WE ARE THE BEST!

GO SEE THIS MOVIE, YOU GUYS!

Set in Stockholm in 1982 and shot in Swedish, We Are the Best! is director Lukas Moodysson's adaptation of his wife's graphic novel about three aspiring punk rock girls. (Allow me to clarify: these girls are aspiring to be in a punk band. They are already punk as fuck.)

I have to admit, I was relieved when I read the NY Times review this morning and learned that Moodysson has been making movies for 15+ years. We Are the Best! feels like a first film, in that it's rough and exuberant and utterly connected to the material, but the acting is so good--his leads were aged 11, 13 and 14 when they shot the film--that I started kicking myself in my seat, thinking "How did he get those performances??"

We Are the Best! opens this Friday in Montreal, New York, Toronto, Vancouver and West Los Angeles, then rolls out to more cities throughout June + July.

Absolutely appropriate for tween audiences, if you don't mind a fuck or two. (Which, if you mind that, what are you doing here?) Be the cool aunt and bring your ten-year-old niece. It'll blow her mind.

Punk Pop Barbie?!

In my day, if you wanted Barbie's hair to be pink you had to color it yourself. With MARKERS.

Tokidoki via Racked

A Wes Anderson/David Bowie/combat boot-inspired wedding....

My lady Heather of One Love Photo was kind enough to send me a preview of Kaz & Dan's wedding photos.

Not sure if was the combat boots* or the taxidermy squirrel that tipped her off, but somehow she knew this one was right up my alley....

Here's how Kaz & Dan described the theme/feel of their wedding: birds, foxes, deer, deep inside a forest, pixels/ digital landscapes, haruki murakami, pina bausch, werner herzog, wes anderson, check out the photo galleries on www.witnessrelocation.org, gregory crewdson, andrij tarkovskij, alexander mcqueen, the movie sid and nancy, tarsem singh, jan saudek, david bowie, even more david bowie, post-modern fairy tales, bruce naumann, velvet goldmine, all of roxy music's album covers, juergen teller's marc jacobs ads, the john varvatos ads with like iggy pop and such, bourbon, combat boots, champagne, bob fosse.

She's a filmmaker and he runs a dance company. So. Duh.

Run, don't walk, to see the rest of the photos on One Love.

*I had a very serious dream about combat boots last night. I guess I need a new pair?

How can a slob reinvigorate her wardrobe?

Dear ESB,

I have never been one for dressy clothing; almost every place I've ever worked has been aggressively casual, and the dive bars in which I've been known to socialize hardly have a dress code. But I still have always had an interest in style and enjoyed playing around with clothing. I am particularly drawn to (1970s) vintage, colourful, and punk aesthetics.

However, for the last year, I have worked from home. As a result, my previously "casual" style has turned into "slovenly". My "work" uniform consists of yoga pants and a t-shirt and/or hoodie. On the rare occasions that I actually leave the house, I tend to swap the yoga pants out of that combo for jeans, and that's about it. While I value dressing casually and comfortably, and really can't get any writing done without my trusty yoga pants, I am still pretty bummed at how boring I've become. I don't think I've figured out how to have fun with clothing in the context of my new lifestyle. (Although I did just buy a killer pair of old school military style boots that I am in love with, so that's a start.)

Do you have any advice for how slobs like me who have no external motivation to dress well can reinvigorate our wardrobes?

xoxo
Slobby Academic

*****

Dear Slobby,

You say you have no external motivation to dress well, but I bet you have to appear in public on occasion to deliver those kick-ass papers you churn out 2,000 words at a time. I also happen to know you've started applying for teaching gigs.

So, yeah. You actually do need to get your act together.

The good news is: WHO DOESN'T LOVE A COLLEGE PROFESSOR WITH A PUNK ROCK AESTHETIC?

And you've already got the boots! Now you need to go out and try on some clothes with the boots.

When trying on clothes, I always ask myself, "Do I feel great in this? Do I want to wear it out of the store right now?" If the answer is no, keep looking. Don't try to talk yourself into something because it's on sale or because it seems practical. It's always better to buy one amazing thing than ten crappy ones. (And sometimes the most impractical-seeming item will turn out to be the one you wear every day.)

XOXO,
ESB

______________________________

Pictured above is the Autumn/Winter 2010 Lookbook from Stockholm-based Hope (via wikstenmade).

Dear ESB: I don't like my dress

When I first started wedding planning, my grandmother offered me her dress to wear. It was too big for me, but it is a lovely old dress, simple and vintage, which is definitely my style, so I was very excited about it. Then my seamstress friend offered to alter it for free. Last week I got the altered dress sent it straight to the dry cleaners to turn it back from yellow to white. It was there for a week, and now, three and a half weeks before my wedding, I got it back.

And I don't like it.

Oh, it's nice enough. The silhouette is really pretty and it whitened up beautifully but-- I feel kind of awkward in it. It doesn't fit quite how it should, and the long sleeves make me feel really prim, and I feel sort of constricted in it. So my problem is this: I don't really have the time to find a new wedding dress, and even if I did, I'd feel like it was kind of a kick in the teeth to my grandmother and my friend who put all the free labour into it. I could try to get it further altered-- but can I do that in three weeks? Should I just live with it? Should I go on a panicked search to find a new dress? Maybe you just do feel kind of awkward in a wedding dress because it's a gown and when else do you ever wear a gown? I don't know. But I feel miserable.

Any advice?

*****

Ditch the dress. Please.

Call in sick. Drive to Barneys or Bergdorf’s or Nordstrom or ANYWHERE and try on everything they’ve got.

(Photo: Steven Sebring courtesy of The New York Times)

July is DIY haircut month!

Kidding. I'm totally kidding.

But last week I did hack two inches off the back that were giving me a weird tail/mullet-y feeling. It seems you can't do Keith Richards and Stevie Nicks at the same time.

In my defense, Alexis was out of town. When I went in to the salon get my hair "fixed" (I.E. to beg her to make it look like I did a better job of cutting it myself), she was remarkably understanding.

Anyhoo, I blame Liv for planting the idea in my head.* 

______________________________

*Why yes, that is Liv's new boyfriend. On behalf of the group, I would just like to say YOU'RE WELCOME for all the terrific move-to-London-and-make-out-with-a-ridiculously-hot-british-boy advice. Well done, lady.

remember when...

I resolved to wear impossibly cool outfits at all times? That has been a big fail since I got home.* BIG. FAIL.

It's tough to be impossibly cool when you're spending 13 hours a day on a dirty film set. The trick is to do laundry in advance or you will be fucked by day seven. Don't fool yourself that you will hand-wash any t-shirts during the precious hours you have to hang out with your husband, catch up on Grey's Anatomy and SLEEP.

In other news, I really need to alter those leather pants that are gathering dust in the back of my closet. Maybe I will add zippers! And p.s. Sienna, I am loving the hair.

(TOBACCO&LEATHER via woolgathering & miscellany)

*Just pls humor me, if you saw me in nyc, and pretend you thought the vintage OP was impossibly cool.

I'm sorry, did you want a blog post?

All I've got is a big fat eff this. And I thought there was no way February wouldn't be an improvement on January.

But cevd is coming to town tomorrow, and she and I and the lovely Celia are taking a trip to the ban.do studio to meet Jen and Jamie, so that'll be fun. Unless it's not fun. Unless they all turn out to hate me and they say things like "you're much quieter than I expected" or "you're not as cool as I expected" or "are you sure you're ESB?" (Cevd has already met me, THANK GOD, so at least she knows what she's in for.)

Patti Smith via FFFFOUND!

will someone please DIY THESE?

Via Le Fashion

(Also, I still love the punk rock Capezios, which would be a lot easier source + stud.)

via woolgathering & miscellany, one of my fave new blogs

Hi

I think I'm back. My body is back anyway, happily getting reacquainted with my little desk in the kitchen of the bungalow. It's possible I've left a few pieces of my brain strewn across the Bay Bridge. And in the parking lot of the Emeryville Denny's. (Which is a movie unto itself on a Saturday night, let me tell you.)

Anyhoo, I missed you guys. My plans for recovery/reemergence are as follows:

1. Bloggety blog blog blogging.

2. Blog stalking. (Yeah YOU.)

3. Doing laundry laundry and more laundry. This may not seem like an important part of the cure, but a) all our clothes are dirty and b) I find doing laundry strangely theraputic. I think I'm still high on having my own washing machine.

4. Drinking whiskey and watching the new True Blood.

5. Tweeting publicly again. I love YOU GUYS. I want you with me always so I can talk to you, say, when H-town gets wrapped up in a wildly boring cell conversation in the car, or I'm standing in the dressing room at Crossroads and I need style advice asap. It's only when the desperate self-promoters/assy wedding planners/porn spammers (it's a fine line) descend that I want to scratch my face off.

I have much suckier things I need to take care of, like replacing the rusted-out exhaust pipe on Blue, my beloved Volvo station wagon, and finally f*cking doing our taxes. But what's another day or two?


Images via Le Fashion. I just can't wear docs again (believe me, I wore the hell out of them from 1989-1994), but when I was costume shopping here the other week I was sorely tempted by a pair of combat boots. They are supremely good with this sheer dress.

I'm not back

But these "wedding" photos (behind the scenes from a Jalouse shoot) have captured my mood today. See a bajillion more on Cory Kennedy's blog.

Bye.

p.s. Christa, you rock!

It's time for me to disappear again

Smack in the middle of wedding season. I realize.

But I've got a big non-blog project looming. This one is rock + music + movie related. (Perhaps you've noted the recent bias?)

Photo by Cary Tijerina

An ode to my stylist

Who totally gets it when I reference Patti Smith and ask for a cut that looks like I did it myself. Except, you know, amazing. (Alexis coined the term "box cutter chic" while I was sitting in her chair.)

Who listens patiently while I obsess about the tiniest hair issues. (Is it too straight across in the back...? This piece is curving under when it should be sticking out... It's not "sleeping on" as well as the haircut you gave me two haircuts ago...)

And who gave me, when I stopped in for a bang trim, what can only be construed as a badass effing HAIRCUT. No charge.

Photo of Patti Smith and her stylist Robert Mapplethorpe found here. When I complained that Patti always looked so good when she cut her own hair, Alexis brought me down to earth, assuring me that Robert would have been the one doing the cutting.

Doc Martens live on

In case there was any doubt.

Photos of Romance Street by Hedi Slimane

As do leather jackets. Yikes I need a new leather jacket. Vintage, Christina, I promise.

I want more sparkle in my life

I blame Gossip Girl mostly.

Been wearing my sparkly sweater coat to shreds, but now I might really need this. I do have a birthday coming up....

(Vogue UK January 2009 via .v)

for the rebellious bride

These shoes come in white. And then there is the dress. So. Rad.*

Ann Demeulemeester says "Good fashion for me is like rock 'n' roll - there's always a little rebellion in it." And Patti Smith (who else?) is her rock 'n' roll muse.

p.s. Jamie, why on earth would you think I disapprove of cowboy boots? Have you seen Patti Smith?

*I've decided to stop using the word "awesome." I don't know when I picked it up, and it's embarrassing, frankly. I mean, I grew up in northern california.

I already need a bang trim

I'm going to the salon, Patti. I realize that's not very punk rock.

But in those broke-as-sh*t williamsburg days when I used to cut my own hair, it never looked punk rock. It just looked sort of lopsided. I've learned it takes a skilled stylist to give me just the right dishevelled look.

In these broke-ish echo park days, I will happily shop for vintage/resale/thrifted clothes. I will eat out less often. I will finally get a library card. But I will not compromise on haircuts. (After all, I wear my hair every day.)

I need to catch this doc, b/t/w. Where the hell have I been?

p.s. I will admit I'm a little obsessed with Patti Smith. It's 70% style/30% the whole Sam Shepard thing.

p.p.s. Dream Weaver? Really??

(1978 photo by Robert Mapplethorpe found here)

and the bride wore black leather

I have this jacket. (Okay, it's not Comme des Garcons, it's better. I bought it on Haight Street in when I was in high school.) My mom is still storing it for me, even though she's moved at least seven times since then.*

I could never bring myself to part with the jacket, in spite of my propensity to get rid of things. Ah well, maybe I'll wear it for the vow renewal....

Photo from New York Magazine via Nibs. Do you follow Martha's wedding posts? You should.

*Um, mom, thanks for storing my secret stuff while I brag about being a minimalist.

this makes me love my haircut

Patti Smith in Sam Shepard's Cowboy Mouth, 1971. (Here they are together.)

Photo from here.