The Business of Opulence featuring La Crasia
Oh Wall Street... I wonder if it's still fun to tap the gavel at the market's close nowadays, when people are using words like 'plunging' and recession like they are going out of style. Yet through its tragic downs (and glorious ups) Wall Street has managed to maintain its culture (whether you like it or not). Its Art Deco architecture, and also its extravagant 'Gilded Age' structures. In celebration of that opulence, here are photographs of some decadent looks in decadent settings. View fullscreen feature.
Neck & Neck featuring La Crasia
Collars and lapels were originally worn upturned in the early 1900s. Men's collars used to be worn detached and completely starched to the point of discomfort. Mass production eventually made the dress shirt and its upturned lapels available to all; and the frock coat collar was always worn turned up.
Since the invention of the tennis shirt, lapels and collars have been an aesthetic trademark for the 'preppy look.' Whether worn casual or in fur, embellished collars are the perfect canvas for brooches. From the trench to the shrunken blazer, and even the detached bejeweled collar, collars and lapels frame the face, and keep out the cold in style view fullscreen feature
They Only Come Out At Night featuring La Crasia
Some people say there are rules of 'appropriateness' regarding one's choice of attire during specific times of day. I suppose the same could be said about specific times of one's life, though I'm sure Iris Apfel would disagree. view fullscreen feature
When We Left Earth featuring La Crasia
It was during the sixties that modernism trumped decadence. The ornate was discarded for the aesthetic of function and pre-fab manufacturing techniques made modernism's proliferation spread from block to block, until the American collective memory made it seem that every house was exactly like Kevin Arnold's home during his 'Wonder Years.. more...
Designers featured in this story:
An Androids Tale :: I Dream the Dream of Love featuring La Crasia
When Hampton Fancher set out to write 'Blade Runner' he wanted to cross-pollinate strains of forties Film Noir with the science fiction canon of the early eighties (which was about to come into existence). 'Blade Runner' is both about the future and the past, specifically, about evolutionary and technological change in relation to memory. Rachael (Sean Young) exists in the undoubtedly turbulent intersection of these themes; aesthetically, she represents them.
Costume Designers Charles Knode and Michael Kaplan (under the direction of Ridley Scott), set to 'mix... the style of yesteryear with a look toward tomorrow.' Fine Arts Writer Francesca Myman wrote of Rachael's wardrobe ::
'Shoulder padding, stark straight lines, and lacquered hair make her proportions too perfect and slightly extreme. At the same time, they evoke... historicity... her clothing is closely based on a forties Film Noir model, and it evokes a sense of nostalgia... Her clothing instantaneously places her in relationship to history -- she is not purely modern, instead, she is classic.' more...
Geek Chic featuring La Crasia
Carmen Marc Valvo, a New York-raised designer, dipped his toe into nerd-chic in his Fall 2008 runway show when he sent 'BUtterfield 8' inspired dual-satin gowns down the runway with 'Revenge of the Nerds' glasses. And boy did we notice. The juxtaposition of Buddy Holly specs with his red carpet classic Hollywood design fused fashion classicism with the look of unorthodox intellectualism. more...
Peter Soronen Designer Profile featuring La Crasia
You don't have to be a Fashion Editor to figure out that Peter Soronen's designs have their origin in corsetry. After making made-to-order evening and wedding gowns in Chicago and then New York City, Peter's collection made its runway debut in 2007, the thread through each of his garment evolutions being the aesthetic of Elizabethan Louis XIV, the Victorian era and the '50s (which are all eras when the corset was visible in outerwear.) He made the jump from runway into Barney's fairly quickly with star power like Sarah Jessica Parker behind him. (Hey, if you're going to play the celeb game, it's good to have someone with personal style rather than that more...
Featured in this story
Sacrifice featuring La Crasia
Today's designers are creating garments that provoke us to compare current fashion with that of WWII. Do our reasons for fighting against the Axis Powers compare to our reasons for engaging in combat in Iraq? Consequently, are the sacrifices willing to be made then comparable to those we are willing to make now? more...
Posh & Gloss featuring La Crasia
The Twenties have often been cited as the era of inception of today's popular culture. Perhaps it is why we stubbornly continue to reference the style of the times. Or perhaps it's our identification with the roaring age that was "...anxious to enjoy itself, anxious to forget the past, anxious to ignore the future."* No matter, the reason, Gilded romanticism never seems to fade, and today's fashion designers continue to modernize its essence with garments that allow us to reflect our own light in big or small ways. more...
My Space featuring La Crasia
If Your Space is a motley bit of html code in a so-called virtual community where anyone that happens by is a friend, visit Our Space, a luxury penthouse apartment on twenty-third and seventh, where fashion and fine living go hand in hand. By all means be online, but live offline. more...
Night Falls featuring La Crasia
Welcome to Night Falls, a nocturnal world where pleasure is delivered to your door by Fed-Ex! In this dark drama all the vintage pieces were purchased on ebay.com where, with a good eye and some timely bidding, you can boost you private collection with some pretty impressive labels. We found Chanel, Plein Sud and Ted Backer to name a few...... more...