Posts about Coats
The Dior Lady Dior Bag. A Regal Modern Classic
Without further ado today’s Modern Classic is brought to you by the letters D L D and B.
Image used by permission: theglamandglitter
After Princess Diana was gifted Dior’s latest bag by Bernadette Chirac (France’s First Lady) in September 1995 it is said that she immediately fell in love with it and went on to order it in every colour and style available. At the time Princess Diana was the most photographed woman in the world and it was inevitable that the handbag would be featured in many, many photographs. First captured on film when Diana visited a children’s home in Birmingham, the princess was then seen carrying it a few weeks later while on an official visit to Argentina. Following these two major appearances the House of Dior decided to rename the bag in her honour and the Lady Dior was truly christened.
One of the original ‘It’ bags the Lady Dior has gone on to become not only Dior’s most recognisable bag but also one of fashion’s most iconic bags. Designed by Galliano, each Lady Dior bag takes seven craftspeople a minimum of eight hours to make. Each bag uses 130 pieces of leather and even the feet of the bag are intricately designed with 43 pieces of metal coming together to make them.
The distinct cannage quilting was inspired the house’s famous caned back Napoleon III chairs which featured in Christian Dior’s very first fashion show in 1947 . The DIOR charms that hang from the handle represent the superstitious nature of the house’s founder;
“The most important feature of my life…has been my good luck; and I must also acknowledge my debt to the fortune-tellers who have predicted it. I first had my fortune told when I was very young. It was in 1919, at a bazaar near my home, organized to raise funds for the soldiers. There was every kind of sideshow and we all took some part in it. I dressed myself up as a gypsy, suspended a basket round my neck by ribbons, and sold lucky charms” Christian Dior.
With its refined lines and structured shape the Lady Dior has many, many fans. The image above comes from the lovely Tamara of theglamandglitter.com and she told me “I love Lady Dior bag, because every time I take it I feel like I carry part of the Dior history with me. I am a huge fan of Christian Dior, and by that I don’t mean just the brand, but also a fan of the life and biography of this greatly talented designer, and the bag is a true piece of art.”
Joy Of Second Hand. Trend Edit. Monochrome (with a POC)
Led by Marc Jacobs’ graphic black and white prints at Louis Vuitton, we have all gone mad for monochrome again this season. Not that I have ever not been mad for monochrome, I am very much a fan of the impact this most classic of combinations can make. But if you think you’ll miss a little brightness, try adding just a pop of colour (POC) to your outfit.
Top left: Stella McCartney ‘Falabella’ Black Faux Suede Quilt Large Clutch Bag – on its way to becoming a modern classic. Perfect mix of classic quilting and tough chainwork.
Bottom left: Giuseppe Zanotti ‘Sharon’ Black & White Stripe Yellow Snake – POC all the way!!
Centre: Helmut Lang Black Cream Geometric Reversible Light - for the indecisive monochrome lover. Wear it black one day, white the other. Or confuse your wok mates by popping out to lunch in one option and coming back in the other. See who notices.
Top right: Alexander McQueen Resort 2010 Black Crepe Zip Dress - it is McQueen, it has zips, it is the most amazing shape. What is not to love?
Bottom right: Versace ‘Dvea’ Black Patent Double Platform Heels – seriously, why have one platform when you can have two?
Joy Of Second Hand. Trend Edit. Animal Prints.
A trend this season, last season, every bloomin season; fashion’s brush with the wild side NEVER goes out of fashion. Shop our animalistic edit below. As with all our stunning finds we have only one of each. You can’t get much more edited than can you?
Top left: Dolce & Gabbana Inside ‘n’ Out Leopard Print Pumps – two lots of leopard for the price of one
Bottom left: Rupert Sanderson SS13 ‘Elba’ Silver Leopard Heels – red carpet favourite. Oh, and current season. Oh, and unworn with box
Centre: Nanette Lepore ‘Cheek To Cheek’ Leopard Velvet Coat – it looks like leopard, it feels like leopard. It is not leopard (phew!)
Top right: Miu Miu Pink & Grey Python Platform Heels – pink gets a tough snakeskin make over
Bottom right: Dolce & Gabbana ‘Sicily’ Grey Leopard Leather Bag - another Dolce piece. Well what did you expect from a feature on animal print? NEW NEW NEW
Stella McCartney OBE. Greatest Fashion Hits
With her newly awarded OBE, Stella McCartney is truly on a roll. Following her high profile work on the London Olympics last year and her ranking as Google’s top searched for designer of 2012, McCartney has never been more popular or more powerful.
We have a long history of selling Stella McCartney’s fashion at Style Sequel. We have handled pieces from her very first collection to last year’s hugely well received Spring and Resort collections. Below are a few of the pieces we have handled. There have been many more
Stella’s debut collection (a taster below) after leaving Chloe – SS2002 – was not a huge critical or commercial success.
Skimpy pieces emblazoned with cockney rhyming slang (‘slippery when wet’ and ‘ raspberry ripples’) did not strike much of a chord with buyers. However there were hints of what would go on to become her signature ‘sleek yet relaxed tailoring’ in elegant single button jackets and satin coat dresses.
Spring 2004 saw Stella hit her a more popular stride with her flowing dip dyed chiffons, sporty pieces and sharp tailoring. Rebecca Lowthorpe on Style.com’s praised the collection with the words, “Confidence, confidence, confidence! What a treat it was to see Stella McCartney in self-assured mode, her finger firmly on fashion’s current pulse.”
McCartney had another romantic hit on her hands with her Spring/Summer 2008 collection. Or more specifically the floral jumpsuit and dresses, sell outs at the time and seen on everyone from Kate Bosworth to Rihanna.
Jump to Fall 2009 and McCartney had really started to refine her aesthetic. Seen by many as the true beginning of what has become her fashion MO – sleek, wearable, interchangeable pieces for the modern woman – McCartney herself said of the collection “I wanted to look at what makes a Stella girl”. This focus on a ‘muse’ woman really showed in the collection – every piece being fresh yet timelesss, cool yet classic.
McCartney has seen hit after hit in the last few years. From her hugely popular peplum tops of 2011…..
……to her tropcal inspired Resort 2012 collection……..
….and her ‘as seen on anyone who is anyone’ Spring Summer 2012 panelled dresses….
…there can be no doubt that Stella McCartney’s star is rising rapidly. Do you agree?
If Our Garments Could Speak. No 9. YSL Fall 2007 Coat
Come back Stefano, all is forgiven. Not that you did anything wrong. Well apart from leaving YSL and letting it become SL. You did that wrong.
Very Royal Garment Anatomy 101. Princess Diana’s Dress & Tailcoat
Yesterday I was lucky enough to be allowed a sneak peek of vintage fashion auctioneer extraordinaire Kerry Taylor’s next sale – a superb collection of dresses from the wardrobe of the late Diana, Princess of Wales. To my mind Princess Diana was one of the most fashion savvy Princess we have ever seen. Once she moved beyond her shy ‘Sloane-ranger’ style she became a woman who really understood and embraced the power of a fabulous frock. In time she moved from delicate, romantic cocktail dresses to stronger, darker evening gowns in rich velvets and silks. Subtly subversive, she wore a lot of black despite being told that it was against royal protocol to wear black for anything other than mourning (was she channeling a little Coco there?)
There was some incredible couture on show and it was a hard task to focus on just one. But in the end I chose one of the only two coats there. What can I say? I am addicted to outerwear.
Lesson 19 – Princess Diana’s Catherine Walker Velvet Embroidered Tailcoat
This stunning coat with its matching blood red velvet sheath dress, was worn by Diana, Princess of Wales to the premiere of Steel Magnolias in 1990 and again for a State visit to Korea in 1992. Kate Middleton did not event royal wardrobe recycling.
The Bouton Renaud silk velvet is the most incredible shade of blood red. Very Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The cut; part military, part tailcoat has a dramatic swooping cut away front and superbly cut tulip shaped vented curved hem back. The masculine feel contrasts beautifully with the elegant sweep of the full length gown underneath.
And then of course there is the embellishment. Composed of tiny pearls and gilt thread and of course completely hand crafted. In this case I’ll let the pictures do the talking.
You can find out more about the Fit For a Princess auction here
Woolmark Prize 2013. Dion Lee
The second piece that I feel in love with from the finalists of this year’s International Woolmark Prize. The first here.
Sitting on the other end of the spectrum from Ban Xiao Xue’s piece , Dion Lee’s amazingly sculptural coat had strength and sexiness in spades. It also had a touch of surrealism in the lapel meets hat detail and subtle anatomical detailing in the twisted ‘spine’ at the back. Part Dior’s New Look, part future fashion, a little bit Alien, Lee’s incredible cut and attention to detail left me breathless.
Jill Ritblat @ The Design Museum
Like many lovers of beautiful creations I am a big fan of the Design Museum; but I am especially keen when they get all sartorial (I went to the Hussein Chalayan exhibit 3 times). So when I heard that they had received a new donation of over 400 1970s – 90s vintage fashion items I could not help but take note. The clothes came from Jill Ritblat (Design Museum trustee, barrister and member of more Art institutions, panels and boards than you could shake a stick at) and it is the Design Museum’s first significant fashion acquisition to date. Below are some pictures, displayed as part for the museum’s new exhibition, Extraordinary Stories about Ordinary Things. Amongst the treasures are Chanel, Givenchy and Issey Miyake.
Below:
Givenchy 2006 Couture trouser suit (Alexander McQueen designer)
Victor Eldelstein 1996 brocade ballgown
Chanel c.2000 suit (Karl Largerfeld designer)
This yummy little taster has got me looking forward to seeing the full collection. Lady Ritblat we fashion folk salute you.
Blogger Dress Up. Victoria from Plumdiddlyumcious
Number four in our super ‘Blogger Dress Up’ series features the beyond lovely Victoria who (amongst other things) runs a gorgeous blog called Plumdiddlyumcious. Victoria is also the VP of The Dalston Darlings – one of the coolest WI’s there is – you can follow them on Facebook here.
Not only was Victoria’s super sweet and super stylish, she was also brave enough to embrace the chilly December air for our first outdoor shoot. And she knows how to strike a pose – loving the lamppost shot.
Victoria had a good browse through our rails – pulling out gems from Alexander McQueen, Acne and Balenciaga – before selecting some fabulous pieces to model. Most of them you can even buy now from our website – click on the photos or links.
Diane Von Furstenberg ‘Tinsel’ Coat and Jimmy Choo ‘Sky’ Black Stud Bag
Cynthia Steffe Black Leather Looped Dress
Yigal Azrouel Grey & Black Motorcycle Jacket, 3.1 Phillip Lim Pebble Knit Jumper and Jimmy Choo ‘Sky’ Black Stud Bag
Charlotte Olympia ‘Polly’ Leopard Heels, Alexander Wang Black Trousers and Prada Grey Cashmere Jumper
Alexander Wang Suede & Jersey Jacket and Isabel Marant Bekket Wedge Trainers
Blogger Dress Up. Ella from La Petite Anglais
Second up in our ‘Blogger Dress Up’ series is the absolutely gorgeous Ella from La Petite Anglais. Here at Style Sequel we have long been a fan of Ella and her perfect Gallic inspired (a result of her days interning in Paris we are sure) but distinctly British style. We knew this one was going to be a treat and it was. This picture alone could be a magazine cover shot.
Not only was Ella the sweetest lady she also had an impeccable eye of an outfit and looked gorgeous in everything (yes we were just a little jealous). So without further ado here is what Ella wore. And she even snapped up the Marant shoes – you have to be quick around here
Chanel vintage jacket, Alaia knit dress, Aspinal bag, Olivia Morris shoes
Stella McCartney blouse, Isabel Marant trousers (part of suit), Alaia booties, Alexander McQueen bag
Stella McCartney dress, Jimmy Choo clutch, Isabel Marant shoes
Isaac Mizrahi dress, Benoit Missolin headpiece
