cinematic style - Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain

screencaps

So you know how you know who your first crush was? The one whose poster you plastered all over your walls, the one you fell asleep looking at, the one you secretly (or not so secretly) planned to marry. 'My future husband' you would say. It almost doesn't matter who it is. It could be Leo, it could be a Backstreet Boy, it could be Seth Cohen (a thousand teenage girls of the noughties sigh). Well, for me, that first crush, last crush, always crush was Jake Gyllenhaal. Oh Jake. You have no idea how bad it gets. I wish I knew how to quit you. Not even when my friends tell me that his eyes are too close together (on the weekend, while in an absolute dive bar, my oldest bud said to me 'look I'm not saying that if he took his clothes off in front of me I'd say no, but seriously, on a scale of one to cyclops he's like a 7, maybe 7.5'). Not ever. I have loved him since Donnie Darko. I saw Prince of Persia three times in the cinema. And don't even get me started on Love and Other Drugs...

I remember seeing Brokeback Mountain. I remember falling in love. I remember double denim. I remember crying so hard I thought people might ask me to leave. At the 2006 Oscars I remember wanting so bad for Brokeback to win the best picture award. I remember feeling gutted when it didn't. But there was Heath and Michelle (in that dress!) and Ang's speech and Jake being hilarious. My sixteen year old self wondered how such a beautiful, haunting, overwhelming film could miss out on the top honour. A slave to awards shows even then, I had not yet realised how political they could be. I still had stars in my eyes. I'm lucky that that first realisation didn't kill the whole enterprise. I laughed along with the rest of them at 36mafia 1, Scorsese 0. I hoped, rather than knew, Ang Lee's (and Heath's and Jake's) time would come. I remember crying like a baby when Heath died, thinking the whole time of this.

What's so good about this wardrobe? it's the cowboy thing, firstly. I've always been drawn to a good felt hat and have recently adopted double denim as my unofficial wardrobe of spring. Shearling I know well. But what I am drawn to at the moment is the whole 70s vibe. I have recently watched a few movies set in the 70s (Rush, Jobs), and god, it was a sexy era. The open shirts, the tight jeans, the big belts, the big hair.  Men looked masculine. They acted masculine too - rode horses, smoked cigarettes, punched things - but most of all they looked the part in their denim and shearling and shirts. I think the normalcy of the wardrobe in this does much to advance character development. The torment of the Ennis and Jack is only heightened by their relative anonymity. They look the part, they just can't act it. That tension between reality and fiction, the tension of living a lie, is always the major theme I take away from the film. I think the costumes express that tension so, so admirably.

X

You have read this article clothes / clothing / coats / denim / films / hats / inspiration / jackets / menswear / movies / outfit / outfits / shearling with the title hats. You can bookmark this page URL http://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2013/10/cinematic-style-jake-gyllenhaal-in.html. Thanks!

things I'm going to do this summer - #16-18

spruced // garance dore // freunde von freunden

sixteen. buy a hat and actually wear it. you can start laughing at me now, g.

seventeen. paint my nails white and wear just one first knuckle ring.

eighteen. look up. 

X

You have read this article future / garance dore / hats / me / nail polish / photos / pictures / rings / summer with the title hats. You can bookmark this page URL http://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2013/09/things-i-going-to-do-this-summer-16-18.html. Thanks!

cinematic style - ladies takin' care of business in various

Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger in Cold Mountain // Cate Blanchett in The Missing // Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit // Sharon Stone in The Quick and The Dead // Andie Macdowell in Bad Girls

 Oh I love a good western/frontier flick. I love the denim, I love the bandanas, I love the big coats and the even bigger hats. And I love it when the ladies take care of business. It's just simpler that way. I'm literally counting down the days/hours/minutes/seconds till a piece apart arrives at my chameleon and I can really live out my frontier dreams.

X

You have read this article celebrity / coats / films / hats / inspiration / movies / my chameleon / style / want with the title hats. You can bookmark this page URL http://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2013/08/cinematic-style-ladies-takin-care-of.html. Thanks!

the gang

apiece apart fw 2013

Winter is all about hanging out in a gang with your friends in oversized sweaters and big hats, drinking tea by the pot-ful and gossiping about boys and teachers and teachers who are boys and professing to hate hate hate the rain when really you can't wait to turn up the collar of your coat and get just a little bit wet.

X

You have read this article coats / cold / colour / fashion / friends / hats / knitwear / look books / tea / want / weather / winter with the title hats. You can bookmark this page URL http://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-gang.html. Thanks!

that girl in the hat

jak and jil

All throughout Paris and London I toyed with getting a hat. I perused the windows at Lock and Co, I stalked the display area for Maison Michele at le Bon Marche. The idea was fermented in Milan, after seeing scores of women running through the Galleria wearing their purchases from Borsalino. After that it just grew - the Italians wear hats well - until by the time I got to Paris all I could think about was snapping up an expensive felt topper of my own. I thought I had put this whole hat thing to rest. Remember the year before last when every second post was about hats and how I was obsessed with finding the right one? Well I found one, and I wore it, but I soon came to the realisation that I might not be a hat person. As I tried to explain to my friend in Paris, it all seems fine and dandy to buy a hat in Europe, and wear it with belted tweed coats and cashmere scarves wrapped tight, but then you get back to Sydney, and instead of being that girl in the hat, you're just that girl in the hat. I'm not convinced that I'm ready for the scrutiny that comes with wearing a hat. But I just can't quite get this image out of my head; of hair tucked up, and oversized turtleneck sweaters, and a stiff felt hat on top of it all.

X

You have read this article garance dore / hats / milan fashion week / paris / shopping / street style / street-style / style / stylists / tommy ton / vogue paris / want with the title hats. You can bookmark this page URL http://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2013/02/that-girl-in-hat.html. Thanks!

summer wardrobe planning - 2013

It's that time of year again! To prepare for this I had a look at the list I put together around this time last year, and I can't believe how nothing has changed. I'm ashamed to say that a hat is still on the list, despite me actually buying what I thought was the perfect one in New York, but it's just not quite there (it's mostly just a little bit small, so if I succeed in my experiment in stretching it a little then all this might be in the past!). Like love, I'll know it when I see it, and it will make all that have come before it so desperately, desperately wrong. And re: those loose trousers and the delicate jewellery, more of those always. I think my pant to skirt ratio is on an upward, never-ending trajectory, especially during summer. Don't ask why. Maybe it has to do with pockets! And I'll always want more pieces of delicate jewellery, you really cannot have enough (and I always, always, always lose them. It's actually quite devastating). But other than last year's list that apparently I'm still working on, what have I got planned for next summer? Let's see, shall we? 

1. A massive, so-big-you-look-kind-of-homeless, wrap-around-you-three-times trench coat in the perfect shade of tobacco brown.

La Garconne Moderne trench coat // Meg Ryan in You've Got Mail

I quite like this coat but in actual fact this season I'm going to get the TOME one. It's in the first image of this post and my goodness it's beautiful. I love those contrast pockets, that upturned collar, that oversized swagger.  I love how it's almost like a 1980s take on the classic trench, the kind of thing Madonna might wear in Desperately Seeking Susan, all curly hair and leg warmers. But, that's not to say that if the right classic number passes me by that I won't settle for it, either. I've always been a sucker for a good trench, and although I actually have one at the moment, it's definitely not perfect. It'll do for now, but in the long term I want something that is going to last. There are a few things wrong with my trench - it's not big enough (it fits me, but I want it to swamp me), it's got this weird stripey lining and odd zippers everywhere. I like it a lot, but I can do better. I want something that's going to stick it out for me through thick and thin, be a transeasonal coverup and a cold-weather friend. TOME, do you think you can do that?

2. A plain black swimsuit with thin straps, low scoop back and a high leg. 

 Prism Chateau one piece // Garance Dore

So that's kind of specific. But it's swimwear after all, you're practically naked so you want to look good. I'm not sure I need to justify this, it's summer and I need a swimming costume and since the one I have currently is a) brown, b) ugly, c) about 8 years old (I'm not even joking, I bought it in year 9 and never replaced it) I think it's about time, don't you? Just something plain, black and flattering, if at all possible!

3. A leather backpack 

 The Row leather backpack, Theory leather backpack, Theory leather backpack // The Row in real life

The time to fulfill all those cool-girl fantasies of swinging a backpack off one shoulder wearing an oversized blue shirt and blue jeans and funky suede birkenstocks and a heap of blinging anklets is now! The time to relive high school and effortless amounts of teenage nonchalance with just one swing of a leather backpack is now! This one is another total stab in the dark, since I won't be able to afford The Row one. Ever. And I think the Theory ones are still just out of my league. The search continues, but, just like with most things, I'll know when I know. 

4. The perfect hat.

Citizen couture

Like seriously, I know these exist, so where are they? She has one! She's wearing one right there! I want it big enough that it can slid over my head and not give me a headache, big enough that if I'm wearing a low pony it's not going to stick, but not too big that a slight breeze will knock it right off. I want something that's going to be the full stop to my summer outfits. I want something that is really stiff, that isn't going to bend around or blow in the wind. Just a little something to perch on my head with a loose sweater and some tapered trousers and some double strap sandals for a day out. The search continues, as ever.

5. An oversized smock dress, long-ish, like maybe calf length, with pockets and a boat neck in a nice neutral brown colour. 

 

joan didion // la garconne moderne painter smock

I've got one quite similar to this - not calf length, resting on the knees - from Acne, and it's a life saver in Summer. I can wear it tucked into trousers and work and it's easy breezy, or I can belt it over a long skirt and it acts like some kind of chic tunic, or I can get a safety pin, hitch it up and across to my shoulder to give it a bit of a grecian drape. That little garment has saved my life on so many occasions - it manages to be both dressy and casual at the same time - and I think that it's time to get another one, this time in a different colour, to add to the collection. This La Garconne Moderne number is pretty great (and I do have a thing for la garconne moderne). It doesn't have to be silk, but I think you get the best drape out of silk. If it wasn't silk it would have to be some kind of silk-cotton-jersey mix, like what Gary Bigeni uses in his beautiful garments, because I want it to have a bit of weight too it. It couldn't be plain cotton, because then it would feel like a tee shirt, and I have enough of those. This needs to be something a little... extra. 

This list has more abstracts than ever - if anyone remembers last season they'll remember that almost every item had an exact designer and style name to it. This season I only know one thing - that I'm gonna get my hands on that TOME trench. Oh, and I know one other thing, I guess. That I'll know perfection when I see it. We'll see how I go, considering that last season I got everything crossed off pretty earlier and then had to limit my purchasing a bit (that went pretty much as planned, but it wasn't easy. I am guilty of a few sale purchases though). This season is going to be more of a search, which is probably going to be much more exciting. I really hope I can lock down some of these things, once and for all! Summer, here we come.

X

You have read this article anklets / ashley olsen / bags / clothes / clothing / hats / jackets / jewelry / money / shopping / the row with the title hats. You can bookmark this page URL http://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2012/07/summer-wardrobe-planning-2013.html. Thanks!

one day

At the very end of the my New York trip I had one of the best days there when I met up with my friend Abby and we roamed all around New York taking each other to our favourite haunts in the city. Abby and me first met during my last trip to New York, when we paired up to go to a La Roux concert and to have late night tofu salads at Yaffa. It's funny to think that it's been two years since we saw each other and yet nothing - or everything! - has changed. This time we knew we only had a day and a night and a morning together, we were splitting a beautiful room at the Lafayette House and we wanted to make the most of it. So we packed a whole lot of New York and a helpful respite sitting in our room eating macarons and drinking tea into one day and it was absolutely glorious.

Lunch at The Smile was one of those spur of the moment decisions that turns out to be absolutely fantastic. We both opted for the Penne - a delicious wriggle of pasta and ricotta with a massive helping of parmesan over the top with the crunch of sugar snap peas throughout. It was something quite magical. After, we wandered up 6th Ave to the famed location of C.O Bigelow chemists and spent a long time perusing through everything that they had on offer, especially their own-brand range which is stocked at the Lafayette and smells like a dream. I picked up a little treat, a bar of the Mentha exfoliating soap that smells like dewy, garden-fresh mint. After that we hopped on the F train - takes me anywhere I want to go! - uptown to check out Abby's favourite bookstore Rizzoli. This is how bookstores should be, with creaky staircases and sales assistants who talk to each other in French and ladders to reach the top top top shelves high from the floor. Abby picked up a heap of things but I was at the end of my trip and money was running low. But when I got home I saw that mum had bought me one of the books that I was mulling over from amazon. It's a tale of New York City in the 1930s, speakeasys, dive bars and fast cars. I can't wait.

After that we strolled right up Madison Ave for a pilgrimage to Laduree. It's right next to the freshly opened Celine store and it's well worth the wait. I had forgotten, really, what a proper macaron tasted like. There are many imitators and there are some that are very good. But no-one makes a macaron quite like the French. crispy on the outside but soft as anything on the inside. We picked up Salted Butter Caramel, "Incroyable Amande" which was an almond flavour with a mashmallow (YES, MARSHMALLOW) filling and is my new favourite, grapefruit and vanilla, and then raspberry for me and rose for Abby.

Dinner was at Lucky Strike at the bottom of Soho. This was a fantastic meal. We shared the polenta calamari with spicy tomato sauce and then ended up with burgers after seeing the people at the tables around us consume theirs so happily we had no choice but to order them. I loved this poky little bistro. I remembered it from that garance photo, and Abby had seen a recommendation on one of her favourite blogs. I'm glad we ended up here for dinner too, since it turned out to be another of those surprise great meals. I rarely dined at the same place in New York more than once, partly because I'm greedy and I wanted to try something everywhere, just once, but also because there is so much on offer in that city you need to keep roaming around. Finally, a nightcap at The Bowery Hotel. I asked the bartender to make me something with ginger and makers mark, and the result was something so perfect I only wish I had paid more attention to what he was doing. I know that some kind of bitters went in there but other than that it was a blur of cocktail shakers and up-ended bottles of bourbon.

Just another perfect New York day, really.

Notes:

The Smile - 26 Bond St, Soho
C.O Bigelow - 414 6th Ave, Greenwich Village
Rizzoli - 31 West 57th St, Midtown
Laduree - 864 Madison Ave, Upper East Side
Lucky Strike - 31 Grand St, Soho
The Bowery Hotel - Corner of Bowery and East 3rd St, Noho

X

You have read this article beauty / blogging / books / food / friends / hats / macaroons / New York / travel with the title hats. You can bookmark this page URL http://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2012/03/one-day.html. Thanks!

the club

the sartorialist, vanessa jackman, my photo

At last! At long, long last. I'm joining such luminaries as Eva and Vilislava in the hat club. I imagine that people with the perfect hat meet up somewhere once a year and they smile ecstatically at each other and they eat really delicious things like seafood salads and eton mess and they drink Makers Mark on the rocks and they talk about Important World Issues and read Le Monde and listen to Etta James. This is a Theysken's Theory hat that I picked up in New York, thanks to a sweet recommendation from Jess. It's a perfect little thing, with a stiff, broad brim and a high top, and it's big, like real big so it fits my head and I wore it non stop in New York and I can't wait till the weather gets a little cooler so I can pop it on my head here. I think this is the start of something really special.

X

You have read this article clothes / clothing / hats / me / olivier theyskens / photos / pictures / shopping / street style / street-style / style / stylists / the sartorialist / wardrobe with the title hats. You can bookmark this page URL http://startthefire-cafagesta.blogspot.com/2012/02/the-club.html. Thanks!