Advanced Details

One of the biggest trends in street style photography is capturing great detail shots and accessories. The ladies I photograph all tell me that accessories have the power to transform an outfit from ordinary to extraordinary. These women have had time to amass wonderful adornments and can easily mix and match them with any outfit. What are your favorite accessori...

Read More

The Advanced Style Book:Available For Preorder on Amazon

Today there is a wonderful write up about me in the New York Times Style Section--My grandma would be so proud!You can read the entire article online HERE . Also my book, due out Spring 2012, is now available for preorder on Amazon, HERE. It will be full of photos, style quotes from your favorite advanced stylistas and a great interview between Ilona Royce Smithkin and Dita Von Teese.I just got off the phone with 100 year old Ruth from yesterday's post. She called to congratulate me on the Times article and tell me about her birthday trip to Bermuda. I can't wait to see the pics...

Read More

Contour Shirt with a "Set-Back" Collar...Design and Drafting Notes

This shirt of my original design, is the latest made for a client who prefers a slim-cut shirt, or what is known to Tailors and Shirt-makers as a "Contour" shirt.  This contour shirt is made from cotton poplin sateen shirting fabric that has a slight ombre effect. It features a banded angle-edge pocket, a cross-cut front button placket, and sleeves with wide cross-cut plackets and an inverted box pleat at the cuffs. Additionally, the cross-cut collar has been designed so that it "sets back" on the stand about 3/4" more than usual.So...what is a "slim-cut" (contour) shirt?   What it isn't is a precise set of steps and measurements that...

Read More

Advanced Style Profile of a 100 Year Old Lady

To my great surprise,I ran into Ruth just days before her 100th birthday. She had just gotten out of Pilates class on the Upper West Side, when I spotted her. She told me that she was getting ready to cruise off to Bermuda with her boyfriend in a few days. Ruth's motto is to celebrate everyday and to not look at the calendar. She likes simple and elegant clothes paired with great accessories. Ruth's best advice comes straight from an old Arden campaign which reads, " If you want to look this good when you are 40, start when you are 20." Check out the video below for more words of wisdom from this amazing 100 year old wom...

Read More

Real Vintage

Sometimes our most cherished items are ones that we have held on to throughout the years. Many of the women I stop to photograph proudly announce how long they have had a certain dress or wonderful vintage accessory. I told this woman that I take street style photographs and she immediately smiled and told me that her dress was probably older than I w...

Read More

Roof Tops and Alley Ways

Wearing:-Vintage 90s gingham circle skirt dress c/o Annex Vintage -Vintage leather 70s motor cycle style jacket thrifted in Sherbrooke-Vintage red leather clutch, thrifted-Tights, Winners-Red booties by BC found at Buffalo Exchange in Brooklyn NYCIt's been a few days since I last did an outfit post, I have been pretty busy and sick, I feel much better now, I decided to put on a fun outfit to bring up my spirits. I got this dress at Annex Vintage a local vintage shop here in Montreal and fell in love with the skirt of this dress. It reminds me of a funner version of a dress I saw online the other day. I really am not afraid to be...

Read More

Corey Lynn Calter Loves Advanced Style

Last Spring I met designer Corey Lynn Calter and team, for lunch in the West Village, and an idea was born. They were inspired by the style and spirit of ladies, like Ilona Royce Smithkin(above), and thought it would be great fun to have them self style the CLC collection for a small shoot. We called up 91 year old artist and performer, Ilona Royce Smithkin, and she thought this sounded like a grand idea.[Video by Lina Plioplyte]After Mary,one of Advanced Style's chicest ladies, agreed as well, we started planning two exciting days of shooting.Mary was a real sport, shooting in over 100 degree weather, but keeping her cool the whole time. Ilona...

Read More

Milan Fashion Week:Advanced Floral

I saw this woman enjoying a cappuccino with a friend near Corso Como in Milan. I wanted to ask if I could take her photo, but decided to wait until she finished her conversation. A few minutes later, I turned around, and she had already left.Luck would have it that I ran into her a few hours later near Brera. I asked if I could take her picture and she explained in Italian that she doesn't speak English. I pointed to my camera and smiled--She understood, and I got a great sh...

Read More

YeYe Etsy shop Update! : Just Fall in the leaves!

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend, I took the time to put together this mini collection of vintage items that I love! I found so much amazing pieces last week, Fall is my favorite time of the year, the layering the possibilities! I have a few Mod Pull overs in this batch a piece that just caught my eye lately, I love how they can be so stylish and laid back at the same time with a colorful light scarf.I hope you enjoy the pieces as much as I had fun putting them together, as usual all you have to do is click on the image of your fancy and you will be directly in my shop....

Read More

Attention All Pattern Lovers- GREAT *Free* Book* FIND !

I just discovered that this wonderful book...one of the most sought-after and one of,  if not THE best pattern drafting book in existence, "The Pepin Book".... is available as a *free* PDF download (in English) from this site-->  CLICK HERE Modern Pattern Design: The Complete Guide to the Creation of Patterns as a Means of Designing Smart Wearing Apparel,  by Harriet Pepin (1942), PDF version (with the children's section not included) from the site---http://www.michou-loves-vintage.de/wordpre...

Read More

The week in Instagram!

I have been pretty obsessed with Instagram lately, it's like a mini flickr in the palm of my hands at all times. Snap here snap there. I like the idea of daily snap shots of things I live and see everyday. So I decided to do The week in Instagram every Saturday morning showcasing pictures from my week. I hope you all enjoy! This week was the arrival of my vintage wedding rings in the mail and of my wedding dress that is so superb but I will not be posting pictures of it till we make the big leap that is wedlock. I won two Shirelle's Lps on ebay for 35$ including shipping and thrifted a vintage leather Longchamp back pack for 5.99$. I have...

Read More

Shirt with Cross-Cut Collar

 I just had a few moments to slap attempt to carefully pin this new shirt design onto my photo-wall and snap a pic before we needed to box it up for the mail-carrier who was very patiently waiting for us to get our act together ;)So...please forgive the wrinkles ?As crummy as the photograph is, I am very happy with this shirt. It is an original design for a very special client and features design details that I think work together nicely.  The collar is cut on the cross-grain, and is shaped so that the collar stripes intersect at a right-angle with the stripes on the shirt front.  The left front button placket is also cut on the...

Read More