Dangerously, this is a shoppable video. I dare you to click.
The Carrie Diaries – the long-awaited prequel to Sex and the City – has finally hit US screens. Though the script has yet to impress as its predecessor had done so many years ago, I was sold on the wardrobe from first sight (she even has a first-timer version of the infamous Carrie necklace!). Intended to replace the fashion-crazed Gossip Girl viewership over on The CW, I look forward to see where how rather garish – but altogether charming – ensembles develop over the first season.
Shop the first looks below!
1. Carrie Bradshaw:
The Lulu Polka Dot Pullover by Cardigan
Current/Elliot ‘Ice Cream’ denim skirt (not online)
2. Larissa Loughton:
Robert Rodriguez Leopard Print Trousers
3. Jen, Donna, and Jen:
Pastel skinny jeans (similar here)
4. Carrie Bradshaw:
Hue polka dot tights
Milly snow leopard mini skirt
5. Carrie Bradshaw:
Cooperative alphabet pullover
BDG burgundy denim
Mark Cross Scottie Satchel (Decorated with nail polish and ‘Carrie’)
6. Carrie Bradshaw:
Marc Jacobs yellow striped sweater (similar here)
7. Carrie Bradshaw:
10 Crosby Derek Lam floral-print blouse
8. Carrie Bradshaw:
Marc Jacobs heart print top
9. Carrie Bradshaw:
Topshop sequin skater dress
Though it launched earlier this year to an immense sign-up storm, it took me a few months to bite the bullet and sign up for Netflix. For years I have tended to adopt a love of TV shows and movies long after they have been cancelled (Mad Men is the exception). When the Netflix app popped up on my iPad before a long trip, however, the stars seemed to align and suck me into Netflix mania.
Though I wouldn’t say the app is faultless, the very cheap service (£6 per month) more than delivers when I am all blogged/styled/travelled out and need a creative escape. The biggest problem for me is actually deciding what to watch. For that reason, I have created a quick access guide to ‘flix-cure your every need!
For those who have yet to hear of the ‘manacled Mormon’…
Tabloid. Directed by Errol Morris, this bizarre documentary features sex, lies, Mormonism, and all of Morris’ mesmerizing flair. It is delusional, disturbing, and captivating on many levels.
For those who miss The Wire…
Breaking Bad. Having recently released season five exclusively through Netflix, this is the app’s calling card. Like the drug the show is centered around, the probability of addiction is high. This show has rocked more hours on my iPad than anything else.
For some neo-noir man candy…
Drive. Has Ryan Gosling. Pretend you need a better explanation.
For some guilty pleasure…
Secret Diary of A Callgirl. Led by Billie Piper, the series – based on the anonymous blog turned bestseller, Belle de Jour – is a knowingly ironic look at the adventures of a London call girl. The reality and disillusionment of sex as a commodity is certainly interesting, but this series is more about the Sex and The City-esque one liners than any sort of sexual agenda.
For something quick and mind-blowing…
Derren Brown Trick of the Mind. Because you can only say you’ve lived when you see someone be whispered unconscious in seconds via telephone. Derren Brown does ‘magic’ in a way that would make David Copperfield cry.
For the ‘THANK YOU, LELA’ moment…
Arrested Development. I have introduced more people to this TV show than anything else. It is the smartest and best-cast comedy I have ever seen. (You’re welcome.)
For the fashionista…
…who can appreciate a satirical, frivolous, but poignant update of Jane Auste’s Emma…Clueless.
…who has ever wanted to work in fashion…The September Issue.
For the dirty Brit in you…
The Inbetweeners.
For the traitor Brit in you…
The Office (US). (Better than the original).
For unaware hilarity…
Teeth. If there is anything you will take away from this movie, it will be the phrase ‘vagina dentata’. Classed as horror, I believe this one is a little more comedic than the average slasher, but a worthwhile watch for the experience alone.
For your XY Chromosome…
Green Street (Hooligans). Gritty and poetic all at once. You wouldn’t be faulted for raising your eyebrow at a few of the casting choices, but when you combine the primal highs of West Side Story, Fight Club, and the culture of football hooliganism, you get an authentically riveting film.
Christina Hendricks is a hot woman. Perhaps not everyone’s dream woman, but with a curvaceous figure, sweet nature, and a fame-making role as the quintessential femme fatale, the unaffected are few and far between.
Last week, Christina was in Australia to promote Specsavers launch for Australia’s Most Stylish Spec Wearer (setting those optician hearts racing, I’m sure) and sat down for a preliminary interview with the fashion editor of the Sydney Sun-Herald, Kate Waterhouse. Half way through the interview Waterhouse noted, “You have been an inspiration as a full-figured woman. What is the most inspiring story you can remember where you’ve inspired someone?”
Quickly, a viral video surfaced that showed Hendricks flustered and shutting down Waterhouse’s full-figured question on account of being ‘just rude’; the F-bomb, if you will. I was perplexed by her reaction. Instead of taking the moment in its positivity, the gorgeous actress – having built a career in this same body, always the poster girl for full-figured women – looked hurt. I felt empathetic.
Regardless of good intentions, you could see the affect the comment had on her. Regardless of being human – just like you and I – she has since been ridiculed for “breeding insecurity of body acceptance“.
Hendricks later told The Sun-Herald that she prefers her body to be described as “feminine“, causing just as much of a stir; as if she would perhaps exclude those without curves from being feminine. Is it her responsibility to be politically correct, here? Let me know what you think!
Alber Elbaz – the extraordinarily talented designer of Lanvin – received a lot of love when he decided to feature ‘real people’ in his Autumn/Winter 2012 campaign. Now that there is a video to go along with it, that love is sure to multiply like bunnies.
In the campaign video (below) a group of diverse and beautiful men and woman segue between stop-motion photo shoots and soundbites while wearing the best of Lavin’s upcoming collection; peplum-ed and fur-ed to the nines. We have an elegant 81-year-old woman from Harlem, eyes like diamonds, “new diseases (and like)”, strange obsessions and collections, connecting with the earth, douchey music, and much much more. Charming as ever, Monsieur Elbaz.
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