The Cake

If you like the band in Beyond the Valley of the Dolls you'll probably dig The Cake, their sound and career trajectory was pretty similar. There were a million girl groups in the sixties but The Cake set themselves apart by writing and recording their own material. They also refused to dress in alike (a hallmark of the girl group era) and they had the unique distinction of being hipsters. Their cred was further solidified when Jeanette Jacobs (the one that looks like Penelope Tree) briefly dated Jimi Hendrix. You'll probably notice that Jeanette does not move at all throughout the entire performance of "You Can Have Him" (below), despite the wild dancing of her two cohorts. This was not a gimmick reserved for this particular performance, she never moves. I have no idea why. Actually, the only thing that I do know about her is that she suffered from epilepsy and died at a young age. Bummer.

 

Leisure Nomad

Leisure Nomad by OLO Fragrance from Orland Nutt on Vimeo.


Love this video by Orland Nutt for the Portland based fragrance line OLO. The over the top 80s perfume commercial reference starring Ashby Collinson is too good! You can buy Leisure Nomad here. Summerland also stocks an amazing argan oil based hair tonic that is not available on the OLO site. The tonic has a highly addictive cedar + rose scent, subtle and perfect for your lovely locks!

Woof

 OMG check out the adorable Japanese Chins in the new Louis Vuitton ads! 

Double Trouble

Melanie Griffith in Body Double. 

My Little Princess

The trailer for Eva Ionesco's much-anticipated film about her childhood is finally here! I wrote a post about it back in January. First and foremost, Isabelle Huppert looks so major! Catherine Baba costumed the film so the extreme fabulosity isn't entirely surprising. I love when women look really glamourous and really crazy. Like Anjelica Huston in The Addams Family or Courtney Love. And Ms. Huppert does crazy better than anyone. God I can't wait to see this! Dying!  (via Sighs and Whispers)

Free Advice

"Psychiatry taught me that you have to come up with your own version of neurotic happiness. I'm never going to be a normal person. No one changes, no one gets better – once you make friends with your neuroses you can plan a life."

John Waters (source)

No-prah

Today is the last episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show and I am so torn up about it! Like so many women (and a few men) I have fallen under the delusion that Oprah is my friend and the prospect of life without my BFF is totally depressing. But at least I have the finale, hopefully she will reveal her secret polyamorous relationship with Gayle and Stedman. Or maybe she will find a way to bring Michael Jackson or Princess Di back from the dead for one last interview. I wouldn't put it past her. She made Anna Wintour smile and that, my friends, is magic.

Alice Springs

Alice Springs is the name of the second largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia, a mediocre Liz Phair song, and a pseudonym used by the photographer June Browne Newton (Helmut Newton's wife). Taschen published a (long overdue) book of her work last year. 

She is like a cat in the dark and then she is the darkness

I just can't get enough of these gothic romance paperbacks! If you would like to adorn your bedside table with a stack of them head over to Summerland. Megan is selling them in trios, lovingly tied together with black velvet ribbon. Unfortunately her adorable cat Muffin is not included!

Haunted Hearts

Nothing is more fabulous than running from a gothic castle wearing a billowing ivory silk nightgown. I had this realization after scrolling through a billion pages of My Love-Haunted Heart, a blog devoted to gothic romance novels. I've never actually read one—apart from some of Daphne du Maurier's stuff—but the covers are so gorgeous! I wish I could live inside them. The paintings and typography are a match made in heaven; these type treatments actually inspired the Cat Party logo. But anyway, all of the lovely covers below were pulled from My Love-Haunted Heart's flickr. Best flickr ever?

Working Girl

After two years of freelancing I have finally jumped on the nine to five wagon!  This is both nerve-wracking and exhilarating.  I can’t provide too many details just yet but I can say that I am working on an exciting new web project with some people from V magazine.

We are presently looking for contributors so if you can write about fashion, art, or popular culture please please please send work samples to ilovecatparty@gmail.com.  If you have a sense of humor, that is a major plus! We are also looking for editorial interns, if you are interested please send resumes and work samples to the address above. The deadline for submissions is May 23rd 28th. On an unrelated note, here is a picture of Andy Warhol in drag:

Baby Baby Baby Oh

Isn't this photo of Baby Spice the cutest? I love that she's smack dab between the Tostitos and the CoverGirl cosmetics. This one is on my fridge for life. 

Take a walk on the wild side

Stills from Times Square. Also check out this rad blog about Times Square!

Notorious E.D.I.E.

This is by far the best thing that I have ever found on tumblr. via gayinterest

Gibson Girls

God I want this wallpaper from Urban Outfitters! 

Heroes and Villains

I had a major WTF moment when I was flipping through my beloved O magazine this morning and I happened upon this troubling photo of Johnny Depp and Patti Smith:

 The image is part of a larger campaign for Disneyland, which features celebrities dressed up like iconic Disney characters. It’s a great idea on paper but the casting director is totally batshit! They always create the most awkward celebrity pairings, like Gisele and Mikhail Baryshnikov as Wendy and Peter Pan and Penelope Cruz and Jeff Bridges as Beauty and the Beast. And who could forget the super-cringey Alice in Wonderland photo featuring Beyonce, Oliver Platt, and Lyle Lovett? The pairing of Johnny and Patti actually makes sense but it really annoys me that Patti was cast as the “second pirate in command.” Thats not even a real character! There are so many great villains that would be far more appropriate for Ms. Smith…. 

Like Scar from The Lion King

Ok so he’s a dude, probably gay, and a lion but he has that distinctive Patti Smith I’ve-seen-it-all-and-done-it-all-and-I-don’t-give-a-shit swagger.  And the hair is pretty comparable. 

Vanessa (aka Ursula) from The Little Mermaid

Wow, I bet Vanessa could do a killer version of "Piss Factory"! She really has that fire in her eyes. And the "scorned bride" look would really work for Patti. 

Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty

Patti would look so fierce in that cape! It looks like 1989 Mugler. And the raven sidekick is very fitting; its name is Diablo. I wouldn't be surprised if Patti had a raven sidekick named Diablo in real life.

Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmations

Someone should really design a collection based around the concept of “Patti Smith as Cruella de Vil.” And I hope it's Ann Demeulemeester.

Ps. Can someone please tell Annie Leibowitz to lay off the Photoshop? Her photos look like Avatar. 

La Danse

Photos by Anja Verdugo / Clothing by Summerland and Clever Nettle / Accessories by Fieldguided, Giant Dwarf and The Vamoose / Styling and Hair by m.bardeaux / Makeup by Nica DeMaria / Models Kiely McDaniel and Meredith Adelaide

I Love You, Baby

Alexandra Grecco Fall 2010 from Karina Cifuentes on Vimeo.


Adorable video from the Alexandra Grecco Fall '10 collection that I still just can't get enough of. Cutest ever! The heart dress is now available at Summerland, as well as a minty cotton version and some too cute hair bows. Never stop doing what you do Alexandra, you make the world a happier place!

Leather & Lace

Antonio Lopez, 1978

She burnt my dresses and she cut my hair

At some point during my epically angsty adolescence I gave my Baby-Sitters Club "Mary Anne" doll a Kathleen Hanna-inspired makeover. Isn't it hilarious? I have no recollection of doing it so I was surprised when I stumbled across her at my parents' house over the holidays. Tragically Stacey and Claudia were nowhere to be found! Those dolls were creepy because the girls in the Baby-Sitters Club were supposed to be 12 and 13 but the dolls were really mature looking, a bit sexy even. That paired with the Catholic schoolgirl outfit that Mary Anne was wearing probably prompted me to reclaim her as a riot grrrl. I love the little safety pins on her skirt!

ps. Kathleen (and Ad-Rock!) will be at MoMa in NYC tomorrow night for a party celebrating the stellar Looking at Music 3.0 exhibition. More info here.

pps. Sarah Marcus' new book about Riot Grrrl is such a good read. Do it! 

Double Dare Ya

♥Kathleen Hanna♥ in 1997. Photo by Sophie Howarth.

Debbie

I Want You

Limited edition copy of I Love You #6 packaged with Uslu Airlines cosmetics. Get it here.

Living Room

I love Amanda Brooks' living room. It has this crazy David Hicks meets Palm Beach meets Lisa Yuskavage vibe about it. You can't be unhappy in that room. Miles Aldridge shot the first image for a feature in Vogue Living a few years ago, the girl is Amanda's daughter Coco. The second image was a collaboration between Sarah Wilmer and myself for the first issue of Chelsea. I really dig the prop styling that we did, especially the X record on the floor!  But back to the room, Amanda found the paintings of the girls in the go-go boots at a vintage store, best score ever! I guess they were some guy's college project. The other paintings in the background are by Anh Duong and Amanda's husband Christopher. The two chairs are mid-century pieces that she recovered with African fabrics, I love those too. But my favorite part is the hot pink carpet, it's so major. Especially if you're dancing to X on it! 

As I mentioned in the previous post, copies of Chelsea #1 are available here.