This fall, Vogue will once again host conversations between editors and industry giants, and it promises to be as entertaining as it is thought-provoking. Presented by American Airlines and supported by Milk, the 2018 Vogue Forces of Fashion conference will focus on forces of change, be they designers who are disrupting traditional business models, an environmentalist helping move our industry in a more sustainable direction, or a photographer reimagining what a fashion image can look like in a digital-first world. “We’re thrilled and delighted to announce our second Forces of Fashion in New York on October 11,” says Vogue Editor in Chief Anna Wintour. “Last year we enjoyed it a lot, and we learned a lot. This time round, we’ll be discussing all of the positive and progressive changes going on in the fashion world; to focus on a moment when empowerment and creativity are really working together.”

There will be a talk about the transformation of haute couture between Valentino’s Pierpaolo Piccioli and Hamish Bowles; a discussion about women in leadership positions between Clare Waight Keller of Givenchy and Eva Chen; and much more. Currently, there are eight panels scheduled, with more special guests being announced in the coming weeks.

Tickets for the event in New York City are available starting today and priced at $3,000, which includes breakfast, lunch, cocktails, and full access to the conference schedule.

There will be a corset construction workshop that will take place starting at noon Saturday at 109 Verret St., Houma.

Panelist Moira McCrae will be hosting the workshop where she will teach those interested about how to create a buskless Victorian corset.

“This type of corset is the one that is worn under the clothes. It is not visible,” McCrae said.

These corsets were commonly used in the 16th century by European women, who later incorporated the use of a busk, which is a flat piece of whalebone or wood sewn into a casing on the corset to help it maintain its stiff shape.

The idea to host the workshop came to McCrae because, as a curvy girl, she got frustrated with the lack of options, so she taught herself how to make them.

“I want to teach other women who are interested in learning as well,” she said. “I realize some work better with an instructor and I am happy to help them learn.”

She will also teach people on how to measure themselves and how to cut the pattern.

“Some women have bigger hips, other have bigger bust, so there is always a different approach to the model,” McCrae said.

McCrae will provide a PDF pattern of the corset she got from a company called Truly Victorian.
“They will get to keep the pattern,” she said. “They can even do some modifications to it in the future if they want.”

Admission to the workshop is now closed. However, McCrae said that depending on the demand for a second workshop, she is willing to host another one.

One of the most popular Chinese DIY makers, Naomi ”SexyCyborg” Wu, has uploaded a video to her YouTube channel to demonstrate how she had developed what she called an LEB (Light Emitting Boobies), which is basically a luminous corset aimed at emphasizing silicone breasts.

Wu, who was listed as one of the 43 most influential women in 3D printing in 2017, has explained that the effect of lighting is achieved through fiber-optic cables that are connected to the corset. She further showed that the cables are applied to the skin slightly above the breast implants and that the entire chest is highlighted due to a special transparent material that refracts the light.

Wu skyrocketed to Internet fame for designing futuristic 3D printed wearables such as an underlit LED skirt, as well as shoes equipped with a USB keystroke recorder, a wireless router, a retractable Ethernet cable, a shim for opening padlocks and a set of lockpicks.

Dakota Fanning, star of TNT miniseries The Alienist, recently opened up about one of the most challenging aspects of embodying her Victorian-era character: the corsets.

During her first costume fitting, the 24-year-old said she actually fainted.

“I had just landed,” Fanning began, “It was before we started shooting. I had just gotten of the plane, you know you’re sort of swollen and tired and jet lagged and all that. And they put the corset on, and yeah, I was like, ‘I’m going down. I’m going down!’ I had to sit. And then they would try and be like, ‘OK, are you all right now?’ I’d be like, ‘No, nope. Still gotta sit.’”

Despite a rocky introduction, Fanning’s body quickly adapted to the restrictive garment. “My body completely changed,” she said. “I mean, I’ve worn corsets before but never for this long of a period. Seven months; your body completely changes. You can get it on without even lacing or unlacing. By the end I was just snapping it on, snapping it off. It was like second nature.”

“For better or for worse, the corsets kind of put you into the character because it does literally affect everything that you do: Breathing, walking, running, sitting, standing, and definitely eating,” she continued. “Yeah, you do kind of have to time it out because it can not feel so good after lunch.”

There’s a reason the actress’s body became more receptive to the waist-cinching device: it literally changes the shape of your body. Studies (terrifying, terrifying studies) have shown that corset-wear actually deformed the skeletons of women in the Victorian age. Proven effects include the misalignment of their spines, the warping of their ribs, and an actual change in position of their organs .

She is a sex symbol who has launched her very own lingerie range with Frederick’s Of Hollywood.

And Megan Fox absolutely sizzled as she gave fans a behind-the-scenes glimpse of her photo shoot for her latest collection on Monday.

The 32-year-old covered up her cleavage with a strategically placed tiger emoji as she wore a sheer mesh top that left little to the imagination.

The Jennifer’s Body actress looked absolutely incredible as she sat on the floor, putting her toned legs on full show while working the mesh number.

She styled her brunette tresses over the side of her head, and glammed up her radiant complexion with full, curled lashes and a pink hue of lipstick.

Megan has collaborated with lingerie icon Frederick’s Of Hollywood to create her own line, which consists of summery, lacy panties, bras, corsets, and teddies.

The Transformers actress joined the company as co-owner, creative collaborator and global brand ambassador in 2016.

Megan has been married to actor Brian Austin Green since 2010.

Together they have sons Noah, five, Bodhi, four, and Journey, one.

Megan is currently filming Naya Legend Of The Golden Dolphin, and has recently starred in the upcoming films Shadow Girl, Think Like A Dog, and Zeroville.

Last year she played Reagan in the comedy series New Girl.

Nothing beats the blissful sensations of scouring bins and racks at a musty-smelling vintage shop, unless, of course, it’s the blissful sensations of scouring bins and racks at a non-musty-smelling vintage shop. The physical rush that fashion obsessives experience inside a brick-and-mortar outpost selling Chanel tweeds from the 1980s and unlabeled corsets from the ’50s cannot be matched. If something comes close to that feeling these days, it’s the sense of accomplishment felt when clicking “buy” on a covetable piece, perhaps a nylon Prada bag from the early 2000s or a pair of Gianni Versace jeans circa 1990, sourced online after hours or days of searching. Getting into a bidding war over a John Galliano newspaper print Dior top on eBay is also exhilarating. So is realizing that you’ve found an original pair of Schiaparelli heels from a vendor on Etsy who resides in some small town in Louisiana.

Shopping for vintage on Instagram, on the other hand, is a whole other ball game. You never know when you will stumble on, say, a Courrèges jacket from the ’60s, on a platform where retail items aren’t funneled into one single space. You usually see a cool girl’s friend wearing something you don’t recognize in some well-appointed place, you click on the tag, and the tag takes you to a feed filled with vintage treasures for sale. The digital rabbit hole has deepened and online discovery of this kind is becoming even more rewarding. Independent retailers love this aspect of selling on Instagram. Though using the photo-sharing app as a sales platform is not strictly new, there has definitely been a rise in options as of late.

Whether based in Copenhagen or Chicago, young vintage fashion entrepreneurs are taking full advantage of the reach that Instagram can afford them. Some, like Alexis Kingery behind @ShopBlueDream, also find it easier and more thoughtful than anything else. “There really aren’t any specific platforms for vintage outside of Etsy, eBay, and Depop,” she says. “I find with those sites, there are too many fees, things are priced really high, and it’s just not as personable.” Gillian Brown of @EsmesDrawerToo agrees: “This platform helps people just starting out in the fashion industry earn a viable income, and you can do what you love without having to depend on other resources.”

Of course, there can be issues with international shipping. Because she can’t take on these costs yet, Kingery asks that her clients in Australia, Europe, and Asia provide a U.S. address for her to send the items to. Outside of those kinds of obstacles, though, these businesswomen seem to be thriving. Both Kingery and Brown have made their Instagram shops their full-time jobs.

What will people think if I wear a corset to work? It’s a thought that has crossed my mind a number of times over the last couple of months as I’ve spent hours obsessively scrolling through pages of vintage waist cinchers on eBay and Etsy, hunting for the perfect one. Can I pull this off with jeans? What about a slip skirt? Will it make me uncomfortable? Will I look too slutty? That last part may sound like a joke, but at a time in our lives when women are raising their fists and shouting “me too,” I must admit that I worry more and more about the way I present myself in a professional setting. Putting on the tight, bust-enhancing top, will I be labeled a women who isn’t emancipated or fighting the good fight because I look like a milkmaid or Marie Antoinette? In an era when every little thing is politicized and ultimately becomes polarizing, a simple fashion choice could lead to intense scrutinization and, in my case, self-doubt.

Despite my sartorial and slightly neurotic pauses, I continue to be drawn to corsets. They are beautiful, wearable objects of desire, in my opinion, especially those that borrow their style directly from the 19th century. Back then, corsets were undergarments meant to shape-shift a woman’s figure and give her an hourglass outline that could measure as small as 17 inches in the middle (see, a barely able to breathe Scarlett O’Hara holding onto a bedpost and being aggressively tied into her corset in Gone With the Wind). Outside of the waist trainers we see on many a D-list celebrity Instagram account, the days of corset as pain mechanism are in the rearview mirror, or at least they should be. I try to think of this fact when I’m shopping for corsets, and I also look to the great and powerful rise of Spanx during the last decade. Every woman can appreciate a good pair of Spanx. The undergarment brings us together, lifting and tightening all of our loose bits.

Corsets can do the same, especially considering that they’re no longer only worn underneath a dress. As Vogue’s Fashion News Director Chioma Nnadi explains, “I think all women want to feel like they have a waist if they don’t typically wear a lot of form-fitting clothes. A corset can be empowering in that way.” They’re also surprisingly versatile, too, as Vogue contributing editor Lynn Yaeger pointed out earlier this year after we saw corsets and bustiers come down the Spring runways at Alexander McQueen, Mugler, and Thom Browne. Essentially, you don’t have to look like Dita Von Teese lounging in a giant martini glass. A corset can be worn over a prairie dress or even a men’s button-down with loosely cut trousers.

I’ve now worn a corset at the office, at a work party, and at dinner with my parents and friends. Though some (my father) cast a skeptical gaze, the responses have been positive overall. My mom and my girlfriends especially loved a pale blue, floral-print zip-up corset I bought from designer LuQi Yu and her label Nφdress. In turn, I’ve come to appreciate the freedom corsets actually provide women. I’m no Scarlett O’Hara hoping to catch the gaze of Ashley Wilkes. Wearing a corset in 2018 is about standing up straight, showing off my body with pride, and even, in a way, armoring myself against little daily misogynies.

The War of the Worlds star plays the New York Police Department’s first female cop on the show, which debuted earlier this year, and she has to look like an 1896 go-getter opposite a leading criminal psychologist, portrayed by Daniel Bruhl, and a newspaper illustrator (Luke Evans).
The costumes helped her get into character as a proper miss, but she admits squeezing into her first corset was not fun.

“One of the most important things about The Alienist was the costumes,” she says. “I fainted during my first fitting. I had just gotten off the plane and was swollen and jet-lagged. They put the corset on, and I said, ‘I’m going down!’ I had to sit. But I got used to it.”

“My body completely changed (while filming),” she adds. “For better or worse, the corset puts you into the character. It affects everything you do: breathing, walking, sitting, standing, and definitely eating.”

And despite her discomfort, Dakota was thrilled that she really felt like she was living in the 19th century on the set of the dark TV drama.

“(Costume designer Michael Kaplan is) so incredible and so talented and very detail-oriented,” she said in January. “I always say when you’re filming things, if there’s 50 buttons on a shirt, they (costume officials) might make them snaps to make it easier to get them on and off; not Michael!

“Fifty real buttons that are from the 1800s! Everything was very real, which was a privilege to wear, and I think that you can tell when you watch the episodes, the amount of detail on the sets, on the costumes, and the props – everything was authentic.”

Whether it’s to save money on the wedding, to avoid complicated family dynamics, or simply to have a more personal wedding experience, it seems more and more people are favoring the idea of eloping over a traditional wedding ceremony than ever before.

People are getting married later, caring less about tradition, and more about what they want as a couple. Don’t feel like wearing a white dress in front of all your friends and family? You don’t have to. Passing on a ceremony, but still want gorgeous photos to remember the day? Splurge on a photographer. Elopements have gone from being thought of as exclusively late-night, spontaneous rendezvous in Vegas to being seen as unique, intimate memories just as special as any big wedding.

With the average cost of an American wedding soaring over $30,000, not everyone can – or wants – to spend that kind of money. The amount you spend on your wedding doesn’t make it more or less special, but just how much does eloping actually cost? We thought we’d ask our readers for your stories on how you eloped, why, and how much it cost.