Tag: Katherine Hepburn

Coco Channel

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A remarkable woman named Gabrielle Chanel was born in France in 1883. She would become famous with her nickname, an icon of the fashion world and one of the most influential women of the 20th century. Coco Chanel revolutionized haute couture and is still revered today. Her beginnings were humble and she was taught to sew by nuns at the orphanage where she was placed.

The budding designer’s first foray into fashion came when she started to design hats. This led to the opening of her millinery shop in 1910. The career advancement of Coco Chanel was rapid and she opened her first couture house five years later. Women have a lot to thank her for. Not only did she provide an early example of a woman being successful in business, she also was responsible for getting rid of the corset! She sealed a reputation for designing clothes that were simply elegant and stylish but also comfortable.

Early successes in her range swept through high society, eventually filtering down to the woman in the street. Celebrities and aristocracy flocked to buy her creations, including the famous Coco Chanel suit. She also made the little black dress, as it came to be known, an indispensable item in every woman’s wardrobe. Remarkably, she held the position of Chief Designer for the label until her death in 1971.

The range is not limited to clothes and Coco Chanel expanded into other lucrative enterprises from an early stage. The world famous Chanel no.5 perfume was launched in 1921 and costume jewelry followed three years later. Men would have to wait for their first eau de toilette until 1981 when Antaeus came on the market. Today, the product range includes clothes, accessories, watches, sunglasses and jewelry. The fashion line includes ready to wear. The company is still a big player on the world stage and is successfully led by German designer, Karl Lagerfeld.

The icon has been portrayed on the Broadway stage and on screen. Katherine Hepburn played her in the 1970 musical production of Coco with words and music by Andre Previn and Alan Jay Lerner. A film called Coco Before Chanel is scheduled for release in 2008 and stars French actress Audrey Tatou. It tells the intriguing story of her life before she achieved fame. Coco Chanel, despite an all consuming career also managed to have a very complicated love life. Her enduring legacy however, is the classic designs she brought to women’s fashion.

Denim Jeans, Their Progress Through Fashion; Still Making History

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Denim jeans and attire have been associated with heavy industry to high fashion and become one of the most versatile and enduring clothing styles in fashion history. Hollywood stars like Katherine Hepburn aided denim’s progress through fashion in the 70’s. And now Savile Row tailors champion its continuing success, as they cut denim suits for some of the most famous names in the world. But what of its origins, Denim and Jeans have traveled the world.

Captured in denim the Americans invented, commercialized, stylized, or popularised, in a word, Levis, American Wild West culture. But the fabric was adopted from another continent by early Americans who created functional hard wearing work gear. At the same time they introduced a style without the aid of catwalks and drop dead handsome models.

Mr. Jacob Davis a tailor from Reno Nevada decided to put copper rivets on the corners of his denim trouser pockets to prevent them from ripping. Unable to cover the cost of patenting the idea he sought help from prosperous clothing distributor Mr. Levi Strauss. Mr. Strauss added his own style by putting the garment label on the outside rather than on the inside. Thus a new style was born.

Denim (derived from De-Nimes in France) had already been styled into bell bottom trousers and worn by Italian sailors from Genoa and given the name Geans (Jeans). These trousers had very practical applications. If a sailor went overboard he could easily slip off his trousers without his feet getting caught and thus stand a better chance of staying afloat.

The style has gone from De-Nimes, to Denim, from Genoa to Jeans, from France to America and traveled the world. Style knows no cultural or geographic boundaries. Experience the history.

Now here are a couple of style tips. With this in mind you could chose a denim shirt by King Gee (Australia), floral designer silk tie by Timothy Everest (Savile Row London), a pair of grey flannel trousers by Jaeger (England), for the feet, a pair of blue and white Converse All Stars (America), dark lightweight Harris Tweed jacket (England) and a leather belt by RM Williams (Australia) this is the gear you need for working at the coalface, functionality rules the way. It’s referred to as the lean-clean style, it’s casual by framework, loose and comfortable, but formalised enough with the introduction of neckwear. So you can get into action, throw off the jacket, roll the sleeves up, loosen the tie and get it done.

Once last thing, why not try a pair of Swarovski Crystal silver designer cufflinks, just to reflect your mood and to complement your tie.

Did you know? Robert Redford stars in the definitive film of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald was a dedicated customer of Jermyn Street bespoke shirt maker Turnbull & Asser. The shirts that reduce The Great Gatsby’s socialite heroine Daisy (Mia Farrow) to tears with their beauty in the film all bear the Turnbull & Asser bespoke label.

1969 Nutters of Savile Row opens on Valentine’s Day and unleashes the Tommy Nutter/Edward Sexton style on swinging London. Backed by Cilla Black and The Beatles’ record company Apple’s executive Peter Brown, Nutters of Savile Row dresses the entire social spectrum from the Duke of Bedford and Lord Montagu to Mick and Bianca Jagger and The Beatles. Nutters is the first shop on Savile Row to pioneer ‘open windows’ and wild displays executed by Simon Doonan.

Maverick screen actress Katherine Hepburn, whose long-term lover Spencer Tracey was a customer of Huntsman, takes the extraordinary step of ordering bespoke denim jeans from her late lover’s Savile Row tailor. Hepburn’s commission foreshadows bespoke denim collections launched in 2006 by Timothy Everest and Evisu.

It’s all about style, just ask Vivienne Westwood

The Most Widely Used Fashion Trends In 1940s

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Every age has its individual fashion trends and fads. The 1940s are no exception to this. Like other time periods, the era of 1940s too had its own fashion beliefs and trends. However, the time period of 1940s scored high on the style and fashion quotient. The decade has some of the most unique and inimitable fashion trends, a few of which mark their presence both- on and off the runway even today.
Dramatic makeup was one of the key fashion trends of that time. Since the wardrobe itself had nothing much to boast about, loud tresses and makeup was utilized to highlight the overall look. Generous use of matte foundation, powder, bright scarlet lips and heavy brows were notable traits of the makeup of the 1940s.
Such makeup may work wonders when trying to camouflage skin difficulties such as acne. However, in case you desire to steer clear of such loud makeup, then you can use better means of tackling acne such as the Exposed Skin care System.
Another popular fashion trend of 1940s was botanart prints. These prints formed an integral aspect of every clothing be it skirts, dresses or any other. These prints were available in several varieties right from small floral motifs to bright big leaves. While some were pretty straightforward and understated, others were bold and flashy. The varied array gave people lots of choices to choose between, depending upon one’s preferences and tastes in dressing.
Platform pumps were another hot favorite fashion trend of 1940s. They were so designed that they offered more of comfort than style. Available in array of styles like T straps, open toes, ankle straps and many more, they were considered to be far better than the uncomfortable and cumbersome wedges. The heels of the platform pumps were designed with a suitable height which subsequently offered benefits like assuaging back pain, which is a common place problem when your wear high heels.
Hats were one of the coolest plus the most popularly used fashion accessory during the 1940s. From big bold hats to the small ones, hats could be spotted on just about everyone. However, unlike today’s hats which are made of the finest materials, hats in those times were made using foil, paper, netting and string.
The 1940’s also witnessed the modification of standard menswear into similarly wearable women’s’ wear. Gents suits were now being tailored to fit feminine curves. As the males went to fight the World War raging in Europe, the females raided the closets of these absentees to find more functional clothing. Star icons like Katherine Hepburn and Marlene Dietrich were often spotted wearing such ensembles and they also inspired the other gals of the country to do the same.
This distinct style paired with the utilitarian facet of the 1940s makes fashion from the decade popular still. Fashionistas, the world over could still be seen sporting these evergreen designs from an era long past.