Met Gala 2014 - Red Carpet Trends

The Met Gala (or Prom for the fashion set) had a glorious red carpet procession last night.  The invitation's dress code was  “White Tie and Decorations.”  The marquee exhibit for the Metropolitan Museum's ball was Charles James, Beyond Fashion.  I guess Anna Wintour wanted guests to dress in classic glamour for the 2014 Met Ball.

The best looks came from guests paying tribute to Charles James in ball gowns echoing his silhouettes. Sarah Jessica Parker wore a black and white dress that was reminiscent of the black and white clover gown in the exhibit.  Sarah Silverman wore dark red Zac Posen similar to the scarlet creation in the museum.  Karolina Kurkova wore a sculptured work via Marchesa.  Anna Wintour's daughter Bee Schaffer wore a pale blue Alexander McQueen gown that paid tribute to the red and tulle gown by Charles James.

The irony of this event? In high school, the unpopular girls went to prom with their gay best friends.  For the Met Gala, the A-list celebrity girls attend "fashion prom" with their gay designer BFF's.  Yes, for this social event, it is much more likely to see top fashion designers bring their most popular celebrity muse as their date in lieu of their mates.  It's mutually beneficial as the designer secures the celebrity and the celebrity has designer cred.  I would love to see a designer give their date a jeweled corsage.

Worse trends?  Celebrities obviously paid to schill a mass market/high street clothing brand for press (I'm looking at you Topshop and Jenner family...) The other are celebrities dressing up as Disney princesses.  This is an unpopular opinion, at least where my niece is concerned.  She thinks this look is fabulous.  Last (AND least) the grotesque, wannabe streaker in pink mankini and Jersey Shore-worthy gold chain who tried to crash.  I am not even dignifying this clown with a photo.

Photos by Josh Haner/The New York Times, Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images, Kevin Mazur/WireImage

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Fashion Designer Couture Ornaments

Are you ready for a Red Carpet Holiday Tree?  Want your pine boughs trimmed with ornaments personally designed by the likes of Sarah Jessica Parker, Sean Jean, Gwen Stefani, Naeem Khan, Carlos Falchi or Jonathan Adler?
You can get festive and have the most fashion-forward decor of the neighborhood with the Home Shopping Network's  HeART HSN Designer Ornament collection.

100% of the profits in this collection will be donated to the St. Jude Children's Hospital.  St. Jude's is a pioneering research hospital devoted to finding cures for pediatric cancer and childhood diseases.

The Home Shopping Network launched this collection with an intimate soirée at their showroom last week. St. Jude chair Marlo Thomas hosted the event while ornament designers like model Iman and Naeem Khan attended in support.

Swarovski is a participant and the famed crystals are featured prominently in many of the ornaments.  The price range for the pieces range from below $20 to $40 for most of the collection.  You can also splurge up to $299 or a jewel-encrusted Naeem Khan piece. The collection goes on sale October 20, 2010 through HSN and will be available through the holiday season.

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London: Burberry Prorsum Spring 2011

The biker chick is back.  You might not associate classic label Burberry Prorsum with motorcycles, yet that is the customer it originally served in the 1900's.  Director Christopher Bailey brought the collection full circle with some bright colors, biker jackets and animal patterns.

The traditional trench coat was updated with studs or leather details.  One had bold contrast stripes. Another with leather sleeves.  Many were belted with a bright turquoise or lime green belt.  There were several biker jacket/trench hybrids.  Python and leopard their way down the runway.  Shirred and frilly dresses in pastels balanced out the collection with a delicate look.

Accessories included the bright wide belts and coordinating handbags.

Spotted in the front row: Sarah Jessica Parker, Alexa Chung, Mario Testino

Photos courtesy of Style.com

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American Woman at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

What is American style? While the FIT museum recently held an exhibition "American Beauty"
showcasing the best of American designers, the Met exhibit examines the woman who wears them.
What is the culture behind the uniquely American look? It looks at the Gibson Girl, suffragettes, and women who were early pioneers in politics and equality. With American jazz came the flappers of the 1920's. Hollywood came to prominence a few decades later with glamorous screen sirens like Rita Hayworth.

Who are our modern icons? The movies and tv series Sex and the City was quite the influence in the last few years. (Sarah Jessica Parker also does the audio for the exhibit tour). Michelle Obama is a contemporary symbol of democracy in politics and fashion. Her signature style is a mix of high/low American designers from J. Crew to indie innovators like Jason Wu.

The Metropolitan Costume Gala is one of the hottest social events of NYC and will kick off the show Monday, May 3. The Brooklyn museum will host a sister exhibition, American High Style

featuring their new department and acquisitions.

Photos by Kyle Ericksen,Dan Kitwood

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