This Week's Prizes

Who won at style this week? Rihanna, Mindy Kaling, Azealia Banks, Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj, Julia Louis Dreyfus and Michelle Obama of course.

MICHELLE OBAMA

FLOTUS went to Japan and wore Kenzo like it had never been worn before.

NICKI MINAJ AND KATY PERRY

Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry hung out like a pair of crime bustin' babes on instagram. This is begging to be a movie poster. It has to be a comedy written by Wiig, stat.

JULIA LOUIS DREYFUS

JLD in the JKL. She's so cool and this dress is spectacular. Video evidence here. Whiskey shots for me and Dreyfus please.

AZEALIA BANKS

THE HAIR. THE LEOPARD PRINT. THE BLACK CATS.

MINDY KALING

Mindy Kaling called into the Buzzfeed office this week and looked this cute. She is always so coordinated I think she must have a Clueless style wardrobe matcher thingy going on in her house.

RIHANNA

Yeah it's Rihanna again. Because Rihanna in pastel pink is not something that I thought I needed until recently, but I definitely need it. And Home is going to shit all over Frozen, I'll tell you that much for free.

This Week's Prizes

DASCHA POLANCO

Dascha Polanco aka The Queen Of Everything posted this on her instagram. I don't know what she's doing or where she's going but jeeesus. What a look. The jacket!

KRISTEN WIIG

 

My fave KWiig has been at Sundance with her new film The Diary Of A Teenage Girl but she's mostly just been wandering around town looking like a babe. I can't even tell you the level of excitement I have for a Wiig/Skarsgard combo. In fact I'm putting it out there RN that they would be the best couple in the world that I hadn't thought of til just this second. Brad and Ange couldn't even handle that level of attractiveness. Okay, so Wiig wore double denim like a B*Witchd trouper, and a cute little necklaces/grey sweater/black beanie combo and now I'm searching online for a new denim jacket.

KATHRYN HAHN

Speaking of Sundance...

A Sundance without Hahn would be weird. Here she is promoting her staple: a solid, funny indie. I mean I haven't seen it but it's called D Train so... also she's married to Jack Black in it which sounds promising.

RUTH WILSON

I talk about Ruth Wilson too much but I couldn't resist this one. It's got all the Wilson classics (eyebrows, lips etc) and then combined with this dress? Dynamite.

MARION COTILLARD

In Dior, because duh. Well I guess in the ugly duckling/beautiful swan scenario...MC just made swans look damn ugly. Seriously is she even real? Is this what the heavens look like? Because I'd be seriously up for christianity if Cotillard greeted you at the pearly gates rather than some old grey faced dude with a gnarly beard and a, well, God complex.

Afternoon Delight

At the Golden Globes last weekend, Jill Soloway won Best Comedy for Transparent. Transparent is an incredible show, and it can be found on Amazon Prime. I recommend signing up just for this TV show. It's that good. It's like telling people to get Netflix just for OITNB. Trust.

When those creators and cast walked up those steps I was happy for Transparent. I was also happy specifically for Jill Soloway, especially after this keynote speech of hers I had watched a few months previous. But mostly I was happy because a female showrunner winning a Golden Globe while wearing a sensible shoe is all I've ever wanted.

LOOK at this outfit.

I don't even know where to start.
a) most interesting suit ever worn to an awards show?
b) prada wood flatforms
c) I HAD ZERO ANXIETY ABOUT HER POSSIBLY FALLING OVER EN ROUTE


And that, ladies and gents, is how you claim your GG in style.


So speaking of style and the fact I can't stop swooning I'm looking this week at Soloway's directorial debut, Afternoon Delight, starring Comedy MegaBabe Kathryn Hahn. Let's get on with it.




Afternoon Delight (2013)

Not to give too much away, but Afternoon Delight is a delight. It took the yuppie bored housewife troupe and gave it a strange and unique angle. It was also a brilliant example of character informing style and vice versa, the costume department working with intricate detail and sensitive examination of mood. Hahn's character Rachel rides an emotional blazer and so does her style.

Opening with someone going to see their therapist in workout gear is such a character jump off. Couple that with Hahn's strained affirmations of fine-ness and we got ourselves a modern day conundrum along the lines of "what is life, and why am I so unfulfilled?" and "why is the gym teacher from Glee messing with me?"

JK Jane Lynch is great in this.

I love a tuxedo stripe. I especially love it on a casual wear trouser. Because you know, juxtaposition and stuff!

I know that we're supposed to know that she's drowning in boredom and has the general air of WHO CARES WHAT I WEAR ANYWAY but I actually love this wardrobe a la slob. I'm a Stefani fan, so I always appreciate an adidas track.

In teal no less! And an art graphic tee. If you haven't guessed already, we're in Silverlake.

And we wear stripes to bed.

And stripes in the daytime.

The shirt is holey because she's in a pit of despair that she's not admitting to herself FYI

I would like to state that I wish I could look this good when I'd "given up entirely". I wish I looked this good when I made an effort, frankly. Alas, the casual beauty of Kathryn Hahn.

Baggy rolled up grey jeans and a studded black leather bag. Yep, this is definitely "Silverlake giving up" as opposed to "Another Place giving up".

I had to include this photo for the collective facial expressions. Yuppie yapping? Nailed it.

Major props to all these ladies but Jess St Clair is so funny in this. She takes her BFF to a strip club in an attempt to help inspire her sex life. 

Rachel teams her good ol' graphic tee collection with a polka dot blazer and a hairdo that happened on purpose. She's making an effort!

She finds a project at the strip club. By project I mean a human being who is a stripper. Enter Juno Temple as McKenna. Rachel wants to help her turn her life around. It's all a cycle of helping. McKenna seems more than content with where she's at. Rachel makes like a sat nav and bleats on at her about a u-turn. But she never actually asks if McKenna needs help. It's implied, she figures. I mean, c'mon, she is a stripper.

So she stalks McKenna in the guise of checking out an artisanal coffee truck and they strike up a friendship.

This look doesn't really fit into my narrative but I love this outfit. The Felice Brothers shirt!

And these beauties:

Blue suede Gazelle's! My favourite. Product placement update: definitely Adidas.

So McKenna moves into Rachel's spare room.

And thus the blouses go from "why bother" linen....

To "I am an adult but adorable"...

To "Cue Wolfmother - Woman"

Wowzers. Hot Mess to Hot. And all because of her hooker life coach who everyone thought would be bad news. Mustard FTW.

She even tries a smokey eye. She also tries being a part of Temple's sex worker life. So yeah, the hooker life coach might have been a bad idea after all.

I can't tell you how much I appreciate the fact that costume were like "what would a bored housewife wear on her first sexwork excursion? A mac?" because OF COURSE A MAC.

So Rachel wears her best vampy lace and follows McKenna into sin.

Which included this awesome shot of her actually mirroring her. The teacher has been the student indeed.

But you know, don't be fooled by the fact her hair looks great, that doesn't mean this is her scene.

In fact things get pretty dark.

She's sitting and watching her teen protege bang an old client. Pretty dark, right?

Well not as dark as a Moms Wine and Sharing Party, let me tell you. That's when shit gets FUCKED UP. Hahn's shirt is as red as the bouquet that soaks her heart. There are some home truths involved.

And well I'm not going to spoil anything but we're back in therapy. Because of course we are. But we've swapped slobby for chic at least! It's a journey, people.

And she's wearing lacy bras under cute vests so it can't be all bad

It isn't bad, it's good. Yuppie gets her drive back!*         *Alternative title

Watch this film. Watch Transparent (Hahn plays a rabbi and it's glorious.) Watch Six Feet Under. Watch everything. Soloway knows what she's doing.

Mr Pointy

This is an ode to the pilot of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Now, don't take me for a rookie. I know the film came first, and I know the first pilot got thrown out, but this is it for me. This pilot was where my obsession with TV began, when I realised every other female character in every other show I had seen thus far had failed me, where grimey rock bars became my saviour before I even had a whiff of alcohol, and where a part of my soul fluttered over to America never to return. The 90's, man. Ugly menaces got staked and axed and crossbowed and punched and the wit hit even harder and my god... Angel. Just that face and that snark. I don't even know what my body would do if I ever saw David Boreanaz IRL because that spikey hair and velvet suit were it for me. I'd have to give my body over to science or something after that.

I didn't start watching Buffy in real time, I was seven in 1997 when it first aired, but I think I was probably ten when I first starting watching the reruns on BBC2. When Sarah Michelle Gellar kicking people in the face became my favourite thing in the world. And to this day, whenever I feel television is failing me, or the world is failing us all, I return to the Hellmouth. It is home. I am who I am because of Buffy, Willow and Xander. I am a composite of their personalities. And honestly, who better than those silly schmucks?

Now, I'm not saying that Buffy is perfect, but you know what, it's pretty fucking close. Let's delve into Sunnydale.

Buffy is starting at a new school. She's your classic eye-rolling valley girl but she's also this thing called a slayer. She's basically the number one protector of the human race from vampires. And it's vampires primarily, but every other demon also. Like she'd be slacking if she just did vampires. Good luck kid.

The principal is all "well you burned down the gym at your last school" and she's all "gimme a break buddy I gotta lotta shit on my plate rn"

You already know this thing is magic. It's coming of age AND supernatural. BTVS is basically John Hughes making A Gilmore Girls Hunger Games Nineties Special aka it covers all my needs and interests. PS amazing music.

The nineties were a golden age. A golden age of hiring 40 year olds as background extras for scenes in schools and shrugging, like yeah, seems legit. The Sunnydale High hallways were mainly home to men with 10am shadows, and women with the most age inappropriate pigtails you ever did see.

SMG always wore the cutest hair clips. She's a walking Claire's Accessories. And if you think anyone ever looked better in a mini skirt and leather knee high boots, I'd like to see your credentials please sir.

Next up there's Xander. He of floppy hair and goofy aside. I wanna squish his cheeks. I didn't fancy Xander the first time around (did I mention Angel?) but I really do these days.  He's just so funny and nervous. Plus he skateboards and helps you pick up your books when you drop them.

Any boy not allergic to books is okay in my books. I said books too many times. Xander basically locked eyes on our protagonist and immediately heard Joe Cocker's You Are So Beautiful echoing all around him. And you can hardly blame him.

Xander is our layman. He wears Vans trousers and layers under baggy shirts. He's our lovable doofus and comic relief. We love Xander.

Sidenote: who knew 2012 Lena Dunham was in the pilot of Buffy The Vampire Slayer?!

In the foreground there though, that's Cordelia. She's a dickhead, and she's brilliant. Her face is a permanent "ew, get away from me". She wears sheer all damn day and tortures everybody.

Especially Willow.

Willow is one of those future turnaround characters that were dressed up as an archetypal unpopular geek in the nineties, and are now seen as the best dressed person on the show. This outfit is a couple of undone buttons away from being The Coolest Girl At The Peckham Popup.

Teaming plaid and stripes and pastel like a pro. She has the strong sense of self to wear white tights in the California sun and oh yeah, the greatest Jansport backpack around. I miss those things.

The school librarian doubles as Buffy's Watcher. She fights demons and he teaches her how. And he reads a lot of books. His double life works out very well for him. He's called Giles.

He's British so he says "quite" and "damn" all the time and wears an impressive amount of tweed, naturally.

ENTER Angel:

I told you.

He's the brooding older guy (spoiler alert A LOT older) who drops by and talks in riddles about the dangers ahead. Upon reflection, if a guy stalked me into a dark alleyway and started talking about something called a Harvest... I'd call the police. But, you know, *points at his attractive face* *reminds you about Buffy's super strength*

Here's Willow again. This time as The Coolest Girl At The Islington Book Club. She may just have every borough of London covered, style wise. That cosy cardigan belonged to her grandmother and she found the floral collar dress when she went to New York over Christmas and discovered the most amazing Brooklyn Flea... probably.

I am of course joking because Willow Rosenberg predates all of these assumptions and is therefore an international treasure. We 20 somethings bow in her presence.

You hear that?

That's the sound of my brain synapses realising why I've loved white nail polish and plastic jewellery my entire life.

But what of the actually vampires? You know how Edward Cullen glitters? Kind of like how a small child would want to accessorise themselves for a role as a fairy princess in the school play?

This is Darla

She looks scary as fuck BECAUSE SHE'S A VAMPIRE. Note to all modern "vampire" things: you're supposed to be scared. A fair amount of hair and makeup is supposed to go into the costume. Not like a "did she spend an afternoon at the local craft fair" kind of effort, an "I can't look this person in the eye on set in case I shit myself" amount of effort.

I'm all in now, I'm rewatching Buffy The Vampire Slayer. This is just the beginning. Which is obvious, because it's the pilot. What I mean is that there's going to be a lot more of this on here.