Talking With Magazines: ElleUK March 2014

Well, well, well.  Look who it is.  Yes, its been a while, a long while.  

But without going into the reasons, or excuses, let's begin with the reason I jolted back to life.

The below photo from the March 2014 issue of ElleUK 

taken by David Vasiljevic and styled by Natalie Wansbrouhg-Jones.  Of all the pages in all the March issues, this was the image jumping off of the paper capturing my attention. 

First, altered by an everyday tee, the look is Yang Li, who's life as a designer is young but I am already a committed disciple. 

Second, the mix of street and sweet pulls at my heart strings with its reference to the 90s and the Grunge movement I lived through not knowing it was just a moment. 

I found myself analyzing the image long after the magazine had been closed and placed in its proper stack among stacks of magazines. The elements of the image still whispering to me each time I opened my closet. It might sound silly, but I can't be the only person who has conversations with magazine images.  Maybe if I am, then my own blog might be the best place to further the discussion. 

ElleUK: Do you admire the designer or stylist for recycling the idea of mixing casual and delicate details?

RSF: The designer.  I sense Yang Li influenced Natalie Wansbrough-Jones. It is not the exact runway look, but the military jacket/silk skirt combo mirrors the essence of the entire collection.  A collection creating a runway dream sequence by balancing street wear with romantic fabrics.   Li's update on grunge is androgynous and graceful.  I didn't know this is how I actually wanted to look back in the 90s until I came across Yang Li.  Grunge for me was straight up wearing my dad's hand-me-downs. Or in some cases I just took what I wanted from his closet.  This look is not from my dad's closet. 
I love the location Wansbrough-Jones scouted for the photograph.  Li's clothes were ultimately meant for the street, and the setting highlights the practicality of wearing a floor length skirt for day.

ElleUK: What element will inspire your closet?  
RSF:  Proportion.  Pairing insanely oversize shirt/jacket with the delicate oversize pleated skirt counts as a double whammy!  Instead of balancing the silhouette with a skinny jean or shrunken blazer, just wear it all big and baggy.  

ElleUK:  Is there a particular image that comes to mind first?
RSF:  Sharon Stone.  One, because of her Gap tee/Valentino skirt combo at the 1996 Oscars.  Which was the first example of mixing high fashion with low fashion to creep out of glossies and hit mainstream America.  Two, because of one of my favorite Elle covers from December 2000 with Stone wearing Galliano for Dior.  The cover brings me back to a time when Elle was deep into creating desire for fashion, travel and lifestyle.

ElleUK:  Does the image represent the past, present, or future?

RSF:  Present. Having a past reference to Yang Li's modern look in ElleUK pop into my head as soon as I saw it, for me is exciting. It created a conversation I have been craving to build on during my break from blogging. 

Today the fashion cycle works more like hitting the refresh button.  Frankly, nothing is new in fashion.  Fashion is moving too fast for anything to appear new.  Coming to this realization saved Readysetfashion.com.  I had to let go of the guilt I felt for calling out the source of a designer or stylist or photographer on the blog.  Today we have the tools at our fingertips to search the past for that image we know we saw already. References are posted everywhere from Pinterest and Instgram to museums and library archives not just on Readysetfashion.com.
The connections I and others find between the past and present could be the next wave of discussion in blogging.  Where street style represents the "Golden Era" of fashion blogs, the awareness of why current fashions are in vogue is ready to take precedence.  Even if that's not the case, you will find a logic for it here.

So let's go.  Ready. Set. Fashion.