The Sartorialist Makeover?!

I love thesartorialist.com, in which many people show their own opinions about fashion, about a photo shoot and its surroundings. In particular, sartorialist has really sharp eyes for picking out uniqueness. Nonetheless, sometimes I guess that fashion can be a very personal opinion (especially for daily wear), like your hair party, the way it should be is the way you have your own comfort. Here I want to talk about his post on 14/04/2008 about a girl, named Phoenix, as pictured below.

(Photographed by the Sartorialist)

The picture shows a girl with really simple, easy and clean dress sense - pretty but still bit sassy. The question is that if she needs help?! Will a help give her a big impact?! Do some of the comments that the Sart gives sound a bit extreme for a girl who was probably not prepared to be photographed? It is hard to compare a photo of a college girl on a normal day with some of the better photos, e.g. the ones taken during the fashion shows, right? I wonder if sartorialist always looks great when he is out for photographing or on the practical side.

The tunic alone doesn’t have a huge problem, at least to me, but maybe a belt will add more definition of the waist and can elongate her leg. About the neckline, a long skinny scarf will touch a bit of colour, section the outfit vertically which will also elongate the all over image.

About her hair, Phoenix has nice hair with volume (even at this length), which many girls dream about. “The length is too long,” and “Old fashioned”? Really? For me, it is more like a classic hair cut. Cutting it short may have even more volume, which may not balance well with her not-so-wide shoulder. She has a very soft jaw line and beautiful features, so maybe just adding a big fringe will enhance her beautiful eyes and soften the heaviness of the hair.

I guess the most interesting topic on the picture is about her boots. Interestingly, I actually think many girls wear these types of boots nicely. They are for girls taste and comfort - may not appeal to guys. The boots have their own quirkiness in the sense of being bit masculine, no-fuss but shows the feminine side when Phoenix wears them. In my personal opinion, that’s a good enough reason to wear them, since Phoenix has the power to wear the boots and rule the boots. I assume when thesartorialist took this picture, she was not really proper dressing-up, right? It was a wonderful, natural and relaxed daily-wear, not much prepared for a photo shoot. Therefore, wearing this pair fits her bill practically, may not for photographing purpose.


Actually, the shape of the boots has been favoured by many big fashion players for quite a long time. The height is a big point that shows the easiness yet still shows some sexy legs. How about the famous Vivienne Westwood Pirate Boots? Do you like them? The shape of these particular boots reminds me Paul Smith’s favourite Triumph Motorcycle boots for women if you know which one I am referring to. I’ve tried to find an original picture, but I can only manage to find one pair on eBay. Here is the link:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380017767709&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.co.uk%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm37%26satitle%3D380017767709%26fvi%3D1

• On the Runway

(Matthew Williamson aw04)

(Chole aw05 by Phoebe Philo)

(Fendi - aw06 by Karl Lagerfeld)

(Louis Vuitton - aw06 by Marc Jacobs)

• Off the Runway

(American Actress & Sex Symbol - Clara Bow in 1920s)

(Sartorialist, do you really think Keira Knightley look not stylish and casual in these boots?)

(How about our super cool Irina Lazareanu?)

(Or how about our beautiful Sienna Miller?)

(I really wonder what Sartorialist would say about the boots on our cute Rachel Bilson

or effortlessly stylish Kate Moss?)

Teaming a really relaxed shirt dress/tunic with a pair of mid calf-boots shows the easiness and the legs. If the boots are too long, then half of your legs are hidden – that won’t be a great case, right? Giving many examples of boots is to show that there is a way of wearing these boots. In a way, it is bit like eyeliner technique. Sorry guys, you may not understand this, but girls will know what I am talking about. Some makeup artists suggest not to line inner rime of the eyes, which will make them look smaller, not bigger. It works on some girls, but for others, the opposite techniques make them feel eyes looking bigger.

I just wonder if the girl, Phoenix, asked for help or thesartorialist’s idea. If Phoenix asked help, then her possible improvement could be her confidence rather than dress sense. In a way, these boots are about girls fashion. I mean, it is not about how sharply beautiful, improving of your own body shape or being sexy (which can be quite important in men's eyes), but they show the great quirkiness in women's eyes. The photo even reminds me about Carrie in Sex and the City. I don't remember her following fashion rules. It is true that not everyone can pull off some of her outfits and some even look quite funny to some people, but that's her, her outfit and her sense of humour in fashion. It is only my own personal opinion.