To Dream the Impossible Dream

Hello Lovelies!

Did anyone watch Vogue's live streaming of the Met's 2012 Costume Institute Gala red carpet last night?!  What did you think?  Who was on your best-dressed list?  I have posted my favourite looks below, but first let's talk about the occasion for the night's celebration, the Met's Spring 2012 Costume Institute exhibition, Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations.

I really hope I'll somehow be able to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art this year to view the new exhibition!  I'm a long-time fan of both Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada.  The exhibit explores the similarities between these two Italian fashion powerhouses through Baz Luhrmann-directed videos of simulated conversations between the two women about their work.

Here's a little video about the exhibit (you can find more at the Met's website):

Now on to the sequins & feathers!!!  Many of the Met Gala looks had a fittingly 1930s or surrealist element to them, including my first pick: Anna Wintour in a custom Prada dress, which pays homage to Schiaparelli's 1937 Lobster Dress which featured a lobster painted on it by Salvador Dali!

Anna Wintour in custom Prada

Golden Girl

Dear Readers,

I had hoped to have this posted a little sooner, but c'est la vie, as they say ;)

Celebrities showed up for the 84th Academy Awards in every colour under the sun, including black and white.  There were metallic lovelies and some red stunners, as well as many pretty pastels and nudes, jewel tones and brights, with some total wild cards thrown into the mix.  The green carpet eco trend was also still going strong with some gorgeous designs.  As promised, here are all of my picks for favourite dresses from the Oscars.  I've included gowns seen both on the Oscars red carpet, as well as at the Vanity Fair after party.

Meryl Streep in eco Lanvin
this dress is a winner!

The 2012 BAFTA's Green Carpet

Dear Readers,
With only one week to go before the Oscars, I thought we'd review this year's BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Awards.  In contrast to the colourful Golden Globes and last year's BAFTAs, the BAFTAs this year were, for the most part, a black-and-white affair, similar to the SAG Awards' red carpet.  Any Academy Awards colour predictions??!  There was another interesting and 'colourful' trend at the BAFTAs - a few celebrities were going green with eco-friendly and sustainable designs!

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:

Rocking and Rolling in the Deep

Dear Readers,

Sunday night's red carpet at the 54th Grammy Awards (or should we just call it the Adele Awards?) was a bit more subdued than it was last year.  Most of the celebs showed up in black, with a few metallics thrown in to the mix.  Here are a few of my favs from the evening:

The 2012 SAG Awards: In Black and White and Shades of Grey

Hello Lovelies,

Are you all getting excited for the Oscars?!  I know I am!   Between now and the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, February 26th, there's only one more movie star red carpet event - the BAFTAs, which happens next Sunday, along with the Grammys!  Although not as visually exciting as the Golden Globes, the celebs were on display last Sunday for the SAG Awards.  For the most part, the stars played it pretty safe and shied away from colour, keeping it black and white or silvery grey.  This was pretty much the opposite of the rainbow of hues seen at the Globes.
Lets take a peek at some of my favs, shall we?

Jewel Tone Globes

Dear Readers,
It's that red carpet time of year again when the movie stars get their pose on!  Sunday's Golden Globes certainly did not disappoint this year (unlike last year's lackluster affair).  There was lots of colour and sparkle, as there should be, as well as interesting textures.  To start us off, I've grouped a few of my favourite jewel tone lovelies together:

Trends in Television

Hey All,

Just another quick post concerning tonight's Emmy Awards.  It seems red, white (/nude/metallic), and blue are all still going strong.  But there was also a lot of dramatic black on the red carpet tonight.

I couldn't actually watch the whole show...I found it to be too annoyingly over-the-top to tell the truth.  There were also some really atrocious dresses (Gwyneth Paltrow leads that list, quickly followed by Padma Lakshmi, Julianna Margulies, and Paula Abdul, along with Heather Morris and Kerry Washington whose dresses could have been pretty if their skirts didn't look like a ruffle explosion and dripping blood, respectively...).

But lets not dwell on that ;)  Here are my picks for the best-dressed ladies of the evening, starting with my favourite lbd:

Kaley Cuoco in Romona Keveza
I love this - so easy & different

MTV Video Music Awards aka Beyoncé's Baby Bump

Dear Readers,

Before I get to my summer recap, I had to do a quick post on the MTV VMAs.  Any music industry red carpet event is guaranteed to have a few how-outrageously-dressed-can-I-get-away-with looks.  This year, there were the usual loud and crazy "what is that?" outfits (think Nicki Minaj), most of which were fun and humorous rather than the more traditional scantily clad options.  Of course, Lady Gaga had run out of outrageous ideas, so she just showed up as a dude - Jo Calderone to be specific.  But even with all that going on, even with the Britney Spears Tribute, Beyoncé outdid them all...and looked fabulous (and normal) doing it...just because she was preggers!!

Beyoncé in Lanvin

Beach Bombshells & Bathing Beauties

Hello Lovelies,

I hope you are all enjoying a fabulous Summer!  One of my favourite things to do in the Summertime (or ever, period.) is to spend a day at the beach - I just love it!!  I find it very relaxing and inspirational.  I always have to be dragged out of the water, even though I like to just sit and soak up the sun too with a good magazine.  I even learned how to surf once (little-known fact)!

Anyway, even if it's not your thing, you'll love these beach babe photos:

Givenchy Swimsuit, Vogue, July 1953

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 :) 

Cannes Film Festival Favourites

Dear Readers,

Last week saw the closing of the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.  It looked so gorgeous and warm there, I just wanted to hop on a plane and move to France ;)

All the celebs were there, decked out in their finest.  But in my opinion, Rachel McAdams stole the show - every single one of her looks was stunning!  Another favourite was the ever-daring-anything-but-subtle Fan Bing Bing - her choices are so crazy, dramatic, and over-the-top, yet somehow strangely amazing ;)  Maybe it's her confidence that carries the look?

The most popular colour of the festival was probably white, mostly of the lace variety, which was lovely and made me immediately want a white dress for summer... ;)

Below are my personal favs, in (mostly) red, white, and blue :)

Rachel McAdams in Marchesa - LOVE

Meet Me At the Met!

New York's Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute Gala this past Monday chose a special topic for the evening.  The traditional accessibly fun and sometimes trivial themes of past Galas were replaced by a more weighty, serious subject matter:  paying tribute to the work and memory of the late Lee Alexander McQueen and the unveiling of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibit in his honour, entitled Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty.

God Save McQueen!

via: Telegraph

Dear Readers,

I must preface this by saying, had Kate Middleton not made the right dress choice last Friday, this post would not exist.

Truth be told, up until last week, I wasn't very excited about the Royal Wedding.  But I started to get into it, and come Friday morning, after I saw the (correct) dress, I just couldn't help myself!  I got sucked in to the frenzy of monarchical madness!!  (You might not be able to tell, but I wrote this post with a British accent!)

For anyone who missed the wedding and wants to catch up, this is basically what happened (and I dare any wedding naysayers not to enjoy this!):

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:"

And the Oscar for Best Dressed Goes To...

The adorable Colin Firth & Anne Hathaway

Hello Film & Fashion Lovers,

I was so excited for the Academy Awards last night!  Which films/actors would take home an Oscar?  I'm so glad The King's Speech won for Best Picture!  How would the hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco do?  It was a pretty Anne-dominated-but-otherwise-basic presentation, but I did like their opening sequence and loved the music video mash-up...so funny.  I also liked the King's Speech voice-over lead-up to the Best Picture winner, even if it was a little bit strangely prophetic ;)  But the most important question, for me anyway, was who would wear who?! 

Let's start with Anne Hathaway, who wore a total of eight outfits during the night.  

Here are my pics for her best looks:

Anne Hathaway...in a Lanvin tux & amazing Brian Atwood heels

Daring & Demure: A Tale of Two Red Carpets (Grammys & BAFTAs)

Hello Readers,

This past weekend, two interesting fashion events occurred (ok, way more if you count the start of the Fall/Winter 2011 Ready-To-Wear season with the Montreal and New York Fashion Weeks kicking off.  But never fear, I will, of course, cover that in detail in a future post...):  the Grammys and the BAFTAs.  

To me, the Grammys are always an excuse to go absolutely crazy (sometimes to the extreme and ridiculous) with fashion, and the celebs seem to try to get away with as much (or as little ;) as possible.  This year, some fashion choices even left me asking, "who hatched this idea?"  As I have no (kind) words for certain wardrobe choices, I will just post some looks I liked...

My favs:

Rihanna in Christian Dior Haute Couture
I love couture & I love pansies, nuff said.
Plus, I think this dress shows off this gorgeous girl's *ahem* assets better than other outfits...
& still screams for attention, just in a different way.

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

Red Carpet Replay

Hello again Dear Readers,

Two posts in as many days?!? Shocking I know (especially since the next one might not be for weeks)!  But I forgot that the SAG (Screen Actors Guild) Awards were on last night...and I just had to see what everyone was wearing ;)  There still weren't any "wow" dresses (in my humble opinion), but there were some nice prints thrown into the mix of pales and brights.  

Here are my favs of the night, lovely ladies first followed by dapper gents:

Claire Danes in Louis Vuitton
This fits her much better than other dresses...

Wendie Malick in ?
Another pretty print.

Julia Stiles in Monique Lhuillier

I usually don't like her picks,
but this is pretty.

Lea Michele in Oscar de la Renta
Such a nice change from her prom-style dresses!

Mila Kunis in Alexander McQueen

Christine Baranski in ? - it strangely works!

Sarah Hyland in Max Mara - nice & simple.

January Jones in Carolina Herrera

Kyra Sedgwick in Thierry Mugler

Taye Diggs in ?
He looks adorable in a bow tie :)

Colin Firth in Tom Ford
Gorgeous!

I hope all you fashion/film lovers are gearing up for the Academy Awards!  I know I am :)

Corinne xo

Masquerade! Paper faces on parade...

Around this time of year, I always get the January blues - too many short, dark days and too much winter, cold, and snow (I wonder if people who live in warmer climates have this issue?).  I am a film lover and often escape with a good movie year-round, but during the dead of winter, this pastime almost becomes a necessary obsession.  I am also a lover of themes and like to watch "seasonal" movies (crazy, I know).  This includes films I deem "wintery" or those which are the complete opposite of winter, as a virtual vacation.  For some reason, I always have the urge to watch The Phantom of the Opera around this time of year...you have to be in the mood for that one and around about now it just feels right ;)

Anyway, this got me to thinking about masquerades in general and how that theme was often used in literature (think Shakespeare) as well as films and fashion.  I love the idea behind masquerades and masks - the ability to conceal one's identity and become someone or something else for a short time.  I also love the glamour and mystery associated with masquerades.  Wouldn't it be fun to have a masquerade party?!

Besides The Phantom of the Opera there are some other great masked moments in film:

Kirsten Dunst as Marie Antoinette