Week 2: War & Peace. Russian Winter Fairytale

I have created several War & Peace inspired fashion looks, especially the ones that I could imagine Natasha Rostova wearing if she would magically appear in our era.

Here is my first look, the one I call 'Russian Winter Fairytale'. It has a very soft, feminine touch to it. The outfit is a little bit peasant-y, but still very rich in fabric and somehow noble; something Natasha would wear when she and other Rostovs visited her uncle in the village of Mihkaylovka. There, in his wooden hut, surrounded by peasants and dancing to a Balalaika, Natasha wonderfully connects with the spirit of simple Russian men and women. 

Of course such open shoulders are a little bit more risky than what women usually wore during the beginning of the 19th century. Additionally, women of the aristocracy during that era would wear their hair up. However, films often disregard historical facts, and I wanted to show more of Natasha's closeness to simple folk by braiding my hair in this look.

Braid-spiration:

Regency Era Fashion:

Outfit by Walter Baker.

The screens from the series taken from another wonderful blog Frock&Flicks

I hope you enjoyed my first pastiche of Natasha Rostova's character. Stay tuned for more looks this week!

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Week 2: War & Peace. The Book and Film Adaptations

I read War & Peace by Leo Tolstoy when I was about 14 - a year or two before it would be a part of our mandatory Literature program at school. Then I re-read it again and again. For many years, War & Peace was my favourite book and I grew to love Natasha Rostova (I used to strongly relate to her, even though I did not like her much per se),  sympathise with Andrei Bolkonsky, and even feel sorry for the beautiful, but devious, Helen Kuragina.

There have been many film adaptations of Tolstoy's epic masterpiece, and I was actually very impressed with the latest effort: 2016’s 'War & Peace' BBC series starring Lilly James (love her!). The series was definitely a huge success and piqued people’s interest in the story of the Rostovs and the Bolkonskys. 

The ad for War & Peace (2016) series I spotted on the Times Square, NYC

So as you have already guessed, I want to dedicate this Theme of the Week to 'War & Peace’ and specifically to its main female protagonist: Natasha Rostova!

Let's have a look at the film adaptations of War & Peace, the actors and actresses who played major roles in them and compare them to the characters depicted in the book by Leo Tolstoy.

First movie adaptation was a silent 1915 Russian version starring a ballerina Vera Karalli as Natasha Rostova. Tolstoy described Natasha as “black-eyed, wide-mouthed girl, not pretty but full of life...”, and Vera Karalli does fit the description. However, my favourite Natasha is Audrey Hepburn. She is gorgeous, yet has a very unique look.

Helen Kuragina is the only character in the War & Peace that is described as exceptionally physically beautiful, although she is an ultimate female antagonist. Making a negative character so easy on the eyes was unlikely in the Russian literature of that times. Here is the little quote about Helen from the book:

Napoleon himself had noticed her [Helen] in the theater and said of her: "C'est un superbe animal." Her success as a beautiful and elegant woman did not surprise Pierre, for she had become even handsomer than before".

It is interesting to note that with every passing adaptation, Helen Kuragina looks thinner and thinner! From curvaceous Anita Ekberg to skinny and fair Middleton, Kuragina's character has been depicted according to beauty standards of the times films have been created.

I personally enjoy watching Anita Ekberg's and Fiona Gaunt's acting as Helen Kuragina, however find Irina Skobtceva in Sergei Bondarchuk's Oscar winning adaptation absolutely inappropriate. Irina was almost 40 when she played the role of the young and stunning Kuragina. How such miscast could happen? Well, did you know that Irina Skobtceva was film director Sergei Bondarchuk's wife at the time? That explains a lot, doesn't it? :)

Do you enjoy posts like this one? Let me know in the comments section below or via email: ulya.aliyeva@gmail.com

P.S. Don't forget to come back to the blog as I will pastiche fashion looks of Natasha Rostova this week!

Week 1: NYC 'View of Manhattan' Look

I wanted to show you how beautiful the Manhattan skyline looks, so my friend and fellow blogger Julia Fashionista took a train to New Jersey (Exchange Place station) to take photographs from the other side of the Hudson River.

Check out the amazing view of NYC's Financial District while I pose in my casual winter wear.

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Week 1: NYC. TOP 5 'New York' books

I have promised that every ‘Themed Week’ I will provide you with my list of top, relevant to a theme books. Thus, here are my five favourite works of literature where New York City is a fascinating and magnificent backdrop hero!

MY PERSONAL TOP 5 ‘NYC’ BOOKS:

1. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

A wonderful, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about New York’s late 19th-century upper-class society. The beautifully written story follows distinguished lawyer, Newland Archer, who is content with his engagement to shy, proper, sweet May (daughter of a very wealthy family of Manhattan), up until he meets May’s cousin: Countess Ellen Olenska. Archer madly and desperately falls in love with the scandalous and beautiful Countess who is surrounded by rumours about separation from her husband, infidelity and nonconformist behaviour. The book perfectly, but very subtly, reflects the savage, gossipy nature of New York's elite society of the early Gilded Age.

You will like it if you enjoy: period dramas, The Forsyte Saga, stories about forbidden love

2. The Bonfire of the Vanities

Tom Wolfe’s modern, American satire about ambition, racism, social class differences, politics and greed in New York City during the 80s. The Bonfire of the Varieties follows the story of Sherman McCoy - a Wall Street trader who has it all: a Park Avenue apartment, money, power, a beautiful wife and a foxy mistress: Maria Ruskin. Wolfe masterfully captures the essence of New York City and the excess of Wall Street in the 1980s.

You will like it if you enjoy: The Wolf of Wall Street, intriguing plots, crime stories of the rich and powerful

3. Sister Carrie

A novel by one of my favourite American writers: Theodore Dreiser, Sister Carrie is about a young girl named Carrie from rural Wisconsin who has big dreams of becoming an actress and striving for living a lavish, glamorous lifestyle. On the way to her 'American Dream', Carrie moves to Chicago, then to New York City and is not above becoming a mistress to older, powerful men and later becomes a famous actress in New York City. It is noteworthy that Sister Carrie is one of the first works of literature where the main heroine acts against moral codes and, moreover, does not face any consequences for it. Carrie is, without a doubt, a prototype of the modern ‘gold-digger’ type of woman and is one of the most controversial female characters in American literature at the beginning of the 20th century.

You will like it if you enjoy: novels about maverick women, writings by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

4. American Psycho

I bet you have heard about this novel and at least watched the movie by the same name. Bret Easton Ellis’s controversial work of fiction is another story set on Wall Street. Patrick Bateman, the main character, is a good-looking, well-educated and almost obscenely rich yuppie who narrates his everyday activities. His daily life consists of working on Wall Street where he earns a fortune, cocaine infused Friday nights with colleagues, thoughts about proper fashion and etiquette of his fellow elite class members. While at night he casually murders people. Bateman is a monster created by consumer culture, and sees everything, even people, as a commodity.

You will like it if you enjoy: reading Chuck Palahniuk, watching psychological trillers, stories about serial killers.

BONUS: American Psycho the musical is coming to New York on March 24! 

5. Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Another book that has been immortalized and got even more popular with its film adaptation. Truman Capote created one of the most memorable fictional characters in America: charming, beautiful and naive 'American geisha' living in Manhattan, Holly Golightly. This witty novella and the female protagonist who has been portrayed by the stunning Audrey Hepburn, has captured millions of hearts all over the world. 

By the way, one of the future ‘Themed Weeks’ on Pastiche.today might sing an ode to the Breakfast at Tiffany’s (hint hint)!

You will like it if you enjoy: observing people with a glamorous lifestyle, staring at impeccably stylish women, everything about Audrey Hepburn

What are your favourite 'NYC based' books? Comment below! 

Week 1: NYC. Soho Look

Soho is one of my favourite areas of Manhattan. Every time I walk around Soho I always come across another peculiar boutique with beautiful clothes, cozy cafe or an art gallery. I really try to blend with New York crowd when I go on these walks, however high heels always sell me out! 

Wearing boyfriend's Arc'teryx jacket

Outfit: Dress - Bitching and Junk Food, Bag - Prada, Boots - Monica Ricci, Watch - Karl Lagerfeld, Jacket - boyfriend's Arc'teryx jacket.

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