somebody help me, my neck hurt, my chain heavy

Partially inspired by Melanie Griffith in Something Wild, featured in my recent Louise Brooks post, but mostly inspired by my insane love affair with accessories, I celebrate the 'statement necklace' - the loud, large, heavy pieces that dominate any look. The louder, larger and heavier, the better. 

I love anything turquoise, but I adore Raquel Welch's Native American-inspired stone necklace

Even while on the run, Faye Dunaway's Bonnie never abandons style with this gold coin necklace

Anita Pallenberg has a fabulous array of baubles

Not to be outdone by anyone, Kanye West rocks a few awesome chains

Carmen Miranda never says no to strands of beads

Twiggy incorporates her dress into a necklace into watches into magical-ness

Edie Sedgwick is never less than the ultimate It-Girl with her signature style of gamine clothes and a heavy beaded necklace

Elizabeth Taylor, the queen of jewels, has some amazing pieces on display 

Judy Collins shows how strands of small beads can be made into a statement-making look

My style hero Iris Apfel

Keith Richards rocks the pirate-rocker-hot god thing really well

La pièce de résistance - Maria Felix's crocodile necklace

Title: from "Heavy" (Gucci Mane)

Inspired By ... Anita Pallenberg's Plume Hat

  It's no surprise that in the time between when I wrote my previous post on Littledoe and now that I have more crazily obsessed with the line. After posting, I couldn't resist cruising on over to all areas of the site - all the headpieces, hats, crystals, and vintage. Everything is to die for. I couldn't help but notice a particular hat among Chase Cohl's creations, thinking to myself, "hey that looks a lot like a hat Anita Pallenberg wore." Lo and behold when I clicked on the link, the $450 ostrich feather-and-black velvet head-turner was called 'the Anita Hat.'
Tell me that this hat doesn't capture the essence of the style that Anita wore to the Yellow Submarine premiere in the late sixties ... go one, I dare you! The middle pic is of Chase herself in the creation, and the one to the far left is from the lookbook - both look smashing, and aren't too similar to Anita's to change their looks from inspiration to imitation. Though, if you're going to follow someone's look to a T, it might as well be one of the most notoriously fashionable women of the last half century.

sometimes it gets so confusing that i don't know where i am, but i always know who i'm with, i'm with the band

Last night, I went to go see Beirut perform. In addition to reigniting my unexplainably overwhelming desire to learn to play the accordion (I have no clue where this burning passion comes from, but oh how I wish I could have that level of finger dexterity) because seriously Perrin Cloutier is like the Hendrix of accordionists, seeing a band perform that incredibly reminded me of what it must have been like to be Bebe, Sable, Uschi and co. in the Seventies.
Everyone at the show was so into the music, just swaying to the beat, and incredibly absorbed by the guys on stage. And let me tell you, the boys in Beirut are total dreamboats. And while I do not pursue the same intimate relations as the groupie girls of yesteryear, I can completely understand the desire to. This is my ode to the girls who loved music as much as I do, but with plenty more self-confidence and seductive skills!
Here are some of my favorite girls, as well as some of my favorite looks from past and present that help me get in the groupie mindset:

I hope it's not sacrilege to feature Sapphire as opposed to Penny - but Sapph's edgy black lace, tangles of necklaces, and red velvet pieces are so inspiring to me right now

"We are not groupies. Groupies sleep with rock stars because they wanna be near someone famous. We're here because of the music. We inspire the music. We are band aides." - Penny Lane, Almost Famous

Chris O'Dell has the perfect rocker girl hair - equal parts frizzy, curly and supremely cool 

I wish I knew who this girl is - she's incredibly beautiful

The inspiration for Miss Penny Lane: Bebe Buell

"As far as the groupie tag, I don't believe the word means now what it did in the '60s and '70s ... The innocence that once surrounded the word has been replaced by an almost 'anything goes' mentality. I'm sure it is an insult to girls like Pamela Des Barres, Cynthia Plaster Caster, and the GTO's - who coined it - to be lumped in the same category as women who sleep with anyone associated with a band or crew. That is not what a groupie is, in the old-fashioned sense ... The music was, and is, the most important thing to a true groupie of days." - Bebe Buell

I love the New York Dolls (as pictured here in Creem Magazine) but I would never lay down on a sidewalk for them or any band ... sidewalks are dirty and I am vain

"Being a real groupie is a talent on its own, and not one that can be performed by just anyone. Sex, while an important part of the groupie experience, is only one facet of the whole picture. A true groupie has a deep connection both to the music and the dimension in which musicians exist when they are performing. Rock and roll is a ritual and groupies are the high priestesses." - Pamela Des Barres

The GTOs are legends in the groupie world; individual photos on the bottom row are of Miss Pamela, Miss Sparky, and Miss Christine - only a small sampling of the colorful characters who made up this 60s/70s supergroup

"When I was a young girl, I used to look at Marianne Faithfull and Anita Pallenberg and think those girls were gorgeous. I used to think, Jesus, they are so free. They are so wild-looking. These must be the girls that the guys write the songs about. These must be the girls that make the whole fucking thing tick. That was before they called girls 'groupies'." - Bebe Buell

Lou Doillon and Lizzy Jagger channel the styles from their parents' scene in pure seventies chic - minidresses in wild prints, sky-high heels, long unkempt locks and tons of eyeliner and bangles

A mix of some of the most legendary girls who ran the Sunset Strip: Sable Starr, Lori Maddox, Queenie Glam, and Karen Umphrey - all sporting very enviable platform heels

The bewitchingly beautiful Tina Aumont

"I'm a bit of a groupie." - Jerry Hall

A major figure in the German student movement of 1968, as well as romancer of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Jimi Hendrix, Uschi Obermaier is such a fascinating figure in both rock music and social activism

The incredible Charlotte Martin in a kaleidoscope of colors - light pink flowers on her hat, purple-y blue cape, and red tights

"Groupies are incredibly passionate spirits." - Pamela Des Barres

Some of my favorite looks I want to channel at the next show I attend: Raquel Zimmermann (who reminds me a lot of Debbie Harry in that picture), two pairs of fab models, Anita Pallenberg in a feather boa, Marianne Faithfull in her famous Motorcycle leather bodysuit, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in garters and fur, a true groupie in a great headscarf, Debbie Harry in black belts and neckerchief

Title: from "I'm With the Band" (Little Big Town)

you get a gun and name it after a girlfriend

Jean-Luc Godard once said, "all you need for a movie is a gun and a girl." While I am not promoting or advocating violence by any means, I think that in life sometimes all you need is a girl with a gun. I don't know ... I'm very random sometimes. 

Sylvie Vartan tries her hand at weaponry (and of course looks stunning - can you believe how incredible her hair looks here?)

Another popular yé-yé girl, France Gall, poses alongside her mentor - and perhaps partner-in-crime - Serge Gainsbourg

Armed, wigged, and dangerous - Anita Pallenberg tries a new look on in Performance

Who could forget Natalie Portman as the precocious badass Mathilda in Léon?

Marilyn Monroe takes Cupid to a whole other level, ditching a bow and arrow for some heavier artillery for gettin' those hearts to fall in love

Makes sense that Anna Karina, wife and muse to Godard, was so often seen toting a gun in his movies, such as in Pierrot Le Fou and Made in USA

Ann-Margret dares any of her critics to 'make her day' - she's got a gun in hand and bullets strapped around her waist

Brigitte Bardot channels Bonnie Parker (or, perhaps, more accurately, channels Faye Dunaway-channeling-Bonnie Parker) in the promo video for her duet with Serge Gainsbourg, "Bonnie and Clyde" 

Farrah Fawcett perhaps takes her role as gun-toting glamazon in Charlie's Angels a bit too far in these photo shoots. With aim as spectacular as her looks, it's no surprise that no man was left standing

The unparalleled Faye Dunaway wowed critics and fashionistas alike with her performance as Bonnie Parker, the gun-slingin', beret-wearing beauty who captured the eye - and heart - of Clyde Barrow

The late great Jane Russell made a name for herself as a bombshell gun moll in such films as The Outlaw

I don't know what looks more dangerous - Louise Brooks' deadly stare or the two guns that she's holding

Anita Pallenberg and Michele Breton explore the gun belonging to on-the-run gangster Chas, played by James Fox, in their sixties masterpiece Performance

Marilyn Monroe looks somehow so innocent with her gun - and of course, ever the bombshell, she wears lipstick. The gal knew that even more important than the right to bear arms was the right to look fabulous while doing so

Karen Elson gives Little Red Riding Hood quite a daring twist - let's see the big bad wolf try to get Elson's Red, who looks fierce with her gun and five-inch heels

France Gall is perhaps the only gal in the world who can pose alongside a rifle and large stuffed animals and have it look completely normal and actually charming

The November 1936 cover of Vogue Magazine shows that even guns can be in fashion from time to time

Title: from "I Remember Every Kiss" (Jens Lekman)

i'm going on down to yasgur's farm, i'm gonna join in a rock and roll band, i'm gonna camp out on the land, i'm gonna set my soul free

Spring is officially here. According to the calendar, not according to the patches of snow outside of my window. It's an annual thing for me - with the start of warm weather comes my desire for fabulously bright prints, psychedelic swirls, and light layers of fabrics so long they graze the grass that my bare feet are walking through.
And for once, I'm not the only one getting back hooked on hippie garb. After quitting cold turkey during the winter months - wearing nothing but leather, black and beige - I've seen a lot of people gettin' high on hippy dippy trippy threads.
To make it even more official, the fashion kings and queens have decreed that Seventies fashion (think Stevie Nicks gypsy skirts and piano shawls, and Farrah Fawcett's bell-bottomed jeans and simple unfussy blouses) will reign this season. Instead of washed-out denims and white eyelet dresses, I am more in the mood for dresses in ethnic prints done in traffic-stopping colors, weighed down heavily by beading, fringing, embroidery, and other embellishments so much that you can feel through your outfit every breath you take.

France Gall gets into the gypsy spirit (and her dog seems to dig it, too!) 

Jane Birkin, in a Celia Birtwell print outfit, a film known by many names (but has something to do with Katmandu), and in a frock from the legendary Wonderwall

With or without Mick by her side, Marianne never looked incomplete in her stunning threads

I have an odd jealousy of Jodie Foster's kid prostitute character in Taxi Driver - putting aside the fact that she had to sell her body at 12-years-old

California queen (and former Mrs. Ryan O'Neal) Leigh Taylor-Young looks contemplative while posing in this hippie caftan (maybe she's wondering how she can look that amazing?)

Claudia Cardinale poses alongside (apparent) friend Frank Zappa, in a photo shoot for a 1967 issue of Epoca Magazine

Anita Pallenberg never fails to amaze in her signature gypsy-rocker style

Pattie Boyd joins two models in modeling designs by The Fool, to promote Apple Boutique 

Brigitte Bardot was a true bohemian bombshell - still retaining her sex kitten charm while in ruffled maxidresses, embroidered caftans, and her various floral minidresses 

Posing in front of a wall with that many colors, Britt Ekland wisely chooses and outfit to match

Penelope Tree (thanks to Youthquaker for the bottom scans!) 

Diane von Furstenberg embodies the idea of gypsy jetset luxury

Ewa Aulin (I'm trying really hard to not make an 'I Want Candy' joke) 

Though still sporting her Bonnie bob, Faye Dunaway trades her 1930s threads for a gorge paisley blouse

Frida Kahlo

I love candid photos of young people during the sixties - it's always interesting to see how their generation dressed themselves, beyond the limited view that celebrities and magazines from that time show us

How could I have done a post about opulent gypsy clothes without mentioning my dear Janis? 

Jean Shrimpton tries bright patterns to varying degrees, with bold color-blocked minidresses, embroidered caftan tops, and flowing maxidresses 

Pamela Courson and Jim Morrison hanging out at Pam's boutique Themis 

Luaren Hutton is one of my all-time favorites, and not just because she can pull off virtually any look (seriously - how can someone look that good in a tight high-necked hood?)

It's sometimes hard to stand out in a crowd - but in a bright green patterned dress, with a matching bejeweled turban, it's easy

BFFs and costars in the Swingin' London spoof Smashing Time, Lynn Redgrave and Rita Tushingham, poke more fun at London's overwhelming obsession with the hippie trend 

Pattie, Jane Asher, Cyn Lennon (and their respective Beatle boys) pose with Mike Love, Mia Farrow, Donovan, and the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Rishikesh

Marisa Berenson, dubbed a "Euroglam gypsy" by the fab Simon Doonan, poses in a variety of brightly colored dresses, on the island of Mauritius, in the pages of Vogue, and in a 1969 campaign for Halston photographed by Clarke Henry

With a voice even more incredible than that lace dress, singer-songwriter Melanie Safka proves that she was a wise addition to the Woodstock lineup many years ago

Whether in Pucci or Gernreich, these models had an easy job making these clothes look cool

Pattie and George hang out outside of Kinfauns (with a mysterious puppet alongside them)

With her carefree style and stunning looks, it's easy to see why men like Roman Polanski, Rob Lowe, and Quincy Jones fell for Nastassja Kinski 

Photographer, Laurel Canyon resident, and Monkee baby mama Nurit Wilde was just as beautiful as the photographs she took

Peggy Moffitt is always perfection

The glowing and glorious Sharon Tate rockin' a dashiki 

Miss Pamela and the rest of the GTOs take the flower child look to California

Well, I'd be in the mood too if I saw a boy wearing hot pink floral pants...

These models show that bold prints can be worn in a sophisticated way

The Beatles - they may have been the 'walrus', but they were also psychedelic style stars

Always a favorite at DRG, Veruschka rocks frocks from designers as diverse as Pucci and Hutzler's, but with a common theme: stripes and swirls in electric hues 

Title: from "Woodstock" (Joni Mitchell)