“This is America. Don’t catch you slippin’ up. Look how I’m livin’ now.” – Childish Gambino We are all a product of chain migration. Because that’s how families—and the United States of America—have always worked. BCBG Max Azria black front-zip bodice – $3.99, Idaho Youth Ranch thrift store | Step in Style art deco geometric black, cream & pink skirt – $30, Eyes of the World forever ago | Ralph Lauren blackleather wedge shoes – $7.99, Goodwill in Walla Walla, WA Ancestry DNA profile – $69, AncestryDNA.com (hopefully I’m not the one who led to the Golden State Killer). St. Patrick’s Day special, because I’m Irish AF. I learned I’m all breeds of poor Great Britain and poor European pale, and I could track my bloodline’s migration here, from Ellis Island and into America, where I got a chance to live. Vinyl of the Day: Charlie Parker – “Live Sessions” Cheep it on the borders. Cheep it on the streets.

Free. Passionate. Beautiful. New Nexx York see-through poly red blouse  – $4, ReStyle thrift store | underneath Dianne Von Furstenberg vibrant earthy flower print camisole – $3.95, Idaho Youth Ranch thrift store | Catch My I impressionist bright flower print flowing skirt – $13, Lux Fashion Lounge | The Wild Pair “made in Brasil” real wood heels – $6.99, Goodwill in Walla Walla, WA Cheep in the rain. Cheep in the sunshine.

“Most intriguing is the link of camouflage to Cubism and its breaking down of the body in modern art. Picasso exclaimed on seeing a camouflaged canon in Paris: “It was us who created that.” While in conversation with Jean Cocteau, he said: “If they want to make an army invisible at a distance, they only have to dress their men as harlequins.”—NY Times (Hiding or hunter?) Now you see me. Now you don’t.Bushlan (c) 1989 South Texas Camouflage hunting shirt/mini-dress (with original tag still on) – $8,Once Upon a Time Thrift Store | In Moda gray stirrup leggings – $3, Idaho Youth Ranch | unlabeled patent leather & brass hook belt – $2, ReStyle thrift store | Jeffrey Campbell tan & black heels – $45, Piece Unique boutique

Grrrrrrr…eat. Sometimes, I have trouble jumping on bandwagons. So I wear this hidden tiger dress when I’m feeling a little savage. It’s blend-into-the-background wild. (I also just realized that Tony the Tiger’s catchphrase is a play on “Grrr…” Um, durrr. Grrr…eat is also how you feel after the sugar high of eating Frosted Flakes wears off. #hangry) vintage Honeycomb hidden tiger dress, $?, antique store? (Look close for the green eyes of the tigers lookin’ back at you). Ralph Lauren studded black suede & wood high-heeled mules – $5, Good Samaritan thrift store (MSRP $100).

This winter has been unseasonably warm. Not quite naked-outside-in-a-hammock warm but maybe oh-shit-is-this-global-warming? warm or there-would-be-no-balls-shrinking-in-this-polar-bear-plunge warm. Since I won’t be wearing these beautiful wool and fur creations in the wild anytime soon, I showed them off in the spare room I now call the “tropical oasis”—a nome de plumage stemming from the vintage illustrations on these custom-printed blinds I bought from Etsy-Greece. One shade covered the door in my recently-departed apartment. So I got it a companion palm so it wouldn’t feel all deserted-island up in here. The tropical illustrations are from Historia naturalis palmarum—an early 1800s triptych travelogue through Brazil and Peru by a German botanist—illustrated exotically. circa 1960s – no label except for Bolura: Exclusive Fabric from California cream long coat w/ fur collar. (whisper *exlusive*) Christmas gift from Ryan. Victoria’s Secret botanical nightgown w/ lace & pearl details, $5 – ReStyle (I washed it first, OK?) . circa 1970s? – no label black short textured wool coat w/ fake fur collar & cuff. I can’t remember where I got this (Antique World Mall?) but it was …