Dress Code Cracker: The Podcast -- Style And Communication

Theatrical costuming student and vintage clothing expert Liza Kelly told me where the 'weird shit' is this episode of the show! We talked about her love of film (old musicals, Fellini, Ken Russell, Terry Giliam), classic sitcoms (Rhoda and Maude), plus the ballet! She loves bright colours and eclectic vintage and has no use for mass market.  We talked about 'bouncing between the eras'--how time and culture remix the fashions of each decade.  Please go to dresscodecracker.com for pictures and references! thanks for listening~  

Charm Torres describes her style as "lazy glam", but it's hard to reconcile the word lazy with this woman! She has two careers she is passionate about, one in LGBT health care and a second as a make up artist (freelance and with MAC). She takes her inspiration from queer femme culture, POC street style....and of course Solange and Rhianna.  We talked about queerness, race, #selfies and how rape culture influences women's fashion choices.  Please check out Charm on instagram where she is charmacita, and if you want her to consult with you about makeup or to do your makeup, email her at charmztorres[at]gmail.com Thanks and enjoy the show :)

Alia is the vocalist, flautist and organist for Blood Ceremony--a hard/occult/horror rock band based in Toronto. They've also aptly been called 'witch rock'.  She describes her style as 'what you might have worn to a Black Sabbath show in 1972', and talked about dressing for the stage and for the real world; including putting on a persona for performance.  She's a bell bottom, platform shoe enthusiast who looks to Tina Turner circa the late 60s; and Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum for her stage inspiration.  We talked about 1970s horror, Marianne Faithful, Jethro Tull and sufism!  Super fun, please listen and check out the show notes and pictures at  www.dresscodecracker.com Blood Ceremony's most recent album is The Eldritch Dark.  please look for Blood Ceremony on their facebook page! 

I interviewed Matthew for a crazy long time earlier in the fall (edited down dear listener)--mainly because, not only does he have a terrific 'telephone voice', but he also has funny and refreshingly uncensored opinions on things. TThis is a guy who thinks about fashion, and clothes, about construction and about what makes people get dressed they way they do. He may look like your neighbourhood drug dealer, but don't be fooled. www.dresscodecracker.com Thanks Matthew! 

AHHHH!!! I'm still blown away that I got to interview the amazing Dame Darcy. I've been obsessed with her work since the mid 1990s--she's not only an amazing artist/cartoonist/painter she's also a storyteller, musician (her project is called Death by Doll), film maker, fashion icon (she makes her own couture...Anna Sui and Courtney Love are fans too!), and outspoken feminist and environmentalist.  She describes her style as Hillbilly Roccocco and I was completely tickled by all her references to a myriad of influences: King Ludwig II of Bavaria's Neuschwanstein Castle, Liberace, her 1920s boudoir doll named Isabelle, Ziggy Stardust, Grace Jones, Diana Ross (specifically the huge hair/shimmery huge eyed alien Diana of the 1970s), Laura Ingalls and Nellie Olsen (gingham! bonnets! the 19th century!)...and Adam Ant circa Stand and Deliver, the watching of which Dame Darcy says "broke her" in terms of setting in stone her idea of the dandy highwayman in the place of idealized masculinity.  Please check out her web

Cyndi is a heavy metal guitarist based in Toronto. I loved that in talking about her style evolution, she said “I don’t always have to be looking at my vinyl album covers and trying to look like these guys from the eighties”--without any irony.  We discussed dressing for the stage and dressing with LOTS of full colour tattoos, and her belief in showing a little 'cleave'.  Her interests are music, record collecting and pro wrestling, and she likes to take inspiration from 'strange places', sometimes disappearing down the etsy hole looking for the perfect see through robe.  Please check out her band Call of the Wild including their FB page.  As always please also click over to dresscodecracker.com for pictures and more about Cyndi!  thanks for your time~

Caroline Shadood was a pleasure to talk to about her 'practical over flattering' style--and her rejection of the entire concept of 'flattering'. Her blog Broadist has gotten a lot of attention for it's refreshing take on style/politics/'lady troubles' and body positivity.  She doesn't buy new clothes, prefers to swap/thrift and never pays full price for anything; refers to growing out her hair to acihieve the Kathleen Hanna trademark -- the  'bitchy high ponytail'; and talked about armpit exposure as a measure of a fancy vs casual event. In short she was an utter delight!  \thanks for listening! 

This weeks guest--Lorraine Hewitt-- has been on the periphery of my 'Toronto personalities' awareness for a long time--from her burlesque performances with Skin Tight Outta Sight Rebel Burlesque troupe, to her role as co-creator of the ground breaking Feminist Porn Awards, to seeing her in my friendly local neighbourhood feminist sex toy shop. Her style is sort of a punk/pin up hybrid. We talked about how your style (and attitude) changes with age, and she said some quotables about 'dress codes' "In the end I think having dress codes is useful: we need them. We need to be able to identify who shares our interests, and who feels authentic" --I love it! Please go to dresscodecracker.com for more information! ~thanks!      

I first encountered Sheryl Yvette via her blog where she sometimes goes by "Bitch Cakes". She makes a retro glamour look seem effortless, running marathons; cycling New York/Brooklyn/Queens without a hair out of place, and posting body positive bikini shots on her instagram and tumblr. I was surprised to learn her main interest is....photography! Did I mention she's vegan and was featured for her makeup skills in Allure magaziine? She personifies Retro Barbie, hates to shop, and judging from her online presence maintains the life of a bon vivant gal-about-town. Please listen via libsyn, iTunes, and stitcher, and check out www.dresscodecracker.com for more about Sheryl Yvette!  Many thanks for listening~

Samra is a Toronto based photographer, fashion editor and writer.  She describes her style by referencing aging female rockstars, androgyny, messy hair and lesbian butch fashion.  Her newest project is a photography exhibit opening next week at Toronto World Pride called "Just me and Allah: Photographs of Queer Muslims" which will debut at  Parliament Street Library, the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives, and Videofag Gallery.   Please visit http://queermuslimproject.tumblr.com/ for more information; or look for 'Just me and Allah" on facebook for more events.  As always please head over to Dresscodecracker.com for reference images and more information.  You can listen on itunes, stitcher, libsyn and via the website.   

Abby Ehmann, aka EditrixAbby, has been a pornographer and event producer, emcee and editor, copy writer and computer artist. But through it all she's been a devout costumer and theme party enthusiast. These days she crafts crowns and tiaras and recently took a millinery class at FIT. Three months out of the year she works in the Nevada desert for Burning Man and the other nine she blogs about braving the online dating scene as a woman over 50.  Her blog: www.editrixabby.wordpress.com Her Etsy shop: www.etsy.com/shop/abbyschapeaux Her Facebook biz page: www.facebook.com/PartywearByPinkitrix   Her writing is all over the interwebs, most recently at: www.gasm.org    

Gillian G is a Toronto illustrator and comic. Her style influences are her 'classy' family, her Mennonite roots, and her love of offbeat colour and costumes. she said she's much more likely to take a fashion risk if she thinks she won't run into anyone she knows....cute!  She's also one of the great brains behind Drunk Feminist Films.   Her website is at: http://www.gilliang.com  Her webcomic at: http://www.jerkfaceahole.com If you texted Gillian during the interview you have yourself to blame…… We discussed the defunct Sassy magazine and the millenial reboot that is Rookie; feminism, sweat shops, Dov Charney, Pam Anderson....the usual. Please check http:///www.dresscodecracker.com for more!         

Aimee is a social worker living in Toronto who references “satanic panic” and the end of the summer of love in describing her look. Somehow she translates an unwholesome interest in serial killers and horror movies, plus industrial and apocalyptic folk music, into a fun and often colourful retro kewpie pin-up look. Please check dresscodecracker.com for more pictures and detailed show notes. 

Aaron is a sound artist and vegan chef living in PA. He's been in the hardcore and punk scenes for about 5 years. We spoke when he was in Toronto for Not Dead Yet.  We talked about gendered and cultural expectations around fashion and grooming, the origins of his neat and vibrant mod/skinhead style, plus politics and style within the music scenes he socializes and performs in. 

Lisa Stockton Wilson (aka Lisa Hammer/Trianna Orpheus) met with me at her home in Queens NY to discuss punk, Pippi Longstocking, the hill people of Indonesia, thrift store pickings and Gothic Lolita.  She's a film maker, actor and musician--and obsessive collector of clothes. Her influences are eclectic and her enthusiasm for fashion stems from her appreciation of other art forms: German expressionist film, late 19th century symbolism and on to modern music/TV and film.  I loved that she thought everyone's style was influenced by art--if only. 

I spoke to Patrice Clayton, a ahir stylist in Toronto about her fashion inspirations. They include small town Ontario, girl gangs, Tammy Faye Bakker and goth culture. These days she's is influenced by her love of history, neo Classiscist and Renaissance art, and geometry and colour blocking.  We recorded the episode in my car, at Value Village (where else?) And for more info please see www.dresscodecracker.com Thanks again for listening! 

Jenn Leyva is a queer anti-assimilationist anarcho-feminist....and a fatshion blogger. I first 'met' her via her twitter @fatsmartpretty; and her blog by the same name.  Currently working as a kindergarten teacher in South Korea, we spoke via Skype about whiteness, the HRC and Jenn's anti-assimilationist politics, 'make 'em wince' fashion statements and much more.  Please check out:  www.dresscodecracker.com for more info and pictures!  Thanks!~ 

CHris is living the Grey Gardens dream on Long Island--a sculptor, painter, actor and hair stylist. We talked about his style evolution from goth through drag to his present incarnation as Anton LaVey lookalike.  Please check out  dresscodecracker.com for more show notes and references images.  Thanks for listening!