Fashion Photography: Guide for the Inept

Observe the fashion of photography...

EXAMPLE #1: THE BAD GIRL

EXAMPLE #2: A BLONDE IN A BIKINI

EXAMPLE #3: THE BROODING MISFIT

EXAMPLE #4: THE PLAIN JANE

EXAMPLE #5: THE ARTSY TYPE

Now you may be getting the point... photographers and models are chosen to convey specific stereotypical looks for different fashion products. The goal in the end product (advertising) is to get the viewer to identify with the woman in the photo and want to be more like that...

And then run out and buy jeans, jewelry or whatever they happen to be selling.

Often they will throw in a semi-shaved ruggedly good looking male model in a clear effort to say... "Buy this and you will get a handsome man!"

And it works very easily because people are basically stupid and fall for it even when they know they're being pitched advertising.

How to convert a Hoodie into a bag for your laptop

FASHION meets TECHNOLOGY - How to convert a Hoodie into a bag for your laptop.

Who is Patrizia?

FASHION - I just really like the smart way they did this advertising campaign... keeps the focus on the clothes, not the model's face.

James Laver's Law of Fashion

FASHION - James Laver was a museum curator for the Victoria and Albert Museum in London from the 1930s through the 1950s. Laver was also a fashion theorist and historian and having no other claim to fame he conceived of Laver’s Law — an attempt to make sense of the "fashion trend life cycle".

Here is James Laver's Law of Fashion:

Indecent	10 years before its time
Shameless	5 years before its time
Outré (Daring)	1 year before its time
Smart	Current Fashion
Dowdy	1 year after its time
Hideous	10 years after its time
Ridiculous	20 years after its time
Amusing	30 years after its time
Quaint	50 years after its time
Charming	70 years after its time
Romantic	100 years after its time
Beautiful	150 years after its time

What is interesting is that James Laver's Law of Fashion's has become the standard by which clothes buyers now operate. ie. Stanley Marcus, the former president of Neiman Marcus, recounts in his rather boring memoir titled "Minding the Store" how Laver’s Law was used by Neiman Marcus clothes buyers in the late 1960’s.

At the time there was a heated debate on whether the trend for the next year would still be the mini skirt (which was the current fashion) or the longer midi skirt. Marcus recalls asking Laver point blank if the mini skirt was dead. Laver told him that the mini skirt had at least another 2 years to go... whereas other experts were saying the time for the midi skirt would be soon.

His forecast was right, the midi was a complete flop, many women continued to wear the miniskirt, and those who couldn’t or wouldn’t make up their minds went into the pants suit. Pants were bound to come, but the skirt-length controversy made pants acceptable at an accelerated rate.

The real and sheer brilliance of James Laver's Law of Fashion's timeline is that it can be applied to nearly all creative mediums — not just fashion but also art, design, architecture and even music. So called Smart or Current Fashion, doesn’t have a particular time frame attached to it. Something can be smart for 1 year or a even few years. It might not even be a trend, but a wave lasting generations, such as when bikinis were first introduced and became popular.

Now think back to some of the trendy things of the past and you’ll see how it applies: Brightly colored iMacs, Victorian wallpaper, Disco, Preppy clothes, stainless steel art deco appliances...

Hitting that sweet spot around Daring and Smart is what fashion designers are trying to design... because obviously they want to make a product that everyone will want to buy and it can be mass produced. Go shopping and look at all the stuff that in a few years will start to look bad.

In 10 years it will look horrible.

And then eventually your kids will raid your closet or attic and it will be hip again.

Fashion Masks

FASHION - Because pretty dresses and masquerade masks will ALWAYS be chic and kewl.

Raven leather mask

FASHION - Found this one on Etsy.

Its a raven mask cut out of black leather... but I ask you, couldn't it be made out of this something other than leather? Faux leather at least. Cloth?

The designer cuts it out of 5-6 oz tanned leather, then hand shapes it while wet to fit a face. Once dry she paints it black and seals it with an acrylic finish.

Because of all the cut outs it weighs just 1½ ounces, which means it will be comfortable to wear for extended periods. Comes with an adjustable double strand of elastic.

But come on, use something other than leather. And its so easy to make anyone could make it. Even my idiotic ex could do it.

Is Semen Fashion???

FASHION - Whoa, talk about a fashion statement.

According to the jewelry designer's website this Necklace "Is an Accurate Representation of Semen"... meaning male ejaculate...

Wow.

And they're $600 USD each. Handmade by designer Leah Piepgras. Wow, some people will just walk all over all the strives made by feminists just to make a quick buck off the kind of women who would actually buy such things. (Jewelry for skanks.)

Eyeliner Art

ART HISTORY - Isn't photography awesome??? Here is some kewl art made using nothing more than makeup and a digital camera and lighting.

Eyeliner art rocks!

Milan Fashion Week Spring 2012

FASHION - Huzzah, the Milan Fashion Week for Spring 2012... set to music!

Disturbingly Thin

Wow.

Fashion models are just getting thinner and thinner. What is next, surgically altering their bodies to make themselves even thinner?

Suspenders for Men and Women!

FASHION - On Saturday night I went out to a pub and I saw two separate guys wearing suspenders.

Since then I've been noticing it more. I saw suspenders yesterday and today at the bank I saw a woman wearing suspenders.

What the heck? I want suspenders too now!

They certainly provide a nice alternative when you can't decide on a belt to wear.

What struck me is how classy and sophisticated they looked. And honest and hardworking at the same time. Its a nice look, a bit retro, but very kewl.

Its official. Suspenders are back in fashion!

Toronto's Mobile Salon

FASHION - When it comes to the fashion and beauty industry, Rachelle White Wind is a one-woman show. The Winnipeg, Manitoba native is an actress, model, master hair stylist, makeup artist and owner of BBTO Mobile Salon, a high-end salon service in Toronto that services clients in the comfort of their own homes. White Wind, who speaks English and French, is of Ojibwe/Cree background and divides much of her time between not only these various disciplines but between locales Toronto, Winnipeg and L.A.

On an unusually rainy January day in Toronto, Rachelle and the BBTO Mobile Salon are on call at a condo in the Distillery District. It’s 11 A.M. and she’s all set for her first two clients of the day—two businessmen who live in the building. When the owner of the apartment (who was going to be meeting the seventh richest man in the world that same evening) told Rob Campbell (who was making a presentation on search and social rank in the Distillery that same evening) that he was expecting a house call from Rachelle, Rob wanted in.

Is there anything that boosts confidence as much as a nice, clean haircut can? And is there anything more convenient than staying in out of the January rain while a stylist like Rachelle comes to you? It’s the unfailing combination of customization, comfort, convenience and customer satisfaction that has made BBTO such a runaway success for Rachelle White Wind.

Starting in show business at age 7, Rachelle knows a thing or two about helping others to look their very best. And, although her services are regularly in demand for CBC Television, fashion shows and high-profile weddings, the prices of the BBTO Mobile Salon are highly competitive, starting at $20 for men’s haircuts, $40 for women’s haircuts, $55 for coloring and $150 - $250 for a Brazilian Blowout.

Rachelle’s Brazilian Blowout prices are the best in Toronto and she has the distinction of being the only mobile technician of this highly popular treatment in the city.

Brazilian Blowouts may take 90 minutes to execute, but Rob Campbell’s fresh new look was achieved in under 20. He didn’t have a haircut in mind, and so put his trust in Rachelle to make him look good for his event before she was out the door on her way to the next appointment. As a stylist, Rachelle has come a long way since her days in a Winnipeg hair school; her schedule is booked and her reputation on the rise. On the acting front, you can catch Rachelle as Vicki in the pilot episode of Mohawk Girls, airing on APTN Feb. 6, 2012, at 9 P.M.