Monday, October 21, 2013

Timeless Fashion

New York Fashion week ended after a beautiful showing of the Spring 2014 fashion lines. However with the weather begining to change, it is the Fall fashion that is mostly on minds. I am always inspired by Josephine who was a fashion icon for many decades. So when I see certain "new" trends I always recognize that fashion is timeless.
Here are a few of my favorite Fall trends: Scene in green: Green is one of my favorite colors and one of the hot trends for 2013, Dior is a label that Josephine Baker wore often. This season Dior's jade green silk organza ensemble from Paris reminds me of Josephine in a beautiful gree strapless number complete with long gloves. Another inspiring look this season is Armani's moss green velvet dress. It is made fresh with the addition of a colorful belt, this addition makes it casual yet still classy when the evening gloves were added to the look. More than a few designers are pairing their ensembles with this ladylike accessory. Red hot lips and Lace: Another favorite designer of Josephine's was the house of Shiaparelli. Baker actually met Elsa Schiparelli in the 1920's and was given dozens of her designs to wear. Now revived by Christian Lacroix, a beautiful collection was featured in Vogue magazine. The models featured wore wavy hairstyles reminiscent of the way LaBakair wore her hair and their look was accented with dark lipstick - for the "romantic and mysterious woman." This reminded me of a story about how Baker considered having her lips tatood in her favorite shade of red. Hmmm...truth or fable? We may never know. However, in the winter of 1947 when Dior debuted a crimson colored lipstick, Josephine most likely wore it. This year Dior relaunches a shade of red simply called #999. I don't doubt that Josephine would love it too. This season's black and white trend would also look great with this hot color. Pearls (which Baker wore layers and layers of)and lace are a lovely look as well. Today the trend for lace is not only the typical black, but also crimson. Reflecting further on the black and white color trend, I spotted a great look by Balmain with white silk pants and an angora blend jacket. Balmain was another designer that Baker was also known to wear. Note, that you CAN wear white afer Labor Day. One of Josephine's mantras was to match her encembles all the way down to her shoes. But if you are not a fan of matching everything then you may love this season's rustic & retro patterns and geometric prints. Whatever your style, wear it the way Josephine did - with confidence!