Happy Halloween!

I hope all you lovelies have a glittery, glamorous Halloween.

If you need some fashion inspiration as we head into November, the catalog to accompany the wonderful exhibit Daphne Guinness, now on view at The Museum at FIT through January 7, 2012, is finally available for purchase. All royalties from sales of the book will benefit the Fashion Institute of Technology. I’m ordering my copy today!

Daphne Guinness by Valerie Steele and Daphne Guinness.

Fashion Walk of Fame: Norman Norell

Norman Norell’s plaque on the Fashion Walk of Fame (and my shadow).

For this month’s Fashion Walk of Fame post, highlighting one of the designers honored with a plaque in New York City’s Garment District on Seventh Avenue, I selected Norman Norell. I read about him every once in awhile in sewing magazines like Vogue Patterns or Threads, where his fine tailoring and couture-like techniques for ready-to-wear are held up for study for home sewers.

Norman Norell (1900-1972) was born Norman David Levinson in Noblesville, Indiana. He studied fashion design at the Pratt Institute in New York City and in 1922 joined the New York studio of Paramount Pictures, designing clothes for Gloria Swanson and other silent movie stars. He also costumed the Ziegfeld Follies and the Cotton Club.

He formed Traina-Norell with Anthony Traina in 1941 and founded Norman Norell Ltd. in 1960. He helped pave the way for Bill Blass, James Galanos and Halston (all honorees on the Fashion Walk of Fame).

Evening Ensemble, 1970-1971. Gold organdy; beaded gold silk jersey. I mean, hello, I want to wear this for Christmas. I am in love with the giant bow and now I really need a pair of gold beaded pants. This Norell ensemble was part of the 24,000 items given by the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2009.

His plaque reads:

“Norman Norell demonstrated that clothes designed on Seventh Avenue could rival the most elegant creations from Paris. Norell was sometimes called the American Balenciaga because of the perfection of his tailoring. He also used the finest fabrics in the world and made sure that every detail, from button hole to hemline, was beautifully finished. This superb workmanship was all the more remarkable since he made ready-to-wear, not couture. His sequined mermaid dress epitomized glamour.”

The title of this picture is “Fashion Designer Norman Norell Assisting Student Designer Deanna Cohen Fit Dress She Designed” and is by Joe Scherschel. It first appeared in LIFE magazine on June 6, 1960. I love the delighted smile on Deanna’s face. What a thrilling moment it must have been for her. You can buy this picture on Art.com.

Dress, Evening. Traina-Norell, circa 1955, silk. Photo from The Costume Institute archives at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Michelle Obama in vintage Norman Norell for a Washington Christmas party in 2010. What a gorgeous dress and I love that her mother is right next to her. Photo by the Associated Press.

Vintage Norell perfume, given to me by my Mother-in-Law. Thank you, Dot! I love the sleek glamour of this bottle. The perfume was introduced in 1968 and is still available for purchase. FragranceNet.com describes the scent as a “rich floral blend, drying down to vanilla, moss and myrrh.”


Norman Norell’s plaque is on Seventh Avenue between 38th and 39th Streets, next to Claire McCardell.

Bolton Reflects on McQueen Exhibit

Andrew Bolton, curator of the immensely popular Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty at The Metropolitan Museum of Art this past summer, gave a lecture Tuesday night to a packed house at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. The McQueen exhibit drew over 660,000 visitors during its three-month run, making it the 8th most popular exhibition at the Met in its 141-year history.


One of the most interesting things to learn was that prior to McQueen’s death, an exhibit of his work had originally been intended as part of a trilogy of influential designers to appear at The Costume Institute at the Met. The first was to have been Charles James, the second, Christian Dior, and McQueen would have been the third, though he was unaware of these tentative plans. At the news of his suicide, in February 2010, The Costume Institute quickly decided to focus solely on McQueen.

Met Director Thomas P. Campbell, Bolton related, worried that an exhibition of McQueen’s work so soon after his death would be considered “ghoulish.” There was, however, precedent—Bolton noted Richard Martin, then Curator of The Costume Institute, had staged a show of Gianni Versace’s work a mere five months after Versace’s murder in July 1997.

Gallery View - The Romantic Mind, Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Gallery View - Romantic Nationalism, Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Bolton attributed the “totally unexpected” success of the show to several things, chief among them being a close collaboration with Sarah Burton, now creative director at McQueen, who had worked with the designer for 14 years and provided unique insight into his design process. Bolton also brought on board Sam Gainsbury and Joseph Bennett, who helped produce McQueen’s stunning runway shows.

Timing was influential in two ways. First, mounting the exhibit so soon after his death meant McQueen’s complete archives were still intact and Bolton felt that “the freshness, the rawness” of McQueen’s passing would enhance the authenticity of the show. This would be no revisionist exhibition. Second, Bolton theorized, was that as Kate Middleton married Prince William on April 29, she wore a wedding dress by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, a dress revealed to the world just four days before the McQueen exhibit premiered to the press.

Kate’s dress by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen.

If people came because Kate’s dress made them want to see more McQueen, they stayed in line, sometimes for hours, because of the complexity and “sweeping imagination” of his work. Bolton himself was astounded that McQueen’s oeuvre “appealed to the hearts of so many different types of people.”

There are plans, Bolton said, though not yet finalized, for another McQueen exhibition, this one in London, to be organized by a different curator, with the date and place still to be determined.

Alexander McQueen (British, 1969-2010)
Corset
Dante, autumn/winter 1996-97
Lilac silk faille appliqued with black silk lace and embroidered with jet beads.
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photograph © Sølve Sundsbø/Art + Commerce.

Daphne Wednesdays No. 5

Sequined leopard coat by Dolce & Gabbana; Rick Owens/Daphne Guinness silver necklace and beige cape.

If want to wear leopard this fall in a way that’s sure to get everyone’s attention, it’s gotta sparkle, it’s gotta shine, so this week’s Daphne Wednesdays features a sequined Dolce & Gabbana leopard coat from the “Exoticism” section of Daphne Guinness, now on view at The Museum at FIT. You’d definitely win any style smackdown if you wore this. Meow meow!


I love not only the two-tone hair (I must paint a platinum stripe in my own hair asap) but also the netting across the face. In a recent profile in The New Yorker Daphne noted, “What’s great is tying a bit of net around your face, and everything looks like it’s in Super 8. It gives a bit of grain to the world.” I have to try this myself sometime.

A few people really liked the Chanel jacket next to the Valentino suit I featured last week so I thought I’d include it as well. Note the elongated sleeves that extend past the mannequin’s hands, as well as the fur edges, with are edged themselves with pearl beads and square sequins. Divine!



Daphne Guinness is on view through January 7, 2012.

The Museum at FIT
Seventh Avenue and 27th Street
New York NY 10001-5992
212-217-4558
Hours: Tuesday-Friday: Noon-8PM
Saturday: 10AM-5PM
Closed Sundays, Mondays, and legal holidays
Admission is free

Schiaparelli & Prada at the Met

Elsa Schiaparelli (French, born Italy, 1890-1973), by Jean Clément (French, 1900-1949). Necklace, Fall 1938. Clear Rhodoid (cellulose acetate plastic); metallic green, red, pink, blue, and yellow painted pressed metal ornaments). Courtesy of The Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Mark your calendars, lovers of fashion exhibits! Next spring’s Costume Institute show at The Metropolitan Museum of Art is titled Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada: On Fashion and will feature the work of Schiaparelli, the Surrealist Italian fashion designer (Chanel’s biggest rival in the 1930s) in a “style conversation” with the work of another iconic Italian designer, Miuccia Prada, whose bags and shoes and clothes I routinely lust after (I bet you do too). It will be co-curated by Harold Koda, Curator in Charge of The Costume Institute, and Andrew Bolton, Curator, The Costume Institute, who curated this year’s unbelievably successful Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty. It will be on view from May 10 through August 19, 2012.

In honor of this news I thought I’d post a photo of one of Schiaparelli’s works. The above insect necklace is one of her most famous accessories. And in keeping with that theme, below are recent Prada windows at the SoHo store on Prince Street, showing the accessories for Fall/Winter 2011-2012. I am in love with that green snakeprint pump.

Daphne Wednesdays No. 4

A cream-colored Valentino suit, left, a Chanel jacket on the right.

For this week’s Daphne Wednesdays, I wanted to share with you this cream-colored Valentino suit and blouse, of cotton, wool and silk, from the “Chic” section of Daphne Guinness, now on view at The Museum at FIT.


I loved it in the beginning of the documentary Valentino: The Last Emperor when Valentino tells a reporter “I know what women want. They want to be beautiful.”

Exactly. This suit exemplifies that ideal and I adore everything about it, from the color to the fabric to the A-line skirt.


Also note the gorgeous peacock blue ribbon with crystal brooch at the neck, not Valentino, I’m sure, but a personal touch of Daphne’s, which sets the whole look off. A recent profile of her in The New Yorker mentioned “she might accessorize a jacket with a diamond pin attached to the inside of the collar, so that it reflects a discreet, flattering light on her face.”


Daphne Guinness is on view through January 7, 2012.

The Museum at FIT
Seventh Avenue and 27th Street
New York NY 10001-5992
212-217-4558
Hours: Tuesday-Friday: Noon-8PM
Saturday: 10AM-5PM
Closed Sundays, Mondays, and legal holidays
Admission is free

Daphne Wednesdays No. 3

A dress by Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel now on view at The Museum at FIT, part of the exhibit Daphne Guinness.

This post should be subtitled “I Need Some Chanel Right About Now.” Every October I feel this way, wanting to break out all the dark clothes in dramatic colors, the black, the purple, the midnight blue, the deep dark moody red. This Chanel dress from the couture collection of Daphne Guinness, now on view at The Museum at FIT, exactly fits my mood. It is elegant, it is black, it is Chanel. There are feathers, there are flowers, there is shimmer, there is shine. Do not even get me started on the diamanté necklace starting in the front and draping down the back. This beauty is from the “Evening Chic” section of Daphne Guinness and it is divine. Forget the Halloween costume, I want to wear this to greet trick-or-treaters on October 31.


A closeup of the amazing bodice and flower sleeve, with feathers attached to the edge. Also note the stunning necklace and what appears to be an owl brooch attached to the back of the dress. I will look into this and get back to you as soon as the exhibit catalog is released later this month.

I never get tired of feathers and sequins. Is it from all the time I spent in Las Vegas as a child?

Daphne Guinness is on view through January 7, 2012.

The Museum at FIT
Seventh Avenue and 27th Street
New York NY 10001-5992
212-217-4558
Hours: Tuesday-Friday: Noon-8PM
Saturday: 10AM-5PM
Closed Sundays, Mondays, and legal holidays
Admission is free

Birkin Bash on Fashion Hunters

Ambria Miscia of Second Time Around consignment shop in NYC with Michael Tonello, author of Bringing Home the Birkin. Photo from Bravotv.com

If you have cable please watch Fashion Hunters for me tonight at 10:30pm/9:30c on Bravo TV. Fashion Hunters is about the Second Time Around consignment shop in Manhattan on the Upper East Side. When I saw on Twitter that Michael Tonello, author of one of my favorite fashion books, Bringing Home the Birkin, will be a guest on the show I instantly linked to Bravo to see the preview and this episode looks like a good one. The sellers at Second Time Around invite a number of Hermès Birkin and Kelly owners to a party, I’m assuming to see if anyone is interested in selling their bag, and Michael tells Ambria, the Assistant Manager, that one of the Birkins brought to the party is a fake!



It’s no secret I am a huge Hermès fan and a Birkin or a Kelly (probably vintage) is at the top of my wish list. After reading Michael’s book about his stint as a Birkin reseller, I know he is an expert on all things Hermès, especially the bags, so tune in to Fashion Hunters to have him show you exactly how to spot a fake.

If the lady with the faux Birkin paid real money for that bag, stand by for the fireworks and the tears, the cuss words and the denial!


Fashion Hunters airs Tuesdays at 10:30pm/9:30c on Bravo TV.

True Confessions

The fabulous Bella of the Citizen Rosebud gave me the “Tell Me About Yourself” award. Thank you, Bella! This award is similar to one given to me earlier by the also-fabulous Catherine at Aesthetic Alterations and JTWisdom of Bubbling with Elegance and Grace, all of them asking the recipient to share seven random facts about herself. Here are mine.

Please don’t open this near me because I will have a terrible accident if you do.

1. I’m horribly addicted to Red Vines Licorice.

2. The very first thing I wanted to be was a figure skater.

3. I am deeply afraid of thunder and lightning.

4. True Blood is my favorite fictional show, while my favorite “reality” (ha) show is The Rachel Zoe Project.

I have a crush on about half of the actors in True Blood but Alexander Skarsgård, who plays Eric, is at the top of my list.

Still loving The Rachel Zoe Project.

5. I wouldn’t call myself a “Twihard” but I am looking forward to the next installment of the Twilight movie franchise. I feel I belong to both Team Edward and Team Jacob.



Can someone tell me why I find Taylor Lautner so cute? I’m old enough to be his mother.

6. Because my father was in the Navy, I graduated from a high school run by the Department of Defense Dependent Schools in Subic Bay, in the Philippines.

7. The dress I wore to my senior prom was inspired by the pink dress Marilyn Monroe wears to sing “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” in Gentleman Prefer Blondes.

Marilyn in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

I know you are smiling right now, either at my hair or my arm candy.

I now pass this award on to ladies I’d like to get to know better:

A Glimpse of Paris
Antares: Alfa Scorpii
Magnificent or Egregrious
My So-Called Corporate Life
Not Dead Yet Style
Paula’s Diary
The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower

Daphne Wednesdays No. 2

For this week’s Daphne Wednesday I’m featuring the stupendous navy blue dress by Christian Lacroix and black silk taffeta jacket with silver eagle epaulets by Alexander McQueen, from the “Dandyism” section of the exhibit Daphne Guinness, now on view at The Museum at FIT. I hope when the exhibit’s catalog comes out later this month there will be more details about the pieces on display. I am especially curious to know what metal the epaulets are made of and how much each one weighs.

The blue of this Lacroix dress is gorgeous. In the photo below, notice the pleating in the bodice.

The eagle epaulets in closeup. You can make out the eagle’s head on the right, with the eyes and beak facing the mannequin’s hair. Amazing! More of Alexander McQueen’s artistry at work.

Daphne Guinness is on view through January 7, 2012.

The Museum at FIT
Seventh Avenue and 27th Street
New York NY 10001-5992
212-217-4558
Hours: Tuesday-Friday: Noon-8PM
Saturday: 10AM-5PM
Closed Sundays, Mondays, and legal holidays
Admission is free

Here Kitty Kitty

Leopard cuff by LaCrasia, the glove makers, from their tiny shop at Grand Central in NYC. Essie polish in Berry Hard.

I never thought I’d say this, but I’m mildly worried about the oversaturation of leopard for fall and winter this year. It is pretty much everywhere in the stores, in every incarnation, and even though I love leopard, and never get tired of it (I think), I will probably just add it to my wardrobe in little pops, especially against blue and purple.

Leopard belt from J. Crew.

Leopard silk scarf from Ross Dress for Less, bought over 15 years ago and the best $10 I ever spent on an accessory. YSL Tribute tote in Aubergine patent.

J. Crew cardigan with tie-neck blouse from Kohl’s.

One exception is this J. Crew cardigan I bought last year. The colors are a different take on traditional leopard print, which is one of the reasons I love it.

What about you? Are you going for it with the leopard this year?