Golden Globes Post #2

STACY LOMMAN - Spring 2013

Photo: Shane LaVancher
copyright Stacy Lomman, 2012

I've already done a post on the Golden Globes which concentrated on the humor rather than the fashion because the humor was far better.  However, being a designer, I felt compelled and perhaps obligated to share my two cents.  Right off the bat, I'm going to give Anne Hathaway a shout out because she looked very pretty but, more importantly, she was wearing a corset and skirt combo and not a dress.  I could have loaned her this look from my spring '13 collection...

two piece ensemble from my spring '13 collection

 lace up (back) corset top and mermaid skirt in brocade

Photo: Shane LaVancher

Model: Stepanie Doggett

Anne Hathaway in Chanel two piece ensemble

Photo credit: Getty

Overall, I didn't see anything that took my breath away or that was risky or even ugly enough to cause a buzz.  For once, I just want to see somebody break the mold.  All of these actresses look interchangeable.  I'm bored.  And Claire Danes is gorgeous and talented, but she shows me no real sense of style.  I think she wore the same dress as last year at the Oscars, just in a different color!

Okay, maybe the dress is fairly different, but they're both pretty much a drapey blob of solid color.

(left): Danes in Versace at the 2013 Golden Globes / (right): Danes wearing Lanvin in February, 2012 at the Oscars.

I was happy to see celebs showing off some skin, after all, why not?  They invest enough time and money into personal trainers, personal chefs, life coaches, spa treatments, colonics, etc. -- don't you think they should flaunt their efforts? 

Eva Longoria pulls a "Jolie" with a high slit

Photo credit: Getty

One of the skintastic trends to grace the red carpet last night was the plunging neckline.  I heard so much chatter about this on Twitter during the show, I was surprised by the amount of people who found it to be distasteful.  Well, I wholeheartedly disagree, thank you very little!  I've been designing pieces like that since I was a teenager.

STACY LOMMAN, Spring 2012

black sheer cocktail dress with plunging neckline and hot pink lining

Photo: Randy Brooke 

Model: Katja

Katharine McPhee in Theyskens Theory

Photo credit: Getty

We also saw a lot of skin through sheer fabrics including lace, a la Jennifer Lopez.  I'll be the first to say that I'm not a fan of hers, but the dress looked great.  And, like the plunging necklines, JLo's dress was the recipient of a swarm of nasty tweets.  I'm beginning to think that people don't like to see other people looking good.  Ah, women can be so catty.  I, for one, feel just the opposite and it's a good thing too because I can't afford to be that way in my business -- I wouldn't sell any dresses!

JLo in Zuhair Murad looking smart with Casper Smart

Photo credit: Getty

To wrap it up, I'll list some of my best and worst dressed for your entertainment...

I loved Kate Hudson in McQueen, but was very disappointed with her hair.  Pull it up!  It would be more sophisticated that way and it wouldn't cover up the gorgeous detail on the front yoke.  Shame on her stylist!

Photo: Getty

Best dressed couple.  Daniel Craig in Tom Ford and Rachel Weisz in Louis Vuitton.

Chic, stylish and unique. 

Photo credit: Getty

Most fun!  Helena Bonham Carter in Dolce & Gabanna with a fun clutch (WendyB you MUST get this!) and Tim Burton.

Photo credit: Getty

Worst dressed: Giulianorexic, oops I meant, Giuliana Rancic in Celia Kritharioti

sorry, but she looks like a head on a stick

Photo credit: Getty

Vintage Advantage

As I mentioned in Thursday’s post, I went to an amazing vintage boutique called FROCK, down in Nolita. I promised to share a little bit more about this fabulous treasure chest of couture and high-end vintage apparel.

shop owner, Evan Ross with jewelry designer, WendyB

(both in vintage shades available at FROCK)

First of all, the space is great and I really appreciate how everything is sectioned off by color! According to owner Evan Ross, that is how most people prefer to shop and it forces them to see all of the beautiful pieces that they may have passed over if they were just looking in one particular section, like cocktail attire or sweaters, for example. This makes perfect sense to me. I color code my closet. Well, I actually section off categories first (i.e. jackets, dresses, skirts, pants, etc.) and then I arrange by color. Anal much?

View looking toward the back of the shop

Anyway, Evan is extremely knowledgeable and extremely helpful. I highly recommend paying him a visit and allowing him to pull out some wonderful pieces and style you. As I perused the racks, I happened upon a fantastic Louis Feraud dress. The fabric and the volume spoke to me and even though I knew it would be “too much dress” for me, I simply HAD to try it on! Evan was excited to see it and quickly accessorized me with the perfect red belt and Lucite necklace (an absolutely magnificent piece that I already had my eye on!). Below is the final result…

 Dress: Louis Feraud Couture, 1982: $1,550

Belt: red snakeskin, circa 1980: $150

Lucite Necklace from the 50's: $1,100

Shoes: in dressing room at Frock

I’m so in love with this shop and I am interested more than ever in vintage merchandise. I am very disappointed in what’s happening with fashion as of late (with the exception of couture and some other great ready-to-wear designers). I think vintage is newer (in concept) and more interesting than anything you will see in SAKS. In fact, many high-end designers actually purchase vintage pieces and copy them (exactly) for their collections. Then, of course, the moderately priced labels copy the high-end designers and the budget chains eventually copy the moderate labels and suddenly, we see a version of this beautiful Feraud dress in Target! OK, I’m feeling ill. Let’s get back to FROCK…


I had such a lovely visit and became very intrigued by this wonderful little shop, so I asked Evan Ross to answer some questions I could share with all of you…


STACY: How long have you been in business?
EVAN: I’ve been in business now for 7 years -- one and a half as a showroom and the rest as retail.

STACY: Can you give a brief little background as to how you got involved with vintage merchandise?
EVAN: I got into vintage a long time ago starting in high school and then even more in college when I was a "club kid". The collection at the showroom/store started to grow when I was collecting pieces and using pieces during my 11 years as a stylist. I used the pieces for advertising, music videos, celebrity purposes, etc.

STACY: Where do you get most of your product?
EVAN: Pieces come from all resources: private collections, auctions, scouring out of the way places around the globe and from vintage dealers.

STACY: Who are some of your best customers and some famous ones too?
EVAN: The best customers are those with an individual sense of style and an appreciation for quality. At FROCK our vintage wears are for those looking for what we call modern vintage. It is timeless vintage -- clothing that doesn't look like costume. It’s indicative of an era, but not pigeonholed to that era. Some famous clients are Patricia Field, Sarah Jessica Parker, Julia Roberts, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and the Olsen twins.

STACY: Do you think vintage has gained popularity in the last several years?
EVAN: Vintage has been popular since the "Sex and the City Era", but has seen a resurgence once again as of late. People are interested in individual style. With everything so mass market and produced, vintage clothing affords the wearer to exhibit singular style. You'll never end up on the “who wore it best list” because you'll be the only one. Vintage at FROCK's level also affords the wearer the chance to wear clothing of a certain quality that would be at an unattainable price point in the present day.

Wendy Brandes in vintage Bottega Veneta shades she purchased at FROCK

FROCK is located at in New York City at 170 Elizabeth Street between Spring and Kenmare. They offer a range of apparel, handbags, jewelry and accessories from the 50's through 80's. Also, FROCK carries Linda Derector’s collection of vintage sunglasses (as pictured on WendyB above and on Evan & Wendy in the first photo).

FROCK
170 Elizabeth Street
NY, NY 10012
212.594.5380
Frocknyc.com

The Oscars - The Bad, The Bad & The Ugly

OK, so I had to do an Oscar post after all. I watched the fashion police with Joan Rivers last night and I loved how bitchy and honest she was. I did have to disagree with her when she trashed my boy Robert Downey. I don’t care what he wears; he could roll out of bed -- or somebody else’s, (perhaps a stranger’s bed at a random house in Malibu) and still look gorgeous!

Robert Downey Jr.

I’m not even going to do a best dressed list this time because, frankly, nobody was that inspiring or well dressed in my opinion. Of course, everybody has different opinions when it comes to red carpet dressing, but I wish the “fashion police” (besides Joan Rivers) would stop worrying about offending actresses and have the guts to say when something is horrible. I mean, JLo on the best dressed list? Come on! She is a gorgeous woman, but her dress was an absolute disaster. It looked like a second dress was growing out of the side. Jennifer was wearing Siamese twins.

Jennifer Lopez

Charlize Theron, please fire your stylist. Charlize is so beautiful, but I couldn’t get past her breasts! Usually, that would be a good thing, but not in this case. Why would she think that lumpy rosettes would enhance her figure?

Charlize Theron

I know I’ve mentioned before that I am not a girly girl, so I usually don’t go for ruffles, but I keep an open mind when I’m looking at other people’s choices. Everyone has different taste – I get it. However, Zoe Saldana and Vera Farmiga just didn’t do ruffles the right way. These two ensembles were hideous. Sorry girls.

Zoe Saldana & Vera Farmiga

I wish that James Cameron’s wife would just eat something already. I can’t even remember what she was wearing because I couldn’t actually look at her for more than 2 seconds! I thought she was part of the homage to horror films the Academy did.

Suzy Amis (aka, Skelatress) & James Cameron

Finally, did anybody else feel that the interpretive dance was sort of out of place? I’m glad they wasted so much time with it that poor Tom Hanks had to announce the best picture in 1.8 seconds. Way to honor Kathryn Bigelow guys, she only made history! Well, I guess the interpretive dance was more important.

Ricky Gervais performing interpretive dance on the UK's "Office"

This would have been more appropriate for the Oscars!

The SAG Awards!

Following my review of the Golden Globes just one week ago, I wanted to take a different approach with the SAG awards. I thought it would be fun to get some audience participation this time! That’s not to say that I didn’t add my two cents here and there (I just can’t help it!), but I’d like to hear what you all think. Be honest, be brutal, be flattering… I wanna hear it!

Anna Kendrick in Alberta Ferretti

I did love this one. Sorry, couldn’t bite my tongue.

Carey Mulligan in Lanvin

Joan Allen in… a macramé necklace she saved from her old Girl Scouting days.

WTF? Now, that could be an acronym for many things, i.e. “wow, that’s fantastic.” But, I think you all really know what I’m saying!

Diane Kruger in Jason Wu

Kyra Sedgwick in Vera Wang

Are you getting a military vibe?

Kate Hudson in Pucci

TWO white dresses in a row Ms. Hudson? Are you that desperate to get married?

Sandra Bullock in Alexander McQueen

Tina Fey in Ferragamo

OK, it’s a much better effort, but somehow she manages to make Salvatore look cheap. The fabric isn’t behaving properly because I’m sorry to say, the dress just doesn’t fit her. Sorry – love you Tina!

Anna Paquin in McQueen

Drew Barrymore in Monique Lhuillier

Oh boy. Almost, but not quite. Waist down is a disaster. Thumbs up from the waist up (except for her bird’s nest hair).

Marion Cotillard in Elie Saab

Nicole Kidman in Oscar de la Renta

Mariska Hargitay in Vera Wang

Is she preggers? That would be the only reason to wear this unflattering sack. And Mariska is so beautiful, what a shame.

Vera Farmiga in J. Mendel

Jane Lynch

Did she sew this herself?

Christina Applegate in Cavalli

Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Dolce & Gabbana

No. Just no.

Sofia Vergara in Carolina Herrera

Cheryl Hines

Did she and Jane Lynch plan to dress alike?

Julie Benz

Vanishing Models... it's not what you think

I recently visited my local Barnes & Noble one dreary, cold and lazy day and as per usual, I made my way over to the magazine section. How very literary of me. I looked for something to inspire me when suddenly, I gasped with horror. Staring right at me with a vacant look was Britney Spears with her two “mini K-Feds” on the January cover of ELLE. “Ugh” I thought to myself, “how repulsive.” And with that, I decided not to purchase the magazine. I glanced at the rest of the covers and noticed that actresses graced every single publication available. What the hell? Are the models on strike?

when Supermodels ruled the world!

Herb Ritts' famous photo: "Stephanie, Cindy, Christy, Tatjana, Naomi - Hollywood 1989"

The overexposed and overrated Kate Hudson not only appeared on January’s HARPER'S BAZAAR, she also turned up on the cover of ELLE UK’s December ’09 issue. The list continues… SJP on January GLAMOUR (and she was just on ELLE’s December cover); Cate Blanchett on December VOGUE; Rachel McAdams on January VOGUE; Natalie Portman on January MARIE CLAIRE and Kirsten Dunst on December ALLURE. I found it strange that COSMO, the floozy of fashion magazines, selected the prepubescent Amanda Bynes for its January cover. But, the award for the most ridiculous belongs to WOMEN’S HEALTH for featuring Ashley Simpson on its December issue. Yeah, she’s the epitome of good health.

I started to get really frustrated. There HAD to be an actual MODEL on one of these publications. Oprah is an exception – it’s HER magazine, she has the right to be a cover model. I kept scanning the shelves. W Magazine -Jennifer Garner. LUCKY Magazine – Olivia Wilde. December/January NYLON – Hillary Duff! Christ, what’s a model gotta do these days? Poor Giselle only popped up on the September cover of Indian VOGUE! I know, I know “poor” Giselle – not.

Supermodel, Giselle on Indian VOGUE - Sept. '09

So, I ended up buying the holiday issue of ZINK which has been one of my favorites for a few years now. Oh, and there is a FASHION model on the cover. Victory!