passion is in fashion

*Not* the movie about Puyi, but the one about Valentino.  Saw it this week and loved it so much.  It was such an honest documentary, and even included scene where Valentino was throwing a tantrum at the cameraman and running away.  Would like to quote Roger Sterling here on Creative Directors: “imagine he knows just as much about business as you do, but inside there is a child wanting to get out.”  Ah — Roger Sterling knows everything about life!!!

For anyone who has already seen it, how awesome were the pugs?!

Just saw this.  It was absolutely precious (sometimes even a little *too* precious.)  How adorable was Zooey Deschanel in this one?  The bangs… flats… and retro woven sundresses (very Bottega SS collection!) Perfect inspiration for dressing library-chic.

And, do you think the IKEA sequence was product placement?

From the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack.  I’m kind of obsessed with her.  Find out more via Wikipedia.

Only it’s M S Barcelona: Birthday trip with the Honey, July to August, 2009.

Patricia quotes Rilke: “Between grief and nothing I will take grief.”

This is the phrase which led some readers here.  Since you asked, here we go.

The adult Latika did not have many lines in the film Slumdog Millionaire.  Her role was acting as the symbol of all things past, what could have been, the innocence the kids have lost.  Rescuing her from the clutches of the gangsters was a way of righting all the wrong.  Simply, she stood there; looked gorgeous; and let the boy think of ways to come to her and realize that dream.

Why yellow?  It is the color of the highest frequency, and therefore it stands out the most.  This is why a lot of firefighters wear yellow, a lot of roadsigns are yellow, and why we tend to draw stars as yellow.  Therein lies the three key symbolisms of the color: standout, caution, and star quality.

The little Latika wore a muted shade of yellow in the rain scene.   This is both endearing and prescient.  The yellow cotton dress was indeed muted because it was so dirty, since little Latika was accustomed to running around in the slums.  On the other hand, it also signified the danger the situation presented.  Who is that little girl?  Should the brothers invite her to join them in their hideout from the rain?  Alas, they did, and thank god.  Lastly, her little cotton dress is prescient of the star she would become later in the film.

Ever since being captured by the gangsters, Latika has worn brighter and brighter shades of yellow, which signifies the increasing danger of her situation, and the caution necessary to approach her.  In the first train scene, she worn a bright yellow Indian tunic which allowed Jamal to spot her from afar.  But at the same time, it also helped the gangsters to find her and capture her.  In the frantic chase which followed, she was a little noticeable blob of yellow moving in the chaos.  So yellow, in this case, forewarned danger and caution.

In the last train scene in which Latika and Jamal were finally united, she wore the simplest outfit possible – a white tank top, blue jeans, and black flats.  It was nondescript if not for the bright yellow traditional Indian scarf wrapped around her neck and shoulders.  The casualness and ease with which the yellow accessory has a twofold meaning.  First, although they are safe now, Latika can never forget where she came from.  Even dressed in simple and modern clothing – just like any other girl – the yellow scarf harkens back to her past, as a  little girl gazing at the brothers in the rain, or as the gangster’s girlfriend trying to escape at the train station.  The more hopeful though less romantic reading, is that the scarf can so easily be shed, that she and Jamal are ready for their new beginning, leaving their unusual and tragic past in the dust.

Yellow is a standout color.  In throngs of people, Latika stood out like a ray of light.  To Jamal, she has always been a ray to light in his mind, so to speak.  Her dressing in yellow similarly conveyed this to the audience.

After all, all things worth approaching take a little caution.

Images via Fox Searchlight Pictures. Slumdog Millionaire (2008).