What I Would Wear to the Met Gala.

So, yeah, if someone had invited me and designers were willing to let me borrow, these are the sorts of things I would pick!

Rodarte, I love you.

I think Rodarte is one of those labels that I love personally but talk about infrequently on here. Perhaps it is because I love it so much that I don't saturate my blog with talk of it. I keep it as something to enjoy on my own, something for myself and not to be shared. However, I can no longer stay silent on the matter. Every day my tumblr dash throws more and more Rodarte goodness and I become more entranced, fall more thoroughly in love. And today, I got this (though I realise I'm almost a year late to the game):

Rodarte + unicorns + a score by Beach House + fantasy elements... = utter adoration.

I mean, how could I contain my feelings after this? Every twist and turn the brand takes, takes me along with it. One knows what the label is and means but never quite what form it will take. There's a wonderful balance of honouring the customer while exploring and taking chances. The choice in models and faces is always on point. The accessories, the details, the nuances, are just so perfect.

And this video (shot by three-time Rodarte collaborator, Todd Cole)? Perfection! Sidney Williams is exactly the kind of face that immediately entrances me and makes me want to wear the clothes. She's a wonderful mix of warrior-princess and boyish, awkward teenager (except also flawlessly beautiful) in the video. Everything I wanted to be as an adolescent. 

And the clothes! Oh, the clothes! Sigh. I'm kind of in love with ear cuffs again and I was so over them up until now. Gimme some floaty dresses, on point leather and perfectly tousled hair, 'kay?

(PS Vote for them in the Webby Awards http://pv.webbyawards.com/2014/online-film-video/general-film-categories/branded-entertainment-scripted/this-must-be-the-only-fantasy)

Very BtVS, non?

Other reasons to love them.

1. Using art prints - I mean, who else would Van Gogh there?

2. Making tie-dye fresh again. No, really.

3. Using images from Star Wars and making it look like this.

4. Dat hairband - making barbed wire beautiful.

5. The makeup and hair pieces from the A/W 2012 collection. Sure the clothes were gorgeous but the makeup was perf.

6. This image of Kirsten Dunst for their A/W 2011 campaign.

7. The styling of the S/S 2014 collection.

8. ...I mean, so wrong, yet so right.

9. Elle Fanning in a Pearl Jam tee for the Rodarte curation of A Magazine.

10.  The other videos.

On Personal Style.

The past year has been one of immense growth. I've become more independent because I didn't have some of my friends around as much to lean on - I had to do things by myself. I've grown intellectually because I had to do lots of new kinds of research for my dissertation. And I feel my personal style has matured and developed a lot because of this blog. In the beginning, when I did more of a personal style and outfit of the day kind of blog, I was looking at lots of pictures of myself. It made me analyse things. The self-reflection led to a lot of growth. I feel like I've really come to understand the difference between what I like and what I wear.

This is the most important distinction you can make in figuring out your own sense of style. Several factors will lead you to establishing what the difference between the two is. I have been asked by several male friends recently about this. They're at that stage in their twenties where they kind of all look the same and don't really know where to go from there. I can understand how this can happen. Some guys craft perfect images and personas for themselves but others are stunted by laziness (not judging, it's just true), lack of interest, fitting in and (in the case of many an Irish man) having been dressed by their mothers for so long. Fashion, and clothing, is relegated as a female thing, a female interest. Women are encouraged to think about their appearance - perhaps too much, to the point that it is often emphasised as their only area of worth - men are not to the same degree at all. But even women can be lost. I felt I was for some time. In a world with so many stimuli, a world where you can see what's fashionable anywhere, anytime whenever you want, it's easy to be overstimulated. How do we find what suits an individual? I can only pass on what this year has taught me personally. Hopefully, the following factors and my explanation of how they affect my personal style will help people in finding their own.

My Style by fitzpac featuring burberry

1. Lifestyle.

Obviously this includes economic factors; are you a Prada or a Primark person? Or a little of both? More importantly, (as style cannot be bought) it will decide the style of clothing you wear. Think of things such as climate. Are layers something you need to think about? Statement coats? And so on. Do you spend much of your time in offices? Are you at college or in a more casual work setting? Do you need a professional you and a casual you?

For me, my lifestyle is varied. I could be in the library and classes one day, hanging with friends the next, travelling to and from my family home or attending some event. Comfort, therefore, is a biggie. As well as pieces which can be styled several ways. Short skirts are not so much of an option for me because I tend to climb things and jump and run and bend down to find books etc. That I walk everywhere means I wear few heels. The variable Irish climate means I need layerable pieces and lots of cute coats and jumpers.

2. Annoyances/Quirks.

These are more unique, personal factors. For example, I hate having my forearms covered all the time. I don't know why, I just do. This means I can't wear anything that isn't either short-sleeved or capable of being rolled up. Another one of these factors is that I hate fuss and am permanently late/in a hurry/clumsy/all of the above. This means I can't wear anything overly complicated with lots of straps or buttons or pieces. I need clothes that are easy and don't require lots of time to put on or take off. For example, much as I prefer stockings to tights (baggy crotches are irritating), ain't nobody got time for a garter belt.

3. Body type.

This will decide a lot of things and it's one of the hardest factors to come to grips with. It requires a lot of honesty and self-knowledge. I'm short yet leggy, have boobs and I worry about my stomach area. This all affects the choices in clothing that I make and, sometimes, where I shop. I know shirts in Zara, for example, won't fit my boobs right. I know some dresses don't suit girls with curves as well as they suit more boyish shapes. I know some things will look overly-sexual on me because of my body shape. I know I'm too short for other things without looking completely stumpy. Once you come to grips with how you actually look, you can make a lot of better clothing choices and feel more comfortable.

4. Tastes.

Some people like fake tan, some people like short hair. Some people listen to The Cure and some people love the colour pink. Your tastes in appearances and in other things such as music, film, tv etc will affect personal style. I'm into the natural look and not trying too hard. I think androgyny is sexy and I was a punk as a teenager. Now, I'm influenced by more music genres and I really like modern, urban fashion. This means that I don't like clingy clothes such as bandage dresses, I have minimalist tastes, don't like a lot of prints, prefer darker colours and like an edge.

5. Moods.

However, my tastes are not always the exact same. Most of us are this way. We wake up feeling super-confident and wanna rock a bitchin' dress or feel depressed and wanna embrace our inner goth. For this reason, your moods will also decide how you dress. I rotate between three broad categories of dress; rock and roll or punk inspired, cutesy clothes and super-modern dressing.

6. Icons.

Who you look up to and your beliefs might also affect your personal style. However, this is also an area to be careful with. There's a difference between people you admire, people whose style you admire and people you admire for both. One way, if you're stumped on how to find your personal style, is to look at images of different people whose style impresses you. You'll take away things and ideas and make them fit with your own image. Hopefully, you'll avoid copy and pasting. I'm really influenced by Japanese street style, anime, labels such as Alexander Wang, Jil Sander, Valentino, Rodarte and Dsquared2, and people such as Kurt Cobain, Gwen Stefani, Jared Leto, James Dean and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

I think if you look at things you like and then see how they fit into the above categories, you'll be well on your way to honing a deeply personal style!

They coulda done Met-er.

I apologise for the pun. And I don't intend to insult anyone here but, as many others have noted, did anyone look up the word punk? I mean, what's the point in having a theme if no one bothers to stick to it? If people wore super-girly dresses as protest against our tired conception of punk that would be one thing. That would be a statement. But what people really did was wear whatever they'd normally wear on the red carpet. They tried to look cute or pretty or sexy. Few stepped outside their comfort zone. Two categories existed: 1. Ignoring the theme and wearing what they wanted sans the punk attitude of "screw you, the Man don't tell me what to do" and 2. The costume. 

So here are the categories and outfits (note "outfit", not necessarily "dress") that I would have chosen ahead of those which were worn at this year's Met Ball.:

1. The Punk Spirit.

Whether this is manifested in an uber punk, what-would-a-punk-Queen-Elizabeth-I-wear-?, or Rodarte modern punk spirit, there were many more options out there that were punk in spirit and at heart. Both Rodarte and Givenchy examples other than those I have chosen were worn and I commend those, esp the look Carine Roitfeld rocked, but there were many more amazing pieces on offer from the houses. And if someone doesn't get it? That means you're doing it right.

2. The "this whole collection should have been looted":

Seriously, how did this over-sight happen? Kristian Aadnevik's was the perfect collection for a punk edge.

3. The "if you're going to insist on confusing punk and goth":

Two different genres and subcultures, everyone. Sure, there's cross-fertilisation but they're not the same!

4. The "androgyny is sexy" plus "I don't have to wear a dress, it's the 21st century, fuck you" attitude:

Because conformity isn't punk and the "Oh my God, she's wearing a suit/approximation of a suit" thing may be nothing new but doing things in a less obvious way is very punk. Besides, these are hardly tuxes...

Images from vogue.co.uk

So, what do y'all think? A little uninspired this year? They could have tried a bit harder? Or am I completely wrong? x

Sea Tam (geddit?)

Spent the day with anime and hanging with Belle in the garden. It was a largely quiet and lazy day. The outfit du jour is part River Tam, part beach bum. I love this dress. It's entirely sheer but putting a slip under it ruins the aesthetic so I threw it on over tiny shorts (which are so close to knickers, I'd be ashamed to wear them without something on top), a crop top and tights. The loose H&M jumper added another layer of modesty on top of the dress and, with the vintage biker boots, gave it that romantic twist on grunge that I love and a certain beloved Joss Whedon character was wont to don. The beach bum aspect of the outfit comes from the sea salt spray I doused my hair in to give it that sun-dried look and the tanning moisturiser I blended in with my sun tan lotion this morning to get a kind of glowing, healthy look as seen at Rodarte A/W 2012 - sun safe and sun kissed! I'm really longing some sun and sea right now, so this probably a reflection of that. It's nice to be home but being in Italy last summer sure was a treat in comparison to the rain-soaked misery that is Ireland right now. The mammy is on the case, searching for holidays, so maybe there'll be some of that sea I'm missing and a change of scenery in my life sometime soon.  

Beachy, Summery hair!

Hangin' with Belle.

Proud Belle.

Fat Mess Belle.