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Little Edie Beale: The Ultimate Recessionista
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hollygirl
11/11/08

In reply to Little Edie Beale: The Ultimate Recessionista
On another ntoe- is anyone else praying that the movie just goes away? I love Drew, but I don't see her pulling this off.
" The marble faun is here. He's moving in. He's brought us a washing machine and that seals the deal."
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krismry
11/11/08

@hollygirl: I think I understand what you mean, but Drew is nothing if not capable of surprises. I always remember her support of Donnie Darko and her participation as an actor in that picture. Sensational sensibility, sort of.
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Topsyjane
11/11/08

In reply to Little Edie Beale: The Ultimate Recessionista
I couldn't make it through GARDENS either. Between my own ongoing mental health problems and my close relationship with my mom, I can all too easily see myself sliding into this kind of life, minus the mansion at the beach, famous relatives, and interest from brilliant filmmakers. I also hate the fetishizing of Little Edie's 'style' by the fashion insiders. Whoever mentioned ZOOLANDER hit it on the nose, the idea of antifashion as fashion, blurring the line between 'distressed', 'unfinished', and 'strange', 'unflattering'. I also thought that one reason Little Edie always had on swimcaps or scarves was that as a younger woman, she set her hair on fire. And she did it on purpose, not out of anger, more of a dreamy, 'hey, look what I can do!' moment gone very wrong.

The one thing I took away from GREY GARDENS was Little Edie's incredible speaking voice - a mix of Bahston Brahmin drawl and blue-collar Long Island's 'dese, dem, dose' speak. If someone tried to copy it for a movie, no one would believe it could be real. Think of Jennifer Jason Leigh 'doing' Dorothy Parker's voice in the movie she made. It might've been authentic, but it was annoying as hell to listen to.
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CrankyOldBroad
11/10/08

In reply to Little Edie Beale: The Ultimate Recessionista
I still love to watch Christine Ebersole sing
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The Revolutionary Costume For Today.

I can only watch the Grey Gardens documentary in small small doses. It is truly sad and disturbing.
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CrankyOldBroad
11/10/08

@CrankyOldBroad: and bah, one day I will learn how to post youtube vids
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raymi
11/10/08

In reply to Little Edie Beale: The Ultimate Recessionista
people who constantly change outfits throughout the day, mixing and matching prints that somehow turn out fabulous, are bipolar, and it stems from an obsessive need to be creative, always. it is an illness but not so terrible i think.
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krismry
11/10/08

@raymi:Not so much bipolar as dissociated identity. Their other personalities take over after lunch and insist that this schmatta be removed immediately in favor of something more suitable for afternoon tea. For example.
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citrus buddha
11/10/08

In reply to Little Edie Beale: The Ultimate Recessionista
But...she wasn't poor. She and her mother may have been mentally ill and eccentric, and lost what money they had, but...they lived in an enormous mansion in the Hamptons. And were relatives of Jacky O. As sympathetic as I am to her struggles, I think it's a bit disingenuous to call Little Edie the "ultimate recessionista".

No disrespect to you Sadie, I love your posts, but this conflation of fashion, mental illness, and poverty somehow leaves me uneasy.
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cmd
11/10/08

@citrus_buddha:

they lived in a dilapidated mansion and ate cat food. the two were left virtually penniless when Big Edie's husband abandoned the family and they weren't supported by Jackie O. until reporters began publishing articles about their poverty.
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brendastarlet is on it
11/10/08

@cmd: sorry to disagree, CMD, but they weren't poor. They were mentally unstable, but they had means, and they had other relatives besides Mrs. Onassis. Little Edie lived in Manhattan for years, spent a lot of time in Palm Beach, and only moved back out to Grey Gardens when she started to lose her grip.
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cmd
11/10/08

@brendastarlet: I don't disagree that they were mentally ill, but I don't believe they had money. Little Edie did live in Manhattan when she was younger, but she eventually moved back. Her retirement to Florida was funded by the sale of the house after her mother died. The house which had been paid for decades before.

Phrases like "abject poverty" litter just about every article about the Beales, who I've been familiar with since I worked on the musical. Why are you under the impression that they were sitting on a stash of cash?
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brendastarlet is on it
11/10/08

@cmd: I didn't say they had a stash of cash, but Big Edie had other children, and they had other relatives and friends who occasionally visited them. (They could afford Jerry the hot gardener, after all..)

Loved the musical, and I hope it turns out all right in Drew Barrymore's hands!
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andBegorrah
11/10/08

In reply to Little Edie Beale: The Ultimate Recessionista
I got my mom this movie for Mother's Day. She didn't appreciate the gesture.
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hellonini9
11/10/08

@andBegorrah: Ha!
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brendastarlet is on it
11/10/08

@hellonini9: OMG. I wouldn't dream of giving it to my mother. She'd be insulted by the insuation that our relationship was like that. And there's a bit of Big Edie in my mother -- maybe in all mothers.
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freewrite
11/10/08

In reply to Little Edie Beale: The Ultimate Recessionista
Did you see this? [thebrow.tumblr.com]

someone's deconstructing GOOP for a recession-style budget.
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Sukie in the Graveyard
11/10/08

@freewrite: tragically, I kinda like the leggings with boots. What is wrong with me?
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BeckySharper
11/10/08

@freewrite: I'm amazed that they could suppress their gag reflex long enough to do the job. But they actually deconstruct it quite well!
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southernbitch
11/10/08

In reply to Little Edie Beale: The Ultimate Recessionista
i am not going to lie. i could not finish the documentary. i found it painful to watch. and normally i love shit like that. it was just a really uncomfortable line between campy and mental illness, and ultimately i didn't know if i felt like i was being informed or if i was perpetuating in an exploitation.
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BeckySharper
11/10/08

@southernbitch: My feelings exactly. I felt icky and voyeuristic and wished someone would get these women some help already. They were so clearly mentally ill and unable to help themselves.
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Penny
11/10/08

@southernbitch: I was just looking at the photo used in this post and had the same thought. I had to walk away from it a few times. I know that seems.....over-sensitive. But, I agree it was disturbing to watch.
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Sukie in the Graveyard
11/10/08

@southernbitch: the ending, with the raccoons was heartbreaking. But as a whole, the relationship the two women shared was incredible to watch.

But then, I enjoyed Gerry and Koyaanisqatsi.
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BeckySharper
11/10/08

@Sukie in the Graveyard: If by "incredible" you mean bitter and creepy and sad and co-dependent in their mental illnes, then yes, it was.

And although the house was bought and completely gut-renovated by Ben Bradlee and Sally Quinn, you can reportedly still smell cat urine every time it rains.
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Sukie in the Graveyard
11/10/08

@BeckySharper: um, yeah, sort of. That's why I noted Gerry and Koyaanisqatsi.

Incredible isn't like amazing or 'gottahaveit' - it's also thought provoking and eye-opening. It is overall unbelievable.

But, what would a documentary be if not engaging? It ain't the puppy-cam.
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Sukie in the Graveyard
11/10/08

@Sukie in the Graveyard: also, Gerry isn't a documentary, sure but it's art-house and Grey Gardens really could fall in that category.
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brendastarlet is on it
11/10/08

@Sukie in the Graveyard: it was very hard to watch. I saw the musical without seeing the documentary, and went back to rent it afterwards. I had to see it in three takes, because I just kept getting overwhelmed by their relationship and the point to which they let things deteriorate.

Do you know who owns Grey Gardens now? Ben Bradlee and Sally Quinn. There is some kind of justice in that.
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Penny
11/10/08

In reply to Little Edie Beale: The Ultimate Recessionista
I think it's also important to note that LE was not using clothing as a means of transgressing, whereby I feel those appropriating her style would be. Which bugs me somewhat.
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peperony and chease
11/10/08

In reply to Little Edie Beale: The Ultimate Recessionista
This is quite possibly the best piece you've ever written, Sadie. And the "unwitting fashion show that is mental illness" is not only a spot-on analysis but an insight into why I always look so damn fly.
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westvillagegirl (exiled in chicago)
11/10/08

In reply to Little Edie Beale: The Ultimate Recessionista
Wait, so now we're calling "cow-suit crazy" "a boon for our times."

Little Edie is the not the first person in the world that dictated form should follow function. I believe that was William Morris. Or you know, Bozo the Clown.
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brendastarlet is on it
11/10/08

@westvillagegirl (exiled in chicago): Louis Sullivan, actually (who stole it from a lesser known Chicago architect.) But, same era.
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Sukie in the Graveyard
11/10/08

In reply to Little Edie Beale: The Ultimate Recessionista
When watching her discussion on the garment she was wearing at the moment (in Grey Gardens) I was mesmerized by her absolute ingenuity and purpose.

She didn't dress JUST to be creative and expressive. She got dressed for the day in what she needed and what she had. Her creativity made it possible to rethink nylons, skirts and headdresses.

She worked with what she had. And boy, she made it WORK.
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Penny
11/10/08

In reply to Little Edie Beale: The Ultimate Recessionista
I love fashion, but when I watched this movie I didn't feel LE exuded a style, as much as she was just sick and it was a symptom. It's an interesting discussion, the responsibility Fashion has when appropriating the "style" of a group of people with very little control of their world. For instance, when Galliano sent models down his couture runway dressed as hobos, mental patients and homeless people.

In simpler terms, I am with Doonan on this one.
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BeckySharper
11/10/08

In reply to Little Edie Beale: The Ultimate Recessionista
I cringe whenever people mention Little Edie Beale as a "fashion icon." Because if you watch "Grey Gardens" and think "oh, that sweater around her head is so cute!", well, you're kind of missing the point.
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rednrowdy
11/10/08

@BeckySharper: agreed.

i watched that film and thought at the end of it "what a cautionary tale" and "where the HELL are her other sons?!?!?!?!".

i also take pause with the whole idea of her dressing without fear. she had TONS of fear. she was tethered to her mother because she wanted to be.

in the end, she was as stylish as she could be with what she had, which is how we all should live.
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DoNotStalk loves Jason Bateman
11/10/08

In reply to Little Edie Beale: The Ultimate Recessionista
*like they did.
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