#Fashion Crush – Carmen Dell’Orefice (@CDellOrefice)

Whoever said models had to be young obviously never heard of Carmen Dell’Orefice.

At 86, Dell’Orefice has had an impressive modelling career that has spanned seven decades. In 1946, at just 15, having just been signed, the New York City born Carmen Dell’Orefice landed her first cover of Vogue. With her statuesque frame and her one of a kind features she quickly became a favorite of top photographers of the time like Richard Avedon and Francesco Scavullo.

After all of her success, she was dropped by her agent, possibly due to her small frame which required medical attention. Upon receiving her estrogen shots, Dell’Orefice’s new curves allowed her to make a resurgence modelling lingerie for $300 an hour. Carmen modeled through the 50’s, however, after her second marriage to Richard Heimann in 1958, she decided to retire altogether from modelling.

In 1978, a three time divorced Dell’Orefice found herself in need of money which restarted her modelling career. For the next two decades, she modeled for various campaigns and magazines. In the 80’s and 90’s, Carmen experienced more financial loss after losing most of her money in the stock market. The rest of her money was lost in a scheme involving Bernie Madoff who was best friends with her boyfriend of 12 years Norman F. Levy. Upon Levy’s death in 2006, Dell’Orefice discovered that Madoff had scammed away almost all of Levy’s $244 million fortune.

Despite all of her obstacles, Carmen Dell’Orefice always manages to carry herself with elegance and grace. She still models here and there though as of late most of her citings are out and about at parties. Her style is never any less than perfection still able to wear top designers and the finest jewelry. Carmen Dell’Orefice’s life can be a true testament that no matter how big the obstacle, it’s never too late to dust yourself off and reinvent yourself.

Written by: Dominique Bedell

@artfreak88

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#Fashion Crush – Jelena Karleusa (@karleusastar)

Known for selling millions of albums and her daring fashion choices, Jelena Karleusa has become the reigning queen of Serbia.

With over a million Instagram followers, the rest of the world has fallen in love with her keen sense of fashion. Usually decked out in designer labels such as Balmain or Givenchy and wearing heels that add inches to her already six feet tall frame, Karleusa garners attention everywhere she goes. Since releasing her debut album, Ogledalce, in 1995, Jelena Karleusa has had an impressive career. With ten studio albums under her belt and a stint on Big Brother, she has risen to levels that no other Serbian singer has done, making her the top selling singer in the Balkans.

Her style garnered worldwide fame in 2014 when she called out reality star, Kim Kardashian for emulating her style. Kardashian, who had recently bleached her hair a similar color to Karleusa, had also begun to take on a provocateur style of dress, which some would argue was made famous by Karleusa. Other celebrities like, Beyonce also seem to take inspiration from the Serbian star.

In 2015, Jelena added Singing Show Judge to her repertoire when she became a judge on the singing television show “Zvedze Granda”. The show, which is like “The Voice” gives fans of hers a way to see her and her unique style on a weekly basis. With her fashion notoriety getting most of the attention, it’s hard to remember that she is majorly successful in music. Her last album sold 200,000 copies on the first day, and was the fastest album to be certified gold, which made her tenth album, Diva, the most successful album in the Balkans. With her eleventh album being slated to be released in 2018, one can only hope that we’ll hear more about her in America.

Written by Dominique Bedell

@artfreak88

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19 Years of Fab Fashion! Carrie Bradshaw’s Hottest Looks!

Who could have known back in 1998 that 19 years later we would still be talking about the influence of Carrie Bradshaw on fashion?

The mega successful HBO series which lasted six seasons and catapulted Sarah Jessica Parker to super stardom often credited the fashion as the fifth character. Thanks to Patricia Field, who worked as wardrobe consultant for all six seasons as well as for both movies the wardrobe was as iconic as the characters. Though all four girls created different trends for the specific women they were representing, it was Carrie Bradshaw who’s creativity with her wardrobe garnered major attention. With this week marking the 19th anniversary of the popular show we take a look back at some of Carrie Bradshaw’s most memorable looks.

10.

“Exactly where do you plan on wearing this?” Asked by her boyfriend Aiden as they were trying to make room for his clothes in her closet in season 4. At the end of the episode Carrie boldly donned the Roberto Cavalli outfit as a get back to him.

After Aiden helped her friend Miranda get to the hospital she went to the bar where he worked to thank him. Sporting this Gucci fanny pack, Bradshaw was casual but always chic.

In this scene Carrie and Miranda visit a bridal shop to try on wedding dresses for fun, however at the sight of herself in a wedding dress, Carrie has a panic attack. This playful, yet wacky outfit was the perfect juxtaposition to the traditional wedding dresses.

After her torrid affair with Big, which led to his divorce, a guilt-stricken Carrie decides to apologize to his wife in person. For this she opts for this Christian Dior newspaper dress which was so iconic, she donned the stunner again in Sex and the City 2.

After being invited to a bar opening by Aiden (or so she thought) post breakup, Carrie decided to bring him a thank you gift. “It’s a Mulberry bush because you’re on Mulberry St.” she playfully said to Steve, who as it turned out was actually the one that invited her.

One of my personal faves, Carrie sports this Prada dress and floor skimming fringe bag, as she and then boyfriend, Berger, head to a play starring Samantha’s boyfriend, Smith Jared.

During the filming of season 5, as Sarah Jessica Parker’s baby bump grew, Carrie Bradshaw’s bags got bigger, such was this stunning blue Hermes Birkin she casually wore while out and about with her gay best friend Stanford.

Long live the 80’s. Carrie and friend Samantha Jones visit the Hermes store where they check out Birkin bags. Carrie dressed the part choosing to don an Hermes scarf adorned with an “H” ring.

In the Sex and the City movie, after months of being depressed about being left at the altar, Carrie picks herself up wearing this beautiful Dolce & Gabbana feather dress to a fashion show accompanied by her friends.

In the last scene of the series finale of Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw made her metaphoric walk into tv history as she and Big chatted on the phone. A scene which also showed for the first time Big’s actual name, John.

Written by Dominique Bedell

@artfreak88

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#FashionCrush – Zayn Malik (@zaynmalik)

One could argue that Zayn Malik was too hot to stand next to four other guys in a group.

Normally the person that leaves the group is under constant scrutiny about what they’re gonna do next and how is their career gonna withstand a solo career. Who could blame people for wondering how someone could leave the number one boy band since the Beatles with countless hit records. When you’re the heartthrob of the group, however, one never needs to fret. Since leaving One Direction in 2015, Zayn Malik’s career has seen incredible heights. After signing a solo deal with RCA Records, Malik’s first single Pillowtalk debuted at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 as well as a series of music charts in the UK and other European countries.

With a successful music career under his belt, Malik then began to focus on a lucrative career in fashion. He has collaborated on a number of high profile collections with Italian shoe brand, Giuseppe Zanotti and Versus Versace which debuted in May of 2017. His personal style also gained notoriety when The Business of Fashion listed him on their BOF500 list of the most influential people in fashion. Malik can usually be seen around cities like New York and Los Angeles looking casually cool in band tees, ripped jeans, and rocking a number of different hair do’s like buzz cuts and, most recently, the ubiquitous man bun.

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The HEAT Is Upon Us! Check Out This Summer’s Top 5 Accessories!

As the hot summer months approach us, the main focus of your outfit will be your accessories.

In the South, the temperature can reach scorching heights, making you feel as if the make-up will melt right off your face. Being that wearing as little as possible is the usual go-to remedy for this, a woman’s accessories will have to be the standout of her outfit. The perfect accessory makes people stop in their tracks. Forces them to walk over to you just to ask where you got your bag. The importance of accessories is the details. Embroidered flowers, colorful prints, and even emblazoned logos will make loud statements in the even louder hustle and bustle of city life.

1. The Bag Charm

For yet another season, the bag charm plays the perfect accessory to your handbag. This is, in large parts, thanks to Fendi, who historically revolutionized the bag charms a few short years ago. Never be afraid of adding two or three at a time in different colors and shapes. It could easily begin to resemble a work of art.

2. The Sun Visor

The apparatus with the sole responsibility of shielding your eyes from the sun got a refreshing revamp at Dior. The metal mesh material keeps the air flowing through all while still acting as the perfect blocker from the sun, making it the ideal beach accessory.

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The Renaissance Meets Florence at Gucci (@gucci)!

Not since those iconic Tom Ford years has the cult following of Gucci been so vastly favored.

With their more than 15 million Instagram followers and $4.5 billion in sales of their covetable handbags, the Gucci revolution has reached every coast from Los Angeles to Melbourne, Australia. Since taking over the prestigious house, Alessandro Michele has single-handedly revitalized the house making Gucci one of the highest searched fashion shows every season. For resort 2018 Michele took from different eras to create a masterpiece of prints and gilded headpieces, which will surely become a hit in the coming months. The Palatine Gallery of the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, Italy meshed well with the retro style collection. A poncho trimmed in fur and covered in the Gucci monogram and a “windowpane” stitched dress with “Guccy” embroidered in pearl accents were reminiscent of the renaissance era and could easily fir right in during the days of King Henry VII.

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#Fashion Crush – Dev Hynes (@devhynes)

Every now and then someone like Dev Hynes comes along and makes you look at fashion from a different perspective.

Having been dubbed “New York’s last bohemian” by the New York Times, the London born musician marches to the beat of his own drum with his fashion as well as with his extensive career. Since starting his career in 2005 with the band Test Icicles, Hynes has changed aliases many times. In 2007, under the name of Lightspeed Champion, Dev Hynes utilized such friends as Florence and the Machine as his touring band. After officially retiring Lightspeed Champion in 2010, Hynes moved on to Blood Orange whose R&B sound differed from the indie rock sound of Lightspeed Champion. Blood Orange saw much success having had songs on the MTV shows Skin as well as performing on the last episode of MTV’s It’s on with Alexa Chung.

Hynes’ accomplishments exceeded far beyond being frontman for Blood Orange. His writing and producing credit has also given him great success. Along with co-writing Florence and the Machine‘s number one album Lungs, Hynes has written for Solange Knowles as well as Britney Spears and Carly Rae Jepsen. He was even featured on english electronica band The Chemical Brothers album We Are The Night which won them a Grammy in 2008.

The past year has seen the fashion world stand up and take notice of Dev Hynes’ keen fashion influence. First was his appearance in H&M’s 2016 holiday campaign where he posed alongside fashion’s new “It’ girl Adwoa Aboah and Vine star Gabriel-Kane, son of actor Daniel Day Lewis. Recently, Hynes sat front row at the Gucci resort 2018 fashion show where he was chosen to take over Gucci’s Instagram and live stream the show. With a list of accomplishments that seems to constantly grow longer it shouldn’t be hard to believe that we’ve only scratched the surface of how remarkable Dev Hynes truly is.

Written by Dominique Bedell

@artfreak88

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