two kitties

Fall 2010 Fashion Coats

I love Fall clothing - the textures and the color stories just appeal to me so much more than anything fashion offers the rest of the year. But mostly? I love coats. I just feel really warm and safe - protected when I've got a great coat on. I dread the epidermal vulnerability of summer.

I remember my friend Carole asking me one day, "Heidi, how many coats do you have?" (I have more than thirty.) And then she said, "I have one. And I wear it every day, all winter long." huh.

My internet surveys seem to suggest the Fall 2010 collections were, for the most part, wearable and sell-able. I'd like to see the couple that can pull off these matching Chanel snuffaluffagus suits in Aspen:

The red and camel together - I love. This one is from Chanel:

And this one, from Carolina Herrera. Half the magic of Carolina Herrera is knowing that the fabric and the tailoring is fine beyond all logic. I'd kneel to touch the garments.

Alexander McQueen sent this heavenly gold feather jacket - I love the way it turns the model into a beautiful bird - with tulle-feather tail. My guess is that the feathers on the jacket are made of laser-cut leather or silk. McQueen was doing a lot of work with laser-cutter over the past few years.

But the one I would buy? Is this Gianfranco Ferre. You could keep it, and wear it, forever. With a red handbag, baby.

I own one Gianfranco Ferre - scored ten years ago at Filene's in DC - but, sadly, it doesn't fit me anymore. And even if it did, it would look a little bizarro around this town.

What do you love to wear? What do you own too many of?

Goat Coat by Charlie le Mindu

Stylist Charlie le Mindu uses human hair extensions to craft exotic pieces for the runway.

Moncler Gamme Rouge Puffy Coat How-To

Remember this coat? I happened to stumble upon a "how-to" for this Moncler Gamme Rouge masterpiece over at Weekend Designer. If you want to make it for me (hint, hint), my height, divided by 8, is:   8.125

Viktor and Rolf: Spring 2010

Sculpted tulle was the fabric of choice for Viktor & Rolf's Spring 2010 collection. Check out snapshots from the complete collection here.

Christian Dior Haute Couture: Fall 2009

By all accounts, last week's Dior Haute Couture show in Paris was amazing. And reminiscent of the New Look that made Dior a household name.

Alexander McQueen: Spring 2009 Ready to Wear Collection.

Faux-grain silk jacket from Alexander McQueen's Spring 2009 Ready to Wear Collection. Price on request.

Kate Kretz: Defense Mechanism Coat

Kate Kretz, Defense Mechanism Coat, (2001) velvet, wool, nails, embroidered veins. 45 x 28 x 12”, Belger Foundation Collection

Vintage Vogue - 1948 Adrian Coat.

1948 Vogue, originally uploaded by myvintagevogue.

The inner me wears an opera coat each and every day. I actually have a small collection of evening coats that I started immediately after 9/11. It seemed like a reasonable enough response at the time.

This is a 1948 Adrian coat made of Raymond-Holland satin. The photograph is by Horst.

Moncler Gamme Rouge Collection

Ditch into the Hudson in style.

Coats from Moncler's Gamme Rouge Autumn/Winter 2008 are vaguely gilet de sauvetage.

Chanel Two-Tone Raincoat and Tights.

I'm thinking of Spring, how about you?

Pierre Cardin: "Satellite", 1965

This vintage Pierre Cardin recently sold at Christie's (London) Avant-Vintage fashion auction for $8300.  It's called the "Satellite" coat, and it's made of glossy vinyl and lined with synthetic fleece.*

Believe it or not, this coat is considered "important" in the history of design. It is a well-preserved example of the work Cardin was most famous for - his "space age" clothing designs of the mid-1960's.   

I didn't know much about Pierre Cardin  before I flipped through the auction listings. I knew that he made a drugstore cologne that my Dad wore in the 70's. I had no idea that before he went off on his own, he worked for Dior and helped him create Dior's famous "New Look".

What's in your closet? And is it worth anything? Check out the Vintage Fashion Guild's resource list for more information about your labels.

*It's hard not to think of Target when you look at it, right?

Viktor and Rolf: Fall '08 Runway Collection

In 1993, the District of Columbia passed a law prohibiting "aggressive" panhandling on city streets. If you lived in the city before that time, you'll remember that the demand was relentless, and some spare change seekers went waaaaaay beyond what could be considered the terms of an acceptable exchange. I remember a woman on M Street SHOVING me in the chest when I didn't give her any money. (You know where this is going....right?)

This coat from Viktor & Rolf was part of the Fall '08 runway collection. There are others, but this one seemed the message I most need to project to the world. I haven't seen the coat in person, but I'm guessing the wool felt was blocked around carved styrofoam letters, cut, and sewn together. But then again, it must have some support within, because what if a panhandler on 35th and M shoved you?

Though people say bad things about the squeegee guys in New York City, my experiences there were much more positive. Hugs to the guy camped on on 57th and 7th with the two cats sleeping in a fuzzy bed on the sidewalk beside him. I stop and see him every time I'm in town. Or the guy on Park Avenue who yelled at me, "GREAT hair!!"  when I was feeling really down. He soooo got ten bucks.

Click here to see Two Kitties' other favorite coat.....

Maison Martin Margiela

This jacket from Maison Martin Margiela is not for the woman who depends on public transportation.

The rest of the collection is disappointingly pedestrian.