The Oscars- The Art of Fashion

The Art of Fashion

The character is mine, but the design is based on an Erte image. I did a series where I took my characters and put them in Erte's costumes.

“A woman should wear a dress, tight enough to show she’s a woman and loose enough to show she’s a lady.” -Edith Head

The Oscars were held last night and it’s the event for those in Hollywood and anyone that loves music. There were a lot of people rooting for Viola Davis to win the Oscar for best actress, but I wasn’t sure if the performance deserved the trophy. Since I hadn’t seen any of the other films I really couldn’t say for sure. Viola looked stunning in a green Vera Wang gown and sporting her natural hair which really looks good on her. She is a chameleon.
Octavia Spencer, who I was certain would win for best supporting actress looked great and gave a nice speech, but I wish they hadn’t rushed her. It’s a shame they rush the people in the beginning when they know there are going to be spots where time needs to be filled.
Robin Roberts who hosted the red carpet show looked good. Maya Rudolph was in a dress that looked a little too tight even if she was wearing something to hold it all in. The dressed looked like something a bridesmaid would wear. Maybe it was an inside joke.
You can have a great dress, but if the hair doesn’t look right it throws everything off.
Even a man in a tuxedo, if the hair isn’t right it just looks bad. If you’re going bald or if those hair plugs aren’t working out get rid of them and embrace it.

Mila Jovovich, Wow!

Nina Garcia who hosted with Tim Gun was wearing Jean Paul Gautier. Her hair was rather wind blown. The look grew on you over the hour.

Jessica Justine was wearing Alexander McQueen and Michelle Williams who always looks great was in Louie Vitton. Even Miss Piggy was looking great as the Oscars saluted old Hollywood.
Melissa McCarthy is a loveable person. Tina Fey looked great in Caroina Herrera. Colin Firth’s wife just had a dress with too much going on. It had shear and ruffles and layers, the designer couldn’t make up their mind.

Penelope Cruz was old Hollywood in Armani. Louise Rowe who was also a hostess for the red carpet had on an interesting gown, but the hair wasn’t working. Cameron Diaz was really wearing Gucci. Gweneth Paltrow in Tom Ford bringing sublte glamour. George Clooney’s date, Stacy was wearing Marcaza as was Sandra Bullock who was rocking two of my favorite colors. Angelina Jolie was looking good, but she is incredibly thin. Natalie Portman was ravishing in a red gown which I think was vintageYSL or it could have been Oscar De Larenta. Glenn Close wore a very striking green strapless gown with a jacket.

 Jennifer Lopez, one word, Caliente!

I’ve always thought about winning an Oscar, maybe it’ll be for costume or set design. If it’s meant to be it’ll happen.

An original design colored in the computer paint program.

http://dlonzo-OpenYourMind.blogspot.com

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Mardi Gras - The Art of the Costume

Mardi Gras is all about the art of the costume as well as everything else. Some costumes take a year to put together. In New Orleans, Mardi Gras Indians sometimes work on their costumes until they walk out of the door on Fat Tuesday. Costumes get to represent what the artist is thinking. Sometimes the costumes are humorous and sometimes they are weird. The idea is to be something or someone you’ve always wanted to be. These photographs speak for themselves.

Every Krewe has to have a Queen.

Mardi Gras morning begins with the Mardi Gras Indians. They are up bright and early to meet up with other Indians and battle for the best costume.

You can be a superhero like Wonder Woman.

You can show off your body and piercings.

You can make yourself a part of your favorite work of art.

You can be a sex crazed gladiator or a nun that looks like Ellen Degeneres.

Most costumes are made by the people who wear them.

As a photographer no matter what the costume you want to try to be in a position where you can do justice to the costume and capture its essence.

 In this case I did the best I could. The wing span was so large an there were people walking on each side.

When considering a costume, one should think about being comfortable. The weather can change in an instant and you want to consider the crowds. Mardi Gras is all about having fun.

The Goth, vampire look, it just looked striking and those contacts added the final touch.

If you want people to stop and take you picture you need to wear the costume. You want to have lots of color and strike a pose that will be memorable even for the novice photographer.

Have a safe and happy Mardi Gras.

Check out my other blog for more on Mardi Gras.

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Happy Mardi Gras

I've decided I would connect all of my blogs with the theme of Mardi Gras. Each one will cover Mardi Gras in the sense of how it connects to New Orleans.

This image is a drawing I did many years ago. It was just a doodle and then it turned into this elaborate piece of art on a little piece of paper. I want to try and redo it on a larger piece of paper. Maybe I'll even put it on canvas.

Mardi Gras is as big of a deal to some New Orleanians as is Christmas or Halloween to others. This photograph represents a home in a which someone probably belongs to one of the Mardi Gras organizations.

      In New Orleans the Carnival season begins on January 6. It is also known as Twelfth Night. The season comes to a close on Fat Tuesday, but in between there are parties, balls, parades and fun.

            Mardi Gras in New Orleans is something everyone should experience at least once. There is nothing like it anywhere else. The entire city gets involved. The Krewe - this is the organization that puts together a specific parade. They select a theme and then sketches are created to bring that idea to life in the form of a float. The number of floats that will be a part of the parade depends on the number or members. Some parades have as little as ten floats and the larger Krewe’s can have up to 30 or more.

Some of the Krewes throw unique items, such as this stuffed animal.

The floats started out as paper mache coverings over wagon bases. As time went on and technology progressed so did the artist value of these floats. As newer Krewes came on to the scene fresher ideas were introduced and by the early 70’s something known as the Super Krewe was created. Endymion and Bacchus began the competition to see who would put on the better show.

Night time Parade goers throw their hands up for beads. "Throw me somethin' Mister." is the signature phrase. The beads that were thrown from the floats were once made out of glass and over time they were made out of plastic. It was a little less dangerous. Some terminology to know: Krewe beads are beads that have a medallion with the Krewe's name on it. Doubloons are coins with information about the Krewe. The theme of the parade, the year and if you're lucky you made get a special dabloon from the king, captain or one of the co captains. Some organizations have doubloons representing the Mardi Gras colors, purple, green and gold. Purple represents Justice, green represents faith and gold represents power. I'll be writing on the main blog about Mardi Gras ending on Tuesday just as it all comes to an end. I will include some of my favorite images and the stories behind them.

Find out more at http://dlonzo-OpenYourMind.blogspot.com

Thanks for stopping by, keep an open mind.