issue 58 by debbie stoller

THE DEAD WEATHER REGINA SPEKTOR ANNA SUI

DIY TIGHTS BIKE FASHION

FOR WOMEN WITH SOMETHING TO GET OFF THEIR CHESTS

DIABLO CODY THE GENIUS BEHIND JUNO STRIKES AGAIN! IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA’S

KAITLIN OLSON MAKE IT WORK! LAUNCH YOUR OWN FASHION LINE

FEVER RAY

AUG/SEPT ’09 DISPLAY UNTIL 9/28

$4.99US $6.99CAN

71486 02925

the best in girl-friendly movies, music, fashion, books, and television

FEATURES [AUG/SEPT ’09]

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: GABRIELLE REVERE, SHERYL NIELDS, FONTAINE ANDERSON

38 38 THE PRIME OF MISS DIABLO CODY The Oscarwinning screenwriter is back, and her latest project is a scream. By Jill Soloway

66 MAKE IT WORK If you’ve ever watched Project Runway and thought, “I can do that,” then read up on these DIY fashion design tips, and take your inspiration to the street. By Tara Marks

46 HOME SWEET HOME EC Think home economics is just a bunch of biscuit baking and pillow making? Well, think again. By Emily McCombs

70 SWEET RIDE Bike in style mile after mile. Photos by Gabrielle Revere, styling by Priscilla Polley

50 The BUST Fall Preview The best movies, music, TV, fashion, and books hitting girl world this season and beyond. By Jenni Miller ON THE COVER: DIABLO CODY PHOTOGRAPHED BY SHERYL NIELDS IN L.A. FOR BUST. DRESS: MCGINN; RING: ALEX AND ANI; BRACELET: ANITA KO; STYLING: ANNIE JAGGER FOR MARGARETMALDONADO.COM; HAIR: IAN JAMES FOR THE WALL GROUP; MAKEUP: JAMIE GREENBERG FOR THE WALL GROUP; LETTERING: NANCY HOWELL.

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CONTENTS

Broadcast Fever Ray has something to say; Björk invests in Iceland’s future; Shanghai gives Barbie a try; and more. 10 She-bonics It’s a Peaches, Amy Sedaris, Amy Adams, and Michelle Obama gab-o-rama. By Whitney Dwire 16 Pop Quiz Tyra Banks smiles with her eyes. By Emily Rems 17 Boy du Jour Paul Pope is the king of smart comic-book art. By Molly Simms 18 Hot Dates Have an August and September to remember. By Libby Zay

Real Life Hit the road with a bike bag; let us teach ya how to make kombucha; and more. 22 Old School Mom’s puppy chow. By Kelly Carámbula 25 Buy or DIY You won’t believe your eyes when you see these adorable ofﬁce supplies. By Callie Watts

Looks Melissa Love has style for miles; the best maxi dresses; step out at night in DIY tights; and more. 30 Fashionista Alison Lewis’ new line is mighty fine. By Siri Thorson 32 BUST Test Kitchen Our interns get down with mineral mascara, cupcake dental floss, and lavender conditioner. 35 Page O’ Shit Dressing down is a breeze in these stylin’ tees. By Callie Watts

Sex Files The mysterious coregasm revealed; and more. 92 Ask Aunt Betty and Cousin Carlin Get it on, bang a gong, get it on. 94 One-Handed Read Crosstown Incubus. By E.R. Stewart

Columns 12 Pop Tart Just you and me, punk rock girl. By Wendy McClure 14 Museum of Femoribilia When 19th-century women took a dive, they used smelling salts to revive. By Lynn Peril 20 News From a Broad Alabama students need emancipation from sex segregation. By Laura Krafft 24 Eat Me Beat the heat with no-cook treats. By Chef Rossi 28 Mother Superior Voluntarily committed. By Ayun Halliday Around the World in 80 Girls Hurrah for Salt Lake City, Utah! 36 By Jeanette Moses 103 X Games Fight the Power. By Deb Amlen The BUST Guide 79 Music Reviews; plus getting together with the Dead Weather. 85 Movies If you have a Paper Heart, don’t have a Spring Breakdown when you’re Post Grad. 87 Books Reviews; from babysitters to feminist agitators.

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84 96 104

Party Pix BUST’s spectacular Craftacular! BUSTshop The Last Laugh It’s party time, it’s excellent. By Esther Pearl Watson

FROM TOP: MICHAEL LAVINE, SARAH ANNE WARD, DANIELLE ST. LAURENT

Regulars 6 Editor’s Letter 7 Dear BUST

EDITOR’S LETTER

fall ahead THE END OF summer is always sad for me. Even though it’s been decades since I partook in the awful “back to school” ritual, I still get anxious when I see stores bringing out their new Trapper Keepers and backpacks; the way they seem to revel in bringing summer to a close makes me want to dig in my heels and make the world stop spinning. I love the ease of summer; the sun and heat make me happy, and I can even deal with the humidity. If it were possible, I’d hibernate from October through May. Just about the only thing that makes fall bearable is that it’s the time when the networks bring out their new slate of TV shows, and the movie studios pack away their lowest-commondenominator-pleasing “summer blockbusters” in favor of slightly less-simple fare. It’s also the time when book publishers bring out their most important titles, and record companies drop some of their most highly anticipated releases. If I have to give up those relaxed summer evenings filled with activities involving outdoor cafes and ice cream, at least I can have something to look forward to as I retreat to indoor activities involving my couch and a blanket. But even with the new barrage of entertainment options, how many are actually worth your time? What will Hollywood have on offer besides the usual explosion-and-chasefilled dick flicks? Will there be any films in which women get to play more than just the good girlfriend, nagging mother, or sexy slut? Will there be any new shows on the boob tube in which women are presented as something other than boobs? The answer is yes— but you have to look for them. Or actually, you don’t, because we’ve already looked for you—and found the best picks in girl-friendly entertainment in our first-ever BUST Fall Preview (page 50). We’ve also sifted through the upcoming book and music releases to bring you our faves. And, since this is the time when the other lady mags bring out giant issues filled with their fall fashion proclamations, we’ve created an antidote by checking in with a few of our favorite female designers and letting them describe, in their own words, what they’ve got in store for your sartorial pleasure this season. I’ve long wanted to do a fall preview issue here at BUST, because I’ve always believed that pop culture is far more than just a matter of keeping us entertained on the couch. Not merely reflective, pop culture acts to shape our ideas of our society and, in particular, women’s place in it. And there is perhaps no one working in Hollywood today who understands this better than Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody. In our cover interview (page 38), conducted by fellow Hollywood feminist Jill Soloway, it’s clear that Cody thinks very carefully about how women are represented in the movies and TV shows she works on. The film she’s releasing this fall, Jennifer’s Body, is bound to be a testament to that. I’m grateful she’s out there, fighting the good fight. But we don’t expect you to spend all your time lolling around being entertained this fall. If you like to design clothes and ever wondered what it would take for you to start up your own indie fashion line, we’ve got just the story for you (page 66). And if starting your own line of clothing is a bit too much, you can at least take a pair of your old grungy tights and refashion them into tie-dyed trendsetters (page 34). Fall is also the perfect time to get off your ass and get on a bike. But before you do, you might wanna whip up an adorbs bike bag (page 21) to carry your lunch. Of course, there’s no law saying you need to be clad in all kinds of spandex when you go out on two wheels. Be as stylish as you wanna be, and check out some looks for easy ridin’ fashion (page 70). All that, plus the secret history of home ec (page 46), interviews with tons of movers and shakers, popcorn and kombucha recipes (page 23), and lots more. Those lovely summer evenings might soon be a distant memory, but we’ll help get you through the cold, dark nights. xoxox

Debbie

ISSUE 58, AUG/SEPT 2009

FOR WOMEN WITH SOMETHING TO GET OFF THEIR CHESTS

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Debbie Stoller CREATIVE DIRECTOR + FASHION EDITOR Laurie Henzel MANAGING EDITOR Emily Rems SENIOR DESIGNER Erin Wengrovius ASSOCIATE EDITOR Lisa Butterworth CUSTOMER SERVICE + CRAFTY LADY Callie Watts BOOKS EDITOR Priya Jain ASSOCIATE MUSIC EDITOR Sara Graham CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Molly Simms CONTRIBUTING STYLE EDITOR Tara Marks PUBLISHERS Laurie Henzel & Debbie Stoller DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING + MARKETING Emily Andrews 212.675.1707 x112, ads@bust.com MARKETING, PROMOTIONS + SALES ASSISTANT Susan Juvet, 212.675.1707 x104, susan@bust.com BOOKKEEPER Amy Moore accounting@bust.com INTERNS Devan Boyle, Liza Eckert, Celeste Kaufman, Jacquelyn Lewis, Emma Onstott, Regina Panis, Hannah Taylor, Peter Taylor, Alison Thornsberry, Kaelah Thomson MARKETING INTERNS Bianca Casusol, Alison Thornsberry FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS Please email subscriptions@bust.com or call 866.220.6010 FOR BOOBTIQUE ORDERS Please email orders@bust.com

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WWW.BUST.COM ©2009 BUST, Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the permission of the publisher. The articles and advertising appearing within this publication reﬂect the opinions and attitudes of their respective authors and not necessarily those of the publisher or editors. Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement #40612608 Canada returns to be sent to Bleuchip International, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2

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DEAR BUST

Cuckoo for Kathy As a longtime reader who has been madly in love with BUST for many years,, I had to write to you the second I got my latest issue and saw the incomparable Ms. Griffin on the cover (June/July ’09). I have been a fan of hers since I was in high school, watching her earliest Sh knows k th ’ allll just j t as half-hour specials on Comedy Central. She thatt we’re snarky and hypercritical as she is, and we love that she gives it to us like a bitchy queen and a trashy tabloid all rolled into one hot, redheaded package. Thank you for giving her the recognition she so desperately deserves. Liz Pardue-Schultz, Myrtle Beach, SC Finally! Kathy Griffin on the cover of BUST. She’s crazy successful, has two Emmys, and sells out freakin’ Madison Square Garden, yet she’s been blackballed throughout the industry because she disrupts the ass-kissing status quo and makes fun of the faux-humility of the business. She’s outspoken about the hardships she’s encountered because of her sex, and the difficulty of finding a guy who’s willing to be Mr. Kathy Griffin. I think she is one of the ballsiest comedians out there, and she deserves to be celebrated by a feminist magazine. Victoria Herd, North Hollywood, CA

Pussy Galore Though I appreciate the overall sentiment of “The Vagina Dialogues” (June/July ’09) and recognize that it’s addressing a seriously dangerous and misogynist practice, I’m disappointed about the shallow and narrow view presented of women who opt to have cosmetic surgery. This past year I elected to have a procedure that was potentially dangerous, not at all medically necessary, and completely aesthetic. I was unhappy with the appearance of my nipples, and I’m not ashamed to say that changing them deeply helped my sexual confidence and overall selfesteem. That’s perhaps not the right answer or the feminist answer, but it was my truth. I think searching harder to find a well-spoken woman (perhaps one who even calls herself a feminist), who’s elected to have a labiaplasty would have served your audience better and made for a more complex discussion. Amanda Campbell, San Francisco, CA After reading the article about labiaplasty, I felt the need to share my experience with the procedure and the aftermath of my botched surgery. My insecurities about my vagina were deeply rooted, and I let someone cut up my vulva because I felt like a freak. I thought, “It’s a simple procedure, right? It’ll make me feel better naked, right? I’ll be more comfortable, right?” Nope. I used to have a healthy, perfectly functioning vagina. What I go through now, emotionally and physically, during simple day-today activities like showering or getting dressed, infuriates me. I wouldn’t want anyone to go through what I have, with the misguided belief that surgery will fix everything. Thank you for trying to inform young women before they make the same mistake. Christina, Los Angeles, CA

Get it off your chest! Send feedback to: Letters, BUST Magazine, P.O. Box 1016, Cooper Station, New York, NY 10276. Email: letters@bust.com. Include your name, city, state, and email address. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. // BUST / 007

CONTRIBUTORS

Fontaine Anderson, who illustrated “Make It Work,” is originally from the city of Adelaide, South Australia, but is based in London. Anderson studied visual communications at the University of South Australia as well as illustration at Parsons the New School of Design in New York. To date, her illustration clients include The Guardian, the Telegraph, Fader, Anna Sui, Perks and Mini, Something by Natalie Wood, Hurley, and Penguin Books U.K. to name a few. She is represented by Hugo & Marie. BUST’s former senior designer and new contributing style editor Tara Marks is all over this issue. In addition to writing “Make It Work,” she assisted stylist Priscilla Polley on the fashion story “Sweet Ride” and tracked down the latest look sweeping the blogosphere, as she does for every Trend Spotting column. She’s now in hot pursuit of a career in fashion and spends her days balancing life as a freelance stylist with her multitude of other passions, including DIY craft, garment construction, graphic design, and roadtripping with her family. Jenni Miller, who wrote “The BUST Fall Preview,” is a writerly gun for hire on the lookout for pop-culture shenanigans online and off. She’s often found wandering the streets of New York City, digital recorder in hand, interviewing directors, actors, and various miscreants, sitting in darkened theaters bathing in the glow of the silver screen, playing video games, devouring books, or working from her home office with help from her feline assistant, Ms. Eloise. Miller writes regularly for BUST and is a blogger at Cinematical.com. You can also find her writing online at BlackBookMag.com, PlaySavvy.com, and Premiere.com, among others. The work of celebrity portraitist Sheryl Nields, who shot cover gal Diablo Cody, represents 15 years of perfectly controlled chaos. From her earliest published work to recent commissions for Esquire, Flaunt, Interview, and Elle, each of Nields’ images testifies to a creative environment in which intensity and spontaneity are fused in a rare balance. A graduate of Parsons the New School of Design, she further shaped her creative vision as an assistant to both Patrick Demarchelier and Stephane Sednaoui. Her recent subjects include Charlize Theron, Diane Lane, Ben Stiller, Naomi Watts, Missy Elliott, Prince, and Elijah Wood. 008 / BUST // AUG/SEPT

NEWS+VIEWS

temperature rising ELECTRO MUSIC LOVERS CAN’T STAY AWAY FROM KARIN DREIJER ANDERSSON OF FEVER RAY IN THESE TWITTERIFICALLY tech-savvy times, anyone with a MacBook and a Casio can make electronic music. But nobody does it quite like 34-year-old Swedish electro-pop anti-diva Karin Dreijer Andersson. Nobody. It would seem that her snowballing underground success over the past 10 years, however, might not have been possible without the last decade’s technological revolution. “It’s really nice that the old structure of the big record labels and the media having all the power is over,” she says, acknowledging that her rise is perhaps linked to the decline of the recording industry as monolith. “These days it’s much more about people’s choices. Now blogs are more important.” »

PHOTOGRAPHED BY JOHAN RENCK

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broadcast The buzz began in 1999, when she and her brother, Olof Dreijer, formed the surreal electronica band the Knife and self-produced their eponymous first release. Excitement surrounding them reached critical mass in 2006, when their sinister-sounding third collection, Silent Shout, was named Best Album of the Year by Pitchfork. com. Now, after some time off to give birth to her second child, Dreijer Andersson is back, with an ominous new solo project and album, both called Fever Ray, and a mysterious, face-painted persona to match. As in her previous work, Dreijer Andersson never sings without modifying the pitch or resonance of her voice on Fever Ray. In one track, she’s a trilling songbird; in the next, she’s a chorus of Benedictine monks chanting above a computer-generated accompaniment that would be at home in a horror movie. But why? Is she hiding her voice? “I don’t see it as hiding,” she explains. “I think it is more about trying to always put the music up front. Sometimes [I do this] with masks and costumes. I think it’s important that the music is first.” She takes this enigmatic stance a step further in her live performances and videos. The Knife’s first and only tour included just four

dates in the U.S., at which she and her brother loomed large behind a backlit screen in menacing bird-head masks. And now in her hypnotic video for Fever Ray’s ﬁrst single, “If I Had a Heart,” she appears with her face painted skull-like, juxtaposed with images of a manor house littered with corpses. When asked to describe her unusual, often eerie music, she laughs and gives me a friendly scold. “I don’t think it’s a good thing if an artist tells how to listen to something or how to perceive something,” she says. “I think it’s better if people just listen and hear it their own way.” In that case, she may be interested to know that fans and critics alike have termed her latest effort “monstrous,” “mysterious,” “intimidating,” “innovative,” “gorgeous,” “goth,” “severe,” “smart,” and even “terrifying.” But as long as listeners are transported somehow by her evocative work, Dreijer Andersson gives the impression that she will be satisfied. “Music has to have a place for your own fantasies and dreams, for your own way into it,” she says. “Everything can’t be in place. It needs to have openings.” [IAN ALLEN]

WE GOT THE BEAT! Though chick drummers are rarely in the spotlight, they’re often the driving force behind plenty of killer bands. And now there’s a Web site dedicated to giving hard-hitting ladies their props— TomTomMagazine.wordpress.com! Chock-full of musician proﬁles, live-show info, handy how-to tips for percussionists, and more, it’s the perfect online home for female drummers and the music fans who love them.

she-bonics

OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES

[COMPILED BY WHITNEY DWIRE]

“I’ve always admired Cynthia Plaster Caster for her inability to be content as just another groupie. Too shy to throw herself at her favorite male rock stars, Cynthia would plaster male musicians’ penises as a way of having intimate relations with them. In the 1990s, Cynthia had a revelation about her own conﬁdence and decided to cast girl rockers’ breasts. She claims this action was ‘so overdue.’ I am proud to be breasts 11 and 12.” Peaches in Black Book

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“I ordered a glass of champagne on the plane today, and the flight attendant asked, ‘Are you old enough to drink?’ I was like, ‘I’m old enough to worry about being infertile, so yes!’” Amy Adams in W 010 / BUST // AUG/SEPT

PHOTOGRAPHED BY M. SHARKEY

“I think the answers to a lot of issues come from self-esteem. Young girls and women have to believe they are worth something more; they have to see opportunities for themselves beyond a relationship or beyond what’s right there in front of them.” Michelle Obama in Essence “I don’t like to use the word ‘party,’ because it gives people grand expectations. So when you see the word ‘party,’ don’t think of pony kegs and loud southern rock or cigarillos and businesswomen. Don’t think about cockﬁghts—even though it’s hard not to—or a large group of drunken seamen clustered together shouting over each other. Think simplicity.” Amy Sedaris in Craft

giving iceland a hand

ILLUSTRATED BY YOSWADI KRUTKLOM

A WOMEN-RUN INVESTMENT FIRM MAKES ITS MARK WITH HELP FROM BJÖRK

IN ADDITION TO fermented shark meat, widespread belief in elves, and Björk, Iceland has become famous lately for a very dubious distinction: financial ruin. One of the country’s largest banks collapsed in September 2008, and the next month, the value of its currency (the krona) fell 30 percent. Three months later, the prime minister and his administration resigned, having been forced out by public outcry. In the midst of all this fiscal chaos, however, one of the sole Icelandic investment firms to turn a profit in 2008 was Reykjavík-based Audur Capital, founded by businesswomen Halla Tómasdóttir and Kristín Pétursdóttir. Boldly characterizing their venture-capital company as “unafraid to put feminine values into finance,” the pair set up the BJÖRK fund late last year, with the plan to reinvigorate their nation’s economy by investing, along with the singer, in only “socially and environmentally responsible companies,” in keeping with Björk’s principles. The BJÖRK fund is a surprising, progressive entity, but not out of character for Iceland. The country was ranked fourth in 2007’s Gender Gap Index, which measures how countries divide opportunities between men and women. The gender pay gap there has been steadily closing for a decade, and in February, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir was elected prime minister—making history as the first openly gay individual to head a world government. Thoranna Jónsdóttir, responsible for communications at Audur, explains that at this point the company is also “actively, but not exclusively, looking for investments in female-owned or managed companies.” Another of its funds, for instance, “invested in the Icelandic fashion-design company ELM, which was founded 10 years ago by three Icelandic female designers,” says Jónsdóttir. “Their designs are Icelandic, and they source their raw materials throughout the world.” So far, together with Björk, the firm’s plunked down an initial 100 million krónur ($826,000) investment in the fund, which Jónsdóttir describes as “still in the process of being financed” (meaning Audur hasn’t made investments yet). The company hopes to eventually have 2 billion krónur ($17 million) in capital, in an effort that is now as much about forging a new path for Iceland’s financial future as it is a labor of love. “All the people who work at Audur Capital, be it for the BJÖRK fund or other functions, share the belief that we can create a healthier, more sustainable way of doing business,” says Jónsdóttir. “We believe that this is the only sensible way of doing business. Believing that and seeing it gradually come true is very rewarding.” [MOLLY SIMMS] // BUST / 011

broadcast POP TART [BY WENDY MCCLURE]

how we knew nancy REMEMBERING THE BAD DAUGHTER WE ALWAYS WANTED TO BE IT WAS A big deal taking the El train into Chicago from where we lived in the suburbs. One Saturday afternoon, we planned our outﬁts just to go see a movie. We stuffed our hair into berets and teased our bangs and put on the darkest lipstick we owned, and we checked ourselves in the mirror before we set out.

before anyone could ﬁgure out whether or not he was her killer. We were too young to have seen the headlines back in 1978, but years later we found out about Nancy by way of a well-worn paperback copy of And I Don’t Want to Live This Life, the book her mother had written after Nancy’s death. The cover was a photo of

We shouldn’t have been idolizing a dead girl who’d been mentally ill and on heroin. But at that age, I was devouring every girl-gone-crazy chronicle I could ﬁnd. We didn’t know what punk was. It was the early ’80s, and all my best friend Em and I knew about punk was that it made parents really upset on talk shows. We knew Em’s neighbor had a mohawk, and we knew about the Sex Pistols, or what was left of them. And there was Nancy Spungen, Sid Vicious’ girlfriend. Oh, yes, we knew about Nancy. Though mostly what we knew was that she was dead. By then it had been years since Nancy was stabbed to death at the Chelsea Hotel, where she’d been living with Sid, who died of an overdose a few months later, 012 / BUST // AUG/SEPT

Nancy at the height of her punk notoriety, her eye makeup inky and exquisite, her expression blank as a model’s except for the deﬁant set of her dark painted mouth. I don’t remember how we found the book, but we took turns reading it, and we passed it around. The book was about what a troubled kid Nancy had been—a hellion with a freakishly high IQ and a whole spate of drug and psychological problems, who was kicked out of school after school and whose family let her move to New York when she was only 17, just so they

could be free from her spectacular, room-trashing tantrums. Now this was a girl who could get her way. Em and I were 13, wracked with angst and bewildering mood swings, and this mother’s-worst-nightmare stuff thrilled our volatile little hearts. We pored over the photos, fascinated by the transformations Nancy had made—from suburban girl with school portraits as awkward as ours to the bleached-blond punk princess on the book’s cover, and then, finally, to obituary. Of course, we shouldn’t have been idolizing a dead girl who’d been mentally ill and on heroin. But at that age, I was devouring every girl-gone-crazy chronicle I could find, from Sybil to The Bell Jar to I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. They were stories about girls who felt wildly out of sync with the world, who got to yell and scream and punch and kick, and who quit being good the way Em and I had to be good. We knew we weren’t like Nancy, but something about her felt like the truth. For all her wild, druggy exploits, the thing that stuck with me most was the caption accompanying a photo of a teenage Nancy, vamping it up for the camera in a sweater and ski pants. “She wore the outfit once and then threw it away,” her mom had written bitterly. So when the movie Sid and Nancy came out, we rode the El train into Chicago to see it, wearing our heavy eyeliner and our long black coats. We watched it twice, even though the Nancy on screen screeched and bawled and was hooked on smack and was really just the girlfriend everyone hated. And even though we knew about Nancy and what she’d been like, the Nancy in the movie wasn’t quite the Nancy we knew. We saw the movie the second time just to make sure it was still sad when Nancy died in the end, and it was. Then we rode the train home, still not knowing what punk was but wondering what else we could be if we didn’t want to be good daughters or bad girlfriends or dead. We spent a long time trying to figure it all out, and there were so many things we wore and then wanted to throw away. ILLUSTRATED BY WESLEY ALLSBROOK

MUSEUM OF FEMORIBILIA [BY LYNN PERIL]

the faint of heart IN THE 19TH CENTURY, SMELLING SALTS WERE A SWOONING GAL’S BEST FRIEND

STYLING: STEPHANIE HANES; MAKEUP AND HAIR: VERONICA IBARRA; MODEL: LEIGH SHOEMAKER

SMELLING SALTS (USUALLY a mixture of ammonium carbonate and fragrance) have been around in one form or another since ancient times. But today, we most frequently associate their use with a certain standard of white, middle-class, 19thcentury femininity that suggested women were frail creatures prone to swoons and faints. According to The Family Physician: A Manual of Domestic Medicine (1886), fainting occurred most commonly “in young ladies who take very little outdoor exercise and spend most of their time on the sofa reading novels.” »

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PHOTOGRAPHED BY SARAH ANNE WARD

ad tk

broadcast The authors, however, sounded as if they had been reading the very novels they lambasted when they listed as the causes of fainting, “the sudden announcement of the return of some long-lost relative, or of the favorable termination of a protracted lawsuit.” Sometimes a fainting ﬁt preceded an attack of hysterics. These swoons, according to the manual, had an especially dramatic quality: a “young lady in hysterics” must “not fall unless there is someone by to catch her.” And she should be “especially careful not to fall in an ungraceful attitude or to damage her clothes in falling.” Given the physical effects of tight corsets and poor nutrition, not to mention the ideal of delicate womanhood, it’s no wonder that most “ladies” carried with them either a vinaigrette or smelling bottle. The former was a small silver or gold box with a grated lid that contained dry aromatic salts or a bit of

sponge soaked in vinegar, while a smelling bottle was “a small fancy glass bottle carried by a lady, containing pungent salts to sniff at,” according to a commercial dictionary of 1872. Some women wore bejeweled vinaigrettes that masqueraded as pendants or brooches; others slipped plain smelling bottles from the drugstore into their pocket or purse. A whiff from either could, depending on the strength of the preparation inside, mask unpleasant odors, ease a headache, or help to revive an individual who felt faint or actually passed out. By the early 20th century, the swooning-violet style of womanhood was going out of fashion. In 1908, a fashion writer for The New York Times marked the change: “A few generations ago, women fainted as a matter of course. They fainted at any provocation and with no provocation. A bottle of smelling salts was ever at hand.” Then women started

wearing “sensible clothes” that allowed “their lungs to expand.” They cast off their “absurd stays” and started exercising. They “would no more have thought of fainting than of doing any other silly and useless and annoying thing.” Yet a little over a decade later, the San Francisco Chronicle reminded readers that just because “a young woman does not fall heavily but chooses a ‘soft spot’ and sinks gently into it is no reason to believe she is feigning not fainting.” Nonetheless, by the time the pictured bottle of Colgate Lavender Smelling Salts was manufactured, sometime between the late 1920s and the early 1950s, the acts of swooning and reaching for a smelling bottle were seen as hopelessly quaint, something done only by grandmothers and maiden aunties. Nowadays, the phrase “smelling salts” remains a shorthand for the outmoded and old-fashioned.

pop quiz LET’S GIVE THANKS FOR TYRA BANKS! [BY EMILY REMS] AN ARRESTING BEAUTY who took the modeling world by storm in the early ’90s, Tyra Banks soon proved she’s much more than a pretty face. With a career that spans fashion, music, ﬁlm, philanthropy, and television, Banks took her winning personality and parlayed it into a multimilliondollar media empire best known for its chief exports The Tyra Banks Show and America’s Next Top Model. Think you know all the steps she took on her catwalk to stardom? Then take the quiz! 3. Tyra started modeling when she was in the 11th grade at what L.A. Catholic girls’ school? a. Our Lady of Perpetual Sorrow b. Immaculate Heart c. Mary Star of the Sea d. Saint Mary Magdalene

7. Which of the following were Tyra’s restrictions before she retired from modeling, in 2005? a. No frontal nudity b. No birds, cats, or ﬁsh c. No cigarettes or alcohol d. All of the above

4. During her ﬁrst week modeling in Paris, Tyra booked an unprecedented ____ runway shows. a. 5 b. 15 c. 25 d. 35

8. In 2005, Tyra made up with which long-time rival in an episode of her new talk show, The Tyra Banks Show? a. Naomi Campbell b. Kimora Lee c. Gisele Bündchen d. Cindy Crawford

1. Born in Inglewood, CA, on December 4, 1973, Tyra Banks’ middle name is _____. a. Beatrice b. Edie c. Athena d. Lynne

5. Tyra was the ﬁrst African-American woman on the covers of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, the Victoria’s Secret catalogue, and ____. a. GQ b. Elle c. Cosmopolitan d. Harper’s Bazaar

9. What did producers ask Tyra to stop doing during the fourth cycle of her reality series America’s Next Top Model? a. Letting Janice Dickinson judge b. Using the show to launch a music career c. Meeting privately with eliminated contestants d. Filming contestants without makeup

2. Tyra’s father, a computer consultant, and her mother, a photographer, divorced when Tyra was how old? a. 6 b. 16 c. 26 d. 36

6. In 2004, Tyra recorded this single, and made a video for it that premiered on UPN, but it ﬂopped and her album was never released. a. “Body Motion” b. “T.Y.R.A.” c. “Shake Ya Body” d. “Models Hangin’ Out”

10. Complete the following Tyra quote: “A ____ model is a good model.” a. conﬁdent b. smart c. healthy d. ﬁerce Answer Key: 1. d, 2. a, 3. b, 4. c, 5. a, 6. c, 7. d, 8. a, 9. c, 10. b

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BOY DU JOUR

pope art GETTIN’ THE STRAIGHT DOPE ON COMIC-BOOK ARTIST PAUL POPE WOMEN AREN’T KNOWN for playing important roles in comic-book storylines. That is, unless you’re referring to the chesty babes being saved by the heroes. In 1995, however, illustrator Paul Pope bucked this trend with THB. The comic series followed the exploits of HR Watson, a teenage girl on Mars contending with a cast of androids, using only her inflatable purple bodyguard as backup. The series was an early indicator of Pope’s prodigious talent, displaying his stark but vivid, modern-art-influenced style. Now 38 and based in Brooklyn, he’s a heavy hitter in the illustration world whose work transcends comic-book clichés to reveal a darker, more realistic side of humanity. He’s the rare artist whose work appeals to those who’ve never imagined picking up a comic. And though he was in the midst of various crises when I caught up with him, the sweet, softspoken Pope took some time to chat over the phone about his art and his outlook. When I ask about the boys’ club of comics, Pope is quick to draw a parallel. “The majority of porn is consumed by men, as well,” he explains. “You always hear from psychologists that men are more visual, that they use their eyes differently somehow. A lot of the dynamic action we see in comics is similar to sports or action films, where it’s a dramatic problem being demonstrated through action. Plus, I think a lot of the successful superheroes are like monsters. That appeals to adolescent boys because it’s one way they can understand the changes happening to their psyches and bodies around age 13 or 14. Spider-Man is a metaphor for puberty, and The Hulk—suddenly you wake up and you have a different body.” Like those ever-changing mutants, Pope’s career has been morphing and expanding at a rapid rate, too. DC Comics published his take on the caped crusader in the mini-series Batman: Year 100 in 2006 and the following year saw the release of Pulphope, a coffee-table book showcasing his life’s work thus far. In 2008, Pope designed a line of clothing for DKNY, and in April, Brad Pitt’s film production company, Plan B, bought the rights to his graphic novel Battling Boy. Pope is also among a legion of artists whose characters bear a striking resemblance to their creators. His protagonists, like those in his acclaimed Heavy Liquid series, share his high cheekbones, messy hair, and gangly sex appeal. So though the comic-book genre’s renowned for nerdery, Pope receives plenty of attention from the ladies. Asked if there’s such a thing as illustrator groupies, he slyly replies, “In a word: yes.” But he insists he’s not on the prowl. “I’ve got a girlfriend, and knock on wood, it’s working out so far,” he reveals. “I’m a pretty monogamous type—there’s only so much time and energy in life, and I’m much more interested in depth than breadth.” [MOLLY SIMMS] PHOTOGRAPHED BY DANIELLE ST. LAURENT

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broadcast A young shopper poses between Barbie’s perfect noses

hot dates THINGS TO SEE, PEOPLE TO DO

CHINA’S BARBIE FLAGSHIP STORE OFFERS UP SOME SHANGHAI SURPRISES THE NEW BARBIE megastore touched down in Shanghai in early March like a pink-and-white plastic spaceship in the city’s French Concession shopping district. And though the dolls have been sold in China for years, this House of Barbie marks a new era for the city and for Barbie herself. The Shanghai location is the first of what Mattel is calling “Barbie worldwide flagship stores,” an enterprise intended to expand Barbie’s mystique into a lifestyle brand. Each of the store’s six floors is dedicated to showcasing the doll’s many interests. One level offers Barbie-brand clothing emblazoned with words of wisdom including, “It’s a great time to be a girl” and, more simply, “I’m Hot,” while an upper floor looks back at Barbie over the years. “Over 100 careers and counting,” reads a pink sign on the wall, mounted between lifesize photos of Doctor and Astronaut Barbie. This Barbie invasion comes at a time when the brand is in dire need of a makeover. In the U.S., edgier dolls like Bratz (which became part of Mattel’s empire in December) have been making headway in what was once purely Barbie’s territory. In the last quarter of 2008, on the cusp of her 50th anniversary, Barbie sales were down 21 percent. But now Shanghai appears to be the perfect spot to launch a new intergenerational phase for the doll—adult women in China have little experience with the toy, but recognition of Barbie among girls is strong, a combination that leaves room to revamp the doll’s image. “We give customers of all ages a complete Barbie experience,” says Jinky Gu, a marketing executive at Barbie Shanghai. “We combine products and experiences that moms, grandmothers, teenagers, and kids can enjoy.” As a result, on any given day, throngs of Chinese women can be observed gliding through the tunnel of the store’s inescapably vaginal-looking pink entry escalator. Once birthed into the heart of the shop, visitors then obtain Barbie passports. Some head with their kids to a Barbie reading room, teenagers snap photos of their heads thrust into carnival-style Barbie cut-outs, and adults unencumbered by children often gravitate toward the spa for facials, pedicures, or even nonsurgical “Barbie breast enhancements.” Through it all, no one seems to mind that most of the dolls lining the walls are white. “Market reaction is good,” says Gu, who adds that she’s confident the store speaks for itself. And on a recent weekend afternoon, it did. Shoppers were circulating on every floor when a call to meet at a central spot echoed over the loudspeakers. An employee in pink waited just long enough for the first kids to arrive to commence an elaborate dance lesson set to “Barbie Girl” by Aqua. Visitors focused intently on the moves and shook their hips with attitude, clothing draped over their arms and dolls clutched in their hands. [LAUREN HILGERS] 018 / BUST // AUG/SEPT

Through August BETWEEN THE COVERS: WOMEN’S MAGAZINES AND THEIR READERS Get your reading glasses ready for this page-turning U.K. exhibit charting the evolution of women’s magazines from the 17th century to today. Presented by The Women’s Library, part of the London Metropolitan University, this collection of cultural artifacts “reveal[s] how magazines have responded to women’s changing aspirations” over time and is being produced with accompanying events and workshops, too. To find out more, flip through www.londonmet.ac.uk/thewomenslibrary. September 24 – 27 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S FICTION FESTIVAL Are you a lit-writin’ lady? Then it’s time you lifted your nose out of that manuscript and got yourself to a writers’ conference dedicated to introducing female authors to other writers, editors, and literary agents. Attendees will mix and mingle in gorgeous Matera, Italy, for four days of writing workshops, master classes, and agent/editor appointments at this gathering where the theme, “Giving Voice to the World,” certainly won’t be skimmed over. Read on at www.womensfictionfestival.com. Touring Through September MADCAT WOMEN’S INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL This traveling film fest, based in San Francisco, CA, exclusively screens independent and experimental films directed by women from around the globe. And their mission, “to emphasize innovative works by women that challenge the use of sound and image and explore notions of visual storytelling,” means these won’t be your run-of-the-mill chick flicks. The fest will be roaming to museums, colleges, and theaters around the country, so keep an eye on www.madcatfilmfestival.org as the list of venues and times gets updated. [COMPILED BY LIBBY ZAY]

AP IMAGES

a doll’s house

August 19 – 22 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN AND MOTORCYCLING CONFERENCE Women who love wheels are convening in Keystone, CO, this summer for four days of motorcyclecentric activities. Get some two-wheeler tips at a street survival session or learn to plan an extended open-air adventure trip, then join other biker babes at nightly street parties and get down at the Rocky Mountain Barn Dance. Is your engine revved yet? Then cruise over to www.womenandmotorcycling. com for details.

broadcast NEWS FROM A BROAD [BY LAURA KRAFFT] CIGARETTES STICK IT TO YOU Women more likely to go up in smoke

separate but not equal SEX SEGREGATION RULES IN A SCHOOL RUN BY FOOLS REMEMBER THOSE MIDDLE-SCHOOL dances where the boys stood against one wall while the girls stood against another? Well, the county school system in Mobile, AL, took this one step further last fall when, without informing parents, it separated the entire Hankins Middle School by gender. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, whom outraged parents turned to for help after

ior’ but that girls should learn ‘good character,’” stated the complaint. It went on to say that teachers were told, “Male hormone levels directly relate to success at ‘traditional male tasks,’ but that when stress levels rise in an adolescent girl’s brain, ‘other things shut down.’” The Mobile Press-Register then reported that “a language-arts exercise for sixth-grade girls involved asking the

“At a teacher training, teachers were informed that boys should be taught about ‘heroic behavior’ but that girls should learn ‘good character.’” the school board refused to hear their objections, “The policy went so far as to bar boys and girls from even speaking to each other in school hallways.” Of course, certain studies have shown that separating students by gender may prove beneﬁcial to a child’s education, but here’s where it gets tricky: according to the complaint ﬁled by the ACLU, teachers were required to instruct boys differently than girls. “At a teacher training, teachers were informed that boys should be taught about ‘heroic behav020 / BUST // AUG/SEPT

girls to use as many descriptive words as possible to describe their dream wedding cake, while the boys were asked to brainstorm action verbs used in sports.” Middle school is an admittedly tough time in human development, but separating kids because of perceived brain differences is an ineffective throw back to the Dark Ages. Besides, if kids don’t learn to work together in school, how can they be expected to work next to each other in an operating room or on the Supreme Court?

At this point, we’re all well-versed in the dangers of smoking; smelly ﬁngers, smelly clothes, smelly shortened life. There aren’t a lot of positives, but at least there used to be a modicum of comfort in the fact that smoking was an equalopportunity offender that hit men and women with the same force. Well, consider that modicum modi-gone. According to a new study released by the European Multidisciplinary Conference in Thoracic Oncology in Lugano, Switzerland, it turns out that “women may be more vulnerable than men to the cancer-causing effects of smoking tobacco.” Swiss researchers performed a study on 683 lung cancer patients and discovered that “women tended to be younger when they developed the cancer despite having smoked on average signiﬁcantly less than men.” And furthermore, “Women may have an increased susceptibility to tobacco carcinogens.” It makes sense—if women can eat less than men and still gain more weight, why shouldn’t we smoke less and get cancer more? If women can fall victim to things as casually transmitted as the suggestion that we should wear acid wash again, imagine the consequences when we purposefully inhale hundreds of toxic chemicals.

SWISS MISS GUARD Ladies who want to shield the Pope have new hope Big news in the tiny country of Vatican City! The all-male Swiss Guard, personal protectors of the Pope, are considering, someday, maybe, possibly, allowing women to join their force. According to The Times of London, Daniel Anrig, the Swiss Guard commander, conceded, “I can imagine [women] for one role or another. Certainly we can think about this.” It may not seem that tough protecting a country that’s only 44 hectares (108.7 acres) big, but who could forget the show of force the Swiss Guard had to use to protect Pope Clement VII during the Sack of Rome in 1527? If the future female members of the Swiss Guard can just convince Anrig they can hold their own through a couple more sacks, how hard will it then be to convince the Pope there should be female priests? Piece of wafer. ILLUSTRATED BY CAROLITA JOHNSON

CRAFTS+COOKING+HOME+HEALTH

meals on wheels ENJOY LUNCH ON THE GO WITH A BIKE BAG YOU CAN SEW

STYLED BY STEPHANIE HANES

TWO-WHEELIN’ AND dealin’ all around town is bound to make a gal hungry. Whether you’re commuting to work with leftovers in tow or biking to the park for an outdoor sammie, skip the backpack and store your meal in this easy-to-sew lunch bag. Just the right shape for an entrée-size plastic container, it hangs from the top tube of your bike (or your handlebars if your top tube slopes) and ﬁts perfectly in the frame, so it won’t slow you down when you ride like the wind. »

PHOTOGRAPHED BY SARAH ANNE WARD

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real life Materials 1 ⁄2 yd. of canvas (or another sturdy fabric, like oilcloth or vinyl) Velcro tape 3 Velcro cable ties (available at hardware and electronics stores)

Finished size is about 7" x 7" x 2"; seam allowances are 1⁄2".

Instructions 1. Cut your fabric into an 8" x 8" square (for the front of your bag), an 8" x 13" rectangle (for the back and flap), and a 3" x 22" strip (for the sides and bottom). 2. With right sides facing, sew the strip around three edges of the square piece of fabric, making sure the strip’s short edges are flush with the raw edge of the square. At each corner, put your sewing machine needle down and pivot the material so you can sew the next side. 3. Create a rolled hem across the top of the fabric by folding the edge over 1⁄4" and 1⁄4" again. Sew it down. Canvas holds a finger crease well, which makes a rolled hem fairly easy. 4. The rectangle piece of fabric will form the back and flap of your bag. With right sides facing, match a short edge of the rectangle to the bottom of the bag, and sew along the sides and bottom, putting your sewing machine needle down and rotating the fabric at the corners like you did before. There

should be about 5" of fabric left to form the flap. 5. Create a rolled hem on the raw edges of the flap by folding each side over 1⁄4" and 1⁄4" again (fold in the tips of the corners before rolling the sides, to create a neat point), and hem. 6. It’s Velcro time! Velcro cable ties are ultra-thin (so they won’t interfere with the cabling on your bicycle), easy to sew, and hold extremely well. Sew two ties to the top of the bag (each about 4" from the end of the flap, about 1⁄2" from each side). These will attach to the top tube of your bike. Sew one more tie to one of the bag’s sides (about 1" from the bottom) that will attach to the seat tube. 7. To make the flap closable, sew a 3" piece of Velcro tape to the middle of the inside flap (about a 1⁄4" from the end of the flap and about 3" from each side) and the outside of your bag, so they match up and easily secure. Sew 1" of Velcro tape to the inside corner of the flap that points to the front of the bicycle (opposite the side of the bag with the cable tie) with a corresponding piece on the front of the bag so they match up and secure. You’ll want that extra bit of Velcro on the side to keep the fabric from flapping as you zoom along. [LENORE M. EDMAN] For more crafty projects, visit the author’s Web site, www.evilmadscientist.com.

OLD SCHOOL

mom’s puppy chow MY MOM WAS always a natural in the kitchen, especially when it came to making desserts. She had a major sweet tooth and, lucky for me, she liked to whip up all sorts of tasty treats to satisfy it. Whenever a box of Corn Chex appeared in the cupboard, I knew it wasn’t there to replace the sugary cereals it stood next to. Instead, it meant Mom was going to make puppy chow, a delicious and comforting combination of butter, butterscotch, and peanut butter–coated cereal wrapped in a blanket of powdered sugar. (It looks just like what it’s named after but tastes way better.) This incredibly addictive snack is rich, sweet, soft, and crispy all at once. Mom’s puppy chow is a crowd pleaser at work parties and family gatherings, but it was always best when she made it for just the two of us. Place 1 stick of butter, 12 oz. of butterscotch chips, and 1⁄2 – 1 cup of creamy peanut butter in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 2 minutes, stir, and heat for another 2 minutes or until the mixture’s melted. Watch it carefully—if it cooks too long, it will stick together. Pour 12 oz. of Corn Chex over the melted mixture, and carefully stir. Put 1 cup of powdered sugar in a large Ziploc bag, fold down the sides a little bit to widen the opening, then pour in the cereal mixture. (If you’d like to jazz it up a bit, substitute the powdered sugar for 1 cup of shredded coconut.) Zip it up and shake it around until all the pieces are covered. Pour onto wax paper and let cool. [KELLY CARÁMBULA] 022 / BUST // AUG/SEPT

culture club SAVE SOME MOOLAH WITH DIY KOMBUCHA

natural corn thrillers BE A POP STAR WITH THESE CHEAP AND EASY RECIPES FORGET ABOUT MICROWAVING popcorn—making it on a stove the old-fashioned way is healthier, tastier, and almost as easy. It makes for the perfect snack, and when you whip up one of the mouth-watering twists below, your creation will be a hit at every outdoor movie, sleepover, and potluck you take it to. These variations are simple to make, budget-friendly, and ﬁnger-lickin’ good, so get poppin’.

PHOTOGRAPHED BY SARAH ANNE WARD; STYLED BY STEPHANIE HANES

Basic Popcorn: Heat 2 Tbsp. of corn oil over medium heat in a large, heavy saucepan with 2 or 3 corn kernels. When the kernels pop, add 1⁄3 cup of kernels to the pan and cover, shaking frequently. Once the popping slows to 5 seconds between pops, remove from heat and transfer to a bowl. Season with butter, olive oil, salt, grated cheese…you name it. Makes 8 cups. Tequila-Lime Version: Follow the basic popcorn recipe, and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together 3 Tbsp. melted butter, 2 tsp. fresh lime juice, 1 tsp. tequila, and a dash of lime zest. In a large bowl, sprinkle some of the butter mixture over the popcorn and gently toss. Add more mixture until the popcorn is coated and moist. Sprinkle with a tsp. of salt and a smidgen of ground cumin, and toss again before spreading on a baking sheet to dry. Sweet ‘n’ Salty Kettle Corn: In a large, heavy saucepan, heat 4 Tbsp. of corn oil over medium-high heat. Add 1⁄2 cup of corn kernels and 4 Tbsp. of sugar. Stir, then cover, shaking frequently. Once the popping slows, remove from heat and toss the popcorn in a large bowl with 1 tsp. of salt. [LAURA NEILSON]

“IT TASTES LIKE fruity beer,” I thought the first time I tried kombucha, a fizzy, fermented tea that originated in ancient China and is touted for its digestive and immune-boosting qualities. Despite the four-bucks-a-bottle price, I became an addict—maybe it’s all in my head, but I feel more energetic and my skin is radiant. Luckily, I found out kombucha is supereasy to make, and this DIY version will save you a bundle! First you need a culture—a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast (aka a SCOBY). You can purchase the jiggly, pancake-shaped blob online ($39.90, www. getkombucha.com), but since the culture reproduces with every batch, kombucha brewers always have extras—ask around or try Craigslist. Before you start, rinse your materials with white vinegar, so you don’t contaminate the culture. In a large pot, brew 11⁄2 gallons of green or black tea. Mix in 11⁄2 cups of sugar and let it sit overnight. In the morning, pour the tea into a 2-gallon glass jar, carefully place your SCOBY on top, cover the jar with a clean dishtowel, and secure it with a rubber band or string. Store in a warm spot, out of direct sunlight, for a week. The mutating culture will look like a cross between a Man o’ War and brains; don’t worry, it’s normal. At the end of the week, carefully remove the SCOBY, and place it in a sanitized bowl. The level of acidity in kombucha should kill any contamination, but if you see mold on your culture, throw the batch out and start anew. To add carbonation, funnel the kombucha into a few empty, washed plastic soda bottles. Screw the lids on tightly; the pressure created by the fermenting tea will add the necessary fizz. Store at room temperature for another 5 – 7 days. Then unscrew those babies and drink up. [MOLLY KINCAID]

Salvage Love Turn trash into treasure with Sa Re Re-Construct, a new DVD ($19.99, www.reconstructdvd.com) about eco-friendly craftco in ing. Adorable hosts Garth and Jeanée walk you through 11 home-décor projects, from yo a cardboard ottoman to a stenciled pillow, to make your space a handmade haven. // BUST / 023

real life

EAT ME [BY CHEF ROSSI]

These 'wiches are eggcellent

the joy of not cooking MAKE SOME GOOD EATS WITHOUT CRANKING THE HEAT

SUMMER IS A time for lying on the beach, biking in the hills, and picnicking in the park. It’s certainly not the season for slaving over a hot stove! Here’s a no-cook menu (cocktail included) that makes for perfect warm-weather munching.

Watermelon Salad Eating watermelon in big ol’ slabs is delicious, but it tastes even better in a salad. De-seed and dice the ﬂesh of half an average-size watermelon (yields about 6 coffee cups full). Toss with a diced red onion. For the dressing, mix 2 shots of olive oil with 1 shot of any kind of red vinegar, a heaping plop of honey, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix it all up and serve over a bed of your favorite greens. Add fresh mint or cilantro, depending on your mood.

a pound of skinless filet of fish (I like tuna, salmon, mahi-mahi, or red snapper) into a small dice. Strain the juice mixture, then toss with your diced filet, keeping in mind that the longer your fish sits in the dressing, the more it cooks; I like to mix it 30 minutes before serving, but if you’re grossed out by anything close to raw, toss your fish in the dressing an hour before. Finely dice half a red onion and half a bell pepper, and add to the mix. Salt and pepper to taste. Add a dash or two of Tabasco if you’re feeling spicy! Garnish with cilantro and serve with shredded lettuce and sliced avocado in a taco shell, or with corn chips for dipping. You can also spoon over cucumber slices for a refreshing hors d’oeuvre.

Miss Rossi’s Electric Lemonade Three-Juice Ceviche Ceviche is made with ﬁsh that’s been “cooked” by the acidity in citrus juices, so prep the marinade by mixing 1 shot each of fresh orange juice, lime juice, and lemon juice. Slice up a jalapeno and a clove of garlic and add to the juice. Let the mixture sit overnight. Cut 024 / BUST // AUG/SEPT

This is such an easy, tasty cocktail, you’ll want to make it all the time. Just whip up a pitcher of your fave homemade or store-bought lemonade. Load a tall glass with ice then ﬁll it 1⁄3 with vodka and 2⁄3 with lemonade, leaving an inch of room. Top with ginger ale then garnish with mint and a slice of lime. PHOTOGRAPHED BY ALPHA SMOOT

real life

BUY OR DIY

ofﬁce space KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE PRIZE WITH A SET OF DIY SUPPLIES

STYLED BY STEPHANIE HANES

DECKING OUT YOUR desk will have you whistlin’ while you work. Once you craft a couple of adorable accordion ﬁles, a matching magazine holder, some binder clips, and a magnetic strip, you won’t mind the daily grind. »

PHOTOGRAPHED BY SARAH ANNE WARD

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all in a day’s work CUTE UP YOUR CUBE WITH SUPPLIES YOU CAN BUY [BY CALLIE WATTS] UPDATE YOUR PROFILE CRAPPY CLAMPS TULIP TO BE SQUARE

Get stuck on this retroinspired sticky-pad set featuring eight different designs. Both functional and adorable? Dually noted ($10, www.galison.com).

When the shit hits the fan, keep it together with these poop-inspired binder clips. The four styles— “crap,” “caca,” “merde,” and “shit”—are anything but rank ($9 for a set of 12, www.knockknock.biz).

This totable accordion folder lets you flip-flop your office outlook faster than you can Tweet it; the reverse side reads “I’m Living the Dream.” But no matter how you feel about your work, it’s sure to be organized ($15.99, www. perpetualkid.com).

TAPES ’N TAPES

Who doesn’t love a good homonym joke in the work place? Get rollin’ with this kitschy cassette dispenser ($28.95, www. wrapables.com).

PEN PALS

GET THE LEAD OUT

DESSERT SESSIONS

CUT IT OUT

SHOW SOME TACK

A modern twist on the classic inkwell. Don’t write off a good ballpoint ($16 each, www. xonexpens.com).

This supercute pencil sharpener is a true Hiphopopotamus because he’s always grinding. Turn his tail and his jaw chomps away at the bit (£3.50, www.npw.co.uk).

This handmade mini clipboard is a tasty treat that’ll keep your desk neat ($10, www.funkychickendesign.com).

Keep your secrets safe with these papershredding scissors. They can even dice credit cards, so go ahead and get snippy ($20, www.spoonsisters.com).

Diamonds are a working girl’s best friend. This set of 60 pushpins will add a little sparkle to even the gloomiest cubicle ($13.95, www.papersource.com).

PHOTOGRAPHED BY CHRISTINE BLACKBURNE

To make the large accordion file, you’ll need nine 9 x 111⁄2" sealed envelopes in heavy stock for the pockets. Cut off the very bottom of each one, about 1⁄16". For the file covers, cut 2 pieces of cardboard, 2" longer and 1" taller than your envelopes. Cut 2 rectangles from an old map, 1" bigger than the cardboard all around. Use these to cover one side of each cardboard piece by starting at one corner and applying decoupage glue a little bit at a time, smoothing out the map as you go. Fold the excess over the edges, and secure with glue. Let dry, then coat the entire front, edges, and back (slightly over where the map ends) with decoupage glue. Let dry. Cut 2 pieces of card stock slightly smaller than the cardboard, and decoupage each to an inside cover. To make the accordion piece that will connect your covers, cut an 8" x 111⁄2" piece of card stock, then mark every 1⁄2" along both 8" edges. Fold the card stock like a fan, accordion-style, making a crease at each mark. Glue 1 envelope into each crease by applying craft adhesive to the right side of the fold’s valley. Press the uncut top edge of the envelopes down firmly until dry. Glue the outside envelopes to the inside of the cardboard covers. Let dry. Next, close your file and secure two 41⁄2" x 51⁄2" horseshoe handles to the top, making sure they’re centered. Lightly mark the holes, then use an XActo to punch through the cardboard. Secure the handles with 2 screws and bolts about 5⁄8" long (we used #8-32 x 5 ⁄8"). Glue a decorative toggle centered on the top of the covers with Gorilla Glue. Finally, glue Post-it notes and sticky flags to the inside cover with craft glue. To make the small accordion file, follow the instructions above using smaller envelopes to create the pockets. When making the accordion piece, cut card stock to the same width as your envelopes but 1" shorter lengthwise. Instead of adding a handle and toggle, keep it closed with a large rubber band. To make the magazine file, lay an old map facedown, then open up a cheap cardboard magazine holder so it lays flat on top. Trace the outline, add 1" all around, and cut out. Cut another piece of map 1⁄8" smaller than the cardboard all around. Using the same method as above, decoupage the large piece of map to the outside of the holder, and the smaller piece to the inside. Let dry and fold back into shape, regluing where necessary with Gorilla Glue. To complete your set, gather paper clips, binder clips, and an adhesive magnetic strip (cut to desired length), and spray-paint them to match. Seal with a clear topcoat. Glue tiny ribbons to the tops of the paper clips and let dry. Stick these to your magnetic strip for holding notes and photos. Decorate your binder clips by cutting pieces of an old map to the size of the tops, then decoupage them on. [CALLIE WATTS]

yudu woman SCREEN-PRINTING’S A DREAM WITH THIS ALL-IN-ONE MACHINE

POSTER ILLUSTRATED BY YOSWADI KRUTKLOM; PRINTED BY KAELAH THOMSON

SCREEN-PRINTING, THE act of squeegeeing ink through a screen to put your own colorful designs on posters, ’zines, T-shirts, and totes, is addictive. It’s also messy and space consuming. Until now: the Yudu, by Provocraft, is a new selfcontained, water-based, home screen-printing system that comes with everything you need to start your very own print shop. The Yudu ($299.99, www.joann.com) is kinda big (about 27" x 18" x 6") but very efficient, containing almost every element of a screen-printing studio. This single machine can burn your image onto the screen, has a light-protected drying rack with a fan, and also acts as the printing workspace with a hinged frame on top of the unit that snugly fits your screen. Aside from sink access for rinsing your materials, the only thing you’ll need is ink and whatever you want to print on. But my favorite thing about the Yudu is its lack of goo. Unlike the liquid emulsion (which secures your image on the screen) traditionally used for printing, Yudu emulsion comes in sheets that you stick onto the screen with water, drastically cutting down on mess. It’s a perfect system for folks who have never done printmaking and want to jump in headfirst, though I recommend watching the instruction videos on www.whatdoyudu.com before getting started (the manual is a bit skimpy). It’s also great for small businesses making hand-printed T-shirts and goods. The Yudu isn’t perfect—you’ll need to buy a better squeegee than the one it comes with, and the system itself takes a few tries to get the hang of—but it comes pretty close. [EMMA ONSTOTT]

i stream, you stream MEDIA PLAYERS MAKE FOR MARVELOUS MOVIE WATCHING

Argosy Pocket TV Media Player

IT’S A CHILLY fall night, and all you wanna do is curl up on the couch and zone out with a good movie. But there’s nothing on cable, and you’re not in the mood for any of your Netflix picks. What’s a girl to do? Well, with a new breed of streaming-media players at your command, your viewing possibilities are practically endless. If you’ve got a Netflix membership and wireless Internet, then the Roku Player ($99.99, www.roku.com) is a great choice. Just hook the paperback book–size device up to your TV, turn it on, and, after a simple setup that links it to your Netflix account and your wireless connection, all the movies in your “instant watch” queue are available for your immediate streaming pleasure (the $8.99-a-month Netflix membership gets you unlimited viewing). The Roku also allows you to stream movies from Amazon, but those’ll cost you 99 cents to $3.99 each.

Roku Player

Too cheap even for Netflix? With an Argosy Pocket TV Media Player ($119.99, www.newegg.com) and an understanding of torrents (ask your favorite geek if you aren’t one yourself), you can use your computer to download movies over the Internet for free, store them on this doohickey’s humongous 320GB hard drive, and watch them on your TV. Getting the files from your computer to your set relies on “sneaker net”—meaning you gotta get up off your ass, detach the Argosy from your computer, and walk it over to your television to hook it up—but that also means it’s truly portable, so you can bring movie night to a friend’s house or take your film library with you on vacay. Snag either one of these contraptions and you’ll always have something good to watch on TV. Just make sure you leave the house once in a while. [DEBBIE STOLLER] // BUST / 027

real life MOTHER SUPERIOR [BY AYUN HALLIDAY]

call of duty SERVING HARD TIME WITHIN THE HALLS OF EDUCATION

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them pensions, as should the hundreds of parents who never caught that Little Red Hen spirit. Having a job is no excuse! Pretty much everyone except me has a job. My girl Teri has her own interior-design business. Nadine works for a chichi ﬂorist. You should see them spring into action when the pizza runs out 20 minutes into the fall festival! It may be because I’m looking at it from the other side of the tunnel, but

As the parent of a sixth-grader, I thought I was ﬁnally cagey enough to resist the extracurricular hard sell, but no. I really don’t recall parent volunteers playing such an essential role at the private school I attended from 2nd through 12th grade. I’ll have to ask my folks if the hefty tuition excused them from doing anything heavier than showing up to see me dance around like a snowﬂake, a sleigh bell, a poinsettia...sounds dreamy, doesn’t it? From what I hear, though, private school has changed. These days it’s more of a cooperative deal. They still hit

the recording secretary of the PTA, which I suppose means I would have to join the PTA. Hubris! This is my reward for being semi-skilled, self-employed, susceptible to ﬂattery, and a total wash when it comes to maintaining good boundaries. Why do I persist in volunteering to get myself so mired in this thankless morass? The salary’s terrible! But the kids are ours, even the ones who aren’t mine.

ILLUSTRATED BY AYUN HALLIDAY

THE SCHOOL TALENT show is coming up yet again, and for the ﬁrst time in years, no one in my family will be participating. Inky graduated last year. And Milo considered enlisting a fellow third-grader to help him reenact a scene from the Rankin/Bass excremental 1977 version of The Hobbit before ultimately deciding to skip this production. Hallelujah! His lack of interest is my ticket out! After half a decade on the volunteer adult crew that keeps this annual turkey from running off the rails, I feel more than ready to retire. Let some camera-wielding slacker who thinks she can get away with sitting in the front row, documenting her own child’s wonderfulness, step up to the plate. Ditto the fund-raising auction, the Black History Month celebration, the book fair, the ﬁfth-grade trip to Washington D.C., and the scores of bake sales. Somebody’s got to do it, but how about somebody else for a change? Mama needs a break. Fortunately, the pre-kindergarten ranks are swollen with eager beavs, and a few steely diehards of my vintage seem primed to go the distance. The Board of Ed should give

you up for that pound of ﬂesh, but they also expect you to come in once a week to serve snack or teach French. Ceci n’est pas un bargain, mon frère! In addition to providing free breakfasts and capping class size at 35 students from 3rd grade on, New York City public schools cannot require a parent to volunteer! Perhaps I would not have, or at least I’d have gotten off with a far lighter sentence, had I only been stuck with a lackluster principal or a do-nothing PTA. Fortunately for Inky and Milo, but not quite so fortunately for me, the ones we’ve dealt with have been sharper than tacks. As the parent of a sixth-grader, I thought I was ﬁnally cagey enough to resist the extracurricular hard sell, but no. It’s embarrassing to admit, but when the PTA prez of Inky’s new school turned to me saying, “I hear you’re a writer and very funny!” I lapped it up like some goddamn greenie. What a doofus. I just couldn’t wait to learn who among her friends and family would prove to be my No. 1 Fan. None of them, as it turns out. ’Twas another pathological volunteer who outed me, a woman with whom I’d done hard time in the Spring Fling fund-raising mines, whose son preceded my daughter from elementary to middle school by a year. This is how I wound up covering the cacophonous all-school assembly for the PTA newsletter every single Wednesday at 10:35 a.m. Now they’re after me to put my name on the ballot to become

FASHION+BOOTY

melissa love STYLIST/VEGAN CONFECTIONER How would you describe your style? If Donna Reed were a Harajuku teenager on mushrooms in an ’80s hip-hop video—cupcakes, cartoons, and psychedelics. I’m really into the ’50s ideal of what a woman is supposed to look like, but morphed. Do you have a style icon? Patti Smith, definitely, though she has sort of an antistyle. Audrey Hepburn. And I like Salt-n-Pepa. Tell me about this outfit. The dress is a find from Beacon’s Closet [a clothing-exchange store] in Brooklyn. It’s by Betsey Johnson, who’s my favorite contemporary designer because she focuses on classic femininity and then explodes it with color and creativity. It was new, with the tags still on, but I only paid $40 for it. I was very excited. The earrings are door knockers that say “Philly,” which is where I grew up. I saw them and thought, “I’ve got to have these.” They’re made by the girls of Brookadelphia. I don’t think I paid more than $40 for them; that’s usually my cap. What about the shoes? Hoochie-mama shoes are a total obsession. Cheap, big platforms are kind of my signature. This pair was probably $20, more on the expensive end, and I got them at a hoochie shop on 14th street [in N.Y.C.]. They look like candy. When did that obsession start? I hung out with a lot of trannies when I lived in San Francisco. That’s where I really learned how to be a girl, how to do my hair, my makeup. The Trannyshack people changed my life [laughs]. [LISA BUTTERWORTH]

PHOTOGRAPHED BY ALIYA NAUMOFF

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FASHIONISTA

Alison (right) and her friend Sarah Sophie Flicker pal around in Lewis

a line of one’s own

ALISON LEWIS’ SOLO DEBUT IS A CLASS ACT

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“I HATE NOT having a laundry machine,” says Alison Lewis, lamenting the drawbacks of New York City living. “Especially since I buy so much vintage and it’s so smelly! My closet was open the other day, and my boyfriend was like, ‘It smells like old ladies in here, what is it?’” she adds, laughing. The 26-year-old designer’s love for fashions past is no surprise, since the simple, elegant dresses, skirts, and blouses of her new line, called Lewis, exude the classiness of days gone by. Inspired by vintage circus books and the dreamy emotions evoked by the snapshots of American photographer William Eggleston, the pieces in her fall collection include softly patterned dresses and pretty but versatile separates in reds, creams, and blacks. She excels at surprising details; the front of one of her delicate, collared frocks buttons up diagonally, and her short, swingy black skirt features a pair of patch pockets. Most of her pieces are cut from luxurious silks, a material Lewis favors, but this season she also experimented with knits, creating a cropped pair of trousers and what may be the perfect black cardigan:

a beautiful, heavy wool sweater with just the right amount of slouch. After going to school at the University of Colorado in Boulder for advertising, Lewis moved to New York and was working as a Web designer when she teamed up with her friend Rachel Antonoff to create her ﬁrst label, Mooka Kinney, in 2006. They churned out a couple of seasons’ worth of cute and colorful party dresses before deciding to go their separate ways, and then Lewis’ solo line was born. “I look at all my friends who are all different shapes and maybe have slightly different styles, and I try to make stuff that not only I want to wear but that they’d want to wear, too. So I cast a wider net,” she says of her new aesthetic. When asked about the future of her designs, Lewis smiles. “Seeing people on the street wearing your stuff is the most amazing feeling, and I just want to try and keep doing this as long as possible. I want to make pieces that are really feminine and pretty but that girls can wear forever.” To grab a timeless piece of your own, go to www. lewisnyc.com. [SIRI THORSON] PHOTOGRAPHED BY DANIELLE ST. LAURENT

TREND SPOTTING

maxi factor GIVE YOUR GAMS A BREAK WITH THESE TOE-TOUCHING DRESSES COMFY, COOL, AND eye-catching, a maxi dress is the end of summer go-to for fashionistas far and wide. The floor-sweeping style comes in swoonworthy colors and patterns, flowy fits, and all-inone coverage (sans sweaty pit stains). Take a cue from these online trend-tellers and grab a cute, floral number or ruffle-adorned wonder for an easy, breezy outfit. [TARA MARKS]

DRESSES PHOTOGRAPHED BY CHRISTINE BLACKBURNE

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: CARLY JACOBS (WWW.SMAGGLE. COM); ANJELICA LORENZ (MODEJUNKIE.BLOGSPOT.COM); ANNA SORAVIA (THECUPCAKE-DIARY. BLOGSPOT.COM); LOUISE STURGES (BESOSYFOTOS.BLOGSPOT.COM).

Storee, $168, www.planetblue.com

Dimri, $69.99, www.macys.com

I ‘Heart’ Ronson for JCPenny, $34.99, www.jcp.com

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nap attack

matte is the new black Glam up with nail polish that dulls down the gloss. Available in six colors (including red, pink, and sea-foam green), this new line of polish from Knock Out goes on sans shine and can be buffed for a satin ﬁnish ($22 each, www.koknockout.com). [CALLIE WATTS]

test kitchen [ THEIR PRODUCTS, OUR INTERNS ] Kiehl’s Marvelous Mineral Mascara, $16.50, www.kiehls.com

PETER

I like to wear a lot of eye makeup, so I was worried this gentle mineral formula wouldn’t stand up to my usual hardcore sludge. Surprisingly, though, it did the job and made my lashes look long and plump. Love it.

I looked totally foxy in this mascara. It didn’t smear much when I rubbed my eyes and it washed out with little fuss. It had a natural, clay-like texture, as opposed to the oily goopiness of the cheap-ass mascara I tried for the sake of comparison.

Cupcake Dental Floss, $3.99, www.perpetualkid.com

JACQUELYN

Rather than turning my lashes into a stiff, clumpy mess, this mascara gave them more volume and length while still making them look natural. The jojoba butter made me feel like I was conditioning my lashes rather than destroying them. I’m not a fan of flossing (don’t tell my dentist!) or of artificially sweetened things, so I was surprised that I enjoyed using this odd little novelty item. Just make sure to cleanse your palate first— cupcake doesn’t go with everything.

I’m an avid ﬂosser and a voracious eater of sweets—two activities I never thought I could combine. This product, however, was a big tease. The too-thin ﬂoss didn’t actually taste like cupcakes, it only smelled like ’em.

This ﬂoss smelled like my ninth birthday but tasted like absolutely nothing. Besides the olfactory experience, which is kind of funny but also kind of disturbing, it is cheap, plastic ﬂoss, with little to remark on.

Lavender Hair Conditioner and Style Crème, $7.99, www.drbronner.com

CELESTE

This leave-in conditioner made me smell like hippies, but I didn’t see much of a difference from letting my hair dry without product. It might be better suited for different styles that don’t require as much upkeep as my mass of curls.

I have more angst than a My So-Called Life marathon, so I keep lavender oil handy to whiff when I need to thwart a freakout. This conditioner was even better, because the subtle, calming scent stayed on my hair all day.

This crème made my coif noticeably softer and mitigated the dry texture of freshly cleaned hair. Its beneﬁts, though, were only marginal, and I think the conditioner is less effective overall than infrequent shampooing.

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PHOTOGRAPHED BY CHRISTINE BLACKBURNE

Don’t waste the last afternoons of summer snoozing indoors; use this traveling hammock to get some sunshine on a lazy day! Roll it up and stick it in your bag, so whether you end up at a park or a party, you’ll be ready to lounge (£6.75, www.npw.co.uk). [CALLIE WATTS]

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Act young by decorating the old with this collector’s edition set of Grey Gardens–inspired coloring books. Follow Big and Little Edie through 30 pages of illustrated scenes from the 1975 documentary. This is the best activity book for the day, you understand ($30 for a set of three, www.greygardenscoloringbooks.com). [CALLIE WATTS]

animal collective These sew-’em-yourself kits make perfect gifts for all your crafty friends. Each supercute critter, silkscreened on canvas by the ladies at Egg Press, comes with easy-peasy instructions for stufﬁng and stitching, along with a “hand-sewn by” name tag for an extra-special touch ($26 each, www.eggpress.com). [CALLIE WATTS]

nip sip No need to double-ﬁst the next time you want to carry two cups full of booze—this “WineRack” sports bra has a plastic “bladder” that holds 25 oz. of your fave drink. Just ﬁll up your faux lovely lady lumps, slip ’em on, and start drinking your tits off. The bra doesn’t keep beverages cold, so red wine is your breast bet ($29.95, www.thebeerbelly.com). [CALLIE WATTS]

PHOTOGRAPHED BY CHRISTINE BLACKBURNE

let’s make a beale

dyer straights DID YOU DIRTY up the toes of your white hose? Give your old tights new life with a DIY dye job. All you need are white tights (no more than 50 percent polyester), rubber bands, fabric dye (we used RIT), an old, large pot (you won’t want to use it for cooking again), and old tongs or a wire hanger. To create the design on the left in the photo, fold each leg of your tights accordion-style, from the toe to the crotch. Pinch the folded material, and secure both sides of each stack with rubber bands. In your pot, mix black dye (according to package instructions) and bring to just under a boil. Submerge your tights for about 15 minutes, stirring constantly with your tongs or hanger to ensure even coverage. Rinse with water (start warm and finish cool) until it runs clear. Remove the bands and lay flat to dry. To make the design on the right in the photo, knot your tights wherever you want a stripe. Make the knots on each leg match up if you want the stripes to be even. In your pot, mix black dye and bring to just under a boil. Submerge your tights for 30 – 60 minutes, stirring constantly, and rinse. Untie any knots where you want a colored stripe. In your pot, mix fuchsia dye and bring to just under a boil. Submerge the tights for 30 minutes, stirring constantly, and rinse clean as above. Undo the remaining knots, and lay flat to dry. [CALLIE WATTS] 034 / BUST // AUG/SEPT

PHOTOGRAPHED BY AMANDA BRUNS

REVAMP TIRED TIGHTS WITH TIE-DYE

MODELS: ERIN WENGROVIUS, CHRISTINE YOUNG, AMANDA BENDER, ARIANE FUENTES, ALINA-ALI BRAHM

PAGE O’ SHIT

shirts so good THESE TEES ARE SURE TO PLEASE [BY CALLIE WATTS]

THE JUMP HOP TEE

DESERT DAWG

TEXANA

BAZAAR MOON

RAINBOW BOLT TEE

($34, www.karmaloop.com)

($20, www.wowch.com)

($44, www.bloodisthenewblack.com)

($53, www.trashandluxury.com)

($70, www.aviatornation.com)

PHOTOGRAPHED BY AMANDA BRUNS

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AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 GIRLS [#39]

The grass is greener in Salt Lake City

The Utah sky’s the limit Gorgeous goods at The Green Ant

salt lake city, utah THIS CAPITAL CITY SCORES WITH ITS GREAT OUTDOORS [BY JEANETTE MOSES]

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ONCE YOU ARRIVE in Salt Lake City, you can’t escape the stunning view of Utah’s Wasatch Mountains. In the winter, they’re home to what locals call “the greatest snow on earth,” and thousands ﬂock to ski and snowboard on their freshly powdered slopes. But epic outdoor recreation isn’t all this big city full of small-town charm has to offer. Despite being the headquarters of the Mormon church, SLC isn’t some backwards town packed with religious zealots. Utah’s capital actually has an awesome underground scene teeming with cheap, locally brewed beer, vegan diners, hole-in-the-wall music venues, and tons of shops selling handcrafted goodies. There are 7 ski resorts within a 45-minute drive from downtown, making SLC a snowboarder’s dream. Brighton Ski Resort (12601 E Big Cottonwood Canyon) offers all-inclusive, women’s-only, learn-to-ride workshops, but if you’re already an expert shredder, save time and money by getting rentals and lift tickets locally, at Salty Peaks Snowboard Shop (3055 E 3300 S). Brought your own gear? Cruise by Lenitech Snow and Skate (201 S 1300 E) to get a free hot wax for your board. For two weeks in January, the Sundance

and Slamdance film festivals take Salt Lake City by storm. Tower Theater (876 E 900 S) and Broadway Theater (111 E 300 S) are official festival venues, and though celeb-sightings happen 32 miles east in Park City, UT, you can catch great flicks here without all the commotion. When not showing festival entries, both theaters are worth a visit for the independent and foreign films they feature. Although the winter months are some of the best, there are plenty of reasons to visit SLC besides the snow. Regardless of the season, start your morning at the ’50s-kitsch-filled Blue Plate Diner (2041 S 2100 E), where the tattooed wait staff serves classics like eggs Benedict, milkshakes, and Reuben sandwiches, as well as veggie options like tofu scrambles. For a strictly vegan meal, swing by Vertical Diner (2280 S West Temple). It’s in an industrial part of town, but their tasty, cruelty-free breakfast burritos are worth the trek. For good eats, rad art, and cool shops, head to an area known as 300 South (on the third Friday of every month, the merchants stay open late for Gallery Stroll). Check out FICE (160 E 200 S), a boutique co-owned by local snow pro Laura Hadar, for hipster street PHOTOGRAPHED BY ALPHA SMOOT

The snacks at Milk and Honey are totally money

Tea time at The Beehive

Flippin’ vinyl at Slowtrain The food’s great at Blue Plate

Get your cheese on at Caputo’s

wear and urban art. And peep the work of up-and-coming creatives at Kayo Gallery (177 E 300 S) and Saans Photography (173 E 300 S). When you’ve had your ﬁll of the arts, check out the stores that dot the gallery scene. Peruse hard-to-ﬁnd tomes at Ken Sanders Rare Books (268 S 200 E) and sweet vintage furniture at The Green Ant (179 E 300 S). If it’s music you crave, drop into Slowtrain (221 E 300 S) for a stellar mix of CDs and vinyl. Then head downstairs to the record store’s basement, and scope the limited-edition music-gig prints at poster gallery Signed and Numbered (221 E 300 S). Don’t miss Model Citizen (247 E 300 S), a boutique that sells only locally made clothing, accessories, and shoes, or Frosty Darling (177 E 300 S), an adorable shop with gifty handmade goods and a great selection of classic penny candy. When you work up an appetite, drop by Este Pizza (168 E 200 S) and grab a New York–style slice. Or get an Italian deli sandwich the size of your head at Caputo’s (308 W 300 S) before popping into Carlucci’s Bakery (314 W 300 S) to satisfy your sweet tooth with tiramisu, carrot cake, or a variety

Frosty Darling’s delightful doodads

of seasonal pastries. Take a caffeination break at Nobrow Coffee and Tea (315 E 300 S) with a cup of freshly siphoned coffee, or try their delicious coconut lemonade if you’re not into java. Hit it on the ﬁrst Sunday of the month when Nobrow hosts a handmade market, Craft Sabbath (www.myspace. com/craftsabbath). For afternoon tea and ﬁnger sandwiches, there’s no better place than The Beehive Tea Room (12 W 300 S). The eclectic spot offers over 35 varieties of loose-leaf tea, but it’s worth a visit for the décor alone—its vintage look has a ’40s bohemian hang-out vibe. For dinner, try the most killer Mexican food in the state at The Red Iguana (736 W North Temple). The place is packed every day of the week, but the authentic mole they serve is stellar. For some local-band action, a visit to the Urban Lounge (241 S 500 E) is a must. This grimy venue, where the drinks are cheap, is a prime location to stumble upon some of Utah’s best-kept music secrets. To see well-known bands in an intimate, DIY-style setting, head down the back alley that Kilby Court (738 Kilby Court), the city’s longest running all-ages venue, is located on.

This year, Utah ﬁnally did away with most of the state’s strict liquor laws (like having to buy a “membership card” just to enter a bar), so celebrate with a couple cold ones at Squatters Brewery (147 W 300 S). The menu is eclectic: classic pub food plus ethnic dishes like spring rolls and yellow curry. Try one of the eight local brews on tap, or order up a six-beer sampler for $4.49. No BUSTy gal’s visit to SLC would be complete without a trip to The City Library (210 E 400 S), which houses the largest ’zine collection of any public library, clocking in at 1,900 unique titles. The architecture is killer, and the rooftop gardens offer an impressive view of the Wasatch Mountains and the city. When you’re done painting the town red, crash out at the centrally located Peery Hotel (rooms start at $130 a night; 110 W 300 S), or if you’re feeling decadent, check in to the chic Hotel Monaco (rooms start at $209 a night; 15 W 200 S). Both hotels are in the heart of downtown, so you’ll be close to all the action. Forget what you think you know about Salt Lake City, and give this little-big town surrounded by nature a go. // BUST / 037

STYLED BY ANNIE JAGGER FOR MARGARETMALDONADO.COM HAIR BY IAN JAMES // MAKEUP BY JAMIE GREENBERG

The powerhouse screenwriter behind Juno and United States of Tara is back this fall with a vengeance. Here, she talks about her new film, Jennifer’s Body; calls out feminists for being too hard on other women; and explains why the world needs to see more size-10 ladies naked

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DRESS: RACHEL PALLY; BRACELET: CURVE; RINGS AND EARRINGS: LOREE RODKIN

BY JILL SOLOWAY // PHOTOGRAPHED BY SHERYL NIELDS

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How long have you been reading BUST? I was an early adopter. I’ve self-identified as a feminist since I was a little girl. I think I found it when I went to college in Iowa. I probably saw it by a register. You know, where I bought my organic apples. It was very appealing to me. Have you thought about what your BUST cover will look like? Everybody enjoys seeing the better version of themselves; that’s always fun. And I know that it’ll make my mom happy. She’ll go to Barnes & Noble, and she’ll get her BUST. So in March, The New York Times did a cool story about you and your gang of women screenwriter friends that you’ve dubbed “the Fempire.” I enjoyed reading it and seeing you in your delightful cape. Is there really a Fempire? Can I be in it? You can be in the Fempire any time! And by 040 / BUST // AUG/SEPT

the way, that was a one-of-a-kind superhero cape knitted by Diva Zappa. I was able to pull it closed like a cocoon and hide my body, because I didn’t want some asshole blogger to accuse us of being sexualized in the pictures. Isn’t it weird that women have to think of these things? Anyway, all four of us heard from aspiring young female writers after the article came out, and that meant a lot to me. The only women in the industry who tend to get any exposure are movie stars. But women are also writers and producers and Hollywood players. Girls need to see that. When men cruise around in a limo and make deals, it’s a stereotype. When we do it, it’s news! Tell me about Jennifer’s Body. Most people coming off an Oscar would probably write another film that is stereotypical Oscar bait, which I don’t know how to do. When I wrote Juno, I thought I was

writing Napoleon Dynamite for a girl. Which I still think is pretty much what I did. It’s still shocking to me that the movie won an Oscar. The other logical option would have been to write a big commercial movie, go for the payday. I didn’t do either, which probably means I’m an idiot. I decided instead to write a genre movie that reminded me of The Lost Boys and all the kind of movies that I used to watch when I was growing up, in the ‘80s. And that’s what this movie is. What really appealed to me was the idea of working with a female director. I’m sure somebody will prove me wrong, but I had never heard of a woman director and a woman screenwriter creating a mainstream horror film. What’s the director’s name? Karyn Kusama, who definitely has a feminist viewpoint, having done Girlfight. It’s not at all like Hollywood horror movies. So I’m proud of that. A director named Angela Robinson told me when she came to Hollywood, she felt like she was sneaking women’s issues and thoughts into the mainstream via movies, like a Trojan horse. Do you feel you’re doing that? We have even used the Trojan horse metaphor, Karyn and I. I have difficulty talking about this movie, and I really have to fucking remedy that because I’m going to need to talk about it. Is this your first piece of press about it? This is the first time I’ve talked about the message of the film. It’s really about girlon-girl crime. It’s Mean Girls taken to an extreme. When the alpha girl becomes cannibal-like, nitpicking is no longer enough. Now she has to literally consume flesh. Whom does she eat? She eats men. There are so many conscious choices we made in this movie. There are no father figures present. These are girls raised without positive male role models, and they’re lost. Their mothers are mostly absent, too; they work the night shift. And the protagonist is everything I felt like when I was young. She’s a little Nancy Drew; she’s very inquisitive, she’s very bookish, she’s very nervous. Jennifer is the gorgeous bombshell played by Megan Fox, who has kind of a carnivorous quality in a good way. The two of them have been friends since they were little girls, and as a result, they’ve been able to stay in

DRESS: MCGINN; BRACELETS AND RING: ANITA KO

FEW YEARS AGO, a fellow writer was telling me about a woman she knew named Diablo Cody. Originally a Chicago girl named Brook Busey, Cody had changed her name, written a memoir about her time stripping in Minneapolis called Candy Girl, and at the time was getting great buzz around Hollywood surrounding a screenplay she had just written. That was pretty much all I knew about her before that movie Juno finally came out. And then when I saw it, I knew I had to meet her. I was so moved by what she had done with Juno that it completely shamed me, pwned me, and inspired me all at once. Having carved out my own place in the business as a writer and co-executive producer on Six Feet Under, I had been marching around Hollywood to meeting after meeting claiming that movies about women and girls existed only to service the dominant male storyline, with good girls making good choices and bad girls making bad choices. I’d been pitching movies about women straddling both sides of the fence, getting to be antiheroes and fuckups. I’d been bitching about heroines having to be beautiful while guys like Seth Rogen got the girl. Then Juno came out, and here it was, a movie about a girl who was both sexy and a fuckup, deep-voiced and aware, solid and grounded, all in this really adorable way. And it was so successful, it racked up four 2008 Academy Award nominations and landed Cody an Oscar for Best Screenplay. FUCK ME. Why hadn’t I written it? When was I gonna write Juno? Post-Oscars, I resisted the urge to starfuckerishly stand in line with everyone else at industry events trying to meet the now-famous Cody but was superexcited the day I found out Dreamworks was looking for writers for United States of Tara—Cody’s series for Showtime, starring Toni Collette. My agent arranged a meeting, and we got on great, like a couple of secret feminists hiding out in Hollywood. Now, a year later, I’ve clambered my way up through the ranks of Tara to be an executive producer with Cody on the show, and all we do is laugh all day in the writers’ room as we churn out season two. That’s right! She’s my real live friend now! When BUST called me to do this interview, I told them I would be thrilled. Cody, now 31, has had so much more happen in her life since she last appeared in the magazine, in the spring of ‘08. And with her new horror movie, Jennifer’s Body, debuting in September, 2009 is shaping up to be another big one for my friend. We met up in her bright pink, High School Musical–themed office for this chat.

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BLACK DRESS: TADASHI SHOJI; NECKLACE AND EARRINGS: ANITA KO; HAIRPIECE: DIAVOLINA. PHOTO RIGHT: DOANE GREGORY

that friendship, even though at the point we meet them as teenagers, they have nothing in common anymore. And I think everyone can relate to that. You have this friend that you made when you were a completely different person, and then you get to a point when you realize how incompatible you are and how toxic your friendship has become, yet you can’t let go of it because there’s this cord between the two of you. When I was in high school, I remember, this alpha female stole a guy from me, and the thoughts that I had toward this young lady are the most violent thoughts I’ve ever had in my life. I would actually fantasize about physically hurting her. I would think about how she slept on the first floor of her house and how I could get through her window, and I’ve never hurt a fly. I’ve never even hit another person, so it obviously wasn’t anything I was going to ever act on. But I would think about it, and I was alarmed by how vicious my thoughts were, and I tried to tap into that when I was writing this movie. There is really something deep and brutal and scary about jealousy. Teenagers’ emotions are already running high. If you add a supernatural element and a love element and a jealousy element, it explodes. The movie also references eating disorders. Jennifer’s eating habits revolve around a binge-purge cycle. Does she eat people and then throw up? She actually throws up before she eats. She’s possessed. She vomits disgusting black bile on her victims before she eats them. But in one of my favorite scenes, she’s binge-eating out of her refrigerator. I thought to myself, “Man if we aren’t getting it across…” I was happy about that. So, with the two women, is there a Madonna/whore thing going on? Definitely. So Jennifer is the whore who consumes, and the protagonist is…? She’s played by Amanda Seyfried. And she’s the good girl? She’s a little of both. Each of them is, as in real life, unsure of which side to be on. The protagonist has sex in the movie, and it’s really matter-of-fact. It’s not the typical big, happy virginity-loss scene. She has sex for pleasure in this movie, and that was important to me. She’s this wide-eyed, innocent blonde who’s trying to protect the town,

but I wanted to show at the same time that she can have an orgasm, she can get excited about having sex. A protagonist who has sex for reasons other than love is pretty unheard-of in mainstream movies. And in this movie she can live through it, which doesn’t happen often in horror movies. What we’re writing on United States of Tara explores a little of that. Tara’s the faithful wife, but her other personalities get to act out. I really believe it’s the greatest dramatic question for women’s stories—being forced to choose one side or the other. Like, for any woman, there’s the one side where you’re the whore—you fuck whomever you want, you’re interested in pleasure, maybe you’re interested in money. Then there’s the other side of you, the Madonna, and the supposed reward is love. You get married, you get the baby, you get the house. Yet, as writers, we suspect that all the real fun is on this other side. We want to be able to explore the so-called bad-girl side of things, be a stripper, be a dancer, be a sex worker, be a million bad things. But there is no support for the whore in modern society. And it’s so aggravating to me. When I see the way women behave on the Internet, I have an issue. Even on socalled feminist Web sites, it feels like an excuse for a bunch of women to get together

and say that Lindsay Lohan looks haggard, or that she’s a slut, or that she’s aging poorly. The women who still get the most praise in pop culture are the ones who seem elegant, poised, like Grace Kelly. Somehow Angelina Jolie transcended the dichotomy. Because she’s luminous. I hate that, “luminous.” If I see the adjective “luminous” in one more celebrity profile, I am going to vomit. Nobody is that special; celebrities do not radiate light. “Diablo looked luminous when I sat down. Luminous and poised.” It’s such garbage. But I actually feel that kind of hatred back and forth, whether it’s feminists calling women whores or the other way around. I am speaking as a radical feminist: feminists can be incredibly hard on other women. They were the first people clutching their pearls when I came onto the horizon. They were the first people to disapprove of me. I really thought it was going to be the dudes. I think if I’d been a mousy, self-deprecating, secretary type, everyone would’ve thought I was great. And speaking of the whole Madonna/whore thing, there are a lot of people who assumed Juno was a virgin, and she was not. That was not her first time having sex. In the original script, we acknowledge that it was not her first time having sex. Did people somehow need her to have been a virgin?

Megan Fox [left] and Amanda Seyfried bond in Jennifer's Body

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Maybe. I was so frustrated by the criticism where people said, “Ah, people always get pregnant their first time in the movies and on TV, and it doesn’t happen in real life.” Who said it was her first time? Way to jump to conclusions. It was his first time, not hers. There’s something fascinating about you, a stripper, writing her. That such a “bad girl” having written such a “good girl” paid off somehow in people’s subconscious and helped propel the movie’s publicity. Did it ever feel like, for the people who wanted to criticize you, that the stripper thing was convenient? Did people need to make you pay for supposedly having all the success happen so 044 / BUST // AUG/SEPT

quickly for you? There is definitely a bias toward people who are perceived as having had things handed to them. And I understand that. I have experienced similar frustration toward writers and directors. Before all this happened to me, I was one of those people who would have created and nurtured the Juno backlash. I relate to those people completely. What would you have thought of you? I would have hated my guts. I would have thought, “Oh, that girl with her fucking precious shtick and her stupid name. Go fuck yourself. I’m writing my novel here, I can’t even deal with this, please go away.” Oh, my God, I would’ve had no

patience for myself. So, here’s something we like to talk about: as feminists we want to side with and protect our fellow women who are sex workers, yet as realistic humans, we can’t truly want women to turn only to their bodies to make a living. I’m just not sure what the modern woman’s position should be on sex work. Can we even safely discuss, politically, whether or not there’s a wound there or some kind of damage for someone who wants to do sex work? You don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to see that 12 years of daily mass and religious indoctrination created the exhibitionist that I am. Do I wonder if I am dam-

DRESS: RACHEL PALLY; BELT: GENEVIVE; BRACELETS: CURVE; RINGS AND EARRINGS: LOREE RODKIN

aged? Yes. I think most women are. I don’t understand where that anger comes from. I get frustrated with pornography just because I feel like it has created a completely plastic version of female sexuality that young boys grow up seeing and believing is going to materialize in their adult sex lives. And then when it doesn’t, you’re left with a world full of shitty lovers. But you like porn? You use porn? I watch porn all the time. I look at pornography every day. And how do you feel when you watch it? I feel like I’m in the drive-thru at Carl’s Jr. Like I’m just fulfilling a need. It’s not a sensual, pleasurable experience for me; it’s comfort food. What about the actors? Do you feel for them as people and worry about them? I do worry about them. But at the same time, I can’t relate, because I never internalized the shit that I did as a stripper and in the peep show. For some reason, it did not affect me in as primal a way as it seems to affect other women. When I think about that stuff, it’s still funny to me. When I wrote about it in Candy Girl, I was laughing; when I read that book, I still laugh. I have never looked back on that stuff and felt ruined or hurt, whereas I’m learning to understand from talking to other women that they do feel hurt, that they do feel exploited. That they do look back on that stuff and want to barf. I don’t know why I’m not like them. Do you watch Cathouse? I love it! But it gives me the creeps. The overhead, sneaky camera shots of the guys having sex with the women bothers me. I feel like I shouldn’t be seeing that. It’s private. And I hate when they do the lineup. But there is something about a lineup of women that’s everywhere—pageants, Cathouse, The Bachelor with their rose ceremonies, Deal or No Deal. There is something about a line of women with hands behind their backs just standing still, with all that poise! What does that mean to guys? When they get to choose? I always say it’s emperor syndrome. That’s why guys love to go to strip clubs. It’s the one time in their lives when they get to choose from a lineup of women who would never consider them in real life. I don’t know what the equivalent would be for women,

maybe having a lineup of jobs. Something we don’t get to be selective about in life. My fantasy is just being left alone to watch The Real Housewives of New Jersey in bed. We were talking the other day about the luxury of being a man and getting to just wake up and shower and be desirable just by virtue of your scent, your man-ness. As a screenwriter in Hollywood, you know, when a guy goes to a meeting, I doubt he has to think too carefully about what he’s wearing. Whereas when I spent a couple of years bouncing from meeting to meeting, meeting every person in town, I would always think very hard about what I was going to wear and how I was presenting myself. And what about the stripper thing? Do you even like talking about it anymore? I’m a 31-year-old feminist in Ugg boots and a T-shirt, so it’s so funny to me when anyone accuses me of trying to be sexy or cute. I couldn’t do that if I fucking tried. I’m full-on rocking this post-feminist-academic-stripper attitude because I’m trying to confront, not titillate. If you build your career on titillation, you are not going to go anywhere. I think shit has mellowed since Juno came out. But the years leading up to Juno, when my manager was creating hype, were exhausting and loud. Since winning the Oscar, I feel like now it’s settled. We can figure out what we really like to do. “We,” being me and Diablo. Have you talked about the difference between Brook and Diablo in articles before? I don’t think so. I once talked about how I do go to different log-ins on my computer. I have different accounts, one for Diablo, one for me. Diablo’s account is really organized. I still have a hard time calling you Brook. People who have met me recently have difficulty calling me Brook. Sometimes even Dan, my boyfriend, stumbles on it. Do you feel split? I definitely feel like there is a big difference between me and the hologram. I read an interview with Jennifer Aniston recently where she said that she felt like Hannah Montana. She said she’s like Miley [Cyrus], and this character of Jennifer Aniston that the tabloids have created is Hannah Montana. And it’s fake. And that’s how she sur-

vives the insane tabloid attention. My life is nothing like that, but in terms of interviews and photo shoots and having a persona, it’s the same way. I don’t feel a close relationship with this public figure. Were you once more connected with Diablo? I had to be for a while. I had a sense that it was urgent and important. I saw what I was building toward. I wasn’t surprised by anything that happened after a certain point; I could kind of see it coming. What do you mean? There was just a really strange sense of momentum in my life. For instance, right now I’m back to feeling totally uncertain about everything. I’m generally a pessimist, but there was a period of time where I knew the movie was going to be great. I knew it was going to do well, I knew we were going to win awards. I’m not saying that I’m Miss Cleo, but sometimes you get a rush of energy in your life when you feel that you are coming toward something. Did you feel that energy coming as soon as you came up with the name Diablo? No. I was writing goofy TV columns that 50 people read, and blogging. I never really had a chance to try on a character like that before, so it was great. It was one of the brightest times in my life, and it was just nothing but fun. I could do anything I wanted. You know, take a picture of myself naked and just put it on my blog. Is that stuff still there? I’m sure it’s still out there. It doesn’t bother me in the least. If anybody in America wants to see me naked, go for it. I would consider doing it now, but I always think that people I work with would be upset. But I have no shame about nudity, and I feel like nudity is confrontational in a way. Maybe the world needs to see a size-10 woman naked. Maybe they need to see my cellulite. I kind of feel that I would love to put that out there. Any time I do a red carpet, I feel vaguely confrontational. I feel like, “All right, now somebody’s going to come onto the carpet who doesn’t have a stylist, who did her own hair and makeup, who’s wearing a $25 dress from H&M. I have cellulite. I have big hips and big thighs. And you have to look at me.” I feel like people have to pay attention to someone who would typically be invisible. B // BUST / 045

Nick (left), Brian, and Karen kick up some dust during a break from recording in El Paso, Texas Girls learn to bake in a 1948 home-ec class

HOME SWEET HOME EC BY EMILY MCCOMBS From feminist roots to gender-role reinforcement and back again: the history of home economics might surprise you

VERYONE HAS AN idea about what home ec entails. Maybe yours includes learning to make pancakes from Bisquick in a junior-high classroom or sewing a pillow only your mother could love. But even that’s better than the vision most people conjure up: a ’50s panorama of aproned and full-skirted Stepford-wives-in-training, obediently tending to their mixing bowls before a row of vintage ovens. That has certainly been the historical perspective of feminists like second-wave activist Robin Morgan, who declared home economists “the enemy” in her unexpectedly vicious speech at the 1972 Home Economics Convention. But like most people today, Morgan was probably ignorant of the discipline’s origin as a social movement, founded by a group of ladies advocating for women’s employment and empowerment in and outside of the home. The foremothers of home economics were scientists, not homemakers, and their lessons are not only still being taught today, but they’re also enticing an influx of young, hip women who are recognizing the importance of the field. Yet home ec continues to hold an undeserved reputation as the champion of an outdated ideal of femininity, thanks to the diluted version that pervaded the school system. “It’s still going on, the idea that it was a program to brainwash women into being good wives for husbands and that it was a way to keep women down, which it wasn’t,” says Megan J. Elias, author of Stir It Up: Home Economics in American Culture. In her book, Elias chronicles home ec’s evolution from its progressive late-19th-century beginnings through the product-driven and gender-repressive ’50s to the watered-down reputation that continues in the public imagination today. The idea of applying scientific information to domestic work first became widespread with the popularity of Catharine Beecher’s 1869 tome, The American Woman’s Home,

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which offered practical and sound advice, such as maintaining adequate ventilation in the home, and how to eat healthfully (including the value of eating less meat). Despite an emphasis on traditional gender roles and Christianity, the book, coauthored by Beecher’s younger sister, Harriet Beecher Stowe, intended to elevate the image of homemakers so that they were “as much desired and respected as are the most honored professions of men.” This provided the groundwork for an even more radical movement to emerge. The term “home economics” originated from the organized meetings of a group of scientifically and reform-minded women who started gathering in 1899 at Lake Placid, NY. The goals of these women, who expanded from 11 to 700 over 5 years of conferences, were to professionalize domestic work and create careers for women by applying scientific theory to practical tasks. In 1909, they formed the American Home Economics Association (AHEA), the objective of which was “to improve the conditions of living in the home, the institutional household, and the community.” In contrast to the happy homemaker ethos often associated with home ec, the founders of the field were actually among the first women to receive college educations—only to find themselves barred from most professions upon graduation. “Many of them were trained in science with limited opportunity to use it because of prejudice against women,” says Virginia Vincenti, Family and Consumer Sciences professor at the University of Wyoming and co-editor of Rethinking Home Economics. “So they decided to create their own field.” One of these women was Ellen Richards, chairwoman of the Lake Placid conferences, who graduated from Vassar College in 1870 with an advanced science degree but was rejected by every chemical firm she approached. Although the newly founded Massachusetts Institute of Technology didn’t admit women, she managed to convince its powers that be to grant her status as a // BUST / 047

“special student”—charged no tuition but barred from receiving a Ph.D.—and became the institution’s first female graduate, in 1873. After marrying a young metallurgy professor (they spent their honeymoon on a mining expedition with his students), she persuaded MIT to open a women’s laboratory, where she taught chemistry as its first female instructor. Throwing herself into the simultaneous roles of homemaker and research chemist, she developed an interest in applying scientific principles to domestics, such as nutrition, clothing, physical fitness, sanitation, and home management. Her ideas, projects (she’s credited with founding school lunch programs), and books (one is The Chemistry of Cooking and Cleaning) became the basis for the home-economics movement. “Their perfect version of the world was that every time you would make a cake, you would see yourself as doing a science project and a history project and making art,” says Elias. “And on top of that, [you would] value all that stuff, like looking at cleaning the house as an engineering project rather than what the ’60s feminists call the shit work that women get stuck with.” With these ideals in mind, Richards and her colleagues envisioned an academic program on the college level that would value nutrition and food science over cooking, textiles and clothing construction over sewing, and bacteriology and germ theory over household cleaning. By viewing the personal environment through a scientific lens, they hoped to not only stamp out drudgery by giving women the information to understand the meaning behind their work and to perform it as efficiently as possible, but also to create opportunities for women to find employment outside the home—instead of training homemakers, they would be training professionals. Even after founding departments at several universities, though, female faculty still struggled to frame home economics as a scientific program in the eyes of male instructors and the world at large. As described in Stir It Up, when Martha Van Rensselaer, who developed Cornell’s home-economics department, attempted to take a

by the public in 1917 during World War I, when home economists joined the war effort to educate people about nutritional substitutes for rationed foods. They came to the forefront again in the ’30s during the Great Depression, when these women worked with relief organizations to teach families about emergency nutrition and also ran canning centers and “victory” gardens to sustain communities with fresh fruits and vegetables. But in the postwar consumer craze, as women began to purchase more mass-produced goods, home economists hoped to apply their knowledge to facilitate the relationship between shoppers and corporations, by helping women make informed decisions about what to buy and why. Home economists’ newfound authority, however, made them perfect candidates for major companies’ consumer relations, product development, marketing, testing, and demonstration departments. Some, like Elias, believe this development undermined home economists’ scientiﬁc authority even as it created more professional opportunities for women. “What happens is, consumer culture explodes, and all these home economists get to work for advertising and marketing ﬁrms,” explains Elias. “If you work for Campbell’s as a nutritionist, you can’t entirely tell them what to do, whereas if you’re working in a lab, you just make the most nutritious soup.” Others argue that while underpaid and undervalued, women like Lucy Maltby, who ran the test kitchen at Corning Glass and helped perfect Pyrex based on feedback from the women who used it, or Mary Engle Pennington, the chemist and bacteriologist who helped promote the new Household Refrigeration Bureau, were able to use their unique viewpoints to create positive effects. “They were arguing for the perspective of the consumers, particularly women consumers,” says Vincenti. What most agree on as detrimental to the movement’s aims, however, was home economists’ push for funding under legislation like the Smith Hughes Act (passed in 1917), which earmarked federal funds for vocational learning, thereby making the educa-

Home-ec students were more likely to be found in lab coats than aprons. bacteriology course in order to explain the importance of kitchen cleanliness to students, the male professor told her, “Oh, they do not need to know about bacteria. Teach them to keep the dishcloth clean because it is nicer that way.” Despite such assumptions, home-ec students were more likely to be found in lab coats than aprons, since the college-level programs covered the subject areas of sanitation, bacteriology and germ theory, food science and nutrition, economics and budgeting, interior design, textile science, and clothing design and construction. There was a class in household management too, in which assignments might include divvying up responsibilities in a “practice house” that sometimes even included “practice children” borrowed from local orphanages. The skills learned in these programs were really ﬁrst embraced 048 / BUST // AUG/SEPT

tion of home-ec teachers for the primary and secondary levels a new priority for college-level home ec. At the same time that home economists were struggling to establish themselves as science professionals, the act was linking the ﬁeld closer to vocational training. Home ec’s leaders thus unwittingly traded a shortterm ﬁnancial solution for the long-term goals of the movement, which would ultimately spread a watered-down version of home ec to middle and high schools. By 1938, 76 percent of girls in the 7th and 8th grades attended home ec, where bureaucratic interference and a focus on traditional gender roles diluted the message until middle and high school classes almost primarily taught the vocational skills necessary to run an individual household (the cooking and sewing almost every home-ec professional takes

pains to disassociate from). Of course, far more students were indoctrinated with the secondary version of home economics as opposed to studying it in college. And so the “Becky home ec-ies” (as one professor refers to the cooking and cleaning enthusiasts who gravitated toward teaching home ec at the K-12 levels) of the world quietly but thoroughly redeﬁned an entire ﬁeld in the eyes of the public. It was this version of home ec that feminists responded to when it came time to cast off their aprons. Sweetly unaware of the disconnect between the equality strategies of the two movements, home economists invited feminist activist Robin Morgan to speak at that 1972 convention,

Alison Fasano, a recent graduate of the program, signed on as the Family and Consumer Sciences teacher at a middle school in Port Chester, NY, last year. “There were no supplies, so I kind of started the program with nothing,” she says. “We collected about 300 T-shirts from teachers, and the kids cut them into squares, and I taught them how to sew these really cool-looking scarves. We donated half of the scarves to a shelter for women and children who were victims of domestic violence, and the other half we sold for $5 around Christmas time,” she recalls. They then funneled half the proceeds back into the class budget, and the students competed in an essay contest to choose an organiza-

just assumes I teach little girls how to sew and cook and iron, and it has “Everybody nothing to do with what I actually teach. ”

where she shocked them by declaring, “As a radical feminist, I am here to address the enemy.” And feminist Betty Freidan’s remarks as a convention speaker a few years later were so incendiary, no record of them remains. “We consider ourselves feminists too, but then we got slammed by them,” explains Vincenti, who says she has experienced hostility from feminists who assumed home economists were preparing women to be trapped in the home. “A lot of them wanted to run as far as possible from anything related to what had traditionally been considered women’s roles,” she says. But the AHEA took feminists’ complaints seriously; president Marjorie East responded, “If home economics does indeed perpetuate this traditional and limited concept of women, we have some rethinking to do.” That rethinking eventually led to the curriculum-wide name change to Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) in 1992, which Carol Kellett, long-time American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS, previously the American Home Economics Association) member and Kansas State University professor, describes as a bid to change the program’s reputation more than a philosophy change. Today the AAFCS reports that over five million male and female students were enrolled in FCS education programs in 2002– 2003. Still, the majority of states suffer from a shortage of qualified teachers. New York is one of three states requiring all students to take a home- and career-skills course, but only two colleges train instructors. Amanda Docherty, a 34-year-old former chef living in Brooklyn, recently enrolled in one of them, the Family and Consumer Studies Specialization at Queens College, NY. If you’d asked her a few years before she started studying to teach FCS what she thought it entailed, she would have said cooking and sewing, but she’s now excited to take classes in nutrition, textiles, clothing construction, and financial planning. Her assignments run the gamut from presenting a fishnet stitch how-to, to class discussions about renewable fibers. “I think it’s important that kids know that not only should they have certain numbers on test scores, but they should also know how to balance a checkbook,” she says.

tion to receive the rest. (It ended up going to a local clinic for free mammograms.) Today’s version of home economics, while surprisingly in line with the movement’s origins, may sound unfamiliar to those who associate the field with repressive gender conformity. “Everybody just assumes I teach little girls how to sew and cook and iron, and it has nothing to do with what I actually teach,” says Fasano. “I’m not teaching my kids how to make macaroni and cheese. I’m teaching my kids if they want to eat macaroni and cheese, how they could make it healthier. Instead of teaching kids how to sew a pillow, [the class is] giving them the idea that you can do something small and give back to the community.” But for every program like Fasano’s, there are plenty of teachers at the K-12 levels who still subscribe to a simplified curriculum not in line with the current mission statement. According to Kellett, “Many people in our field who graduated from college in the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s have continued to hold the perceptions that they learned while they were in school. The field has changed, and some of the people in it have not.” So perhaps the best way for family and consumer sciences to live up to home ec’s potential is one teacher at a time. Kellett calls today’s college students “our greatest hope” for the future of the field. “It’s time to forgo teaching what I call the ‘hobby skills,’” she says. “The Martha Stewarts and Rachael Rays of the world can do that, but I think if we stick to what I call the basic life skills, that’s the most important. So we teach cooking techniques, but we teach them around nutrition and what’s good for your family and how you can make shortcuts in terms of time and cost.” Docherty is just one of those future teachers Kellett is referring to. “I think the preconception is that home-ec teachers are older ladies sitting quietly at their sewing machines,” says Docherty. “So if women in their 60s are retiring, I’ll be very happy to go in and take their positions. Because I don’t want this to be something that people think only their grandmothers do. I want it to keep on going.” B // BUST / 049

Whip It! 050 / BUST // AUG/SEPT

THE

FALL PREVIEW BY JENNI MILLER

Sure, we’re all psyched for Jennifer’s Body to debut this September, but that’s not the only pop-culture treat coming at us this fall and beyond that’s strong enough for a man but made for us women. Mark your calendars for these best BUST bets in movies, books, fashion, TV, and music, and get the gals together for some girl-friendly fun!

MOVIES

WHIP IT!: FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES

JULIE & JULIA Directed by Nora Ephron August 7 (Columbia Pictures) Amy Adams and Meryl Streep reunite in this adaptation written and directed by Nora Ephron, based on both Julia Child’s autobiography, My Life in France, and Julie Powell’s memoir, Julie & Julia. As Powell, Adams spends a year jumpstarting her life by cooking every recipe in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French

Cooking, Volume One, while Streep channels Child at the onset of her culinary career. This pair wowed audiences together in last year’s Doubt, and we can’t wait to see the humor, class, and warmth they’ll bring to obstacles like ornery lobsters, crummy jobs, and snotty chefs.

AMREEKA Directed by Cherien Dabis September 4 (limited) (National Geographic Entertainment)

Cherien Dabis translates her experiences growing up in Ohio and Jordan into Amreeka, the story of single mother Muna (Nisreen Faour) and son Fadi (Melkar Muallem) who emigrate from Bethlehem to live with her family in Illinois just as the Iraq War is beginning. The excellent Faour leads a talented cast in this timely piece about cultural identity among first- and secondgeneration immigrants from the Middle East. Alia // BUST / 051

An Education Bright Star

Julie & Julia

Shawkat also puts in a great performance as Fadi’s politically outspoken cousin (and fashion adviser) Salma. Amreeka was the only American ﬁlm recognized at Cannes this year with the prestigious International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) award.

BRIGHT STAR Directed by Jane Campion September 18 (Sony Pictures Classics) Filmmaking champion Jane Campion returns to the big screen with this gorgeous romance about Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish) and John Keats (Ben Whishaw). Told from Brawne’s point of view, the movie chronicles the love affair between the talented and outspoken dressmaker and the melancholy Romantic poet, who wrote “Bright Star” for her. As much a tribute to poetry as it is to 052 / BUST // AUG/SEPT

Coco Before Chanel

their affair, the film offers dazzling costumes, captivating cinematography, and excellent writing, with touches of humor among the kisses, letters, and tears.

COCO BEFORE CHANEL Directed by Anne Fontaine September 18 (Sony Pictures Classics) Audrey Tautou stars as Gabrielle Chanel, the orphan who went on to become fashion icon Coco Chanel. From scissors-wielding seamstress and high-kicking cabaret dancer to the woman who revolutionized ladies’ fashion, Coco was a boundary-blasting badass whose elegant creations leveled the fashion playing ﬁeld—after all, isn’t the Chanel suit still très chic? Tautou is a natural already; she’s currently the face of Chanel No. 5. And the fab Fontaine is also the woman

behind such wonderful ﬂicks as How I Killed My Father and The Girl From Monaco.

WHIP IT! Directed by Drew Barrymore October 9

AN EDUCATION Directed by Lone Scherfig October 9

(Fox Searchlight Pictures) Drew Barrymore makes her directing debut in this tale of a small-town, indie-rock loving misfit who finds her niche among roller-derby badasses in Austin, TX. The cast is a roll call of fabulous ladies, including star Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig, Zoe Bell, Eve, Juliette Lewis, and Barrymore as hellcats on wheels. Plus it's also got heavy hitter Marcia Gay Harden and Arrested Development's Alia Shawkat in supporting roles. Based on the book Derby Girl by Austin skater Shauna Cross, who also wrote the screenplay, Whip It! has even the most crash-prone among us ready to put on our elbow pads and jam to the theater once it opens.

(Sony Pictures Classics) Danish dame Lone Scherﬁg helms this excellent comingof-age story based on Lynn Barber’s memoir. Jenny (Carey Mulligan) is a typical English teen in the ’60s, whose dad wants her to go to Oxford while she’d prefer to run off to Paris to be a bohemian. But when the older, debonair David (Peter Sarsgaard) offers to give her a different sort of education, she and even her parents are all for it. Jenny’s transformation from schoolgirl to a chic Holly Golightly–style woman is entrancing, and Olivia Williams is especially memorable as her teacher Miss Stubbs.

Amreeka

Precious

New Moon

JULIE & JULIA: SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT; COCO BEFORE CHANEL, AN EDUCATION, BRIGHT STAR: SONY PICTURES CLASSICS; AMREEKA: NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ENTERTAINMENT; AMELIA: FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES; PRECIOUS: LIONSGATE; NEW MOON: SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT

Amelia

NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU Directed by Wen Jiang, Mira Nair, Shunji Iwai, Yvan Attal, Brett Ratner, Allen Hughes, Shekhar Kapur, Natalie Portman, Fatih Akin, Joshua Marston, and Randall Balsmeyer October 16 (Vivendi Entertainment) This group effort features an eclectic team of directors, writers, and stars collaborating on short ﬁlms about love in New York City, including Mira Nair’s controversial segment “Kosher Vegetarian,” which features Natalie Portman as a Hasidic woman who ﬂirts with an Indian man played by Bollywood star Irrfan Khan. Other gals who love New York include fantastic actresses of all ages, like Olivia Thirlby, Cloris Leachman, Eva Amurri, Christina Ricci, and Drea de Matteo.

AMELIA Directed by Mira Nair October 23 (Fox Searchlight Pictures) The splendid Mira Nair directs this period piece about Amelia Earhart in which Hilary Swank plays the awesome aviatrix who inspired other women to take to the skies until she disappeared while flying over the Pacific Ocean in 1937. When she isn’t airborne, Amelia's loving up on both her paramour Gene Vidal (played by the dreamy Ewan McGregor) and her husband George Putnam (played by superBuddhist Richard Gere) in true rebel style. Will Swank get swanky at the Oscars again? More important, will Ewan McGregor keep his pants on? My vote is yes and no, respectively, but we’ll all have to wait until it opens to find out.

PRECIOUS: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire Directed by Lee Daniels November 6 (Lionsgate) Newcomer Gabourey Sidibe stars in this adaptation as Precious, a teenager pregnant for the second time with her father’s child. Mo’Nique’s performance as Precious’ abusive mother already has Oscar watchers abuzz, and Mariah Carey dials down the glam as her social worker in this story about an outcast who blossoms with guidance from the teacher of her literacy class. The trailer alone has us moved to tears. And with producorial support from Oprah and Tyler Perry, there’s no doubt that this inspirational movie will find eager audiences across the nation.

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: New Moon Directed by Chris Weitz November 20 (Summit Entertainment) The Team Edward vs. Team Jacob debate heats up again when vampire Edward Cullen bails out of Forks, WA, to protect girlfriend Bella Swan, leaving Bella's pal, the Native-American hottie Jacob Black, ample opportunity to reveal both his lurve and his werewolfiness to her in this next chapter of the Twilight phenomenon. Even though the tabloids were saying the unwashed Robert Pattinson was smelling up the set during filming, we’d still ride him like a sparkly My Little Pony through the trees any day. Hold on tight, Kristen Stewart, and take one for the team. Because if you don’t wanna, we’ll gladly trade places with you! // BUST / 053

MUSIC

NOISETTES Wild Young Hearts On Sale August (Mercury Records) The Noisettes, led by acrobatic Amazon Shingai Shoniwa on vocals and bass guitar, Dan Smith on lead guitar and vocals, and Jamie Morrison on drums, wear their hearts on their sleeves on this second release. Swooning with melancholy ballads like “Sometimes” and “Atticus,” then picking up the pace with the club banger “Don’t Upset the Rhythm” and the girlgroup-tinged title track, Wild Young Hearts is a delicious mix of sad, smooth, sweet, and sexy to help usher in fall.

JULIETTE LEWIS Terra Incognita On Sale September 1 (The End Records) Juliette Lewis has left her hard-rockin’ bandmates » 054 / BUST // AUG/SEPT

Noisettes

SO FAR, SO GOOD REGINA SPEKTOR KEYS US IN TO HER MUSICAL MUSINGS THREE YEARS AGO, New York City–based singer/songwriter Regina Spektor dazzled the world with her winsome hit “Fidelity,” a perfect example of her quirky, Björk-tinged vocals over charming piano melodies. But the 29-year-old, Russian-born pianist already had fans swooning nearly a decade ago with her self-released records. Here, Spektor dishes on her vivid new album, far (Sire), which captures her eclectic songwriting and quintessential sweetness once more. Be on the lookout this fall when she takes to the road for her biggest U.S. tour yet. Is there a story behind your new album’s title, far? I was thinking a lot about distance and how humans deal with it. I think it’s just a natural thing to be concerned with distance. Even in life, you want to grow up and get old and live a long time, but you also don’t really want to leave your childhood behind. On the ﬁrst single, “Laughing With,” it’s as if you’re giving God a voice, saying He can be hilarious. I think most people are very confused about what’s happening on this planet. That song, it’s thinking

out loud about God. I’ve never had a moment where I ﬁgured it out. There’s a lot of joy and playfulness in your songs. So, what makes you happy? Oh, wow, that’s hard! I’m most happy when I feel connected to the world and to the people in it. Especially when you’re in the moment with other people and it really feels like a shared experience. You certainly seem “in the moment” in the video for “Dance Anthem of the ’80s,” where you’re dancing around by yourself. It was just me and my friend Adria [Petty, the ﬁlmmaker who directed it]. I think the way I am in that video probably isn’t something I would be able to do if I wasn’t messing around with a friend. I was laughing at myself, and she was laughing at me, and it was very improvised. You’re also carrying this cool, yellow tape recorder. We went to the Boys and Girls Club to get some props. I found that tape recorder, and it seemed like such a happy little toy. I used it to do a little shout out to Say Anything, where John Cusack lifts up a boombox. We’re in the throes of summer. What do you love to do during these months? The ocean is probably one of my favorite places ever. Summer’s always a time when things seem brighter and you’re not carrying around so many layers. Things become very barefoot and light. [MACKENZIE WILSON]

JULIETTE LEWIS: THE END RECORDS; NOISETTES: MERCURY RECORDS; REGINA SPEKTOR: SOREN STARBIRD

Juliette Lewis

MUSIC INTERVIEW

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Gossip

Vivian Girls

Yoko Ono

the Licks behind, and on this solo album produced by Omar Rodriguez-Lopez from the Mars Volta, she explores a more atmospheric world with acoustic songs like “Suicide Dive Bombers,” the fast-paced “Fantasy Bar,” and the fuzzed-out, dreamy jam “Romeo.” Lewis cowrote the album with Chris Watson, a longtime friend and guitarist for her short-lived band the New Romantiques, which played earlier this year at SXSW.

WHITNEY HOUSTON I Look To You On Sale September 1 (Arista Records) We don’t know what Whitney Houston’s new album is like, we haven’t even heard a single note yet, but damn if we aren’t chomping at the bit to get our hands on the latest from this diva. 056 / BUST // AUG/SEPT

Say what you will about her off-screen and small-screen shenanigans, the woman has freaking legendary pipes, and we’re glad she’s about to lay ’em on us once again. Sorry, she just gets us so emotional!

VIVIAN GIRLS Everything Goes Wrong On Sale September 8 (In The Red) Cool kids in the know have already been piping the Vivian Girls through their iPods since the group’s eponymous 2008 release, but it’s never too late to get hip to this quick ‘n’ catchy Brooklyn trio. Now guitarist Cassie Ramone, bassist Kickball Katy, and drummer Ali Koehler are back with more of those fuzzy, punky songs that sound like a fresh spin on our fave all-girl indie bands from the ’90s.

YOKO ONO PLASTIC ONO BAND Between My Head and the Sky On Sale September 22 (Chimera) The avant-garde Ms. Ono is reviving her genre-bending Plastic Ono Band at the ripe young age of 76. This 15-song album is a collaboration with her son Sean Lennon and Cibo Matto’s Yuka Honda, and features guests like free-jazzy Ornette Coleman, Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons, and DJ Mark Ronson. Styling and freestyling, Ono is still spreading peace and art wherever she goes.

LA ROUX La Roux On Sale September 29 (Cherry Tree) Flame-haired front woman Elly Jackson and behindthe-scenes collaborator Ben

Langmaid have been rocking the British Isles as a supporting act for Lily Allen’s U.K. tour and headlining the NME Radar Tour, putting them on every Brit list of ones-to-watch for 2009. With pop songs like the Princeflavored “Quicksand” and the synth-heavy “In for the Kill,” it’s time for them to set the U.S. on fire with their debut album.

RYE RYE Go! Pop! Bang! On Sale October (Interscope) Ryeisha “Rye Rye” Berrain popped up in BUST’s pages last summer in our female-rappers-to-watch story, and we’ve still got our eye on her. This 17-year-old from Baltimore is the ﬁrst artist to be signed to N.E.E.T., M.I.A.’s Interscope imprint. M.I.A. and Blaqstarr produce while DJ Diplo, Egyp-

VIVIAN GIRLS: IN THE RED; RYE RYE: INTERSCOPE; YOKO ONO: CHIMERA; GOSSIP: COLUMBIA; LA ROUX: CHERRY TREE

Rye Rye

FASHION La Roux

Rachel Antonoff

Marais USA

BUILT BY WENDY: ANNABEL MEHRAN; RACHEL ANTONOFF: JESSE FROHMAN; MARAIS USA: MARAIS USA; CHARLOTTE RONSON: DAN LECCA

Built by Wendy

tian Lover, and others produce the beats for Rye Rye’s rhymes. Her single “Bang” featuring M.I.A. will get you dancing in clubs, at house parties, and everywhere your headphones take you.

GOSSIP Music for Men On Sale October 6 (Columbia) Switching labels, mixing it up with Rick Rubin, and, yes, rocking the fashion world, the Gossip have not been resting on their laurels since 2006’s Standing in the Way of Control. Although Music for Men’s first single, “Heavy Cross,” isn’t as ovaries-out as “Yr Mangled Heart,” have no fear. The Gossip haven’t lost their riot grrrl edge. Music for Men will still have the baddest ladies on the dance floor shaking their tail feathers.

BUILT BY WENDY BuiltByWendy.com Designer Wendy Mullin is taking cues this fall from lush art-house ﬂicks like Tess and The Last Emperor, and fashion photog Guy Bourdin for a line that combines “the subdued elegance of a Parisian boudoir and the dramatic ﬂair of Asiatic aristocratic grandeur.” Cool custom fabrics inspired by the Hebrew alphabet, frilly French Provençal prints, and more come together for pieces including a black velvet bustier, black lace tees, Chinese-blessing-robe-inspired dresses, metallic knit loose tops, and other unique creations that Wendy built just for you.

RACHEL ANTONOFF RachelAntonoff.com This 27-year-old designer says of her fashion inspiration that she “couldn’t get over how incredibly graceful and otherworldly ballerinas are. I actually started tak-

Charlotte Ronson

ing ballet and am pretty terrible, but I just love the whole idea of it.” Her fall line is modeled by and has pieces named after her friends, including fashion blogger Julia Frakes, ﬁlmmaker and trapeze artist Sarah Sophie Flicker, and actress Alia Shawkat. Featuring elegant catsuits, “tap-dance shorts,” and high-waisted pants, this collection will take you from the barre to the bar.

CHARLOTTE RONSON CharlotteRonson.com Charlotte Ronson describes her fall line as being all about “postwar decadence, combining elements of military menswear and feminine tailoring.” More ﬁerce than femme, this collection leaves behind Ronson’s previous softer looks in favor of zippered trench coats, leather shorts, and cut-out details on knees, elbows, and midriffs. The shoes are all about booties, laces, and studded details, plus a couple of real

ass-kicking leather stompers that would make last year’s warm ‘n’ cozy parade of footwear quiver in their, well, you know.

MARAIS USA MaraisUSA.com After trying to make ends meet and still buy shoes in college, Catherine Chen and Haley Boyd were inspired to start Marais, which offers cool yet sensibly priced footwear. This fall and winter, Marais will be unleashing classics including a high tuxedo boot, an ankle Chelsea boot, an oxford, a classic satin pump, twotoned ballet ﬂats, a wedge, and two sneakers in wintry colors. The best part? Even the boots will cost you less than 200 beans.

ERIN FETHERSTON ErinFetherston.com The new line from this trendy N.Y.C.-based designer, whose clothes have been sported by indie “it” girl Zooey Deschanel, // BUST / 057

Erin Fetherston

Anna Sui

SAMANTHA PLEET SamanthaPleet.com The fall line from this 27-year-old Philly native balances whimsy and sustainability to create “clothes [that] are inspired by and created for an era where anything can happen.” The designer, who dresses chic indie bands like Au Revoir Simone, uses organic wool, cotton, silk, and even a ﬂannel wolf print to create rompers derived from trench coats and balloons. Pleet’s pleasing creations are perfect for a night out on the town or an impromptu midnight tea party in the woods. 058 / BUST // AUG/SEPT

HOW SUI IT IS GOSSIPING WITH ANNA SUI ABOUT HER NEW TARGET COLLECTION ANNA SUI HAS been injecting high fashion with a girly dose of rock ‘n’ roll ever since she started making clothes in 1980. Known for infusing her print-centric boho look with a dark, vampy edge, this fall Sui’s launching an adorable, completely affordable line for Target inspired by the upscale N.Y.C. prep-school-student steez of the characters on Gossip Girl. But you don’t have to like the show to fall in love with the feminine shift dresses, rufﬂy blouses, and vintage-looking prints, all oozing with Sui’s signature style. She gave us the scoop on the collection that hits stores September 13. Is it safe to assume you’re a big Gossip Girl fan? I do love the show! How did it become the inspiration point for this project? When I was traveling in Asia last year, young girls would come up to me and ask about different parts of New York, referring to them as where the Gossip Girl characters lived. I thought this was a great way to incorporate my New York–centric sensibility in my Target collection. Can you tell me about it? The pieces are inspired by the distinct looks of Gossip Girl heroines Serena van der Woodsen, Blair Waldorf, Jenny Humphrey, and

Vanessa Abrams. Each character has a defined color palette and sensibility reflective of her unique approach to style. By combining the elements of art, spirit, punk, and glamour, we created a collection that exudes New York City fashion. What would a TV show based on your high school years be like? Growing up in Detroit, I always knew that I wanted to be a clothing designer. If there were a show based on my experience, my character would be more like Jenny Humphrey—rebellious against her surroundings and eclectic in her style. I never wore the same outfit more than once in one year. That was my rule. You’re a style icon for so many girls. Who are some of your fashion faves? I have more general fashion inspirations whether it’s Victorian cowboys, Warhol superstars, or Finnish textile prints. However, two of my constant favorite people as fashion icons are Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg [Richards’ former model/actress flame]. What does your workspace look like? It is a vibrant mix of black Victorian furniture, purple walls, papiermâché dolly heads, and rock ‘n’ roll posters that closely reflects my personal decorating style. Your “genius files,” in which you’ve been saving cool clippings from magazines and other ephemera since you were a kid, are famous. What was the most recent item you added? Inspiration for my next show! I can’t spill the secrets! [LISA BUTTERWORTH]

SAMANTHA PLEET: JACQUELINE DI MILIA; ERIN FETHERSTON: KEVIN STURMAN FOR ERIN FETHERSTON; ANNA SUI: TARGET

Samantha Pleet

is billed by Featherston as “The Tin Soldier meets the Jewel Box Ballerina.” Fetherston’s line features stripey stockings, polkadot tulle skirts and shirts, dolllike dresses, and ribbons and bows of all sizes in rich fabrics like silk-ﬁl, pointelle jacquard, organza, silk tulle, and chiffon.

FASHION INTERVIEW

TELEVISION The Wanda Sykes Show

(Fox) The pee-your-pants-funny Wanda Sykes, who knocked ’em dead at the White House Correspondents Dinner, will be hosting a weekly Saturday night show that will provide Sykes with a platform for her sharp-tongued comic commentary. The program will feature regular guests who will take part in roundtable discussions, much like HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher. And the irony of Fox giving a weekly late-night talk show to an openly gay, marriedwith-children woman of color tastes so sweet!

EASTWICK Wednesdays 10 PM ET/PT Premiere Date TBA (ABC) » 060 / BUST // AUG/SEPT

SWEET DEE-LIGHT KAITLIN OLSON TALKS ABOUT STAYING ON THE SUNNY SIDE KAITLIN OLSON’S CHARACTER Sweet Dee on the supremely irreverent FX comedy series It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia has been set on fire (twice), battled a crack addiction, dabbled in cannibalism, and tried to marry her stepfather. And she did it all in the name of fame, fortune, and fitting in with the gang—the show’s group of morally bankrupt dudes who run a South Philly pub. Olson cut her teeth with L.A. improv troupe the Groundlings before snagging a lead role on Sunny, after which she also nabbed the heart of the show’s creator and co-star Rob McElhenney. I chatted with this sassy 33-year-old comedian about her thriving series, entering its fifth season this fall. I’m a huge fan of Sunny. Oh, good! I really love it when the ladies are watching, because it’s such a “dude show.” You live in L.A., but you grew up on a farm outside Portland, OR. Do you still do any farm-like activities? Rob and I bought a house in October, right after we got married. We’re going to do a big vegetable garden in the backyard. I also compost, and everything’s organic, so I’m still very much an Oregonian. In the episode where Sweet

Dee accidentally works in a sweatshop, you looked like you knew your way around a sewing machine. Are you a crafty lady? Are you kidding me? I am incredibly crafty. My friend Mary Elizabeth Ellis [who plays a waitress on the show] has Crafternoons. The last thing I made was a couple of really mediocre bird plates. It involved a stencil and spray paint. The first one was really bad. The second one was a tiny bit better. But I do have them both hanging on my wall. What’s your favorite thing about playing Sweet Dee? Her massive insecurity—it’s a gold mine for comedy. She’s very ambitious, but she only wants to do all these things just to prove to the guys that she’s not a piece of shit. That is so pathetic, and I find that so hilarious. As pathetic as she is, I can relate to a lot of the lady problems she mentions in her video diaries, like mysterious rashes and ice cream–induced food comas. There’s no way a man could have written them. Thank you for noticing. That’s an example of me playing around, saying a bunch of stuff, not just [what’s written]. The scripts are amazingly funny, but when we go to shoot, I get to sort of add whatever I want. The first time I saw her video diaries, I cried I was laughing so hard. You mean you cried because your rash wasn’t clearing up? If you live in Los Angeles, I can give you the number of a good gynecologist. [GINA MARIE VASOLi]

THE WANDA SYKES SHOW: FOX; EASTWICK: ABC

Eastwick

THE WANDA SYKES SHOW (Working Title) Saturdays 11 PM ET/PT Premieres November 7

DRESS:BCBG MAX AZRIA; SHOES: MOSCHINO; ACCESSORIES: H&M; HEADBAND: BAN.DO

TELEVISION INTERVIEW

PHOTOGRAPHED BY EMILY SHUR STYLING: MELIS KURIS; HAIR: JULIE REA; MAKEUP: LEAH VAUTROT.

The Sarah Silverman Program

Ella Es el Matador

Parks and Recreation

Sick of ever-more-desperate housewives? Try these witches on for size. Rebecca Romijn, Lindsay Price, and Jamie Ray Newman star as three unwittingly witchy BFFs whose lives are turned upside down by a mysterious stranger (Paul Gross). Based on the novel by John Updike and the fabulous flick starring Cher, Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Jack Nicholson, Eastwick looks as delicious as Halloween candy.

Big Girl's Blouse

Jamie Lee Kirchner and Michelle Trachtenberg playing her friends on the job, Mercy appears to be a welcome change from the hospital dramas that just focus on medical jibber-jabber and McDreamy. Plus, nurses need their just props for keeping everything running behind the scenes!

MERCY Night and Time TBA Premieres March 2010

POV Tuesdays 10 PM ET/PT Ella Es el Matador (Airing September 1) The Principal Story (Airing September 15) Bronx Princess (Airing September 22)

(NBC) This weekly one-hour drama may not be premiering until 2010, but we’re too excited about it to keep our lips sealed. Starring Taylor Schilling as a nurse back from a tour of duty in Iraq, with

(PBS) PBS’s wonderful documentary series POV is debuting three very BUST-y features this fall: Ella Es el Matador, The Principal Story, and Bronx Princess. The first is a surprising look at two

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Mad Men

female matadors in Spain, Mari Paz Vega and newcomer Eva Florencia, who give gender norms the red flag in their male-dominated sport. The Principal Story follows two female school principals as they work to give their underprivileged students the best education possible. And in a twist on the classic coming-ofage story, Bronx Princess documents an independent N.Y.C. girl named Rocky who spends the summer before college with her father, a chief in Ghana.

AMERICAN ARTIST (Working Title) Night and Time TBA (Bravo) Sarah Jessica Parker and her production company, Pretty Matches, is in cahoots with Magical Elves, the folks behind Project Runway, to

bring viewers this reality show in which aspiring artists compete for the grand prize of a sponsored national tour, a gallery show, cold, hard cash, and probably air kisses galore! We’re pumped to see some creativity in action in our living rooms (along with the requisite catfights, of course). ’Cause Lord knows it ain’t easy being arty.

LIFE UNEXPECTED Night and Time TBA (CW) Ever wanted to declare your own emancipation? That’s exactly what 15-year-old foster-care kid Lux tries to do in this new CW sitcom. But things get weird when the judge decides she isn’t ready to be on her own and instead puts her in the custody of her fratty biological dad, Baze, and radio DJ

BOOKS

The Good Wife

PARKS AND RECREATION: NBC; ELLA ES EL MATADOR: PBS; BIG GIRL'S BLOUSE: SUNDANCE; THE SARAH SILVERMAN PROGRAM: COMEDY CENTRAL; MAD MEN: AMC; THE GOOD WIFE: CBS; MERCY: NBC

Mercy

bio-mom, Cate. The word on the street is that it’s a little bit Gilmore and a little bit Juno, which sounds great, but we’ll have to wait to find out.

THE GOOD WIFE Tuesdays 10 PM ET/PT Premiere Date TBA (CBS) Julianna Margulies returns to prime time as Alicia Florrick, a “good wife” who stands by her corrupt political man during one of those awful sexscandal press conferences we’ve all seen. But after he’s sentenced to jail, she goes back to work as a defense attorney, rebuilding her career and her children’s lives. The fab Christine Baranski plays the ﬁrm’s top lawyer, and Archie Panjabi appears as an up-and-comer who is one of Alicia’s allies as competition heats up. Finally, a smart

drama for workin’ women of all ages, with no dancing babies in sight.

RETURNING FAVES And don’t forget, there’s still plenty of girly goodness we already love on the boob tube that’s thankfully coming back again this fall. NBC will be rocking Amy Poehler’s Parks and Recreation and Tina Fey’s 30 Rock, while ABC is still giving America Ferrera’s Ugly Betty plenty of love. Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse on Fox gets sci-ﬁ with Eliza Dushku. The Sarah Silverman Program will be keeping it dirty on Comedy Central, and Mad Men is still smokin’ on AMC. Sundance will also be doing a marathon of the awesome Aussie sketch comedy show Big Girl’s Blouse in September, by the creators of the original Kath and Kim.

COUNTER CULTURE: The American Coffee Shop Waitress By Candacy A. Taylor On Sale September 1 (Cornell University Press) Taylor’s article “Dishing It Out,” which was featured in BUST’s February/March 2008 issue, was just a taste of this intimate and colorful book inspired by her own work as a waitress. Counter Culture investigates the real story behind career waitresses in diners and coffee shops across the country. A hybrid of “interview excerpts, cultural criticism, photography, and oral history,” this engrossing look at “lifers” honors the women of the waitressing workforce.

THE ORIGINAL FRANKENSTEIN By Mary Shelley with Percy Shelley, edited by Charles E. Robinson On Sale September 8

(Random House) The Original Frankenstein compares Mary Shelley’s original manuscript with her husband Percy’s edited version of the horror classic. Detective work by editor Charles E. Robinson based on papers from the Shelley family uncovered about 5,000 words that Percy added, which signiﬁcantly changed the ﬁnal version. Anyone who still believes Frankenstein couldn’t have been written by a woman, please form a line to the left and prepare for a clobbering.

DESIGN-IT-YOURSELF CLOTHES: Patternmaking Simplified By Cal Patch On Sale September 22 (Watson Guptill/Potter Craft) This new book from crafty creatrix and BUST contributor Cal Patch, who used to design for Urban Outﬁtters and // BUST / 063

BOYS ON THE SIDE HERE ARE A FEW FINE FELLAS WE DEFINITELY WANNA CUDDLE UP WITH THIS FALL!

now has her own label called Hodge Podge Farm, is the A to Z of patternmaking for the nimble-ﬁngered among us. Patch starts with supercute, simple patterns and then teaches you to tweak ’em until they’re perfectly tailored to your measurements. Add your own stylish touches, and you’re good to go.

OFFICIAL BOOK CLUB SELECTION: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin By Kathy Griffin On Sale September 29 (Ballantine Books) Both on her show My Life on the D-List and in her outstanding stand-up specials, former BUST cover girl and comedian Kathy Grifﬁn dishes on pop culture in a way that makes us feel like she’s a pal gossiping with us over cocktails. Which is why we cannot wait for her memoir, a book that prom064 / BUST // AUG/SEPT

ises to deliver personal deets about everything from her life before showbiz, to plastic surgery, to clawing her way to the Emmys. Suck it, Jesus!

CASSETTE FROM MY EX: Stories and Soundtracks of Lost Loves Edited by Jason Bitner On Sale October 27 (St. Martin’s Press) What began as a blog about the love stories behind old mix tapes is now an analog anthology from site creator and FOUND magazine cofounder Jason Bitner. Just like a great mix, the book strikes that perfect balance of cool, funny, and bittersweet, and features stories from a fantastic group of writers, including BUST managing editor Emily Rems, BUST “Mother Superior” columnist Ayun Halliday, and BUST contributors Jen

Hazen, Mairead Case, and Vinnie “The Tampon Case Man” Angel.

GIRL ZINES: Making Media, Doing Feminism By Alison Piepmeier (Introduction by Andi Zeisler) On Sale November 10 (New York University Press) Back before you could Tweet your every thought to the world, young women cut, pasted, Xeroxed, and traded their own handmade magazines through the mail. In fact, the gorgeously glossy mag you’re holding in your hands right now started off as a ’zine! Girl Zines analyzes the beginning of the movement and its “revolution grrrl style” roots, as well as the way ’zinesters used the medium to explore race, sexuality, and identity. Get out your old Bikini Kill LPs, and read up on your history!

HAYAO MIYAZAKI Ponyo Premieres August 14 (Studio Ghibli) Hayao Miyazaki, the genius behind Studio Ghibli who wrote and directed the Japanese animated sensations Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and My Neighbor Totoro, is finally unleashing his latest masterpiece upon American audiences. Ponyo, aka Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, is the story of a mermaid who wants to become human (like the Hans Christian Andersen tale, but way cooler). After Ponyo is saved by a young boy, she begins to transform into a human, but in doing so, she sets off an unforeseen chain reaction in the underwater world ruled by her dad, the king of the sea. Ponyo is a hand-drawn wonderland

The Beastie Boys

Spike Jonze and Max Records

from an animation guru who easily taps into the minds and spirits of children everywhere.

SPIKE JONZE: WARNER BROTHERS; HAYAO MIYAZAKI: REUTERS; BEASTIE BOYS: RICKY POWELL; JEMAINE CLEMENT: DANIELLE ST. LAURENT

JEMAINE CLEMENT Gentlemen Broncos Premieres Fall TBA (Fox Searchlight Pictures) Jemaine Clement shows off his sugar lumps on the big screen this fall, in Gentlemen Broncos, a film written and directed by the folks behind Napoleon Dynamite. In it, our favorite cleft-chinned comedian plays self-serious sci-fi author Ronald Chevalier, a fellow who steals an idea from a boy (Michael Angarano) who has spent his life being home-schooled by his weird mom (the awesome Jennifer Coolidge). Hottie Sam Rockwell also appears as a character in both Benjamin’s and Ronald’s novels, and on a press tour last year,

Hayao Miyazaki

he revealed to reporters, “I look like Captain Kangaroo in drag.” Buckle up, kids!

THE BEASTIE BOYS Hot Sauce Committee On Sale Fall TBA (Capitol) Still rapping well into their 40s, the Beastie Boys are an unstoppable force of nature. For evidence of this, just look to their eagerly anticipated upcoming fall release, Hot Sauce Committee, July’s reissue of their classic album, Ill Communication, and a summer tour that kicked off at Bonnaroo and ends at the Austin City Limits festival. Meanwhile, Adam Yauch’s Oscilloscope Pictures is producing and distributing fine indie flicks like Michel Gondry’s latest effort, The Thorn in the Heart. And of course, there’s always Tibet.

Jemaine Clement

CHRIS ROCK Good Hair Premieres October 9 (Roadside Attractions) Chris Rock’s new documentary, Good Hair, was inspired by Rock’s daughter Lola, who heartbreakingly asked him one day, “Daddy, how come I don’t have good hair?” In response, Rock traveled around the world, from hair salons to scientific laboratories, investigating all angles of the issues surrounding African-American hair with his signature mix of comedy and dead-on political commentary. The film, which will first hit theaters and then will air on HBO, also features Rock interviewing a wide range of celebs like Ice-T, Nia Long, Paul Mooney, Raven Symoné, Maya Angelou, and Reverend Al Sharpton about their relationships with their hair.

SPIKE JONZE AND DAVE EGGERS Where the Wild Things Are Premieres October 16 (Warner Brothers Pictures) Let the adorable wild rumpus begin! Filmmaker extraordinaire Spike Jonze teamed up with indie-lit superstar Dave Eggers to write the screenplay for this hotly anticipated big-screen adaptation of the children’s classic Where the Wild Things Are, which Jonze also directs. With voice acting from Catherine O’Hara, Forest Whitaker, James Gandolfini, Paul Dano, and other fab actors, Catherine Keener on board playing Max’s mom, author Maurice Sendak participating as one of the producers, and Karen O contributing music, this is sure to be a hip fantasia for those of us who grew up with the beloved book. // / BUST / 065

BY TARA MARKS ILLUSTRATION BY FONTAINE ANDERSON

Take your sartorial ideas from your imagination to the racks, with this DIY guide to launching your own clothing label THESE DAYS, COUNTLESS boutiques and online shops are stocked with clothes made by indie designers—crafty, creative ladies who turned their love of style into stylish threads. If you’ve got an eye for design and a passion for fashion, you’ve probably wondered just how they did it. Turns out, whether you want to be the next Diane von Furstenberg or simply dream of hawking your handmade frocks at the local craft fair, it’s something you can do too. A few of BUST’s fave indie designers, including Samantha Pleet and the gals behind Shebible, Dear Creatures, and Nooworks, gave us the inside scoop about what it takes to launch a fashion line, DIY-style.

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: money matters and making a plan Fashion may be fun, but launching a clothing line is ﬁrst and foremost a business. Budgets and goals are just as important as hemlines and silhouettes, says Brooklyn-based designer Samantha Pleet, whose dandy-esque collection of feminine rompers and dresses was picked up by Urban Outﬁtters last year. “I have a BFA in fashion design, but I really wish I took classes in business,” she says. It’s important to consider the realities of entrepreneurship so you can decide upfront if you’re game to do the legwork. And let’s cut to the chase—to start your label, you’re gonna need money. Even the most DIY divas have to pony up some funds to bring their brilliant ideas to fruition. You’ll want enough dough to cover pattern and sample making, fabric and materials, and production and shipping, which could vary greatly depending on the type of clothes you make, how you produce them, and where you sell them. But the good news 066 / BUST // AUG/SEPT

is, you can actually do it with very little cash. “It’s not so much about capital as it is about time and hard work,” says Jennifer D’Angelo, the brains behind grunge-chic label Nooworks. “For the first two years, I invested about $50 and just reinvested every penny I made.” Nooworks began as a T-shirt line and grew to include dresses, jackets, and pants. D’Angelo makes reasonably priced clothes in simple materials with small manufacturing runs, so her start-up costs weren’t bad. When it comes to choosing fabrics, think about how much money you’re willing to spend, then design your pieces around your budget. If you’re conjuring up a couture line at $25 a yard, you’ll have to make a huge investment on materials alone. Not everyone can launch a clothing line as inexpensively as D’Angelo, but it doesn’t take as much as you might think. Calvin Klein launched his business in 1968 with $10,000, and Nanette Lepore started in 1992 with a $5,000 loan from her dad. Relying on personal loans from family members is a common way for budding designers to get their line off the ground. “We started with a $10,000 loan from my dad in 2001 and repaid him after a year,” says Deirdre Nagayama, who, along with partner Stacy Rodgers, launched the classic, comfy San Francisco–based line She-bible. “We’ve never taken out a bank loan, but we do lean on our AmEx from time to time.” Others apply for business loans. “I thought of it as a choice between starting a line and going to graduate school,” says Pleet. “I took out loans and worked through the first year.” Associations like the National Federation of Independent Business offer financial resources for smallbusiness owners, and Accion.org is a good source for microloans. Whatever you do, don’t quit your day job. If you’re already employed, stay that way so you can support yourself

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ﬁnancially while you launch your venture. Before you thread a single needle, you’ll need to create a plan. Write down your goals, whether that’s opening an Etsy store with a couple of dresses, or creating a 10-piece collection that’s sold in your favorite boutique. For help writing a business plan, check the Small Business Administration Web site (www. sba.gov) for resources, or see what courses your local community college offers. The She-bible gals took a “How to Start a Fashion Business” class at San Francisco City College for a mere $66. There are also legal issues involved with running a small business, so if you’re serious about turning your hobby into a possible moneymaker, read up on how to legally establish your company and ﬁnd out any tax consequences that come with it.

piece.” Web sites for fashion professionals like InfoMat.com and Fashiondex.com also offer referral services, or try the classified sections of industry papers like WWD. With patterns in hand, you can use the same search avenues to find an expert seamstress to create a one-off of each piece. Often, these samples are what you’ll present to local boutiques to see if they have an interest in buying, so it’s essential that no seam or hem is left unconsidered. Be sure to inquire about her expertise with the type of product you design, look at examples of her past work, and ask about turnaround time.

SELL IT LIKE IT IS: getting buyers SHE & HEM: create your collection The ﬁrst step, of course, is nailing down your designs. Decide what type of clothing you want to produce (strictly dresses, or a range of tops and bottoms?) and how many pieces you want to start with. Choose colors and fabrics (keeping in mind the cost of materials), and think about creating a cohesive look that lets your style shine. Create prototypes of your designs to see how wearable they are or if garment construction isn’t your forte, simply sketch your ideas and make notes about design details.

CUT IT OUT: pattern and sample making Once you know what you want your collection to look like, you’ll need a pattern for each piece. It’s imperative that the patterns are expertly made, since they’ll be the blueprints for every item you produce; they’re also the foundation for a good fit—a key element when it comes to selling your clothes. If you have mad sewing skills, very little money to invest, and a desire to tackle patternmaking on your own, find a how-to book you can learn from (see sidebar). Being able to interpret your designs and manage alterations will save you money and turnaround time. But because the technical craftsmanship of excellent patternmaking may elude even an experienced sewer, many designers leave this step to an expert. “Neither of us sew,” says She-bible’s Nagayama. “We usually start with a concept, or parts of garments that we like the fit of, and begin modifications from there. We also sketch our ideas and explain what we want to our patternmaker.” The most reliable way to find a patternmaker is through referrals. If you know someone in the fashion-design biz, hit her up. You can also contact fashion schools for students with strong patternmaking skills but be wary. “I worked with student patternmakers to keep my costs down, but I paid for it during manufacturing,” says Nooworks’ D’Angelo. “Having a really good patternmaker allows you to bring them your crappy hand-sewn item, and they’ll know all the right questions to ask to create a professional-looking 068 / BUST // AUG/SEPT

In order to make your line profitable, you’re going to need buyers. And it helps to have them before you invest mucho dinero in producing items that may or may not sell. When it comes to small boutiques, it’s usually the shop owner who’s looking for the latest and greatest merchandise to fill the store with. Stopping in or sending a handwritten note to introduce yourself and your new line is a good way to start. Getting your gear sold in boutiques outside your hometown, in department stores, or even internationally, however, is a bit more challenging and much more costly. Attending a fashion trade show (where designers set up individual booths to show off their wares to thousands of buyers) is the best way to do it. But because paying to flaunt your fashions doesn’t ensure interest in your line, shelling out the dough can be quite a gamble; it’s fitting that the most wellknown fashion trade shows such as MAGIC and POOL, are held in Las Vegas. “Before you take the production plunge, make sure you have an audience,” says Nagayama. “Do a trade show to presell your items so you aren’t creating things you haven’t already sold.” If that seems overwhelming, start attracting buyers by opening an Etsy store to gauge interest. Or sell your gear at indie fairs like BUST’s Craftacular, then take your profits and invest them in more expensive ventures like a trade show. But before you start selling to anyone, you’ll need to figure out how much to sell your threads for, making sure the price covers the cost of goods sold (COGS)—all productionrelated expenses like buttons, zippers, fabric, construction, labor, and shipping. A designer has two sets of customers, the retail store and the final shopper. Generally, retail shops mark up the wholesale price of clothing (what the designer charges the store) by double, plus 20 percent. Calculating your wholesale price can be complicated, but one of the best approaches is to apply the same markup principle. For example, if your COGS is $25, your wholesale price would be $55 ($25 x 2.2), and your retail price would be $121 ($55 x 2.2). If your retail price is too high compared to that of similar items on the market, you’ll have to simplify the design, use lessexpensive materials, or make production more efficient.

FACTORY GIRL: producing the goods Production is where your brilliant ideas become a real, live clothing line. Typically, many young, broke DIY designers with small orders to ﬁll hire a freelance seamstress for production. It’s a good way to keep costs down until your business grows to a point that can’t be handled by an individual. Once product demand increases, most designers have their line produced by a factory, where industrial cutting and sewing machines crank out clothes much quicker and more precisely than someone using a home sewing machine. Generally, these plants don’t advertise their services, which means it can take some digging to ﬁnd one. And not every factory likes to work with new designers, since they tend to have more problems and pattern mistakes. “The info booth in New York’s garment district provides great resources for newcomers about available factories in the area,” says Pleet. “Go there and ask lots of questions about which factories are available and open to working with newbies and how to contact them.” The Evans Group (www. evansgroupinternational.com), with factories in L.A. and San Francisco, specializes in small-volume production, perfect for new designers. Another thing to be aware of is manufacturing minimums. For instance, a factory may require 200 pieces of each style, but that may include all sizes and several color options (make sure you understand their parameters). When starting out, it’s best to choose a factory in the U.S., even locally if possible, so you can communicate clearly and oversee the process.

ACHTUNG, BABY: getting noticed Without exposure, your collection will ﬁzzle without ever seeing the inside of a fashionista’s closet. Marketing and branding your business is as important as the design of your clothes, so you’ll need a logo, business cards, and hang tags (featuring your label’s name and secured by safety pin to each item of clothing) that are as cute as your collection. Call on your artsy friends to help you. Know a graphic designer? Enlist her assistance (in exchange for trade if you can’t pay her), or search Craigslist for affordable freelancers. Consider creating a look book: a booklet that features photos of gals wearing your clothes, along with the name and style information of each piece. It’s an important sales tool for buyers, because they can see what your clothes actually look like when worn, and it’s a perfect item to send to editors and bloggers who will hopefully want to write about your new line. “I had always been kind of scattered and scrappy with my product photo shoots,” says D’Angelo. “Then I met a photographer who explained how great shots will sell your products and how your shoot should tell a story so press will ﬁnd it interesting. Use your friends as models, and have fun!” Every penny counts, so sending out thousands of press kits (a nice folder including a look book or photos of your collection, a designer biography, a collection summary, and copies of any press

clips) is out of the question. Email your info to anyone who might be interested, but be choosy about who gets a pretty, printed package. D’Angelo sends 10 really nice kits with a handwritten note and sometimes a sample. In addition, create a simple Web site for your line. If you’re clueless when it comes to HTML, sites like Webs.com offer Web-design wizards and user-friendly interfaces that can walk you through it. That same graphic-designer friend can probably help make your site look good, and remember, keep the same color scheme and font selection throughout your branding. Take any opportunity you can to talk up your business or show folks your collection. You never know what it may lead to. Relatively unknown California-based designer Bianca Benitez, of the sweetly feminine line Dear Creatures, sent one of her favorite actresses and singers, Zooey Deschanel, a few pieces from her first collection. Deschanel took a liking to the line and the next thing Benitez knew, Deschanel was starring in a cotton commercial that featured her Dear Creatures dresses, giving Benitez instant, free, international-level exposure. Launching a clothing line is no small potatoes. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from friends, family, and more-experienced designers. Be prepared for a lot of hard work. You’re guaranteed to make some mistakes along the way, but the day you see a stranger on the street rocking one of your original designs will make it all worthwhile. B

RESOURCES TRADESHOWS • MAGIC, Las Vegas (www.magiconline.com) • POOL, Las Vegas (www.pooltradeshow.com) • Project trade show, New York and Las Vegas (www.projectshow.com)

FABRICS & PRODUCTION • Apparel Search (www.apparelsearch.com) • American Apparel Producers Network (www.aapnetwork.net) • Style Source (www.style-source.com)

READING • The Fashion Designer Survival Guide by Mary Gehlhar • Fashion for Proﬁt by Frances Harder • Patternmaking for Fashion Design (and DVD Package) by Helen Joseph Armstrong

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ON EVA: BIKE HELMET BY GIANT, WWW.GIANT-BICYCLES.COM; ON NIKKI: JACKET BY SEVEN, WWW.7FORALLMANKIND.COM; SHIRT BY FRED PERRY,JEAN WWW.FREDPERRY.COM; BRACELET BY BUTTON-UP SHIRT BY MATIX, WWW.MATIXCLOTHING.COM; JEANS ALYSSA NORTON, WWW.ALYSSANORTON.COM. BY J.CREW, WWW.JCREW.COM; BOOTS, NIKKI’S OWN.

070 / BUST // FEB/MAR

sweet ride

CYCLE IN STYLE WITH THE COOLEST STREET-READY THREADS PHOTOGRAPHED BY GABRIELLE REVERE // STYLED BY PRISCILLA POLLEY MAKEUP BY YUKA SUZUKI // HAIR BY GILLIAN KUHLMANN

ON EVA (LEFT): SWEATER AND SHORTS BY RACHEL COMEY, WWW.RACHELCOMEY.COM; SHIRT BY FRED PERRY; SOCKS BY FALKE, WWW.FALKE.CO.ZA; SHOES BY UNITED BAMBOO, WWW.UNITEDBAMBOO.COM; BIKE BY BATAVUS, HUB STATION, N.Y.C., 212-965-9334. ON BRE (RIGHT): NECKLACE BY ALYSSA NORTON; DRESS BY VENA CAVA, WWW.SHOPBOP.COM; SHOES BY JEFFREY CAMPBELL, WWW.KARMALOOP.COM; BIKE, VINTAGE.

// BUST / 071

ON ANDREW: T-SHIRT AND HOODIE BY ALTERNATIVE APPAREL, WWW.ALTERNATIVEAPPAREL.COM; JEANS BY LEVI’S, WWW.LEVIS. COM; SHOES BY TOMS, WWW.TOMSSHOES.COM; BIKE, VINTAGE. ON ZAKIVA: NECKLACE BY STEVEN SHEIN, WWW.KARMALOOP. COM; DRESS BY LILY + JAE, WWW.LILYANDJAE.COM; BLOUSE BY TROVATA, WWW.TROVATA.COM; BANGLES BY BING BANG, WWW. AMANDASHEFFIELD.COM; CUFF BY DISAYA, WWW.DISAYA.COM; GLOVES BY LACRASIA, WWW.LACRASIA.COM; SHOES BY TOMS.

ON BRE: NECKLACE BY THEA GRANT, WWW. BAZZDEGRANT.COM; ROMPER BY RUFFEO HEARTS LIL’ SNOTTY, WWW.RHLS.COM; LEATHER JACKET BY NICHOLAS K, WWW.NICHOLASK.COM; GLOVES BY LACRASIA; EARRINGS BY BING BANG; BRACELET BY ALYSSA NORTON; VINTAGE FIXED-GEAR BIKE BY 718 CYCLERY, WWW.718C.COM.

AMELIA CAMISOLE BY FREMONT, WWW.FREMONT APPARELCO.COM; SILVER ID BRACELET AND “IN THE CHIPS” NECKLACE BY THEA GRANT, WWW. THEAGRANT.COM; MULTICOLOR ROPE BRACELET BY ALYSSA NORTON, WWW.ALYSSANORTON.COM; BELT BY AMERICAN APPAREL, WWW.AMERICANAPPAREL.NET.

ON NIKKI: DRESS BY 55DSL; BELT, STYLIST’S OWN.

073 / BUST // APR/MAY

// BUST / 073

ON ZAKIVA: LONG NECKLACE BY ALYSSA NORTON; SHORT CHAIN NECKLACE AND BRACELET BY THEA GRANT; ROMPER BY 7 FOR ALL MANKIND, WWW.7FORALLMANKIND.COM; BAG BY COTELAC, WWW.COTELAC.FR; SOCKS BY FALKE; BOOTS BY VPL, WWW.VPLNYC.COM. ON ANDREW: SHIRT BY FRED PERRY; JACKET BY TROVATA; BELT, VINTAGE; JEANS BY LEVI’S; SHOES BY TOMS.

074 / BUST // JUNE/JULY

ON NIKKI: SHIRT BY URBAN RENEWAL, WWW.URBANOUTFITTERS.COM; NECKLACE, VINTAGE; SHORTS BY DOLLHOUSE, WWW.DOLLHOUSE.COM. OPPOSITE PAGE: ON NORA (LEFT): BY I.D.I., WWW.EYEDEYE.COM; ON EVA: SUNGLASSES BY RAY BAN,SWEATER WWW.RAYBAN.COM; EARRINGS BY ALEX AND ANI, WWW.ALEXANDANI.COM; JEANS BY MARC JACOBS, WWW.MARCJACOBS.COM; PLATFORMS BY BETSEY NECKLACE BY THEA GRANT; SCARF BY COTELAC; TANK TOP BY VENA CAVA; TOP BY LILY + JAE; SHORTS BY ALICE JOHNSON, WWW.BETSEYJOHNSON.COM. ON NIKKI (CENTER): BY 55DSL, RITTER, WWW.ALICERITTER.COM; BRACELET BY LULU FROST, DRESS WWW.LULUFROST.COM; RING BY BING BANG; SHOES BY WWW.55DSL.COM; BELT, STYLIST’S OWN; SHOES BY JESSICA SIMPSON, WWW. UNITED BAMBOO. ON BRE: DRESS BY BUILT BY WENDY, WWW.BUILTBYWENDY.COM; JACKET BY ALICE RITTER; SOCKS JESSICASIMPSONCOLLECTION.COM. ON JOSEPH (RIGHT): SHIRT AND BY FALKE; SHOES BY VANS, WWW.VANS.COM; RING AND EARRINGS BYBELT, BING BANG; BRACELETS BY THEA GRANT. VINTAGE; JEANS BY JBRAND, WWW.JBRANDJEANS.COM; SHOES, JOSEPH’S OWN.

// BUST / 075

ON BRE: NECKLACE BY THEA GRANT; HOOD SCARF BY UNCONDITIONAL, WWW. OAKNYC.COM; BLOUSE BY RACHEL COMEY; BELT BY COTELAC; JEANS BY CHEAP MONDAY, WWW.CHEAPMONDAY. COM; BRACELET BY BING BANG; BANGLES BY ALYSSA NORTON.

AMELIA CAMISOLE BY FREMONT; “IN THE CHIPS” NECKLACE BY THEA GRANT.

076 / BUST // FEB/MAR

ON EVA: NECKLACE BY DISAYA; SHIRT BY FRED PERRY; JACKET BY 7 FOR ALL MANKIND; BELT BY COTELAC; SKIRT BY CHEAP MONDAY; SOCKS BY HUE, WWW.HUE.COM; HIGHTOPS BY VANS; RING BY BING BANG; OLD DUTCH BIKE BY BATAVUS. MODELS: BRE @ FORD, EVA @ Q MODELS, ANDREW @ VNY, ZAKIVA LEWIS-GRUSS.

// BUST / 077

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the bust guide

MUSIC

CHICKS ON SPEED Cutting the Edge (Chicks on Speed) It’s been four years since their last release (and one slight lineup change, with Kiki Moorse departing in 2006), but leave it to the Chicks to come back with a vengeance. Spread over 23 tracks and 2 CDs, this album is a noise-pop powerhouse ﬁlled with the bratty wit this Munich group has made so iconic. Debbie Gibson–ish dance anthem “Art Rules” jabs at the art world (“Where are all the women?/They’re underneath the men!”), while “Vibrator” channels the B-52s so perfectly, the Chicks persuaded Fred Schneider to collaborate on the track via Skype (seriously). Even the most out-there songs, such as the industrialinﬂuenced “Sewing Machine” and spoken-word “How to Build a High-Heeled Shoe Guitar,” glisten with self-referential humor, like disclaimers letting us know that they’re not taking themselves too seriously. New and groundbreaking for the Chicks? Not really. Totally awesome anyway? You bet. [MOLLIE WELLS]

PHOTOGRAPHED BY SARAH MEADOWS

DANGER MOUSE AND SPARKLEHORSE Dark Night of the Soul (Self-released) In a move guaranteed to please hipsters of every stripe, Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse’s Mark Linkous have teamed up to create an all-star album, featuring luminaries as disparate as Suzanne Vega, Iggy Pop, Julian Casablancas, and legendary filmmaker David Lynch. Dark Night of the Soul’s indie noir shifts like midnight fog to suit each contributor’s vocal personality. Strokes leader Casablancas, for example, perfectly fits the downtown jangle of “Little Girl,” and the narcotic fuzz of “Pain” slithers around Iggy Pop’s weathered croon like a vapor memory of the Stooges. Danger Mouse’s production wizardry is readily apparent throughout, as electronic textures color the orchestration, skittering on the periphery of many tracks and taking center stage on some, which meshes well with Linkous’ rusted lo-fi approach to songwriting. Lynch, for his part, has taken a series of photos that accompany the songs and gamely sings the final, ominous title track. [TOM FORGET]

yacht SEE MYSTERY LIGHTS (DFA) AS THE SOLE master behind Y.A.C.H.T., Jona Bechtolt could’ve gone on forever making semigoofy, danceable party tracks. But predictability just isn’t his thing. Now that he’s joined label DFA Records and reformed YACHT sans punctuation and avec permanent member Claire Evans, things have gotten weird in the coolest way—just like the paranormal orbs for which See Mystery Lights is named. This mix of avant-pop, electro, and smooth southern spiritual is irresistibly off-kilter, from the Kraftwerk-infused gospel of “The Afterlife” to the stuttering noise and sing-along chants of “It’s Boring/You Can Live Anywhere You Want.” Even the disco beats of the most DFA-worthy track, “Summer Song” (intended to be a “love letter” to LCD Soundsystem), feels a little strange, like a record playing at the wrong speed. But don’t worry: even though the new YACHT is more science-ﬁction strange than silly-quirky, the band still hangs on to that “let’s just have a totally awesome time” vibe. Every song is a dance party waiting to happen. It’ll just take place on, like, a UFO or something. [MOLLIE WELLS] // BUST / 079

the guide MUSIC DEERHUNTER Rainwater Cassette Exchange (4AD) Whether Deerhunter intended it to be or not, the Rainwater Cassette Exchange EP is quite a nice p.s. to the tripped-out love letter that was last year’s full-length, Microcastles. Recorded in the same studio, with the same producer, the result is a lush, layered, and lovelorn pop appendix. Florid textures abound on these five short songs; warm tones converge with warmer tones, and melodies build onto themselves in a dreamy haze. The title track is anchored by arena-sized drums and builds into a crescendo that threatens to fuzz out any wan expectations, while the sound on “Disappearing Ink” could fill a field in a thunderstorm. The stylistic production along with Deerhunter’s obvious knack for melody is punctuated with vocals that are equal parts throaty rasp and angelic sigh. Count this as another must-have from these Atlanta men. [JACK HINES]

EAR PWR Super Animal Brothers III (Carpark) Sometimes the only thing more contrived than completely electronic bands are music duos formed by real-life couples. Ear Pwr is both, yet manages to make tunes with oodles of sincerity and zero gimmick. Super Animal Brothers III is the stuff of all-night dance-offs. Inﬂuences ﬂoat in and out, as diverse as Italo Disco and early-’90s dance, and even theme-park sounds make an appearance. “Discover Your Colors” has so many layers that it becomes ambient, both relaxing and exhilarating at once. “Future Eyes” begins as an epic dance hit and continues into a beat-heavy, clubby track that automatically makes your feet move. The only thing missing here is the ability to magically conjure up Ear Pwr in person every time you pop in Super Animal Brothers III, because there is nothing like seeing these two live. [SUSAN JUVET]

THE FIERY FURNACES I’m Going Away (Thrill Jockey) Known for their adventurous albums, the Fiery Furnaces continue the tradition with their eighth and latest, I’m Going Away. The title track starts with a mid-’60s vibe, blending Eleanor Friedberger’s husky vocals with sparsely placed guitars and an overall driving rhythm. The duo instantly slows things down with the crooning, AM Gold–ﬂavored “Drive to Dallas,” which meanders through four minutes of lazy-afternoon melodies before leaping into an urgent repetition of “If I see you tomorrow/I don’t know what I will do.” “The End is Near” faintly—and strangely—echoes Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So,” and “Charmaine Champagne” picks up the momentum with spiraling pianos and fuzzy guitars. The remaining tracks offer up a cozy mix of classic rock and 080 / BUST // AUG/SEPT

pure pop pleasure, creating an album for slow Sunday mornings when you want nothing more than your butt on the couch and a full pot of coffee. [MELYNDA FULLER]

IMOGEN HEAP Ellipse (RCA) Imogen Heap has been experimenting with social networking by asking for input on her songs from fans and even giving them an opportunity to contribute music to a track posted on the Web. Still, the British singer/songwriter’s third release is a solid, coherent record, fanciful at times and deliciously moody at others. The opener, “First Train Home,” is a dreamy morning-after song tinged with regret, and “Between Sheets” celebrates the night before. “Tidal,” despite the Fiona Apple echoes of its name, references the beach towns Heap traveled through while composing the album. Rounding out the superfemme vibe here is “Bad Body Double,” a funked-up, wry take on body-image issues. Effervescent even when she’s paranoid, Heap has a sense of humor and soothing voice that make this a record destined for as much attention, commercial and Internet, as her ﬁrst. [SARAH JAFFE]

HANNE HUKKELBERG Blood From a Stone (Nettwerk) Norwegian artist Hanne Hukkelberg partly credits the sound of her third album, Blood From a Stone, to her personal collection of ’80s indie-rock albums, citing Sonic Youth, Cocteau Twins, the Pixies, and PJ Harvey as inﬂuences in this percussion-heavy foray. The unusual sounds on Blood come from a train door, handclaps, oven- and freezerproduced percussion, and even bicycle spokes, all mixed with traditional instruments. Hukkelberg’s voice seductively coos, intensifying as the music builds in “Salt of the Earth.” “Bandy Riddles” is catchy and slightly folksy, and in contrast, “No One But Yourself” sounds much more brooding and bothered. She closes with “Bygd Til By,” and over slow, melodic strums, sings in Norwegian, adding a personal touch to this gem of an album. [REGINA PANIS]

LIGHTS Rites (Drag City) On Lights’ newest effort, Rites, ’60s psychedelia thrives as the band awakens a bounce last heard in a ’70s roller disco and breezes straight into ’80s post-punk territory. The intertwining sugary lilts of the ladies in the group—Sophia Knapp and Linnea Vedder—twist unmistakably close to the gals of ABBA, combined with the unique squeal of Cocteau Twins’ Elizabeth Fraser (especially on the soothing track “We Belong”). Bassist Andy MacLeod gets in on the action with pulsing dance jam “Fire Night,” conquering a sultry Malcolm McLaren–esque

rap. The group may be a throwback to the era of glitter and platforms, but Lights never forget their love for ’60s rock distortion (“Check Out Hold On”) and smooth twinkles of piano (“Nothing Left to Build”). Word has it their live sets are pretty trippy, too, where Lights are both heard and seen, care of the band’s fourth member, analog-light-show artist Wizard Smoke. [MARY-LOUISE PRICE]

LITTLE BOOTS Illuminations EP (Elektra) “Aren’t ya new in town?” Little Boots appropriately sings in the opening

line of Illuminations, her new U.S. EP. After all, it’s the first official American release for the latest blond, British, dance-pop bombshell to be branded the Next Big Thing. But Little Boots— Blackpool-born Victoria Hesketh—has made believers out of jaded hipsters with her unlikely dance-floor hit “Stuck on Repeat,” a DIY electro groove that’s rough enough around the edges to maintain Boots’ indie cred and infectious enough to get play at velvet-rope clubs. On Illuminations, though, Hesketh’s lo-fi sound gets a Goldfrapp-like sheen, with polished, percolating synths and vocals wrapped in reverb. But the source material is still enjoyably dark (on

{heavy rotation}

AMANDA BLANK I Love You

SHANE MCCAULEY

(DOWNTOWN)

MC AMANDA BLANK, who has remixed and collaborated with other hip-hop hipsters, including Spank Rock, M.I.A., and Santigold, keeps her beats tight and dirty on her addictive, ass-shaking first album. The strongest tracks show off her rapid-fire rapping skills, but she can also pull off synthy songs that are just a little bit sad, like “Shame on Me” and “DJ.” Blank’s awesomely filthy homage to Romeo Void’s new-wave classic “Never Say Never” brings it to the next level with lyrics like, “Wanna hold you/Get to know you/Show you what I got in my sweater, baby.” Consider I Love You your new go-to album when you’re getting ready for a hot date or want to start a dance party in your living room. [JENNI MILLER]

“Love Kills,” Little Boots sings “Love don’t give no justiﬁcation/It strikes like cold steel” over crushing keyboard riffs and a banging bass line). Illuminations is just the beginning for Hesketh; she has a North American tour this fall and a fulllength, Hands, due later this year. And if her recent, shimmering live shows in New York were any indication, Little Boots has a big future ahead of her. [DYLAN STABLEFORD]

MAJOR LAZER Guns Don’t Kill People…Lazers Do (Downtown) Major Lazer is the brainchild of renowned DJs/producers Diplo and Switch, whose names probably sound familiar (count producing M.I.A. and Santigold as feathers in their hats). Guns Don’t Kill People was recorded during a trip to Jamaica and aptly layers dancehall rhythms over found sounds, synth beats, and vocals from guests such as Ms. Thing, Santigold, and more. True to its reggae roots, the album’s lyrics alternate between the subtly sweet and ultraviolent, with a large serving of tongue-in-cheek humor, exempliﬁed in “Mary Jane,” a not-so-subtle ode to the track’s illicit namesake. Sonically smart “Can’t Stop Now” overlaps a warbled, delicate reggae beat; “Baby,” features Auto-Tuned infant wails as its rhythmic foundation. Bottom line? Guns Don’t Kill People gets the classic stamp of approval: it’s got great beats, and it’ll make you move. [ERICA VARLESE]

STEPHANIE MCKAY Tell It Like It Is (Moi/McKay) When it comes to contemporary soul music, there will always be some naysayers who go on and on about how back in the day, the tunes were more true, more pure, and more the real thing. Well, somebody forgot to tell Stephanie McKay. A respected, dynamic session singer (for musicians like Kelis and Roy Hargrove), McKay self-pens her songs, and they’re seductive but never overt. There’s an old-fashioned restraint and some grown-girl sass in those straight-ahead vocals. On cuts like the intoxicating title track (peppered with just a hint of southern soul) or the sweet

midtempo “This Letter”—no texting for this lady—McCay gives you a citiﬁed attitude as gritty as it is romantic. On her second album (and ﬁrst domestic release), this Bronx native proves the good old days of rhythm-and-blues are right now. [AMY LINDEN]

THE PLASTISCINES About Love (NYLON) Like the high-school clique from the movie Mean Girls, this French chick rock band is glossy, calculated, and just a little bit snide. Lucky for us, those qualities translate into a catchy, energetic album packed with deliciously bitchy pop songs. About Love, the group’s second full-length, steamrolls through 12 tracks of ﬁst-pumping kick drums under sparse, crunchy guitars and polished, in-yourface melodies that evoke Pat Benatar. Bratty backing vocals and random interspersions of French are only icing on the cake. Even though the Plasticines self-identify as “garage rock,” with inﬂuences like Blondie and the White Stripes, they more accurately channel Sahara Hotnights or even the Donnas. Regardless of inspiration, the band has succeeded at “bitch rock.” Because when lead singer Katty Besnard wails, “I’m a bitch, in disguise,” you can’t help but believe her. [ERIN GRIFFITH]

JAY REATARD Watch Me Fall (Matador) Although he is almost entirely made of hair and looks like he belongs in a wood shop rather than a recording studio, Jay Reatard turns out amazingly structured songs that are an equal mix of sensitivity and rowdiness on Watch Me Fall, his ﬁrst major release since 2006. Reatard’s music is often referred to as garage punk, but this release is more pop than a punk would ever care to admit. Galloping along with a steady strumming guitar, each of Reatard’s songs builds into the next. While opening track, “It Ain’t Gonna Save Me,” starts with toe-tapping, you may ﬁnd yourself manically pogoing by the time the album comes to a close. “Nothing Now,” the record’s standout, is a bit darker than the rest, beginning with guitar that sounds like the buzzing // BUST / 081

MUSIC {INTERVIEW}

GROOMING: HEART

the guide

The Dead Weather [clockwise from top left]: Jack White, Alison Mosshart, Dean Fertita, and Jack Lawrence

weathering the storm JACK WHITE AND ALISON MOSSHART GIVE THE SCOOP ON THEIR ROCK ‘N’ ROLL SUPERGROUP JACK WHITE IS the king of founding hip-as-shit bands. First he created the White Stripes, then the Raconteurs, and now his newest project, the balls-out, bare-boned group the Dead Weather, is spot-on rock gold. The band features Alison Mosshart (of the Kills) sharing vocal duties with White, and Dean Fertita (Queens of the Stone Age) and Jack Lawrence (the Raconteurs) round out the lineup. Their dirty-blues, classic-rockheavy debut, Horehound, was recorded in Nashville in White’s 082 / BUST // AUG/SEPT

brand-new studio and sounds like a Pabst hangover feels: trashy, throbbing, and totally nasty. I meet the band in their Manhattan hotel room on the eve of the Dead Weather’s ﬁrst sold-out N.Y.C. show. While drinking beers in a haze of Mosshart’s self-proclaimed “menthol sauna” of Marlboro smoke, they share the secrets of their success—an afﬁnity for machine guns, loud music in fast cars, and above all else, the virtues of rock ‘n’ roll. PHOTOGRAPHED BY MICHAEL LAVINE

Alison and Jack, you’ve both released albums with your own bands recently. How did you ﬁnd time to make Horehound? A.M.: Just don’t take off any days, ever. I haven’t had one off this year. How do you unwind, with such a crazy schedule? A.M.: I laugh a lot. That makes me feel good. And I sleep on planes. Jack, you have two young kids now, ages one and two. Are they going on tour with you? I’ve done that here and there. But it’s a lot of damp, concrete-basement backstage rooms that you don’t really want to put your kids down on, you know? It’s a lot of “Oh, don’t touch that! No, don’t touch that!” Alison, how was it recording with these guys? It absolutely ruined my life. [laughs] No, it’s been so much fun. I think when you start something new, no one knows what you’re doing, and you have that secret period where you are really free to be creative. You didn’t feel any pressure? Well, I was scared to death because they were so fucking good. It was totally challenging for me in the best possible way, because I loved watching them work. It was almost like I could watch them from the sky and suddenly drop down into it and be part of it, which is really great. How do you like singing with Jack? It’s amazing, because he is one of my favorite singers of all time. Every time he does a vocal take, I’m just like this [jaw drops], getting every minute of it in my brain, ’cause it’s really exciting. Were you guys listening to anything in particular during the recording of this album? J.W.: I try not to. It starts to get a little strange for people who are visiting [the studio], because all I listen to is what I’m currently working on. Sometimes I think, “God, people must think I’m so narcissistic.” But I’m just analyzing and reanalyzing. A.M.: Yeah that’s my favorite part—being in your car and you driving about 120 miles per hour and listening to the song we did the day before. Tell me about the new studio in Nashville. What makes it special? J.W.: It has incredible character and a lot of secret things you can’t ﬁnd in any other studio acoustically. Most studios are designed to have a tiny bit of character, but are mostly just dead. So it’s a much-needed resource in today’s overproduced musical climate? J.W.: I think it’s an interesting way to start attacking recording, because there’s a lot of invisible music out there right now. What do you mean by invisible? A.M.: Nobody has any feelings attached to music. They don’t feel like it’s theirs or it’s not important to them. It’s just an endless stream of shit; it’s nothing to latch on to. What do you anticipate needing when you’re on tour together? J.W.: We’re gonna need guns. A.M.: Yeah, we do like those collectively as a band. Really? J.W.: Yeah. We had a lot of leftover promotional CDs from a party at my record label’s headquarters. After the event, we took them and shot them all with machine guns and handguns. What did that feel like? A.M.: Like the best feeling you’ve ever felt. J.W.: I didn’t realize I’d always wanted to do it my whole life until I pulled the trigger. I was like, “Whoa. I’ve wanted to do that forever.” [SARA GRAHAM]

of bees as Reatard sings, “You had your whole life to think things over.” Well, think this over for a bit—Watch Me Fall is the cat’s dirty-ass pajamas. [KELLY MCCLURE]

SALLY SHAPIRO My Guilty Pleasure (Paper Bag) Sally Shapiro, the alias for this Swedish pop princess and her trusty producer Johan Agebjörn, make radiant disco-pop that’s made Clubland seem new again. On My Guilty Pleasure, the duo offers a dramatic, dance-centric palate, inﬂuenced by Swedish and Italo Disco. Hints of nostalgia are sprinkled throughout “Looking at the Stars” and album stunner “My Fantasy,” reﬁning synth beats of yesteryear for a spectacular second coming. Funky bass lines and even-funkier drums lightly weave around Shapiro’s sweetly airy vocals on “Moonlight Dance,” and the stylish “Save Your Love” kindly reminds you that the ’80s did have some bright and shiny moments (Stacey Q, anyone?). For lovers of synth-pop perfection, Sally Shapiro’s My Guilty Pleasure will certainly woo you. [MACKENZIE WILSON]

THOSE DARLINS Self-titled (Oh Wow Dang) I love country music. Real country music, that is. Not the corporatelabel scene that’s littered with Malibu Barbie babes like Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift. Which brings me to Those Darlins. Talk about some fresh air blowin’ through your beehive hair. Kelley, Jessi, and Nikki Darlin, have each copped their surname, Ramones-style. These gals sing tales of condoning crazy behavior on the rockabilly-tinged “Wild One”; being a hillbilly, white-trash wife on “Snaggle Tooth Mama”; and riding drunk on a bicycle with “DUI or Die.” My personal fave is “Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy” (shucks, Jethro, I wonder what that could be a metaphor for?). This is great western raunch ‘n’ roll, so forget all those country cream puffs and make Those Darlins yours. [MICHAEL LEVINE]

PATRICK WOLF The Bachelor (NYLON) If Billy Idol were the lead singer of the Presets, they might create something comparable to The Bachelor, the newest album from London darling Patrick Wolf. His beat-heavy fourth record features a diverse sonic mix, including computer blips, ambient machine-made soundscapes, background choirs, and strings. Wolf’s swarthy and sometimes sinister vocals carry his punk revolution attitude in political ditties “Hard Times” and “Count the Casualty.” The entire collection resonates like shrapnel in a blender while still remaining sweepingly beautiful, especially on “Damaris” and “Theseus” (featuring spoken word from actress Tilda Swinton). The Bachelor plateaus to perfection several times (like with the twisted, poppy mover “Vulture”), but as a whole, the album feels slightly unpolished and stiﬂed by the extra baggage of about three songs too many. [WHITNEY DWIRE]

WYE OAK The Knot (Merge) Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack, the guitar-and-drums duo known as Wye Oak, recorded their debut album, If Children, in basements and bedrooms in and around their beloved Baltimore, and riddled their brand of indie folk-rock with waves of distortion. For their second effort, The Knot, the band eased up on the shoegaze in favor of polished, chamber-pop arrangements, and it paid off. Wasner’s voice shakes and towers like a young Chan Marshall, a nervier Liz Phair, or even (gasp) Sarah McLachlan (if the Lilith Fair had been a bit more indie rock). On the slow grind of “Mary Is Mary,” Wasner and Stack pull desperately hard on the heartstrings (note: playing this song on repeat following a breakup is not recommended). But “Sight, Flight,” the anthemic closer, leaves the lovelorn listener with hope that she’ll tie her own knot someday. [DYLAN STABLEFORD] // BUST / 083

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SPRING FLING CRAFTACULAR 2009

Happy shoppers snag goodie bags and copies of BUST

The Yudu team showing off their screen-printing skills!

Tugboat Printshop grins for the camera

Fabulous rafﬂe prizes

Squidﬁre’s spring selection

RHLS strikes an eight-eyed pose!

The second annual BUST Spring Fling Craftacular was chock-full of the most unique vendors selling their handmade and one-of-a-kind wares to a packed crowd at the Warsaw in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. With demonstrations by Trees Not Trash, and The Farm Sanctuary and Joshua Katcher whipping up tasty vegan wafﬂes, there was never a dull moment. Shoppers stopped by the Yudu booth 084 / BUST // AUG/SEPT

The Farm Sanctuary and Joshua Katcher whipping up tasty vegan treats for the crowd

Trees Not Trash does some guerilla gardening

Don’t hide your love for BUST!

to snag a personalized screen-printed tote, and learn how to do it themselves on the one and only Yudu machine. If you missed it this time, be sure to come to the BUST Holiday Craftacular held in December. Special thanks to Provocraft, Singer, Etsy, Verve, Fresh Minerals, Batavus, Sublime Stitching, Modcloth, Eyekiss Films, Blue Q, Torrid, O-wool, and all the Craftacular vendors.

MOLLY CLIFFORD

Full house at the Warsaw for the BUST Spring Fling Craftacular!

the guide

MOVIES

Posey, Poehler, and Dratch hit the town in Spring Breakdown

Paper Heart’s Charlyne Yi contemplates matrimony

PHOTOS COURTESY OF OVERTURE FILMS, FOX SEARCHLIGHT, AND WARNER HOME VIDEO

PAPER HEART Directed By Nicholas Jasenovec (Overture Films) Paper Heart is hard to explain without using lots of hyphens or making it sound too adorable for its own good. In this documentary/rom-com combo, actress, comedian, and musician Charlyne Yi plays a version of herself making a documentary with friend Nicholas Jasenovec as they travel across the country investigating love. She isn’t sure she will ever fall in love or even if she believes in it, despite what friends tell her. And those friends include famous faces Seth Rogen, Martin Starr, and Demetri Martin, because Yi’s been palling around with the Apatow crew since her hilarious role in Knocked Up. In the documentary part of the movie, she interviews real people across the country about love, from bikers to little kids on a playground. Each interview is then illustrated by a puppet show acted out by Yi’s paper dolls on handcrafted sets. The rom-com part comes in when director Jasenovec (whom I was shocked to realize is actually played on-screen by actor Jake Johnson), tries to set her up with his friend Mike, aka actor Michael Cera (Yi’s real-life boyfriend). Right about now is when cultural critics are bound to get their sneery faces on, but Paper Heart is not as twee as it sounds. And that’s because despite all the creative playing around with genre, Yi comes across as a real, genuine human be-

Alexis Bledel wants to get Rodrigo Santoro into bed in Post Grad

ing grappling with love. And she’s not just great on-screen. She’s also the executive producer, co-writer, puppet master, and one of the musicians on the soundtrack, along with Cera. So although recent reports would have us believe there’s some kind of gender war raging in Hollywood between “the Fempire” and “Apatown,” I have high hopes that Yi could broker a truce and we could all live happily ever after, fart jokes and all. [JENNI MILLER]

POST GRAD Directed by Vicky Jenson (Fox Searchlight) The premise of Post Grad is nothing new: overachieving student has grand after-college goals only to realize that real life, with its lack of funds, job rejections, and utter uncertainty, kind of sucks. When I was in high school, Reality Bites was the gold standard for this type of story (who didn’t want to grow up to be Winona Ryder back then?). And though Post Grad doesn’t have the same level of angst, indie edge, or abundant pop-culture references, it does have Alexis Bledel (Rory from Gilmore Girls), an actress so effortlessly likable you can easily overlook the self-absorption her character Ryden Malby indulges in. The ﬁlm kicks off with Ryden’s graduation from college, and as you can guess, it’s all downhill from there. She moves back home with her well-meaning, eccentric family (played by Michael Keaton, the

hilarious Jane Lynch, and comic queen Carol Burnett as her deadpanning grandma), gets ﬂirty with the older next-door neighbor (Rodrigo Santoro), and takes her best friend, Adam (Friday Night Lights cutie Zach Gilford), and his obvious devotion for granted. It’s all good, clean, formulaic fun, complete with job-hunting sequences, a crappy work-duties montage when Ryden ﬁnally lands a gig, and will-they-orwon’t-they sexual tension. Though you can probably already predict the ending, let’s hear it for a movie with a sweet, smart girl at the crux of the story. The supporting cast falls a bit short of its potential (even Demetri Martin and Fred Armisen make all-too-brief appearances), but Bledel’s charm is at the heart of this feel-good movie—a warm, fuzzy way to spend 90 minutes that will have scores of high school girls wanting to be Bledel when they grow up. [LISA BUTTERWORTH]

SPRING BREAKDOWN Directed by Ryan Shiraki (Warner Home Video) When word reached BUST HQ long ago that someone had ﬁnally made a rowdy, bawdy, crazy spring-break comedy for the ladies starring Amy Poehler, Parker Posey, and co-writer Rachel Dratch, we couldn’t wait to see it. But wait we did, wondering if it would ever see the light of day. Now, it seems, Warner Brothers has shufﬂed the title straight to DVD. Usually, this is a pretty good indica-

tor of a film’s crappiness—but I optimistically dove into my review copy anyway, and I’m psyched to report that despite Warner’s apparent lack of regard for women’s projects, this flick is a winner. Spring Breakdown introduces Poehler, Posey, and Dratch as 30something pals who’ve been nerding it up together since college. But when Posey’s character, Becky, is sent on a wild mission by her boss, Senator “Kay Bee” Hartmann (Jane Lynch), to keep Hartmann’s daughter Ashley (Amber Tamblyn) out of trouble during spring break, the friends are suddenly handed an opportunity to party with a crowd they could never hang with back in the day. Each of the gals responds to this do-over differently, and their journey highlights all kinds of themes involving women’s inhumanity to women and the toxic female quest for acceptance—but forget all that. This flick is really all about the gags. It delivers mountains of laugh-out-loud jokes: sight gags, sex gags, drinking gags, crazy-outfit gags, musical gags, relationship gags, and more. The jokes fly so fast and furious, I had Sprite Zero shooting out my nose before the opening credits were through. And when was the last time you saw a chick flick rated R for “crude humor and sexual references”? Try never. But I sincerely hope enthusiasm for this DVD will signal to the studio system that girls indeed want to have this kind of fun. [EMILY REMS] // BUST / 085

086 / BUST // AUG/SEP

the guide

BOOKS

LITPICK

babysitter: an american history BY MIRIAM FORMAN-BRUNELL [NYU PRESS] THE BABYSITTING BUSINESS boomed in the 1980s, buoyed by Ann M. Martin’s The Baby-sitters Club and movies like Adventures in Babysitting. Then the bubble popped in the ’90s, with the evil nanny in The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and an explosion of sitter-centric pornography. That arc of pop-culture references from the end of the 20th century is likely all that Gen X-, Y-, and Z-ers know about babysitting in America. But Babysitter: An American History shows there’s a long tradition that predates it. Forman-Brunell, a history professor, mines the past century for intriguing snippets of babysitting lore, starting with a 14-yearold Sylvia Plath’s own misadventures in babysitting (leading to her conclusion that “little children are bothersome beings” and sitting itself was “slave labor”), followed by Princeton University’s 1940s all-male “Tiger Tots Tending Agency,” enduring urban legends involving teen sitters and serial killers (“the call is coming from inside the house”), and the rise of the nanny cam. What might have been just an amusing collection of related relics is instead a sophisticated and smooth history of girl culture and shifting family values in Forman-Brunell’s capable hands. She traces the phenomenon from the pay-for-care service’s origin in the 1920s touching upon the post-WWII boom (in 1949, three-quarters of high school girls in a study in D.C. regularly sat), sitting shortages in suburban neighborhoods of the 1950s, sitter unionization, and YWCA-sponsored training courses. It’s a thorough investigation of our cultural anxieties about childcare and an intriguing look at what happens when a teenage girl rules the roost. [IRIS BLASI]

THE BOLTER By Frances Osborne (Knopf) As a rich debutante in Edwardian England, Idina Sackville went everywhere with a black Pekingese named Satan, an excellent indicator of her disregard for conformity. “An extraordinary mixture of sybarite and pioneer,” according to a friend, Sackville quickly mastered the art of pleasing herself: collecting husbands and lovers, trading her children for a freer life in Kenya. Frances Osborne, Sackville’s great-granddaughter, meticulously tracks the life of a woman who, having witnessed her father’s betrayal of her mother, made sure she was never abandoned by a man. Instead, she left first, eventually marrying five times. The book borrows its title from the name of an absentee mother in three Nancy Mitford novels. Sackville’s uncanny resemblance to the fictionalized bolter earned her, in select circles, the eponymous nickname. At first, reading about her ups and downs feels like the literary equivalent

of drinking deli coffee: hot, caffeinated, and easy to throw away. But Sackville eventually gets under one’s skin. As the adventures pile up, Sackville’s appetite for attention reveals a profound and occasionally relatable loneliness, and Osborne’s riveting account shifts into more personal territory, as she carefully connects the ramiﬁcations of her relative’s scandals to her own life. [SARAH NORRIS]

BOTH WAYS IS THE ONLY WAY I WANT IT By Maile Meloy (Riverhead) Montana-bred, L.A.based Maile Meloy has more worldly, cool credentials than most young writers— she’s in demand at The New Yorker, Granta, and The Paris Review; she’s a Guggenheim fellow with abundant awards and prizes; her kid brother is Decemberist Colin Meloy. But the short stories in her second collection are set deep in disempowered, rural alienation. Characters leading isolated lives in awkward circumstances are brought vividly

into focus by her spot-on command of dialogue and tone. Abandonment and inﬁdelity pervade; the girls in these stories are tantalized by their own desires but can’t negotiate the ways of men, and adult women are bound by the disappointing bargains they have struck. Unfortunately, Meloy’s otherwise excellent work is too much from the perspective of other, male characters, predominantly of a creepy middle-aged variety. I felt tricked by the title of this collection, which seemed an interestingly bratty take on second-wave “having it all,” when in fact it’s from a (man’s) poem evoked by male characters, fantasizing about sexual access to both their wives and other women. I know it’s a strength for any writer to speak convincingly from the perspective of dissimilar beings but in this collection, it feels at the expense of rendering female consciousness. Too many of the women characters are not given voice. There’s plenty enough ﬁction like that by men already, thanks. [FRAN WILLING]

THE GIRLS’ GUIDE TO ROCKING: How to Start a Band, Book Gigs, and Get Rolling to Rock Stardom By Jessica Hopper (Workman) Good rock ‘n’ roll doesn’t follow the rules, so a how-to manual on the mechanics of rock seems like something Tracy Flick in the film Election would turn to after hearing a Yeah Yeah Yeahs record. That said, Jessica Hopper’s guide includes a treasure trove of tips: finding the right instrument at the right price, booking your first gig, and recording demos (the appendix on Apple’s GarageBand software is especially useful). Aimed squarely at teens (there are numerous references to asking for parents’ permission before booking shows, etc.), Hopper even gives pointers for preventing interband squabbles, such as splitting profits equally and having one organized member in charge of administrative affairs to eliminate communication breakdowns. // BUST / 087

the guide

BOOKS

One major issue with this ambitious effort is that a lot of the information has a limited shelf life. Much of the chapter on promoting your group references MySpace and Facebook, and Hopper acknowledges the ephemeral nature of these sites. Some of the band examples she uses are more suited to women her own age—it’s hard to believe that the average 16-year-old girl is going to know about Hüsker Dü or Dinosaur Jr. without further elaboration. And while The Girls’ Guide provides a solid road map for setting out on a musical journey, the best way to start a band still remains: just get out and play. [HEATHER MUSE]

THE HOUSE OF HOPE AND FEAR: Life in a Big City Hospital By Audrey Young, MD (Sasquatch Books) Part memoir, part love letter to the heroic staff with whom the author works, this book tells the story of Audrey Young’s ﬁrst postgraduate job as a physician at Seattle’s county hospital, Harborview, which built its reputation on accepting patients who are turned away elsewhere. Centering in the “air trafﬁc control” section of the hospital—where incoming patients are assigned to available beds and medical staff—this book is a close-up portrait of providers’ efforts to supply care in a crowded hospital, whose population is often indigent, uninsured, or both. Young’s writing style matches the urgent, fast pace of her duties, sometimes lingering with a captivating patient, but often rushing from room to room, from emergency to capacity crisis, or from musing on universal health care to answering her ever-present pager. The storytelling is unapologetically frank and includes incidents of maggot infestation, a long-neglected gangrenous toe, other medical gross-outs, and plenty of sad tales. But here, too, are stories of recovery against the odds, unexpected gratitude, and the roller coaster of health and wellness in a pulsing emergency department. Young does some additional research on programs that help to serve the underserved, such as a “wet house” that houses alcoholics without demanding their sobriety. She attends a drug rep’s dinner and hands her leftovers to a beggar on the street. She calls for social 088 / BUST // AUG/SEPT

reform and means it—this is not empty rhetoric but rather her everyday mission. First, do no harm, but also: treat them all as she herself would want to be treated: with care, politeness, and compassion. [CHRISTINE FEMIA]

THE HOUSE OF SECRETS: The Hidden World of the Mikveh By Varda Polak-Sahm (Beacon Press) Varda Polak-Sahm first immersed herself in the mikveh, a Jewish ritual bath, on the eve of her wedding— young, terrified, and secretly pregnant. For Orthodox Jewish women, the mikveh is an essential part of adult life that occurs before marriage and after each menstrual period before sex can resume. (Sex during a woman’s period or in the following seven days afterward is strictly forbidden.) Warned as a child that the mikveh would expose any bride who was not a virgin, Polak-Sahm was relieved to find that the water did not recoil from her in condemnation; instead, her first immersion was a joyful experience. Years later, she decided to re-examine the mikveh through a feminist lens. The mikveh, a word which doubles for both the ritual tub and the name of the place where these baths are taken, operates similarly to a bathhouse, and for many women, it is an opportunity to relax and socialize. But it also comes with accompanying practices: before immersion, a woman may be asked to insert a “witness,” a tampon-like cloth, to prove that she is not bleeding. That night, she cooks for her husband and they are required to have sex, often just in time for her ovulation. Polak-Sahm wonders if the mikveh is an outdated, misogynistic ritual designed to control every aspect of a woman’s sexuality. Through interviews, she finds that many consider immersing to be a rejuvenating experience that prevents their sex lives from getting boring. Whether or not you agree with the concept of a purity bath, you can find inspiration in the stories these women share about their experiences, in life and at the mikveh. [ANTONIA BLAIR]

LESSONS FROM THE FATO-SPHERE: Quit Dieting and Declare a Truce With Your Body By Kate Harding and Marianne Kirby

(Perigee Trade) Marianne Kirby and Kate Harding know a thing or two about weight. Both self-proclaimed fat girls spent years as chronic dieters before deciding they needed to make over their attitudes as opposed to their bodies. Lessons is their guide to staying healthy and enjoying life no matter what size you are. To regular readers of the authors’ blogs (Harding’s “Shapely Prose” and Kirby’s “The Rotund”), their explanations of Health at Every Size—a movement that combines healthy, intuitive eating, and enjoyable exercise without weight loss as a goal—won’t be anything new. But if you aren’t familiar with this concept, the book serves as an excellent, comprehensive look at the truth behind common obesity myths, especially the ideas that “calories in, calories out” is a golden ticket to thinness and that weight loss automatically equals better health. The authors use witty anecdotes, essays from guest writers, and solid medical research to convey their message of selflove and healthy habits. In addition to valuable nuggets from their blogs, Lessons comes complete with the snark Kirby and Harding’s readers know and love, making the book a sharp and entertaining overview of the world of body image. Women (and men) can only beneﬁt from it, especially the ones currently thinking, “Hey, Fatty, just eat less.” [LIZA ECKERT]

LIVE NUDE ELF: The Sexperiments of Reverend Jen By Reverend Jen (Soft Skull Press) The year after Sex and the City went off the air, an artist named Reverend Jen with a penchant for wearing elf ears took on the very Bradshaw-esque mantle of sex columnist for the notorious hipster hookup site Nerve.com. Unlike her TV counterpart, though, Jen isn’t a perfectly coiffed uptown girl. She’s more like us, only weirder. A Lower East Side, N.Y.C., fixture, Jen earned her moniker Patron Saint of the Uncool through her tireless hosting of a long-running open-mic catering to misfits. Jen’s main qualification for her new job appeared to be fearlessness. And it’s in that spirit that she now takes readers behind the scenes through all the trials and tribulations she

endured conducting “sexperiments,” for her series “I Did It for Science.” Her memoir, however, is much more than just salacious play-by-plays about nude housecleaning, stripping, female ejaculation, cross-dressing, balloon fetish parties, and home sex videos, though there is plenty of that. At the heart of the book instead is Jen’s own heart. It’s an enigmatic thing that reveals itself, almost shyly, amid the pandemonium of all the carnal pyrotechnics. But once Jen’s desire for real intimacy, human connection, and even love, rises to the surface, her story transitions from a wacky, bed-hopping travelogue into something much more moving. From beginning to end, Jen remains a sharply observant, genuinely funny, and trustworthy guide through this tumultuous era of her unusual life, and it’s impossible not to root for her. [EMILY REMS]

MEN AND FEMINISM By Shira Tarrant, PhD (Seal Press) Scholar Shira Tarrant aims to show once and for all that men can be feminists too. To that end, she presents us with a fun, informal tour through the ways men can help advance the cause for women—and humanity. This tome is intended to be used in a liberal-arts college’s Women’s Studies 101 course; sidebars contain passages from feminist authors, provide historical instances of men supporting the rights of women, and highlight honest feedback from male volunteers about their relationships with feminism—including their struggles to grasp the basics of “women’s lib” and difﬁculty being taken seriously as a feminist by women. This approach, which is neither watered down nor accusatory, is refreshing to peruse; Tarrant makes patriarchy and its political underpinnings less an inﬂammatory topic that indicts men and more an equality-focused and entertaining historical study. It’s sure to be a treat for former women’s-studies students to re-encounter all the feminist thinkers. (Even more charming is the thought that this book will be read by a generation of young folks, both women and men alike.) Kudos to the author for this blame-free book that encourages readers to embrace equality—and pro-

vides precise, simple steps to get both genders there. [BRANDY BARBER]

NOT ALL BLACK GIRLS KNOW HOW TO EAT: A Story of Bulimia By Stephanie Covington Armstrong (Lawrence Hill Books) In its visceral effect, Stephanie Covington Armstrong’s Not All Black Girls Know How to Eat resembles other accounts of bulimia. Reading her unflinching descriptions of whole days lost in frenzied bingeing and purging, your stomach roils, your throat constricts. But when she describes the first time she stood up and admitted her disorder—at a 12-step meeting full of white women—Armstrong gets at the intriguing particularity of her story: “It was hard not to feel,” she writes, “like I had just relinquished my black card with that simple action.” Frustratingly, Armstrong never plunges fully into that rocky estuary where race and food issues meet. She does offer a detailed account of her childhood, spent largely amid urban poverty, and infuses it with humor and psychological insight. She makes it clear—sometimes to the point of redundancy—that growing up starved for affection as well as literally hungry led her to conflate food with emotional sustenance later in life. And she explains how coming from a culture of underprivileged people who prized self-sufficiency made her resist seeking help for her disorder. But she does not unpack that striking pang of racial treachery that came with identifying herself as bulimic. Armstrong’s strength, however, lies in her vivid voice and searing honesty. Her story is immediately engrossing and ultimately moving, a needed reminder that food issues know no different color lines than pain. [MARIE GLANCY O'SHEA]

NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL: A Memoir By Carlene Bauer (HarperCollins) Carlene Bauer’s family was slightly more religious than most, and she and her sister were educated at Christian schools up until they reached

high school. She clung to religion throughout college, experimenting with new faiths at a time when her peers were experimenting with drugs and sex. But even as a child, she nursed a nagging suspicion that being religious didn’t jibe with her intellectual ambitions, writing that she and her sister would always be “too good to be truly depraved and too worldly to keep away from the sinners.” Her growing skepticism, which she refers to as a “radio cloud of static,” led her to shrug off organized religion in part during college and for good after 9/11. Bauer also documents her struggle to find challenging work and to create a full life in New York while engaging in fumbling attempts to connect with men. Bauer is a talented journalist who has written colorful profiles and thought-provoking pieces for The New York Times, Salon.com, and others. But her debut memoir is yet another addition to the overstuffed “young woman comes to New York to find herself” canon. Not That Kind of Girl chugs along at a decent clip, and Bauer punctuates her prose with some witty turns of phrase and the occasional arresting image. But rather than a meditation on Bauer’s complicated relationship with God, her book comes across as an extended, frequently pretentious navel gaze. [AMANDA CANTRELL]

THE SISTERS OF SINAI: How Two Lady Adventurers Discovered the Hidden Gospels By Janet Soskice (Knopf) Traveling to exotic lands, riding camels, ﬁnding lost treasure and ancient texts: sounds like a real-life Indiana Jones story, doesn’t it? Twin English sisters Agnes and Margaret Smith did all these things and more. At the end of the 19th century, when ladies were supposed to act like, well, ladies, the sisters turned their lives into an adventure. After the death of their father, when they were middleaged, they became very wealthy and they took off on the ﬁrst of their Middle Eastern travels. They journeyed through such places as Egypt, Syria, and Greece at a time when few Westerners did, living in tents and interacting with locals, learning the languages so they wouldn’t // BUST / 089

the guide BOOKS need to rely on a translator. Their greatest achievement was helping to recover one of the earliest-known versions of the Gospels (which they also helped transcribe), a ﬁnd that would greatly inﬂuence New Testament studies. They also founded Westminster College at Cambridge, despite the fact that, as women, they were excluded from higher education in Great Britain. It is an interesting story but one told dully by Janet Soskice, whose well-researched book may appeal only to biblical or women’s studies scholars with the incentive to slog through the slow-paced prose. The Smith sisters deserve a book that makes their adventures come alive on the page. But The Sisters of Sinai is, unfortunately, as staid as the well-mannered society people they spent their lives escaping. [ELIZABETH QUINN]

THE VISIBLES: A Novel By Sara Shepard (Free Press) The main theme of YA author Sara Shepard’s first “adult” novel is the relationship between nature and nurture—in particular, the way DNA can affect family life. Summer Davis, a young woman coming of age in a family slowly coming apart, is haunted by the possibility raised by one of her science teachers that her DNA is a permanent, invisible tether between herself and her parents. This possibility sustains—or perhaps inspires—her as she becomes her father’s main caretaker after her mother leaves and he succumbs to depression. The Visibles traces the way a child, thrust into this trying situation, both rises to the challenge but is also damaged by the process, becoming an adult who herself has difﬁculty navigating relationships. In doing so, Shepard stays well within the traditional realm of young-adult ﬁction but allows the story to mature as her narrator does. The most interesting part of the novel, however, comes not from Summer’s perspective but from her father’s. Excerpts from letters he’s written to lost lovers, absent family members, and his estranged wife appear occasionally throughout the story, the voice in these letters always haunted by a 090 / BUST // AUG/SEPT

sense of wonder that seems to hover precariously on the edge of sanity. Unfortunately, Summer’s more ordinary voice never reaches this sense of lyricism, and the novel feels rushed to its conclusion. But much like her father, Summer comes to understand, as he writes in one of his letters: “We are the worst of ourselves and also the best.” [LAURA STOKES]

YOU’VE COME A LONG WAY, BABY: Women, Politics, and Popular Culture Edited by Lilly J. Goren (University Press of Kentucky) Every now and then, my inner academic tugs on my tattooed arm, begging to read a text that checks in on feminism’s response to stuff that’s affecting my life right now. You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby hits the spot, big-time. The series of essays looks at how women are faring in the spheres of work, home, media, and national politics. But what sets this book apart is how it doesn’t pigeonhole feminism as a concept to be discussed among academics; instead, it looks at feminism as a practical and functional lens through which to examine the realities of everyday life. In Natalie Fuehrer Taylor’s essay, the author analyzes how magazines such as Cosmo have valuable career advice for the ambitious professional snuck in between bubblegum celebrity interviews and ﬂuff pieces on new, hot sex positions. Ever see the parallels between 18thcentury feminist Mary Wollstonecraft and the movie Legally Blonde? Laurie Naranch’s contribution draws associations between historic feminist theory and gender politics in popular ﬁlm. The book also contrasts how women are portrayed in the media with the realities of the expectations women are challenged with, especially when it comes to balancing work and motherhood. This is a provocative collection of work that articulates the fact that, although women have made tremendous headway, ladies still have a monumental challenge: to be valued equally with men. This remains, no matter what we choose to label ourselves. [TAYLOR CHAPLIN ORCI]

sex ﬁles

rocked to the core

ILLUSTRATED BY ANA BENAROYA

CAN WORKING OUT LEAD TO GETTING OFF? IMAGINE YOURSELF AT the gym, sweatin’ to the oldies, when suddenly, mid-crunch, you feel that familiar tingle in your lady parts, before launching into a full-blown O. It’s called a coregasm, and the experience has been getting attention lately in women’s health magazines, which claim that certain standard exercises can bring a woman to climax. The theory about how this magical feat works is rather hazy, as there’s little research available, but the gist is that multiple reps of movements that work your core (the muscles in your abs, pelvic ﬂoor, hips, and back) can trigger nerve impulses in the pelvic area, bringing on a surprise petit mort. I decided to investigate this phenomenon and see if I could score a coregasm of my own. “It’s pretty common for me, personally,” says Sarah Kellett, the creator of OmGym, a set of nylon slings for doing suspension yoga at home. Her Web site even offers instructions for an OmGym coregasm workout. Kellett has been having exercise-induced orgasms since she was 13 and has even had one while doing push-ups. She assured me that she isn’t some enchanted unicorn woman and that with lots of work and discipline, anyone can coregasm. “It’s a very, very real thing,” she says. “And it’s fantastic.”

Sexuality educator Dr. Sari Locker is a bit more skeptical. She says that while she believes the coregasm to be possible, “for the vast majority of women, this would require clitoral stimulation, not a ‘no-hands’ approach to muscular contractions.” But hey, maybe I’d be one of the special few! Never mind that my typical abdominal workout consists of sitting up in bed in the morning. I tracked down a coregasm workout on Women’s Health’s Web site, then ﬂopped around on my carpet trying “The Sprinter” and “The Twisting Windmill,” both gut-busting crunches. I did indeed loll to my side to moan, but merely from exhaustion. I really wanted to try the “Hanging Leg Raise,” which is apparently the money shot move for some women, but I had no bar from which to hang. I trooped past the playground, eyeing the monkey bars, but I simply couldn’t bring myself to attempt it. Not with a swarm of cherubic ﬁve-year-olds staring up at me. For those who can experience coregasms, I say hats off to you, and here’s hoping it’s always a positive, pleasant, and never awkward experience. For those of us who can’t, well, as the personal trainer I spoke to so wisely said: “I can think of easier ways to have an orgasm.” [JOHANNA GOHMANN]

THE MIDWEST IS BEST BUST has already declared its love for the hilarious Internet episodes of the Midwest Teen Sex Show (MidwestTeenSexShow.com), which offer tongue-in-cheek but totally informative deets on such topics as spermicide, latex allergies, why masturbation is the antidrug, and the HPV vaccine. So finding out that Comedy Central is developing a pilot for a TV version really got our juices flowing. Keep your fingers (or your legs) crossed that we’ll be seeing it on the air soon. [JENNI MILLER] // BUST / 091

sex ﬁles

ask aunt betty and cousin carlin DR. BETTY DODSON AND CARLIN ROSS TELL YOU EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SEX BUT WERE WAITING FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO ASK

I have been with my husband for over nine years, and we’ve been married for almost two. I’ve always been adventurous in the bedroom, and my husband is supportive of that, so we’ve been using toys and have gotten into a little S&M since we’ve been together. The problem is, many people turn to this stuff when their sex lives get boring, but we started experimenting when things were already awesome. Now we’re not having sex as often, and I feel the need to spice things up. We’re still as connected as before, but I just feel we’re in a rut in the sack. What can I do? Matrimonial Monotonist

Betty says: Ah, yes, this is the part they leave out of the wedding vows. Instead of saying, “Till death do us part,” we would be better prepared if they said, “Till our sex lives become boring.” There are plenty of books and articles on “how to spice up your marriage,” but it sounds like you’ve tried most of them already. What’s left is discussing how to open up your marriage by taking separate vacations with a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. The polyamory community might be worth exploring if neither of you are jealous types and you’re fairly secure in your relationship. Having a threesome or going to a sex party will deﬁnitely get your pulses racing. Otherwise, you could trim back your expectations of “hot marital sex” and simply enjoy what’s happening.

Carlin says: If you’re in the New York area, you can try one of Palagia’s OneLegUpNYC parties (www. onelegupnyc.com). You have to register with the site, write a sex essay, do a phone interview, and then you’re in. She has two events: At the ﬁrst one, you go to a club where you can mingle with other interesting people, but there’s no sex. If you have a good time, you can attend her second event at a private location where you can ﬂirt, dabble, kiss, play, have sex, or just watch. I had one of the best sexual experiences of my life at one of Palagia’s events, and among her regular attendees is a couple with six children who swear the parties help them maintain their marriage.

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I’ve been trying for a long time to ﬁgure out why I like what I like sexually. The porn that I enjoy includes scenarios that are generally seen as very demeaning to women. And the ideas that turn me on when I am alone are the kinds of things I would never do with another person. So what’s the deal? Am I in denial? Am I repressed? Why do women get off on fantasies that we don’t want to come true? The Mentalist

Betty says: We’ve all been raised on “forbidden fruits” when it comes to sex. What we are told we cannot have is what intrigues us. In our puritan culture, where procreative sex is allowed and smutty porn is forbidden, it’s no wonder our dirty little fantasies get us off. You are not in denial, but maybe you’re a little repressed if you’re worrying about why you have fantasies about things you would never do. That’s the whole point! Just remember, we play all the roles in our fantasies. You are the abuser and the victim, so it’s really quite democratic, as well as safe. It’s your mind, so don’t let the moral police get inside your head to limit thoughts that make you feel absolutely, deliciously vulnerable. Our fantasies are at the heart of the creative impulses, so never censor yourself. You can even share your imagined scenarios if you think the other person won’t judge you. I sometimes write up a fantasy just to test my courage. So far, most people I’ve shared them with have loved reading them.

Carlin says: I’ll admit it: My favorite adult star is Rocco, and it gets me hot to see that look on women’s faces that says, “OMG! He wants to put that huge package in this oriﬁce?” I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of Rocco, but that’s why it’s so provocative. There’s nothing new under the sun. There’s nothing you can dream up in your little deviant head that millions of other people haven’t dreamed up already for millions of years. Just let your mind go, and enjoy the ride.

Got a question for Betty and Carlin? Post it at www.bust.com/auntbetty

MARCELLUS HALL

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sex ﬁles ONE-HANDED READ

crosstown incubus AN INVISIBLE DEMON LOVER DELIVERS SOME MIND-BLOWING SENSATIONS [BY E.R.

T ONLY HAPPENED when she slept at Greg’s. He lived across town from Sara, so many times, as an evening got late, they’d end up at his place. It was closer to the lights, clubs, and fun of downtown. They would tumble in, laughing, usually more than a little tipsy, and cuddle or gab until sleep overwhelmed them. Sara would very often climb into the little corner loft bed to go to sleep. It was built into the corner and reached by a ladder, a triangular platform made of simple two-by-fours. Single-bed-sized, it had a child’s mattress that fit her to a tee and a coziness like no other bed she’d ever had. The bed was at the outer edge, with a small corner shelf built in. It had one drawer, too, also triangular-shaped. They called it the loft bed, and she loved sleeping there. It was snug. It was always warm enough, unlike most of his apartment. And it was fun, like being a kid again, to look out over the apartment nine feet above the floor. There was another, more private reason she enjoyed it so much, too. The orgasms were incredible up there. She would climb up, sometimes so dizzy and giggly-drunk that she would almost fall, and then she’d crouch on her knees and pull off her shirt and bra—if she wore one. Once topless, she’d spin and lie down on her back and shimmy out of her jeans and panties. She’d learned that her panties would be shredded if she kept them on. Sometimes she left her socks on, but that was drunken distraction, not preference. She’d stuff her clothes into the drawer and set her jewelry on the shelf. Nude, she’d slip under the covers. A sheet and a light blanket were all she ever needed, or wanted, up there. The pillow was old-fashioned down, and the sheets, 500-thread count, brought from her mother’s house from her old childhood bed. They felt wonderful on her bare skin. Her nipples would stiffen, and she’d grow warm inside. Stretched out in the dark, she’d think about what was going to happen. She’d get wet quickly, and touch herself in eagerness. It always waited until her eyelids grew heavy. When Sara could barely stay awake, she’d feel the first soft touch between her legs. Always soft but also bold. It was like a finger, or a tongue, parting her labia, savoring her. She’d smile in the dark and turn her head to gaze at the patterns of light and shadow dancing across the ceiling, so close, reflected from the street three stories below. She caught a faint scent of roses. She spread her legs a little, anticipating what was soon to fill her; that incredible hotness, that body-pinning weight, that spectacularly thick, long probing… Something clamped down on one of her breasts. It felt like a hand, but there was nothing there. Nothing she could see; a nightlight she brought up as an experiment proved that. It would knead at her, like a man pawing, and then it would slide hard nails down her body, leaving welts, sending shivers through her. It gripped her ass and lifted her pelvis, and the first thrust, quick and commanding, was so sweet and so good that she often orgasmed right then. First orgasms did not count with this lover, though. She knew this and tried to ride it out, resisting the sensations that cascaded through her. It would thrust into her and not withdraw right away, and a weight would come down on her. She would feel a tongue on her neck or hot breath in her ear. It never whispered anything but her name, over and over. There were times when it lifted her legs up, as if it had elbows braced under her knees. Rolling her back, it would expose her and move its penetration from her pussy to her ass. Sometimes it alternated with each quick thrust. Sometimes it filled both at the same time, an incredible feel-

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STEWART]

ing that made her gasp. Other times her body was spun in the air, flipped over, and she would feel teeth biting into her shoulder, down her spine, all over her ass and thighs. Fucked from behind, her pussy would quiver and drip, ecstasy shooting through her from the illuminated nerve endings. A long, slow lick from clit to anus was not unheard of, and the weight on top of her, pressing her face and breasts into the mattress, would prelude a deep, slow reaming. She always had dozens of orgasms. She loved sleeping up there. Trouble was, she wasn’t all that keen on Greg. Oh, he was nice enough, with his hesitant jokes and silly references to Star Wars. He focused on her when they were out, perhaps guessing he was lucky to have the likes of her, petite and pretty against his dump and frump. She’d met him at a party and, lonely that night, accepted his invitation to a movie on the condition they go immediately. He’d agreed, and it had been fun. She’d given him what she at first thought was a mercy fuck—then realized, to her own surprise, that she liked him. He was smart, kind of funny, and managed—sometimes just barely—to be attentive without being puppy-doggish. She had spotted his loft bed that first night, of course, but hadn’t explored it until a second visit, much later at night, when she showed up bedraggled by rain, needing a place to crash. She’d been let down by a couple with whom she’d had three-way sex; they’d used her and dumped her off, laughing at how timid she’d been going down on the other girl. He knew none of that, of course, but had been welcoming, if blitzed by sleepiness. He let her in, hugged her, and promptly fell asleep on the couch. To be polite, she let him be and climbed up to investigate the loft. It looked inviting. That night, it happened. Despite being drained from the threesome, her body held reserves of enjoyment and pleasure beyond her experience. That first time, when she felt herself being made love to, she’d kept her eyes closed for a long while, thinking it was Greg. When she opened her eyes and realized she couldn’t see who or what was doing her, it scared her. She remembered Barbara Hershey in that Entity movie. That had been brutal and terrifying. But this was…wonderful. She lay back and enjoyed it. Next morning she asked Greg about the bed. “Oh,” he said, “it came with the apartment. I slept up there once and didn’t much like it. Kept feeling like I was going to fall out, y’know?” After that, Sara slept over often, and although she helped Greg spurt his dollops of seed in many places, they never made love in the loft. She always made sure that she climbed that ladder after they were done for the evening. That high corner captivated her. She would find herself thinking about it at odd times during the day. It affected her studies and her part-time job at the bookstore, her visits home with her parents, and even her bath time, when she preferred to meditate the way she’d learned at a Buddhist temple. She couldn’t get rid of Greg, though, and lose the bed, and her delicious invisible lover. Excerpted from Bitten: Dark Erotic Stories edited by Susie Bright (Chronicle Books, 2009). BUST (ISSN 1089-4713), No. 58, Aug/Sept, 2009. BUST is published bi-monthly in Feb/Mar, April/ May, June/July, Aug/Sept, Oct/Nov, and Dec/Jan by BUST, Inc., 78 5th Avenue #5, New York, NY, 10011-8000. Printed in the U.S.A. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and additional mailing offices. Subscription prices, payable in U.S. funds, are $19.95 for one year (6 issues). Additional postage: In Canada add $10 per year, and in all other foreign countries add $20 per year. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to BUST, P.O. BOX 16775, NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA, 91615.

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X GAMES [BY DEB AMLEN]

ﬁght the power former Black Panther who might agree with 18-, 26-, and 44-Across 59. No-win situation 60. John and Jane, in case titles 61. Say one’s piece 62. Big bang producer 63. “No ifs, ___, or buts!” 64. Swollen sites 65. “Uh-huh”

Down 1. CBS’ The Amazing ___ 2. Tibet’s locale 3. Auctioneer’s cry 4. The Big Easy, to Louisianans 5. Worthy principles 6. Cheddar choice 7. Saved By the ___ (1990s NBC TV series) 8. Astroglide or KY, for example 9. Common Windows ﬁle extension 10. BUST’s Holiday or Spring Fling ___acular (one word) 11. Bristol's baby daddy 12. “Monkey see, monkey do” practitioner 13. Ugly Betty magazine 19. “First, do no ___” (Doctors’ pledge)

Across

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1. Nude, colloquially, with “in the”

22. Flambé

25. Newark, New Jersey, mayor Booker

4. Like a nursery-rhyme Jack

23. Seed coat

26. Have second thoughts

10. Vaginal euphemism

25. Increasingly rare PC part

27. Nitrous ___ (laughing gas)

14. Blonde shade

26. Next part of feminist observation by Laurel

15. Farewells from France

Thatcher Ulrich

28. Kindle content 29. Not buy, maybe

16. ___ Man (1984 cult ﬁlm)

31. Broom Hilda, e.g.

30. Pool dimension

17. Cloak-and-dagger org.

34. Junctions between leaves and stems

31. Sanrio’s favorite feline

18. Beginning of feminist observation by Laurel

35. It has a head and hops

32. Change clothes?

36. In good health

33. It comes with laurels

37. Urban music and lifestyle magazine

36. Rider-___, a type of Tarot deck

38. In a lather?

38. 2008 hit by N.E.R.D.

39. Low woman

42. African bloodsuckers

40. Trim to ﬁt, maybe

44. A good one should be square

41. Newsgroup message

45. Put a match to

42. Mason, at times

46. Newspapers, with “the”

43. Cabernet or Merlot, e.g.

48. “And here it is!”

44. Conclusion of feminist observation by

49. Get ___ the ground ﬂoor

Thatcher Ulrich 20. “Mangia!”

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich 46. Candy dispensed from famous necks

51. Gulf of ___, off the coast of Yemen 52. Bust, slangily 53. Axis of ___

51. Stevie Wonder song “Moments ___

55. 30 Rock star and creator Fey

Moments” ANSWERS TO “MUSICAL MYSTERY DATE” FROM THE JUNE/JULY ‘09 ISSUE. FOR ANSWERS TO THIS ISSUE’S PUZZLE, SEE NEXT ISSUE OF BUST.

50. Like ﬁne wine

47. Dweeb 48. Princess topper

54. PJ Harvey song “___ You” 57. Noted social activist, feminist, and alleged

56. Actor Green of Austin Powers fame 58. Coach Parseghian in the College Football Hall of Fame // BUST / 103

thelast the lastlaugh laugh {BY ESTHER PEARL WATSON}

104 / BUST // AUG/SEPT