Find your chic somewhere amidst pettiskirts, Coco Channel and Karl Lagerfeld

I don't know what it is about crinolines and tu tu's but i think they are so crazy beautiful. I remember wanting to be a ballet dancer when I was little and I had this lovely white dress for a commencement dance I had to perform. I think I must have been maybe 7 years old. I'm not sure about the grace, or how well I listened, but I still remember that dress so that must have meant something. Maybe that's where my love for fashion and style began - not sure.
There are certain designers that still embrace the frilly underdressings and I figure if Betsy Johnson can pull it off then heck why can't I. I'm not talking about wearing one to the grocery store or anything but lately I beat to my own drum anyways - so I bought a black one and it is currently being worn by my iron body form in my living room. I topped the crinolin with a vintage sweater that I bought in Savannah, Georgia at a thrift store. The sweater has an ivory fur collar and pearl buttons. I like them together.
So this love affair with these "pettiskirts" continues as I stumble across photo's of tu tu's that Karl Lagerfeld designed for the ballet some time ago. This designer is eccentric but really a genius. He took over as designer for Channel in the early 80's when he says that the empire was a "sleeping beauty". He said it was like reviving a dead woman. Sometimes he got violent reactions to his ideas but he believes "a violent reaction is at least a reaction - and no reaction at all is death". I watched a documentary on him on the Fashion Channel and learned some interesting stuff about how he sees things, what he believes and where he has come from in his lifetime. He says he doesn't go to bed with his head swirling with ideas as people think. He needs time to himself to re-charge, understanding that you can't be with people 24 hrs a day. Of his designs... he says I just come up with the ideas. The seamstresses do what I can't and he admires them immensely. I think that is so amazing for someone with such power and influence to recognize other's that help in his success. When asked if he is a loyal friend, he says, "yes, but I am not stupid. Relationships shouldn't be trivial. Indifference is a cruel existence. He doesn't want people to ever really understand what he is all about - not even those closest to him. That is a true eccentric for sure. He seems funny in many ways, and loves advertising photography. He says he would be a photographer if he wasn't so involved in the design field and he has a good eye for that too. Visiting him in one of his homes, the camera took us into his bathroom for a minute to reveal a sign painted and hung that says "pissing everywhere isn't very Channel". That takes a sense of humor. On success? He says it nullifys you. You then have to do it again - only better. And he feels that if you really feel that things use to be better, then why bother with anything more. You might as well give it up. He is not of that persuasion. He claims to be rather pernickity but likes disorder when he works on design drawings. Of all the pens he uses when sketching, a white out pen is one of his favorites. It shows tule and satin well on the paper. ( That's a nugget for design students). He is know for framing his drawings with a colored felt. (saying it is his Toulous Letrec side)


( Toulouse Lautrec Parisian artistist )




(THESE ARE KARL LAGERFELDS BALLET DESIGNS)

These people are interesting. Weird to many. Considered not important and living a spoiled life. I don't agree. They work hard at something they are passionate about and success unfolds in front of their faces. Sometimes a lucky break is all anyone needs but I think the inspiration here is to never give up what you love. Keep chipping away and if you are incredibly lucky enough to make a living doing what you love then you have mastered one of life's greatest satisfactions.

Wasn't this about finding your Chic? I got lost as usual somewhere between petticoat skirts and designers. It all makes sense to only me, try to stay with me.