Style Inspiration: What a Way to Go

I know that this is a hot topic for blog posts these days, so maybe I'm slow to catch on, but I recently watched What a Way to Go, and now I fully understand the gravity of Shirley Maclaine, Edith Head, and 1960s glamour.

The story is great, the acting is fantastic, and the costumes speak for themselves.  Shirley Maclaine's style transforms with every man she marries (not an easy task), and every costume is better than the last.  It makes me want to wear nothing but glitter, feathers, bright colors, hats and fur, just what I need for winter!  And it makes me want to dye my hair pink too!

*I've left captions off the pictures intentionally, I sincerely urge you to go watch this movie ASAP!

Style Inspiration: Mad Men

I have been a bit apprehensive about doing a style post pertaining to Mad Men for quite some time now.  This is mostly due to the slew of fashionista bloggers out there worshipping both the style of Betty and Don Draper alike.  But, with the season premiere just around the corner, I thought it was time to honour the show that has given me fashion inspiration before I even watched it.  And what an appropriate way to celebrate my 100th post!

You see, I have been a collector of vintage clothing for ages, and it just so happens that the hourglass waistlines and full skirts look pretty tremendous on me, so the late 50s and early 60s style has been a go-to of mine for years.

I adore the flower print dresses, and on more than one occasion I have claimed to wanting to dress like I'm rushing a sorority circa 1962.  Pair that with some sparkly costume jewelry, clip-on earrings, or maybe an oversized cocktail ring and I'm sold.

Unfortunately, dressing like it is 1963 all the time is no longer practical in this sweltering and filthy city.  You can only get away with second skin dresses and matching heels so often.  So I steal a few touches here and there to make it more practical.  Lately, it's been all about the liquid eyeliner paired with a heavily saturated lipstick.  I'm addicted to MAC's Lady Danger (definitely my signature colour), Impassioned, Morange, and Girl About Town for these purposes.

I also love adding vintage broaches to my dresses.  I have been lucky enough to come into a few of these over the years, but you can find them on eBay for super cheap.  It probably doesn't hurt that Christina Hendricks looks absolutely phenomenal in all the 1960s styles.  No wonder Prada and Louis Vuitton both stole the 1950s/60s inspiration for their upcoming seasons!

The Soundtrack of My Life: Edition 1

Lately, I've been going through a rather obsessive compulsive music phase.  Now, I am not an obsessive personality.  I can quit nearly anything if I put my mind to it, and can change habits quickly.  However, with my music, I like what I like, and lately, it's been a lot of the same things.

So, in light of my recent personal situation, and in light of being a 23 year old in New York City, here are a list of the 10 songs that I cannot get enough of right now in my life.

10. "Purple Rain," by Prince.  Duh.

9. "Falling Down" by Scarlett Johansson.  Yes, her album was not spectacular, but every time I hear this song come over my headphones when I'm walking through the city or in the subway, I am instantly calm and nostalgic for another life.

8. "Over It" by The Dandy Warhols.  One of my favorite bands, this song is my go to I don't give a damn anthem.  If only I meant it half the time...

7. "1901" by Phoenix.  Except I feel so super uncool liking this song now that it's in a car commercial.

6. "Second Hand News" by Fleetwood Mac.  I've been harboring a deep love of Fleetwood Mac since college (I know, I was a little late), and this song always reminds me of my friend Mark.

5.  "The Recluse" by Cursive.  A friend of mine once told me, in a reference to film noir, that I might be a black widow.  Apparently, that means that I may have the ability to get people caught in my web before I gobble them up.  I'm not sure if this is a compliment or not, but with a line like "you're in my web now, I've come to wrap you up tight, til it's time to bite down," this is one of those songs that takes me back to that memory.

4. "Empire State of Mind" by Alicia Keys and Jay-Z.  Yes, it's cheesy, and it doesn't really mean a whole lot, but there is no better song to listen to when I'm walking down the bustling streets of this amazing city.

3. "Piece of My Heart" by Janis Joplin.  Last week, at Harlow's Hideaway, I watch a great burlesque performer do a comedic piece to this song.  I've been listening to it non-stop ever since.  But that's what I love about Janis Joplin, you can forget about her for years, but the minute you need her, she's there.

2. "Nightingale/December Song" by Sunset Rubdown.  "You are a vast explosion and I am the embers." Uhhh, yeah, I feel that way a lot.

1.  "West Coast," by Coconut Records.  I can remember the first time I ever heard this song and the completely visceral moment I had with my friend Josh.  We looked at each other and instantly knew that we would both love this song forever.  I still get that feeling every time I hear the opening bars.

This list seems kind of weak to be perfectly honest, maybe I'll have to keep working on it.  I hope edition 2 isn't quite this pathetic...

Top 10 Favorite Books of 2009

I am not the New York Times Best-Seller list. I don’t rush out to buy the newest books, and I have never read a Twilight novel in my life. But I love literature and think my opinion is valid, so here is a top ten list of the books I have read in the past year:

10. Geek Love
Catharine Dunn’s novel about a family who’s members are nearly all in a carnival sideshow strikes a chord and common theme among books I like to read…it’s bizarre. It manages to be crazy, emotional, and sad all at the same time. I recommend it for anyone looking for something a little bit different from the New York Times Best Sellers.

9. Famous for 15 Minutes
Ultra Violet was an integral part of the Andy Warhol factory scene in the 60s. This memoir, albeit not well written, is fascinating to anyone interested in Warhol, Dali, and the sex, drugs, and rock and roll scene that was the New York 60s. Now out-of-print, it is relatively easy to find a used copy online.

8. Animal Farm
2009 was my year of catching up on classics. Unfortunately, most of those classics did not make my list, but George Orwell’s metaphorical novel has affected my core. Read in the course of two hours at a local coffee shop, I found myself deeply upset, and I don’t think I ate meat for weeks.

7. Drugs are Nice: A Post-Punk Memoir
Lisa Crystal Carver’s memoir of the 1980s and 1990s underground is missing the one thing you’d think it would have: drugs, at least from her. What it does have is lots of music references, the start of ‘zine culture, alleged Nazi’s and the story of one woman’s pain and strength to get through it.

6. Into the Wild
I found my copy of Into the Wild on the street and had I not, I probably never would have read it. Part of me envy’s Chris McCandless’ adventure, and the interviews with everyone he touched during his travels is inspiring. Later made into a movie starring the amazing Emile Hirsch, this story is wonderful and heartbreaking.

5. Middlesex
Jeffrey Eugenides ode to a hermaphrodite is his first, but not only appearance on my list. Spanning from Greek grandparents, to Grosse Pointe, Michigan, this novel is truly an amazing read.

4. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs
Chuck Klosterman’s best selling essay collection makes it pretty high on my list. It is perfect for anyone in their 20s, it deals with topics relevant to growing up in the late 80s and early 90s, and it made me want to rewatch My So-Called Life.

3. The Fountainhead
Ayn Rand’s objectivism is not a popular topic among most people, and while I wouldn’t consider myself an objectivist, I will say this. I want to be Dominique Francon. Her powerful female role is admirable and inspiring, if only one day I can be that much of a ball buster.

2. American Psycho
Bret Easton Ellis tribute to New York and all it’s Patrick Bateman’s in the late 1980s. This was the last B.E.E. book for me to read, the most difficult, and my favorite. I had to speed through this one because I began thinking like Patrick Bateman and my inner monologues kept me up at night.

1. The Virgin Suicides
Jeffrey Eugenides first novel that was later adapted into a feature film by Sophia Coppola. Not only is it my favorite read of 2009, but it’s quite possibly my favorite read ever. Written with grace and eloquence, The Virgin Suicides hits a note that anyone who has ever faced adolescence can relate to.

The Most Un-PC Thing I Do

I am usually known for being very PC. I try not to generalize or stereotype groups of people, I try to live by John Stuart Mill's standards of Liberty, and I don't eat a lot of meat. It's usually this last clause that I get hung up on.

I love animals. I often thing that the farming industry mistreats their livestock and I try to buy as knowledgeable of that as possible. I was often referred to as the "Food Nazi" while living at home after I posted a list of over-farmed fish on the fridge. I am a valiant animal loving hippie who loves to spread the gospel around.

Sort of.

You see, underneath this hippie exterior lies a total hypocrite. Regardless of my animal and food politics there is one thing I do that cannot be made up for. I wear fur.

Hold onto your cans of red paint. I, of course, have rules by which I wear fur. It has to be used, it has to be vintage (the longer it's been dead, the better I sleep at night), and it doesn't have to be real. I know that these rules will never make up for my fur loving, animal killing self, and one day I may look back and be disgusted by my choices. But that day, is not today. No, today was the first day I decided to sport my newest fur addition:


BEHOLD: THE PATCHWORK RABBIT JACKET

A year ago, I would have thought this jacket tacky, and not for me. However, ever since I watched Wait Until Dark starring Audrey Hepburn, I have been obsessed with getting a patchwork fur. At the beginning of the movie, which takes place in New York in 1967, a minor character is spotted wearing a trench length patchwork fur. While I'm too short to wear a trench length anything, I think this shorter version will suffice.


A better view of the length




And a close up of all the different colors.

My roommate and I have established that it's probably rabbit (though I was secretly hoping it was fake actually). If only my PETA member mom could see me now...