Submissions to the magazine end at midnight Central time tomorrow, Friday the 19th! Please reread the requirements before submitting, and be sure to send it to magazinesubmissionsarefun@gmail.com instead of my blog email because any sent there will be deleted, as will any emails sent after midnight tomorrow (I've said it before and I'll say it again -- we wanna get moving!) Thank you to everyone who has submitted so far and I can't wait to start taking a look over the weekend.
Thank you to everyone who has been submitting their work to the new magazine and to those who have been sending good vibes and support! If you don't know what I'm talking about, scroll down to Friday's post and then join the dance party I'm having out of excitement in my room right now.
I have little knowledge of horror movies and haven't seen too many, but I got a bit of an education as to how they work from watching Scream for the first time last night (obviously life-changing). As victim Sidney flippantly replies when asked by a serial killer if she likes scary movies, "What's the point? They're all the same, some stupid killer stalking some big-breasted girl who can't act who's always running up the stairs when she should be going out the front door." Of course, the fate of a big-breasted girl is later at stake, and Sidney finds herself running up the stairs at some point.
Even though I was terrified throughout the majority of Scream, it's easier to take in when it satirizes its own genre by having the characters call out the horror movie clichés as they happen. They've seen tons of them, realize they're living in one, and know to abide by the rules -- don't have sex, drink, do drugs, or say "I'll be right back." The line, "But this isn't a movie, it's real life!" is constantly repeated. Which made me of course go, "Little do they know! Chuckle! Hyuk hyuk! HOLY SHIT HE APPEARED OUT OF NOWHERE HOLD ME."
Alfred Hitchcock said that blondes make the best victims*, and the murders of two typical horror-type ones in Scream provided wonderful visuals (especially for all the sadists out there, throw ya hands up!) (I am terrible) which reminded me a bit of Cindy Sherman's Untitled Film Stills and Alex Prager's photographs. Sherman's because they depict clichéd female characters in film, and Prager's because she tends to take an angle that is creepily omniscient -- either in its decisive closeness or distance -- on distracted and doe-eyed female subjects placed in dead America. Though I can't say whether or not Prager intended for them to look like film stills, I have always gotten that vibe (and would like to direct you to an actual short film she made which is really rad).
Using the visuals for dressing inspiration would only mean simple vintage, so I'm just intrigued by this specific depiction of women in the horror genre. It's all so technicolor and eerie and too picturesque to end pretty. *So technically the blondes here aren't the main victims of Scream, and I'm sorry to bff Sid/Neve/Bonnie that she isn't included here, but she's one of the smarter characters, which isn't what this post is about.
You guys may know how I feel about Sassy. You also may know that I've been babbling about how I think our generation should get one, too. Jane Pratt, founding editor and then EIC of Sassy, also became aware, and emailed me, and we've met a couple times, and it looks like we're going to start a magazine for an audience of teenage girls.
(I am trying so hard to be cool and professional right now.) (Trying. so. hard.)
Of course, it won't be Sassy (or the rebirth of Sassy, or Sassy 2.0) and nor do we want it to be. For one, you can't try to recreate something that good. For another, while I can read old issues of Sassy and relate, the world has changed a bit in the past 15 or so years, and that whole Internet thing happened, and this world calls for something different. Something that will use Sassy as a point of reference for the whole teen-magazine-that-doesn't-suck thing, and something in which Jane Pratt will take part, but something that is not trying to recreate the other something a bunch of us love and don't want to see copied. And, because I didn't use the word "something" enough in this paragraph, let's all enjoy this Beatles Something video in which John and Yoko walk around in a field dressed like Larry David in a cape:
On the note of that whole Internet thing, a great advantage to creating a magazine today is the access to talent and voice. This is supposed to have a "for the people, by the people" kinda vibe. We want to find the best possible group of people for this project, and a wide range of ages, styles, etc.
If you want to be a part, email us. MagazineSubmissionsAreFun@gmail.com, because we haven't decided on a title yet. (Hey, if you have an idea for a title, that would be great, too!) (PS, any submissions sent to my blog email will be deleted.)
Something that would also be great: A sample -- whether you would put the specific sample in the magazine or not -- of your writing of all and any kinds, photos, artwork, whatever you're good at and think would be at home in a feminist, creative, moody-teenage-girl magazine. Be sure to include the sample of your work,your age and location, and some kind of something about yourself. Talk a lot about yourself, please. I can promise no questions about being a team player and why you got fired from your office job. The deadline is Friday, November 19th -- we wanna get moving!
I know these are vague details, and I'm sorry I can't offer up a better picture of what we're aiming for as a final product, but we want to have all the contributors on board from the beginning so the yet-to-be-made decisions are group-made. A few things people have been asking about, though: It is not a full-time job, you can be a guy, you can be any age, and you don't have to live in the U.S. I'm also sorry I can't say as of now when you'll hear back but it all depends on the number of submissions. I have a really good feeling about this.
GAH, HI FACE. Ella got a lot of cool photos with his outfit but they look wrong together so they'll be posted one by one for a few days. Jil Sander sweater, headpiece sent to me by I Love Factory, and Ella brought me back the skeletal butterfly charm from a voodoo shop in New Orleans.
Another picture from the woods taken by Ella, woo. The outfit is supposed to be what a Spitboy and Stevie Nicks-listening teenager wears when going to the woods to try casting spells on enemies, but that story only really makes sense in my head. (Note: This is not autobiographical.) (Note: I bet that convinced you.) (Note: Just adding another Note for aesthetic purposes. I have a problem with even numbers.)
Tee by Sophomore, necklace from Urban Outfitters, Risto Bimbiloski skirt, sparkly sweater and furry shoes were thrifted, Mandy Coon bunny bag, Gara Danielle ring, and Hayden-Harnett bag. FTC disclosure: The skirt, bags, and ring were sent to me by the respective brands.
The angst was provided by the Heathers-referencing tee and bunny bag, and the rest is all spell-casting cosmos. The sweater (which looks gray in photos but is actually all sparkly and purple/gold) was supposed to combine the angst with cosmic witch to balance it out.
Lately I've found myself feeling little desire to look at a lot of this season's shows, partly because fall is my favorite season and I hate the idea of looking at people in swimsuits, but I also feel very much inspired by other things at the moment and would like to live in this world for a little while longer.
Kid in History: You look like you're a fairy godmother. Me: How do you know I'm not? Kid in History: (Looks skeptical. Slowly relaxes face. Squints eyes. Smiles. Eyes widen.) Whoa!
The power of $5 fabric store tutus, my friends. Today's outfit was inspired by this tumblr and trying to channel fall witch vibes in a more neon/cheesy/tacky way, hence the necklace, vomit rainbow tutu, t-shirt, and hair ribbon. The cream skirt, rope in my hair, and desert boots are supposed to bring the more earthy/creepy side, and the yellow slip and fact that the shoes are blue are supposed to compromise the tacky and earthy to even it out. How's that for math! Does this mean I still have to do my homework tonight?
Random hair things. I crafted this beautiful necklace myself, slaving away day and night to sculpt the beads, grow the elastic, and churn the paint to fill in the letters. The t-shirt was sent to me by Blood is the New Black and the cat is wearing a pentacle necklace, more visible here. I got the tutu from the fabric store, the cream skirt was a gift, and the yellow slip is from the Salvation Army.
Also from a thrift store.
Now, if this outfit was in its proper setting (on a technicolor broomstick in a lollipop forest with Hello Kitty) and not school, I would be wearing this:
My Comme des Garcons ghost coat is a gift from Rei Kawakubo and one of my favorite things I own. Adds to the tulle pile and makes it all so floaty and magical in a less obnoxious color.
The Miu Miu shoes I bought at Bergdorf Goodman and have a bit of both the tacky and earthy, as does this coin purse our family friend gave me to which I added a tacky ribbon.
