Roundup Redux

How exciting is this?!  I've made Independent Fashion Blogger's Links à la Mode again!  Thank you IFB!  I am so grateful to be chosen alongside these other fantastic bloggers - please be sure to read their posts!!!

Picture Perfect

Whether it be styling the right outfit, looking good in glasses, or finding treasures in your closet, ultimately as fashion bloggers we share our fashion story. Through words or through photography, this roundup takes a closer look at making life more beautiful, fashion icons like Lilly Pulitzer who passed away over the weekend, Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli.. and the downward spiral of the house of Saint Laurent. What are we going to do to keep the world beautiful? Sustainable fashion and shopping our closets? And how will we document it.. there are fantastic photo tutorials in the mix to. Enjoy!

Links à la Mode: The IFB Weekly Roundup, April 11th

• Aesthete News: Saint Laurent Goes Rogue with Marilyn Manson and More
• Clever Little Buttons: Fashion Icon Lilly Pulitzer - I will Miss Her
• Coco and Picasso: "Fashion is a B*tch"
• Corinne Monique: The Year of the Serpent
• DIY Doyenne: Iconic Figures in Fashion: Chanel and Schiaparelli
• Ethical Fashion Blog: Is there a sustainable fashion revolution taking place?
• Fashion is Evolution: Adventures in Free-lensing
• Floral & Flannel: Four Eyed and Fabulous
• Inspirations and Celebrations: Designer Spotlight - Lilly Pulitzer
• Magnolia Reverie: Some tips for self-portraits
• Margo and Me: California Coachella Cool
• Miss S.J.: J Brand Denim Dedication at The Dressing Room
• Oh to be a Muse: What's Your Shoe Game Like?
• Rose and Pine: Spring Florals for Under $85!
• Real Girl Glam: 4 Ways to Wear Boyfriend Jeans
• Tailor Spy: Welcome to Buttons State!
• Twelve52: Does Beauty Blogging Make Us More Self-Conscious?
• The Fashionable Wife: Shopping Your Closet
• The Photogramps: 10 Tips for Great Blog Photos
• Wishing for Chanel: Dynamic Denim Mary Katrantzou/Current/Elliot collab

SPONSOR: New @Shopbop: 3x1, Alas, Star Mela, Beth Richards, Flogg, Moyna, Thierry Mugler, Ulla Johnson, Friends & Associates, Star Mela, & Stella McCartney Sunglasses

The Year of the Serpent

Dearest Readers,

I am so sorry for the almost year-long delay in posts, but I was so busy with so many exciting and wonderful projects!  The coming posts on all the news will be well worth the wait, I promise!

For my first post this year, I wanted to tell you all about my début fashion show of my eponymous womenswear line, Corinne Monique, during New York Fashion Week this past February!  Thanks to some wonderful sponsors, friends, and family, and to Rogues Gallery Presents, run by the extremely talented Ron Cooke, who put on the Emerging Designer Showcase, I was able to live the dream.  It truly still feels like it might have all been just a fabulous dream and I keep having to pinch myself to remind me that the experience was real!  I was the only Canadian designer invited to show & I actually ended up closing the Showcase, which was such an honour as the other designers I showed with, Urban Masala by Sehar Peerzada, Willie Hall, Mikasa La Charles, Diane Linston, 7T7 by Tarique Tabani, and Brehon Williams, were all amazingly talented.

My Fall/Winter 2013 collection, entitled ‘The Year of the Serpent,’ was inspired by a sense of wanderlust surrounding the exoticism of the Far East and is a modern take on the Orientalism of bygone eras.  The decadent and dramatic, yet controlled collection examines the symbolism of the poisonous serpent, a mythological creature familiar to all cultures, and often a symbol of female power.  The Orient of my mind encompassed Asian locales including China, Japan, Tibet, Russia, Mongolia, Iran, Indochina, and India, with a few non-Eastern influences thrown in from other sunny faraway cultures, such as Argentina, Spain, Peru, and Mexico.  Here are a few photos of my mood/inspiration board, fabrics, including hand-felted silk, and my sketches:

Across the Universe

Hello Everyone!

Just a quick post about something very exciting in my life right now.

My beautiful friend Vania Georgieva is a national finalist for Miss Universe Canada 2012 and I am sponsoring her with a custom-designed couture gown!  Vania is a lovely person inside and out.  Not only is she gorgeous, she is smart (she's studying Economics and Political Science at the University of Ottawa), kind (she has volunteered for numerous causes, including recently raising awareness and support for SOS Children's Villages Canada), and is one of the most positive and luminous people I know.  You can read more about Vania on the Miss Universe Canada website.  And if you have a minute, please VOTE for her to win the People's Choice Award, which will be announced during the Miss Universe Canada 2012 Preliminary show this Thursday, May 17th!

Valentina, Valentino

Hello Lovelies,

Spring is in the air!  Ahh, Spring...a time for flowers, baby animals, and new fashion ad campaigns!

Has everyone seen the beautiful Spring 2012 ad campaign for Valentino?!  The elegant and feminine Spring collection by Maria Grazia  Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli was photographed by Deborah Turbeville, featuring models Bette Franke, Fei Fei Sun, Maud Welzen, Zuzanna Bijoch, and Clement Chabernaud.  The pretty campaign was shot near Turbeville's home in Mexico, although the setting's textures and colours makes me think of sunwashed stones and romantic ruins in Italy.  The exquisitely delicate and graceful designs against the unrefined backdrop, punctuated by sunlight or shade, made for an ethereal and slightly distant tableau.

I was so struck by the gorgeous Valentino images that I was inspired to create a photoshoot of my own for my sister's upcoming cello concerts this Spring and Summer.  I regularly use my lovely sister, Kathleen, as a model, and you may remember her from a previous cello photoshoot we did a while ago.  For this shoot, it was difficult to create a background that gave the feeling of a sun-drenched Rome here in Toronto, but with some assistance from my location-scout-extraordinare Mother, I think the suggestion is there :)  Kathleen didn't really have a dress she wanted to use for the shoot, so I designed and made a gown for her.  It's actually eco-friendly - I didn't have any material around that quite fit the bill for the colour/texture she was after, so I used some old curtains of hers that were lying around (and were on their way to be given away!) that were just right.  If curtains are good enough for Scarlett O'Hara or Maria von Trapp to sew into something to wear, they're good enough for me!  Anyway, I hope you enjoy the photos!!

Here is a sample of the original Valentino ad campaign:

Think Pink!

Happy Valentines Day!!!

I don't know if you remember my Valentine's Day tribute to red last year (which I recently added to, so please be sure and revisit it :) , but I thought it would be fitting to pay pink its dues this year!

But first, lets watch this to set the mood:

Summertime Essentials

Hey All,

I hope you are having fun in the sun!  Sorry I've been kind of MIA lately.  Besides working, I've been out galavanting a little bit on my days off, enjoying the summer sunshine and lovely heat.  But I promise to update you on all my escapades and to post some more eye candy very soon.

To placate you until that happens, here is a blog post about me as part of Greta Constantine's Summer Staff Essentials blog series, detailing the top ten must-haves I can't live without this summer.  The series is pretty cute, so check it out ;)

Here's the original post on moi, written by GC's Digital PR Intern, Jill:

Corinne's Picks

Ladies Who Launch

Hello Lovely Readers,

One of the perks of being an intern with Greta Constantine is sometimes being lucky enough to tag along with them to Toronto's fashionable events ;)  I'm not really very good at being a social butterfly, but this past month I got plenty of practice hobnobbing with the fashion flock.  Also, I'm not sure if it was by miraculous coincidence or some subconscious self-challenge, but I designed/made a dress for each event (I actually had sewn another dress for the second-last event, which I will wear and post later, but I wore one of the same dresses again instead).  Anyways, I'll try and give you the run-down on all the events...it's another lengthy post, so get ready!

Exhibit A: The Grid Launch Party

The Grid is Toronto's new weekly magazine, replacing Eye Weekly.  As with all the events, drinks and hors d'œuvres were served :)  There was also a cool light show near the DJ.

my cut-out back sundress, super-tall Aldo shoes 
(courtesy GC :) 

Green With Envy

via: The Eco Market

Hello Dear Readers,

My Valentine's Day post was so much fun, I've decided to follow suit and dedicate this post to the colour green, in honour of St. Patrick's Day!  I don't know about you, but my family always celebrates St. Patrick's Day...we're Irish, what can I say?

The above photo is what might first come to mind when you think of "green fashion"...ethical, ecological, earthy.  Now don't get me wrong, I love eco-friendly, sustainable fashion!  But the following photos are my initial thoughts when I mix the words "green" and "fashion:"

Lady in Red

Vogue 1954

Happy Valentine's Day Beloved Readers,

I have always loved Valentine's Day, ever since I was a little girl.  So, in honour of the upcoming Valentine's Day, and as a tribute to the beautiful colour red, I am posting a collection of my favourite gorgeous red dresses!

But first, a song to get you in the mood for love:

Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face

Print Preoccupation

I have always loved animal prints but lately I have become obsessed with leopard print!  Whenever I see something with leopard print on it, my inner beast purrs with satisfaction.  Don't you just adore these photos?  Meow!

Teen Vogue Dec./Jan. 2010

Art Of Fashion "La Belle Époque" Photoshoot

Bonjour :)

After the Art Of Fashion Design Competition, which you can read up on here and here, I wanted to do a photoshoot with each of the models wearing dresses of their choice in partial repayment for their hard work (& to document my own work of course ;).  This is the first shoot with Karina & Kathleen - hopefully I'll be able to shoot & post the other ladies soon, although I'll have to find an indoor venue...

I love photoshoots!!  I love finding the venue, doing the hair & makeup, styling the pieces, photographing the models, editing the photos!  But, although I have a nice basic digital camera, I really want to get one that is more photographer-appropriate (suggestions are welcome!).

This time, for the shoot, I decided to switch it up a bit from the competition & have a cleaner, sexier look for the hair & makeup to modernize the pieces a bit more.  I loved the setting, which my mother, Norah, & Kathleen found!  I really like how the soft dresses play off the hard surfaces.  I also played around with the light & colour filters a bit in photoshop to change the feeling of the dresses.  Karina & Kathleen were, as you can see, amazing!  Everything looks so good on them!  I hope they had as much fun as I did :)

Enjoy!

Nuit Blanche Art Of Fashion

Hey Lovelies,

Ok, so I'll be catching you all up for a while since I'm a little behind in this blogging business...but that just means there should be more interesting posts (I'll try!) to read more frequently (hopefully) :)

This post is a continuation from the last...
So, I was selected as one of ten designer finalists for the Art Of Fashion Design Competition!  I had a little less than one month to create six outfits from my submitted sketches - it wasn't a lot of time & I did all the designing, pattern-making, cutting, & sewing myself, plus kept on working at my multiple part-time jobs in order not to starve, so I was a little crazy by the end of it ;)  But I did it! & I found out along the way that I had a lot of amazing people supporting me!  


These photos are from the night of the competition during Nuit Blanche.  Each designer was assigned one model to showcase one piece & move about the venue (the beautiful Vania Georgieva).  As well, designers had to create an exhibit to display the remaining five pieces from our miniature collection.  I decided to go with the "La Belle Époque" theme & try to create a Parisian cabaret tableau with live models & musicians playing salon music from the golden era.  My sister Kathleen, also one of the models, & Adeline Yu assisted with the set.  The gorgeous makeup on the models was done by the multi-talented  Stefanie Bezaire, & I did their hair.  


My lovely models/musicians (Rebecca El-Saleh - harp, Criselda Gonzales, Jane Levitt - violin, Kathleen Ludwig - cello, & Karina Vera were truly amazing!  They posed & played music the entire night - that's stamina!!

This is me with Vania - both dresses by Corinne Monique

Art Of Fashion Design Competition

Hey all :)  So, as this is my first blog EVER, I wanted to share one of my favourite things with you - fashion sketches!  


These are the sketches I submitted to the 2010 Art Of Fashion Design Competition.  The theme was "La Belle Époque."  My interpretation of the theme reflects a modern adaptation of elements from the golden era (e.g. Edwardian tailoring, leg of mutton sleeves, bustles, ruffles, lace, luxurious fabrics and trims).  Some of my designs lean toward the elegant, more refined side of La Belle Époque, while others depict the notorious Parisian cabarets of the era and a darker side of glamour.  This spectrum of light and dark is illustrated by the use of fabrics, colours, and the amount of skin revealed.  The desired effect is sensuous, but never vulgar, indulgent but not indecent.  


Anyway, I hope you enjoy them!