Take on Venus

In September my friend Shannon and I went to The Legion of Honor in San Francisco to see the Man Ray - Lee Miller exhibit. It was moving and I'm so glad we caught it in time. This years Halloween costume is influenced by Lee Miller's character in Jean Cocteau's short film Blood of a Poet which the museum also had on display. It's a take on Venus Di Milo. I constructed the arms out of tin cans, cardboard and paper mache. I also made the dress which was way more of a pain than those stumps. It was a long process but fun and worth it.

Movie Still

A still from an upcoming project by Marcy Saude. Me as the death bride and Marcy lying beside me.

I MARRIED A DEAD MAN

Inspired by the film, I went ahead and finally married. Sure he can't cook me breakfast, but at least I know his love will never stray. Below is a dress I recently re-purposed.

Knock Off Coco Chanel

Coco & Igor is a film based on the love affair of legendary designer Coco Chanel and Classical giant Igor Stravinsky. The creativity of these two is unprecedented, I'm a huge fan of both. I love the classic elegance of Chanel. Simplistic and bold. Igor's genius was ahead of it's time. The movie was stunning, with it's amazing beautiful interior design, re-creating Coco's beautiful home, a montage of her trademark black and white.

I got the idea from the movie to recreate a plain white vintage dress I've had around for years. I had it taken in significantly and I added ostrich feathers around the neckline. Here is a clip from the movie and my dress for comparison.

Love Unlimited - In Heat

This group was In Sync before those white guys!

101 Shades of Pink

A look inside the medicine cabinet of a co-worker. I've never seen anything like this and felt it was too good to pass up. She is a lot of lipstick's lady.

Life Isn't Always Pretty

Here are another pair of shredded shoes I own. These were beautifully crafted back in the day, made from satin, cloth and wood, accompanied with rhinestone shoe clips. I purchased them in the mid nineties from an antique store, they had never been worn and came in the original box from the 1920's. Obviously I've worn them to their death.

Skeleton Shoes

No I'm not advertising these for sale on my Etsy. The only way anyone might buy these is if I become famous after death for being the worlds most bizarre shoe hoarder. Not a fancy way of being remembered. I guess they speak for themselves, although they do have a story. It all came apart after I went to a Verbal Abuse show at Shady Acres, a rotten, decrepit punk house, ran by Phil. The shows took place in a old barn behind the house. It was pretty much a club, he charged at the "door" and that's how he payed his rent. Anyway, the shoes. So after a night at Phil's, I left the shoes there. I don't remember why. I'm sure I was drunk, my feet hurt and I lived a block away. I went back for them the next day only to find the heels hammered into a tree. My jaw dropped, but I couldn't help but laugh, collect them and go. Shady Acres was shut down and it's since been rehabilitated, I actually lived there for a few months with my friend Ashley who now resides in it's peaceful state. I still wear these shoes, they've endured a lot and with anything that has I don't believe in throwing out.

Stomping Monkey's

I ran into the TL Foot Stomper last night at a seedy little bar off Market called The Hot Spot. It was hot alright, the pretentious little monkey boots had it coming.

Paper Creations by Isabelle de Borchgrave

In the summer of 2011, Shannon and I went to Pulp Fashion at Legion of Honor to see the exhibit of Belgian artist Isabelle de Borchgrave. I had never heard of her and had no idea just what surprises lied in store. We were completely blown away and taken by the artists legacy in paper fashion. She recreates costumes from key periods in fashion history, and legendary designers such as Coco Chanel, Christian Dior and Charles Worth are represented by signature pieces. Recreations of gowns with elaborate velvet's, needlework lace, ropes of pearls, and intricate coiffures are transformed into paper sculptures. 

The level of artistry that has gone into these paper creations is unreal. All hand painted, it's hard to mistake the work for a copy, this is how exquisitely detailed they are. The artistry doesn't just stop with the garments, the details extend right down to the appropriate period accessories such as shoes adorned with buckles, hats, jewelry and other embellishments are all recreated to give the purest affect. 

I wished I'd had this blog at the time to promote this lavish exhibit, none the less I advise anyone interested in fashion history, historical figures and art in general to check her out. Photos were not allowed, but I managed to sneak the two above. 

Here is a link to the original exhibit at Legion of Honor. 

http://legionofhonor.famsf.org/legion/exhibitions/pulp-fashion-art-isabelle-de-borchgrave

Here is a link to the website of Isabelle

http://www.isabelledeborchgrave.com/

Enjoy!