Posts Tagged ‘style icons’
fashion inspiration: miss olivia
oh, come *on*. like you’d have got any further than the title if i’d written “fashion inspiration: olivia newton-john”. so olivia-ya-ya is not someone you tend to think of, fashionably speaking, unless you have a secret childhood yearning to be sandy from grease, complete with so-tight-she-had-to-be-sewn-in spandex pants. (did anyone else kind of really hate the message of that film, by the way? like the only way to Get The Boy and Be Cool was to turn into some kind of skin-tight cigarette-smoking minxtrel? i guess there were enough teen films before and after that saying that the only way to win at life was to just be yourself, maaaan, but it still pissed me off. possibly because i wasn’t allowed to see grease when it first came out and i first saw it many years later at the age of 13. for realz, i am so cool. anyway.)
but i want to put it out there that i think that olivia newton-john’s wardrobe deserves to be known for a little bit more than a rat’s nest of corkscrew curls and a pouty “tell me about it, stud.” she was a stylish dresser, you guys, for serious. as exhibit A, i refer you to this video. will you just look at that frock, kids, and the way her headband is invisible from the front but has this kind of cascadey thing happening at the back? and the black opaque tights? a more obvious person might have teamed that foxy dress and heels with fishnets or lace tights (especially in the early 80s) but olivia keeps it edgy with solid black .. a touch of solemnity just heightening the fabulousness of the frock. can the lady dress or what? i rest my case.
this next one, well it’s always sort of cited as the quintessential squeaky-clean-popstarlet-goes-sex video, innit. forget kylie: ONJ was years ahead. the tights! the headband worn just so! the colour combination in the first outfit, the clean white chic of the second! omg i’m having a fashion moment. and you can’t tell me dov charney doesn’t watch this scribbling down inspiration all the while.
(also, sidenote: i had forgotten how all the buff boys go off hand in hand with each other at the end! awesome. that’s got to be nearly a first in a rock video, surely?)
and then there’s this. the jumpsuit! the batshit crazy lyrics! i *loved* this movie, i had the tape and i practically wore it out. oh how i wanted to be kira, good at rollerskating and blonde, probably because in real life i am neither of those things, hee ..
(i tried and failed to take a screen shot of the jumpsuit but seriously, didn’t happen. this is from another HD version on youtube and dayum, this outfit is pretty good too. sequin strange half-leggings-half-harem-pants arrangement! yes and yes.)
anyway. from the excess of squealing (and hyphens) in this post, you may gather that ninetwelvetwentyfive is a big fan of olivia newton-john in her 80s starlet incarnation. forget grease, forget the laura-ashley-style frocks of the “i honestly love you” era: this is olivia at her fabulous best. now if you’ll excuse me, i’m going to try and get my hair to behave like that. it may take some straightening irons and enough elnett to choke an elephant, but dear *god* i’m going to try.
(all photos screenshots courtesy of youtube. obv.)
style inspiration: kate lanphear
(photo from garance doré, just such a gorgeous shot ..)
oh, miz lanphear. how i love your androgynous-rock-chic style. so clean, so perfect. and that hair. oh, that hair. i haven’t had a haircut in months and i am totally considering this look .. not the platinum blonde, for that’s just a bit too high-maintenance, but that undercut sweep of chin-length magnificence. for once, a fashion look that would perfectly suit my fine, straight hair. what say you, internet?
for those three remaining people in the world who don’t know who kate lanphear is, well .. she is the senior fashion director for US elle magazine and a seriously, seriously influential woman. just feast your eyes on this collection of her street style shots on facebook. the lean silhouettes, the limited palette, the look that is rocking but never grungy, impeccably stylish but never try-hard. lovelovelove.
none can rock kate’s look so well as kate, i suspect, but if you want to give it a try: skinny jeans or leggings, shoes that are either sky-high or flat-as-flat. layering. perfectly cut jackets (a black blazer that hangs just right should be in every modern woman’s wardrobe). rock touches: a fake-fur jacket, a dagger earring, a vintage band t-shirt. no fuss. no frou-frou. just beautiful, well-cut basics with interesting touches (an upturned collar, an unexpected gold boot). learning the proportions that suit your frame and then working the shit out of them, basically. you know i’m right.
anyway. back to the hair. what do you guys think?
xoxo
style inspiration: toni halliday
so i am not sure if i have written this already, but even if i haven’t you can probably tell: i am a bit of an old goth at heart. i still wear a lot of black, pile on eyeliner and mascara and listen to dramatic music. it’s kind of sad, i guess, but i think we never really leave behind the things we loved when we were sixteen. and when i was sixteen, i lived in brasília where goth-rock was very big.
yep, you got it: a city right in the middle of south america, built of shining white marble soaring above the red soil and sheltering under the bright blue sky. full of goths. i think there was something about the drama that appeals to the brasiliense nature. you grow up around that architecture, it kind of comes naturally. i expect the rockstar wouldn’t necessarily like me to post this here (he doesn’t know i have this blog yet, haha) but his band were kind of emblematic of that trend and their brand of siouxsie/smiths/gang-of-four tinged rock did very well.
anyway. on to the stylish miss halliday. i can’t remember if i heard curve or saw toni first, but whatever it was, i was instantly in love. heavy crunchy guitars and reverb-laden vocals: yes please. and as for the sooty-haired sooty-eyed singer: wow.
(screenshots from youtube)
i know, right? she’s amazing. it’s kind of hard to get a clear shot of toni’s clothes because most of the videos concentrate on that incredible face of hers. but to get toni’s look, we are talking black. obvs. but not so much glam-goth as tomboy-goth. black t-shirts, skinny black jeans. hoop earrings, hair that just bit unkempt. statement boots. a perfect black leather jacket. possibly black-and-white stripes, if you want a bit of colour (ha). very balmain aw09, i think.
(that second video has bonus hilarious alice dellal-alikes at the start. love that.)
anyway. ladies and gentlemen, all hail the goddess toni halliday. now go and get your leather on.
wayfauxrers
here you are, the new glasses — two pictures, in fact.
well, what is this blog about if not narcissism, huh? i am wearing a white vest from uniqlo and (in the top pic) a grey farhi sweater that is made of bamboo, apparently. and the wayfauxrers. which come from d&a, not sure of the brand i’m sorry. feedback so far has been “elvis costello”, “trevor horn when he was in buggles” and “deadly charming” (that last one was from the rock star, which is why i love him. well, one of the reasons.)
during the meanwhilst, i ordered a big sack of pyramid studs and an awl (all awl all the time?) from ebay today. ooh, the temptation to stud everything in sight. stand still long enough in my presence, and you too could get the alexander wang treatment.
finally, i bring you — one of the coolest music videos evar. i mean, what? white suits, goths on horseback, petra .. and patricia morrison. god, i want her manicurist’s number.
