Candy's Top Movies (and Shows) to Watch for Style Inspiration: Part 1

Well doesn't that title just roll off the tongue. Hello, ladies and germs, how are we? I'm bruised and exhausted after my very first pole fitness class, dreading how my 'muscles' are going to feel in the morning. So tonight after a brief Arkham City interlude (the Joker's henchmen are whooping my ass, it's been very depressing), I'm watching mindless, awful films for the eye candy. Enjoy doing the same? Well you're in luck. Here, in no particular order, are my personal top picks for movies and shows to watch for delicious frocks and shoes.

Stepford Wives

This movie is a remake of a classic 1975 film, and was a complete flop. So take this suggestion with a grain of salt. And make that grain last til the end of the list, I'm not promising quality film making here. 

Joanna Eberhart (Nicole Kidman) is a successful reality television executive producer. She is fired after her latest project, a show where spouses choose between each other or prostitutes, called "I Can Do Better", results in one of the jilted men going on a shooting spree, and she has a nervous breakdown. With her husband, Walter (Matthew Broderick), and their two children, they move from Manhattan to Stepford, a quiet Connecticut suburb. (Thanks, Wikipedia!)

The rest of the film revolves around Joanna's investigations into the creepy perfection of the Stepford wives. The town is heavily focused on the 'role of a woman' and this is reflected in the 1950's style costuming. 

Hourglass silhouettes, pastels, and perfectly coiffed hair even when working out. I suspect girdles and suspenders also but these suspicions are never confirmed.

There are some tremendously spiffy tuxedos in the final ballroom scene too. If watching the movie isn't enough for you, I found this blog post while hunting for screenshots, with some guidelines on how to present yourself in the appropriate Stepford manner.

The Notebook

We're all familiar with this one, right?

An elderly man reads from a notebook to an elderly woman diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease about a story between two young lovers, Allie and Noah. The story dates back to the summer of 1940, on Seabrook Island, South Carolina. Allie Hamilton (Rachel McAdams) is a high school girl from a wealthy family spending the summer in Seabrook. At a carnival, Allie meets Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling), a local boy who takes a fondness towards her. After Noah's several attempts to go on a date with Allie, she finally agrees, resulting in both of them falling in love with each other over the summer. 

That jacket! That hat! That hair!

Man who buys me icecream: Check. Now all I need is an array of leather gloves. And I'll take the rest of Allie's wardrobe while we're at it, thanks.

Warning to the uninitiated; This one is a tear-jerker. 

Gossip Girl

This show is a very guilty pleasure of mine. As far as mindless entertainment goes, it's about as mindless as it gets. I can feel myself getting more vapid and flighty as the hours tick by. But look! Look at the perfection that is Blair Waldorf; 

Even the poor Brooklyn girl, Vanessa, is always impeccable.

 Then there's the nicely controversial Jenny Humphrey, played by the nicely controversial Taylor Momsen. She's all short skirts and racoon eyes so I can't help but sympathise with her style sensibilities, but I adore the excessive colour used with Blair and Vanessa.

 

'It Girl' Serena has never impressed me personally, though this may only because Blake Lively bothers me for reasons unknown. Anyway, this character is very high fashion but also very... Beige. 

The boys get some pretty swish apparel too; check out Chuck Bass. He wears bowties and scarves and isn't afraid of colour.

Gossip Girl is from the creators of the OC so you can imagine the cheap drama and scandals that ensue. Consume with a heavy dose of ice cream and irony and you should be fine.

Well that's it from me, dears. This list is a lot longer but the blogger post formatting is being a right pain so you'll have to wait for a second installment. Don't fret, I've given you more than enough to keep you occupied! For more frequent doses of styling deliciousness from me, check out my LOOKBOOK.

Happy watching!

Candy

I'm no model but I sure do love the lights

So here are some of the photos from a recent outfit for you. The thing I'm struck with most often when people comment on my style is that they're unaware of how easy it is to build an unusual wardrobe on a budget. I shop mostly at chain stores and very rarely spend more than $30 on a garment, and I think this outfit is a good example of where to save and spend.

SAVE: Cargos - $20 - Valley Girl

The things I usually justify spending more on are things like shoes and jackets, which can be worn multiple times in a week and look completely different

SAVE: Blazer - $25 - Valley Girl | Cardigan - $6.50 - Salvation Army

SPEND: Bowler Hat - $60 - Army Surplus Store

$60 is more than I would usually spend on a hat. Only this one is a replacement for one I bought for $20, wore every day for 6 months, and then couldn't live without when I lost it (first world problems). So knowing I would wear it to death I felt okay putting it on layby.

Genuine smiles are not my strong suit

SAVE: Beatles Tee - $10 - Jay Jays | Angry Gnome brooch  - Gift

SPEND: Dr. Martens - $190 - The Last Shoemaker

These boots are definitely in the Top 5 from my wardrobe. I wear them so often it's ridiculous and they make a bland outfit instantly stand out. Luxury magazines blabber on about investing in 'statement pieces' and for once they're right, although I doubt they'd consider $190 a large sum. However if you find something that's really different and fits well with your wardrobe, but is more than you'd usually spend? Don't feel guilty about buying it unless it's coming out of your food bill. Chances are if you leave them, you'll dwell on what might have been.


Here's hoping I can take my own advice this month and spend wisely on Boxing Day. Anyone got their eye on something for the sales? I'm thinking some flatforms and a PS3.

Happy shopping, darlings,

Candy

PS: Credit to my flatfriend Caitlin for taking the outfit photos for my last three looks! Fashion photography like a BAWS. 

Polyvore is a strange thing to call it

I'm having trouble committing to the posts I'm writing here. I open up a new Blogger tab with an idea in my head and then it changes and then it changes again and then I don't like any of them. I've changed the topic of this post three times already so fuck it, y'all are stuck with this one.

Just thought I'd share a few looks I've put together on Polyvore. You can find the Guts and Garters polyvore here. I'm still not sure how I feel about this website, but I've decided to give it another shot. If you've never used it before, it's basically an online scrapbooking tool that allows you to create collages using images you collect from around the web. I love it in theory, but I have an issue with creating amazing (IMHO) looks and then getting mad because I'll never obtain them... Anyway one of my favourite Wellywood shoe stores posted a competition today, asking you to create your ultimate party outfit including a pair of their shoes, and it made sense for me to use Polyvore to create my entry;

I never thought of myself as much of a shoe person but the last 6 months have shown me otherwise. I think it has something to do with the fact that, having studied garment construction, I can make most items of clothing I see and covet. But it's not quite as easy to go down to Spotlight and pick up the materials you need to make yourself a sweet pair of wedges. Woe is me.

Anyway, here are a couple of sets I made on Polyvore a year or so back;

Amazing tights are another thing I spend too much money on.

Modcloth never fails to inspire me.

Do you have a Polyvore? Link me to your favourite looks in the comments! 

On the topic of shoes I wish I had, here's a nice wee bit of shoe pr0n to spice up your evening. 

In other news, my flatmate Caitlin was nice enough to run around and take outfit photos with me this afternoon, so I'll be collating some of those into an outfit post for y'all in the next day or two. Here's one of them to keep you going (if you're following me on Facebook you've already seen it!)

Until then!

Candy

Greetings, earthlings

This, I suppose, is the "Welcome to My Blog" post. The obvious thing to do here would be to tell you all (and by "you all" I mean my mother and a couple of stalkers. Hi mum!) a lot a little bit about who I am and why I'm here. So here goes.

My name is Candace but my friends call me Candy (at least they would if I had any friends). I like to make Disney references and play dress-ups, among many other things. Defining features include bright red hair, glasses, and a general air of cynicism. I'm a very creative person, working at a call centre for a bank. Which leads me nicely to why I'm here.

These are my favourite shoes. The tee is one of many pop culture references I make but no one gets.

I've been meaning to start a personal style and makeup blog for, oh, I don't know, donkey's years. But there's always been something holding me back, and it was usually something unimportant like the wrong camera or the wrong weight or my room wasn't clean enough or I was too broke for exciting new clothes. But quite recently, less than two months ago, I got a new job. I'll cover my old jobs in later posts but the long and short of it is that I'm now working in an office environment with corporate dress standards. I quite enjoy the work but am going a little crazy from keeping my day to day wear tame, so I'm looking at this blog as a bit of a creative release where I can post the version of the look that I would usually wear, and also (if you're interested), how I tamed it down for work.

Gore made of golden syrup

Other things that that interest me and will probably appear here are costumes and corsetry, SFX makeup, Harry Potter, Batman villains, mermaids, cats, living with coloured hair, and Disney movies. I'm not going to come out and make promises about content, regularity, or features, mostly because I know I'll break them. But if this seems like the kind of thing you could dig then welcome, friend. Pull up a magic carpet, sit back, and enjoy the ride.






I need a sign-off phrase,

Candy