DARE I SAY ANNA'S LOST HER TOUCH?

I’ve stopped buying Vogue. In fact, I haven’t even picked up an issue of Vogue in 6-8 months. It’s not just the boring editorials that look exactly the same every month (stick thin girls against blank backgrounds, jumping, jumping, jumping, making O-faces) – it’s the disappointing cover stories. First it was the utterly talentless Sienna Miller, then a boring and dated looking SJP (that dress looks exactly like what I wore to my freshman homecoming dance in high school), and now it’s Blake Lively. Blake Lively is not stylish. I have not once seen her in an outfit that completely covers either her bum or her boobs and/or isn't skin tight.

Yes, congratulations, you’re a blonde bombshell with a great rack and an incredible set of stems, but have some class, darling. Cover it up once in a while. Just because you have the money, connections, and venue to wear an off-the-runway Marchesa dress that exposes your hooha doesn’t mean you should. And it absolutely doesn’t mean you deserve to be on the cover of the most influential American fashion institution in history.

For God’s sake Anna, leave the starlets-of-the-moment alone and feature more worthwhile female figures. Michelle Obama was a nice touch. Even Gisele has more class and significantly better fashion cred than Ms. Parker/Broderick (Disclaimer: I’m a dedicated Sex and the City fan. But SJP doesn’t do her own styling – Pat Field does).

I fell in love with Vogue my junior year of college when it featured a fresh-faced breakout Jennifer Hudson, the truly talented and uniquely beautiful Angelina Jolie, or a candid and terribly stylish post-breakup Jennifer Aniston. Anna, you’re breaking my heart!

So in the process of entering the contest/giveaway of the Modcloth dress on What I Wore, I played on Polyvore which was addictively fun. The outfit is based on the polk-a-dot "Can't Stop Smiling" dress. This is the outfit I made:

Can't Stop Smiling Like a Lady

I picture a sunny spring day in San Francisco or Manhattan...the dress is kind of girly and since I tend to look less than legal, I went for mature looking everything else. Heels for the diehard fan (like me), but flats for walking around the city (don't forget the socks!) I'm picturing down and wavy old Hollywood hair.

So I went about this without concern for price, and wow do I have expensive taste! If I go for the heels option, it puts this outfit at $2,743. Yikes. Whaddaya think?

Wardrobe!

So, everything went great in New York for all the glitz and fun of being a finalist for Pantene's Reality Hair star.


And surprise! I get to keep the outfit I wore! So a special thanks to Susan Breindel and her assistant Tasha for giving me something I really liked! Here's some stills from the videos I have:)
 
The top is from club Monaco, the tight white skirt is BCBGMaxAzaria (squeal!). It's actually a little longer than it looks- they've got it hiked up.

And the shoooes! Comfortable, but a little slick. I can't wait to dance in them! They're from a great place called Zara, a store I didn't know about until I was in Santiago. Look for more pics on my facebook page, Pantene's fb and twitter pages, and God knows where else.

Bring Back the Class!

Okay, I know I’ve been doing a lot more ranting than raving lately, but I’ve held out too long, and I have to write this. 

I have an intense, passionate dislike of Lady Gaga, and I need to get it off my chest. Why, you ask? Well, you’d think that I would be crazy about her ‘avant garde’ fashion and her ‘leadership’ in the style world, and maybe even say she is a talented musician. Wrong, wrong, wrong. When I see Lady Gaga, I just see a group of fat white producers behind her who sat around a table strategizing the production of the next star, poring over some recipe for fame they found doing Google search algorithms and Lady Gaga is the result. She is a vacuous rip-off mishmash of everything that is supposed to project someone into superstardom. Look at her dead, emotionless stare. She's not a monster, she's a fame robot. She claims in an interview that she doesn't 'go out to the grocery store in flip-flops' and that it's not her look, but her life. Bull. She looks pretty average to me here. And I know Boiling Points isn't quite reality, but I'm pretty sure I see her in some flip flops with that awful coastie dress and greasy hair.

I do have to give credit that she/they were actually able to pull this off, but it really scares me how much people buy into this. Really? You guys are falling for an unoriginal envelope-pushing fake blonde who throws any hint of talent out the window to pump out repetitive brainless pop songs? On top of that, I’m a little horrified by the message she’s brainwashing little girls with. I know, people said it about Madonna, or when Christina Aguilera went ‘bad’, but this just feels so much different to me. Madonna was racy and pushed the envelop, but she had a very clear identity and personality, and I think overall she was classy about it. Look at Vogue.

I know that in every industry there tends to be some overlap, but this is just sad. Let’s give credit where credit is due. The women who came before her and inspired her style did it in such a classier and feminine way. Lady Gaga just looks like a drag version of all of these.

Let’s look at Exhibit A: Kylie Minogue. Let’s look at her Wow video. 

White-blond square cut wig? Check. Space-age costumes? Check. How about her In My Arms video. Look at her sunglasses, the checkered hood, the dress with mirrored squares…

There’s also Roisin Murphy, Christina Aguilera, and Brittney Spears. This video shows the comparison better than I can.

Yeah, yeah, imitation is the highest form of flattery. Ok cool. I like cover songs and I like inspired fashion, but at least keep it classy, and give credit. What Lady Gaga is doing is not fashion and not stylish; she is a hot mess and she is trashy.

CG, let's hear your rebuttal ;)

waaaaat

I got called today to be one of 12 Finalists! are you kidding me!?

Die already! Trends that neeed to go away

I remember strolling through my favorite shopping center in Santiago, Chile while I was studying abroad in 2007 (Dos Caracoles Nueva de Lyon, 45, Providencia- you ever been there, CG?) and while of course I thought most of the stores were great- I got one of my favorite shirts there- there were some stores, and some pieces that they carried that I laughed to myself about. I remember joking with friends as we were perusing the racks, pulling out these goofy MC Hammer pants, neon plastic bangles, and all sorts of leggings. It's funny that then it was amusing how 'behind' a lot of the fashion was in South America.

Turns out they were so far 'behind', they were just ahead of the fashion times. In or out, I still think these styles are awful and I can't wait for these ridiculous trends to die off. This is what I'm most sick of:

• Hammer- oops, I mean Harem Pants. It looks like these babies have been back on Spring runways since 07 (3.1 Philip Lim, Haider Ackermann). I was flipping through the May issue of Bazaar and there was an article written by a man denouncing all things unflattering. And then, to my dismay, on the very next page was an article touting the utter chicness of the harem pant. They do nothing more for the female figure than a pair of sweatpants. I'm all for middle and far eastern fashion influences, but anything that  resembles this is a big NO for me.
• Animal Print. I'm not a red paint-thrower, I really don't mind furs, or real leather, or animal print inspired shapes, but there's something about animal prints. There's no middle ground; it either screams white trash or an over done ultraluxe old millionaire. You can only pull it off if you're a kid...like when I had those zebra print swimsuit AND leggings in '89...

• Neon. I know I'm a pretty low-key dresser, but I'm not completely against bright colors- In fact I just got this which I'm excited to wear with a nice tan, but real neon is just offensive. On silk, as a bangle, as earrings, or if you're trying to charge a hundred bucks for it under a hot label. I don't care. It crosses my color threshold into the blinding category.

• Leggings with...everything.  I'm not denying the comfort and function of the legging, but I'm so sick of seeing them everywhere. Going to do some yoga? Leggings. Fine. But- Big sweater? leggings. Dress too short? leggings. Late for class? leggings. Want to keep wearing that micro mini skirt deep into fall? Leggings. Something to wear with those stupid Uggs? leggings... The legging has become the pant equivalent of the flip-flop. Not good.
 

photo posted by jaqueline1485 @ skirt.com, who says everything in moderation!

I WANT MY MTV

GLEE is back! I cannot describe how happy it makes me to see Rachel Barry back on television every week. But that's not what this post is about.

Ok, well it sort of is. Today's season premiere left much to be desired both in the way of plot and musical performance. But the last 4:54 minutes of the program when Sue Sylvester reenacted Madonna's iconic "Vogue" music video more than made up for it. Wikipedia tells me that MTV ranked the original video as #5 on its "Top 100 Videos That Broke the Rules" list and that Rolling Stone magazine named it the #28 best music video of all time. And although I was 4 when it came out, I still felt the groundbreaking video's impact and would remain awed by the incredible grace and style of the black and white footage for years to come. I mean, my God, will you look at these photos?! No one was more stylish or innovative or daring than Madonna in the '80s and '90s.

And while we're on the subject of heartbreakingly stylish music videos, I will never stop worshiping the masterpiece that is George Michael's "Freedom! '90" video. Released in the very same year (1990) as "Vogue" and featuring five of the most beautiful women to ever walk the planet, it is simply stunning. Naomi with the headphones! Cindy in the tub! Linda in the sweater!

Ugh. It's just so beautiful. I want that to be the last thing I see before I die. And I want it played at my funeral. Plus, the song was secretly about the frustration of being a closeted gay man in the AIDS era. And the flaming leather jacket was meant to symbolize the destruction of George's ridiculous Wham! career. "Heaven knows I was just a young boy, didn't know what I wanted to be. I was every little hungry schoolgirl's pride and joy, and I guess that was enough for me." What more could you possibly want in a music video?!

Pantene's Reality Hair Star

**self promotion alert...VOTE FOR ME :)

So I just submitted a video entering the contest to be Pantene's first reality hair star. I spent waaay too much time doing re-takes, voiceovers, and editing to not announce that anyone who sees this should vote for me. Click the link or search with my name or my hair type, which I put as color-treated. I know it's dorky, so don't make fun, just vote...or enter your own!

If only we had more followers, this might be a little more effective...

Most Fashionable Movies: Mostly Modern
...to add to CG's post

Ok, I’m wincing as I type this, but when brainstorming movies to add to the fashion list, the first one that came to mind was Twilight *winces harder*. Yea, it’s a teeny-bopper movie, but if you can get past all its shortcomings (and Kristen Stewart’s awful acting), it’s really nice to rest the ole brain and just enjoy the visuals. Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) looks like he’s walked right off the pages of GQ. Day-umm. I love all of his jackets- especially the military pea coat. InStyle says he was dressed with “a mix of American Apparel T-shirts, jackets from G-Star, H&M shirts, Chimala jeans, and A-life sneakers or vintage boots”. Budget stuff. Looked great. I also loved the looks of the villain vampires in the movie, especially the female. She actually looks like a naughtier replica of Kate Hudson’s character in Almost Famous with the blonde curls and furry coat.

Admit it, these could easily be editorials for a Levis ad campaign

The Cell: I absolutely love this movie; it has all of my favorite elements, one of which is to be visually stunning—scenery and costumes alike. The costumes were designed by Oscar winner Eiko Ishioka, who also designed costumes for a runner-up on my list, The Fall. I love J-Lo’s white, feathered dress in the desert, her gothic-harem outfit, her bouncy curly hair, and so on.

The villain (Vincent D’Onofrio) in the movie is also great. He has capes, twisted horns, harem pants, and a medieval suit complete with crown. I would not be surprised to see something like in a couture show.

Star Wars: Everything that princess Leia wears is fashionable, from the iconic white dress, to her slave bikini, and I love all of the ornate dresses and head pieces that Queen Amidala wears.

The khakis, leather belts, hooded knit capes, and knee-high boots of the fellas remind me of Michael Kors’ Fall2010 ready to wear. Go a little bit more literal and you have Acne’s Fall2010 show, with admitted inspiration coming directly from The Clone Wars.

New York magazine also references Star Wars’ influence on Rotarte’s Spring2009 collection.

The Thomas Crown Affair (1968): Some of it is very 60s, but most of it is timeless. I love the suits and the beach-chic outfits. You could walk into a GAP or Banana Republic and see the same thing (Banana Republic boyfriend chinos in white + GAP ultrafine turtleneck sweater), and for me that’s a good thing. Steve McQueen looks very handsome and dapper, pulls off short-shorts remarkably well, and Faye Dunaway is so stunning, just like in Bonnie and Clyde. They both look so effortlessly put together. The sunglasses she wears are very much like what I’d like to get a hold of!

...honorable mention coming as soon as soon as I can format this without wanting to punch things...