Saturday, July 25, 2009

PLuSH In Full Bloom♔

(Above Bouquet: Carnations) I thought it would be a good idea to post different types of flowers and their history, as floral arrangements are important Feng Shui elements to an event, present or home gardening along with many many other things.

First Pair: Blue Rose & Purple Rose

Second Pair: Peony's & Jacaranda Tree from Brazil
Third Pair: Sunflower & Chrysanthemums














Fourth Pair: Kaffir Lily and Camellia












Fifth Pair:Belladonna Lily & African Violet










Sixth Pair: Blue Jasmin & Lilacs





Seventh Pair:Magnolia & Tulips














Eighth Pair: Calla Lily & Bachelors Button









Ninth Pair:Hydrangeas & Daisies

Flower Index

African Violet ~ Symbolic Meaning: The plant is native to the highlands of tropical eastern Africa; widely spread in the Nguru Mountains of Tanzania. African violets are five-petal led. Growing in clusters of 3-10 or even more, they are bilaterally symmetrical in violet, white and pink colors. The name for these flowers vary from 'Amazen Grace', 'Claret Queen,' 'Dupont Blue' and 'Glacier' to 'Little Jewel', 'Mini Marina', 'Pink Miracle' and 'Porcelain.'

Bachelors Button ~ Symbolic Meaning: Celibacy! The inhabitant of Europe has such common names as Cornflower, Basket flower, Boutonniere and Bluebottle. The blooms represent a ring of a several big florets that surround a central cluster of disc florets. Bachelors Button is cultivated as a gardening ornamental plant with other cultivars coming in pastel colors such as pink and purple. Sometimes the plant serves as a culinary ornament. It makes a tea component and is popular in the Lady Grey blend of Twinings.

Belladonna Lily ~ Symbolic Meaning: Belladonna lily, Naked lily, Magic lily, Resurrection lily - all these are the name of Amaryllis. A lot of gardeners tend to prefer growing these attractive plants. The flowers perfect as they may last for about a week or even more in floral arrangements.

Calla Lilys ~ Symbolic Meaning: Calla lily originates from the South Africa; here the plants are growing in such a large abundance that they are considered to be common roadside plants named "pig lilies." The blossoms are available during the whole year in various shades of red, mauve-pink, ivory and golden-yellow. The cut flower may stay for 4-8 days. It does well at room temperature and requires much water. Calla lily is commonly used in contemporary designs and various floral arrangements for wedding occasions, corsages, and boutonnieres.

Camellia ~ Symbolic Meaning: Everlasting love; you are perfect in every way and I admire you. Since old times young lovers expressed their love through this flower as it was the symbol of devotion to each other. The Chinese believe that camellia's petals reflect the spirit of a lady.
with the meaning of "flower of Zeus" from the Greek language.

Carnation ~ Symbolic Meaning: With the meaning "flower of Zeus," from the Greek language, the carnation is a fascinating flower that is either a standard carnation with a big flower borne per long stem, or a spray carnation with plenty of miniature blossoms. Carnation is the popular and best-selling cut flower in the United Kingdom.

Chrysanthemums ~ Symbolic Meaning: The name chrysanthemum is derived from the Greek words "krus anthemon" that is translated as ‘gold flower’. The flower originates from Europe, Asia and South Africa. The flower has a lot of alternative names such as pompoms, spiders, Fuji's and daisies.

Daisies ~ Symbolic Meaning: As a lot of related flowering plants bear the name "Daisy", this species can be called Common Daisy, Lawn Daisy or sometimes English daisy. This evergreen plant is sometimes thought of as a 'weed on lawns,' however a lot of flower lovers enjoy the look of its blossoms.

Hydrangeas ~ Symbolic Meaning: Believed that the flower reflects its giver, thankfulness for its receiver, understanding. Hydrangea was found first in the country of Japan. Its name is derived from the Greek word “hydor,” that means ‘water’, and “angos,” means ‘jar’ or ‘vessel’. Its translation is “water barrel,” with the reference to the fact that the flower needs a lot of water to survive. It is said that the hydrangea is a Grandmother's old-time flower. The flower is available in white, purple, pink, red and blue colors.

Blue Jasmin ~ Symbolic Meaning: Grace and Elegance. Jasmine is a well-know flower throughout the world. The blooming time of the plant is in spring or summer seasons. Jasmin is highly appreciated for it's fragrance.

Kaffir Lily ~ Symbolic Meaning: Clivia miniata or Kaffir Lily originates from South Africa. The plant produces trumpet-like blooms that come in clusters of 20-30 flowers. Today the flowers can be met in hues of orange to red, yellow and whitish.

Lilac ~ Symbolic Meaning: These flowers are excessively odorous and attractive for bees, butterflies and birds. Lilacs are famous shrubs grown in cottage gardens of England. Lilacs are available from October to May in white, mauve, violet and pink. The flowers in purple shades, are distinguished by their stronger smell and grow only in spring for a very short period of time.

Magnolias ~ Symbolic Meaning: Dignity and Splendid Beauty. These attractive species are the inhabitants of eastern North America, South America, Central America, the West Indies, and Southeast Asia. Magnolia is the state flower of Mississippi which is usually called Magnolia State.

Peony ~ Symbolic Meaning: Peony originates from Europe, Asia and North America and is one of the most favorite garden plants. The blooms are very odorous and usually are growing to serve as ornamental plants. Their colors vary, ranging from pure white through baby pinks and pale peaches to deep pink and dark rich maroon. They symbolize luxury, indulgence, happy life and marriage.

Rose ~ Symbolic Meaning: These lovely flowers originated more than 4,000 years ago. They were first grown in the fertile land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the Middle East. Roses are available all the year round in a vast variety of shades, colors and sizes.

Sunflower ~ Symbolic Meaning: Name comes from the two Greek words ‘helios’, which means "sun," and anthos, which means "flower." The bloom has its origin from North America. The sunflower is widely grown for its seeds which are used for oil manufacture. The attractive shades and colors of sunflowers makes them a great focal flower in many styles of designs and arrangements.

Tulips ~ Symbolic Meaning:Perfect lover, Fame, Love, Passion, Romance, charity and declaration of love. The Latin name of the flower is Tulipa. This lovely plant is recognized as the national flower of Iran and Turkey. The blooms are available from November till May in red, pink, white, yellow, orange, purple colors; bi—colored flowers are also can be found. This attractive flower makes perfect bouquets and is an uncommon addition to any style- arrangements.

Source

PLuSH Empress...is enamoured with life.

A Century of Fashion

Beginning in the 1900's here is a timeline of 20th century fashion. Personally my style and what I like to wear is tremendously inspired by the first half of the 20th century (as im an old soul at heart), particularly the 1920's-50's...

Which era do you relate with/fit into?

STYLE 1990's: Continuation of aesthetics of Art Nouveau style and development of "arts and crafts" + movement
DESIGNERS: Paul Poiret, Jean Paquin, Mariano Fortuny
DANCE: Tango, Waltz
POPULAR MUSIC: Ragtime


STYLE 1910's: Art Nouveau style evolved in Art Deco. First World War and development of more practical women’s fashion
DESIGNERS: Coco Chanel ( as an emerging designer she open her first shop in 1913), Paquin, Lanvin, Leon Bakst(mostly costume designer for Ballets Russes), Jackues Doucet
DANCE: Tango, Waltz Boston
POPULAR MUSIC: Ragtime, beginning of Jazz


STYLE 1920's: formation of Art Deco style, flapper
DESIGNERS: Coco Channel , Madeleine Vionnet; Erte , Sonia Delauney, Lanvin, Jean Patau, Edward Molynex
DANCE: Charleston, Foxtrot, Tango , Shimmy
POPULAR MUSIC: Jazz


STYLE 1930's: development of Art Deco and the beginning of "ready to wear" fashion.
DESIGNERS: Coco Channel, Elsa Schiaparelli
DANCE: Foxtrot, Tango, Valse , Boogie Woogie
POPULAR MUSIC: Jazz , Big Band


STYLE 1940's: decline of Art Deco and second World War. Transition from masculine women's fashion of the beginning of the decade to extremely feminine (New Look by Dior) by the end of the decade
DESIGNERS: Lucien Lelong, Christian Dior ,Christobal Balensiaga, Jacques Fath, Pierre Balman
DANCE: Jive, Swing , Foxtrot
POPULAR MUSIC: Bop , Big Band


Style 1950's: Influences and inspiration is Neo Realism Cinema
DESIGNERS: Christian Dior, Christobal Balensiaga, Channel (came back in 1954), Jack Patu, Pierre Balman, Emilio Pucci
DANCE: Rockabilly , Rock n roll, Twist
POPULAR MUSIC: Cool Jazz (Miles Davis, Gerry Mulligan, Stan Getz,)


STYLE 1960's: street style and alternative fashion
DESIGNERS: Yves Saint Laurent, Paco Rabanne, Ted Lapidus, Mary Quant, Andre Courreges , Pierre Cardin, Emanuel Ungaro
DANCE: Rock 'n' roll
POPULAR MUSIC: Rock 'n' Roll, Motown


STYLE 1970's: stylistic diversity; end of monolith style trend
DESIGNERS: Yves Saint Laurent, Kenzo, Vivienne Westwood, Calvin Klein, Valentino, Armani, Versace
DANCE : Disco, Glam, Pop
POPULAR MUSIC: Motown, Rock


STYLE 1980's: diversity expanded; inspiration: pop Music
DESIGNERS: Karl Lagerfeld, Thierry Mugler, Claude Montana , Alaia, Christian Lacroix, Ray Kawakoobo, Issey Miyake , Yohji Yamamoto, Vivienne Westwood, Dirk Van Saene, Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Donna Karan, Benetton
DANCE: Break dance, Disco, House
POPULAR MUSIC: Pop, Reggae


STYLE 1990's: personal expression dominates stylistic mode; end of cold war, internet and new era of electronic communication
DESIGNERS: Galliano, Tom Ford, Hussein Chalayan, Alexander McQueen, Martin MARGIELA and Ann Demeulemeester, Marc Ecko represents new trend in the 90s fashion
DANCE: running man, breakdance, macarena
POPULAR MUSIC: Grunge, Hip Hop, Rap

Above Fashion Illustrations by Irina V. Ivanova

PLuSH Empress...recognizes the foundation!

PLuSH ♥'s Vintage!

So PLuSH set out on a fun mission around our city to come up with a Vintage Article for the upcoming issue of Luminosus Magazine. On our hunt we visited a store called Cabaret Vintage, on Queen West, whose inside has seen the likes of celebrities such as Andre 3000 and Erykah Badu.

We had the pleasure of speaking with Tao, a CV associate. We must have left quite the impression, us vintage connoisseurs, because before we left we were snapped by vintage paparazzi! Here is the picture, of Andrea and I, that I just found on the Cabaret Vintage website...


Here are some of the well kept Vintage items we found @ several stores across the GTA:

Courage My Love ~ Kensington Market
Headpieces

1920's flapper dress


Vintage Depot ~ Kensignton Market
1980's inspired dress

Of course we have to save our exclusive picks for the magazine but here are some "vintage buyers tips"

A little wear and tear is ok. But things to check for and consider, when purchasing vintage, are:
-scratches
-stains and rips in material
-colouration (check that it isn’t badly faded)
-stitching (look for straps that are stitched together, not glued)
-lining (should have no mildew, rips or holes)
-frame (the structure of the bag, does it allow for the habit of overstuffing?)
-hardware (re-plating can be an expensive, check for warps or peeling)
-designer (look for bags that are most iconic to specific design houses and thus retain a better value)

PLuSH Empress...is vintage obssessed!

How Precious!☆☆☆

To purchase any of the How Precious Collection accessories, displayed below, please visit the Psalms website.

Psalms Accessories came up with a wonderful concept to have real women model their lookbook and new collection entitled How Precious. Fortunately, I was asked to be one of the models! How fun!!! I met some really wonderful people and had a great time being pampered lol.

This is how things turned out:

Angel...

Rudy...

Jahmilla...

Audrey...

Alisha...

Pauline...

Monica...

Edane...

Tanya...

Kavita...

Ashley...

Julia & Audrie...

Robin & Brianna...

Jimmie...

Camille & Sherry...


PLuSH Empress...I would do it all again :)