The Very Last Ten Things

So, I've been tagged by The Hostess Handbook and given a Kreativ Blogger award.  Ta very much for thinking of me!  Here's my ten facts.

1)  Although it's very nice to be thought of and tagged, and I really enjoy reading other people's posts, I hate these things.  Once you get them, you feel obliged to tag another ten people.  It's the blog equivalent of a chain mail and I find that I'm getting so many of them I'm eventually going to run out of facts about myself.  Although, I've been in an inspiration rut recently, I don't think that these make for the best posts. So, this is the last.  This must be the last.  Absolutely the last.  Final.  Full stop. Never again.  Cross my heart and hope to die be spanked until my bottom goes purple.

2)  At present there are three large men ripping up the tiles in my flat and installing a new boiler.  All I can say about that is - thank God for watertight tenancy agreements, if not boilers.

Source

3)  New celeb crush - by that I mean 'guy on TV who is cute', not an actual crush (that would be weird):  Dave Franco.  Funny, great smile, seems smart and looks a little bit like an ex-boyfriend, but not so much that I'm totally repulsed.  Yes, he's James Franco's younger brother.

Melodramatic enough for ya? (source)

4)  Last book read - The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber.  I was really excited to get this as an early birthday present (thank you Alan!) and it was excellent - up until the last hundred pages or so.  The TV adaptation currently running on the BBC also looks amazing and has a great cast.  Although I don't know how I feel about the prospect of a full frontal Chris O'Dowd.  Oh, I know he went to LAMDA and everything but he'll always be Roy from the IT Crowd to me.



5)  Can't.  Stop.  Listening.  To.  This.  Song.  Against my better judgement.  Ev'ry day I'm shufflin'.

source

6)  My birthday is next week and a fluo Cambridge satchel is at the very top of the wishlist.  Add some Danielle Scutt for Topshop jewellery and I'm channeling my inner Man Repeller.  P.S.  I'd love one in leopard print.  Cambridge Satchel Company, if you're reading this...



7)  New film obsession - Paris is Burning, as seen at Style at Set last weekend.  I'd be foolish NOT to try vogueing on my next night out.

8) That Can Be My Next Tweet invents new tweets made from your old tweets.  Recycling is good for the environment.  But not for my imagination.  Ugh.  What a mental image.

9)  Speaking of which, I'm on facebook AND twitter AND Pinterest - so come say hello.  Validate me with your friendship!

10)  The last and most important point.  As I've said, there's been an inspiration drought sweeping the area lately, so I've set myself a challenge and I need YOUR help.  I've decided to write about any fashion/style-oriented topic that is put to me.  Every single one.  No matter how out there, or seemingly normal, I want to write about it.  Even if you don't think it's my cup of tea, I want to know.  You can give me a word, or a link, or a picture to bounce ideas off.  Leave any and all suggestions in the comments.  And thank you.

Fashion Film @ Style at Set

This Easter Weekend brings us chocolate binges and religious flagellation - but it also brings us the second ABSOLUT Style at Set, a weekend of fashion, fun, frolics and most importantly (for me anyway), FILM!

As a precursor to the stalls, workshops and talks, Friday is all about the fashion films. If you're in the area on Good Friday, I highly recommend you pop in and engage the stylish part of your brain. Plus, the pubs will be all be closed on Good Friday. And it's free. Now you have no excuse. Did I mention that it was free?

Mercifully, there's no Devil Wears Prada or Sex and the City in the line-up. Instead, the one film and three documentaries shown seem to follow a fairly loose theme: that of the thoughts and processes behind the finished products of fashion fantasy: magazines, photography, designer clothing and subculture. Altogether, it's a carefully chosen edit with something for everyone. Here's the running order.

4PM: Funny Face



It wouldn't be a fashion film fest without a bit of Audrey, and this is the perfect Hepburn movie to kick it off. Hepburn films are always stylish, but this has the added advantage of being set in the fashion industry, albeit one that involves a lot more singing and dancing when discussing spring trends than usual. It's an unconvincing love match between Hepburn and the by-then very creaky Fred Astaire (he also starred in the original musical version... in 1927) but that doesn't really matter when it's set in New York and Paris, has an amazing opening sequence with photos by Richard Avedon and the combined costuming efforts of Edith Head and Hubert de Givenchy.

6pm: Annie Liebovitz: Life Through a Lens



If you don't know much about Annie Liebovitz, then this is a good place to start. This documentary was filmed by Liebovitz' younger sister, so there won't be any unpleasant revalations or smudges on her character or breaking down in floods of cathartic tears. This isn't about personality, it's about photography - so if you're a fan of Liebovitz' notoriously meticulous work and want to know more, or just want some inspiration of your own, watch this.

7.30 PM: Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton



This is the one film in the schedule that I don't know much about, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to give you a blurb instead. This documentary follows Marc Jacobs as he finishes a RTW collection for Louis Vuitton. In it, we see the mundanities of his everyday life, which contrast with the creative highs. There's also a wee bit of conflict - where does the line between creativity and being beholden to the chairman of the board lie?

9PM: Paris is Burning



Seminal drag documentary, Paris is Burning, was filmed in the recesses of Harlem dance halls before the area was gentrified. This isn't so much a fashion film as it is an ode to the transformative power of clothing (along with make up, some slick dance moves and the right 'tude). Equal parts funny, sad and fascinating, this is the one to watch.

An Introduction to The Licentiate...

... for those who are coming from the Irish Blog Awards website, who have never seen this blog before, and have no idea what it's all about.

Hello, I'm Sarah and this is my blog, The Licentiate (pronounced 'lie-sen-she-ate' - but there won't be an oral test, I promise).  EDIT: Here's a dictionary definition for curious comers.  In retrospect, it wasn't the best name to pick, but I'm not one to make things easier on myself. This is what I look like.

Did I mention that I hate having my picture taken and I'm very awkward and I don't normally look this smug and ohgoddontjudgemefromthispicture?!?

I've been blogging for almost a year now on style, (hence being a finalist in the 'Lifestyle' category in this year's Irish Blog Awards *happydance*) subculture and it's various permutations in film, books and art.  Any posts before the sixteenth of March '10 are imported from a previous blog.  I'm a freelance journalist and write a column, also called The Licentiate, for The Cork Independent.  You can read them here.

From the first Licentiate post:

This is the product of my obsessions including but not confined to; magazines, stealing my friend's SLRs and fiddling around with the aperture settings, internet shopping, colour schemes, frames of reference and inspiration, history of fashion, the tenets of style, bad taste, out-of-print fashion books, bad DIY, local goings-on, vintage, stuff collected on my travels, patterns and anything slightly insidious, off-kilter or weird.

That was the mandate then, and I've stuck to it as closely as possible.  Here's a few posts for the first-time visitor.  Consider it a cyber pocket guide.

Self-indulgent tripe

1 - A licentiate's backstory (involving me looking stupid in my graduation gear).

2 - Why I blog - You know the hows, now read the why.

3 - Ritualism - A blog post I wrote when my grandmother died and I nearly wore a tutu to her funeral.

4 - Nan's Legacy Part I and II - as you can see, my family is a big deal to me.  I often write posts about both of my grandmothers, who were equally inspiring in wildly different ways.  Here is some of my paternal grandmother's jewellery.

5 - My Family Portrait. Vintage inspiration from my mother's side of the family.

Favourites

1 - Probably my favourite post ever.

2 - Is the blog the modern equivalent of the zine?  A post about modern publishing and a full reproduction of original 70's zine 'How to Look Punk'.  I can't tell you how much I love this zine - every night I go to sleep and mentally thank the person who upload this on the internet (I may not actually do this).

3 - WWDVD (What would Diana Vreeland Do?) - Or 'why I detest American Apparel'.

4 - Mixtapes at the Glucksman - A closer look at Linder Sterling. Oh, Linder.

5 - 2010 Roundup - favourites, highlights and everything in between.

Reader favourites

1 - Bonnie and Clyde '10

2 - Style Icon - Wallis Simpson

3 - A handful of perfect Hallowe'en costumes

4 - Hell's Angels - Not your typical Old Ladies

5 - Royal Wedding Bonanza!

I'm terrible at signing off, so I'll just say that you can say friend me on facebook, follow me on twitter or leave a comment to say hello.  I love meeting new people (just as long as they don't follow me back to my apartment) and I hope that, if you like this, you'll come back again.  Over and out *does awkward Vulcan salute*.

Wild for Kicks: The Beat Girl (Part II)

Beat Girl title card, image via Imageshack

 Some of you readers may remember a post I wrote back in November about 'Beat Girl', a 60's teensploitation film.  It has everything: Christopher Lee as a strip club operator, rebellious teens, rowdy beatnik tunes and an bouffanted ingenue who later became a successful ye-ye (nothing to do with yo-yos) singer in France - you know, all the things a modern girl wants in a good film.

Teenage exploitation flicks are highly underrated as a genre. Granted, the scripts are usually terrible, dialogue is delivered in the manner of Bela Lugosi at the dentist and I could burst several car tyres in the many plotholes that spring up all over the place. Then again, the appeal of these films is in the general apathetic yet highly self-involved natures of the characters, which makes them embark on many a high-spirited, poorly thought out, self-destructive adventure. They're just SO stylish, with their casually thrown on, yet meticulously put together outfits (it doesn't hurt that the films were made in an era that is now looked on nostalgically in terms of style). It's for the same reasons that so many people love watching Skins today.

Now, thanks to the Movies section on Youtube, you can watch Beat Girl in it's unadulterated, sleazy, slightly crackly form! Don't say I'm not good to you. Watch this film while doing the frug and smoking gauloises (or just with a cup of tea - make sure that you do the frug at some stage though).



P.S: Now THIS is how you do the frug.  Snazzy plaid-jacketed dancing partner optional.

Frug instructions via Flickr

Who was the real Holly Golightly?

Any fashion blogger worth his or her sodium intake has heard about, if not already read Truman Capote's novella, Breakfast at Tiffany's.  The book's heroine, Holly Golightly, is a gadabout girl-about-town with a predisposition for rich men and total character reinvention.  She's flighty and flirty.  She's a phony - but she's a real phony.

Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in the 1961 film

I've got a real grá (that's Irish for love, international readers) for Truman Capote.  I wrote many essays about him while studying English in university.  He was an enfant terrible, an enigma with a cryptic tongue, an interviewer with an uncanny knack to get details out of any source and reduce macho men like Muhammad Ali to tears.  When it came to being interviewed, Capote was undeniably economical with the truth.

Playboy:  Shortly after publication of Breakfast at Tiffany's, a writer named Bonnie Golightly sued you for $800,000, on the grounds that she was the real-life inspiration for your fictional heroine.  At least four other New York girls about town countered with the claim that they were the prototype of Holly.  Was the characterisation of Holly based on a real person?
Capote:  Yes, but not on any of the people you refer to.  The real Holly Golightly was a girl exactly like the girl in Breakfast at Tiffany's, with the single exception that in the books she comes from Texas, whereas the real Holly was a German refugee who arrived in New York at the beginning of the War, when she was 17 years old.  Very few people were aware of this, however, because she spoke English without any trace of an accent.  She had an apartment in the brownstone where I lived and we became great friends.  Everything I wrote about her is literally true - not about her friendship with a gangster called Sally Tomato and all that, but everything about her personality and approach to life, even the most preposterous parts of the book.
                 - From a 1968 interview with Playboy, click to read


Sorry Truman, I call bullshit on your answer...

People like to search for the 'real' Holly Golightly', just as they want to know who the 'real' Sherlock Holmes is, or the 'real' Sal Paradise.  In fiction, there is no 'real' anything, only composites and impressions drawn and interpreted through that writer's vision.  Even if the German did exist (which, due to Capote's predisposition for embellishment, I seriously doubt), she's not Holly Golightly.  Holly is her and more of the many women in Capote's coterie of female friends, all exceptional, all stylish, all Holly, all the time.  Here's a few of Capote's possible influences.

Maeve Brennan

Maeve Brennan at home - Photo by Karl Blissinger

Maeve Brennan moved from Ireland to the USA when she was seventeen.  Both Brennan and Capote worked at Harper's Bazaar, which is probably where they met.  They also worked at The New Yorker (where Brennan wrote a column called The Long-Winded Lady) at the same time.  She was regarded as eccentric, but this soon turned into obsessive behaviour and she became an alcoholic.  Towards the end of her life, she was committed to a hospital, where she died in 1993.

Just like Holly - Wore trademark black dresses and dark glasses. Spent far beyond her means.  Erratic behaviour.  Often had a case of the Mean Reds.
Not so Golightly - Brennan had a real, taxable job and a creative outlet, writing short stories and a novel.

Read more:  The Long-Winded Lady , by Maeve Brennan and Maeve Brennan: Wit, Style and Tragedy - An Irish Writer in New York by Angela Bourke

Doris Lilly

Lilly in later years

After Capote published Other Voices, Other Rooms, he became very good friends with Doris Lilly, a blonde starlet who famously dated Gene Kelly and Ronald Reagan and with whom he'd eat dinner and talk for hours.  Lilly said "Truman used to come over all the time and watch me put make-up on before I went out..., there's a lot of me in Holly Golightly".  Lilly died in 1991 with no money.  Her mountain of costume jewellery, given to her by her many admirers over the years, had to be sold off to cover funeral costs.

Just like Holly - Had a thwarted Hollywood career, was a gal-about-town, had a famously pragmatic attitude towards men (Lilly wrote How to Marry a Millionaire, amongst other suggestively titled works and said "Millionaires are marrying their secretaries because they're so busy making money that they haven't time to see other girls"), never actually got to marry a millionaire.
Not so Golightly - Can you see Holly Golightly as a leggy blonde?

Read More - How to Make Love in Five Languages by Doris Lilly

Suzy Parker and Dorian Leigh

Parker (left) and Leigh at a shoot for LIFE Magazine

Parker and Leigh were two sisters who were both models.  Leigh was photographed by Irving Penn, Richard Avedon and Cecil Beaton, amongst others. Parker, 15 years younger than Leigh, became Avedon's muse and the face of Chanel during the 50's and 60's.

Just like Holly - Terminal cat owners, use of the fire escape as means of exit and entry, beguiling and hilarious.
Not so Golightly - Both sisters were supposed homebodies and, unlike the champagne and cigarettes Golightly, both were excellent cooks - Leigh even had cordon Bleu training.

Read More - Avedon Fashion 1944 - 2000, by Richard Avedon

There are more women who could be Golightly.  If I was to list them all I'd be writing this post for a month.  But, that's what's so great about Holly Golightly.  She's such a singular character, but she could be anyone.  That's why so many women (myself included) identify with her.

Black Swan Costume Controversy

Sometimes Twitter is great.  It is excellent for getting news as it happens, but it's also excellent for drowning in a sea of ill-informed statements.  It's like watching Jeremy Kyle if he could only shout in 140 characters at a time.

Case in point; the news that the Mulleavy sisters of Rodarte would not be credited if the film was nominated for Best Costumes (which... it wasn't).  People mass tweeted that Rodarte had been snubbed and that they hoped that costume designer Amy Westcott would hand over the Oscar to the Mulleaveys when Black Swan won (er, pre-emptive much?).

One of Westcott's original designs for Nina, via Clothes on Film

What I don't know about costume design in film could fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool. I do know, however, that it takes an army to do good costuming, which Black Swan has in spades.  Designer Amy Westcott gave a very insightful interview to Clothes on Film (read it!), which not only explores the process of designing for a film, but also details exactly how Rodarte made their contribution.

With all the negative press that Westcott has received, she's understandably a bit defensive when it comes to Rodarte, saying that "Controversy is too complimentary a word for two people using their considerable self-publicising resources to loudly complain about their credit once they realise how good the film is".

I might be missing something here, but since when did the Mulleavy's come out and complain about their credit?  Did they release a statement or quote that they were angry or felt snubbed?  I haven't seen a single article concerning the supposed snubs that involved a reporter or blogger talking to a Rodarte rep? It would seem that the media have created this controversy all by themselves.  Westcott is totally justified in defending herself and her work, but an unsupported attack on Rodarte's motivations only serves to diminish her.

The story is still evolving, so what do you think?  Is this a storm in a teacup or are Rodarte secretly PR evil geniuses?

I'm a bad widdle blogger...

I've been known to repost the odd blog post.  I'm extremely gratified that views for this blog have increased and so I like to show new readers a few bits that they might have missed.  But this is different.  This is a repost of a repost. I have gone that far.  Revoke my blogging license, for I have broken all the golden rules!

This originally surfaced on my first blog, which was terrible.  I reposted it on The Licentiate in March and I'm reposting it now, because, frankly, who doesn't like to watch how miserable Karl Lagerfeld is on Blue Monday?  Enjoy...

To quote the big K himself:

“I hate birthdays, ... It's more like a new starting point in New York. For me, it's an evolution. I don't celebrate the past. I like the present and tomorrow.”

Here are links for the curious mid 90's doc "Karl Lagerfeld Is Never Happy Anyway", which must have the worst soundtrack of all time. The audio for the last part is disabled, ostensibly because of copyright, but we all know that it's really disabled because the world would be a much crueler place if it was not. Plus there are subtitles for those short on brain and/or German language skills. We all know what happens in the end anyway; he loses a pile of weight, becomes the voice of Fabu in the new Totally Spies film and also becomes the subject of the fantastic 'Lagerfeld Confidential'.

Happy Evolution Sir Lagerfeld.

EDIT:  The  person who uploaded these videos have made them private for some reason.  Here are a few screenshots from a VICE Style article.  Read the article.  It will tell you everything you need to know about this documentary.  And I'm sorry about not noticing earlier.  This is what comes out of being a lazy bum.

2010 Roundup - favourites, highlights and everything in between

It's that time again.  Sluggish bloggers, slowed down into a cosy Christmas chrysalis are sloughing off the excess of too many mince pies and slices of blue cheese and evaluating the year in order to burst into 2011 a beautiful blog butterfly.  Like the alliteration?  I wrote it just for you.  Here's my 2010 'best of' blog mixtape.

Blog Highlights:  I started this blog in March with the aim of sharing what I liked and meeting a few like-minded people.  In the space of a few short months, I've racked up readers from around the world, landed a fashion column, learned a hell of a lot about the fashion industry, joined the Vice Blogging Network, went to London Fashion Week, networked like a mad thing, was mentioned as one of Ireland's most influential bloggers and made some truly exceptional, hilarous and supportive friends.  All of this due to blogging aspersions.  So, to my readers, I'd like to say a massive THANK YOU!  You guys are the best.  Seeing all your comments really brightens up my day.

(source)

Click 'Read More' to, ehm, read more, look at nice pictures and watch some fashion films...

Bonnie and Clyde '10

Thankfully, I'm not referring to Jay-Z rehashing 'Bonnie and Clyde '05'.  Oh no.

If 2010 was a series of 'moments', the story of Bonnie and Clyde (or more specifically the 1967 film; the real Bonnie had a limp and severe scars from burns towards the end of her crime career) has definitely had it's moment within the past twelve months.

The real Bonnie and Clyde - Phographer unknown

This year has sprouted not one but two editorials that pay obvious homage to the public's favourite outlaw couple (Mickey and Mallory Knox from Natural Born Killers coming a close second).  The first to appear was shot by Peter Lindbergh for the March issue of Harpers Bazaar, the second shot by Aram Bedrossian (no idea which magazine though, let me know if you know please) this month.  Inevitably, people are writing that Bedrossian's shoot is 'following in the footsteps of Lindbergh', which is fashion code for 'might be blatantly copying Lindbergh'. Though, with such iconic source material, how could they not be equally derivative?

Spot the difference 1 - Lindbergh

Spot the difference 1 - Bedrossian

Spot the difference 2 - a still from Bonnie & Clyde (1967)

Spot the difference 2 - Bedrossian

Spot the difference 2 - Lindbergh

I'm not trying to be a party pooper or the girl who cried plaigarism.  As I said before, it's hard not to come to the same aesthetic conclusions when you're drawing inspiration from a film with such a strong image.  Both editorials have some amazing, totally original images.  They also have different moods.  The Lindbergh shoot is full of movement, while Bedrossian's work is more contemplative and static.

A super cool action shot from Lindbergh



A beautifully composed shot by Bedrossian


It's a very close call, but I prefer Lindbergh's shoot. Which one do you like best?


All photos via Fashion Gone Rogue

A Christmas Wishlist

I'm so sorry,  I couldn't help it.  The spirit moved me and I said the C word on the blog.  That C word is Christmas, mind you, not what Charlotte for Sex and the City would primly call 'see-you-next-Tuesday'. Now that I've drawn attention to that, I have to warn you that there is ONE pic that might possibly be NSFW, but it's of an item of clothing, so it would depend on how easily offended you are.  Here's the list.  Check it twice if you must.

Clothes and Stuff

Siouxsie Sioux lookin' fierce

This epic t-shirt (to wear to job interviews and family christenings, obviously). Click here to read a totally interesting and absorbing series of posts about the evolution of the Tits t-shirt, brought to the masses by Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm MacLaren.

 - Black yarn

 - White yarn

 - Big ol' knitting needles

 - Loose rhinestones

 - Lengths of chain

Ingredients for a top secret craft project - and by 'top secret' I mean glaringly obvious (it's a jumper).  The closest approximation I can find is on this stylish lady on Chictopia .  And it's handmade too.  It must be fate.  I'd like to make something a little bit like this, but sparkly.

On a side note for fellow Irish bloggers; were you forced to learn knitting in primary school?  I learned (and I say that in the loosest sense possible) knitting, sewing and crochet at the Presentation Primary and conveniently forgot my knitting needles and crochet hooks for about three years running.

It might just be me, but making things is so much better than just buying the finished article.  A mountain of studs to gussy up my biker jacket a la Burberry would be mighty useful too.

Books, books and more books...

Allure by Diana Vreeland - The out-of-print masterpiece has been reissued with an introduction by Marc Jacobs.  Possibly the funniest, wittiest writer of fashion ever.  Vreeland, that is, not Marc Jacobs.
The Mode in Furs by R. Turner Wilcox - So I can understand a bit more about fur and where the hell the idea of wearing an animal comes from.
Self Portrait in a Velvet Dress by Denise Rosenzweig - A peek into the wardrobe of amazing, flamboyant artist Frida Kahlo, who took up a big part of my Halloween post with her scarves, braids and traditional Mexican clothing.

Film Flickers

Totally unattainable

I've got a Mac G4, I've had it for five years and it still works great.  But it's a little bit knackered now and I need something that has more memory and runs a little bit quicker.  It also weighs a ton.  A new Mac Air would do the trick nicely.  So light, you can barely see it.  Just like Kate Moss.  Anonymous donors, start queueing here.

And...

World peace.  Not too much to ask, is it?

Wild For Kicks; The Beat Girl

I want to be this girl - The Beat Girl.




Beat Girl (released as Wild For Kicks) is a 1960 film about a disaffected teenager who hates her stepmother and gets involved with morally suspect beats and a shady striptease bar owner (played by horror maaestro Christopher Lee of all people).  Half cautionary tale and half voyeuristic fable, the striptease scenes meant that this film was given an X rating.  Things start to go downhill when Beat Girl find out about her stepmother's sordid past...

I'd like to be like this - effortless hepcat cool, dishevelled beehive, spasmodic dancing.  Oh well, one out of three ain't bad.

So what is a fashion film anyway?

Not content with releasing photographs of impossibly young, slim and beautiful people, Hedi Slimane, former Dior Homme designer has breanched out with a small film about two, eh, impossibly young, slim and beautiful people.

Titled, 'I Love USA', it's somewhere between fashion and art, in that the emphasis is on beauty and movement, but it's also abstract. In short - I have no idea what's going on. I mean, I've read the press release, so I know what it's about, but I think that it hardly amtters because it's a simple joy just to watch the product of Slimane's discerning eye (on a par with Tom Ford, I think).  To quote:

"This exclusive video is an improvisation exercise (like ‘Improvisation 1’, with the royal Ballet of Copenhagen)that highlights the naїvety, the innocence of Sidney and Wolf, and features themes that have made the designer famous throughout the world: the representation of a generation, the diaphanous beauty of Sidney, and the very slim silhouette of Wolf project the intimate emotional atmosphere of a couple of teenagers in California.

Sidney improvises a chaotic cheerleader, far from the sweet imagery of cheerleading in American culture, and Wolf is a teen indie transposed in an ‘indie’ representation of ‘Peter and the Wolf’. He accompanies Sidney on his out of tunecello, in a wolf mask. Behind, a fleet-worn American flag belonging to Slimane is visible, a recurring image seen inseveral of his artistic works."

The great thing about fashion film is that it's so young that is has yet to develop distinct characteristics like the need for a storyline or even clothes to promote.  The brief is totally open. What do you think - is this a fashion film?  What makes a film 'fashion'?

When I hear 'GG' I don't think 'Gossip Girl'

I think 'Grey Gardens'.

This post was originally going to be an examination of female relationships through clothing in Grey Gardens and Ghost world, with a focus on Little Edie and Enid and the clothes they wear.  Then I realised that this is a fashion blog and I don't want people falling asleep in the middle of my verbal contortions on how Edie is like Enid because of how they dress and... eh... yeah.  I still have that post in my mind, but I have to make it workable on paper before I go and confuse myself by writing a post.

















I bought Grey Gardens a few weeks ago and loved everything about it.  The Maysles Brothers and the editing unit were masterful with their material and the Bouvier Beales are knowingly entertaining, funny, sly and vulnerable all at the same time.

The fashion fascination with Little Edie stems from her identity defining headscarves, canny knack for colour co-ordination and her ability to turn fashion inside out and upside down, often literally.  I wonder how much of this ingenuity stems from living with such amazingly limited means, and how much of it stems from her relationship with her mother.  When Grey Gardens was filmed, Little Edie was in her fifties, but you can barely tell.  Not because of her face, but because of her flirting with the Maysles, singing, dancing and exclamations and affirmations of her own character.

Her boundary testing stretches to her wardrobe.  Her shirts are turned upside down and pinned and gathered in an avant-garde way, she wears net curtains as skirts and a swimsuit as a top.  Her sweaters are pinned with a gold brooch over her head to disguise her baldness.  And like a woman who is still finding her identity, she is continually experimenting with what she has, placing one item over another, casually knotting skirts and shirts, blending colours together and fixing what's broken. She's a teenager in a middle-aged woman's body - that's what makes her such an inspiration despite the dismal settings..

You can read Little Edie's obituary and some interesting GG tidbits here.
And if you want to know even more, visit this Grey Gardens blog here.

Hot models in dark places

I might be incredibly facetious here but it seems that the underlying trends when it comes to the new waves of promotional fashion film are dirty sub-bass dubstep sounds and flashing your boobs.  When you think about it, this all makes sense.  No, really, it does.

Fashion videos are about movement and highlighting contrast.  The dark of Gareth Pugh's matt leathers and Alexander Wang's rich velvets contrast with harsh bright light on pale skin.  The baring of more skin provides more of a contrast.  The whirling, the dancing and the lady parts on parade all provide part of the initial aesthetic experience.

Dubstep has a lot of bass.  A LOT of vibration.  What better music to pair with hot models in dark places?  There's no real point in me explaining any further.  Watch the videos and make up your own mind (NSFW, in case you didn't already know).



Music by Lukid



Music - The XX - Infinity (flufftronic remix)

P.S - The Licentiate column is out today in The Cork Independent. You can read here .

A taste of London

It amazing what pops up when you google 'Swinging London', isn't it?  I was looking for something suitably Carnaby Street-esque and when I stumbled upon this gem.  Below are stills from the film Smashing Time, which I've never seen but will probably now make it my life's work to get a copy based just on captions of these pictures alone.

The film stars Lynn Redgrave and Rita Tushingham (now regrettably forgotten star of totally amazing Brit film, A Taste of Honey - add it to your download list and weep) as two Northern Lasses who move to London Town as get into all sorts of now iconic comical mishaps.  Captions are taken from the Tushington webpage so *spoiler alert* ahoy!

Brenda and Yvonne, two naive lasses from the north of England, arrive in Swinging London.

"If you're bold, you'll spend your gold, As I do ... On new ... CLOTHES!"
Brenda makes the scene, looking grand in her fashionably trendy new clothes – secondhand, of course!

Still wearing their nightclub-hostess clothes, Yvonne and Brenda drag themselves home at dawn...

Brenda inspects the mod merchandise at her new job at the Too Much boutique.

With Tom's help, Brenda becomes a successful model.

But anyway, I'm getting over what was supposed to be the original point of my post.  I'll be going to London for a few days in September with the boyfriend for some art, some shopping and lots and lots of eating.  So, if anyone has any suggestions of places to go, people to see and things to eat that might be slightly off the beaten track, please leave a comment and let me know!  All Londoninium-related feedback is incredibly welcome.

Well, I'm a nerd.

It's been a hectic weekend at the Rose of Tralee, and my liver is threatening to jump ship if I don't lug my bum and several pounds of my mothers baked goods back up to Cork as soon as possible, So here's a quick one before I have to run for the bus.

I look around on Flickr when I get bored, so I've been on photo viewing overload over the past few days.  I've also been watching Rebecca and Jamaica Inn, but that's beside the point (and to go off on anothet tangent, how good are those films?  I love Rebecca so very, very much).  In short, it's been all about the black and white.

Joey Harrison's Flickr folder, Mom's World is a chronicling of his mother and father's early married life, with commentary by his mother.  What she was wearing, where they were and the events that were happening in her life dring the late forties and early fifties.  It doesn't hurt that his mother looks like Lauren Bacall either.  I love looking at the photos with an interest that borders on voyeurism, but I love the tailored suits, the saddle shoes and the pointy bras most of all.

He's disabled downloading of these photos, so out of respect I won't post them here.  But you can see my favourites here, here, here, here and here.

A massive roundup (with bonus giveaway section!)

I've been pretty much incommunicado due to travel and 'fat finger' syndrome from eating too many of my sister's delish cookies, cakes and brownies from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook.  That, and I'm spending the next week in the hometown, clearing out my old room and attending the excuse for drinking on the street that is this monstrosity.

So, here are a few things I missed in the past week or so.



The trailer for The Black Swan, starring Natalie Portman and a hell of a lot of Rodarte costumes.  It's got high fashion, psychological intrigue and slightly gross bird transmogrification going on, so something for everyone...



Speaking of birds, Cheap Monday have gone for an 'oil-on-water' look at Stockholm Fashion week.  I'm not a massive fan of the jeans on the catwalk, but the cuts are great and the tops are a perfect mix of sheer and slouchy.  Mostly, I just want to know where I can get those plazmoid boots.  Waterproof and I have to force myself to wear matching socks?  Excellent. (Fashion Gone Rogue)



New favourite editorials ; Josephine de la Baume gets sacrelicious for Oyster, German Vogue's massive triumvirate trend spread and Cintia Dicker having a modern West Side Story moment for Marie Claire France.



Moschino - one of my absolute, all-time, top 5 favourite labels, cross my heart and hope to die (exhale... phew) has collaborated with Gabriele Muccino on a short film, titled Senzo Tempo.  And it's only beautiful.



You can throw a load of blood diamonds at Naomi Campbell via Super Fashion Stars.  Unfortunately, it's just a flash game and not real life.


SUPER DUPER BONUS GIVEAWAY SECTION!!

Ok, less of that.  Typing in caps makes me feel like I've just climbed a hill.

1)  The lovely Ms LolaDee of Things I Fell in Love With Today is hosting a giveaway of her incredibly cute handmade accessories for her 300th commenter.  Just go to http://www.loladee.com/ and leave a comment.  It's that easy.

2) If you happen to be in Cork, the Lewis Glucksman Gallery is giving away free posters from the Mixtapes exhibition to all it's twitter followers today.  There's three designs - I really want to get a hand on the Linder Sterling punk ladies poster - don't suppose anyone wants to pick one up for me?

3) I'm a big fan of Nina Chakrabharti and her whimsical illustrations and have blogged about her amazing book, My Wonderful World of Fashion before.  You can win a signed illustration and a copy of the book just by displaying your best colouring efforts here.

P.S You can read my newest Licentiate column, only in The Cork Independent, out today!  It's about leggings - they're not trousers, so cover your shame.

Strictly Irrelevant - The Linkage Edition

The internet in my flat is still broken and Photobucket is still pouting at me and refusing to play nice, so here's a short and sweet links post on reading, watching, eating and inspiration material that I'd like to share.

I never, ever use the word 'amazeballs', but here's a recipe for some pretty amazeballs, rainbow-y doughnuts (The Dainty Squid)

Ever though it's, errrr, late July at this point, people are still getting very excited about A/W and all the expensive camel capes that we'll be buying.  Since I'm a cheap young wan, I'll be following bloggers tips on how to get next season's look without spending any money.  At all.  (Fug Girls at The Cut Blog and Disneyrollergirl).

Absolutely endless inspiration in the TFS forum thread for Fashion in Film Movie Stills (TFS)

Anna Dello Russo is apparently going to release a perfume.  But this mini manga novel about her life has nothing to do with that.  (annadellorusso)

Blatant plug alert.  Hem...  You can read this weeks Licentiate column for the Cork Independent here!

My new source of fascination - North Korean synchronised gymnastics a la that new Faithless video.  Pardon the bad quality, but the things these kids do is, frankly, amazeballs (Did it again...).