My Tribe

(a photo of the Mursi tribe)

Well like any true air sign, my style identity has changed severely since the leather overall post. I like the idea of tribe, not tribal, like oh here is my stupid leather skirt and dumb played out jewelry. I mean more along the lines of identity through tribal spirit. How tribes use clothing as symbolism instead of "oh hey Tina look at my $600 jeans that my mom bought me, you know the ones you have but in black". I've recently got back into skating, which was one of my favorite things as a kid, and isn't something you should stop doing if you ever wanna start up again, because finding balance on a new board is madness. I love the idea of how the participation in the sport of skating adds to identity in a way that most don't realize. I think if we focused more on the idea of unity and compassion that comes with tribal identity, clothing could slowly evolve into a much more significant, less superficial mode of portraying more abstract notions we have about ourselves.

Even though I think Nicolas Ghesquiere is really self important, especially when he talks about his work at Balenciaga, it's like yeah you're very creative, but don't play like you don't use futurism as a foundation for your designs, and say that it's only called futurism because there isn't a word for it yet, that is futurism you fool. ANYWAYS his collections always have a sense of tribe, like a universal identity that each look co-exists with the other. it's pretty evident even through the campaigns.

(Balenciaga S/S 2010 ad campaign)

A sense of strength, unity, and individualism sort of seeps out of the seams of his clothing. A sort of esoteric identity that only other devotees of the brand sense when in the presence of the other devotees. A sort of appreciation that is understood without actually speaking about it. I'm not saying that it doesn't exist with other brands, but with Balenciaga, it seems to be extremely evident within his collections. I think he could be onto something.

(Rick Reitveld's "Tribe")

Now I'm not suggesting gang violence or tribal warfare of any sort, but if there isn't going to be a revolution of individual identity anytime soon, then i think this could be a good step in the direction of material representation of abstract expressions one wants to share with others. Like the cave paintings of the cro-magnons. At any cost it's something that could at least be acknowledged by fashion publications, rather than BUY BUY BUY, oh wait now it's out of style sorry Courtney! Just a thought to ponder. Another bridge away from materialism at its worst.

You could belt it...

OK, so, I feel like that should have been the phrase of 2009. Anyways I was watching the video for CeCe Peniston's song "Finally", and her backup dancer had some sick styling. Leather overalls with a waist belt. I searched the net and even though you would think that would have been an obvious thing for 2009 with YSL's leather overalls being such a big deal. I mean they were pretty sick. However it wasn't. Nobody even tread the idea. So, now it's my mission to find me some leather overalls , and belt the hell out of my waist. I wanna wear it either like 2pac eg:
Either with a white tee, a gold watch and some sick chains. Or maybe just shirtless like the video styled the dancer, with creepers and knee socks.

Either way I think it would be a cool interpretation of my history of growing up in the Midwest, the ideas of leather when thinking of it in the context of the gay population (or even the straight population. Leather has such a weird stimulus behind what it symbolizes and how completely context dependent the interpretation of the use of it is. Yeah look for that post later when I have some time), and traditional gender expectations when it comes to silhouette. I think it's pretty interesting when looking a the picture of 2pac in his leather, tube top?, corset?, bulletproof vest? I think it shows that no matter how hard you are you can have philosophy in your style. I wonder what his comment would be about this photo? Most of the rappers nowadays would never even think of wearing a tee shirt that tight let alone with a leather button up tube top attached to a belt.

At any cost, it enters into the realm of being counter-counterculture. There are so many points of reference to explain and analyze the semiotics of the styling of both of the male pictures that it almost eliminates all points of reference. It's really refreshing, and I think taken out of the context of music videos, runway shows, and editorials the idea behind a belted pair of leather overalls hardly translates to the idea of "style" that it's going to evidently make people uncomfortable. It's like psychology through style.

Maybe we all just need to connect all these subdivided subjects and we will find that "originality" that everyone has been craving, without having to wring the past dry of inspiration. ▲

Creepy

FINALLLYYYY! The shoes I've been CRAVING!

82 GBP at Underground Shoes (with shipping to the states). Pair these with some pearls, bike shorts, a few gold broaches, maybe a feather ear-ring, a concierge jacket, and it's time to hit the town.

...Oh and you can't forget a smear of black shoe polish under the eye. I could go into semiotics of it all, but I'm waaayyy too infatuated right now, which is backtracking I guess, but if it's for the cause of getting a point across, then I see nothing wrong.

New Year, New Look

With the recent revamp of The Contributing Editor, online magazine, one editorial really caught my eye.

Paris Je t'aime is the title. At first I really loved the overall feel of it. So youthful, so fancy, so nonchalant. However upon researching a lot of the vintage designers who's pieces were used in the editorial I found myself learning about some of the greatest unknowns of the fashion industry. Patrick Kelly for instance, the first African-American to be granted membership into the Chambre Syndicale du Prêt-à-Porter in Paris. After researching his style I'm amazed at how iconic it was and how much it played a role in the early 90's nightlife of Paris.

The overall feel to me is so existential and brave. I'm trying to adopt this style, because for me it is the perfect physical exemplification of how I feel on the inside, refined but wild. To me the styles presented in the spread transcend this idea of trends and materialism in a way that is almost objectifying it. In a way ironic, but still maintaining a standard of EXTREMELY high visual quality.

As I sit here in my imitation Chanel Jacket writing this so many questions about materialism and the physical representations we give ourselves each day swarm within my brain. Lately I've felt very enlightened, maybe even illumined. So I would say this sort of is my way of physically getting my point across that there is much more to life that what lies on the outside. I mean living in Charlotte, NC and dressing this way isn't really something that goes on within the Queen's city so in a way, I guess I'm asking for it. For me however, it's about the statement, the statement of rejecting modern ideals and stereotypes through objectification, ridding yourself of lust by becoming in a way androgynous, and most importantly taking the idea of trends vs. counterculture and completely obliterating it by doing something so against the grain. So far I've pulled off only one look from the spread but it got people's attention, in a brand new way however. There were no negative reactions, and really no positive ones either. It was more of a fascination, something so obscure and off the map from what modern American youth society is used to that it's like seeing something for the first time, you can't pass judgement because you have no point of reference, or maybe it's every point of reference. Either way I'm enjoying it.▲

Check out the entire spread HERE.

New Beginnings

Since so much self reflection is happening all over the Internet, I figure this could be an awesome chance to really tap into what I've wanted this blog to be, and what I want it to be now.

2009 Offered so much confusion. Maybe it had something to do with the mysticism surrounding the number 9, it's meaning, and it's effect on the human subconscious. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that a lot of people around me are going through the same existential meltdown because we are so facticated (not too sure on whether that's a word or not. Nevertheless I mean being held back from your true potential by things that you haven't chosen yet somehow have an effect on your actions) by the current economic situation, causing most of us to let so many of our teen dreams drift off into space or melt like a Dali clock on a branch of the Tree Of Life, only to become memories of how ambitious we once were. At any cost, I like to think it's my generation's way of slowly moving from such a material obsessed existence and into a more universal consciousness of the various realms, spheres, and states of mind that we all have deigned to exist within previously.

Now onto the philosophy of my blog. I'm going to use my blog exclusively to collect images, thoughts, ideas, sounds, etc... to further develop my current understanding of who I am. The thing I think fascinating about the Internet is the accessibility of it all. So hopefully through me pushing myself to really find out who, what, and where I am as a person, I can inspire others to do the same. I'll try not to make everything out to be too superficial (which is why I have to keep deleting things because it's either a rambling on of ideas or just obscure images), however it will be mainly visual because I am an artist and that is what I respond to best.

Hopefully anyone who finds this will not take it as a guide for them to dress, act, listen, speak, and read just like me. I would hope that they can look beyond the blatant meaning of it all; find some allegory in all the madness that will occur; and use it to find their own means of self expression outside of the post-modern, conscious destitution drained, passive-aggressive snobbery infused, mentally, physically, and emotionally draining rip in time that was 2009. Even if that isn't what you take form the pages I'm about to create, at least you'll be aware of an alternate state of consciousness.