Lectura de sambata dimineata

“Some think that chic is a form of deprivation – a sort of anorexia of accessories that strips you back to a bare, buffed and gleaming face, set on a frame of sleekly invisible dark-toned coordinates. Others profess that chic is classics – clothing so resolutely conservative and time-tested that anyone can scrub up like the Hepburns, Katherine or Audrey. But the principle of chic is more elastic than that. Looking stylish is not a matter of discipline, but of adaptation. There are rules but they don’t work for everyone, and chic done badly is worse than no chic at all.

Chic may have a code, but personal style takes that code and bends it to circumstance. A woman in a black cocktail dress at a West Texas rodeo is not chic, and that same woman at a cocktail party in Madrid wearing the same cocktail dress and a real cowboy hat is also not chic. Diana Vreeland pushed the outer limits of chic with her vermillion scar of a mouth, her custom-made Roman sandals and her massive dome of laquered black hair – but that is not a look that can be imitated.

Chic is about leaving well enough alone, but to do that you have to know your body, your face and your true identity. Posture and pride of carriage make whatever you’re wearing look arresting. Chic involves nonchalance but it also demands a certain austerity. The most chic women in history have been known to be fanatical: the music hall queen of the 1920s and 1930s, Gertrude Lawrence, disposed of her wardrobe every 6 weeks when her perfect pleats and Patou cardigans lost their “bloom”. Vreeland had the base of her shoes polished after every wear. Wallis Simpsons severe Molyneaux suits were neat as a pin. No lint. No bra straps. Absolutely no ruffles.”

E dificil de lansat o definitie a stilului, a ceea ce percepem a fi sic, feminin, infinit de gratios si in acelasi timp clar conturat vestimentar. Exista in fantastic de multe declinari, de la excentricitatea Annei Piaggi, la minimalismul Tildei Swinton, simplitatea Charlottei Gainsbourg, eleganta lui Marion Cotillard sau pretiozitatea Victoriei Beckham.

La fel ca genialitatea, stilul personal implica implica o doza de «transpiratie»  pe care sa fie construita inspiratia. Transpiratia, in acest context, inseamna sa invatati ce vi se potriveste, sa recunoasteti ce va place, sa va educati vizual, sa descoperiti in ce masura sunteti creative!  Mai mult decat atat, daca cochetati cu gandul de a descoperi industria si tendintele modei, daca sunteti curioase ce face un stilist la o revista fata de un stilist personal sau daca vreti sa invatati cum faceti stylingul unei tinute sau a unei vitrine, veniti la cursul meu de Stilism & Tendinte de la DallesGo.  Inscrierile mai sunt deschise cateva zile si vi se ofera si o serie de facilitati : 20% reducere daca sunteti studente ; 10% reducere la plata integrala a cursului ; 20% reducere daca te inscrii impreuna cu o prietena… Puteti scrie la info(at)dallesgo(punct)ro pentru mai multe detalii.

La polul opus, daca nu aveti chef nici de sic, nici de moda, va invit sa imi spuneti ce inseamna pentru voi o aventura urbana. Cat de curajoase sunteti ? Cat de non-conformiste ? Cat de bine cunoasteti viata urbana ? Astazi si maine inca va puteti inscrie la Lipton Tea & the City Urban Adventure – voi alege pe una dintre voi sa facem echipa, sa sarim cu parasuta, sa facem un picnic intr-o duminica insorita…

Inainte sa se termine ziua, haideti sa si citim ceva, pentru minte si pentru suflet.

Bruxelles trouble les parfumeurs – «Ce n’est pas la crise économique qui menace l’industrie de la parfumerie, mais un rapport scientifique accablant mandaté par la Commission européenne. Ce dossier de 334 pages dirigé par Ian White, un dermatologue anglais redouté pour ses positions antiparfum, prône l’interdiction de trois ingrédients potentiellement allergisants et une limitation drastique de l’utilisation de certaines substances naturelles. Parmi elles, le géraniol, une molécule qu’on trouve en grande quantité dans le citron, le géranium ou encore… la rose.” In Le Monde.

A day in the life of Nadja Swarovski – „“Like the precision cut crystal her great-great grandfather developed in 1895—used in everything from bird-watching binoculars to couture dresses—Nadja Swarovski is seemingly everywhere these days.” In Wall Street Journal.

Documenting a growing force in fashion – “Throughout the recent and meteoric rise of Asian-Americans in fashion, there have been numerous milestones, as when Alexander Wang was named the creative director of Balenciaga last year, or when Jason Wu designed Michelle Obama’s first inaugural gown in 2009 (and her second one this year). Before them, beginning in the 1980s, came a handful of pioneers, like Vera Wang and Anna Sui.” In NY Times.

Raf Simons – “The fashion thing is something I do, and yes it is definitely also becoming a part of myself and my personality. It also doesn’t really feel like a job either: it’s a dream or a passion or something.” In The Talks.

Sandra Choi: the soul of Choo – “She was born on the Isle of Wight  then sent, aged eight months, to live in Hong Kong with her grandparents so her parents were free to run the family restaurant. At 13, Choi returned. Four miserable years later she’d learned English and determined, thanks to a ‘so cool’ John Galliano coat she saw in Just 17 magazine, to go to fashion school. Yet she only stayed for a year-long foundation course because she was already helping her uncle Jimmy.” In The Telegraph

A halt in Haute – “But fashion is a fickle industry, and so, too, are Chinese consumers, it seems. Fast fashion—the name given to retailers like H&M and Zara, who turn around runway-inspired looks at record speeds—is a phenomenon that may be on its way out here, but not so in Asia.” In Time Style.

Le luxe en Terra Brasilis – „Le Brésil est le premier marché d’Amérique latine. Dans ce nouvel eldorado, les marques de luxe jouent les conquistadors. Malgré les barrières douanières, elles continuent d’occuper le terrain, à l’image de Dior qui vient d’ouvrir sa deuxième maison à São Paulo, porte d’entrée du luxe en territoire brésilien.” In Les Echos

The Click Clicque – “But unlike other premier shopping sites, like Net-a-Porter—an Internet version of Bergdorf Goodman—or discount flash-sale sites, like Gilt Groupe, Moda Operandi is based primarily on the concept of the trunk show, which allows customers to place advance orders for next season’s wardrobe. The orders are commissions, helping to secure the production of the clothes presented.” In Wall Street Journal.

*Harper’s Bazaar Fashion: your guide to personal style – autor: Lisa Armstrong