Tartan: few other patterns can lay claim to such a storied history, whether declaring allegiance to a Scottish clan or the subversive spirit of ‘77. It’s a burst of color all lined up in an orderly appearance, fun to slice up and serve as accessories or separates.
A black dress is broken up with a bright red Royal Stewart cincher, made even more fetching by that tilted crisscross going on in the front. From Vio Gemini Designs.
Usually you see druid hoods in black or earthtones, but here, the plaid sweeps all somberness away and ushers the wearer off to Fae School. From Malam.
A kissclasp clutch tones things down into neutrals, lending a retro vibe and much versatility in what you can pair it with. And it’s cute! From Red Ruby Rose.
The racy print is captured within the boundaries of a glass pendant, cooled off into snow-queen turquoise and a vibrant counterpoint to a no-nonsense power blouse. From Rachel Elliott Glassworks.
Yay for people who see shapeless old coats and make red flannel bunnies out of them! From Jen Ham.
Retro skivvies in silk: longline bras, bloomers and tie-side panties, babydoll nighties and slips, romper teddies, kimono robes, in a mainly cream and pastel palette with a few splashes of berry and black. Some of the lines also carry on into matching satin-tied cuffs, ruffled garters and lacy little eyemasks.
It’s Tuesday, it’s raining, and I feel like something fabulous.
It’s 20 years later and the electricity of this performance still gives me chills – the dandies, the synchronized fan-cracking, the screams when Madonna makes her appearance. “Vogue” brought to life by a bunch of perfectly powdered French aristocrats – history’s first poseurs – it’s divine.
And just because I’m getting so goddamned tired of her – forgive me, pumpkins, but I really do not understand the phenomenon of Lady Gaga. I feel like I’m constantly being told how amazing! inventive! insane! she is but I just can’t get all worked up over a corporate product. Which is what she is to me – someone very carefully cultivated and contrived at great expense, a predictably outrageous appearance clad in 24/7 couture, a walking commercial for mediocre tunes. It feels like the bar has dropped so low for decent pop music that the world will fall all over itself at the first sign of any flavor whatsoever. Especially when we’ve seen all this already. Madonna did it all first, and she did it better. And you could argue that Madonna too was a carefully cultivated commercial, but I don’t see Gaga running out to play a pregnant teenager figuring out how to tell her father she’s keeping her baby. Or walking down the street, noshing on a bag of Cheetos. She’s not that human.
But, maybe it’s that the next generation badly wants an icon of their own – especially when they’re living in an unrelenting 80’s revival, and they’re tired of cultural hand-me-downs. And that’s understandable. But I’ll pass. I’m much too enamored of divas who aren’t above airing out their pits in a Greyhound bathroom – and making it look sexy as hell while they’re doing it, too.
The more otherworldly and fantastical side of historical dress, where that medieval gown can come with a side of fairy wings, if you desire. Both sweet little kids’ petal skirts and commanding drop-sleeve dresses that accessorize well with swords can be made to your specifications, and this is also a good place for extra-long elf ears and the cuffs to spiff them up with. It’s also amusing to note that proper fairy makeup consists of not just glitter, but modeling wax and spirit gum to hold everything on. Custom welcome.
A well-curated shop of jewelry that traipses through city streets and enchanted woods and mid-century dressing tables, lots of good understated strangeness in here: a necklace where a 14k gold dagger pokes into a solid silver anatomical heart, silver talons or witch hands or melting hearts to protrude through the ears, tree trunk rings complete with carved lovers’ hearts, name necklaces bathed in elegant curlicues. They also have an entire section devoted to wedding bands.
So I’m cheating a bit today and using an image taken a couple weeks ago, but the girls refuse to stay still for the camera at the moment, and I’m a big fan of not-perfect pics that end up capturing the subject’s essence so perfectly.
This really does say it all about them: Pollywog flashing her Bette Davis eyes, Bella ready to star in a low-budget horror movie. By the way, Bella’s expression never changes.
A catalog that takes the trendy, hardware-loaded shoulder bags of mainstream fashion and does them over in hemp. The shiny
O-rings, the cargo pockets, the buckle-over-zip fastenings – all present, as well as cute satchels and laptop bags. Also hoodies and tees, baby clothes, and bath and body goods that bring hemp into the realm of spa pampering.