Fashion Diary

Illustrator Joana Avillez
Draws My Hat

I first met Joana Avillez at a book signing for her illustrated book, Life Dressing: The Idiosyncratic Fashionistas, published in 2011.

Joana's charming book is dedicated to Jean and Valerie,  The Idiosyncratic Fashionistas,  two New York women who live and dress the fashion life with verve. Take a look at their wonderful blog here and read their excellent take on designer Fanny Karst, who I write about below.

Joana Avillez recently got an assignment to illustrate hats for The Believer, a magazine based in San Francisco that features book reviews and interviews. She illustrated one of my helmet-collage hats for the article. Thanks, Joana. I love the drawing.

LIM Fashion College

Hosts a Book Signing

Richard and I attended a book signing for Ari Seth Cohen's Advanced Style and the book Stylelikeu by Elisa Goodkind and Lily Mandelbaum at LIM College. LIM marries business and fashion with courses in fashion and visual merchandising and marketing. Jean of The Idiosyncratic Fashionistas snapped these photos of the event.

Richard and I at LIM College.

Carol with Joyce Carpati, an Advanced Style lady.

Richard with the author and photographer for Advanced Style,

 Ari Seth Cohen.

Fanny Karst Comes

to New York City

Fanny Karst is a charming woman of French origin who garnered a diploma from Central Saint Martins College in London in 2007. She works in London where she has established a brand called The Old Ladies' Rebellion using modern digital prints along with traditional tailoring techniques which she learned in a year-long stint at Chittleborough and Morgan, bespoke tailors of Saville Row, London.

Fanny is wearing an adorably hip skirt of her own design.

Fanny is in the U.S. this December and is ensconced for the month in the quarters of bespoke clothier, Bruce Cameron Clark on Lexington Avenue at 71st Street. Fanny and Bruce met through their Saville Row connections. 

Bruce Cameron Clark with some of his bespoke dressing gowns.

Last week I visited the shop to see Fanny's clothes. The Old Ladies' Rebellion is designed for older women with strong personalities and lots of life experiences who want to wear clothes that match their inner age -- not their actual age. This is the woman who Fanny admires. Women like the French designer, Andre Putnam.

Fanny designs dresses in digitally printed silk .

She likes to keep the structure flatteringly soft.

Here is a feather print. The workmanship is meticulous.

Fanny told me that she was influenced by hip hop music. 

That may be, but I also see a constructivist look in this "T" dress.

Fanny gets her inspiration from advertising signs as well.

I purchased this silk jacket with a shutter design.

Fanny also uses shoulder pads to great effect to 

give the garment more structure.

 The "P" dress.

 The design reflects pop culture's use of hip hop

 movement, beats and the alphabet.

Fanny is cognizant of how the neck line hits the collar bone and

actually makes this bit of anatomy look good.

She folds the cuffs up on this dress to

expose the wrist bones too.

Well done, Fanny!

Linda Fargo and

Bergdorf's Windows

Each year Bergdorf Goodman does a Christmas ornament in the image of Linda Fargo, their Senior Vice President of Fashion and Store Presentation. We sent this "Linda" to Irma Miller in Milwaukee with holiday wishes. Thanks to Dianna Cramer for taking this picture of Irma's tree.

 Here are some pictures of Bergdorf's Christmas windows, 

BG Follies of 2012.

Lola Designs a Hat

I am so thrilled to have a new hat designed by Lola Ehrlich. Lola's chic hats are available at the best stores in New York, Paris and Japan. The bright colors in the patchwork fedora are right up my alley. Thank you, Lola, for this extraordinary color-block chapeau.

 Photos by my darling hubby, Richard Cramer

Amanda Makes Dolls

Amanda Fatherizi is the British designer of boudoir dolls and mannequins which grace store windows around the globe. Based on 1940s Hollywood femme fatales, the dolls are beautifully crafted and wear bespoke outfits by Amanda. I photographed Amanda's mannequins in the windows of the shoe store Charlotte Olympia on Madison Avenue in New York. 

Amanda's doll, Madison, at Charlotte Olympia in New York City.

Amanda used my photo on her website, and sent me one of her brooches in thanks.

Amanda's Starlet Brooch -- based on show girls of the Jazz Age.

This ends our fashion diary for today.

There are so many creative people in the world.

It's such a privilege to know them and partake of their wonders. 

I wish you happy holidays and ask you to think about the families that are suffering in the wake of the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Please send them your prayers so that they may find a way to exist in this world.

À Bientôt Mes Amis.