Wow, Faye was super hot in Bonnie and Clyde. I FINALLY just saw the ’67 classic film with Warren Beaty and Faye Dunaway. I feel a little ashamed that I hadn’t already seen it. But better late than never, eh? As I was watching the film I couldn’t help but be inspired by the fashion, especially since Spring is around the corner! (I’m in denial here, it’s a long way off and tomorrow’s high is 24°!)
I’m not super skinny, blonde or pouty. But if I was, I think Dunaway’s take on crime “babe” Bonnie Parker would be my go-to fashion icon. I’m never one for Spring fashion’s typical nautical stripes or safari prints, so I was curious to see if there were some interesting pieces out there that might reference this style icon. Take a look at what I found -
Trench coats are timeless! Bonnie’s trench is particularly fun with the grid print. I found the white and navy trench above with great detailing. I’ve also decided that if Bonnie Parker was lookin’ good and robbin’ banks today, she’d trade her mid-calf skirts for some super-tight, skinny jeans.
The mix of hard and soft is perfect for creating a Bonnie-esque look. A feminine top (like the one above) paired with slick, shiny navy Jimmy Choo heels?! Love it.
The beret is clearly Bonnie’s signature piece – this accessory might be more prominent than her Smith & Wesson! Is a beret too much? I was surprisingly drawn to the slouchy beret below! It could go crunchy-granola really quick, but not if mixed with more structural, simple pieces. When in doubt, the fedora seems like a forever GO-TO.
My Bonnie color palette: navy, cream, beige navy, cream, black with a POP of coral. The coral gloves above make me swoon!
Metallic details: flats with a bold buckle and cross-body bags (for on-the-go bank robbing) in blue or maybe a bright red?
And some more options in beige and black. The cut of the belted sweater is enhanced by the varying width and direction of the stripes – a great alternative to the typical nautical-inspired look. The black cardigan with its ribbon and ring detailing adds the structure of a jacket without any bulkiness. Take a look at all of these great items yourself! I hope you enjoyed my slight detour into fashion-blogging. And if you haven’t seen Bonnie & Clyde, get on that immediately!
In order from the top:
1. Milly Piped Stretch Twill Trench
2. Citizens of Humanity ‘Slick’ Skinny Stretch Denim Leggings
3. Jimmy Choo ‘Gilbert’ Pump
4. Banana Republic Lightweight Wool Belted Jacket
5. Banana Republic Silk Necklace Tee
6. Tarnish Ribbed Slouchy Beret
7. Banana Republic Super Skinny Leather Belt
8. Nordstrom Two Tone Straw Fedora
9. Milly ‘Mariner’ Sweater
10. Banana Republic Two-Tone Leather Gloves
11. M Missoni Space Dye Tunic
12. Eileen Fisher Applique Trim Tee
13. Attilio Giusti Leombruni Square Toe Skimmer
14. Marc by Marc Jacobs ‘Totally Turnlock-Percy’ Crossbody Bag
15. Michael – Michael Kors ‘Charlton’ Crossbody Bag
16. 3.1 Phillip Lim Belted Stripe Sweater
17. Nanette Lepore ‘Cousine’ Cardigan
18. St. John Collection Fine Gauge Santana Knit Sweater
I love Philadelphia. I think it’s rare to love where you were born and raised! But while I do love so much about this fine city, I really dislike the With Love, Philadelphia XOXO® campaign. And now VisitPhilly.com has launched a contest in which “Philly fans and budding copy writers” can submit their own billboards. Budding copy writers? Seriously… the press release included that - check it out for yourself. I am assuming that most copy writers out there are as annoyed by these billboards as designers are. Let’s see if I can sum up why I don’t like this campaign.
Seen it before?
When the With Love campaign launched, I immediately felt like I had seen the visuals before. Chick-fil-A people! Chick-Phila? Oh sorry, couldn’t help myself. Not only does the scratchy hand-lettering of the With Love campaign resemble the Chick-fil-A “Eat Mor Chikin” billboards, but the color palette is also a little too similar for my taste. (Oh there I go again – taste! Get it?) But the visual references to the Chick-fil-A billboards aren’t really the issue. For me, the bigger connection is the use of improper English. Funny for cows, not funny for a city of people that ACTUALLY says “yous” and “wit” instead of “you” and “with”.
You DO NOT complete me
I’ve definitely seen a billboard with “wit” on it but I couldn’t find a sample. Luckily, I found the one above on the left with “yous” included. Do we really want to flaunt the fact that people in Philadelphia say “yous”? Next thing you’ll see is a billboard with “wooder” in place of water! My other issue with this campaign is that it’s just a hodgepodge of references. You complete me? Damn you, Cameron Crowe! A bunch of your movies ARE bad ass. You’re married to the babe from Heart and that is also bad ass, but screw you for making Jerry Maguire and ingraining that stupid quote in everyone’s mind!
I saw the above billboard as I was about to get on the Ben Franklin Bridge to leave New Jersey (sorry NJ, but leaving you is always a good thing). This one annoys me the most – the reference to Jersey Shore is easy and mediocre. It has that quick a-ha moment, but shouldn’t this campaign go deeper? I wish it did.
I’ll give credit where credit is due. With its simple design (that’s not a bad thing per se), VisitPhilly.com can turnaround new billboards fast and stay extremely current. The Cliff Lee billboard went up within a few days of Lee’s return to Philly and people WERE talking. (Image from uwishunu)
Room for interpretation?
The man-friend isn’t a big fan of the campaign either. He created the faux-billboard above as a jab to the Philadelphia Parking Authority. Those pay-to-park machines do seem to be working properly, NOW! You should check his work out at www.atopanelephant.com.
What do you think about the With Love campaign? Share a comment – I’d love to hear what you think!
I’m a total dork, I love technology. I spend most of my day in front of my computer. And when I’m not in front of my computer, I’m either teaching computer-based technology OR sleeping. That’s just how I roll. This year I was lucky enough to spoil myself with a few new tech toys. The biggest toy I got this year was my new 27 inch iMac. Wow, is it big. The man-friend is annoyed he can no longer see me in our shared office.
Accessories are key – in any situation! That orange bad boy on the top left is part of the brand LaCie‘s rugged model external hard drive. My new 500GB drive is great for meeting with clients and transferring student work. I LOVE LaCie; they are great, reliable drives! I have three LaCie drives – they are named LaBef (500GB), Big LaBef (1 TB) and Tough Guy (500GB – shown above). Yes, I name my drives. The new rugged drive has a triple interface with Firewire. If you don’t already know, Firewire is a different type of port for a computer and it is awesome - so much faster than the standard go-to USB.
My other techcessories include:
- iPod Touch or as I call it an iPhone that can’t make calls
- DROID by Motorola
- Apple “Magic” Trackpad (I’m using it right now, wild right?)
I really love the Brother brand. My sewing machine is a Brother! So I was not disappointed at all by the color laser printer I picked up in early 2010! I will be printing my wedding invitations on this awesome machine in the coming months. I’ve ran some test prints on beautiful Canson metallic card stock and they look amazing! As far as inkjet goes, I’m an Epson girl all the way – but the Brother is a great laser option!
Finally, as a photographer and a bonafide girlie-girl, I just HAD to get a new camera bag! An obvious and totally-worth-the-cost choice was the Classic Bag by Kelly Moore. I love the deceiving nature of this bag! Right now it’s sitting next to my desk and holding my Canon 5D camera, 3 lenses, a flash and a bunch of extras. The bag is designed to always stay upright! And did I mention that it’s cute?
The only thing missing from my collection is my very own iPad… with the release of the new multi-tasking iOS4 iPad, perhaps 2011 is the year!
Two new design projects recently launched – a website for Philadelphia Illustrator Jon Krause and a website for Philadelphia Baroque Orchestra Tempesta di Mare. Jon Krause is a fellow Tyler School of Art alum and his works have been featured in Reader’s Digest, The Atlantic, Time, Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times - just to name a few! More importantly, he has a very cool beagle named Pickle!
Jon was looking to update his portfolio site and I have to say, it wasn’t too difficult to create a backdrop for his stunning, colorful images. Jon’s new website was customized using WordPress, including the fancy sliding “tear sheet” of his website featuring covers and spreads.
Coinciding with the launch of his newly designed portfolio site is the launch of his online shop in which customers can purchase high-quality archival prints of his beautiful illustrations. Jon has teamed up with independent print studio and fellow BBD client Fiber Ink Studio to create the prints of his work. Jon’s online shop was set up through Big Cartel and customized to create a seamless experience between his portfolio site and the shopping area. To celebrate the launch of both the new site and online shop, Jon is offering prints 50% off, so hurry up and purchase some beautiful prints today!
Another new year project is the new website for Philadelphia Baroque Orchestra Tempesta di Mare. Part of the reason I love doing what I do is getting to work with such a wide range of people and organization and discovering new artists and groups in the wonderfully arts-oriented city that I call home! Tempesta di Mare plays baroque music (of course), performing internationally and debuting many amazing programs right here in the Philadelphia area.
The new website for Tempesta di Mare had to be sleek and sophisticated but also hint a bit at their bold style. I love that while working on the design, they requested MORE color! Sometimes I feel that my palette can get overwhelming, so I try to restrain myself. How fun to work with people not afraid of color!
My favorite part of the new site to design/program was the color-coded calendar pages. This color-coding carries over from Tempesta di Mare’s previous website and print materials. They have a range of different performance types as well, so organizing all of this in something comprehensible and easy-to-update was a fun challenge for me. But keep in mind, I’m a big dork. Hopefully these two projects are signs of good things and exciting work to come in 2011!