Hey guys! I have been thinking a lot about what persona style means to me, and after reading Frank Vinyl's post "Searching for your Signature Style", I decided to do a similar blog post featuring my biggest style inspirations.
How would you define your style? Who are your biggest style icons?
Kurt Cobain
What he taught me: Um, everything? But mainly, that it's okay to be weird. In this case, I'm talking about fashion, but he really taught me to embrace my weirdness in every aspect of myself. (Being obsessed with child birth and the reproductive system is O.K.) But when it comes to style, if you feel like wearing the Elmer Fudd hat with the leopard print coat and oval sunglasses, you go for it!
Mick Jagger
What he taught me: My 1970s style comes out of nowhere. I love the look of the 1970s woman, but couldn't think of a single typical 1970s woman who I actually consciously channeled. That's when I realized, I wasn't channeling any woman. I was channeling the kind of woman Mick Jagger would have hung out with back stage after a show in the 1970s. Which is way cooler.
What he taught me: My 1970s style comes out of nowhere. I love the look of the 1970s woman, but couldn't think of a single typical 1970s woman who I actually consciously channeled. That's when I realized, I wasn't channeling any woman. I was channeling the kind of woman Mick Jagger would have hung out with back stage after a show in the 1970s. Which is way cooler.
Patti Smith
What she taught me: Patti Smith has the kind of effortless style that you really only saw in men at her time. The biggest thing I took away from Patti Smith, is that being a girl is kick ass. And should I ever want to stop shaving my arm pits and legs, that's fucking okay.
Winona Ryder
What she taught me: Modest is hottest. That statement alone makes me feel too vulnerable to even continue on. But I will. My love for Winona is never ending. Let's put it this way; if I woke up tomorrow a high class, celebrity lesbian, I wouldn't even question it. I would just go find Winona Ryder. Because, to me, she's the perfect kind of sexy. She never shows too much, she's mysterious, she's feminine without trying too hard; she's everything. Winona is everything, Winona forever.
What she taught me: Modest is hottest. That statement alone makes me feel too vulnerable to even continue on. But I will. My love for Winona is never ending. Let's put it this way; if I woke up tomorrow a high class, celebrity lesbian, I wouldn't even question it. I would just go find Winona Ryder. Because, to me, she's the perfect kind of sexy. She never shows too much, she's mysterious, she's feminine without trying too hard; she's everything. Winona is everything, Winona forever.
Bob Dylan
What he taught me: Bob Dylan taught me that androgyny is cool. Not because he himself dressed androgynous, but because he was scrawny (like me) and though he didn't have breasts (like me. Just kidding. Kinda?) he really inspired my style. I've been obsessed with him from a young age, so I feel like I could go on and on about the things that he has taught me, but I think the biggest thing is this, and it's kind of heavy: Lots and lots of things are beautiful. The most beautiful things are the things that maybe take a little digging, a little squinting, and a little thinking. If I am every called beautiful, I hope it's meant in that way.
Courtney Love
What she taught me: You know how Patti Smith taught me that being a girl could be kick ass? Courtney Love taught me that I was kick ass. Growing up, I was never the "pretty" girl. Luckily, I had an older brother who told me a lot about a lot of amazing bands, Hole included. I was blown away. Courtney Love is (one of) the reason(s) I ever picked up a guitar, I ever cared about fashion, and I ever stopped giving a damn what "pretty" meant to anybody else but myself.
Kate Moss
What she taught me: This one is kind of new for me, guys. Obviously, being interested in fashion, I have always had a soft spot in my heart for Kate Moss. However, in the past year or so I've started modeling and my biggest lessons have come from Kate Moss. She's so confident, and I am so not. Kate Moss has very recently taught me what sexy is. Sexy is a smoldering eye, it's feeling the breeze through your shirt on a sunny day, it's sometimes going topless (okay, maybe not in public for me, but you get it.) She isn't conventionally pretty, but in front of a camera, and as a model, she's gorgeous. She's a super model, and has earned her confidence over time. I know that the body image issue is big with a lot of people, but as a naturally scrawny, small breasted, small butt girl, I too sometimes feel under attack. When I do, I look to Kate Moss, and her cool-girl, "who cares?", bra-less (woops, did I say that?) attitude and feel much, much better.
