Friday Fashion | Valentina Expressions

Fall In Cozy Abandon | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

08 Aug 2014 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #2014FallColors, #2014PantoneColors, #Missoni2014FallFashion, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #StellaJean2014FallFashion, #Versace2014FallFashion

I know, we are still in the summer mode, at least above the equator and we are already thinking of the next autumn, in fact, the fashion industry thinks of each season a year in advance to prepare the markets and to assure orders-deliveries to stores happen on time.

2014 Fall colors are warm, toned down and very wearable, I like the colors choices. Only Radiant Orchid from past spring will continue to stay in fall 2014.

(Photo above: Pantone Banner)

The new red called Aurora Red has a rich jewel tone and the Sangria has all the flavors of the wine. There is always a desire for red in every collection and certainly not because the world is grey. Red fits just about any skin tone and bring energy to our look. Everyone should have at least one red piece in the wardrobe.

There is still a lot of flowery prints dancing around and Bohemian style is lingering, but the military style of Donatella Versace is coming in strongly along with ethnic prints of Stella Jeans.

Ever since I can remember, the world has had an outburst of wars here and there. Often they affect the fashion industries, which changes horrible moments in our history in playful uniforms to wear every day.

As far as ethnic prints, we can combine patterns with patterns with contrasting colors and designs without feeling we have missed the mirror, in other words, in the past we would have carefully matched solid colors with patterns. Now, we have permission to wear colorful patterns against more colorful patterns. Do you feel comfortable with that and do you know how to do it?

Missoni created his collection with colors block. Love the Misted Yellow he used over ribbed light sweaters or ribbed leggings.

Furs, I hope they are eco-furs, are showing up as overlays on jackets and coats, or as light jackets and coats. I love the colors as well.

This Fall we will feel cozy with abandon, preppy and Bohemian, feminine and masculine, vintage inspiration with new current affairs can dress us creatively. Fashion contradictions or freedom to get dressed the way we want? Ciao,

Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Valentina Cirasola is a trained Fashion and Interior Designer, working in the USA and Europe. Born in Italy in a family of artists, style surrounded her since the beginning of her life. Her many years of experience led her to offer consultations in both specializations and now she can remodel homes as well as personal images. To better help people in the world, she offers consultations online and in-person. She is the author of three books. Get your copy of Valentina’s book on colors: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Fall Is In The Hair | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

02 Aug 2014 2 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #2014Hairstyle, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #ShatushOmbre, #VidalSasson, #WedgeBobHairstyle, Shatush

Today’s Friday Fashion is Hair, the frame of our face. This year flower prints dominated the scene. We have seen flowers in clothing, flowers in upholstery, flowers on wallpapers and flowers between our hair. I bought many flower clips in all shapes and colors and I stuck them anywhere they looked good.

Braiding flowers, branches, and other items in the hair goes back as far as the Greeks and Roman civilizations. As matter of fact, this year fashion turned its eyes to ethnic groups, ancient cultures, religious icons of the Byzantines, Greeks, and Romans. Decorating hair with ancient medals, coins, rhinestone and flowers or butterflies have been part of the ethnic dressing up to emulate nature and history.

Fayum-11
Wikimedia Commons – Royal Museum of Scotland – Depiction of a woman with a ringlet hairstyle

For 2014 fall I have seen free-flowing hair, short layered bob, and heavy layered long hair. The Italian hairstyle this fall is capricious, layered at the right point and softly wavy to give a sense of mischievousness.

2014 Fall colors are fun too. The model with long black hair seems to have a streak of green light across the bang, love it! Just enough green to add an interesting touch. The model with fiery hair is showing “Ombre” a revised “Shatush”, a way of coloring hair in two tones ending in a lighter color at the bottom. It is a stunning color if done professionally well, it is like painting a picture. However, if shatush colors don’t blend well, the dye job will look like an overdue hair coloring.

I must say that even though the hair coloring and the cut styles are fun, there hasn’t been anything striking for quite sometimes. We all remember how Vidal Sassoon revolutionized the world of hairstyling. He was a British hairdresser who created a simple geometric, “Bauhaus-inspired” hair style, also called the wedge bob that women adopted for two decades and a lot of his products are still sold today, over forty years later.

“He wanted to change things ~ Vidal said ~ he wanted to eliminate the superfluous and get down to the basic angles of cut and shape”. They were all modern and low-maintenance cuts. The hairstyles created by Sassoon relied on straight, and shiny hair cut into geometric yet organic shapes that were entirely lacquer-free. ♢ (Excerpt from Wikipedia).
The world lost him in May 2012.

Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Valentina Cirasola is a trained Fashion and Interior Designer. Born in Italy in a family of artists, style surrounded her since the beginning of her life. Her many years of experience led her to offer consultations in both specializations and now she can remodel homes as well as personal images. To better help people in the world she offers consultations online. She is the author of three books.
Get your copy of Valentina’s book on colors: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Something Up The Sleeve | Valentina Cirasola |Designer

28 Jun 2014 2 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #GianfrancoNicastriPuglia, #GianfrancoNicatriFashion, #InteractiveFashionArt, #ItalianFashion, #PugliaTravel, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns

Today has been a day dedicated to the beaux-arts and creative arts. We are approaching the studio of an inventor of Interactive Fashion Art. I was told it will astound us when we get to see what it is. The designer in person greets us at the door. His studio seems very industrial, but he doesn’t, he is fashionable and well polished. The door is sticking and the wind blows it open a few times. This going back a forth to close the door is giving me a little more time to observe his gestures. He is a smoker and very coquettish in his movements. After a brief introduction, I got him to talk about his invention, as matter of fact, he is wearing it. He is Gianfranco Nicastri.

His invention consists in a removable card 2” x 1″ of painted art taken from a canvas insert inside the wrist cuff of a shirt. Basically, a canvas has a few slits here and there where a 2” card is inserted. Both the card and underneath the card area are painted twice with the same details. When one card is removed the canvas area underneath is fully painted and doesn’t look bare naked. The painted card is then inserted into the opening of the shirt’s cuff fabricated with an open frame made just for this purpose. Only one wrist cuff of the shirt hosts a painted card. Women and men’s shirts carry this detail.

Painting on Canvas with Interactive Art

Shirt Cuff with Interactive Art

Woman’s Purse with Interactive Art

Upholstered Chair with Interactive Art

Gianfranco Nicastri – Inventor

At first I thought the system is a bit fussy, taking the card out of the painting and putting in the shirt, then one must remember to take the card out of the shirt again before taking it to the dry cleaner. Will people remember to do all that in this busy life we live? Then I remember we are in the south of Italy, people here know how not to get stressed out. Like all the new things it takes time to digest it. However more I looked at it, more I liked it. It is different, snazzy and why not wearing a piece of real painted art?! The shirts with the insertable cards sell on Gianfranco Nicastri’s site – www.nartist.it

Women purses with this technology apparently are being snapped up, he can’t produce them enough and jeans are still being perfected. Gianfranco has adopted the system of Interactive Fashion Art on upholstered chairs with arms and it looks so artsy. The insertable card is larger, almost as if the entire painting is done directly on the piece of furniture. Hopefully, we will see these inventions all over the world, as it seems they are already going. Traveling is the only thing you buy that makes you rich and we are learning so much on this trip. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

I am writing a travel diary of my last trip to Puglia with an American group and sharing with all of you my notes of feelings, observations, food-wine tasting and experiences that have changed the life of people traveling with me. The trips I organize are made for people who want to live it up in Puglia! Check out my books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
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Oranges Landed In High Fashion | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

18 Apr 2014 9 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #AdrianaSanatanocito, #EcoFriendlyFashionDesign, #EnricaArena, #OrangeFiber, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #SustainableFabrics, #SustainableFashion

Did you ever think that oranges could be made into clothing? We live in amazing time for technology and how it can help us simplify our lives and sustain our environment. Here it is my Friday Fashion discovery of this week and I could not be happier. Playing with food seems to make people happier and this idea of Orange Fiber is even practical.

About the inventors and how Orange Fiber came about: “Our adventure started 2 years ago in Milan when we were finishing our studies and sharing a flat. We met every night for dinner to share our dreams: Adriana wanted to become a fashion designer with an innovative and sustainable product and I wanted to work in sustainable development and social entrepreneurship. There we were, 2 Sicilian girls living in Milan dreaming to change the world starting from their homeland…and all of a sudden Orange Fiber came to our mind: what if we could use citrus products to create a textile? Sicily is rich in citrus products but every year more than 700.000 tons of industrial waste is produced in Italy from citrus transformation. We wanted to re-use this byproduct to catch the ongoing revolution in the fashion industry: sustainable fashion.

(In the photo: Two businesswomen “Orange fiber”: Adriana Santonocito and Enrica Arena on Lucifer Vocifero Magazine)

Adriana started to study how to create a textile from organic biomass and specifically from citrus for her dissertation. She tested her hypotheses in the lab of Politecnico in Milano and patented the innovation. We developed a process to enrich the sustainable textile with natural oils releasing vitamins on the skin of everyone wearing the textile”.♢ (from Orange Fiber website).

Using nanotechnologies to fix essential oils in the textile, the inventors made a product consisting of functional clothing that can contribute to the consumers’ well-being, integrating the daily vitamins requirements just by wearing the clothes, as the textiles made by extracting cellulose from citrus fruits release active principles directly on the skin. So far they have developed and tested a prototype using citrus essential oils with high values of vitamin C. However the product can release vitamins A, C, and E upon contact with skin, all from the natural citrus oils that are embedded in the fabric.

(photo from: www.today.it)

Hats off to the entrepreneurs Adriana Santanocito 35 and Enrica Arena 27 for their vision, which led to the invention of Orange Fiber. This is a true revelation, a new material that combines innovation and responsibility toward the environment. Their fashion project focuses on the creation of innovative sustainable fabrics and clothes blending two Italian excellences: textile industry and citrus cultivation.

I shall be waiting for their sustainable orange fabrics to reach the interior decorating as well, scented fabrics that we can use in beautiful modern spaces and that will bring their sunny Sicily in every home. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Valentina Cirasola is a trained Fashion and Interior Designer, working in the USA and Europe. Born in Italy in a family of artists, style surrounded her since the beginning of her life. Her many years of experience led her to offer consultations in both specializations and now she can remodel homes as well as personal images. To better help people in the world, she offers consultations online. She is the author of three books. Get your copy of Valentina’s book on colors: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Floral And Tribal | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

28 Mar 2014 5 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #2014Makeup, #2014SpringFashion, #FloralFashion, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #SamRollison, #TribalFashion, 2014Vogue, Altuzarra

This Spring and Summer we are jumping back in ‘60s fashion when flowers and tribal prints seemed to have disappeared in the hippies’ era. People are migrating and the world is moving all around us. We perceive a far away race, its food, colors or traditional tribal symbolism more exotic than our race and we want to wear its flavors. Primitive art, street art, graffiti, and cubist influence it’s all mixed in this season of Spring.
Flowers are for men’s fashion as well. Hawaiian shirts, color block, graphic art have been seen in all runways from Paris to New York.
It feels like the great escape to the end of the earth or just the escape from our daily reality.

divyanshi-verma-A3TAQ_KpP0k-unsplash

Photo: Divyanshi Verma – Unsplash

Makeup is whatever you like it to be: heavy, as the thick ‘80s-style eyeliner, or lite to create a soft and natural look, discreet minimalist look or even a boyish look.

I don’t know how much of this extravagance we will see in the streets, but just like everything else, it is a matter of proportions.
Large flowers or bright colors that sit on a large derrière are not appealing.
A long dress on a short person is dreadful.
Thick heels and chunky shoes make a woman with large calves look very stocky.
A heavy makeup during the daytime is a sign of vulgarity.
Heavy tribal jewelry is OK for the office.

Fantasy in our wardrobe doesn’t hurt. Ultimately fashion must serve the purpose of making us attractive, youthful, à la page and tastefully smart. Ciao,

Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

It’s my hope that through my writing I am enriching your aesthetic sensibility towards design, style and inspire you to live in beauty. I have loved my profession as a fashion- interior designer since my beginning of time.

Check out my latest book on colors ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors, available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles:http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Slimming With Skinny Jeans | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

21 Mar 2014 4 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #ColoredSkinnyJeans, #OldNavySkinnyJeans, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #SkinnyJeans, #SpringFashion, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns

Women like skinny jeans, we look good and slim in them. I hope they will be here for a long time.
Can everyone wear them? With a bit of “savoir-faire” everyone can wear them.

Skinny jeans are perfect for the office. Choose a dark color that will give you crisp look, but nothing distressed that will give you a look of sloppiness. Choose jewel tones, blue dark green, or black to wear with a tailored blazer. If you have curves, especially around the hip, choose to wear a longer blazer, a trench coat, or an asymmetric sweater to cover the hip and make you look really sharp.

(Good Length) – (Photo: Polyvore)

Black skinny jeans are for any occasion, from morning shopping at leisure to the office, to a night out, or weekends. The skinny jeans have nothing really special, other than being slimming but the secret is in the hem, which should touch your ankle bone and not being bunched up in that area. Having the skinny jeans hemmed up properly will elongate the figure and then wearing the right shoes will give you that look of “casual finesse”.

(Sloppy) – (Photos found on VanityFair.it)

Hide the parts of the body that are a bit strong and emphasize the beauty or the best parts. If the legs are plump and the derrière full get a larger size skinny jeans and wear them with a tunic, oversize shirt or a longer jacket. Color skinny jeans are also very fun. Old Navy Rockstar Jeans has many colors to choose from.

(Absolutely Not) – (Photo found on http://imageresize.club)

However, the rule applies as always: bright colors on large hips will make them seem larger. Ciao,

Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Valentina Cirasola is a trained Fashion and Interior Designer, working in the USA and Europe. Born in Italy and in a family of artists, style surrounded her since the beginning of her life. Her many years of experience led her to offer consultations in each specialization and now she can remodel both home and personal images. She is the author of three books. Get your copy of Valentina’s book on colors: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

New French Style | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

14 Mar 2014 10 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #BillCunningham, #FrenchFashion, #ParisFashionWeek, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #TheNewYorkTimes

I love to watch Bill Cunningham’s short videos, he is a fashion photographer/reporter for the New York Times. He gets us inside the fashion industry and in 2 or 3 minutes he reveals a world of secrets.
During the last fashion week in Paris, he noticed there was an explosion of colors and expressions of diversity among the guests going to the fashion shows, even among people coming from countries where freedom of expression is repressed.

In his 60+ years of going to the Paris Fashion Week, Bill Cunningham has noticed a change in the way French women dress today. They had been known as stylish women, who didn’t go to extremes to be noticed. The adoption of simple lines, conservative style and attention to details is what made French women stylish. Apparently, it is no longer that way, French women are showing a little more freedom in the dress choice, adventure with the combination of odd colors and an unusual extravagance by wearing an evening gown in the daytime. Wow! So, if they get so highly decorated during the day, what do they wear when they go to an important evening event?

Perhaps, this is possible just during the Fashion Week and this is possible because it is Paris, but I don’t really think French women go the buy grocery at the street market, or taking kids to school dressed in evening gowns.

This expression of elegance in the daytime would not be possible in California for sure. California is the land of freedom of expressions in any sense and a very loose region in any sense. Friday is called “casual Friday”. Gosh, I have the impression of dealing with a bunch of people that just came out of the gym or their bed. Banks and stores are full of employees badly dressed and that looseness affects their manners as well.
Feeling good in well-made, stylish clothes pushes the wearers to have elegant manners, the two things are related, I have no doubt about this. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Valentina Cirasola is a trained Fashion and Interior Designer, working in the USA and Europe. Born in Italy and in a family of artists, style surrounded her since the beginning of her life. Her many years of experience led her to offer consultations in both specializations. Valentina offers design consultation online through Skype line and in person. She is the author of three books. Get your copy of Valentina’s book on colors: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Valentino Red | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

21 Feb 2014 2 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #REDColor, #RedFashion, #RedOutfits, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #ValentinoRed

I am tired of seeing pictures of snow up to my eyeballs, people living in the snow with all the difficulties, ice sickles hanging on windows and fields covered in white. White is not my favorite color, I am in the mood for red!
In my Friday Fashion, I am putting Valentino Red in the spotlight.

Red is a color of action, the color of love, passion, romance, and lust. Wearing red visually will add some pounds to the woman figure and unless you are a slender teenager, when youth overpowers any colors, you should wear a light girdle underneath a red dress.
Wearing red on Valentine’s Day evokes a sense of urgency: Love Me.
I hope you were the cupid this past Valentine’s Day.

In the ruins of the ancient city of Pompei, we can still admire people immortalized in love-making in their red dining room and red bedroom. Ancient Pompeian knew red was the color to boost their fantasy and to help or clear the block in the red chakra (in the sex area of the body).

I have put together some ideas for dressing in RED sparingly.
If you are going to the office I envision a youthful outfit of pleated skirt with tulle trim, beige polka dots shirt, accessorized with a red Furla tote bag, a red ruffled umbrella just in case it rains and a red bow iPad case.

Pleated Jersey Skirt with Tulle Trim- Found on: https://www.gilt.com/brand/red-valentino

Furla-Gemini Medium Shopper Tote

Ruffled red umbrella- Found on: https://www.zulily.com/e/zulily-debut-leighton-244583.html

Bow iPad Case

If you are going out in the evening with your love, wear a pencil black dress, don’t forget the stockings please, they are so sexy! Accessorize it with red shoes, a cute trousse with a red bow. I think is chic to wear a black-red umbrella whether it rains or not after all is still February.

: Stretch Twill Flutter Sleeve -Maggy London illusion dress

: Black and Red Umbrella-Found on Paula Moss Via Pinterest

: Raffia Net Convertible Bow Clutch-http://us.asos.com/women/bags-purses

If you are going to have fun with girlfriends I suggest this lovely godet mini skirt, red turtleneck with puffy short sleeves, a rope belt if needed, a tote bag with a red bow and a leopard umbrella.

Wool Turtleneck Top

Rope Bow Belt

Large Straw Bow Tote

Leopard Umbrella-Found on Paula Moss Via Pinterest

(Umbrellas from My Habit)

(Jean-Paul Gaultier Vintage Hunting Style)

A red jacket comes handy in many situations and with any ensemble, I would keep it as the bone of the wardrobe.
Did you strike your cupid arrow this past Valentine’s day? Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Valentina Cirasola is a trained Fashion and Interior Designer, working in the USA and Europe. Born in Italy and in a family of artists, style surrounded her since the beginning of her life. Her many years of experience led her to offer consultations in both specializations. She is the author of three books. Get your copy of Valentina’s book on colors: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors on

Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Gold Rush | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

31 Jan 2014 12 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #DolceGabbanaSpring2014, #GoldColor, #GoldFashion2014, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #ZuhairMuradDesigns

Fridays will be dedicated to a different topic: fashion in the world. Today I am serving GOLD.

Gold is a color of royals in any country, the color of winners, success, and abundance. At the Olympics, winners receive gold medals. Gold is associated with elegance, sophistication and wealth. It is the power of the sun and represents masculine energy. At important events is a must to wear something gold.
This spring 2014, there is no limit where and when to wear something gold, we can wear it even in the daytime without appearing vulgar with an inflated sense of self-worth.

Gold Nails – ES Nail

Swan ring – Ali Express

Gold and silver shoes – Latest Fashion Today

Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad, described as the designer who “makes women feel like goddesses” presented in Paris his spring collection based on floral and gold. His dresses envision gardens of heaven and femininity.

Dolce & Gabbana Haute Couture portrays an abundance of floral fantasy dresses topped with fantasy gold jewelry. Some of their creations are reproductions of paintings from Van Gogh and Renoir for which copyright reproductions had to be negotiated. I absolutely adore their haute couture collection this year!

Wearing gold jewelry will attract the power of the sun to you, silver jewelry will detract that energy from you and put you under the spell of the moon, a feminine energy.

What do we do in the home? Empower yourself with some gold accessories and the energy of the sun, bring in the sophistication of gold and its magnetic positivism.

(Photo below: One Kings Lane)

Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Friday Fashion | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

24 Jan 2014 4 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #EthnicFabrics, #TribeFabrics, #TribeFashion, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns, #ValentinoSpringFashion2014

Fridays will be dedicated to a different topic: fashion in the world.
I will bring you some curiosities, trends, novelties, ways to wear garments or how to adapt runways fashion to everyday life. I will start with Valentino, the king of stylists and a magician with a pencil.

His inspiration or I should say the inspiration of the two designers working under the name of Valentino, came from imaginary tribes. In Paris Fashion Week they displayed magnificent fabrics and really showed that their fantasy flew towards far away ethnic groups. The coiffes on the models’ heads seem to have a Tudor’s resonance. The mixture of eras and tribal inspiration is stunning. However, colors are quite dark for being spring and summer garments. In the video, you can see the entire collection.

Au contraire the Haute Couture autumn/winter 2013-14 is regal, with Medieval inspiration, characterized by opulent rich fabrics, but very wearable, in my opinion.

If you have a remanent 70s fashion in your closet, gypsy fabric, ethnic patterns, chunky jewelry, this might be the right time to bring it out and give it a second life with a refreshed look. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services