Monday, April 30, 2012

60s fashion in Modern Movies

Hello! Today I have a very fashion informitive article by Edwin at Celebutaunt!
Enjoy!

The '60s were an era that helped to define many styles. From music to clothing, the decade offered a distinctive feel that transcended from the tense '50s to the relaxed hippy mindset. Modern movies take different approaches to costuming. Often it depends on the taste of the director or the whim of the costume designer. Some movies make fashion part of the story while others make the era difficult to detect. Let’s take a look at five movies whose characters lived during the 1960s and their approach to period fashion. 

National Lampoon’s Animal House
Probably the most memorable fashion choice coming out Animal House was the toga, but if you look at the costumes you will see they scream of the early '60s and college. The film takes place at Faber College in 1962.

It was a challenge for Landis to represent the proper era while still depicting college life. The answer was found in school sweaters and letter jackets. The overall clothing choices stayed true to the transient '50s fashions found at the beginning of the decade. There were also subtle introductions of clothing for a '60s look such as thicker ties and turtleneck sweaters. 



Forrest Gump
“Forrest Gump” was a movie that followed one man from youth to raising his own child. If you are not watching the film closely, it is easy to miss the influence of '60s fashion. One place it becomes obvious is in the scene with President John F. Kennedy where Gump’s suit has thin lapels and a slim cut in the legs.

Forrest’s childhood friend and eventual wife, Jenny, gives you a clear glimpse of '60s style with a hippy fashion statement at the end of the decade. In this film, period costuming helps focus the viewer on that era of Gump’s life. 



Hairspray  
Fashion was a large part of this movie. Costume designer Rita Ryack and her staff spent hours combing through high school yearbooks and magazines from the early '60s to get the look right. They ended up with a hybrid style that still had some of the flair from the '50s such as slicked back hair but was transitioning to the clothing of the 1960s. This was primarily done for effect, states hair and wig designer Judi Cooper-Sealy. They wanted the film to have a ‘big’ comedic feel and used hair and fashion for that purpose. 


The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” follows the life of a character just like “Forrest Gump,” but in this move, Button gets younger as the decades progress instead of older. The 1960s segment of the film is the decade Button lives with his childhood sweetheart, Daisy.

The award-winning costume design stands out in this film. The clothing is as reflective of the characters as much as the era. Designer Jacqueline West explains that she spent time learning about each character in the film. The challenge was to stay true to that personality regardless of the decade. Cate Blanchett’s Daisy was a strong woman, so her '60s fashion statement consisted of Capri trousers and tennis shoes. Button was a motorcycle rider and wore a leather jacket. You see changes in the fashions for each era, but they are subtle, so they enhance instead of distract from the story arcs. 



X-Men: First Class
The fashion goal for “X-Men: First Class” was '60s without necessarily looking like it. The costuming included a few odds and end of 60s fashion. In most scenes, it would be difficult to place the time of the film unless you happened to catch President John F. Kennedy on the old-style televisions. This was not an accident. Movie director Matthew Vaughn stated in the Behind the Scenes segments on the DVD he didn’t want the costumes to stand out as 1960s clothing though the film was set during the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The scenes featuring the decor of Sebastian Shaw were meant to be old-school Bond. To correspond to this look, January Jones character had '60s Bond-girl outfits. The suits worn by Michael Fassbender have the slim cut legs and turtle neck shirts made popular during that era. Jennifer Lawrence and Zoe Kravitz wear the occasional mini skirt and Go-Go boot ensemble. That is the extent of the period costuming for this movie.



The era of “free love” was a time when attitudes and clothing all started to relax. That is reflected by the diverse trends you see in fashions of that time. Period movies require research and dedicated designers willing to dig for just the right look. Ten years are a long time in the world of fashion. There is no era that showcases that more than the 1960s or no better way to experience it then the cinema.


This guest post is by Edwin who regularly writes about celebrities, TV, movies, and fashion for the Celebutaunt blog on USDish.

Friday, April 27, 2012

Coachella 2012!



 I just got home from the 2012 Coachella festival in Indio California. By now, all of you know about this amazing gathering of music, art, and fashion in one very...very.. unbearably hot desert setting. I believe it topped 107 last saturday. Seriously. My best friend, Bibbles and I did car camping and at 8am it was too hot to sleep anymore. We were baking in our little tent by the heat! Most of the early part of the day consisted of trying to hide from the sun, by taking naps in the shade, cooling off with frozen lemonade and even hopping on the grocery bus to the local market just to stand in the frozen food aisle. But once that sun went down, my favorite acts came out.


I saw so many bands. So many I can't even list them all here, so I will just detail the bands I drove 6 hours for and suffered through long hot days to see. On Friday, The Arctic Monkeys. I've loved them for years. They are high energy, witty and British. Plus come one.. have you seen Alex? Bibbles and I know all the words to their songs and we danced and yelled the whole time. After them, A band I was unfamiliar with named Pulp came on stage. Us, being huge Black Keys fans decided to push forward through the massive crowd and wait out the band until the Black keys came on as the headliners. We wanted to be in the front, dammit! But to our surprise, Pulp was very good! They had a wonderful light show, were funny and entertaining and interacted heavily with the crowd. Things went into a frenzy once they finished though, because everyone wanted to be close for the black keys. Luckily for us, we had the best seats in the house- Front Row, Center!!! Completely worth fighting through gobs of fans, rubbing against sticky, sweaty arms and being pushed in every direction. the Black Keys were quite frankly, AMAZING. One of the best shows I've ever seen. Plus they played, "I'll be your man" one of my favorites. They mostly stuck to songs off their newer albums (even though I love some of their more obscure songs like "Have love, will travel") BUT the best and biggest surprise of the night was that freaking JOHN FOGERTY came out to sing a Levon Helm song with the Black Keys. Ahhhhhh! I was so excited and happy. I saw, front row, John freakin Fogerty of CCR with the Black Keys. I died. Right there.

On Saturday I saw Andrew bird whom I know better as Dr. Strings, (Look it up) and Feist who I was really excited to see. I love her new album, "Metals" which she heavily play off of. She had a full band and string section. Plus she is just flat out adorable! By the way, new concert rule: If you put your girl on your shoulders while standing in front of me at a show, I have every right to push in front of you, and will. I also watched Bon Iver, but honestly, not into it. I don't get it. I like my male singers to have a bit more balls. When Radiohead started I let Bibbles fight through the thousands to get up really close while I kinda wandered around and listened. I was so exhausted at that point I really needed to sit down. I lounged on the grass under all the sound and light when I noticed a lovely girl in a delicate, pretty dress coming my way. I immediately noticed that it was ANNIE MONROE. My biggest fashion inspiration! She was simply gorgeous in person. She wore a light pinkish lipstick and a vintage taupe coloured dress, I believe she was with James D Kelly But don't quote me on that.. Anyway she walked RIGHT by me, I was so excited and I wondered if i should go bother her, but I looked a right mess, so I thought better of it. Still, I was a happy Shell.

When Sunday came around, I really just wanted to leave. I was done. But I stayed for my best friend's sake, and yes I saw Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre, but west coast rap doesn't do it for me. Wait I'm sorry, any rap except Kanye doesn't do it for me. (I'm very loyal). Florence and the Machine was pretty good. And its always nice to see the unexpected huge, buff man with tattoos dancing and singing every word. haha

To sum it up, it was a great experience, yes camping wasn't the best, the sun was unforgiving, and most people were gross, trashy and rude, but the whole point was the music and Bibbles. It was a good time with plenty of highlights. And after I got home I was tan, tired and dirty. Thanks Coachella.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Lana Crown

 DIY floral crown, Forever 21 blouse, DIY cutoffs, vintage belt and shoes

 So I'm headed to Cochella this Thursday with my best friend Bibbles to see many wonderful acts and I made two floral crowns with some fake flowers, dollar headbands, and a glue gun. Granted it is Lana Del Rey inspired, since Ive been on a Lana kick lately.
(Post coming about her soon!)
If anyone would like to see a how to on making this floral crown, please leave me a comment saying so!
:)
Ps- Who else is going to Cochella weekend two?

Friday, April 13, 2012

Casual Collection

 Collection B jacket, Levis jeans, colourblock platforms, H&M sweater, Vera Wang bag

 Okay this is as casual as I'm ever going to get.
Ever.
Especially on this blog.
But I'm cozy, comfy in my Collection B jacket!

Speaking of which, Here is the winner of my Birthday Collection b giveaway!
I will be emailing you shortly and remember to shoot the jacket and post your lovely outfits photos!
Thank you to all who entered and to Collection B!
:)

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Guest Post- Voguish Doodles

Meet Elisabeth from Voguish Doodles in Indonesia.
She is pretty much the sweetest girl I've ever conversed with over email and she is freakin ad-or-able!
I highly recommend checking out her blog because she is so creative, mixing together patterns and diy ideas to create a unique and sweet style!


Just few days ago, I wondered around some online shops to see what's hot and in trend for this Spring. Then I witnessed that collars still in vogue this season. I saw a gorgeous double collars top in Asos, and I though, since shipping to my country is hell expensive, so I was thinking to create such outfit from what's available on my closet. The Peter Pan Collar is one of my favorite collar ever. I have couples of dresses and tops with Peter Pan collar. So, I had the idea to create a colar combo where I wear two collar tops, and layered the collar on top of the other one. And, voila! That's how you get a double collars effect without spending your money on new clothes. :)

Thank you, Elisabeth!
Please visit her blog here!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Polka Dot raincoat



 Collection B dotty raincoat, Forever 21 nautical dress, vintage 60s purse

 This is another adorable raincoat from Collection B!
I just got back from Sf with my best friends, Robert, Alicia and Pete.
We ate yummy food, got free wine, went to an expensive but fun dance club, walked about China town and North Beach, shopped in Union Square, hopped around SFMOMA and cried at some Warhols, had 4am pizza, and drove while rapping to kanye. 
Good weekend.

Only two more days until my Collection B Giveaway ends!

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Alligator Rain

 Super Cheesin'
 Collection B Raincoat, Vintage sweater, forever 21 skirt, thrifted heels

Collection B's 2012 Spring line has some adorable raincoats, this alligator print being one of them! It's really light so you can just toss it over whatever you're already wearing and keep completely dry.
Plus its packable! It comes with a little bag that you can just fold up the coat and toss it in!
 How handy is that?

 Im starting to feel that itch to do more photoshoots.
 Its been a couple weeks since I've done a full one and I cant wait to find a new model and concept.
Hopefully I can quickly put one together this coming Monday!
Until then Happy Easter everyone!
:)

Don't forget to enter my Collection B jacket giveaway!

Sponsors!