Great Shoes on Garance Dore's blog

Garance Dore is a French fashion illustrator and photographer, and she also has an internationally famous blog. This evening, when I visited her blog, she had some photos of really cool shoes and boots, that were different from anything I've seen before.

I particularly loved the brown thigh high boots with the diamond pattern.

I'm seriously thinking about saving some money by embellishing some of my own shoes and jeans with studs, rhinestones and glitter. I noticed this evening that even my small town Walmart has a good selection of these things, and so I might do it myself.

Thanks for visiting my blog! If you are looking for a current example of my custom fashion illustrations, visit this link: http://lizblair.blogspot.com/2009/10/alabama-chanin-design-and-my-drawing-of.html

Loved Adam Lambert's Style

Last night I watched the finale of Season 6 of "So You Think You Can Dance." I actually was only half watching because I was also surfing the internet and only paid attention to certain parts of the show. First, I must say congratulations to Russell Ferguson, who won for best /most popular dancer of the season. I had a feeling that he was going to win, because he seemed to have consistently great performances. However, as a fan of fashion, my favorite fashionista(o) was definitely Adam Lambert, who performed his song "Whadaya Want from Me" from his recently released album. To begin with, this guy is just extremely good looking. I loved his black pompadour hairstyle and his heavily made up eyes. As always, he was wearing his signature black fingerless gloves and black nail polish. He was a slim light gray suit with narrow tie that looked better than anyone should ever look in a suit. I want one now! Anyway, the trousers were very slim fitting and showed off his black shoes with white spats. Having said this, I hope he doesn't turn into a male version of Lady Gaga, which I think is a possibility. I have heard that they have recorded at least one song together. I love Lady Gaga, but anyone who tries too hard to copy her would just seem like a poseur in my opinion. Anyway, Adam if you're reading this (yeah right!) keep up the great style and original performances.

Thanks for visiting my blog! If you are looking for a current example of my custom fashion illustrations, visit this link: http://lizblair.blogspot.com/2009/10/alabama-chanin-design-and-my-drawing-of.html

My drawings from early December 2009

Thanks for visiting my blog! If you are looking for a current example of my custom fashion illustrations, visit this link: http://lizblair.blogspot.com/2009/10/alabama-chanin-design-and-my-drawing-of.html

Dasiy Rock guitars for girls

Here's an idea I wish someone would have had when I was a kid. I learned to play the guitar when I was about 12 or 13 years old, and in high school I even gave lessons to some little girls. A full size guitar was pretty big and heavy for a young girl. I also would have loved to get a pink one in pretty shapes like some of these in the pictures. But don't let the cute appearrance fool you. They are real musical instruments, invented by a mom and rock musician, Tish Ciravolo. These pictures were from www.usatoday.com.

Thanks for visiting my blog! If you are looking for a current example of my custom fashion illustrations, visit this link: http://lizblair.blogspot.com/2009/10/alabama-chanin-design-and-my-drawing-of.html

Grayson Perry: Fashion Illustrator

These fashion drawings are from English artist Grayson Perry, who I discovered on http://www.fashionillustrationgallery.com/. He sounds like a fascinating, but somewhat disturbed person. I found the following information about him on Wikipedia:

''Grayson Perry (born 1960) is an English artist, known mainly for his ceramic vases and cross-dressing. He works in several media.

There is a strong autobiographical element in his work, in which images of Perry as "Claire", his female alter-ego, often appear. He was awarded the Turner Prize in 2003 for his ceramics, receiving the prize dressed as Claire.

From an early age he liked to dress in women's clothes and in his teens realized that he was a transvestite. At the age of 15 he moved in with his father's family at Chelmsford, where he began to go out dressed as a woman. When he was discovered by his father he said he would stop, but his stepmother told everyone about it and a few months later threw him out. He returned to his mother and stepfather.

He did an art foundation course at Braintree College of Further Education from 1978 to 1979. He studied for a BA in fine art at Portsmouth Polytechnic, graduating in 1982.Wilson, Andrew. He had an interest in film and exhibited his first piece of pottery at the "New Contemporaries" show at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in 1980. In the months following his graduation he joined the "Neo-Naturists", a group started by Christine Binnie to revive the "true sixties spirit – which involves living one’s life more or less naked and occasionally manifesting it into a performance for which the main theme is body paint”. They put on events at galleries and other venues.

When he went to Portsmouth in 1979, his stepfather told him not to return home. Perry has been estranged from his mother since 1990. After graduating he lived a hand-to-m outh existence, at one point sharing a house with milliner Stephen Jones and pop musician Boy George; the three of them competing to see who could wear the most outrageous outfits to ''Blitz'', a New Romantic nightclub based in Covent Garden, London.

In his work Perry includes pictures of himself in women's clothes, for example, ''Mother of All Battles'' (1996) is a photograph of "Claire" holding a gun and wearing a dress, in ethnic eastern European style, embroidered with images of war, exhibited at his 2002 Stedelijk show.

One critic has called Perry “The social critic from hell”. "

Thanks for visiting my blog! If you are looking for a current example of my custom fashion illustrations, visit this link: http://lizblair.blogspot.com/2009/10/alabama-chanin-design-and-my-drawing-of.html

Birdie Doodles from Kate at Little Doodles blog

Thanks to Susie Bubble (http://stylebubble.typepad.com) for turning me onto this artist. It's Kate from the Little Doodles blog (http://little-doodles.blogspot.com). When I checked out her website, she has these cute little birdies on everything. Her art and crafts are available through her Etsy shop.

Thanks for visiting my blog! If you are looking for a current example of my custom fashion illustrations, visit this link: http://lizblair.blogspot.com/2009/10/alabama-chanin-design-and-my-drawing-of.html

Henri Toulouse-Lautrec: fashion illustrator?

In my last post I reported on Blue Logan, who has become somewhat famous lately because of his fashion illustrations, often done at the fashion shows as they are happening. On his website (http://www.bluelogan.co.uk) he lists Henri Toulouse-Lautrec as an influence

I can see the resemblance. Although, I've never heard him called a fashion illustrator, he certainly recorded a lot of the fashions of the times. He was also known for sketching events as they happened. His subjects were considered common and even vulgar at the time, but his art elevated them to cultural icons. He was a popular character at the Moulin Rouge, a Parisian nightclub.

Maybe its time to revive the lost art of illustrators as fashion reporters. Photography has gotten so common, and illustrators can capture the emotions of the actual event better than many photographers.

I am interested in trying out my skills. My sketches of live events are forthcoming!




Thanks for visiting my blog! If you are looking for a current example of my custom fashion illustrations, visit this link: http://lizblair.blogspot.com/2009/10/alabama-chanin-design-and-my-drawing-of.html