TV Takeover: Mad Men, Season 7 Premiere

In season 7, the 70s are on their way.

Please don't take this the wrong way: although films are/have been/always will be Number One when it comes to style, every once in a while a TV show will make its way into your life that not only gets you hooked on it, but it leaves you pining for more. This is a TV Takeover.

Although this is a somewhat rare occurrence, it does happen. First there was Sex & the City (1998-2004), then came Gossip Girl (2007-2012), but the most exciting show for the past few years has undoubtedly been Mad Men (2007-). 

Centred on the lives and professions of Madison Avenue's advertising executives and employees in the 1960s, this show has expertly portrayed what fashion looked like back in the day and, more significantly, what kind of a role style played in each characters' representation of their own image.

In the first few seasons, we saw how most of the female characters were still heavily influenced by the demure look of the 1950s. In later seasons, these women began to embrace the more playful and sexy choices of the 1960s. They swapped the kitten-heels for go-go boots, the full skirts for minis, and the pretty pastels for bold geometric prints.

Now that the show is in its final season, and the timeline is set in the late 60s, we can expect that the style will reflect the evolution of fashion at the turn of the decade. How main costume designer, Katherine Jane Bryant, will choose to display this is unsure, but more than likely we will see some type of bohemian and/or disco undertones. 

As the premiere of the season just aired, let us analyse some of the key aspects we have observed:

1. Megan Draper (Jessica Paré) is the only one who makes a real effort.
   As the youngest of Don Draper's women (not counting his daughter), Megan is the most in tune with the trends going on at the time and is not afraid to proudly portray her obvious love for fashion.
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Joan Harris (Christina Hendricks) looks lovely in purple.
   Joan is undoubtedly the matriarch at the advertising agency. She takes care of day-to-day happenings with the business and always seems to manage to help everyone out with their personal problems, all the while dressing in a professional, yet alluring manner.
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Peggy Olson's (Elisabeth Moss) secretary is more stylish than she is.
   Peggy has been, since the beginning of the show, constantly trying to prove her worth in a male-dominated industry. Because of this, her personal style has mainly remained on the back burner, as she appears to simply opt for comfortable and professional attire (though there are a few stand-out looks over the seasons).
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Where is Betty Francis (January Jones)?
   Don's ex-wife is the most stylish woman on the show. Sure, she went through that depressing chubby-phase, but who hasn't? Where is she and why was she not in the premiere?
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Where is Sally Draper (Kiernan Shipka)?
   
   Don's daughter, though still quite young, has displayed some promising looks. We want to see more!

   
   
   

Overall, perhaps not the greatest season premiere ever, but it'll do for now.

Action Heroine: Scarlett Johansson in Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Is this the new look for women who kick ass?

Women in action movies and their costumes are often quite problematic. I could endlessly rant about these problems (but I won't, because I already have). Yet someone must have heard me complain all the way to Hollywood, because we have finally been given what has taken too long to be seen on screen: a (semi) realistic depiction of an action heroine. 

Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow is a stellar depiction of a smart, strong and capable woman who kicks evil's ass alongside her male counterparts, without having to dress too provocatively.

Judianna Makovsky, of The Hunger Games (2012) fame, definitely knows what she is doing.

Although there is nothing wrong with a little bit of practical style when kicking ass, I appreciated the looks in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

When she is not decked out in her bodysuit, Natasha dons jeans, boots, hoodies and leather jackets. Much like any spy/secret agent/whatever-she-is probably does.

Now put a ponytail on that hair and we have a winner.

That Dress: Amber Heard in The Informers

The only feeling better than being naked is wearing an amazing dress.

If you have any intentions of watching The Informers (2008), there's only one thing you need to know: Amber Heard is naked in it. A lot. Like, 80% of the time, I'd say.

Whilst some men (and women) would jump for joy at that fact, I was rather disappointed. Here we have the perfect opportunity to take a gorgeous actress and dress her in the finest that the 80s' had to offer, but what did we get instead?

Naked.

Not that I blame costume designer, Sophie De Rakoff, for that. Christie (Heard) was probably naked the whole time in the book (shame on you again, Bret Easton Ellis). The very little she wore was rather spectacular though. One sequined party dress and one funeral dress.

De Rakoff most likely would have provided some amazing looks, if given the chance. Though not having worked on anything too legendary, she did manage to gift us with the looks in Legally Blonde (2001), Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003), In Her Shoes (2005) and This Means War (2012). Seems like she has a knack for dressing Reese Witherspoon.

Let's hope Amber does better in the future. Because, let's face it, which would you prefer? Amber dying on the beach in a bikini, or laying by the beach, covered in chic?

Off/On Topic: Vogue Italia's "Horror Movie", by Steven Meisel

Controversial? Perhaps.
Necessary? Yes.

Vogue Italia is one fashion magazine that does not shy away from controversy. The publication has often been criticised for glamourising taboo subjects such as racism, and even fetishizing certain native cultures. So what have they come under scrutiny this time?

Depicting images of domestic violence against women. 

Famed fashion photographer Steven Meisel shot the cover and spread for Vogue Italia's May 2014 issue, in which an array of female models are seen in a number of slasher film-type situations, being terrorized by a man with a knife, covered in blood, or even dead.

What some have apparently called inappropriate and unnecessary, I would say is quite the opposite. Franca Sozzani, the magazine's editor-in-chief, has defended the spread, stating that "Violence towards women has never been so hard-hitting as it is now, so reminiscent of a 'real horror show'... The intent is in no way to shock, but rather to raise awareness of a horror that must be condemned!".

Critics have attested that there is no reason for a glossy fashion magazine to tackle these types of universal problems, but really, why on Earth would they not? Fashion does not need to be frivolous. Those who work in the fashion industry, as well as those who follow it, are just as concerned about these matters as the people outside of the industry. Countless fashion designers have been known to raise awareness about the problems that people face in the world through their work, so why can't magazines do the same? 

Sozzani further states: "We always consider fashion to be something, let's say, superficial. For me, it's a pity, because fashion can have so many kinds of expressions. It's not only about clothes, it's not only about one dress. If it was only about that, it would be boring."

If anything, the magazine should be applauded for shedding light on this subject, not be condemned for it.

Sources: The Independent, The Telegraph

Teenage Rebellion: Emma Stone in Easy A

"A" is for Awesome.

Easy A (2010) is one of those teen-flicks that is both hilarious and genius, especially when it comes to criticising social conventions surrounding teenage girls and the way they think. It's kind of like Mean Girls (2004) in that sense. And just like Mean Girls, it presents some very interesting notions concerning high school attire.

For instance, did you ever dress a certain way, just to piss people off? Or do you still?

Even after the almost mandatory goth/emo/rocker phase of wanting to piss off your parents in order to assert your "I don't care what you, or society thinks about me"-attitude, it's quite common to transition into the "Just because you think I dress like a slut, does not mean that I am a slut"-phase in order to rebel against the misogynistic members of society.

That's why this film is so brilliant. How many times did a teacher and/or principal pull you aside and tell you that your clothes are "a little inappropriate because they send out the wrong message"?

Olive (Emma Stone) is a clever, funny, not-so-popular high school girl who gets branded a slut as soon as a rumor starts escalating about her losing her virginity. Instead of shying away from the controversy and going through the undoubtedly unsuccessful effort of clearing her name, she decides to "dress the part" and wear what she thinks people around her expect a slut to wear; corsets, mainly. What ensues is rather ridiculous.

Because, as we all know, once you start dressing like a slut, that's when you've become one.