M.Patmos Fall 2013: Stealing From The Boys

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During my sophomore year of high school, I had an obsession with vintage blazers- tweed ones, fitted ones, bulky ones, ones with elbow pads- I loved them all! But I quickly found that woman's blazers didn't fit me correctly. They needed to be tailored to fit me, and I just didn't have that kind of dough. Rather than wear ill-fitting woman's jackets, I wore men's blazers which had a looser fit. I still have those beautiful, bulky jackets, and I love them just as much as I did back then. Because of this, I could really relate to designer Marcia Patmos' inspiration for her fall 2013 collection: a housewife who borrows her husbands clothes. The collection beautifully combined feminine pieces and masculine cuts by oversizing cardigans and jackets. The rounded shape of the outer wear really softened up the silhouettes, and mannish sweaters were shown in pink and purple hues.

I love when designers use digital resources to create their collections, so the digitized camo print seen in the collection was a nice update to a tired trend. It made camo relevant to the 21st century! The military influence didn't stop there- I spotted a beautiful olive bomber jacket paired with camo skirt and fell in love with it on the spot!

Often seen in the collection were neck 'funnels' (see the green funnel above) for the girl who likes turtlenecks... Minus the sweater. They're definitey an interesting concept, but I don't know if I'd be brave enough to wear one (unless it was fashion week- you can get away with anything during fashion week).

I really loved the collection's sparkly elements, seen on the camo print below, the shiny burgundy pants, and on a metallic copper skirt- it balanced nicely with the other matte colors in the collection!

The designer, Marcia Patmos, with her collection.

Meeting Nicoline, And How She Changed My Perspective On Models

All the models backstage at the WHIT show were chatting, texting, posing for a camera, or touching up their makeup. All, that is, except one model. She stood out like a sore thumb. Her wide-brim hat made her 5 '8 frame over 6ft tall, and she was off to the side with a nervous, serious look on her face. She looked really young, - I guessed maybe 15 - and she was all alone, constantly fidgeting and adjusting her outfit. I just knew it was her first season. A small part of me wanted to take a picture because she had such a striking look, but the real reason I asked to take her picture was because she looked like she could use a light-hearted chat. She gave me a few serious poses with the hat on, and I asked if I could I take a picture or two with her hat off. As soon as the overpowering hat was removed, her entire demeanor softened, resulting in the shot above. After I was done with photos, I said 'So... Is this your first season?'

I found out her name was Nicoline, she was a senior in high school, and she was away from home to be at fashion week. I was really surprised to find out that she was 17, and she was equally surprised to find out that I was as well. We talked about her success so far (this was indeed her first fashion week), and balancing fashion and school. We had to stop chatting when the models had to leave, so we wished her good luck with the rest of her week and she left.

Befofore I met Nicoline, I though of all models as just that - models. Pretty canvases who showcase designer clothes. It didn't really occur to me that these are very young girls who are very often far from home. Many don't speak English, and some have never been outside of their country before. Now when I see models during fashion week, especially the ones who don't look much older than I am, I start to wonder all about their lives. Rather than analyzing their look or their walk, I wonder how were they scouted, where they're from, if they're nervous, etc. It has really made me less judgmental. I'm grateful that I got to get to know Nicoline, but I'm even more grateful that she was able to give me some perspective on what today's aspiring models are going through.

 

Bella Heathcote For Vogue Australia

via

I love these sweet shots of actress Bella Heathcote. They're so laid back! 

Editorial: Playful By The Rules

Those shoes. Oh my goodness.

Yes. Just, yes. This is simply wonderful.

via

Outfit Analysis: Hedvig Opshaug

Pictures from here and here 

I have to much fun doing these 'outfit dissection' posts. Today's well-dressed street style darling is Hedvig Opshaug. Her lovely looks showed up on practically every major street style blog during fashion month. I really liked this look in particular. It just works! Not to mention the combination of pieces is a street style photographers dream. Here's why...

The Hat:The fashion-y baseball hat was huge for spring. Also, it's Miu Miu, natch. 

The Clutch: Metallic and square. For spring it's perfection. Dozens of glossies were pushing the The boxy shape, and metals have been a thing for quite a few seasons now. 

The Jewelry: The super-thin rings have been popping up all over the place on tumblr, and I think they're beautiful and elegant. The statement ring is YSL, and it's considered a classic piece. 

The Pants: The light contrast helps the hat match (to an extent), and the black stripe is part of the 'sporty' trend for spring 2012. (I personally like this approach- I liked the 'sport' trend, but I didn't want to run around in neon mesh screaming "I'm chic!". The stripe is subtle, and really quite cool.)

The Jacket: The shape is amazing, and I love the rounded back. It really stands out! She's also choosing to wear it how most editors choose to wear their coats during fashion week, which is over the shoulders. (This styling idea never quite never made sense to me I would always try it and my jacket would just awkwardly fall to the ground. There must be a special skill that editors have that I, a homely blogger, have not yet obtained.)

The Sweater: It's a perfect fir for her frame. It's just subtle enough to let the other parts of the look stand out, yet it's sleeves compliment the shape and volume of the jacket.

Also, is Hedvig blogs! And it's a pretty good blog at that. Check it out here.

Ulyana Sergeenko Spring 2012

via Vogue.ru

A little part of me just died. The hem length, fabric, print, volume, etc. It's all so perfect. So in love. Ulyana's work is amazing!

Style Profile: Eva Fontanelli

Eva's skill when it comes to outfit styling and mastering personal style amazes me. She manages to look impeccable without ever showing too much skin or being in bad taste. Something about her ensembles are so classy and understated, yet if you do a double take you realize the amount of thought that went into the proportions and awareness to body shape. She's such a tremendous style inspiration to me!
All photos via The Sartorialist!

Review: M.Patmos Fall 2012

( I love this picture. Happy models make clothes so much prettier!)

(Quick note: how AMAZING is the red/black skirt on the left? Want. Oh, so badly.)

(the models, featured with Marcia Patmos in the center.)

A lone Violinist played as M.Patmos presented its fall 2012 collection at Milk studios last week. There, a little over a dozen models sported beanie hats, wooden jewelry (a collaboration with Ten Thousand Things), and some of the most beautiful knits this blogger has ever seen! I was almost a little surprised by the fact that there were so few looks- only fifteen in all- but I went away feeling totally satisfied. These clothes are gorgeous, and incredibly wearable! My favorite pieces? The beautiful, architectural (and insanely chic) slim-sleeved coats that were shown in pink, red/black, and print, and a hot pink asymmetrical pencil skirt. I also picked up on some of the trends that have been in abundance for fall, like horizontal stripes, red and pink colors, and fur and leather accents. To sum it up, beautiful colors, easy, warm pieces with a fashion edge, and great styling. I wanted every look!

(photos by myself, final shot via fashionista.com)