I'm not even going to get into my long time adoration for all things Betsey Johnson, but today is her 69th birthday so in the extravagant amount of free time I had this morning I gathered a handful of images showcasing some of my own Betsey clothes. Yes, I even remembered the dates that they were made.
Black faux fur jacket: Fall 2002
Black crochet dress: Fall 2007
Gun Sweater Dress: Fall 2008
Black ruffle cocktail dress: Spring 2007
Black Leopard Cocktail dress: Fall 2007
Silver Clutch: 2008
Rose skirt and top set (my mother's) circa 1989
Limited edition wooden heels: Fall 2005
Remember in Wayne's World when Wayne stands awestruck in front of that white guitar in the store front window and proclaims: "Oh yes, it will be mine."
I first saw them on Ashley Olsen and then again last Friday on some cougar walking down Rodeo Drive. The frames are my all time favorite shape of sunglasses (the bug eye/cat eye hybrid frame popular in the mid 90's) that I've been wearing religiously since I was a kid.
I just got back from the Prada store today. The sunglasses were nowhere to be found, so I asked the sales attendant about them and he told me that they sold out of the store in a week. I left in a huff and found myself turning to Ashley and exclaiming "I can't believe every bitch in Beverly Hills is wearing my sunglasses." It was a very Samantha Jones-esque moment of snobbery.
In high school when if you remember I wore a pair of velvet burgundy shades every single day, it was my signature. This type of frame has been nearly impossible to find in the past 13 years and that's what I am in love with these Prada ones.
And speaking of which....
THIS bag. Hello I love and need you, you adorable bag reminiscent of mid 90's London club kid wear. I want it in powder blue, but here it is in white:
Upon spying this bag on the Prada website I will now be scouring my storage boxes for the lime green faux fur purse I bought in Tokyo twelve years ago. Fabulous.
I first smelled Comme des Garcon's Odeur 71 ten years ago, around the time it debuted. I was staying at the Standard hotel in Hollywood and they were selling it downstairs at the barber shop. My Stepmom and I were both entranced by the unusual unisex fragrance. Notes include photo copy toner and hot dust on a light bulb.
I've been wanting to buy a bottle for myself ever since but never have as its not easy to find. I did however spy a large bottle for sale at MOCA when I was there a couple months ago. Alas, I did not have the 150 to shell out that day for this delectable cult perfume.
I'm a big fan of the unisex fragrance and have been known to wear some men's colonge. This is the perfect futuristic fragrance to wear this fall in my attempt to steer away from my grungier fashion tendencies in colder weather.
Also....who remembers this:
The first lipstick I ever bought was Lust by MAC when I was ten years old. It was a frosty lavender color that I'm almost certain they discontinued much to my dismay. I was reading the August issue of Allure magazine when I spotted an editorial featuring purple lipstick and I decided that this fall I will swap out my usual Chanel Vamp for a lipstick with slightly bluer shades. Fun. Afterall, sparkly lavender might best be reserved for my eyelids these days as I do not plan on attending a rave anytime soon.
I love silver shoes, and these glittery pumps from Mui Mui's 2011 Fall collection are amazing. I tried them on today and they were sadly too big for my narrow as hell feet. I tried on a slightly different Mui Mui glitter shoe with a pony hair heel. The sales lady told me "You're a true Mui Mui 8" but I know they only say that because they want me to spend money. I left the store empty handed.
And finally I would just like to share a personal fashion victory. The black lace bell-bottoms that I have held onto since 2001 have been re-done by The Row and arenow being sold with a hefty price tag. They are litterally the EXACT pants that I own that I spent a fraction of the cost on at Bebe when I was 15!
This is exactly why I am very hesitant about throwing away clothing just because I haven't worn it in 6 months. It will ALWAYS come back in style. Unless its Uggs and a mini skirt, because that should never come back into style.
In today's PC, "post 9/11" , overly sensitive, 3D obsessed, remake happy cinema climate, kids just don't seem to be exposed to the same crude hilarity that I was raised on. In the 90's film makers seemed to respect kids more as people, rather than force feed us the "safe" and syrupy shit that's being produced today. (I'm looking at you, High School Musical franchise!).
The overexposure of celebrities has instead let the child stars of these saccharine films act out their "offensive moments" on a very public level. Which to me, is all the more disturbing. Just like the "family values" loving politician that cheats on his wife or bangs hookers, we get sweet all American Miley Cyrus caught taking bong loads and upskirt shots of various other fallen Disney stars. Who wants to see that?
What happened to good movies for kids that were genuinely funny and didn't play it so safe? Its like every screen writer today is some kind of Helen Lovejoy incarnate.
Won't somebody please think of the Children!?!
Here are the films from my childhood that I still love to this day:
1. Problem Child (1990)
What the fuck is WRONG with this movie? It's awesome, by the way. I just watched it recently and it's still just as fucked up as I remember. The kid throws the cat AND grandpa down the stairs. Not only that, but little Jr. who is all of 7 years old manages to drive a car, blow up a bbq, scar a bunch of 6 year old girls for life at a birthday party, and hit the road with a serial killer. But this must be good writing, because somehow the little bastard comes out a loveable little scamp that you're totally rooting for the whole movie.
There's NO WAY this movie could have come out today. Parents would be so pissed. Letters would be written, "issues" would be raised. But back in my day this was just you're typical sinister 90's movie for children.
2. Heavyweights (1995)
First off, its a comedy about FAT CAMP. Do you even know how many issues that would raise today with our PC sensibilities?
Second this movie is Ben Stiller's greatest performance. Period. Don't believe me?
3. Addams Family Values (1993)
This is one of those times where the sequel is better than the original. I could go on for pages about why this movie kicks ass, and if you've seen it you already know.
Offensive? Yes. Hilarious? Yes. Christine Barranski and Peter McNichols? Yes!
Also lets not forget that this movie featured one of the best and campiest female villains:
Joan Cusak as Debbie Jellinski
4. The Sandlot (1993)
Arguably one of the greatest films of all time. A staple for any kid that grew up in the 90's. I'm pretty sure we've all exclaimed "You're killin' me, Smalls!" at one time or another... and we all know that Wendy Peffercorn was one hot piece of ASS.
Oh how I wanted to be her.
This movie trumps every kid's movie today if only for the great writing and the fact that a girly girl liked me could be enthralled by a film about baseball. Also it features one of the best fight scenes ever:
The use of the song "Green Onions" is amazing.
5. Little Monsters (1989)
Its not that this was a good film so much as that it was so bizarre and borderline offensive that we loved every minute of it. A total rainy day movie you watch on VHS. Howie Mandell giving the most obnoxious and obvious Beetlejuice rip-off of a performance that he could muster. This "Monster" convinced this kid to do horrible things that should have landed him in the psych ward or some kind of special boarding school. I don't even recall if their were any repercussions for his dick behavior.
Which brings us to...
6. Drop Dead Fred (1991)
What kind of sick shit is this movie!? Any adult viewing this movie for the first time since childhood knows that they were essentially watching the mental breakdown of a young woman with serious Mommy issues.
And Fred is so over the top and obnoxious that he makes Howie Mandell seem pleasant. What an asshole. He fucking CUTS HER HAIR OFF!
7. Hook (1991)
Still one of my favorites. Though panned by critics upon its release I can't think of one kid from my generation that disliked this movie. We remember it fondly as the more badass version of Peter Pan (played by none other than childhood favorite, Robin Williams).
Hook features the single most epic food fight scenes in the history of film.
When I was little I always thought the "food" looked so good...that's only because I love frosting so much.
Rufio, you're a badass
8. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
A recently divorced man dresses in DRAG to pose as a nanny in order to spend more time with his children unbeknownst to both them and their mother.
Also the son walks in on the Mrs. Doubtfire taking a leak, only to find out that his Nanny has a dick. How, as a child are you not scarred for life? The son only freaks out for a second. He's only afraid when he thinks its a tranny but its all cool when he realizes its just his crazy Dad trying to force his way back into everyone's lives under the guise of an elderly Scottish lady.
Regardless of Robin Williams completely inappropriate behavior as a boundary lacking father, this movie is full of zany antics (and if you know me you know I love zany antics) and catchy one liners.
There you have it. A probably incomplete list of movies I still adore from my childhood. All of them represent the edge that seems to be missing from today's kid's movies. To be fair, I've only seen a handful of modern movies marketed towards children, off the top of my head, Up and Despicable Me. Everything else seems to be about Pandas that know kung fu and the Taco Bell Chihuahua that moved to Beverly Hills. Oh thats right, that god awful Smurfs movie just came out.
I'm not saying that there weren't some grossly unacceptable movies that came out for kids in the 90's but I think my list proves my point that kids today are surely missing out. Then again, isn't that what everybody says about their particular generation?
Why are you so creepy, Ozma? Why do I still want that green dress?
2. Willie Scott from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
Willie Scott is possibly the most annoying woman to ever appear on film. This character as portrayed by Kate Capshaw is pure camp. Its amazing. What does Indy see in her anyway?
Aside from being beautiful and having excellent musical theater chops, she spends the whole movie whining, screaming, offering rude one liners, displaying horrible manners at the dinner table and nearly getting Indy and Short Round killed.
3. Ariel from The Little Mermaid (1989)
Ariel was essentially a spoiled defiant teenager with a killer rack. Against the wishes of her disturbingly tan and muscular Father she signed her life away to be pimped out by Ursula the Sea Witch all in the name fostering her stalker-ish obsession with Prince Eric.
4. The Childlike Empress from The Neverending Story (1984)
If saving your World is so damn important than why are you trying to make an 11 year old boy play guessing games about your name? Fantasia is about to implode! Stop sitting there looking like a child pageant queen and tell him your name!
5. Princess Buttercup from The Princess Bride (1987)
If Carey Elwes continually told me "as you wish" then I wouldn't be such an ungrateful bitch about it.
6. Jessica Rabbit from Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1989)
Jessica Rabbit ruined me and millions of other girls of my generation. Upon seeing this movie I suddenly got the bright idea that writhing across a stage in a red sequined dress and pushing my boobs in men's faces might be a practical way to get what I want.
7. Stephanie from Grease 2 (1982)
Let me be clear, I do not like this movie and when I was a kid I thought it was ridiculous, but I really dug Michelle Pfeiffer's portrayal of the classic "smoking-in-the-girls-room-bad girl". Today I understand that clearly this girl has some serious Daddy issues. "Studious well behaved gentleman are for suckers, I want a man that rides a motorcycle and smokes and spits while checking out other girl's asses. I want a Cool Rider!"
This song sounds like a Rocky Horror Picture Show reject. I love it.
8. Lydia Deetz from Beetlejuice (1988)
Its Showtime! What a fucking Hipster
When I was little I had an unhealthy obsession with anything macabre so naturally I loved this movie and Winona Ryder's goth-y, angst-y, sarcastic Lydia.
I'm not even going to get into my long time adoration for all things Betsey Johnson, but today is her 69th birthday so in the extravagant amount of free time I had this morning I gathered a handful of images showcasing some of my own Betsey clothes. Yes, I even remembered the dates that they were made.
Black faux fur jacket: Fall 2002
Black crochet dress: Fall 2007
Gun Sweater Dress: Fall 2008
Black ruffle cocktail dress: Spring 2007
Black Leopard Cocktail dress: Fall 2007
Rose skirt and top set (my mother's) circa 1989
Red crochet sweater: Spring 2006
Sailor top: Spring 2006
Black and white polka dot dress: 2008
Yellow crochet dress: Spring 2003
White mesh and maribou top: circa 1995
Kitty Sweater: Spring 2006
White jersey sundress: Spring 2007
Blue jersey leopard print dress: Spring 2007
