The rain and wind are caterwhauling around these parts at the moment, but the city has proved itself full of brightness and exciting things (as well as rain), from beautiful foreign films to the thrill of treasure-seeking at a Sunday fleamarket. Here’s a look at the gems that I found at the Glue Factory fleamarket today… I got […]
Tag: 1970s
Secret Style Icon No.8: Parker Posey
She played the original mean girl (1976 edition) in Dazed and Confused, as the unhinged, cold-hearted Simone, whose sweet 70s hair-do and cute little uniform (‘Seniors’ jumper, shorts, knee socks) belied the fact that she was leading the freshman students through various masochistic torture rituals for the hell of it (“Now fry like bacon, you little freshman piggies. Fry!”)
Parker Posy deserves kudos for pulling this off with so much zeal and then also nailing her part as the ultimate geek in Best in Show. Behold, the adult-brace wearing ‘Meg Swan’, who has taken her dog to couples therapy. She met her husband in Starbucks (“Not the same Starbucks, but we saw each other at different Starbucks across the street from each other”). They enjoy reading catalogues together. There is an untamed hysteria simmering not far beneath her cool surface, which comes out to spectacular effect when her dog’s favourite toy goes missing. Parker Posy yelling is cinematic gold.
Special mention should go to Mathew McConaughey for his role in Dazed and Confused, without a doubt the pinnacle of his career. That outfit, that hair, the unashamed celebration of arrested development – it shouldn’t work, yet in the world of the film, he is getting all the girls.
1969 was a Wonderful Time to be a Child
While searching through the bookcases in search of tutoring materials, I pulled out a beautiful 1969 print of Edward Lear’s The Owl and The Pusscat. It’s so utterly beautiful and of-its-time that I want to frame every single page. Except that I can’t bear to rip the book up to do so. Weren’t the sixties great? Dreamy, trippy – even the fish in the sea are absolutely gorgeous.
I was on a roll by then, and found some other delights, most of them from the 70s. The World of Uncle Peter deserves a place in my heart for featuring a protagonist (Uncle Peter, naturally) who is an ex-art school dude who frequently has daydreams that looks suspiciously plant-based… (this was 1979).
There is also a definite Royal Tenenbaums feel to the list of characters. I love that mix of old staid portraits and sleepy cartoon animals.
Another gem was ‘The Witch’s Hat’, which was one of my favourite books when I was a little critter. The bat-print on the inside cover is exactly what I’d like in a t-shirt these days…
And the illustrations (from 1980) have a certain Pink Floydd appeal to them!
Lastly, ‘Magic’ and ‘I thought I saw’ used to haunt my dreams as a little one. There was something about bright colours with sparseness of illustration that really got to me – I have no idea why. Now I think they are an inspired bit of art.
Part of me really wants all this stuff on my walls – some of it is so perfect. But I don’t think I’ll ever be able to dismantle the books. They’re all little works of genius.
Amy Jardine 