The Human Story

sun dappled reader with a great tattoo

Why do we appreciate rainbows, the scent of night blooming jasmine, the robin's song, a soft breeze, the feel of the sun?

Why have we allowed our senses to be deadened by the synthetic promise of the marketplace? The design of the dupe is a capitalist success story.

Now perfumes, cosmetics and the supermarket laundry aisles choke me with their noxious fumes. I am very sensitive to pthalates and other airborne toxic invaders. I believe it is because my exposure tolerance has been maxed. My body's warning system is telling me to get away or suffer the consequences of denial. I get away.

Did we take the natural gifts and services, the process of life on this planet, for granted or we were duped into believing the promises of "leaders" as they shaped the world?  Was this duping planned (conspiracy) or was it merely a step by step process of ignorance and self gratification?

What I find horribly amusing is that they who get the privilege of running the shows start to believe that they are that special. Keeping their "beliefs" alive and well, they build the systems that augment these same narrow perceptions. They raise their children to believe they are that thing too and as the kids, for the most part feel "not even" they see the rest of the world as even less.

"I have. therefore I deserve to have"  and more; the more is to prove to "daddy" that i am all that...again!!  Do you see how damaging this is?  It is the perfect developmental plateau, the no growth vehicle of belly button myopia.

As the reflective ego grows in its own image, it destroys else. Its markers are stuff and power, its lingo profit and control. Sounds familiar, no?

Its outcome looks to be a form of  narcissistic domination that leads to nihilism, the king of the world dies alone, unmourned and unnoticed...the king of the world is zero.

After seeing the movie "Ethos" Friday night, I am under the influence. Check it out for the Rockefeller tape ....Hitler with a smart phone is still Hitler.

Hollywood Clog

Saturn Devouring his Children, Goya

I checked out a screenwriters class last night and learned that it wasn't right for fashionRIP's next act. I learned how rare it is for the artist to be in control of their work and how the film industry has parceled up the players so as to control the parts and put together films based on the mechanistic model that is so last century. No wonder the blockbusters are unremarkable in staying power, like candy they are a sugary burst with little lasting value (and at what price the sweetness?). Hollywood is corporate, short term and full of its own ego. The saddest thing is that unless it helps its children thrive, there will be nothing left to save. What good are hoarded scripts, controlled, stymied talent, rooms full of awards and piles of money, if the critics, audience and family is no longer well enough to show up?

Topping off the evening, i learned that "violence with out a story, is boring," from a petite young woman who wrote code or something for the game industry. I learned that a few writers are paid well by the studios despite rarely seeing their work become a film and how "why care; "you're paid, right?" is normed.

The "reality" we accept is but a worm we allow to live inside us, eating us alive, nibble by nibble, relentlessly satiating itself as we do not "feel" the problem. Like how can it be a problem if no one else thinks it a problem? Therefore ignore the issue because if it was bad "we" would be told it was, right? Because we are "good people" right? (The Leaderless Revolution by Carne Ross, poses similar round talking in international diplomacy. Trapped by mirroring our ok'edness appears a universal malaise)

I was hoping for a class that was independent minded, future oriented and less "keep me in la la land," When boring documentary is "sentenced" by the prof and serial killer ethics and murder in the liquor aisle, are tossed about a room, i am another kind of bored.

I am again, stunned, at how myopic, unheroic and brainwashed we are educated into being.  Listening to the stories the writers framed showed me that what we learn, we repeat. What we repeat, we accept and as we up the ante of tolerance, we accept things that are synthetically addictive because that is what we can sell most easily.
The useful neutral information i gathered was that it is essential to write a story that will grab an audience. This is an "of course" but putting it back in italics was helpful to me.  I also learned that one can snag good used Final Draft copies, as FD is the industry standard.

I am glad i went. FYI: if possible check out an intro class at a school before you enroll, it is well worth the time.

When i brought  up the idea of  decentralizing the industry; hoping for an affirmative reaction from others, i was told Hollywood is changing. Each studio now has an independent film department. Is this like a problem?

Knowing that the dominator wants to eat its children is no mystery, Saturn Devouring His Children (Goya, around 1820) comes to mind. Studio and independent is a paradox, the motivation and heart are dissimilar by design.

Green Tea and Transformations

This creative innovator knows her tea, her green tea suggestion was terrific and comes in a cozy with strainer and timer.  Wallingford has style. Her skirt is from thrifting, the hardware is new the idea quite fun- fresh brewed steam punkery? I should of asked her. These chance ops pop up without warning as i am always on my way elsewhere or planning other encounters; it is hard to plan for spontaneity.

(note to self: create a question list to offset surprise and meld the plan with the unplanned)

Artists Trust Book Sale

Artwalkers visiting the Artist Trust Book Sale last Thursday, were fabulous. The photo above is a sample of fashion evolving and i am loving it.

Lou Reed on the tee, details on the denim and those red stripes, Yowza! An always righteous black oversize nod to the 80s tee with  tie dyed leggings is a new classic.Thanks for dropping by and buying to help the cause!

Thanks to all who helped make it a successful event.

Refashioning the Fourth

True story.

I saw Kirstin waiting at a bus stop, wearing a saucy vintage tricked up blossom hat. I loved it for its homage to the original, sparked with a brighter palette, a richer bouquet,  a 60s ad retouched with neon ..a Banksy real life application, I so appreciated her spark on the street. I also noticed a a wistful, pensive look in her eyes.

I got off the at the next stop,to wait for my connecting bus and thought about my "promise' to help the world reconnect to its greater self. I wondered if i should have gotten off at the last stop and cracked the social barrier once again. It gets easier every time i dare "go there" -but still.

You see, it  takes a weird courage as "we" seem to have adopted thicker protective bubbles as our cultural abuse becomes ever more apparent. This shield takes an intentional action which can elicit camaraderie and/or cold stares, so is always a challenge. I sorted through these feelings and settled with  "giving it up to the universe."

I told myself if she was on the connecting bus, which could happen, then i would have to reach out. I mean her hat was enough of a reason;  and because as silly as it sounds i thought her possibly as one of my "children," i felt obligated. The darely beloveds, the rebels, the creative crafters, the ones who understand that floating along mainstream is sleeping at the wheel..they are the leaders, the genius of alternative possibility, i think i understand a bit of what they feel.. So because this is frairly irrational in a world designed to eliminate all else- I called on serendipity to guide the way. Allowing the answer to fit the parameters of the question is a useful thing to do.

So after about a 10 minute wait, my bus rolled around the corner and stopped. I boarded and there she was. I sat on the side seat behind her and watched her rummage through a bag of clothing and pull out a painted, jean mini that had to be a reFashion piece. She then started setting studs into the piece and i was in a big " aha" moment. Yes to the universe, serendipity and gos of chance.

I tapped her on the shoulder and asked if she was making the skirt to wear or sell.

She pulled out her earbuds and told me that she sells them. We then had a terrific  inspiring chat that nurtured my soul and shifted the mood of other passengers. When i asked about a particular stop a few others came to rescue, one even gave directions to the bookstore. This is a beautiful thing, you know it when it happens.

bus style impressions

This is also the "data" i am collecting to support our species ability to bloom in a healthy cooperative society. This is the bloom that tells me we will thrive and that the old ignorance will be shed.

 Kirstin is one of the new designers that make custom affordable, locally, creatively and responsible, she is one of the changelings helping us open to the light. Bloom baby, bloom. Check out her vintage stock at neonnightmare.com

Reign Water

ocean the siren ( repurposed sari) , fresh water the naif

( yard sale fabrics) and the practical swamp vixen, witch of the wetlands (vintage fabric)

I am in the midst of designing an installation that tries to connect emotional, visceral and literal communication. The recycouture dresses mix with other mediums in an art meets science wedding. Biology, ecology, psychology and chemistry, natural and manmade systems have patterns that resonate. This is not a surprise as we humans build from that which we know. Our awareness of this is the issue, as we seem to have gone off into ego and lost our way.I guess this makes  FashionRIP Project todays Little Bo Peep. 

I have sewn three of the gowns and they are ready for the embellishments that will create their personas. The dresses are from repurposed, remnant and vintage, or secondary market supplies and are real, wearable pieces -functional. My couture, custom garment background left tracks. These dresses are an expression of my art..whatever that is at the time it is.

Fresh Water is sweet, graceful and innocent, but not naive. She maintains a higher standard of purity and clarity than the human species and wants us to get with the program. She personifies the small rivers and streams of the higher altitudes and is therefore still fairly pristine. She is a dancer.

Ocean is pissed off. She is experiencing major acidification - aka acid reflux- which is damaging to corals, her underwater nurseries and thus it effects the survival of all her children. In response she is fighting back with tsunamis, hurricanes and giant swells that erode human habitats. She is not able to discern who is innocent and who is responsible, she sees our species as a threat. She understands that it is human activity that is making her suffer and she will not be placated by our fairly small attempts to change our ways. That we are hindered by those of us who are blinded by ignorance, greed and ideology is not her problem. Her problem is her children's survival. She is a mother, a creator.


Swamp Witch is the sorceress, the scientist, the amazing alchemist, the liver of the water system. Her job is to detoxify and cleanse the water bodies meeting grounds. She is a permeable, organic flexible and shifting border.  She works with dissonance and harmony, she knows when  to juxtapose and when to blend. She understands and values diversity. She is species wealthy and happy that humans are finally getting to know her. However, her work at times is far too challenging to go it alone. She is seeking our help, our greater understanding and our appreciation. She is the musician.

Fashion as anarchy

Excavate your convictions photo from Huffington Post ..would make a great organic hemp tee shirt graphic, eco alt is just sane and an element of the slow fashion next.

When fashion was designed by individuals with an esthetic vision they wanted to manifest there were more options. Fashion by corporation has glutted the market in cheap, fast fashion,  horrors. Ok the basics aren't that bad, but how many of anything does anyone really need?

The overly manufactured trashion that hangs on countless racks in countless stores is a tacky and irresponsible use of resources. Really, I am bored out of my mind unless I go super high end (or indy, vintage and custom)

Fashion is something i can still appreciate;  however the idea of paying the high end ticket for a garment made by questionable labor practices, just seems wrong. (even if i had that kind of money!)

If those dollars went towards worthwhile investments: like starting a pool for a community solar grid, or a neighborhood cistern, or start the people's bank of ethical funds or help buy up land for a pea patch. There are so many better ways to spend a couple grand. If wealth went towards that which supported health and wellbeing we would have something to be proud of and happy about, instead of a garment worn once or twice then recycled or tossed into a landfill. .

Creative diversity can be unchained from the old economic model. In a world cooperating for the well being of all- and animals,plants, insects etc, too- we will shift worldview and possibilities will expand.

Life is a many connected agreement of collaborative species. We have mucked up enough already.

My current hero is Ross Carne, author of The Leaderless Revolution. Enjoy the interviews but do read the book, great read, insightful and full of hope. Anarchy can be less chaotic than a government hooked to an economic system that is suicidal.

Hobbles

Bergdorf Goodman email clipping

modern constraints...really doing a double take after all the womens rights issues being put back on the table. Like how can a woman run for the metro, drive with any sensitivity or even walk gracefully in these hooves. Is this about being a femme fatal or fatality?

MOHAI moving

 

The above photos were taken at the Museum of History and Industry's closing party. Love the checks on that sweet gown and the hat...okay the red bag and shoes are a nice splash of color and who is the lady wearing purple. Seattle is a good town and the bruises will heal.

Next stop (the new display home of Seattle artifacts) will be south  Lake Union at the old the old armory building. In the meantime check out MOHAI Minutes,  a flash course of local history.

Fashion Tyranny is Over

"The women of Athens were free. So was the woman of ancient Rome. She dressed like the men of her time. She was comfortable. Nothing kept her from moving. Nothing weighed her down.


The woman of today is free, and she may dress as practically as a man. Her body has escaped the prison that help it captive for 20 centuries.


She is truly free, and will no longer submit to the tyrannies of Fashion. Fashion must now serve her.

The slave has become the master. "  (Page 64)

From, Art and Fashion by Marcel Vertes in collaboration with Bryan Holme, 1944

This is a a nice sentiment but sadly  was not 'true' for long  as marketers kicked ass to make up for the rationing of WWII. 

Dior introduced the New Look with voluminous skirts, cinched in waists and girdled hips. The new femininity was fresh and glam, made the most of bumping up fabric sales and helped push women back into the home after Rosie the Riveter became a domestic 'threat' to veterans.

Fashion is an art form that combines social mores, economics, technology and history in a most interesting manner.

USA Heroes

Bill Moyers last couple of shows have revived my faith in America. RoseAnn DeMoro head of the Nurses Union and Tom Morello aka The Nightwatchman have both been active with the 99% aka waking folks up! (PBS)

Believing in strong unions, people and economic justice, they are speaking into the microphones because they have the power to be heard. Yay.

That doesn't get the rest of us off the hook. Be the hook! Every day we have opportunities to bring up the hard stuff. Hone in on an issue, research it and drop it into common discourse as often as possible. Sure some people will get upset, but wow, that's a small price for providing the information services we need to get to a real, community strong, diverse participatory democracy. This seems the next phase of the journey. As barriers and ignorance fall away, healthier models will ensue and we all "win."

More power at the community level could nurture case specific endeavors in an efficient and speedy manner. This will encourage people to become more responsible, involved and motivated as they see themselves as active members of a larger dynamic whole.Thus, more individual potential will bloom.

This is the magic paradox. Consider:

Tom Morello: "What I think the global human cost of this horrific poverty is how many Mozarts or curers of cancer are slaving away in the Maquiladoras along the Tijuana border, or in the Indonesian sweat shops? You know, there are billions of people who will never become the people they could be, or the people they were meant to be, due to crushing poverty.

Poverty is not an accident of, sort of, an economic spreadsheet. Poverty is a crime. There are criminals involved. And those criminals walk the streets as free men. What my music is about, and what-- this from, you know, from the riots in the streets of Greece and Spain to the people's uprisings in Egypt and Libya and Madison is about is holding those people accountable, those who are responsible for subverting the entire global economy and causing so much misery and then laughing about it with their, you know, clinking their champagne glasses on their yachts." (from the transcript)

Why these jobs and why the low pay?

The ruse is over, the applause is stopping, we are learning to read between the li(n)es We know that it is rigged, unfair by design and failing the people, failing human be-ings

"The 2,300 assembly plants known as maquiladoras in Mexico are an important example of the benefits of these low-wage jobs.
More significant is that employment in this sector has grown consistently during periods when Mexico's economic crises have been at their worst and unemployment has been at its highest." (New York Times)

Fruit companies, land loss, distribution chains, GMO crops  and bribery from many sides have helped create dependent poverty. (Dependency creates need, which is good for corporations and governments, isolates and mesmerises) Pushing people off the land and into factories by closing the commons, helped the early Industrial Revolution gain momentum...serfs weren't people- doncha know? That belief has carried us here. That belief has been proven false.

Is there a corresponding cause ...why do we have to short change workers and pay huge amounts to those CEOs willing to be the henchmen of the major stockholders?

"Banking is a huge leech on our economy. 40% of every dollar we spend on goods and services -- 40% of all that we create and all we consume -- is siphoned off the top as bank interest in one form or another. (Calculations of Margrit Kennedy) The US Government is in the absurd position of paying interest to a private bank for every dollar that is put into circulation. The Federal Reserve system has privatized the power to create money, which, according to the Constitution, ought to belong to Congress alone. Presently, interest on the national debt costs the Federal government $500 billion in 2011, and (because of structural deficit spending) it is the fastest-growing portion of the Federal budget."  (Published on Sunday, May 20, 2012 by Common Dreams -The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: Quiet Drama in Philadelphia by Ellen Brown)http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-tom-morello-troubadour-for-justice/

Vintage Umbrella

The floral umbrella is featured in this story,

though they are both vintage and still functional

How fashion made for a better day!

A few days ago i had an appointment downtown and it was all rainy and as i was going to volunteer for a gig put on by arts activist event, i debated even going. Then again, i approved of the action and wanted to meet the team, as they are quite well known and i have posted their work on this blog...so . it was good form to show up. (Conscience rules)

Its Seattle, it rains; it's good for the flowers, rees and skin -I heard the 'good to go voices' in my head as i walked out the door.  I unfurled my umbrella and suantered down the road toward the bus stop, a few blocks away.  Then about mid point, the 358 bus passed me by.  I was still a good block and half away from the stop. I stopped and wondered if i should change my course and hike up the street to catch the number 5, or give up - was this a sign?

Then i noticed that the bus was not moving away from the stop. Maybe the driver had seen my look of despair, maybe if i ran i could make it. I decided to try and started running towards it.

The driver stepped off the bus with his little litter bag. He walked slowly to the big trash receptacle and slowly emptied his bag. I was able to catch up and board the bus. Amazing ...bus riders know this is a rare and wonderful thing. Right, this hardly ever happens.

I thanked him. He just nodded. I don't know if my vintage umbrella caught his eye so he saw my sad face or if it was just that the trash needed emptying. All i do know is that it felt terrific.

The next scene was all about the umbrella. After i got off the bus and was crossing the street, a woman with a small dog walked by me from the other side. She pointed to my umbrella and said, "That's a beautiful umbrella, vintage?"

"Thank you, and yes it is vintage," I smiled, she smiled and the dog was just cute. .

All in all,  that practical fashion accessory garnered about 5 "likes" in a 3 hour period. That is good energy sent to the cosmos and justifies the  need for color, good design and social connections.

That is how fashion good is just good.