READing Your Style: Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible (Part 4)

I have had much delight this month as January in September continues in the World of Fashion. I swear to you I have been re-birthed by the Spring/Summer 2014 collections (check out my Instagram for my reviews on select collections). On top of my own “New Look” for fall, I have been imagining what others “New Looks” were going to look like with the weather becoming increasingly cooler. Thinking back to when in 1947, Christian Dior introduced the “New Look” for women, which was back then much more progressive then what had come before it, the look of the girls then says something comparatively different about how women saw themselves to how they see themselves now. These last few months, I have had a lot of time to marinate over the information one finds in Tim Gunn’s Fashion Bible. In my fashion, he offered much on the history of fashion from not just a historically accurate standpoint, but I was most amused by his personal point of view on some of the reasons for our current disdain, or favor over certain articles of clothes today in society. 

What I chose to do in offering some insightful knowledge is pick out some passages from each chapter of the book which, in my fashion, indicate some interesting paradoxes as to how we choose to look in this day and age. In his book, Tim Gunn takes the liberty of going over a brief synopsis of the timeline in which certain articles of clothing went from being more masculine to more feminine; from functional, to popular, and then decidedly outmoded; and how a lot of pieces of clothing have evolved to fit the needs of daily life more conveniently for the wearer. The photos I use at the background for these passages are a reflection on the Vogue editorials from earlier this year from the January issue to this October’s issue. What do you think clothes are saying about women in 2013? As I continue this series throughout the rest of the year, take a moment to think about what Tim Gunn has to say, for with each passing season the clothes we wear define the look of the year, and as is the belief here on #IMFblog, to know your future, one must understand the past. When one understands what has happened in the past, one can better steer their future, and I truly believe that some of Tim Gunn’s wisdom can help one enhance their sense of style, and help to steer the direction of fashion.

CHAPTER 5: CAPRI PANTS AND SHORTS

Vogue, June 2013, "In Our Time" shot by Bruce Weber

CHAPTER 6: SKIRTS

Vogue, March 2013, "Retro Remix", shot by David Sims

Bit-O-Inspiro 42

One saying that I have been hugely inspired by comes from Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream.." Growing up and having first learned of him in grade school, it always fascinated me how this one ordinary man's vision of a better future influenced the popular train of thought to a more tolerant collective reasoning. Even though he lived in a turbulent society until his untimely death, his vision carried on, and it shows the power of manifesting one's vision into reality. In my fashion, if he could help bring about such an change in public opinion, there is no reason we as individuals shouldn't be able to manifest our own visions of our own future.

#SocialIdentitySelfImprovement 

EDITOR'S LETTER: October 2013

"Self-love is critical…it is the key to everything."

As this September has past, the 2014 Spring collections have got my mind moving a mile a minute as I envision who will be wearing what, and what looks will eventually represent 2014 in fashion history. Soon the holiday season will be upon us, and I can’t wait to see what combination of clothes the ‘It Girls’ of Vogue will put together, and I can’t wait to see what fashions will be prevalent on women in the streets, especially at upcoming holiday festivities and parties, with the one question always on my mind: What will clothes say about women this year? By far, some of my favorite collections included Chanel, Prabal Gurung, Albetta Feretti, Prada, Tom Ford and Rodarte. You can view #MY3BestLooks from each of these shows and other collections I review on my Instagram page (@inmyfashionblog). 

As we all know, I am fascinated with the fact that our appearance speaks volumes for the attitudes of the times. Every day, whether you like it or not, you are a part of fashion history each time you step out of bed and wear your clothes out into the world. Now, more than ever, with the aid of social media, fashion history is being documented on the Internet, and once you put something into the internet universe, it is out there forever as a testimony to what is going on in life, who we are, and why we are wearing what we are wearing. In my fashion, it’s important to make sure that what we put out there is what we want to be associated with ourselves. Since it is a requirement that we wear something when we leave our homes, in my fashion, we all should be excited to present ourselves with pride and creativity. Fashion is all about your imagination and what is going on in your mind, and about evolving as a person and changing yourself, playing a part in life that you want people to see. 

In case you weren’t aware, UK Vogue held The Vogue Fashion Festival for two days the last weekend in April. They had a multitude of interviews and panel discussions with some of fashion’s key players including Alber Elbaz, Steven Meisel, Donatella Versace, and Victoria Beckham. There were two panel discussions: one entitled, “The Secrets of a British Brand” which was very informational and motivational. The other panel discussion was entitled “Too Fat, Too Thin…Will We Ever Be Content” which was a discussion on how we deal with our body issues, and this topic inspires my theme for this month, ‘Social Identity Self Improvement’. I realized that what I essentially am trying to do in regards to learning about fashion and style is to help others feel good about themselves. I see my role on this planet as a person who just wants people to feel good about who they are, especially women. At 27 minutes into the discussion I heard an interesting comment from an audience member that happened to be a weight loss consultant from Jenny Craig who said this:

“I have realized that actually a lot of the people don’t need to lose weight, they need to look actually at what they dress in, and dress for their shape. How long do you think it will be before people realize that’s one way of going about it, and dieting in a sensible way, not quickly but for the foreseeable future?”

Hearing that observation from a weight loss consultant confirms for me that women could use my help in this regard. As I look at it, my job in life is to in some way help others make the most out of their “Social Identity”. I find it interesting how we have an intuitive sense of what clothes mean, and how we relate to people based on our appearance. I find that my mission in life coincides closely with what, Alber Elbaz, Creative Director for Lanvin, tries to do for women: make their lives easier. During his interview he tells us, "I want them to be able to get into a car, to be able to have dessert, to feel beautiful. Fashion should not be about having a second skin - it is about fantasy; about putting on a red, chiffon dress, looking in the mirror and feeling amazing.” It is my understanding that our happiness depends on our confidence levels, and I would hope to be a motivating force in people’s lives to help people not only find confidence, but keep it, and I have found that increasing our sense of style through our clothing choices is one large piece of the puzzle to projecting our confidence. As was said in “Too Fat, Too Thin”, “Self-love is critical…it is the key to everything.”

Fashion is aspiration, and it’s about manifesting what is in our minds into reality. As I have said from day one of #IMFblog, when you look good, you feel good, and dressing with an intention shows that you have an intention for where you are going with not just your day, but your life. Image Consulting and Wardrobe Styling is what I am working on making my profession, and in an effort to find out how I can be of greater service to people by sharing what I’ve learned about personal style, I will be creating a Facebook page that seeks to find out if there are any specific problems I can help with in regards to enhancing one’s style. Just like in the “Too Fat, Too Thin…Will We Ever Be Content” panel discussion, I want to find out what issues we have with our bodies and what sartorial dilemmas I can help with, whether it is shopping and finding unique items, organizing one’s closet space, seeing our image differently (or for what it is), or how one can better style oneself for our personal endeavors. If you have an outfit that you need approval of and you would like an impartial expert opinion, which is what my page will be for. If you don’t know if your look is appropriate for where you will be going, ask me! If you want an idea as to how to make your outfit pop, send me a message. Let me know what your needs are when it comes to dressing for your life; what are you trying to accomplish; what your goals are; what are your challenges when it comes to dressing. In my fashion, you get what you dress for, and life is all about the visual.

READing Your Style: Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible (Part 3)

I have had much delight this month as January in September continues in the World of Fashion. I swear to you I have been re-birthed by the Spring/Summer 2014 collections (check out my Instagram for my reviews on select collections). On top of my own “New Look” for fall, I have been imagining what others “New Looks” were going to look like with the weather becoming increasingly cooler. Thinking back to when in 1947, Christian Dior introduced the “New Look” for women, which was back then much more progressive then what had come before it, the look of the girls then says something comparatively different about how women saw themselves to how they see themselves now. These last few months, I have had a lot of time to marinate over the information one finds in Tim Gunn’s Fashion Bible. In my fashion, he offered much on the history of fashion from not just a historically accurate standpoint, but I was most amused by his personal point of view on some of the reasons for our current disdain, or favor over certain articles of clothes today in society. 

What I chose to do in offering some insightful knowledge is pick out some passages from each chapter of the book which, in my fashion, indicate some interesting paradoxes as to how we choose to look in this day and age. In his book, Tim Gunn takes the liberty of going over a brief synopsis of the timeline in which certain articles of clothing went from being more masculine to more feminine; from functional, to popular, and then decidedly outmoded; and how a lot of pieces of clothing have evolved to fit the needs of daily life more conveniently for the wearer. The photos I use at the background for these passages are a reflection on the Vogue editorials from earlier this year from the January issue to this October’s issue. What do you think clothes are saying about women in 2013? As I continue this series throughout the rest of the year, take a moment to think about what Tim Gunn has to say, for with each passing season the clothes we wear define the look of the year, and as is the belief here on #IMFblog, to know your future, one must understand the past. When one understands what has happened in the past, one can better steer their future, and I truly believe that some of Tim Gunn’s wisdom can help one enhance their sense of style, and help to steer the direction of fashion.

CHAPTER 3: JEANS

Vogue, February 2013, "The American Way" shot by Peter Lindbergh

CHAPTER 4: DRESSES

Vogue, February 2013, "Magic Kingdom" shot by Norman Jean Roy

READing Your Style: Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible (Part 2)

I have had much delight this month as January in September continues in the World of Fashion. I swear to you I have been re-birthed by the Spring/Summer 2014 collections (check out my Instagram for my reviews on select collections). On top of my own “New Look” for fall, I have been imagining what others “New Looks” were going to look like with the weather becoming increasingly cooler. Thinking back to when in 1947, Christian Dior introduced the “New Look” for women, which was back then much more progressive then what had come before it, the look of the girls then says something comparatively different about how women saw themselves to how they see themselves now. These last few months, I have had a lot of time to marinate over the information one finds in Tim Gunn’s Fashion Bible. In my fashion, he offered much on the history of fashion from not just a historically accurate standpoint, but I was most amused by his personal point of view on some of the reasons for our current disdain, or favor over certain articles of clothes today in society. 

What I chose to do in offering some insightful knowledge is pick out some passages from each chapter of the book which, in my fashion, indicate some interesting paradoxes as to how we choose to look in this day and age. In his book, Tim Gunn takes the liberty of going over a brief synopsis of the timeline in which certain articles of clothing went from being more masculine to more feminine; from functional, to popular, and then decidedly outmoded; and how a lot of pieces of clothing have evolved to fit the needs of daily life more conveniently for the wearer. The photos I use at the background for these passages are a reflection on the Vogue editorials from earlier this year from the January issue to this October’s issue. What do you think clothes are saying about women in 2013? As I continue this series throughout the rest of the year, take a moment to think about what Tim Gunn has to say, for with each passing season the clothes we wear define the look of the year, and as is the belief here on #IMFblog, to know your future, one must understand the past. When one understands what has happened in the past, one can better steer their future, and I truly believe that some of Tim Gunn’s wisdom can help one enhance their sense of style, and help to steer the direction of fashion.

CHAPTER 2: T-SHIRTS

Vogue, May 2013, "Rebel Yell" shot by Steven Meisel

READing Your Style: Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible (Part 1)

I have had much delight this month as January in September continues in the World of Fashion. I swear to you I have been re-birthed by the Spring/Summer 2014 collections (check out my Instagram for my reviews on select collections). On top of my own “New Look” for fall, I have been imagining what others “New Looks” were going to look like with the weather becoming increasingly cooler. Thinking back to when in 1947, Christian Dior introduced the “New Look” for women, which was back then much more progressive then what had come before it, the look of the girls then says something comparatively different about how women saw themselves to how they see themselves now. These last few months, I have had a lot of time to marinate over the information one finds in Tim Gunn’s Fashion Bible. In my fashion, he offered much on the history of fashion from not just a historically accurate standpoint, but I was most amused by his personal point of view on some of the reasons for our current disdain, or favor over certain articles of clothes today in society. 

What I chose to do in offering some insightful knowledge is pick out some passages from each chapter of the book which, in my fashion, indicate some interesting paradoxes as to how we choose to look in this day and age. In his book, Tim Gunn takes the liberty of going over a brief synopsis of the timeline in which certain articles of clothing went from being more masculine to more feminine; from functional, to popular, and then decidedly outmoded; and how a lot of pieces of clothing have evolved to fit the needs of daily life more conveniently for the wearer. The photos I use at the background for these passages are a reflection on the Vogue editorials from earlier this year from the January issue to this October’s issue. What do you think clothes are saying about women in 2013? As I continue this series throughout the rest of the year, take a moment to think about what Tim Gunn has to say, for with each passing season the clothes we wear define the look of the year, and as is the belief here on #IMFblog, to know your future, one must understand the past. When one understands what has happened in the past, one can better steer their future, and I truly believe that some of Tim Gunn’s wisdom can help one enhance their sense of style, and help to steer the direction of fashion.

CHAPTER 1: UNDERWEAR

Vogue, May 2013, "Rebel Yell" shot by Steven Meisel

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Change is good! In my fashion, Vogue's September Issue for 2013 is filled with inspiring articles of today's most influential leaders. The above quote are words that stuck out to me, because they couldn't be more true in its entirety. The theme of this September Issue is "Unwavering Individualism" and on that note, if you want to invite change into your life, be prepared to to fight those demons that want you to keep you in that comfortable normalcy you are use to. In my fashion, this season is about change for the better! 

EDITOR'S LETTER: September 2013

BIG CHOP! NEW LOOK!

These past few months have been terribly busy for myself, in which I figured I needed to make some changes in my schedule, and life. Along with the pending shift in seasons, the first change was my "Big Chop" of my hair and the beginning of an old, but “New Look”, none the less (This is my second time going bald). Considering it is now September, the quintessential equivalent of New Years in the fashion world (Fashion Week begins September 5, 2012 in New York City), I'd figured chopping my hair off and sporting a “New Look” goes perfect with the fact that fashion is primarily about transformation and self discovery. I am quite disappointed in myself for I have not had the time to come up with my usual stream pf posts for #IMFblog these past months, and this has prompted me to figure out how I can streamline my life a bit more as to cater to my busy schedule. Having been growing my hair since last April, as if I wasn't spending enough time styling it after work and on the weekends, my hair was one thing I spent most of my day thinking about! I figured to myself that, in my fashion, if a style is not easy and convenient for oneself, then that style may not be the right style one should be maintaining. In my fashion, style must be effortless for it to exude our true character, otherwise we might as well be in 18th century Paris during the the era of Marie Antoinette where preparation for ones look took hours, and required the assistance of many maids. The fro had to go! When I decided to take my scissors and razor blade to my head, upon the first chop of hair, I instantly felt liberated, as if I was preparing for a new frontier, and it could not have come at a better time for myself, because at this stage in my life, I am more than ready to take on new horizons in my life. I have no idea what the future holds for myself, but my New Look has inspired a strength within who I am, and a certain freedom from my typical mode of thinking that has me feeling bolder and more refined.

My new robe I've been developing for myself goes
perfect with this Fall's trends. Vogue's 2013  September
Issue declares coats and robes are the new handbag.

I recently came across an Andre Leon Talley quote from Vogue Living: "Luxury is...to be able to take control of one's life, health and the pursuit of happiness in a way that is joyful." In my fashion, attaining a luxurious lifestyle is the pursuit of a style all one's own, and as the late Diana Vreeland had proclaimed, "There is only one good life, and that's the one you want, and you make it yourself!" Luxury is not defined by the necessity of wearing Dior everyday, or living in Paris, or even having a lot of money to do things like that. Its about finding the things one truly enjoys about life, and having the guts to pursue what one enjoys in a way that brings a certain meaning and value to ourselves and those we interact with.

My new look and increased spiritual outlook on life
 has me feeling like what I call, an "Urban Monk"! 

A phrase I have found myself reciting to people more often these past few months is my belief that in life, “It’s all about the visual!” I have found this to be true not only because I realize the difference between how people interact with things that are attractive, and things that are unattractive, but because in my research I found that 50% of our brains are in fact dedicated to the information we receive visually. There are many unconscious processes within our brain that occur when we look at things, and ultimately our brains control how we feel largely based on the things that we see. Going forward with the rest of the year, I am planning to elaborate more on this, and hopefully this will put more into perspective, how we respond to things that are beautiful, and why as Diana Vreeland always said, “The eyes have to travel.” Of all of her eccentric quotes (this also being the name of one of her biographies), this is one of my favorites, because I believe in this phrase, and that it applies to our lives more than we imagine. I intend on continuing this month with info from Tim Gunn’s Fashion Bible, and the The Secret World of Couture, and later on hopefully before the month ends, we can go more in detail on the Science of Beauty. As I said before, I have gotten really busy lately and I’m so disappointed that my posts have been slacking compared to prior months, but as I said, with my BIG CHOP, will come big changes, not just in my schedule, but to #IMFblog content and presentation, so continue to visit and see what information I find to inspire us all!

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?