Design & Style, Fashion

The stylistic brilliance of The Stars (Are Out Tonight)

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David Bowie’s video for the single “The Stars (Are Out Tonight),” off of his comeback album The Next Day gave me a new appreciation for Tilda Swinton.  In the video, Swinton plays a housewife gone mad, or in my opinion, housewife gone stylish.  The mundane suburban aesthetic throughout the video is juxtaposed with a dark undercurrent of celebrity obsession and the omnipresent role of the celebrity in daily life.

The visual metamorphosis of Swinton from prim and proper to possessed housewife is stylistically brilliant.  In one of the last scenes Swinton wears a vintage dress that is reminiscent of the nuclear-family mother, sports boldly filled in brows, and tops off the look with a starched-up coif.  The style inspiration throughout “the stars (Are Out Tonight)” is a mix of preppy suburbia, androgyny and rock star; boring basics are sauced up with dark make-up or playfully adorned by an androgynous model.

DSOS

1. Retro Floral Print Dress, via newlook.com
Throw on this dress and play housewife, or pair it with some Moto boots for an edgier look.

2. Oxford Button-upTopshop
Pair a baggy unisex (or men’s) oxford with black skinny jeans and add a dash of blood-red lipstick.

3. Tuxedo BlazerRAG & BONE
Wearing this blazer= fancy; wearing this blazer plus cat eye shades= super fancy.

4. High Rise Skinny JeansPaige Denim
Leggings are not pants, but extra tight skinny jeans are and they look great with a tuxedo blazer or a baggy men’s tee.

5. Bumble and Bumble ‘Classic’ Hairspray
Use this product liberally when creating a messy bouffant/beehive.

6.  MAC lipstick in the shade Ruby Woo
Ruby Woo is a classic shade of lipstick that can help dress-up even the most boring outfit.

7. Mini Matelasse Shoulder BagChanel
This bag is way too small to fit all your crap in; save the Chanel for fancy occasions.

8. Cut Out Buckle Boots, via madisonharding.com
These boots make every outfit more badass (refer back to point #1).

9. Bardot Cat Eye ShadesTom Ford 
These shades are multipurpose: they shield the windows to your soul from UV rays; they also make you look like a celebrity, or help you hide from the paparazzi.

10. Galaxy Sex Eye Dust, via facestockholm.com
Are you just too plain lazy to do your make-up?  Throw on some of this glitter dust on your eyes (or entire face) et voilà!

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Breanne Lucky is a style writer for Spectator Tribune. She’s not too active on Twitter yet, but she does have a blog.