Posted by Sarah on July 9th, 2008
This is the first post in a new category - fast fashion facts. My aim is to give brief and easily digestible technical info or other interesting facts about fashion. So much work can go into garments and accessories and knowing something about the construction behind clothes can make you appreciate the craftsmanship and help you to understand the criteria that defines a well constructed fashion item.
A key trend for the Spring/Summer 2008 fashion season is texture. A technique to create texture in fabric is called burnout (burn-out) or devoré.
Devoré is from the French devorer which means to devour. An acid is used to etch a pattern on cellulose/synthetic or cellulose/protein blends.
If a pure cellulose fabric is used for this technique, part of the fabric is burned away to achieve a cut-work pattern.
The cellulose component is burned out leaving the rest of the fabric. Cellulose is any plant material such as cotton, hemp (rayon is in this category since it is derived from wood)
With added design, fabric painting or mono-color fabric, a beautiful textured effect can be achieved. Immediately below are examples with silk (protein component of the fabric) and rayon (cellulose component) fabric. The rayon threads in the weave of the cloth are burned away in the desired pattern by the devoré acid leaving a fine mesh of silk and where the acid was not applied, the rayon/silk threads are left intact.
Above: Silk/Rayon satin devoré fabric (Click on thumbs for bigger pictures to see detail)
More examples in velvet (silk/rayon) after the jump…
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Posted by Sarah on June 26th, 2008
Trendsetter Maria Sharapova inspired as much talk about her outfit as her on-court play at this year's Wimbledon. The tennis star said of her tuxedo inspired ensemble from Nike: “I think it’s very flattering, especially on women, to be able to pull off a look that’s basically men’s wear. You know, from very tailored jackets to things that are a little bit oversized as well. You know, I love tuxedo jackets, I love things that are actually a little bit baggier and wide."
Maria along with fellow fashionista Serena Williams who walked onto the court in a short trench coat, seems to be spurred by the challenge of being creative while sticking to the Wimbledon rule of white tennis attire. "I thought, why not do shorts this year? I've never done it at a grand slam. You know, if there's one place to do it, it's here. "… it was fun doing it because, you know, it's hard to do things different with white."
The tux jacket, shirt and shorts is a menswear look in women's fahion that actually can accentuate the femininity of the wearer. The straight lines and abrupt change of direction in lines - the angularity of the clothes can be a frame that highlights the curviness of a woman on some figures. The wide-legged look of the pants add the sweep and grace that says 'her' and the sheer fabric of the blouse adds delicacy.
(Click on thumbs for larger photos)
I am not sure how this would fair on a very curvy woman but could be done with modification to the clothing combination worn by the tall and lithe Sharapova.
McQ - Alexander McQueen Tuxedo Short
Rag & Bone Tropical Tux Shirt
Sophisticated and elegant, strong yet feminine. Definitely a menswear look to add to your style inventory. Get inspired and adapt this look to your personal style and figure. (Today Sharapova lost in a stunning knockout to Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-2, 6-4, but she will always be a stunning fashion knockout, though I don't know how much consolation that would be to Sharapova after this surprising upset at Wimbledon.)
More pictures of Maria Sharapova on the tennis court and tuxedo inspired looks below…
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Posted in Pants, Trousers, Shorts, Star Style | 2 Comments »
Posted by Sarah on June 24th, 2008
It's that time of year again! Wimbledon is on and all seems right with the world! Only one improvement would be if I could be there in person. But, alas I do get to blog about the fashion at Wimbledon, inline with the topic of this website.
Serena Williams is a tennis player by vocation and a fashionista by design. Though Wimbledon requires all-white attire in the player's outfits, leave it to Serena Williams to add flair within the boundaries of the rules of dress. She walked out in a white trench coat despite the sunny skies. The coat is part of the Nike collection, short and retro, and would go perfectly with a mini-skirt, jeans or trousers or a fitted longer skirt.
The LaTimes has snippets of the interview in which Serena describes her choice of outerwear.
"It's a very lightweight fabric," she said with vigor. "It's woven so it has a little give in it as well. On the inside it's stitched with gold. It has a little give on both ways. It's very movable. It's very light. It's just delectable."
Prompting sports reporters to delve into fashion reporting, the coat looked so very classic-movie-spy yet with a hint of Austin Powers, of London chic, very Peggy Lipton, very retro. One of her sponsors hatched the idea, and she briskly endorsed.
"You know, I absolutely love trench coats," Williams said for yet another of her stated quirks. "I live in Florida, where I probably have more coats than anybody. I just love coats. I'm always buying Burberry coats. I mean, I love coats. And I don't know why because I live in Florida. So it doesn't really add up."
Serena Williams prepares for the match in a white trench coat before her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Kaia Kanepi of Estonia.
More pictures after the jump…
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Posted by Sarah on June 24th, 2008
Tennis Fashion anyone? Serena Williams who wore a white belted trench coat at Wimbledon this year, while warming up, talks about her Nike tennis fashion line for Fall 2008 and her affinity for design.
Posted in Celebrity Clothing Lines | 1 Comment »
Posted by Sarah on June 23rd, 2008
Celebrity fashion lines seem to be popping up faster than daisies in a field or from some perspectives faster than dandelions on a suburban lawn.
A video from mainstreet.com asks: Are Celebrity Fashion Designers Worth the Money? This video asks the question from an investment or stockholder’s perspective. How do these clothing lines fare for companies that use the famous to boost store sales? Kristin Bentz gives her take on the bottom line for the designs of Paris Hilton, Martha Stewart and LL Cool J.
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Posted in Celebrity Clothing Lines | 1 Comment »
