Morning Pages and Dior-John Galliano

July 1, 2008

New day, new month , half the year …. I’m thankful for the passing of days …. It brings nearer the end of this phase in my life that I so want to conclude so I can embark on my new plans and dreams ….

On my desktop is a miniature plane, a plastic paperweight with a globe in it and

a snowglobe with the miniature Nativity scene …. These symbolize the frame of mind, the mindset , the plans and dreams that I have now or want to have these days and onwards .. something in the realm of travel and things Christmassy …..

Intermission --- from style.com ---- notes on the 2008 Dior collections by John Galliano .. fascinating collection …. Now I’m a gushing Galliano fan …

“PARIS, June 30, 2008 – In a way, it was a classic: combining the indelible fifties inspiration of Lisa Fonssagrives, Dior mannequin and wife of Irving Penn, and that of the new model of French conservative chic, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. Those two streams of thought merged into a collection John Galliano called "fresh couture—restrained and refined." If it didn't exactly result in 100 percent conventionality (there were plenty of sheer skirts and fetishistic patent belts that might not work at a political summit), the happy fact that the first lady of France has chosen to dress at Dior gave Galliano full rein to revel in the realms of glamour the house established 60 years ago.

The templates were all there: big coats, wasp waists, nipped jackets, circle skirts, tulle dance dresses, architectural gowns cut from spiraling lace and jutting scrolls of crin. Mostly framed in black and white, with tints of gray, caramel, Parma violet, mint, and chartreuse to follow, the shapes traced familiar silhouettes—albeit a familiarity shot through with Galliano's irrepressible touches of perversity. A nod to Dior's New Look peplum became a stiff patent hip-jutting belt with cross-lacing in the back, and a knowing acknowledgement of the basis of the hourglass silhouette came in a couple of see-through gowns with the corsetry fully on display. Still, this was Christian Dior very much under control and within the scope of reality. Add some lingerie and take off the belts, and it's no stretch at all to imagine Madame Sarkozy finding plenty here to wow the world in her demure manner, come fall.

– Sarah Mower

PARIS, January 21, 2008 – Who else could open a supposed treatise on Symbolist painters (quick, log onto Wikipedia!) with a blast of Led Zeppelin, gigantic overblown shapes, eye-watering color, and a whole lotta bling? Why, only John Galliano in his haute couture mode, of course. He blew vast volumes of air into multiple meters of duchesse satin, and whorled floriform shapes and swing-back swags into every passing silhouette. For garnish, there were great plastic flowers, chunks of sparkle, and frissons of dangly paillettes as embroidery. Topping it all off: towering laquered updos—"inspired by Vreeland's Vogue," he said—with myriad lamp-shade and saucer hats made to hover over them by the gravity-defying hand of Stephen Jones.

Somehow, Galliano's primrose path of inspiration had, he said, wended its way from John Singer Sargent's Madame X through to the gilded swirls and bejeweled geometrics of Gustav Klimt. All that richness—plus the vibrant reds, magentas, yellows, purples, and limes—meant the collection teetered (atop vertiginous à la Japonaise platforms) on the brink of overload. Still, strange as it may seem, this was not one of Galliano's more manic excursions into fantasy costume. In the end, something in the odd air of high-society sixties hauteur came over as surprisingly chic.

– Sarah Mower

NEW YORK, May 14, 2007 – With Penélope Cruz, Charlize Theron, and Dita Von Teese looking on, John Galliano sent out a resort collection that rivaled his latest couture and ready-to-wear extravaganzas—if not in terms of their super-ambitious New Look-meets-the Orient references, then certainly in terms of sequins. In so doing, he once again raised the bar for a season that just a few years ago was strictly a showroom affair with B-list models and tossed-off clothes—and for an industry compelled to reinvent itself in the face of globalism and global warming.

Working in an electric-bright palette not unlike the one he used in his recent 1940's romp, Galliano shifted forward a couple of decades and channeled Barbara Hutton's sixties—a glittery, lamé, paisley, and leopard-print world of muumuus, bikinis, capri pants, trapeze dresses, cat-eye sunglasses, and scarf-wrapped hats. It bordered on camp, especially when one model, in sky-high heels with a cluster of logic-defying half spheres on the soles, had to be escorted down the runway. Kitschy or not, there was no denying the workmanship that went into crafting the large collection. And taken apart, there were some pieces that will mix convincingly into modern wardrobes—a lime-green chiffon gown with cascades of fluttering ruffles twisting around the body was Galliano at his languid best. Overall, the designer—despite the recent loss of his right-hand man, Steven Robinson—is in exuberant mode, which is how many in the crowd at 7 World Trade Center love him. As one prominent retailer put it on his way out, "If it's shiny, we like it."

– Nicole Phelps “

While surfing the 2007 Dior Resort Wear collection and seeing all the fantastic, imaginative, colourful designs and dresses , a thought came to mind --- that if I could create all these beautiful designs and clothes , it would be like I was creating flowers , mimicking and imitating Father God the Creator or Mother Nature

only, of course, I’ll be starting with things that God have already created. [God created from nothing .] .Those designs and dresses are absolute eye-mind-heart-soul candies. If there are things that lighten up my heart , these are designs and colors, which is a good thing because we’re supposed to be think of things that are lovely and of good report , according to Philippians …

It’s going-home-time again and over-all it’s another groundhog day…And I thought this was the day I was going to Paris , then Prague … But wait, I think there was a little something that’s new today …… Enterprise Miner was installed in my PC today …. Now I have a new office toy I can tinker with…

Thank You , Lord God for the day ….signing off now….