Filler Inspiration Post

Due to a serious lack of inspiration I won’t be making a real writy post this week. But to still do something this week I decided to post some pictures of awesome things I came across.

First up! Chet Baker Sings.
My boyfriend and two of my friends have been having a jazz/blues fase and it turned me onto Chet Baker. He’s a jazz trumpeter and made this one album called Chet Baker Sings, which is just such a sweet, but cool album. And Chet Baker used to be quite attractive!

Just like most people on the internet, I’ve been looking at the runway pictures of fashion week and there were really cool designs! I’m already on the lookout for a really long wintercoat like the ones at Theyskens Theory. They make you look really cool and careless and I really hope the trend will carry to high street fashion stores. Otherwise I’ll just have to make one myself. That is how much I want it.

I’ve also been in love with Mary Katrantzou’s Autumn/Winter 2011-12 collection. The prints and shapes are amazing. I usually don’t go for really bold prints, but the material she uses and the style just make it work so well.

More fashion related info, I watched My Fair Lady for the first time last week and it was really good. I’m a big sucker for musicals anyways, but it had a great story and really nice outfits. Although I was a bit disappointed by the dress she wore to the gala, but I think my expectations were just a bit too high.

I’ve also watched the entire first season and what is already available of the second season of The Vampire Diaries. I thought it was going to be terrible, and to be honest the first episodes were (Who ever came up with that writing in my diary voice over monologue should be fired) but after that it got really good. It’s less violent and sexy than True Blood, but it’s funnier, has shocking stories and pretty decent characters. And also hot guys!

All the cast pictures look a bit ridicolous, but the show is really good!

The last thing I found through a somewhat old post on the Pamflet Magazine Blog. It’s a Australian Magazine called Frankie and the look reminds me a lot of Oh Comely. I haven’t read it yet, but there is one store in Amsterdam that sells it. I’ll be going there on Wednesday and I’ll let you know if it is as awesome as it looks.

There’s quite a busy week coming up. Lotte and I are going to the Monki Party for their new spring/summer collection on Wednesday, to the Swanmarket on Sunday and I also want to go to Museumnacht on Saturday (It’s a night where all the museums in town are open and host special exhibitions and stuff). So lot’s to do and hopefully more to tell that week!

Unlikely Fashion Icon: Jimmy Olsen

Most people know Jimmy Olsen as that goofy kid from Superman wearing a bowtie. As soon as people stopped wearing fancy bows as neckwear, he was made fun off by the comic community and everyone else who laid eyes on him. It’s time to change that! Bowties are awesome and Jimmy Olsen’s getting back into style.

Let’s dive into the history of bowties. According to Wikipedia it originated among Croatian mercenaries during the Prussian Wars of 17^th century. They used a scarf to hold together the opening of their shirts, which they called a cravat. So not actually a bowtie, but that’s where it all started. Soon it was the fashionable thing to do. Later on it became a real choice. While most people switched to the necktie, some made the definitive decision to make the bow their signature look. After looking like that in public, there was no turning back. Some famous bowtie-wearing men of the olden days are Winston Churchill, Pee-wee Herman and Fred Astaire. Nowadays, wearing neckties is as fancy as we get, but there are still some fashionable figures out there who don’t believe that bowties are for old men and clowns.

The most famous one for me is Jimmy Olsen, which is why I picked him as the style icon. He accomplished the adorkable look and turned himself into a style icon for many men who weren’t as tough and muscular as Superman. The geeky guy became a dapper hottie. Although not every ‘reïncarnation’ of Jimmy Olsen has sported the neckwear (they changed his look in the ‘70’s), to most it is still his iconic image.

Looking over a list of bow tie wearers on Wikipedia I’m extremely surprised James Bond isn’t on it. Although he also wears other sorts of neckwear, he still is the most dashing when wearing a big black bowtie. It gives him more charm and style than the British accent and his suave words together.

Other contemporary wearers are fashion designers Alber Elbaz from Lanvin and Karl Lagerfeld. I was so excited to see that the Lanvin loves H&M collaboration included his signature bowtie! Steve Jobs had a bowtie fase in the 80’s and Matt Groening has a tendency to give a lot of his characters awesome neckwear as well. 

 

But there have been two recent characters who’ve really brought it back into style: Doctor Who and Chuck Bass. I mentioned Doctor Who in an earlier post, where he said the following about his appearance:

Doctor: Trust me?

Kazran: Okay...

Doctor: Oi. Eyes on the tie. Look at me. I wear it and I don't care. Trust me?

Kazran: ...Yes.

Doctor: That's why it's cool.

— Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol

Why wear a bowtie? Because they're cool! After the start of the new Doctor Who season, a leading fashion retailer exclaimed that they prompted the sales of bowties! Good news! Not only did he bring back the bowtie, he also made the fez fashionable and will work his magic on the Stetson next season.

Another contemporary dandy is off course Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl. He wears bowties for many occasions and has really brought them back to popular culture. Take a gander on Lookbook and you’ll see lots of boys creating outfits with a bow in the center. But it’s not just men wearing them anymore. Even girls are getting in on the action, and I’m not talking playmates.  Alexa Chung, Rihanna, Diane Kruger, so what’s not to like! Famous people are wearing them, so should you!

I ran into bowties in a second-hand clothing store in Antwerpen. They had this big square bowl filled with colorful bowties. I especially liked the thick velvet kind, so I bought three of them. After that I started to wear them with as many different outfits as possible, but the reactions of most people weren’t as enthusiastic as I thought it would be. They would say, ‘how quaint’ or ‘My, what a big bow you have on’. Even though my new style didn’t catch on as I thought it would, I still think wearing bowties is the best way to look dashing. Next stop: suspenders and a Stetson!

Favorite actresses

I am not going to make a year list as my fellow bloggers did. Probably because I would not be able to make one. I don’t really see the end of the year as a closure to something and I am not that good at summing things up in lists. But I do have one major goal for the next year. I will be working on being able to earn money by doing something I really love: getting involved in theater plays. I don’t know in which way yet, but that is part of the big goal: finding out what my qualities are and if they are good enough to make a profession out of it. I almost completed my bachelor study, which I could use to work behind the scenes, but I want more!

So therefore I did made a list of some sorts. It consists out of my favorite modern actresses at the moment.

1. Cate Blanchett

She can't do anything wrong in my opinion. My all time favorite is her playing Bob Dylan in 'I'm not there'. A woman playing Bob Dylan.. but I think no-one could have done it better. She's also wonderful in 'The Aviator' and in 'Heaven', for which she shaved off her hair. 

Cate as Bob Dylan

Cate as Katharine Hepburn in 'The Aviator'

2. Penelope Cruz

Penelope Cruz did make a lot of movies that, well.. sucked big time. But she's the leading actress in my favorite movie 'Volver' and that made up for all the bad ones. Liked her in 'Vicky, Christina, Barcelona' too, mostly because of her mesmerizing looks.

Volver

Volver

Vicky, Christina. Barcelona

3. Natalie Portman

Another hair-shaving girl. Shaving all your hair, it is something I always wanted tot do but never dare to do..
Back to Natalie, I saw 'Black Swan' yesterday. It is such a beautiful movie and Natalie's performance is outstanding in every way. A bit over the top, but in a good way I guess. I always found her really cool in 'Leon', 'Mars Attacks' and 'V for Vendetta'.

4. Julianne Moore

Favorite performance: 'The Big Lebowski'! And she shouts beautifully in 'Magnolia'.

Maude Lebowski in 'The Big Lebowski'

'The Big Lebowski'

Speaking of great acting performances and end of the year lists: this year I watched the two best series ever made. 'Twin Peaks' and (even better) 'Carnivale' are full off amazing characters which are played wonderfully. These series are really worthwhile to spend your time on.