#2014RoyalBlue | Valentina Expressions

Cocktail at 5:00 PM | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

Today my Friday Fashion talk will be about a fundraising’s fashion ensemble I will wear tomorrow. There will be a cocktail and wine tasting at 5:00 pm and dinner later in the evening. Volunteer students dressed in Patrician Roman costumes will greet guests coming in from the valet parking, Opera singers will fill the air with well-known arias during silent auctions and some guests will take a photo opportunity with some of our Roman handmaidens or male Roman soldiers.

The title of the fundraising “Sempre Avanti – Moving Forward”, inspired me, as the designer on the committee, to create the Roman Empire theme. In fact, the fundraising is dedicated to creating more funds for building the Italian Cultural Center in the future Little Italy of San José, CA. For the last four months, the committee worked on ideas and went through intense preparations. Tomorrow will time for all of us to enjoy the event, study what we can do better next time and collect as much money as possible. My fashion ensemble will not be in tune with the Roman theme, nor will anybody’s else cocktail dress. I had a blue tone in mind since the beginning of this fundraising organization and wanted to use it as a playful color. My seamstress worked on one of the outfits I designed and I worked on the other. Now, I have two choices of colors:

Ensemble A: Night blue and nuances of blue cobalt. It carries an asymmetrical, overlay, detachable piece, in aqua leopard print (click on the image to see my hand drawing) over midnight blue pants and a tank top. I can wear that piece interchangeably with a skirt or pants even for a different occasion. A wrap made out of the same leopard print will cover my shoulders if the temperature drops in the evening.
Ensemble B: Brown and nuances of blue cobalt. The construction of this piece has been made with two fabrics with different style polka dots: skirt body has blue tiny velvet polka dots over brown chiffon, bottom volants are champagne color velvet large polka dots over brown chiffon. A wrap made out of the same fabric of the volants will be my shoulder cover.
Accessories will be simple: a necklace with two large pendants on a long blue cord, cobalt blue silk long gloves, pochette, and suede shoes. What do you think?

(details)

As part of the decorating committee, I will be busy talking to people tomorrow at the event and enjoying myself, I hope someone will take a photo of me. 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

Blue Suede Shoes | Valentina Cirasola |Designer

It’s Friday Fashion!
Royal blue and Bright Cobalt Blue are in fashion this fall 2014. In a couple of weeks, I will attend a fundraiser gala and I don’t want to appear in the usual black. Instead, I will play with a brown and blue color scheme.
I know brown is not a color for the evening nor for a formal event. Never wear brown after 5:00 o’clock. However, I have designed my ensemble for cocktails and early evening events.
I chose a brown fabric chiffon with blue velvet dots. At the bottom I added a totally different fabric, still brown chiffon with larger velvet platinum color polka dots, which will make transparent volants from above the knees down and show some legs. Transparency at night is very sexy.
My top will be brown with spaghetti strings and a beaded décolletage. Blue suede shoes, a reproduction of XVII century French shoes, cobalt blue long satin gloves and a huge shawl made of the skirt’s volants will be my accessories. The skirt will be ready soon. Click on the image to see it larger.

I am very sure all the women at this fundraising event will be dressed in black as if they are going to a funeral and all the men will be in a black suit, white shirt and black tie looking more like undertakers than attendees to a happy event.
Why people think wearing black to a formal event is proper and elegant? First, black is a visual weight reducer, it makes people look 10-15% thinner. Second, black is very wearable, any skin type can wear black and third black is easy to accessorize.
However, I think the real reason is that customers are not given any other choice, except for the red color around the holidays. Fashion designers create all kinds of colors and combinations that never make it to the market. Store buyers play safe and stick to what sells the best every year: BLACK.

At the fundraising, I will not feel a fish out of the water. I am used to wearing my own creations day or night, it is not the first time I am wearing something out of the ordinary. As a designer, I have the freedom to say This Is Me, versus wearing something that has been imposed on me and perhaps my different way of seeing things will inspire others to do the same. Clothes we wear speak about who we are. Do you dare at the time when your dress up? 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