Love the way you sparkle

Going through five fashion magazines in 3 days, you get a pretty good idea of not only what the biggest trends are for the season, but the exact runway looks and pieces everyone's raving about.  The trends for Spring 2012 are obvious: pastel colour blocking, peplum silhouettes, 20s drop waist flapper dress, head-to-toe trompe l'oeil prints, tribal patterns, and athletic wear.  It was clear too that magazines couldn't help but splatter these designers all over their pages: Mary Katrantzou (a designer I started to love ever since her Spring/Summer 2011 interior print confections), Christopher Kane, Gucci (everyone's going for gold with the gold fringe dresses), Erdem, Louis Vuitton (I can guarantee every magazine had the word "carousel" in it), Prada (Prada earrings, flame heels and hot rods, enough said), Peter Pilotto (seriously, how many magazines can print the same photo of Miranda Kerr in that blue scuba-inspired dress?), and the designer I wish to focus on today, Dries van Noten.

There is one particular look from van Noten that I've been seeing in every magazine, and everytime I see it, my heart aches with a little longing.

No, it's not the actual look that I'm longing over, but that strip of turquoise glitter print across the chest.  I'm having a crazy obsession over print this season, and as much as I love the soft florals and the beautifully rendered seascape etching (I lose a bit of rational thought everytime I look at how divine that print is), I can't seem to stop going back to that turquoise strip.

Please someone, anyone, make a silk button-up blouse in that turquoise glitter print alone.  It would be like wearing a sparkly, embellished top without the stiffness and weight.  I can just imagine how striking it would be paired with black cigarette pants, or even one of this season's highly popular coloured pants.  Curses, Dries van Noten, for making 1/3 of a top so desirable.

Image Source: Beauty is Diverse, Fashionologie

Style Stalker

I finally got around to reading a book I had no doubts I would love: The Sartorialist by Scott Schuman.  The instant I saw it being displayed at the library, I scooped it up in one swift movement without a second glance - I was that sure I wanted to read it.

I love street style, and I love Scott Schuman.  To me, he is one of the best street style photographers of our time.  He goes beyond photographing fashion; he photographs personalities with a keen eye for how to best capture them in an instantaneous, incidental and intimate way.

Schuman is the only street style photographer who can present speckled painter overalls like it's the greatest fashion statement one can make.  What Schumann photographs is real street style.

I am an undying lover of street style because it never ceases to amaze me how remarkably unique personal style can be.  In Canada, we have a very conservative, casual, suburban style.  As much as it is nice to go out and never have to worry about being underdressed, I often yearn to see Canadians be more daring with how they dress.  While dressing up may leave you the odd one out in Canada, believe me, you will have all my respect.

While my love for street stye played a big role in how much I enjoyed flipping through this book, I also adored Schuman's commentary throughout.  I was so enthralled by his behind-the-scenes peek at each of his subjects, I almost wish he had provided commentary for each and every photo (despite him explaining explicitly why he refused to).  Although Schuman's commentary may at times seem frank and somewhat ignorant, you will come to realize that he writes with a tinge of humour and honesty.  He digs up truths about the complementary or conflicting nature of style and personality.

Surprisingly, there were very few outfits which I liked from head-to-toe, but page after page, I was still so absorbed in each of the looks.  Schuman demonstrates exactly the age-old idea that it's not what you wear, but how you wear it that matters. 

I am eagerly awaiting The Sartorialist II, which is set to be released in September 2012.  I have no doubt many will be waiting to snap up the book with eagle precision to see which lucky street style setters have made it to print this time around.  Mario Testino does not exaggerate when he calls The Sartorialist "The place to be seen".

Image Source: Cover, Style1, Style2, Style3, Style4, Style5

Summer Memories

Funny how blogging always seems to slow down during the summer months.  Outings with friends and family, sun, and lazing around tends to end up taking precedence over sitting myself down in front of the computer and attempting to hash out an inspirational post. 

But I actually have a good reason for my absence, and it's because of my internship at Stylust Magazine.  This internship has taken me through my first fashion event and my first photoshoot.  With every publication I've participated in, I've never failed to take a valuable learning experience from it. 

My first fashion event was Caitlin Power's intimate fashion presentation for our local fashion crowd.  I'll let my original post on Stylust do the talking!  Check it out here.

My first photoshoot was long (12 hours!), but thoroughly exhilarating.  One thing I admire about Stylust is their insistence on quality content.  Local designers and fashion events aren't featured just because they're local, but because they're actually good.  This high standard gave me the push I needed to reach out to local professionals in order to make my photoshoot come alive.  Seeing as this was my first photoshoot, it was a crash course in learning how things get done in the real world.  During the photoshoot, I found myself standing back and absorbing every little detail of what was going on.  Now with one professional photoshoot under my belt, I'm equipped with knowledge of how a photoshoot actually works so that next time (and I really do hope there is a next time!) I'm better prepared to actively see a photoshoot from start to finish.

Check out my first photoshoot here.

One thing I find with these small, local photoshoots is that they can sometimes look amateur - whether it be the model, the clothing, or the backdrop.  With this photoshoot, however, I was amazed at the editorial quality of our shots; these shots could truly go to print.  Our model absolutely blew us away with her natural ability to pose in front of the camera, our photographer had a keen eye for lighting and camera angles, our stylist pulled a wardrobe beyond my expectations, and our makeup/hair stylist knew exactly how to change it up between looks.  I was very lucky to have such an experienced team for my first photoshoot.  In the end, my job only consists of pulling everyone together and setting a theme.  The true talent behind the photos lies with everyone else.

Image Source: Summer, Caitlin Power