Wardrobe: 3

Hello all! Nearly the end of the week - huzzah! Got another lovely clothes post for you detailing my first foray into feathers (key trend for SS14). 

Now, I pride myself on being reasonably ambitious/brave in my sartorial choices, but plumage was never something I had considered before. Still, having noticed them creeping into the SS14 collections of Alexander McQueen, Julien MacDonald, Louis Vuitton, and Erdem, I figured perhaps now was the time to try them out. I must say, however, I'm not sure I went for it with as much chutzpah as McQueen's or Vuitton's lot. Though I would absolutely wear a feathery headdress if it rained less in Britain/was less likely to upset people...

So I did what every money-conscious shopaholic would do: I headed to Ebay. Incidentally, if anyone can think of a suitably snappy alternative to "shopaholic", I would be exceedingly grateful. It is an awful, but frustratingly specific word...

ANYWAY, back to the (highly fascinating) story. I went on Ebay and located a variety of feathered goods, got far too excited and placed bids on.... 5 of them... A £20 feathered skirt which originally retailed at £80 is a really good bargain. 

5 x £20 skirts is not. 

Thankfully for me I was outbid on three of them and only ended up with two feathered beauties. I figured I could sell one on/give it to an unsuspecting friend/family member for a birthday. Then they both arrived and... I-like-them-both-too-much-so-they're-staying-and-any-way-one-is-grey-and-one-is-blue-so-they're-basically-totally-different.

Yes.

Another thing about the skirts is that they are ridiculously short. Like, ridiculously short. And I've never really been a one for flashing too much leg... mostly because I don't have much to flash... indeed, with legs as tiny as mine it is nigh on impossible to find anything that is "too short" for you that hasn't been designed for a Barbie. Never fear, however, I just decided to improvise and wear this grey ex-bird over a dress which covers my posterior. As the above photo demonstrates, it is highly necessary. Any brisk walking or sitting down and the skirt becomes little more than a glorified peplum ruffling gently in the breeze. 

Dress - H+M
Skirt - Ebay
Socks - New Look
Boots - ASOS
Earrings - Vintage

We took these photos bright and early this morning in Bodley's Court, King's College. It had to be bright and early because otherwise my feathers and I would have been on full display to a horde of students heading to lectures and - as you might be able to tell - I am yet to learn how best to pose without looking like a complete and utter dingbat. Dingbat, unlike shopaholic, is an excellent word.

Midi rings - Topshop
Chevron ring (right hand) - Eclectic Eccentricity Jewellery
Spike ring (left hand) - H+M

In honour of my beloved Scotland who, like me, may very soon be bereft of the pound, I went with tartan socks and nails (a clearer picture of which can be found here). Got to love my be-tartaned extremities, they make me happy every time I catch sight of my hands and/or feet. Right! I'm off to write a dissertation/apply for jobs/giggle with glee at my own fingers and you lot - Have a good night and a happy Friday tomorrow.   

What I Wore: Pina Bausch at Sadler's Wells

Just thought I'd do a wee outfit post as well tonight, just so we don't completely lose sight of the fashion aspect of this blog!

Necklace - Eclectic Eccentricity

(Both hands) Midi rings - Topshop
(Left hand) Black diamond ring - Accessorize
(Right hand) Brass chevron ring - Eclectic Eccentricity

Dress - Cos
Top underneath - Topshop
Boots - New Look
Belt - Vintage (stolen from my mother)

Featuring my new purchases from Eclectic Eccentricity Jewellery! After seeing them featured on Kingdom of Style I thought I'd check them out. Turns out that was the worst financial decision I have ever made. Their beautiful creations haunt me in my sleep...

Wardrobe and the Woman 1: Pina Bausch

Dearest bloglets, my sincerest apologies for this lapse in posting. For reasons beyond my current comprehension, I have decided to take on a BAJILLION things, which are filling up my days nicely, but sometimes perhaps a little too much. In recompense, I present you: a new feature! Here at Wardrobe and the World, I am introducing the (hopefully) monthly “Wardrobe and the Woman” post, focussing on an inspiring female of my choosing. I have decided to focus on women specifically for two extremely good reasons: 1) I feel women are sorely underrepresented in...well....pretty much every possible sphere and 2) ...it makes the alliteration work.

 

Pina Bausch - NOT MY PHOTO

This month’s woman is the extraordinary German choreographer Pina Bausch (about whom, incidentally, I am writing a dissertation. I love it when a plan comes together.) Her troupe is currently on tour and is performing at Sadler’s Wells in London until February 16^th. I was fortunate enough to be able to go to one of these performances on Friday and so I thought I’d take the opportunity to explain a bit about Pina and her work, in the hope that someone somewhere finds this interesting.

Nelken - NOT MY PHOTO

Nelken - NOT MY PHOTO

Born in Solingen, West Germany, in 1940, Bausch grew up in her parents’ cafe (believed to be the inspiration for one of her most famous pieces, Cafe Muller) before heading off to the Folkwang Schule in Essen when she was fifteen. Here she met Kurt Jooss, one of the pioneers of a new medium known as “dance theatre”, whom she would later cite as one of her principal inspirations. Her other great mentor was Anthony Tudor who taught her while she was at Julliard on a scholarship.

Cafe Muller - NOT MY PHOTO

Cafe Muller - NOT MY PHOTO

Cafe Muller - NOT MY PHOTO

 The major turning point in Bausch’s career, however, came in 1972 when she was appointed as the artistic director of the Wuppertal Opera ballet. After a shaky start where a significant section of the company walked out, Bausch began to assemble a multi-national, multi-disciplinary troupe with whom she would create some of the most influential pieces of dance in modern history.

Rite of Spring - NOT MY PHOTO

Rite of Spring - NOT MY PHOTO

Rite of Spring - NOT MY PHOTO

Her style includes comparatively little “pure dance”, her pieces are perforated with theatre, her subject matter invariably revolves around human relationships (especially male-female ones) and the individual within society (how we present ourselves). Her method is fascinating. She will begin with an idea, a theme – “tenderness” for example – and then will choreograph some basic sections. Then she will bombard her performers with the most probing and personal of questions or instructions:

                “Copy someone else’s tic”

                “How do you behave when you have lost something”

“Do something you’re ashamed of”

“Show injurable parts of the body and show how they are injurable”

“What are your complexes about your body?”

Kontakthof, teenage cast- NOT MY PHOTO

Kontakthof, original cast - NOT MY PHOTO

Kontakthof, Over-65s cast - NOT MY PHOTO

This will lead to a heap of small choreographic fragments which are then organised and re-arranged until you are left with a piece of theatre so authentic and so personal that watching it often makes you feel uncomfortable. The audience is required to bring their own experiences to the piece – you cannot merely be a passive spectator. There is no story to her pieces, they are not about anything, except human life and experience – you can see whatever you like in them.

Pina - NOT MY PHOTO

Her work has audiences deeply divided – many believe her to be utterly brilliant (myself included) and enormously influential, see her as challenging our perceptions on life, theatre, dance. Violence between men and women is a central problem in her work, and many critics find her pieces gratuitous or misogynistic, because she offers no solutions. Others dislike her prioritising of content over form – when I was at Sadler’s Wells on Friday, at least one woman left during the intermission, bitterly bemoaning the lack of “proper dance”.

Vollmond - NOT MY PHOTO

Vollmond - NOT MY PHOTO

Vollmond - NOT MY PHOTO

The piece the company are touring currently is called “1980”. Made in... 1980, it was the first piece Bausch choreographed after the death of her partner and set designer Rolf Borzik. It explores the themes of childhood – the games which characterise our early years, and those which we bring (in a mutated form) into adulthood. In order to talk you through the piece itself (which is 3 and a half hours long!) I would need another blogpost all its own, so I shall restrain myself and say merely that it was one of the best theatrical productions I have yet seen. It was wonderful.

1980 - NOT MY PHOTO

1980 - NOT MY PHOTO

Pina Bausch died in 2009, age 68, 5 days after being diagnosed with cancer. Her friend and filmmaker Wim Wenders released a film about her life and work in 2011 which is well worth a watch  and for those who might be thus inclined, there are still tickets available for “1980” and you can buy them HERE... It comes with my highest recommendation.