Red Carpet at the Oscars

Posted on February 23, 2015 by Victoria

So I heard there was this thing called the Oscars that I missed out on.

Awkward presenters, teary eyed speeches, musical numbers, red carpet fashion – oh my! I rarely make time to turn on the tube, veg out and be a couch potato. I guess I’m just a desk yam, glued to my chair and table surfing the web.

Award ceremonies beckon Hollywood’s finest suits, gowns, jewels, and perfectly coiffed hairdos. It’s pretty hard for a man to make it to the worst dressed list – they usually cannot go wrong in a clean pressed suit. The women, on the other hand, need a bit more peacocking, if you will, to really steal the spotlight. While there were many actresses that looked just fine on the red carpet, the following ladies won best dressed in my book.

Who are your favorites?

Dakota Johnson – Saint Laurent

Gwyneth Paltrow – Ralph & Russo Couture

Reese Witherspoon – Tom Ford

Rosamund Pike – Givenchy

Emma Stone – Elie Saab

Oscar de la Renta

Posted on October 21, 2014 by Victoria

“Walk like you have three men walking behind you.” – Oscar de la Renta

He could’ve just as easily said “walk with confidence” but that would be banal, wouldn’t it?

Indeed, everything about the late designer Oscar de la Renta is full of style and grace. Born into a family of diplomats and businessmen, he was almost destined to go down the same path. Luckily, his mother encouraged him to pursue his dreams in the arts, which he did, and later found his passion in fashion. From his apprenticeship at Balenciaga to his later work at Lanvin and Elizabeth Arden, de la Renta gained the skills and experience necessary to lay the foundation to become one of the most famed couturiers and ready to wear designers today.

De la Renta leaves behind the legacy of his great fashion empire, one that spans five decades. He once said, “My role as a designer is to make a woman feel her very best.” Indeed, that couldn’t be more true. From dressing famous celebrities to First Ladies, de la Renta’s gowns have always been timeless, classic, and elegant as the women who wore them.

Thank you for blessing the world with your incredible talent.

The Intricate Elie Saab

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Victoria

I know that the Spring 2013 Fashion Week ship has long ago sailed, but I finally caught up with Elie Saab‘s mesmerizing designs from his spring couture collection. Your grandma would approve of the long sleeves and demure neck to ankle coverage, but modest gowns these are not.

His gowns are like a fine optical illusion, for the varying transparencies of lace and tulle makes it hard to determine where the dress begins and ends on the body. Combined with the strategically placed come-hither intricate bead work and embroidery, Saab creates an understated allure that simultaneously leaves little and plenty to the imagination. In fact, I imagine myself to be quite the alluring illusion in one of his gowns, even if only in my dreams. Le sigh.

What an allursion!