ericawalker's posterous

jul20

Jul20

Since July of 2006 I've been blogging my daily outfits on flickr more or less regularly, even during my pregnancy last year. I partly do it to share my personal style with others and inspire them to develop their own style, but I also do it to learn about what works best for me and on me. My style could be called experimental, since I never wear the same outfit twice, and most of the time I approach the way I dress in an experimental way.

 It has been suggested that I share them here, so I shall. But I'll also take the opportunity to talk a little bit more about my thoughts on the outfit. So consider this my inaugural personal style feature!

This particular day was a pretty casual day involving running errands and doing housework. But it was sunny out so I thought I'd wear my parasol hat. I pinned it to adjust the "flop" so it wouldn't flop in my face.

I knew I wanted to wear the utility skirt that day, but also I wanted to see if it took a petticoat (I'm really into underskirts right now), and I was curious to know how a flouncy skirt would feel/look underneath a more utilitarian one.

Lately I've been limiting myself mostly to a monochromatic palette, so I thought I'd use my vibrant kente print bag just to throw things off some.

jul8



Today I felt like wearing aristo, but didn't want to be too fussy. Lately I've been reading the 6th Harry Potter book, something I'd put off for years but have finally gotten around to, so I'm thinking I was inspired by that.

the black headdress was purchased secondhand from egl_comm_sales.
the vintage freshwater pearl chandelier hoop earrings were thrifted.
the black ruffly bolero is from forever 21, it's one of my favorite new items.
the jersey bustier with neck ties was thrifted last week.
i can't remember where the leather cuff is from...
the leather bag and the miniskirt (which i only ever wear as an overskirt) were both thrifted.
the pleat ruffled skirt was also thrifted, and so was the white petticoat underneath it.
my vintage studded flat boots came from a church rummage sale


Johnny Cash: The First Modern Goth?

Last night Rob and I were watching the best of The Johnny Cash Show, which aired on TV between 1969 and 1971. Really heavy years, right? Apparently one of the things which made it the most popular TV show at that time was the fact that he would have all kinds of guests on his show, from Ray Charles to Merle Haggard. He was an example of inclusion at a time of great division in American society.

I should say at the start that I don't really know very much about Johnny Cash aside from what I've seen in Walk the Line and music documentaries, and what I've read on the Internet. So maybe this is a discussion that's already happened.

But what I really noticed were some interesting characteristics about Johnny Cash I'd never picked up on. The first is his style. Okay, granted he is the Man in Black. But ruffled shirts? Cufflinks? Cravats? Bouffant hairdo? Where did this come from? I guess I'd always imagined him wearing cowboy clothing, but just black. But apparently Johnny was rather a dandy.

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I also noticed the lyrics of his songs. Okay, the above is a perfect example. So many of his songs have this dark humor about them...

Finally, I observed his personality. He was very much a friend of the underdog and always called to mind the outcasts of society, reminding people of their humanity. He even projected himself at times as having been down on his luck and living on the edge and so on.

So all these things added up in my mind, and it came to me: Johnny Cash was goth before there ever was such a thing. Remember, this is 1969, 1970...rock as we know it was still in its infancy and punk was a twinkle in its eye...I think he set an example, a paradigm, for culture and music to come.

Curious to know other people's thoughts on this! Again, I disclaim any expertise on the man's history; maybe I'm just seeing what I want to see in this case.



Memento Mori

This afternoon while Hans climbed up and down the jungle gym at the park, I noticed a dried-up bird wing near the sandbox. Honestly, my first reaction was great interest; I live in an urban setting so my interactions with animals are few, living or dead. The forensic ornithologist in me wanted to examine the feathers, the bone structure, perhaps try to piece together how it became separated from its unfortunate former owner.
Then I reacted with disgust. It's decaying, it's probably germ-ridden, it's depressing, what if he tries to eat it, I thought.
I kicked some sand over it, trying to bury it without actually touching it. That failed; I'd be kicking all day before it was covered. So I gave up trying to bury it.
Then I thought again. There must be a reason why I can't rid this thing from my sight, I thought. There is a message here, what is it?
Memento mori, it came to me.
Memento mori is a Latin phrase which means "remember that you will die." I heard this phrase for the first time many years ago, and its plain, flat matter-of-factness really struck me. The fact that I couldn't hide this dead thing, I couldn't pretend that I didn't know it was there, reminded me of this phrase.
In light of the challenges I've been facing in the last couple of months, including the death of a family member, I've been thinking a lot about the simple fact of death, and the process of facing it and accepting it.
So then the feeling that I always get when I want to capture something with my camera came over me. I wanted to get a shot of this wing, to remind me of this moment. I went to my bag for my camera when I realized Hans is climbing up and down on the jungle gym.
Immediately my attention shifts to him. Parents understand that there's a couple of milliseconds of worry between first wondering and finally confirming the safety of one's child; not a good feeling. But even in that, I saw more insight.
Memento mori reminded me that life is in front of me now, and needs my attention now. Rather than focus on the fact that someday I and you and all else living will end up broken and decaying like the bird wing, I can focus on watching my son laughing and playing at the playground.
All of this happened in the span of about thirty seconds, by the way. I just wanted to get this written down since I couldn't get a picture of the wing :o)

Toot, Whistle, Plunk, Boom

My siblings and I grew up in front of cartoons, and not just any cartoons. Tom & Jerry, Bugs Bunny, Donald Duck and Goofy cartoons were the mainstay of our TV diet. I watch almost no television as such these days, but thank G-d for YouTube is all I have to say.

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This is one of my favorite cartoon shorts ever. It's about the four types of instruments, but it's also pretty funny. I love the bit with the beatniks hanging out the window smoking...

I know there are so many stereotypes in this cartoon, but I guess because I loved it so much as a kid I can look past it.