The Cotton Trenches
In middle school, uniforms were required. I hated them and I hated rules. I still hate them and rules; only now, I understand the need for uniforms…
So, one day, I saw my opportunity to break the rules. My parents had gone out of town, leaving me and my older brother home alone. I threw open my closet doors to piece together my outfit for school. I found an oatmeal henley, black jeans, and I borrowed my brother’s Eastland boots – It was a look and you couldn’t convince me otherwise! I’m pretty sure I had to double up my socks just to fit in those boots though... Nonetheless, I wore my self-styled outfit to school feeling cute and rebellious. No one said a word about it; no compliments nor reprimands, but that was okay. I’d made my statement and looked good doing it. You become your own personal stylist at a young age; and, for that one day, no one told me what I could or couldn’t wear.
Last month, my book club read The Chiffon Trenches by Andre Leon Talley. It’s a tell-all memoir discussing his youth, rise to prominence in the fashion industry and the tumultuous relationships he’s had with many other titans in the “chiffon trenches,” as he calls it. It’s an incredibly detailed book (I might argue a little too detailed in some spots…) but, overall, it really shows the reader that Talley is a man that was made for the industry. The sheer volume of knowledge he has about fashion history was, frankly, a little overwhelming but admirable and inspirational.
While reading, I found a familiarity and affinity that I’d unwittingly placed at the back of my mind. As Talley wrote about going to different couture fittings and feeling verklempt at fashion shows, I could relate, in a way. Though I’ve never been to a fitting or even a show, I know intimately that feeling of falling for fashion; to see someone impeccably styled and experience a swirl of delightful energy and glee in your heart! As I continued to read, I started to feel as though something was awakening; something that had been napping for quite some time.
While my personal style has always remained important to me, my need to consume fashion has waned over the years. I recall stacks upon stacks of GQ and Harper’s Bazaar lining the living room walls of my old apartment. I’d go through and read each one in my leisure. If I was taking vacation from work, one of the things on my to-do list was to catch up on the issues that I’d gotten behind on due to the everyday hustle and bustle. It was during this time that I created “Bizarre Hodgepodge” – formerly spelled “Bazaar” in homage to the publication – on the then popular blogging site, Tumblr. It was my very first blog that I dedicated to “people, pancakes and purses.” I would read through those issues and find images to post or re-blog, and I loved it! But, over the years, my focus drifted from those magazines, which I eventually ended up donating to the local library.
Thankfully, the memoir reignited the flame of fashion within me. It, along with my newfound free time (thanks to quarantine) inspired me to dive, once again, into that world. But not just fashion; art, music, movies, and television have all taken on a new role in my life. I look at it all differently now. I’m not only a spectator but an appreciator. I find myself wanting to know the details, backgrounds and inspirations of designers and their collections; the producers and editors of songs, shows and even podcasts that I love. The Chiffon Trenches inspired me to start bzarhodgpodg.com.
Welcome to the Bzar.
