Rilo Fugly

I love Rilo Kiley’s music, and on-stage, the quirky style of lead singer Jenny Lewis is generally okay for her — she favors little babydoll dresses, incongruous  knee socks, and old-school T-strap shoes, all of which rarely coordinate in any kind of sensible way,  and yet she somehow works them to an unexpectedly great effect.

But this variation, sadly, appears to working her:

[Photo by Daily Celeb.]

I’m pleased for her that she’s so happy with her legs, and she certainly deserves to be, but… that’s not really so much a dress as it is a tunic. Most people would wear something that length with pants or a skirt; she wears it with a grin and a prayer. Indeed, I’ve often wondered if people in the front row at her shows can see straight up Lovers Lane into Fallopian City — in that sense she’s the indie rock version of Lil’ Kim.

What’s more, her whole trouser-sock/shoe motif is an unnecessary tribute to Boring Beige, and the coat looks like it’s left over from her days as That Cute Little Red-Headed Girl on Brooklyn Bridge fourteen years ago. I don’t even want to talk about the massive waist-tie, or those horizontal stripes, but… ladies, that horizontal stripes thing is not a myth.

So pull it together, Jenny! More Adventurous is fantastic. It deserves better than this.