My Favorite Things

C.Z. Guest in Mainbocher at her home Templeton in Old Westbury,NY

Opera Coats

There is nothing so elegantly extravagant in a woman's (or man's) wardrobe as an Opera Coat.
As is true of all design (being differentiated from art), the opera coat is essentially a utilitarian concept: a cover-up long enough to protect the wearer and their fine evening garments from the elements. But the beauty of the coat is how it goes about protecting. It does its job while retaining its own unique air of regality and decorum. And nothing makes for a grander entrance than a voluminous sweep of duchese, faille, ottoman, petersham, gazar, radzimir, brocade, matelasse, or tussah.

Far better than just a top coat and even more preferred than a fur (Hell just froze over!), an opera coat is so beautiful it can really stand on its own merits. But combined with a gorgeous evening gown or a man's or woman's tuxedo, it makes a striking complete evening look. Unfortunately, we don't see nearly enough of the opera coat these days. I hope to rectify that by including an opera coat in every collection I do. Its an essential for me, without which a collection would be incomplete.

Here are some of my favorite stylistas in some of my favorite examples true couture opera coats...

Deeda Blair in Chado Ralph Rucci in 2004

Hamish Bowles at the Met Costume Institute Gala

Andre Talley at the Met Costume Institute Gala

The Leontyne Opera Coat from Charles Lord's Principessa Collection (left) and Audrey Hepburn in a similar Givenchy number fromt he mid 60s (right

Audrey Hepburn in Givenchy

Marella Agnelli in Balenciaga

Obsessions

Sometimes I feel redundant. Redundant isn't the right word. Repetitive maybe?

What I mean is I keep coming back to certain things as a designer and a passionate observer of all things stylishly aesthetic. In this instance, I am referring to my obsession with the trapeze line and the shift.

I keep trying to move past it, but every time I see it I become intoxicated allover again with it. There is such a purity of line that, to me , compasseth all understanding (as the Bible would say). Its so effortless, so serenely elegant. I feel like fashion today has lost that completely. Yes, there is a panoply of easy to wear clothes out there, but the say NOTHING! As Kay Thompson said in DV style in Funny Face, "It doesn't SPEAK! And if doesn't speak to me, it won't speak to anyone." They maybe simple, but its not emphatic. I LIVE for emphatic simplicity in design. Even if there is a degree of exuberance, there still must me a simplicity about it. Like a Pucci shift or a jewel encrusted swing dress.

The opposite of this, which is also very prevalent in the market, is fussiness. I remember Polly Mellen in Unzipped saying "Fussy. Finished." LOL! And its so true. All the ruching, wrapping and furbelows...its just too much sometimes. There is no cleanness to it. Now don't get me wrong. I love the extras and the excesses of fashion. Anyone who ever saw a picture of me dressed up, would know that. But there has to be a balance in the market and in the consumers' wardrobes. For every ruched sheath,with epaulets, blouson sleeves, and asymmetrical neckline, and for every cotton t-shirt dress, you need 2 or 3 utterly simple, but strong shifts. I guess I feel there's not enough of that out there for me.

So even though I find something interesting about most of what out there today, and get tingles when I see something new that resonates with the inner "vainglorious vanguardist" in me that is always on the hunt for something marvelous and new, when I see the ineffable glory of a Norrell or Mainbocher or Balenciaga or Simonetta, everything else falls away and disappears from view and I want only it. What I am learning is to, as a designer, be ok with that. To do what feels right, what resonates, what speaks to me on that deepest, truest level and not worry about being a sensation or giving them the latest. To just do what I know and what I do best. And if that means I can't dress everyone, ok. The few I will dress, will be stunning and will be fulfilled by what I bring to them.

The Height of Chic

So you'd be surprised how you discover things? I was watching the Simpsons a couple of weeks ago and in this episode Lisa had gotten a new IPod and was showing it to her friends a was like "I downloaded The Birth of the Cool by Miles Davis" and she played a short snippet. Well, I was immediately intrigued and made a mental note to check out the album from the library.
Well....
I have listened to it night and day for the last week. That album is the musical essence of chic, elegance, Parisian Couture!!! I LONG to have another fashion show just so I can use the tracks from Birth of the Cool for my soundtrack. It's MOOOOOVINGLY glamorous!

So here are the Venus de Milo and Jeru tracks from Birth of the Cool by Miles Davis, accompanied by the vintage footage of Balenciaga, Dior and Chanel Haute Couture from the late 50's and early 60's. Play the Davis videos while you play the fashion videos below them, but mute the fashion videos so you can watch them while listening to Davis. You know what I mean...

Enjoy!!

1,2,3, SHIFT!

I am mad about the shift dress! Its so easily chic and effortlessly elegant. Now, when I say shift, I mean a true shift in the traditional sense. I think of the 60's shift that skims the body with maybe an inch and a quarter wearing ease that allows the dress to hover lightly over the bust and hips. It doesn't swallow the body the way a chemise does, nor confines the way a sheath does. All these dresses are wonderful and have their place consistently in the chic woman's wardrobe, but there's just something so alluring in its simplicity.

The best shifts have no or very little applied details or construction tricks. Dartless or just French darts; collarless with a bateau or jewel neck; sleeveless or cap-sleeved. The best shift has no waist- not empire (like the baby doll) or dropped (like th flapper). The shift allows for the beauty of the fabric to speak and receives its casualness or formality from the fabrics natural body. A shift in linen or silk crepe is perfectly pulled together, while a shift in moire' or faille or matelasse is the height of classic elegance.

One of my all-time favorite sketches. A shift in silk zagar, a stiff sheer wiry fabric created by Abraham of Zurich textile manufacturer for Balenciaga.

The shift is a master of versatility. You can accessorize it endlessly. A day shift with a matching a-line stroller is sublime. An evening shift with a stole of ermine and sable is rafine'. For an instantly more fitted look, you can throw on a wide belt , without gathering too much fabric at the waist, turning it into a instant sheath. Or wear it with a whip thin belt , worn loose between the natural waist and high hip for the look of a 50's shirtwaist. Don't even get me started on the plethora of shoe styles to be worn! Kitten heels, D'Orsay pumps, Stiletto Mary Janes or knee-high boots. And the shift is the perfect backdrop to show off interesting jewels because it doesn't compete for attention. You can wear a single strand of emerald green South Sea Tahitian pearls or ropes and ropes of diamonds like the rapper Nelly! The possibilities are absolutely endless.

"Alex" shift dress from Charles Lord's "Principessa" collection

My personal recommendations and observations:
The shift looks great when doing the Twist! Or while wearing a bouffant coif!
Wear a white shift with a half-dozen small rhinestone brooches of varying color or in brown flannel tweed with a massive 60 carat citrine deco clip brooch.

Who wore them best:
So hard to say. The shift is hard not to look good in. But I nominate Babe Paley as the Queen of the Shift. She wore them often and she is simply flawless, so... A very very close second would be Jackie Kennedy. If it were a contest of frequency or quantity, I think Jackie would win. But for me, if theres ever a toss-up between Jackie and Babe, Babe always wins. I am biased...as biased a Vionnet gown!

Babe Paley, with husband CBS founder Bill Paley, after lunching at renowned society restaurant La Cote Basque. Truly the lady who lunches in the beautiful polka dot shift with asymmetrical neckline

The most iconic shift:
YSL's Mondrian. Hands down. Some may argue that Givenchy's little black dress for Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's is more famous, but I question the purity of that shift. It had a self-belt and fringed hem. It may have even had a waist seam, but I'm not sure. In any case, it may be more famous, but for the purposes of purity of line and hidden elemental structure, its gotta be the Mondrian shift by St. Laurent. In Givenchy's defense, he did make the meanest shifts of all! Maybe even better than King Balenciaga.

Isabel Eberstadt in YSL Mondrian Shift, 1965 (Isabel always looked great in shifts. I have another photo of her in the book Fashionable Savages by John Fairchild looking ultimately chic in a black shift, gloves, and a brooch!)

What would Diana Vreeland do?
She would tell you to have one made in 8-ply cashmere and lined in mink sheared as thin as moleskin to wear without a coat in St. Moritz. You'll be as warm as all the other ladies, but free of the worry of keeping a mantle.


Marella Agnelli in Courreges shift, 1967