GYMSPIRATION!

OCTOBER 20th: ARE YOU WEARING PURPLE TODAY?

A tie, a scarf, a pin.  Anything goes to show your support.
Here's an interesting link : http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20020164-504083.html
(I'm also wearing purple corduroy jeans just in case you were wondering).

CARDIO ANTHEMS

BARBRA STREISAND by DUCK SAUCE

HOW RETRO

I've talked about the 80's many times, I myself was one of those that thought they'd never be back and then fell for almost every single trend from that decade that has sneaked back into our lives.  This morning's newspaper had the headline featured above, it reads "THE KREMLIN CONDECORATED SPIES WHO WERE EXPELLED".  Isn't this just a bit TOO 80's?
I remember a whole family of kids from the U.S. at my school in Moscow were expelled and had to leave the country in a short time's notice when their parents had been accused of being spies (one of them was a really good friend of my sister's).  We found it so unfair and thought it was just some sort of retaliation for a Soviet family that had been expelled from Washington weeks before.  Their American nanny stayed and became a teacher's assistant at our school.
I also remember how our house there had been completely wired (is this the correct term?).  A few months before we arrived in 1987, the Embassy had detected the places where the microphones had been placed, and when my sister and I found out where they were, we decided we place ourselves close enough in order to say nasty comments about the Russians and about living in the Soviet Union (God knows we actually LOVED it there).  Even the staff at the house was in on this game.  Our cook, Valia, was fluent in Spanish, yet she pretended to barely know the language.
We know fashion and its trends come up as a result or echo of our times, but today it just felt like it was the other way around.

IF YOU'RE IN LONDON THIS WEEK...

Just got this delivered to my mailbox so...take a peek:

Thursday 21st October 6pm - 8pm The World of Manolo Room Ground Floor

Cancel any plans you might have this Thursday and head down to Liberty for the unique chance to meet fashion’s most illustrious shoe designer, Manolo Blahnik. To celebrate the launch of his new book, 'Manolo’s New Shoes', Blahnik will be in store signing purchases. Don't miss this rare opportunity to see the man behind some of the most well renowned and iconic shoes ever produced. 'Manolo’s New Shoes', published by Thames & Hudson, collects together previously unpublished sketches and designs including those for Sofia Coppola’s celebrated Marie Antoinette biopic, with accompanying text from fashion’s best known names including Suzy Menkes and Grace Coddington. GET MANOLO'S NEW SHOES

THE NEXT GENERATION

DISCUSS.

SHOW THEM YOU CARE

I thought I'd be able to keep myself from posting other videos regarding Julie Andrews on the day of her birthday, but it's been impossible. I just watched the following bit from Mary Poppins three times straight, and though Feed The Birds is probably one of the saddest songs in the movie, it is also one of my favorites. The music is beautiful, as well as her voice and interpretation, but above all, the imagery and lyrics, are probably the most touching ingredients of this powerful combination. I guess they must have spoken to the young animal activist in me.

Early each day to the steps of Saint Paul's
The little old bird woman comes
In her own special way to the people she call,
"Come, buy my bags full of crumbs;
Come feed the little birds,
Show them you care
And you'll be glad if you do
Their young ones are hungry
Their nests are so bare
All it takes is tuppence from you
Feed the birds, tuppence a bag
Tuppence, tuppence, tuppence a bag
Feed the birds," that's what she cries
While overhead, her birds fill the skies

All around the cathedral the saints and apostles
Look down as she sells her wares
Although you can't see it,
You know they are smiling
Each time someone shows that he cares

Though her words are simple and few
Listen, listen, she's calling to you
"Feed the birds, tuppence a bag
Tuppence, tuppence, tuppence a bag"

Having lived in Eastern Europe as a child, I never felt the urge to travel to London (like I did for Paris), so my first time there was when I was 27, and I have to say I fell in love with the city.
Though stalking Madonna and a trip to her house in Marylebone were within my plans, they were not as important as going to Saint Paul's Here it goes.

A SPOONFUL OF JULIE

What would our world be without Julie Andrews? I really don't know. So many people's childhood memories are inevitably linked to her I can't possibly think of anyone who doesn't hold a special place for her in their heart. Unlike what was said about Singin' In The Rain's Lina Lamont, she CAN act, she CAN dance and she CAN sing, she is perhaps the embodiment of the word "talent".
I was thinking about the videos I should post regarding her but there's an endless list in Mary Poppins alone, and then there's The Sound of Music, Victor Victoria, etc. etc.
Though we associate her name mostly to films that belong to the comedy and musical genres, what's special about Julie Andrews is that she is also an actress with range. Just a couple of weeks ago I was over a couple of friends' house and we were about to watch her in Hitchcock's Torn Curtain, alongside Paul Newman, but something, I dont' recall what, got in the way and we ended up watching something else.
I'm having a sort of hectic week, but I had to take a minute or two to sit down and write about her today. Happy 75th Birthday!

TWENTY

Yes, it's been twenty years since Vogue came out as a single, though it was also included in the soundtrack for the movie Dick Tracy : I'm Breathless, and later that same year in the Immaculate Collection.

I became absolutely obsessed with this song and especially the video as soon as it came out. I was ten, but it just spoke to me, I've no idea what it was that captivated me, but in hindsight, the collection of Lempicka images and references to Horst and Mainbocher all put together and coming to life through a fabulous and intricate choreography were something that could just not go by unnoticed, even for my (yet) untrained eye.

Inspiration has become quite a frequent word lately, especially regarding current pop-stars' videos: How much is "inspired by" and how much of their work is just a blatant copy. I think Vogue is the perfect example of how to take references from different artists (the aforementioned ones), no matter how explicit they might be, to then mix them with something as current and not-so-mainstream as "voguing" was back in the day. I think it takes a lot of vision to be able to mix things that are so distant and that apparently have nothing in common (hedonism is the obvious common denominator) into something so new and unique, and what's even more difficult, into something of Madonna's own: it is virtually impossible to separate Madonna from voguing nowadays.
In 2004, I went to my first-ever Madonna concert. Vogue was the opening song, and she performed in a corset, not designed by Mainbocher, but by Monsieur Christian Lacroix himself.

However, I feel my favorite Vogue performances will always be the one at the 1990 MTV Music Awards and ESPECIALLY the one from The Girlie Show.

Here's the performance from the latter, and despite the cliché, here it goes : STRIKE A POSE!

BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO

I was thinking about those VERY inspiring Robert Palmer videos with the beautiful girls, all uniformed in the same slick hair, red lipstick and skintight dresses. All so pretty. I had suggested the look for a styling project I have next week but my client didn't approve of it. Too bad.
A friend of mine on Facebook posted the videos a couple of days ago and I thought it was funny coincidence. Then this morning, I remembered the following video. Enjoy.

WHAT IF FEELS LIKE FOR A FAN

"Because she's a non-conformist"
BLESS the girl who I'm quoting, whomever she may be. It's a phrase my best friend and I always go back to and that makes us giggle at first to then eventually break up into MAD laughter when we realize how silly we can be when it comes to our love for the one and only Queen of Pop.
The phrase comes from a teenager outside a Madonna performance in the 80's, most probably at a Virgin Tour concert, when asked by a news reporter WHY she loves Madonna. I've been asked that question myself and I haven't been able to answer it without going into an endless list of reasons which actually don't manage to express what it feels like for a fan.
It will be Madonna's birthday in about two minutes , and I could begin posting thousands of quotes, videos, pictures, etc. in order to celebrate, but this time I will limit my posting to two pieces.
Number one: a picture of myself and my newly acquired Interview magazine (brought to me by a dear friend) where she looks absolutely fantastic.

Number two: a video of Madonna at MTV'S New Music Seminar in 1984.
I love this video. There's no dancing, no singing, none of her usual physical abilities are exposed, but what we manage to see is one of Madonna's greatest talents: her vision. PLEASE watch, at least until the 1:26 mark, and OBSERVE how this newcomer gives the established artists of the time a huge lesson. I recently watched it for the nth time and I could not help but cheer, jump and clap. It makes me smile.
It makes me proud to be a fan.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MADONNA!

YOU BETTER KNOW WHAT YOU'RE FIGHTING FOR

LOVING this.
I guess this is one of the examples when less is DEFINITELY more.