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“Hard rain” outfit

Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize in Literature today. I squealed like a schoolgirl at a Beatles concert. Or I should say, a Bob Dylan concert. I love Bob Dylan. I first saw him at 18 with my dad & he hit lit something on fire in me—with that nasal voice, those brilliant lyrics, that effortless scathing genius. I took him into my subconscious & into the wilderness. I wrote college papers comparing his writing to Walt Whitman’s. I memorized the battle-rap-like lyrics of “Subterranean Homesick Blues” on a long daily commute from the cow-dung hell of Caldwell to the corporate hell of DirecTV.  I soundtracked my last break-up with Blood on the Tracks & Blonde on Blonde. Thanks & cheers to you, Bob Dylan, the true love of mine.

Oh, what’ll you do now, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, what’ll you do now, my darling young one?
I’m a-goin’ back out ’fore the rain starts a-fallin’
I’ll walk to the depths of the deepest black forest
Where the people are many and their hands are all empty
Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters
Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison
Where the executioner’s face is always well hidden
Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten
Where black is the color, where none is the number
And I’ll tell it and think it and speak it and breathe it
And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it
Then I’ll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin’
But I’ll know my song well before I start singin’
And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall

cheep_hardrainBy Choice royal blue polyester w/ subtle snakeskin tread jacket – $1 (sale), ReStyle thrift store | Diane Von Furstenberg multi-color abstract flower print silk cami – $1 (sale), ReStyle thrift store | Anne Klein II tan silk skirt – $4, ReStyle thrift store | Kate Spade nude wedges – $70 (MSRP $300, ROSS Dress for Less in Portland)

Album of the day: “Hard Rain” by Bob Dylan

Cheep like a bird like Bob Dylan would.

“Last gasp” outfit

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Oct. 10’s New Yorker.

Fill this in like a mad libs. Last gasp of: ____. Fall colors. Summer blossom dresses. Our democracy?

Alice Polynesian Fashions orange & pink blossom print cotton dress – $7-$15, I can’t remember if this is from a yard sale or thrift store | Chia orange leather Victorian bomber jacket – $7.99 Serendipity Boutique vintage 1980s? Made in Korea | Frye ‘Sacha Moto’ black leather shootie – $100 (MSRP: $278), Bombshell Salon‘s Head to Boots Fall Make-Up Event

cheep_lastgaspCheep, cheep.

“Mom jeans without a cause” outfit

tina-fay-snlWith a rebel yell, they cry, no more because you’ll spoil your appetite.

Pleione black w/ gold & white diamond print ruffle blouse – $5, Super Fantastic Triple Yard Sale (c/o the fabulous Danielle Hurd) | Twins Leather Collection (TLC) half mom-jean / half black-leather high-waisted pant – $8.50 (originally $16.99), LUX Fashion Lounge | Frye ‘Sacha Moto’ black leather shootie – $100 (MSRP: $278), Bombshell Salon‘s Head to Boots Fall Make-Up Event | cream w/ black polka dot print silk head scarf – $2, ReStyle thrift store

cheep_momjeansCheep! Because the early bird gets the worm. Now listen to your mother.

“The heart is a lonely hunter” outfit

cheep_frailheartHow frail the human heart must be—a mirrored pool of thought – says the Nietzsche-like cat on the side of my fridge, a screen-print given to me by this sweet girl at a Mostly Muff Valentine’s show at the Visual Arts Collective.

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter – says Carson McCullers on a book jacket at the high school library. I never finished reading that book, but I still remember that title. I was sixteen.4c08c9a6e0700066c26054e25cd26592

One-score years later, I wonder if I will ever let myself be hunted. Take off the camouflage. Or put it on, maybe. Wait in blinds, coo into the fog, send decoys, just shoot. At the very least, cock a gun, take a shot. (Even if it’s Dick Cheney shooting his 78-year-old friend in the face as this is my leading mental reference point for hunting.)

But, mostly, I wonder if I painstakingly designed my own heart to be this wild longing untended thing—in a private purgatory of hunger—a permanent state of lonely hunter. cheep_hunterno label-handmade? fall hunter camo dress – $15, Super Fantastic Triple Yard Sale | Nine West gray snakeskin heels $3.95 all leather upper; made In Brazil, ReStyle thrift store | black & gold glitter clutch – $7, Idaho Youth Ranch thrift store  

Vinyl of the day: the backside of the Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers—album cover designed by Andy Warhol

Cheep. Cheep. Boom.

“Mic drop” gown

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Close up of the Pillars of Creation

What you can become is the miracle you were born to be through the work that you do. –Kurt Vonnegut

I dropped a mic a month ago. Over the past 7 years, I built a magical life from scratch, using the medium of mere words. Self employment. Stage popularity. Community figurehead-ism. Yet somehow, I ended up utterly caged inside my own creations. Lonely. Broke. Trapped.

When at my depressive lowest, I would often stare at photos of deep space taken by the Hubble Telescope. The infinite release of a profoundly glorious and indifferent universe.

So I quit it all. Though it took an act of God, I quit it all. And quitting my “dream life” has been nothing short of an ecstatic freedom. Dropping the mic on stage felt like dropping a world of weight off my shoulders. Boom.cheep_micdrop1960s Helen Bass California deep space print gown – $45, In Retrospect vintage/consignment  | Cindy Says green-gold hells – $I can’t remember but they were half off, Piece Unique | Feather earrings – $14 Record Exchange | Busted mic, gift from my rockstar friend Ned Evett (because I’m not an asshole who would drop a live mic and piss off sound peeps ad infinitum)

Cheep it up.

“Lois Lane’s alter ego” outfit

7890e749c683ce7eebc12b4095b5fa89I’ll bet Lois Lane was also secretly a superhero, and both she and Clark Kent/superman were just using each other as norm-core beards. Shazam!

This outfit’s like she’s plugging away at her day job as an award-winning journalist but left her superhero belt on. A fashion wink to alter egos everywhere. Kapow!

no brand tag, possibly home-made coral, black & cream striped dress -$15 (I think), Super Fantastic Triple Yard Sale – previously sported by Boise artist Erin Cunningham, I think, but maybe Danielle Hurd, because things got a bit frenzied as I tried things on in the yard |  Banana Republic twisted black and tan leather slip-on heels, $4, Gold Mine thrift store (Ketchum, ID) | Black & gold arrow banded belt – $0.94, ReStyle thrift store

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Cheep!

“Day at the Regatta” outfit

43985bcf1b7b7a76a83916e30ed8e41dOutfit names just come to me like saintly voices to Joan of Arc. I have no choice. I do my duty—and take the designations as they come.

Day at the regatta.* It sounded so yachting. So seaside seersucker East Coast-y. So gimlets** on the dock, bwah-haw-haw-ty. So then I googled it, and the image spread was somewhere between the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue and Girls Gone Wild.

I guess regattas aren’t as classy as they used to be.

vintage I. Magnin & Co. buttoned up striped dress – $20, Super Fantastic Triple Yard Sale – previously sported by Boise artist Erin Cunningham (I fashion blogged about her!) | Enamel blue flame earrings – Gift, Cuba via my smuggler/friend Jeff Cramer | Steiger navy leather blue heels with brass eyelets – $7, ReStyle

On side table: vintage navy leather clutch – $8, Super Fantastic Triple Yard Sale – previously sported by Danielle Hurd | Nine West cream sunglasses – Free, In Retrospect b/c they were in the lost & found bin for more than a month and I’m crafty as fuck

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Word guide for non-classy types:

* Regatta: a sporting event consisting of a series of boat or yacht races. informal An excuse to slut it up while soaked in white privilege and alcohol.

** Gimlet: a cocktail of gin (or sometimes vodka) and lime juice.

Cheep!

“Japanese silkscreen” outfit

x-1Now this paints a pretty picture.

Carole Little Japanese flower print vest (it’s rayon and acetate, not actually silk you guys, so I really pulled one over with the title) – $0.99 (sale!), ReStyle thrift store | Vivienne Westwood red skirt – $20, Lux Fashion Lounge | Guess black patent leather with gold buckle stilettos – $11, Idaho Youth Ranch thrift store | red polka dot fan – Gift bag – Atomic Treasures (received for judging this year’s Boise’s Funniest Person competition)

Vinyl of the day: “So Runs the World Away” by Josh Ritter

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Cheep!

“Luxe at the Lux” outfit

Cheep_Luxclosedress.jpgI rarely feel overdressed, but last night at the Neurolux, it occurred to me that maybe this silk wonder is a bit much. And then, I draped myself over their pool table. I’ll do anything for fashion. Especially risk being too luxe.

Exquisite photographs by the multi-dimensional, multi-talented Kim Philley. Pool-table guest appearance by Xtopher Web.

vintage Doreen: Handtailored in Thailand The Royal Orchid Hotel, Bangkok (I wrote that exactly as presented on tag. Now that’s fancy.) multi-dimensional pink & orange silk print dress  – $24 @ 25% off sale = $18, Antique World Mall | Steiger navy leather blue heels with brass eyelets – $7, ReStyle

cheep_pinball

Cheep!

“Criss-cross applesauce” outfit

dec2c18af958fe8b7533cf9abedcf829Saucy. ($2 dollar special.)

Moda International black silk wrap tank, $1 (sale) – ReStyle thrift store | DKNY two-tone tan/black pants, $1 (sale) – ReStyle thrift store |  Banana Republic twisted black and tan leather slip-on heels, $4, Gold Mine thrift store (Ketchum, ID)

Cheep_08_25_16

Cheep!