Carnivale of Couture
Next week's Carnivale of Couture is being hosted by none other than well, this blog. Don't know what I'm talking about? You can find some history here. If you blog about fashion, feel free to join in!
The invitation:
The invitation:
- For this week's Carnivale of Couture, I want to celebrate our role as bloggers.
What distinguishes us from fashion press is our lack of limits: we can
express as we please, and our unique personalities make us more
interesting rather than less professional.
To that end, I want to invite everyone to write about their most
significant fashion purchase. Not the most expensive or most exciting,
but the one that was somehow pivotal, or meaningful to you personally.
Feel free to post between now and Monday. Email me your links, and I
will post everything at Noon on Monday, March 27.
posted by s, 3/22/2006 04:44:00 PM
6 Comments:
This was the early 70's, when I was about 12 and it happened when I finally got my first pair of adult shoes. My mother let me have a pair of black vinyl knee high granny boots. These actually laced up the front and had no zipper, so I had to lace them *really* tight to keep them from falling down. By the end of the day, the front of each leg, from ankle to knee, was deeply and painfully embossed with a red and angry cross hatch pattern from the laces - but I still loved them! Thus began my boot obsession.
, at 11:46 AM
Phyllis, that's such a cute story!
My, this one will date me… In the early 80’s I was a fledgling dancer living in New York. A rather charming (and very good looking) acquaintance invited me to attend a Park Avenue cocktail party with him. I panicked right after I hung up the phone. The starving ballerina wardrobe I had carted to the city with me had nothing remotely appropriate for the occasion.
So, I did the prudent thing and called my mother. As her answer to any fashion crisis was quite simple, “What would Jackie wear?” - who else to advise me on such an occasion? Being a woman of impeccable taste and great personal style, she advised me to purchase a simple Givenchy evening sheath in black. Upon realizing this was the rent, she also graciously offered to cough up the cash as well, after reminding me to procure appropriate footwear and a bag.
The moment I tried the dress on I became a full-fledged adult female, with all rights and privileges thereof. Perfectly cut, magnificent silk, terribly elegant and understated in an utterly brilliant way. I felt complete feminine power. When we arrived I nearly lost it. 90% of the women were doing that awful 80’s power bitch/Dynasty look. For a moment I was convinced I had royally screwed up in my LBD and pearls and all these fancy NYC types would think I was some simple southern Deb in an antiquated get up. My date leaned over and whispered “You look like a rare, elegant swan in a room full of peacocks.” Obviously his mamma raised him right. It took me all of 2 seconds to get over it. Actually, quite a few of those ladies in the rather scary shoulder pads complimented me on the ensemble that evening.
The dress became known as the Audree Givenchy- after my mother Audree, not Audrey Hepburn, although I expect she’d have worn it. That dress still hangs in my closet, and I do indeed still wear it, it still looks gorgeous, and I still feel magnificent every time I put it on 26 years later.
My apologies for the length-
So, I did the prudent thing and called my mother. As her answer to any fashion crisis was quite simple, “What would Jackie wear?” - who else to advise me on such an occasion? Being a woman of impeccable taste and great personal style, she advised me to purchase a simple Givenchy evening sheath in black. Upon realizing this was the rent, she also graciously offered to cough up the cash as well, after reminding me to procure appropriate footwear and a bag.
The moment I tried the dress on I became a full-fledged adult female, with all rights and privileges thereof. Perfectly cut, magnificent silk, terribly elegant and understated in an utterly brilliant way. I felt complete feminine power. When we arrived I nearly lost it. 90% of the women were doing that awful 80’s power bitch/Dynasty look. For a moment I was convinced I had royally screwed up in my LBD and pearls and all these fancy NYC types would think I was some simple southern Deb in an antiquated get up. My date leaned over and whispered “You look like a rare, elegant swan in a room full of peacocks.” Obviously his mamma raised him right. It took me all of 2 seconds to get over it. Actually, quite a few of those ladies in the rather scary shoulder pads complimented me on the ensemble that evening.
The dress became known as the Audree Givenchy- after my mother Audree, not Audrey Hepburn, although I expect she’d have worn it. That dress still hangs in my closet, and I do indeed still wear it, it still looks gorgeous, and I still feel magnificent every time I put it on 26 years later.
My apologies for the length-
, at 4:59 PM
Uh ... I can't figure out how to get your email, so here's the link. Hope this works.
Dora Long, no apology necessary. Thank you for sharing that wonderful story.
Rebecca - got the link, thanks!
Rebecca - got the link, thanks!
I was browsing the outlet of a local department store when I came across a beautiful black dress that I knew I *had* to buy. I had zero fashion knowledge but this dress taught me everything I needed to know about quality of fabric, classic lines, my best length and how to best work with my figure's proportions. I was 19, went to school in uber casual California and had no immediate cause for such a beautiful dress. But 8 years later, I'm still wearing it and it still garners me loads of compliments. I will wear this dres sinto the ground, and when I eventually have to retire it, I plan to take my beloved LBD to a pattern maker to have it cloned.
, at 7:33 PM
