Spring into the 70's

Spring into the 70's by karalynrae featuring a chain necklace

The 70's are definitely in for spring with their use of suede and platform shoes. This post is not sponsored by Lucky or luckyshops.com but is part of a contest.

Exhibition Review: FIT's YSL and Halston: Fashioning the 70's

YSL Rive Gauche Le Smoking, Courtesy of FIT

The 1970's was a time for big changes in fashion, namely the demise of haute couture and the rise of pret-a-porter. In the Museum at FIT's current show, Yves Saint Laurent and Halston are the title of "biggest designers of the 1970's". With their work shown side by side, one can see that there were indeed consistent trends in this decade.

The 70's mark the rise of the designer as personality. Both YSL and Halston were featured on tv shows and partied at the infamous Studio 54. The exhibit itself mimics the infamous club with its white floors, disco ball and 70's dance music. The designers differ in how their careers ended. Halston's career declined by the end of the decade while YSL was seen as a hero of fashion upon his death. 

The exhibit features certain themes, including menswear inspiration, exoticism, and historicism. The best example of menswear inspiration is Saint Laurent's Le Smoking (above). Both designers drew on history for inspiration. For YSl this involved following in French designer Paul Poiret's orientalism with an exotic use of color. On the other hand, Halston rejected such ornamentalism. Instead, Halston drew inspiration from designers such as Vionnet and her complicated use of the bias cut and Claire McCardel's American sportswear.

When museum exhibits focus on two designers in a single decade one can forget that there were many other influential designers at the time. Such a side by side comparison seems simplistic for an entire decade.

The exhibition is open until April 18th.

Case of the Tuesdays

Every Tuesday starts off the same with my regular kripalu yoga class. As the day goes on however, I can't help but feel depressed. By 5pm I want the day to just end. I couldn't help but wonder why this dark feeling was so linked to this particular day in the week. Shouldn't a day that begins with relaxing yoga bring relaxation and peacefulness? In particular, I noticed that my self esteem was pretty low on this particular day.

As I reflected, I realized it all had to do with what I was wearing; my yoga clothes. Because of laziness, I didn't feel the need to change my outfit after yoga practice just to do work in the teachers lounge. However, my ripped yoga pants, sneakers, and ponytail don't make me feel beautiful. My make up free face still makes me feel uncomfortable, though I would never exercise with it on.

The days that I carefully pick out my outfits, do my hair and make up, are the days when my attitude improves. Should the way I dress really affect my self confidence so much? Maybe, maybe not. Psychology believes that self confidence does not come from nowhere. One thing I know is that I'm not alone. How one dresses can affect what one does, how they act and even think. Dress is very much a situated bodily practice.