Fashion Fashion Everywhere and Not a Thing to Wear

Categories: In the News , Entertainment , Nonfiction

Olympus Fashion Week in New York City is looming, when all the designers showcase their new looks for Fall 2007. Couture Week is in full swing, and the collections vary all the way from Jean Paul Gaultier's beautiful sleek monochromatic lines to Elie Saab's diaphanous fanciful frills.

Not everyone owns a couture gown, but everyone owns a pair of jeans. In Jeans: A Cultural History of an American Icon (2006) by James Sullivan you can find out why.

Designer and fashion expert Randolph Duke helps us all dress well in his book, The Look: A Guide to Dressing from the Inside Out. In a very comfortable way, he helps us look at our figures and work toward expressing our own personal style.

Truth is, high fashion really does trickle down to our department store sales racks and into our closets. Fashion Week shows set trends, highlight colors, and establish the general mood for the clothing we will be wearing. My question is, Will there be any blue jeans on the runway?

There was a great movie in 1994, Pret a Porter : Ready to Wear that protrayed Paris fashion week. It is funny because it rings true, and it is available in our collection.

Style.com already has some shows online: couture from Valentino, Chritian Dior and a others; ready-to-wear collections with an ominous trend toward 60's chic; and men's styles that are, well, unusual. At least they're wearing hats.

Fashion.net is an edgy online resource with links to designers web sites, but it also is a little more inclusive of other arts, such as architecture, design, and shopping. Oh, isn't shopping an art?