Elaine Benes, an unlikely fashion icon

Elaine, fashion icon

  
If you ask me what my favorite TV show of all times is you may be surprised that as a "fashionista" is not Sex and the City, or Gossip Girl, or... The O.C. or whatever. Nop, it's not Friends either. God forbid. Don't get me wrong, I love Carrie and Blair and Summer –I even loved Rachel at some point– but there's nothing, I repeat NOTHING, like Seinfeld. And for all of you who think the show has nothing to do with fashion, think again.

OK, it's not really about fashion. But it had amazing fashion choices. The costume design was flawless. Each of the characters reflected who they were with their clothes: Kramer's loud shirts, George's checked shirts with white t-shirts under them, Jerry's denim everything and white sneakers.

But Elaine was the best, she was so 90s. Amazing: floral dresses, masculine suits, black shoes with white socks. And a lot, I mean A LOT, of vests. Also, I find her hair choices really inspiring. She did everything: short, long, braids, curly, straight... You name it.

Denim on Denim.

Menswear... Love the shoes!

I think she's super pretty.

With Jerry in matching suits.

And this BuzzFeed article explains everything anbout how is not only her fashion but her EVERYTHING, that makes me wanna be like her. Sort of. She even worked in publishing and a J.Crew-style catalog! Writing, editing and fashion? Sounds like me... I also LOVE that she hated "The English Patient" the way I hated "The Illusionist". Hating a movie eeeeveryone loves? Very me.

Anyway, Elaine was so crazy with her choices and quirks (the way she danced!) so authentic that she is an absolut icon for me.


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Cuando alguien me pregunta sobre mi programa favorito se sorprenden de que no sea Sex and the City o Gossip Girl. La verdad es que esos me encantan, sobre todo por la moda pero creo que mi favorito de todos los tiempos siempre será Seinfeld. 
No, yo sé que no tiene mucho que ver con moda, pero la verdad es que el programa tuvo un excelente diseñador de vestuario que supo reflejar la personalidad de cada uno de los personajes en su vestuario.
Uno de mis ídolos, por lo tanto, es Elaine Benes. Sus looks son muy de los noventas. Precisamente porque el show era en esos años. Pero me encanta la forma en que se refleja su personalidad. Amo que trabajara en editoriales y en un catálogo al estilo J.Crew y que un día decidió cortarse todo el pelo nada más por que sí. Como yo. Me gustan sus chamarras de mezclilla, sus miles de chalecos y sus trajes masculinos. Creo que son looks que se pueden aplicar súper bien a la moda de hoy, sobre todo jumpsuits y pantalones de vestir a la cintura. 
Pero bueno, lo que más me gusta es que es un personaje completamente loco y libre. Y eso se refleja en su ropa. Un verdadero ícono.

Praise for Jim and Cindy Walsh

When I was 10, my mom wouldn't let me watch Beverly Hills 90210. She said it was for grown ups. I used to hide and watch it but didn't really understand anything. When I was around 18, I started watching re-runs and loved it. It was so ridiculous I couldn't stop watching. My only regret is that I have never watched the last episode.

The first theme song that was later changed.

In the beginning I didn't really like Brandon and Brenda's parents, Jim and Cindy. I still think they are annoying and stupid. But watching some episodes I now realize why I can't really hate them. They are a lot like my own parents.

Jim and Cindy Walsh being annoying in the 90s.

My parents are dorky too. My father listens to Neil Diamond and dances horribly. My mom is boring in a different way, she pretends she knows the bands I like but messes the names when she tries to talk to me about them. My parents are dorky and boring. And I am very, very happy they are like that.

I can't stand the whole concept of "cool parents" or girls that claim "my mom is my best friend." Parents are not supposed to be your friends or be cool, much less go out with you and your friends. Maybe I would change some things my parents did when I was younger, but I would never want to have Kelly's junkie mom or David's cheater dentist father.

BFFs

I finally stopped watching The Hills. I couldn't do it anymore after Lauren left. I don't know what MTV was thinking bringing Kristin Cavallari to replace her. What I can't stop thinking about is the concept of "best friends" that this show tries to push. I've been thinking about this for a long time now. Ever since I move to the U.S. and started watching (even more) American TV. And to still be reading Pretty Little Liars is not helping either. Don't get me wrong, I love my friends... I just hate the concept.

Pretty Little Liars is a series of books about a BFF
so awful to her friends, she ends up dead.

In American pop culture everything is about being BFFs with someone so you talk to them about boys and clothes (nothing else). But for a long time now, whenever I try to think about who is my BFF, I can't. I believe in the concept of having (possibly many) good friends. And there are friends for different parts of one's life. Friends to party, friends for crying, friends for when you need to be told you're a b*tch.

In this group of friends I have one for (almost) every need.

My dad still can't understand why Facebook or Twitter are so important for keeping friends. But I like to keep contact with friends that I don't see often. Like my friend Luis. I met him when we spent a semester at a boarding school in the French Alps. He now lives in a beach in Mexico while I go to school in Savannah. We probably have seen each other less than 10 times since leaving France in December 2003, but I still consider him one of my good friends. He's my music-friend. And thanks to social media we're going to Austin City Limits in September. Just as if we saw each other every day. No need of calling each other BFFs. And with no drama worthy of a reality show.

Luis and me in London.