Somalian Twins Design: Mataano

Ayaan and Idyl are fashion designing twin sisters from Somalia who came to the U.S. at the age of nine.  They completed college and both were interns for famous fashion designers.  Ayaan interned for Jill Stuart, and Idyl interned for Betsy Johnson.  

By Mataano, htp://visionaryartistrymag.com

The twins' first collection of ten dresses was introduced in 2009. Their brand name, Mataano, is a Somali name which means twins.  How appropriate!  To Idyl and Ayaan, the Mataano woman is a mixture of different cultural influences.  

View the twins' website at http://mataano.com.

By Mataano, www.ciaafrique.com

Till next blog!

Inspiration: African Designers

We're all hearing about the terrible famine hitting the Horn of Africa, which includes Somalia and parts of Kenya.  It's devastating! I decided to look for Somalian fashion designers (I discovered a pair of twin designers, no, not the Olsen twins...) and got sidetracked looking at wonderful clothing by other African designers.  This post is for Somalia and Kenya.  I'll have to follow up on the Somalian designers next week.

When one views fashion from other countries/continents, there's a whole new and fresh look to fashion.  I've got to post pictures from other countries in the future blogs.

by Oswald Boateng, www.fashionjunki.com

by Chichia, http://africabatik.wordpress.com

by Nana Boateng, www.jamati.com

http://reesaspeaks.com

photo by Damien Meyer, www.independent.co.uk

Keep Africa in your prayers. Till next blog.

I Counted 32 Shades of Blue!!

Last week I discovered over 11 shades of pink.  This week I counted 32 shades of blue from a list I found through Google!!  I was expecting to find about 11 shades of blue, not 32!!  Whoa!  I'm in my element.  Blue is my favorite color.  Blue is a shade that gives an air of coolness, airiness (as in the light blues), royalty (the deep shades).  I'm not going to list all 32 shades of blue I found (should I?), but I'll list 16 of them.

1. Sky blue  2. Baby blue  3. Cobalt  4.  Neon blue  5.  Navy  6.  Azure  blue 7.  Denim blue   8.  Prussian blue  9. Steel blue  10. Aqua 

11.  Cerulean blue:                                                          

Vintage silk scarf top, www.stylehive.com

12. Brandies blue:                                                  

Slouch bag, Tory Burch, www.toryburch-shoe-sale.com

13. Powder blue:                                                            

Crochet scarf by I Should Koko, www.etsy.com/shop/ishouldkoko

14. Cornflower blue:

 

Pebble Print flats, www.sambag.com.au

15. Night blue:                                                            

by Donna Karan, www.stylebop.com

16. Periwinkle blue:

Men;s vintage 80s Guayaber shirt, www.rustyzipper.com

Till next blog!

Eleven Pinks and Counting...

Just for fun yesterday, I looked up pink clothing. And just for fun, I googled the different shades of pink.  I found eleven, 
and I don't think that's all.  It seems that 
brand names work on different shades 
and give them enticing names.  So when a woman buys a magenta pink dress for example, the specific shade name gives the clothing even more enticement.  That's clever.

Bare with me as I name the shades of pink I found:

1.  Carnation pink     2. Salmon Pink    3.  Neon pink (I don't think I'd like that one)
4.  Blush    5. Tamarisk

6.    Persian pink:    

http://40smodernhepcat.blogspot.com

 

7. Coral:

www.onestopplus.com

 
8.  Rose pink:

by Catherine Malandrino, www.shopstyle.com

 9. Cranberry pink   9.  Magenta   11. Puce pink
(And still more pinks were added to the list)


12.  Cerise:

www.shopstyle.co.uk

13.  Fuschia:

www.chictopia.com

 Now, this jacket is said to combine fuschia and hot pink fabrics, so:

14.  Hot pink    (Also I found today)  15.  Light pink

Some of the shades of pink look somewhat similar, but I guess the name depends on the mood of the designers and brands.  I may very well do a blog on the different shades of blue as that's my favorite color.  Maybe for next week...

Till next blog!

60's Vintage Fashion

I heard, as many of you have, that Amy Winehouse died yesterday.  She was only 27 and British, so young and from one of my favorite countries.  Amy had a 60's vibe going on with her beehive hair, and sometimes she wore vintage style clothing.  The first time I saw her was on a Canadian show maybe two or three years ago.  I saw the hair and wondered, then I heard her sing and was fascinated.  I didn't follow her career, but I thought she had a fantastic voice and I was really hoping, because her life was troubled, that she'd get her life back on track.  And so I've found 60's vintage clothing to present in this blog this week. 

www.sqidoo.com

Satin caftan, www.kaboodle.com

by Eliza J., www.shine.yahoo.com

by Emilio Pucci, www.wornthrough.com

Till next blog.

What Goes Around Comes Around ... With a New Look

My fascination with people who can turn a piece of clothing into something different will never end.  I already think it's a challenge to look at fabric and get an idea of what to make with it, but then there's an advantage; the designer knows approximately how much fabric is needed to make the design in mind.  

Designers who recycle clothes to make something new are on another playing field altogether.  How many pieces of old clothes will they need, what colours go together, should they dye the clothe,  if there's not enough of one type of fabric or colour, what do they combine it with?  I bet you (because I recycle clothes as well) that the designers don't even know what they're going to make until they have the old clothes in hand.

Here are a few exceptional clothes and accessories that have been made from old clothes:

by Gary Harvey, www.ecostiletto.com

www.thefashionablehousewife.com

by Goodone, www.treehugger.com

by Piece Lilly Purse Bags & Accessories, http://inhabitat.com

Recycled clothes also are called green fashion and eco-conscious clothes.  It's a nice idea and good for the environment to make old things new again.  Till next blog!

Flashback: Canadian Fashion 2009

I like to look at fashion from the past.  How about you?  Since I'm on the "Oh, Canada" bandwagon (see last week's blog), this week I'm focusing on Canadian fashion designers. Canada has many gifted people.  I can list a lot of famous actors from Canada that are known.  I'm not so sure that the Canadian fashion designers are as well known worldwide, but they know their craft inside and out and deserve recognition as well. 

The designs from the following three Canadians are from their spring and summer lines for 2009.

by Eve Gravel, photo by Jimmy Hamelin, www.fashionweekphotos.com

by Dinh Ba Design, photo by Jimmy Hamelin, www.fashionweekphotos.com

by Andy The Anh, photos by Jimmy Hamelin, www.fashionweekphotos.com

A taste of the past. It's good to look back at times.  Till next blog!