A romantic gown from Oscar de la Renta and further reminiscences

I would like to begin this post by talking about a dress in Oscar de la Renta's 2010-2011 fall-winter collection, presented during the last New York fashion week.

On the one hand the dress is adorned with golden embrodiery and beads, but on the other hand it carries a very different kind of purity and simplicity in itself. Though I have shown the details of the embrodiery at the right, but when we look at the dress as a whole, the embrodiery looks like leaves falling off a tree or butterflies flying towards sunlight with their wings open. The sable fur that covers the breast suits the dress elegantly. The way the fur makes a slight curve from the left to the right, the satin bow tie, and its colour harmony with the dress... These are the details that carries the outfit towards perfection. The model's hair and makeup, her pose, and the purity afforded by the lack of accessories (except the fur), all are lovely.

Yes, Cameron Diaz wore this dress a few days ago at the Oscars, but I would love to see it on Keira Knightley, as the model in the Oscar de la Renta show reminded me of her. Keira pulls off elegance in simplicity perfectly and I am sure she would shine in this dress. Cameron Diaz's hair simply got drowned in the golden glitter of the dress. I think her hair must have been a tad darker, like the model above. She made the right choice by not using conspicuous accessories, but of course I would prefer if she kept the fur.... I have arranged a few more images of Cameron below, to show you the beauty of this dress better.

This Oscar de la Renta dress reminded me of another dress Britney Spears wore years ago. Britney was on the cover of October 2000 issue of the US Elle and she was also the subject of a detailed editorial in that issue. Of course, I am talking about a period before her marriage, her children, her disastrous divorce-a time before her painful disintegration that happened under immense paparazzi scrutiny. It was a period when she tried to move from adolescence to adulthood. In fact, the question in capital letters accompanying Britney's photo is: How does a pop star who is marketed as the epitome of virginal teenhood become a woman without alienating her fans? We have all watched how Britney failed to give a decent answer to this question

Although Britney's style sank into the abyss of bad taste and extravagancy, the outfits she wore in the Elle editorial were all very fashionable and elegant. Speaking of this dress, while its fabric covered with light green-pink coloured roses give it youthfulness and romanticism, the sable fur trim at the hem and the shoulders contribute towards formality and elegance.

Romantic ball gowns, luxurious fabrics with embrodiery or flower designs, fur trims... Let us have a look at a few more examples carrying this general theme.

Yasmeen Ghauri and Karen Mulder, in two dresses from Valentino's 1991 haute couture collection. The contrast between the plain skirt of Yasmeen's dress and its crinkled, crossed body is completed with the bow tie. If it appeared at a show today, no one would call it out of fashion, a testament to the classic beauty of Valentino's design. The dark burgundy velvet of Karen's dress is glamorous. The fur trims in both dresses are very attractive. The makeups of both models are extraordinarily beautiful, especially Karen's red lips!

Finally, I would like to present you Priscila de Gustin in two outfits from Balmain haute couture. The one on the left is from 2001, and the one on the right is from 2002. The glittering golden threads, pink-fuchsia-burgundy colours, the browns of sable fur offer a wide ranging and luxurious colour palette. Although the floral patterned fabric of the coat on the left reminds me of Britney's dress, these two Balmain designs emphasize luxurious splendor over romanticism.