Jezebel 
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New York, 7:55 AM
Sun Nov 22
23 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/15/09
11/14/09
On the other hand, I think that doing something just because it's interesting or challenging when it's isn't something you like or automatically identify with is super cool. It can either give you context to understand the reasons why you like some of the things you do, because whatever you got out of them will be missing, or it can help you realize that those things acted as a security blanket that you don't need, because you're still just as cool/sexy/interesting without them.
And I am fully behind doing things just to get reactions out of people. As long as you don't end up being cruel, and use the fact that it's fake as an excuse, like Punk'd usually does. People will probably laugh and forgive you, but some of them will only do it because they've already been made to look silly and would look even sillier if they didn't.
Andy Kaufman did it perfectly. He forced you to react to things that most people would have given you a pass on, and how you treated him said everything about what kind of person you were. By the time he got to his wrestling phase, if you seriously believed he was misogynistic, it probably meant that you had no capacity for humor or self reflection.
Fashion is made up of two seperate worlds, and when someone says "fashion is my life", until I know which one they're talking about I don't know whether to feel sorry for them for having such a superficial life or to fist bump and tell them they're awesome. Fashion is either the science & business of trying to look good according to current standards based mostly in class, or using physical appearance & presence in the world to bring those standards to light and force an acceptance of individuality and creativity. The form the second takes sometimes becomes the new first, and sometimes it doesn't. We usually decide that we like something for one of two reasons; it symbolizes & affirms a quality that benefits us somehow (a suit says you are authoritative and capable, a t-shirt with a cultural reference says you're a part of that culture), or it just appeals to us aesthetically. Deciding to like something that does neither breaks us out of that binary & changes the reach of both. It forces the people who see us to feel something authentic, because there is no automatic response for them to hide behind. Even if it doesn't lead to anything, it still creates a moment that is right now, not any other interchangeable moment.
I try really hard to never feel negatively about anything unless it is legitimately offensive. It's hard, but it's important, because those things will have the power to distract you & ruin your experience of things otherwise, and it's surprising how often my impulses end up being wrong. If there's something that I don't like, I try to figure out if it's because of my own insecurity, and what it symbolizes in terms of human qualities and social place. Sometimes I can't pinpoint what it is exactly that turns me off, but once I get rid of the context, usually it's because I think it's low quality or lazy. But I could always not understand it & be wrong. And even if I'm right, the best hope of whoever made it getting better is to allow them to keep working, without validating the same self doubt that is what leads to lazy art in the first place. If you tell someone they suck, then they usually just think you're an asshole. Or they try to give you something they think you'll like. Or they give up because they agree with you. If you don't ignore them but don't encourage them, they might try harder, and even if they never seem to improve, they're engaging in something creative.
The thing I have a really hard time with is when something threatens another idea's integrity. I can't be ok with that. Even if it's well intentioned. Like sequels to classic Disney movies, or any of the Rock Band/Guitar Hero/whatever games.
I always write too much... sorry guys... it's hard for me to be concise, I barely make sense already. :)
11/14/09
Why would anyone wear clothes AT other people?
What a world/put the harem pants away/shut up, hipsters. #hammerpants
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11/14/09
But we're talking about fucking harem pants here.
They are not interesting or new or aesthetically pleasing. It's so tongue-clickingly lazy for a designer to throw this into their collection. #hammerpants
11/14/09
We're talking about harem pants, but we're also talking about the people who actually wear them. Since most people find them so unambiguously unattractive, even offensive, that they sell at all is interesting. At least, I think it is. #hammerpants
11/14/09
Wearing garments people see as edgy helps me fake confidence and if people laugh at me, I can blame the 'ugly' garment and tell myself they aren't really mocking me.
(Oh and those super low crotches make it feel like you're wearing your pyjamas all the time...) #hammerpants
11/14/09
Plus, I have giant boobs, and ruffles down my chest simply don't look good. They look like a bird exploded and is bouncing in its final death rattle.
Hammerpants are just one symptom. #hammerpants
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11/14/09
Or, conversely, maybe it's a way of pushing people away. Is wearing hammer pants and saying, "You just don't understand" any different than putting on your iPod, and responding to questions about what you're listening to by saying, "You've probably never heard of them"?
Either way, to hammer pants wearers I say: You're no better than any of the rest of us. Have a cookie.
11/14/09
It's obnoxious to be an asshole, though, no matter which way you choose to do it... And if you're an asshole, you're just as much of an asshole no matter what you wear. #hammerpants
11/14/09
We were wrong. I guess people (namely men) found us fun, confident, and weird because they would always try to chat us up. And in a way, it was the most fun way to meet people because we weren't trying to impress anyone, and the ones that noticed us in a positive way appreciated that, and at the very least had a sense of humor. I think the number one rule for fashion is to look comfortable no matter what skin you're in, and people will think you're stylish through you're confidence. Oh, and wear stuff that fits. #hammerpants
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Is that an intended pun? Because the image of disgusted shoppers doing teeny Hammer dance-style side steps around a pair of these pants is cracking me up. #hammerpants
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My mom started wearing the weird, aging hippie version of these. I asked her to stop because I lover her too much to let her teach seniors yoga like that. She thankfully listened. #hammerpants
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And I feel you, I have many a Mariah Carey t-shirt that I wear with genuine love, not irony. #hammerpants
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If you enjoy wearing trucker hats, don't wear them ironically. Enjoy your trucker hat, and hell to all who think you look silly!
Well, in appropriate times and places, as well. :D #hammerpants
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Actually, some of those can be comfy... anyways... #hammerpants
11/14/09
STYLE THAT. #hammerpants