Flashback Friday – Laws of Style from a Queen

Make-up/Hair/Styled By: H.A.U.S of Kolbee
Photographed by: Czarinna Bravo Tabobo
Model: Deva Nitins
*H.A.U.S of Kolbee is a group of artists/designers from Vancouver dedicated to exposing every type of beauty and making fierce fashion frugal.

Through the best of times and the worst of times; the worlds of reality and fashion have always found genuine inspiration, glimpses of hope and real light in true darkness… in Queens.

Be it that compliment you hear on a Friday night when you and your girlfriends are blowing off steam with a night on the town or in times of war, when an English teenager named Elizabeth said, “Bitch please, that’s my country.” These professional perfectionists are armed with brains, brawn and something we call the power of the female sex. Of course, an indisputable example of a queen, is Madonna.

Madonna has been a force in not just music, woman’s rights and fashion but in popular culture as well. Her every move is a calculated business measure. Like it or not, the dress she wore last night is now sold out at Holts. This lega-she with the Midas touch is the perfect candidate to teach you a little somethin’ somethin’ about fashion.

Throughout her career, the style Madonna has evoked is powerful. She is a statement all in her own. Madonna wears the clothes, never the other way around. But, always articulate and fluent in the language of fashion, Madonna chooses iconic pieces and fashion staples, but with a twist.

We all know the timeless eras of mad-Madge style. We know the Jean Paul Gaultier coned-bra Madonna, the topless nude Madonna who coincidentally had a book coming out, the initiator of that certain kiss at that certain MTV awards show that was heard around the globe.

But if Madonna is anything, she is strong. And this queen’s got style. These are the influences Madonna left behind strategically so that woman everywhere can know a single-mom of four children can always look fabulous making ‘her-story’:

Rule numero uno: nods to old hollywood. Remember our 80′s Madonna with the jelly bracelet addiction? Even green in the business, our lady in style always knew that a bold defined brow, thin cat-liner and a bold red lip was always a good idea. When a woman is faced with the question of ‘would a dash of class go with this PVC latex bodysuit?’, Madonna would suggest you say ‘yes’. Adding a cape or a fur throw, choosing classic silhouettes, and investing in some staple jewelry pieces could be a way to show that even gold can be a ‘girls best friend’.

And for the girls on the go, our favourite yummy mummy, thought of that too. One word. Menswear-as-womanswear. At a point in her career, this virgin needed to rebel. She needed to “express” herself. So to empower herself, she became the ultimate tom-boy. Madonna became a tom-man.

Girls around the world, if you want to be sharp and sophisticated, put on a well-tailored suit or borrow your boyfriend’s blazer with the sleeves rolled-up. The trick to being fool-proof fierce is just playing with the tailoring of the jacket so it’s either flawlessly tailored or baggy on purpose. Think Calvin Klein lines. YSL’s “le smoking” tuxedo. Suddenly, selling 300 million records doesn’t seem so hard.

And for one final push towards a full fashion fear exorcism; like Edison left the world with electricity, her Madgesty left woman with the possibility of underwear as outerwear.

For the fearless fashionistas, say hello to a New York summer and match a bustier with high-waisted skinnies or a skirt.

Now, as a writer, personally I would say baby steps. But that wouldn’t be what Madge would say, would it?

So remember that Madonna, reigning Queen of Pop music, says skip the shirt, put on some Monroe-inspired makeup, and literally show your co-workers who wears the pants by donning a good ol’ fashion tailored suit; and that is the uniform of a queen who rules the world.

With love and style, Leroy Wan