Alexander McQueen Fall/Winter 2014 Menswear Review

     Like I have stated before, I love McQueen. Especially this collection: the latest menswear show for the fall and winter of 2014. The entire collection flourished as a tribute of the always-edgy looks of Alexander McQueen past. I think the label’s past is perhaps the greatest and most fantastically macabre history of the late twentieth century and early twenty-first century. With that in mind, this specific collection reeked of dark masculine intensity and beautiful pieces of clothing taken to the next level. Of course, or else it wouldn’t really be McQueen, now would it? To truly break it down, the amazing cuts of overcoats with suits emits a certain historical image of a dapper gentleman. The grey-scale color palette also reflected that feeling of a time of our ancestors, now gone by. Then, of course, there was the full on pink tartan kilt ensemble that radiated dapper dandyism and strong Scottish ancestry (also very past McQueen). The details were fresh and totally impeccable. Words of poetry were scrawled across the crisp white collars of dress shirts and embroidered on black topcoats. Other adornments included bold and contrasting symmetrical lines that highlighted the pattern of dark garments. For example, the black mohair sweater with white lines forming into squares appeared very pleasing to this guy’s eyes. I especially loved the gold zippers placed along the pleating of black kilts and along the buttoned edge of cardigans. To complete the look, black bird feathers were wrapped in the hair of models reminded me of something out of an Edgar Allen Poe poem. Dark and romantic just like the history of McQueen now long gone. But perhaps it’s not gone; nor did it ever leave. Perhaps it’s just a continuation of Alexander McQueen’s infamous menswear collections. I like that idea. The beauty of McQueen never left, its still there, maybe not in person, but in spirit.

The Always Cunning Foxtail

     One of Fall 2013's fashion trends was fur. Not only fur, but fur in unexpected places and in unexpected ways. For example, Fendi's fur mohawks that models sported at the brand's Fall collection, or in a more wearable way, with Fendi's "Little Monsters" keychain and bag clips. These little decorated puff balls popped up all over Fendi advertisements on website like Style.com and Vogue.com. Always seeing these while trolling through inspirational and cutting-edge fashion shoes got me thinking about taking the "unexpected fur" trend into my own personal looks. I remembered back around three years ago, when I saw my favorite tv show character donning a foxtail clasped to one of his back belt loops. I thought it was very different; very edgy, fresh, and sly. Sly like a fox.

     From then on, these fuzzy accessories kept popping up on fashionistas and fashionistos of lookbook.nu. This truly inspired me and made me believe that this was a trend to behold. 

     So, until fairly recently, I ended up biting the bullet and buying one from, of all places, eBay. Hey, it was cheap, easy and just what I was looking for. Turns out it took more than two weeks and was a little smaller than expected but I still love it.  Might I add that the foxtail I ordered was faux fur, and no foxes were harmed.  I'm giddy with excitement to try and incorporate this fun foxtail into my closet to create more fun and edgy looks!

Photo Credits: Gleestyle.livejournal.com and lookbook.nu

Thom Browne Spring/Summer 2014 Ready-to-Wear Review

     Ghost-faced drag queen faces completed with bold red lipstick? See-through white latex fabric laced not as a corset in the back but more parallel to a pair of Converse All-Stars? Or matching white doctor’s gloves with wiry, circle-lensed glasses? Let's not forget the eerie hairnets and empty opened doctor's bag looking purses. I'm referencing Thom Browne's Spring/Summer womenswear collection, of course! This collection shocked, surprised, and made me fall in love with the nearly asylum like getups. Multiple different unconventional fabrics created each individual outfit. For example, weird flesh-colored latex over white lace printed dresses molded out of deformed hoop skirts. And that's just one example! I obsessed over the unusually stimulating latex collar and tie combo on each model for the first ten garbs. It reminded me of a strong military woman, if she was to go insane and her uniform was to suddenly take on the same state of being. Those looks were extremely structured in various rectangle and square shapes that made me reminisce ever so on Browne's fall womenswear collection. But that collection looked much more historically chic and less… uncomfortable or unusual than this one.  When the rigid format left in the eleventh ensemble, so did the overall constricting of the hair, the glasses, and any other left over forms of sanity. The architecture of the garments swayed every which way and the hair and makeup create a further sense of insanity. Bold red lipstick smeared over the powdered faces of the models. Their eyes glared wide and sullen, and their hair looked as though they had just electrocuted themselves! The almost “1940s military woman” looks changed into Elizabethan insanity. Near-macabre red and black became a part of the unique garments. Black filled the formerly pristine fabric like ink staining texture. Red popped up in the hairnets, which took on the idea of Parisian berets that let the model’s hair run wild. Much different than the constricting the hairnets were doing before. Interestingly, long strands of pearl necklaces wrapped around the model’s necks like nooses. The long and wiry pear necklaces sometimes wrapped off the shoulder and into hands, resembling dog leashes. In one incident, a crazed lady even had a rope of pearls tied in a way that somewhat resembled a dainty cat! The multiple eccentrics of this collection by Thom Browne were amazing and thought provoking. It opened my mind to a chilling insanity that nearly felt calm, if that isn’t too much of an oxymoron.

End of the Holiday Return!

I'm back! Sorry for the long hiatus! I was struck with writer's block and then the holidays rolled around and we all know how that goes... Anyway, I'm back with amazing fashion finds from new fashion show reviews to things that I've purchased since the last couple of posts. This includes the designer Thom Browne and his latest womenswear collection, along with all of the things I've bought so far with the many numerous gift cards I received from my amazing family!