Pretty Little Fashion

Since its conception in 2010, ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars has delighted us with murder, mystery – and cutting edge fashion. The Liars, comprising of Emily (Shay Mitchell), Spencer (Troian Bellisario), Aria (Lucy Hale) and Hanna (Ashley Benson), always stay ahead of the trends, and despite the serious situations they get themselves into, they always look fabulous. The show has been known for its forward-thinking fashion sense, and the girls have become style icons, with many young people looking to them to highlight the latest trends and ways to wear certain outfits.

Each Liar has a distinctive style and this is what makes the show so striking and unique. Emily usually likes to kick it more casual in tank tops, denim hoodies and baseball tees whilst Spencer is known for her preppy edge, opting for riding boots, striped polo jumpers and smart shirts. Aria is the alternative of the group, which means her fashion can often be a bit outlandish and hit and miss, but when she does it right she shines. Most of the time she’s wearing wacky leopard prints, lace, leather and lots of jewellery. Hanna, originally known for her glamorous ensembles and elaborate jewellery, went through a bit of a grunge phase which means she can know be seen in a mix of tattered tees, ripped jeans and jumpers, but with an expensive twist. But it’s not just the Liars who take centre stage fashionwise, the girls’ former queen bee, Alison DiLaurentis (Sasha Pieterse) is always on hand to steal the spotlight with her striking outfits (possessing a penchant for yellow) with elaborate sequin detailing. Similarly, Mona (formerly ‘A’, played by Janel Parrish) opts for more dark attire and can be seen usually in leather jackets and dresses, and opts for a red/ white/ black palette.

Once again, this is a sneaky little extract from an article I wrote for Concrete, and if you've enjoyed what you've read so far and would like to read a bit more about Spencer, Emily, Hanna, Aria, Alison & Mona's outfits (including the fabulous Season 6 summer finale dresses) then you can, at this link: http://www.concrete-online.co.uk/pretty-little-fashion/

Halsey - BADLANDS [Album Review]

With her striking teal hair and enigmatic aura, Halsey is distinctly different from your average singer, and her music reflects this originality. Unique, and with a lust for the alternative, her debut studio album, entitled Badlands, was bound to be an interesting adventure. Coming from an alternative route into music, her rise to prominence was largely due to the release of ‘Ghost’, a song she posted to SoundCloud that gained enough attention, that the record labels started knocking. And now, a debut EP (Room 93) and a couple of supporting tours later and we have arrived at the release of Badlands.

Sufficed to say that Badlands is a concept album, referring to the singer’s state of mind through metaphor as a “desolate and lonely place”, setting up expectations for what we can expect from the album’s content. It should come as no surprise that the singer has described her creation as an “angry female record”, which presents itself in the first atmospheric opening track, ‘Castle’, as she darkly states that she is “sick of all these people talking, sick of all this noise”. With vocals not dissimilar to that of Lana Del Rey, Lorde, BANKS or Marina Diamandis, Halsey’s (real name Ashley Frangipane) sound can come across quite imaginative and alluring. But perhaps what Halsey does best is inject a bit of her addictive persona into the tracks she creates; ‘Castle’ starts off with an intriguing plethora of alt beats only to overwhelm you with a chorus of choir music one minute in.

This is just a little extract from my review of Halsey's BADLANDS, hope you've enjoyed reading it. If you'd like to read the rest of the review, including the final verdict, then you can check it out, over at Concrete: http://www.concrete-online.co.uk/album-review-badlands/ 

Also, let me know what you think of BADLANDS in the comments, I always enjoy reading them. Thanks everyone for the support and for reading my blog (despite my extended absence over the past month!).