Inspiration Tuesday: Winter Fashion

Happy Tuesday my lovelies!

Even though I have a zillion and a half things to show you, I thought I'd take a little break today and show you what I've been looking at lately, and what has been inspiring some of my upcoming projects.

I love fashion. Oh, so very much. I'm not super knowledgeable about it. I didn't go to school and take a history of fashion class. I can't tell you what the fundamental differences are between Valentino and Oscar de la Renta. But I love looking at clothes, and letting their form and function make my brain go places it's never gone before.

I spent alllll day on Saturday looking at pictures from this past February's Autumn/Winter 2014 New York Fashion Week shows, and I ended up staying awake until almost 4:30 in the morning because my brain would. Not. Shut. Up. I NEVER stay awake until 4:30 in the morning!

Anyway, just after the jump you'll see a handful of pics from each of my favorite designers, who may have shown these collections almost a year ago, but have predicted what kinds of things will be fashionable...right now!

Chanel - So Chanel did this weird mash-up of tweedy old-school London and Sparkletown. NOTE: Sparkletown doesn't actually exist. :( It was such a weird and lovely collection that I found myself gasping out loud a couple of times. Here are some of my faves:

Christian Dior put together a collection full of gloriously wearable pieces, essentially bringing a crap-ton of elegance (like that phrase? I just made it up!) to basic wardrobe essentials. I also adored his use of embroidery - my two favorite embroidered pieces are at the end of this set of photos:

Maison Martin Margiela basically said "SCREW IT" and threw together all of the world's greatest textiles into one hodge podge of glory. I love this collection more than life itself.

Ralph & Russo's collection is basically like if the Snow Queen had been a wealthy, bored young housewife in the 1950s. But still essentially evil. Maybe it's the styling, but I feel very strongly that this collection was, in a sense, inspired by Disney villains.

Valentino invoked ancient Rome in his collection, which I am pretty much always down for. The wrapping and the neat-o Roman prints made me super happy. Also, some of those textiles? OM NOM NOM NOM.

Versace basically went with the dominatrix look. I mean that's probably a bit harsh, and who the hell am I to say ANYTHING about Versace? But the tightness of it all, the corseting, the leather straps, the severe colors, the styling, and the absolute unquenchable FURY on the faces of his models? It all looks very "You've been a bad, bad boy" to me. I love it. :) I also love the extreme asymmetry of almost everything in his collection. It's almost like he took two entirely different looks, cut them directly down the middle, and sewed them to each other. The buckles might be my favorite thing though.

Dries Van Noten is my new favorite designer. I had heard that "bright colors" were in this autumn and winter, and nobody seemed to embrace that quite as much as Mr. Van Noten did. I literally loved everything about this collection. I would wear every single piece that walked down the runway. I guess that probably says something about me. I truly could not narrow my favorites down to five, so I'm giving you my top seven, and even that was a challenge. Oh and I had to say something about each one. Rest assured, you will be seeing more of Dries Van Noten in my upcoming refashions and handmades than anything else I've shown you today:

That skirt is nuts. NUTS. Also, I LOVE the graphic on that tee, and I LOVE the sleeves. And the colors! OMG!

I actually just bought a top at Goodwill that would be perfect to turn into this shirt. It couldn't be too hard...a pretty floral stencil and some metallic fabric paint? Done and done.

I am already daydreaming about how I could make this sweater. Like, I'm figuring out the pattern in my head. I swear I'm going to make it. The skirt? Insane. I love, love, love it. Gray and yellow is my very favorite color combination, and this outfit, from head to toe, just makes me the happiest.

So this one is weird because I actually wouldn't wear this. Not because it isn't GORGEOUS, but because 1) peplums look ridiculous on me, and 2) the length of the skirt is not attractive on my body. But who would have thought to combine periwinkle, plum, and black? Not me. But now it's in my head as the most perfect color combination of all time, so don't be surprised if you see me experimenting in that regard soon. Also: THOSE SHOES HOLY CRAP.

At first I chose this picture just because of the tee - it's hard to see because of the fabulous stenciled matador jacket, but you can kind of get the picture - a basic gray tee with a white circular graphic on it. I can do that. After I got over the tee, I looked more closely at the jacket and the skirt, and realized that this was an outfit I MUST have in my closet.

I'm not nuts about the top, to be honest, but that wrap-around skirt? YES PLEASE.

He sent down an outfit on the runway that was all black and navy blue. Guy's got moxie! I love this, and the sweater makes me want to curl up and purr like a kitten.

Anyway, that's what I did this weekend. Looked at these things. Dreamed about these things. Imagined things I could make based on these things.

I am so inspired I might explode!!

XOXO