the best and the worst: week 10

wow, it's been ten weeks already? i really find it a little hard to accept that The Online Edition has gone on for over two months now. as always, i would like to take this time to thank you for all your support. i may never know who you are and shake your hand but i deeply appreciate your regular readership and input.

before, i go in depth to this week's post, i would also like to make a quick announcement: i have a hater! *pops confetti* not exactly a hater perhaps, but someone who finally has an issue with my material. if you want to read her comment, it's posted on my facebook page. it's basically a response to this post. friends of mine who saw what cindy wrote had a few 'interesting' remarks for her but i shall reserve those for coffee talk.

okay, back to this week. i selected the fashion of broadway and musicals as the source of inspiration for my material. big mistake? i think so. not only was readership hit (pretty badly too, i must say.), even the writing of it was a tedious process. many of the dresses look amazing on stage and dazzle audiences but there is often not much information available about them. halfway through the week, i learnt that as a fashion blog, people can get overwhelmed by looking at dress after dress without any guidance. i would loved to evaluate the various outfits and trends showcased by the musicals but there was a huge limitation of resources available. nevertheless, i hope you enjoyed looking at the array of broadway costumes.

so, (channeling my inner tyra banks) i have fourteen posts in my hands. the first post i call will be best post of the week and it goes to...

best: viva la evita

i think the page views on this post were high not for the fashion but the personality who was involved. i mean, seriously, any post about madonna would garner some (if not a ton of) attention. the funniest part  is the fact that madonna was not even in the broadway musical. guess that's how the world of blogging works. until i have an actual following, i would have to depend on names and labels to carry my blog numbers.

(reviving the inner tyra) two posts stand before me... the post i call is worst post of the week and will eternally be shamed. worst post of the week is...

worst: the broadway princesses

*wails* i like the princesses! it was a bit disappointing that my love for the disney princesses was not shared by everyone else. what's not to love about fantastic lives and fabulous gowns? on one hand, it was good to break the friday curse of worst post being the afternoon post (it's now the friday morning post!) but to see a post that i had fun putting together was a weird feeling. oh wells, the show goes on.

with that, we bid farewell to the stages of broadway and return to reality where the weekend awaits. have fun! like i tell my team mates: fall in love, get married, make babies... in whatever sequence you prefer.

fash'on... BAM!

viva la evita

evita is a musical with music by andrew lloyd webber and lyrics by tim rice. it concentrates on the life of argentine political leader eva perón, the second wife of argentine president juan perón. the story follows evita's early life, rise to power, charity work and eventual death.

Eva Peron

evita began as a rock opera concept album released in 1976. its success led to productions in london's west end in 1978, and on broadway a year later, both of which enjoyed considerable success. a major 1996 film of the musical starred madonna and antonio banderas. in 2006, the musical was revived in london and on broadway in 2012. evita has had numerous professional tours and worldwide productions, and numerous cast albums have been recorded.

Madonna as Evita

i must confess that i've never seen this production on stage. it was watching the 1996 film version that i was deeply captivated by the magic of evita. i mean, how could anyone resist madonna? haha. anyway, evita (the musical) was nominated for best costume design but it failed to capture any awards (not that it matters). 

the clothes and fashion for the various productions (stage and film) are nothing too elaborate or fanciful. after all, they are meant to reflect the world of eva person and they rightly do so. if you would like a detailed breakdown of the costumes, you can go to this site. the descriptions are down to last thread.

fash'on... BAM!

waist-ed beauty

if you are a returning reader after yesterday's articles, kudos to you! i salute your level of courage and bow before your high tolerance for shocking images. anyway, we shall continue looking as some rather uncomfortable things that done in the name of beauty.

The Corset

there has always been a perception that girls appear sexier if they have waspish waists and hourglass figures, but the pain and discomfort suffered in the name of sexuality must at times have been truly awful. from ancient times through all kinds of societies, corsets persisted, and still has an impact today, though the garments are now much more user friendly.

a great number of societies considered such garments vital for sexual attraction, tight garments a form of subjugation, which women seemed happy to accept. roman slaves underwent tight lacing, middle-eastern women favoring elaborately decorated tight belts to gain male admiration. as time passed restrictive bodices, of cloth or leather became women's essentials, 15th century ones stiffened with wood, whalebone or even wrought iron, and mother of french king henry iii catherine de medici wanted thirteen inch waists and no larger among female staff. 

effect of corsets

many females suffered and died young, because wanting to show off their best sexual assets could hardly have been done in less healthier ways. women in victorian times believed a tiny waist essential for every girl because wanting to be married before reaching twenty-one with a waist measurement similar to their age, was seen as vitally important in society. this meant that corsets were so tightly laced that legs and lower bodies were often permanently numb making fainting commonplace.

that said, madonna was often seen wearing corsets on her world tour and singer alicia keys wears one in the victorian style to spice up her stage act. both britney spears and victoria beckham are often seen on celebrity nights wearing corsets, which are great for accentuating the shape, though many these days feel that these garments should carry health warnings, because they once were practically instruments of torture.

attitudes may have changed today but the appeal of the corset never died completely. hourglass figures still a powerful sexual weapon, fancy corsets readily accepted as sex toys. anything that enhances gratification has a place in society and rightly so, even naturally shapely women made more attractive with that waspish waistline and in the sexual struggle every little helps.

fash'on... BAM!

jean paul gaultier

Jean Paul Gaultier

jean paul gaultier was the creative director of hermès from 2003 to 2010. gaultier never received formal training as a designer. instead, he started sending sketches to famous couture stylists at an early age. pierre cardin was impressed by his talent and hired him as an assistant in 1970. afterwards he worked with jacques esterel in 1971 and jean patou later that year, then returning to manage the pierre cardin boutique in Manila for a year in 1974. 

his first individual collection was released in 1976 and his characteristic irreverent style dates from 1981 and he has long been known as the enfant terrible of french fashion. 

collection inspired by Amy Winehouse

many of gaultier's following collections have been based on street wear, focusing on popular culture, whereas others, particularly his haute couture collections, are very formal yet at the same time unusual and playful.

Fall 2009 Couture

although most people found his designs decadent at the time, fashion editors, notably melka tréanton of elle, claude brouet and catherine lardeur of french marie claire, were seduced by his creativity and immediately noticed his mastery of tailoring and later launched his career. in 1985 he introduced man-skirts, and produced sculptured costumes for madonna during the nineties, starting with her infamous cone bra for her 1990 blond ambition tour and designed the wardrobe for her 2006 confessions tour. he currently designs for three collections: his own couture and ready-to-wear lines, for both men and women.

Fergie in Jean Paul Gaultier

Katy Perry

what brought gaultier immense success was the advent of his haute couture line in 1997. through this collection, he was able to freely express the scope and range of his aesthetic, drawing inspiration from radically divergent cultures, from imperial india to hasidic judaism. 

here's a look at some of gaultier's couture collections.

fash'on... BAM!