Wednesday, 18 February 2009

she wants fabulous



This week High School Musical 3 was released on DVD and I couldn’t be more excited. I even went down to Asda on Monday morning to pick up a copy and was greeted by a woman holding HSM balloons whilst the stereo blasted out songs from the film- specifically the track was ‘Can I have this dance?’ which had excitedly been running around my head all morning- it’s as if Asda’s foyer greeter had read my mind. I confess that, despite several friends’ efforts, this is the only time I felt a slight twinge of embarrassment over my HSM obsession. I paid at the kiosk and ran.

Anyway, this provides me with an excuse to write a much delayed ode to Sharpay Evans and the stylists who brought this monstrous/fabulous character into neon pink glory. As you would expect, a budget increase and the move to senior year meant that in the third film the outfits for all the characters really stepped up their game, and I wasn’t disappointed to see that Sharpay is still walking the line between near fashion genius moment and so-bad-it’s-good. In her tassely pink snakeskin boots. There are always elements to her outfits that could be extracted and put to a more legitimately ‘fashionable’ use on an Olsen or Mischa Barton or whoever, but I love that the film perpetuates this stereotype about middle-America: that bitchy spoilt blonde daddy’s girls have more money than sense. How galling would a slick New Yorker feel when she sees Sharpay swaggering around a high school library in New Mexico in a Marc Jacobs’ dress? You can imagine how delighted the Spongebob tattooed Jacobs must have felt to have one of his designs in such a huge popular culture franchise. It really is delicious.

Two other key designers used to dress Miss Evans are Gwen Stefani’s designs for her label L.A.M.B and Betsey Johnson. The fact these are both American designers who show at New York Fashion Week and whose designs- especially the latter- are camp, theatrical, Americana make it even more enjoyable to behold. And you went to see the Sex and the City film for some sartorial afternoon delight...

Below I have picked some of my favourite outfits. Oh and one more thing; if you own any orange, get rid of it
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L-R: The Marc by Marc Jacobs dress Sharpay wears in the film
I'm guessing the leopard dress is L.A.M.B, and check Ryan's Paul Smith trousers tucked into boots, loving it.
Sharpay wears a version of this L.A.M.B jacket, but hers has sequinned trims, natch.

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