A blog that I used to love was Mindy Kaling’s Things I Bought That I Love. I hadn’t checked in on it in quite a while, so I went to look today. Alas, it is no more. In memoriam, here are some things I’ve found lately that I would love to buy, if I weren’t a broke-ass nigh-grad student. Continue reading →
sartorialism
21
Dec 09
Nothing like a good belt!
On Wednesday the New York Times posted this great fashion slide show, partially in homage to Mad Men.
It’s fabulous through and through, and photographer Douglas Friedman paid great attention to detail– the supersaturated colors, typesetting (aka fonts chosen), and even a photoshopped faux-magazine texture all really mimic contemporaneous ads. I love the colors of the clothes (green gingham!) and the expressions on the model’s face.
The most glaring difference between then and now, at least to me, was how ripped the model looks in the last ad. Models and movie stars in the 1950s and 1960s simply did not have six packs that (over)developed.
For example, check out this low-quality screen shot of William Holden in Sunset Boulevard: Continue reading →
20
Nov 09
Russian Roulette is not the same without a gun
Lady Gaga at the VMAs
I know, I know, I’m the last person in the entire universe to get on this bandwagon*, but still: damn, who the fuck is Lady Gaga, and what fucking planet is she from? Her songs are absurd dance explosions, her fashion is already the stuff of legend, and her videos are like super-condensed tiny little films that reference everything from Hitchcock to Minnie Mouse.
*Thanks, Marla!
They combine the superglam pop fashion sensibility that’s come to dominate celebrity culture since the passing of grunge (see: Gwen Stefani, Beyonce) with the grotesque, disturbing, Uncanny Valley sensibility that was once found in the videos of Marilyn Manson. You can find any of them on youtube yourself, though (I particularly recommend “Paparazzi” and “Bad Romance”), so instead I’m going to show you a couple of things that you might not see otherwise.
Lady Gaga is a fantastic songwriter, of course, but that superslick production almost disguises what a talented musician she is. For all the vocoder she employs, woman has got a pair of LUNGS. Check out this video of her playing piano and singing a stripped-down version of “Paparazzi.”
24
Feb 09
You don’t have to wear that dress tonight
I think we’re slowly sinking into a fashion low tide. The marvelous Bill Cunningham of the NYT recently informed us that if grey isn’t the new black, it’s the next closest thing. Likewise, the Sartorialist has been documenting nigh countless incidents of it around the globe.
I don’t fundamentally have anything against grey. It matches every other color, and can look downright dashing. But what world are we living in where even Carine Roitfeld is caught wearing it head-to-toe?
31
Jan 09
Too many parties?
I sure love me some Edith Frost, and earlier tonight I was craving her song “Cars and Parties.” I did what you do when you want to hear a song but don’t have it on hand, and asked my good friend Youtube.
Now I feel like I know Chicago pretty well– I used to live there, and have a lot of friends who live there now, but I sure had never heard of Chic-a-Go-Go. It’s a sweet cable access DANCE PARTY program, along the lines of SOUL TRAIN or AMERICAN BANDSTAND, except it’s in Chicago, hosted by an awesome woman named Miss Mia and her sock puppet friend Ratso, and often features kickass indie rock bands lip-syncing along to their own songs, while all-ages guests dance with them.
There a number of reasons that might explain what I’m about to show you. One might be that because it’s an all-ages cable access program, guests are instructed to dress accordingly. Or this might just be Edith Frost’s natural vibe. I’m personally choosing to categorize it as “pre-9/11 fashion,” a sensibility that lacks our jaded, modern-day influences. Regardless, I sincerely hope that you enjoy it, both for the special something that the song contributes, and for the many extra extra special somethings that Edith’s maraca and dance skills add to the mix.
