Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Notice

Dear Readers/Followers,

I have some work to do this month. I am wanting to review NYFW (New York Fashion Week), LFW (London Fashion Week), and MFW (Milan Fashion Week).

I will be sure to break the posts up so that it is a post for each fashion week. I will be posting my reviews on the shows of interest and adding links for the ones that I think are fantastic.

Look forward to seeing it soon as it will not be posted in the end of March re-cap.

Please note, leave comments about anything you want on any of the previous or current posts. I'd love to hear what you guys have to say.

Thanks
Sg

Wonderstruck

WonderstruckWonderstruck by Brian Selznick
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I have started learning American Sign Language and I want to learn more about Deaf culture and the Deaf community. I was looking for some resources that would give me information regarding the above stated topics. This book was in the list and it was at my library so I thought, 'what the hell, i'll give it a try.” This book is not information relating to Deaf culture or community. This is a fictional story with 2 main characters that are Deaf. There is a slight touch on the fact that Deaf people are shunned, they don't really fit in, people aren't willing to learn ASL to communicate with them in their language and often have to resort to communicating in writing. I was not a fan of the story itself, it didn't really interest me, (now that could be bc it was not what I thought it would be and also the story didn't grip my interest). Therefore I am going to be generous and give this story a 2 star rating. It could have been more if it was something I was reading in a different context. The book is majority illustrations but it is over 600 pages which fulfills my book over 600+ pages for the 52 book challenge.


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Dinotopia Lost

Dinotopia LostDinotopia Lost by Alan Dean Foster
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was great bc I am a huge fan of dinosaurs and the book Dinotopia by Jame Gurney. This book has the same characters as Dinotopia but there are also some new characters bc the book is not the same. It's more about how the dinosaurs interact with the humans and humans that have chosen to stay on Dinotopia have adapted to a different way of life that is particular to the dinosaurs. There are mentions of a lot of the places that are in Dinotopia but my favourite was at the Tree Tops. It was an elaborate decision and if there was a wrong move a person or dinosaur could fall to their death. While in Dinotopa it is Will and his father that are stranded by a terrible storm, this book has people coming from England and getting trapped in a storm which leads them to Dinotopia. I also really enjoyed the Dinosaurs communicating with each other and how it sounded as well as how Will had to figure out if he could compromise and speak some of the language. The book brings the principles of working together/teamwork/assisting each other with situations that arise on the spot and also how to make the best out of a bad situation. While I would not give this book a 5 star rating, I would give it a 3.5 but being generous I will give it a 4.


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Sunday, December 31, 2017

IT

ItIt by Stephen King


I was super disappointed in this book. I am going to give it a ZERO bc it was just not good in my opinion. You get a small glimpse of Pennywise early on and then there is a lot of time where the people are just trying to get together. I wasn't able to get past 130 pages and that has taken me 5 weeks (a little more or less) to read. I feel I gave it a shot but that's not going to do it for me. I even reached out to a friend and said “Hey is this worth the read? Should I stick with it?” She said yes it was and that it was one of the best horror stories ever written. Clearly, not in my opinion. Sad really. If that is how Stephen King writes all his books Damn, that is really a shame.

Discontinued reading on Nov 9, 2017


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We Need to Talk About Kevin

We Need to Talk About KevinWe Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is an epistolary novel from a wife written to her ex husband. This book kind of reminded me about Columbine but the difference was there was something strange about Kevin right from the start. He bonded with his father but had NO BOND whatsoever with his mother. If I were to guess maybe I would say that Kevin had Oppositional Defiant Disorder to some extent and then he just cracked. The court case part of the story is hard because (if you watch any court stuff on tv) things get pryed and looked in to which can be very troubling and disheartening. I did enjoy the book but I had read it before. Some of the things Eva says to Kevin are things that you would never expect to come out of a mother's mouth but she truly has no feeling and a disconnect with her son. This book also discusses the point of a successful career woman in the travel industry who is expected to give up her job, which she loves, and become a stay at home mum as per her husband's request and assumption. There are a lot of controversial points in this book but it does make for a good talking piece.


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The Tiger's Wife

The Tiger's WifeThe Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Gave it a fair chance and couldn't read it. TERRIBLE. COULD NOT GET IN TO IT.


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Tuesday, October 31, 2017

NYFW Reviews

NOTICE - I have had a few things happen in my life that have caused me to fall behind on things. Instead of not posting anything about NY Fashion Week, I have decided that I will post what I do have. I have also included the links to some of my favourite shows. Hopefully I can get back on track. Thanks for following and viewing my blog. Happy Halloween - Sg

Pamella Roland (Sept 6)

Pieces all accentuate the body. Very feminine and polished looks. Many of the gowns are award show appropriate and we probably will see them in the future. Dress at 840 was worn by Bella Thorne that night. Loved every single piece, was a lovely fashion show.

Cushnie et Ochs (Sept 8)

Lots of floral patterns and prints. Fabrics used had a lot of flow and movement which was very flattering. Black dress at 458 is a very classic look. I really enjoyed this collection.

Taoray Wang (Sept 9)

Impeccable construction on the waist corsets. Realistic pieces that people would wear. The white dress at 450 is jaw dropping. Navy and black dress at 520 has a beautiful silhouette. Love that the colour palette stuck to black, white, navy, gray. Stunning collection.

Dion Lee (Sept 9)

The collection had a lot of gray and dark colours for being a spring/summer collection. Loved the green silk pieces. They brought some life to the collection.

Tibi (Sept 9)

A very conservative look and consistent except every once in a while there was a dowdy/matronly piece.

Namilia (Sept 9)

Construction of the garments gets an A +. No idea where you would wear garments like these or who the customer base would be. Model at 815 was on Kelly Cutrone's instagram the other day. Confused ...

Tory Burch (Sept 8)

I really enjoyed this collection. It was a more relaxed vibe. The show taking place in the garden was the perfect setting for these clothes. The collection looked quite comfortable and had a nice flow to it. Enjoyed how the accessories were very minimal and the shoes were mostly flats. LOVED this collection.

Calvin Klein (Sept 7)

I do not like this collection at all, very disappointed. The music was 100

Tom Ford (Sept 6)

258/351 that glitter long sleeve dress gives me life, what a beautiful dress. Love it in the silver and blue and the silver and gold is fab as well. Gigi Hadid's dress is ok, construction is good but it looks way too tight at the bottom causing a strange walk. Kendall's dress is fantastic. Sleek, sexy and sultry. LOVE IT. Joan Smalls outfit with the jacket with the beautiful lapels. The runway flooring was difficult to walk on or the shoes were very unstable causing the models to have a strange walk or uneasiness.

Oscar de La Renta (Sept 11)

Paint splatter and embellishments are used a lot in this collection. The denim pieces look quite reasonable. A lot of shirt dresses, which I don't think you can build an entire collection on. The paint suits really don't have any shape. Using the escalator as an entrance was brilliant. The runway walk area was incredibly long. Silver and pink glitter dresses were very basic but provided a nice pop. Many of the gowns made me think of a higher class prom dress. Lots of Tulle fabric. Sadly, I found this collection very underwhelming, which is not something I expect from de La Renta.

Carolina Herrera (Sept 11)

All the clothes have movement and flow. Majority of the collection is dresses or combination top and skirts (there were possibly 3 outfits with pants). Shiny button details are fantastic and add a nice component to the piece. Tailoring is top level. Large colour palette for the collection. There were some slight bits of colour blocking but no full out colour blocking. Dress at 745 was smashing, especially with the zebras on the bottom of the garment above the hemline. Once again Carolina Herrera does not disappoint.

Alexander Wang (Sept 9)

The video quality for this show is terrible taking away from the fashion. Details are hard to pick out and consider due to effects that were put on the video. Very frustrating. Is there something being hidden or is Wang just trying to be different with the video. Not entirely sure why you would post a video that no one can tell anything about the clothing which is supposed to be the showcase. I didn't watch the whole thing. Stopped at 136 and said not worth my time.

Philipp Plein (Sept 10)

Dita opens the show with her famous martini glass performance. Future performs during the show. Adrianna Lima is the first model out and damn she's on point. 21 Savage comes out with a drink in hand. The detail on the leather is impressive. The Disney type characters that are naughty'd up on the shirts is strange. 308 is the body suit worn in the Taylor Swift video. 330/355 a girl is strutting while having a soother in her mouth. The models are not walking straight and then some are walking 'gangster' no consistency. Then Teyana Taylor dancing and the music changes to MASK OFF. What a confusing show. My mind is just blown about what I saw. Plein focussed more on making it a performance than showcasing the clothing and the clothing wasn't even that great. YIKES.

Irina Vitaj (Sept 9)

There are a lot of sheer pieces to the collection, as well as a lot of pieces are pretty close to being tits out. The fabric choice for the dress at 440 was subtle but really fantastic. The clothing had a certain flow and freedom to it. Dress at 623 had a cape and it really took away the impact of the fabric. The metallic sheen fabrics take away from the dresses and kind of make them look cheap. The construction and draping were very basic. The collection was a mish mosh of different styles. I would say i am 70/30 on this collection. There was more that I didn't like than I did like.

Victoria Beckham (Sept 10)

A lot of collars and lapels. Some of the outfits are restrictive in that they are tucked in so tight. Looks a little bit dowdy. All the outfits shown I could definitely see VB wearing. The colours are all colours that she wears frequently. I was really hoping that there would be more jumpsuits. I think this was a very safe collection. Lacking creativity, innovation and construction. Ugh VB I expected so much more from you.