Fashion For Thought

From Haute Couture to Ready-to-Wear

by stephanielogarLeave a Comment on From Haute Couture to Ready-to-Wear

How the faces of fashion influence our everyday street style.

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Haute Couture (French for “high sewing” or “high dressmaking” or “high fashion”) is high-end fashion that is constructed by hand from start to finish, made from high-quality, expensive, often unusual fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finished by the most experienced and capable sewers – often using time-consuming, hand-executed techniques.

Some of the brands that are consider Haute Couture are: 

  • Armani Privé 
  • Chanel
  • Christian Dior 
  • Valentino
  • Maison Martin Margiela
  • Atelier Versace
  • Jean Paul Gaultier
  • Giambattista Valli

 A haute couture garment is always made for an individual client, tailored specifically for the wearer’s measurements and body stance. Considering the amount of time, money, and skill allotted to each completed piece, haute couture garments are also described as having no price tag: budget is not relevant.

Haute couture collections influence their prêt-à-porter collections which consist of mass-produced standard-sized and factory-made clothing . Prêt-à-porter collections, whether of haute couture or normal couture houses, then influence high-street fashion.

The trickle down theory is essential in this idea because it starts at the top and then eventually makes its way all the way down to street style clothes. Now this process does take time and the end results don’t always align with what you may have seen on the runway, but the intention is there. 

While Haute Couture is usually more unique than high-fashion designs, there are still some obvious similarities in where fast-fashion brands get their idea’s from. 

Next time you are watching a fashion show, pay close attention, you never know what might end up in a Zara campaign the following season!

-Stephanie 

Trends We Love

Trends We Love: Chokers

by stephanielogarLeave a Comment on Trends We Love: Chokers

Love it or hate it, the choker trend just keeps on growing!

During the fall of 2016 I was just entering my freshman year of college. Denim jackets and Stan Smith Adidas were all anyone seemed to be wearing. That was until the re-introduction of the classic 90s choker trend. Just like that this piece of jewelry became a must have in every women’s attire. It started out as a simple black strain of fabric that was worn tightly over the neck, one could easily buy this type of choker for less than $10! But like almost all fashion trends these days, the choker blew up almost overnight. 

As the necklace’s popularity continued to increase over the next year, more designers and fashion brands began creating their own unique version of the choker. People began experimenting with multi layered chokers, different materials, colors, and designs. Chokers were everywhere, from schools, to the street, to even the runway! But how did this trend first begin, and why did it make a comeback? 

Although everyone believes the idea of the choker was first invented in the 1990s, it was actually much earlier in time when we first got a glimpse of jewelry worn tightly around the neck. This trend goes back hundreds of years ago to 1798 during the French Revolution. Female French expatriates wore red ribbons around their necks as a way of paying tribute to those who had lost their lives to the guillotine. Since this time period different versions of a choker were sported by famous women in history including Queen Victoria and Alexandra, the Princess of Wales. 


However, it wasn’t until the 1990s when we started to see the chokers we love being worn as more of a street style look. During a time when grunge was all the rage, the black choker fit in perfectly. So now it has been two years since the initial hype of the choker, and yet it still seems to be in every store I visit and every celebrities’ neck. Many bloggers and designers would argue that the “black choker trend” is dead, however that does not mean all chokers are. 

In the more recent months I have seen a resurgence of the choker, but in a more delicate manor. It is more common now to see minimal, dainty layers of tiny chains around the neck than the original think black fabric we saw before. The question I can get off my brain is, will this trend ever fall out of style again? Every time I think we are finally moving past the choker trend, a new version of it seems to surface. After doing some research I found some insight from fashion designer Johanna Abitbol, founder of Johaab who said it best in her quote,

“I think the choker trend will never really end. If you think about the choker as we know it right now—it was born in the nineties, but pearl necklaces were worn by French courtesans until 1960. And what about Lady Diana? She wore tight necklaces throughout the ’80s. For me, what is new about chokers is that there’s so many for different occasions—we want it to be glamorous or casual, to be cool or sexy, and even to match our sportswear outfits. It’s no longer a “fancy” accessory.”

Whether you are on board with this trend or not, it seems pretty obvious that this simple piece of jewelry isn’t going away anytime soon so we should all clip on our chokers and join the ride!

-Stephanie

Fashion For Thought

Fashion in Paris: Taking It All In

by stephanielogarLeave a Comment on Fashion in Paris: Taking It All In

How does one handle living in the fashion capital of the world?

When you first think about Paris you think about a few things: the food, the Eiffel Tower, the people, and most importantly the clothes! Paris has always been heavily associated in the fashion world as being the initial trend-setter for all of the trends and designs that we see in media, fashion campaigns, and more. So how does one navigate living in a city that is so fashion-forward. 

Well, it is definitely not without difficulty. When I first arrived here I was very overwhelmed with just how much fashion played a role in most people’s everyday lives. Even when you are walking on the street you can easily tell you are no longer in America. People care much more about how they present themselves and how they want to be perceived based on their clothing choices. In a way it makes you start to think more about your fashion choices. 

Being surrounded by so much beauty all the time can, at times, be stressful, but once you get the hang of it, Paris is truly the best place to be, especially if you have a love for fashion. It is the perfect place to deepen your fashion interests if you have them. We are in the home of the Haute Couture fashion houses and museums of some of the top high-fashion brands in the world. I mean really, could it get any better? 

-Stephanie 

All Things Vintage

The World of Vintage: Finding Your Style

by stephanielogarLeave a Comment on The World of Vintage: Finding Your Style

Creating your own signature self in a media crazed society.

In today’s social climate it is really hard to stand out. With so many different social media platforms it seems like every kind of person you can be is already taken. I too struggled with figuring out who I am as a person for a long time. That is when I turned to fashion as a outlet to be the creative person that I am. I started to let me clothes do the talking instead of my words. 

I credit a lot of my now signature style to vintage shopping. Going into different stores that were completely different than the shops my friends were frequenting gave me the opportunity to be original and find pieces that I believed truly spoke to my personality. Because every experience at a vintage store is different, I never knew what I was going to find or where new inspiration would strike. 

I’ve developed a sort of retro-90s vibe currently with my style, which is perfect because consignment stores are filled with high-waisted Levi’s and funky t-shirts. I like to add my own personal twist to my clothes though. I like to distress my jeans or cut my shirts a specific way so that each piece of clothing has a part of me attached to it. I turn to blogs on tumblr to further my inspirations and keep photos of outfits I like on my phone at all times. 

I truly believe vintage stores have helped shape my personal style and that is why I want to share it with you guys. 

-Virginia

Fashion For Thought

The Era of Online Shopping

by stephanielogarLeave a Comment on The Era of Online Shopping

Put down your shopping bags and pick up your computers.

If you’re like me then you understand when I say sometimes shopping is a struggle. There is a whole extra effort added having to go into a store, look through different racks to find just one thing you like, and then you have to wait to try it on, and when it doesn’t fit right or costs too much you just wasted your whole day. But then you figured out how simple, easy, and fun online shopping is and you realize you potentially never have to step foot into an actual store again? If you could relate to any of these truths than you probably are similar to me, and if thats the case then you also probably like to online shop. 

When I was in high school and I discovered the wonderful world of online shopping, I never looked back. I was fascinated with how much easier it was for me to go onto the sites of stores I liked the best and picked out my outfits all without having to get out of bed. What is even cooler about online shopping is you can filter the price range, sizes, colors, etc. to minimize the amount of time you are spending, therefore giving yourself more time for work, school, family, friends, etc. And to top everything off you can get better deals or find discounts online that you couldn’t in stores! 

But this is why online shopping is a problem. Well not for me and not for you particularly, but for retail stores everywhere. The introduction of online department stores such as Revolve and Shopbop have completely altered everything we know about shopping. Now we have access to all the brands we love all in one place, so you only need to open one tab! The best part about these sites is how quickly your clothes get sent to you and how much easier the return process is than it’s ever been before. But that is the problem with this new online culture. 

The simplicity of online shopping has drastically shifted the sales in retail stores on a global scale. As of 2017, Fung Global Retail & Technology experts that nearly 10,000 stores in America to close this year and there will be more to come in the following year. So bearing all this information in mind, does that mean we should stop online shopping? I’m interested to see what comes out in 2019 regarding this ongoing debate. 

-Virginia