margiela moment

selma blair in maison martin margiela for h&m

I have to be honest, I could probably spend the whole day trying to find inspiring black dresses but, in reality, I don't have that kind of time, so when I do have a free moment, I try to use it wisely. recently, I stumbled upon this image of actress selma blair in a maison martin margiela black dress for h&m. I don't know why, I never noticed this dress till now, but I love the way she looks in it. the drapery, the asymmetry, and of course, the cut. I remember seeing this dress in bright blue in the store, but never in black, so I am disappointed that I never got to try this one on. I really can't complain though, as I found so many other great marigela pieces, but this one has something quite special about it. at any rate, I have always liked selma blair's style. I remember taking notice of her style back in 2000...she looked so polished during that era. I remember her looking so elegant.....a certain ralph lauren dress comes to mind and for awhile, I thought she had similarities to jackie onassis. I must admit, I lost track with her, but seeing her in this margiela dress made me realize, why I felt that way. this dress is so sisters in black frocks and I love it when I find some red carpet style that I find truly inspiring....brava to selma blair for looking so margiela noir chic!

sporty noir chic

a sartorial moment from paris fashion week

its really interesting how through social media you can connect with people, even if you don't necessarily know them in real life. with style blogging and instagram I have been fortunate to connect with some really creative people. I'm not sure if I will ever meet them in real life, but I love the style and artistic connections I share with most of them. this past weekend, an instagram friend from london, sent me this photo, of a girl in a beautiful black dress with drapery and adidas sneakers. her message attached said....this is so you! my initial thought was yes, it is. for some reason, that got me thinking about how you really can connect with people through style and fashion, no matter what continent or country they live in. I thanked her immediately for sending me this photo, just because this is a look that I can totally relate to and I love anyone who can pull off a dramatic black dress with adidas. this was actually taken during paris fashion week and I must say this whole look epitomizes the concept of sporty noir chic. I remember in the 90's, I use too see a lot of supermodels wearing this kind of look and for some reason to this day in 2014, I am still obsessed with this type of style. its minimal, comfortable, but still fancy, with the drapery and flow of her dress. I have no idea who snapped this, but I think this may be one of the best sartorial moments I have ever seen, in awhile. I will definitely be putting this in my desktop folder for inspiring black dress looks. a special thanks to the lovely ivana zannini for sending me this.....exactly, the black frock I was looking for!

blowin' in the wind

drapery moment

I have a new favorite pastime of walking on the beach. sometimes, my sister goes with me, but for the most part it has become a solo act and usually a good time for me to find interesting sartorial moments on the beach. I can't really plan what will happen, which makes it more exciting. at any rate, last sunday I was quite amazed by what I saw. this was just part 1 of my day and I don't know why, but this totally made my week. I have a strange fascination with drapery....I just love the way it moves in the wind, the undulation is the best part and when the fabric is black, I am even more excited. I guess that is why I am so intrigued by burqa silhouettes or just about any type of dress that moves so gracefully in the wind. while walking on the beach, I happened to notice a young man putting a piece of fabric over his body and because of the beach wind it was flowing quite perfectly, so in that moment, I caught this. the term noir chic applies so perfectly with this photo and for some reason when I snapped this I totally thought of that veiled versace moment photographed by herb ritts from 1990, which is one of my favorite images of his, that I always like too look back on. I guess you could say I was in the right spot at the right time....timing is indeed everything, when it comes to capturing sartorial moments, like this.

versace veil

photo by herb ritts

so in case you may have forgot that brilliant herb ritts photograph that I was talking about, here it is. the photo is entitled el mirage and it was taken in 1990 and I love how modern it still feels, in 2014. personally, I feel like this is the ultimate image in noir chic. recently, I learned that the woman behind the veil is supermodel naomi campbell and that the veil dress was designed by gianni versace. I love the body structure, the overall silhouette, and the way that fabric blows in the wind. to me, this is total perfection and I often wonder if this photo took a long time to take or if it was just natural. whatever the story is, I actually prefer not knowing, just because it makes the photo more interesting. at any rate, I had this image in mind when I photographed that young man and his drape shape on the beach. its always fun to make style connections and this is one that will always be a main source of noir chic inspiration in my life.....for obvious reasons!

promenade in the gardens

the girl in black

I was very surprised this week to find out this week that maison martin margiela had selected two more of my images for their replica smells like memories perfume photo challenge. I had a second photo chosen for the beach walk scent and then this one for the promenade in the gardens scent. what I find so interesting is that all the images selected were just taken from everyday moments from my real life. I don't know if you call it art or actual photography, but I just like to snap photos that seem somewhat inspiring to me as I go about my day. personally, I am more into sartorial moments. its interesting though, how many photographers I look up to and I can't even tell you how many times I say to myself, how did they take that image....so this is exciting for me. I am constantly inspired by the artistic talent I come across. whether accomplished photographers or just people I find on instagram and style blogs. its amazing how much creativity there is in the world, especially with social media. at any rate, I was really honored to have this image of a girl in a black dress recognized. I took this about six months ago, I remember I was at petco, and while I was putting cat food away in my trunk, I saw this girl in a beautiful black frock cross my path. after I finished what I had to do, I saw her move away from a distance in a garden like setting and just snapped this moment. its all very random how this happened, but I do know that when I see an inspiring look in black, chances are I will photograph it. I tried to make it look like a deborah turbeville photograph, maybe something out of vogue italia..... I don't know if that actually came across visually, but I always loved the way she captured flowy dresses in the garden. she will always be an artistic inspiration to me, so I really am honored that margiela paris, saw something special with this photo....who knew? on a side note, the margiela fragrances are available at sephora. I will keep you posted when mine becomes available! also, check out the link too see my photos and the other beautiful images selected:

here is the link:
http://replicafragrances.tumblr.com/tagged/promenadeinthegardens

valentino mood

photo by deborah turbeville

so in case you need to be refreshed about deborah turbeville and the way she photographed beautiful dresses in the garden....here is a perfect example. this photo is from the march 2012 issue of vogue italia. the whole editorial is strictly valentino haute couture and I love how whimsical it is. I always thought deborah turbeville would have made an excellent film director, just because every editorial feels very cinematic almost like scenes from a jane campion film. if you are familiar with her visual style, perhaps, you can understand what I am saying. at any rate, while I love so many images from this particular valentino vogue italia layout.....I think this may be favorite one, just because I love the way her floral frock undulates against her body. I also think that garden setting definitely adds to the mood of this photo. its also very interesting how we don't see her face and just her body.....very incognito chic in the garden and I think the black and white effect really adds to the beauty of this photograph. on a side note, I must confess that I totally had this photo in my mind, when I snapped that girl in black. of course, its not very similar, but I tried to do something that embodied deborah turbeville's style. its very peculiar how inspiration strikes, but I like it when my mind suddenly remembers stylish editorials and it somehow encourages me to try something on my own. if you haven't seen this vogue italia valentino editorial, do check it out. I believe it was one of her lasts for vogue italia, before she passed away in 2013.

on the rocks

photo by my sister

recently, during the labor day weekend my sister and I decided to go to the beach. we just went for a walk, but of course, wherever we go, it somehow turned into a photo shoot. when I think about this summer, I think this photo pretty much sums up my style for the season. in june, I was just browsing in h&m and found a long sleeved black dress for $17 and for some reason it fit like a glove and since then I have been wearing it non-stop. its quite comfortable too and I love that it can be completely casual and fancy at the same time, it all depends on how you style it. for this photo, I decided to style it with my turban wrap from target, yes I said target. my mom bought it as a birthday gift for me and I must say its probably one of the best turbans, I own. it is made out of terry cloth and it completely wraps your hair up. I don't know if it is meant for after a shower, but I have made it a day look and with a pair of sunnies, I think it totally works. my sister randomly snapped this image of me with my parasol, black dress, and terry turban on the beach surrounded by all these rocks and I don't know why, but I love how incognito it is. perhaps, it looks very old fashioned, maybe 1920's, but that is definitely the look I was trying to go for. I certainly had a vogue italia editorial vaguely in mind. on a side note, I must say, I felt like the summer went by so fast, but I am glad it ended in my sleek h&m black frock and turban. by far, my favorite outfit of the summer. I feel like every summer I always wear an outfit to death. I wonder if other people do the same......at any rate, I must thank my sister again, for always capturing my vision with this photo....I know she would say this feels very summer noir chic!

brooklyn dandies

of course, I had an editorial in mind, when I was walking on the beach with my sister. recently, I was reminiscing back at the vogue italia october 2013 issue entitled modern eccentric. I was quite taken with the steven meisel layout called brooklyn dandies and I loved the whole edwardian feel. I always respond to fashion editorials that allow you to escape into the photos especially when it goes back to a different time and era. with these photos you get just that and I love that stylist karl templer dressed these models in modern looks that range from miu miu to comme des garçons. it blends new world with old world and I think that combination is quite brilliant. karl templer never disappoints and I admire the thought and detail that goes into his editorials. I've read that the inspiration for this layout was taken from the BBC series downtown abbey, and I certainly can see some style connections there, but I just appreciate the whole vintage look of these photos and I thought that I would use these photos, as inspiration, for my look when walking on the beach. I know its not an exact replicate, but I like the old fashioned feel and it totally influenced me when casually strolling on those rocks. personally, I love steven meisel when he works in black and white. this editorial reminds me of his work in the 90's and that is probably why I appreciate these images so much. on a side note, I don't think I will ever get over his 90's dolce & gabbana images...so noir chic. at any rate, I hope that you can see some style connections between my image and these specific photos and if you can't.....no big deal! just enjoy these photos....yet another brilliant vogue italia layout that just gets better with time!




photos by steven meisel

the september issue

september is always an exciting month in fashion. yes, there are the spring shows, but I get more enthusiastic for the fall publications. growing up, I use to look forward to the september issue of US vogue, but ever since steven meisel left US vogue, I am just not that interested in the magazine, anymore. now, my attention has been more focused on vogue italia and interview magazine. at any rate, last weekend, while at the newsstand, I noticed six different covers for the current september issue of interview magazine and was very much intrigued by the caption which read fall fashion: the photographers' issue. skimming through the pages, I noticed that the magazine did something quite different, by getting the photographers to be interviewed and not the subjects. normally, it is the other way around, especially when you have someone like nicole kidman on the cover, but I love that she interviewed steven klein, instead. the other photographers interviewed include mert & marcus and naomi campbell, peter lindbergh and léa seydoux, keira knightley and patrick demarchelier, amber valletta and craig mcdean, but my personal favorite has to be daria werbowy and mikael jansson. I have always loved the way these two work together going back to their days at vogue paris, so this was such a stunning surprise too see these images as well as an in-depth interview, especially to hear about mikael jansson's creative process and his early days working for the legendary richard avedon, which I never knew. I know most people are more interested in reading about the people being photographed, but I always like to hear about the visionaries behind the scenes. from reading this interview, I found out that these photos were actually taken in mikael jansson's summer cottage in sweden. I don't know why, but these photos very much remind me of scenes from ingmar bergman's 1966 film persona, which was also filmed in sweden, and I love how natural daria werbowy looks, especially in that first image with her black head scarf....so noir chic. this specific editorial is very extensive, but these were my favorite looks, just because I feel like I can very much relate to what she is wearing and how karl templer styled these looks. everything works from those black dresses to those headscarves. this is sporty-noir natural chic at its finest and I must say I am very much inspired by this issue. this was a complete surprise, but I love it when a magazine, has that ability to enlighten me. if you haven't seen these issue....do yourself a favor and pick up one of the six covers! hats off again to interview magazine, for not just being a fashion magazine, but for taking style and art to the next level!




photos by mikael jansson

turban scarf

giambattista valli couture fall 2014

this week, I found myself looking back at the giambattista couture fall 2014 collection. perhaps, it had something to do when I saw this image of a runway model in a beautiful undulating black dress paired with a turban and sunnies. somehow, she got my attention. I love the way that dress drapes across her body and I think the best part has to be those accessories. its not so easy to find a couture collection that seems very wearable, but this one seems like a lot of the looks could be replicated. personally, I think with that added head turban and sunnies it looks as if she is going to a beach club...a very fancy one, if I might add. its funny how most people associate turbans with summer, but I think it very much could be worn in the fall, if you style it, correctly. this collection has very much inspired me to keep going with my turban look for the fall. I must admit, a lot of the dresses are a bit over the top for my taste, but the three black dresses featured this season, with those scarf turbans, have totally influenced me with my style.....just because that is a look I can easily relate to and when I look through my closet I could totally make my own version of this giambattista valli runway number. at any rate, this is such a vivacious couture collection, that exudes old hollywood beach club glamour, and if you haven't seen it, do check it out, it will definitely put a smile on your face.