Applause filled August: Gaga-spiration

Okay so I don't know if all of you are shitting your pants as much as me for the recent return of Lady Gaga with her single Applause!? If not, click away now. I understand that for some Lady Gaga is an acquired taste, but regardless you have to admit that girlfriend has been tearing up August pretty damn hard. I love everything this woman does, mostly because I am convinced that she is a genius sent from a whole other realm. Sometimes I can't tell if whether she's a university art professor or a pop star.  Applause (her new single incase you live under a rock) is a fun, energetic straight up pop song that makes my heart beat a little louder, but I'm no music critic so I'm not going to divulge more than that. What I really want to do is review some of my more favourite fashion moments that have been thrown our way from queen Gaga this month:

So the first of all can we all talk about this single cover for a second?

Simplicity is key. Primary colours, black, white and plain cursive text. I could go on for hours about how much I'm loving her return to the straightforward, in your face "less is more" these days. The next thing I loved were all the Inez & Vinoodh pictures (styled by Brandon Maxwell) that referenced gaga-spirations from all the decades of music. Although I haven't read the articles yet, I'm sure what Gaga was trying to say with these photos is that she is not just one icon, but in herself she posses the ability to be many different kinds of pop icons. She is every icon and in every way diverse and unlimited, a testament to the power of art and fashion throughout the years. In my opinion, the Inez & Vinoodh photoshoot is one of my favourite that she's done in a long time, possibly ever. Gaga is still explosive, but not only that: she's back and better than ever. 

Here are the 4 separate limited edition V Magazines that she will grace the cover of. I honestly can't pick a favourite, I love them all for different reasons:

The first reveal was this one here. Its an edgy, jean & sequin rockband girl feel. I couldn't help but think of rock princess Joan Jett immediately when looking at this:

See? Pretty bad ass right. 

Then theres this cover, my favorite in terms of colour/aesthetic:

Who is she channeling here? I'm feeling that Bowie Glam right away, I mean look at that jacket and hair. It screams Ziggy.

And then there's these shots where she looks painfully stunning with little to no makeup (not fair):

.Who could she be channeling in the blonde bangs pic? I'll do a bit more research but initially I thought of the romantic and poetic folk singer Joni Mitchell

 I could be wrong. But I feel that since Joni was a songwriter of another calibre she could be a gaga-spiration in the lyricism & artistry department. Their sounds are totally different (to my untrained ear), but she could quite easily be referencing the poetry and lightness of being that was so Joni.

But overall, suffice it to say that I bought the single, pre-ordered the album, bought all 4 V magazine limited edition covers so I'm girding up my loins to embark on this new era of Gaga.

xx 

Reminiscing: finding the answer to bad hair days

Today was a windy day which means my hair was allllll over the place.
It got me thinking, how can one make their hair wind-resistant while avoiding sloppy updos?
I want to keep my hair down and out, but how can this be done without it getting all ruined?

I look to one of my hair inspirations for the answer: Kate Middleton

In the windy and rainy London climate, Kate's hair is often in jeopardy of wind-syndrome. But through looking at pictures of her you can see that even in the windiest of situations her hair seems to effortlessly float in the breeze and doesn't turn it into a mess of frizz.

Kate probably has a crew of stylists that keep her hair looking flawless. But how can we lowly civilians make our hair wind-resistant without resorting to quick fix ponytails? 

I find that non-textured and non-styled hair is the best way to go. If you look at Kate in these pictures, her hair is mostly natural and just hangs loosely 

1. Blow dry your hair straight to minimize frizz (and so you don't waste time straightening it only to have it blown around)

2. To make your hair as loose and breeze friendly as possible, thin out your hair and add a serum 

2 1/2. Make sure you keep the hair conveniently tucked behind your ears or clipped back, to keep it out of your face

3. do NOT: curl your hair, spend a lot of time on your hair, style your hair, or forget to brush your hair (unbrushed or damp hair will become a tangled mess in the wind) 

I'm still working on perfecting my windy hair days, but from now on Kate is my go to hairspiration

xx