20.1.07

glamourous grunge

There is an art to pulling off shabby clothing as chic ingenue wear. Generally, being small and pretty like this femme does the trick, however it amazes me still (as this is not a new look) that one can go to a fashion event dressed in what is essentially casual pajamas, pull a fur or leather jacket over their shoulders and stand out as belle of the ball. I've seen very fashionable women dressed like this at fashion weeks in Paris and NY, which of course has caused me to examine the style more carefully, but it still looks more like an outfit to chop wood in than anything else. Any opinions? Do you prefer more tailored, classic glamour or do you subscribe to the bedraggled beauty aesthetic?

** I do give kudos for the knit hat though. Next to boots, beanies are my most dire addiction.

//At Matt Irwin's photography exhibit in London//

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

How about both? ; )
I'm not into concretely pigeon holing style into one thing or the other. This girl looks like she dresses like a grunge kid one day and could be wow-ing up at some Boombox party in a sharp Danielle Scutt outfit...

Anonymous said...

i've never been able to pull off that look, i try, but i always have to have everything all neatly in place.
i'm OCD when it comes to fashion

la chipie said...

well I agree about the magnificent yellow beanie but besides that it'sjsut not for me.

Anonymous said...

Picture it: a beautiful, classicaly tailored woman standing next to a cute, playfully deconstructed girl. Who will look more stylish? The key difference is girl vs. woman. It's cute for a girl, but ultimate fashion is worn by a woman. And that just happens to be chic and classic.

Andrea said...

I am more in the middle. I like having the options of both styles depending on my mood. But I think pulling off the grunge look is more of a challenge and requires more thought to put it together.

I love knit caps, it can really bring an outfit togther and oh so warm for our cold Canadian climate.

Anonymous said...

But it is all about personal style. Grunge really isn’t my style (even when chopping wood), but I subscribe to the obverse of the axiom and with some hubris maintain that “the man makes the clothes”…good words for women too I think.

Anonymous said...

By the by, if you are in London - check out the Dazed Gallery for this exhibition.... its awesome if you're into non-pretentious photography.

Anonymous said...

mary kate olsen was named grazia's newest style icon this week - SHOCKING, is all i have to say - enough said!

xx

mahret said...

bedraggled beauty aesthetic for daytime and the other one at night ♥

Anonymous said...

i personally prefer more fanciful style aka audrey hepburn but there are those rare few hipsters who can pull of grunge super well

Anonymous said...

Love the beanie. However the rest of her look is not my cup of tea. As you said, I think you need to be really small and pretty, to pull off that kind of outfit, otherwise you end up looking rough.

Anonymous said...

The image of Carine Roitfield in this outfit comes to mind... and it seems laughable. But I agree that deconstructed is easier to pull off when you're younger.

Anonymous said...

i think on her this looks works, when this pic 1st popped on the screen i thought it was an early (no doubt days) gwen. and i like her yellow hat, and the DARE shirt.
i think she can do the grungy because she's young, beautiful, and has great skin!

Anonymous said...

grunge is a weakspot for me. i never thought it would return. ever. it was such a gawd awful hideous look...and part of my lovely youth as well. so when i see it inching back into the fashion psyche like some nasty cancer virus part of me wants to protest the other side wants to see if its return can outshine its humble beginnings.

..but on a side note. doesn't she have that gwen thing going on?

Anonymous said...

grunge is a weakspot for me. i never thought it would return. ever. it was such a gawd awful hideous look...and part of my lovely youth as well. so when i see it inching back into the fashion psyche like some nasty cancer virus part of me wants to protest the other side wants to see if its return can outshine its humble beginnings.

..but on a side note. doesn't she have that gwen thing going on?

Anonymous said...

love the bennie and it depends what mood I'm in though I do love the beraggled beauty asthetic as you call it

Anonymous said...

In Details Magazine (Jan/Feb 2007), there's a fascinating article entitled, "Hollywood's Fashion Crisis", in which the author cites numerous reasons why celebrities used be icons of style, but now, they're actually examples of how not to dress. The over-grundging of tinseltown features prominently in the article.

southernoracle said...

I am personally not a fan. I did the grunge thing in the 90's while I was a waifish little college thing and in retrospect being small and cute didn't make it look any better on me. My preference is for a little more polish, but if you can get away with it, why not?

Anonymous said...

I have to confess that grunge is best left to Kate Moss, Sienna Miller ( who also wear couture) and Pearl Jam.

Going glam is always more flattering, aspirational and age-appropriate. You only seem to get away with being grunge if you can also be glam, or if you're as appealing and talented as Eddie Vedder.

Maryam in Marrakesh said...

You know, I think that this look is perfect for walking the dog:-)

Anonymous said...

Both although I do find myself falling for the rather messy look. That hat is rather fetching.....

Anonymous said...

Both although I do find myself falling for the rather messy look. That hat is rather fetching.....

Panda Head said...

haha i'm a little embarassed to admit HOW MUCH i love this; while i can appreciate a polished, clean-looking outfit on someone else, i tend to balk at it a little when getting dressed myself. the best part about the marykate aesthetic is that you get to wear like, ALL your clothes at once, and who doesn't love that??
and agreed! the knit hat is seriously excellent.

Anonymous said...

i just think that grunge has to come from within and must be as original a take as the individual. often it just doesn't look as natural as grunge inherently should be.

Anonymous said...

You know what...this is most strange. This bonne example of grunge is not only wearing a t-shirt that I aquired in a second hand store in Harajuku(Tokyo), but also a checkered shirt that was handed down to me by the one and only Hänsel Artiiste. Very bizarre. If you see her again tell her i want my stuff back. XP