EDITOR'S LETTER: August 2013

Think about why two women can wear the
same dress and rock them differently? Look
at their poise, grace, and posture!

I am a firm believer in the idea that, to understand where one is going in life, one must have an understanding of one's past. What is it in our past that made us into what we are in the present? In my fashion, it would only make sense that a certain understanding of fashion history is what makes the difference between a "clothing-horse" and a fashion advocate with a real sense of personal style. If I am wrong, if anything, one can certainly tell that an understanding and knowledge of fashion history, in some way, subliminally enhances ones style. Style is all about poise, grace, and posture, and when one finds a piece of fashion history that really speaks to us on deeper level, it is reflected in our poise, grace, and posture, because that bit of knowledge that resonates within us gives us the confidence to be who we want to be.

In my fashion, one’s understanding of fashion's past helps to enhance the appeal and authenticity of ones style because I believe when it comes to fashion and having style, every visible detail means something and says something about how we live our lives. Every detail from the yellow hair tie a girl pulls her hair up with, to even one's hand movements tell a story of where we have been in our lives. I was always fascinated with the Sherlock Holmes stories when I was younger because of his deductive reasoning. He could deduce what happened at a crime scene by paying attention to details and connecting those details in a way that reveals the truth. In this exaggerated example of our deductive abilities as humans, in my fashion, examining other people's fashions works the same. 

Style is all in the detail. 

This month lets think of Sherlock Holmes as we motion to gather more knowledge of fashion by examining Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible. Sherlock Holmes was able to make such intricate conclusions and come to understandings that no one else could fathom because he had a vast storage of knowledge of how the world works, and what has happened in the past. Tim Gunn's book helps us to become Sherlock Holmes of fashion. Understanding the original meaning of clothing items helps us to compare what the garment was intended for, as opposed to why an individual is wearing it today in our time. Looking at other's clothes we can deduce a person’s personality, interests, and viewpoints on life. In my fashion, the less that we are able to express our personality through our clothes the weaker our style, and as Diana Vreeland says, "Without style you are nobody!" As I have observed, people tend to respect other people with style! It’s important to express ourselves through our clothes for visuals constitutes 55% of communication between people, and you should know how to express the best of yourself through your sartorial journey and maturity through life. 

Of course this month we are going to keep with the best of fashion, which is The Secret World of Couture. In my fashion, the special idea behind a couture piece is that it has the ability to plainly communicate the extraordinary qualities of an individual and is indicative of one's amount of imagination and free will. One has to have quite a free mentally to express ones imagination through their clothing. As I heard artist and socialite, Daphne Guinness says, what’s interesting about fashion is the idea that we can transform ourselves because we are human beings and we can. Haute couture is much more than just finding the most elaborate and extravagant dress from the couture collections. It’s about finding the right fit to a dress made for none other than yourself and for your personality. Couture is an emphasis, and appreciation, for detail; style is an emphasis on point of view, so when you put them together, one creates a look that is alluringly unique. As is the theme of these two months, Unique Is Chic, fashion allows for the celebration of our uniqueness. In my fashion, thank God we are not all the same - how boring would that be?

EDITOR'S LETTER: July 2013



 In my fashion, Haute Couture is the ultimate
appreciation of clothes.

I have been absolutely intrigued by how fascinating fashion can be when one really delves into its history. In my fashion, having knowledge of fashion history empowers personal style. If you have been following #IMFblog for the past two months learning about Diana Vreeland’s accomplishments at the Costume Institute, hopefully you have gained a plethora of insight into how costume history has influenced our modern views of what we find beautiful. Through DV’s point of view, and her flare for presentation, she introduced new ways of thinking about the importance of fashion in a societal context through time. Her work mostly helped to bring inspiration and aspiration to the high fashion designers of the industry, and their work would go on to become revolutionary in their respective points in time. In these past months I have really began to ponder the reason why the Couture houses maintain their high standards, and how they run their business as the leaders of fashion ingenuity. I recently came across a BBC documentary which followed its reporter, Margy Kinmonth, as she met various members of “The Secret World of Couture” from the point of view of an outsider being allowed access to a heavily guarded insider club of sorts.

"Unique is Chic!"

While anyone can become a part of the couture festivities, one must have made their way up the social latter quite high before couture regulars will acknowledge your presence. I wondered why it is that people like Karl Lagerfeld, and Alber Elbaz, Riccardo Tisci, and most recently Alexander Wang are inspired to provide garments to the world of which a body may never feel the inside of. Clothes that are so special, they only need one outing to be burned into the mental images of those that see the woman in that dress (and these days with the internet, everyone is able to see the woman as soon as she steps out into the daylight). In my fashion, the couture shows are so magical just to see on live-streams. I can only imagine being present during these events (can you imagine the goose bumps). Watching the BBC documentary one gains an understanding of the level of the fashion industry that is responsible for bring fashion to the rest of the world through wildly imaginative and expensive pieces in the couture, down to the ready-to-wear collections and mainstream fashion.



"Life is an endless costume party!"

 This month I am inspired by the magic of “The Secret World of Couture”. Diana Vreeland adored Paris, and was alive during a time when designers of the great couture houses of today were making their beginnings for the fashion industry. She socialized and was friends with the designers Cristobol Balenciaga, Coco Chanel, Hubert Givenchy, and Christian Dior. So this month I am going to be looking into the point of views of the current couture design house heads, and how they help individuals assert the power of the imagination through clothes. One fashion expert whose book I have been reading of late speaks on the influence of these design houses, and much more on fashion history, in his book “Tim Gunn’s Fashion Bible”. Tim Gunn maintains that fashion is all about context—societal, cultural, historic, economic, and political. To him, dismissing fashion as silly or unimportant seems like a denial of history and frequently a show of sexism. I support this notion, and that is why I work to understand fashion in its entire context within our world. As feminist, Elizabeth Wilson postulated, “immense psychological and material work goes into the production of the social self, and clothes are an indispensable part of that production.” As Vogue says in its July 2013 issue, “Life is an endless costume party,” and when one thinks about it, the fashion industry is actually quite young, but inventive costume and adorning oneself has always been an innate aspect of the human experience. In July, we will delve into why, “Unique is Chic.”