Friday Fashion | Valentina Expressions

Second Time Around | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

06 Jan 2018 6 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: ##EnvironmentalFashion, #ReconstructedGarnment, #RecyclingClothes, #ReinventingFashion, #RestylingClothes

In this climate of saving the environment and recycling, every opportunity is a good opportunity to give something a second chance that would otherwise end up in land fill.
We buy an awful amount of clothes that we wear perhaps for one season, or only one time and discard them as soon as we get tired. The fashion industry is a big influencer, if it says they are no longer acceptable, we promptly get rid of them.

Have you ever thought that all those items we literally throw away, sometimes even with a price tag on, are all workable into new items? With a little creativity, it is possible to enlarge a garment with a new and different fabric or color; it is possible to pair a vintage fabric with a new one; it is possible to upgrade the look of a skirt by using the fabric of another skirt that will add interesting details and profiles. These are a few of the things we can do give a garment a second chance and to make it into something original.

My mom and her sisters, all teenagers during World War II, remade clothes due to shortage of fabrics. My grandmothers, who lived two great wars, did it before my mom. They taught me not to throw away anything and to use my imagination when time comes to give something a second chance. Remaking clothes into something new is amusing and rewarding.
(Click on each photo to view it larger).

I made this original black jacket (above) using a folk Romanian fabrics purchased in one of my travels. If I had made the jacket with only a black fabric, it would have looked like a common black jacket. Using a colorful folk print, front and back and only on one side of the jacket, not only I created an unusual look, but the colors brought life the black side. Closure was off-center with clay buttons I created and painted myself. Lining it with golden-yellow was a great idea, it added an interesting view when the jacket was open.
I sold it big time and I made a few people unhappy along the way. Due to the limited fabric, I could not produce more than one piece.

I want to remake the sun jacket above with animal print fabric at the bottom edge.
How do you know when two fabrics look perfect together, you might ask?
Your eyes are the first judge of that. If it looks good in your eyes, it means it is right.
Colors are common denominators. Find one color in the existent garment to match with the new fabric.
Prints go well with solids and geometry makes playful matches.

In the case of my sun jacket, the animal print has black in it and the uneven shapes of the animal design pairs well with the uneven shapes of the sun designs. What I like the most about this match is the lighter weight of the fabric I am using for the edge and the undulating movement it will create when I walk.

The velvet military style jacket (above) has been revived with a new velvet front panel, Renaissance style. Now, it lends itself to a new look, perhaps a Bohemian long skirt with boot, or a pair of pants in one of the bright colors in the panel.

I know that remaking clothes using old and new is a novel idea for a throw away society and some people are catching on, but if we want to be conscious of saving the environment, let’s start in our closet saving our clothes. 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. She is passionate about colors and encourages her clients to express their individual style in their homes and with the clothes they wear.
To better help people all over 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
Barnes&Nobles: https://goo.gl/Xme8Hn
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB

Color Expressions in 2018 | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

15 Dec 2017 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #2018Colors, #GoldSilverColors, #HowToCombineColors, #Pantone2018Colors, #PowerColors, #SubtleColors

Coco Chanel said; “The best color is the color that looks good on you”.
Year after year we follow colors around, we discard new clothes just because they represent last year colors and not for a moment we stop to think if those new colors are really suitable for our texture, face, age and personality, or we bought them just because they were in fashion.

I don’t get excited when I see the same colors or the same fashion style on everybody, I get totally bored. I want to see women vibrating their own energy, as it happened in the ‘20s -‘30s -‘40s -‘50s and then there was the abyss. Women of past eras wanted to be different from one another with a style, which was personal and unique to their personality. Men’s fashion has not changed that much in the last 100 years. Shirt collars were first higher and then lower, ties were first shorter, then longer, pants bottoms were large, then became skinny like a pencil, back to large and back to skinny again, jackets were single breasted and double-breasted. The basic men suit-look stayed the same with a few minor changes from time to time, nothing special to talk about. Women, instead, have slipped from looking sophisticated, classy and elegant to plunging into vulgarity. The other day, I saw a woman walking in the street dressed in a striped white and blue pajama, house slippers with fake fur all around, a Gucci bag on her arm and a diamond ring on the finger. Not only she devalued the diamond ring, but she looked awful and totally sloppy.

I am a highly attentive person, I see small details other people don’t notice and I am aware of my surroundings. Here, I am only making an observation of what I saw in the street, I don’t wish to change a nation. If women feel good going out in the streets in a striped pajama or rollers in their hair, more power to them. Happiness, after all, is also feeling free and detached from society’s constrictions. I am just very sad that women don’t care for the way they look anymore.
I want to bring the beauty of life created with the right colors to those people who want to listen and want to find harmony within themselves.

Those who still care about their appearance, should find colors and style that look good on them, colors that nourish their soul and make them feel good. They should find the style, which gives them an aura of self-esteem and allows them to leave an impression behind when they exit a room.

Based on Pantone color choices for 2018, I have created three palettes easy to compose as your next color expressions in the next year. (Click on each photo to view it larger).

Teck – A technique to combine Bright Turquoise, Pink and Purple colors anchored with Brilliant White or Frosted Almond.

Discretion – Nostalgic hues for a subtle palette, such as Elderberry, Burnished Lilac, and Hawthorne Rose combine with strengthening tones, such as Coffee or Gold.

Intricacy – Intensity to convey power and to providing an eclectic mix of colors balanced with Black, Gold, Silver or Bossa Nova.

Style is a journey, putting clothes on is just covering the body. Once you find your powerful colors and style, that “first impression” will give you the right vibrations and the world will know who you are! I hope you will try these colors and if you want to show them, please post them here. 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. She is passionate about colors and encourages her clients to express their individual style in their homes and with the clothes they wear.
To better help people all over 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
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB

Sculpture In My Hands | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

01 Dec 2017 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #ChicInVintage, #HowToDressWithVintage, #LucitePurses, #VintageFashion, #VintagePurses

Welcome to December episode of Friday Fashion.
There is nothing better I like than dressing in modern clothes and accessorize my outfits with vintage items. It’s a playful look and not necessarily prim, snobbish.
The fact is, a vintage accessory goes well with everything we wear today. The clothes of today are mass-produced and lack originality. The moment one thinks is wearing something original, thousands examples exactly the same have come out at the same time filling stores with garment-uniforms. In the past, when clothes were tailored, every woman was original, details on the garment were exceptional, different from one dress to another and often reflected the fantasy of the tailoress. Well-designed original dresses required just as original accessories for a finishing touch.
(Click on each photo to view it larger).

I own Lucite and other vintage purses mostly from the ‘40s and ‘50s, they all find their place with my outfit and somehow, they work every time. Some purses have lids that open and reveal mirrors, lipstick case or small make-up compartments, some even have a cigarette case attached. Their value today is very high, they might range from $50 to over $500.

Play with geometry – I attribute the success of combining modern with vintage to the futurist shapes of some vintage purses: square and rectangular box styles, ovals, trapezoid, cylinders, scalloped shaped……

Let’s say you are wearing an A line skirt, your vintage purse looks better if it is vertical in a long shape. Why? The A line skirt flair out from the body, the cylinder purse will balance the visual puffiness of the skirt.
If you are wearing a cigarette pair of pants, the round barrel or the square purse will look better.

Clothes as Architecture
Clothes and accessories follow the same principle of architecture. It must be aesthetically pleasing and proportionate to create harmony on the body. When we look at a building with classic architecture we might see a row of windows with triangle pediments on top, then below we see a row of windows with arched tops, then again, another row of windows with triangle pediments. This is called repetition in harmony. We sculpt our body the same way with colors and shapes. In my drawing is easy to understand how to counterbalance triangle shapes with round shapes and square shapes with rectangular shapes, just as architects do. This eliminates boredom and it is easy on the eyes.

If your body is round, your purses shapes should be vertical and rectangular, if your body is rectangular, you can choose the round shape purses. Difficult? It might be at the beginning, once you get the hang of it, you will love to play this game. 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. She is passionate about colors and encourages her clients to express their individual style in their homes and with the clothes they wear. To better help people all over 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

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

Life To A Cloth | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

10 Nov 2017 4 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #TailoredClothes, #TailoredSuits, #TailorScissors, #TailorTrade, #TailorWork, #WomenTailors

This Friday Fashion is about a charming trade.
Today, they are called “Men of Cloth” and “Men of Artistry”, they are those few tailors left in the world. Their stories are so similar to the tailoresses’ stories, I know so well. My mom and all her sisters were professional tailoresses. The difference between a tailoress and a seamstress? Like day and night, without putting one on the pedestal and diminishing the other. They both contribute to the beauty of a person in a different way.

In my mom’s era, both men and women learned some king of trade in school or off school, a solid trade to make a living and support families. Tailoring was an art, it was about choosing a piece of cloth and make it come alive on someone’s body. Anyone going in that trade, had to start from the basics, learn how to manage the needle, how to use a thimble, how to do basting (a rough stitching that holds two pieces of cloth together, whether it was for hemming, holding fabric and lining, or interface) and even learn how to hold a scissor in the hand. The apprentices learned the artistry of making a perfect garment from established tailor teachers with a reputation of being beyond strict.

Artistry is having the ability to bend a piece of metal, to tame a stone, to shape a cloth, to give a life to any material as the artist wants. My mom celebrated the woman’s body, transformed large women, women with birth defects, tall and small women into perfect bodies, she made clothes to highlight their best features and knew how to hide imperfections.

In her sewing laboratory there was camaraderie between the girls working for her. Married women workers shared marriage hardships, kids difficulties and kids sicknesses, the single girls shared love stories and dreamt with opened eyes. They were proud to work in my mom’s tailor laboratory. Working condition were good, clean and most of them knew my mom put high quality craftsmanship at the centre of their attention. They wanted to work for her, she was kind, sweet and understanding, very unusual qualities as a boss in the tailor trade. Our younger workers were always excited to get a glimpse at the clients’ young sons picking up their moms after fittings, the girls waited for that moment to be noticed. There was a lot of giggling and many mirrors came out of their purse to smear more red lipsticks or freshen up a make-up, every time there was a rich boy at the door. My mom’s clients were wealthy, every young worker aspired to end up in the grace of one of those wealthy kids one day.

With a few tricks of the trade, which weren’t tricks, but professional knowledge, my mom made miracles on paper patterns she drew free hands. She knew how to make the stomach of a woman disappear by drawing the right slit on the paper pattern, or how to augment a small breast with a dart in the right place. She knew how to make uneven shoulders look even and square, or uneven arm look the same length. All the designs happened on paper first, then transferred on cloth.

Her tools of the trade had been the same for over 65 years: chalk, measuring tapes, paper, pencils, some squares she never used, thimbles, heavy scissors, some decorated with cherubs or metal embroiders, some plain and heavy. She carried her scissors hanging on her waist, like a guard carries a gun on the side of the body. She never wanted anyone to use her scissors. Where did they end up? I wished I had them today.

(Click each photo to view it larger).

(Above https://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Art-Noueau-Gilt-Brass-Handled-Scissors-of-Unusual-Form/112629748198?hash=item1a394191e6:g:oXMAAOSwOA1Z~mmJ)

Her laboratory was in the house where we lived. Workers came to work there and they were part of our family life. It wasn’t an industrial place, like this one in my photos, but more like a large salon with nice furniture, sofas, tall mirrors and upholstered chairs for the comfort of the clients. The working area was filled with a couple of sewing machines, iron table, cutting table, shredded fabric and thread everywhere on the floor. My mom had little time to devote to shopping and cooking. She would ask one of the girls designated for errands to go by the market to pick up this and that food between running errands for the tailor shop. Admonishing her not to flirt around too much was like telling it to the wall and completely disregarded.

(Above pictures were taken by Valentina Cirasola inside a seamstress shop with permission)

No one body is the same, there are no two people alike, the expertise of a tailor is not to make clothes that fit everybody like those mass-produced clothes today, but to understand the differences and find the solution to create visually perfect bodies, no matter the size.
My mom always said: “Style is more than putting fashionable clothes on. One must travel through life changes, accept them and adapt by wearing clothes that will give you the power each age brings”.

I learned all my mom’s trade secrets just by being there, living and breathing fabrics, threads, notions, colors, style and hearing shop talk, I learned their jargon and techniques. My mom never wanted to teach me her trade. Often she exclaimed: “The needle is very small and very heavy, learn a profession!!!”. I guess, she didn’t want me to deal with long working hours, temperamental clients, delicate fabrics, disasters of the unexpected or being in a volatile field, but life always plays tricks with us. I moved away for work, I ended up going to the Fashion Academy in Italy and worked as a fashion designer after all. The cloth that comes alive under the hand of experts, fascinated me and I wanted to be part of that magic too. If you have a dream, let it happen and if you have stories in the tailoring trade you like to share, please write me and I will share them here. 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. She is passionate about colors and encourages her clients to express their individual style in their homes and with the clothes they wear. To better help people all over 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
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB

Equestrian Weekend | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

29 Oct 2017 2 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #EquestrianStyle, #IndianJewelry, #LeisureClothes, #UrbanCowgirlStyle, #WesternStyleFashion

My last business trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico enticed me to look at another type of fashion, the one that is far from my city style: western style and even equestrian style. There is a lot of charm in this style, it’s a little rough, a little country, suggestive of adventures with bizarre horses running with the mane in the wind, in all their strength and grace.

Local stores in Albuquerque displayed a lot of western clothes, but I haven’t seen many people wearing that fashion in the street, except cowboy hats on a few older men.

I thought it would be interesting and fun to wear an equestrian style for a weekend in the gold country of California. Up there, one can still feel the spell of gold and the roughness of pioneers. Architecture is the same as in the 1800s, saloons are still there and people do wear this kind of clothes. At least I will not look prepared for Halloween. With this style, I have more opportunities to wear my huge turquoise index ring, an original design of Navajo Cecil Atencio.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

I made up a concept board with all I want to wear and now that I am looking at it, I can say, it would feel comfortable wearing this style even in the city. Just need the right horse. I love the ankle bracelet to wear over the boots, nice touch! It comes in a few colors.

(All items in my concept board are from https://www.backinthesaddle.com)

This is how the concept of building a new personal wardrobe starts, when I am remaking someone’s image. I look at the client’s lifestyle and decide how many pieces of clothes he/she needs for leisure or work. I look at the colors of skin, hair and eyes, the shape of the body, I take measurements and put all the information on a concept board. Once approved, we go shopping. Nothing is difficult with experience and skills. 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 has surrounded her since the beginning of her life. Her many years of experience in design business led her to offer consultations in both fashion and interiors, so much so that she can remodel homes as well as personal images. She is passionate about colors and encourages her clients to express their individual style in their homes and with the clothes they wear. She is the author of three books, one of which is a book on color theory: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Orange Of Today | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

07 Oct 2017 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #FallColors, #MustardYellow, #OrangeandPurple, #OrangeColor, #RedVoyageIntoColors, #SulfurYellow, #WarmColors

October in California is the best month, weather is mild warm and the breeze caresses softly. It is such a pleasure being seated outdoor at a restaurant and enjoy lunch with a chilled prosecco.

Today, I wanted to dress with a mix of intense Fall season colors to convey a certain strength and power nature has on me.
In a cool way, typical of my ability to mix colors, I composed my style with sulfur yellow tank, mustard yellow pants, brown leather belt, mixed brown-gold silk scarf, orange light sweater jacket and mixed jewelry in orange-brown with gold. A bit of leopard skin doesn’t hurt, especially if it is in the form of Kate Spade’s shoes. This combination is vibrant and very safe, colors are all warm and in the same family. That’s the reason they all work well together, especially if the wearer has a golden tone, olive or tanned skin.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

Trying a combination with a cool color on the other side of the color wheel it’s not just good, it’s excellent. Orange, purple and a bit of turquoise is dynamic, zesty, eclectic and playful. As for jewelry, gold tones will go better with orange and silver will mix better with purple, it’s up to the wearer getting the sun energy from the gold or the moon energy from the silver.

Of course, many more colors love orange, as green and blue, but I will leave it to your imagination.

It is time to color your clothes, your closet, your home and everything else around. Leave the Opaque Couché color types to Mark Zuckerberg.

Colors play an important role in the vibe you give off to the rest of the world. It keep away depression, sadness and minor sicknesses. If you wear colors that make you feel good, your brain will know it, your heart will be lighter, positive energy will flow from your veins out of your skin and on your lips forming a big smile. A smile is contagious, people will notice it! 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 has surrounded her since the very beginning of her life. Her many years of experience in design business led her to offer consultations in both fashion and interiors, so much so that she can remodel homes as well as personal images. She is passionate about colors and encourages her clients to express their individual style in their homes and with the clothes they wear. She is the author of three books, one of which is a book on color theory: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors

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

Torrid, Plus, Plump and Happy | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

22 Sep 2017 2 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #FashionPlusSizeWomen, #PlusSizeFashion, #TorridFashionCompany, #TorridPlusSize

Welcome to Friday Fashion.
For a long time, fashion designers have refused to design for Plus Size women. After so many efforts and countless hours spent at the gym, the population of women out there is not getting any smaller and fashion designers had to take notice of that. I don’t really know the reason we must be subject to accept the cheap and deceiving sizes coming from China. I am sure shopping for clothes it is hell for women size over 12. Sometimes the number is right, but the clothes don’t fit, because the Chinese industry cut patterns based on the sizes of their population, not based on the size of people in the Western world. They want to sell us their clothes but do nothing to improve the sizes that fit our bodies.

I am size 12 and I have a tough time finding the right clothes as it is. I spend hours and hours in stores trying on various pieces of clothes and regularly leave without buying anything. Those few times I do find something that fits, I can’t match it to anything else I own, thus the search to match items becomes endless. I can’t imagine how difficult it is for bigger size women.

Cirsu Fat Lady-2

(Many of these fat ladies hang in my closets, on bookshelves and on kitchen cabinet doors, just as a reminder to stay healthy and exercising. They are part of a collection by Katherimer I bought many years ago).

Watching the European news this week, I am pleased to have learned that a fashion company called Torrid finally showed its line for Plus Size women at New York Fashion Week. Apparently, Torrid is not the first fashion company showing Plus Size for the first time, as they claim. In 2013, designer Eden Miller of Cabiria showed her first collection of Plus Sizes at the Fashion Institute.

I like how designers of Plus Sizes have conceived healthy curvy women. In their collections, there is nothing dumpy, dowdy, mumsy, or boxy. It’s OK to show off the curves instead of covering up with oversized clothes. The new lines look very shapely and embrace the body. Now, even large women can show cleavage, can wear corsets and leather jackets. They have choices of dresses with high slits, sheer fabric attached at the end of a short dress and flowing Bohemian dresses. They can have fun with flare sleeves and puffy sleeves on jackets and shirts. They can pair cigarette pants or short pencil skirts with longer blazers. Designers of Plus Sizes did not turn away from colors, flowers, and patterns. They want large women to have fun, life is too short for not looking good. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

I am Valentina, a trained Fashion and Interior Designer, born in Italy in a family of artists. Style has surrounded me since the very beginning of my life. My many years of experience in design business led me to offer consultations in both fashion and interiors, so much so that I can remodel homes as well as personal images. I am passionate about colors and I encourage my clients to express their individual style in their homes and with the clothes they wear. I am the author of three books, one of which is a book on color theory: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors available on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

La Modiste and Le Trottin | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

02 Sep 2017 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #1800sHatStyles, #BelleÉpoqueStyle, #DegasExhibition, #DegasMillinaryPaintings, #HatsDesigns

My mom, in her life as a fashion designer/tailor, often used a Modiste (stylist) for her client’s special requests and employed a Trottin (errand girl) the same as the girl on the Champs Élysée painted by Jean Béraud (below). The woman in the painting is as flirtatious as Carlina, the errand girl working in my mom’s tailor shop. Carlina took that time to run errands as her own playful time to flirt and act coquettish with the guys. Often, she returned to the shop out of tune, with her head in the clouds. My mom used to say she had taken too much sun on her head while she was out. Blessed youth!
(Click on each photo to view it larger).

Degas had the deepest admiration for the creative work of young shop girls. In the painting The Millinery Shop (below), Degas is clearly absorbed in the Modiste’s gestures working with colors, textures, silk fabrics combined with straw hats and the gentle touch she puts on each hat decoration. Degas focuses also on the environment in millinery where ribbons, plumes and artificial flowers are laying around in the shop.

(Below: The Shop Girl by James Tissot-French)

In this visit to the Legion of Honor Museum, where Degas, Impressionism and Paris Millinery Trade was showing, I have learned the names of what I wear on my head these days:
Boaters, Boudoir caps, Bowlers, Bonnets, Capots, Peach Basket hats, Gainsborough or Picture hats, Touring hats, Riding hats, Fascinators, are some of the names given to various women’s hat styles in the 1800s. I am not surprised to see many of those hats have passed the test of time and are still being made in our third millennium. Of course, today we wear them for fun and not because they are required to complete an outfit.

(Above: Tall Hat from Musèe des Art Décoratifs, Paris – UFAC Collection)

In the latest works, Degas placed his attention on skilled women working in milliners under difficult or hazardous conditions, their creativity and hard labor, he depicted their working life. Having reached a certain wealth and not having the pressure to paint for a living, Degas painted millinery scenes for his own enjoyment and never sold his latest work, which was found in his studio when he died 1917.

(Above: hat with a dead awl)

Birds of Paradise, Purple Tangaras with black tail, Septicolor with shimmering breasts and ostrich were some of the tropical birds imported to Paris from France’s African colonies. Parisian hat industry supported a massive trade in exotic feathers from South America and Asia as well. Feather, stuffed birds, wings or bird heads were popular ornaments. To stop decomposition, milliners used arsenic, a new toxic substance unknown to be toxic and dangerous for the workers. Mercury, used to soften animal hair and felting of animal fur, was another hazardous material present in millinery work.

At the same time, the artificial flowers became indispensable accessories on chapeau de paille (straw hats) and that industry employed thousands of women. Maison Virot successfully created seasonal hats with intricate flowers even dyed in new colors and hats with velvet fabrics embellished with plumes.

(Above: Capot and Bonnets Hats: Philadelphia Museum of Art – Gift of Mr. and Mrs. George K. Rodgers)

Purple dye color, especially mauve, extracted from mollusks, appealed to the wealthy and soon was established as the color for royals, power and wealth. The use of purple has continued through time. Men’s hats took a small space in this exhibition, even though men, just like women, were not completely dressed without a hat.

The caricatures, just like in any era, makes us laugh and ponder on the futility of our customs.

It is a small exhibition and would have liked to learn more, as the 1800s were a time of novelties, inventions and preparation for modernity. If you have a chance to visit this exhibition, it’s well worth and it includes a few famous impressionists of the era. It will be on until Sept.24, 2017. 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. She is passionate about colors and encourages her clients to express their individual style in their homes and with the clothes they wear. To better help people all over 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

Chartreuse Mix Inspiration | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

18 Aug 2017 2 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #ChartreuseColor, #ChartreuseComboColors, #ChartreuseFashion, #ColorsToCombineWithChartresuse, #DressingWithChartreuse

Welcome to my Friday Fashion episode.
This year, I have written many times about green and gold colors, alone or with other colors and I haven’t yet exhausted all the possibilities. Think about it? Green represents the lawn, the grass, the leaves, gold represents the sunlight. We feel good under the sunlight that energizes us. If we sit on a green lawn and greenery surrounds us, we feel infused with peaceful relax, just by simply looking at it. Green and gold are perfect together for our emotions and wellbeing. Nature does it, we can too.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

I take inspiration mostly from my food to make up an outfit. Strange as it sounds, going to a grocery shop for me is more about taking photos of food first, thinking of exciting ways to use those colors in my various life expressions and manipulating photos to feed my creativity, than the banal act of buying food. I put those photos together when I need to come up with original outfits. It’s so much fun!
People stress so much about getting dressed, complaining of not having anything to wear and the wardrobe is full of clothes they might not even be aware of having. I don’t think much when I put together my outfits, nature provides me with all the colors I need to make excellent combinations. If it looks good in nature, it will look good on me and my food photography helps me immensely.

I feel good in any green colors, better if it is a yellow-green, Chartreuse, or blue-green. I use any green tone as a daytime color, as well as for evening dressing up. I hear people saying green will make them feel “potted”. Green and golden tone skins are a perfect match, but green-bluish tone color works well on people with pinkish skin tone. That’s the secret.

For this time, I am having a close encounter with Chartreuse (my purse and necklace), arugula green (my pants) and gray mushrooms (my top). I have a great ability to mix jewelry metals and manage to make them look attractive together. I wear gold and silver together without inhibitions. A small touch of pearls won’t hurt either. The detail, which makes this ensemble more interesting, is the tapestry sabot shoes by Steve Madden.
There you go, as I often say, don’t be afraid of colors. If you do it right and tasteful, color will change your life. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

As a designer in business since 1990, I am interested in helping people designing their interior and exterior spaces with an overall feeling of peace, relaxation and harmony that will draw them home eagerly. I am always looking to add that special touch with original findings to the spaces I design. Color is the focus of my business today, changing people’s energy and life force just by introducing them to colors they would have never imagined. Vogue Italia magazine, Gentry and many prominent magazines in California featured my work, I appeared on RAI, National Italian T.V. and nonetheless my story continues. Find copies of my book on colors ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors , and the rest of my books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Safari In The City | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

29 Jul 2017 8 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #EarthToneColors, #FrenchPithHelmet, #SafariColors, #SafariFashion, #SafariStyle, #ValentinaCirasolaFashionDesigner

Most of the people I know are trotting the world now, cruising, exploring world cultures, tasting ethnic food in foreign countries, safari in the Serengeti and some are doing a quiet staycation.

A few months ago, a client brought me a blue-green fabric and an off-white cotton lacy fabric wondering what I could do with these two rummage fabrics. I asked a few questions and if she was going to a special event or on a special vacation this year. Good enough she was planning a safari.
Immediately, a jumper shorts with an oversized duster came to mind. The blue-green color with some brown details is a subdued color, ideal for making a safari garment, it would mix and camouflage well with the nature. We don’t want animals to attack my client because she is wearing bright colors. In fact, the colors of a safari outfit gravitate around earth tones, from shades of white, off-white, to cream and beige; from rust to olive-green and military green; some grey and browns are also present.
I designed my client’s safari outfit on paper, took the fabrics to the seamstress, made the outfit and off she went to capture the soul of the animals in their eyes through the lens of her camera. (Click on each photo to view it larger).

What are the essentials for a safari outfit? This is my concept, easy, doable and not terribly expensive. Links of each item will take you to the products.

French Pith Helmet. – It goes with any men and women’s safari outfit and it is equally attractive for both.
A Pair of Sunglasses – always protect your eyes from sun glare and dust.
A Safari Binocular to observe the animals from a distance and in silence.
Convertible Pants – they conveniently change from long to short pants as the necessity of the moment requires and occupy less space in the luggage. One pair of convertible pants makes two pieces.
A Vintage Belt – it’s always needed, even in emergency situations, you never know how it will be used. Somehow a rugged, vintage belt feels better for a safari outfit.
A Safari Coat with a millions of pockets. You never know what you will collect to take home.
Ankle Boots – protect yourself from brushwood, dry branches, stones, pointed plants and possible snakes. I choose Nero Giardini.
I throw in a pair of Animal Print Loafer for the evening casual relax.
A Safari Scarf, just to “look good” for the animals, or to wipe the sweat off the forehead. Those felines might work you up.
Travel with a light Duffle Bag. Going to a safari there isn’t much to show off to or to buy, other than bringing back a lot of memories and digital photos.

Mind you, the safari outfit in my concept board is also well adaptable for a weekend in the country, in the woods and for a hot day in the city. Why not?
In a hot weather, people tend to slack off dressing, it really doesn’t matter if they wear the usual shorts, t-shirt and flip-flops, as long as they stay cool. I agree, it’s so difficult to wear clothes that look good in a hot weather. Choosing cool, light weight fabrics, cool colors to keep us from overheating is the utmost importance.

However, in the last concept board below, I am showing a safari outfit more suitable for the city, playful and cool looking for work or business.

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. She is passionate about colors and encourages her clients to express their personal style in their homes and with the clothes they wear. To better help people all over 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