside the club, your military medals will shine like diamonds, and even if it's hot, you will not drop your leather and fur bomber, because the army is so in these days, too bad for the G.I. in Afghanistan. If Marc Jacobs and Dries Van Noten said that looking like a man is cool, it must be right. After all, the woman is just a man like an other.
This winter, we will all like country music
Carey Mulligan is our new prophet of fashion : after the pixie crop, the Stetson is compulsory. Since we have to look like men, we should look like the coolest of them : the cow boys. We can get dirty without a problem with jeans shirt, velvet pants, loafers and tweed jacket. Hee-hoo ladies ! Let's go to the nearest Moschino shop by horse ! We could even find a bowler hat at the Hermes Saloon ! And maybe we will leave our stirrups at Kenzo, Dior and Ralph Lauren Collection ...
This winter, we will all have cold feet
Too bad, you've finally found the perfect nail varnish for your feet and it's already winter. Don't worry ! The peep toes boots will give you the opportunity to show your toes, even if it's snowing ! As long as you are wearing Louboutins, Jimmy Choos or Alexander Wang boots, it won't matter if your feet turned blue. Blue ? Isn't it this season's color ? No, it's camel, too bad. Whatever, maybe next summer trend will be the legless women ?
Pictures : Chloe, Louis Vuitton, Kate Moss for Isabel Marant, Carey Mulligan for Vogue, and Jimmy Choo's shoe.

Unfinished Business

Hello there. I have to apology for my lack of posting since the beggining of September. The holidays are over, and I am back to work, work outside this blog. I can no longer postpone these projects, and so, I will wait to finish them before bringing you the latest trends again. Until then, I hope you will stay loyal to the Column :)
I let you enjoy this gorgeous picture of Miss Bell, for an italian brand's campaign.
xoxo Sam