Tiny Dancer's FASHIONOSOPHY

SARAH JESSICA PARKER: GET BITTEN

To say that I 'm a fan of "Sex and the City" is a bit of an understatement. Utterly passionate would rather be the word (or words). My SATC passion was brought to life seven years ago, when HBO started broadcasting the legendary series . Everything took me aback: the well-written script, the clever dialogues, the leading ladies, and most importantly the styling. Those wacky outfits! Even now, I never seem to get bored of it. I have watched all six seasons more times than I can count with the same enthusiasm as the first time, always scrutinizing outfits and observing styles. Yes, Sex and the City was for many years THE / MY trend setter and of course leading actress Sarah Jessica Parker aka Carrie Bradshaw THE / MY style icon.

Amost two years after the curtains fell down for the legendary series, SJP's thought she would utilize her fashion icon status and the hype surrounding her name, and follow the footsteps of many other celebs. So as "it is every woman's inalienable right to have a pulled together stylish confident wardrobe with money left over to live" she is telling us to Get Bitten. Quite catchy really. As it seems, Sarah Jessica has been bitten by the designer bug and BITTEN is her first apparel line sold exclusively at Steve & Barry's stores around the US. The concept behind the collection was for Sarah Jessica to create, along with a team of Steve & Barry's designers, a collection of high quality, affordable sportswear for women of all ages and sizes and so every piece in the line is priced at $19.98 and less because according to Sarah Jessica "Fashion is not a luxury, it's a right."

Now, I am not one to generalize but from what I 've seen from similar ventures, celebrities are primarily selling an image rather than creating original fashion for buyers. And it is safe to say that as with many other celebrity clothing ranges the collection looks like another one to pass off. Designer-wise the collection doesn't do it for me. I just do not bite it! It is merely a bunch of plain basics, colourless, odourless and tasteless. Things get slightly interesting with the SJP promotional photoshoot and the clever styling of the pictures but once you check out the items you realise there's no point in spending your money or energy on acquiring a BITTEN piece. I was really hoping to see some creative pulse from Sarah Jessica. Let's be fair though, unlike other celebrity lines prices are kept very low. Lowly low in fact which is rather encouraging for customers so had I been in the US and by chance walking near by a Steve and Barry shop I might have popped in for a plain tank. I can not make any judgements quality-wise as clothes won't be available over here, but how much quality would you seek from a classic t-shirt anyway? Perhaps the problem is that I identify Carrie Bradshaw within Sarah Jessica. But let's not forget Carrie Bradshaw's cool outfits were put together by that Patricia Field, Sex and the City's mad stylist. Anyhow, I am very curious to see how it's perceived by US buyers and after spending the last 10 minutes blagging about it all I think I 'll have to bite my tongue for a while.

AN OPEN BOOK

It may come as a little delayed, but I thought it 'd be worth posting these pictures of Victoria Beckham's book "THAT EXTRA HALF AN INCH: HAIR HEELS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN" I found on the net. I am not really a fan of Victoria Beckham and her style. I find her rigid,moody and lifeless, much colder than her Spice Girls day, when at my teenage stage-of-life I used to quite like her. As for her style-choices, she well-kept but her wardrobe could be basically summed up to the wardrobe of a rich lady, crammed with super expensive colthes and designer creations. There's nothing unique and original about it really. I think the book is trying to bring out a more careless and playful image of Victoria though, and as I am quite curious about it I may actually give it a go and bid on a cheap edition of it on ebay.

LILO BACKSTAGE

And here are some backstage photos of the actual photoshoot, for all the gossipers (and non-gossipers) wondering how Linsay's almost unrecognizable transformation came about. And when it comes to this big question the answer includes a wing and loads of retouching - for that flawless, freckle free, alabaster skin!

LILO FOR MIU MIU II

Oh my god! It' s been ages! My laptop has been fixed, my data recovered, my broadband conection fully working, so I got into browsing several internet pages and tracked down these Linday Lohan's Miu Miu ads. Some of the images have already illustrated some of the pages in several magazines, yet here is  bigger selection of the much-talked-about campaign.

   

A MILLER VENTURE

Predicted it should have been, yet I did not see this fashion team-up coming. She is a hollywood actress, attracting more attention for her style choices (and her Jude Law relationship) rather than her movie career and acting abilities. Her sister, a Central Saint Martin's graduate, is a designer who often custom-makes garments for her famous sibling. And there you have it, the perfect fashion formula!

Sienna and Savannah Miller have announced the launch of their clothing line that will be called Twenty8Twelve, after Sienna's birthday. The first collection, compiled of 80 pieces and inspired by "Dickensian London", will be entitled “An Anthology of Rebellion”and is bound to hit the shops by the fall of 2007.

I am quite sure the sibling-duo are very aware and will be taking full advantage of their ace up their sleeves, being Sienna's trendsetter material and her ability to turn everything she wears into major trends. Sienna however seems very determined to incorporate her influence in all stages of production rather than siply sell an image, and stated that “this isn’t about just lending a name to something and not really being involved”. Still, I can foresee her prancing around celebville in their creations, thus giving popularity to the line. I am actually quite intrigued by this new venture and if the Miller sisters play it cleverly enough they could probably hit a goldmine and make it really big in the fashion scene. Gucci beware, the Millers are coming at ya!  

LILO FOR MIU MIU

Fashion houses have quite often picked mainstream names of music and hollywood stars to do their advertising campaigns, targeting on their household material to give their collections a sale boost and more recognition among the public. This time it was Miu Miu's turn to "turn heads" with its new campaign featuring Lilo, otherwise known as Lindsay Lohan. As for the glossy photoshoot, it combines different elements that seem to work well together and give out an exceptional result: the pale alabaster complexion and bright red lips, the fiery auburn red hair, and the combination of the blue with the red shiny fabrics and greyish-blue background with the odd touch of the purple bag, they all seem to contribute to an exquisite result.

However, is it just me or does anyone else think the girl in the picture looks nothing like Lindsay Lohan? Not just because her body has obviously been retouched and made with longer legs as well as given some sort of hourglass figure with a teensy weensy waist, but her face also looks completely altered, as if its is a completely different person. Nothing seems to remind of poor old Lindsay. Still, it might be the size of the picture that doesnt enable a more detailed examination of her facial features, but I 'll probably be able to reach more conclusions when I see the actual photo in a large splash across the pages of a fashion magazine.

As for the selection of the particular Hollywood starlet, I have to say I get quite annoyed by Lindsay Lohan, even though I like her outfits. I don't think she has done anything to deserve the attention and the limelight has turned upon her without even having any major achievements under her belt. She has starred in some terrible, and in the best of cases medium quality bubble-gum sugar-coated films, did some cheesy pop-rock songs attempting to launch a pop career, and she only started getting tabloid attention causing scandals with her personal life, body weight and lifestyle..ok and fashion choices after hiring Rachel Zoe to do her styling. And now she is on the Miu Miu campaign. That's all great news for her but I think it's about time Lindsay proved herself with her professional life and work.

THE COLD WAR II: THE "ZOE AGE"

Rachel Zoe: the much-talked about stylist, being the mastermind behind the hottest celebrity looks, also accused of producing a mass style imitated by celebrities and regular people alike. 

The hot stylist from LA has somehow become a household name, as she is responsible for transforming the looks of several starlets and teen idols, and turning them from "trashion" to fashion icons. Grecian-style drapey dresses, skinny jeans, loose-fitting vintage tops, big leather bags, long chunky jewellery and oversized sunglasses are just some of the trademarks of her and her clients' looks, who are now considered to be the top-totty of the fashion pact. She has however been the target of a lot of criticism on promoting a negative body-image, as her clients seem not only to have followed her to the style-side but also to the skinny-side, shedding pounds of weight and obtaining the skinniest of hips, matchstick-thin arms and a flatty flat chest.

"The attack of the clones" has been said of the "zoe-bots" (her clients), on that after Zoe's touch their style has become so similar that you now can't tell them apart. Claims that what what she is only doing is reproducing her look are something she firmly denies suggesting that she adapts her choices to the character of each person she has in front of her. The opposing group does have a point though, an easy realisation judging from the old pictures of some of her clients, let's say Lindsay Lohan and Nicole Richie for instance (the photos speak for themselves) and thinking of how unstylish and tacky their fashion choices were, and how well put together (and similar) they look now.

Still, I am a little less harsh on Rachel, as I like to think that the transformations may only be part of the style evolution cycle. People's style evolves and obviously our fashion choices differ, and often improve, as we grow up (older and wiser as we say!). We change as persons and our characters mature, so it would be reasonable to think that our tastes change as well.

Am I on the defendant side then? Not really, but taking it on a personal level, I have not always been the style-conscious woman that I like to think I am, and not that at the moment I consider myself to be particularly well-dressed, but I have certainly improved and make much better purchases and clothes combinations. My fashion background however includes tons of style sins: how can I forget my huge sky-high platform Spice Girls shoes (cringe!), the extra baggy demin jackets that my mum got me in XL size just to make sure they 'd still fit while growing up (what was she thinking?), or the checked baggy shirts I used to tie around my chest doing a Kimberly Power Rangers impression (double cringe!).

Of course all these remain well hidden in my sinful (and shameful) past, well.. and some old photos (soon to be burnt), and I want to believe that my taste has become a bit more refined. So, on the defense of Rachel Zoe and all her wannabe celebrity clients, I say that we should be a little more careful with criticism, until at least their shopping relationship and interaction is taken into account. For instance, if Zoe is carefully putting together every single outfit for them, well then critisism is accepted, but just giving a few guidelines and putting them in the right track isn't so bad really.

That's something I doubt we 'll ever know though! Until that, I will still be quite interested in Rachel Zoe's style and fashion choices. This winter, Zoe has come out with a few suggestions on surving the "cold war" in style (my endless problem). What she is proposing is a mixture of oversized sweater dresses and skinny jeans, ruffles, cropped jackets and of course opaque tights avec big leather bags. The clothes are definitely not on the "heavy side" though so expect a little freezing out there. Not being a particular fan of bulky clothes, I think I 'll eventually have to give in to some of these ideas. Maybe this is the price that fashion-conscious people have to pay: suffer a bit of cold in the name of beauty!    

THE COLD WAR

Winter can be a bit of a tricky season for being creative and making original style combinations. When your jaws start chittering and you tremble on the thought of stepping out in a skirt or dress (let alone a pair of shorts), things indeed seem a little difficult for fashion-kind. Long coats, gloves, scarves, super-thick trousers and slouchy wooly jumpers, seem to be the answer to battling the frosty weather, a look that can however end up looking blunt and unimaginative.

I found this picture in Jezmine's blog on how celebs adapt fashion to the cold weather and manage to look hip and trendy yet preserve their body heat at reasonable temperatures. God bless for layering! Jumpsuits, scarves, cool boots and wooly jackets along with leggings and thick tights seem to be the counter attack to the cold war. Hm..on second look though these outfits still look a bit cold but with some further adaptation they could work just fine..i think!Time to dust out the spring/summer skirts and dresses then.