Only the Marvelous: ...And All That Jazz: Rustan's x Laura Mercier Holiday '12 Collection

“(…) the New Woman of the 1920s boldly asserted her right to dance, drink, smoke, and date—to work her own property, to live free of the strictures that governed her mother’s generation. (…) She flouted Victorian-era conventions and scandalized her parents. In many ways, she controlled her own destiny.”

- Joshua Zeitz

The Roaring Twenties

Dress: Topshop | Shoes: Alexander Wang | Earrings: Cultus Chi Chi | Head Dress: DIY | Bag: Chanel

I always loved themed parties. I don't quite know why but there is a big part of me that seriously loves themed parties. And when there is one, I take it upon myself to go 100% committed on seeing (...and wearing) the theme in the best way I know how. I know, I know, there's more to life than dressing up and worrying what to wear but personally (in my own rules of etiquette), I think coming in theme as prescribed in the invitation shows respect for the people throwing the party. And if you're already following the theme, why not go all out?

That was my strategy for Rustans x Laura Mercier Event I received an invite to from a good friend of mine, Mica, who organized the whole shindig. Check out the invite below...

...and so I invited Dominique of http://www.konichiwear.com and my brother Enzo to come with me to the event as this was my first night out post-surgery. What I forgot to tell them was there was a theme (I kind of missed out on the attire part as well, but being the OCD person I am, it was a good thing I rechecked and saw the invite on the day itself) and had to hustle so I scrambled through my closet, looked for '20s looking outfits and dresses and laid them out, trying to find which one I could wear to the event. And then I found this dress...I got it from Topshop but never really had the chance or occasion to wear it. The good side to investing in pieces (such as these) which you set aside for no particular reason are for emergency situations (like this one) as it can save a day of panic shopping. Suffice to say, the dress screamed 1920's flapper and was absolute perfection. I, for one, was thrilled to get to take this dress for a night out.

I decided if the dress was all out, might as well go all out... in summary, go in full costume (?) and take the theme and turn it into a package...everything had to be flapper. Step 1. was finding (and finally wearing) these fringed Alexander Wang shoes (which matched my dress perfectly)... it's the twenties, it's fringe on fringe, but it worked. Step 2. was finding a suitable head dress that I can rock. The benefits of owning a clothing brand is that you have access to all these beading and materials to DIY your own creation, which I did in this case,
I made sure it matched the golden bronze studs on the dress, and finally Step 3. was ensuring my makeup and hair was appropriate for era I wanted. For this, the most powerful tool I had was Google and since I do not want to cut my hair to a short bob with full bangs, I went for the tight curls. Since it was a makeup event, my makeup had to be flawless and I projected the Twenties look with Kohl dark rimmed eyes, emphasized blush on and crimson red lips. I pulled the look together in less than two hours and was quite proud of myself. Makeup guru and Laura Mercier Global Artist Jeffrey Tasker recognized me for having best costume for the night... which was flattering... until he made me his pet for his entire spiel for the program which was by the way amazing.

I am so excited for Laura Mercier's F/W Holiday 2012 Collection to hit the stores! I am definitely looking forward to getting me some of the amazing things and products launched that night.

PS: Congratulations Mica for the successful event!

GET THE LOOK: