I love an an androgynous silhouette . Nothing says power like strong lines, structuring and angular tailoring. Recently, a watered down version of this 1980s style found its way back into our wardrobes. The boyfriend jean. The boyfriend jacket. The boyfriend shirt. But why poach from him indoors?
This February, I was tickled pink to find my two favourite androgynes in a pop video together. David Bowie's new video, The Stars (are out tonight), starring himself and Tilda Swinton, served up a healthy dose of gender play. There are those androgynes who appear to straddle both masculinity and femininity. Whilst others appear to accentuate neither. Bowie has always managed to exude sex appeal without the machismo. Choosing Swinton to co-star was a very cool move. David Fincher once said of her: "She doesn't announce her presence, she just slowly steals all the gravity."
Cream of the crop
There are other androgynes who possess a pixie-like charm. Often referred to as elfin or gamine, there is a tomboyish beauty to these women. During the 1960s, Twiggy rocked wide eyed look of Bambi with a dash of Mary Quant. Later that decade, Mia Farrow had a similarly boyish air in Rosemary's Baby. There was much controversy surrounding her newly cropped hairstyle. Whilst many believed Vidal Sassoon to have created the look for the film, Farrow claimed it was a DIY effort.
"BOY? GIRL? BOY? GIRL?"
Music to watch girls by
Whilst modern musicians frequently borrow stylistically from artists like Grace Jones and Annie Lennox, I can't help sensing style over substance and general lack of depth. The originals combined art with incendiary messages, strong convictions and equally powerful vocals.
Suits you Madame.
The power suit deserves its status. Padded shoulders and boxy jackets naturally create volume and subsequently carry more clout than the namby pamby trouser suits of today. Case in point. SATC's Miranda Hobbes. She epitomised this look. Compare the hard-nosed early wave Miranda of the TV series with the girlie manifestation of the films. Ultimately I blame Hollywood for turning a savvy, cynical Manhattanite into a Stepford wife. By all means, update her look but motherhood is not synonymous with flowy dresses and a manic smile.
Shaken not stirred.
When it comes to suits, I do admire a woman in a tuxedo. Jennifer Beals' halter-tux in Flashdance. Demi Moore's new year's tux in About Last Night. However nobody did it better than Marlene Dietrich in Morocco (1930). She had more chutzpah and prowess than all the 007s put together.
Savile Row
As a Tarantino-obsessed 6th form media student, Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction were amongst my style inspirations. Costume designer, Betsy Heimann, who worked on both films, sourced the outfits on the cheap. The finished product created a cult following. Both films were remembered for their costumes as much as the plot. But it never occurred to me that this was a look just for the boys.
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