“It all goes back to the early 70’s, when Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood opened up a shop on Kings Road in London selling the favoured Teddy Boy fashions (a tailored, fitted look reminiscent of British dandyism). In search of something new, McLaren traveled to New York where he met the New York Dolls. With their tattered, worn-down, glam rock persona, the American band inspired McLaren to bring back a thrift shop mash up style that Britain desperately needed. Further inspiring Westwood and McLaren was the Situationist movement, which had come to the fore in France around the time of the Paris riots of 1968. The Dada- like anarchism of the Situationists led by Guy Debord ,combined with the ripped, safety pinned, thrift store aesthetic of the New York muscians was perfect for the new revolutionary style that McLaren had in mind. Ironically, what McLaren created was totally contradictory to what the Situationists were rebelling against. The capitalist spectacle and commodity fetishism which Debord had famously denounced, is exactly what McLaren recouped as punk’s ugly, raw, deconstructed image in the form of mainstream fashion. Despite the blatant disparity, the British youth ate. that. shit. up.”

the new york dolls

mclaren and westwood designed goods for their shop on kings road in london’s chelsea district, this is where vivienne westwood got her start as a designer…the shop went through many incarnations and re-brands through the seventies from first being titled “Let It Rock”, then “Too Fast To Live, Too Young To Die,” then “SEX”,then Seditionaries and finally became known as “World’s End”. World’s End remains open as part of vivienne westwood’s global fashion empire. malcolm mclaren went on to do many things including managing the sex pistol’s, making his own music and art and he’s also known for helping to popularize hip hop in the early 1980s…

one of my favorite vivienne westwood designs from her retrospective.

vivienne westwood and malcolm mclaren back in the day…

the sex pistols.

the commentary below came from an article in the new york times regarding the upcoming “Punk: Chaos to Couture” exhibition at the met.

“Still, for some punk originators the idea of leather and studs at the Met, with the imprimatur of Vogue, which co-sponsors the Costume Institute Ball, on May 6, is heresy.

“Getting these high-fashion designers, what does that have to do with punk?” said Legs McNeil, who was a founder of Punk magazine in 1975. “So rich people could go slumming? Come on, give me a break.”

It’s a “masturbatory fantasy for Anna Wintour and Vogue,” he added. “They always go and try to co-opt what they can’t own. They try to co-opt authenticity and turn it into something boring.” Debbie Harry, the enduring Blondie frontwoman who helped shape the downtown scene at CBGB in the 1970s alongside bands like the Ramones, Television and the New York Dolls, said the era’s style was deliberately transgressive. “We were definitely looking to be different,” she said, “to be not really fashionable, but to look very cool, to look rock ‘n’ roll.”

She made outfits of cinched garbage bags and pillowcases she found on the street. Her taste wasn’t always a hit.

“I almost got thrown off a bus once for wearing my underwear,” she recalled. “The bus driver screamed at me. I had on little orange satiny pink tap pants — they looked fantastic, but he was outraged that I was walking around in my skivvies. I remember using my bra as outerwear, and really getting a lot of bad looks.”

But, she added, “It just felt right. It looked hot.”

awesome. keep it alive yall.

debbie harry and anya phillips in the late 1970s

photo of blondie by chris stein

*quote #1 came from here

**quote #2 came from here

all day saturday, january 19th we’ll be having an INSANE SALE

party starts at 7pm…stop by and toast our 2 years in business with us! we’d love to see ya!

hot mama salsa +
drinks provided

elvis really embodies the holiday spirit for me – he was known for his generosity and unconditional loving personality! when i think about his message, i think of one word: LOVE!

ps, thanks everyone for shopping hollywood babylon this season, we are your one stop shop for ugly christmas sweaters, classy attire, affordable vintage and good boots. wishing you all a joyous holiday season…no blue christmas!

xo,
HB

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(ps, we have lots of weird stuff at the store right now to create an awesome costume or find the finishing touch) xo, HB

Diana Vreeland (1903-1989) was the 20th Century’s greatest arbiter of style, an exotic and vibrant character who, during her fifty-year reign as the “Empress of Fashion,” dazzled the world with her unique vision of style high and low. She launched Twiggy, advised Jackie O, and coined some of fashion’s most eloquent proverbs such as “the bikini is the biggest thing since the atom bomb.” She lived a vibrant and remarkable life, and as the star performer in her own drama, Diana began writing the script for it at an early age. She was the fashion editor of Harper’s Bazaar where she worked for twenty-five years before becoming editor-in-chief of Vogue, followed by a remarkable stint at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, where she helped popularize its historical collections. DIANA VREELAND: THE EYE HAS TO TRAVEL is an intimate portrait and a vibrant celebration of one of the most influential women of the twentieth century, an enduring icon who has had a strong influence on the course of fashion, beauty, publishing and culture.

Along the way, the story of Vreeland illustrates the evolution of women into roles of power and prominence throughout the 20th century, and travels through some of the century’s greatest historical and cultural eras, including Paris’ Belle Epoque, New York in the roaring twenties, and London in the swinging sixties. It also spans such historical events as the great wars, the flights of Lindbergh, the romance of Wallis and Windsor, the Kennedy inauguration, and the freewheeling spirit of the 1960’s youthquake, and the advent of countless fashion revolutions from the bikini to the blue jean. (copied from here)

i read her biography years ago – what a cool intriguing creative life she lived…i haven’t found any showtimes of the movie yet here in portland, oregon….but as soon as i find out when/where it’s playing i will be sure to post…i’m dying to see it myself (it’s now playing – as of 10/20/12)

in the meantime here are a few pic of her legendary style:

photo by: Horst P Horst

a look from one of the many images she created

she was also known for her one liners. here are a few:

– The only real elegance is in the mind; If you’ve got that, the rest really comes from it.
– What do I think about the way most people dress? Most people are not something one thinks about.
– Pink is the navy blue of India.
– Blue jeans are the most beautiful things since gondola
– I always wear my sweater back to front. It is much more flattering.
– Too much good taste can be boring.
– (Balenciaga) did the most delicious evening clothes. Clothes aren’t delicious anymore.
– People who eat white bread have no dreams.

what’s not to love?
xo, hb

Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel
now playing at the regal fox tower in down town portland oregon
‎12:25‎ – ‎2:25‎ – ‎4:50‎ – ‎7:00‎ – ‎9:40pm‎

it was an absolute dream to work on a project inspired be the late seventies-early eighties with such an enthusiastic director and such an agreeable cast and crew. alicia gave us the theme of the video referencing poly styrene from the x-ray spex, foxes, little darlings, and we threw in many of our personal first hand memories from our punk-rock youth. back in the a day there was a DIY sensability which we wanted to capture in the styling. we especially enjoyed dressing the kids for the arcade scene ala goonies! it’s really a mash-up of seventies and eighties fashion! we loved raiding our shop for all the pieces and it’s fun to see it all immortalized.

the video launched a couple weeks ago on npr and spin and others, if you haven’t seen it you’re in for a treat!

to see some of our inspiration for the shoot go here!

they play again tonight, saturday september 22 in tacoma washington at the pantages theatre as part of a festival (i think it might be free?) catch ‘em if you can – they put on a great show and are some of the nicest people around.

xo, hb

here’s the low res video from the other night that i promised: