Fashion Overdone

while i believe in the old adage, "there's no new thing under the sun," i pride myself on my creativity as a stylist. in fact, as a vintage enthusiast and a person trained in theatrical costuming, i make sure i never repeat concepts or be lazy by using things overdone.
influences are great, homages can be fabulous, but overdone is overdone. copying is lame. uncreative isn't worth anyone's time. so here is my rundown of the most overdone concepts, stances, shots, and ideas in fashion. yes, some of these have been done very well a time or two- but over and over just makes poseurs.
here's what i consider the worst of the overdone worst...

HAUTE IN A HOVEL 

a dilapidated house, abandoned church, or dicey grafittied wall and a model is inexplicably there in full on couture. she just happens to be there. these shoots are meant to set up dichotomies or comment on the eventual destruction of all things, but all i can say is puh-leeese. 

  


ALICE IN WONDERLAND
seriously. how many of these shoots have you seen? this one i at least understand a bit, because the subject matter is so fascinating and there are many characters, colors, settings, and attitudes in the story. however, over and over again, what we see in AIW shoots is really that the team wants to play with one or a combination of the following: madness, petticoats, blue stripes, large vs. small, or red and black. and at the core, the Wonderland is a place where anything is possible: why not take this single most important aspect and apply it to a new and different shoot? and, for the record, circus shoots are not far behind this.

Alice AND the hunch (see below) Gahh!

THE COUTURE HUNCH 
stop. just STOP.

RUNNING MASCARA 

either a crying model or one fully clothed in a shower or bath. she's deep. she's not just a pretty face. those tears are Real. REAL! and most of these are black and white, because that's Legitimate. didn't you know? Suffering is ART. and along the water route is famous.... 

 

& underwater! ugh...

UNDERWATER PHOTO SHOOT

there is a whole site devoted to this. Seriously. http://underwaterfashion.org yes, the light play is beautiful. yes, it's flowy and pretty. but for fashion's sake, can we move on?

AND the damn hunch again!

THE "HOMAGE" TO THE GREATS- MARILYN, JAYNE, MAE...
too numerous to pick illustory photos. and i know you don't really need them. no model is any of these ladies. they are all dead. let's let these them leave the party, shall we? not to mention the fact that part of why we remember these fabulous fashion icons is they were creative, different, and their own.

don't get me wrong- inspiration is fantastic and strong artists are open to it every minute of every day. but the most powerful influenced pieces, in my opinion, are those where you cannot see the jumping off place until it is pointed out to you. at the end of the day, creativity is what truly shows your art- whether you're a stylist, musician, model, designer, whatever. and frankly, if you're not being creative, what Are you doing?

define this... identity.

Andrej Pejic

i have always been fascinated with how people define themselves- that's part of why i love fashion. no matter who you are, how you dress, how you think about clothes, or even if you don't give it much thought- how you dress tells others something about you and what you think about how you should look as the person you are. people define the person they are in different ways which relate back to how they dress- their physical gender, race, religion, areas of interest, political leanings, education, etc. and the clothes you are able to afford and choose to purchase say something about your socioeconomic background, too. Iggy Pop once said that his choice to not wear shirts was as calculated a choice as wearing button down shirts and bowties.

my ideas about style, femininity, youth, color, shape, sexuality- all of this is reflected in how i dress. but they are tied to my ideas about ME and how i myself choose to define them in a way that transfers to others.

identity is fascinating. and your physical presentation is a manifestation of your identity when it comes to choice. my goal is to make that as authentic as possible- but whether or not people get it, at one point, is up to them. because we may know what boundaries others set on how we present ourselves- but if you are being true to yourself, that is what matters.

what i love best is people who push these boundaries. i'm not talking about having loads of plastic surgery to look like a barbie doll because you have no self confidence. or wearing what you think the "cool kids" will like. i'm talking about people who challenge societal ideas about what appearance means in regards to what is usual because it is who they are. it is their identity. consequently, i love the model Andrej Pejic.

i love that he embraces his androgyny- it's part of the physical being he is. i love that, from what i've read and seen of him (having never talked to him directly), he understands that the perception of others as to his appearance says more about them than it does about him. he is comfortable with himself and how he presents himself. he knows what he means. and that is an authentic identity- translated.

people sometimes get in trouble for this idea- the amazingly talented Bill T Jones once caused a firestorm when he said he identified himself as a dancer before a man and before a person of color. DANCER was his identity, and the rest was details. later, he said...

"So authenticity, identity, love, faith- what is the idea of identity? Blackness should take a second level to the concern I have about commonality. Transcendence. In everything that I attempt, is there a level of honesty and rigor that is inflected with all that I am, and what I have gotten from the Western, modernist tradition... what I have gotten from my mother and father who where the conduits for black culture for me, what I've gotten from being a working class person. Is it all there? Is it cooking?"

Bill T Jones

THAT is what i'm talking about. THAT is why i don't care who you are, where you come from, what you like / don't like, what your gender or sexuality are, or what you wear- i care if it's cooking. if it's YOU. and you can define, present, and support it authentically. if you can be present with who you are, how you present that, and how you treat other people. and i am so glad that in writing this blog and reading the blogs and comments of others that i know i am not alone in this ideal. it is a joy to learn about you and who you are.

thank you for sharing with me.

seriously?

could someone please explain to me why all the shows on tv right now are not only "reality" but are shows where people are looking for love. umm... seriously? do you think you can find The One while everyone involved is occupied with being on television and trying to get their 15 minutes of fame? riiiight.
i am half watching tv and the moment, and there have been no more than 4 ads for different shows of this nature. i have to say, some part of me thinks that every time such a thing fails miserably (and it always does), that these people are getting exactly what they deserve- nothing. and granted, i've been sucked into a reality show before, but are you kidding me? can we get some fresh blood in this piece? i don't even like or watch all that much tv, but when i do, i'd like to watch something halfway decent. if there's nothing good on the history channel, you're pretty much screwed. i still love 'project runway' because you actually have to have a Skill to be on that show and i make clothes, so i find it interesting and enjoyable to watch the construction techniques of others, but it's not on right now. and god knows there's no Music on mtv, vh1, bet, or cmt, so that's out. sometimes you can catch a decent movie on cable, but they cut out all the good stuff.
*sigh*

it's a good thing i like to read.

this is it

thank you, god! it changes Today.

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds....Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty."



with hope in my eyes and heart....

xoxox

visits!

so, i've had a ton of visitors here lately. Erin, Jason, Steve-O, and Maggie all came this week, and J came last week. i've got some pictures to post up, but they are at the home computer. i've been housesitting for the little Ranger fox this week, too. needless to say, the busyness continues. i'll post them when i get home, though.

Steve-O and i went to see the summertime outdoor exhibit at cheekwood, and if you have not gone, GO. it was big fun, and it has been every year since i've been going. the pictures will prove how much fun it is to run around and be a kid.

speaking of which, why didn't anyone tell us that growing up Sucks?! yeah, you get to do what you want when you want in a way that kids never do, but you've got to Pay for that shit. with time, energy, money, and stress. good thing i've got a fat cat to keep it real. although- i am pleased to report that at her yearly checkup and shots vet visit, it turns out that miss Luna has lost a pound! i know it doesn't sound terribly impressive, but that's like a person losing around 25 pounds. she's now on the heavy side of normal instead of the light side of heavy. woohoo!!

also- if you want to be in the club that Erin and i have started after Jason's excellent showing as a courteous car passenger, let me know. everything will make sense then....

pictures to follow.

xoxox

job update

i'm still waiting. not much of an update. but i did call the staffing agency last week to tell my rep that i am still interested and available for this job i want, and she said, 'that's great, because they are very interested in you.' at this point, i am confident that i will get the third interview with the man himself, because my rep would have been able to tell me that they'd passed by now. i'm hoping for the third interview this upcoming week, i've had a feeling about it happening before march. i hope i'm right. i tried really hard not to get my hopes up about this job, but let's face it, that ship has sailed. it's a great job, and i really think i'd be good at it. i will be disappointed if i don't get it.

not that i'm putting all my eggs in one basket- i know better than that. i still look, update with the staffing agencies (can you believe i went to SEVEN of them and haven't had a job in almost six bloody months?!), send resumes, make calls, all that stuff. or, as George says, "Looking and listening. Listening and looking. You can't forget the listening."

i'm sorry if this has consumed my life and it's all i have to talk about. i hope that's not entirely the case. i'm sure everyone is tired of it, just as i get tired of it eventually when others are consumed by something in their lives. especially after six months.
yeah, i feel worse than i did two seconds ago. damn.

i am still trying to be positive. it just gets hard sometimes, like when i think about Scarlett. but this, too, shall pass. if i start to feel Really bad, i just look at that picture below of the kungfu kitty. cracks me up every time!

and at least i do get to go to the gym everyday. and it's actually getting a little better and easier on me, that is, i don't spend the whole time on the machine thinking about getting off of it- that's a huge change. my pilates classes don't seem so long, either. i've also been able to spend a lot of time on The Vaudes show. we're really, really close to finishing it, and that's exciting. and my book is finally almost done, praise Jesus.

and the golden girls will never let me down, because six episodes come on a day. yeah, that's right.




xoxox

and PS-

Anne got to see the Obama/Clinton debate last week in texas and shake his hand at the party afterwards! how cool is that? Annie get cher gun, girl!!

let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

today, behold the stone of hope.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEMXaTktUfA&feature=related


xoxox

political sphere

Obama and Huckabee have won the iowa caucuses. as of right now (11pm central) 2nd place is up for grabs. i, for one, am glad we are thinning out the ranks. let's get down to it and hear about the real issues from candidates who have a chance. i can't stand debates with fifty million people standing up there trying to get face time. i believe that everyone who fits the bill has the right to run for president- this is true- but why are some of these people even up there? everyone knows they don't have a chance, they know this themselves! and i know people argue that those candidates can't get a chance because they don't get face time from the media, blah blah blah, but the bottom line is if you can't win, you can't win no matter what the why is. if all of the people who voted for Nader in 2000 voted for Gore instead, we'd be in a very different place right now. and yes, my own views probably align more with Nader, but he was not going to and will never, NEVER win enough of the masses over to be president. period. and neither will Ron Paul, Chris Dodd, Joe Biden or any of those guys, even if they have a better plan. you can't get anything done Right Now if you don't get elected!! why are people obtuse about this?

this is infinitely frustrating to me, because people can't see the direct ramifications of their actions. i am all about change. i think our system is really, Royally f'ed up. and i am not advocating losing your beliefs. i think the current political position we're in is both a cause and reflection of our problems. we're also in a war. our country is made up of nearly 75% overweight apathetic reality television addicts. racism still runs rampant in america in many forms, and we have several groups of second class citizens. we are killing our planet. health insurance is hard to get, expensive, and confusing. our citizens fear our police. these things are hard to ignore. however, people who think that we are going to fix these things by turning the system completely upside down are Wrong, because they ignore a huge piece of the puzzle here- the majority of americans have chosen- either by act or lack of care for action- this path. their seemingly comfortable inertia will make them fight losing it all the way down. there are simple, everyday changes we can make to enact Change, and there are ways to approach the masses about them. look at the energy efficient light bulbs- want to know why those fly off shelves? because people were told their light bills will go down and they don't have to buy any more light bulbs for a long time once they get over the upfront cost. this is a consumerist, capitalist society, and we've got to work with what we've got. if we want change, it will BEGIN slowly, individual by individual in their minds. that's the hard part- because once people change their minds, their asses will follow. attacking the Entire system as a whole, claiming conspiracy theories, using 9/11 as a crutch, or arguing who knew Benazir Bhutto the best isn't going to get us anywhere. i got sick and tired of this moaning talk and no walk crap at oberlin, and here we go again. if anyone should speak to those hipster doofuses, someone please remind them that the way things are put them right here and right now this way. as for the jumping off place? here i stand. the water looks warm.

and for the record, if i hear one more person complain about the system consistently who cannot answer the simple question of, "who are the senators in (insert your state here)"? they will get my grandfather's three most powerful words in the english language.

kiss my ass.


xoxox

eric update

http://www.friendsofericvolz.com, http://www.myspace.com/freeericvolz

xoxox

ERIC VOLZ IS A FREE MAN!!!

yes, yes, yes, YES!!

click the post title, see the article after the jump. he will be in the united states TODAY!!


MERRY CHRISTMAS!!



xoxox

cave

so i caved. in light of some recent events, i've decided to start a blog. that, and i have a lot of free time on my hands. for that matter, i have a lot of friends who have blogs i sadly never read- this may inspire me. i've also had trouble with different friends only on one social networking site or another, and i've got enough profiles already. i can't take it anymore! i'm going to do my best to keep this up this time (i've tried before, and the girls and i tried once, which ended in disaster), so i may need a few gentle reminders every now and then. i may even post some poetry on here sometime, who knows? this is my narcissistic holiday gift to everyone!

in the meantime, that fat cat and i are chillin' out ultra-mod style.





xoxox