Now Awards Season has come and gone and many of the year's biggest film premieres are still a matter of weeks or months away, fashion fans all over the world with a thirst for celebrity style have turned their attention to the recent Costume Institute Gala, also known as The Met Ball. The annual event, held Sunday night at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and hosted by the biggest and most celebrated name in modern fashion, Vogue Editor in Chief Anna Wintour; is the perfect opportunity for many of the wealthiest and most beautiful women in the world of music, fashion and film to showcase some of the year's most extravagant designs. This year's theme, chosen as a tribute to America's first couture designer Charles James, was 'White Tie and Decorations'. Of course, being dedicated dressmakers and faithful followers of fashion, the staff here at Calico Laine could not wait to see what beautiful gowns the stars would be wearing as they made their way into the gala. However with our reputation as one of the most high quality and comprehensive Haberdashery Shops on the market, this year we were particularly enthusiastic to see who would be top of the class when it came to the 'decoration' aspect of the dress code.
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Lupita Nyong'o caused a storm at Sunday night's Met Ball with this feathered flapper style creation.[/caption]
So it seems that the world's most famous names (or rather their stylists!) had been busy raiding the shelves of their local Haberdashery Shops to make sure that they were the name on the front of every newspaper and fashion publication by the next morning, and as has been the case at every major event so far this year, the name on everybody's lips was that of Academy Award Winner and Hollywood's newest sweetheart, Lupita Nyong'o. Lupita has enjoyed phenomenal success since starring in Twelve Years A Slave, winning an Oscar for her first ever acting role as well as being voted People Magazine's Most Beautiful Woman. She has quickly become renowned worldwide as a verifiable style icon and muse to many of the world's most famous designers with her timeless sense of style. Traditionally, The Met Ball has been the ideal opportunity for stars of stage and screen to experiment with their tried and tested style and Lupita chose this opportunity to take a step back from the refined and elegant style which we have come to expect from her. The green, flapper inspired Prada creation was certainly a huge departure from Lupita's signature style and with the addition of one of our favourite Haberdashery Shop items, the feathered creation caused a huge stir and has divided public and professional opinion. Whether you love or loathe it, the netted creation adorned with beading and feathers has seen Lupita provide another of the years most talked about fashion moments and has demonstrated how with the addition of Haberdashery Shop items you can transform a simple outfit into a jaw dropping creation.
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Brandon Flowers in his legendary Feather Jacket.[/caption]
Lupita is not the only star who has used feathers to cause a stir in the world of fashion. For years, some of the world's most famous style icons have adorned their simplest pieces with Haberdashery Shop items to give them the edge over their contemporaries and ensure that their show stopping outfits will be admired for many years to come. Here at Calico Laine, we are huge fans of the art of embellishment and back in 2008, The Killers' front-man Brandon Flowers gave us all a masterclass in how to take a simple wardrobe staple and customise it to create a masterpiece. Prior to the release of their hit album Day and Age, Brandon was already making a name for himself in fashion with the key element of his style being his bizarre customised jackets. From the silver tuxedo to red blazers with white geometric print, Brandon's outlandish jackets had already been a talking point in the world of fashion, but the piece that really cemented him as a style icon was the simple and timelessly classic black suit jacket by Dolce and Gabbana, which Mr. Flowers chose to customise with huge pheasant feathers. The piece made such a huge impact that, as a consequence GQ Magazine granted Brandon Flowers with their Most Stylish Man Award for 2008. Still, in 2014 we often receive calls to our Haberdashery Shop from fans looking to source similar feather products to recreate the legendary "Feather Jacket" and many online traders make a small fortune from selling replica pieces.
[caption id="attachment_6894" align="alignright" width="209"]
YSL's iconic black dress with ostrich feather skirt.[/caption]
Feathers have long been one of the most sought after staples in any Haberdashery Shop, in fact, many of the world's most talked about stars have long been utilising many different styles of feather to adorn some of their most famous outfits. Way back in 1986, Cher expressed her outlandish personality at the 58th Academy Awards by wearing a custom-made Bob Mackie dress with a two foot tall headpiece made solely of rooster feathers, which she still claims is her favourite of all the outfits she has worn throughout her entire career, which has spanned many decades. Even further back than the 80's during a time when women's fashion was much more conservative, Yves Saint Lauren caused a scandal when he sent one of his models onto the catwalk in 1968 wearing his famous creation of a black chiffon dress with ostrich feather skirt. The iconic piece is now housed at the Victoria & Albert Museum and has been a focal point in many of their most illustrious exhibitions including The Little Black Dress Exhibition and Fashion : an anthology by Cecil Beaton.
Here at Calico Laine, feathers are one of the most popular items in our Haberdashery Shop and we love to use them on many of our projects from Dressmaking to Crafts and even home decor. Whilst many of the above creations may be somewhat too adventurous for everyday wear, it is possible to use Haberdashery Shop items in a more subtle way in your Dressmaking projects or even to update an existing wardrobe item. Have you used any items from our Haberdashery Shop for any of your projects? Please share your pictures with us by tweeting or uploading to our Facebook page.
Lupita Nyong'o caused a storm at Sunday night's Met Ball with this feathered flapper style creation.[/caption]
So it seems that the world's most famous names (or rather their stylists!) had been busy raiding the shelves of their local Haberdashery Shops to make sure that they were the name on the front of every newspaper and fashion publication by the next morning, and as has been the case at every major event so far this year, the name on everybody's lips was that of Academy Award Winner and Hollywood's newest sweetheart, Lupita Nyong'o. Lupita has enjoyed phenomenal success since starring in Twelve Years A Slave, winning an Oscar for her first ever acting role as well as being voted People Magazine's Most Beautiful Woman. She has quickly become renowned worldwide as a verifiable style icon and muse to many of the world's most famous designers with her timeless sense of style. Traditionally, The Met Ball has been the ideal opportunity for stars of stage and screen to experiment with their tried and tested style and Lupita chose this opportunity to take a step back from the refined and elegant style which we have come to expect from her. The green, flapper inspired Prada creation was certainly a huge departure from Lupita's signature style and with the addition of one of our favourite Haberdashery Shop items, the feathered creation caused a huge stir and has divided public and professional opinion. Whether you love or loathe it, the netted creation adorned with beading and feathers has seen Lupita provide another of the years most talked about fashion moments and has demonstrated how with the addition of Haberdashery Shop items you can transform a simple outfit into a jaw dropping creation.
[caption id="attachment_6893" align="alignleft" width="233"] Brandon Flowers in his legendary Feather Jacket.[/caption]
Lupita is not the only star who has used feathers to cause a stir in the world of fashion. For years, some of the world's most famous style icons have adorned their simplest pieces with Haberdashery Shop items to give them the edge over their contemporaries and ensure that their show stopping outfits will be admired for many years to come. Here at Calico Laine, we are huge fans of the art of embellishment and back in 2008, The Killers' front-man Brandon Flowers gave us all a masterclass in how to take a simple wardrobe staple and customise it to create a masterpiece. Prior to the release of their hit album Day and Age, Brandon was already making a name for himself in fashion with the key element of his style being his bizarre customised jackets. From the silver tuxedo to red blazers with white geometric print, Brandon's outlandish jackets had already been a talking point in the world of fashion, but the piece that really cemented him as a style icon was the simple and timelessly classic black suit jacket by Dolce and Gabbana, which Mr. Flowers chose to customise with huge pheasant feathers. The piece made such a huge impact that, as a consequence GQ Magazine granted Brandon Flowers with their Most Stylish Man Award for 2008. Still, in 2014 we often receive calls to our Haberdashery Shop from fans looking to source similar feather products to recreate the legendary "Feather Jacket" and many online traders make a small fortune from selling replica pieces.
[caption id="attachment_6894" align="alignright" width="209"] YSL's iconic black dress with ostrich feather skirt.[/caption]
Feathers have long been one of the most sought after staples in any Haberdashery Shop, in fact, many of the world's most talked about stars have long been utilising many different styles of feather to adorn some of their most famous outfits. Way back in 1986, Cher expressed her outlandish personality at the 58th Academy Awards by wearing a custom-made Bob Mackie dress with a two foot tall headpiece made solely of rooster feathers, which she still claims is her favourite of all the outfits she has worn throughout her entire career, which has spanned many decades. Even further back than the 80's during a time when women's fashion was much more conservative, Yves Saint Lauren caused a scandal when he sent one of his models onto the catwalk in 1968 wearing his famous creation of a black chiffon dress with ostrich feather skirt. The iconic piece is now housed at the Victoria & Albert Museum and has been a focal point in many of their most illustrious exhibitions including The Little Black Dress Exhibition and Fashion : an anthology by Cecil Beaton.
Here at Calico Laine, feathers are one of the most popular items in our Haberdashery Shop and we love to use them on many of our projects from Dressmaking to Crafts and even home decor. Whilst many of the above creations may be somewhat too adventurous for everyday wear, it is possible to use Haberdashery Shop items in a more subtle way in your Dressmaking projects or even to update an existing wardrobe item. Have you used any items from our Haberdashery Shop for any of your projects? Please share your pictures with us by tweeting or uploading to our Facebook page.