J’Adore Dior

A couple of years ago I decided to cancel my subscriptions to the fashion magazines I was receiving in the mail, mostly because they were taking up way too much space and time in my life.  The never-ending onslaught of images and ideas was beginning to give me a headache and make me feel like a real underachiever.  Lovely ideas would flash through my head faster than I could organize them, let along create anything!

But I really do miss the inspiration.  Thankfully, just about everything can be found online these days.  Have you ever been on style.com?  If you want to lose three or four hours in the blink of an eye, head right on over.  Many of the recent collections include an option to see the garment in motion, which brings a whole new level to the experience.

And now I have an embarrassing confession to make.

I miss Mr. Galliano.  I should clarify that:  I miss his work.  Couture should be completely over the top, and set the imagination free.  And his creations are truly magnificent.  But it turns out he may not be the most kind human being in the world.

It really is a travesty that such ugly and racist thoughts can live side by side with such creative beauty.

But isn’t genius pretty darn close to crazy, when you think about it?

So should someone who is obviously incredibly talented and at the top of his/her game have their title stripped from them because of one terrible moment in time?

Do you think Pablo Picasso was a nice guy?  I don’t think so!  And how about Sir Lawrence Olivier?  I’ll bet he was a real peach to be around.  But does that really take away from what they accomplished?

And how about Coco Chanel? – if there is any truth behind the Nazi collaboration, should the fashion house be burned to the ground?

I certainly do not wish to make excuses for anyone, but I keep coming back to the same conclusion.  Super successful and talented people are usually not the most considerate people in the world.  There is probably a long line of people lined up behind them who were stepped on and over.

Does achieving a certain level of mastery of a chosen field cause a person to forget all of us mere mortals, not to mention a basic level of decency?

Okay, I will stop blathering on now.

As I am sure everyone knows, Dior's 2012 Fall Couture designs are out.

And it is back to basics.  But they are wonderful basics.  The Bar Suit has returned - with trousers.  Oh well, I will just have to ask the atelier to swap out the trousers for a pencil skirt when they make mine.  But those jackets are too, too, fabulous to pass up!

Perhaps there is some truth to the old adage that simplicity is more difficult than the ornate, which can hide a multitude of sins.

All I know is, I want to sit with those men and women who create these stunning works of art.  I wonder if they ever make clothes for themselves?  Or after hours of bending over a cutting table and pinning muslins on a mannequin, are they sick to death of a needle and thread?  I do wonder . . .

I there a way that I can contact the second assistant to the assistant that delivers the flower arrangements for the runway show?  May I tag along with them, just to get close to the wools, and silks, and chiffons, and beaded trims.  And, gosh darn it, I NEED to see the inside of those garments.

[Images from style.com]