Milkmaid

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Hail Aurora

In honour of I Love You magazine's current Princess Issue, I thought I'd pay tribute to my first exhalted princess, Aurora (or Briar Rose as she was later called when she got forced into witness protection and had to change her identity from princess to hot maiden girl out in the forest, picking flowers and singing to animals, all the while dressed in a chic little black, grey, and white blousey-corsetty ensemble, wooing handsome princes down by the river and making the whole traumatic ordeal look pretty sexy and romantic.) from Disney's one and only Sleeping Beauty.

My favourite part of this video is when the fairies bestow upon her the very useful girfts of beauty, song, and sleep instead of death. That Aurora/Briar Rose is one lucky little princess and she can thank her stars that her parents have connections to the fairy world.

Just quietly though, in terms of female supervillains in Disney films, Malificent is pretty magnificent. That classy lady really has it going on, and from what little her cascading black robe reveals, we can still deduct by her killer cheekbones and spindly fingers that she would have a pretty spectacular rig hapening under there too.

You have to admire her dramatic approach to life. Did she just go around cursing everyone who she didn't get a party invitation from? Some might say that casting a spell upon an innocent newborn child which would cause her to die on her 16th birthday is a bit flamboyant, extreme, crazy even.. But the King and Queen should have known that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, especially if that woman happens to be the most powerful and insane witch on the planet.

They should have seen it coming.

I love you, I Love You

Even though it has only been alive for five issues, I Love You magazine is fast becoming one of my all time favourites. It is so unique, the photos are always so breathtaking and inspiring. It's one of those rare publications centred around women and fashion that don't make you feel like hell when you read it. The models are all incredible but the type of beauty conveyed isn't the same suffocating, cookie-cutter generic perfect perfect perfect type that we usually have shoved down our throats, slapping us in the face, strangling our necks.

The content is original and inspiring, and the photographs are like individual works of art - not to mention the incredible magazine covers. My jaw is on the floor with every issue, and this latest Princess Issue with Paz de la Huerta on the front (first image, above) might even be my favourite cover yet. She is a HUGE babe and the photos of her in this edition are flawless and expertly highlight her unparalleled beauty. Paz has the face of an innocent, blossoming child and the body of a stallion, holy moly. I feel indecent looking at her even on the few occassions that she is fully clothed (google the photos that Olivier Zahm took of her and Juliana Balestin at the Standard Hotel.. or click here.). I Love You and Paz de la Huerta are a match made in magazine editorial heaven.  Pure bliss.

all images via i love you magazine

Everything old is new again

This clip is so beautiful, it's from the incredible film All That Jazz. My dear, dear friend Katey showed this to me when she was still here in Melbourne. Katey used to dance for the Moulin Rouge and she now lives in London, pursuing her dream of becoming a performer on the West End and is ridiculously talented and beautiful.

Even though I am not a dancing fanatic (actually I am the most uncoordinated person alive and should be shot before trying to partake in any dancefloor on the planet) or a dancing superstar like Katey, I still fell completely head over heels in love with this picture.

This scene isn't nearly as poignant or stunning unless you know the story behind it. Bob Fosse directed this film, he was (quoting wikipedia..) "an American actor, dancer, musical theater choreographer, director, screenwriter, film editor and film director"; a brilliant man who was way ahead of his time.

Made in 1979, All That Jazz was a semi-autobiographical film which Fosse co-wrote and directed. It "portayed the life of a womanising, drug-addicted choreographer-director in the midst of triumph and failure", aka Fosse himself. I highly recommend this picture, it blows my mind.

This scene shows Joe Gideon (or rather, Bob Fosse, played by Roy Scheider) at home with his live-in lover Kate Jagger (Anne Reinking), and his daughter Michelle (Erzsébet Földi). By this stage in the film we know that Joe is an exceptionally talented and revered man in the world of show business. We are also aware that he incessantly cheats on his devoted girlfriend and neglects his gorgeous daughter, and pretty much emotionally obliterates everyone who loves him. Despite all of this, his girls absolutely worship him, and they put on this beautiful show for him in his house, both petrified of his critical eye.

The bond shared between Kate and Michelle is so touching. It makes you want to throw a glass of water in Gideon's face and alert him to the fact that he is a fool for playing up the way he does. But he is so charismatic, powerful, successful, and pretty bad ass too with all his drinking and pill popping that we can't help but love him in spite of his abysmal flaws, just like his girls do.

What makes this film all the more intriguing is that clearly Bob Fosse was an incredibly self-aware, maybe even self-loathing man, given how negatively Joe Gideon is portayed in the picture. Yet once again, it is most likely because he recognises his faults that you have to still admire and kind of adore the man. Every scene in this film is magic, but this one has stayed with me since I first saw it and it will probably remain with me for life. (P.s. I love the late 70's wardrobe and interior too. So perfect.)

Don't be fancy, just get dancey

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