Where's her Oscar?

The photos from The Red Ball 2011 are coming in. Here's the first - and, fittingly, it's a red ball gown!

Red gown by Maggie Burns of Marie-Margot Bridal Couture, hair by Charlie Price of Shear Genius 2 and photo by Jim Wills.

Speechless!!

More soon.

~runwayready

PJ Day

I'd like to pretend that I've been ambling around town in my best sportswear today, but sadly, that is not the case. I have been working in my office all day in my (sorry excuse for) PJs. I wonder if pajamas are actually a thing of the past. Extinct, like dinosaurs. How many people like me sleep in yoga pants and tank tops? More than would admit, I'd be willing to bet.

Giving up pajamas is the first step down a slippery slope. I don't wear bathrobes either. I won't bore you with what I don't wear, but it appears to be less and less, even though the sheer quantity of available apparel seems to be increasing at a breathtaking (horrifying) rate. Sometimes I have  nightmares that I'm being crushed by thousands of pounds of cheap safari jackets that all look EXACTLY the same. Then I realize I've been awake for hours.

So here's to the new new new minimalism. No more pajamas. Who knows what comes off next.

More soon.

~runwayready

Those Sinful Red Shoes

Why do women wear red shoes? To feel sexy. To LOOK sexy. To get noticed. And, I'll skip the crude descriptions, and just say that women wear red shoes to sin :). Whether it's an actual or a virtual sin, red shoes make it fun.

Red shoes have a history.

Dorothy wore them.

Okay, no big deal, right? Dorothy was youthful, virginal, innocent. How could HER ruby slippers be sexy? Oh, but they were.

Dorothy wore them just as she was becoming an adolescent. The color red is a big deal right around then - and kind of messy. Besides that, an adolescent girl is every heterosexual male's fantasy. Isn't she?

Shoes are a stand-in for what Oprah calls the va-jay-jay, according to J.E. Cirlot's "A Dictionary of Symbols." Now that alone is interesting. And what about red? Red has always been associated with sexuality and  passion. Put the two together, and you've got one fiery combination. Bring on the explosions.

So, Dorothy looks a little different as a virginal sex symbol, doesn't she? Yeah, I thought so too.

What about that classic film from 1948 called, wait for it, "The Red Shoes"? In it, a beautiful ballerina (Moira Shearer) is seduced by an evil man (the devil?) into donning a pair of red ballet shoes, which ultimately possess her and force her to dance until she dies. Rather a grim little morality tale. But oh, the power of those red shoes and the sexuality they unleash in the dancer.

Designer Stella McCartney offered a stunning pair of red shoes this fall, the Garnet Lupino Patent Pumps. Who wouldn't want to strut around in these all night? Or all the time, for that matter?

But if you want a pair of really sexy red shoes, go with these Enzo Angiolinis. They've got it all. Peep toes, heels, bows and laces. The whole package.The party is happening in the front and the back.

Good luck with all that sinning you're planning to do in your new red shoes. Just be careful out there. Those things should come with a warning label.


More soon.

~runwayready

Fit is the New Black

Do garments fit your body straight off the rack? If so, you are one lucky human. I probably hate you :).

If not, hello fellow traveler down the fashion highway.

Models, royals and other celebrities look poured into their gorgeous clothes because they have been. The gowns were either designed or altered to fit their bodies. How do you compete with that? Well, take these five - or six - steps to achieve maximum fashion fabulosity.

1. Find a seamstress or a tailor. A good one. A great one, if your life and location permit.

2. Go through your closet. Try things on. Keep whatever looks great on you -- and would look even better with some skillful tweaks here and there.

3. Take armloads of clothes to be altered by the seamstress, your new bestie.

4. Bring coffee, because you will be in her studio for awhile. Avoid getting stuck with pins.

5. Come back in two weeks to pick up clothes that now look like couture.

6. For the peak experience, find a couturier who will design a custom dress or gown for you, from the ground up. Heaven.

This method is guaranteed to work, or...we can discuss further.

As my friend, custom bridal and evening wear designer Maggie Burns, of Marie-Margot Bridal Couture, says, there is nothing more luxurious than having clothes designed that "fit your body and your sense of style."

More soon.

~runwayready