Deeper and Deeper.

I forgot how much I liked this music video. And then, I remembered.



The '70s makeup? Sofia Coppola eating a banana on the couch with Debbie Mazar? A Meisel-era Madonna? Warholian actor and all around creepy guy Udo Kier? I love it all. I even have a soft spot for the super sentimental shot of Madge's balloons--inflated with pure, pink, innocence--getting snipped free by the aforementioned creepy guy. Nostalgic goodness for the first day of your work week.

Common Goods: Put On A Party Hat. Feel Better.

In case you hadn't noticed, I'm trying to shake off the shell shock of yesterday. I'm trying to reinvigorate what is supposed to be a fashion fan's most wonderful time of the half year. It's Fashion Week and I can't feel it. What can help? Oh, I know! Party hats from the 1970s!

Thanks Flickr. That helped.

Go Hardcore or Go Home.

The best part of Mark Leckey's "Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore," his trippy 1999 video art ode to the British clublands of yesterday? The clothes.



There's something charged about what people wear when they go out. It's the apotheosis of their identity; the thing they most want to say to everyone who sees them. It's the way they most want to look. Going out clothes are not work clothes, not school clothes, they aren't stay at home or run errand clothes, they are "This is me." clothes: This is me hot, ready, and at my self-defined best. This is me attracting you, this is me telling you something real about myself, or at least trying to. This is me in my dancing shoes. This is the best I've got. Check me out. But hurry--it will all look foolish, ancient, and undeniably out-of-touch before your hangover fades.

But, while fashion trends come and go, the energy of a night out--shaking your ass to a repetitive beat while some substance, or even plain adrenaline, courses through you in a high-ceilinged, crowd-stuffed, reverberating space--is easily one of the more lasting incentives to don your best outfit. It may be one of the more lasting reasons to make it through your life actually: To go out.

Stills from the film.

Leckey's video is made of found footage that looks like it was unearthed from some hazy, hallucinogenic, dream of how things used to be, and really puts a finer point on the ephemeral nature of fashion. Just the fact that I have to explain who Fiorucci is (only the most coveted designer brand of the late '70s/early '80s, only the inventor of designer denim, only the brand Madonna wanted most) speaks volumes about how short lived cool or hot or essential items are. People used to fork over paychecks for the stuff, and now most don't know what it is. Makes you wonder how silly your life will seem in retrospect, right? Actually, it will never seem silly to you. It will be deathly serious in its cool factor to you. It will be laughable to those who came along even a day past your prime. Your kids will laugh at you, that's for sure. Those are the breaks. Keep it moving people, just keep it moving. And while you're moving, why not do it to a beat? Cue the throbbing bass and the dancing masses.

You can see the full video and tons of other amazing works of video art at UbuWeb. Thanks to the best dressed coworker I have, and brilliant analyzer of film, Mr. Graig Uhlin of Mass Ornaments for the resource.

I've Got That Boom Boombox Bag.

I'm in love with my new found go-to happy doc for bad day brightening. It's Style Wars, the late 70s/early 80s PBS documentary that got the word out on writers, b-boys, bombers, and rappers before they were mainstream. It shined a flashlight on the urban art of graffiti that either adorned or debased the MTA's fleet of 70s subway cars in NYC depending on whether you asked the bombers or Mayor Ed Koch. The doc is pure pleasure stocked with characters quirky and confident enough only to be found in real life, and it makes me crave early 80s gear, like a boom box and a Sugarhill Gang cassette. I know, I know; I'm a white girl from the 'burbs who missed the height of hip hop by a few years, but I can still appreciate its flavor. I'll rock the boombox bag I saw in the window of the ICP shop (pictured above) instead of embarrassing all of humanity by pumping up the volume on an actual handle toted ghetto blaster. You want to watch what's got me so excited? Start with this:



Parts two through eight are all on Youtube.

Belly Up.

If only time travel were really possible, I'd be in the middle of this belly dancing scene from an old Egyptian movie in a minute. Or, however long it takes to time travel.

That '70s sparkle is just perfect for the belly shaking.

Common Goods: Retro Drugstore Stock

These pics from Flickr are of vintage drugstore shelves circa 1970. I have a fetish for photos and film footage of store shelves, especially grocery stores, but these shots put drugstores in a close second spot. I think it's something about the lighting and all of the repetition. I wish someone would have preserved a store of this era and in this condition so I could take a gaga-eyed stroll down its aisles, but for now I'll settle for these excellent photos.

Beauty products.


Laundry soap.

Feminine hygene products.


More fem products.


Cleaning products. Love those glove boxes!

Check out the entire set in Paula Wirth's VIntage Drugstore Photo Stream.

I Keep It Real '70s.

I just got a craving to post some '70s Sports Illustrated swimsuit shots. Why? Well, I'm not sure. I think because I'm wanting a little sunshine on this rainy day, and I am secretly obsessed with '70s photos of models. I love the graininess and the imperfections in the shots. The lighting is real, the bodies look more natural than today's photoshopped, airbrushed, alien looking shots. There is something so beautiful and charming about the way these women look. I love the nearly fully clothed cover of Cheryl Tiegs above! Could you imagine that happening nowadays? Where's the overspilling cleave? Amazing. I love it. Here's some more from the SI vault.

















Love these! See more here.