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| Bob Dylan, 1965, by Richard Avedon via expectingrain |
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| Bob Dylan and Suze Rotolo, 1963. Photographer ? |
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| Irina Lazareanu, 2011, from livincool via tfs |
Lately, I have taken to visiting the archives of some favourite streetstyle blogs, more particularly the years 2006-2008, since they feel in a way fresher and more exciting to me than a lot of recent shots. This overall feeling might be due to the fact I got my first part-time job in 2006 and started to truly be able to experiment with clothing subsequently, with good and bad results but always with a clear image of what I was aiming for. That image hasn't changed much --Irina Lazareanu and early to mid-60s Bob Dylan are still my two biggest sources of inspiration!-- but I realize I now have the wardrobe I wish I had back then, mostly full of quality second-hand stuff. Seeing photos of people whose style has more to do with actual streetstyle rather than internet-style--and I am guilty of this too--is very refreshing and inspiring the second time around.
It is obviously paradoxal for me to be discussing the idea of a 'purer' streetstyle over the internet, and posting 'inspirational' images over the same medium when I cast it as a cause of staleness in streetstyle, but I feel streetstyle is becoming increasingly homogenous. Either that, or I'm now less naive, and have been desensitized by seeing so much of it. At the same time, I do still feel a flutter in my stomach when I visit Hel-Looks, for instance, or when I look through the aforementioned archives on Garance Doré's blog. I think she captures well my current feeling concerning streetstyle when explaining why her covering of fashion month was done mainly by video:
"There are thousands of photographers bumping into each other to get shots of more and more elaborate outfits, even more dressed up than what’d you see inside of the shows. The clothes feel very new, the photos become a little repetitive, and everyone photographs the girls that have become the street style celebs without even really questioning their looks."
Sept. 17th, 2012.
I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with finding inspiration through the internet, but I feel I (we?) should be diversifying my (our?) inspiration sources. The internet makes them easily available, which is all the more why I try to post visual content that hasn't been circulating ad nauseam.
I'm cutting this post in two (see title), and I'm reserving the archive photos for the 'inspiration, lately' part I have started compiling. I just realised there was no use in making one super-long post about two interrelated but distinct ideas.
Anyway (!!), I am, as always, very interested in hearing your opinion on the matter. I feel fashion and style can always use more criticism, and that this is the best platform I have to discuss such things.
I have been flipping through my old Vogues from the 90s and early 2000s as well as my magazine tear-outs. This was after I saw the new Vanessa Bruno show which reminded of a Chloe 2005 collection. I've since been looking at old Calvin Klein and Helmut Lang and realising what a big influence they were and how timeless many of their designs are.
ReplyDeleteI also feel that they had a total vision as opposed to good styling; and that feels like a refreshing counterpoint to "street-style" which is largely about styling. That's what sets apart a designer like the duo at Valentino (just as an example) from Hedi Slimane, whose YSL debut depressed me.
One is not better than the other. I think both together help me step back from all the noisy and trends and fanfare and somehow articulate what I like and feel energised by.
Great post! I sometimes look though old pictures I saved from Garance Dore and Cafe Mode and The Sartorialist and I like how hindsight really separates the wheat from the chaff.
I agree with you concerning vision vs. good styling; the Valentino duo really does breath-taking work, both in design and in terms of craftsmanship. I think that good styling is less appealing when it comes to selling a not so good product, but that it becomes particularly interesting in the case of streetstyle since it's used for personal purposes.
Deletemy style has gone back to 1987. wore it then. i am thinking about it now and finding different ways to wear it again.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of 'one's own vintage'!
DeleteWhat goes around comes around! Love digging out and rediscovering stuff from past wardrobe lives!
ReplyDeletehttp://herribbonsandherbows.blogspot.co.uk/
Yes, I truly enjoy reinterpreting old items and finding inspiration in archive photos!
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