City Hall

Photos I took from the historic San Francisco City Hall, For more photos by me go to: http://www.cldphotography.tumblr.com

Twisted Alice

Final Project for Fashion Styling at AAU. It was a lot of fun being able to pretend (keyword: Pretend) like I was a real stylist and actually getting to dress a model and do a photo shoot. Our theme was Twisted Alice, or as we call it "Where All Mad Here" Our outfit was very cute and I think very old english inspired. Then we vamped it up with sassy red lips and darker eye makeup, also her hair was a gorgeous curly mess.



Quick snapshots taken by Maddy!



Close-up on finished makeup



Our Props for the shoot

Fred Lyon brings the nostalgia

Fred Lyon’s photography career started when he apprenticed at age 14 at the Gabriel Moulin photography studio before enrolling in Art Center School in Los Angeles. During WWII, Fred was a Navy Photographer, he wrote news and feature stories that were released to wire services and national magazines. He also covered White House events, Fred photographed 5 presidents in his career. Fred then moved to New York where he worked at the Philip Wilcox Studios on Park Avenue, he was soon shooting for top New York fashion houses. In 1946 Lyon returned to California, where he started his freelance career. He was hired by such magazines as House & Garden, Vogue, Glamour, Mademoiselle, Seventeen, Life and Look. Fred has been fetured in over 50 books and in 1949 the San Francisco Museum of Art gave him his first show. Since then Fred has been shown in many gallerys and has been in many books. His time in recent years has been deticated to assembling his archive of his beloved home town, San Francisco in the 1940s and 50s. Which is currently being shown at Modernbook Gallery in San Francisco, located at 49 Geary St.

Upon entering the gallery you get a since of nostalgia. The old black and white photographs not only have great images of the old San Francisco, but have an interesting angle as well. Fred has many images from a bird’s point of view, like pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge from one of the tiers and pictures from the roofs of buildings. You can see how San Francisco has changed and how it is this same. What buildings still look the same, and what buildings have been modernized. Also how the fashion has changed.

The obvious change is the hemlines are much shorter. Women’s knees being exposed is not risqué. Clothes also are much tighter now. Many styles now a days are very form fitting, but in the 50s big fluffy poodle skirts and a-line skirts were a hip trend. Also many trends from the 50s are still wore today, like belting garments at the waist. Also floral pattern fabric was very in the 50s, and is also around today. Mens fashion has also changed dramatically. The suit is now only used for business men and for weddings, but in the 50s the suit was a every day outfit for many men.

Durring the 50s American was recovering from the Cold War and WWII. This was also the beginning decade of the Spaced Race between the US and the Soviet Union. Also time of the Baby Boom and the beginning of Rock n Roll. The world was conforming to the new times and was still very conservative. America today is fighting a war and is trying to conform to the new time and all of the digital advances that are being made. Science is changing the world rapidly. The one thing the new age is not though is Conservative. The new generation is anything but conservative. The world is advancing and changing in the blink of an eye and it’s all about the new generation. Which is said to be even bigger then the baby boom.

All of these thing influenced Mr. Lyon, and you can tell from his work. The cutting edge and the breathe of fresh air that he brings to the normal photography of the 1950s is refreshing. The un-conservative and out of the box attitude of his photos is very revolutionary, very rebellious of the normal.

My newest photo project

Brass Knuckles

Just in our own classroom of Fashion Journalism, I noticed a new trend that I’ve seen appearing slowly in stores, magazines, and on celebrities, this trend is the multi-finger ring. This trend started out as a brass knuckle but now has been cleverly re-designed into an ultra-chic accessory. Also resembling the late 80s iced out rings worn by rap stars have now been revamped into a cute playful fashionable ring. That even though we will admit they had a bad girl edge to them it now can be cute and feminine too.

The multi-finger rings have been reinvented in many ways, they now have rhinestones, flowers, words, gemstones, and even animals. Wither you want a cute feminine flower or rocker studs, these rings are a great way to spice up your normal everyday accessories. Rings made by designers such as Elizabeth and James making the “Feather Across the Hand” ring being sold at Bloomingdales, even handcrafted multi-finger rings being sold at the online indie super store Etsy, and for a more edgy ring we look to Nasty Gal who always brings a fresh California cool style. Even bigger designers are starting to make these stylish rings, like Alexander McQueen with his “Knuckle Duster” Multi-finger ring, that can be found at Saks. For the people who don’t think the rings are uncomfortable the fashion world has adopted to this complaint and rings that are only attached to one finger yet that span across two or three things are also coming in.

Celebrities who have been sporting this trend include the ever-stylish Rihanna, always-bad girl Taylor Momsen, and even reality fashion queen Lauren Conrad. Also magazines have been starting to spread this trend including, Elle, Teen Vogue, and Nylon. So instead of taking up room in your purse with pepper spray just put one of these rings on and your good to go. This accessory will hit the masses soon, so you better get yours soon, so you can get ahead on this upcoming trend.

Betsey Johnson

Betsey Johnson was just a normal girl from Wethersfield, Connecticut. She was born in 1942, with aspirations to go to New York and become a rockette. She had always had a love costumes and fun. Little did Betsey know that one-day she would have her own fashion label with over 65 retail locations, and also be the winner of countless awards including her career launching award, Mademoiselle magazine’s “Guest Editor Contest.” in 1964. After that this big dreamed Connecticut girl, with a little bit too much love for the color pink, Betsey headed off to New York City. After winning Betsey began working for Paraphernalia, a clothing boutique that at the time housed the hottest young London designers. This is where Betsey’s now “Signature Style” was born.

Betsey found her self in the Warhol era, full of color and pop art. Her house model
was Edie Sedgwick and in 1969 she opened her first boutique calling Betsey Bunki Nini. After her store opening she started working for Alvin Duckin in San Francisco.

After almost a decade of designing for other labels she created her own. Betsey Johnson label was created in 1978. Her first retail store was in the middle of Soho, in New York City, and from there the company grew to her now having over 65 retail stores today. The label has also gone from just apparel to apparel, accessories, footwear, swimwear, lingerie, and handbags. Betsey has also won a numerous awards including Fashion Walk of Fame in 2002, Designer of the Year Award in 2007, National Arts Club Medal of Honor for Lifetime Achievement in Fashion in 2009. Also a breast Cancer survivor Betsey Johnson is truly a incredible women.

When interviewing Betsey knowing all the awards she has received and how many successful collections she has put out, you would expect her to have a pretty big head. But surprisingly it is the exact opposite. When asked, “What’s the most surprising thing about fame…?” She replied humbly, “I’m famous?” Also she when asked what her proudest achievement she says “LULU! My daughter! And my second best thing are my two grandkids.” Betsey also goes on to say that her favorite things in her life are her “Lover, Pets, and Family.” When she talks about her pets she says, “Lucy’s like my little girlfriend. She’s the friendliest, sweetest Maltese you’ll ever meet.”

Also surprising is after all this time, Betsey’s collection hasn’t lost its spunk. She says she "I always stuck to my guns no matter what." This says a lot of the designer considering her collection it is like nothing you’ve ever seen on the runway, but her collection sells, and people still love it. Showing that even though she usually takes her designs to the max, and always surprises people with the amount of color in her collections. You can design what you want, and design from anything and everything that inspires you, no matter how crazy or out there, and you can still be successful.

Betsey also talks about what she would do if she wasn’t a designer she says “A Rockette, an interior decorator or a florist.” She says she has wanted to be a rockette ever since she was 9 years old. Betsey goes on to say why she still designs and stays in the industry, she says, “Making clothes involves what I like…color, pattern, shape and movement…I like the everyday process…the people, the pressure, the surprise of seeing the work come alive walking and dancing around on strangers. Like red lipstick on the mouth, my products wake up and brighten and bring the wearer to life…drawing attention to her beauty and specialness…her moods and movements…her dreams and fantasies.” After over 40 years in the fashion industry, still loving it, and people still love her. It’s quite an achievement. By the looks of the traditional cartwheel at the end of the Fall 2010 runway done by Betsey herself, I don’t think she will be retiring anytime soon. When asked about retiring Betsey quotes Bette Davis “Retirement? I’ll never retire as long as I have my legs and my make-up kit!” So Betsey fans have no fear, Betsey is here to stay.

Class Act

“Class Act” written by Sarah Haight, says mostly favorable things about the Academy of Art, but the main point of the article was that the Academy was a progressing University. She started out saying how the University hasn’t had as many graduates going on to the big fashion careers as the other big fashion schools, like Central Saint Martins. Yet the intentions of the President of the Academy to make the University into the “world’s best fashion school.” are mentioned several times. This shows that the University is trying to progress. The Academy may not have produced famous designers like Zac Posen, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney (who started out at Central Saint Martins) yet, but they are looking to the future. Also during the article it is mentioned how three of the eight Council of Fashion Designers of America scholarships were awarded to students at the university, again showing progress. The graduates who put on a fashion show that got reviews from people like Ralph Rucci, who said he was “surprised by the level of technique” and that “These kids showed some beautiful work.” The article shows the academy is progressing, thus showing it being seen in a favorable light.