At the end of last week I was lucky enough to spend a few days in Barcelona with one of my best pals and fellow Spitfire Sister Anna. We had a delightful time walking around, eating and drinking (ahem, mostly drinking) and I was not looking forward to coming home. I knew I had a lot of packing and organising ahead of me, a vast amount of things to do and not a lot of time available.
As soon as we arrived back in London, I checked the BBC website to check the World Cup scores. However, information far more exciting than anything football related appeared on my screen. The What's On iPlayer section listed Billy Joel: The Bridge to Russia, and Billy Joel Live in Leningrad as its top programmes.
I LOVE Billy Joel. He is my favourite musical artist of all time. I've seen him live. I own all his CDs. I'm collecting his records on vinyl. I have a t shirt hanging on my wall from his River of Dreams tour.
I'll write it again. I LOVE BILLY JOEL.
As I was watching both the documentary and the concert, I realised there is something unbelievably cool about him that I hadn't noticed before. Billy Joel was a snazzy dresser.
I found myself wanting to replicate his outfit, from his oversized jacket to his white sneakers.He looked so effortless and yet so well put together that I was overcome by serious ensemble envy.
Thinking about it, however, I seem to get envious over men's fashion from the 80s and the 90s far more frequently than the women's fashion from those decades. There is something so casual about the way men dressed; the pieces are thrown together but sit so well with each other.
Exhibit B: Billy Crystal in When Harry Met Sally
Harry's approach to dressing seems to match his views on love and relationships - don't care, whatever works, can't be bothered. But the collar of his shirt paired with that terrible old man jumper? Luscious. I couldn't recreate that if I tried, and I frequently do.
Then there are the boys of St. Elmo's Fire, my favourite film of all time (apart from White Christmas,but it's really only appropriate to watch it in December so I have to have another favourite to watch from January to November). While Kirby and Alec don't tend to deviate from the outfits required for their chosen professions, Billy and Kevin have more freedom in wearing layers, oversized shirts, and in the case of Rob Lowe's saxophone playing bad boy Billy, feathery earrings and a ridiculous number of badges.
And the outdoor wear! This is why I love winter. Coats, jumpers, scarves and hats.
I grew up stealing every item of clothing that my dad and brother threw away, and now I know why. I thought Billy Joel only inspired my musical habits, but he had a bigger hold on me than I ever knew.