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I’m a bad SATC fan. Until three days ago I hadn’t seen the movie since the DVD release. SJP forgive me for I have sinned. I have to say it was spectacular. With no offence to any of the brilliant actors in the movie it has to be said that… erm… they really belong on the smaller screen. I had a touch too much time on my hands on the weekend so I actually watched the directors commentary on the DVD. I’m a total SATC Geek. It was awesome. Here is what I learned.

1. The tie dye maxi dress that Carrie wears in the lounge room scene with Mr Big when they are discussing the wedding was accidently sent early to a photo shoot in Mexico before they finished filming the scene. So they sent an assistant to Mexico to wait at the photo shoot, literally snatched the dress off the model and flew it back to New York. Apparently she had time for one cocktail in Mexico before her flight back.

2. The little red haired boy that plays Brady is actually the baby Brady from the series all grown up! The director called him back in for the movie and nearly cried because he still looked like Steve and Miranda.

3. The director always had African American women approaching him, saying how much they loved the series but kept asking – Where are the sisters? So he made the decision to cast Jennifer Hudson as Louis so there would be an African American representative in the film that was lacking in the series.

4. The clock that was beside Carrie’s bed for the whole series was actually RENTED from a guy who owned a collectables store. When they called to rent it again for the movie the clock owner tried to cash in on the big bucks so the producers told him to shove it and they found the exact same one on Ebay for $40.

5. Steve was really loved by audiences and when plans for the movie were discussed the director had heaps of mail requesting that nothing bad happen to Steve. So he had Steve do something bad instead.

6. It was a conscious decision to have Carrie in dark clothes for the middle ‘mourning’ part of the movie to allow for the gorgeous unveiling of the blue dress at Charlotte’s baby shower where Carrie really recovers from being jilted. Also when SJP dyes her locks dark… it’s actually a wig!

7. Aside from the fact that it was bloody good fun the reason behind the ‘wedding dress montage’ was purely people pleasing. The director knew that everyone would have a perfect Carrie Bride in their head because they had invested so much in the series and in Carrie as a character and he felt that everyone needed to see their ‘own’ Carrie Bride represented. I think it was an excellent choice.

8. When the Vivienne Westwood dress arrives at Carrie’s house as a gift from the designer… the hand writing is actually that of the gorgeous Ms Westwood. Fabulous.

9. When Carrie and Miranda have the fight and then they talk about it out the front of Carrie’s house in the cab in the rain, the Indian cab driver nodding along silently is the same cab driver that was used in series two when they had the ‘Up the butt’ conversation in the cab. Awesome.

10. Charlotte goes jogging in Chanel earmuffs.

11. The hat that Carrie wears in Mexico is by Hermes and was, for some unknown reason really valuable, so it arrived on the set with a personal guard and was whisked away seconds after they wrapped the scene. Weird.

12. When Patricia Field wanted to symbolise the unity of the girls she dressed them all in similar colours at the same time. Like at the fashion show when they are all happy and they have their lives together. They are all dressed in greys, blacks and whites.

13. When they were shooting the ‘I curse the day you were born!’ scene with Charlotte’s water breaking out the front of the resturant there was a fire drill across the road at the catholic girls school and all these wool kilted teenagers came screaming out of the building saying ‘We love you Mr Big! We love you Mr Big!’. So Chris Noth turned around and said ‘Shouldn’t you be in school?’ and one of the girls replied ‘Abso-fuckin-lutely!’. Gold.

14. Patricia Field had a pink tie and a blue tie all ready for Harry to wear depending on whether the baby was a girl or boy. She only found out it was a girl a few minutes before the scene.

15. The song playing at the end of the film was sung was Jennifer Hudson.

I highly recommend watching the director’s commentary. It’s going to be my new eccentric habit!

Love Lady Smaggle

xxx

I hate summer. It’s a ridiculous season. Everyone talks shite about how much they love summer and when it gets here everyone complains about hot it is, how they can’t sleep, they can’t exercise, their air conditioning is broken… blah, blah, freakin’, blah.

Unlike the rest of the world, I have a functioning memory and I hate summer all year round. Aside from the fact that my brain shuts down when the temperature gets above 30 degress I also find it really difficult to dress well in summer. It’s all too… bare for me. I love a good layering experience and summer kills it.

This picture from the Sartorialist makes me crave winter. Clean, clear skin, thick wool, scarves, gloves… I truly am a baby of the cold.

Who agrees?

Love Lady Smaggle

xxx

P.S A friend of Mr Smaggle’s was doing some modelling in Europe and was telling me about it over cappuccinos at the lake. He was all ’The photographer was quite famous I think… do you know Scott Shuman? The Sartorialist…?’

My reply? ‘Yes. Yes, I do know Scott Shuman…’*head quietly explodes*

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I was tagged by my delicious friend Na whose live-journal is one of my daily reads. She is bitter, sarcastic and a female Bernard Black. Only in personality though because she actually looks like a mermaid. You’ll love her, I promise. I have already done one of these before but because I’m ridiculously efficient I don’t have a lot to do this afternoon… and, lets face it, we all like to tell people about ourselves…

* Each blogger starts with ten random facts/habits about themselves.
* Bloggers that are tagged need to write on their own blog about their ten things and post these rules.
* At the end of your blog, you need to choose ten people to get tagged and list their names.

• Every night before I go to bed I brush my teeth, floss, use mouth wash, take my vitamins, cleanse my face, moisturise my face, put leave in conditioner in my hair, wash and moisturise my hands. I do this even when I’m drunk. Shut up. I’m a Virgo.
• I used to dance when I was young(er) I did – ballet, jazz, highland, irish, character and tap. 
• I’m not afraid of spiders. As long as they aren’t touching me.
• Mama Smaggle claims that when I was baby I could eat a whole banana without actually chewing it. I would just open my gob and cram it in lengthwise. Go Baby Smaggle!
• Speaking of eating, I’m a lighting fast eater. I’m always the first person finished their food but I’m so lady like in my guzzle guts-ing that no one ever notices how fast I’m eating they just notice that my plate is empty a good half an hour before everyone elses.
• I don’t like Kiera Knightly. She is a total lip and tongue actor.
• I once tripped down the stairs at a play in front of THE ENTIRE audience. I then sat there quietly bleeding from both knees until someone next to me saw my mini massacre and starting taking up a collection of tissues from the other audience members. It was quite touching really…
• I love cats but I think dogs are far too needy.
• I never got into a punch up at school and for some reason that disappoints me.
• I buy too much stationery. I recently cleaned out my room and found six unused visual art diaries and I don’t even draw.

I’m not going to tag ten bloggers because I’m lazy and the part about me is over so now I’m bored. But here are three bloggers that I am loving to pieces right now…

Aubergine

Penelope Bat

Fashion Fake

Consider yourselves tagged!

Come on my little loves! Tell me 3 random facts about you in my comments. Especially if you’ve never commented on Smaggle before… introduce yourself with some cuteness!

Love Lady Smaggle

xxx

I have the attention span of a goldfish and before Mr Smaggle, my longest relationship lasted about 5 months. Which was more than ample time for me to abandon my heels and lace and start schlepping around in a lame imitation of whatever eye candy I was lusting after at the time. I had a crush on a guy in high school who was a walking advertisement for death metal bands and I cried like a little bitch at my brother trying to get him to give me his Sepultura t-shirt. Seriously, I know my style is beyond bi-polar but can you see me in a concert tee? Despite my efforts to please, my lanky metal head soon hooked up with another girl so I took my broken heart and handed it straight to a scruffy, hippy lad and I started wearing a lot of leather and silver jewellery with long skirts that had bells attached to the drawstring waist.

Obviously other girls have done this too and I was thinking it may not be a bad thing. It’s only natural for people to adapt to their surroundings and maybe it’s the chameleon in us all that causes these changes. The question is – does mimicking our partners style work? Or does it make us look like big fat losers. Let’s turn to the celebrities for guidance…

Here are some couples who work it…

 Here are some couples who don’t…

Let’s apply that to Smaggle-land – In my current state of relationship bliss I have to say that my style has not evolved to match my man. It’s been nurtured by his keen sense of design and his undying support of my weird and wacky style but I have never felt the need to emulate his style by wearing well fitting jeans and fine knit sweaters. Sartorially speaking we do match but not in a Brit and JT kind of way. If I had to pick a celebrity couple that we dress like I would have to go with…

Jennifer Connolly and Paul Bettany

If you add around 20 kilos and some curls to Jennifer we could be twins. Paul Bettany and Mr Smaggle are already twins. Actually my man looks more like Paul Bettany and Chris Martin’s love child. Anyway, the point is that I believe our styles are complimentary to each other but that our styles also exist wholly on their own. He is all relaxed jeans, beautifully fitting shirts and hats. I’m all funky skirts and quirky accessories so we really do work well together. According to the Grazia article when you find sartorial peace in a relationship then the guy is a keeper. It’s love advice that my stylish sisters and I can understand!

So what about you my lovelies? Have you ever changed your style for a man? Or has a man ever changed his style for you? Do you steal your boyfriends clothes? Have you settled into your own style after having met the man or woman of your dreams? How do the relationships that you have affect the way you dress?

Love Lady Smaggle

xxx

Donna -

Killer Feature: Shoulders and bust

Worst Enemy: Belly, then higher arms

Widest horizontal: Full hip 

Key point: Similar to Niki in some ways, you want to keep the eye around the bust so any upper torso detail to help you. But as your upper arms are not your best feature, try to aim for sleeves that grace the elbow, or have detailing around the lower edges, not the top edge. Lace cuffs, gathered or pleated detail around the wrist is good. Be kind to yourself. It took me years to get my belly back to something I was in the vicinity of happy with after my baby. You get a new life and a new shape, but don’t you just love the I Am Woman Hear Me Roar factor? 
 

Frocks:

You’re lucky because you can have either deep V shapes in necklines or wider sweeping necklines due to having great shoulders and a lovely bust. Collar detail, necklaces and all manner of embellishment, even buttoning features around the shoulder area will work well. Skirt length should be halfway between ankle and knee as this is the most flattering spot. Swishier skirts in your dresses and lighter weight fabrics will offer a feminine air and also create a nice line through the legs. I’m not convinced you have enough waist definition to make classic defined curves, so maybe look for seams in frocks that are above the waist rather than on the waist, as with Ivy. And little treatments like ribbon ties, bows and contrast under bust detail will work a treat to kick the feminine up a notch and make you feel gorgeous. Another idea is to wear those dresses that have wrap fabric ties around the waist, which will also be wearable as the post baby kilos start to fall away. David Lawrence and Jigsaw always do great ones. 

Items: I think tunic shapes would work well as pieces, as long as you remember to treat the upper area with more attention rather than the wrists in this scenario as there will already be a break in the hip area if you wear separates. I know you wanted to know about what jean shapes would work, but really, I would encourage you more towards dresses than items to avoid breaking the body with horizontals. If you do denim, make it dark and look for slouchier boyfriend shapes rather than anything that would taper to the leg too much. And to blur the line where the hip gets that unwanted horizontal, maybe go for darker toned tops rather than really contrasting ones. Again, embellishment at the bust and central shoulder area will make a denim scenario work better.

Avoid: Puffed sleeves and gathered sleeve heads are not your friends.

Brenda –

Killer Feature: Legs, then arms

Worst Enemy: Belly, then double chin

Widest horizontal: True hip 

Key point: Therefore manipulate everything through the torso as cover up, and use the arms and legs as strong verticals. 

You are blessed with great arms and legs. With fashion the way it is right now, the gods of frock are smiling on you. Plus you have permission to buy excellent shoes! Yay!! 

Frocks:

Look for babydoll shapes, shifts and tunics that glide right over the waist.  Make sure all frocks are exactly the right length for you. There’s loads of info about this in my book, but basically you look for the point where the leg starts to get wider, past your best muscles and chop it right there.

Use upper torso embellishment especially through the shoulder area to enhance the extremities at each shoulder. This will send the eye up, but avoid the focus on the chin area. There are great details this winter like pleats, knots and heavy crochet type laces in the shoulder area of lots of shifts, so lucky you! ( Country Road, Duck and Citi are my best tips actually! I share the same body shape.)

Keep everything south of the bust matte and plain so that the only focus down there is those great legs. Therefore, no prints below the bust, no strong colour as well and certainly no sheen.

Items: The same scenario for tops as the frocks, but make sure any pants / jeans you choose are fairly lean in cut because you can afford to do this. Ditto skirts. Keep them close to the body rather than A line or tiered.

Avoid: Statement belts at the waist.

Kelly –

Killer Feature: Bust, then waist

Worst Enemy: Bulging belly, then hips & thighs

Widest horizontal: Thigh 

Key point: Your love of 1950s fashion is spot on. And if your “bulging belly” is really worrying you, then just use shapewear to flatten it across the front, because the silhouette looks just fine to me! Skirts and dresses are going to flatter you more than pants, and you have great calves and fine ankles which should be exposed. 

Frocks:

Fuller A line skirts that hit mid calf are good for you. Choose more stable fabrics rather then light weight or jersey fabrics to give you more support for tummy control. As your bust is quite projected, a 34E, you need to highlight it, without making the grand Pammy Anderson statement. So rely on design lines rather than embellishment or contrast as a good way to go. By this I mean necklines like the sweetheart, the Galaxy style dress neckline, rounded off square necklines and rounded Vs. Having extra “Hello!” factor with patterns or shiny textures at the bust might take it too far. Belts and waist seams will work on you as you have a nicely defined waist. So get rid of the sloppy T-shirt look! As you love the retro look and you need a little lift in spirits, why not play with girly florals and brighter tones until you are feeling better physically? Channel a bit more Doris Day and bit less Lois Lane using sweet feminine styles, buttoning, ribbon and bow details that highlight the waist and rib cage area of the torso. 

Items:I’m guessing shirts are tricky for you with that bust. So wrap knits and tops that feature the necklines listed above are a better option. Puffy sleeves and high arm detail will only congest the area so don’t go there. As I said, it would be a pity to cover your calves, but if you are looking for pants, go for a narrower palazzo pant that glides right over the hips, a bit like a long A-line shape in silhouette.

Avoid: Strong design lines around the hip and thigh, especially belts worn low.

And Miss Selina from Flying Saucer even sent in her silhouette! Here’s Annebelle’s advice to her…

Killer Feature: Waist, then hips

Worst Enemy: Bust small

Widest horizontal: True hip 

Key point:  

If you get concerned about widening your shoulders with any garment you wear, look for vertical treatments around the shoulder line that will mitigate your strong horizontal. This means deeper necklines, square necklines and even strong Vs. Vertically focused collar details, long bows and ties, all of these will create a force to help make your shoulders not look so wide.

Love your tiny waist. Personally I would kill for it!

Colours on red heads could include anything warmer in hue, from ivory through the entire autumnal palette, chocolates, black of course and my favourite, emerald green. Ditch lightweight neutrals as they might drain you, and bright red can be problematic of course, greys might also suck the pigment from your face. When in doubt, warm your make up tones to compensate. 

Frocks:

A-line skirt shapes will also help keep the shoulders seeming smaller. As your hips as slim, you can afford pocket tabs, and other hip detail like embroidery, fastenings, topstitching etc, which will also make your small waist the focus. The best length for you is about ten centimetres below the knee to balance your silhouette. Play up a small bust with textural highlight, pleats, gathers, colour contrast, lace etc. Anything that builds the area will be helpful. And best of all the highlight here will also take advantage of your slim waist. You can’t lose. 

Items:  

Unlike lots of us mere mortals, separates will work well on you as a break at the waist is something you can afford. The current must-have higher waisted pants and skirts will also suit you. Feature belts and strong waist detail will be great and for heavens sake go get yourself some cute 50s style pieces as this era is the one that will work best for you. 

Avoid:

Boat necks, wide off the shoulder garments and puff sleeves.

Isn’t Annebelle a gem? What fabulous advice, I’m so excited for my readers! Do visit her site Your Wardrobe Mistress and check out her book Dress Like A Star. It’s totally worth it I promise! Oh and when you do read her book jump onto Goodreads and Amazon and review it. Let’s share the Annebelle love through out the fashion blogosphere!

Love Lady Smaggle

xxx

Rebecca Miller in Christian Lacroix – I adore this. I love the stripey shoes and the magenta hair. She is also Daniel Day Lewis’ lover. Could any woman be more glorious? I’m questioning Daniel Day Lewis’ shoe choice though. But with those cheekbones who the hell is looking at his feet?

Nicole Kidman in Balenciaga – Not a fan of this one I’m afraid. The necklace is rather spectacular but it blends into her ethereal skin and gets lost.

Anne Hathaway in Marchesa – Yuck. Why do nipple flowers? And why are her teeth so big? Why is she so annoying? Why?

Katherine Heigl in Escada – Of all of the thousands of Grecian one-shouldered dresses at the Oscars this year this one is my favourite. And it has nothing to do with my recent obsession with Grey’s Anatomy. Or my obsession with My Father The Hero. Okay fine! I love Katherine Heigl! Is that a crime?

Hilary Swank in Versace – Quite pleasant but a little tame. I’m rather enamoured of the rippled/pleated hem.

Helen Mirren in Georges Chakra – There was literally an audible gasp to be heard when I first laid eyes on Dame Helen Mirren. She is simply breathtaking. Always.

Ellen Page in Jean-Louis Scherrer Haute Couture – A little safe for an Oscar nominee but her performance in Juno more than makes up for her lack of sartorial experimentation. Plus she is adorable.

Diablo Cody in Christian Dior – Finally someone with a personality! Gold flats, leopard print and a massive tatt. Damn I love this girl. And her screen play rocks. 

Amy Adams in Proenza Schouler – There is NOTHING I love more than red heads who get how friggin awesome they look in green. Especially deep green.

So all in all it was rather a bit of a yawn wasn’t it? What did everyone else think? Too many one-shouldered dresses? Too many boobs squished into bandeaux? And when did everyone suddenly get too cool for bling? Where were all the Harry Winstons? And Bvlgaris? Come on people it’s the freaking Oscars! Gimme some damn diamonds!

Love Lady Smaggle

xxx

Observe the look of Miss Kennedy…

Looks pretty funky doesn’t she? I was picking these photos thinking ‘Why I am dissing her style again…?’. But it’s not her style I am dissing. It’s the fact that blind 15 to 22 year olds are copying it! And just quietly why is that person wearing green opaques with Nike trainers? Do you see the company this girl keeps?

Now please don’t mistake this fashion rant for a complete and utter hatred of the grunge look. I like to rock a little Courtney from time to time but I like to sprinkle a little of the dirt not pick up a bloody shovel and dig myself into a hole of filth. What I am wondering is when it became acceptable for girls to roll out of bed, not brush their hair, throw on whatever they found on the floor and then have the hide to strut their stuff like they’re fashion icons? From reading Cory’s blog I have discovered that her life is a series of parties and I strongly suspect she no longer attends school. Her lifestyle actually explains her look. Which is fine. And she pulls it off. This is also fine. But there are impressionable young girls wandering around your local shopping centre sporting her trends and looking well… really bloody ugly. Let me make my point a little clearer… Here is a picture of me wearing three MASSIVE Cory trends. A headscarf worn around the front of my head, mum jeans (or Mom jeans as the Americans like to say) and unwashed/unstyled hair. And just so you know I am only doing this because I love you..

My god. I didn’t even know that I had thunder thighs until I wore these jeans. And being the caring Smaggle that I am I decided to spare you all the photos of the dreaded camel’s toe. Was it something that women of the eighties just accepted? I mean were the hill-billy hitched up pants really worth suffocating your moot for? I mean this looks TERRIBLE on me. But at least I am willing to admit it.

And just when you think it couldn’t get any worse…

Holy moly. Look at that derriere. Quite impressive I’d say. Can I tell you a secret? I actually don’t have a really fat arse. I’m my father’s daughter and we were born without butts. Our cheeks just tend to blend into our thighs with out so much of a Beyonce bulge. I must admit I do have a little junk in my trunk but in the grand scheme behind-sizing mine is certainly on the mid to small end of the scale. Where the hell did that arse come from?

Cory has developed a niche look for herself and although it’s not entirely to my taste it suits her. If anyone can make an eighties reject Tweety Bird t-shirt look hip it’s going to be her. But what we have to understand is that someone like me who is at least 3 sizes larger and a good few inches taller than Cory will look stupid in what she wears. Well that’s pretty bloody obvious, look at the photographic evidence.

Are we convinced yet? Cory looks rather endearing in a street-urchin-on-crack kind of way but Lady Smaggle looks like ’the bad girl’ guest star on 90210 with serious bum issues. By all means, experiment with different styles and if you want to wear arm pit gripping stone wash stove pipes then go for it and god bless you. But I beg you to wear them because you love them and love the way you look in them. NOT because Cory is wearing them. If you want to try the mum jeans go ahead. But if you look as jaw droppingly fugly in them as I do I beg you not to wear them. No one will think you are cool and you will just feel uncomfortable. Don’t do it to yourself.

Oh and just a side (snide) note… does this girl live in the gutter? Why is she always photographed sitting in the street or in the corner of some grotty looking bar? Would it really be so terrible to sit on a chair?

Your turn lovelies… What copycat disasters have you experienced? Are there any styles out there that really get your goat? Come on, I showed you mine…

Love Lady Smaggle xxx

I read this article in The New York Times on the absence of black models on the catwalk during this season of fashion shows. I was pretty appalled. Mostly because I didn’t even notice and that made me feel like pre-conditioned moron who blindly surfs fashion websites and doesn’t question the fact that most of the models are caucasian. I also came across the post Red Bow on the fabulous site Flying Saucer about red haired models and lipstick. The young lady to whom this website belongs has the most gorgeous long, curly red hair and a fabulous sense of style. Her colouring is spectacular and yet there is hardly any representation of her in the media. Just something for us ’standard’ girls to have a think about… 

* This isn’t really a favourite but it’s almost blasphemous to have a celebrity style post sans Kate.

* Check out the boots! I swear she is about to start grabbing at her crotch and moonwalking…

* I have to have Mary Kate if I have Ashley because everyone knows you can’t separate twins. Mary Kate is a grubby little urchin isn’t she? But her haphazard way of throwing on her clothes as if she just crawled out of bed is strangely appealing…

* I love this shirt but I love Kate Hudson more. She is pretty and she smiles a lot and I am quite easily pleased. Besides she’s all sunkissed and blonde and I have opposites envy of her.

‘Don’t be your ordinary dull self. Why don’t you be ingenious and make yourself into something else?’ – Diana Vreeland

‘Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess’ – Oscar Wilde

‘The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud’ – Chanel

‘Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative’ – Oscar Wilde