Friday, October 7, 2011

Emma Watson – a style icon in the making?

The decision to write this post came suddenly. Honestly, I was busy writing a long post on a very different topic, and then I saw this.

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This pic from a cover shoot for November issue of ELLE UK just stopped me in my tracks. I simply had do (write) something about it. So here’s it is.

First of all I’d like to point out that I’m no model idolizer or even admirer. I guess I never believed that posing for photographs requires an exceptional talent and to admire people I require them to be exceptional at something. Like any fashion blogger I naturally do have my favorites, for instance Kate Moss and Freja Beha Erichsen, but I mostly like them for their personal style and the image they embody – that cool, confident, rock-n-roll, no-nonsense look.

Generally I tend to think of models as girls who were kind of spoilt by too much money and too much attention too early, and working in the kind of business that requires but little brainwork. I know there are exceptions, but most models I ever heard speak weren’t great at expressing themselves and I still remember reading an interview in Russian Vogue with a Russian model – then just breaking out, now a major superstar – and how plain stupid she sounded. That’s off topic however, I’m not here to discuss model intelligence. What I meant to say is that I just added another to a my very select list of favorite models. Not so much models really, but girls who, I believe, will have an impact on style and lifestyle of theur generation. I have been watching with interest Emma Watson’s photo shoots for the last year or so, and this most recent bunny-eared image was the final drop. I give up, I’m conquered!

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Of course my judgment here may well be influenced by the fact that I know Emma to be much more than just a model. I did see all of the Harry Potter movies, though I wouldn’t call myself a full-blown fan (I’ve seriously enjoyed the last several books of the series however), and I’ve watched her grow. Her acting improved with age and every new film, and soon we'll see her first grownup performance in “One Week With Marilyn.” Plus Emma is well known to be a brainiac and very dedicated scholar – much like her famous character, and her intelligent interviews serve as evidence.

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However Emma’s turn as a model have gotten serious just recently. One day she was just that cute clumsy teen from HP, and suddenly she was in the Burberry campaign. And then, to everyone’s surprise, she reinvented her style image in one blow by chopping off those pretty princess locks. Her brand new sexy-meets- tomboy look, along with many photo shoots that followed – much more daring and versatile than before, suddenly turned her into a valid presence in the fashion world.

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Since then with every next shoot Emma seems to grow and become more and more convincingly model-like. I really tend to avoid loud and flash like “icon,” but if 2010’s were to have one, I’d rather it was someone smart, talented and multi-faceted like Emma. Anyway, just have a look at the images from various shoots in ELLE, VOGUE, i-D Magazine, CLASH, SEVENTEEN and others, and tell me she’s not the one to watch. And very closely too!

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Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Fall must-have list

Apparently the hardest part of the moving (see previous post) is over and I’m currently somewhat caught in between two lives – the one I had in Greece and the one I will have in this new place where I’m headed in less than two weeks. Having given up my flat in Athens I’m now chilling out at a hospitable home of my friends, with my bags stashed in every corner of the room. In the meantime September came to an end but I still made but a few (very few) seasonal purchases. What can you do, moving sometimes involves unexpected expenses plus I already have too much to ship and carry with me as it is, so it only makes sense to do all the shopping in the new place. Also, I’m moving into a very different climate and wardrobe will have to be adjusted accordingly. Either way I have a pretty good idea regarding the things I certainly cannot do without this season – some of them I already own, others are to be obtained “ as soon as.”

1. Leather biker jacket

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Looks like the studded black leather jacket which I got two years ago at Zara was a very smart investment indeed. Surely I wouldn’t mind having this one from Balmain as well, but, apart from being unaffordable to me, it’s also a bit too flashy while mine suits any occasion and goes with everything.

2. Mustard Yellow

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Completely in love with mustard yellow this fall. And since I don’t own a single piece in this color yet, I need a splash of this in my life ASAP! A sweater or a cardigan for starters, probably tights too and maybe even a bag.

3. Leather pants

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A definite must-have for a sleek rock-chick look that's so IN this season and has been a favorite of mine for years. Of course a pair of genuine leather pants of good quality (any other kind would inevitably stretch in all the wrong places and fast) would be pricy, but lucky for me H&M made a perfect alternative this fall - pants/treggings of faux leather with black elastane stripes running down the outer sides of legs. I wasted no time in getting my pair – I sense that H&M would quickly run out of them, at least in the popular sizes.

4. Long-sleeve shirts

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Certainly shirts never go out of fashion, but with the whole androgyny trend now growing stronger every day, they really took center stage. To such an extent that even I, who never seemed to like myself in shirts before, gave in and added a denim number to my wardrobe still back in spring, and most recently a semi-silk champagne colored shirt that I snatched at Zara’s summer sale.

5. Kohl & Eyeliner

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Sixties look is making a major comeback right now and what says “sixities” better than generously lined eyes and super long eyelashes? I’ve been an eyeliner fan for a while now, and with black kohl and black feltpen-eyeliner lying ready in my makeup bag, I’m anxious to experiment with even bolder lines this fall – at least for my evening look.

6. Lace boots Boots!

When moving to Greece I didn’t bother bringing more than a single pair of boots with me – it may have been a bit of an oversight, but I was already paying a lot for extra kilos in my luggage, and shoes are the heaviest part of the whole thing. So now that I’m going to live in a climate where boots are not just a fashion statement but also a necessity, I’m simply lusting over a pair of boots such as these. It’s practically urgent!

7. Boyfriend Jeans

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I’ve been wearing ONLY skinny jeans for the past few years, always feeling that any other kind of pants made me look big. Well, I think now I’m finally ready to try on a grungier look, inspired by fall collections of Paul Smith and DSquared. Plus boyfriend jeans are a key element for cool urban layering that I’m so into this season.

8. Dramatic nail polish

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The trend for bright, statement nails is clearly here to stay, however the neon shades that were so hot last spring/summer are now giving way to darker, deeper, more dramatic colors. Which means it’s time to expand my nail polish collection. Black appears to be the hit of the season, but I find it way too goth – dark blue, green and red is the way to go for me.

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