Girlies Go Goth At The Academy Awards!

A fashion blog is not officially a fashion blog until it has documented its opinion regarding who were the ultimate best dressed celebrities at the Academy Awards. So, without further ado, here are my own personal picks of the most Gothically glam gentlewomen who graced the red carpet for the most glamorous night in Hollywood’s calendar…

1) Cate Blanchett

Last year’s Best Actress winner and, thus, this year’s Best Actor presenter added a splash of colour to this elegant black velvet number with a bold turquoise neck decoration.

2) Sienna Miller

Ms. Miller rocked a similar look to the aforementioned Blanchett. I adore the simple, preppy bow detailing.

3) Kelly Osborne

I think the question here is what wasn’t gorgeously Gothic about Kelly Osborne’s Oscar attire? I especially love how this lady constantly clashes her cutesy pastel lavendar quiff with rugged, dark, sophisticated gear…

4) Zendaya

I must admit, I did have to Google who this bright young thing was. And I’m still not entirely sure. But her stunning dress just reminds me of sensual Victorian lingerie, reminisce of something you would imagine a bride of Dracula wearing…so what is not to love? Love love LOVE this dress!

5) Felicity Jones

Keeping with the theme of non-black attire, Felicity Jones looked like an absolute Disney princess in this Alexander McQueen Cinderella gown. That pearl-adorned bodice and neckline? One word: STUN-NING.

6) Rosamund Pike

I promise, I will return to the comfort zone of black, grey and all their derivatives in the very near future, but I couldn’t possibly ignore the structuring of Rosamund’s rosy LRD. The ingenious cinching gives the illusion that she possesses a waist of around a two-inch circumference…and you work that split, girl!

7) Hannah Bagshawe

AKA Mrs. Eddie Redmayne, AKA The Luckiest Woman Alive. The feather detailing on this dress certainly is something to write home about. I simply must congratulate this fine lady in her wonderful wardrobe this awards season. PS-the mister didn’t look too bad himself.

8) Melanie Griffith

THAT NECKLINE: CAN I GET AN AMEN?! The perfect combination of class and burlesque elegance.

9) Laura Dern 

I shall call this ‘chainmail chic’. It would have been simply criminal to ignore the wicked craftsmanship that has gone into this stylish suit of glamorous armour.

10) Tegan and Sara

These twinnies certainly chose comfort over formalities but didn’t they look just fabulous in doing so? Congrats girls, you made ‘casual’ on the prestigious Oscars red carpet actually work! And, if possible, could I borrow that dress sometime? Please and thank you.

11) Dita Von Teese

Okay, okay, technically she didn’t actually grace the red carpet (she just partied hard at ol’ Elton’s place afterwards) but when she looked this on-point, how could I refuse to include her in my line-up? Never one to disappoint is our fair Dita.

12) Meryl Streep

ALL PRAISE QUEEN MERYL. WORSHIP THE GROUND SHE WALKS UPON. KISS HER SACRED FEET. So suave, so smooth, so sophisticated….gah. You’ve killed me, Streep. You’ve actually killed me. Brava, you wondrous lady.

AAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNDDDDDDDDD in other news…

The BRITs were also this week.

And while everyone is still busting a lung over literally the most golden moment in live television history (ie-the moment Madonna became ‘The Fallen Madonna With Hair Like She Had Been Dragged Backwards Out Of A Bush’), I have been fangirling over Paloma Faith’s spectacular performance of the heartbreaking ‘Only Love Can Hurt Like This’. THIS is how you put on a performance!

Until next time muchachos!

-Niamhy xx

And The Award For The Most Historically Accurate Costume Design Goes To…

THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING.

Anyone who knows me will vouch for the fact that I can be quite the snob in regards to anachronisms of historical accuracy in films. Especially when those anachronisms arrive in the form of the costume design. There is nothing I detest more than a historically inaccurate costume. Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra, anyone? (Spot the girl who voluntarily did work experience aged sixteen as a fashion curator at a local museum).

SERIOUSLY?!

Therefore, I felt it was my duty to take to my little baby blog to congratulate the costume designers of The Theory of Everything for doing such an excellent job of…well…costume designing. I’m not entirely certain whether or not the clothes employed in the film were sourced vintage items or reproductions but either way BRAVO!

From Jane Wilde’s (Felicity Jones) adorable pale blue evening gown for the Cambridge May Ball…

To her pitch perfect wedding dress…

And everything in between and after…

Well, let’s just say this fashion history geek gained vast amusement from attempting to pinpoint the era each scene was focusing on based solely upon the costumes. Judge me. I don’t care. It all just adds up to a massive pat on the back and round of applause for the costume team.

If anyone hasn’t seen the film yet, I have just one question for you: WHY NOT?! Get your act together, guys! It is quite literally a masterpiece. I cried, I laughed, I cried some more, had a nosebleed, cried a bit more…stunning. Eddie Redmayne is absolutely astounding in his role as Stephen Hawking. And that isn’t even me just being biased because of my…ahem…appreciation of his talents. He has come a long, long way from Angel Clare of Emminster. I’m like a proud mother. Furthermore, Ms. Jones offers a heartbreaking portrayal of his hard-working wife. Once again, she has come a long, long way from the oh-so-naive Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey. (Why must everything I speak of revert back to period dramas?) So seriously, I don’t understand why you’re still reading this post-GET THEE TO A CINEMA!

I’ll finish up by sending a gargantuan GOOD LUCK to all those involved at the Golden Globes. C’MON, THE REDMAYNE! AND THE JONES!

-Niamhy xx

Alternative Trends In Popular Culture: Tattoos, Memento (2000)

Today, I treated myself to the viewing pleasure of my own personal premiere of Christopher Nolan’s Memento, after approximately six years of promising myself every Saturday that I would watch it that evening. So here I am, on a cold Thursday evening in January, sitting in a darkened bedroom trying to come to terms with what I have just borne witness to and attempting to join the dots in my mind. I am currently getting nowhere. I am still drowning in a cloudy haze.

Despite my wavering viewpoints on various aspects of this film (if you haven’t seen it, I would highly recommend it…I’ll be keeping this post spoiler-free so that everyone has the opportunity to experience this heightened sense of disorientation), there is one topic upon which I have a very definite opinion. And that is the role of tattoos in the film.

For the benefit of those who are unacquainted with the plot of Memento, allow me to enlighten you briefly. Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) suffers extreme short-term memory loss following a traumatic incident in which his wife was attacked. The film concerns him seeking revenge for the wrongdoings that have been performed against him and his late wife…however, this is no mean feat considering he is incapable of making new memories, thus forgetting all events within a few moments of them occurring. In order to combat this, Leonard conditions himself to make note of all those events which he deems to be significant. Those events of the greatest importance? They’re noted in ink on his skin.

There are two very distinct and opposing viewpoints represented within the film in regards to these tattoos:

1) They are of massive significance to Leonard. They allow him to live. These are mementos of his past, objects through which he can progress and eventually achieve his ultimate goal. For him, they are essentially a lifesaver.

2) In the words of Natalie (another character, portrayed by Carrie-Anne Moss), they are freaky. Weird. Sure, it would be difficult to caress a hairless chest with the words “JOHN G. RAPED AND MURDERED MY WIFE” scrawled across it. But is the opinion of this one character representative of the ceaseless stigmatisation of tattooed men and women in the media (and in reality) today?

For me, tattoos are a means through which we can illustrate our skin with permanent souvenirs of the most pivotal, monumental moments in our lives. They are a commemoration of our successes in life. They remind us that we have survived. Isn’t this an art-form we should celebrate? Even in its most basic form of the ol’ stick-and-poke (an act which we see our Leonard perform on himself in a scene which I found particularly intriguing…so much so that I had to rewind it to hear the words that were being spoken because I was simply too enthralled by the nifty movement of his fingers), surely this co-existence of science and art is something not to be frowned upon but acknowledged for what it truly is…the creation of a permanent masterpiece on the human body?

Honestly, this is one of my favourite topics of debate. Please, feel free to share your opinion with me. I am genuinely interested. Drop me a comment. Go on. I dare you.

Au revoir, mes petits pois!

PS-if you did not swoon over Guy Pearce’s strangely alluring bleached blond punk hairdo in this film, you are wrong.

PPS-if you were not cast adrift in a sea of your own tears after Leonard’s heartfelt speech about being unable to adequately grieve and get over the death of his wife because he has no concept of time, then you have the kind of emotional stability I crave in my life and I envy you. I really do.

-Niamhy xx