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Finding Your Inner ParisienneMarie-Therese Norris (456)    Marie-Therese Norris    French Touch Image Consulting, LLC How Your Wardrobe Can Weather the Economic StormPosted Thursday, October 30, 2008 (1 year 9 days ago.) Viewed 142 times. You don't need me to tell you that times are tough. During the economic downturn of the late 80s, a friend gave me a tee-shirt that said, "When times get tough, the tough go shopping." Now, I never wear tee-shirts with slogans, logos or graphics on them, but I had to admire the sentiment on this one. At once frivolous and profound, it was a call to arms to roll up our sleeves and spit in the eye of financial adversity. It was a call to summon the Scarlet O'Hara in each of us as she stands in the middle of a crumbling Tara pulling those dusty drapes off the windows to make that drop-dead dress out of the only thing of value left to her. Scarlet knew what ladies have known throughout the ages. When facing the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, a girl really needs to look her best. And to look her best during these less than certain times, a girl needs to be a savvy shopper.
No one up and down the fashion industry food chain has been spared the harsh realities of the current economic crisis. Clothing stores are cutting prices and in many of them inventory has been stripped of much of its trendier (read "unwearable") items in favor of more classic (read "wearable") items that will appeal to a wider consumer base.
There has never been a better time to add to or begin building a wardrobe of well chosen classics that will keep you looking cool, calm and chic through fair winds or foul. Easier said than done, you say? Not at all, I say. You need only keep the following three essentials in mind and you, too, can be a savvy shopper: Fit, Function and Flair. Fit When you pick up a copy of Vogue and see a model in a stunning Chanel suit, what you do not see are the pins, clips and style tape just out of camera range. That perfect little Chanel suit is only perfect if it fits perfectly. No man would grab a suit off the rack and expect it to fit him without alterations. Why should we? Even if there were standard sizes in the fashion world, which there are not, we don't come in standard sizes. No two size 12s are built exactly alike. The savvy shopper not only knows a great bargain when she sees one, but she also knows a great tailor who will make that $50 cocktail dress she snagged look like it was designed just for her. In short, it's not how much you pay for it, it's how it fits you that makes all the difference. But before you can become an expert on fit, you need to become an expert on your own body. If all you can see when you look in the mirror is what's wrong with your body, then you need to update that perspective before you update your wardrobe. Here's where time spent with a wardrobe or personal image consultant is time and money well spent. A good image consultant will help you to look at yourself in a new way. He or she will teach you how to make the most of the body you have right now, not the body you used to have or the body you'd like to have. Don't wait for some magic number to pop up on your bathroom scale before you give yourself permission to look your best. Gaining or losing weight will not substantially affect your overall proportions; therefore, a true understanding and appreciation of your own unique proportions are key to knowing what does and does not work for your body. Now, it's time to go shopping. Function When considering the purchase of an item of clothing, ask yourself the following question: "What function, or role, will it play in my wardrobe?" Will it be a star or a supporting player? Or will it be yet another in a long line of eager understudies hanging around your closet waiting for that big break that never comes? The real value of an item of clothing can be calculated not by the price you pay, but by how hard it works for you. Many years ago I purchased a dress that came with a lacy bolero jacket. The dress is long gone, but that little jacket is one of the hardest working items in my closet. I wear it over my favorite LBD (little black dress), over a cotton tee-shirt with jeans and over a silk camisole and pencil skirt. At this point, I probably owe it money. But, before you hit the stores, do what the savvy shopper does. Go shopping in your own closet first. That's right, the same bulging, bloated closet you stare at every morning and say, "I have nothing to wear!" Now that you are an expert on Fit and Function, you should be able to go through your closet with ruthless efficiency knowing what to keep and what to give or throw away. Once this is done, you will have a clear idea of what pieces you need to add to build that great classic wardrobe. Or, perhaps you will find that you need to start from scratch. No time like the present. Skip this step at your own peril, as it will save you time and money in the long run. Flair Now comes the fun part -- adding that eye-catching accessory which gives you and your wardrobe that special flair. A great accessory speaks volumes about your personal style and can be anything from a pricey lizard handbag to a quirky pair of two dollar earrings. One of my favorite accessories is a pin I picked up years ago in a thrift shop for almost nothing. It depicts Dorothy's ruby slippers in all their glittery glory. You cannot not get noticed wearing a pin like that. Perfect strangers have stopped me on the street to tell me how much they love it. And, I tell them, the best part is that wherever I am, all I have to do is click those tiny heels together and I am home in an instant. Just doing my bit to minimize my carbon footprint. With the crisp, trench coat days of Autumn upon us, don't forget that you can accessorize your outerwear as well. Take a leaf from Paris street chic and add colorful scarves and gloves, great brooches and even ropes of chunky necklaces over your coat. For the savvy shopper, there has never been a better time to go forth and shop. She knows the future may be uncertain, but frankly, my dear, she doesn't really give a damn, because tomorrow is another shopping day. 
Permalink Comments (7) New York Fashion Week – Reflections on a ResurrectionPosted Tuesday, March 04, 2008 (1 year 249 days ago.) Viewed 209 times. That bzzz bzzz bzzz you were hearing last month was the frantic bzzz bzzz bzzzing of designers and their worker bees in the fashion capitals of the world. The 2008 Fall Fashion shows are now behind us, and designers are hoping that the "bzzz" generated enough critical "buzz" to create some serious "biz," as in – will anyone buy what they have so painstakingly created? The answer to that question will not be long in coming.
Cathy Horyn of The New York Times weighed in on two of the heavyweights of Parisian Haute Couture – Yves Saint Laurent and Chanel. According to Ms. Horyn, Stefano Pilati, who took over the YSL label four years ago, has finally found his voice by recapturing the "…swagger and spirit of the Rive Gauche era…" As to Karl Lagerfeld, well he has been channeling the great Chanel through his own voice for almost two decades now and never fails to dazzle and delight.
Meanwhile, in New York, movie mogul Harvey Weinstein eschewed channeling and spirit recapturing and went straight to resurrection. He breathed life into the long-dead Halston label to mixed reviews. The clothes were drapey and deconstructed and in muted colors, which one critic described as muddy. Nevertheless, for those of us who came of age during the 60s, there is still magic in the name of Halston.
It is a cold day in January 1961, and a dark-eyed beauty stands smiling beside her husband as he takes the Oath of Office to become the 35th President of the United States. Jacqueline Kennedy is wearing a pill box hat by a young designer who would shortly become a household name. Within weeks, every woman I knew was wearing a pill box hat. They were the perfect accessory for the bouffant hairdos that were becoming so fashionable. They did not disturb your careful coiffure nor did they obscure your face. They simply sat casually on the back of your head adding a dash of insouciant style to your ensemble. I had one in every color.
Ray Halston Frowick became the darling of the international jet set and following his licensing agreement with JC Penney, women of moderate means could afford to own a piece of that Halston magic, even if they could only afford to buy his signature perfume, Halston, second only to Chanel No. 5 in worldwide sales.
By the time he died of complications from AIDS in 1990, although he had long since lost the rights to his own name, he had earned the right to be considered one of the best designers America has ever produced. As for me, and for many women my age, the name of Halston will forever conjure up images of casual elegance, Jackie Kennedy and Camelot. The question remains, however, what will the newly reincarnated Halston name ultimately mean to the woman of today?
Despite the mixed reviews by the critics on the clothes themselves, the real appeal of the Halston collection may have a great deal to do with its immediate availability. For more years than anyone can remember, the fashion industry has shown its Spring/Summer collections in the Fall and its Fall/Winter collections in the Spring, because of the amount of time needed to make the clothes and get them to the consumer. Halston struck a deal with Net-a-Porter.com to sell key pieces of its collection on line before the show. Orders flooded in from around the world.
While fashion outlets like H&M have the flexibility to turn out clothes in a few weeks like fast food, the idea of a luxury label taking the risk of manufacturing pieces in advance of its runway show is risky business indeed – but is it really? Women have always had an enormous appetite for fashion and in a global economy where you are only a few clicks away from getting whatever you want, how quickly a designer can satisfy a woman's hunger for the latest fashions might just be that little extra that will put them both on the cutting edge. Women have always known the power of fashion and frequently used it to their advantage. In 16th century London, Anne Boleyn, fresh from the French court, caught the eye of Henry VIII, a very fashion-forward monarch himself. She dazzled him as much with her elegant style as with her lustrous dark hair and flashing eyes. Her dropped bodice, long fitted sleeves and beaded headbands were immediately copied by every lady at the English court. By the end of the 17th century, the first fashion magazine, Le Mercure Galant, was using elaborate engravings from metal plates to keep Frenchwomen up to date not only on the latest Parisian fashion trends, but on the lifestyles of the rich and famous that went with them. From these engravings would come the expression that a well-dressed woman looked like a "Fashion Plate." In Colonial America, women could actually get their hands on a small piece of the latest Parisian designs. Articulated wooden dolls dressed in the latest French fashions from head to toe and from the inside out, accessories included, would arrive by boat to great fanfare. Local seamstresses would charge their clients a fee to look at them, and an even larger fee to take them home and study them.
Today we can actually stream fashion shows on line in the privacy of our homes. Is it, therefore, too far fetched to believe that one day a busy working Mom will be able to sit in front of her computer, watch a live runway show in real time after the kids are safely tucked in, see something she likes, type in her vital statistics and voilà!! it arrives at her door in record time? And, it's a perfect fit! Someone wake me ------- I must be dreaming!! I can already hear the fashionistas howling in pain, "Oh, my God --- Soccer Moms --- McMansions ---McFashion --- where will it all end?!" To the Ladies and Gentlemen of the fashion world, I offer this small piece of solace. As long as there are designers to conceive it, artisans to create it and clientele to purchase it, Haute Couture will remain blessedly inviolate and untouched by a hyperactive society demanding instant gratification. After all, I waited almost two years for my Kelly bag and was happy to do so. Besides, every woman needs something slightly out of reach to yearn for, dream about and drool over. It's good for the soul.
And while we're on the subject, aren't change and innovation the life blood of fashion, or so the fashion gods keep telling us? And don't they get downright peevish when they don't get it? Maybe it's time for a little change and innovation in the way designers actually deliver the goods. Perhaps Halston and company are perched on the crest of the next nouvelle vague in fashion. It's certainly worth thinking about. And while you are pondering all this, I have only one question. Do you want that Lagerfeld for here or to go?
© 2008
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