Pearls for Gatsby

As I mentioned in my previous post, we went to see The Great Gatsby. Since I don't own a single piece of clothing even remotely resembling the Roaring Twenties - curvy girls like me were not very popular back then - I decided to wear my two strands of pearls.

Do I look like a flapper?

I also found a piece of undergarment that will make my life SO. MUCH. EASIER. and I can't believe I didn't get it earlier. Strapless bandeau bra. No more straps on boat-neck shirts. No more pulling and tugging under strapless dresses. I got mine from Love Culture under $4 and I love it. 

 Top and bag - Old Navy. Jeans - Lauren Conrad for Kohl's. Necklace - Target. Flip flops - Walmart.

XOXO,

The European Redhead

What did Myrtle Wilson wear?

**Disclaimer**

This is not going to be your normal movie review. This is going to be the Redhead in the movie review!

**End of disclaimer** 

The other weekend we went to see The Great Gatsby. What a great movie! I love the story, and the film adaptation was great. The light, the scene, the costumes - everything except the music and that's only because I personally don't like Jay Z. Otherwise five stars out of five! I was excited before the movie because I am usually not a fan of movies based on books, especially books that I know and like. And I was hoping the Great Gatsby will be an exception.
In this case, I was excited about one more particular thing. I wanted to see what will be Isla Fisher wearing! To see a redhead in a movie is super rare, so let's take a look at her portrayal of Myrtle Wilson and the fashion of the Roaring Twenties (I am sure by this point everyone has seen the movie and I am not going to reveal any secrets about what is going to happen...).

See the Cupid's Bow on her lips?  

Myrtle is supposed to be curvaceous and feminine and BOLD and sexual and a total opposite of bland and blah Daisy and although I don't think that Myrtle in the book was supposed to be a Redhead, Isla is and therefore Myrtle was. Myrtle was also supposed to be a little more heavier than Isla is, but I guess it's not easy to find a plump actress.

Even though the movie was pretty close to the original, Myrtle's outfits were totally left to the imagination of the director and costume designer, who, interestingly, are husband and wife! In the handful of scenes we could indulge in her cream skin and fiery red locks, Myrtle was wearing a couple of different dresses, not really flapper-ish, but bold, colorful and full of movement. So, what was their approach to redhead fashion?

When we meet her for the first time, walking down the stairs in her husband's garage, Myrtle is wearing a printed beige dress with green and red accents with a green bow on her hair. I am not a fan of this particular dress, but it made her look very dominant and attractive.

However, the book describes Myrtle wearing a "spotted dress of dark blue crepe-de chine", that would definitely look great on a Redhead. I must admit I was not familiar with what crepe-de chine is, but simple googling revealed that Myrtle's dress would look something like this:

I am so in love with this Navy Blue Polka Dot Crepe de Chine Tea Dress. It's not the right style for the Gatsby era, but gorgeous and totally wearable.

Next outfit that adorned Myrtle's wide hips (Gatsby said it!) was brown muslin dress, "which stretched tight over her rather wide hips”. Myrtle-Turtle was a curvy girl! And I honestly can't imagine anyone looking good in something like this...

At the party we see Myrtle dance around in a red dress with elaborate ruffles, big fabric flower and loud bangles on her wrists. She looks full of life, but also very sexi with peeking bra and seductive makeup. I know she is just supposed to be a poor wife of a mechanic, with her cheap, tacky tight and provocative clothes and bold makeup, but I could not stop looking at her unique clothes!

Myrtle from the pages of the book was wearing “an elaborate afternoon dress of cream-colored chiffon", that must have been absolutely stunning. I can imagine a redhead looking much better in a cream colored dress, especially highlighting her red hair and freckles on her skin. For a more modern version head over to Modcloth.

Tragically, poor Myrtle dies in a car crash, under the wheels of a fancy car driven by nobody else but her nemesis Daisy, who did not even knew Myrtle or her relationship to her her husband. She is wearing just a robe and that's it. Ouch.

 
Myrtle's clothes were appropriate to the tone of the movie, even though they were not true to the book, true to the era and totally not realistic given her class and available resources to purchase good looking clothes. Catherine Martin, the costume designer, had won an Academy Award for her costume designs for Moulin Rouge. She is great in bringing the historical fashion and mixing it with concepts of contemporary fashion, but I almost wish she would show Myrtle in the blue dress. I applaud the decision to put Isla in bold red dress and even more that they did not require her do wear a wig or color her hair or to do something else outrageous to her gorgeous red hair.
What are your thoughts? What would Myrtle Wilson wear, if you had a say in it?

XOXO,
The European Redhead

High fashion, low prices: Laser-cut fashion

Big fashion brands are falling head over heels for intricate laser cut details on their skirts, dresses and purses. Marni, Alaia, Rebecca Minkoff, from top to bottom, from heels to bras, it's everywhere. And similar to eyelet dresses, I am looking for high fashion, but for low prices.

Alaia laser cut ballet flats cost $1757. Rebecca Minkoff small cross body bag "only" $250. Ouch. 

So I was on a hunt for fabulous laser cut pieces with a real life price tag. BTW I saw elegant laser cut leather shoes in Goodwill the other day. Not my size. Maybe that's what sparked the interest in me? :)

Laser cut under $70

Kohl's

I would probably never spend close to $70 for a purse, but for this baby AKA Nicole Lee Laina Laser Cut Studded Convertible Satchel I may reconsider my investment. It looks great for summer because of it's little orange tint, but it's totally wearable in the fall with the darker outfits that are more appropriate for darker days. I love the geometry of the laser cuts and the little studs add the purse an interesting edge. Yes, it is not delicate laser cutting as on Rebecca Minkoff, but still pretty interesting accessory for anyone.

Laser cut under $30

Love Culture

Silky dress in fresh summery color with laser cut design can never be a miss. Even though it looks WAY to short to cover all the parts that should be covered by a dress if I want to wear it every day, I can imagine a cute pair of leggings underneath to make this piece totally work. Imagine it with light pink or white leggings and golden sandals. Adorable, right?

Ruche

I have to admit I don't shop at Ruche, but I stalk that website like no other! Super adorable and feminine dresses are mixed with dainty shoes, ladylike handbags and plenty of romantic cute ruffly stuff I know I would rarely wear but treasure in my closet forever. But these shoes may be different... Chloe Ballet Cutout Flats are neutral enough to be worn every day, yet intricate laser cut pattern makes them the outfit maker pair of shoes.

Laser cut under $20

Target

Laser cut accessories are not for dainty pastel color lovers, because this neutral brown leather belt can be worn absolutely with anything and everything. Luke Bryan concert on a pair of shorts? Yes! Weekend shopping over a floral dress? Yes! Work appropriate with button down and dark green pants? Yes! And for under a $20, why not?

Forever 21

Comfy with elastic waist? Check. Short and appropriate for summer? Check. Laser cut and on top of all trends? Check, check, check! Forever 21 has the cutest laser-cut dolphin shorts I can imagine and they are right under $20. Living in California, owning a great pair of shorts is a must and I can confidently say these will bring me from day to night, from working in my home office to grocery shopping and even walking to bank or to get frozen yogurt. The style makes them casual enough and the laser cut design makes them stylish enough to wear all the time.

XOXO,
The European Redhead

Brands that LOVE Redheads

There are many, many studies about how magazines/TV/media in general under-represent certain group of people, be it women, seniors, people of color, women of color... But have you ever noticed how terribly under-represented are redheads? Natural redheads in magazines are something like unicorns - rarely to be found! And decided Redheads can only dream about being in a mainstream magazine, if you dye your hair red, you belong with the heavily tattooed vixens and porn babes in magazines that your local grocery store will never carry. 

No wonder that redheads often wear black, black and only black! 

It is easy to see what blondes or brunettes wear, and replicate and emulate their outfits until you find something that suits your body and your budget and your hair. But if you are a redhead, you can stare at pictures of ginormous boobs of Christina Hendricks on red carpet and count your savings to see if you can afford a pair for yourself. Not fun. At all. 

Fortunately, there is still a couple of companies that LOVE redheads and hire redheaded models to represent them. And I love THEM!

Wendy's

Because the original Wendy was a redhead and they even have a redhead in their logo, the food company hired redheaded actress Morgan Smith Goodwin to be their face and I really enjoy watching their commercials, just to see what is Wendy/Morgan wearing. Stripes? Polka dots? Purple? Color blocking? She always looks put together and fashionable. 

JCP

Canadian brand Joe Fresh was just recently added to JCP boutique portfolio and I am super excited about their beautiful clean and simple campaing featuring Canadian model Chantal Stafford-Abbott. She is partially Irish, speaks French and I just love her red hair and freckles and the fact she was walking the runway for Marc Jacobs and Oscar de la Renta and a whole bunch of other big brand names. Redheads for the win!
JCP features redheads quite often, their rebranding may have been unfortunate for people who love coupons, but it brought ads with two moms, two dads, and plenty of redheads.

Kate Spade

The Queen of Colors loves to show off her colors on redheads. Since 2011 her main face was Bryce Dallas Howard, and you can see redheads on their main page and throughout the website. Have you ever wondered how would your vibrant red hair look with yellow and green striped dress or red and navy blue shirt? Just head to Kate Spade and take a peek :)

Old Navy

I never thought about Old Navy as a redhead friendly company, but the newest campaign on their web features gorgeous Brazilian redhead Cintia Dicker! One of the few redheads in the mainstream modeling that does not feel the need to bleach or dye her hair, Cintia is stunning in plain chambray shirt and white jeans and I like Old Navy even more than before.

Do you know a brand that has a red headed spokesperson? Do you want to see more redheads in magazines and commercials? Let me know!

XOXO,
The European Redhead

Redhead of the week: Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson is not your typical redhead, she is a blonde bombshell who colors her hair for movie character purposes. Iron Men, The Avengers, Captain America - in all three movies she sported a different shade of red to play the kick-ass Black Widow. BTW did anyone else notice the abundance of redheads in superhero movies? Batman has a redhead (The Poison Ivy), Spiderman has a redhead (Mary Jane Watson), Marvel action movies have a redhead...

Anyways, how does Scarlett dress her vibrant colorful 'do? As a Black Widow, obviously her color of choice is black.

YES! 

Black is not a color Scarlett would look good as a blonde, however with vibrant red hair and vibrant makeup she looks awesome. With poorly chosen hairstyle and accessories, however, that is a whole different story...

NO!

Her face is a little too warm and shiny, her makeup is still for the blond version of her and she does not look good at all. She would be looking much better in a lighter dress and WITHOUT the plastic earrings. Let's take a look at a proper redhead makeup.

Do you see the darker eyebrows and eyeliner? Do you see the darker lipstick and less pink blush? I honestly had to double take if it really IS Scarlett and not Megan Fox, she looks so fabulous!
What about Scarlett and blue and green hues? She never stays redhead for too long, so I have only a couple of pics to compare.

YES!

Totally fabulous, don't you think? 

NO!

Very cold color, cold makeup and frozen face... Ouch! 

Fortunately, there are still some stylists who know how to dress and put makeup on a dyed Redhead and Scarlett can stun us in pictures like this... <3<3<3

How do YOU prefer Scarlett, as a Doll with Dye or a natural blonde? 

XOXO,

The European Redhead

Change your hair, change your clothes

When you go red, your life will change. Your flaming hair will bring more attention to your face, to your body, to your personality. And you will need the wardrobe to match.

The biggest mistake women do when coloring their hair is not to change anything else. They keep wearing the same makeup and the same clothes. And that is WRONG.

When you change your hair, you have to change your clothes. You can rarely see blondes wearing lots of green, but redheads? Bring it on! When you change your color from blonde to brown, would you still continue wearing pastel shades of pink and blue that look so good on fair haired beauties, or will you venture into more appropriate darker and more intensive shades of the same color?

Dianna Agron recently went red and she took her whole closet with her. “As a blonde, I would have never put this dress Marc Jacobs dress on! We went to the store and we saw stripes, sequins, and animal print. It was all in the black, white, and taupe color palette which, I’m a big fan of, especially now with the dark hair. As a blonde, it wouldn't work as much. I’m gravitating to things that I wouldn't normally wear,” she said for InStyle.

You don't have to go all crazy and buy yourself a whole new wardrobe. Your bottoms can totally stay the same, so leave your jeans, shorts, skirts and khakis be and concentrate on your tops. Leave the safe territory of your favorite color and try something new, something unexpected. Redheads generally look great in colors  of the opposite color spectrum, GREEN AND BLUE. Try on several different shades of green, emerald, jade, grass, lime, olive... There is more than 50 shades of green and same goes for blue. Find your color and stick with it.

Picture by Stefan Birch. 

I personally have never seen a Redhead that would not look great in nautical stripes. Navy and cream shirts or navy and white shirts are generally flattering and I own quite a bit of them.

And in case you are still not convinced what colors to choose, Ms Helena Rubinstein offers you a cute little guide.

XOXO,

The European Redhead

Anniversary Dinner

This Thursday me and my lovely husband celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary and I took the liberty of shopping for a new dress. The occasion calls for it! 

I went to my favorite Goodwill and found me a Prabal Gurung for Target dress for $4. Because why pay $39.99 or $13.98, when I can pay just a fraction of the price? 

Target says the dress is sulfur, but I would describe it as chartreuse. And what is this Redhead going to wear with it? I settled on two options, navy or pink.

The real situation in my closet: 

 

The poll on Facebook said navy. So I wore navy :) I decided against the belt as the ruffles on the dress did not look right with the belt over them. I added my navy earrings and turquoise belt and we were ready to go!

Hubby took me to our favorite sushi restaurant Mikasa and he even matched his shirt to me! 

How was your weekend?

XOXO,
The European Redhead

Navy or Pink?

Navy or Pink? by withmyeyesopen featuring a flounce dress

Prabal Gurung flounce dress / Giuseppe Zanotti high heel shoes, $525 / Nicholas Kirkwood pointy toe heels, $615 / Witchery , $41 / Pink skinny belt, $38

Redhead of the week: Christina Hendricks

I am sure this admission will shock many, but I have never watched Mad Men. Never seen a single episode. I have no idea what the show is about except what I read in magazines and see on internet. But since the lovely Christina Hendricks celebrated her 38th birthday last week, I decided to honor her as my Redhead of the week. 

We already know that Christina Hendricks is not a natural redhead, and sometimes she really DOES NOT dress like one. Christina is pale, curvy and a redhead - someone I can totally relate to. I do not have her enviable bust, but as a decided Redhead who does not want to remember her natural hair color with a skin that usually only the palest makeup shade can match we can be almost twins!

But I am more careful with my color choices.

Christina looks great in light spring colors such as peach, light green, turqouise...

Doesn't she look WAY younger than almost 40?

But she rarely dresses in them. We can often see her in lavender, pink, silver, black that is all wrong for her.

All of a sudden she looks cold, with hollow cheeks and harsh lines in her beautiful face. And no matter how much boobs she will show, it still does not help.

On the other hand, colors like teal or tomato red suit her perfectly. 

No matter what color was your hair before, what shade of red is it now or what happened in between, you can find your perfect colors and wear them in the most flattering way possible.
And now excuse me while I go iron my new chartreuse Prabal Gurung dress :)

XOXO,
The European Redhead