The Evolution of Swim Suits

An interesting fact about me is I am a year-round competitive swimmer. I belong to three different teams, F.A.S.T. during the summer season, B.A.S.S. during the remaining months, and my local high school's Varsity swim team. Today I have one of the summer's weekly regular season swim meet which inspired this post.

Swim wear has greatly evolved over time especially the swim suits and garments women have worn. Prior to the recent era, it was seen as "indecent" for women to leave the amount of skin exposed by today's popular bikini style swim suits. In some countries today it is still seem risque and women are forced to cover up when swiping or are all together forbidden from the activity. Let's focus on the history of women's swim wear in the U.S.A.

Photo credit to http://4.bp.blogspot.com

When it was becoming more popular for women to swim for recreational purposes the "Princess" cut was designed. In the 1880's the design included connecting trousers and a blouse. A knee-length skirt was also included to cover the waist, thighs, and knees and maintain modesty. (Hsueh). I am definitely glad these suits are no longer required. I doubt anyone would be able to stay afloat!


The idea of swimming and fashionable swim suits however really boomed in the nineteenth century where most of the changes occurred.

In 1909 Annette Kellerman, an Australian tourist, was arrested for indecency in a one piece bathing suit while swimming in the United States. Her style did not go unnoticed and from then on the style for women became to wear less heavy clothing while swimming. Ideas of aprons and tunics were used to cover up but swim wear eventually developed in to shorter and tighter fabrics.

Click to see the popular swim suit fashions of each decade!

06.21.11 버튼을 -- Youtube Shoutouts!

As a beauty guru on youtube, I quite obviously spend most of my time on my youtube account checking through my comments, messages, requests, etc. and while I'm at it I search through my many subscriptions as well. Today, I just wanted to give some shout outs to a few of the lovely fashion gurus that I watch and love for inspiration. So if you want to see some of the internet ladies that inspire me, click read more!

Project Runway!

Photo credit to loggingprojectrunway.blogspot.com

I absolutely adore the show Project Runway with Heidi Klum, Michael Kors, Nina Garcia, Tim Gunn, and various designers. They are having a marathon today :) For those of you who do not know, Project Runway is a television series where designers compete for a spot at Bryant Park and 100,000 dollars to start their line as well as numerous other prizes. Each week the designers are faces with a challenge, for example, some have had to create looks for celebrities such as Sarah Jessica Parker, out of flowers, from grocery store materials, and using products from a candy store. One designer is "out" and the rest are "in" similar to the world of fashion. "One day you're in and the next you're out" - Heidi Klum

This show is a really great source of inspiration and in my opinion a great way for someone with a love of fashion and design like myself to spend her Monday :)

Many designers from the show have gone on to become successful designers and have their own television series including two of my personal favorites, Christian Siriano and Santino Rice.

What season is your favorite?

- Bottoni

06.19.11 Bottoni -- Sunday's Trend Report

First off i'd like to wish everyone a Happy Father's Day! Maybe your dad can help you tell us what your favorite trend is because today is a Sunday Trend Report! :)

One of the newest trends that designers are producing is clothing with a new twist. Many designers including Emilio Pucci, Gucci, Roberto Cavalli, and Dior are including pieces that have used crochet and macrame tehniques.
All picture credit goes to fashionrising.com :)

Gucci Macrame Dress

Emilio Pucci Crochet Maxi Dress

With the heat of the summer there was no question that these looks would be a success and inspire mainstream clothing lines. But what is macrame? What is crochet?

Macrame and crochet are intricate details made with materials such as knots of rope, leather, yarn, or twine in instances of macrame fashion and loops of yarn in crocheted pieces. 

Click for ways to tie in crochet and macrame pieces to your wardrobe this summer!

06.19.11 버튼을 -- Sunday's Trend Report

image via savvyspice.blogspot.com

The hot weather is rolling in and new trends are coming with it. One of the huge trends this Summer is Color-Blocking which is a really fun way to express yourself and dress colorfully. Color-blocking is the idea of pairing multiple single-colored pieces together to get a cool, outgoing, colorful outfit! To wear this trend right and avoid looking like you hopped out of a Skittles bag, you can start off small and work your way up to color-blocking your entire outfit.
Easy ways to try out this trend to start with are wearing one color-blocked piece like shoes, a skirt, or a shirt and pairing it with other simple monochromatic items. For example:

image via coolspotters.com

You could wear this simple colorblock dress (Sparkle & Fade Colorblock Dress) from Urban Outfitters with nude heels and simple jewelry to avoid being too mixed match, if that's what you'd prefer. But if you want to try the trend all out, I definitely recommend, you'll stand out and feel happy and fun in your stylish colorblocked outfit!

-- 버튼을

06.19.11 버튼을 -- DIY Saturdays

Hey guys! So, I know i'm a little late with this post, because of an impromptu trip that my family made last night, but either way, I'm getting it up now! So for this DIY Saturday post, I'm going to be sharing with you guys a favorite diy of mine, that ends up looking couture and high fashion with minimal effort. The lace, sheer, maxi skirt trend is hitting everywhere from celebs to runways and now you can make one for yourself!

image via whowhatwear.com

Maegan is a 34 Valley Girl from Los Angeles who loves to share her fashion sense and unique diy's with the world..check out her easy to follow and quick tutorial on how to make the lace, sheer, maxi skirt here:

http://www.lovemaegan.com/2010/03/long-sheer-lace-skirt-diy.html

Do you work better with video instructions?

Check out this cool, video tutorial on how to make it from "apparellel" on youtube!

She even mentions Maegan's blog as her inspiration..

Apparellel is the creation of a creative wardrobe stylist who has years of experience.

Check out her her tutorial for the skirt here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n82obAXOCk&feature=grec_index

I hope you guys try this idea and I hope you enjoyed this week's edition of DIY Saturdays!

-- 버튼을

"Today, I don't want to do anything. I just wanna lay in my bed." Sunday Trend Reports Segment

Morgan and I definitely have our days where we just love sitting and perusing the internet, studying the runways, and picking out a season's new trends and popular colors. Every Sunday we will share with you some of the latest trends, some hot and some not so hot. Tell us what you are loving this season!

06.18.11 Bottoni -- DIY Saturdays!

All credit for this photo goes to Who What Wear - http://www.whowhatwear.com/website/admin/uploads/hair.bows.jpg

As a child I often wore bows in my hair and saw my mother tying my father's bow tie before work. During the holidays bows adorn wreathes hanging on the street lights and presents under the tree. Needless to say I have always been inspired by bows. I think one of cutest and most simplest way to accessorize an outfit is to add a bow. Especially with the arrival of the summer months, what screams the hot weather and cute outfits more than an adorable bow?! The universality of bows is one of it's great attributes. Bows can be found in any texture, size, and color. They are also very versatile. With my pick for today's Saturday DIY you can learn how to customize your own bow(s) and make them in to barrettes or hair clips, headbands, necklaces or other forms of jewelry, and additions to clothing.

Elsie, a fashion designer and boutique owner, presents this DIY for making bows on her website abeautifulmess.typepad.com. All credit for this DIY goes to her :)

Elsie only uses a few, easy to find products in this simple project. With minimal sewing the DIY can take only a few short minutes!

Check out the link to find out how to make these bows* :)

http://abeautifulmess.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/01/how-to-make-hair-bows-diy-jr.html

*Going out and in need of just that something else? No extra fabric around? That's okay. Use a spare pillow case or bed sheet! I have done this multiple times with success!

--Bottoni

Draw In Yellow....Dig In Yard...Do It Yourself :)

Good afternoon :) I hope everyone has been enjoying their Saturday. Today, we are excited to present another one of our daily segments. Every Saturday Bottoni and Beoteuneul will post a Do It Yourself, or DIY, tutorial for you to try out at home.

DIYs are a great way to save money and still keep up with the latest trends or create a one of a kind gift. Each week we will share with you some of the latest and greatest ideas we have found.

--Bottoni

Bottoni -- Celebrity Fashion Fridays 6/17/2011

E 'Venerdì! That means it's time for a Celebrity Fashion post. I have scoured recent movie premieres, events, talk shows, and celebrity sightings to find my outfit of the week. 

This week I chose Emma Roberts's edgy outfit with a pop of color she wore on the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon this past Tuesday. Emma Roberts was on the talk show to discuss her latest movie, The Art of Getting By with Freddie Highmore. Her rocker outfit definitely testifies her style evolution from her awkward style days on the 2004 Nickelodeon series Unfabulous. 

This photo is from www.zimbio.com/Emma+Roberts/articles/TFX97i9dmTJ

This outfit is definitely something I could see myself pairing. The rock and roll aspects of the shirt, skirt, and shoes contrasts with the classic, preppy blazer. I adore the color scheme of this look and am currently dying to find some colorful blazers to add  to my own wardrobe. The look shows off Roberts' great legs but covers up on the top portion to keep the outfit from crossing the line and well....being too skanky for a talk show. The tee shirt is tucked in to the skirt and helps prevent the top from looking to bulky. I would give an A. A cocktail ring would just make this outfit perfect in my opinion; however, this outfit absolutely captures the "sweet and salty" essence and has earned it's spot as my celebrity outfit pick for the week.

Click to See More About Emma Roberts's Outfit and How You Can Get Her Look for Less!

06.17.11 버튼을 -- Celebrity Fashion Fridays!

Summer's here, which means its time to show off your lean legs and arms that you've been hiding away during winter! For my Celebrity Fashion Friday, it was a real challenge to find something that I thought I would wear, but also something that I felt would be easy to recreate. Then I found this photo of Selena Gomez performing at Santa Monica on the 13th and it definitely stuck out to me. I can see that Selena is really dropping her usual disney star image and beginning to look like a older,more sophisticated, adult. For her Monday afternoon performance, Selena rocked a sheer white oversized top, black and gold accented shorts, and some gorgeous black and nude strapped heels. The concept of the black and white look didn't make her seem too boring because she broke it up by adding gold jewelry and wearing her hair in soft waves.  Her boho-chic outfit makes a statement on its own without being too overpowering and out there. Selena has a very laid-back air about her and showcases it perfectly with her hippie inspired look. I can definitely see myself wearing something like this to go shopping or just getting lunch with some friends. This is perfect for a hot summer day and makes a quick and easy outfit to just throw on.

Credit goes to celebshut.com for the photo. :)

 

Click read more, to see more details about the outfit and how to recreate the look for yourself....

"It's Friday, Friday, Gotta Get Down on Friday" -- Celebrity Fashion

Hello everyone. Today we would like to premiere a new segment of our blog - Celebrity Fashion, Celebrità ella Moda, or 명성 패션 Fridays. Each week we will be posting a photo of a celebrity who wore an outfit at a recent event that we will evaluate and share our opinions on with all of you. :) 

Amore da Bottoni :)

Ciao a tutti! My name is Candace, or Bottoni :) As you can tell this blog does not have a very generic title. My best friend Morgan, and collaborator for this blog, and I spent a while trying to pick something that captured the essence of our blog and was still unique to us. Bottoni & Beoteuneul is special to us because it combines the languages we are currently studying and have an enormous love of similar to fashion and style the emphasis of this blog. Morgan and I plan on living together after college and traveling to Italy and Korea, but for now we are working on this blog hoping to spread our "passion for fashion." Our styles often puzzle those who surround us, yet we both find everything about fashion from materials, zippers, and buttons and buttons, or bottoni and beoteuneul. :)


And to give you some more background on my own personal style I have used the same format as Morgan and answered some questions below.

버튼을 aka Beoteuneul. :)

Well hello there! So this is 버튼을 or Morgan! I'm quite obviously the second part of this site's name as my best friend (whom you'll meet later) is the first part. I suppose this will just be our joint blog for sharing our crazy, misunderstood fashion. Our blog means buttons and buttons. The first part being in Italian (Candace's favorite language and the one that she's currently studying) and the second in Korean (my favorite language and the one that i'm currently studying) Personally if I had to describe my style I'd just pick a bunch of random words: vintage, fun, outgoing, sophisticated, classically chic, young. I couldn't pick just one. But hey, that's okay. :)
So, I figured for my intro post, since this is a fashion blog, I'd do a quick little fashion meme in order for you guys to learn more about my personal style. (I dunno if Candace will do this or not)....