New Blog Alert

Posting a quick note to recognize a new blog that I have quickly come to love. It's called The Story Is In The Seams and it's the brilliant brainchild of blogger Aleah Rae, who also writes The Queen Knows Best. Her latest creation is about "fashion, fiction, and fotography". She finds a lovely photo, writes a short story about the model, and creates a look from her closet.  AND, she's invited me to guest post on her blog! My post just went up, and I'm excited to see what other guest bloggers have created.  Keep a lookout for Aleah Rae, she may just be appearing on this blog soon.

see you in 2012!

I am fortunate enough to have the opportunity to visit Summit Lake Lodge in Moose Pass, Alaska for the next week. I've been there a few times before, and I cannot wait to return. It'll be a week full of family and friends, wintery fun, and excellent food. Oh, and also no internet. I will be completely unplugged. So, I leave you for a bit with this post dedicated to my wardrobe for the next 7 days. Not really. I wish I would be looking this awesome. In actuality I'll be wearing Cherokee boys bibbed snowpants, my old Columbia puffer coat from 8th grade, and Croc boots. Oh, well. Happy holidays, everyone!

"Silent Night" - Priscilla Ahn

Christmas, Christmas, Christmas. I love Christmas. I love the anticipation of time off and reuniting with friends and family and shopping for loved ones and holiday decorating and Christmas specials episode of television and my annual viewing of Love Actually and CHRISTMAS MUSIC. 

My favorite thing  about Christmas music is that each year can bring some new songs for me to enjoy. Most are covers of the classics, some are original. Some are wonderful, some are dismal. One of my all-time favorite covers of a classic is Priscilla Ahn's "Silent Night", found on The Hotel Cafe Presents Winter Songs compilation (one I highly recommend for those who enjoy softer, folksy contemporary holiday jams).


This arrangement is simply gorgeous. The harmonies are hauntingly beautiful and modern and seem to present the song in a new light, but doesn't walk away from its roots. As I listen to it, I feel myself get lost, but then I always find my way back at the end. This look represents that soft stillness and cold and peace and hope.


Listen to the song here.

Alexander McQueen backless gown
£2,198 - theoutnet.com

Anna Sui lace cape
£172 - farfetch.com

Giuseppe Zanotti high heel booties
$556 - ssense.com

Snake handbag
wallis.co.uk

Yochi Design yellow gold jewelry
$60 - otteny.com

Diamond jewelry
jewelry.1stdibs.com

Maison Martin Margiela long opera glove
$383 - net-a-porter.com

"Suicide Medicine" - Rocky Votolato

I will be forever indebted to my parents for a number of things. The obvious things: raising me well, giving me a really great childhood and adolescence, molding me into the person I am today. Another notable influence? Music. My music tastes have very much been influenced by those of my parents. My father is the one who taught me to appreciate an album in its entirety, without shuffling songs and without skipping songs. And he always stressed the importance of purchasing the actual CD, not the digital version, so you can appreciate the artwork the artist painstaking selected. 


My father is also the one who introduced me to Rocky Votolato. He was in a record store one day and hear a song from "Makers" being played. He immediately loved the song and asked the staff where he could find that album (another trait I got from my parents - having and indulging in immediate reactions). Since then I've seen Rocky twice live, once with my dad. I've really come to appreciate his music as each new album has been released since then. He seems to cross genres, moving from a rougher tonality and harsh melody to a lighter, folksy sound and then on to an almost country feel. 


This outfit is inspired by "Suicide Medicine" from Rocky's album of the same name. This was the one of those harsher feeling albums. This song has such a great hook but you can't ignore the sound of erratic desperation and hopeless nostalgia. Those are the feelings I tried to evoke with this look. The look is pretty straightforward - rough around the edges, alluding that it was hastily thrown together, but I really enjoyed putting the details together. I added some uber-girly pearls and feminie shades to evoke the sense of vulnerability in this song. I especially like this YSL clutch that looks like an addressed letter; I included it here to reference the life that was lost.

 

Listen to the song here.

"Born To Die" - Lana Del Rey

[I'm deviating from my usual formula for today's post, and perhaps experimenting in what will turn into an additional formula going forward: discussing the styling of a music video. Instead of creating a unique look for a specific song, I'll be analyzing some of the stylistic details of a specific music video and creating a collage of looks similar to those seen in the video. Cool? Cool. Here we go.]

all screenshots taken from the music video

Lana Del Rey is an interesting artist, no? She's certainly beginning to garner much more attention in the recent months. She signed with Interscope in October, her debut album is due in January 2012, and her video for "Born to Die" received over 1.5 million hits in two days. 


She's not brand new to the scene, however. Amanda Dobbins of nymag.com wrote an excellent piece summarizing her rise to fame, as well as the backlash surrounding it. Essentially, she's being marketed as a sexy new indie sensation, but a number of music bloggers have called her out for being a poseur and adjusting her image to fit into the indie mold (Dobbins' piece references most of those bloggers and their articles). 


As for me, I've enjoyed listening to her singles "Video Games", "Blue Jeans", and now "Born To Die", but at the same time the idea that she may be manufactured to appeal to a certain audience leaves a bad taste in my mouth (bad sound in my ears? Does this idiom work?). And then again, how many hundreds of other artists are completely manufactured in order to be successful? I think the issue here is it's typically pop artists and the machines behind them that fall into this category and their listeners don't care as much to lead to any real backlash. Lana Del Rey's people tried to pull one over on the wrong demographic. As an indie sensation, she's appealing to the hipsters, those vehemently opposed to "the mainstream". I know I'm stereotyping, but I think it's those stereotypical hipsters that are being the loudest over all this. If your audience yearns for authentic indie cred and then finds out it's not authentic at all, you can bet they'll yell about it. 


Anyway, this is a fashion piece, so let's be done with the politics and controversy and get back to the style, because, you guys, this video is pretty stunning. 


The song is about a relationship that's essentially doomed to fail (hence the title) and, in the video, it does so, quite literally. The video was shot in a French castle and the juxtaposition of shots in this ornate location and the gritty scenes in the car is beautiful. The colors are simple and impactful, and the flames at the end are especially abrupt as they provide a bright pop of orange after scenes of neutrals, reds, whites, and blues (minus the tigers, of course).


Each look worn by Lana is fantastic and understated, and the beauty is spot-on. In her throne she wears an Antonio Berardi gown with her floral crown and pet tigers. We also see her face featuring a strong red lip, dramatic cat eyes, and oh-so-trendy triangle nails, a favorite of refinery29 nail DIYs. The next time we see her she's wearing a classic Americana chic ensemble with Daisy Dukes, some red hiker boots and a fabulously fringed motorcycle jacket. Her final outfit is an uncomplicated slip with a perfectly curled hairstyle and nude lip.


Want to recreate one of the looks? Here are some ideas.

"Daisy" - Fang Island

Have you ever heard a song for the first time and just had an instant connection to it? This actually happens to me a lot. I'll be listening to something on the radio or a podcast and interrupt a conversation to declare "Oooo, I like this". I love when this happens to me, because it reminds me of being a kid. It's totally black and white, and I immediately love something or I don't. Completely uncomplicated.


That is exactly what happened the first time I heard "Daisy" by Fang Island. The melody is infectiously upbeat and I can't help but feel happier when I hear it. Each time I hear it I have an inclination to dance my heart out. It's important to note here that I am not what one would consider "a dancer", so my dancing to this song would like involve much spinning and jumping and running.


That being said, how perfect is this outfit for just that kind of dancing? Can you imagine the twirl factor of this utterly marvelous Matthew Williamson skirt? And the mod Melissa Vivienne Westwood booties give just the right pop of color without being too impractical to impede my moves. This ensemble is about dressing like a kid with a (very) grown-up budget. It also makes me smile when I see it, which makes it the perfect match for this song.


Listen to the song here.

"King of Anything" - Sara Bareilles

I think this is such a kickass look. Not in the literal, if I wore this I'd be able to hurt you, kind of way (although I probably would if I stepped on you), but in the totally confident, send me any challenge and I'll crush it kind of way. A brocade minidress and fur boldly paired with some thick knit socks and badass leather half-gloves? It's beauty meets total toughness. Maybe not total toughness, but there's definitely a message of "go ahead and try me" here, and I love it. The wearer of this outfit trusts herself wholeheartedly and is self-reliant while still maintaining a careful attention to and appreciation for detail. She values what she has, because she's worked so hard to get it. 


On my iPod, you'll find a "pump me up" playlist. I'm not talking about an exercise playlist, that's a separate one entitled "WORKOUT JAMZ". This is a playlist specifically for when I'm feeling sort of down and need a pick-me-up. First on that list is Sara Bareilles' "King of Anything". I absolutely love everything about that song. I love the melody and I love the message. It has a witty way of declaring independence: "I hate to break it to you, dear/but I'm not drowning/there's no one here to save". It's all about owning who you are and the choices you make and, not to get too cheesy, I think that's a fabulous statement to make.


Listen to the song here.