THE ROYAL HAT

Princess Beatrice in Philip Treacy

Sally Bercow

Sophie Winkleman

Victoria Beckham wearing Philip Treacy

Zara Phillips hat by Paul Costelloe 

Tara Palmer Tomkinson wearing Deborah Milner

I was awed by some of the hats that the guests wearing. Some of them are totally masterpiece, an art of sculpture to wear.

courtesy of New York Times

THE BEST DRESS @ ROYAL WEDDING - edited

Tara Palmer Tomkinson had stolen my eyes and heart the moment she walked to Westminster Abbey. Her blue dress and stunning hat (I guess it's Philip Treacy but turn out to be Deborah Milenr hat) had electrified and caught attention.

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark 

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark had shown me the definition of aging gracefully. Look how stunning she was in that turquoise dress.

courtesy of popsugar & new york times

ROYAL WEDDING INSPIRATION

The Royal Wedding of William and Kate today has inspired me to do my version of a wedding party decoration.

TRIBUTE TO MCQUEEN

The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Costume Institute hold a retrospective exhibition called Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty on May 4 - July 31 2011. 

Kate Moss in Widows of Culloden hologram in closing of a/w 2006. 

Widows of Culloden, autumn/winter 2006/2007

Widows of Culloden, autumn/winter 2006/2007

Widows of Culloden, autumn/winter 2006/2007

Widows of Culloden, autumn/winter 2006/2007

Lady Gaga wearing McQueen's Armadillo shoes from his autumn/winter 2010 collection.

Sarabande, SS 2007

Sarabande, SS 2007

courtesy of Luxury Culture, Style

AVOIDING BOREDOM @ RED CARPET

When women make an effort, they're projecting their healthy self-worth onto the world. Red carpet can be so dangerous. But playing safe is so no no. Sticks to the same boring color palette every single time hits the red carpet (black, white and nude)? It won't be memorable. It's so boring that you can't even remember a single one unmemorable looks. The playing safe formula is simple: hair down, monochrome outfit, one piece of gold jewelry, be feminine and voila you just literally look beautifully dull. Get out there and play with color, texture and silhouette! Find your own signature style!

But these pictures from In Style can show us that red carpet can be fun too, without being so safe and dull.

Electric blue.
Left to right: Vivienne Westwood, Victoria Beckham and Alberta Ferretti

Vibrant green.
Left to right: A Banana Republic sheath, a Tom Ford gown and a Lanvin dress

Room-brightening shades of lemon, canary and mustard. 
From left to right: An ASOS dress, a yellow tank and a Joanna August gown

Hot pink.
Left to right: A draped satin dress, a L'Wren Scott dress and a Jil Sander jacket

Lilac, lavender and violet. Left to right: Christian Cota, Baby Phat, Reem Acra

Brilliant crimson.
Left to right: Alexander McQueen, a red skirt and an Elie Saab gown

Juicy shades of tangerine.
Left to right: A Vanessa Bruno ensemble, a Calvin Klein Collection shift
and a Proenza Schouler dress

courtesy of In Style 

OVERDRESSED

Dua tahun yang lalu saya pernah mempublikasikan sebuah tulisan dalam blog yg telah saya tutup sebagai sebuah kritikan atas gaya berbusana penyiar di salah satu stasiun televisi swasta di Jakarta. Berikut ini saya copy paste tulisan tersebut.

Dari pagi cuma bisa liat sepintas2 acara-acara di TV tentang perayaan 17 Agustusan mulai dari Bunaken hingga Bromo. Dari pelosok sampai Istana Negara. Keren? Ya. Merinding? Ya. Bangga banget.
Tapi yg bikin mata saya sakit tuh ya kenapa kalau hari Proklamasi seperti ini kostum2 itu selalu saja kebaya dan sanggul. Entah kenapa kesannya berat dan membosankan. 


Seperti siang ini ada acara di Metro TV, kedua penyiarnya, salah satunya Kania Sutisnawinata, malah pakai baju yang nggak agepropriate. Kesannya seperti oma2 umur 70 tahun. 


Come on! 


Baju longgar ala djelaba seperti itu apalagi dengan motif batik itu rasanya kurang pas untuk seorang Kania yang masih muda. Suruh omamu pakai baju itu lebih pantas. Kania nggak pantas. 


Stylist-nya nggak belajar dari Rachel Zoe Project kali ya? Penata gayanya suruh langganan tuh tv kabel sony entertainment tv jangan dibiasakan nonton sinetron tok. Tonton tuh Tim Gunn's Guide to Style, Project Runway-nya Heidi Klum atau America Next Top Model. Tonton tuh semuanya dan belajarlah dari situ.


Dan yang parahnya Ghea Idol tampil sempurna bagai *maaf* pembantu rumah tangga daripada seorang entertainer. Dengan sanggul mengerikan, jerawat dimana2, bawahan ala celana India, kebaya terbuka. Sempurna bagai pembantu.

Duh, kalau ingat Jay Subijakto dulu menangani ulang tahun RCTI sebelum jaman krisis moneter dengan sentuhan budaya dan kekayaan alam Indonesia rasanya ini bagai sebuah kemunduran, degradasi. Padahal ada Edward Hutabarat, kok ya nggak berani keluar dana besar konsultasi sama Jay dan Edward ya? 


Mungkin yang lebih oke malah tv lain macam Trans, Global, RCTI, TV One tadi pagi ya selama saya sempat lihat presenter & reporternya sih tampilannya oke. Muda dan bergaya. Satu hal yang pasti nggak harus batik kan? Kekayaaan kain Indonesia kan melimpah. 


Kenapa yang presenter lelaki nggak dipakaikan kemeja polos dg shawl batik, atau dasi batik aja ketimbang pakai baju batik tok. Bosan tahu....

 * * *

Dan belakangan ini saya banyak memperhatikan gaya berbusana presenter dari program televisi yang bernama so called infotainment. Sepertinya kali ini hanya Metro TV yang bisa dipuji karena presenternya tampil dengan dandanan sederhana. Sementara di televisi2 lainnya para presenternya tampil lengkap dengan gigi berpagar besi yang tampak begitu mengerikan di layar kaca seperti menyaksikan monster2 bermulut besi berusaha tampak cantik.

Entahlah darimana para presenter gosip itu mendapat ide bahwa kawat gigi itu merupakan trend mode yang sedang in?

Coba lihat bagaimana rapi dan cemerlangnya gigi putih presenter E! News seperti Giullana Rancid dan Ryan Seacrest. TANPA KAWAT GIGI. CATAT!!!

Dan yang lebih mengherankan lagi para presenter gosip di Indonesia ini lebih sering tampil dengan busana malam atau busana pesta. Lengkap dengan rias wajah yang berlebihan. Pipi seperti habis ditampar. Bulu mata talang air lengkap dengan perona mata pekat yang memberatkan kelopak mata ketimbang memperindah. Bibir merah tua menyala dengan aksentuasi warna-warna metalik dari kawat gigi menyelinap keluar.

Apakah ini merupakan sebuah simbol bahwa para presenter ini sedang berpesta merayakan gosip yang sedang menimpa para selebriti negeri ini?

THE MONDRIAN EFFECT part 1

From this we can see the correlation between art and applied art like fashion and product design such as furniture. Art is the purest, the highest level than followed by fashion then apllied to product design.

Pieter Cornelis "Piet" Mondriaan, after 1912 Mondrian, later ; March 7, 1872 – February 1, 1944), was a Dutch painter. He was an important contributor to the De Stijl art movement and group, which was founded by Theo van Doesburg. He evolved a non-representational form which he termed Neo-Plasticism. This consisted of white ground, upon which was painted a grid of vertical and horizontal black lines and the three primary colors. Between his 1905 painting, The River Amstel, and his 1907 Amaryllis, Mondrian changed the spelling of his signature from Mondriaan to Mondrian.

Mondrian Composition II in Red, Blue, andYellow

"Mondrian" day dress, autumn 1965 by Yves Saint Laurent (French, born Algeria, 1936),
Wool jersey in color blocks of white, red, blue, black, and yellow

As the sack dress evolved in the 1960s into the modified form of the shift, Saint Laurent realized that the planarity of the dress was an ideal field for color blocks. Knowing the flat planes of the 1960s canvases achieved by contemporary artists in the lineage of Mondrian, Saint Laurent made the historical case for the artistic sensibility of his time. Yet he also demonstrated a feat of dressmaking, setting in each block of jersey, piecing in order to create the semblance of the Mondrian order and to accommodate the body imperceptibly by hiding all the shaping in the grid of seams.

Par 4 Table in Mondrian's signature color by Bernard Vuranesson

Designer Bernard Vuranesson has produced a special edition of Par 4 table in Mondrian's signature colors as shown in Mondrian / De Stijl exhibition at the Centre Pampidou, Paris.

courtesy of wikipedia, metmuseum, luxury culture

My Version of Best Concept Cars on Shanghai Autoshow 2011

The A3 sedan is the latest Audi to get the electric e-tron treatment. In this case, it's powered by a 2-liter engine and an electric motor that Audi claims will get the car from zero to 60 mph in 6.8 seconds, and on to a top speed of 150 mph.

BMW 's Concept M5, seen here in the shadows in "Chrome Shadow" gray paint, is a lightly disguised version of the new M5. The new car will swap its V-10 for a twin-turbo V-8 that the company claims reduces fuel consumption -- and emissions -- by 25 percent. 

“For this concept, Lexus designers studied characteristics that are often considered contradictory and difficult to execute together,” said Kengo Matsumoto, general manager, Lexus Design Division, Toyota Motor Corporation. 

The A-Class concept, which will also be seen in New York this week, is truly a world car. This three-door hatchback will be powered by a 1.4-liter, four-cylinder engine, and promises excellent fuel economy.

Peter Horbury, Volvo's chief designer, says "We're trying to dig deeper to find a beautiful Volvo." For the Concept Universe, he dug all the way back to the PV544, which featured a broad front end and an elevated cowl line
  

courtesy of auto yahoo

FLOATING PIRATE SHIP BEDROOM

I think this is the genious idea of applying big screen movie to your home decoration. Check this out how Steve Kuhl taking pirates theme to the next level of decoration. 

courtesy of  Keira Knightley

Steve Kuhl has created a unique floating pirate ship inside the bedroom of his client’s six year-old-son in Minnesota, according to reports by several news sites. It features an incredible floating ship, rope bridge, and secret 55 foot slide.

The rope bridge is connected to the top of the jail cell, built to accommodate evil doers, thieves and little sisters.

Kuhl is the CEO, Creative Director, Business Development and Micro-manager of Kuhl Design Build.

The bedroom design was chosen by the boy among several options that includes a space ship, race car, castle and the pirate ship.

The floating pirate ship features an old ship’s hull made from 2×12 ribs, covered with  layers of 1/2 inch plywood to serve as the planking.

Steve Kuhl 

The helm of the ship.
The rope descends into the closet below
for quick wardrobe changes

A unique rope bridge stretches
across the top of the bedroom.

The side of the ship's hull is peppered with
cannon ports. They also serve as peep holes
forwatching the uncool masses below. 

The base of the rope bridge is anchored on top of the jail cell.
The designers welded a custom steel door for that real jail feeling.

Looking down the rope into the closet below. For upper body workouts climb up the rope a few times
each morning as your are getting dressed. You will be inspired by the echoes of you six grade gym coach in your brain.

View from closet up through the hull of the ship. 

The bedroom has a connecting rope bridge leading to the top of a jail cell. There is a rope, suspended from the ship’s hull, that provides drop-in access to the closet.

One of the attraction of the bedroom is a hidden spiral slide that serves as an alternative way to go downstairs.

A diagram of how the slide is built. It is housed in such a way that it is completely hidden with the exception of the entrance and exit. The adjacent staircase allows the less adventurous to go the old fashioned way if they prefer.

Tell your pal to put her coat in the last locker and watch her reaction as she discovers the hidden room within. A motion sensitive switch triggers the light to turn on, revealing an odd yet intriguing orange hole in the wall at waist height.

Here, designer Steve Kuhl tests the slide for accuracy. Also, he is carefully calibrating important features along the way. This procedure needed to berepeated for the better part of a day to insure proper slide operation.




courtesy of newsyahoo, batangastoday