You want to dress like a boss, but you’re operating on a non-boss income level. How do you determine where to invest so that your wardrobe presents your best you, while not going into debt or having a closet full of “stuff” that you don’t really need?
Who looked angelic? Who raised an unholy row? And whose wardrobe needs a divine intervention? We know, the puns available for a fashion event with the theme “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” are endless and in questionable taste. So from here on in, we’ll just focus on the attire for this year’s Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala.
Who says you can’t have it all? Thanks to the new trend toward ugly, clunky, “Dad” sneakers with formal wear – even wedding gowns – you can simultaneously be totally on-trend and totally comfortable. You just have to have the confidence to own and rock the look.
The semi-annual haute couture shows in Paris – held each January and July – are at their core a study in contradictions. Clients and their stylists simultaneously demand clothes that are ethereal and fantastical, but also sufficiently functional to be worn by actual women, often on the red carpet. This year, the global mood is somber, and yet the essence of haute couture is escape, beauty and pleasure. Dreams meet reality, and art meets commerce, and it’s the rare designer who can satisfy the needs of both. This year, that’s further complicated by The Reckoning: #MeToo fashion is a fluid idea at the moment, sometimes requiring the color black, other times being expressed through powerful colors and silhouettes – and every now then, the flash of a slogan or a statement tee. Oh, and did we mention that haute couture prices are stratospheric? So while the designs must flatter, they must also represent the highest possible craftsmanship from the atelier. A $200,000+ dress has to be a truly unique work of art.
We just got an insider’s view of pre-fall 2018, and it’s gorgeous! This week, Dandelion Chandelier was invited to attend the preview of Valentino’s Pre-Fall 2018 collection, held in New York City at the lovely Institute of Fine Arts. The classical mansion is in the heart of the elegant Upper East Side. But this collection has a distinctly cool downtown vibe. It feels fun, fresh and femme — and we think it’s going to fly out the door.
