Shirl In The City: February 2015

Monday, February 23, 2015

Academy Awards 2015

I usually don't do a post on the Academy Award fashion, but I felt like it this time. I wasn't overly keen on the pale colors, but I can get over it for liking the dress enough. I loved some of the women with the sleek short hair and the make up was all on point! These are my favorites on no particular order, they automatically lined up alphabetically by name when I saved the picture. The exception is the first picture...

Rosamund Pike wears Givenchy Haute Couture. This dress was my favorite of the night!Love it instantly. Not a lot of red so this stood out to me.

America Ferrera in an ombré Jenny Packham. This was a pretty green.

Gwyneth Paltrow in a Ralph & Russo. I actually like the rose detail on the shoulder!

Jennifer Hudson is wearing Romona Keveza. Sleek and simple. The dress she wore whens he performed was lovely too.

Kerry Washington in Miu Miu. The sequined skirt was my favorite part of this ensable.

Octavia Spencer in custom Tadashi Shoji. This designer does well by Octavia, always pretty.

Oprah Winfrey wearing custom Vera Wang Collection. Surpringly, Vera does well by Oprah. I say surprisingly because Vera Wang isn't known for her plus sized fashions, but she does really beautiful gaowns for Oprah.

Rita Ora in Marchesa couture. I really like the sleek platinum hair. I know who this singer is, but I have never heard any of her songs. I watched her performance on the show and I was impressed with her vocals.

Viola Davis wearing Zac Posen. The necklace went so well with this dress and her skin was luminous.

Zoe Saldana wearing custom Atelier Versace. This was my second favorite dress!

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015: Overview

Fashion week officially ended last Thursday. The multiple snowstorms we've had here in the city were much more fascinating than this fashion week. I would post a picture of the freebies I got...but, there weren't any freebies! No make-up, no food, no nothin' except water and magazines. I was in the tents only twice. Many designers are opting to show off site at some of the studios downtown. It's been rumored that the CFDA
(Council of Fashion Designers of America) will pick four different studios for the Spring shows in September as it's more cost effective than having to build the tents each season. They were booted out, by court order, from Lincoln Center due to complaints from people who lived in the neighborhood. On top of that Mercedes Benz has ended their sponsorship along with many other sponsors. I did a quick search to see what I could find out, but didn't come up with much. The new location announcement was supposed to be at the end of fashion week, but perhaps it will be this week. If it was announces already I didn't fins anything...not that I was looking too hard for it. *shrug*

I did see that come July, for Spring, they will relaunch New York's mens fashion week. The last time they had menswear shows separate from the women's was back in 1996. I so enjoyed those shows. They were much easier to get into and watch AND I got to take pictures with the male models after the shows. * sigh* those were the days.

Lincoln Center wasn't a favorite spot for most fashionistas I've spoken with over the years. Most people preferred Bryant Park because it was in the fashion district, close to the showrooms and fashion offices as well as restaurants. I was my favorite spot as well. I'm kind of nostalgic because I remember seeing on Entertainment Tonight the first season in Bryant Part, it rained. The tent sprang a leak, girls were slip, slidin' on the runway. It took a few a seasons, but they finally got into a groove and things began go smoothly.

Already I'm not excited about the studios for the fashion shows. Some designers have been using them for a few seasons, and they are so out of the way that it's exhausting getting to them. Whatever the CFDA does, I hope they bring the spark comes back to fashion week. The last few seasons have not inspired or excited as it has in the past.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015: B. Michael

The pictures are in random order as I could not find a source who had them in order as the run of show. Floyd Boston with the entertainment show The Insider was filming backstage before the start of the show and I was on a brief ( very brief!) clip that aired tonight! If they have the clip, I will download and post it here. Floyd was really cool. He has enviably great skin and a very nice smile. I wanted a picture with him, but I didn't have the opportunity to get one, shoot!

Anyway, after the show Top Chef Marcus Samuelsson said we did a great job! He's very good looking in person, but much shorter than I would have thought. His wife is gorgeous and tall, of course, she's a model. Valerie Simpson ( Ashford & Simpson) walked by, she's short too. Either they are short or I am taller than I realize, lol! Phylicia Rashad and her daughter Condola were celebrity guest models that walked the runway at the end of the show. Condola is gorgeous, tall! must get the height from her father Amhad, because her mother was on the short. I swear these celebrities seem larger than life on tv and in the movies . but in real life they are not!

This model is from Angola. She is stunning! She reminded me of Toni Braxton.

The fabulous Lu Sierra! She is just awesome! A Super, Super model! She taught a few of us how to stand and pose at another B. Michael event a couple of months ago. She is one of my all time favorite models!