grey is the new black
According to AK's coworker, everyone and their mother is going to be this for Halloween, so I guess I'm not spoiling some big reveal by saying that AK and I are going as Little Edie Beale...and her mother.
Yesterday I hit the Out of the Closet in Westwood in my first attempt to find Grey Gardens-themed clothing. I quickly realized how easy it would be to find good Little Edie attire. Usually, thrift store shopping is burdened by the need to find the exact right size among items that only come in one size each. But everything Little Edie wears is ill-fitting, so all I had to do was find the wrong size. Always plentiful.
Soon I was the proud owner of a black boat-neck sweater and a straight, way-too-short plaid skirt, which I plan to pair with shorts and tights, Little Edie-style. Something about the experience felt entirely comfortable to me, at which point I--a person who regularly applied lip gloss to my eyelids in college--realized that I will dress just like Little Edie in another decade or three.
Admit it, I emailed AK, can't you see me saying, "Baby, don't you think this sweater works as a skirt?"
Oh my God, yes, I see it! she replied. You're totally going to wear T-Mec's wife-beater in 2041!
This cheered me, because I like the idea of dressing like a kindred spirit, not as someone I'm making fun of (that fine line between mockery and admiration being why the Beales have been such magnetic cultural fodder). I'd also been thinking that AK is probably more like Little Edie (carefree, loves to dance), and I'm probably more like Big Edie (sour and judgmental on a bad day).
But, as Craig pointed out when AK was still contemplating going as the raccoon who breaks into Grey Gardens, "Big Edie lives a life of comfort and ease" in her straw hat and muumuus. And she loves cats and singing. So she has lots going for her too.
Who needs a super original costume when you're going as people who wear super original costumes every day?
Yesterday I hit the Out of the Closet in Westwood in my first attempt to find Grey Gardens-themed clothing. I quickly realized how easy it would be to find good Little Edie attire. Usually, thrift store shopping is burdened by the need to find the exact right size among items that only come in one size each. But everything Little Edie wears is ill-fitting, so all I had to do was find the wrong size. Always plentiful.
Soon I was the proud owner of a black boat-neck sweater and a straight, way-too-short plaid skirt, which I plan to pair with shorts and tights, Little Edie-style. Something about the experience felt entirely comfortable to me, at which point I--a person who regularly applied lip gloss to my eyelids in college--realized that I will dress just like Little Edie in another decade or three.
Admit it, I emailed AK, can't you see me saying, "Baby, don't you think this sweater works as a skirt?"
Oh my God, yes, I see it! she replied. You're totally going to wear T-Mec's wife-beater in 2041!
This cheered me, because I like the idea of dressing like a kindred spirit, not as someone I'm making fun of (that fine line between mockery and admiration being why the Beales have been such magnetic cultural fodder). I'd also been thinking that AK is probably more like Little Edie (carefree, loves to dance), and I'm probably more like Big Edie (sour and judgmental on a bad day).
But, as Craig pointed out when AK was still contemplating going as the raccoon who breaks into Grey Gardens, "Big Edie lives a life of comfort and ease" in her straw hat and muumuus. And she loves cats and singing. So she has lots going for her too.
Who needs a super original costume when you're going as people who wear super original costumes every day?
Comments
But I'm going to dress like her anyway, since everyone else is. Jesi, can you help me with the costume?
U: I blame Kevyn Aucoin. He inspired some crazy makeup tricks. And I had this metallic gloss that, to be honest, would have looked equally weird on my lips.