Reflections of Hollywood Glamour

 Reflections of Hollywood Glamour

I have always been fascinated by the movie stars of the 50's and their fabulous glamorous style. The elegance lay in the total look of extravagance in the fabric and the flow of the gown, the flawless makeup and perfect hairstyle with striking accessories. In Hollywood today at the 2012 84th Oscars, we saw a resurgence of this sense of style as the designers chosen by the stars reflected this glamour.

My favourite stars were those who not only looked great but moved elegantly down the red carpet. All of the colours of the rainbow were represented from the neutrals to pastel pink to White, through to Coral to Red, Black and Gold. The designers have definitely been influenced by the past and they honoured some of the famous past designers in their reflections of Hollywood Glamour of the 50's.

Vanity Fair
March 2012 Hollywood Cover

Grace Kelly

Audrey Hepburn

84th Annual Academy Awards
Octavia Spencer
Tadashi Shoji
Oscar Winner of Supporting Actress
The Help

    84th Annual Academy Awards

Giuliana Rancic
Tom Ward Couture
E Presenter

84th Annual Academy Awards
Stacy Keibler
Marchesa

84th Annual Academy Awards
Jennifer Lopez
Zuhair Murad

84th Annual Academy Awards
Angelina Jolie
Versace Atelier

84th Annual Academy Awards
Emma Stone
Giambattista Valli Couture

Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

84th Annual Academy Awards
Milla Jovovic
Elie Saab Couture

84th Annual Academy Awards
Jessica Chastain
Alexandr McQueen

84th Annual Academy Awards
Michelle Williams
Louis Vuitton

Marilyn Monroe


Congratulations to all nominees and winners of the Oscar Awards 2012.
Hopefully, we will see more Hollywood Glamour at Awards Nights.

I have selected the Gowns which I thought were memorable. My favourite Gown for this important Oscar 2012 event was Michelle Williams' coral Louis Vuitton Gown. Why? Michelle looked elegant; moved with grace on the Red carpet; she was poised and looked like she was confident in her choice of this gorgeous Gown. The colour was so striking that she chose to wear minimal jewellery and there was a little extra pop of unexpected colour with her pink clutch. A lot of thought had gone into not only what would look good and what was appropriate but looked as if she was destined to wear this particular Gown. There is a striking resemblance to this image of Marilyn Monroe. Have you seen the film, My Life with Marilyn? Loved it. Milla Jovovic also looked amazing and this was her first time at  attending the Oscars as a presenter. From a performance point of view,  personally I thought that she lacked the personal confidence which adds to the beauty of any Gown.
Enjoy! GJBTweet

NO MORE RULES... ONLY NEW IDEAS

Forget the "Matchy Matchy" or "This Goes With That". From feminine ladylike lace to clashing tribal prints to popping an outfit with coloured accessories or putting a look together with multiple colours. Within the colour palette there are hot fuchsia, bright orange, yellow, green as well as gold, silver, grey, red, and still pastels as well as muted colours and black for winter. We are all starting to be more individualistic in our approach to fashion and that's great. There are a myriad of choices from all designers. The fashion designer shows are always looking forward to the next season and for  Europe and the US the designs are showcasing Spring Summer 2012 and Early Fall and Winter 2012-2013. In Australia, the seasons are changing and in Sydney we have not had a Summer at all. It may be warmer in March and April and perhaps we'll have a warm Spring and Autumn. 
We'll have to be prepared for Sydney's 4 seasons in a day and some of the looks for next season will be absolutely perfect in Sydney, London, Paris or New York.

For a Winter casual look, I like the ideas in the Burberry 2012 Fall/Winter where there is a real edge to the designs and several influences in styles. Love this Chic Casual Couture look. The jacket has a military feel with a 3/4 sleeve and the gloves are cool. It is an interesting twist on a skirt design, like a side peplum frill.

The Mulberry 2012 Fall/Winter Range mixes an array of textures and patterns and a mix of black,    brown and grey with at the addition of faux fur to achieve a sophisticated confident look. Looks great and very wearable. You could use each of the pieces with other outfits. 

Who would have thought of putting a mustard belt with a grey and white coat and hat? It looks great. The style combines pouch pockets, double breasted and a centre white panel to soften the look. The cute boy cap adds a cheeky feel to the outfit and is featuring in many of the designer ranges in both day and evening wear.

Staying with the double breasted, but more into the brown shades, this trench has had an update with the use of a tweed peplum. Again it lifts the block colour and adds a flirty touch. 
The clutch rather than the big bag allows the eye to focus on the outfit. Again, all workable separates which can accessorise other looks for winter. Loving the shooties and the opaque tights in other shades than the traditional black. Of course black is still here and always will be part of any fashion range, but the textures give a new interesting look. 

Diane Von Furstenberg has brought patent shine with feminine lace and a real Avengers look with the slicked down hair and the sunglasses adding an edgy look. In a dress, the designer has combined a funky pattern in revisiting a contrasting black and white minstrel hand pattern and introduced the orange and black split sleeve in the sleeve.
Jason Wu added a vivid orange skirt with black panels highlighted with black stitching in this eye catching outfit. Mixing it up, he teamed 3/4 length black leather gloves with high ankle stroppy shoes and sheer black stockings. Love the soft and the hard elements of this outfit. Harsh slick hairstyle softened by long dangly earrings. Oscar de la Renta has incorporated a tweed coat with a shawl collar fastened by a vintage brooch and a black and white floral dress accessorised with plain black shooties, gloves and a hairband for a 60's look.

I have chosen a few outfits from my Runway fashion 2012 interest board http://pinterest.com/gjb215/runway-fashion-2012/ which I think show the enormous diversity of fashion options for you. Putting your wardrobe together for this season will be interesting. I will be thinking about jumping out of my comfort zone and how I can change the focus of either my key coloured pieces or my coloured accessories which complement rather than match my outfit. Enjoy! GJB

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What's Happening?.......Next

What's Happening?.......Next

I chose this title for my website because life is changing with a click of the fingers and this is so true for fashion.
On Friday I was blogging about popping the colours of the season and it was on the Channel 9 Mornings show today. Add colour but remember to keep it work appropriate. On the runway there is a rainbow of possibilities. Color palette included rich shades of gold, blush, lilac, black and ivory in lace, chiffon and silk ensembles. I've chosen some of my favourites from the Runway shows Spring/Summer 2012. It's interesting that when you look at the fashion worn at the SAG awards and the Grammy's awards nights that there is colour but with stylists to help and with price not being a concern for the stars only a few got the look right.

Alexander McQueen gowns are divine and make a statement. The head wear is appropriately theatrical for a Runway Show but the gown will adorn any star at an awards night. In the ivory to beige colour ways with a "touch" of glitter. The fabulous tangerine to orange POPS with these gowns and what an impact when you step out of the limousine.
Marchesa gowns  featured at the Awards nights but these are some of my favourites in the Spring/Summer 2012 range. Staying with the silver and shades of gold with bling detail these gowns are divine. Earrings with these GORGEOUS  GOWNS would frame the face but other Jewellery would overpower these statement looks. Choices are available in a silhouette design or a full skirt. Red again did appear at the awards night. I am sure that you know the one I mean. Yes it made a brave statement but can I say that there were other choices which are more appropriate. This is another outstanding Marchesa Gown in red satin and lace.

Michelle Williams looked great in this Red Valentino gown. She was smiling and looked very confident in her decisions.

The Oscar de la Renta gown is a"show stopper" in grey organza. Emma Stone who normally wears bright colours looked great as she donned a short black Alexander McQueen dress.

If you are choosing a formal gown for a special occasion consider all the options and make sure that it suits you and makes you feel confident.Spend time trying it on with different shoes, jewellery and an evening bag. Only you really know your style. Other people may think that they're being helpful but in the end it's YOUR PERSONAL STYLE.If you get it right you'll smile all night, people will give you compliments and you'll have a great evening and great photos.

Enjoy GJB

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Robert Best Illustrations

Robert Best Illustrations, a set by mawphoto.com on Flickr.

Barbie's Fashion Wardrobe illustrated by Robert Best