The Year Of The Dragon

What will the Dragon bring you this year?
I was imagining what I wanted to wear to tonight's New Year's party, and came across black and white print silk fabric in my closet. So... here is the design I came up with. Have a wonderful night and party like it's 2012!

Fashion Illustrations

I think the hardest thing about fashion illustration for me was finding my style. I used to just copy what I saw, but I knew it wasn't authentic. So.... I used my gouache set pretty frequently a few years back, trying to get good at it. I stopped years ago and reverted to marker and pencil. When I returned to Houston to visit the family, I found my gouache set and many of them were still usable! So... after countless hours of finding "My Style", I would like to share. These illustrations were done with gouache, brush pen, black ink, water soluble colored pencil and pencil. Happy Holidays!

Pre-Fall 2012 Favorites

I had originally liked Chanel's pre-fall show, but the more I see it, the more I become less enamoured by it. I have always liked the ornate and detailed look from Indian saris, the bright and vivid colors, as well as the decorative jewelry. I saw this in the Chanel collection, but now I think it may be a little too much. The hair pieces, nose rings and dreadlocks, guys heads wrapped with fabric. It is this mix of grunge meets super high end conservatism that doesn't seem to match. Kudos to the juxtaposition, but I think I found a new favorite.

Chanel -Love the accessories and fluid fabric

Before I announce my new favorite, I'd like to briefly go through other collections that I thought were quite nice. Once again, Reed Krakoff pulled off another great collection. There isn't anything overly edgy about his look, but there's a sensuality to his style that makes a working woman look sexy without showing any body part. That takes talent.
Thakoon showed a really cute collection consisting of cinched waists and big skirts, pastel palette on gray, fuzzy warm coats and cable knit sweaters. I'd definitely add that little black dress to my wardrobe.

Reed Krakoff's Pre-Fall 

Little Black Dress By Thakoon

Zac Posen definitely pulled his inspiration from classic couture and mixed it with Eastern fabrics. The textiles are rich and the silhouettes have substance, emphasizing women's curves and shape

Zac Posen's gorgeous gown 

As always, I love Burberry coats. I would wear every single one that I saw in the Pre-fall collection, even the men's! If I were a man I'd be very happy showing off my Burberry coat. I'd say what troubles me the most about the Burberry collection is that the models look like they are 12 years old. I know that in the fashion world, models are young, but it's hard for me to look at these models seriously. I felt like they were wearing their parent's clothing.

Tweed Coat and Trench By Burberry 

My favorite actually came to a surprise to me, but I've always liked that "I don't give a f***" look and "I know I still look good not giving a f***". That's how I felt with Theyskens' Theory collection. The models are all looking like they don't want to be there, yet they are wearing these outfits that are stylish and a little edgy but not so much to where you can't go to work in them. I think it looks great.

Hotness by Theyskens' Theory

Pre-Fall 2012

So far I've liked Jason Wu and Oscar De La Renta's collections. I am loving Chanel's ornate and decadent look. Here is a recap of Chanel's fashion show. It's hot!