Wantables — A "David Bowie is" prize pack

Photo courtesy of Sukita The David Bowie Archive 2012.

I'm not too keen on his brand new material, but I'm still a lifelong Bowie fan — from my first exposure to getting my kid in on the act (here's her jam...she's singing it as I type this!).  So, how badly do I want to visit his new retrospective at London's Victoria & Albert Museum?!?

I wanna see all the crazy jumpsuits and concert sets, do the stage make-up demo, take the Bowie-inspired pattern-making course (even though I don't sew!) and dance all night at the weekend musical events. Does anyone have any golden tickets or spare airline miles lying around?

If you get the chance to go, I will try my hardest not to hate on you. In return, do you think you could hook me up with one of these prints from the gift shop. Thanks!

"Low" Giclée print by Simon Cryer.

Sweden's Calling

It's gotten to where as soon as I hear a song that pushes all the right buttons, I just naturally assume the artist/group is Swedish. First, it was Little Dragon. I've seen them live, copped all their albums, posted about them and, honestly, was inspired to write this post when I walked into Broome Street General Store and the store's speakers were blasting them.

Little Dragon

Then, I caught one of Sweden's biggest artists, Robyn, on this Wyatt Cenac segment of The Daily Show. I found it odd that I'd never heard of her and wanted to rectify that. (She comes in around 3:00.)

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
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Watch This — Cody ChesnuTT Live Performance

After I watched this for the first time, I sat very still and very quiet for a few minutes. Then, I finally uttered a rather ineloquent, "Wow."

I've been humming Cody ChesnuTT's upbeat "Til I Met Thee" for the past several days, but this version of his "Chips Down (In No Landfill)" put me in a totally different head space. He's joined here by the PSU Symphony Orchestra.

Try not to fixate too much on the helmet.

Song of the Day

My ever-lovin' dad is leaving today after his five-day Spoil-a-thon. His "you see it, you want it, you get it" approach to grand-parenting has got my daughter's head a little turned around. So, I'm dedicating this Sesame Street PSA to her before I begin the process of systematically (re-)depriving her diet of all things resembling dessert.

Fashion Flashback — Mon Petit Oiseau

I have loved shopping ever since I was in grade school. [This is not necessarily a result of some innate sense of style, or anything as posh-sounding as all that. Every weekend, my mom dragged me on a new shopping odyssey — to department store dinosaurs such as Hecht's and Woodward & Lothrop in Downtown D.C., to the chain stores of Rockville Pike, all the way out to the outlet mall behemoth, Potomac Mills. I had to learn to love it, or lump it; it made the most sense to opt for the former.]

What follows is the first in a series of rapturous odes to some of the fashion brands that have, over the years, helped me cultivate "my look" (for better, or worse).

Mon Petit Ouiseau: The O.G.'s of "putting a bird on it"

When I first had the idea to write about this line, I didn't even realize that they'd been putting out apparel as recently as 2008 and that the woman behind it, Tracy Wilkinson has also dabbled in kids' clothing, interior design and pottery. For the purposes of this post, though, I'm taking it back to 1999.

I used to pop into dearly departed South Austin boutique, Therapy, and fork over money I did not have in exchange for the privilege of walking around with embroidered birds on my butt.

I actually had a pair with a way bigger butt bird than this!

What was the look?

Tons of tabs, piping, over-sized buttons and rounded collars. Looking back on it now, it very closely resembles the "Intermediate" sewing projects I see on the course descriptions for all those L.A. hipster sewing studio classes I keep meaning to sign up for.

Top it all off with my hair in two buns and there you have my go-to look back then. Sexy, never. Spunky forever!

What did I think Mon Petit Oiseau said about me?: 

"Yes, I've recently graduated from college, but that doesn't mean I'm not still young and free-spirited. Plus, it proves I'm financially capable of spending boutique prices on scaled-up children's clothes!"

The twee line communicated to the world that I collected very sweet, sincere indie pop on vinyl (like this, or this), drank lattés with flavored Monin shots in large mugs and engaged in one or more crafts with regularity. 

 

What was the look's shelf-life?
I rocked Mon Petit Oiseau 'round about until 2001, when I moved to New York City. That'd be when the money dried up and all that dewy, doe-eyed nonsense got knocked clean out of me!

Black History Month, M.I.A.

Um. Who jacked Black History Month? Seriously, where did it go?

Last week my daughter's second grade teacher asked me to compile a list of kid-friendly hip-hop tracks to be played during class time. It was part of a month-long lesson in what he was calling "Music of the African Diaspora." (I won't even comment on how I felt when he approached me with the request. I mean, I'm the only black parent in the classroom, so who else but me could possibly know anything about hip-hop, right?)

So, basically, listening to Fela and Jimmy Cliff in the background while they did their regular coursework...that would be the extent of the class' Black History Month education this year. No school-wide assemblies, no book reports, no class presentations on "Famous Black [fill-in-the-blank]."

I guess, in post-racial 2013, folks are just over it?

Wantables — Dizzying Patterns (and prices)

A week's worth of sunny, warm days has me ready to shake off the gray/black/charcoal doldrums that have had me in their thrall all "winter" long. [I am aware that some may not think L.A. gets cold. To them I say, "Go kick rocks. I can see my breath while sitting in my house and am, therefore, well within my rights to have on multiple pairs of socks.]

As the spring catalogs start rolling in, I've been getting an eyeful of crazy prints and patterns that are filling me with longing, as well as, low-grade vertigo.

Blouson One-Piece by Maaji for Garnet Hill, $74.

These are for kids. I'm not suggesting that I, or anyone else on the planet spend $74 on a bathing suit for kids. All the same, I find them aesthetically pleasing and am glad they exist.