Category — music

Serena loves sequins day and night. Are you watching season 6 of Gossip Girl?

It’s that time of the year again — party time!  Ooh, I am a naughty blogeress.  I blame my blogging blackout on my overstuffed social calendar.  I am quite partial, fond, obsessed with clothing that looks as though I accidentally got slimed on You Can’t Do That On Television, but in lieu of green slime, insert Elmer’s Glue, lost my footing and fell into a giant vat of sequins.  You gotta love a fashionistah for commitment. 

Tell someone your sequins are inspired by Daisy Buchanan as interpreted by Baz Luhrman. Channel Carey Mulligan in The Great Gatsby. All great outfits should have a back story. Trust.

Let’s not be so predictable this party season with the same old, same old.  Here are some sartorial sequin selections to get the DJ to play your requests, the effects guy to point the spotlight in your direction and kick off the social season.

Ombre sequins – A golden sequin lightly brushed with dye which gives an allover Monet effect.  That, or sequins strategically positionned to give off a gradient ombre (light to dark) appearance. 

I enjoy how the nude and canary yellow of this Alice + Olivia Camille Sequin Dress is understated (well, as understated as sequins go).

Two sided sequins – When you brush your hand in one direction, the sequins are black.  When you brush them in the opposite direction, the sequins are silver.  If someone lays a hand on your assets, proof of SCANDAL!  

Paillettes – Not for the fashionistah wallflower, paillettes are a larger circle sequin typically 1/2″ or bigger in diameter.  The effect is very retro meets giant scale fish.  Makes me want to wear extra thick liquid eyeliner and tease my hair into a giant beehive.

Go big, or go home: Juicy Couture jumbo paillettes. Seriously!

Save The Best For Last – You tell it Whitney!  Are you just happy to see me or are those sequin shoes on your feet.  I bet if sequins were around back then, Cinderella would have sequin stilettos.  I think this is a fun contrast if you are wearing a cocktail dress in a solid bold hue or a flamboyant LBD (little black dress).

Black or Silver? BCBG Two Tone Sequin Pump is a great conversation starter

I'm adoring Ella Henderson from XFactor UK with her winged out eyeliner, 1930's style and classic beauty. Oh and her voice at 16 is ah-mazing.

Katy Perry is a bit drag queen but aren't all girly-girls? Discuss.

Part of any long weekend must involve laying on the couch watching a movie. Lately, my cinematic choices have been of the musical variety.  Pitch Perfect, anyone?  Stop pretending you don’t love coming of age comedies, an acapella No Diggity riff-off and the comedic stylings of Rebel Wilson.  But I majorly digress…

A breakout role: Rebel Wilson kills me softly with her comedic timing in Pitch Perfect. "Ohmigod, I love that movie," quote my mothah.

A few months ago, I went to the movies with my good friend J and we were going to spontaneously choose a film upon arrival.  She felt too guilty to watch the new Batman without her husband (such loyalty!), Katy Perry Part of Me was on too late (teenage hearts), so we opted for the reboot of Total Recall (last resort).  A complete waste of Colin Farrell and 2 hours of my life, which I will never, ever get back, ever (to the tune of a Taylor Swift breakup song).  Another digression…

Hershey kisses: Katy Perry would be a fun Halloween costume. But the real question is, would you be ok if you showed up at a costume party and a bunch of other girls did it better than you?

So now that Katy Perry: Part of Me is available to watch from the comfort of my living room, I decided to continue on this musical love affair.  First I would like to say, I am not a die-hard Katy Perry fan.  I think she’s quite likeable, she has a Betty Boop thing going and I think she has a unique voice.  Nonetheless, I found myself shedding a few tears watching this documentary shot during her 2011 World Tour. 

The film is a revealing portrait of a singer who struggled to find her place in pop music and ultimately became hugely success. The movie also shows very personal moments as Katy spends time with her family, has professional high’s achieving many #1 singles, she also goes through depression with the breakup of her marriage to Russell Brand.  Music and drrrrrama!  Whoa, it was more teardrop than I expected.

My final tangent…I like singing Wide Awake in the car. Excellent driving tune. THE END.

Bundle up! Vince makes the most luxurious, classic sweaters.

Wildfox lets you wear your heart on your sweater. Liking the distressed edges and slouchiness of this one.

God Bless Cable Knit: There is nothing like wrapping yourself in a chunky, cream, cable knit sweater for a brunch date. Stay warm in this Free People Bang Bang Sweater.

Searching for years: I have yet to find the perfect fur vest but this Herve Leger looks smashing. Form & function!

Next weekend, I think I need to seriously stock up!

Spice Girls at the Brit Awards: I just adore Geri in her Union Jack Dress and her undies hanging out. LOVE.

The Spice Girls at the London Olympics Closing Ceremony. I adore my Baby Spice in her pink futuristic frock. Le sigh!

Let’s talk a stroll down Spice Girl memory lane.  Let’s dust off our 90′s memorabilia and pop our cd into the ghettoblaster.  Remember when you “chaperoned” your tween niece and her friends during the Spice concert? They were so embarrassed when you made them stand on their seats and sing along to “Stop right now, thank you very much, I need somebody with a human touch…” (and do the actions).  How about the heartbreak you felt when you saw the news headlines that Geri left the band in the middle of her North American tour? Devastated, right?

Remember when you voted for your city to become a stop for the Spice reunion tour?  Then got your friend’s husband to dial incessantly for 2 hours to get ‘Front of the Line’ tickets? Or maybe that was just moi? Whatever, you were obsessed too.

 Watch these awesome classic Spice Girl videos –  some my favourite spice tracks:

1. Too Much
2. Wannabe
3. Say You’ll Be There
4. 2 Become 1
5. Spice Up Your Life
6. Goodbye

Nothing like holding down that spray button. Julianne Hough getting her bangs teased in Rock of Ages.

OMGx3.  In my middle age, sometimes I get a very random memory come back to me and I enjoy a silent chuckle.

As a tween in the 80′s growing up in the suburbs, we often had ‘punk parties.’ To achieve such a look:  find an oversize shirt (WWMW – what would Madonna wear?), throw on a wide leather belt slung on your hips, crimp/tease your hair with a liberal application of hairspray (hold 10 seconds), accessorize with mesh gloves and the piece de resistance, drawing a giant lightning bolt on your cheek with blue lipstick.  Sometimes you would get misinformation and a half hour before your arrival, you wouldn’t know if it was a ‘normal/wear jeans’ party or a ‘punk’ party.  Such stress!  And it’s not like we had cell phones back then! Drrrring! Dring!

In dire scenarios such as these, there was only one out — to keep a tube of blue lipstick in your pocket and offer to punkify the rest of your friends.  With costumes, commitment and persuasion are key.

The reason I missed the bus from 1985-1988, morning episodes of Jem & the Holograms. Model your lightning bolt after The Misfits.

You wanna throw a punk party now.  Ditto.  Here’s your 80′s hair band playlist:

1. Starship – We Built This City on Rock N’ Roll
2. White Snake – Here I Go Again
3. Def Leppard – Pour Some Sugar on Me
4. Guns N’ Roses – Paradise City
5. Mr. Big – To Be With You
6. Poison – Every Rose Has Its Thorn
7. Thompson Twins – Hold Me

Don't forget the bigger the hair, the bigger the attitude! 80s Rocker Chic is so Paris Vogue 2010.

Powder blue dress & red lips. Yes please. Charlize Theron covers UK Vogue May 2012

“Whooaa, amber is the colour of your energy…” – 311

I really like that song.  It reminds me of sitting on my contemplation rock by the beach, listening to the crashing waves and letting the heat of the setting sun toast my skin.  On the subject of colour, Spring/Summer 2012 is giving us lots to celebrate – this season there are so many ways to work new hues into your wardrobe.

Here are 3 key trends that will be fun ways to up the ante on your current fashionistah stylings:

New Kid on the Colour Block – Colour blocking is not a new trend but this season, many designers are making it as easy as putting on a top or dress.  The best way to colour block is strikingly graphic or extremely saturated, inspiring coos of passerby’s, “Ooh, I would never, ev-errrr, in a million years think of combining those colours, but heck, I LIKE it!” 

This DVF Lou Dress is Colour Theory 101: Complimentary on the colour wheel and sure to elicit mad props.

Happy Accident: This Gryphon Dip Dye Dress is colour-block and high-low. 2 Trends Become 1 (to tune of Spice Girls).

NEON – Your t-shirt’s so bright, I gotta wear shades.  If like me, you had a Hypercolour sweatshirt, crimped your hair and watched the Facts of Life in the 80′s, you may hesitate to leave this trend to your too-cool for school niece (insert eye-roll).  Or you can take a tamer approach and accessorize with a neon skinny belt or wear a warm neutral to offset the stimulating bright of neon. 

Dree Hemingway sets it off in Valentino Couture. Blinding vibrant yellow meets nude. Well played.

Neon in the details: Loving the subtle pop-art pink piping on these ALDO Brimfield Wedges

Sorbet Pastels -  Seeing pastel hued clothing reminds of me of the Art Deco buildings in South Beach.  Any of the soft colours can be worn to compliment your skin tone – butter yellows, mint, cream tangerine, baby blue and cotton candy pinks.  This season we are seeing many retailers show really great skinny jeans in ice cream colours.  Pick your flavour? 

Dude. Sweet. Pastel Skinnies via Paris Vogue.

How are you going to integrate colour into your wardrobe? Do tell.

For extra tips on adding colour this Spring, read more on BlogHer and don’t forget to enter The Life Well Lived Sweepstakes.