One of the most intriguing aspects of fashion is its ability to transport people, whether it is to another era or another mindset. What we put on each morning can define how we feel about ourselves that day and how we want to interact with the world. Fashion allows us to mold ourselves, put on a costume, and live a fantasy. This blog is primarily about using styles and trends of the past to transport ourselves today.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Style Inspiration for the Day: "Desperately Seeking Susan"

Today I was transported to 1985 with Madonna and Rosanna Arquette in "Desperately Seeking Susan"
For those of you that haven't seen this movie- let me fill you in....
Rosanna Arquette plays Roberta, a bored housewife who begins the film getting "glammed-up" in the
beauty parlor and plays the "perfect hostess wife" reminiscent of the 1950's. Unsatisfied with her life,
she seeks adventure, stumbling upon a newspaper ad that changes her life, and look.
Madonna plays Susan, a woman that Roberta is curious to know and be. She takes on Susan's life
forgoing the silk pastel garb of wife-dom and finds...herself. 
Newspaper Ads..inherently common, yet inherently mysterious- I love the idea of chance, that
the person "Susan" could have either read the paper that day or not.

What we love about Madonna's look is the combination of opposites:
the mixture of hard and soft, the lace bra underneath sportnet
The piles of jewelry and lack of clothes
Defined makeup and "undone" loosely tousled hair
Opposites attract
Rosanna Arquette (Roberta) in the beginning stages of taking on Susan's identity.
Her look is a mixture of  "I curled my hair like I'm supposed to" and
"Guess what...make you're own damn dinner."

Madonna in rhinestone studded boots, neon, leather, and spandex


The Pyramid Jacket- unites the two women throughout the movie as both a style symbol and a cause.
The two are both owners of it at different points in the film, serving as a "walk in my shoes" tool.