The 'Ooh is she blind?!' Factor..

And so comes the time of year, when yet again I ask myself whether the stylist on The X factor, has either mental stability issues, problems with their vision or a general panache for tinfoil as a garment. I often revel in declaring my disgust for the outfits worn by the contestants and was not short of material this year.

To those of you thinking, surely the outfits have not been that bad, I draw your attention to the embodiment of bad styling on the show - Katie Waissel. While her outfits would look 'normal' on the likes of Lady Gaga, that is precisely my point. She is not Lady Gaga. In my opinion styling is entirely to do with show-casing a person's own identity, through their apparel. Not merely imitating an artist, with whom you think there is the biggest fan base. Katie's first 'outfit' was a garish mix or space-age plastics and over the top detailing. I will not get started on the headdress, dear readers or I fear we may be here all night..

This assault to the eyes only continued throughout the live shows, featuring the worst of almost every decade. Ill-fitting shift dresses, too tight trousers, outlandish eyelashes - we've had it all! To address the fact that I come off as a terrible moan, I will happily admit that I (secretly) enjoyed her hairstyles every week. Ooh yes, even the short crop, towards the end of her stay. Although I must once again point out it's lack of originality. We've seen more crops the last couple of seasons, than a set of bushes at The Botanic Gardens.

Perhaps my second biggest irritant from this year's X Factor, comes from no other than mini Cheryl, Cher Lloyd. The Primark version of Cheryl Cole, if you will. Her outfits always scream 'try-hard chav' to me. Knee high, white, pleather boots? Excuse me?! Oh the horror..

I brandish my Vogue at you, X factor stylists! Style demons - be gone! Ax

These boots were made for snow

I've had these North Face boots for about a month now and I'm ridiculously excited about the recent snowfall as it means I can properly roadtest these bad boys!
In a moccasin style, they're waterproof and lace right up the back. And as can just be seen on the soles in this photo to the right, little plastic stars that harden when it's icy and act like little ice-picks, gripping the ice to prevent slipping. Ever since the summer slipped away and the days started getting colder and wetter, I've been searching for a new pair of flat-soled proper boots.

There's nothing worse than wearing what you think are proper boots, out in the snow or rain, and halfway down the path feeling an icy dampness spreading up from your toes. After that it's all downhill, realising your socks will most likely be dyed from the leaking boots, your feet will be freezing all day and every time you wear the boots, it'll be exactly the same.

Difference between trying too hard and making an effort

I've been musing on this for a while, (perhaps prompted by the regular and frequent pictures of Taylor Momsen that I keep running into on the interweb)... What's the difference between trying too hard and making an effort?
Taylor Momsen keeps cropping up in this thought process because when I see pictures of her dressed in underwear, stockings and stripper heels during the day, whilst peering out through dark, dark eye make up between her bottle blonde extensions, I can't help but think "ooh she's trying a bit too hard isn't she?"
I feel bad about thinking this because I vaguely remember what it's like to be 16 and desperate to be different and rebellious. Like all 16 year olds, there are rigid categories of people separated into "cool" and "not cool." She will be on the cool side and the majority of the rest of the world is in the not cool category. If you don't get it, you're not cool. So anyone who thinks maybe she should wear more clothes or less make up, is by definition not cool. But this ignores the very non-cool factor of trying too hard.
To a certain extent, Ke$ha is coming from the same direction. She is so desperate to be different and out-there, but the very act of trying so hard virtually guarantees that the look or style will not work. I can almost see her thought process in an outfit..."a bit of David Bowie-esque slept-in make up, some bed head hair...I'll look like I've been out partying all night...add in necklaces and bracelets to add to the modern hippy look..done."
And despite the fawning over her originality and sheer dedication to fashion at all times, I feel like Lady Gaga tries ridiculously hard too. It's like "we get it, you're a dedicated follower of fashion, you must suffer for your art, blah blah blah."
Now, certain people look like they've made an effort without trying too hard. I would put Dita Von Teese on that list, she's always immaculate but in her own vintage style. There's no attempt to shock or attention seek, she simply dresses well in a thoughtful and considered fashion.

Anyway, this has been a long and meandering post but the subject's been on my mind recently.
Rx

Alas poor Kate, we knew her well

Hurrah, Kate Moss's last collection for Topshop launches tomorrow!

I adore La Moss and her entire style, I own at least two dresses from previous collections. Both used vintage Liberty prints, one a lovely blue, strapless dress strewn with red poppies. the other is a blue, 1940s style tea dress with white daisies.

Admittedly, she does stick to a certain formula - denim hotpants, leather jackets, and so on and so on. A bit of rock chic by day and vintage flair by night. The ever so effortless dishevelled hair and barely there make up.

We'll have to compare notes on the new collection and the "classic" pieces they're reissuing as a final hurrah.

Rx

Picture of my (slightly messy) updo

I think in future I'll try to achieve more height so it looks like a proper updo, maybe someone will mistake me for an air stewardess in the 60s...

Things I'm Loving Right Now...continued

2. T-shirts:
Ah t-shirts, the slogan tee, designer tee, band shirt, team shirt and basic white tee. My t-shirt addiction may be slightly out of hand...two and a half deep drawers full and counting...but I simply can't resist a cool, well-fitting shirt with a great design.
My favourite site for film t-shirts is Last Exit to Nowhere, I already own a Little Lebowski Urban Achievers and Dapper Dan shirt. My next purchase may have to be the Slaughtered Lamb pub shirt.
And today I read a great post on the Gloss about this excellent site Out of Print. I seriously must get the Hound of the Baskervilles t-shirt, bright blue with a print of the First Edition cover.

Things I'm Loving Right Now

1. Updo's, pencil skirts with jumpers, red lipstick, basically 1960s referencing:
This has been coalescing for a while, slowly simmering away in the background of my fashion choices. Maybe one day I decided red lipstick just looked right, the next a simple pencil skirt looked better pared with a jumper rather than a shirt, and today I finally managed to properly put my hair up in a twist with no about a billion hair clips.
Obviously, Mad Men has been feeding into my consciousnesss but recently there's been TV shows a bit closer to home informing my look. Last week whilst watching The Road to Coronation Street, I was really taken with the styling and then last night the new series of Inspector George Gently started. Lots of opportunities to ogle cute guys in skinny suits yes, but also a chance to lust after sweater sets, that perfect shade of vintage red lipstick, boxy leather handbags and a more British version of the super groomed Mad Men world.

Argh! Cardboard!

If there is anything guaranteed to drive me into a near incoherent rage - it's cardboard inserts in magazines. You know what I mean, those shiny shiny adverts that stick out in the middle of the magazine and totally ruin the flow of the pages.
I don't mind so much if they've got free samples like perfume or foundation attached. But to simply put a thick piece of card in the middle of the magazine for no reason with exactly the same layout, photos, text, and so on as a normal advert page!
The companies that place the adverts must think "this is a great idea, the magazine will automatically fall open to our advert!" But I think, what selfish idiots to ruin my magazine reading with their cardboard. I'm just settling down to enjoy a quiet afternoon with Vogue, perhaps writing my witty comments with a Sharpie, and it ruins the entire experience to have to fold or pull out cardboard inserts!

Hipster Hatted H'Annoyances

In the same way as David Attenborough examines and documents the habits of animals in the wild, I do so with Hipster Teens. If I were to catagorise this group, it would be a cross between a Yah student, with the attendant never-seen-a-brush hair and attitude, but they are more left of centre in their fashion choices. Think Topshop chic but more alternative in a very conventional way.
Fashion is a universal continuum so trends can be tracked as they wax and wane with the seasons.
In the Hipster Teen universe, scarves have gone the way of the dodo and would appear to be on the unfashionable end of the spectrum. Formerly, you couldn't turn a corner without bumping into a teen draped in a long, long scarf even in the hottest of weather.
The new trend is for woolly hats worn with incongruous clothing such as tshirts or shorts. Recently I've even espied teens wearing actual Arctic explorer style hats in bright sunshine with an otherwise summery outfit. Some teens seem to think they're taller versions of Shiloh Pitt, wearing furry hats made to look like bears or tigers. This unsettles me in a very specific way.

Roll on Summer

The weather has turned recently, some sunshine in amongst the usual gloom, and it's got me all excited about my favourite time of year! I'm not the type of person who actually has separate Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter wardrobes and switches them out when the clocks change. However, I do enjoy rooting through my drawers and wardrobe for interesting tshirts, skirts and eventually my leather sandals once I'm sure my toes won't turn blue. It's like a breath of fresh air, considering different combinations of the same clothes that will work due to the warmer weather. Of course, once we (hopefully) get an uninterrupted run of sunshine and warmth, then the shorts will maybe get an airing. The shorts, sandals and bikinis have been cowering at the bottom of the wardrobe, huddling together for warmth throughout the snow and biting wind of Winter. I'm hoping they'll emerge blinking into the Summer without looking too dishevelled but some new friends bought this year will keep them company to update the look.
Ah and it tastes so sweet on the the first day I can do without a coat! This sunny weekend I rediscovered my cute little blazers, just putting a scarf or pashmina in the handbag for a sudden change in temperature. Quite a preppy look, fitted blazer with big sunglasses and big hair. Preppy seems to fit sunshine where rock chick or vintage 50s don't quite fit.

The Secret World of Haute Couture

I randomly caught this documentary on BBC Four last night called The Secret World Of Haute Couture. It essentially boiled down to the film maker travelling to Paris and New York to interview the actual women who buy haute couture on a regular basis in an effort to understand why they would spend £100,000 on an outfit. There were also some sadly brief interviews with the top designers like John Galliano and Karl Lagerfeld.
Although the film maker was slightly patronising in her approach, repeating the fact that the women being interviewed saw the clothes as wearable pieces of art in an attempt to validate her documentary, it was a fascinating look at a shrinking industry. As the advent of mass produced clothes opened up designer fashion lines to an even wider audience, haute couture seems to have a reached a point where the circle of women prepared to buy it keeps shrinking.
There was an important point made in the documentary that a designer's haute couture show is seen as a loss leader, used to publicise the fashion label and promote other lines such as fragrance. Coverage of the haute couture shows create publicity and most people buy a fragrance as a way of tapping into the label's ethos without spending a large amount of money. Essentially, most women could never afford haute couture but it serves to illustrate the creativity and character of a fashion house which in turn informs a decision to buy into a smaller part of that image.
The interviews with the women who buy haute couture were filled with recognisable names such as Bloomingdale or Guinness. A throw back to the time when you needed a personal connection or introduction to even contemplate buying haute couture. What really came across though was that these women loved fashion, they almost worshipped their favourite designers and saw themselves as patrons of the arts. I completely agree with this idea, that fashion in all its creativity and inspiration can be seen as art. The way designers put colours together, clash or complement fabrics and patterns, debate the length of a hemline or cut of a shoulder, its an expression of their thoughts and ideas.
Seriously, I wanted to live in some of the wardrobes that were filmed. Chanel couture suits with the signature boxy jackets, red Valentino dresses, intricately beaded and embroidered Dior dresses.... Heaven! Every dress labelled when it was bought and from which designer, when it was worn and where to. Then when you decide it's time the clothes can be donated to a museum for others to admire. Although I would keep them in my own personal museum because in an imaginary world where I own a wardrobe - actually a ROOM full of couture clothes, I would also have the resources and time to establish my own museum of fashion.

Crazy Heart

In my continuing quest to attempt to see the many many films that were Oscar nominated, I finally saw Crazy Heart. Can I just say that although I was hoping against hope that Colin Firth would sneak it, Jeff Bridges really deserved his best actor Oscar. He completely inhabits his character, 'Bad' Black, an alcoholic country singer who in the twilight of his career is reduced to playing bowling alleys rather than stadiums. Bad Black is interviewed by a young single mother played by Maggie Gyllenhall and they drift into a relationship of sorts.
It's a mature, considered film with no trite Hollywood resolutions. It's almost a downbeat film but I would hesitate to call it depressing. It's realistic but moves gradually towards a hopeful future.
The scene that stayed with me was Bad Blake composing a song on his love interest's bed for the first time in years. She sheds a few tears because everytime she lies down in her bed from that point she'll won't be able to get that song out of her head. It struck me as completely realistic and poignant that she felt wonder at the spontaneous composition combined with sadness that the moment would pass.
The colour palette is warm, veering between the soft blue darkness of bars and the bright yellow sunshine of the highway as Bad Black travels hundreds of miles to get to the next gig. Watching the beautiful American landscape made me want to wear a washed out cotton shirt warmed by the sun with worn blue jeans whilst peering at the horizon through mirrored shades.
The soundtrack is on my wish list, original songs written for the film keep an authentic mood throughout and move from sad reflective to rousing energetic songs depending on the scene.
Overall, I loved the mood I got from Crazy Heart. I now want to base my summer wardrobe around summer dresses, cotton shirts and guitar playing men.
Rx

Such a trend setter, or simply a follower who didn't realise it!

So, I'm reading this article in the Guardian a week or so ago and it struck me that sometimes there is an amazing synchronicity to my fashion choices.
Recently, well since New Year's trip to the big apple, I've been wearing a pair of purple, green and black Adidas high tops. There I was, tripping all over the place thinking I looked so cool and vaguely original since most fashionistas won't be wearing them and any art students who would be wearing them are so ahead of the curve they've already given them up as outdated. Alas, alack, but it appears that I must have absorbed the subliminal message that high top trainers are back in and EVERYONE'S wearing them. Then it was confirmed everyone's wearing them when the Guardian's Fashion Statement email from London Fashion Week stated that a fashion low was:
"The arrival of blisters on the backs of ankles from new Nike hi-tops joins Twitter Finger as Fashion Injury of the Week."

Plus, I know it's geeky but I so want everything in the new Adidas Star Wars range! Especially these Princess Leia inspired high tops. I'm loving the colours and who wouldn't want to feel like Princess Leia?! Fair enough, it's not the cool ass-kicking Leia but the imprisoned and chained to Jabba the Hutt in a gold bikini Leia - but hey that's the iconic image. I'm also debating whether or not I want to fully out myself as a geek (normally I'm so far back in the closet when it comes to identifying as geek that I'm summering on Hoth) by wearing the absolutely cool but more overtly Star Wars looking Stormtrooper trainers.

Team Cupcake!

Last night my mate K and I went to a great event run by Foodies of Holyrood where we decorated cupcakes. Although it's become a bit of a cliche to bake cakes in a retro apron, we had a great time decorating with fondant icing and edible glitter (helped along by a couple of glasses of fizz). It also fit in with the new trend for ladylike outifts and pastel colours which I read about in February's Vogue . I accessorised my *cough* beautiful cupcakes with a cute little dress in a blue and white pattern but toughened the outfit up with a pair of chunky biker boots in a look I tend to refer to in my head as "funky land girl". But I mentioned this idea to K and she may have given me a WTF?! look so I may rethink the whole speaking out loud thing.

Vintage Musings

Vintage, second hand or thrift shopping has always been popular for those of us interested in fashion but less interested in the high prices. My favourite places in Edinburgh are Armstrongs, the Rusty Zip and Godiva. Plus the charity shops in ritzy areas as you can find some great stuff if you're willing to search through the piles and piles of cast offs.

I got a great 50s dress (right) years ago for a wedding. Wearing it makes me feel like I should be sitting taking tea with Miss Marple in a country house garden.

The bodice (ah how i love that word! very Mills & Boon) has built in boning so it creates that 50s va-va-voom silhouette. Plus the cool label identifies the dress as an Ascot Model. I'd say that the labels are about the fourth best thing about vintage clothes.

The top three being:

1. Small sizes in vintage clothing especially in 1940s or 50s styles. Being hobbit sized I appreciate not having to seriously alter the length of dresses

2. Cool patterned fabric, I have a complete fetish for unusual patterns and would buy an unsuitable piece of clothing just for the fabric

3. The sheer unadulterated joy of an outfit being admired and informing the person "oh this? it's vintage" with the subtle undertone of oneupmanship because they're wearing something generic from the high street. Don't get me wrong I love the high street but it's fun having completely unique outfits in the wardrobe. And I just realised how sad that sounds, generating joy from feeling superior due to the vintage origin of an outfit....

Anyway, I was recently in New York and in amongst the obvious places to shop like Century 21 or Old Navy, I found some really cool thrift stores. There were two down the street from our hotel in Chelsea and I must have gone in to both places about 4 times in the week.

I got two dresses, one cream stiff fabric overlaid with pink lace in a ballerina style, and the other a fitted black wool with a deep scooped back outlined with diamante. Very excited about creating an opportunity to wear both. Neither are exactly day dresses and it's not like I want to go out looking like I've wandered off the set of a period drama. Thoughts swirling round include combining the pink lace with flats, a cardigan or long sleeved t-shirt underneath and doing a dark smokey eye to toughen up the sweetness. It's also an option for a friend's summer wedding, with perhaps twisted, plaited hair to emphasise a nymph image. It's very much a dress made for wandering a green, lush landscape and catching the eye of a god disguised as a simple shepherd boy.

The black dress will have to be saved for a special event where dressing like a femme fatale won't look too out of place - waved hair like Veronica Lake but black nail polish to avoid too cliche an image.

The fact is that although I had to trawl through a large amount of trash to find the treasure, I'd encourage everyone to try out vintage or charity shops simply for the thrill of the chase.

Rx

Makeover Montage!

After watching the House Bunny (way funnier than it looks), I got to thinking about my favourite movie makeover montages. In the House Bunny the dowdy geeky girls are transformed into hot chicas by the Playboy bunny as she throws out classic fashion advice such as "remember the eyes are the nipples of the face" and "show as much skin as you can in the major areas of legs, arms and boobs."


I do love a classic makeover and my favourites include:


Clueless: Cher making over Tai from a possibly stoned loser into a total betty. The way that Tai has this almost overwhelmed look on her face, taking in the new attention and trying to fit into her new role. Oh and how sad was I when Brittany Murphy died? She was a sparkling presence in Clueless and played the part perfectly.






Bette Davis in Now, Voyager goes from this to this:

It's the perfect illustration of a makeover giving a female character the confidence and damn hotness that she needs to succeed and/or have an affair with a hot guy she met on a cruise ship.



The new series of America's Next Top Model started this week on Living and thankfully it was a double bill so we could enjoy the second episode makeover straight after the first episode. I love that at least one girl always cries, the haircuts either make no sense whatsoever (hello random idea to cut your hair then put a weave on top) or are so bland your mother would suggest it (what you say that blonde hair makes blue eyes pop, get out of here!)

Overall, I think the reason I love a makeover montage is that it illustrates the way that clothes can become either an armour to protect you against the world and allow you to fit in, or they can show everyone your true personality. Like the best makeover cliche - geeky ugly girl whips off her glasses, puts on a cute dress and oh my god she's beautiful! You knew the gorgeous was lurking underneath the dire haircut and tragic clothes but it needed to be framed by a great outfit and good styling.