Yesterday we were discussing our favourite season, and it dawned on me that there might actually be people out there whose favourite season isn’t summer. I spend months planning my summer wardrobe (which is a bit of a joke, since I tend to wear the same three outfits the whole time), my summer holidays (slim pickings this year, but I am really looking forward to the Okanagan next weekend), and my summer beauty routine (no makeup, lots of sunscreen.) If only I spent more time planning my fall and winter wardrobes, which require a lot more clothing, layering, and planning, perhaps I’d be better equipped and avoid wardrobe dramas at 6am.

Anyway, I am trying to plan some sort of uniform, so I can just throw on something every morning and look good. This uniform will require a lot of t-shirts, usually to be worn underneath sweaters. It is so hard to find a great t-shirt, especially since Uniqlo and COS don’t have stores in Vancouver or don’t sell online (Damn you!!!!) Here are a few nice, long-sleeved tees.

Petit Bateau is the go-to for t-shirts, in fact, when I first moved to Paris, I remember Americans used to line up outside their shop to buy plain t-shirts. Personally, I don’t know what the big fuss is about, yes, their t-shirts are great, but they aren’t exactly re-inventing the wheel. But I love this Henley tee, with the little row of buttons down the front. They have some nice colours too, this shade, called Love, would make for a nice dash of colour in my otherwise black wardrobe. $78 from Petit Bateau.

I love the sleeve slits on this Gucci top, although I’d never wear it with tight leather trousers (which looks gross.) The sizes are XS, S, and M, although this looks like something you’d want to wear a bit loose, maybe an L…don’t think that is what Gucci intended though. Viscose jersey top, $750 from Gucci.

I was unfamiliar with Kain until I saw this fantastic draped jersey top on Net a Porter. This silk jersey top is a steal at $105, from Net a Porter.

Alexander Wang is the first brand that comes to mind when I think trendy designer t-shirts, so here is a great one in a lightweight, almost sheer fabric. I love that the sleeves are very long, such an easy, good-looking feature to add to a top, yet hardly anyone does it. $81 from Alexander Wang.

Isabel Marant photographed by Inez Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin.

I have a real problem with Isabel Marant and the way she presents herself in the media. Marant has developed quite the cult following in the past few years. Her Parisian collections comprise of beautifully effortless, easy, stylish, entry-level luxury products. But I think she should keep her mouth shut, as the clothes speak for themselves, and the last thing she needs is to damage her otherwise very cool brand by blurting out her stupid “I am not Fashion” statements. She is trying way too hard to be anti-fashion, and I’m finding it irritating to the point that I’m not interested in her clothes anymore.

Isabel Marant Fall Winter 2010 Collection.

Fashionologie posted the following quotes from her:

“I’m quite anti-consumerist; It’s difficult for me being a designer in an industry I don’t like. When I design a collection I find myself thinking, ‘Why do we need new clothes?’ I never think about the fashion people . . . They are not my concern.”

Isabel, let me explain something to you. If the fashion people didn’t like your clothes, and they didn’t talk about you in the press or buy your collections, you wouldn’t have a business. So stop pretending you don’t care, because it is boring to hear about it. And if no one needed new clothes, or wanted new clothes, they you wouldn’t have a business anymore. The only reason you have money, live in a nice apartment, have a job you enjoy, and wear pretty clothes is because people buy YOUR clothes, so perhaps you’d like to acknowledge this, rather than pretend you are too “cool” to look at the facts.

“Big breasts and lips. No! I hate those girls. I hate famous women. My ideal woman is Serge Gainsbourg. Not that he was a woman.”

Isabel, not everyone is blessed with a thin frame and a small chest like the typical French woman. You “hate” people with big breasts? That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it? And you don’t like famous women? I am sure you weren’t complaining when Kate Bosworth and Rachel Bilson helped to take your brand out of Parisian obscurity onto the wish lists of the global fashionistas.

Rachel Bilson in Isabel Marant.

There is nothing I find more irritating the people who are unappreciative of the things or people who helped to make them successful. Isabel Marant recently opened a store in New York City, no thanks to the fact that the celebrities wearing her clothes gave her brand a whole new visibility, and as a result, a brand new customer base. Personally, when I need a grey sweatshirt, I’ll go to COS and get one of theirs, which will have a special cut and a really cool shape, but set me back $75, instead of the $400 Isabel Marant version.

Isabel Marant suede jeans available on Net a Porter for $1,605.

I wrote about her a few months ago and about my irritation at the fact that they made it very difficult for customers to get their hands on product. I agree that it is is great to play “hard to get” as it increases the desirability of a brand. But Marant was just silly with her “no internet” policy (which has since then changed, as she probably realized she was being completely idiotic by not offering her products online.) This article in the New York Times, by Cintra Wilson, explores the fact that the clothes seem to be very overpriced, and over hyped.  Here’s how Wilson describes her first trip into the NYC store:

“What I figured to be platonically ideal Isabel Marant customers were milling around in full force: tall, willowy blondes wearing big mod Army jackets and chunky high heels. I was wearing a boy’s plaid rodeo shirt with snap buttons (eBay, $12), a charcoal-gray Hanes zipper hoodie (Wal-Mart, $12), skinny-legged Levi’s I bought at one of those loud discount places on lower Broadway (under $40) and an old wool Army jacket (eBay, under $20). Coincidentally enough, I looked, in texture, shape and substance, more or less like I got dressed right in the store.”

Isabel Marant Fall Winter 2010 campaign: Kate Moss photographed by Inez van Lamsweerde et Vinoodh Matadin.

I’ll let you all make your own decisions, but personally, when someone insults the industry that she is part of, is thankless of the people or phenomenons that made her famous, behaves like she is too cool to care about her customers, and is downright snobby, I won’t bother throwing my dollars her way. But I don’t think she will be around for that long anyway, my guess is that she will sell her business and get out in the next few years, claiming something like “It all became to commercial for me, and I hated that we were making so much money.” Meanwhile, she will have retired in a trendy apartment in Paris, having made a tidy sum from her clothing business, thanks to the famous women and fashion people who bought her clothes.

Isabel Marant Portrais and FW campign shot from her website.
Catwalk images from Style.com.
Rachel Bilson image source.
Suede jeans from Net a Porter.

Max Tan is a Singaporean designer who designs “for women with an artistic and intellectual bent.” His play on shapes reminds me of when Rei Kawakubo used to distort silhouettes, but his are much more classy and less strange. However, there is definitely a ‘Japanese” handwriting in his work, combined with a bit of Gareth Pugh.

Photographs by May Lin Le Goff.

It seems crazy to be thinking about coats since I went to the beach yesterday, but when I think about fall fashion, I always think about coats and shoes. My ideal winter outfit always involves cold weather and lots of sun, so I can be wrapped up in a fabulous coat or jacket, but still wearing sunglasses (and not carrying an umbrella!) This fall might be a depressing one on the shopping front, I think I am buying a house, and therefore I need to spend my money on boring things like a new car (usually this would be exciting, but the one we are looking at is “practical” ugh) and a guest room bed. Not much money left over for shopping. Thankfully I’ve already bought my fall shoes, from Finsk of course, and I am trying to plan how I’ll be wearing them once it gets cold.

So this is part of a new feature on Searching for Style, The Stylish Dresser, which will feature some of the most stylish fashion pieces available on the web. Today’s post features fall outerwear.

This Acne Hydra oversized bomber jacket is to die for. I want it SO badly. It has a fur lined hood, the silhouette is perfect, and it looks effortless. Acne make the best oversized outerwear (remember their parkas? I never got one, and I regret it.) It is $700 USD, if I buy one more thing this fall, this might have to be it. Available from Acne online.

This boucle coat from Pop by PPQ is very cool. I like that it has a close-fitting cocoon shape, and looks like the type of coat you can snuggle in during the cold months. I rarely favour multi-coloured outerwear, but somehow the colours here work, and are quite versatile. Clara boucle cape coat for £89 from Very.co.uk.

Living in Vancouver, all you probably need is a raincoat. I’m still longing for oversized when it comes to outerwear, and I love that this one is shiny. But I have to say the model and her ridiculous hair turns me off. Raincoat by pushBUTTON, £125 on Asos.

This last one is the piece de resistance. Ever since I saw my friend Jen in London wearing a leather trenchcoat, I’ve been longing for one of my own. I doubt I’ll ever be able to afford this one, which is $9, 420 USD, but I can definitely stare at it. Leather trench coat by Alexander McQueen from Net A Porter.

All images are complexgeometries Fall Winter 2010

I just don’t understand how certain Canadian fashion brands manage to stay out of my radar. I feel like I have a pretty good idea of what is going on in the fashion world, and I always pay extra attention to Canadian brands, but sometimes I just miss some completely. Complexgeometries is one those brands, and I’m guessing I didn’t catch on to it because they don’t exactly advertise the fact that they are Canadian. Which brings me to an interesting point, what does being “Canadian” do to a fashion brand? I imagine in Canada, it is a good thing, as people like to buy locally. But on the other hand, there are a lot of people here who prefer to buy European brands (in fact, there seems to be a major issue in Vancouver when it comes to the arts, people only seem to support Canadians that have made it big somewhere else first. Not very nice at all.) What about internationally? How does “Canadian” resonate amongst other countries when it comes to fashion.

When I think French fashion brand, I think luxury and classic. Italian means sexy. British means edgy. American means luxury sportswear. Japanese and Korean mean intellectual and angular. So does Belgian fashion. Spanish means colours. Brazilian means brighter colours and bikinis. Australian means summery and effortless. So where does Canadian fashion fit in? And please don’t say activewear, because Canadians and especially the West Coast needs to get away from this image of fashion=activewear.

Anyway, back to complexgeometries. This brand has been founded by a self-taught fashion designer, Glayton Evans, who was born in Northern Canada (Fairview, Alberta to be exact.) The brand is based in Montreal, and the clothes are sold in some pretty amazing boutiques around the world, including B Store in London and Revolve Clothing (of course, no stockists in Vancouver.) Here are some pictures from the Fall Winter 2010 collection, entitled “in search of truth.” The collection was inspired by “the shrouded garb of religious ceremony” and keeps with the brand’s “continued fascination with the dissembling that is intrinsic to fashion.” I call it gorgeous draped jerseys and if this is the kind of thing we can call representative of “Canadian fashion,” then I am satisfied.

All images and quotes courtesy of complexgeometries.

Linda Grant’s The Thoughtful Dresser (my favourite non-fiction fashion novel of all time) introduced me to James Laver, an art historian and writer known for his work in the field fashion history.

Laver’s Law (from his book Taste and Fashion, chapter 18, (London, 1937)) attempted to shed light on the theory of cycles in fashion and fashion trends. Here is Laver’s Law about an item of clothing or a trend:

Shall we test it? Let’s try Christian Dior’s New Look as an example, as it seems to be in fashion for next season. The New Look was launched in 1947, but since it wasn’t considered “current fashion” until a bit later, I’ll place it the year before, when it was “daring.”

10 years before its time: Indecent

1937: Indecent? Perhaps not… but certainly desperately out of fashion during the 30’s when everyone was wearing long, lean bias cut silhouettes.

5 years before its time: Shameless

1942: War time, it certainly would have been shameless to wear new clothing in this style, when everyone was “making do and mending”, not wearing skirts made out of 20 metres of fabric.

1 year before its time: Outré (Daring)

1947: The launch of The New Look by Christian Dior took the world by shock. I've put it as a year before its time, because all designers are ahead of their time. By 1948, it was "Current Fashion."

Current Fashion: Smart (1948)

1 year after its time: Dowdy

1949: Well, according to this image, the skirt certainly slimmed down a lot.

10 years after its time: Hideous

1958: Would the New Look have been hideous? Probably, as the silhouette had changed dramatically.

20 years after its time: Ridiculous

1968: The New Look would have definitely looked ridiculous in the Swinging Sixties.

30 years after its time: Amusing

1978: During the late 70's, a full skirt and nipped in waist would certainly have been amusing.

50 years after its time: Quaint

1998: Quaint is a great word to sum up how we would have felt about the New Look as we neared the turn of the millenium. Nostalgia would have kicked in too.

We haven’t quite gotten to 70 years after its time (charming), 100 years after its time (romantic), or 150 years after its time (Beautiful.) But I can certainly tell you that 60 years after its time, right now, we are certainly back on track to wearing the New Look.

Louis Vuitton Fall 2010, a modern New Look.

Prada Fall 2010, nipped waist and full skirt.

Although I wouldn’t say the timeline is completely accurate, Laver’s Law definitely makes sense. I looked at leggings, and they made fit in with Laver’s Law, although I’d hate to think leggings will be considered beautiful in 150 years.

1998: 10 years before their time, leggings are certainly indecent.

2003: 5 years before their time, were leggings shameless? I guess so, although we were heading towards them as the skinny jeans trend started to kick in.

2007: 1 year before their time, I would definitely say leggings  as pants were daring, before them became an acceptable fashion.

2008:  Leggings are current fashion.

2009: 1 year after their time, leggings are starting to look a bit dowdy (although Lindsay Lohan is still wearing them.)

Images
1937 fashion image source.
1942 fashion image source.
1949 fashion image source
1958 fashion image source
1968 fashion image source.
1978 fashion image source.
1998 fashion image source.
Lindsay Lohan image source.

I love Jean Paul Gaultier. He is old school, but hip. He is very 80’s, but in a modern way. He is haute couture done rock’n'roll, and that is exactly what this collection is. I remember one of my first weekends living in Paris, I went to Porte de Clignancourt to visit the famous Paris flea market with my new fashion school friends. Jean Paul Gaultier was buying some incredibly expensive, fabulous antique furniture and wearing a nautical striped sweater (SO him!) We were rudely staring at him, our first famous designer encounter, and he turned around and smiled at us. He’s the best!

I love…

a couture trenchcoat.

beautifully thin and extremely soft leather with fur trim.

rounded shoulders and hips.

an incredibly strange yet interesting dress.

awesome shoulders! I love this silhouette.

more amazing shoulders, this time jeweled and square.

I loathe…

the cone cups that look great on Madonna's bustier look crap on a boring blue top.

All images from Style.com.

Read the rest of my Haute Couture Fall 2010 reviews here.

It feels like Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli are finally starting to understand Valentino. The understated yet interesting silhouettes, the feminine ruffles on bold shapes, and the mix of 60’s gamine and elegance are what Valentino is about. They hit the mark with some of the dresses, although some were slightly exaggerated versions of Valentino that ended up looking like oversized babies’ dresses. But I’d say this collection gives me hope about these two designers’ ability to take after their fake tanned master.

I love…

Prim and proper with a touch of sass (I can't believe I said the word sass.)

navy blue evening wear. So much more interesting than black.

couture lacework.

a new interpretation of 80's Valentino.

I loathe…

this ridiculous flower.

looking like a big baby or a tacky doll.

All images from Style.com.

Read the rest of my Haute Couture Fall 2010 reviews here.

Chanel puts on the most incredible productions for their haute couture shows. This one, in the Grand Palais, featured a giant gold lion resting his paw on a pearl, which doubled as the entrance for the models. The collection was super classy, very elegant, with beautiful, structured tailoring. I loved the amazing rounded raglan sleeves, and the evening pieces, which show off the tehcniques of the ateliers and the Karl Lagerfeld’s incredible talent as a designer.

I love…

the way the top comes away from the skirt at the waist of this coat, and the beautifully rounded, narrow raglan sleeve.

that Karl has gotten rid of the hideous fake fur and brought back the real stuff!

this lovely silhouette and the perfect little gathers at the waist and on the sleeves.

more beautiful tailoring, this time slightly deconstructed.

embroidery to die for.

a dramatic evening dress worn mid calf and with slouchy boots.

the fact that this feels traditional, folksy, and space age all at the same time.

Image of the stage from here, the rest of the images from Style.com.

Read the rest of my Haute Couture Fall 2010 reviews here.

Givenchy’s Fall 2010 haute couture collection had ten stunning dresses. I have five loves, but only because I thought it would be silly to have ten loves, as that is the whole show. This is another example of what haute couture should be, incredible embellishment, stunning shapes, and the general feel of fairytale fabulousness, but with a Givenchy edge. These dresses look expensive, very expensive. They are the types of dresses you would have in your closet and take out on a Saturday afternoon just to caress and admire their beauty. My only criticism is the white dresses, they are beautiful, but look a lot like wedding dresses. I am not sure many woman will want to look like a bride, if they aren’t getting married (that day.) I hope the white ones are available in gold too.

I love…

haute couture embellishments.

the fringes and drapes on this dress.

gold! And looking like a million dollars. (Literally.)

guessing who will get the honour of wearing this on the red carpet. It must be someone fabulous.

the contrast of the zippers on an otherwise delicate dress, worn with a strong, structured jacket. Imagine this on a bride!

All images from Style.com.

Read the rest of my Haute Couture Fall 2010 reviews here.