politics of presentation

“There is never a sudden revelation, a complete and tidy explanation for why it happened, or why it ends, or why or who you are. You want one and I want one, but there isn’t one. It comes in bits and pieces, and you stitch them together wherever they fit, and when you are done you hold yourself up, and still there are holes and you are a rag doll, invented, Imperfect. And yet you are all that you have, so you must be Enough.” - Marya Hornbacher 

I just want to seriously say that my blogging is probably going to change. Post-CatLadySoul tumblr actualities means more about me and less about dealing with bullshit. I gave a lot of myself in every medium and made myself really approachable and now I want it to be more about me now. And by that I mean like, not about an image I present, not all outfits.... my personal style is kind of whatever now anyway. I want to talk about fashion. The things about fashion that make me fall in love with aesthetics. The things that influence me and ground me and elevate me, and not the surface effects. My personal aesthetics can go whatever somewhere else. It's more about the ritual of it to me right now than the outcome. I am obsessed with rituals.

Take for example, the ritual of getting dressed to go out. Since depression, I have cute clothes and wonderful things to share, but I mostly wear all black, cashmere, big sweaters, Whatever Outfits, and just focus on my makeup. I can pull together a nice outfit blindfolded simply because my closet at my dorm is well edited to the point that it's kind of impossible to fuck up (unless you really insist on wearing slob clothes, which I do, and which is why they have their own drawer so I don't have to face my Cute Clothes) but I usually only have the energy to do so much before I wanna just crawl back to bed and watch Breaking Bad, and lipstick is easier to put on than Comme des Garcons. Privileged Depression Fashion Problems, but you know, I work hard for my money when I'm not depressed. Anyway. When I get dressed now, I zero in on my face and hair because they are the things I see first and most in reflective surfaces, and my black outfits are just there for mood. I just want to see Me now. Remind myself I'm still here.

So this weekend I had my webcam running pretty much all the time as I got ready to go out, just because #narcissism. My makeup process can take anywhere from 5 minutes and out the door to 3 hours, depending on glitter, and effort, and change in plans, and also my Netflix queue. I am just endlessly amused at the fact that I can change my appearance so thoroughly using mica and powder and lighting, you know? I find pleasure in the transformation and the exploration of myself. Clothes don't hold much interest to me in the transformation category at the moment because I don't have the money to spend on the clothes I want anyway, and I'm just Bored, so now my obsession has gone straight to makeup. And it's more fun, because you can do a lot with so little, and it's easier to fuck up, which also means it's easier to discover new things. And I enjoy that a lot. The concentration and skill required to get a perfectly even cat eye, the artistry of blending scarily dark pigmented shadows so you don't look like a clown, obsessively checking for fallout, for unblended areas, for bleeding of lip color, for symmetry. You're constantly busy creating this image, and it makes everything else fall away and that is just such a nice safe haven you know? 

“Busy the body, so the mind can be free” - Wade

 I especially like, though, going through this ritual of conventional beauty but fucking it up a little. Making it wrong and awkward and taking possession of it so instead of hiding behind something pretty, but ultimately hollow, making it raw and exposed and melodramatic. I like developing myself as a character in my head and then releasing it into something else. The process of creating something very pretty and then fucking it up is something I've always been obsessed with, which is why I feel such a kinship to Comme des Garcons & co. I don't want everything perfect and in place, I want everything slightly off kilter. I want it personalized. I want things to serve me. I want the experience of being able to take what hurts me or makes me anxious and turning it against itself and utilizing all the ugly feelings and making them into something I see home in. It doesn't matter what the other people see as long as I see something that gets me through. Consequences come after my process and the eventuality of a process being over means it did it's job, and I'm still here, and that is all I can really ask for.

Jean-Paul Sarte, No Exit

Peter Greenaway, The Pillow Book, 1996.

Things I feel a real connection with at the moment:

• Brian Eno 1996, A Year of Swollen Appendixes. My favorite excerpt: "Art is something that happens,  a process not a quality, and all sorts of things can make it happen."
• This poem by Shinji Moon.  
• This playlist. 
• This movie.

Ben Vautier

This is primarily a continuation of a text post I did on girlmonstering you can still read here. 

The storm is making the lights flicker so I've got to go pack an evacuation bag. Hope you're all safe and whole. - Arabelle

Eleven Objects Spring 2013 Appreciation Life

Been a fan of the Eleven Objects girls from the start [see this post], and I make it a point to stop by their studio whenever I can do fawn over their works in person. So happy that they are getting recognition from magazines like NYLON etc, I wanna see their designs on every cute twenty something celebrity (and Kimbra. Mostly Kimbra.) I wanna be able to buy them and support them -- why aren't they stocked at Opening Ceremony or Jeffrey????? C'MON MAN.

Anyway. I wanted to share with you their latest lookbook that they sent over. I couldn't attend their last preview because of school and work commitments so this is the first time I've seen what I missed and I am a thousand percent obsessed and am going to be bothering them constantly to have an opportunity to stare at everything IRL.

Look 1: Leopard printed calf hair rounded collar, Silk organza collar sleeves with feather embroidery, Silk crepe peplum jacket with cork and silver leaf, Silk crepe skirt. Look 2: Croc embossed patent leather rounded collar, silk faille with leopard printed calf hair peplum jacket, bees brocade skirt.

Look 3: Bees brocade collar with crystal embroidery, Leopard printed silk charmeuse collar sleeves, Striped Silk Charmeuse bra top, Velvet Skirt with feathers, Silk Faille Skirt.  Look 4: Cork with silver leaf collar, Silk Crepe Top with feathers and vinyl, vinyl peplum belt with cotton Swiss lace applique.

Look 5: Mirrored leather collar with silver spikes, Snakeskin printed silk collar sleeves, pearl body jewelry, mirrored leather skin belt, snakeskin printed silk georgette draped shorts. Look 6: Latex and feather collar, leopard printed charmeuse bra top, bees brocade skirt belt, silk organza skirt with feather trim.

You can see the entire collection here, the collars specifically here, and see people wearing their collars (including myself) here.

Honestly 11O is one of my favorite NYC brands. They make me excited about fashion. :') I just wanted to share them with you all. What're your favorite small designer labels you wish got more rep?

celia visits

I've been grossed out and grumpy towards the internet lately (bye tumblr) but I love my internet babies and when Celia said she was coming to town I naturally was first to hog up her social calendar so I could touch her hair fondly and bond over sugary alcoholic drinks with her. Tyler is also as babely in person and I just really enjoy hanging out with them both because it was just the most natural thing ever, like we don't live  in different countries but actually around the corner from each other. I seldom bring my camera with me places so these are from her and Tyler.

I find it very amusing that she and Tyler both tower over me (not hard to do, I'm 5ft 2) that even on this platform she's still taller than me. THIS IS WHY I HARDLY EVER WEAR FLATS. Also bummed that black on black on black outfits are so hard to photograph? This looked way better in person.

Me figuring out directions to the nearest thrift store. We went to Beacons and Odd Vintage and I bought some nice stuff. Some outfit details: 

Vintage dress, gift from my local vintage store, I did a post on them ages ago here.  Jacket is also a gift and repeat seen here  (Comme des Garcons), bag is c/o Rebecca Minkoff. Shoes were a gift from Elizabeth. Pin c/o Luna on the Moon. Very lucky and humbled about all of it. 

Inside Odd Twin vintage, place that caught my eye from across the street so we all went in and it was destiny. (we met up with Celia's friend Billy and Billy's friend). It's a really great vintage store with reasonable prices, gonna be a pitstop for me for sure. 

I'll do a haul video or something with all the stuff I've gotten recently to show you all 'cause I doubt I'll get around to doing individual outfit posts. To note: Alice + Olivia grey jacket that defies description, Zac Posen skirt, weird knit sweatervest, transparent plastic blazer. Amaze. 

See ya.