Monday, August 27, 2012

Music Mondays

 Inspired By: Alexis Krauss


There's something sort of cool about having a style uniform, about having a look so distinctive and consistent that a comic artist could easily scribble out a caricature of you if he needed to, or a Barbie manufacturer could easily spit out your mini clone. Alexis Krauss, on the music scene as one half of the noise pop duo Sleigh Bells since just 2010, has already established a singular look: jet black hair with bangs, Ray-Ban's original wayfarers, red lips, a denim or leather jacket, and rock n' roll accents like studs, spikes, and bleach splatters.

Beyond the career perks of establishing your style as a recognizable brand, it must be nice to have a closet with one cohesive thread running through it. Shopping must be so much easier with one homogenous style! Of course, the drawback is that it's limiting; everyone likes to mix it up every now and then!

Krauss stuck to her denim jacket/Ray-Ban uniform for the video for "End of the Line" - which was just released today - in the scenes where she bikes through sun-spackled streets. But she did expose a softer side in the moody rural scenes in which she dons a vintage floor-length gown (pajama?) accented with Victorian-style lace. The femininity of the dress is especially beautiful against the striking red lip. Given the piece's mumu siluouette however, it doesn't translate to the every day. But lose the length and keep the lace and frills, and you've got the same effect. Check out the links below my collage for some variations on the look.

The video itself, directed by the band's Derek Miller, leaves something to be desired, however. The aimless bike riding falls flat against the darker scenes with Krauss. I would've liked to see some sort of narrative accompanying the sexy, melancholy shots of her.

I do really like the song though, so much so that it heads my Sugar Beats playlist on Spotify. Check it out below.

1 comment:

  1. Perfect combination of uniform + mixing it up: Will on Fresh Prince (turned his school uniform blazer inside out). Swimming upstream -- just enough.

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