Fashion Show

On Friday night, I attended my first fashion show -- ironically, it was a male fashion show! It was one of the events for San Francisco Fashion Tech Week. I had a delicious cucumber and basil gimlet and learned about new shirts, ties, and jeans for men (since those seem to be the mainstays of a male wardrobe).

Blue Suede Shoes

outfit     sweater: DKNY, shirt: Lilly Pulitzer, jeans: 7 for All Mankind, heels: J. Crew Everly suede pumps

Bow and Arrow

outfit     dress: Australian label from Sugarcube, shoes: Jimmy Choo, necklace: Little One purchased at Candystore Collective

Best Actress & Best Dressed: Jennifer Lawrence

My guess yesterday was right -- Jennifer Lawrence wore something amazing at the Oscars. (In keeping with the four stylish gowns I highlighted, she wore a pastel dress as well!) To top it all off, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Sideview of her Dior gown

I hope you enjoyed unwinding today and have a great start to next week!

Pastels at the Oscars

Since the Oscars are on Sunday, I thought it would be fun to post a submission to this project from IFB and highlight some looks from previous ceremonies. Here are two iconic gowns from the 90s as well as two gowns I loved from 2011. 

Uma Thurman, 1995 -- Some people refer to this as the gown that started it all. Uma Thurman was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Pulp Fiction. She arrived in a lilac Prada gown that turned the Oscars red carpet into a style carpet. Looking at it today, it perfectly exemplifies my memories of the 1990s formal wear; sadly, this Prada with matching satin purse and white strappy sandals looks like what every girl wore to prom. 

Uma says, "What? This old thing?"

Gwyneth Paltrow, 1998 -- This was the year Gwyneth Paltrow won Best Actress for her work in Shakespeare in Love. Again, my memories of the film are hazy, but who could forget the bubblegum pink Ralph Lauren confection she wore? It seems unfair to judge this gown from 2013, but I would change her hairstyle and refit the bust. Also, I can't help but notice the matching wrap that is nearly identical to Uma's (and every dress from the Jessica McClintock collection).

Do you remember these two gowns from the 1990s? If not, here they are on Wikipedia! Pink Ralph Lauren dress of Gwyneth Paltrow & Lavender Prada dress of Uma Thurman

I do think it's unfair to judge Uma's and Gwyneth's gowns considering they were the fashions of the time. Many, many actresses were there for the awards portion of the show and would have dressed "poorly" using today's red carpet standards. However, I do love a great pink/purple gown, and here are two beautiful ones from the 2011 ceremony -- no Wikipedia pages, so I title them Lavender Givenchy dress of Cate Blanchett and Lavender Elie Saab dress of Mila Kunis. Neither of them were nominated for an award, but Mila was in Black Swan, which was nominated for Best Picture. 

Cate Blanchett in Givenchy

Mila Kunis in Elie Saab

Looking at these images, not only has digital photography improved over the years, but there is also so much more work put into these gowns. I understand that couture can look simple, but these two are wearing ... couture couture. As for this upcoming ceremony, I read that Jennifer Lawrence is favored to win Best Actress for Silver Linings Playbook. I hope she wears something breathtaking! 

Dressed for Dinner

outfit     cover-up: Club Monaco, dress: Zac Posen, shoes: Lanvin

Last night, I had a wonderful dinner at Keiko, a restaurant in SF. For the occasion, I wore a dress from Cris, a neighborhood consignment store. On February 14th, my boyfriend and I made dinner at home, so this was our "Valentine's Dinner." I don't have much experience with Valentine's prix fixe meals, but here are 5 reasons to stay in from a professional foodie. I think it's harmless to go with the crowd for a fun occasion like Valentine's Day, but I also enjoyed taking our time at Keiko. What do you think?

What I think is a true faux pas is taking multiple flash photos in a dark, quiet dining room. While I loved how the courses were plated, I found flash photography to be very distracting. Here a blog poking fun at this phenomenon (though the photographers last night were not exclusively Asian).

The King's Speech

Since the Academy Awards are this Sunday, I thought it would be fun to write a post on 2010's Best Picture Winner -- The King's Speech. This movie stars Colin Firth, who has charmed me as Mr. Darcy in BBC's Pride and Prejudice (miniseries) and Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones's Diary. Funnily enough, he plays a similar character in The King's Speech: the quiet but admired Prince Albert, who has trouble with stuttering.

Helena Bonham Carter plays his wife Elizabeth, Duchess of York. Geoffrey Rush plays Lionel Logue, an unconventional speech therapist.















The costume design really brings you back to the 1920s and 1930s. For the men, exceptional British tailoring in blacks, grays, and browns. It is a film about responsibility and the men are always dressed seriously. Below, a scene from the film where Edward VIII signs the instruments of abdication.

This is great film that addresses themes such as personal fears, friendship, responsibility, technology, and history/war. Looking at the radio switchboard below, the viewer is reminded of the vast British Empire. On the subject of radio, Albert's father King George V has a wonderful monologue:

"This devilish device will change everything if you don't. In the past, all a king had to do was look respectable in uniform and not fall off his horse. Now we must invade people's homes and ingratiate ourselves with them. This family's been reduced to those lowest, basest of all creatures. We've become actors."

I love that quote and the history in this movie, but let's end on two bits of fashion.

Scene 1: Wallis Simpson. Cannot talk about the abdication without mentioning her. We're introduced to her as she commits a faux pas by casually greeting Albert and Elizabeth at a party. She looks so confident and modern; office workers could probably get away with wearing that black dress if they added a cardigan. Fashion watchers are fascinated by Wallis and her Mainbocher wardrobe, but I don't see her as any kind of hero or romantic. Clothes do hang well on her though!

Scene 2: Lionel Logue wants to speak with Albert, but is told the prince is busy. As the staffperson opens the door for him, we see that it is raining. In typical British fashion, he is prepared with a large, sturdy umbrella. I got a kick out of that!

Since the Academy Awards are this Sunday, I am looking forward to discussing the winners and the attendees' gowns next week! In the meantime, men can look similarly polished in this gray-checked suit by Burberry. Women can look timeless in a jersey LBD -- choose British (Stella McCartney) or French (Lanvin).