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METROPOLIS

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8/25/2011 New DRUGGIE CHIC A LA

Lanky hair, a skeletal form, copious eye makeup: no, it's not someone too high to care, it's a fashion concept. In the past few years, we have seen some of our favorite celebrities seemingly reduced to shadows of their former selves. The cherubic Olsen twins, freckle-faced Lindsay, little J. Humphrey. My peers have been bemoaning the fall of their childhood favorites. I, however, have really enjoyed the new look. Maybe its an interior battle against my inclinations toward granola and bike riding? Just as President Clinton declaimed "Heroin Chic" in the 1990s, I too cannot support "glamorized addiction." Yet, I must say I find it exciting when people begin to transform, moving further from something that resembles human form. Take ballerinas for example: were our rib cages really ever meant to show? were we meant to stand on tiptoe? But there's something glamorous about it. I sort of feel the same way about coked-out celebrities. It's hard to get hair that stringy or legs that wiry. And I feel there's an eerie beauty about it.


-Cleo

8/17/2011 CINEMATORIALIST: SKINS--THE FASHION, THE BRILLIANCE

First and foremost, let me say that Skins is above and beyond my favorite television show ever made. It is incredibly smart but simultaneously extremely trashy (a prerequisite in all my tv viewing). The trashy part arises from the main characters all being teenagers, and the plot consequently revolving around their drugie, sexy, warped, adolescent lives. The intelligent part is that the characters do not conform to stereotypes: the metal heads fall for the ballerinas, the popular girls are lesbians. From a sartorial perspective, you can also see the complications in the characters' personality play out in the way they choose to dress themselves. The outfits they wear are not pure reincarnations of trends, but rather are interpretations of various styles that suit the characters' personalities. Each episode goes into more depth on the character, giving information on their habits and families, making it increasingly apparent why they look the way they do.

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5/17/2011 BEER FASHION: A TRIBUTE

Getting dressed for my first outing back in my home state, Massachusetts, the thought I had as I was going out the door was, "You know what would really complete this outfit? A beer." I feel like people stereotype about Massachusetts; when I tell them where I'm from, I can see their imagined ring of pilgrims, cows and white picket fences circling my head. Consequently, they probably also assume that the residents of Massachusetts dress in multiple popped polos, madras shorts, and those leather loafers with the little sailboats emblazoned on the side. And, truly, in the town I live in, which is primarily inhabited by people with names like Worth Johnson and Clayton Sanders, people often do show up in shorts with crabs appliques all over them (obviously not understanding the irony inherent within this decision).

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5/09/2011 SURFER FASHION: A TRIBUTE

Gillian Zinser
In New York, where we are constantly so concerned with being thoroughly buckled, zipped, and corseted into our spandex and denim and leather , why can't we, wait what's the terminology they use over there on the opposite side of the nation? Ah yes, "hang loose." 
The other day, I saw a girl wearing a string hair wrap, and was instantly inspired. My fellow Manhattanites might say tacky, overpriced mark of a 3-day Miami vacation. I say inspired, sartorial choice worthy of great admiration. The girl who wears a string bikini, cutoff jeans, and Birks will undoubtedly attract attention in New York. When everyone else is angstily foot-tapping in the out-the-door line at Starbucks, she's the one who waltzes in and is immediately handed a complimentary frappucino. While we're packed into sweaty subway cars, she carelessly breezes down Broadway on her longboard.
    So what say you? You run the risk of looking out of town, but I say we bleach out our blacks, cutoff our skinny jeans, and join this wild girl for a summer!

4/27/2011 CINEMATORIALIST: GRETA GERWIG IN ARTHUR


As my first year at Barnard draws to an end, I increasingly find that my peers and I have adopted the habit of feminist critique. A bit bored on the subway, I find myself pulling it out like I did my Gameboy in the fourth grade: "God, that woman's outfit is so offensive, 'Juicy' right across the butt. It's because of women like her that it took us 70 years to get the vote.

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4/22/2011 CINEMATORIALIST: The Style of "The Hours"

"The Hours" is kind of a mixed bag - alternately dreary and glorious, thoughtful and overtly sentimental, but it's a movie I'd recommend to most people, if you're into the mystery of the feminine psyche and all that. But the visuals are splendidddd and the costumes are no exception. I for one really loved the simplicity and dreaminess of the Woolf-period.


I call this "wispy elegance". Love the slightly disheveled chignon, the askew necklace, the brooch, and the orange drop earrings. Everything is so subliminal and adds to the look of the character, never taking away from Nicole Kidman's hypnotic gaze. Colors of pink and orange highlight her English-rose complexion.


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3/31/2011 Hip-Hop Fashion: A Tribute

In 2009, New Boyz in their hit single boasted, "Man I got colors that ain't even on the rainbow (x3)/ dudes think they're fresh but we ain't even in the same boat… my style is so retro/ so fresh yo/  I got the best clothes/ you still rocking Ecko." 
 Andre 3000

And they certainly spoke the truth. Starting in the 1980s, the new hip-hop generation, including the likes of Will Smith and the ladies of Salt N' Pepa, largely repopularized the hi-top sneaker and brought large gold jewelry and brightly colored sportswear into the fashion spotlight. Following in the 90s, Andre 3000 brought into vogue an old school look hip-hop look featuring argyles, plaids, straw boater, and jaunty bowtie. 

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3/27/2011 CINEMATORIALIST: MARGOT TENENBAUM

A "look." That's something that every girl in the world becomes obsessed with sooner or later. A signature style that symbolizes "you," that somehow exudes your personality to the rest of the world.

We all draw on different influences, but I for one wish that I could just invent my own signature style and not think "my god, I want that exact look" and copy every awesome look I see. It's something we all fall prey too.

But it's a tricky and often misguided process. The iconic picture of Audrey Hepburn in her slinky little black dress isn't iconic just because the dress is gorgeous. Beauty isn’t special. Audrey’s inimitable dash of je ne sais quoi make that look special. That charismatic, aloof quality, of relaxed elegance and comfort is what we're actually striving for. That's the difference between true style and fashion.

And today, I’d like to present one of my favorite stylish movie characters:

Gwyneth Paltrow as Margot Tenenbaum from The Royal Tenenbaums:

Her signature look...

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