When one thinks of fashion, several names come to mind. Alexander McQueen, Tom Ford, John Galliano, Nina Garcia, Rachel Zoe, June Ambrose and Andre Leon Talley are a few. How about the name Gwenolyn Stephens? Well, for those who are not familiar with the name, don’t fret. Ms. Stephens has set out on a mission to change that.

Gwenolyn Stephens hails from rural Mississippi and has had a lifelong obsession with fashion. Inspired by her mother, who was “always dressed to impress and always had on a pair of heels,” Stephens has created Rock.Paper.Heels., a boutique located in Ridgeland, Mississippi, Rock.Paper.Heels is “the basis of every woman.” The rock represents diamonds, a girl’s best friend, while paper represents money and heels are an accessory that all women love.

Though she is not formally educated in the field of fashion, Stephens has worked extensively in retail and has studied fashion in her own right—presumably with the aid of her favorite fashion publications, Elle and Vogue. One might expect her to feel inferior to those who hold degrees from world famous fashion institutions; however, she does not. She says that although “[my] creditability may be questioned [at times], that gives me the opportunity to show what I am capable of.”

Another issue that many may consider a hindrance to Stephen’s brand is her location. Needless to say, no one considers Mississippi one of the fashion capitals of the world. Still, she will not be deterred from pursuing her dreams on her own terms. “When you’re good at what you do and stay true to yourself, no good deed goes unnoticed,” she says. “No matter where you are from, you will have the ability to shine and make a positive impact in the lives of others.”

In addition to the physical location in Mississippi, Rock.Paper.Heels also has an online boutique. There are a number of things that separate this boutique from others. For starters, Stephens and her staff offer customers a variety of styles. The online store is geared more towards lovers of the urban genre, whereas the physical location offers more sophisticated pieces.

The company also offers customization. They have partnered with a Japan-based designer to customize pieces and hope to expand into national and global markets. The final component that separates this brand from the various others is personal styling. “I have yet to see a boutique that offers styling tips to their customers which includes hair, makeup and accessories,” Stephens states. “We offer the complete package, not just the garment.” Stephens is dedicated to giving her customers all of the necessary tools in order to feel comfortable and confident with their image.

Furthering her efforts to improve the image of her customers, Stephens seeks to open a consultation firm which will be an extension of Rock.Paper.Heels. She acknowledges that image is everything and that it is important to look your best at all times whether one is going on a job interview, first date or to a social gathering. Of course, Stephens has far bigger dreams than styling the everyday Mississippi woman and those dreams could be summed up in two words: Solange Knowles.

“She does everything so effortlessly,” she states of her dream client who she lists as a fashion icon alongside Rihanna, Audrey Hepburn and David Bowie. “She does not follow ‘fashion rules’ and she steps outside the box which is what I love about her. She is a style chameleon.”

Stephens is passionate about her brand and hopes that others will be able to identify and connect with what she is offering to the fashion community. Rock.Paper.Heels opened on September 1, 2012 and is located at 103 West Washington Street, Suite B4 in Ridgeland, Mississippi. Gwenolyn Stephens may be contacted via telephone at (601) 427-5472 or rockpaperheels@gmail.com. If interested in reading up more on Stephens’ fashion philosophy, feel free to view her Fashion Bomb Daily ‘Fashion Bombshell of the Day’ submission.

Image Courtesy of  Zvonimir Atletic / Shutterstock.com

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Look no further for the next artistic designer of world famous couture brand, Christian Dior. On April 9^th, Raf Simons was announced to become the man behind the internationally popular label, after the position had been left unfilled for over a year.

Former head designer of the label John Galliano was fired from the position after publicly making racist comments during an argument, in which he made anti-Semitic remarks at a Parisian bar in February 2011. In September 2011, he was found guilty on the grounds of racist and anti-Semitic abuse, and was charged with a fine.

Simons landed the position this past week, after front-runner and world-renowned Marc Jacobs turned the opportunity down. Jacobs is also the current designer director for Louis Vuitton.

Between the time that Galliano was fired and Simons was hired, the Dior empire was overseen by Galliano’s former assistant, Bill Gayteen. Gayteen made his final debut with Dior at the company’s 2012 spring collection launch. Fortunately for the international label, the past year has not tarnished the name Christian Dior has made for itself, nor has the empire been financially impacted in a negative way.

Sidney Toledano, President and CEO of Christian Dior, is looking forward to seeing what Simons will bring to Dior.

“I always said that the right person would come along when all the stars aligned and that’s exactly what happened last week. “[Raf] has already begun to lay out his vision for where he can take Dior in the future and I think we are all very excited by that vision.”

One concern for the choice in appointing Simon’s is his difference in his fashion sense compared to that of Galliano. Galliano was known for eccentric and flamboyant creations, where Simons is known for his simplicity in his designs. But Simons doesn’t seem concerned.

“I feel fantastic. It is one of the ultimate challenges, and a dream to go to a place like Dior, which stands for absolute elegance, incredible femininity and utter luxury.”

Simons, who is now 44, started in the fashion industry in 1995, specializing in men’s wear. In Dior, he “will be in charge of haute couture, women’s ready-to-wear and accessories, starting with the couture show in July, while keeping his eponymous men’s line. Simons comes from a modest family and is the only child, growing up in the Flemish town of Neerpelt.

His father was a night security guard and his mother was a house cleaner. Perhaps, this is where Simons appreciation of simplicity comes in? Despite his simple designs and childhood, Simons plans on modernizing the Dior couture line, which Simons claims, he has a lot of appreciation for.

Christian Dior was founded by Mr. Dior himself, as the man brought “femininity to the postwar 1950s, building the tiny waists and sweeping skirts of his voluptuous “flower women” on his obsession with the Edwardian elegance of his early memories of his mother. Mr. Dior passed away suddenly in 1957, only ten years after he created what would now become known as one of the most desired labels of this time period.

While adding his own flare of fine tailoring and linear style to the elegance of the couture line of Dior, it is important to Simons to keep Mr. Dior’s original vision alive.

“I find that period between 1947 and 1957 extremely attractive, and there was a lot of modernity. There was the romantic appeal looking back to his mother and the belle époque, but there was also a constant evolution in shape, changing proportions and the ideas connected to the World War were revolutionary.”

Simons also adds, “in the art world there are collectors, curators and an audience, and they are all important. I am fascinated with what could be the relevance of the language of couture in the 21st century.” And we are fascinated with what Simons’ plans are for the future of the couture and elegance of Christian Dior.

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After many rumors, world-known model Kate Moss got married on Friday 1^st of June with the musician Jamie Hince, her boyfriend of more than one year.

According to the Daily Mail newspaper, the original date of the wedding was June 2, but they decided to move it back one day because their wedding coincided with the wedding of Prince Albert of Monaco and Charlene Wittstock.

The religious ceremony took place in Saint Peter Church, a simple 12^th century chapel situated in Southrop, Gloucestershire – a small town in England. The bride, who arrived at four o’clock in a Rolls Royce and was accompanied by her father Peter and her daughter Lila Gracey, wore a beautiful white wedding dress designed by John Galliano, who is a close friend of Moss. The 37-years-old model wanted to encourage Galliano with this gesture, because it just so happens that Galliano had to appear before judges accused of antisemitism on the same day as the top model’s weeding.

Kate decided to wear her hair down and messy with a short and embroidered bridal veil. Meanwhile, the groom was faithful to his retro style and had chosen a light blue suit with a striped shirt, a silk neckerchief instead of a tie and a double-breasted jacket; his entire outfir was designed by Stefano Pilati from Yves Sant Laurent.

Bridesmaids were Charlotte Moss, the sister of Kate Moss; Ella Richards, the daughter of the rockstar Keith Richards and Jess Hallet, Moss’ agent. There were more than 400 wedding guests and among the coveted guest list you could find famous celebrities like Naomi Campbell, who was also in the Monaco Prince Albert wedding the previous day, Vivienne Westwood, sir Philip Green, Tracey Emin, Stella and May McCartney and Jude Law.

Despite the religious ceremony being a quite simple and traditional affair, the wedding reception was an extravagant display of luxury, eccentricity and glamour (the estimated cost of the wedding is put at over £1 million). The party was in the garden of the model’s mansion where they had set up several marquees in order to cover all the guest. A group of drag queens helped guests find the toilets and an army of muscular men, who wore fake tattoos with the names of the newlyweds, walked around the marquees. Among this welcome committee were also trapeze artists and a lot of rock and roll.

The wedding reception continued until June 3. After three days of nonstop party, the model and his new husband left the wedding by helicopter and went to the airport to embark on their romantic honeymoon.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150223534642204&set=o.59787557005&type=1&theater

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