Monday, January 28, 2013

The Doily Duck's Top 3 Fashion Favorites: 2013 S.A.G. Awards

The 2013 Golden Globes earlier this month gave us the first round of gorgeous gowns and dapper suits for this award season and of course my Top 3 Fashion Favorites of the night! So, last night, the 19th Annual Screen Actor's Guild (SAG) Awards provided an excellent red carpet fashion midpoint in Hollywood's road to the Oscars. 

Here are my Top 3 Fashion Favorites of the 2013 SAG Awards for the ladies and gentlemen:

LADIES - Top 3

 1. Rose Byrne
I absolutely loved Rose Byrne's floral and ruffled printed dress by Valentino. With the oversized ruffles as well as the pastel pink and blue hues, her dress felt airy, whimsical, and very romantic. And that baby blue belt, pink lipstick, Jimmy Choo clutch, and gorgeous Van Cleef & Arpels ring were such great highlights to the overall look. (Photo: Getty)


2. Kerry Washington
 Kerry Washington looked stunning in her white strapless Rodarte gown. I loved her structured embellished corset bodice as well as her full, flowy skirt with silver beads at the bottom. Kerry's diamond jewelry by Fred Leighton sparkled perfectly with her gown and thought her side swept hair with ponytail was an unexpected casual touch to her otherwise glamorous look. (Photo: Getty)


3. Michelle Dockery
Michelle Dockery looked ravishing in this floor length, black vintage Chado Ralph Rucci dress. Even with the dress's revealing, sheer cutouts along the sides, I thought the dress looked very elegant. Also, I loved her pretty bob styled hair and beautiful jewelry by Bulgari. (Photo: Getty)


GENTLEMEN - Top 3

1. Justin Timberlake

Justin pulled it all out for menswear on the red carpet and had the stand-out suit of the night. He wore a grey and brown checked wool Tom Ford suit, pastel brown gingham shirt, brown and white silk pocket square, and a textured tie. In addition, Justin rocked a very 1920s-Gatsby side part hair style. (Photo: Getty)


2. Eddie Redmayne
British actor Eddie Redmayne wore an offbeat yet bold dark brown velvet tuxedo suit by Hugo Boss with black tie. I love brown suits! (Photo: Getty)


 3. James Marsden
 James looked vintage Hollywood with his loose-fit black tuxedo. (Photo: Getty)


With the Golden Globes and now the SAG Awards behind us, there's only the Oscars left to be dazzled by! I can't wait to seeing what everyone will be wearing for Hollywood's biggest night of the year! And most of all, I look forward to giving my 1st Annual Golden Doily Duck awards to the Best Dressed Duck and Drake of Oscar night! 

So, who were your favorites of the night? 


Monday, January 14, 2013

The Doily Duck's Top 3 Fashion Favorites: 2013 Golden Globes

Award season is officially under way! And it's that time of the year where I love to see celebrities dressed their best on the Red Carpet! For this year's Golden Globe Awards, I was honestly not too WOW'd by most of the ladies' fashion picks. Of course, I did have my favorites of the night for both the ladies and gentlemen. 

Below are my top three fashion favorites of the 2013 Golden Globes. Ladies, first, of course!

LADIES - Top 3

1. Anne Hathaway
Anne, my lady crush, looked simply stunning in her white Chanel gown. Encrusted in glittering crystals, I loved this two piece ensemble with structured corset top and long skirt. Also, I'm still enamored with her pixie cut hair style and applaud her choice of minimal jewelry. (Photos: Getty Images/NBC Universal)

2. Michelle Dockery
 Michelle Dockery of 'Downtown Abbey' wore a gorgeous gold and white couture gown by French designer Alexander Vauthier. What made me totally fall in love with this dress was it's gold intricate, semi-sheer golden bodice with high collar and bold shoulders. It was just the right amount of romantic, Baroque-style detailing on top of a simple white crepe gown. (Photos: Getty Images)


 3. Rosario Dawson
Rosario Dawson wore a simple pale blue peplum dress by Antonio Berardi. First, I thought the color of the dress looked beautiful against Rosario's warm skin tone. And second, I thought this gown was delightfully fresh and modern. Also, Rosario's jewelry by Lorraine Schwartz was gorgeous...I love that ring! (Photos: Getty Images/Pichaus)



GENTLEMEN - Top 3 

1. Robert Downey Jr.
 Robert Downey Jr. just gets more handsome every year. He looked smashing in his Armani suit and I loved the texture, the color, and especially the bowtie! (Photo: Getty Images)

2. Leonardo DiCaprio

Leo looked very sleek in his classic Tom Ford tux. (Photo: Getty Images)

3. Robert Pattinson 
Rob Pattinson kept it classic and looked dapper in his signature black Gucci suit. (Photo: Getty Images) 



I hope you enjoyed my 2013 Golden Globes Fashion Favorites! I am so looking forward to the upcoming S.A.G. Awards at the end of January and especially the 85th Academy Awards Ceremony in February. I can't wait to see who I will give the soon-to-be coveted 1st Annual 'Golden Doily Duck' Fashion Award for Best Dressed Duck & Drake exclusively for the Academy Awards Red Carpet runway!!!

So, who were your fashion favorites at this year's Golden Globes? Love to hear them!


Monday, January 7, 2013

My Latest Paper Dolls

A great way to start off the New Year is by making new mermaid paper dolls! Here are my latest mermaids and their inspirations.


My Mermaid Paper Doll No. 75 "Toledo Gold" is inspired by a couple of my favorite jewelry pieces made using the "Damascene Technique". Damascening is a process where precious metal, like gold or silver, is applied in a decorative pattern over the top of a non-precious metal, like iron or steel. Toledo, Spain is the world's largest center of production of Damascene. With my finished mermaid, I wanted her to have a very dramatic look, high in contrast and pattern, just like many damascene designs.


Mermaid Paper Doll 75 - Toledo Gold


My vintage pair of damascene jewelry, "bird & flowers"and "bull" pins.

Carlos's damascene bolo tie from his family trip to Toledo, Spain in 1990. Bolo ties first became fashionably popular in the 1950s then had a big comeback in the 1980s. Just a random side note: the loveable Duckie Dale rocked these "shoestring ties" throughout the '80s movie "Pretty In Pink" (see below). Maybe someday I'll get Carlos to wear a bolo tie in some form of fashion!


Jon Cryer's Duckie Dale sporting the bolo tie.




Mermaid Paper Doll No. 76 "Suvannamaccha" or  "Golden Mermaid" is based on the mermaid princess in the Cambodian and Thai versions of Ramayana, a timeless and enchanting epic of India. My Golden Mermaid is a modern take of the mermaid princess. She is, of course, adorn with her golden jewels yet fashionably fitted with beautiful patterns & rich colors reminiscent of Thai silk fabric.


Mermaid Paper Doll 76 - Suvannamaccha (Golden Mermaid)


Suvannamaccha the mermaid princess. (Source: fckyeahcambodia)

Thai Silk Fabric (Photo: Greg Vaughn Photography)



Mermaid Paper Doll No. 77 "My Sweet Sushi" is derived from a couple of influences: Kawaii and Sushi. Kawaii means "loveable" or "cute" in the Japanese culture and I wanted No.77 to carry a bit of that sweetness to her look...soft colors, hearts, flowers, and butterflies. In addition, some of my favorite Kawaii drawings are that of Sushi characters shown as cute animals or just plain sushi with simple faces. So to carry over that concept of Sushi into my mermaid, I gave her custom-fitted gown the look of being wrapped in seaweed. Although her seaweed (wrapped around her waist and above her tail) is more of a teal green color rather than black!

 Mermaid Paper Doll 77 - My Sweet Sushi


Cute Sushi Animal Characters (Source: A Little Kitty Deviant Art)


Another Kawaii Sushi illustration (Source: Meowza)


Mermaid Sushi. (Source: Honey and Tea)


Seaweed wrapped Spam Musubi (Source: Cooking Hawaiian Style)


Valentine Heart Sushi (Photo: Isriya)




Mermaid Paper Doll No. 78 "Golden Sparkles" is inspired from the flowing fins of the Siamese fighting fish also known as a Betta fish. My boys recently got a pet betta fish (named "Sparkly") for their new aquarium. We were all impressed by Sparkly's beautiful colors (ranges from purple to blue to red) and his large, flowing fins. I thought it would be neat to make a mermaid based on Sparkly. I imagined for this mermaid that she would have hints of golden sparkle as well as the dramatic appearance of swimming eloquently through the ocean waters draped in a flowy gown. 


 Mermaid Paper Doll 78 - Golden Sparkles


A golden-yellow Siamese Fighting Fish similar to our purple Twin Tail Halfmoon betta, Sparkly. (Source: fnzas.org.nz)


Mermaid Paper Doll No. 79 "Shanghai Sea" is my version of a 1920s Shanghai Calendar girl wearing the traditional Cheongsam dress. The cheongsam dress was first created in Shanghai, China in the 1920s.

 Mermaid Paper Doll 79 - Shanghai Sea

Vintage Shanghai posters of Chinese calendar girls (called yufenpai) circa 1920s - 40s. (Source: Sleevey Wonders Blog)



Mermaid Paper Doll No. 80 "Embroidered Hand Fan" is largely inspired by my love of Spanish culture. For this mermaid I fashioned her in a gown reminiscent of a traditional Spanish hand fan with delicate cloth webbing. I also gave her a hair ornament similar to the decorative Spanish hair comb known as a peineta . A peineta is usually worn under a mantilla, a lace veil worn over the head and shoulders.


Mermaid Paper Doll 80 - Embroidered Hand Fan


Spanish Fabric and Lace Hand Fan (Source: Lands Faraway)


A Spanish Peineta. (Source: Lands Faraway)


Spanish Basque painter Ignacio Zuloaga y Zabeleta's (1870-1945) portrait of aristocrat and socialite María del Rosario de Silva, Duchess of Alba. She is wearing the Spanish mantilla and peineta (comb) and holding an embroidered hand fan. (Source: porcelainsandpeacocks)



I hope you enjoyed this in-depth look at my latest paper dolls! Also, I hope everyone is having a wonderful start to their New Year! Cheers!!