fashion inspirations in the form of film/tv characters.

What I love about fashion is that feeling of dressing up. People (mostly guys) will often say to me, "Why are you wearing that?!"
It's always struck me as an insanely odd question. Does there really need to be much reason to wear something? I'm wearing it because I feel like it. "But why would you were four-inch heels to college?" Why not?

Sometimes I'll go out wearing a cropped, black-ruffled bolero in a size 14 (I'm a size 8, I never even looked at the size until I took it home) with heels on my feet and my hair in an updo. It makes me feel like a glamourous upper east side girl. It's fun. Or I'll wear my favourite scuffed, chunky biker boots with a tiny top of a dress and a leather jacket, my hair a complete mess. Makes me feel like a dishevelled bad girl. It's fun. Some days I'll dress like I'm something out of the 70s (which, by the way, is why I'm thrilled about the return of clogs), or wear my make-up sixties style.

I just love that aspect of dressing up. If I could I'd probably leave the house in fancy dress each day. Ever since I was little I was constantly dressing up, as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, or Hermione from Harry Potter. I remember begging my mum to cut and style my hair to match the twins in The Parent Trap. On fancy dress days at school, I'd create superheroes for me to masquerade as (one, complete with fabric yellow boots and a red leotard). In fact, right now, opposite there is a picture of me, aged about 7, dressed as Jessie from Toy Story, another one of my fixations.

Different figures from film and television have always influenced the way I dress, which is why below I've outlined some of my favourite inspirations.


Effy Stonem, Skins



Ever since I began watching Skins, I've had a massive fixation on the character Effy. I feel a kind of love for her which probably isn't entirely healthy considering she's a fictional character, but I can relate to her more than any other film or television character I know of. Stylewise, she has been a very powerful influence over me. Although I've always favoured a look similar to her's - dishevelled, sexy, effortlessly cool - she's inspired me to try different things and given me new ideas.

Effy's style has evolved throughout the four series of Skins - from emo kid in Series 1 (sporting stripy socks, converse, tiny mini skirts, ripped crop tops, chipped nails, the usual effotless hair and smokey eyes), head-turning goth in Series 2 (tiny ripped dresses, fishnets, a lot of black, hair quiffed and backcombed, smokey eyes), sexy rock chick in Series 3 (barely there dresses, fishnets, biker boots, a lot of chains, leather jackets, ripped jeans, rock tees, messy hair, smokey eyes or a bare face) to indie girl in Series 4 (glitzy hotpants, boyfriend blazers, doc martens, leather jackets, wet-look leggings, sparkly tops, hippy headbands, loose dresses, hoodies, boyfriend jeans, checked shirts, messy hair and barely there makeup) - yet there is always something so distinctly 'her' about her outfits. I may have labelled her styles, but the truth is, you really can't put her into any label. Whatever she's wearing, you always get the distinct feeling that she has not tried or thought about it whatsoever, and that she doesn't care what you think.

She's inspired me to have a more fearless approach to dressing. And it's partly her that gave me my love for leather jackets, biker boots and barely-there dresses. It's also her that's made me proud to have naturally messy, wavy hair. Although she's no longer in Skins, she will forever influence my style.


Hallie & Annie, The Parent Trap



I can't remember how old I was when I first watched this film. 6, maybe? 7, at the most. But I vividly remember watching it. I remember my mum had borrowed the film from a friend, and we were watching it in the lounge. I loved it straight away. From that moment on, I decided I would emulate the twins in every way possible. I still adore The Parent Trap. I loved their little outfits, so different from one another - Hallie in her cool, casual shorts and tees, and Annie in her prim little suits and dresses. And I loved their hairstyle - shoulder-length, little side fringe, half-up half-down. One of my earlier fashion memories, Hallie & Annie helped me along the way to my fashion obsession.


Jessie, Toy Story



I really did used to be obsessed with Jessie. I remember well the devestation when I lost my Jessie doll. I loved her and always harboured fantasies of dressing like a cowgirl, complete with her bright red hair. Not an easy look to pull off, but I dyed my hair red a fair few times after that. Still, I managed to fulfill my fantasy of being Jessie when a fancy dress day at school came along, and I coerced my mum into making a Jessie outfit, complete with cow-print chaps, a shirt with the right red and yellow details and a bright red hat. I further accentuated my look with sprayed-red, plaited hair and pencilled-in red eyebrows.


Cristina, Vicky Cristina Barcelona



I'm sure it helps that Scarlett Johansson is so naturally beautiful, but I love the fresh, natural look Cristina displays whilst immersed in the heat and culture of Barcelona. Her loose tees and trousers, complete with tousled hair and barely-there face showcase her natural beauty, and I've always thought people look their most beautiful when natural. Although, it's likely this is only the case when it comes to very beautiful people. Still, Cristina's character has inspired me to go oh so natural every now and then, especially in the summer when the sun somehow makes you forget your flaws.

Dorothy, The Wizard of Oz



Dorothy may have, quite possibly, been my first ever style crush. Memories of running through my house in a blue-and-white checked school dress, red shoes and my hair in plaits, a toy dog in my arms, still persist. Amd because of this I will always love Dorothy's cutesy style. I almost want to immerse myself in the primness, the innocence of the way she dresses.

Elizabeth Swann, Pirates of the Caribbean



I simply cannot watch Pirates of the Caribbean without succumbing to the strength and elegance of a corset, a ridiculously princessy ballgown and done, tumbling curls. Can you imagine it? Lithely walking through the cobbled streets in your beautiful dress and heels, conveying your grace and power with every step. Despite my love of all things effortless, I never have been able to deny my yearning for this kind of dressing. I love it.

Jackie Berkhart, That 70's Show



It is not the glamourous perfection of Jackie's look that I adore, but more the pure, well, Seventies-ness of it all. The high-waisted flairs and the wooden clogs and the Farrah Fawcett flicks. I love it all. That sense of the past. A lot of people look at fashion trends from the past with a confused kind of disbelief, but I love it. I'd happily walk down the street dressed like something from the 70s.

Blair Waldorf, Gossip Girl



I'm almost certain that everybody interested in fashion has, at some point, fallen in love with Blair's style. I adore Blair, and I love how her style matches her personality. Again, it seems I harbour a love for both the effotless and the perfected. I love Blair's styled ringlets and her flawless make-up. Her prim headbands and put-together outfits. There must be some kind of guilty pleasure in dressing that way. Which is why sometimes I can't help myself.

Lena Kaligaris, The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants



I love her style for similar reasons that I love Cristina's in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. All floaty white skirts and loose tops and tousled waves. It's fresh, breezy. This kind of dressing makes me feel alive. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's the pureness of it all - it's so natural, it's who you are. It's liberating to be natural. Kind of free.

All the girls, The Boat That Rocked



Ah, the Sixties. My favourite decade despite my lack of existence during it's run. I sincerely hope the Sixties come into fashion sometime soon, so I can justify wearing white leather boots and brightly coloured mini dresses. The girls in this film are typical Sixties girls and I love them.

Hermione Granger, Harry Potter



Hermione Granger may appear an unlikely style icon, but who wouldn't love to be a 12-year-old prancing around the halls of Hogwarts? And whose style better to emulate than Hermione's? True, they all wear school uniforms - maybe it's her personality that gives her style. All I know is, when I was a kid playing Harry Potter, I would always dress like Hermione, complete with wildly crimped hair and a precocious manner.

I am probably far too easily influenced by film and television characters, but I adore them nonetheless.