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In case you missed it, The Weeknd’s Super Bowl Halftime performance was the most exciting part of last week’s Super Bowl. We didn’t care too much for the teams playing and we hoped it would at least be an exciting game, but it wasn’t. The Weeknd, however, delivered on a fun performance with all of his hits and what felt like a jab to the Grammys after their snub. We were secretly hoping that he’d play a song off of one of his older mixtapes, but that’s okay.
After watching the actual event the morning of, I was so overwhelmed that I forgot there was an entire evening portion. As I was getting ready for bed, I caught up with a post that showed all the performances I had missed. To be honest, I didn’t care about everyone performing and this was the only one that I watched. But why did Katy Perry’s performance make me so emotional? There was something about the over extravagant fireworks and everyone watching them while listening to “Firework” that put me over the top.
It has only been a few days, but I feel incredibly relieved about everything. There has been a stiffness that I have felt for the last four years. And even just the last few weeks of silence paint a picture of what things could have been like all along.
This wouldn’t be the first time that both Vice President Kamala Harris and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden have made a statement with their outfit choices. Yesterday’s message on Inauguration Day was clear and very intentional. American fashion is returning to The White House. Vice President Kamala Harris chose to spotlight two up-and-coming Black designers beginning her Inauguration Day look with a purple dress and jacket by Christopher John Rogers. In the evening, she donned a tuxedo overcoat and dress by Sergio Hudson.
First Lady Dr. Jill Biden was absolutely radiant in a custom coat and dress set by Markarian, a New York City based womenswear label founded by Alexandra O’Neill. The oceanic blue hue wool tweet coat was accented by its matching blue velvet collar and cuffs.
And because they are also featured in the photo above, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that President Joe Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff both wore suits by Ralph Lauren. [Source]
While all eyes were on our Vice President and First Lady, there are a few other notable outfits from Inauguration Day that we need to address.
We would love anything Michelle Obama wears, but that head-to-toe burgundy and plum outfit was perfection. As if Sergio Hudson hadn’t already snagged a win with dressing VP Kamala Harris later in the evening, he secured another nod with this outfit. This ensemble was entirely by Sergio Hudson once again! [Source]
Next up, we have Amanda Gorman’s powerful ensemble in yellow and red. Side note, that Prada headband is already sold out as of today. The 22-year old Inaugural poet chose Prada because of the designer’s intellect and position on feminism.
We’re sharing a second photo because the details in this are worth discussing. Amanda Gorman’s matching mask with her Prada headband is a vision. On her right hand, she’s wearing a ring with a caged bird that was gifted by none other than Oprah herself. If it’s not obvious by now, Amanda Gorman was the woman we all aspire to be yesterday. I can’t wait to see what amazing things she will produce in the years to come. [Source]
Ella Emhoff showed up ultra glam to the Inauguration in this embellished Miu Miu coat.
From her Instagram, Meena Harris shared her unintentional twinning moment with Ella Emhoff in their prairie-style dresses. Ella wore a dress designed by Batsheva while Meena wore a similar style by Ulla Johnson. [Source]
How stunning is this first family? There is so much fun and personality in these dresses. While we’ve never been that excited about fashion and politics prior, this is now something I’m very much looking forward to. President Joe Biden’s granddaughters are definitely going to create quite a buzz for the next four years.
This is the worst photo that I’m sharing, but I read a note yesterday that his granddaughters intentionally chose pink, white, and tan/brown coats to represent Neapolitan ice cream – President Joe Biden’s favorite. They are adorable.
Leave it to Bernie Sanders to completely steal the show on Inauguration Day. Arriving today with a strong showing of his mittens, arms crossed, and using a cell phone like your grandfather, he left the internet with no choice to turn him into a meme. And boy, did this take off! Here are just a few of my favorites from the day:
If I had a dollar for every post comparing this morning to Christmas morning…
I didn’t wake up with those sentiments. I did, however, wake up an hour early feeling all of the anticipation and nerves. Even with some buffer time to run and grab a quick coffee, I quickly abandoned those plans. Too afraid to miss any part of the Inauguration itself, I stayed put. I couldn’t tell you how long the actual event took place because time felt like it flew by. I was in complete awe from start to finish. At the end of it, I started my actual work day feeling hopeful and inspired.
It was quite the opposite reaction I had four years ago when it was instead 45 getting sworn in. Amongst all the praise and memes that filled my social media today (which I loved) the underlying emotion that I felt from everyone was relief. Better days are ahead. Now we turn the page. This is our next chapter. America is not a perfect country by any means. We were handed quite a mess, but we are in much better hands. I could go on and on about all of the upsetting things that have happened in the last few weeks that we’ve not so quietly re-shared in the form of posts that others have written. Instead, I think it’s best to move forward. Four years was enough and now we leave it behind.
Instead, I want to take a moment to celebrate the amazing things that happened today.
How wild is it to see red carpets? It has been a year since award show season, but the lack of red carpets through the rest of the year feels strange. Upon seeing this, I wondered for a second if the pandemic was over because why would there still be a red carpet happening if it weren’t? I’m sure I’m not the only one that asks that question to themselves. Let’s put that aside for now and just admire Hunter in this stunning Givenchy dress. We know Zendaya to be the red carpet scene stealer in year’s past, but Hunter is coming for her crown now!
Who: Hunter Schafer
Wearing: Givenchy
Where: 30th Annual Gotham Awards
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Before I read this article, I didn’t even know that the Super Bowl Halftime show was only 12 minutes long. It always seemed much longer to be, but now reading 12 minutes, that seems like nothing. Pepsi said the decision to double the time was because we all missed out on a ton of live performances this year and they want this performance to feel like a concert. That seems nice. I also think The Weeknd sort of deserves something like this especially after getting shut out from The Grammys.
Regardless, we’re looking forward to it!
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For the first time ever, we were more excited for another country’s New Year’s Eve celebration. Honestly, it’s a low bar because I don’t even love New Year’s Eve to begin with! This year, I decided to split a ticket with a friend so that we could watch BTS’s label, Big Hit, throw their New Year’s Eve concert special. While the performances were pre-recorded due to COVID restrictions, they still aired it “live.” And if we do the math, live by Korea times equals to me waking up at 4:00 AM Pacific Time and wrapping up the show by 7:30 AM Pacific Time. The next day felt like the longest day ever as I tried to bring myself back to my normal sleep schedule, but it was worth it. Somehow, I managed to make it to midnight for our own New Year’s Eve, but fell asleep promptly after.
BTS performed their usual hits as of late, “Dynamite” and “Life Goes On,” but they also brought back a classic: “Best of Me.” Even though I wished their set list could have been longer, their collaborations with Steve Aoki, Lauv, and Halsey were still a treat. Big Hit wouldn’t share all of their performances with us, but they did post “Dynamite” and I never get tired of watching it. I’m also sharing TXT and Enhypen performances which I also loved!
Okay, so we’ve seen enough “Dynamite” performance to last us a lifetime, but I’ll never pass up watching any of their recent performances. That’s because despite them needing to continue to promote their Grammy-nominated single, every performance is different in some way. For the recent SBS award show in Daegu on Christmas, every performance had a holiday theme to it. It was a fresh take we didn’t know we needed. Since Yoongi is still out for his shoulder, the group also made sure to have a playful nod to him by making him a snowman for the “Life Goes On” and “Dynamite” performance. You knew it was him because the camera would always pan to the snowman during Yoongi’s parts and it even had a microphone in front of him at one point. We love all of their performances, but this one might be one of my favorites.
Unrelated, but we’re also a fan of the group’s younger “siblings” Together x Tomorrow. I can’t get enough of “Blue Hour” so we’re including their SBS performance as well.