WHAT WOULD CINDERELLA WEAR?
Well, this post has been a long time coming. There have been a lot of requests for Cinderella but I’ve been avoiding it because it’s so, it’s so Disney. Disney is wonderful when you’re a kid, but they actually take classic stories and saccharine-ize them so much that they’re not nearly as entertaining as they should be. For example, the near-murderess Little Mermaid and the almost cooked to death Sleeping Beauty. The original telling of Cinderella is actually quite tame. Let’s fast forward to the evil stepmother. Lose the fairy godmother and throw in a tree growing from her mother’s grave, planted from a branch that once hit her father in the face. See what I mean? Trippy. The young Cinderella prays to the tree and it grants her beautiful gold dresses to go to the festivals at the palace where nobody recognizes her when she isn’t in rags. The final night of the festival, the prince puts some super glue on the stairs and her golden shoes stick, enabling him to track down the one he loves. He finds his way to the home of Cinderella. The wicked stepmother instructs her elder daughter to cut off her toe to make the shoe fit, but a bird on the magical tree whispers to the prince that he’s being fooled. The younger daughter hacks off her ankle, but her bloody shoe gives her away. Finally, Cinderella is united with the prince…but it’s not over. In hopes of royal favor, the stepsisters attend the wedding and the birds from the magical tree peck out their eyes, leaving them blind beggars forever. That’s awesome.
1. Listening to Wilson Phillips while cleaning the house
Dress by Rodarte, coat by Celine, shoes by Derek Lam
2. Tree, I need a gold dress.
Dress by Prabal Gurung, shoes by Miu Miu
3. Tree, I need an even better gold dress with gold shoes.
Dress by Jason Wu, shoes by Lanvin
Revision: It’s not actually the tree that gives her the dresses, it’s a magical bird. Thanks for the info, queenofwolves!
WITCHY WOMAN, THE EAGLES
If you’ve been keeping up with my personal blog and my tweets then you probably understand that I have a deep love for The Eagles. How could you not? There’s so much to love—Hotel California, Heartache Tonight, Desperado, Lyin’ Eyes, Peaceful Easy Feeling and of course Witchy Woman or in Seinfeld talk Witchaaay Woman. Of course, all music is subjective and Witchy Woman is about everybody’s particular dream woman. My Witchy Woman is different from your Witchy Woman. Not to say that the above is mine, but you get the idea. For this post I went with a little more of a literal understanding of the song and went after a hexing vibe. Enjoy it. Don’t forget to listen to the song below.
1. Raven hair
Dress by Gucci, shoes by Emilio Pucci
2. Ruby lips
Cape by Lanvin, dress by Meadham Kirchoff, shoes and tights by Prabal Gurung
3. Sparks fly from her fingertipssss
Dress by Prabal Gurung, boots by Rodarte
Don’t mind the AWFUL music video below, enjoy the song…
LUCREZIA BORGIA, ITALY
Fair warning to you all, now that The Borgias has started on Showtime I’ll probably be rediscovering my love for Italian Renaissance history. I’ve done a few before, Catherine Medici is around here somewhere but anyway, I digress. The Borgia family is notorious for their corruption and power plays in Rome during the late 1400’s. The patriarch of the family famously bought his Papal throne at the Vatican and played his family accordingly. Of course, for any young woman in a powerful family was used as a token of alliance by marriage. Enter Lucrezia Borgia who married into another powerful Catholic family and then another and then another, all surrounded by a little mystery. There are very few surviving portraits of the Borgia heiress but she was allegedly quite beautiful, cunning and at one time as corrupt as the rest of her family. Although, as she became older and raised her children her image did clean up a bit. But I dare to say she was far from angelic. By today’s standards she’d be you know, totally normal. Not sure why I put her in all black but damn she fine.
1. “I don’t think my father, the guardian of the Catholic faith, would be too pleased to hear about this”
Dress by Alberta Feretti, shoes by Bottega Veneta
2. “You know who’s looking fine tonight?” “Cesare Borgia” “Okay, you did not just say that, he is your brother” “What? He’s a good kisser.”
Dress by Emilio Pucci, coat by Fendi, shoes by Lanvin
3. “She has two painted portraits and a silver carriage”
Dress by Versace, shoes by Gucci
Weird how relevant Mean Girls is to her. Ha.
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I’m breaking from regularly scheduled programming to share this with you all. One of my very best friends Jason teaches a few 5th graders. He, being the pal that he is, shares my blog with them which I find both honoring and hysterical. One of his students drew these and asked that he show them to me.
Let’s give the student her due. Clearly, they have a knack for drawing tech flats—a highly sought after skill.
#1. Lanvin Esque, let’s take a look here—1 shouldered, possibly draped, very remiscent of Alber’s jewel tone looks.
#2. Simple, definitely an LBD vibe going on. The shape is very Valentino (the new Valentino that is) or Prada when she’s feeling minimal.
#3. This ensemble is definitely a doozie, more 90’s throwback than any of the others. I could see some Jil Sander or maybe even Miu Miu (Spring 2011) in the skirt and as far as the top goes…I’m not quite sure but it has kind of a Betsey Johnson vibe happening.
#4. This looks like it’s got several layers fabric happening, possibly different materials…has potential for a sort of Meadham Kirchoff vibe, no?
#5. Some 80’s throwback here, possibly a nod to Marc by Marc or if in polka dots Marc Jacobs collection. Maybe even a little Mary Katrantzou in that structured sleeve.
#6. Wrap dress? The fifth grader knows their Diane Von Furstenberg
#7. With that neckline and what looks like some body cutouts I’m thinking Versace, Christopher Kane (Spring 2011) or maybe even some Balmain action.
#8. Colorblocking galore on this piece, very Prabal Gurung/Thakoon.
My grade for this assignment? A+.
Textbook has lead to some great things—fashion shows, a couple random projects and a lot of new people but I gotta say…this is the best so far.
CHRISTINE DAAE, PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
Ever seen Phantom of the Opera on Broadway or on film? If you haven’t, I highly recommend it. I think we first saw it when we were kids. It’s a pretty spooky story about a tortured hipster that dwells beneath the Paris Opera House. When new management comes in, things start getting a little crazy. What unfolds is a tale of murder, chandeliers, love and toy monkeys! The heroine of the story is the talented Christine Daae who rises from chorus girl to Prima Donna. Orphaned as a young girl, she grew up in the opera as a ballerina. Anyway, just netflix it, it’s good.
1. Off-Duty Ballerina
Dress by Chloe, coat by Michael Kors, shoes by Valentino
2. Masquerade!
Dress by Alexander McQueen, let’s just say the shoes are Rodarte for good measure
3. Music of the Night
Dress by Lanvin, shoes by Yves Saint Laurent
All images from Vogue UK.
