Changing it UP!

As I've studied and worshipped fashion in the last ten years, my taste and desires have changed. Before, this was for my fledgling and now resting business, Kelly Qiana Designs.  While I am still occasionally making jewelry, it's much more fun to make it for myself (for now).
 I have decided that I'm much more inclined to be a buyer, and a stylist. So I'm going to peruse the great shopping deals online, find the hottest products and bring them here for you to browse.
 First on the agenda: SWIMSUITS
 In Love With Fashion,
 Kelly Q.

Kelly Qiana Designs 2013-2014 Holiday Collection....So Far!

Kelly Qiana Designs Update

This has been a crazy fall season for me, and I've just gotten around to update my Storenvy site. I decided to close my Etsy store, as I feel it's too saturated for fledgling designers like myself. And I love Storenvy, I feel like they have much more to offer their customers and sellers. 
Here are the latest creations in case you missed them! You can find all the rest at: http://www.kellyqianadesigns.storenvy.com
Through the month of November, use coupon code: FALLLOVE10 for 10% off your purchase! 
Also, like our Facebook page (facebook.com/dressbyattitude) for even more savings! 
As always, you can tweet me @dressbyattitude
Thank you! 

 

Guess: Fall/Winter Coats I love

Belted Asymmetrical Coat, $198

Santa Ana Coat by Guess, $198 Guess.com

Ashli Puffer Jacket, Amazon.com

Classic Trenchcoat

As my fans know, I am a HUGE Guess Geek; alas, I haven't been able to accumulate much of their goods, but I can tell you the best of the lot. 
Guess winter coats are extremely warm without making you look huge, while their trench coats are timeless. I love the largely black-and-white color palette, which happens to be my personal color palette!
These are the winter coats I've drooled over, and YOU, my faithful reader, should go purchase one so you can stay all snuggly warm AND be fashionable! 


Kelly

Some Vintage Halloween Love

Halloween has evolved from a "pagan festival" where people dressed in costume so they would be overlooked by the dead spirits that managed to sneak into the human world, around this time of year when the veil between the two worlds was the thinnest. For many decades now, it has been about finding a great costume; being whatever you wanted to be for one day. Unfortunately, many women seem to think it's a day to let their inner slut flag fly, but let's not go there. 
My inner vintage lover always wants to know what any aspect of fashion was like many moons ago; today I was thinking about vintage Halloween- what were some costumes people used back in the day? 
 Even before starting this post, I came across a similar one about creepy vintage Halloween costumes. Let me tell you- many, many scary ass photos to be found on Pinterest. Many WTFs?? 
 I did my own search, and decided to pull the best 3- these are the ones I thought were quite imaginative. I LOVE the butterfly in the middle- how ingenious!! All it would take is some unfolded clothes hangers to get those wings to stand up on their own!

This is what vintage Halloween looked like once upon a time....

Material Monday: Cashmere

So I'm playing with another idea for this day of the week; I would like to spend the post talking about a particular fabric, since I could use brush-up on natural and the human-made materials. 
 This week the focus is on cashmere, although I will say that I don't own a single cashmere item. Hmm...
 I started thinking about cashmere when I was folding some sweaters at work; it's such a soft, fuzzy-but-strong feeling material.  
 It turns out that it comes from cashmere goats (surprise!), which produce a double fleece; the undercoat is fine and soft, but its mixed in with the "guard hair", which is thicker and stiffer. It needs to be mechanically separated by special machinery, before it can be dyed. "Pure cashmere" is the fleece that has been separated, but also cleaned of all animal byproducts. Yum!  
 The U.S. Wool Products Labeling Act of 1939 (I am not kidding you) declared that in order for something to be labeled as cashmere, it had to meet these guidelines:

• such wool product is the fine (dehaired) undercoat fibers produced by a cashmere goat (Capra hircus laniger);
• the average diameter of the fiber of such wool product does not exceed 19 microns; and
• such wool product does not contain more than 3 percent (by weight) of cashmere fibers with average diameters that exceed 30 microns.
• The average fiber diameter may be subject to a coefficient of variation around the mean that shall not exceed 24 percent.^[1]     

^{Crazy, right? 
Cashmere shawls have been made in Nepal and Cashmir for thousands of years, Western civilization jumped on this excellent insulator late in the game. India, by the way, is the largest producer of cashmere. 
There's your Material Monday lesson, my fashion bambinos. Thanks for tuning in!! 
K.Q.}  

Media Monday: Tumblr Timeline

It's Media Monday again, and this time I've pulled images off of my Tumblr timeline, the ones that caught my eye and that I've mooned over. 


 I had to put in a great op-ed with the great Donatella Versace. I'm about halfway through The House of Versace which premiered on Lifetime this past Saturday. Don't worry, you'll get my write-up about that soon! 

  I thought the Rodarte show was beautifully crafted, a bit spooky and appropriately Halloween-ish. I also love seeing goth coming down the runways, mixed in a with a little shock element. 
 Lastly, I am a huge Nick Knight fan, he's an amazing photographer and artist. He's great at conveying emotion and vivid, lasting imagery. 

Platform Power: A History of the Heel

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"...the human foot, a masterpiece of engineering

and a work of art!"

-Leonardo da Vinci

 One of the most powerful-some would argue the most powerful-parts of a woman's wardrobe is a fitting pair of heels. And by 'fitting' I mean the heel is the right heel in color, size, shape, and purpose. Purpose, especially, is very important: Are you wearing wedges simply for a little added height? Are you trying to captivate an audience with a six-inch stiletto? Are you the boss lady sporting a pair of black pumps? There are many different kinds of heels out there from kitten heel to the platform stiletto, which recently took over the feet of the models in the Fall/Winter runway shows. A beautiful outfit gets a tremendous power boost with a pair of heels, and the wearer also gets a boost: Heels make you stand differently-your breasts jut out, along with your bottom, hips get thrown around, and your body takes on a sultry, ready-to-mate stance that drives guys crazy.

But where did the idea of heels first come from? How long have they been around? Don't you people ever think about this stuff??

Let's start with the definition of 'heel'. Dictionary.com defines 'heel' as: (noun) a solid, raised base or support of leather, wood, rubber, etc. attached to the sole of a shoe or boot under the back part of the foot. Merriam-Webster defines it as: "solid attachment of a shoe or boot forming the back of the sole under the heel of the foot." 

  Before 'heel', however, had to come 'shoe', right? One of the earliest ancient peoples to develop a variety of footwear was the Chinese. Woven and stitched straw shoes date as far back as 5000 b.c.e. Tanned leather footwear with elaborate stitching dates back to around 2000 b.c.e. China has a variety of climates, so straw sandals were more in keeping with the warmer climate regions, while thick leather shoes and knee high boots were used in the colder mountainous parts. Another culture of skilled shoemakers was the ancient Egyptians; their murals and tombs started depicting sandals around 1500 b.c.e. While footwear was largely unnecessary due to the warm climate, when they did appear, the sandals were woven of either reeds or leather pieces (the latter more for the wealthy). If the sandals were held on with straps, the straps were wrapped around the calf in the shape of the "ankh", the symbol of life.

Eventually, all soles were no longer created equal, and platforms and heels were introduced. 

  Ancient Romans wore platform peep toe sandals or "cothurns" to lift their feet out of the mud and garbage in the streets. These high platforms had either wood or cork soles. Different heel heights represented different social standing. Either high class or butcher-wore platform shoes to walk all over the "offal"

Heels have been worn by both sexes over the centuries; one of the earliest recorded instances of men and women wearing an elevated shoe comes from Hellenic times. Two thousand years ago on the Greek stage male actors wore heels for a more commanding presence on stage. Ancient Chinese, Turkish, Japanese cultures made use of heels for both sexes. In Asia heels were mostly reserved for the upper class, courts and concubines.

Heels were proven useful for riding horses, as they kept the rider's feet in the stirrups. Mongolian horsemen took advantage of this, while the Knights of Richard the Lionhearted simply wore "sollerets", or downward curved pointed shoes.

In the mid-1500's heels, the "Chopin" platform shoe became popular. The height of which was between 6-16", even sometimes 30", involved the use of walking sticks and help from servants. 

  Another patron of the heel was Catherine de Medici, some might call her the mother of the high heel. The de Medici family was extremely powerful and ruled over Florence while creating powerful unions through marriages all around Europe. At 14 years old, Catherine was set to wed the Duke of Orleans, who was to become the next King of France. Catherine would be their Queen, and she was extremely intimidated by the French court. She sought out a friend, (who also happened to be a cobbler) and confided her worries to him. His solution? He took out the clunky wooden soles from her shoes and replaced them with padded four inch heels. With added inches and a new swagger, Catherine dazzled the courts and the love of heels flourished.

  It wasn't just height-challenged Queens that sought out the advantage of false height; in 1660 shoemaker Nicholas Lestage designed high heeled shoes for Louis XIV. Some of the heels were higher than four inches, and most depicted battle scenes. They shoes went on to be nicknamed "Louis heels" or "pompadour heels".

  After the Renaissance (post 17^th century) heels spread down to the lower levels of society and heels were no longer worn just by the wealthy. 

  However, in France during the French Revolution, heels were associated with opulence, a look people were trying to avoid at the time. Heels were mostly eliminated from the market.

Post World War II, Rosie the Riveter turned feminine, when baby making was on everyone's minds. Also at this time, a few changes in the design of the heel helped spur its popularity. For instance, a steel core replaced the breakable wood heel, making new heights imaginable.

   And along came the Queen of height: the stiletto. Beautiful dagger! There is an unfounded theory that Leonardo da Vinci was the very first designer of the killer heel. I wouldn't have trouble believing that, seeing as the guy thought of the helicopter. A key contributor was Roger Vivier, a French designer credited with the aforementioned steel-inside-wood model. In 1954, Vivier presented the stiletto to the house of Dior.

Heels have captivated both men and women since their arrival. Women lust after them and men lust after the women inside of them. There are many different kinds of heels such as the flat heel, low heel, chunky heel, kitten heel, stiletto heel, cone heel, spool heel, and the wedge. Take your pick! Or as June Swann, shoe historian, puts it: "it's like the circus. You can learn to walk on anything if you put your mind to it."

Media Monday: Instagram Timeline

Every Monday I decided I would share the lovely fashion that is all over my IG timeline. Especially since Paris Fashion Week just wound down, and there were so many beautiful looks that came down the runway! 

Here are the pics I'm drooling over....love the Balmain S/S '14 looks!

 

Designer Deets: Adolpho Sanchez (As digitally printed by Imunique Magazine)

Adolfo Sanchez: A Wonderment of Unique and Empowering Designs

“A truly amazing designer is someone who lets their imagination run free, but still understands that the garments are to be beautiful, artistic, and wearable,”

-A. Sanchez

   Adolfo was born in Los Angeles, but grew up in Orange County, south of Los Angeles. His parents were hard-working immigrants from Mexico, and his father instilled in him the value of never giving up on your dreams. Young Adolfo never did.

      Interested in clothing and fashion from a young age, the Adolfo aligned himself with like-wise minded fashionistos. These older companions introduced to him what was ‘hot’, and what the biggest fashion houses were all about. His earliest favorite designers were Thierry Mugler and Vivienne Westwood. As a teenager, he frequented the club scene in Los Angeles and reveled in the daring, extreme fashion he saw under the dancing lights.

       His career in fashion began as a salesman at a Versace boutique in Los Angeles and he quickly became the top seller by the tender age of 18.

“While I was working there, I really started to analyze the garments; looking at them inside out to understand construction…I learned about pricing, fabric and details-all factors that lead me to understand design.”

  Word quickly spread within the industry about this young, super-ambitious employee.  He left Versace before his 21^st birthday and headed to Las Vegas to work for Carolina Herrera. It was while in Vegas that he designed his very first dress, to be used in a photo shoot that was organized by a friend.

His patience and passion for the industry fueled him along and his first ready-to-wear collection was launched in 2006. He hasn’t looked back since, and continues to be innovative and original. His favorite designers are Jean Paul Gaultier, Thierry Mugler and Alexander McQueen.

When he is asked about his signature style, he replies with ‘simple, modern, and sexy designs with an edge’.  Indeed, most pieces are form fitting, chic, and often daring. His Latin heritage has played a large part of his designs; when recently interviewed he commented on how Latin women are curvy and proud of it; they want their clothes tighter, body hugging. Sanchez is a self-confessed romantic, and he incorporates much romance and sexiness into his pieces. One of his sexiest pieces for his Autumn/Winter 2010 collection, which used a lot of different prints, is a gorgeous black herringbone ribbed and ruffled dress.

  His 2011 collection was one in which he was exploring a darker kind of sexy, with a Victorian Goth motif. His most famous piece from that collection is the Esti-Rosa

Chiffon evening gown with chiffon rosette detail.

  “A Rose in the Jungle” was his theme for 2012, using elements of exotic snakeskin, floral prints, fitted silk, and croc-embossed leather.

   The 2013 collection continued this wide range of beauty and color; pieces go from playful tank tops, sleek white dresses, to cream and rose colored dresses. There are also black tops paired with vibrant red bottoms.  The winner of the collection, hands down, is the amazing and daring Qusi gown, with flower detail on one shoulder, mesh throughout the middle with black accents. It blooms out just above the knees with layers of black tulle and it is a knockout.

    On his website, www.adolfosanchezdesigns.com, he’s opened a new custom-order section called Bespoke, where the customer can visit the studio, and work with his designers to bring their own design to life.

   In February Sanchez was showcased at the Nolcha Fashion Week in NYC and of course was part of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week also in NYC. At the Mercedes-Benz show, he showcased a new addition to his label, outerwear made out of Loro Piana cashmere with fur accents.

   His designs have been sought after by a number of celebrities, including Ke$ha (she wore his dress on the Oct/Nov issue of Vibe), Fergie, and True Blood’s Janina Gavankar.

    Adolfo Sanchez has flown up the designer and high fashion ladder to success, and continues to stun with elegant, chic yet daring designs that will take your breath away. His passion for the industry is undeniable, and his intuition for what makes a woman feel beautiful is displayed in every single piece.

Kell On Earth, a review

Yesterday I was perusing the reality show selection on Netflix, and came across Kell on Earth, the fashion world insider featuring the hard-working Kelly Cutrone. She is an upstate NY native, and went to Syracuse U., I have loved her since she wrote the epic, If You Have To Cry, Go Outside.
 In Season 1, E. 1 of Kell on Earth, Kelly immediately lets the viewer understand that she doesn't take any prisoners, she does not fuck around. 
 The first episode starts at the beginning of fashion week, which is the most stressful time and also when Kelly's backbone gets shit moving, and mistakes are quickly handled.
 However, you also get a sense of her realism, how she says what needs to be said, yet is a caring person who fiercely guards her tribe.
 Her aforementioned book first introduced me to the concept of having and developing a strong tribe. Your tribe has different circles of increasing circumference, with the smallest circle made up of those that are closest to you in your life- family, best friend. "If you want to be successful, surround yourself with successful people." Same concept- your tribe needs to have strong, specialized members that will give you the support you need in the different sectors of your life.
  A good many of the fashion industry's secrets have been aired over the last decade, especially with the help of movies like The Devil Wears Prada, and the Project Runway franchise. Here's another peek, at the less-than-glamorous PR side of the industry.
  The members of People's Revolution mostly look exhausted and malnourished. But I get it, they work their bony asses off and live off of diet soda and Adderall.
 I cannot imagine working in that chaotic, cutthroat environment, as much as I would love to be more deeply involved in the industry. 
  One amazing way that Kelly has organized her work life to work with her family life is to have both encompassed in the same building. A giant building in NY houses several floors for People's Rev., while her apartment is on a floor nestled in between. Quite brilliant, plus saves on subway fare. 
  I only got through a bit of S1, E.2 before the fiance started objecting, so I will have to pick it up when he goes to work. I love watching Kelly at work, and I chuckle over the daggers she has to occasionally throw. She's an amazing, intelligent, down-to-earth woman and one of the most important cogs in the fashion industry wheels.

Interview with Kathy Wilson!

I was recently lucky to secure an interview with the very busy Kathy Wilson, who launched her first line in 2009. She currently lives in Brooklyn, and handles the business side of things from NYC. She specializes in bespoke clothing, which is another term for custom-made-to-order.

Me:  Kathy, I am very excited about catching up with you, your designs have captured something quite unique and they display the quality and skill that fills me with confidence and appreciation for your craft. So tell me a bit about your work?

 Kathy: "My atelier launched after I designed a jacket for Stevie Wonder that he wore to the President Obama's first White House Correspondents' Dinner. I am a menswear and womenswear designer who started on red carpet pieces for celebrities under Richard Tyler Couture.  I love doing gowns and suits but after researching where the market was moving, I decided to launch a contemporary line during my participation in a reality show called "All On The Line with Joe Zee" for Sundance Channel."

 Me: I always love hearing about a designer's sacred space of creativity- would you tell us about your atelier, what is the space you work in like?

 Kathy: "I design out of my home studio in Brooklyn. I sketch and drape on my dress forms here.  Then I get my samples done and take sales appointments out of my showroom in New York's garment district."

 Me: What made you want to make your designs bespoke?

 Kathy: "My introduction to bespoke clothing came from my first job at Richard Tyler.  It was where I learned how to measure and make beautiful clothes inside and out."

 Me: Beautifully said, I am really passionate about helping people become more confident and savvy dressers, I believe bespoke is something people are beginning to appreciate more an more. In terms of your work what are the most pressing challenges you face in this current time?

Kathy: "I find that Americans are all about sales.  Black Friday and getting a great deal has programmed people to only buy things on discount.  It turns people in hoarders instead of people that love things that they can hold onto and resell later on."

Me: Yes! That is the reality, it seems a transformation of peoples thinking is what is needed, one genuine item at a time. The thing I find the biggest difference with bespoke as opposed to mass produced, is the relationship. The recession probably didn't help this attitude. Suddenly you have a relationship with the person making your garment, I am curious, how do you personally work with your clients?
Kathy : "I generally have clients that see my work and then make request for a suit or a dress.  Then I ask them what their budget is because I want to make sure I go under budget.  I proceed by asking them what they like and don't like about their body.  I ask about fabrics, colors, cuts, and then I take their measurements.  I create three sketches and then they get to pick which one they want to make.  Sometimes, they make all of them."

Me:  Who would you really like to dress in your designs?

  Kathy: "My dream client is Angelina Jolie because she is a beautiful person on the inside as well as on the outside.  That’s my ideal client in general.  I want to dress people that make a difference in the world in a positive way."

Catch Up with Lady Jane Shipley

I'm baaaaack!!!!! 
 
Lady Jane Shipley has been up to quite a bit since you last heard from me. Hmmm, Where do start? I now have  my own website set up to your enjoyment. It has multiple pages for my different interests. One page is the fashion/style page appropriately called "What's Hot". 
 The next is a journal/update blog about the new things I'm doing so you can see them as is do them called "What's Up". 
There is a Gallery tab to check out the bulk of my work in one place. That should make things easier for you.

  I've  also added a "Mod Me" page that is slowly getting going about different things and people in the Body Modification community. So if you're a professional in the industry or know someone who would be interested in being featured, contact me!

I've been making signature tanks as a new item sold through my site. I also have a limited amount of 8g stone plugs (jewelry for stretched piercings) in three different stones. Another place to look for my creations is ulekstore.com. I entered a design contest to design plugs on their website. I won first place!!!! My design was a simple lotus with om symbol on it. Simple and beautiful. ULEK Store also bought one of my other designs for iPhone cases. The design is one of my favorites, a modified Buddha panda. 
 




Purses are one of my new infatuations. I just painted a Wonder Woman one that I immediately fell in love with. There are so many things in the works and I am constantly growing and evolving so don't miss one minute of it. 

Find me at my new website http://creationsofjane.weebly.com or you can go to my fb at facebook.com/CreationsOfJane 
☆Much Love☆

Independent Fashion Site Review: 9th & Elm

  I recently stumbled upon a gem of an indie designer website, www.9thandelm.com. Here’s a website that brings up-and-coming talented designers center stage, flash sale style a la Gilt or Hautelook.  9^th & Elm’s slogan, displayed across the top of the site, is right on: “Handmade, Independent, or Otherwise Cool”.

   It was started spring of 2013 by serial entrepreneurs, Clay and Elly Bethune, who had a mission to build a selling platform for the best independent designers of the creative and handmade. 
   I love the clean, simple navigation of 9^th & Elm’s website. They ask for you to join (which is free) and then they offer an awesome referral program- for every person who makes a purchase due to your referral, you receive $25 towards shopping the site’s goods.  I know plenty of people who would love to peruse and purchase most of what 9^th & Elm has to offer.

  9^th & Elm’s color palette of grey, white and pink makes the site easy to navigate, and each designer is allotted one page, so you get only the best products from each one.  The sales start with 10 days of allotted buying time, and the time left for the flash site pops up when you hover over a designer’s square.

  The thing I most love about this site is the support & love for original, independent designers. If you do a little research, you’ll discover that a lot of the designers have Etsy shops, and they’ve curated their handmade collections to put the best of it up on 9^th and Elm.

It’s a beautiful meld of indie designer, creativity, and the entrepreneurial spirit!

Check it out:

http://www.9thandelm.com

Model Help: Miss Marie

  There was an impromptu photo shoot yesterday, to showcase the latest items from Kelly Qiana Designs. One of my beautiful friends, Miss Marie, volunteered her face to be our first model. Her monochromatic outfit was perfect to let the jewelry show off their POP! of color. 
Miss Marie is an aspiring model/actress, and can be reached here. 
The jewelry she is wearing is available in my Etsy store, which is here. 

Simon Porte and his Fashion Pool Party!

While perusing the latest issue of Elle, I came across a blurb about a French designer, Simon Porte. He apparently turned heads showing off his Fall '13 line by not only having a very French collection, but by hosting it at a public pool in Bastille.
 
Isn't that wild? I love it- it's so daring and different! Obviously Porte's show had a very nautical theme, and a very French color palette- white, red, blue. Of course there was also plenty of navy and white pinstripes.

Simon Porte doesn't follow anyone else's rules- he dropped out of the prestigious French design school ESMOD (École Supérieure des Arts et techniques de la Mode) after only 2 months, to persue his own line. His mother had just passed away, so in honor of her, he named his line, Jacquemus

His determination and hard work is paying off, as his line is sold in 25 international stores. 

And I'm sure the models were loving the flipflops! Stilettos are definitely not the footwear to be coupled with pool tile.

Celebrity Fashion Guess Who #1

CONTEST ALERT!!

 I will give you several clues about a celebrity, a mix of personal & fashion facts, and you have to figure out who I'm talking about!
The winner will be interviewed about their fashion sense, given a guest post  on Dress By Attitude, and promoted across all the major social media platforms! Here's your chance for free publicity for yourself, your blog, your business! 
You can leave your answers either here, or on my twitter @dressbyattitude . Let's see how well you know celebrity fashion!

Here's my first set of clues: 

a) This celebrity did a voice over for a kids movie about penguins 

b) Her style sense has been radical since day 1; she once wore a dominatrix-like ensemble, complete with a belly baring half shirt and a collar to a M.A.C. Viva Glam Party in her early days

c) she loves black heeled boots! 

d) she recently opened a pop-up shop in a certain Down Under city, where she's currently touring. 

WHO AM I??

Let's Talk Yeezus

Can we talk Kanye for a minute?

People either love him in all of his arrogance, or they can't stand him (for a large part due to that character trait.) Me personally? I was disgusted with him for the whole Taylor Swift thing, but I have jammed out to a bunch of his tracks.
He proclaims to be a magical fashion designer, but is he really?
Here's a pic from his 2011 collection. I can't help but think of aliens with the outfit on the left. The dress on the right looks like a sloppy tennis dress. The shoes she's wearing looks like the heels he designed, like these: 

Those are horrid. I firmly believe that heavy use of fabric should not ever be used in sandals with open toes. NO.
However, West did design another pair of Guiseppe Zanottis, which are gorgeous and make me think of that mythical creature Hermes with the wings on his feet:

 









Now, let's fastforward to his 2012 collection. 

Ah yes, the infamous bandage dress. It's a little sloppy, a bit risque, and I like it. Good luck on finding undergarments that work with it!
For the outfit on the right, I really like the silver pants, they're just my kind of daring brightness. There isn't too much of a top, and it looks perhaps like the material might be scratchy. But the overall look has Kanye West attitude all over it. 

Recently, West collaborated with French company, APC. His input resulted in about 9 pieces, and nothing too fancy or even remarkable. T-shirts, jeans, and hoodies.
The hoodies range around $250, while the jeans go for $265ish. 
Ah, how expensive a name can get!!