When Marsha announced that this month’s Songful Style challenge was Rock Me Amadeus, I honestly didn’t know where to begin. It’s such an iconic 80s song, but it’s also one of the most unusual songs ever to reach number one.
Released in 1985 by Austrian singer Falco, Rock Me Amadeus became an international sensation and, remarkably, was the first—and still only—German-language song to top both the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100. Inspired by the 1984 film Amadeus, the song imagines Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as a modern-day rock star: wildly talented, hugely successful, glamorous, controversial and surrounded by fame and excess. It’s a wonderfully eccentric concept that somehow works brilliantly.
As it turns out, my shoes were the starting point. These wonderfully theatrical shoes (I think they’re Ruby Shoos… or Irregular Choice—I really should keep better track!) have a wonderfully extravagant feel that somehow reminded me of the excess of both Mozart’s era and the flamboyant style of the 1980s.
My original plan was to pair them with a pair of knee breeches to give a subtle nod to eighteenth-century fashion. I even found a lovely pair on Vinted last year, but sadly they were too small. Typical! I also considered wearing a pair of yoga trousers gathered just below the knee, but they didn’t quite feel like proper trousers for this look. In the end, I settled on these old denim culottes, which kind of give a similar silhouette without looking like I’m about to perform in a period drama.
The emerald green blouse with its soft ruffles around the neck and fluted sleeves adds a little of that classical elegance, while the black velvet waistcoat introduces a touch of rock-and-roll attitude. Add some oversized gold earrings and rings, my quirky green glasses and those gloriously dramatic shoes, and suddenly everything seemed to come together.
For anyone unfamiliar with the song, Rock Me Amadeus isn’t actually about Mozart’s music at all. Falco used Mozart as a symbol of genius, fame, excess and celebrity, imagining what one of history’s greatest composers might have been like had he lived in the modern world. It’s an unusual concept, but that’s exactly why the song became such a memorable hit.
Rather than recreating a costume, I wanted my outfit to capture that blend of classical style and modern confidence. It feels slightly theatrical (the shoes!) — I wish it were a tad more eccentric — but still it’s completely wearable—which, for me, is exactly what these Songful Style challenges are all about. Last month we styled Build Me Up Buttercup.
Now, if only those gloriously theatrical shoes were as comfortable as they are fabulous…
Don’t forget to check out how my fabulous co-hosts, Shelbee and Marsha, styled this challenge. And please join us next month, when we’ll be styling Shelbee’s song choice of “Mondnacht” (Moonlight Night) by German composer Robert Schumann. And now for the link-up!
