My new “Hollywood Gets Married” paper doll book for Paper Studio Press has three models to wear the bridal fashions, but they have to share one groom. He’s tall, dark and handsome and bears a striking resemblance to vintage heart throb Tyrone Power. I’ve paired him with a doll wearing Grace Kelly’s beautiful gown designed by Helen Rose, a gift from the studio. Following are two pages of fashions from the forthcoming book featuring 21 bridal outfits, some from the movies and others from real-life movie star weddings.
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The Groom Paper Doll and The Happy Paper Doll Couple
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| Two pages of Hollywood Wedding Fashions. |
Look Ma, No Hands!
Form follows function is an old adage that has always guided designers. But it’s a rule that fashion designers sometimes discard, unwisely. That’s the case of the latest craze, extra-long sleeves that cover one’s hands. It started with designer Demna
Gvasalia’s own label, Vetements which is so hot that he was chosen to direct Balenciaga, too. Now more than a few lesser designers have picked-up the idea. There’s no trick to it, but doesn’t everybody need to use their hands, especially the iphone addicts? Will this craze spread? Don’t be surprised if it does. There are plenty of precedents, impractical fashions that should never have happened: the hoopskirt, the bustle, the corset, long-leg pantie girdles, sky-high stiletto heels, towering platforms, cartwheel hats, etc.
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| Vetements, Y-Project, Maison Margiela |
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| DKNY, DKNY, Sharon Wauchob |
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| UMB, Vetements, Marques Almeida |
Heartfelt Fashion
No need to wait until Valentine’s Day to wear your heart on your sleeve, or more likely on your bodice. That all-time great symbol of romance sweetened several outfits on the runways of the spring ’17 collections.
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| Gucci, Fausto Puglisi, Proenza Schouler. |
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| Rodarte, Y-Project, Christian Dior. |
Lovely Lingerie Looks
It used to be considered a major fashion faux pas if a lady’s slip showed even an inch below the hem of her skirt. Times have changed a lot! The spring ’17 designer collections revealed what used to be hidden with new versions of the lace-trimmed slip dress. At Chanel, almost every outfit immodestly showed a sheer slip contrasting with a tweedy jacket and a baseball cap (worn sideways, rapper-style).
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| Chanel, Chanel, Rodarte |
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| Marques Almeida, Martin Margiela, Rodarte |
All in the Family
My day job as a Fashion Trend Forecaster keeps me busy covering runway shows and retail business as well as writing. But my favorite aspect of my job is to create and present lectures about how fashion is constantly changing. My daughter, Amanda Hallay, is a professor in Manhattan at LIM College “where business meets fashion.” She teaches fashion history and pop culture and creates powerpoint presentations that are fun as well as informative. Her YouTube series, Ultimate Fashion History, has more than 5,000 subscribers. She and a colleague, Terry Coffee, are preparing to market themselves as “Fashion Professors on the Go,” offering their expertise to colleges around the world. They asked me to do some illustrations for their website and I thoroughly enjoyed creating a portrait sketch of them both and several fashion sketches. If you would like to view Amanda's lecture series or learn more about her career and her services, visit her website, amandahallay.com.
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| Amanda Hallay and Terry Coffee, Fashion Professors to Go |
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| Runway view of a Fashion Show |
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| Gay ‘90s, 1950s and 1920s Sketches |
Coloring a Vintage Star
I’m continuing to take a bit of time each month to relax and color a few pages in my collection of vintage movie star coloring books. Sure, the cheap paper they were originally printed on has mellowed to yellow and that affects the crayon colors, but I think it adds to the potent nostalgic that I experience when coloring. This month’s star book subject is Debbie Reynolds, the energetic cutie whose wholesome personality was perfect for the ‘50s and early ’60s. My coloring book was published by Whitman in 1953 and I like it very much because the artwork really captures Debbie’s likeness (not always the case in coloring books). I chose to color three pages that make a fashion statement.
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| 1953 Coloring Book Cover and page crayoned by me. |
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| Even the girl next door dressed-up occasionally. |
Surprise GQ PD pops up
Paper dolls sometimes make surprising appearances. The November issue of GQ men’s magazine includes a humorous male paper doll with three outfits as tongue in cheek advice suggesting what a guy should wear on a first date. The artist: Mark Anthony Green.
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| Cartoony male paper doll in GQ Magazine. |
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