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I was looking at press coverage of the recent Academy Awards ceremony trying to spot historical references. The Dior designed ensemble worn by Natalie Portman (pictured above) incorporated several details of the past. The gold embroidery on the long gown is reminiscent of the heavily embellished fabrics that the Byzantines (AD 339 – 1453) favored. […]… Continue reading Finding Fashion History at the Oscars — OverDressed for Life

When we think of American style, we think of among other things, jeans. More specifically we think Levi’s Jeans. But have we ever considered the story behind the iconic brand? It’s an interesting one and locals in the Bay Area have a unique opportunity to learn about Levi Strauss the man and his jeans. On […]… Continue reading Levi Strauss: A History of American Style at the Contemporary Jewish Museum — OverDressed for Life

We are studying the 19th century in Fashion History class so now is a good time to discuss the ball gown I had made some years ago. I had been attending the Gaskell Ball, which was a formal Victorian dance held several times a year at the Scottish Rite Temple in Oakland. Quite the time […]… Continue reading Fashion Distraction: The 1830s Ball Gown — OverDressed for Life

During this pandemic I find I want lighter entertainment. One of my favorite go-to movies is 13 Going on 30, which came out in 2004. Jennifer Garner does a really nice job playing 13-year-old Genna, who has magically been granted her birthday wish and is suddenly “30, flirty, and thriving.” Genna wakes up and finds […]… Continue reading Favorite Fashion Films: 13 Going on 30 — OverDressed for Life

Another one of my go-to movies is Miss Potter. This 2006 film tells the bittersweet story of Beatrix Potter (played by Renee Zellweger) and the challenges she faces getting her children’s books (Peter Rabbit et al!) published at the turn of the last century, when women just didn’t do such things. No indeed, women instead […]… Continue reading Favorite Fashion Films: Miss Potter — OverDressed for Life

Fashion is both fascinating and contradictory. It creates trends and follows them, it welcomes and rejects; it judges. I love the fact that I am a part of it but I also relish the knowledge that my design language is different. I can be an outsider. Incapable of following trends just for the sake of […]… Continue reading Fashionable Quote of the Week by Orla Kiely — OverDressed for Life

One of the assignments in the fashion history class I recently completed was to find historical fashion references in current fashion. In magazines we looked for examples covering ancient clothing to the 20th century and matched with historical images from books, plus we had to write a comment. This week: The Fillet This hat […] via… Continue reading Finding Historical Fashion Today: The Fillet — OverDressed for Life

Number three on my list of Favorite Go-to Films is: You’ve Got Mail starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan (1998). It’s the story of two book store owners – Joe Fox, who owns the mega-chain Fox Books and Kathleen Kennedy, proprietor of the children’s book store Shop Around the Corner. The two have found […] via… Continue reading Favorite Fashion Films: You’ve Got Mail — OverDressed for Life

Its April of 2020 and Day 25 of A to Z challenge. This year, I am doing Metaphors. Be it a movie, song, painting, book, idiom, etc. I plan to give a perspective to it with an explanation and a 8 line poem. Metaphor: You’ve Got Mail Who hasn’t loved the movie with the casting… Continue reading You’ve Got Mail — Its PH

A pair of middle-aged couples, sincerely grasping at some Nixon era self-help hope through pop psychology and embracing a kind of forgiving openness that begins to both strain and expand their friendships, seem destined for partner swap. Is that really enough for a movie? So we’ve got our goofy and pouting Elliot Gould, our post […]… Continue reading Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) — I Saw A Film