Category Archives: things you need to see

The Los Angeles 70’s Revival

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The 50th Anniversary of the Summer of Love is coming up in a couple of months, but Los Angeles is already in the grittier, grimier 70’s.  With the resurgence of the Laurel Canyon scene in the past few years, there has been an explosion of tough chicks and sensitive dudes making names for themselves in the hills and the Valley- strong woman fronted occult-psych rock bands with Manson Family looking members, feminist schlock films ala Russ Meyer and androgynous young rock stars that exude glitter trash glam like the lovechild of Marc Bolan and Iggy Pop.

As expected, renowned LA DJ and Mayor of Sunset Strip Rodney Bingenheimer is all up in the mix of it helping bring the Sunset Strip back (what WOULD L.A. do without this magic  culture creator?) Here are some of my favorite people to emerge out of the scene, appreciated for both their strength and style:

Kansas Bowling

Troma’s best director is a 20-year old film maven who uses strong female roles to up the ante on her low-budget horror/comedy films. An unabashed Monkees fan, Kansas is not only influential in film but also in style; I can’t get enough of her vintage dresses, mustard yellow and center part hair.

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Death Valley Girls

Making pentagrams on your forehead look more glam than Charles Manson EVER did, Death Valley Girls are all glow in the dark occult garage psych with tight hooks and far out vocals. Started by Patty Schemel of Hole and her Larry, the band has a music video that was shot by Kansas Bowling and stars Rodney Bingenheimer. Watch the video here

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Starcrawler

Frontwoman and L.A. baby Arrow de Wilde is half Ozzy, half David Bowie and all fierce androgynous warrior. Ryan Adams produced their album, and they are a critics darling- if anyone can bring glam rock back hard at the Sunset Strip, it’s Starcrawler. Watch Starcrawler here

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 Drugdealer

Drugdealer Los Angeles band

Drugdealer

More Laurel Canyon than Sunset Strip, his single “Suddenly” with Weyes Blood has that gorgeous early 70’s AM sound with a warm glow that is all Los Angeles. Listen to “Suddenly” here

Melbourne, Australia

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Melbourne, Australia skyline

Melbourne, Australia skyline

When one of your oldest friends invites you to her backyard wedding in Melbourne, you RSVP without a second thought. It felt like a super sized version of Austin, Texas where we both had lived; a “flat San Francisco” popped into my head as well in terms of American comparisons. Of course, culturally it had its distinct Australian differences and felt much more European and mannered. An introvert’s dream, I didn’t have a single car honk at me or any catcalls despite walking all day on Smith and Brunswick St. shopping. How refreshing to not feel like a piece of meat!

Even though I tend to wear a lot of black and band t-shirts, Melbourne influenced me hard and I came back with a bag of wacky prints both new and vintage. The VINTAGE scene there!! My god, I haven’t seen that big of a collection of mint condition vintage clothing since San Francisco in the 90’s! All day can be spent at Vintage Garage on Brunswick Street alone.

They have a very egalitarian society, so I sat in front on a couple taxi rides and far preferred it to the whole rider/chauffeur setup. The women I saw had a cool sense of style that was not focused on looking good for a man- beat up Blundstone boots beat out high heels by a country mile (or Country Road to throw an Australian fashion pun in, it’s a popular store like J. Crew).

Last couple differences that I enjoyed were that lattes are called “flat whites” and when walking stay on the left. It took me about three days of bumping into people and doing that sidewalk dance before I got it down. Loved you, Melbourne and I can’t wait to return.

Keith Haring mural in Melbourne

Keith Haring mural in Melbourne


photo by Doan

photo by Doan

Fairy Penguins!

Fairy Penguins!

Hosier Lane Street Art in Melbourne Australia

Hosier Lane Street Art

Hosier Lane Street Art

Hosier Lane Street Art

Keith Haring mural Melbourne Australia
The shirt on the left is new and from Monster Threads. The one on the right is vintage from Vintage Garage, and if anyone comes across this blog that can identify this psychedelic textile I would love it. Funny to see how things don’t really change much!

psychedelic textile vintage print

psychedelic vintage textile print

Star Wars Costume Exhibit at Denver Art Museum

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Denver Art Museum is currently showing the new Star Wars costume exhibit, and anyone into the franchise or vintage fabrics needs to grab their tickets. I loved seeing the progression of Princess Leia’s polyester white robe to Queen Amidala’s hall of decadent embroidered dresses. Personally, I’d rather be a handmaiden than the queen, those amazing velvet pieces looked comfy and warm.


The exhibit consists of multiple rooms focusing on various characters. Especially popular was the Sith Lords exhibit complete with Darth Maul fight scene, and this lighting setup that reminded me of Nosferatu.


The smallest costume besides Yoda’s robes was certainly R2 D2. Expect a bottleneck here, as he’s very popular with the kids. I’ve never cared about what phone I had, but I took a picture of a family with the dad’s iPhone 7 and wow. Can I just buy the camera?