look book series #3: the 70's trend.

Dear reader,
some people claim style is more important than fashion trends, some others, like Anna dello Russo think fashion trends beat style, i think one should always try to find a balance, style is all about personality, and fashion is about change, freshness; My theory is that the way that you dress reflects the person you are, or want to be, and i think that changing things in your personality is healthy, as long as you keep some other things so that your soul doesn't get lost in the process of change, and i think the same can be applied in the way we dress, we can follow fashion trends, as long as we keep some style characteristics that people will still recognize as yours.
None the less i do think that there are some trends that should not be followed, as fresh as they may seem, the Chanel sweaters with moth holes will always be for me one of those trends, and then there are trends that i encourage people to follow, the 70's trend being one of those, chic, polished, fun, mysterious, fashionable, but also healthy style-wise, the 70's trend is one that you will not want to ignore during 2015.

necklace and bracelet both by Chloé, belt by Hermes, high heels by Gucci, and purse by Barbara Bui.

Jane Birkin, YSL fringe cape, wide leg jeans by Genetic los Angeles, and button-down by Valentino.

pumps by Massimo Dutti, Constance bag and silk scarf both by Hermes, and wide brim hat by Sunday Afternoons.

Caroline de Maigret, gold tassel earrings by Gucci, flare pants by Altuzarra, blazer by Band of Outsiders and button-down by Comme des Garçons.

i leave you with two looks, one that was though of to go to work and one that is a little more informal...

How to create an icon...

Dear reader,
when you think of the fashion industry, if you think hard enough, or at least read about real fashion, you can clearly see some spectrums that represent the word "fashion". these spectrums, or icons as i call them, say the Chanel nº5 bottle, or the Manolo stilettos, or the Valentino red dress, are pieces that have become ambassadors from the past and to the future that tell us what true elegance is about; but how were the icons of fashion created? some because of chances, some where products of heavily successful marketing campaigns like "a diamond is forever", others cannot be explained, but with certainty you can say that creating these icons is a thing that happens sometimes only once for a fashion house, or at least once a century....

well, not quite, for Hermes; An almost two-centenarian fashion house that started out as a workshop that made horse harnesses and saddles. Thierry Hermes ,the founder, catered for the european high class and aristocracy and developed a business that was based around qualitative products. by the year 1900 his son Charles-Émile had created HAC (haut á courroies) a bag for horse riders to carry their things in, by 1922 the first leather handbag was created and by the 1930's the house had reached america. but this Parisian house is not known anymore for their saddles, rather the three icons of fashion they created: the Constance bag, the Kelly bag, and the legendary Birkin.

When you have created not one, not two, but three different icons, in the same field, during the same century, under the same family then you know you are doing something right, that there is something special in your genes or that you are somehow... blessed? and certainly under any of the options stated above we would want to understand why this happened, and how to get this luck, perhaps one day you or me could end up creating our own icon, so lets get to it, lets examine the Birkin, The Kelly and the constance and come up with the formula to creating an icon.

first lets go for the Constance. although it is not the most famous of the three, the constance, a smaller kind of bag, has not lacked public for the 40 years or so that it has been on the market. Created by Catherine Chaillet in 1969, and named after her fifth child, the Constance is made of beautiful leathers, with a geometric form, round edges and toped with the iconic "H" (for Hermes) closure and a shoulder strap. it has been worn by socialites, movie stars, hundreds of fashion bloggers, and not to forget Jackie Onassis (or kennedy, as you will). it's making takes up to 14 hours, by a single worker, and i'd say it is worth it because as Christopher Bartley said "Constance, the girl, grew up to become a celebrated journalist and literary critic. Constance, the bag, has similarly aged well, losing not an ounce of its grace, chic, or contemporary function."

Jackie O. and the Constance.

the kelly was created during the 1930's by Robert Dumas, as the "Sac á dépêches", the Kelly bag had a revolutionary design, that caught the heart of a costume designer from Hitchcock's movie "to catch a thief" where grace kelly (later princess of Monaco) starred. The princess ,to be, fell in love with the french purse and after her marriage to Rainier the second she used it to hide her baby bump from the paparazzi. the luxurious leather bag (she used a black one) was from then on popularly called the kelly, and officially renamed in the 70's. the kelly is made in all kinds of sizes, colours, exotic leathers, and can be made with hardware materials as platinum, gold and so on. fun fact: a version of the kelly sports hands, feet and eyes (the kelly doll). 

Princess Grace Kelly and her black kelly bag.

But it is the Birkin the one that should interest us, as it has the most fun story and is widely recognized as the most famous purse in history (and the most expensive). it all starts in a plane and a disorganized Jane Birkin, a british singer sits in her first class seat, it is the year 1981 and scrunchies are all in. suddenly the contents in the bag of the star get scattered all over the floor, and she reaches down to pick them up with the help of a mysterious kind man next to her. the rest of the story is mostly myths, but some people say the conversation between the man (Jean-Louis Dumas) and Jane went a little like this: 
-you need a purse with pockets
-yeah, ill get one of those when Hermes makes them...
and guess what, he was the chief executive of Hermes and in 1984 the Birkin was created inspired in the HAC and Jane's awkward situation... it was an icon ever since, and a favorite not just for Jane Birkin that has had 4 from then, but for people like Victoria Beckham (who is said to have over a hundred), Mark Jacobs, Pharrell Williams, and the entire upper east side. 

the Birkin.

So... what do these icons have in common? can we draw a guide to Iconize something? Not really, and thats the magic of fashion; sure there are similarities, they were all popularized by stars, and they all have interesting stories, but most importantly it was the "savoir faire" the quality that characterized Hermes from the beginning, and their craving to innovate that created these icons, and the truth is that the most i think of it the most i believe that these icons were so before even known by  all these stars or socialites... so in the end, we'll never know how hermes does the magic, but i'm guessing passion, design, quality, qualified workers, lots of hours, exotic leathers, and luxurious hardware. (yes, i'm not including the stars)

Thierry Hermes, founder. 

#Je suis Charlie Hebdo

Dear reader,
I am very sorry to write to you in this post about something that isn't fashion and will certainly make you feel unpleasant and sad, I was planning on writing about Hermes, but, as an aspiring journalist, and a person that carries France in his heart,  I feel the moral duty to express my disgust to the event that happened in Paris, a terrorist attack that planned to produce fear and to shut our mouths up.

Charlie Hebdo, a local newspaper where revered cartoonists post their humorist and often satirical art and articles; which had been already attacked before cause of their controversial cartoons about Islam and the jihad; was ambushed on Wednesday the 7th by terrorists who carried AK47's; they killed 12 people (among which were the editor of the newspaper) and managed to fight the police and to scape in a car. the police has since released the name of 3 suspects, and François Hollande (the president of the french republic) has made a declaration, from which a phase stood out "freedom is always bigger than barbarism".

This barbaric people who waged automatic weapons upon unarmed men and women from the newspaper charlie Hebdo, where some of the most revered caricaturists in France work, should upon all understand that their plan has not been successful, that the death of the 12 people will not go down  unnoticed, It won't cause people to fear freedom of speech, but rather will make us stronger, and will make us jealously and angrily protect our human rights.

Yet I would like you to remember that these people should not fool us, they are trying to make us believe they are fighting for good and religion, they are fighting against disrespectf, but I say it is a lie, they do not represent good, nor God, nor the islamic people, and should be remembered as terrorist, criminals, not as "muslim terrorist"  or "muslim criminals" because there are thousands of righteous muslims out there that are as disgusted as you and me, and that are sad because of the disrespect towards human rights and the murders of today's event. I say that this day should not be a day for us to become xenophobic, but rather to stand together as humans against evil.

today and forever i'll be freedom of speech, i'll be human rights, je serai Charlie Hebdo.

"All who draw the sword will die by the sword."

"blessed are the peacemakers for they are the children of god"

-jesus christ

today i am a cartoonist, today i am a journalist, today i draw for Charlie Hebdo

-take out your pencils 

-hmmm, isn't that dangerous sir? 

i am charlie 

in case you want to know a little more about this tragedy:

nytimes article

2014 the year of fashion

2014, the year of fashion!

Dear reader, There are always some things that one remembers the most about certain years, 2013 will always be for me the year I met paris and new york, or when humanity saw the scandalous change of miley cyrus, 2012 was the year I witnessed winter for the first time, and if I hadn’t started my blog on 2014 then I would simply be the year I learned what a real party is about, but I did start my blog, so forever in my mind I will remember 2014 as the year of fashion, and I wanted to record it in my almost new born blog.

but why would i remember 2014 as the year of fashion? why not the year of… blog? well, i won’t remember this year as the year of fashion only for my blog, there are so many other things, big or small,that happened this year in the industry, and it is these things that make it the year of fashion, so as a thank you to the fashion industry for giving me such a great year i will name a few of the things related to fashion that happened this year:

as you might, or might not have seen, earlier this year i mentioned louis vuitton as the brand of the future, but, as i am not fortune teller i can’t say that louis vuitton will continue succeeding, yet i can tell you that louis vuitton made a huge difference in the industry this year, and to me it is the brand of the year.

is louis vuitton the future of fashion

Gucci, on the other hand, has never been one of my favourite brands, it might be because it is a brand subject to heavy faking back here in colombia, and let me tell you the people that wear fake gucci don’t have my favourite kind of style, but there is something about the last 3 collections that have made me fall in love with the style they’re marketing, its about the 70’s and boho-chic, heavy furs, long boots and the beautiful suede, it’s like they’re dressing the old charlie’s angels, just in a fashionable and elegant way. and the credit for making me like gucci should be to Frida Giannini my designer of the year.

my favourite show from gucci

the blogger of the year would have to be the man repeller, great reads, great fashion, great street style.

the blog

but on a less obvious category, and the most surprising discovery of the year came from keeping up with the Kardashians, who would think that little miss kendall would end up walking in Givenchy? later in shows like Chanel, dolce and Gabbana, and becoming the face of estee lauder. she has a different kind of beauty, and has such an editorial appeal that she is for me the best model of the year. 

kendall in vogue

and last, for putting colombia out there i would have to congratulate paula mendoza, her beautiful pieces of wearable art seem as if the future had been melted together with the pre-colonic history inside some beautifully crafted and designed pieces of golden jewellery. colombia is proud of you paula, congrats you are my colombian designer of the year.

her last collection

those are a few the little things, the people, and the brands that have made 2014 the year of fashion for me, and although as i have stated multiple times before in my blog i have no say in the industry i do think that the people and brand i called before should be awarded, either cause of their style, cause of the clothes they make, their philanthropy in the case of louis vuitton, or representing colombia in such a great way.

p.s: if you haven't checked out the last section i added to my blog, then you should probably do; the lookbook is a place where you will can find inspiration for your wardrobe and also get to know what sence of style im keen of...
the look book.

look book. series#2: the caribbean city

Dear reader, here is the second series from the look book. It was inspired in the most beautiful caribbean city: cartagena. I'm heading over there to spend new year's eve, so i thought "why not make a series that a classic and elegant woman could use to walk at night around la ciudad vieja" ciudad vieja: an old walled part of the city that dates back to the colonic period of colombia.
Cartagena is a very special place to me, so i hope you like this series.

Purse by yves saint laurent

Belt by massimo dutti, high heels by paul andrew, earrings and necklace by Paula Mendoza.

Hat by ryan roche, shorts by valentino, shirt by comme des garcons and blazer by the row

curious fact: Lauren Santo Domingo, one of vanity fair's best dressed, and co-founder of Moda Operandi, married in cartagena and owns ,with her husband's family, a summer house in the "ciudad vieja".

Look book.

dear reader, as you might have noticed i've been a little absent since i posted "santa take notes" but, as any teenager, i've been eating myself through dicember, and when i noticed it was already christmas eve, and i hadn't posted either of two articles i had planned for this wonderful time of the year, one of which was my new category: Look book.

as any (politics, economy...) blogger would like you to know his criteria, opinion and such, a fashion blogger in special should on top of providing you with his opinion also provide you with inspiration for your everyday and special occasion style, and, not trying to call myself a pioneer or anything, i came up with the idea of creating a lookbook where i would add some pictures i edited myself; the lookbook would be a place where you can find inspiration for your everyday life, and where you can try to further understand the kind of fashion i'm fond of.

the next pictures are the first series of the lookbook that will be posted. my idea was to create looks that you could use as inspiration for the few days of holiday seasons we have left, that are on top of all full of parties where you should try to look great. these looks have both luxury articles and dress for less.

earrings from oscar de la rent, top from zara, coat from mango, heels from nastygal and jeans from levi's.

i love camel, it's my favourite colour ever, and i think there's a very interesting idea in using it for semi-formal occasions, like a casual friday at work, or to a casual coffee meeting with a business partner. i was inspired for this look by the spectacular oscar de la renta earrings that are on top, when i see this look i can  clearly picture a young woman in new york trying to catch a cab after having a shopping spree in 5th avenue, its just missing the dior "so real" sunglasses.

blouse from zara, jacket from del pozo, charms bracelet from massimo dutti, boots from zara, and trousers from mango.

from the previous posts you might remember i come from a traditional family where family dinners and parties are quite common, when i was making this look, i got inspired by both the "del pozo jacket" and the family parties i attend to in this time of the year.

oscar de la renta heels, M2malletier purse, rest from zara.

this look is supposed to be used, or to serve as inspiration for a cocktail party, or a wedding... i just though a jumpsuit would be a fun take on those occasions, and the gold and baby pink are colours that go great together 

dress from zara, clutch from yves saint laurent, boots from zara, and earrings and ring from eva fehren.

for this look i just though fun night out in new years eve, its minimalistic, lavish and the eva fehren accessories highlight and pull together everything. 

dress by givenchy, high heels and clutch by valentino and earrings from eva fehren.

when i was making the looks i was trying to include as little luxury articles as possible, my goal was to make the first looks down to earth and dress for less, but when i was looking for some shoes to match the previous look i thought that one more luxury article in the list couldn't hurt and i went into farfetch, where i stumbled upon this magnificent emerald Givenchy dress, and i couldn't resist the urge to create an all luxury look that could be used at any formal event in the world (i love it when people risk it using a short dress for a long dress event). its elegant with a twist, a big twist. 

Santa, take notes...

So, I was born in a traditional family, and even though we are Colombians, and instead of Santa we call the “present giver” baby Jesus, we do have a similar Christmas to that of Americas here in Colombia.

I can remember since I was a small kid that clothes were never my cup of tea, I’d rather have a stuff animal than Nike’s newest shoes, and I was always obsessed with toys. that trend evolved, but didn’t change till two years ago, I mean, I didn’t ask for toys after I was 10, but I did instead ask for Nintendo’s Ds, or Wii’s, or computers… anything that wasn’t clothes, but just as I change, and I do really rapidly, my tastes change as well, and as you’ve seen I have become really obsessed with fashion.

This year I have been on the look for things that I might like to ask for “baby Jesus” and really, not to be greedy, but I don’t know how I’ll choose, and that’s the thing about fashion, it has such a pleasing variety! So next the things that I covet the most for holiday season, and that I’d like to be given.

•  ANY kind of pro-camera!
  

so, really if you're into fashion then learning how to use cameras, i mean, at least decently, is a must, and i'll be doing that this vacations (in colombia we don't have winter so the long "summer" vacations are during december") and a good camera can't hurt.

• A camel suit

camel, i can't resist camel, i know it's not so hot this season, but i can't take it, and even though i am 16, you know what they say, or i say.... either way, you are never too young to be elegant, and you can't go wrong with this camel suit from Zara...

• Valentino "Rockrunners"

Valentino has been getting more and more edgy, and the last seasons have been a treasure cove for men who love fashion, and who love the sporty chic trend that has lately become so famous. These Valentino "camouflage rockrunners" are perfect for a laid back sunday, or, if you are more fast forward and your boss isn't so tight with etiquette then you could wear them with suits like the one i listed before, i know i would. 

• Alexander Wang fro Hn'M sunglasses

alexander wang is one of my favorite designers, and if you haven't been hiding under a rock this year, then you'd know that he has done a collection for Hn'M, and just like previous collections from famous designers, take Isabel Marant, it's been a total success. This is a piece i love from the collection, and that i would totally love to wear this 31st of december in the spectacular Caribbean beaches we have here in Colombia.

• Kenzo sweaters

there are no words to describe the feeling i have for kenzo sweaters, specially the Tiger one, i just need one, it is one fashion must haves. when western society fades then there will only be some fashion classics that will remain,the Chanel flap-bag and the kenzo tiger sweater will be between those.

• A pair of casual shoes 

everyone needs a pair of casual shoes, and when i say casual i mean sneakers, some shoes you can walk with at an airport without killing your feet, some shoes to travel, some shoes for the usual things, and these kinds of shoes are the hardest to find, because if you love fashion you are trying to find the pair that serve for all of these and still makes you look polished. here are two perfect pairs, the white ones are from adidas originals, and the leather ones are from my everyday favorite brand: Massimo Dutti.

• Mon monogram personal agenda

to be honest i don't know how to explain this one, just, Mon Monogram is such a perfect idea, it expresses personality, identity, something so intimate, that it makes me wanna have it, and this personal agenda would make a perfect fit for me, you couldn't guess how messy i am with my life, some order would be perfect for me, something that serves as a reminder of what i have to do, and somewhere to write the ideas i have.... 

• A pair of Ferragamo's 

Ferragamo's have, and will always carry a special place in my heart, first because my dad says that "you can tell a lot about the shoes a man wears, and if you wear Ferragamo then people won't have a lot of bad things to tell" he wears Ferragamo since i can remember, and i love the idea of familiarity they produce in me. Second because they are the embodiment of class, you can't go wrong with them, and i'm dying to have a pair i can wear to parties and next year's prom. 

• stylish backpacks 

i love the backpack trend, and being a big travel fan these two just fit my likes, cause' like i say design+functionality=perfection. i mean fendi and chanel never let me down, karl, thanks.... i can already picture myself "dear santa, can i please have these two, or at least one, i know they're expensive, but they are worth it!"

 so yeah, That's my list for santa, or baby jesus, or whoever gives presents in my postcode district... but, being serious i know i won't get all of this for christmas, the truth is i'll be lucky if i get one or two of the things listed before, but i can dream right? 

what do you think of the things listed before? or any of the articles i've written before, i'd love to know, also if you think there's anything i should have in mind for the next one don't doubt to contact me, i don't bite. 

Thanks for reading,

 NG.