"I am terrified of being bored": Marie Antoinette’s Style Influence

Despite she wasn't considered a great beauty in her time, she was a charismatic woman and definitely a trendsetter of 18th century. 

The last and most famous Queen of France, Marie Antoinette, knew how to compensate for her shortcomings and draw attention to herself, impressing her subjects with diversity and uniqueness of her looks.

Of course, one of the most remarkable style traits of Marie Antoinette was her hair. Voluminous hair.

"The bigger the hair, the closer you are to god" 

Big hair was already a trend when Marie Antoinette arrived at the french court, but she took it to even greater heights. Literally. The hairstyles could stand up to 6 feet tall!!!

To have one's hair curled, powdered, and then made huge and grand by the help of expensive wigs was all the rage, and having big hair became a symbol of status and ultimately style.  

That was the finest hour for Leonard Autie - a cheerful Gascon and country barber in the south of France who became the minister of fashion, the inventor of the pouf and premier hairdresser to Queen Marie Antoinette. 

"Léonard came, he came and he was a king"

His ingenuity, daring and desire for experimentation gave the birth to the famous pouf, that was first debuted in the summer of 1775 at Louis XVI’s coronation. Perched upon the queen's head was a heavily teased, heavily powdered tower of hair adorned with white feathers to mark the occasion.

Despite the public reaction that Marie Antoinette's big hair was kind of silly, the style immediately took hold among her friends and the wider public. 

Since then the pouf grew in height and grandeur. It often involved a wire mesh packed with wool, wire framing for support, decorative objects like fruit, feathers, flowers and even a replica of a war ship.

  

Hairstyles were so big that ladies found themselves kneeling in their carriages, having difficulty walking, sleeping with boxes on their heads, and finding all sorts of vermin building nests in their hair. There also were cases when the doorways were enlarged because of the hairstyles.

But you have to agree, that despite all the inconveniences, those hairstyles looked really impressive. So impressive that even through centuries famous designers and photographers draw inspiration from Marie Antoinette's style.

Nowadays, to achieve Marie Antoinette's hairstyle, you don't have to be fanatical and use lots of devices, glue and powder. All you need is knitted beanie or scarf, placed on your head and secured with bobby pins. Then tease your hair along the full length and arrange it around the beanie.

The basic principle, of course, the bigger, the better :)

   

   

Thanks for reading!❤

"Long live our noble Mother Monster!": Lady Gaga's Style Influence

Singer, songwriter, actress. She is more than that! Lady Gaga is a phenomenon (in the broadest sense of the word) which excites the minds and imagination of millions since 2008.

Lady Gaga, Mother Monster, New Queen of Pop - she rightfully merited all these titles for her significant impact on the international pop music and fashion. 

Playing with the edge, pushing the boundaries and shocking people with her eccentric individuality, her fearlessness and absolute undeniable creativity, she became an officially recognized style icon (in 2011 on CFDA) and made "the outrageous" as new fashion trend.

    

Such famous brands as Alexander McQueen, Versace, Marc Jacobs are constantly draw inspiration from her scenic images.

As designer Karl Lagerfeld once said: "Gaga gives the world her music and her talent, but the thing I like most is that she fights against boredom and banality. She also puts forth an ever-changing, inspiring, and strong image - an image beyond fashion."

In her turn, Lady Gaga doesn't hide that her style was created under the influence of other bizarre celebrities such as Freddy Mercury, Michael Jackson, Madonna, David Bowie (remember her spectacular tribute to David Bowie at the 2016 Grammys?).

Her on stage costumes are always the most outrageous and visually captivating pieces, providing the design backbone to all her shows. The infamous meat dress she wore to the 2010 MTV Music Awards, Gareth Pugh-designed winged costume for her performance on the X Factor 2009, a pyrotechnic bra at the Much Music Video Awards in 2009, are only a smallness from the huge list.

   

    

Of course, Lady Gaga’s unique fashion sense doesn't just extend to her wardrobe. She changes her hairstyles as quickly and radically as her outfits. A natural brunette, Lady Gaga dyes her hair platinum blond, but frequently tints parts of it with crayon colors. She's turned it into an actual hair bow, a sun hat, and countless other shapes. 

She is actively using wigs and hairpieces, unusual and extraordinary hair accessories. Her intricate hairstyles are often supplemented with unimaginable hats or veils.

Makeup in Lady Gaga's style - is always a bright lipstick, eyeliner, false eyelashes, bright eyeshadows, with feathers and crystals on the face and lips, and even the prosthetic pyramid horns she wears grafted onto her skin.

    

Summing up all of the above, we can say that Lady Gaga is a storehouse of inspiration. And no matter, like her or not, you can't remain indifferent to Lady Gaga's looks. Lets hope she will carry on to inspire and empower people around the world with her style and flair )

In anticipation of Lady Gaga's thirtieth, I decided to recreate some of my favourite stunning looks from her music videos and TV series.

"Born This Way"

             

           

"Marry the Night"

   

   

"Judas"

   

   

American Horror Story: Hotel (The Countess) 

   

 "Be yourself, wear what you would like 

and don't afraid to stand out" 
(Lady Gaga)