mmmmmmMK

Since I remember caring about anything fashion related, I can remember Mary-Kate Olsen. It was an obsession. People like to throw that word around so casually. "I was like obsessed with gelly roll pens" or "I'm like so obsessed with Hillary Duff." Okay, maybe they were. But I'm talking a legitimate infatuation. My friend Hannah has a video of me, somewhere hidden far far away, in an over-sized sweater, leggings, and bug glasses waltzing around our apartment emulating her in a "candid" street interview. Completely normal. Also, I owned all these items. What. Are you judging me now?The summer of 2003 she was generating a lot of press. Remember the global event that was her 18th birthday? Websites dedicated to it, countdowns, bets, a private celebration by yourself while with your friends and they thought it was just another night out... Just me? Ohh.

In some gossip rag that summer, there was a picture of her in baggy sweatpants, a vintage t-shirt, big sunglasses and bangles. She was in public, in sweats. The audacity! I was hooked. I could see we had a lot in common:

1. We liked raggedy clothes (thrift stores were and are cool!)


2. We liked to smoke cigarettes, which I have long since let go (Give it up MK!)


3. We liked coffee


4. We were skinny, really skinny


5. We biked


6. We were blond* AND loved fur

7. We both had the letter R in our names....
Okay I was really grabbing at straws here. She was, in my eyes, Fabulous.

But, here's the thing with my relaysh with MK, it's very one-sided. I don't care about her. There's nothing about her that I would like to know that I don't get in pictures. It's much like how "normal" people cruise Facebook- I cruise Mary-Kate Olsen. I saw in a picture once she was giving a bum a $20. A Humanitarian! Rejoice! I've never seen her movies and frankly I do not want to. Apparently she was on Weeds? Ooops, missed that one. She would probably have to wear pants! There's no fun in that!


Hearing her talk would ruin my ideal and fantastical voice that I have for her. Think Kathleen Turner with a helium tank. Her walk is probably similar to a Gollum hobble, I prefer stills. Her personal life...huh? She dates? She has friends? A dog? Genitals? No, these are things I need not know.

Things I need/want to know about MK:
1. She is alive
2. She will dress herself (Hallelujah!)
3. People will take her picture

Things really took a turn for the worst during my second semester of college when my friend Ali (Pop Culture Junkie) found out about my secret obsession and introduced me to Gemini-Twins.com. A website dedicated to all that is Olsen. All I wanted were the photos dammit! I started visiting at least once a day to see candid photos of her walking with things in her hands. Literally.


I love the utter ridiculousness that is Mary-Kate Olsen. Overall, her fashion sense is fantastic. In her prime, if she wore it, it wasn't the trend yet, she was setting it. She just goes for it. Fearless? Maybe...I mean, she's obviously a little insane.

*This was not her best look, A for effort though. Poor thing, she looked like a zombie hooker.

Other looks that failed for MK:
The Top Hat


The Meg Ryan/Ozzy:


The Golden Girl:



The Yoda:


By the way, she has a sister. Trashley.

Sleuthin'

Every season I create playlists of the songs that I currently fancy. It's been going on for years and they have ridiculous titles. I will not share these titles with you, however I will share the songs that have gotten a lot of play lately. For those of you who follow me on Twitter (and may have been spammed today, I blame Adam Miller) these titles may be redundant. None of these have made me cry.

Lea Michele (Glee) - Don't Rain On My Parade
Animal Collective - My Girls
Whitney Houston - Queen of the Night (CJ Mackintosh Remix)
Junior Boys - FM
Alicia Keys - Empire State of Mind Pt. II
FischerSpooner - In A Modern World
Richard Marx - Hazard (I'm serious)
Florence + The Machine - Dog Days are Over
Jack Penate - Be The One
Lady GaGa - Dance in the Dark
Chelley - Took the Night (Luxury Goods Mix)
Vampire Weekend - Diplomat's Son
Shiny Toy Guns - Le Disko
Sneaky Sound System - It's Not My Problem
Of Montreal - First Time High
Basement Jaxx - My Turn









On the case!

Magic

I've been sitting on all of these grandiose blog posts for the past two months trying to find the time to spit them out and making them perfect. Well, I'm over that! Yesterday I returned from a week trip to Sunny(ish) Florida with my two besties Johnny and AM. AND WE DIDN'T FIGHT ONCE! Hard to believe, I know. The first two days were intensely Disney, spending 24 of 48 hours literally running through all four parks. Who knew The Kingdoms were so adult friendly? You can buy booze anywhere these days! Glorious. I spotted a kiddie-leash disguised as a backpack disguised as a monkey. Also, Glorious.


I have family in the Red State as well that we spent all day Saturday with. To my surprise and delight, AM became just "A" for the day, Johnny dropped the "ny," and we were able to commiserate with the Erikstrup folks juuuuust fine. I still wore purple though, not all hope was lost...It has been over 8 years since I have seen some of them and my Grandmother said, "You're just as skinny as your Dad." My Dad is waif-like. Ohhhh Grams, what you think is a jab is really just a pat on the back. It was "lovely" as John(ny) would say to see them again. It's funny long how time passes but everything seems to be the same.

As you all may be aware, Sunday was Valentine's Day. Those two did their fair share of grinding up some love. Fear not reader(s), I did not go to bed alone....



That is all.

In these shoes

I want to share my two favorite menswear designers of the moment. Gareth Pugh and Michael Bastian. Both are from completely opposite sides of the fashion spectrum, but I'm completely obsessed with both. I do not consider myself a fashionista, but I do occasionally brush up on collections and research trends. You know, a guy can never be on the 'Don't' list!

I'll start with Pugh. My love and fascination with his collections began in the Fall of 2006 when he showed his Spring 2007 collection in Paris.

AMAZE BALLS! It was Chess Board Goth meets Stay-Puft Club Kid. It had such a dark intrigue, and such a sharp, polished angle. In a balloon world, I would be a clubkid, dressing as avant garde as I wanted to, expressing whatever I felt. These designs reignite that little bit of secret fantasy I've always had. Pugh has only had two full menswear collections, both for Fall. Fitting don't you think? His pieces don't really scream sunshine, laughter, and reawakening...

Gareth Pugh has had several of my favorite celebs sport his fashions. Lady Gaga wore a jacket of his, Beyonce used a dress for her tour, and Kylie Minogue had him fashion a few things for her '07 and '08 tours. LOVE!
His past collections have been sprinkled with men, which has always been a treat, but to have two shows fully committed is spectacular. Pugh's Fall 2010 collection is more Edward Scissorhands on heroin than his usual heavily textured collections.

How fabulous are those cumber-bun trousers? I love Pugh's inspiration and footwear from Goth with textures and silhouettes that work for evening wear....oh, and fur. Some things were a tad too Edward Scis; with the dangling chain maille from the wrists...emulating the scissorhands, but oh well, hopefully he credited Burton as an inspiration! Like art in a museum, Pugh's collections stir emotions in me, they're twisted and dark, mysterious, and slightly naughty. Ultimately, isn't that the point? Ca CAW!



And at the other end....

OK- So I'm not the only one who adores Michael Bastian. He's been nominated for the CFDA Menswear designer of the year 2 years running, and got a nod for newcomer of the year in 2007. Bastian was once the Men's Director of Bergdorf's, which may not be a surprise considering his elevated preppy designs.

Bastian creates the look that I wish I could pull off in real life. I would never be ashamed to wear anything of his. His collections throughout the years have inspired me to appropriately accessorize and attempt to play with color. One could say he's a stylized Ralph Lauren meets DSquared. What I like about Bastian's readytowear is his playfulness with color and the slight modifications to fit and shape. He's very familiar with a man's physique and he tailors it nicely. OK, so he's a little faggy sometimes, but this is Fashion, Daaahhhhling!

All I have to say is...WRIST GLOVES and BALLET FLATS. How groundbreaking is a man pulling off ballet flats? I cannot get over this look. As Rachael Zoe would say, "I die." Now, at one of Pugh's shows, Zoe would die, and the world of...everything, would be a better place. Again, Bastian's inspirations are a little art imitating art, Prince Eric much? But omelet this one slide though- Eric is my favorite Disney Prince.

Got the boo hoo hoos?

My good friend Kate Sammon gave me a book called Love is a Mix Tape and the first chapter had me in tears. It has been rumored to occur, but there is a small handful of people who have actually seen me cry. Now, I'm not a very emotionally expressive individual by any standard. I'm good at expressing my opinion, in which some cases can convey having an emotion; like, "The Family Stone was a good movie." Sometimes though- I'm pushed over the edge. The shell cracks, feelings emerge, pigs fly and Hell freezes over. There have been numerous times that a song, for whatever reason, has brought me to tears. I can remember every time it happened, because of course, these moments are rare.

Janet Jackson - Everytime
I think I was 12 when this song came out. I remember my eyes welling up in the backseat of my Step-Mom's car on my way to the YMCA thinking, "What the HELL is wrong with me? Is it pinkeye? Glaucoma? PULL IT TOGETHER CHUBBO!" I asked her to play it again, and continued sniffling.

Mika - Happy Ending
This one was random. Completely random and out of the blue. It was sunset on a Tuesday and I was walking home from work the Summer after I graduated college and this album was THE album of the late Spring. I was walking East on Montrose. Maybe its because I was holding my breath the whole time I was past the graveyard...who knows, but i got a little emo.

MGMT - Kids
"Control yourself- take only what you need from it..."
It was the end credits of "American Teen" and I was put through it.

All-American Rejects - Move Along
Odd choice for tears, I agree. I was driving back from Montana on New Year's Day with my brother and Mother and I realized how peaceful country living was. We had spent the past few days in Bozeman with some of my brother's college freinds and I really enjoyed myself. It was such a relaxed pace and state of mind, it took me a few days to adjust. I made a note to myself on that day (which, I realize now would be a resolution...) to take that mindset with me wherever I go, and to not get caught up in the pettiness of things.

Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. - Glass Houses

Rufus Wainwright - Beautiful Child
Best in cars, during road-trips, with the volume very high.

Amadou & Mariam - Salbali
"Avec toi, Cherie, Ma vie est belle."
I credit this song to my best friend, Skoob and my favorite radio station Minneapolis' 89.3 The Current. I was riding my bike home from getting a flat fixed on a warm, sunny day when these lyrics came over. It was so uplifting, she really made you believe her when she said it. And for a moment, I pictured myself having that person, feeling that way, and she was right, it was beautiful.

Seal - Waiting For You (acoustic)
He just sounds so happy! Wouldn't you be?

The Killers - This is Your Life

Groove Armada - Little by Little
Groove Armada is one of my favorite groups of all time. Their range of versatility is so vast, I love them at the gym, in bed with a book, cleaning the house in my underwear, blogging, you get the gist. This song came on shuffle one day and the intro is so climactic it brings you up and up and then sets you off on this journey, little by little.

Shiny Toy Guns - Season of Love
The key, the beat, and the tone, layered with the lyrics describing the hysteria of love and all else that it brings is stunning.

Slumdog Millionaire Soundtrack - Dreams on Fire
Can I get some crackers with that CHEESE?

Scala & Kolacny - Someone Now
Break-up song...NEXT!

Charlotte Martin - Redeemed

Dido - Thank You
This one is the most embarrassing. I was home from school in the 10th grade (very common occurrence) and I was sitting in my desk listening to this song on repeat, playing Snood, crying my eyes out. It had just occurred to be that my first ever big crush was indeed not a homosexual and I was devastated. He was also a Senior and I was a mere awkward Sophomore, but a boy's gotta dream, right? And my girlfriend at the time, God bless her, had no idea.