THE WARDROBE_REMIX(ER) BEING REVEALED:
name: Rhiannon
flickr handle: liebemarlene
age: 26
location: Chicago area, USA
website: http://www.myspace.com/liebemarlene (her eBay store's Myspace page)
DEEP(ER) QUESTIONS:
what do you do for a living? or, if you are a student, what are you
studying?
Right now I'm working a 9-5 office job and selling vintage on Ebay on the side. But by September I'm planning to go full time with the vintage clothing business.
what are your passions/obsessions?
For the past 7 years my biggest obsession has been fashion. I almost failed out of college because I was always on Style.com when I was supposed to be studying and I think I read fashion magazines during class, because I really didn't learn much of anything. Other than that I'm hooked on old movies and classic Hollywood.
what inspires you?
I'm inspired by old movies, different eras in fashion (right now it's the '60s and '70s and the way teenagers dressed in the '40s), magazines like Nylon and Lula and Another Magazine, and street style blogs (especially The Facehunter). The music I listen to inspires me, though I don't necessarily have musician fashion icons. Lately I've been listening to a lot of '70s glam rock and i love the way that artists like David Bowie and Marc Bolan made their costumes such an important part of their stage performances and their personas as a whole.
how do you define "style"?
I think a person's style has to do with not only how they dress but how they carry themselves, how they talk and the kinds of gestures they make--some of it comes naturally, but a lot of it comes through conscious planning.
how would you describe your personal style?
I'd say that in general my style tends to be colorful, fairly girly, a little eccentric and sometimes busy.
how does your background (personal history, passions, culture,
nationality, etc.) come through in the clothes you like and wear, if
at all?
I really wasn't interested at all in fashion until I was in college and going to a small, fairly strict Christian school in Indiana. For me, dressing differently than the more conservative girls around me was my way of rebelling without getting kicked out of school. I've always been a little bit afraid of being like and looking like everybody else around me, so in college I probably made lots of fashion faux pas in order to shock--never anything inappropriate; just a lot of '80s colors and neon high heels and bad haircuts.
choose one item in your closet that you feel completely expresses
your personal style and/or aesthetic. describe it. what is it and
why is it "you"?
Actually it would have to be a dress I bought only last weekend--a blue seersucker and lace sundress from the early '60s, nipped in at the waist, with a full skirt ending above the knee. Lately I've been really into pretty dresses that are simple enough to be really accessorized.
do you collect anything? if so, what?
I collect vintage jewelry and scour flea markets and antique stores in search of quirky pieces from the '30s and '40s. Brightly colored Bakelite is my favorite--I would rather wear Bakelite than diamonds!
what are some of your favorite places to shop when you want to add
to your wardrobe? online? locally? anywhere in the world? why are
these places favorites of yours?
Just about all the clothes I wear are vintage, so I mostly shop at thrift stores and flea markets in the area and some vintage stores. If I'm looking for something specific I go to Ebay, but I find that if I go thrifting often enough I can usually come across what I'm searching for. Target is great for basics like tights and shirts for layering.
does your location (where you live) affect your style? if so, in
what ways? describe what your city is like in regard to fashion.
I live in a small farm town in the Midwest where fashion isn't a priority to most people. But vintage is relatively easy to find here, and I'm definitely inspired by the rural landscape, all the old barns and white fading farmhouses . . . I think it's beautiful! Since moving here from Minneapolis I've found that my style has really changed--I wear more skirts and dresses now, and a lot more vintage than I used to. I like the idea of the eccentric fashionista living isolated in the country, like little Edie Beale in Grey Gardens.
what do you think is next in terms of fashion? perhaps something
that is currently flying under the radar, but could be really cool an
popular later. or perhaps something amazing you'd like to see more
of that needs to come back or be the new thing?
Perms! Though tastefully done, of course. I would love to see really big hair make a comeback for women.
you are super creative with your clothes! share a creative tip or
idea about a way people can remix/style their clothing in a fun or
innovative way.
Well I love how back in the '30s and '40 women were more creative about making their fairly small wardrobes go further, and would invest in quality pieces that they could wear for years and years, altering the appearance a bit when styles changed by hemming or taking out the hems of skirts or by switching detachable collars and cuffs. I wish that shoe clips were still made today! Mass-produced clothing today really isn't made to last like that, but I try to keep my clothes as long as I can. Sometimes when I get bored of a particular piece I'll make a quick alteration--adding colored buttons to a shirt or dying a dress can make a big difference.
style icons: do you have any?
Probably Iris Barrel Apfel, who I first read about in this blog [bitsandbobbins.com/journal]. Her personal style is completely her own--she follows fashion without being a slave to trends or without trying to please others. I love how she mixes expensive designer pieces with flea market finds and her own creations. Even though some of her outfits may seem a little far-fetched to most people, you can tell that each one makes perfect, logical sense to her.
how did you come across wardrobe_remix? why do you post there? What do you like about it? has anything positive come about for you as a result of posting to the community?
I learned about wardrobe_remix when I first started reading this blog over a year ago, but I didn't start posting until this last fall. My favorite thing about the group is how nice and positive everyone is, and I love that there is a real emphasis on thrifted and refashioned clothing. Since I've joined I've met a lot of great people in the group and have had the chance to have some of my outfits featured in this blog [bitsandbobbins.com/journal] and N.E.E.T. magazine. I've also had a fashion designer write to me about doing some personal vintage shopping for her, which to me is just proof that people in the industry are looking to sites like wardrobe_remix for street style inspiration.
other favorite wardrobe_remix(ers)? who, and why?
There are so, so many inspirational people who post to wardrobe_remix, but some of my favorites are lebonbonmulticolore (she always looks like she just stepped off the pages of a good fashion magazine), bitsandbobbins [ed: heh, thanks!] (has such a knack for making thrifted pieces look very high-end), sjwhidden (always so fun!) and electrikb (so creative and innovative). There are so many new stylish people joining every week!
anything else you'd like to say?
My favorite Diana Vreeland quote, re: taking fashion risks and and the fashion mistakes that sometimes result from them: "A little bad taste is like a splash of paprika. We all need a splash of bad taste--it's hearty, it's healthy, it's physical. I think we could use *more* of it. *No* taste is what I'm against."
thanks rhiannon!
if you have any intelligent questions you'd like to hear wardrobe_remix(ers) expound upon or wardrobe_remix(ers) who you'd like to see revealed, feel free to send those suggestions my way! thanks!
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