Nothing Sexy about the "Naked Dress"

Elle Magazine shared a post through tinyurl a few hours ago on "The Evolution of the 'Naked Dress'." If you are confused about the "naked dress," think Rihanna at the CFDA Fashion awards. I believe she started the whole bizarre dressing thing after Lady Gaga launched fashion craziness. :) While I am a strong advocate of women's confidence and the beauty of a woman's body, I am in no way a supporter of giving confused teenage boys a reason to drool.

Yes, it's displayed on the runway to "show the true beauty of a dress" but a dress should look beautiful the way it is WORN... not just for art. Yes, it's perfect for a tease in your husband's house. However, on the road, it leaves absolutely nothing to the imagination except for maybe a sudden urge to puke.

Too much is NEVER cute. I've never seen where "too much" made any sense. If you have, let me know. All your skin out is NOT tasteful, ladies. Not in the '60s and definitely not now!

Here a few pictures from Elle's "naked" post.

Marilyn Monroe in 1962

Kate Moss and Naomi in 1993

Toni Braxton in 2001

Kelly Brook in 2004

Iggy Azalea in 2012

We all make fashion mistakes but I will de-friend any of my friends or family who lets me step out in any of this mess! By the way, in case you didn't notice, I made sure to leave out Rihanna, Miley Cyrus and The Lady Gaga in this post. Later gators!

Fabsugar's Celebrity-Inspired Bridesmaids Dresses

In a recent issue of Redbook magazine, the absolute cutie, Brad Goreski, dresses a young lady up in a nice maxi dress and instructs readers to wear to a wedding. That is, as wedding guests. The picture is below.

Brad Goreski, French Connection Dress, Redbook picture 

Now, while I think the dress is adorable, I had shared with my friend that I would more likely wear it to a beach chill-out event with girlfriends than a wedding. It speaks casual to me... too casual. Through my profile, you'll learn that I love simple! However, simple has levels that do not mix. You do casual simple (day at the mall or hang-outs) or you can do occasion-simple (party, wedding, etc.). A wedding is totally an "occasion-simple" outfit event.

Fabsugar writers picked much better could-be-worn-to-a-wedding dresses in the article "Bridesmaid Dress Ideas from Celebrities." I'd wear the dresses to a wedding in a heartbeat. Maybe in different colors but absolutely most of the styles. Yes yes... the suggestions are for bridesmaids but I'd tone down in somewhat lighter colors (attract little enough attention, hehe) and sit just fine in the audience.

My picks from Fabsugar's post are below.

Does Kerry ever go wrong?

While I am not sure if this silhouette would flatter most people, I enjoy the uniqueness of the dress. A wide-hipped, small/moderate-boobied lady should look good in the dress.

Stunning Charlize!! I'd prefer the dress in a light pink.. The dress might stir up competitive/hateful feelings and thoughts from the bride and bridesmaids. So, wear at own risk. :)

I love the simplicity of this dress but I would pair with a slim gold belt.

Competition-muchooooo. Don't care. I'd still wear it to a wedding... Fine! I might be nice and wear a lighter blue but just as fitted.

This says I'm a beautiful innocent princess... Works for me.

Alright, alright. Done for now. Look out for me later. Xoxo.

Just for You by Bloomingdales

I'm not a fan of subscribing to lots of sites but it seems almost impossible these days to shop/window-shop outfits without subscribing to sites: ideeli, Rue la la. You name it. I've been forced to relegate a number of daily emails to Junk Mail 'cos it gets overwhelming at times. 

The one subscription that is yet to bother me is the one to Bloomingdales. In fact, their emails are usually pleasing and to my taste. I recently received one of their "Just for You" emails that tickled me nicely. The first dress had me purring: huge temptation for the week. Other highlighted accessories and outfits are below. 

I can't remember the designer of the dress anymore but all I know is that I love it. 

A slightly similar print dress by Mara Hoffman for $208 is below. 

This size 12 Nicole Bakti gown is now on sale for $310. 

This Kate Spade pendant is $58. 

Check out Bloomingdales for more inspiration...

Seduce: La Perla

The first time I put up a post on La Perla, I had assumed it was simply a Victoria's Secret competitor. That is, most girls (American and otherwise) think V.S. when they want sexy lingerie. Would you permit me to say La Perla is a luxury V.S.? Higher priced, as creative or even more creative than V. S...

La Perla advertises itself as European intimate apparel for men and women. Not sure how long they've been out but it's obvious they are now marketing to the US crowd. They've been showing up on American fashion & high fashion magazines. 

I call La Perla apparel "strictly seductive": some pieces leaving ideas to your imagination, others telling you a full story. Here are some pieces from the site. 

Soutache lingerie slip for $788... 85% silk

95% silk nightgown $428

Iconic slip for $505

Below are from campaigns. 

From A Couture Life blog

It's Another Nigerian Wedding

It's painful that I can't write about Nigeria right now without thinking of the plight of over 250 young girls kidnapped and likely being mistreated by a number of unfamiliar men. Unfortunately, occurrences seem to continue cropping up that keep us in a state of stupor over what man does to fellow man. That's in general. With regards to cruelty against women, the free women in Nigeria and other parts of the world must not let these hateful men win.

While some mourn, in the same country, thankfully, real love is consummated through natural marriage for other women: women who get to choose/date their men and don't get sold into marriage. Nigeria is not a place of selling into marriage. The Boko Haram men must not succeed!

A lady wedded her sailor... her pictures tell her story. (Pictures are from BellaNaija.)















Where pain resides, joy still thrives. Let it be so: let joy thrive!!

Lace It Up, Julie Vino!

Dear readers, I still love lace. So, it is no wonder that I like the wedding dresses in Julie Vino's Orchid collection. Isreali designers like Berta, Zahavit Tshuba and Simijan Bozalgo bring lots of softness and femininity to dresses, and play a lot with lace.

Find Vino's dresses advertized on Pinterest. Those I found fun and somewhat tempting are below.

FabFashionFix.com

FabFashionFix.com

FabFashionFix.com

I love the buttons on this one.

FabFashionFix.com

Other photos may be found on BellaNaija.

The Olivia Pope Work Strut

I always say it's not a dress that makes a woman but a woman that makes a dress. The "wrong" woman could make a $1M dress look like it cost $10 while the "right" woman makes a $10 dress look like $1M. Who is the right woman? One who has confidence and poise, who knows that she can accomplish anything she sets her mind to. While I am not a fan of the adultery and fornication in the scenes of the popular ABC show "Scandal", I love to see character Olivia Pope in her scenes. Her walk alone would make you do a double take. Being the "right" woman, everything she wears looks like it cost $1M.

Marie Claire showcased a number of Pope's outfits in their "Build Your Perfect Office Wardrobe a la Olivia Pope" article. Here are my picks.

From Marie Claire, Tagliatore suit

From Marie Claire, A.P.C. trench coat

Is it okay to say that Pope's trench coat is sexier than the posted A.P.C. trench coat? Her collar has something the A.P.C. one does not.

I'm a big fan of satin and silk tops and dresses. So I love this.

From Marie Claire, Elizabeth and James

This dress is cute but can't be rocked by everyone. So, please be careful. I bought something similar from BCBG Max Azria. It's lovely.

From Marie Claire, Sherri Hill gown

Mo Cheddah Hit the Spot in "Destinambari"

I heard the audio to Mo Cheddah's "Destinambari" R & B tune a few days ago and fell in love with it. I found the song, beat and lyrics very catchy. It starts with Igbo Phyno who captures my heart with his use of Igbo lyrics in a creative blend with a little English here and there. I wish Mo ended the song with Phyno as she started with him. It would have been a perfect finish.

The video to the song is out on YouTube now. Given its newness, there are slightly over 2300 views. I'm hoping it gets to a million views in the next few months: it is definitely deserving. As captivating as the song, are Mo Cheddah's outfits on the video. Incredibly impressive. Her yellow number: long-sleeved crop top and high-slit long yellow skirt with chain connections got me drooling. I would love to be in that outfit. She punctuates it with gold open toed sandals and a very sexy gait as she walks along the beach.

Every single outfit she has on in the video is perfect for her body shape, height and complexion. She gets 5 out of 5 gold stars for her wardrobe. Here's the video for your entertainment. Xoxo!

Photos from her shoot for the video are below.

From That1960chick site

From Olorisupergal site

From 360nobs site

Another photo of Mo Cheddah not from the video is below.

From Vandrusville site

Lanvin Originality... Alber Elbaz

So I fell even more in love with Lanvin pronounced as given here: Lanvin pronunciation (French), after I read his interview with CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta on Harper's Bazaar. I wrote about Lanvin dresses in March 2013. I've always felt that the designer's creations are lovely but I add "original" to the list. I was in a Chanel store last weekend (by the way, you can't purchase a new authentic Chanel bag online; ONLY in a store). While in the store, I discussed the lack of originality and uniqueness in designers of late. Everyone is copying everyone else: everyone has the Chanel design now, for instance. Remember when you knew someone was rocking a Chanel bag by the square-shaped threading on the leather bags? Now, Dior has something similar and of course, smaller boutiques. To Dior's mini-credit, their threading is two concentric squares instead of one...Louboutin lost a case against making only his shoes have red bottoms... I've seen YSL shoes with red soles.

For me, a lover of originality, it kinda makes me lose my taste in designer outfits. Well, that was until I read Alber Elbaz's statements. Here's an excerpt from the dialogue (page 526 of Harper's Bazaar March 2014 issue).

Sanjay Gupta: So if "cool" is not the sentiment, what is the modern "cool" for Alber? Is it authenticity?

Alber Elbaz: "Authenticity, of course. And I think it's something that's being erased today because everybody wants to be like everybody... I think that the beauty is making mistakes, the beauty is being wrong, the beauty is being authentic, and authenticity is a very important thing, in every demand. And I think as a doctor you have to be authentic, and as a person you have to be authentic, and as a father you have to be authentic- because this is originality. I think this is a very important thing that I don't see enough of today. I love authenticity."

Something else profound that Alber said was "Some of the biggest thinkers I have seen are not those stylish people. They are the total opposite, the ones you can almost ignore in a room."

I fell in love with Lanvin's Alber Elbaz. You may read the entire interview here: "The Dress Doctor."

From Harper's Bazaar

Other Lanvin outfits are below.

Sexy does it. :)

Lanvin.com, $3495.00

Pants, though it looks like a jumpsuit, which I need!

Lanvin.com, $3625.00

Do you now see what I mean by original?

Lanvin.com, $2645.00

Work dress?

Lanvin.com, $3455.00

It's Prom Time!!

It's prom season in the United States of America (U.S.A.) but also in other parts of the world. I'm in the process of looking for something gorgeous for a family friend in Nigeria. Young girls amaze me with their sense of prom style. My 17-year old family friend has me looking for dresses that look so much like wedding dresses: pale colored and flowy ball gowns. It's hilarious.

I do love to see young ladies happy and feeling "save-ready" in their dresses: Rapunzel in the castle waiting to let down her hair, Snow White waiting to kiss her Prince Charming, etc. The princess feeling, at least, par Disney tales.

A prom dress is not a good enough one if its color does not complement the skin tone of its wearer. It should be ever so slightly flirty: enough to draw attention but not dirty attention. It should also give room for a touch of jewelry to add that extra sparkle to the eye of the male beholder. Here are prom dresses I like.

Starting off, Bloomingdale's cover photo for their Class Acts Prom Look book has me drooling: tres chic. I'm not much for the pale dress but the patterned number (shorter in the front than the back) is gorgeous. Oh! And turns out it's a Monique Lhuillier dress.

Order at Bloomingdales.com

I know I said a prom dress should have a color to accentuate its wearer's assets but can you ever go wrong in black? This black number is lovely.

Nicole Bakti, Order at Bloomingdales.com

I'm a sucker for slits. See Laundry's dress. The dress barely makes my cut though.

Laundry, Order at Bloomingdales.com

Black is great. Black and white is even better.

ABS gown, Order at Bloomingdales.com

I love the detail in the corset of this BCBG dress.

BCBGMaxAzria, Order at Bloomingdales.com

Boutique Gown's gladiator dress is kinda different, so it made the cut.

Boutique Gown, Order at Bloomingdales.com

Make sure your daughter, niece, etc. looks amazing on prom night!