GO YOUR OWN WAY

Great Grandpa's Baseball Hat / Jam Stain Sweater Vest / Thrifted Pencil Skirt / My Friend Nick's Socks / Chuck Taylors

I've always been envious of California schools because their hallways and cafeterias are outside, that's just fucking cool. Growing up in Colorado nothing was ever outside because of the 100% chance that it'd be covered in snow for half the year. I was feeling playful today, speeding down the road on my bicycle so I could play around at this empty middle school (it is Saturday, after all). I've been craving In-N-Out Burger like crazy lately (another thing I was deprived of living in Colorado) so my plans for the rest of the day is to bike and grab a burger and a milkshake, then have a creative afternoon and paint paint paint! 

Speaking of middle school, I was OBSESSED with Hilary Duff. What preteen girl wasn't? I remember in her movie A Cinderella Story she wore an old beat-up LA Dodgers hat and I just thought it was the coolest thing ever that I went out and got am LA Dodgers hat. I wore mine for a few weeks but then forgot about it because it was too new and stiff and I simply didn't have the patience to wear it in. I'm still that way, I like everything worn in and ripped, I get embarrassed wearing new shoes, they just look so awkward! Anyways, my great grandpa has a plethora of baseball hats and I found this little gem amongst his collection, an LA Dodgers hat with years of wear and tear! It's safe to say he's never getting this hat back now.

When I was going to college in Pueblo, Colorado I met a band called Jam Stain one night at a little concert venue/art hall called the Red Raven (RIP The Red Raven, forever the best venue of all time, so many happy memories). They were on tour from California and struggling to make ends meet, they mentioned how they've been trying to get t-shirts made but had nobody to design them. Well, at the time I was an aspiring graphic designer, so it seems as if fate was meant to cross our two paths. I made their logo for them, they asked to be drawn like the Pep Boys. I'm not a very skilled at drawing, but I remember I was quite proud because I drew their faces by hand. I saw them perform again when they were passing through Denver on their next tour and they gave me this striped sweater vest with the logo I made on it. I always thought it was hilarious that they gave me a sweater vest instead of a traditional t-shirt or something. I still design posters and stuff for them when they ask, so if you're curious you can check out some of the work I've done for them here. While you're at it, you should check out their music here. It looks like they've got a fancy new website now, it's great to see their success rise. In the slang of Pueblo musicians, I must say that Jam Stain plays the most tasty psychedelic funk music ever.

The camel pencil skirt is something I picked up at a thrift store at least a year ago and I've always loved it. I've worn it to every interview and any other time I needed to look professional. The lining is coming out now and I've just safety pinned it to them hem, so I figured it looked punk rock enough to pair with the rest of this ensemble. My friend Nick was traveling through LA recently and stayed with me for a few days. I gave him a pair of pink and orange ombre socks I made for Paradox because he didn't have any clean ones. When he left he wrote me a note stating he had hidden something in my room. Upon searching my room I found a really nice note that said "Don't forget the Goodyear blimp." That afternoon I saw the Goodyear blimp in the sky and was so excited that I shouted to Nick and my friend Anatalia to run outside and take a look. They were less than impressed because it was something they had seen so often growing up in Colorado, they playfully teased me for making such a grand scene about a silly thing in the sky. I think Nick's intention with the note was to encourage me to never lose my enthusiasm, even when I'm the only one excited over the little things. A few hours later I found a pair of his socks under my bed. I still am not quite sure if he intended to leave them as a trade for the socks I gave him, or if he simply forgot them. Either way, they're mine now, and  I love how they're tall and bulky. And finally, these Chuck Taylors have been with me since I was fourteen and I plan to keep them forever. They're covered in dirt from various places around the country, paint from projects and photoshoots, and even fake blood from the independent thriller movie I played the murder victim in. Overall, I guess this outfit is oddly sentimental  even though I didn't really think about all of the connections when I was getting dressed.