Fashion In Film Festival: Birds of Paradise

What are you doing Friday?  If you love costume and movies, the Fashion in Film Festival is running April 15^th through May 2^nd for true geeks. Their tagline promises “a major extravaganza in costume spectacle, dance and diabolical glamour”.  How can you resist that?

Birds of Paradise  “highlights those episodes in cinema history which most distinctly foreground costume, adornment, and styling as vehicles of sensuous pleasure and enchantment.”  The festival explores underground film, silent films.  Archival examples demonstrate how fashion and costume have showcased movement, light, theme and aesthetics since the beginning of cinema.

For the full schedule of screenings, lectures and themes, click here.

The festival blog is a treasure trove of gorgeous costume photos and stylish film history.

The events take place at the Graduate Center at City University of New York and is hosted by the Museum of the Moving Image.

The Graduate Center, CUNY

365 Fifth Avenue

New York 10016

www.gc.cuny.edu

Museum of the Moving Image

36-01 35 Avenue

New York 11106

box office: 718 777 6888

www.movingimage.us

The Graduate Center, CUNY

365 Fifth Avenue

New York 10016

www.gc.cuny.edu

Read more →

Robert Pattinson Was Not Sexy While Filming 'Water for Elephants' Love Scenes

Robert Pattinson commands the lust and admiration of girls around the world, but Reese Witherspoon says her love scenes with the British actor in Water for Elephants left her disappointed. That's because Rob was apparently suffering from the most disgusting cold ever during the shoot.

“Rob possibly had the most hideous horrible cold of any co-star I’ve ever had to do a love scene with ever in my entire life," Reese told intouchweekly.com. "I’m going to say it’s a little bit of a downer. I was a little disappointed. It wasn’t sexy.

“He was literally snorting and snotting through every second of it – and it was not appealing. I’m talking green, infectious, disgusting – I’m not kidding!”

Their unfortunate timing aside, Rob has had nothing but good things to say about filming the movie, especially since it doesn't involve loads of make-up and yellow contact lenses.

“It’s nice to be able to actually touch your face without thinking you’re going to get a huge smudge mark over it," he said. "Not having a big kabuki mask on and contacts lenses for ‘Water for Elephants’ was a totally different experience.”

Read more →

Chado Ralph Rucci Spring 2012

Chado Ralph Rucci's exquisite tailoring always makes him a favorite at museum fashion exhibitions.  Design students take notes on the signature seaming that dissects the anatomy like a surgeon.

For spring 2012, Mr. Rucci did not disappoint.  The runway was awash with a palette of white, more white and some shades of off-white. Shiny silver was the second big color, with inky grey/black as part of some spot prints as an accent.  Silhouettes were very body conscious.  Separates, dresses, framed the body in ultra-flattering shapes.  The only misstep was the use of clear vinyl in some looks.  It veered dangerously into spaceman costume territory.

The highly polished runway reflected the collection from below so all of the clothes looked like they were glowing from within.  I don't know how much philosophy plays into this designer's creative process, but if there was a church of fashion enlightenment, this would be it.

Read more →

Naturalizer Fall Collection & Shoe Giveaway

Not your mother's shoes...That was the message that the Naturalizer team set out to show shoppers last week.  My younger sister wouldn't let my own mother walk into a Naturalizer store for years to ween her away from frumpy but ultra-comfortable shoes.  

Angelique Joseph, the brand's director of product design has overhauled the look and direction for today's fashionistas.  The chic designer set out with distinctive trends to design around this fall.  My favorite, the ultra-hip "Mad Men" influenced retro-style.  This included vintage details like suede pleats and demure bows.  These were updated with stacked heels with platforms and stitched color blocked panels.  

Another direction was the Americana-inspired shearling collection. Rugged suede and warm shearling, faux fur were interpreted into trend-right platform boots.  

Naturalizer is not about style without substance.  The new design direction does not pull the brand away from its roots.  The team invited guests of their Fall fashion event to try out the actual shoes.  They are offered across a wide range of sizes and widths.  The pleasant surprise was stacked platform heels, prim pointed heels were actually very flexible and comfortable.  Their signature wearability was not lost in the stylistic revamp, and their price point stayed friendly too.

So...Are you inspired?  What if I told you that we're giving away a pair of these shoes for you to try yourself?  Check out their website and tell us which style is YOUR favorite in the comments section and we'll pick a winner at random.  (Winner chosen on October 31st).

Read more →

Adam Spring 2012

Transparency and pastels.  A few black and white prints thrown in.  Adam Lippes' collection for Spring 2012 was like finding a luxe box of licorice all-sorts.  The sweet pinks and lavender colors were never too sugary as they were used in sleek, well cut silhouettes of pants and jackets.  The dresses were feminine and smart, but never frivolous.  This is a grown-up's version of spring dressing.

Adam has loyal following by the young and chic of the city because the designer produces effortless sportswear for the lifestyle.  According to the website, the brand is inspired by "real women" as opposed to celebrities.  That seems like a no-brainer concept for success, yet it is also a rare one...

More photos:

Read more →

Elie Tahari Spring 2012 and Fall 2011 Sample Sale

Merchandised, perpetually wearable, priced appropriately.  The traits that make Elie Tahari a commercial success are often the same reasons that the fashion elite don't consider him a respectable designer.  Customers are very loyal to the brand.  The collections are 'trend-right" and produced very thoughtfully to what the customers want.

One does not hear "innovator" or "trendsetter" associated with the Tahari label.  The color palette for Spring 2012 looked like it was picked directly out of the Pantone list handed to them from a trend agency, (sunburst orange, gold, cream, pale blue).  Femine, sexy, but nothing too risque that would offend their core audience.  Sometimes I wonder if their design meetings are actually focus groups.

You may not find these outfits on a cover of Vogue, but seeing on the backs of tons of successful women in the city seems like the bigger win.

FYI, if you're looking for THIS season's clothes at up to 70% off, check out the TAHARI SAMPLE SALE happening October 18 - 22nd in NYC.  Silky leather jackets will be $279 (down from $998), little black dresses are $129 (down from $398), etc.  There will be menswear, womens, footwear, outerwear, handbags, all the good stuff.

When:                    Monday October 18^th- Saturday October 22^{nd 
                              Tuesday - Friday (8:30 am - 7:30pm) Saturday (10am - 5pm)}

Where:                  501 5^th AVENUE (Entrance 42^nd Street and 5^th Avenue – 2nd Floor)

Phone:                   212-398-2622

Payment:              All major credit cards, cash, no checks

Read more →

Theia Spring 2012

Romanced on a bed of roses?  I can't imagine a lovelier way to present a Spring 2012 collection.  With Goddess Chloris as a muse, designer Don O'Neill showed a meticulous collection of gowns and the debut of the Theia day dress line.

Chloris was the Goddess of flowers.  For Theia, this mean light, petal-like transparency. This inspiration was also translated into high tech digitally printed floral fabrics to hand-embroidered blooms on bodices.  A dimensional technique rarely produced in modern textiles was incorporated into an all-over gown.  

The day dresses included flattering seaming, prints, a sorbet color palette, as well as black and white.  Another innovative technique was Mr. O'Neill's use of laser-cut paillettes.  Instead of hard, shiny sequins, fabric was laser-cut into delicate, soft shapes embroidered onto cocktail dresses and gowns.  This resulted in an elaborately textured dress without the heavy weight of typical beads and jewels.

There were gowns of Theia's signature "crunchy" sequins (a mix of over 10 tonal colors giving a rich, dimensional effect), and light-radiating crystal embroidery.  No wonder the siren call of Theia has attracted the likes of Gossip Girl's Leighton Meester (she wore a Theia wedding gown), Taylor Swift and Emmy Rossum.

The designer gave the Ms. FAB team an exclusive interview to describe his work on this season's collection and access to the full show:

photos by Mariana Leung, video by Nicholas Waickman

Read more →

Amazon's Contemporary Chic Giveaway

Amazon has always been my go-to for books and MP3 downloads when I am frustrated with ITunes.  Now, will it also be my go-to for contemporary fashion?  The e-commerce giant is stepping up its fashion game this Fall.  It stocked up its clothing offerings with labels like Rebecca Minkoff, BCBG, Twelth Street by Cynthia Vincent for the ladies.  For guys, they are rocking brands like Jack Spade, Paul Smith and Rock & Republic.  They have some good sales, and you can sign up for 20% off your purchase right now.

Their PR team had Ms. FAB over to play and style some of the Fall 2011 pieces to see exactly how stylish they can be... Anyone who knows me knows I love purple in autumn.  I found a cute dress paired with a chunky gold rope necklace, then a long maxi skirt (so on-trend!) paired with a deep violet cardigan.   I love dark jeans and jackets on guys, and their model was just a cutie.

The best news is that I have a present for YOU.  I am giving away a $50 gift card for you to spend on Amazon's Fall boutique.  To win, leave a comment below with your favorite pick from their Contemporary shop, or on our Facebook page.  (Winner will be chosen at random on October 15th).

Good luck!

Read more →

Byron Lars Spring 2012

How much of fashion is fantasy?  How do you bring dreams into reality?  My favorite designer Byron Lars just released a surrealist video presentation for his Spring 2012 collection last week. He wanted to democratize the presentation experience by making it accessible to all and at your convenience.  (This is a much appreciated sentiment after the chaos of NY Fashion week). 

The Spring 2012 collection of Byron Lars is presented in dreamy, dramatic fashion with a sense of humor.  The clothes themselves are picking up some of the trends from fall, but with a lighter, updated twist.  Belted jacket and dresses had detailed embroidery or faux leather pailettes.  Ruched chiffon made for voluminous collars, or styled as an alternative to fur (shout-out to PETA members...)

The signature flattering silhouettes with intricate seaming was in play with shirts and shirtdresses.  Prints also made their way into the collection via crocheted fabric mash-ups. Trapunto stitching gave texture to belts and other details.

When you're ready to walk on the wilder side, come join me this side of the moon. 

Read more →