Diamond Tooth Taxidermy

Mrs. Hannigan’s style of just putting on whatever made her feel sexy or pretty is generally my Modus Operandi as well, but when I’ve had the right amount to drink, then the under-garments as outer-garments begin to take precedence along with half hiked hosiery. Drunk dressing takes guts: all the easier to do it with a belly full of bathtub gin.

I think Mrs. Hannigan’s style is described well on the blog “My New Favorite Thing”:

Secret Style Icon: Miss Hannigan

Miss Hannigan is absolute proof that bathtub gin, dancing in your scanties and charity shop gems will always be chic. I’ve always thought she’s been totally overlooked in terms of style inspirations - she certainly has all the makings of a collection’s muse.

There’s a certain charm in wearing your finery all at once - Anna Piaggi, Big and Little Edie Beale, Mary-Kate Olsen - they’ve all made their mark through more is more eccentricity.

Brassai’s picture of ‘Bijou’ of Montmartre has always reminded me of the fun that can be had with this kind of dressing-up box styling. The story behind the photograph makes me like her even more - Madame Bijou had once lived a rich life but now survived on charity as a psuedo-palm reader and a bit of a con woman in the bars of Montmartre, Paris in the 1930s. I bet those rings could tell a few stories.

If you haven’t already seen Carol Burnett’s unsurpassable portrayal of Miss Hannigan in Annie, I insist you enrich your life immediately!

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I recently watched the movie Annie for the first tie in over twenty years, and was floored by Mrs. Hannigan’s wardrobe and style. How could I have forgotten such a fashion plate?

February 8

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dream costume

February 7

Gertie the Quaker girl

Amish Girls

Amish Funeral

“We must not think evil of this man,” a grandfather of one of the murdered girls exclaimed to young relatives at the funeral. Another Amish man agreed: “He had a mother and a wife and a soul, and now he’s standing before a just God.”

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mariaeife:

Anjelica Huston wearing Calder necklace in 1976 (The Jealous Husband made from brass wire, c. 1940, collection Metropolitan Museum of Art) From The Jewelry Loupe

..because I just googled Anjelica Huston.. because I am watching The Life Aquatic. Big crush.

February 5

I’ve watched this video about 20 times so far, and love every second of it. It’s lawless, its wild, its mysterious and so, so HARD. I’m probably way late to the party, but desert culture is sexy. Men can hold hands and still look tough as nails. People pile 9 deep atop a van because that’s how they get around. NO RED TAPE. It’s the wild west*

And yes, this is extremely romanticised so let me get down to brass tacks: the fashion. The woman being completely covered up is a statement I’ve been pondering over subconsciously for a while now, but more precisely since a trip to Lancaster last weekend. I was trailing behind dozens of horse drawn coaches with Amish families coming from church, and became so fixated on their attire that I couldn’t stop searching online for photos of them when I got home. The Quaker bonnets that cover the entire face are particularly fascinating to me:

The appearance, to me, is so stoic and just dripping with Look at me/Don’t look at me juice. I know that the objective is modesty but in a culture where it isn’t quite the norm to conceal one’s face, the modesty becomes a statement that generates attention, unwanted or not.

And I love it. I love the mystique that leaving something to the imagination can convey. I’ve been playing around with visors on my hats for the last year or so, and now am in the midst of dovetailing the bonnets into my repertoire. After seeing this video, I’m even more drawn to this look. When you only have body language and gloves to express yourself, you’ll get creative. At least that’s the effect it’s having on me.

Get ready for some hot bonnet visor action ladies. Lets get mysterious.

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January 24

I woke up this morning with bells ringing in my head. I remember practicing the hand-bells in seventh grade was one of the very few sparkling moments in my school career where I felt like I was actually part of something, getting it, in the zone. I love watching the bodies in motion of the hand-bell choirs; everyone is working in unison, forming a whole larger than the sum of its parts. It’s also so hard not to be enthusiastic while playing them; some of the players do these funny scooping motions with their entire bodies, as though they were moving around the actual sound waves. Maybe they are.

And don’t even get me started on the magic that a ringing bell invokes. I think when I get set up in my official studio space, I will hire a hand-bell choir to christen it.

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The lovely lady boys of the Simon Cabaret in Singapore. I’m among the massive population of biological females who adore lady boys. There is a magic in wanting to look like or be something so badly that in your attempt to emulate it, you surpass the real thing. This can apply to so much more than gender drag.

January 21

Today’s inspiration.

January 15

Stars

Ever since I first saw “Les Miserbles” of Broadway as an eighth grader on a French class field trip, I’ve had a soul crush on Javert.

He remains the antagonist, in every incarnation of this story, but in my eyes, he is a tortured and beautiful hero. As he’s playing headhunter/jailer and chasing Val Jean all over France to bring him back to prison for violating parole, there is an entire back story to this man that we’re only given a glimpse of. I often wish for a sequel or Javert spin off, as I think he’s a thousand times more interesting than the vapid Cosette or outrageously vain Marius. Javert was a servant to the law and sacrificed his life-literally- to this cause, however misconceived, that he stood for.

The story of Les Mis reminds me so much of the economic landscape spread before us over the Summer with the Occupy protests. I can understand why the lower classes and disenfranchised would feel nothing but hatred for cops like Javert. But really, whats so different about him? He’s going through the same motions, being fueled by the same passion, just for a different cause. It’s unfortunate that he doesn’t see the bigger picture; that the government was enslaving people whose only crime was trying to survive while they, the wealthy, sat in towers swathed in comfort.

Treat yourself and take a moment to watch the confrontation between Javert adn ValJean:

ValJean is swearing he’ll come back after three days. Javert has heard this story before. It’s total bullshit. Can you blame him for being such a hard ass? Also, he wedges in a few personal notes, as if trying to relate to ValJean, but they fall on deaf ears. Too full of self-righteousness, I suppose.

My favorite song of the entire musical is Stars. Click here to watch if you like. Javert gets deep. All he wants to do is a good job. I can relate to this feeling on a nerve striking level. If you cut this man’s arm open he would bleed nothing but sheer and blind determination.

It’s inspiring and devastating at once.

He’s come all this way, believing one thing, devoting himself to this one cause, and although one begins to sense he just barely allows himself to question this foundation upon which he’s built his entire life, its as though he knows his role and is humble enough to accept it, no matter the outcome.

Because its not always about being wrong or right. Both extremes can exist in all things simultaneously, and accepting this makes the world a much easier place to understand. Especially when you’re living in world with rules you don’t believe in, being enforced by people you don’t agree with or respect.

So if loving Javert is wrong, I don’t want to be right. This I swear by the stars.

January 13

Brides.

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The Lovely Lady Amherst.

December 31

Inspiration for a piece in an upcoming show.