the king of pop

 i recently dug up an old copy of michael jackson's moonwalker and first of all, it may just be the oddest movie i have ever seen. lots of sequins, leather, and weird creepy 80's claymation. HOWEVER, once you looked past the confusing plot line and the strange time warp feeling, there is no denying the fact that michael jackson circa 1988 was a fashion icon. the way he referenced the 1950's greasers and teddy boys, combined creepers and motorcycle jackets and threw some sequins on top was totally new and totally amazing. of course, like everything groundbreaking, he may have been a little extreme - but i don't think it would hurt a bit to borrow a few tips from the man who invented the moon-walk. 





my mj polyvore:



how would you work a little mj into your wardrobe?

lady lovely locks

as i get older, i'm realizing how much of my fashion inspiration stems directly from the books i read when i was little, and the characters that ran so rampant in my imagination. For example, one of my very favorite books when i was younger was story about a character named Lady Lovely Locks - she was a beautiful girl with long, gorgeous, golden hair, which she combed every day with a golden brush while she sat in sunny fields. and she lived in a magical land where every living creature had long, flowing, luxurious hair in every color imaginable, and some of these little critters would crawl into her hair, their long tails adding pinks and purples and blues and greens to her shining golden tresses. i mean really, how amazing! To this very day, i long for and dream of rainbow-hued, princess-long lovely locks.

what were some of your strongest fictional fashion inspirations from your childhood?

the lost girls

hello dear world wide web, i finally have an internet connection here after nearly 2 full of weeks of no internet connection at all, and as sad as it may be i have to admit i started to feel a bit like i was drowning. but i am finally back and it feels so good, and i have so much to tell you about! first, maybe most excitingly (although so many exciting things are happening), is the news i read recently about the new GREY GARDENS film, based on the original documentary, that is currently in filming. i may be a bit on the slow end of receiving this news but oh my goodness! if you love any of the following - fashion, eccentric humans, beautiful women, crumbling old houses, show-tunes, vintage anything - YOU MUST SEE THIS FILM.



most of you will have heard of Grey Gardens by now, so i will only give a short summary: a documentary in 1975 was released, starring Edie Bouvier Beale ("Big Edie") and her daughter "Little Edie" (not so little, being somewhere around 65 in the film), distant cousins of Jackie O. The women live in a large, once grand, estate that is now literally crumbling to pieces under their feet. They rarely leave the house or the grounds, and instead choose to live in a strange, romantic, eerie sort of solitary existence. They sing and dance classic show-tunes all day, and reminisce over days gone by. The film was particularly noticed when it was re-released in the past few years by the fashion world, and many designers have admitted to being hugely inspired by Big & Little Edie's eccentric, dramatic, rag-tag style. Only a few years ago, shortly after the Criterion Collection release of Grey Gardens, the Criterion Collection also released The Beales of Grey Gardens, a whole second film made up of extra documentary footage which was just as fascinating as the first.





and NOW there is a feature film movie in production, based on the lives of the Beale women, set for release in November of 2008. The film Grey Gardens will be starring DREW BARRYMORE as "Little Edie" and Jessica Lange as "Big Edie", and i could not be more excited about these choices.





IMDB summarizes the goal of the movie best: Based on the life stories of the eccentric aunt and first cousin of Jackie Kennedy (both named Edith Bouvier Beale aka "Big and Little Edie") raised as Park Avenue débutantes but who withdrew from New York society, taking shelter at their Long Island summer home, "Grey Gardens." As their wealth and contact with the outside world dwindled, so did their grasp on reality. They were reintroduced to the world when international tabloids learned of a health department raid on their home, and Jackie swooped in to save her relatives.

with this & the Chanel biopic on their way, this year is looking to be pretty exciting for fashion on the big screen.

(and of course, my Little Edie inspired polyvore:)

vacancy

dearest internet darlings:

in the past 7 days i have embarked on my summer journeys, adopted a nomadic way of life, and driven the 400 mile drive from Phoenix to Orange County (and back) 3 times. I am slowly adjusting to living (and dressing) in a world where 105 degrees is a good day. I must apologize, my lovelies, for the lack of updates: i have been sadly without internet for at least the past week and my blog and journal have been poorly neglected. but no worries! within this next weekend, i will be back and posting with my usual (maybe pathetic) furiosity! i'd love to start documenting what it's like to try to dress attractively in the sweltering summer heat. an adventure, to say the least! for now, i leave you with an AMAZING fashion inspiration, as well as just a really generally good movie, which you should go out and rent IMMEDIATELY:

please take note of Sarah Lyons' amazing wardrobe, celebrating the delightful tackiness of the wrong end of the 90210 in the mid 90's. i am especially in love with her perfectly permed hair, and oh, of course, those amazing platforms. just my luck, i managed to pick up a perfectly Slums-inspired pair of platforms today at the Goodwill for only $2.99. Now i will be able to live out my mid-90's hollywood dreams, just like i've always wanted.

My Sweet Lo

The second i started reading Vladimir's novel Lolita, i was instantly in love. For its literary value alone, this book is absolutely amazing - Nabokov's prose are ecstatic and beautiful, rolling off the page and off the tongue more like a lengthy poem than a dry old love novel. However it is not only his words that make this story so enchanting - it is also the story, a story of love versus lust, and its characters: the humble narrator Humbert Humbert and his peach-fuzz child love, Lolita. Throughout the book, Nabokov takes great care to describe Lolita's childlike wardrobe: her full petticoats, her slouchy bobby socks, her saddle shoes, and through the years several different film versions of this classic have taken on these descriptions and made them into full on icons.

who can forget Stanley Kubrik's 1962 famous rendition, where he showed us Humbert's first view of Lolita (played by Sue Lyon): sunbathing in her 1950's bathing suit and sunhat, and of course peeking with sultry eyes over a pair of now-iconic red heart sunnies. 

Then there was the 1997 remake, when Lolita was portrayed as a young, sunny, russet-haired & long-limbed Dominique Swain, complete with braids and braces. 

Lolita has long been my biggest fashion inspiration, 

and lucky for me pinafore skirts and heart sunnies are plentiful these days. 

trends can kill nearly anything,

but something tells me this icon will stand the test of time.

The Thermos Song

it is an inarguable fact that 1979's The Jerk is one of the best movies, ever. period. And after watching (and re-watching) this movie countless times, it has become exceedingly clear to me the immense genius of the wardrobe of Marie (played by the lovely Bernadette Peters). Her guileless charm is a perfect mixture of naivete, femininity, a sense of humor, and an uninhibited sense of adventure. I admire everything, from her perfect poodle hair to her heart-shaped pout, And oh her wardrobe! Pastel colors, peter-pan collars, hearts and flowers everywhere but never overkill! I think it's high time she got the fashion recognition she deserved. Today's Fashion Inspiration post goes out to Miss Marie Kimble Johnson.

& of course, my own polyvore take on the timeless Marie:

 

cry baby

what better way to kick off the new blog than a fashion inspiration postt! in the past few weeks since summer started, i've found that i'm far more inspired without school breathing down my neck. for example the other day on a warm & lazy morning i stumbled across the John Water's film Cry Baby on my OnDemand. Directed by the infamous director of Hairspray and Female Trouble, set in the 1950's and starring Iggy Pop, Ricki Lake & a young Johnny Depp, i was convinced it would be a good way to spend a few hours. Needless to say, my head has been dancing with images of candy-bright colors, va-va-oom curves and mile-high hair ever since. 

reason #1 to watch the movie: young Johhny Depp as Cry Baby, a tough guy with a soft side. delicious.

reason #2 (and the real reason inspiration for this post) : the absolutely fabulous style of Wanda Woodwand, a bad blonde bombshell in stillettos and leather. She's a real heartbreaker, with a sweet pout and a rotten mouth, this girl is seriously sexy.

and of course, my polyvore ensemble dedicated to the genius of Ms. Woodwand: