valley of the dolls

These photos (here is the second one, I removed it because I like the one on its own better) were inspired by my current moodboard, now with this wonderful wonderful Manic Panic wig I got for Jul. Taking it off is really depressing as I'm reminded of my actual hair color. And it looks great with my daisy barrettes. And with toothpaste.
manic panic wig, goody barrettes, and flea market dress.

daisy head mayzie

Hope those who celebrate had a good Christmas! I myself got these glorious earmuffs which had me making another moodboard this morning (RIP, teen witch for fall).

I'm thinking Valley of the Dolls and 60's and a cheesy 90's/early '00s (specific!) school supplies interpretation of flower power.

Flea market dress, thrifted belt, Barbie outfit from when I was little.

Borrowed copy of Valley of the Dolls (currently reading) and Best Coast 45.

Okutani earmuffs and vintage Givenchy sunglasses (gift.)
Mirror from when I was little, Tom Ford lipstick, Miu Miu clogs from Bergdorf.
Jacket of a book on Comme des Garcons.

Goody barrettes, erasers and ring from when I was little, Girl Scout patch from troopmoore on eBay, and blue flower from a gift from a friend.
These should be on the table but I keep things I need in them. Flea market Skipper case from 1968 and lunchbox from when I was little.

is this like a noxzema commercial or what?

I have nothing xmas-related to offer at the moment since this year has been a bit Charlie Browny, but I am, as always, thrilled to go on about fabrics that look like school supplies. Especially Cher Horowitz's school supplies.

Versus SS11 got me really excited about Christopher Kane's ways of making the line the perfect little sister to Versace. It's playful and not explicitly ~sensuale~ but includes nods to its birthmother (yeah, I just made Versace its big sister and birthmother, I guess it's Faye Dunaway in Chinatown) with neon bodycons. The prints might be some of my favorite of this season because they have a, for lack of better word and because I'm always making excuses to talk like Paula Deen, dollop of irony. Like, I just want them to cover my pencil cases and textbooks and the inside of my locker. And it wouldn't be bad to own them in clothes form, too.
Alex Prager, Adidas billboard, Kate and Naomi, Clueless, Versace SS94 by Steven Meisel, whatever, nails.

back to school

These would be more appropriate for fall, but as long as Fashion Week is half a year ahead, I can be a few months behind, right? Primary colors, school team t-shirts, Letterman jackets, and angst: Unknown source, Caroline Trentini by Venetia Scott for AnOther, LIFE Magazine photo archive, CdG ad, Stephen Malkmus in a snappy tie, Meryl Streep and her cheekbones, Bikini Kill, Ugly Girls by Daniel Clowes, Ed Ruscha, Freaks and Geeks, and Sleater-Kinney.

i think christmas is pretty cool

Last last Saturday at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn took place a benefit show where twenty bands and the crowd helped Sini Anderson achieve her artistic vision for her in-the-works documentary about Kathleen Hanna. She wanted to create an environment of girl love and energy and inspiration, but her direction wasn't really needed. I caught not a drift of punker-than-thou snobbery, only good vibes, and the audience and artists just fed off of one another's energy and created this giant ball of, uh, energy. Look, there's no poetic way to put it -- it was just really, really cool, and one of the more life-changing experiences I've had, ever. I'll say right now that I don't know much about music, but that wasn't the point.

I wore the FEMINIST FEMINIST FEMINIST sweater Kathleen gave me and hand-me-down vintage skirt. And that would be my glow in the dark Diana which looked really cool in the blacklight and was also used for taking pictures, as one might hope.
Neal Medlyn hosted; I fell in love 74986x.
Coco Gordon-Moore of She Murders can scream like the cast of Scream but more riot grrrl and not scary. What I mean is, she's loud. Her band did Rebel Girl and it was at that point that I kind of lost it and got really wrapped up in the performance and started jumping up and down and got all "THIS IS THE BEST NIGHT EVER!!!!!" There was lots of flailing involved in that last statement.
Also, her X-Girl tshirt!
I spent most of the night with the Care Bears on Fire girls, Sophie, Izzy, and Jena, who had one of the most invigorating and invigorated performances of the night and were so cool/nice/funny and made me wanna be in a band. I also appreciate the way their collective hairs create a Powerpuff Girls-esque spectrum.

Bridget Everett and the Tender Moments blew my mind. The world needs more Bridget Everetts.
The Roulettes killed it as well.

Kim Gordon read the Riot Grrrl Manifesto from the first Bikini Kill zine and I teared up a bit. I have a soul! You caught me!

The show started to come to a close with MEN's performance of Double Dare Ya, which I can't totally describe so you'll just have to watch the video and then we can babble mindlessly together.
Murray Hill introduced the last group, which is why you may have seen a spark in Murray Hill youtube videos views from a certain IP address (HINT: mine).

And the last group was The Julie Ruin, AND Kathi Wilcox was on bass, AND then we all found out they're writing a new album, and it ended on such a high note where I was actually happy to leave I think because I felt totally satisfied and it was all so good that I knew pushing it would invite bad luck. (There were way more terrific groups, but these were the only ones I got photos of.)

Kathleen has said she's attended shows where people kept looking at her to see if she'd give it her stamp of approval, but approval in general isn't exactly the goal of Riot Grrrl. The varying interpretations of Kathleen's songs performed that night were a testament to this, as the point was the message, not whether the styles or aesthetics were Punk Enough or Riot Grrrl Enough or Kathleen Hanna Enough. Instead of counter-productively trying to meet those standards, the artists made clear Kathleen Hanna's influence by just being loud and DIY and feminist.

And the world doesn't really like to make it easy for people to be any of those things, especially that last one. At the Rah! Rah! Replica show a group of people collectively decided not to wait for the world. A crowd of people decided we want Revolution Girl Style Now.

photos by me, video sources at the video links

acid trip field trip

Bjork in i-D, Richard Misrach, Washing Machine, Cassandra Laing, and this rad creepy tumblr girl.

Today I tried to dress like a field trip to the planetarium, and my yearbook smile above is supposed to align with the back-to-school nature of the outfit. It's ironic that once we're finally out of school I dress like I kinda wanna be back in. (Secret: I do. I like high school. I dunno.)


Skirt sent to me by Risto Bimbiloski and migh-T longsleeve. Donuts and outer space! What more could you want?

Goody barrettes, gross hair courtesy of lazy winter break grooming.
Bracelets from childhood/friends, girl scout patch from troopmoore on ebay.

You can't really see my nail polish in the picture but I tried to layer this neon Manic Panic that I got at Opening Ceremony and Deborah Lippman's "Across the Universe" which she gave me at Barney's Fashion's Night Out. It ended up looking a little like vomit. Cool vomit, though.

almost as good as cosby sweaters

WINTER BREAK IS HERE. God, I can't tell you how stoked my sanity is on this. Time for some sweaterly inspiration, yes?

Mohair, Joni Mitchell, Kate Moss, collage on a photo from Pop, Marc Jacobs FW10, vintage JPG ad, cat, Sam Falls.

And a repost of a collage I made in the summer while desperately wanting winter (credits here.)