Costello Tagliapietra’s Flattering Fashion for the Modern Woman: The Fall 2012 Collection

Text, Vivian Kelly and Laura Wood

Reported by Laura Wood – Thursday, Feb. 9, Milk Studios, NYC

This season the guys had a lot of prints [for them] using their eco-friendly airdye technology. The first look came out and I knew that I was at a Costello Tagliapietra and I felt that although the colors were strong, they would suit a lot of colorings. The plunging V-neck and flutter sleeve were easy-sexy and that’s what you go to C.T. for.

Look #5, the Costello Tagliapietra fall'12 Runway Show

Look #5 was an easy transitional reversible coat in chartreuse and orange, perfect for when you can’t just go out in your dress and meet even extend to chillier summer days.

Although some of the prints included editorial eye-popping colors, Laura loved the sophisticated print of look #8. The skillful construction minimizes what you want to hide and maximizes the curves you want to highlight.

Costello Tagliapietra Look # 8 The Perfect Dress

Costello Tagliapietra Look #9 - the Medieval Hooded Theme

In look #9 they address the hooded theme of the season. After looking at this coat, we can’t wait to throw-away our hats. The hoods are reminiscent of the ones people wore in Medieval Times which were a hooded cloak, not to be mistaken with a sweat shirt hoodie.

Although Vivian loved the skinny pants we agreed that #15, the high waist park pleated trouser is a necessary wardrobe staple whether you’re a size 2 or 12.

Costello Tagliapietra Look #15 The Essential Bark Pant

They offered five evening gowns, and our favorite was look #26 – a lavender sheath with beautiful draping and just enough sheen to be glamorous without being overdone.

Costello Gown Look #26, Our Favorite Evening Option From The fall '12 Collection

Bravo Costello Tagliapietra! You did it again.

True Fashion – The Legend of Lady White Snake, Starring Daphne Guinness

Text, Vivian Kelly

Reported by Vivian Kelly and Laura Wood

Photograph of Daphne Guinness by Markus Klinko & Indrani

WHAT: a Grade-A platinum fashion moment at 172 Norfolk Street, NYC

It’s taken me two days to fully digest the events of Sunday night. It’s not often I get a dose of pure undiluted high octane fashion.

Laura and I arrived at the Angel Orensanz Foundation for Contemporary Art at 10:00p.m. on the dot. THIS was NOT something either of us wanted to miss a second of. We had high hopes for this event, in part due to two days worth of experiencing the polished sterility of the Lincoln Center Venues and the accompanying jitters of sucking down one too many cans of  free Diet Pepsi. We were actually look forward to visiting Alphabet City as the Lower East Side is the only remaining vestige of “NYC Eighties cool” that still survives. Going down there is fun and makes me feel 25 again.

The Angel Orensanz venue is the artist’s creation and is a cross between a Russian Orthodox Church and a nightclub, in other words, Limelight, when it just started and was THE place to go and dance until 2:00a.m. before going off to Florent in MeatPacking to have something to eat before trying to score a taxi willing to take us back to Laura’s apartment in the Village.

It was obvious from the moment we entered that this was “a happening”. First, there were the photographs – giant sized ones of Daphne Guinness posing in her astounding McQueen Couture, which she wore in the film. Catwoman has nothing on Daphne who was dressed up as a high fashion villainess in a red catsuit and insanely high heels. I’ll need to win Powerball to scratch this itch as I mentally “bought” four of the photographs that would look amazing in  The Fashion Examiner office and  fireplace room. Total cost for four of Markus Klinko & Indrani’s fabulous photos of Daphne = $160,000. These photos really DO “combine story-telling with cutting-edge fashion”.

Next, we ambled over to the well-stocked bar – no yukky plastic glasses here – and sat down in a padded bamboo gilt chair just as Daphne made her entrance in an incredible chainmail gown and a head ornament loaded with what I’m assuming were probably actually diamonds rather than Swarovski Crystals.

The film itself was genius – a cross between a poetry reading and a couture fashion show. It may sound odd, but it was spectacular. On our way out, Laura stopped to chat with a young female editor to get her take. Like us, she was blown away and was going to Google the film and read Neil Gaiman’s poem. The point of the film though, was the EXPERIENCE and it got a 10/10 on that score. After this visual feast, we got an auditory one – a performance by the very talented Viva Girls, who were perched like a row of angels in blue ball gowns to the right of the massive screen.

The grand finale to the event was a capsule collection of gowns from the new Genghis Khan collection designed by GK Reid. We loved the hooded one and his concept of transformative styling and dressing – something we can totally get behind.

SO, which of Markus Klinko & Idrani’s photographs of Daphne Guinness would YOU like to take home with you?

Daphne in her Chain mail Couture

Papillon Pups Work their Doggie Couture His-N-Her Outfits

Text, Vivian Kelly

Introducing… Phoebe and Pepito!

I used to be one of those people who did some major eyerolling when I read in WWD that fashion designer x, and fashion designer y were expanding their global brands to include doggie couture. Really? A bleu marine [navy blue] leather Hermes collar with palladium hardware sells for $390 on luxury-shops.com. It’s beautiful yes, but rather austere, and not to mention, expensive.

My attitude adjusted after doing some shopping with my Mother for her 1st dog, a sweet black Pomeranian named ‘Mona’. She had an outfit for every occasion. There were even mini Wellington boots, but my favorite was a hand knit shocking pink sweater which looked Steven Sprouse-ish.

That was nothing. The REALLY fashionable dog wears made to measure couture. Shockingly, it’s not nose-bleedingly expensive. This weekend, after a couple of cups of java, watch my interview with Wendy Curran and her two Papillons, Phoebe and Pepito aka Pete. In it, Wendy discusses the history of the breed and reveals a few of her sources to get adorable outfits for the duo. Wendy sourced Phoebe’s flirty dress on Ebay [@ $30] and Pepito’s Country Squire coat is from Fox&Hounds [$40]. The theme for the gear they’re wearing in tomorrow’s video is “holiday” but it could also work beautifully for Valentine’s Day next month.

Warning: Once you start cruising Fox&Hounds, you may get sucked-in as it’s part of the Sherpa Pet Group, which consists of 8 collections.

In case the sky’s the limit, you could look into the $3million+ necklace featured in The National Enquirer, modeled by a very lucky Papillon pup. As someone who follows the ‘Columbo’ [Peter Falk's iconic detective], I’ve got “just another question, please”. HOW, does a tiny dog wear this 52-carat necklace that consists of 1,600 hand-set diamonds AND a 7 -carat centerpiece stone without toppling over on his/her little nose? If money is no object, as it was [not] for Marie Antoinette, and you and your Papillon pup can share, then maybe Ava’s necklace is something your precious needs to have too.

* Check-in tomorrow for my video interview with Wendy, featuring Phoebe and Pepito featuring their chic yet eminently accessible couture duds.

>A Creative + Cultural Snow Day: Redecorating + The Last Picture Show

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TEXT, VIVIAN KELLY

Yesterday brought the third blizzard of the winter, but, as Rhett Butler so famously said to ‘Scarlett’ in Gone With the Wind, “frankly, my dear, I couldn’t give a damn.”

Why? What?!

No, I’m not part Aleutian or soft in the head.

I just need to be forced to stay home to have the excuse to indulge and work on some projects that are near and dear to my heart.

First – there was the ongoing redecoration of TheFE Home Office inspired by a page in the Farrow & Ball catalogue I picked up at Robert Verdi’s Luxe Lounge last NYFW. To say that attaining the garden gazebo look on the page has been obsessing me these past few months is an understatement. Yesterday, I finished the cream trim and applied the first layer of ‘arsenic’ paint on two walls – only partially though.

While rolling away, I had the stepladder strategically placed so I could watch The Last Picture Show on my little Home Office TV, rigged only for DVD watching. I had the Comcast Cable guy do this as part of a commitment to watch old Hollywood Classics, Art Films, and anything else that promises to have good sets and costumes in it.

Last weekend, Victoria, my favorite Reference Librarian, raised a well arched brow when I asked her if they had The Last Picture Show on DVD, and ‘was it in’?

We both agreed that the movie was worth watching if only for the pool scene in which a young gorgeous Cybill Shepherd ‘Jayce’ literally and figuratively strips-down, shedding her pristine white foundation garments and innocence, while poised on the diving board.

I wound up of course, getting wrapped-up in the movie and what should have been a one-hour painting job extended into three, four even. I played back over portions of the black and white masterpiece to hear scenes I’d missed while turning my head towards the wall.

While I said I tend to watch movies for their visual bang, this one has a h–l of a good story attached to it as well – several stories in fact.

First and foremost, there’s the indescribably gorgeous ‘Jayce’. Directed by Peter Bogdanovich, Cybill got across beautiful and cruel character of ‘Jayce” who as the iMDb reviewer captured in this description, “Jacey is Duane’s steady, wanted by every boy in school, and she knows it. Her daddy is rich and her mom is good looking and loose. It’s the general consensus that whoever wins Jacey’s heart will be set for life.”

She looks great in every single frame and I’m seeing references to her style in her every outfit:

• The party dress – Christian LaCroix’s “poof”
• The foundation garments she strips-down to at the party -Eres swimsuits
• The plaid shirt, dungarees – Abercrombie & Fitch
  
• The white shirt tied under her breasts in the pool hall scene – Guess Ads for the last 15 years
• The slippers in the opening car necking scene – Chanel slippers

‘Picture Show’ gave me much more than I’d bargained for. In addition to the clothes, there’s a little bit of a history lesson here about what it was like to live in West Texas in the fifties. Some things never change, all small towns rely on sports, the social pecking order, sex, secrets, and how tough it is to come-of-age.

Today, the bamboo trellis wallpaper arrived, as the UPS Man bombed through nearly two feet of snow to deliver it to my garage. My biggest challenge now is to find another movie that will equal or top ‘Last Picture Show’ as I resume painting the next wall tomorrow.

Any suggestions?

Weight-in on this post! It is:

amusing

informative

snarky

Makes me want to buy it