The 1940's

From 1941 to 1945, the U.S. was fighting alongside England and the Allied Powers against the Nazi Germans and the Japanese. Although the war had very negative and devastating effects on the people, it also gave them the opportunity to work in factories supplying for the Allies. Women took the jobs that were previously reserved for men. Because men were fighting in the war and women had to work to provide for their children, we began to see the beginning of teenage delinquency. If we had lived in these times, we would have found an escape from reality in Hollywood movies, radio broadcasting, and Seventeen magazine, which came to existence in 1944.

During these life-changing times, many advances were made in science and technology. For example, frozen dinners were first introduced in the 40’s making life so much easier for women and without which, most of us would have probably starved to death by now.  Synthetic fibers were created for the first time ever. Also, the federal government told the people what shoes, fabrics, and food were allowed for them to have. Thus, imagine living in those times and owning only one or two pairs of shoes…Impossible! At the time, the U.S. found itself isolated from many European countries. This isolation soon proved to be the commencement of many of our favorite American designers we have today, Claire Danes being one of them.

Claire Danes was an important designer in the 40’s who created separate clothing garments with rationed fabrics. If we had lived in these times, we would have seen most of our friends wear platform shoes and hats. In addition, the 40’s was a time when hemlines became higher at the same time that necklines became lower. We can also thank the 1940’s for introducing padded shoulders. On the other hand, stockings, which had become very popular, could not be found during the 40’s, but that did not stop the ladies from looking fashionable. We would have improvised drawing seams in the back of our legs with eyeliner! Also, ladies wore evening dresses that were long and showed off their backs. Following this trend were Joan Crawford and Rita Hayworth, the Scarlett Johansson and Sarah Jessica Parker of the 40’s, dressing to impress. Moreover, 1947 was the year when Christian Dior introduced feminine flared dresses with very tight waists.

So as you can see, the 1940’s introduced us to so many new trends in fashion that we now have and love. After the launching of Seventeen, many more fashion magazines followed. Also, the number or department and retail stores increased soon after everywhere around the world, letting us shop ‘til we drop! The 1940’s influence on fashion can be seen today including men’s polo shirts and sportswear and the elegant glamorous dresses the stars wear on the red carpet.

Science, Vampires, & Sexy Leather

When thinking about science, fashion is not the first thing we picture in our minds. What does the color red represent to you? Love? Passion? Blood? And would you be willing to dress in leather from head to toes?

Red is going to be everywhere. Hair will not be the only place we find different hues of the color red. Handbags, shoes, hats, lipstick, nail polish. Everything goes. I think we are all loving red so much in part due to our fascination with vampires lately. Who hasn’t seen Twilight or the Vampire Diaries? I mean even real people are biting other people. But that’s a whole different topic… If you feel brave enough you can wear different shades of red from head to toes and make a statement.

Leather is making a comeback. And it is not just your typical leather jacket. We are going to see leather handbags, leather pants, leather corsets, leather lingerie, leather dresses. Punks, bikers, cowboys, and James Dean are no longer the only ones allowed to wear leather. Anyone, male or female, can wear leather and look good in it. And prices range from really expensive to affordable and styles range from classic to very out there. Although black leather is what will be popular, other colors will not be off limits. So, again, if you can pull it off, anything goes. However, if you are really against wearing animal skin, there are other options for you like synthetic leather or vinyl that pretty much contain the same features.

Star Trek, the Fifth Element, Resident Evil. What do these Sci-fi movies have to do with fashion you say? Futuristic prints, colors, and shapes are taking over. Think of the movie “The Hunger Games.” One of the reasons the movie was so popular was due in part to the one of a kind fashion portrayed in it, like the red dress on fire that Katniss wore for her interview. An important part of this futuristic trend is the use of color. Neon highlighter colors were really popular back in the 80’s and we are going to see them again. Sort of the “80’s Meets Science.” Simple geometric shapes in very bright colors and different textures; what Nicki Minaj and Lady Gaga’s cyber fashion would be in their music videos. We can even see some of this futuristic trend taking over hairstyles and haircolors already.

All three of these trends can be worn together. It’s important to know, that you decide how you want to wear these colors, prints, or textures. What’s good about these trends is that you can dress them up and wear them to an elegant occasion or keep it plain and just wear it as an everyday look. You can look sexy or trendy, whatever you choose. They’re perfect for day or night. So which do you think will be your favorite trend this fall?

 

The Perfect Denim Vest

Now that I have gotten my sewing machine and with the new Pinterest app I have discovered the world of refashion. There are so many blogs to give you ideas. You can alter other people's clothes (like this girl who has a blog about her Goodwill extra large purchases and refashioning them into cute clothes to fit her) or altering you own old clothing garments sitting in the back, wayyy back of your closet.

So right now one of your must have fashion staples is the jean vest. There are so many styles and you can wear your vest with skinny jeans, skirts, dresses, sweaters, etc. Your vest can be embellished with flowers, studs, or lace.

So I decided I liked the studded vest the best. I found an old denim jacket and just cut off the sleeves. I could have sewn in the armholes but thought the raw edge was the kind of look I was going for. After I finished cutting off the sleeves, I placed studs on certain parts of the vest.

Here is what it ended up looking like:

Not too bad huh??

China's Emerging Fashion

When we think of China, must of us probably do not connect fashion with that country. But just as China's economy has been growing, so has its fashion creativity. I, for one, am looking forward to this since I plan on studying in China in the future once I have taken my first two classes of Chinese here. I would love to be able to intern in a fashion design house in China and even live in Asia in the future. One of these new Chinese fashion designers includes Qiu Hao who makes very sleek and modern designs:

I would have to say my favorite out of these two is the second one. I could see me wearing it.

Do you know of any new fashion designers you like or plan on keeping an eye on?

Finally it feels like fall!

I was so excited to be able to wear my boots yesterday and today. Lately I've been accumulating so many pairs of boots in my closet!. I enjoyed seeing so many different styles of boots worn by girls around Baylor today: short, long, brown, gray, black, leather, combat. I noticed that tall boots and colorful rain boots are really big this season.

What I love about boots is that they go with everything, skirts, dresses, jeans, leggings. Right now I'm loving my GUESS combat boots. You can dress them up with girly accessories or dress them down. Would you wear combat boots?

First entry in my new blog!

Hello everyone! This is Keren. I hope you enjoy reading my entries in this blog. I already have another personal blog but this one will be dedicated exclusively to fashion.

I've managed to survive through my second week at Baylor! It gets easier to as the days go by. ^_^
This semester I'm taking 16 hours or five classes. Three of them are Family and Consumer Science classes including Principles of Art and Design for which I'm writing this blog.

First of all I think I should start off by telling a little about myself and what I like. I was born in Bolivia but moved from there when I was around one year old. My parents were missionaries so they would travel a lot and we moved and lived in many different places. My last name is Vietnamese/Chinese. I love traveling and meeting new people and cultures. I love foreign movies and music and food.  It would be my dream come true to be able to go study abroad in Japan or Spain.

I don't really know how to describe my style. My friends tell me I've got an eclectic fashion style. I love colorful and bold clothing pieces. Sometimes I wear stuff other people think it's weird or would not even dare to wear at all. But I also wear black a lot.
I love cooking, reading, shopping, make-up, photography, and eating. I love winter days; I don't really enjoy hot, sweaty summer days. My favorite colors are pink and black.
I hope you all enjoy my posts! ^_^