18 Jan 2009

Style Icon of the Week : Janis Joplin

Who?: With it being World Peace Sunday, I think it's appropriate that iconic free loving hippie, singer/ songwriter Janis Joplin should be this week's style icon. An unconventional beauty who as mercilessly bullied at school for being 'ugly' and a 'freak', Janis grew up to go from being a creative outcast in small town Texas to the centre of the thriving hippie scene in San Francisco. An incredibly talented blues and folk musician, all three of Janis' albums have gone platinum and triple platinum. Despite her undisputed talent, Janis struggled with drugs and alcohol addictions all her life, dying tragically from a heroin overdose aged just 27.

Why?: Cited by Vogue as 'the most staggering leading woman in rock' and ranked 28 on Rolling Stones list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time, Janis was a strong woman with an equality strong, unconventional style that matched her life. While designers were cutting up hemlines with the birth of the mini skirt and experimenting with bold prints, Janis channelled essential hippie chic, favouring thrift store styling, incorporating bell bottoms, loose kaftans and recycled curtains into her look. She defined her style with endless accessories, adding heavy, intricate rings, beaded necklaces, embroidered bags, headscarves and Cossack hats to all her outfits.

What can we learn from her style?: Figure head of the hippie movement, Janis didn't seek to carve out 'a look', nor did she live her life around fashion; fashion lived around her. For Janis, clothes revolved around her musical style, not the other way around, and her outfits provided an outlet to express her sound and personality. A typical hippie, Janis' low maintenance free flowing hair and make up free skin are a world away from today's hyper polished pop stars, yet for me, her style is infinitely more iconic. It's easy to get carried away with following fashion, but sometimes we all need to take a step back and take a look at our personal style, because even if it flies in the face of all the catwalk trends, individuality is infinitely more stylish than conventionality.

10 comments:

Jelena Bu said...

shes sooo... free, i suppose. cant express my feelings, really. i love this kind of people. who absolutely doesnt care about glamour and isnt fashion victim, though has his own unforgettable style.

TheMinx said...

I absolutely love her-as soon as I started reading this post I started playing some Big Brother and the Holding Company haha. She was such an amazing artist, and it's so tragic that she wasn't around to create more.

cherie said...

i honestly don't know about her. thanks for this info!

Alecca Rox said...

Lord, won't u buy me a mercedes benz.. she's timeless. her style was nothing but a reflection of her life. larger than life, larger than style. she left too early...

Baybay Mama said...

Have you read the book, "love Janis?" If not, then go out and buy it today! It is a great biography written by her sister.

Ella Gregory said...

I think she is great but I would never try to evoke her style in any way. It's so not me.

Twiggy Mod said...

I too heard that rumour about missus moss...berloody hell ey. I cant begin to imagine mine if i decided to D.I.Y!!! xxx

yiqin; said...

Great icon! She is indeed very different from the rest :)

FASHION CHALET said...

same here, i'd be scared to go blond, maybe try with a wig first? =]

xx

Winnie said...

Aw, Janis Joplin! I need to listen to her now.