Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance

Upon first glance: Is that thing from a Dali landscape, Star Wars, Hell or a disco ball? 

I can’t wrap my brain around those shoes and everything around them. What am I talking about? Um, well, aside from presumably millions of dollars of borrowed couture, I’m talking about a music video that is impossible to watch only one time. Lady Gaga (and the Haus of Gaga) have really outdone themselves this time with Bad Romance… and I love it. 

In fact, the outfits attached to those shoes are compelling me to make-up words. Really– you take one good look at the McQueen shoes in front of you and tell me you don’t get all Anthony Burgess on me. I dare you.
 

This video has all the standards from our favorite Fame Monster: lingerie, hairless pets, Bladerunner Replicants, synthesizers, spirit fingers, a foreign syndicate, twitching, latex … and I’m pretty sure she’s single-handedly raised Ferragamo from the dead. Jesus.

Here are some stills from the Bad Romance video… She must wear 10 separate intricate outfits/ dresses/ works, including one by Alexander McQueen that leaves her looking like a creepy, bolted, gold-studded cupcake/geisha/ant with 10-inch heeled stiletto hooves.

“The singer-songwriter-pianist-provocateur seems to be one of the few pop stars these days who really understands spectacle, fashion, shock, choreography all the things Madonna and Michael Jackson were masters of in the 1980s.” (Speakeasy)

Closing thoughts? Lady Gaga and Alexander McQueen need to go pro-create and begin breeding their own little army of slicked back, shiny, matching offspring. Have you seen his Spring/Summer 2010 line that debuted to her soundtrack, with her custom dress from the video as the last outfit in the runway show? Music met couture and fell in love. In fact, they’re paired off  and make more sense than coupling milk and goddamn cookies.

We know we can take you seriously when you said pop music will never be lowbrow. Bravo, Gaga.

Live and Let Tie

Well now. I’d like the boys of Tie or Die: Who Wore It Best? to take a bow: for those of us watching, they were two very dapper gents all October long. Jon and Ryan have helped me set my wardrobe expectations a little higher for young dudes in the work place.

You hear that, boys born after 1980? It is no longer enough to merely wash your work clothes– from now on, you’re going to have to match.

These lads were hardly at a loss for votes; the verdict came in at Jon: 2795 total votes and Ryan with 3532 total votes. Despite some nail-biter weeks, the verdict is out: Ryan won.

Congrats! And for the record, Ryan: I think you look damn fine in a vest. We’ll be awaiting Jon’s …aftermath.. in photos. High fives!

Selk’bag

As a longtime freelancer,  my prayers has been answered by this crazy outfit-bed… thing: The Selk’Bag.

The Selk’Bag is a “sleep and wear” system (–and all this time I thought that term was specific to my undergrad). Let’s take a little walk through what their website has to say about the product.  Just when I thought a dude who looks like the baby of the Stay Puft man and a convict jumpsuit was the most amusing thing on the page, the copy had to go and completely boggle my brain.

Considering that almost a 30% of our time is occupied sleeping,… greater fatigue and less hours of light  (winter), a good sleep is the key factor to recover consumed energy. A comfortable position, a suitable temperature and less restricted mobility are fundamental for a good rest.

(Duh.)

Nowadays, the maximum comfort level a sleeping bag offers, has a “material” relation: its filling and the space and air to warm up by our body (less space, better, due to a smaller cost of caloric energy)… high mountain trekkers, have special gear designed for extreme low temperatures: all the body parts together to transmit heat in a adjusted amount of space, spending the less amount of caloric energy as possible.

(WHAT? I think this was a fancy way of saying wearing warm clothes makes us not cold. Novel concept. Bill Nye is rolling his eyes.)

Movement is the greatest obstacle which we, the majority of sleeping bag users, face.

(WE?! I was not aware of the upwardly-mobile demographic of sleeping bag users, but I must have been mistaken.)

Therefore, we believe that, to be able to rest in spaces that are not high mountains, snow or cold places, a sleeping bag must be as nice and friendly as a bed is, and should give us the correct protection level towards coldness thanks to its materials, filling and the possibility to spread our heat through our body thanks to a good level of blood circulation.

(It’s okay, Selk’Bag copywriter. We like warm clothes and we’re not on a mountain, either.)

It’s interesting to observe what most of camping, cabin, beaches, woods, mountain, desert, lakes, etc. users are shouting for, mouth to mouth through a sorrowed hope:  MOVEMENT.

(Can I get an Amen?!)

Selk’Bag® is a sleeping system which allows to dress with your sleeping bag, giving a maximum mobility and comfort in periods of rest in a tent or outside it:

- Separate, move and join arms and legs
- Roll with your Selk’Bag®, not in it
- Stand without any trouble, walk, cross your legs and even grab certain elements with your hands thanks to its reversible zippers.

Mobility, maximum comfort for a perfect rest is Selk’Bag®’s fundamental idea, and each part of it is designed for that purpose. Enjoy your excursion with a 100% comfortable rest, just as you do in your bed.

(That’s all we needed to know, man.)

This could be a crime scene. Or your bedroom floor.

As awesome as this wearable sleeping bag is, I will always want one for the wrong reasons. Why? I think it looks like a Rebel jumpsuit… and really– what helps you sleep better at night than knowing you’re fighting the Empire?

I’m just sayin’.

This Will Not Get You Laid: Costume Edition.

THIS WILL NOT GET YOU LAID.

The Frisky isn’t usually one for fashion front page posts, but I feel they made some important points about Halloween for our male readers. I mean, we have a little more faith in those dudes if they’re reading PWstyle (high five!), and pretty high hopes that they have creative Halloween costumes in the works…

….but, just in case there was a temporary lapse of judgment that was induced by a) male bonding b) alcohol c) costume store hysteria d) all of the above, let’s have a refresher.

Ready, boys? Here is the link to The Frisky’s post, “21 Costumes that will not get you laid.” Read and absorb!

Shewolf

Vanity Fair has posted pictures of the photo shoot with the gorgeous Shakira. The accompanying article explains that the reporter found her howl from Shewolf oddly alluring by the end of their time with her.

Continuing with the real bodies theme, ESPN Magazine is going to publish pictures of athletes in the buff. BET is especially excited since the magazine will feature pictures of several high profile African-American athletes including Serena William’s cover picture.

Glamour.com asks “How do you apply your makeup?” Using a brush to apply liquid foundation makes a world of difference. We already knew this since some of us at PW Style aren’t especially artistic yet yearn to be creative.  The brushes help with this.

Courtesy of InStyle.com - This bag is called Big Buddha

Want cheap accessories? InStyle has you covered, with their list of handbags, scarves & sunglasses under 100 bucks. Nice.

Lastly, Stylecaster is excited for Sloane and Eric from Entourage to tie the knot. They’ve gone ahead and picked out what Sloane should wear for her wedding.

Teddy Scares

FACT: I want to wear this thing and unsuspectingly roll into a day care’s nap time and see what happens. Would the kids love me or fear me?!

The Teddy Jacket was designed by Sebastian Errazuriz. After looking at this…  mound of cuteness again (on around Errazuriz’s website) I realized that this isn’t his first readymade fashion piece. He also has a crazy zipper dress (that was floating around the internet earlier this summer) and a sweet dress and purse set made entirely of white gloves.

Each of his fashion pieces has an interesting idea behind it and a blunt, usually funny, commentary. I like it because there is a distinct theme yet he doesn’t seem to take himself too seriously. He’s so quirky! I think The Teddy Jacket is a tongue-in-cheek commentary about wearing fur, but comes off as more humorous than anything. Perhaps that’s the point?

But… this jacket. What can I say? Take a moment and really look at it. Theme aside, is this not the most hilarious/ awesome/ absurd piece of actual outdoor couture you’ve ever seen? As wacky as it is, it’s not nearly as trippy as Lady Gaga’s Kermit the Frog dress– but it is equally as silly. In my mind, I imagine Sebastian to be a Harry Potter look-a-like getting a cauldron and carefully placing children’s toys, a sewing kit, Teddy Grahams and a bomber jacket inside.. and poof!: something awesome. Go Sebastian!

NO SHAME: Snuggie at NYC Fashion Week

It’s alarming to me that I had to find out via NPR that the Snuggie had an exclusive fashion show for Fashion Week.

Why is it alarming?

1. I heard about it on Wait Wait! Don’t Tell Me… I’m not a news snob, but consider the following: This is the same program I tuned into to hear updates about Obama, the ACORN scandal and learned about astronaut pee …which means that this over-sized, formless fleece monster has become engrained enough in society enough that it glided in on it’s fuzzy sleeves into a radio show that also talks about progressive health care.

Snuggie, I hate you.

2. Um, SNUGGIE had a fashion show!? Um, I wasn’t aware that snuggies were worn in public unless you were trying to look like bad Halloween costume versions of the following: a) Socrates b) members of the Jedi Council c) the Pope.

So yes, here are pictures I found of this “super exclusive event” across the internet. There have been some ..interesting things shown at Fashion Week in the past, but I never thought NYC would unveil a show in a couture setting that was self proclaimed as ”a blanket with sleeves”.

Even on a humor level I can’t get into it… probably because I despise the Snuggie. It’s not even funny to me anymore. I’ve seen, oh I don’t know — a cloak or a muumuu (which, thankfully, doesn’t even pretend to be sexy) on the runway and I can deal, but I can’t handle people grinning in their slouch socks. Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t I supposed to be the person with the blanket and slouch socks this week? I’m supposed to be the one enjoying watching ridiculously skinny, over-made women walk around in crazy couture from the comfort of my couch.

Let’s make some phone calls: wires were crossed. No where in the description of Fashion Week did I ever get a WTF Blanket warning.

Apparently children and pets were also dragged into the shenanigans because THE SNUGGIE HAS NO SHAME.

Enjoy:

More info and articles here, here and here.

H2…Oh no.

Moisturizer, remover, toner, scrub, Q-Tips, light prayer— you name it, I tried it and I still went to bed with puffy eyelids that had …liquid definition. It took two types of face wash, all of the aforementioned and about 25 minutes (re: 23 minutes and 30 seconds too long) to get that stuff off of my face.

NEVER AGAIN. NEVER, EVER AGAIN.

How could I not ask about your experiences for this week’s TWITTERPOLL?

Right to Bare Arms

I saw Inglourious Basterds this past weekend, and Quentin Tarantino did not disapoint. Harpers Bazaar has pictures up of the premier.

Harpers also says that toned arms are the new face. It just might be true. Many women are currently seeking Michelle Obama arms, and many celebs show off their guns.

Another slideshow that Harpers has up is supermodels without makeup. I love slideshows like this. I guess I think it’s nice to know that even though they are supermodels, they’re real people. When I met Iman and I realized that she had fine lines around her eyes and not a limp botox face, I found it so refreshing.

I know Newscasters wear some corny outfits sometimes, but if you ever wanted to dress like one, you can!  CNN has a video describing it, but the website is called TV News Closet.

Marie Claire has slideshows of the best premium outlet malls in America, as well as trends in Italy. I have a soft spot for designs from the boot. It looks like these pictures were taken in Italy, so it’s worth browsing for the backdrops alone.

Lastly, if you want to dress like Kelly Ripa, she clues you in on what she wears on the show.

Bianca loses her mind: Philadelphia Half-Marathon Edition

I’m claiming a moment of temporary insanity: I’m signing up for the Philadelphia Half-Marathon in November. As an asthmatic that took up running the year after college, I’ve never attempted to run more than 5 miles in a row in my life …and I’m not sure what makes me think this a good idea (aside from the challenge), but …I’m goin’ for it!

I bought a new pair of running shoes in March before a 5k, and I was running an average of 20 miles a week back then for a few months… so I’m due for a new pair.

To ease my nerves on this ridiculous feat, here are photos of new running shoes I want/need. That is all.