80’s Praise: All Hail Hughes

As I’ve previously stated, this blog encompasses all things pop culture. Continuing with the 80’s theme and with the recent passing of director, producer, writer, and pop culture icon John Hughes, I thought I would take a moment to pay homage to his work. Although he helmed a few films before 1984, it was this year in which one of his most beloved films was released: Sixteen Candles. Surely, anyone reading this has seen this movie and understands the appeal.

Hughes took an ostensibly simple concept: family forgets daughter’s 16^th birthday, and turned it into a hilarious tale which has one of my favorite Hollywood endings. Hilarity especially ensues when the Baker family takes in a foreign exchange student Long Duk Dong (“What’s happening hot stuff?”). Additionally, who could ever forget Jake Ryan (played by Mike Schoeffling—why he walked away from acting I will never understand!) leaning on his red car waiting for Samantha (golden 80’s girl Molly Ringwald) as “If You Were Here” by the Thompson Twins plays in the background. This ending has a way of leaving girls with the indelible impression that the most attractive boy in school just may leave his gorgeous yet disdainful blonde girlfriend for the average every-day nice girl. Do not tell me you haven’t had that dream—we all want it to happen. Unless of course, you’re that gorgeous spiteful blonde…in which case Mean Girls probably has a more suitable ending for you (Regina still gets a piece of the homecoming crown, hello).

All of the humiliation (the comedic highlights of the film) Samantha endures, like a geek selling her undergarments or her grandmother commenting on her developing anatomy, pays off big time at the end. If you are in need of your Molly Ringwald fix she can now be seen playing the mother of a pregnant teenager on ABC Family’s The Secret Life of the American Teenager, brought to us by Brenda Hampton, the creator of 7^th Heaven (kind of paradoxical…)

Hughes went on to write more perennial films like the Breakfast Club (1985), National Lampoon’s European Vacation (1985), Weird Science (1985), Pretty in Pink (1986), Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), Uncle Buck (1989), Home Alone (1990), Curly Sue (1991), Beethoven (1992), Flubber (1997) among several others. I assure you that any one of these movies will leave you with a blithe feeling that a Hollywood ending in your life may just be as feasible as Hughes makes it seem.

If you have not seen Pretty in Pink, it is worth viewing just for the pivotal scene where “If You Leave” by Brit group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark is played. There is something about this song that just ties a scene together—flash forward to season 1 of the O.C. (Episode 21 “The Goodbye Girl”) where this song (covered by Nada Surf) is played during another cardinal moment when Anna leaves Newport for good as a heartbroken Seth gazes from a distance.

Fun fact: Anthony Michael Hall (the Geek from Breakfast Club/Sixteen Candles) was originally chosen to play Duckie in Sixteen Candles but turned it down in fear of being typecast. Jon Cryer of “Two and a Half Men” fame was subsequently casted. Andrew McCarthy who also stars in Pretty in Pink recently guest appeared in the aforementioned Gossip Girl episode which revisited, none other than, the 80's.

A brooding Jake Ryan

Cue "Don't You (Forget About Me)"

Pretty in Pink

80’s Revival: Blazing Through Fashion

Ashley Olsen exemplifies blazer versatility

Mandy Moore and Diane Kruger dress their

blazers down for everyday street wear

Heinous. Abhorrent. No I’m not talking about the latest headline describing Jon Gosselin’s escapades, I’m talking about words people utilize when describing the 80’s as a whole. The fashion? Repugnant people would say. The movies? Frightening, one reader told me. In a recent Marie Claire interview with new it-girl Alexa Chung, she admitted that if there were one era she would skip it would be the 80’s. While I agree whole-heartedly with Chung’s fashion decisions, I disagree with her sentiments related to this era; and I remain objective toward this decade even though I was born during this time and still maintain an unhealthy obsession with 80’s shows like Saved By the Bell (or known during the 80’s episodes as Good Morning, Miss Bliss) and Full House (Even at 9 months those Olsens knew how to enchant audiences). Don’t panic yet pop culture fans, I know these shows had their heyday in the early 90’s but their official benchmark begins in the 80’s.

This season the 80’s have returned but with a revamping that will soon make any ambivalent shopper purchase items with certitude. One would have to be blind as a bat not to notice a blazer in every window or on every magazine page. However, unlike their 80’s counterparts, these current blazers still maintain strong shoulders but without the large uncomfortable shoulder-padding. These remodeled blazers also come in a myriad of shapes, styles, materials, and colors.

The best part about a blazer is that it can be worn with absolutely any bottom from shorts, leggings, jeans, harem pants, to pencil skirts when you are at work. You may have already guessed how versatile they are, but I just had to share my enthusiasm! Invest in a plain black blazer that you can wear to work and out at night (they can be expensive but will pay off in the end because of their decade transcendence). For a more casual look, the cotton blazers made by Mike&Chris (this husband and wife duo produce the comfiest outerwear) and Topshop are amazing and can be found at budget friendly prices.

Several of the newly generated blazers have also been given a face-lift with resplendent embellishments. Some of the best blazers I’ve viewed have been presented with jeweled adornments or chunky metal detailing along the front pockets and lapel.

Always on the cutting edge, Gossip Girl’s second season recently paid homage to this era in an episode, which shows a young Lily van der Woodsen (Brittany Snow). Although Lily’s spinoff was shelved for the time being, I’m certainly not advocating dismissing the fashion. The year is 1983 in Malibu, California and Lily validates that the 80’s aren’t all bad in her timeless Ray-Bans and effortlessly cool Ralph Lauren blazer. In one of my favorite scenes from the series, the episode also has a young Lily trying on various outfits before deciding on lace leggings paired with a structured jacket, while “Dancing with Myself” plays in the background. Well call me trite but if this scene does not make you a champion of the 80’s—I don’t know what will.

Lily in her blazer along with her dad (Played by 80's heart-throb Andrew McCarthy)

Krysten Ritter also guest appears as Lily's rocker chic sister Carol

I still have a soft spot for denim jackets reminiscent of this one

Rachel Bilson in an Express blazer

Blake Lively

Kate Bosworth in an 80's inspired outfit

Gwyneth Paltrow

Cameron Diaz and Ashlee Simpson-Wentz opt for jeans and a blazer

Hathaway and Hudgens prefer more fitted blazers

Obsessed with Bilson's D&G sequin blazer

Kiera Knightley and Demi Lovato proving a blazer can do no wrong

Lauren Conrad affirming a blazer is perfect for a night out with friends

Coffee Consuming in Style

Fashion Forward Rachel Bilson on a coffee run in LA

Nicole Richie pairs an Elizabeth & James dress with her cup of joe

Boho Chic is incomplete without a coffee in hand as the Olsens exemplify best

Vanessa Hudgens looking fresh faced and fashionable with her coffee

Because this is a blog dedicated to various facets of pop culture, it would be remiss not to include one of pop culture’s largest phenomenons: Starbucks Coffee. Not only does this coffee juggernaut pervade every street corner in the United States, they also find residence in more remote countries like South Korea, Bulgaria, Greece, Peru, and Argentina. However, unfortunately these sapid drinks come at a price and when one is consuming a drink a day, it can add up. Due to the ubiquity of Starbucks Coffee chains, it is inevitable that that by nightfall I will have consumed at least one of their beverages (and that is on a good day). My incessant cravings for Caramel Macchiatos on some days are equivalent to a pregnant woman’s cravings for pickles wrapped in cheese. In fact, Starbucks Coffee has actually become apart of women’s fashion ensembles. Rarely do I go a day without noticing a photograph captured by the paparazzi of one of Hollywood’s starlets sipping on coffee. Whether it is Vanessa Hudgens on her way to a recording studio with a Starbucks in hand or Miley Cyrus consuming a frappuccino on the set of her latest film, these coffees, while they may taste incredible and generate a caffeine buzz, are part of achieving a fashionable look.

As most girls are aware of, the Olsen twins have held a name among the fashionably revered for quite some time now. But it was their sojourn at New York University where their style was embedded into fashion history by being credited with creating “Boho Chic” style. The oversized sunglasses, jewelry, and overlapping layers of clothing made women everywhere drop what they were doing and purchase items to emulate this look. The Olsens have never been ones to model scantily clad attire; their Boho Chic look allows for women of all sizes to look hip and fashionable without feeling they need to show skin in unnecessary areas.

However, there is one essential constituent to this Boho Chic ensemble, the linchpin if you will: a cup of Starbucks coffee. Now, while a smart shopper looks for bargains at flea markets and sale racks, this same shopper must also learn to curtail their spending on expensive coffee, myself included. But how can you still look the part without a Starbucks in hand you ask? Well, on your myriad of excursions to Starbucks have you ever stopped and perused the shelf of coffee thermoses? They are full of color and look as if they were made to complement an outfit. My favorite new ones are the Ethos thermoses, which I have displayed below (Starbucks.com). Thus, smart shoppers everywhere, we can start making our own coffee at home and putting them in these hip thermoses before we leave the house. If you ask me, they not only look nicer/hipper/more fashionable with an outfit, but they also make you look fiscally and environmentally conscious. Now if you are not a coffee drinker but you are an avid consumer of water bottles, this is also a great way to thwart overspending. You can simply utilize brita or tap water to re-fill your thermos.

Now I am not saying to end your Starbucks spending completely—consuming 3 a week would still save you more than 7 a week. So how can you stop yourself from handing the cashier your credit card and inevitably spending all of your dollars on coffee? A solution would be to purchase a gift card. This is something I have done in recent years and it has greatly facilitated in curtailing my expenditures. So, at the beginning of the week or month you can decide exactly how much you want to put on the gift card and that way you can keep track of how much you are spending and it will not tempt you to exceed your allocated budget set on the card. You can even control your gift card online at Starbucks.com and add money and keep track of your balance all from your home computer.

This thermos is fresh and hip with its lime green lid

This Ethos thermos has fashionably and enviornmentally conscious shopper written all over it (You can purchase these at Starbucks.com or in Starbucks stores)

I love the way Ashley Olsen pairs a bandage skirt with her signature Fendi bag and an oversized tee-- but, how great would an Ethos thermos look with this instead?

Ashley and Mary-Kate in New York during their Boho Chic heyday

Miley twit pics and tweets about her love for Starbucks

More Ashley Olsen looking chic with her cup of joe

Another Ashley Olsen

Nicole Richie in LA with her coffee

More Nicole Richie

Loving this look of Richie's sheer button down paired with black skinnies and of course, her coffee

Richie looking especially high fashion with her Starbucks in tow

Couples do coffee

Lauren Conrad and boyfriend Kyle Howard, Ashley Olsen and boyfriend Justin Bartha

Jessica Alba and hubby Cash Warren

A Blog with Brio

Hello World! After becoming an inveterate magazine/novel reader, film aficionado, and developing a flair for fashion—I figured it was time to share my thoughts about such topics with others. What is life if we cannot speak with passion, hence the term brio, about culture and people’s artistic ventures. Thus, in posts to come I will share with the world my pop culture tidbits. However, I also want to share with others my take on world affairs and facets of sociology and psychology. After all, intelligence and components of pop culture, like fashion, are not mutually exclusive. With that said, I chose a fashion piece for my first blogspot. In this first post I will share with everyone my favorite part about 2009's imminent fall fashion trends: COCKTAIL RINGS! 

While I am a self-proclaimed fashion-o-holic, this obsession with clothing can tread in financially perilous waters at times.  Those who are fellow film and fashion lovers, must have viewed this year’s version of Legally Blonde—Confessions of a Shopaholic. While I am certainly not in debt like the film’s profuse but lovable titular character Rebecca Bloomwood, her penchant for shopping to make herself feel better did resonate with me. After a bad day there is no greater guest to one’s own pity party than a recently purchased item. I can sit in my dark room, listening to morose music, which in my case would be an Ingrid Michaelson song, and simply stare at a recent purchase and alas, my troubles seem far away. Clearly this is an ephemeral fix, which is why some women feel the need to keep shopping once their withdrawal symptoms kick in. However, a true fashionista must learn to maintain self-control. Remember, Ms. Bloomwood was forced to sell all of her clothing at the end of the film and attend Shopaholics Anonymous. Lets not go down that dreary path. 

This is why I am elated that 2009’s Fall Fashion allows for affordable purchases. The vicissitude of every season promises affordable apparel that emulates high-fashion seen on the runways. However, I found that it was rather difficult to achieve this look in the past without looking like a knock off Fendi bag. But this season is different. This season we can finally wear our father or brother’s oversized oxford white button down shirts, or purchase our own at stores like Old Navy and Gap (which won't put a dagger in our bank accounts). This season we can step into American Apparel and purchase spandex shorts reminiscent of the one’s seen on Alexander Wang’s recent runway. Then there is this season’s other trend (which I could not be more excited about)…cocktail jewelry. Reminiscent of the 1960’s and 70’s, large in your face rings, bracelets, and necklaces have returned. My favorite affordable line is Nicole Richie’s House of Harlow: 1960, 35-piece collection. While most celebrities ultimately deliver us insipid overpriced clothing and jewelry lines, Richie’s stands out beyond the rest. The best part? It is within a reasonable budget. Take this oversized sunburst ring I purchased today for just $ 38 dollars. Take a plain outfit and throw on an oversized cocktail ring, and Voilà! You have achieved panache with minimal effort.

Please share your recent cocktail ring purchases with me! I am DYING to see them!

Interested in seeing the sunburst ring I purchased? No one wears House of Harlow better than the designer herself. In the photos below Richie is wearing the aforementioned sunburst ring among multicolored bangles/cuffs that are also featured in her House of Harlow: 1960 jewelry line. 

CRAZY FOR COCKTAIL RINGS!