first of all, i'm thrifty, not cheap...big difference. i adore nice things because they're, well nice. however, i don't want to look like everyone else. not head to toe, anyhow. fashion trends are inevitable...you're gonna see someone wearing similar stuff; i realize this. & i love fashion! i always have. oh, & those fall & spring ginormous, 10 lbs worth of vogue & harper's bazaar, still take my breath away! fractionally due to the aromatic nostalgia that hits you as soon as you open it up. i remember being a young girl admiring linda evangelista in her black, red, or platinum hair as a paloma picasso smelly insert made me dizzy as i voraciously rubbed it everywhere! ahh, when i grow up, i'm going to be fabulous too...sorry, i just drifted off into the fall collection of '89...where was i? oh yea, aaand i'm back!
my style/inspirational beginnings bloomed from a sense of dreams & just plain po'. i looked at fashion magazines like they were the final word on anything & everything. if kristy turlington is wearing cover girl mascara in the pink & green container, then THAT is THE mascara...still my fave & one of the least expensive brands of makeup that i own to this day! & the fact that mom worked behind a lauder counter for many years, well, she totally got it. (& was particularly stylish herself, if i might add!) & if madonna had just started a budding bff relationship with jean paul gaultier, well then you better recognize (snap)! but where in the world would i find fabulous gear where i lived? i just assumed these fashions would stomp right off the runways of milan, paris, new york; into south carolina! right? ahaha...i wasn't the brightest kid, just the biggest dreamer! granted, we did have "the mall." it was across town, & visiting it meant a special post pay day field trip...it was an event. but it was only for the most important of reasons; back to school, christmas, springtime. or the occasional trip to the oober elite TAPP'S downtown for girl scout uniform paraphernalia!
i understood very early that clothes cost money...lots of money. i know, i was pretty crushed myself. i mean, my parents didn't send me to school in rags. not even close, but new baubles & pretties just weren't thrown around. they were a necessity.
enter high school & my new found love of old things. it's hard being a teenager in a fairly affluent school. the kids drive new cars; not all, but a lot. they have access to credit cards & have clothes upon clothes in their closets that still have tags on them. so i tried to think outside of the box. i'd pull out my magazines, & get to researching. most of the featured designs weren't found in the local gap or limited, and i found a great reassurance in that. so what if i paired my dad's vest from the 60's with an a-line dress that i found at the thrift store? to me, this was my way of being stylish (if only in my own head) & my shit was vintage! okay, so that really doesn't mean that you're cool in high school, but that was my story & i stuck with it. it was kind of funny...here i am in a houndstooth short dress from god-knows-when (which probably costs a buck) with colored tights & a granny sweater (i believe the kids call them cardis now) in class staring at 15 striped v-necks...the only difference being color of said stripes. folks called me weird, but i didn't care. & this stuck with me.
my muse has always been beautiful/funky/different clothes or shoes or jewelry that i see in magazines or on the tele. & my biggest challenge has always been mimic-ing these sensations via thrift store, consignment hot spot, or my new fave, etsy.com. it seems a ton of gals & guys are discovering these resources more & more lately. i hear that the economy is bad? or something like that. now i will admit, i am much older now, & i can afford to splurge on myself (& i have), but really, where's the fun in that? lipsmackers still taste as good as ever, clinique's dramatically different moisturizer is the only thing my skin responds to, & wet n wild eyeliner (at like 2 bucks these days) makes that sophia loren cat-eye pop!
i still would much rather people give me that "what the hell is she wearing?" look than think..."omg, i have that same top in navy, brown, & black!"
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