The Bachelorette Emily Maynard Picked Jef Holm for His Fashion Sense

Jef Holm's suit and tie = good

Call me crazy but Emily Maynard picked Jef Holm because of the way he dresses.  I'll admit it's not the only reason of course (true love?  well I can't go that far) but when explaining why she loves him she said herself that his "style" is what stood out to her when choosing him.  The thing is, as much as The Bachelorette has more cheese than a French fromagerie, Emily is right--Jef does know how to dress.  Hooray for skinny ties and suits!  More please.  I know most straight men reading this (and if any straight men are reading this I consider that a major accomplishment in the fashion blog world) are rolling their eyes right at this moment.  But men have to remember that just as they like women to be put together we would really like to see the same thing in our guys no matter how much of a man's man they consider themselves to be.  Frankly the fact that Jef referenced a Chloe handbag on the show was a bit frightening in the he-knows-a-little-too-much-about-fashion category, but don't worry guys--we certainly would not expect you to know handbag brands unless they are on our birthday wish list. 

Wardrobe Trailer Facebook

To Rome with Love - The Fashion of American Women?

Judy Davis as Phyllis

Feminine wares of To Rome with Love?

So I ventured off to see To Rome with Love and it was more of a like.  I'm not sure what Director Woody Allen and Costume Designer Sonia Grande are trying to communicate about American women throughout this film.  Both Ellen Page's character Monica and her best friend Sally (Greta Gerwig) for the most part are clad in low rise jeans with button down shirts and masculine-reading likely-Italian-leather belts.  Both give off the vibe of 21-year-old boys dressed to go into a local bar rather than dressing as the sexy love interests that the film purports them to be.  Even Allen's character Jerry has a wife Phyllis (Judy Davis) who is draped in dull outfits (if you can call them that) and T-shirts.  All three American women look breast-less and androgynous.  Upon first glance a feminist may say this is a good thing--women don't need to wear skin-revealing outfits a la Scarlett Johansson to appear feminine.  I agree.  But in this case it comes off as making women look like they are trying to look more like men.

Perhaps Allen is attempting to highlight Penelope Cruz by shoving the other female characters in baggy attire.  Cruz's tight red dress can only make her stand out from the other women, but unfortunately the costume enforces the cliched Italian prostitute who doesn't have much to say but has much to do with her clients.  Cruz looks amazing, but I would rather have seen her clothed in something more surprising and quirky.  I will say, however, that the red dress is so ridiculous that it has a humorous life of its own.  So while Cruz and the other Italian female characters give off their feminine charms in dresses the American female characters linger in their western wear.

Regardless of the costumes, Allen delivers with his usual characters filled with neurotic tendencies, insecurities, and palatable narcissism.  Such consistency in Allen's films is what makes his films work.  In an age when most people only post flattering pictures and personality traits on their Facebook profiles, it's nice to go to a fiction film to get a slice of reality where people are just people, wrought with problems.

Like us on Facebook