IN THE WORDS OF JERMAINE STEWART..

                               

As Halloween draws closer, the assumed arrival of themed lingerie floods cheap department stores like primark etc. I suppose that this grand show of "fun" underwear drives most women into a strange frenzy causing them to think that if you have cat ears on it's not slutty. That said, I don't think you should ever be totally oppsed to that sort of fancy dress because what's the point of dressing up if you can't do what you want? I'm also a massive fan of club kids and the way they dressed - and they weren't particularly modest...

Nevertheless I still don't think Halloween is a particularly good reason to dress like without dressing .Of course you could reply with "It's just a bit of fun, fridgid!" but let's be honest you can still have fun without looking like a slapper. Who said that once you reach a certain age you can no longer dress up as a zombie bride or a pumpkin without it being sexy? Do you really have to get your nips out to have a good time? Can we no longer be appealing to other humans in clothes?

             
 
It would be easy for you to say that this was just another feminist statement but in my opinion it's just common sense. Living in the city center at this time of the year, I'm alwyas surrounded by freshers going out for the first time without having to worry about bumping into their parents, freedom like this induces some fucking ridicullous attiude in people and sadly for them, terrible outfits. It's like onsies - dressing up as a sexy cat is not cute or funny, you just look stupid.

I miss the days when people would go out dressed as a gangster and look hellah dope without having to beg it in a tie and a bra. I love spending time chosing which character I was going to dress up as and then having to rummage around a crazy amount of shops to look for all the bits and bobs that create the perfect costume. If you're last minute I can see the appeal  of slipping on your lace body-piece and a sailor hat, but if you just take a little time and look around your wardrobe, I promise that you'll be able to create a conversation-piece-costume instead of something that isn't at all shocking, only blends you more into the crowd!

So, before you go out tonight in whatever costume you have planned, take time to look in the mirror and ask yourself "Do I look like I'm going to a Halloween party, or do I just look like someone who left the house in a rush and forgot their clothes?". I hope this shows you how you really look in that outfit. B.x

CLOTHES I'LL NEVER EVER WEAR.

A friend of mine made a good point today when he said that there were so many clothes that he had no intention of ever wearing before but have now become staple pieces of his wardrobe. Being rather opinionated, there are so many things that I have put onto my absolute no-no list, each with a justification might I add. These are the clothes I could never ever imagine myself wearing....

1. ONSIES (EXCLUDING KIGURUMI'S, DEPENDING ON THE OCCASION)

I have to admit, I am extremely disappointed with the human race for this ridiculous trend. I don't think there
is any appeal in wearing something made for a nappy-wearing 1 year old, the fact people think it's cute or funny just projects the slow decrease in intelligence and slowly closes the chapter of good comedy. That all said, I do find that in certain circumstances the animal onsies can be useful, lets say a low key Halloween costume for example, then again I really don't think that I would go as a cute furry animal for Halloween - it's not really my style. In a nutshell, there are no words to describe how aggravated I get when I see tweets from girls (or boys in some cases) saying something like "OMG so comfy in my onesie!!!! all I need is someone to hug me :(" , when I read such statements that people feel necessary to tell the world I seriously start to question how safe the world will be when the next generation of world leaders, I just hate onesies.

2. BAROQUE PRINT (SPECIFICALLY BAROQUE LEGGINGS)

This is quite possibly the most repulsive print to have ever come into fashion, the worst thing about it has to be the fact that you really can't get away from it. Having to see bright colours, gold chain and animal print details mixed together makes me feel nauseous and gives me a bit of a headache to be honest. Another good reason why it sucks would have to be it's impracticality. Pairing so many colours means that you can only really wear it with black and white tops which is just silly if you are looking for something that you'll be able to wear again and again because you'll not be able to restyle it. Before you judge me for disliking such a big trend, you might like to know that I have actually tried a pair of Baroque print high waisted  jeans before and they fitted fine, but my gosh were they ugly!! I don't care that it is similar to the chain print of Versace - I will never wear such an abomination!!

3. EMBELLISHED MAXI-DRESSES

It's not that I dislike this kind of maxi-dress it's just absolutely not the sort of thing that I would ever feel comfortable in, christ it was hard enough in my prom dress which was just a really simple red shift dress. I suppose, and this is going to sound really terrible, I find that this style of dress is really tacky. Of course it depends in who & how you wear it, but 8 times out of 10 it goes terribly wrong. I feel a need to remain optimistic about this particular item of clothing as it appeals to many women around the world and does look nice in certain settings, it's just not for me.

4. JACK WILLS/SUPERDRY HOODIES

Living in the city center I am constantly surrounded by university students who never really get out of their heavily labelled leisure wear, in particular the two named above. Having to watch these clans of chauvinistic intelligentsia types strut around sainsburys and shout at each other while choosing their preferred liquor of the evening, to prepare for their 3rd week of binge drinking has absolutely put me off owning such a stupidly priced sweater. The designs of these hoodies aren't even nice! Not to mention they were probably made in a terribly unethical way and altogether not worth the £45 you paid for it with. We can't only blame freshers for wearing these egoistic jumpers, because many people commit this fashion crime. A perfect example would be a girl I used to know who boastingly told me the story of how she had gone into the Jack Wills store for a bag and came out with a matching bottle, pencil case and phone cover! You don't understand how difficult it was for me to look remotely interested when she was telling me that story.

5, SNAPBACKS

This is only a personal preference, I don't really have a problem if other people want to wear them but I really despise that thing that some girls do when they take a guys snapback and wear it around as if it's some form of medal. It's not and you look silly.


Sorry if this has offended you in some way, but if you've been making these types of fashion mistakes I think you deserve it. B.x

FASHION IN FILM

I don't believe that anyone has never, not once in their lives, been inspired by a character from a film/book/play's costume. I do it all the time, in fact I can become quite fanatic about films, so much so that I can re-watch them like 3 times a day for a week. Inspiration from such things has been around for yonks when you think about it, take for example, Marilyn Monroe. The beauty spot, red lip and winged eyeliner is an everyday look that many women rely on. The same can be easily said for  men, maybe not Monroe, but James Dean. His infamous red bomber jacket in 'Rebel without a cause' comes in and out of fashion like my dress size goes up and down (all the time). But no matter how popular or classic these pioneers of significant fashion in film are, I've never really been interested in dressing like them.

I suppose that the films that have really inspired me (fashion wise) have been pretty unconventional and mainly focus around one era. It could just be the genre of film I watch most but I like to think that my tastes are quite broad even if my style isn't.

1. THE CRAFT (1996) 

A film about chicks who get into witchcraft but it goes wrong, it's ticks all the boxes! I think after watching this film I decided that I wanted to go to LA and start wearing only black, grey and white. I totally dig the effortlessly cool vibe that you get from each of the characters and would love to be in their clique even if it gets messy towards the end. If you've seen this film, you probably felt the need to get into witchcraft afterwards innit? Because I definitely did. Their school uniform plays a big part on the costume in this film, so I suppose that it doesn't vary in a particularly obvious way, but subtle changes can make their outfits look like a different set of clothes. These clothes may seem like the sort of thing you could wear everyday, but, I can guarantee if you weren't of a petite size you probably wouldn't look as good as they do, hence why I don't go out in cropped jumpers and knee high socks. I do believe though, that you can rearrange the style to suit you more. I don't see anything wrong with a little copying here and there but, I think if you're trying to take style from a film, copying the whole shebang would kinda look like you're wearing a costume.

2. CLUELESS (1995)

Words cannot describe how much I want to be Cher in this film, the romance, endless amounts of money and naivety appeals so much to the really girly side we all have. Not to mention, Paul Rudd is such a hotspice in this film. As for fashion in this flick it's not that different to that of 'The Craft' but the use of labels and colour is enough to place the films miles apart in the clothes department. I would love to be able to use the words "But this is an Alaia!" mid-mugging but I highly doubt that I would be that cool to even know what an Alaia was if I went to their school. I'm completely obsessed with the knee-high socks and argyle two piece skirt suits no matter how unappealing they may be conventionally. I suppose in my own style I don't really express my love for 'Clueless' that much, but in an ideal world, their life would be mine!

3. CRUEL INTENTIONS (1999)

No matter how twisted the people are in this film are, there is no doubt that the outfits are on point! I love the dark and slightly sexy vibe that swamps the Merteuil's wardrobe throughout the film. I think the way they dress the young characters (I think they're around 16 in the film) in such grown up clothing projects exactly the sort of life that Charles de Laclos was experiencing when he wrote 'Les Liasons Dangereuses' in 1782. The world of decadence that is presented in the clothing is enough to make anyone jealous and for me, it makes me want to dress like a super strong business woman, even though i'm the complete opposite. This absolutely has to be one of my favourite films, so if you haven't seen it yet, you're totally missing out.

4. THE CROW (1994)

Owh! Every time I watch this film I get so emo at the end because it's devastating to watch the film and be like "Brandon Lee is so cool and awesome" and then realise that he died making the film. Nevertheless the movie is still completely badass and doesn't compare to any other action-karate movie made so far. The costume is totally Gothic during the whole film which is something that I love to see in cinema because I think that most people are afraid of working with such a shunned subculture. I personally think that goth fashion is really awesome, I don't think that I really reflect that much but I dig the music and dress sense a lot. I think the character with the best style in this film has to be Sarah, she's like this totally kick-ass 12 year old who goes around on a skateboard and wears Doc's all the time. The style all-together pretty unconventional, I really love the use of chokers and torn tights instead of your more popular everyday items of clothing that you might get in most other action films.

5. LA HAINE (1995) 

I personally believe that this film is a cinematic masterpiece and makes me proud to be French. Filmed totally in black and white, 'La Haine' follows Vinz, Saïd and Hubert around Paris after a friend is brutally beaten up by a policeman in the riots and falls into a coma. The plot follows them around and observes each of their reactions as time passes by in the ZUP and Paris. To be honest I think that the fashion in this film isn't intended to be as awesome as it is and it can be interpreted as you want to. The area in which they are living in is supposed to be the "scummy" parts of Paris  (I disagree) so I suppose that they have been dressed in what would've been considered as chavvy but quite frankly, I don't see it. I think that it could be because that style has become quite trendy in the last couple of years. This has to be one of the greatest films ever made and if you're the sort of person that says "Ugh. I hate world cinema." I highly recommend that you watch this before you come out with such a ridiculous statement again. 

Those are just a few of the many inspirational films that have totally revolutionized my attire. I would like to thank my sister for showing me the majority of these films and without which, I would probably still be obsessed with twilight! Also, if you look at her style, you'll definitely see some of the films spoken about in her fashion sense. That's all for now - I hope this was as fun reading as it was writing.B.x