We love Madonna

My sister's blog on Madonna inspired me to do this Blog. Madonna was probably my first fashion icon...I'd go to the haberdashery department of our local department store and buy yards of ribbon to tie in my hair and cheap crucifix earrings from local jewellery store 'LimeLitze' - resulting in me being bailed up by the deputy school principal and told to remove my jewellery & big red lace bow as, it made me look like 'a rooster'. I used to dress up little sis in lace, net tees from Esprit and do a nice 'bruised eye' using Mum's purple eyeshadow and look replete with Madonna mole, drawn on with eyeliner. fun times! This Blog is dedicated to my dear friend Krissy, the biggest Madonna fan you will ever meet who has some of the most amaaaaazing memorabilia!
I was obsessed with Desperately Seeking Susan and used to dream about the boots featured. Madonna was the epitome of cool - her vintage/punk/rock-chick style, the way she dried her underarms under the hand dryer, her crazy job as a magician's assistant, living that kind of New York boho fairytale I have always loved. I watched it again last year and it's amazing how the fashion is quite current at the moment with the whole 80's revival - very rock/SoHo/New York. Not all 80's fashion was ugly - I loved the 'pixie' stiletto boots, studded belts & leather, lace bras & bustiers, Ray Ban Wayfarers, dark eyes, men's suit jackets, leggings, hand-fulls of bangles, crucafix jewellery, pearls. And lace always comes around again. Check out some stills below.
I haven't always loved Madonna's various looks (Geisha, 80's leotard monstrosity) - but here are a few of my firm faves.

Fresh-faced ingenue in 1982

I had this pic on my wall - crop top, midriff and rosary/crucafix. Classic 80's!

The Boy Toy, 1983

'Papa Don't Preach' Vid - I wanted this T.Shirt, 1986

Blonde Bombshell for The Girlie Show tour, 1993

Madonna in lolly-pink Versace with Carlos shortly after her pregnancy announcement 1995

One of my all time fave looks - in Tom Ford for Gucci, 1995

The Evita phase, immaculate in 40's style, 1996

Dolce corset dress, 1997

The Cowgirl Phase, 1998. Love a plaid shirt & boots!

In Karen Walker trousers & Helmut Lang tank, 1999

Newlywed in Mrs Ritchie Jacket, 2001

First tour in 8 years, Drowned World 's cyber-punk look designed by Jean Paul Gaultier, 2001

Suited with JT for 'Four Minutes', 2008

More fabulous suits (& above with Stella McCartney) - Madonna does man-style with aplomb

Dolce & Gabbana ads, 2010

Model vs Actress - Who is 'on Vogue'?

Niki Taylor (below, in full 90's mode) has spoken out about the increasing numbers of fashion contracts & covers being swooped up be celebrities - mainly, actresses. When asked the question What changes in consciousness would you like to see in the fashion industry?", Niki replied to FutureClaw mag "Put models back on covers of magazines and in campaigns and let the movie stars do movies."

Niki was one of the supers back in the 90's. My favourite Niki Taylor shot is from UK Vogue (top of post). I had it on my wall circa 1992, she's wearing a Vivienne Westwood bustier outfit and is looking very Cindy C - people used to confuse the two of them. It's also great to see Cindy Crawford in the same mag! And to see the 90's supers featuring in the fashion glossies again - Amber Valetta, Kristin McMenamy, Naomi Campbell - and Kate Moss never left!

Niki sometimes modeled with her pretty younger sister, Krissy. Tragically, Krissy died in 1995, from an acute asthma attack stemming from cardiac arrhythmia.

6 Years later, Niki was involved a horrific car crash in 2001, resulting a coma for 6 weeks with injuries to her back, lungs and liver. It took 56 doctors to operate on her spine. This FutureClaw image is a nod to that surgery.
I can see where Niki's coming from - heavyweight fashions mags such as W, US Vogue and ELLE especially have been putting actresses on their covers for a long time now, and UK Vogue and ELLE has started to features actresses a lot more often, with Lily Allen, Demi Moore, Keira Knightly, Jennifer Aniston, Angelina Jolie, Carey Mulligan, Kate Hudson some of the latest, off the top of my head. And lately, it seems labels and fashion House campaigns feature actresses more often than not - Julianne Moore for Bulgari, Madonna and Scarlet Johannson for Dolce & Gabbana, Victoria Beckham and Sofia Coppola for Marc Jacobs, January Jones for Versace, Lily Allen for Chanel, Leighton Meester for Missoni...it goes on. Let actresses promote other products - like Scarlet's cool campaign for Moet & Chandon, below.

Personally, give me a model any day - we all know that 99% of actresses don't even choose their outfits, yet are lauded as fashion icons. It's duplicitous. At least, for the most part, models actually live and breath fashion, they have access to the best of the best and they innately style themselves to suit. Granted, they have the access to all of the labels - but they still don't need to pay a stylist to dress them in the morning. Look no further than at one of the most admired, imitated fashion icons of our generation for proof - Kate Moss. You can just see her pulling out a fur gilet and her Westwood boots after a night on the booze with the band.

Case in point - the Vogue UK edition with Emma Watson on the cover. A very wishy-washy, drab cover, yet inside is an A-Mazing Testino shoot, Star Girls- 'A Decade of Supermodels' - this Thread from The Fashionspot concurs. One of the model shots should have been the cover. I mean, just take a butcher's at these:

I understand that fashion houses think that getting celeb to front a line will bring in big bucks. But personally, I think let the models do their thing - actresses, stick to your own media!

Big Hair!

Aaah, big hair. I’ve always been a fan, be it unintentionally with my 80’s poodle-perm, or by getting my ex 60’s model Mother backcombing my locks. I recall one day smooshing up my bedraggled locks and remarking to boyfriend “I love the just got out of bed look”. He replied with “I love the just got in to bed look.” Ha! I was lucky enough to see Alison Mosshart live at the Dead Weather last week, and she was rocking the coolest long ink-black shag which flew about as she convulsed to the music. And my head full of ‘Dust it’, it survived the heady, humid sweaty environs of the gig, plus no small amount of head thrashing. Brilliant. (Love this photo of Alison Mosshart by Shawn Brackbill)

However, as long and wavy as my hair gets – it does not like to be big. It likes to lie flat to my scalp, and the oilies don’t help. So when I discovered dry hair powder, I was elated! Not so elated when I saw the Bumble and Bumble version for around $80 at Mecca. But very excited to find Batiste dry shampoo for $16 at the local chemist. Rub into the roots and soak up the oil, puff up your hair the bottles say. Mop up oil they do like a charm. Make big hair, they do not. Thus, I was super excited when my friend and stylist supremo introduced me to’ Back combing in a bottle’ – Osis ‘Dust it’, the most amaaaazing product! Finally, without pfaffing about with rollers that don’t work, back combing, teasing & hair-spraying that drops out at the hint of a breathe of wind or turns into a lop sided crunchy helmet– I can achieve ROCK STAR HAIR!

Granted, it feels GROSS. I bit like a mélange of wax and a and, a rather unpleasant gritty feeling on your scalp. But by golly, the stuff works. I sprinkle a dusting into my scalp, rub it in a bit, poof up the roots and, et voila – big, tousled, just-been-moshing-at-a-rock-gig hair.

Some of my hair idols include Cindy C, who rocked the most impressive barnet throughout the 90's.

Another fave big hair goddess – Pammy. I love Pammy. If anyone perfects that sexy, tousled just-rolled-out-of-be-with-a-rock-star look, it’s Pammy. I don’t know if it is merely back-combing or a clip on, but I love that ‘pouf’ she gets at the top -back of her head, like ‘hair bustle’, if you will. I guess her hair is so fried, a bit of hair spray would convince it to behave anyway you like. (I'm sorry, you may balk at the pic below, but it is a great representation of Pammy's hair at it's disheveled rock chick best - and I love Tommy Lee.)

My latest big hair fave – Madonna in the latest Dolce ads, trussed up as a glam, buxom Italian housewife. Loving that uber sexy just-got-out-of-bed 60’s hair Madge! (Pics from Vanity Fair)