Get busy Living or get busy Dying.

currently listening to: Kill Hannah - "Mouth to Mouth" - random fact: this song sounds a million times better live... with pretty stage lights, and earth shattering, real-time guitar solos. Yes.




Yesterday I received a comment on an older post from a certain "Anonymous" who was wondering about cool rock star jackets and where to get them... namely the gorgeous black and red military style jacket that Matt Bellamy of Muse was wearing on the cover of Q magazine back in September, when he was my Stylish Rockstar of the Week, (week 6):



I wanted to try to help "Anonymous" out, so I did some research and I'm writing an entire post on just jackets!!

I *do* recall that I checked the photo credits in that magazine back in September, and I couldn't find anything about the fashion. (I always make sure to do so whenever I see something I like, no matter what magazine it is). It's really kind of irritating when magazines don't bother listing that kind of stuff. Because then you have people like "Anonymous" (hi by the way!), and ME for that matter, who are left wondering just where the hell people find these amazing clothes!! Phooey!!

So I researched and read a lot of other blogs... there's tons of people wondering about that jacket, it seems. Not one straight answer. But it's okay. I happen to breathe fashion for a living, (huh??), and I'm always hunting around for cool stuff. (I'm telling you, I'd be an amazing stylist). The good thing about military jackets is that they've been "in style" for quite some time now, so pretty much anywhere you look is going to have some kind of similar style.

But I narrowed down the ones that looked the MOST like Mr. Bellamy's, and I broke them down for you, "Anonymous", from highest to lowest priced and then some :)

The way I see it, you've got 4 options:


1) "DESIGNER":
The coolest military jackets that I think I've seen come from the Balmain label:



But I know that probably nobody who reads this blog can afford anything like these, (I do remember "Anonymous" saying "i know it's probably made specially for him by some designer, but something similar would be good :))"so why am I even talking about them? Maybe just to make a point that all major trends start HUGE, then "trickle down" to the masses at far more affordable prices. Thank the Fashion Gods for that!

(Another thing I should mention, is that I'm not even sure whether my "Anonymous" friend is male or female, so I tried to find the most unisex type of jackets I could, even though these days you really don't even have to worry about whether a jacket is for women or men... You'll see what I mean in a second).

Shopbob.com is a shopping site that sells lots of smaller designer type stuff, and I found this jacket on there for $110:




I liked it because the white detail on the sleeves and front reminded me of the red detail on Matt's jacket.

The link to this one is here: click (they ship internationally!)


But since I sense that "Anonymous" is looking for something a bit more moderately priced, I looked on two of my more familiar sites/places to shop that have more affordable, mass produced stuff, Hot Topic and Forever21, so your second option is:

2) Bargain (sorta?):

Lip Service Steam Machine Jacket from hottopic.com - $95 (link: click)


(I happen to think that one is uber rad)...


TrippNYC Steampunk Soldier Jacket from hottopic.com - $54 (link: click )




Zipper Blazer from hottopic.com - $39 - (link: click)



Military Career Jacket from forever21.com - $32.80 - (link: click)




Cadet Precision blazer from forever21.com - $29.80 - (link: click)



Bellette Military Jacket from forever21.com - $24.80 - (link: click)


(I included this one because I think it's FREAKING AWESOME and FREAKING CHEAP. Maybe I should buy it for myself...)


And, once again, both hottopic.com and forever21.com ship internationally :)


A third option you might consider is Ebay.com:

3)Ebay

Just type in "military jacket" into the search box and you'll get a multitude of results. The only problems are they may not always be cheap, depending on where you live, some people might not ship to your country, and if it's a popular item, you have to bid like crazy and it kinda gets you all anxious and whatnot. Hehe.

I really like this one, currently for auction: click IT EXPIRES IN FOUR DAYS!!



And as a final option (or so), you can either find a cheap one like the ones I listed here, either in those stores, from those websites, (or even try vintage/secondhand/thrift stores!!), and CUSTOMIZE IT YOURSELF. (Trust me, it's a super fun thing to do).

Especially if you find one on the plainer side, like those forever21.com ones. You can either use strips of another fabric in a contrasting color, or ribbon or hunt for awesome trim at your local fabric store and add it to the jacket's edges or sleeves for easy DIY details like on Matt's jacket. You don't even have to know how to sew. You can find a good fabric glue and go crazy!! DIY stuff looks especially awesome, and gets you even more "rock star" points, in my book ;)


For example, I customized this plain gray tshirt to look like a military jacket using just ribbon, fabric, and buttons:




You likey?

I've actually also made military jackets before, like this green one:



I made it for some dood... in some band called Kill Hannah, last year. (By the way, he claims that he gets his jackets from a place called Newport News. It's actually a site/catalog for older women, but he swears by it... this is what I mean when I say it honestly doesn't matter whether a jacket is "meant" for a male or a female!!).

Aspiring designer that I am, I should have just written an entire post about how you should hire me and not try to drive away my business by showing you all these links to OTHER makers.

But the truth is I'm still learning a ton.

I'd offer to make YOU a custom one, "Anonymous", but I can't really give you an up front price on it, because it would depend on what materials I use. And also, this guy was kinda easy to make something for because I kind of had an idea of his size since I had met him once before... and also, it would probably take me an eternity because I'm a perfectionist...

But if you honestly think you'd trust me, I'd be more than happy to help you out :) I need the practice, after all. And ONE OF THESE DAYS, I *will* have more easily accessible items for everyone. And I'll take over the world. Yes.

And if all else fails, I DO at least sell awesome military style medals that you can adorn whatever jacket you choose with. (Link to my Etsy shop is on the sidebar, to your right).


WOW. I *really* hope that helps you out. Certainly tired me out! Let me know what you think/what you decide, "Anonymous"!!!!!!!!!




:D

I want everything. I want to be perfect.

currently listening to: Innerpartysystem - self titled.


"For someone with grandiose dreams of shredding it onstage - but no real musical talent to speak of- the return of the band jacket is a godsend. Be it bright red, sequined, or DayGlo, the topper can make you look like a rock star... the jacket itself is reminiscent of military garb- no surprise, since early marching bands were associated with city-state armies, directing troops across the battlefield with various toots and honks. While modern incarnations of these bands still make use of martial traditions... the jacket has true rock'n'roll roots.

This is in large part thanks to the Beatles. It was 1967, and the Fab Four had commissioned famous theater costumiers Bermans & Nathans to make the coats featured on the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover. Withing days of that record's release, it seemed everyone on London's King's Road was covered in epaulets.



From there, the braided and buttoned combo went psychedelic (thanks, Jimi Hendrix)...



New Wave (here's to you, Adam Ant),



and pop (hello, Michael Jackson) **Ella's note: M.J. scares the crap out of me and I refuse to post a picture of him** :)

...before returning to it's rock core recently with appearances on the backs of Coldplay's Chris Martin and the Killers' Brandon Flowers (both courtesy of Dolce & Gabbana)".

ARTICLE: "FOLLOW THE LEADER" WRITTEN BY REBECCA WILLA DAVIS - NYLON MAGAZINE, JULY 2009 - THE MUSIC ISSUE.





OF COURSE... leave it to Nylon to leave out the most famous of these recent band jackets, yet:

Remember The Black Parade...???



Brandon Flowers and Chris Martin (or anyone else in the present day for that matter) didn't start wearing these kinds of jackets until AFTER Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance, appearing as The Black Parade, came onto the scene in 2006. He hired Colleen Atwood (the legendary costume designer behind Tim Burton movies including Sleepy Hollow and Sweeney Todd), to make him and his band black and gold marching band uniforms. Shortly thereafter, TrippNYC ripped off the look in a cheap way (like they always seem to do) and hawked it in Hot Topic.

And even more recently, Mat Devine of Kill Hannah wore a white military style jacket during the entire Hope for the Hopeless tour last year.





So where does Ella Anarchy come into all this? The other day, I realized I like layering vests over my tank dresses, and I saw a picture of a cool black denim vest, so seeing as how I don't own a black denim jacket (to cut the sleeves off of), I went thrifting for one. That's when the universe sent me this:



I mean SERIOUSLY. How Black Parade is this?!? The only problem however... was that even as cool as it is, it looked HELLA TACKY on me. Like, it had these gigantic shoulder pads, it weighed about ten pounds, and as much as I WANTED to like the fringe on the shoulders, I couldn't get past how "rodeo" it makes it look. So after careful deliberation and inner debating with myself, (and since I was unable to find another black denim jacket), I decided to attack it with my scissors.

I cut off the sleeves, removed the bulky shoulder pads... thought about leaving the fringe, but decided against it, and then suddenly got the idea to braid the strands into several little braids and turn them upwards. (Unfortunately, you can't see them very well in the picture unless you strain your eyes really closely at the shoulders). I took in the sides a little to give it shape, added my handmade medals, and VOILA.

Ella Anarchy's version of the band jacket for hot summer days:



Militaristic vests are just as cool as jackets. See??




What do YOU think? do you think I butchered an awesome jacket or is the vest cooler? Thoughts and opinions, pleaaaase :)