DIY Fashion Project: Fashion Journal

My Fashion Journal 

     In my previous blog, Janie Bryant talked about a fashion DIY project that I suggest everyone should do -- a fashion journal! It's very easy to do and definitely affordable and most importantly it's a great tool to catalogue your style and thoughts on fashion. I kind of think of it as my mini inspiration board on the go [super portable]. Here are some steps to help you begin your very own fashion journal:

1. Purchase a notebook or journal that has a sturdier binding [i'll explain why later] that you love. I suggest pick one with lots of colors! Or at least go with something that feels like you. 
2. The must-have details it should contain are: your measurements (bust, waist, hips, inseam, etc), most flattering colors and silhouettes, and shopping needs [which are pieces missing from your wardrobe] and your favorite outfits as you discover them. 
3. CUSTOMIZE. Take step #2 and put your own twist to it -- add elements that you feel is appropriate and relevant to your fashion journal. As I have mentioned from my previous blog, I took the 'jot down your favorite outfits' idea and have taken polaroid pictures instead since I'm such a visual person [and it's so much prettier that way!]

"Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening"

- Coco Chanel 

STEP 3

     Aside from the polaroids of my favorite outfits as I discover them [that's my favorite part, discovering never before thought of outfits] I have several other additions to my fashion journal. As previewed above, I have pages dedicated to fashion quotes, a section that I appropriately call 'words of FASHION wisdom,' that I've read in a book or interview of a famous designer or fashion icon, or well known documented quotes, like that more familiar Coco Chanel quote that everyone knows by heart -- "a girl should be two things: classy and fabulous." 

     Another feature of my fashion journal includes an entire section [with cut out pictures!] that consists of classic fashion items that I would like to own someday. I said "someday" because you can't particularly purchase these item at Urban Outfitters or the jewelry section at Forever 21. These pieces are timeless and so iconic [as iconic as the two interlocking Cs of Chanel] and that's what makes them so special. These items include an Hermes Birkin bag, Christian Louboutin, Manolo Blahnik, and Jimmy Choo shoes, a Hermes collier de chien bracelet and Hermes scarf [yes, I love Hermes], a Missoni crochet knit cardigan, Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dress, a Yves Saint Laurent suit, and of course a Chanel tweed jacket. These are just some of the items I would like to have in my fashion archive one day [crosses fingers]. 

"When you open your closet, even though they're just clothes, they're also great friends"

- Diane Von Furstenberg

     Another section that makes that above mention wish list possible are the fashion geniuses that created them, the grand couturiers and new and upcoming talent -- the designers. Also paired with portraits, I thought it was appropriate to categorize my favorite designers based on old-school, classic/iconic designers and new-school, fresh faces. 

My list of favorite (living and late) grand couturiers include:

• Coco Chanel                                                             
• Karl Lagerfeld
• Valentino Garavani
• Diane Von Furstenberg 
• Oscar de la Renta 
• Roy Halston Frowick
• Giorgio Armani 
• Yves Saint Laurent 
• Ottavio and Rosita Missoni
• Christian Dior 
• Hubert de Givenchy 
• Cristobal Balenciaga 
• Emilio Pucci 
• Christian Lacroix 
• John Galliano 

My list of favorite new-school designers include:

• Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig of Marchesa
• Marc Jacobs 
• Zac Posen
• Erin Fetherston  
• Alexander McQueen
• Betsey Johnson 
• Joyce Azria with her father Max Azria for BCBG and BCBGeneration

     However, one section is dedicated to what I call the interpreters of fashion, based on a fashion book I've read, which are merely a collection of my favorite stylists and creative directors like Grace Coddington, the creative director for Vogue, Havana Laffitte a fashion editor/stylist for Teen Vogue, and Rachel Zoe, a celebrity stylist. 

     Aside from the images and lists that are in my fashion journal, it also includes my thoughts about my fashion [writing, ironically enough]. I have pages describing my style and favorite details in garments and accessories that I love. I hope in the near future to add pages that will chronicle my style history that will stem from my family and old photographs of me and my sister growing up, my mother, and grandmother. There are these pictures of my mom when she was in college that I love looking at, because I love seeing how she dressed in her youth. And I will never forget my grandmother's [my mother's mother] Gucci watch that she often wore and that classic Gucci handbag that she owned complete with the iconic pattern and the green and red stripes [flashback!]. I would love to piece all of those images together to tell my fashion story in my journal. 

TRAVELS

"Take it with you when you travel. You'll never know when inspiration might strike whether it be street fashion, something you saw in a window display, or a pattern or image from your surroundings that you want to sketch."

     One of the things that I love about my Vera Bradley journal [color + patterns galore] is that it has an accordion-style pocket on the back flap. So when I go on road trips or go overseas, I can put magazine tears, post cards, photographs, and other fashion related memorabilia in there that I would like to integrate into my fashion journal. The reason that I advise that you purchase a journal that has a studier binding , as opposed to a notebook-style metal-wired one, is that when you travel you basically live out of a suitcase where your days are chaotic and your things get jumbled around. You want to be able to have this journal forever. I know that if and when I have a daughter one day [when she is a little older], I want to give her this journal and encourage her to make one of her own, because fashion is a great way for self-expression and creativity and it's also a remarkable source of joy and fulfillment [why do you think I have a blog dedicated to fashion?! It makes me sooo happy!] Enjoy assembling your own fashion journal! I know you will love it. 


Love, KB