Fashionista.com is reporting that model scouts have been attempting to recruit girls at eating disorder clinics in Sweden. This is more of a “news” story than I usually post, but this is horrifying and can’t be ignored. Click here for the article.
Fashion would be just about the last thing on anyone’s mind should a disease that makes the dead rise and feed on the living infect the earth. But, as you may know from my previous posts, when I become interested in a book or show, it will likely affect the way I dress. For this reason, this post presents the unlikely combination of fashion and The Walking Dead.
I haven’t been this into a franchise since Harry Potter—and that’s saying something. The Walking Dead (both Robert Kirkman’s graphic novels and AMC’s television show) tells the story of a group of survivors fighting to stay alive in the wake of a zombie apocalypse. What’s so fascinating about the story is that the “walkers” actually become the backdrop, while the survivors take center stage.
After catching up on three seasons in about seven weeks, I found myself having to correct a slight southern accent on some words and also discovered a bit of southern flair sneaking into my wardrobe. I’ve been especially partial to these fake snake-skin boots I got at Marshalls a while back, and my chambray shirt has been making more appearances than usual.
This got me thinking about the characters’ individual styles—especially in the TV show. Although they only have a few outfits, you can still see the sort of clothes each person likes and catch glimpses of how he or she must have dressed before the whole walker fiasco started. Based on this idea, I’ve put together a few outfits inspired by some of the characters. These aren’t outfits the characters themselves would wear (especially because one of my favorite things to explore is making womenswear outfits inspired by male characters); they’re just style ideas that we could wear in our walker-free world inspired by some of the most interesting characters on television.
Shane:
One of the most frustrating characters in the series, Shane is there to protect Lori and Carl, no matter what the cost. Impulsive, erratic, seductive and confrontational, Shane causes a good deal of the drama in the first two seasons. While his khaki or camouflage cargo pants may be a bit of a fashion faux-pas, you can make the look fashionable with camo skinny jeans paired with black heels. A loose, comfortable shirt keeps the look casual. The necklace is a shout-out to the gold chain Shane usually wears and, of course, no former cop would be complete without aviators.
Lori:
Lori is a figure of both guilt and strength; she and Rick fight to keep their family together and, in many ways, Lori acts as Rick’s conscience (especially in season 3). She has a very casual, simple style—usually involving ripped boyfriend jeans and a plaid shirt—often made more feminine by the color scheme and dainty earrings. While Lori has to stay practical and ready to fight at any minute, you could add bangles or a summery bandeau to mix up this look.
Michonne:
One of the more mysterious characters and one of the group’s best warriors, Michonne has developed strategies to not only survive in this world, but to thrive. When I think of Michonne…well, first I think samurai sword, but then I think purple. For an everyday look, I’ve replaced Michonne’s purple tank top with a dress and her leather vest with a jacket and matching shoes. Again, not practical for fighting zombies, but this is something I could definitely see Michonne wearing before the apocalypse. I’ve picked a scarf that’s reminiscent of her iconic headband and earrings to finish off the look.
Daryl:
Everyone’s favorite crossbow-wielding redneck, Daryl has surprised everyone with his character development through the seasons and while he still has trouble talking about anything involving emotions, we all know he’s a sweetheart under all those scowls and noncommittal shrugs. Here, I’ve put together a feminine version of Daryl’s typical wardrobe: shredded pants, a sleeveless shirt in a neutral color, and a motorcycle vest to top it off (sadly, this one does not have wings on the back). I’ve added an arrow necklace as an ode to his weapon of choice and a geometric clutch as a reference to the poncho he occasionally wears when he decides it’s too cold to show off his arms (Liz…your fangirl is showing). A pair of edgy boots to match the vest complete the look.
I’ve put off posting for far too long! I’m now back from break and ready to take on the second half of the semester. I haven’t had a chance to share some of my favorites from the recent runway shows so I’ll be back to do that; for now, I just wanted to share this wonderful documentary I came across the other night. Originally a TV profile on Alexander McQueen that aired in the UK, this documentary follows McQueen’s career and highlights his relationships with Isabella Blow and Philip Treacy. I’ve only watched about half of it so far, but it’s very well done. My favorite parts are when his friends talk about him; it’s a point of view I’ve never heard before. I can’t believe I hadn’t come across this film before!
While I was abroad, I missed out on many movies I wanted to see this year, so I’m not exactly up-to-date or well informed about the Oscar nominees. However, unlike many past years, this year I am interested in seeing almost all of the nominated films. This fact combined with my love of awards shows caused me to make the questionable decision to watch about five and a half hours of red carpet and event coverage last night, so I thought that after that ordeal I’d share some of my thoughts on the best looks of the night.
I have to say, I was more impressed by Golden Globes fashion this year than the washed out red carpet we saw last night at The Oscars; however, a few looks stood out either because they were extremely well executed or because the wearer decided to take a risk that paid off.
It seemed like most attendees decided to play it safe. There were many classic, simple dresses, some of which were lost in the crowd, but simple is not always a bad thing. Jessica Chastain looked amazing in Armani Prive. Many have already said that this look exudes old Hollywood glamour and it’s true. The color looked fantastic with her hair and the minimalistic jewelry let everyone see how beautiful Chastain is without any distractions.
Naomi Watts also wore Armani Prive. While I’m not a huge fan of this much glitz, the cut is new and interesting and fits her beautifully, which is quite a stunt, as a cut like this could go tragically wrong. If this had been a simple strapless dress I would have hated it, but somehow that sleeve makes it interesting and elegant.
There were, once again, a lot of muted colors on the red carpet last night. Amanda Seyfried in custom Alexander McQueen was one of my favorites. Maybe I’ve been reading too much Wuthering Heights lately, but I thought the light dress with her hair and skin and make up made her look almost spectral (in the best way possible, of course).
All these muted tones had me craving a pop of color and Fan Bingbing delivered. While it clashed with the carpet, this Marchesa dress certainly livened up the color palette of the evening. I love the hair and lips to go with this voluminous gown.
Olivia Munn also looked stunning in Marchesa. I wish she had higher heels because she does appear a little too short for the gown, but I don’t blame her for wearing it anyway. Again, I love the color; the gold design and earrings and simple hair are all regal. I do, however, wish that bracelet were gold, too.
As at the Golden Globes, I think my favorite look of the night goes to Amy Adams, this time in Oscar de la Renta. It has a similar feel to her Golden Globes gown. The texture keeps it interesting and the subtle jewelry adds just enough sparkle.
While I’m flying solo for Valentine’s Day, I can’t pass up an opportunity to play dress up. My friends and I ventured to the mall last night for a little mid-week retail therapy and I found this perfect Valentine’s Day shirt at Express. It was way on sale and I love the shape of this festive peplum top. I also found the necklace at Forever 21 during my bargain hunting.
I had to complete the look with my white Lolita sunglasses. What better time to wear these heart-shaped frames?
Hope everyone’s having a happy heart’s day!
On the morning of February 4th I awoke to find the music world abuzz about the return of Fall Out Boy. If you knew me in high school you know my teenage life revolved around bands with too-tight jeans and tongue-twister song titles. And if you know me now, you know my music taste hasn’t evolved much since then. So needless to say, I was shaking with excitement at the prospect of a whole new album full of self-depreciating yet somehow liberating lyrics and a comeback tour. While sadly I wasn’t able to secure tickets to the tour as all dates sold out in seconds, I’m still impossibly excited about the approximately 12 new FOB songs to be released in May (what could be a better birthday gift?!).
All this FOB mania has me spiraling into nostalgia about the bands I used to be so dedicated to and the shows I used to attend. Thinking back, it was this music scene that started me on the early steps toward my interest in fashion. In high school, all my spending money went to concert tickets and band merch, which lead to me starting to develop my own style of dressing. And believe me, I use the term “style” loosely—I wore band hoodies and too much eyeliner, but suddenly I was making conscious decisions about how I was presenting myself through my clothes. After Fall Out Boy came the Cobra Starship-inspired “Neon Phase.” Then came my love for Lady Gaga, who introduced me to Alexander McQueen through her music video for “Bad Romance.” Little did that fifteen-year-old girl in the broken-heart-splattered hoodie know, she was already on her way to swooning over Stella McCartney and Givenchy.
Happy Friday, everyone! I’m excited to say that Come Hell or High Fashion is currently featured on Her Campus Skidmore! I was interviewed earlier this week as a “campus celebrity” and had a lot of fun answering Her Campus’s questions about style, my time in Paris, and where my interest in fashion might lead me. To read the interview, click here!
Today marks the start of this year’s Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week! Fall 2013 collections will be making their debuts from now until February 14th. Keep up with all the latest news on the official fashion week website.
“Did you have a brain tumor for breakfast?” And with that I fell in love with the highly quotable, hilariously irreverent 1988 film, Heathers. Heathers tells the story of Veronica Sawyer, played by the fabulous Winona Ryder, who finds herself in the cool clique at school with 3 girls who all happen to be named Heather and are all sadistic bullies. Veronica’s dislike of her friends quickly escalates once she meets J.D., the dark and dreamy new kid at school who has some violent tendencies up his overcoat sleeve. It’s one of my three favorite films of all time, it’s packed with amusing but devastating social commentary, and it features 80’s fashion at its finest.
The most obvious aspect of fashion in Heathers to note is the use of color. Each of the three Heathers exclusively wears one certain color—red, yellow, and green—while Veronica wears shades of blue and black. Red comes to represent social power; Heather Chandler begins as red Heather and Heather Duke starts wearing red once she becomes queen bee. Chandler’s red scrunchie is passed on to Duke and is later taken by Veronica to signify the passing of power over each other. Red is also one of their school’s colors.
Clothing is used to signify typical high school cliques. The popular girls dress in the trendy styles that haven’t aged well, but at the time were the coolest of the cool. The jocks always wear their red varsity jackets. The nerds wear less vibrant colors and giant glasses. J.D. (a.k.a. resident badass) constantly wears a long, dark overcoat and one earring. This edgy look shows that he’s completely different from Veronica’s friends (which is exactly the sort of person Veronica is looking for) but also suggests he’s probably bad news. Just look at that stringy hair. I love that J.D. is dressed as the typical bad boy but the viewer is not even ready for the progression of his character. No matter how many times I watch this movie, I’m always suckered into falling for him at the beginning and am, without fail, disgusted with myself by the end. Gets me every time.
The clothing in Heathers is 80s to the extreme—think permed hair, unflattering button-up shirts and blazers with huge shoulder pads—but as J.D. says (in a totally different context) “the extreme always seems to make an impression.” The clothing, like the slang in Heathers is so perfect for the world in the film and so important to the story itself that as a fan of the movie, I find myself wanting to feature shout outs to it in my own wardrobe, in the same way that I often find myself quoting the dialogue. I have a red blazer (with smaller shoulder pads, I admit) that always reminds me of Heather Chandler and I have small round sunglasses that remind me of Veronica (probably because the shape of them reminds me of her unexpected-yet-awesome monocle).
Luckily, fashion is cyclical and always updates styles from the past, so it’s completely possible to work in references to Heathers and the 80s while still remaining stylish by today’s standards. The trick is to take elements of the looks and pair them with more modern styles. A big blazer can still totally work, but it would probably translate better when worn with skinny jeans rather than a knee-length pleated skirt. It’s a fun, extra challenge to update old looks and make them your own rather than just taking looks exactly as they are. Just make sure you don’t spill that wake up cup of liquid drainer on your neo-80s outfit…
I think the thing I love most in the world is storytelling. Books, movies, tv shows, anecdotes from friends, runway shows—I love anything that tells an intriguing story. And central to storytelling are the characters the story follows. Lately I’ve been thinking about how characters I like influence the way I dress. Of course, my manner of dressing has been influenced by real people (bands I’ve liked through the years, family members, etc.), but I think fictional characters have been just as important in shaping my style.
I find myself referring to clothes by character names: my Snape boots, my Narcissa coat, my Violet Harmon dress, my Veronica Sawyer sunglasses. They’re not even things the characters are explicitly shown or mentioned wearing, they’re just things I imagine the characters would wear. I didn’t think about it, I just naturally started calling my clothes these names. I’ve realized this means that, at least to a certain extent, I dress in the style of these characters. People we respect (or maybe are just intrigued by), whether real or fictional, influence the way we think, act, and, yes, even dress. We dwell on the characters we find most captivating, we give them a space to occupy in our minds and because they’re always lurking there somewhere, they sometimes influence aspects of our lives we wouldn’t expect.
Maybe this is becoming a little too Freudian—“our favorite characters are lurking in our subconscious.” But I think it’s true that we’re shaped by what we expose ourselves to, what interests us, and what we enjoy. It’s like how a book you read growing up really sticks with you, or a speaker you went to see makes a large impression on you. We shape ourselves based on what we see in the world and who we want to be. To be honest, a lot of the characters I see popping out of my wardrobe are not the most mentally stable, respectable characters, so it’s not that these are people I want to be, exactly. But I think expressing a bit of them in my clothes is another way to think about them and explore them as characters. I don’t want to be these characters, but I want to be someone who fully engages with these characters and realizes how they’ve influenced me. So I dress myself accordingly.
I’m thinking of posting in the future about some specific characters I’ve noticed traces of in my wardrobe. While this is more of a personal musing post, these will be more “Style Icons” type posts with a lot of pictures and some explanation of how they’ve influenced me. But now, classes have started, so off to do some homework! Happy Wednesday.
Note: The image is not mine, but I found it on Tumblr and am not sure who to credit.
come hell or high fashion 