Bond Villans- A Tribute

As I prepare for "Skyfall" to open in Berlin this weekend and continuing to celebrate 50 years since my favorite spy appeared on screen, I thought I would take a moment to pay tribute to the ones that always had their plans foiled by James Bond. They may have died at the hands of James Bond, but they always had a hell of a ride to get to death. Only one has managed to survive and reappear in another Bond film. These guys always had the best lines and totally look like they are having the most fun, being ruthless. They are the characters that EVERY actor wants to play. They are the "Bond Villans" Now I know that no one roots for the villan, but they always keep the story interesting and the transformation to play the most unlikeable character is always fascinating to see. Here are a few of my favorite Bond Villans and henchmen.

Mr. Big (Live And Let Die)- This villan sets the tone for all of the others. He was smuggling ancient coins to fund his operation. The smuggling takes James Bond to Harlem, New York and St. Petersburg, Florida, Jamaica and Africa. The eccentricities of Mr. Big, set the tone for the other Bond villans by bringing a little crazy to the table. He trusted no one and mostly relied on Solitaire to keep his plans on track, as well as keeping his reliance on voodoo as a backup and a means to try and get rid of Solitaire as she falls for James.

Jaws (The Spy Who Loved Me & Moonraker)- This henchman is the only Bond villan who shows up in two Bond films. 7 feet tall, superhuman with steel teeth, he was a prescence that you couldn't ignore. He was a henchman for Karl Stromberg, who stole some Russian submarines and had microfilm proving it. He survives by biting a shark in the ocean and swimming to safety, resurrecting in "Moonraker". His look was typical of most henchmen, sharp suits, and clean lines, but his large frame made him loveable, because although menacing, he was a big softie.

Odd Job (Goldfinger)- The strong, silent Asian henchman with a killer bowler hat!!!! He always looked smashing in his very crisp wardrobe. He was the personal bodyguard to Auric Goldfinger. He knew how to be witty and dangerous without sarcastic lines and knew how to slip in and out of things undetected. He was quite eccentric (He ate cats!!!) and he knew karate.

Auric Goldfinger (Goldfinger)- This Bond villan to me is one of the best, because he is written just like he was in the book. Auric (a world renowned gold buillon dealer) had a plan to smuggle gold from Fort Knox in Kentucky. His plan was to melt it down and put it on his car, which he never went anywhere without (how eccentric!!!). Auric was obsessed with gold in the worst way and it showed in his look (gold incorporated in his clothes and accessories, his home and office decor). He also created a nerve gas to kill of the mafia he hired to help him get the gold.

Max Zorin (A View To A Kill)- Sleek and smooth, but scary as hell, only one guy can bring this guy to life and that's Christopher Walken!! Max plans to destroy Silicon Valley to monopolize microchip manufacturing. With May Day as his personal bodyguard and lover (Grace Jones), there was nothing that he wouldn't do and nothing that she wouldn't do to protect him. He falls to his death, attacking James with an ax and abandons May Day, who kills herself in the mine explosion. His look was all about clean lines and structure and May Day totally about functional couture. I'm on pins and needles waiting for the new Bond film to open. Can't wait to see Javier Bardem bring his skills to this!!! One things for sure, I know I'll love the most unlikeable person: The Bond Villan.

Stay fashionable and sexy!!!!!

Bond Girls- A Tribute

As the latest James Bond picture "Skyfall" opens in theaters all over the world, we celebrate 50 years since "Dr. No" premiered. With Sean Connery being the original Bond on film and Daniel Craig being the closest to the Bond that's in the books and now on film, I thought I would take this time to celebrate the one person that can never foil him, nor keep him. She is the one that can hold her own with him, yet somehow knows when to let James save her. She is always on top of fashion. She is the one that makes an entrance that you will never forget. She is the one person that EVERY actress wants to be. She is "The Bond Girl". When Ian Fleming put pen to paper and created James Bond, little did he know that he created the ultimate in masculine idols. Every boy and man wants to be in one form or another, James Bond with his many gadgets, sharp suits, and being around beautiful women in exotic locations. Unwillingly, he also created the ultimate woman as well. They were all a mixture of hard and soft, glamourous, beautiful, and amazingly smart.

Like every guy who is a fan of the Bond films, I have my favorite Bond girls. They are all the things that they are in the books, but when you flesh them out on a movie screen, they take on a persona all their own. Jane Seymour (Solitaire) is one of my favorite Bond girls (Live And Let Die). She brought a sense of regality to the role, because she comes off as quite posh, but not like an ice princess or the Hitchcock-onian ice blonde.

Grace Jones (May Day) is another one of my favorite Bond girls (A View To A Kill). She brought super human strength (those stunts!!! WOW!!!), and a real fashion edge that was never really seen in any of the other Bond films. She made the Bond girl tough and mean and she played it well. Love "A View To A Kill".

Another Bond Girl that I love is Halle Berry (Jinx, Die Another Day). No one has EVER made an entrance like that in a bathing suit since Ursula Andress since "Dr No".

The only other one was James Bond himself, Daniel Craig, who showed off a killer body when coming out of the water!! Halle was also one of the few big name actresses to get the role of a Bond girl. Most girls would make their careers by getting cast in a Bond movie. Now as a Bond girl, I loved what she brought to the role. She bought brains, glamour, and a sense of self that you really don't always see in some of these movies.

My last favorite Bond girl is the lady in the first book that sets the tone for James Bond's womanizing ways, Eva Green (Vespa, Casino Royale). She brings a style and glamour all her own that works with this, making James human. She also brought a lot of bite and threw in some Hitchcock-ian icy blondness into the mix and it worked!!!

I'm looking forward to seeing "Skyfall" and check out the new Bond girl in his life.

Stay fashionable and sexy!!!!!

Back To Square One

A lot has gone on, since I've last posted,(well before yesterday's post) so it's time to get you all caught up. Some of you may have seen things from some of my posts on Facebook, but I'll put everything out here. I went to Amsterdam to check out a store to sell my stuff in. Loved the store!!! It's the store that sells the graduate collections from the students from the fashion institute there (amfi.nl).A lot of the pieces were avant garde and very high end. I was gonna create a few pieces to create the middle ground for all that was in the store. I saw it as an opportunity for me to see if I can bring my designs to a different level. Everything is still up in the air at the moment, so we'll just play it by ear. While on the way to Amsterdam, my phone is ringing like crazy while I'm listening to my Ipod. Various friends from all over the world were calling me to let me know that Donna Summer has passed away. It felt surreal hearing that, especially when I was listening to her whole catalog on my Ipod and was checking on line to see where me and my best friend, Wade would be able to go see her, like we did every year since we first saw her together. I have been a fan of Donna's since my childhood and her music has always inspired and is the soundtrack to my life. I've always had her music going when I was celebrating my highs with friends or my lows by myself. She was a constant, even when friends, partners, jobs, and apartments changed. To this day, I still can't believe she's gone, but she will live "On And On" in my life and in my work.

Just as I was about to leave Amsterdam, another artist from my childhood, passes away. Robin Gibb passes on and all I can say is that Heaven must be rocking now. With Whitney, Donna and now Robin, I know Heaven is packjammed with the most amazing music. The music of the Bee Gees also have been a constant in my life, right along with Donna. "Saturday Night Fever" was the movie that really made me LOVE Brooklyn and all of the Brooklyn Italian boys that came from there. Their songs in that soundtrack was TOTALLY the beat of New York at that time and still figures into all that I do. Not only did I love the hits, but I loved all of the album tracks as well. They really knew their way with a song. Robin may be sick of my "Jive Talkin'", but I have nothing but love for him and his brothers.

I get back to Berlin and check out Berlin Fashion Week. I was ready for some experimental fashion and was ready to see how I can work that into some basic pieces, but didn't get too much experimental fashion. It was a lot of playing it safe, but it was cool nonetheless. I then spent six weeks in Helsinki. LOVED IT!!!! This little city in Finland, set my creative juices ablaze with so many different types of prints, especially Marimekko (and I usually don't work with prints too much). I have begun to jump in the pool of working with prints and using them with a lot of the solid colors. Sweden may have invented IKEA and they may have some amazing prints, but they have nothing on Finland!!!! Didn't learn much Finnish, but really got to see what Finland was all about and I did a lot of sketches that were influenced by a lot of the prints here in Finland. I'll be working on these and seeing what sticks. I'll post them on Facebook and put them up for sale on Ebay. More on that in a bit. I checked out London Fashion Week and crashed a couple of parties. I chatted to a few stylists and was pumping a few of them for information, but once I revealed that I am a designer (by handing them my business card for correspondence and they see "Fashion Designer"), they shut down. I was a little miffed, but managed to keep it together. In the midst of this, I didn't hear from anyone about any of the things I was trying to do to get out there and my confidence was shaken and I felt I lost my way. Falling down and getting angry isn't fun, but I got a kick in the ass and I channeled that anger into getting my new designs made and sold. I also went through some of the pieces I have created in the past and thought about reworking a few of them and selling them as well. Which brings me to my new venture: Getting my ass on EBAY!!! Yes, I am gonna take the Ebay plunge soon and put some of my pieces on Ebay to be sold. I'll be chatting it up on Facebook soon and working out how I'm gonna do it. I'm also gonna set up a Facebook page, strictly for my designs and my company. I'm still working out a few kinks, but I will do it very, very, very soon. I may also look into setting up an online shop for my things, but we'll start with Ebay and see what happens. So this is all that went down in a nutshell. I promise to have a fashion entry soon. Stay fashionable and sexy!!!

Getting Back To Business- The "Glam Nigerian" Project: Part Two

Hey there, everyone!!!! A lot has gone on since I've last posted and I didn't present the pics from the last project (Glam Nigerian). I got a few, so I'll post those. I also have to get everyone caught up and back on track. That will be done in the next posting. Let's start off with the pics from the "Glam Nigerian" project. The shoot was a lot of fun and I've got to thank my stylist friend, Biki on her amazing work and letting a little designer like me into her world. Her vision is incredible and I'd love to work with her again!!!

This photo is of the metallic blue dress. The client wanted it to be gold, so they changed the color. Either way, the dress looks amazing on Tarah. This piece was one of my earlier pieces. It was when I was just getting back into sewing again after a long time of not doing it, because of working a regular job. This is how it looks in blue:

Here is another dress from the "Glam Nigerian" project. This one is made of the copper glittery fabric. I love this dress, although I was afraid that the split would be a little high..lol. Leave it to me to make some risky pieces!!!

The last pic from the shoot, they had to turn my dress into a skirt, because the top didn't fit the model. I was afraid of that happening, especially because there was no boning or padding in it and her breasts were slightly smaller than the breasts on the dress form. This is the gold and black gown/skirt. Biki supplemented a different top, but I will also show how the gown looks.

So, these are the pieces from the "Glam Nigerian" project. It took a little while to get the pics, but it was cool. I'm still thrilled to be doing what I love. Now it's time to take it to the next level. I'm sorry I've been gone so long, but now that I've worked out a few issues, I'm back and ready to create some more. Stay fashionable and sexy!!!