oh my god i'm totally buggin'...

thought i'd share a few pics of my 90s girl crush alicia silverstone.

remember the Aerosmith video for "crazy"? i think everybody fell a little bit in love with her then, and this was the catalyst that inspired movie director amy heckerling to cast her as the lead (cher) in pretty much my all time fave film ever, "clueless".

she had such an innocent, girly vulnerability about her which made her perfect to play cher. i first saw 'clueless' when i was 10 and i've NEVER got sick of it, despite being able to quote word for fucking word. who could forget her great advice - "dionne when your allergies act up take out your nose ring" and her mis-pronunciations "And so if the government could just get to the kitchen, rearrange some things, we could certainly party with the hai-tee-ans". just a few examples of the life lessons i learnt from cher.

to top it off alicia was a bonafide grunge icon. just check out my pics for the proof

happy birthday edith head

a little off the subject of grunge but i'm remembering edith head today as it would have been her 116th birthday (thanks for the memo google).

edith was an american costume designer who dressed the main players such as grace kelly, sophia loren, audrey hepburn and liz taylor. she was a fave costume designer of alfred hitchcock as she chose to shun short lived costume fads, resulting in timeless outfits and have reflected the classic films.

as a young woman with no experience in either costume design or illustration edith blagged her way in to paramount studios using someone else's designs at the interview*. the blagging paid off as edith went on to scoop 8 oscars for her costume designs on movies such as sabrina and rear window.

check out the pics for a glimpse in to the glamorous world of edith head.

Audrey Hepburn

Ginni Adams

Edith with her 8 Academy Awards

Edith Head

Edith Head

Edith Head quote

Edith Head

Liz Taylor illustration

Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina

*note to self, lie at interviews...

leather love

so last night i was invited along to the i love 2 love leather jacket blogger event. BUT that's all i'm gonna say about that for now cos i have pics to upload and a full post about the event coming tomorrow so just sshhh!

but it inspired me to take a look through the kurtcouture archives - with a little help from google - at just a few of my favourite leather clad idols.

i don't see leather ever getting old (not literally, just in the context of style, obvs). leather is just synonymous with cool, unless you're jeremy clarkson. are you jeremy clarkson? if you answered yes then hello and why are you reading my blog? from johnny & kate to madonna a simple leather number can be worn in so many ways and it never fails to add edge to any outfit (again unless you're jezza clarkson).

more on this tomorrow, but for now here's a kids you'll know looking super bad ass and rocking a leather: if you don't recognise them then you'd better go home.

when courteney cox ruled the world...

today's inspiration comes in the form of 90s girl crush courteney cox. from her early appearance in bruce springsteen's 1984 music video 'dancing in the dark' (apparently the inspiration for carlton banks dancing!) to her memorable performance as monica gellar in 'friends' CC had that 90s grunge girl look down.

it was baggy jeans, john lennon glasses and tea dresses all round for courteney during her hey day and with that super slim bod she could always pull off the look.

i love her character monica - can totes relate to the OCD! but it was always the clothes i noticed. as for the hair, well, let's just say there were some dodgy do's. but we can forgive when we study her finer moments. here are some of my faves:

instyle.com

the hair is amazing here. and the hooped ear rings, perfectly shaped brows, piercing blue eyes and the brown lippie. sigh.

tumblr.com

this is the sweetest photo! loving the sunnies here. 

fanpop.com

white vest with high waisted black trousers = YES

ew.com

staple 90s ditsy print strappy dress. i'm constantly on an eBay hunt for ones like this

imdb.com

i'm not crazy about the hat. but another ditsy print gets the thumbs up from me. although this outfit is clearly overshadowed by ace ventura's Hawaiian shirt, white vest and high wasited red trousers combo - winner.

hotcourteneycox.blogspot

where the heck can i get those glasses from?? love them.

sweetandtalented.com

slightly cheeseball shoot here. but how much are we diggin that red leather dress and pocahontas hair?! HOW!

ultimateclassicrock.com

and of course i've thrown this one in for good measure. although the jury's still out on this one...

inspired by work today...

...so the content team just sent out an email requesting our fave cover songs to post on the blog. a few good ones being thrown around like all along the watchtower by jimi hendrix, originally by bob dylan and pale blue eyes by the kills, originally by the velvet underground.

this one was an easy one for me. i first heard nirvana's cover of the man who sold the world by david bowie on my 13th birthday as i had the nirvana unplugged in new york album from my friends (thanks guys, game-changer!) and i've never looked back. i know i've harped on many'a about nirvana and the grunge scene and how it shaped my musical tastes bla bla BLA but this also introduced me to david bowie - pre-labyrinth days!

i was catapulted further in to my appreciation for nirvana but i think the introduction of bowie minus goblins and tight leggings was the most exciting part of this prezzie. although don't think for a second that i don't like labyrinth.

so anyway here it is:

ryan gosling and puppies...

god could ryan gosling get any more pant-moistening? he recently wrote a news article for canadian 'globe and mail' about the rights of pigs in his native canada. something about them being in cages or whatever but that's not important...the important thing is he's not only ripped, beautiful, talented and - notoriously - a feminist, but he wuvs widdle animals too! 


there are no words.

who stole the show at glastonbury festival 2013?

...if you ask me it had to be the smashing pumpkins. billy corgan and the gang (albeit no longer young cherubs and barely even the original line up) performed a surprisingly retrospective set on the last night at glastonbury festival 2013. pulling out the old fave's like 'tonight, tonight, 'today' and a flawless cover of david bowie's 'space oddity' the crowd didn't even mind the big screen glimpse of corgan's beer belly peeping out of his too tight top. enjoy...

“There's an old Italian saying: you f*ck up once, you lose two teeth.” - Tony Soprano

yesterday somebody died who i felt was almost part of my family. james gandolfini AKA tony soprano genuinely had the biggest impact on me of any other tv character before or since. the sopranos perfectly encapsulated 21st century living and I was hooked from the first time I saw those hunched shoulders and heard that heavy breathing that defined the man himself, T. not exactly a likeable or particularly charming guy, but the one thing tony had was that he was knowable. i really felt as though i knew him and so the death of the genius who played him has been a shock.

i spent about 6 months watching the sopranos and i regard it as a turning point in my life. it taught me some life skills. i felt like i grew with the characters, if they were moody, i was moody. and no one could do moody better than tony. he was so well played by gandolfini, all he had to do was throw a look or breathe differently and it would change the whole atmosphere of the episode. i liked the way he’d have a conversation with himself in therapy, muttering his frustrations away. he was very vulnerable in that psychiatric chair yet he kept at it because he needed the release, and the sexual tension between him and dr melfi was undeniable and addictive.

in many ways tony was just your average family man. difficult kids, high maintenance but desperately loyal wife and a secondary family that extended amongst his friends and “colleagues”. the episodes where he found out that Vito was gay were particularly poignant for me as it was apparent tony had evolved beyond his usual tough guy reflexes. he showed a tolerance towards his choice when others wanted him whacked. it was these times that he hinted at a softer side. a human side.

i could literally go on forever about my favourite scenes, episodes and tony-isms but this isn't really what this post is for. there were many up’s, many downs, many meals and many mithers for tony during the six series that The Sopranos ran. and if you haven’t watched it, you should. it completely changed the dynamic of tv shows to come and james gandolfini became the HBO king with his portrayal of tony. never has a man worn vests and cheap polyester so well.

RIP.

in preparation for glasto...

pre-glasto warm-up...

...essential while this weather refuses to let up! so depressing when we get a peep of sunshine for a few hours followed closely by...whatever the hell this is. anyways. i thought i'd upload a few images that have inspired me today. they look warm and summery and transport me to a place i wanna (and soon will) be - officially now on countdown in 3...2...1...GLAST-OFF! praying for sunshine, praying.

24.media.tumblr.com

sunkissed-summer-skin.tumblr.com

etsy.com

coleoptere.us

my pal jess in india? (correct me if i'm wrong pal!)

absquatulations.tumblr.com

tides.tumblr.com

alifepoetic.tumblr.com