TV Ate My Wardrobe

Diane Kruger’s Summer Style

In just over a month Diane Kruger will be on screens in FX’s The Bridge, an adaptation of the Scandinavian show Broen. This new version is swapping out the Swedish/Danish setting and using the border between Mexico and the U.S. as its location. As a fan of the original series I have high hopes for this venture, even if the AMC version of The Killing is enough to make me cautious in my optimism. Kruger is playing Sonya Cross, a brilliant investigator who lacks empathy, is blunt to the point of being rude and falls somewhere on the autism spectrum. The man that Cross will have to work with to solve the series of connected crimes that occur on U.S. and Mexican soil is Marco Ruiz (played by Oscar nominee Demián Bichir) and he faces an extra challenge as his department is corrupt. I look forward to how they will use the political backdrop and what aspects from Broen will remain and evolve to match the setting.

Diane Kruger tends to stand out on the red carpet and I’m looking forward to all of the press events that will occur before The Bridge’s July 10 premiere date. Yesterday Kruger attended Joel Silver’s Memorial Day party in L.A. and demonstrated that it isn’t just high fashion that she excels at. Wearing a polka dot blouse (!), grey skater skirt and monochrome brogues Kruger looks like the epitome of summer chic. Plus bonus Joshua Jackson, also rocking a perfect casual look for the sunshine. I’m not the only one wants to emulate Kruger’s style as Mad Men’s January Jones recently told The Edit that Kruger “always looks fantastic so I watch what she wears. We like to go to shows or look online and then fight each other for the best [pieces].”

The Bridge will premiere Wednesday, July 10 on FX. To watch a preview check out the video below and I kind of hope they keep the leather trousers that Kruger’s counterpart wore in Broen.

Tags: Broen, Diane Kruger, Joshua Jackson, Summer Style, The Bridge

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Categories Amazing Ladies
Author Emma Fraser

Mad Men Music Monday

27 May

This week’s Mad Men presented some of the characters with choices from their past and present in both professional and personal capacities. Peggy and Megan face conundrums that cover both of these aspects of their lives and the song that closed the episode really pulled the focus on Peggy. Peggy stood in the middle between the offices of her two bosses and she has just been rejected by Ted as he doesn’t acknowledge their previous conversation where they both admitted they had feelings for each other. Peggy has earlier told Don that Ted has never made her feel the way Don does, but now that isn’t the case either. Peggy has already had the night from hell as she accidentally stabbed Abe (she thought he was an intruder) and then Abe broke up with her in a semi-delirious state saying “Your activities are offensive to my every waking moment; I’m sorry, but you’ll always be the enemy.” Peggy has been set adrift by her boyfriend and her current mentor and the song “(There’s) Always Something There to Remind Me” by Lou Johnson that plays over this end scene perfectly fits the tone of this moment and this episode that has had so many characters looking to the past (Roger, Don, Peggy). Peggy, Megan is also crying out for a friend and one that doesn’t hit on her so I would suggest you give her a call.

Tags: (There's) Always Something to Remind Me", Mad Men, Peggy Olson

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Categories Mad Men Music Monday
Author Emma Fraser

Out of the Box: Look of the Week

24 May

As a lot of the shows have ended for the season and the summer ones are yet to begin this edition of “Look of the Week” will include a variety of appearances including Mad Men (standard), a late night talk show and a music video. There are no real rules to this weekly feature and as always it is a snapshot of what I have been watching (and looking at online) and each pick is for a variety of reasons including; what it adds to the storyline, what it tells us about the characters involved or simply because it looks good.

Winner: Stan Rizzo on Mad Men “The Crash”

This is the second time that Stan has featured on this list (and I’d include him every week if I could) and it’s partly because of his fantastic beard (for all your Stan beard needs check out this wonderful Tumblr). Mad Men was pretty divisive this week as half of the office received an “energy boosting” injection from a doctor and it resulted in the most overt drug episode that this show has done so far. Stan is pretty much always on drugs and he revealed why his uptake has increased this season – his cousin who we met at Don’s birthday party last season was killed in Vietnam. Stan also featured in some moments of levity, including the race above (and he’s looking pretty athletic leaping over the table) and his attempt at becoming William Tell (or most likely a nod to this Esquire cover).

It led to his encounter with Peggy (Mad Men isn’t necessarily a shipping show but I’m all about these two getting together). Stan didn’t hook up with Peggy as she told him not to use sex and drugs to mask the pain, advice he didn’t take. Peggy told Stan that “You’re lucky I don’t like beards” and I’m pretty sure half the audience (myself included) yelled at their screen. Their conversation ends flirtatiously with Stan telling Peggy that she has “a great ass” and a thousand fanfics were created from this moment (coming soon to a Kindle near you?).

Runner Up: Elisabeth Moss on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

You can tell that Mad Men has just finished shooting because Elisabeth Moss has ditched both her Peggy Olson brunette color and length, opting for a short and choppy blonde look instead. It’s a drastic change, but it really suits Moss and I’m sure it is a welcome relief after filming a season of Mad Men. Moss had it cut backstage before her appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday and as I mentioned last week I am a fan of chopping all your hair off (as Mindy did in the season finale) and it instantly changes your appearance. Peggy is a character who dresses from a functional point of view, we’ll never see her in the more fashion forward pieces that Megan wears and she is often dressing as someone who needs to show she has authority in the office. This is a complete shift for Moss and it instantly makes her look more vibrant and youthful than the character we see her play.

Runner Up: Zooey Deschanel in the She & Him video “I Could’ve Been Your Girl”

I wrote about this Zooey Deschanel directed She & Him video earlier this week and the 60s inspired styling. The reason why I wanted to talk about it again is thanks to Deschanel’s footwear. Yellow is very much on trend this season and my favourite pair of yellow flats (that feature on my Twitter background) are about to fall apart as I’ve worn them so much, I’m basically going to be on the lookout for the perfect pair and these ones fit the bill. They work well with the hot pink dress/blue petticoat ensemble and the theme of the video. It counters the bored looking Deschanel who is in black and white stripes at the end of the video. This video and styling will draw equal amounts of eye rolls and praise depending on how you feel about Deschanel. No need to ask which camp I fall into.

Who would be your look of the week?

Tags: Elisabeth Moss, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Mad Men, She & Him, Stan Rizzo, Stan's Beard, Zooey Deschanel

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Categories Out of the Box: Look of the Week
Author Emma Fraser

Glamour Magazine’s “These Girls” on Love, Heartbreak and the Internet

22 May

Glamour Magazine held its second “These Girls” event this week; a night of monologues from women in TV and comedy held at Joe’s Pub in New York City. The notion of “Stars, They’re Just Like Us” is something we see weekly in tabloid magazines (“They eat ice cream!’ ‘They snap photos!’) and it generally induces eye rolling. The opposite can be said for an event like this one, where a group of famous women each perform a personal monologue that highlights some painful aspects of life that we all experience including rejection, low self confidence and social media negativity. It’s not all doom and despair, laughter as we know can help with all of these things and some very funny women including Amy Poehler (who also took part in last year), Amy Schumer and Lucy Punch performed. The night also featured Dianna Agron, Alexa Chung, Zosia Mamet, Emma Roberts and was kicked off by Gloria Steinem saying “These girls deserve my all-time favorite word, which is fan-fucking-tastic.”

The internet and social media was a big topic of conversation with Lucy Punch revealing that she struggles with technology as her mother didn’t want her to learn how to type – she didn’t want her daughter to end up as a secretary. Punch also told the audience that she is “terrified of being misjudged by thousands of faceless Twitterers,” something I’m sure we can all relate to. Emma Roberts followed on with this theme of facing online criticism after she tried to attempt a ‘normal life’ by going to college, instead it made her realize that maybe normal for her is a movie set and a particularly scathing blog post hammered home this idea. Roberts joked that “I do have high hopes. When I’m 30, playing 21, maybe I’ll have the graduation I always dreamed of.” Dianna Agron continued with this theme of figuring out who you are and how it takes time explaining that she had an “11-year awkward phase.”

How we use social media to judge other people was the theme of Alexa Chung’s “Heartbreak Heals, but Instagram is Forever” as she talked about seeing your ex-boyfriends new girlfriend on Instagram and how filters will always make them look more attractive. Chung also suggested that “Every time you post a picture of yourself looking fake happy, a fairy dies.” These are wise words to live by as a happy profile page doesn’t automatically give you the perfect life you are projecting; this also applies to the content on the pages of other people.

Comedian Amy Schumer added to this by talking about feelings of low self-esteem during college and how even now one comment is enough to break you. Her response to these criticisms, about her weight and her looks is this and it’s wonderful: “Fuck that. I say if I’m beautiful. I say if I’m strong … I will never apologize. I stand here and I’m amazing for you, not because of you. I am not who I sleep with … I am not my weight. I am myself.”

Ah Millennials, the generation that received this Time cover (here are 5 alternate better versions) and also the subject of Girls’ Zosia Mamet’s “Generation ‘I Want it Now.'” Mamet took part in last year’s “These Girls” and discussed her adventures in dating, this year she talks about falling in love and how technology still makes her anxious when it comes to relationships. Being part of this generation means that some things are available at the tap of a screen, but love isn’t something that is necessarily obtainable at a click of a button. It’s all about balance and it turns out like most people Mamet doesn’t have the answer “How do we reconcile the excitement of impulse with the proven value of time? Fuck if I know.”

The night ended with Amy Poehler singing Alicia Keys’ “Girl on Fire” and sadly there is no video of this yet, come on internet do your best work. You can find regular Amy Poehler advice over at her “Ask Amy” page which is aimed at teenage girls but really works no matter how old you are.

All photos from Glamour Magazine

Tags: Alexa Chung, Amy Poehler, Amy Schumer, Dianna Agron, Emma Roberts, Glamour Magazine, Gloria Steinem, Lucy Punch, These Girls, Zosia Mamet

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Categories Amazing Ladies
Author Emma Fraser

Nick Offerman Shames his Son in “The Kings of Summer” Red Band Trailer

22 May

Here at TV Ate My Wardrobe we will sometimes delve into the world of movies and one forthcoming film that is on the must see list is the Sundance hit The Kings of Summer (originally called Toy’s House). Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ debut feature tells the story of three teenage boys who make their home in a wilderness to escape their parents. The film stars real-life married couple Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally (though they are not playing a couple in the film, no repeats of Tammy 2) and Alison Brie plays the daughter of super grumpy Offerman (he’s also not afraid to shame his son about his shower habits). The red band trailer reveals that this coming of age tale (a favourite trope of mine and it’s why I love teen shows) will be fun and foul-mouthed.

I’m pretty sure that Ron Swanson would support this trip into the woods.

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/2c04cbcd88/the-kings-of-summer-red-band-trailer?playlist=featured_videos

Tags: Alison Brie, Coming of Age, Megan Mullally, Movie Trailer, Nick Offerman, The Kings of Summer

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Categories Movie Trailer
Author Emma Fraser

New Girl’s New She & Him Video

21 May

New Girl might be over until the fall but Zooey Deschanel is going to have a busy summer with her band She & Him. Their fourth album “Volume Three” came out a couple of weeks ago and now they have released their first video from this record; it’s as bright and delightful as you would expect. The video for “I Could’ve Been Your Girl” premiered on Deschanel’s website HelloGiggles this morning and Deschanel also directed this 60s inspired affair.

The new She & Him album shows a new level of maturity while remaining whimsical and it’s perfect for those sunny days. Some might find it a tad too saccharine, but regular readers will know that TV Ate My Wardrobe are big fans of Zooey Deschanel’s work and style (I’m keeping my eye out for a new pair of yellow shoes so the ones she is wearing in this video are perfect). Plus M. Ward does a great job of playing the grumpy star of the piece.

Oh and if anyone is keeping score of the all important bangs situation, they are less block and more side sweep (I know all the jargon). The only thing this video is missing is Nick Miller dancing.

Tags: "I Could've Been Your Girl", Nick Miller dancing, She & Him, Zooey Deschanel

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Categories Music Video, New Girl
Author Emma Fraser

Now That’s What I Call TV Music (2012-2013 Season)

21 May

Since My So-Called Life and Dawson’s Creek, TV has been one way that I discover new music. Things have changed a lot since the mid-90s and now you can have access to a song within minutes of hearing it on a show. MTV no longer has the influence it once did and the days of spending hours watching music videos have long gone, though MTV is still represented on this 2012-2013 playlist. Some shows like Girls, New Girl and The Carrie Diaries (it turns out I really like the music from the pilot) feature more than once on the list and there are 19 tracks that represent a variety of moments; some incidental while others might drastically change a relationship.

While I’m not going to into specific reasons for each song choice some deserve explanation; “Stay” by Lisa Loeb has featured on both Girls and New Girl, Lisa Loeb ended up with Rufus Humphrey on Gossip Girl so this sealed its inclusion (plus I was a teen in the mid-90s so this song will always hold a special place). When I first saw The Americans pilot I mentioned on Twitter that I like the ‘jaunty’ opening track revealing that I know nothing about Fleetwood Mac (I’m hanging my head in shame), now I understand the power of “Tusk.” The LMFAO track is from one of my favorite moments on Parks and Recreation this season when Anne and Leslie had their impromptu dance party. Ellie Goulding earns her place for being part of a huge New Girl moment and the same applies for The Vaccines “I Always Knew.” Some tracks feature from shows that I haven’t seen all season (How I Met Your Mother, Awkward) or only saw a few episodes (Nashville) but were suggestions from some lovely folk on Twitter.

I’m sure there are some great tracks that I haven’t included so what would be on your 2012-13 TV playlist?

Here are the tracks featured, including which show/episode they were on and you can click on the Spotify box below to listen. Enjoy!

1)      I Love It – Icona Pop ft. Charli XCX (Girls 2.03 “Bad Friend”)
2)     Blue Monday – New Order (The Carrie Diaries 1.01 “Pilot”)
3)     Tusk – Fleetwood Mac (The Americans 1.01 “Pilot”)
4)     I Always Knew – The Vaccines (New Girl 2.25 “Elaine’s Big Day”)
5)     Burning Down the House – Talking Heads (The Carrie Diaries 1.01 “Pilot”)
6)     Black Tambourine – Beck (The Good Wife 4.22 “What’s in the Box?”)
7)     Super Rich Kids – Frank Ocean ft. Earl Sweatshirt (Gossip Girl 6.05 “Monstrous Ball”)
8)     Party Rock Anthem – LMFAO ft. Lauren Bennett (Parks and Recreation 5.05 “Halloween Surprise”)
9)     Bad Girls – M.I.A. (The Mindy Project 1.01/1.24 “Pilot” and “Take me with You”)
10) Anything Could Happen – Ellie Goulding (New Girl 2.23 “Virgins”)
11)   Don’t Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas) – Regina Spektor (Girls 2.04 “It’s a Shame About Ray)
12) 22 – Taylor Swift (New Girl 2.13 “Table 34”)
13) Simple Song – The Shins (How I Met Your Mother 8.24 “Something New”)
14) Nancy From Now On – Father John Misty (Girls 2.05 “One Man’s Trash”)
15) Stay – Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories (Girls 2.04 “It’s a Shame About Ray” and New Girl 2.23 “Virgins”)
16) Girls Just Want To Have Fun – Greg Laswell (The Carrie Diaries 1.01 “Pilot”)
17) Fade Into You – Clare Bowen and Sam Palladio (Nashville 1.03 “Someday You’ll Call My Name”)
18) Gone – Olivia Broadfield (The Vampire Diaries 4.23 “Graduation”)
19) I Was a Fool – Tegan and Sara (Awkward 3.05 “Indecent Exposure”)

Tags: Awkward, Girls, Gossip Girl, How I Met Your Mother, Nashville, New Girl, Parks and Recreation, The Americans, The Carrie Diaries, The Good Wife, The Mindy Project, The Vampire Diaries

Comments 5 Comments
Categories Soundtracks
Author Emma Fraser

Mad Men Music Monday

20 May

“The Crash” is a surreal episode of Mad Men and this song choice further emphasizes Don’s mental state as he becomes a creepy hallway stalker. Don makes several attempts to get Sylvia’s attention this week after she broke off their affair in the previous episode, by attempts I mean he stood in her hallway smoking while listening to her conversations with Arnold. In a scene that could have been part of his drug taking hallucination (it seemed more real than not), Don presses his face against their service entrance door and listens to the song that plays on the radio. The song is “Going Out of my Head” by Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66 and the lyrics fit Don’s Sylvia obsession. The way the camera stays on Don as he listens in is unnerving, as is much of the episode that has an underlying menacing tone throughout.

Tags: "Out of my Head", Don Draper, Mad Men, Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66

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Categories Mad Men Music Monday
Author Emma Fraser

Out of the Box: Look of the Week

17 May

It’s that time of year when most shows are ending the season and so this edition of “Look of the Week” is focusing on the season finales of three shows. As always this is a snapshot of what I have been watching and each pick is for a variety of reasons including; what it adds to the storyline, what it tells us about the characters involved or simply because it looks good. Narrowly missing a place on this week’s list is Mad Men which featured the stunning costuming that we expect from this show, but it didn’t fit in with the finale theme. After last week’s foray into set design this week is returning to the clothes that people wear, but don’t be surprised if locations pop up again (particularly from a show like Hannibal).

Winner: Mindy Lahiri on The Mindy Project “Take Me With You”

I wrote earlier in the week about The Mindy Project producing stronger episodes over the second half of the season and a lot of this is thanks to Mindy’s friendship with Danny; Mindy Kaling and Chris Messina have terrific chemistry. The last scene in the finale pushes them further into the ‘will they/won’t they territory’ which will certainly change their dynamic on the show. This comes directly after Danny pulls the old playground move by telling Mindy how much he dislikes her new hair (and he notes that they are now matching). What follows is a moment that made me hold my breath as he took of her glasses to clean them (I have short hair and wear glasses so this scene is extra swoon worthy). Mindy has made no attempt to hide that she cares about how she looks and so cutting her hair off (which I know is a wig really, but she looks cute) is her grand romantic gesture for Casey and it works. Mindy also shows off her professional skills (the inclusion of M.I.A.’s “Bad Girls” echo the pilot) and some of this season’s best moments have been when Mindy is using her medical expertise (“Teen Patient” springs to mind). Mindy is a someone whose wardrobe I tend to covert, but it’s this drastic haircut that works as Mindy’s boombox over the head and gives Mindy the number one spot this week.

Runner Up: Cece on New Girl “Elaine’s Big Day”

Cece managed to get rid of her accidental henna beard and unsurprisingly she looked stunning as she walked down the aisle in a lehenga choli (a traditional Indian wedding gown). New Girl costume designer Deb McGuire tells InStyle this was one of four options and when Hannah Simone put this one on first “it took our breath away. We didn’t even attempt to consider the others!” This is a very colorful wedding and New Girl tends to have a very bright color palette; Jess’ blue sari (which you can see here) fits in with this motif and allowed her to stand out against the orange backdrop. Bonus points go to Nick Miller for carrying Jess’ pink purse and being comfortable with this look.

Runner Up: Caroline Forbes, Elena Gilbert, Bonnie Bennett on The Vampire Diaries “Graduation”

It’s not easy to graduate from high school in a town that is full of supernatural beings and Caroline, Elena and Bonnie successfully manage this achievement on the season 4 finale of The Vampire Diaries. The main snag is that all three are dead in one way or another; Caroline and Elena are both vampires and Bonnie is now a ghost. Caroline and Elena are blissfully unaware of Bonnie’s demise and thanks to some nifty magic Bonnie has the appearance of someone who is very much alive. Considering how much these three women have been through this season it was good to have this moment of happiness together, even if it is tinged with sadness (the Olivia Broadfield track “Gone” that accompanied the ceremony reminds me of a more melancholy “Sway” by Bic Runga) and the screen got a little blurry. This episode also demonstrated that a mortarboard can be more than just as a graduation accessory as Klaus made a rather dramatic and deadly entrance using one. It was pretty awesome.