Friday, 1 February 2013

Early style Inspirations.

Great minds think alike (I won't continue that saying!) and clearly Brittany and I have been having the same thoughts as this week she did a post about her early style inspirations. See Here
As it turns out I had been having thoughts of a similar post lately though mine was held up by me trying to find pictures of me in outfits which I have had to give up on.

I suppose the biggest influence on my look as a teenager was deciding that I was a Glam Metal (as it was called then) or Hair Metal (as it is now known) fan. I'm afraid in that respect my look was not necessarily glamorous and definitely not in the least bit feminine!

This was partly because due to my boyish build, men's clothes just suited me better and because I was also an unashamed tomboy. Therefore a big influence on my teenage years was


                                                                AXL ROSE
 
From his image I fully embraced scarves, bangles, finger full of rings, skin tight ripped jeans, cowboy boots and backcombed hair! I had a big thing for waistcoats over paisley shirts and too much eyeliner, so I tended to look more like the band below who just happened to be one of my favourites :-)
The Dogs D'Amour.


Next came my Lost Boys phase you may recall from this post here that I fell head over heels for Jamie Gertz look in the film


but it did not love me,no it did not love me at all, quite frankly I looked shocking! So I dressed my boyish figure in the boys clothes instead.

                                               Yes this is me and not a Lost Boy!
The weird thing is I also discovered bodycon dresses, lycra miniskirts and thigh high boots! I guess my inner female was desperate for escape and went for it full steam ahead in a one step back from a hooker look lol.

About this time college was done and I started looking for work so I needed something smart, the look I ended up with was

                            ANDIE MACDOWELL in 4 WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL

Long skirts, with ankle boots and round necked little cardigans


This was the 90's grunge happened so I embraced leggings and over sized checked shirts but when I was out on the razz I was dressing like
                                          
                                            ALICIA SILVERSTONE in CLUELESS

Especially this look, I had a thing for A-line miniskirts, kilts in particular, only I wore them with knee high boots rather than socks. I will also add a nod towards

                                                               GWEN STEFANI
Her combat trousers with bare midriff  and cropped jackets was a look I did a lot too! 

By this time my poor hair was waiving a white flag after years of abuse and I had to have it all chopped off. Right on cue came

                                        GWYNETH PALTROW in SLIDING DOORS

I love this film, I loved her in this film, so I had my hair cut just like this and I bought myself a 3/4 length black pvc coat just like her. I wore pretty much the clothes she did in the film except for the roll neck jumpers I cannot stand anything up around my neck.

So there you have it who'd have thought I would have become the fully fledged glamour puss I am now? *cough*

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9 comments:

  1. Brittany_Va-VoomVintage1 February 2013 at 16:20

    Great post!! Oh yes, Jamie Gertz is amazing!! I had a skirt just like hers in high school that I'd wear with jingly anklets and scarves...and Cher!! Thanks to you, I've been watching Clueless all day today on an endless loop. Some things never get old! :P

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  2. Melanie2 February 2013 at 01:04

    I love this post :) The Dogs D'amour were my main fashion influence when I was a teen, those and The Manic Street preachers, though it wasn't so much the music with them as much as the fake fur and eyeliner, meanwhile it was the whole shebang with the Dogs - I idolised them and still have a huge collection of vinyl. I think Clueless sums up the whole of the nineties .. I too wore short short kilts and long shirts under cropped (mohair) jumpers, over knee socks and patent dolly shoes. Oh and don't forget the dinky patent backpack xxx

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  3. Vix2 February 2013 at 01:40

    I think I'm still subconsciously influenced by The Dogs D'Amour! The too much eyeliner, rings on every finger, paisley prints, flares and ankle boots are my daily look!
    Other than Madonna I can't think of a single female star of the 1980s making an impression on me, I preferred the 1960s chicks, Cher, Marianne Faithful, Barbara Streisand. x

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  4. Mim3 February 2013 at 08:35

    I loved the Dogs D'Amour, although I never dressed like them. I saw them live a couple of times.

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  5. Miss Simmonds Says3 February 2013 at 11:32

    I love your Lost Boys look!! It's great. Some fab inspiration here. You seem to have journeyed from loud and boyish to grown up and romantic to modern and sophisticated

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  6. The Vintage Knitter4 February 2013 at 09:46

    I remember seeing Tyla from the Dogs D'Amour in a Brum night club once trying to keep a low profile, when suddenly a girl ran up to him screeching out his name and fawning all over him. He looked really embarrassed whilst my friend and I couldn't stop laughing at his discomfort - it was a Tena Lady moment!

    As for influences mine was Kate Bush (I still have the crimpers)and an all girl metal band called Rock Goddess: all back combed hair, leather jackets, black eyeliner and attitude!

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  7. Curtise5 February 2013 at 07:58

    How fascinating to see your style influences and evolution. I seem to have forgotten what on earth I wore in the late 80s and 90s, though ripped jeans and velvet bodies and waistcoats seemed to feature, as well as leggings with big shirts. And ditsy print dresses over t-shirts. Those were the days! xxx

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  8. Sharon S9 February 2013 at 05:58

    Hi there! Loved reading how your style has evolved over the decades, I too loved the bodycon stuff back in the days and now my style is a little mix of previous decades to now!

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  9. 50 and counting12 February 2013 at 19:27

    The '80s are a blur. I remember power suits due to work.

    I morphed into the longer skirts and cardigan look. It's never really changed. It works, it's comfy, and I can bend over without scarring someone behind me.

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