HOLÄ MAGAZINE

HOLÄ HOUSE OF LÄDY // SEPTEMBER 2016 // ISSUE No. 1 / 982106

HOUSE OF LÄDY // THE REVEAL// SEPTEMBER 2016 // ISSUE No. 1 / 982106

HOLÄ

LÄDY MILLARD //

KEVIN MCCARTHY//

DIRECTOR OF ART

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

SOPHIA HEINECKE // DIRECTOR OF COPY

A QUEEN’S FUCKING

RANSOM. No one knows how hard we work - and no one should ever know. Everything should look seam fucking less. Like candy. The arguing I do, the exchanges in time, being taken for granted, the happiness that I share… I challenge people to move forward. The words I choose -- the articulations -- it is all a part of the unseen struggling I’ve

done since I was 7 years old. I went to my mother and said “I

want to be an artist”.

Even more unseen is the work my mother has done, the endless work. The work that she communicates with her style and grace. I love my mom.

I am her ransom note. She sent me here for all of you to believe in your fucking selves. Please make a note of it.

-

Lädy

EDITORS N O T E S The first time I met Lädy, I was in a room

The overwhelming amount of art dwindled

full

revealing

of

should

people have

so

cool

known

I

who

felt

like

they

I

were.

barren

white

walls,

a

vacuum

with floors that curved into the ceilings,

I didn’t know any of them, personally or

white

otherwise.

had

quilted sofa that sat behind a small pile

been told she was a woman who fearlessly

of rubble. This was the art I was here to

reinvented

that

see, created by an inspiration of mine, Ed

rejects most, if not all, things real or

Garrido, who cited Lädy as an inspiration

honest.

of

I

didn’t

fashion,

It’s

a

know

an

boys

her.

I

industry

club.

It’s

racist,

on

white,

his.

closing

This

was

in

on

more

a

black

than

an

classist, sizeist. Lädy faced all those

installation. It was a set of sorts, meant

things head on and didn’t let it faze her.

to couch a later discussion of race and class

in

the

process

of

cultivating

It’s easy to be enamored with high price

culture as part of an initiative called

tags,

Undr1roof.

with

acclaimed

venues

in

exotic

locales, but it’s hard to be enamored with the truth. People who sell art with high

People went in pairs or one by one to the

price tags at acclaimed galleries on an

couch

international

not

about

anything

and

people’s

everything: how they got the clothes on their backs, what is cool, t-shirts with

it seems, all kinds of people, and I think

square necklines. Lädy moderated casually,

it’s

she

are

talk

people. Lädy Millard understands people,

because

scale

to

shouting

out

She’s honest about herself. At least this

answered,

questions

was the impression I got from meeting her

audience wanted answered, but didn’t know

at a gallery show in a hidden space behind

how to ask. Eventually, the couch cleared

a

and she took her seat there. My friend, I

laundromat

understands

somewhere

in

herself.

Brooklyn,

perhaps, in Crown Heights?

believe, couch,

questions

volunteered

to

ask

some

that

me

she most

to

go

questions,

wanted of

to

the

the

perhaps

It was a hell of a time, intimidating, but

because of my naïve lust for existential

not scary. The bright room was filled with

discussions, my penchant for big thinking.

art, mostly done by Lädy. From the front to

the

back

of

the

changed completely.

room

the

landscape

Honestly, I don’t recall much after that, except my

lack

of

York credibility.

art,

street,

and

New

The discussion reached its conclusion and was met with a patter of applause. I stood up quickly, eager to get back to Edgar and our friends.

Lädy touched my shoulder,

what I assumed was the beginning of an open-ended thank you for my participation, but was something else entirely.

“Could you grab me a paper towel?”

I could, but had no idea where to find one. The people in the gallery, they were elite art people. They didn’t spill. The I

am

wary

of

divulging

my

truths

to

untarnished finery of their dress, their anyone, and give fragments of myself to thoughts,

their

creations,

their

space all

those

I

meet.

The

fragments

are

didn’t require paper towels. merely

enticing

glimpses

of

the

best

parts of my life. Nothing more. Nothing “The bathroom is in the back.” real. It is rare to find people who are not like this. Lädy is not like this.

She held out her hand, a seemingly empty Lädy invited me into both the grandeur of gesture, but also the exact one Morpheus her

gallery

event

and

a

moment

I

was

of

made as he offered Neo the red pill. I austerity. walked

to

the

bathroom

and

grabbed

two

paper towels, returning them to her empty

Lädy

didn’t

flinch.

allowed,

Morpheus hands. She stood slowly,and then invited

to

know

what

was

really

turned to pat the damp couch where she had happening,

and

not

just

because

she

been sitting. I could see the slightest needed something from me. blush

of

pink

whiteness

of

against

the

towels.

the

textured

Lädy

leaned There

is

a

vulnerability

inherent

in

towards me. being

alive

that

I

had

not

yet

discovered. This was perhaps the first “Accidents happen” time

I

started

to

understand

that

weakness can be strength, and not in the She smiled sincerely.

I’m not sure if I architected way of job interviews that

did. I have little control over my face, ask about your flaws. The humanness of my composure. In my life I am fighting a ‘accidents happen’, was one moment, one constant

battle

to

present

myself

as

a iota of who this incredibly multifaceted

person, a woman, who is self sufficient. I lady is. want

to

be

a

pillar

supports

others

anything

that

and

of

does

strength

who

not

ask

for

to

her

“You can direct your own destiny.” survival.

is

not

imperative

SOPHIA HEINECKE End of Section 1

HOLÄ

Model Karlie Kloss shot by Chayo Mata

VISION OVER

EVERYTHING. An all night diner is a sacred place, and I would wager every New Yorker has ventured into one that was regrettably destroyed or a shadow of its former glory. Odessa’s isn’t like this. It’s worn, but cared for. The green linoleum is a little chipped and the red pleather seats occasionally cracked at the corners. You can hear dishes clinking in the back, and the waiters eating dinner at a table near patrons.

I met Destiny Mata at about 8 on a Wednesday evening and decided instantly I liked Odessa’s, especially because it feels like a place with nothing to hide.

Destiny Mata: My boyfriend and I have been apartment hunting and we have to leave by the

luxury condominiums) used to be a deli and I'm

15th, so it's crunch time and we still haven't

like

found anything.

Everything is different and it’s so weird.

Sophia

Valera

Heinecke:

Do

you

use

Gypsy

wow.

Am

I

tripping

on

something?

SVH: I feel weird about talking about how New York has changed because I've only lived here

housing?

for 5 years.

DM:

I

do.

It's

just,

like,

all

individual

DM: But you missed it?

rooms and we're trying to find a one-bedroom

SVH: Yeah. I was away for a few months this

place.

summer and I came back to go to my favorite

SVH: Oh, okay. So your boyfriend is too trendy

restaurant only to realize it's not there.

for the Lower East Side…

DM: I know. It's happening everywhere.

DM:(laughs) I was just talking to him about

SVH:

the LES though, like, Trash & Vaudeville on

Bedford Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn...

7th? I haven't seen it for a while and now it’s

DM: Yeah. Right now that’s where we live.

gone!

SVH: Okay, we're neighbors.

And

this

building

right

gestures across the street at some

there

(she

You

have

DM: Oh yeah?

some

great

shots

from

the

VISION OVER EVERYTHING Odessa’s (119 Ave A) is a diner’s diner.

SVH:

What

do

intersection

you

of

think

street

of

the

fashion

and

photography?

DM: You know, I've recently been saying that I feel like documentary photography is influencing fashion.

SVH:

Can

you

photography?

describe

I

don't

guess

like

documentary

really

know

what

that means…

DM:

I

photojournalistic

storytelling with street immersion. It’s what's on the street. It is what it is.

It's

hard

for

me

to

articulate,

but

that's why I did this [interview]. I need to start talking about my work process.

It's that time in my life where I need to figure out how I'm going to express what I'm doing with words versus the imagery.

SVH:

What’s

the

biggest

distinction

between the five boroughs?

DM: Oh man, I guess that every borough has its own specific culture to it, you know? The Bronx, Brooklyn, The Lower East Side… I grew up on 6th Street and Avenue D

so

that

whole

area

is

predominantly

Dominican, Puerto Rican. I'm

Mexican,

so, like, when I went back to Texas, where the rest of my family lives, and

Photo By Chayo Mata SVH:

Your

pictures

really

capture

the

neighborhood very well.

DM:

Yeah,

boroughs

I

so

mean, I

was

like,

‘this

is

so

interesting… how do I not know about my own identity and culture’? I’ve

I've

feel

I

lived

like

I

in

all

five

can

read

really

been learning more and more because

people in the city. I'm observant even though

I’ve been going to Texas to shoot

I just walk around with my headphones in by

weddings, which I’m really enjoying.

myself just, like, looking at people through my iPhone…

SVH:

Museums

photography.

have

whole

When

did

exhibits you

of

start

Iphone taking

pictures?

DM: My aunt was a fashion photographer, so I was always in the studio with her and then I realized create

that

every

fashion detail

is

of

a

all

fake

fashion

and

you

image.

I

wanted to document real life. I don't want to be in the studio. That’s not reality.

THAT’S A SHOT

TO ME.

VISION OVER EVERYTHING DM(cont): Most of them are very on the spot and some of them see the camera and are like… ‘I don't know if I want to do this. I don't know what to say.’ It's on film

too,

so

that’s

more

intimidating,

and a lot of them are very young like 21, 22 so it's like ‘oh, I gotta talk about this, and this’… I think they have to have an agenda.

SVH: Who's your favorite person in the show?

DM: John Ahearn. I recently interviewed him

for

the

show.

He's

a

sculptor.

(http://www.johnahearn.com/)

SVH: This feels like an environment where you

should

exchange

ideas

with

people.

What's your most memorable Odessa Diner moment?

DM: Odessa Diner moment…

My friends and I would just eat a bunch of fatty food and sit here for hours.

I don't even remember what we were doing SVH: The ceremony of it is very beautiful.

for most of it, but it wasn’t crazy. They

DM: Oh yeah. In Texas, I've been shooting a

have really good pierogies here too. The

lot of weddings. I shot like maybe 6 this first time I pierogies was here. year. Of those, I shot one in New York last month

and

it

had

a

different

vibe…

very

SVH: Do you mind tattoo means?

if

I

ask

what

your

She's

the

eccentric. The flower girl was a fairy with wings and it was just a magical experience.

In Texas, it's more traditional. You know, very

Hispanic

weddings,

very

lively,

mariachi… I enjoy capturing the moments that

DM:

This

is

my

aunt.

photographer. She passed away recently so this is dedicated to her. Her nickname is Chayo and this font, it's like a Chicano

happen during the celebrations.

SVH: That’s great. I feel like your identity

graffiti,

but

by

a

pretty

well

known

graffiti artist from the 70’s. He was one

and culture...

of the first really big Chicano Mexican

DM: Is whatever you are.

graffiti artists. This is his hand style DM: Right. I'm working on a project with one of my friends where she's curating an art show called Strictly New York and I'm doing these mini artist docs about the artists who are in the show, so I've been having to go and

interview

artists.

and

have

questions

for

the

that he writes in most often. I chose his font when I went to get it done. I like the style. It's like West Coast kind of style, but very sharp. I was out there when I got it and I decided, ‘okay, I'll dedicate this to the West Coast’.

SVH: You seem very West Coast. Is most of your art community a New York originated community?

DM: Yeah. All of my friends, they grew up in New York. All of them are artists, but they're all Slackers. I try to push them.

SVH: You’re not a slacker I take it?

DM: I got my work ethic from my aunt.

She lived right down the street on Seventh.

I would see her working constantly. I guess, that's where this drive comes from, you know, the thinking that I just gotta do one thing that's going to push my career a little further. I remember seeing her get rejected, reading a letter back from somebody who saw her portfolio and said it was just not good enough, and her in tears saying ‘Why am I doing this? Why am I doing this?’ It's really hard to be a female in the photo industry. I got to witness it from a young age and oh my God… the tears, the blood, the sweat, especially fashion photography, especially being a woman of color, especially being an assistant, when there weren’t many female assistants.

You know, males are always like ‘oh, you can't pick up these heavy sandbags or tripods, but yes… we can. I'm thinking of doing a documentary on her story…

SVH: Was your aunt the central reason you decided to pursue photography as your primary medium?

DM:... I just like to make a connection. I don't like to snap unless it's a moment I have to take, but I like developing stories.

Real journalists do that, like Mary Ellen Mark. She photographed the same person for years on end and told her life story.

That's what I want. I want to tell stories so in the opposite realm of fashion.

SVH: Who are the great photographers to you?

DM: Like I said Mary Ellen Mark, Clayton Patterson… yeah. He documented the Lower East Side in the 80’s and The Tompkins Square riots. He preserved Lower East Side history, in a sense, because you can see it’s all changed… and Bruce Davidson and boogie... I have a lot. I have a lot.

SVH: Would you say those are the same people your aunt idolized?

DM: Totally different. The opposite end of the spectrum SVH: I love that the person who influenced you to become a photographer couldn’t be more different than who influenced your style. I feel like people who love fashion photography have such a specific crew of idols: Helmut Newton, Annie Leibovitz…

DM: I don’t really know.

SVH: When you take photos do you usually ask people if it’s okay?

DM: No, but if I see somebody that I'm really interested in and I want to tell their story I won't take my camera out because I want to gain their trust. I'll keep going back until I feel comfortable enough to ask, ‘hey, can I take some pictures of you? Can we do a project?’ So that's how I approach people.

If I see someone on the street and I see a moment I won't ask, but I don't want a negative start. You know people are going to change their entire persona if they're pissed off with you. Also, if you’re a female, it's much easier to go about shooting in the street.

SVH:...An advantage?

DM:(laughs) My boyfriend is a photographer too and he shoots street photography. He's been shooting New York since the 90’s and it's hard for him sometimes to take photos on the street because people are like, ‘what are you doing’? I guess he gives off some type of aura.

SVH: Do you guys ever shoot together?

DM: We do kind of, but if we do I'll shoot down one street and he’ll shoot on the other side so we can get two different photos. We don't really go out and shoot together. He's a loner. I'm the same way. I like to go by myself and walk around.

SVH: You invest in developing a story.

DM: Yeah. I have a whole photo story on this woman in Texas, even while she was pregnant.

She’s not going through a good time right now. She had her kids taken and there's a lot of other stuff going on whenever I go back, like she doesn't have her kids right now.

She's was jail. She called me from the jail and was like, ‘Hey, I don't know what to do,’ and I was like, ‘well, what happened’. We met in college and had an internship together.

She was in a shelter home at the time and the art gallery where we were interning was located in the public housing across the street. One day, she was jokingly like, ‘I want to live there, in that housing’, and a month later she actually got an apartment there from the lottery. The people around her influenced her negatively and she started selling drugs, got caught, and ended up in jail. She's in the shelter again now, and I have to go back and let her vent to me.

That's all I can do.

SVH: That's an important human way to relate.

DM: Her story is very impactful. She’s been in so many abusive relationships, but she had this one particular boyfriend who beat her and the next day she called me and said, “can you take this photo of me?”

She created this photo, told me “I'm going to wear this love bandana.” It sayslove love love all over it and she had a black eye in the shot. She said, “I want you to take this photo of me so I can remember not to be in this relationship.” I told her she’s an artist in herself. She could take a self-portrait, but she wanted me to document it.

SVH: Do you encourage your subjects to become artists?

DM: I do, for her especially. She's very artistic. Her canvas is 40 ounce bottles and she'll paint on them. She did one of the Virgin Mary. She's so creative, but doesn't have time. She's got a lot on her plate. She’s out of jail now and just wants to work on getting her kids back. She's a great mom, but just put herself in these situations... but I don't know. It's hard to talk about. I'm not the one with kids.

I think about that a lot.

Tina By Destiny Mata

VISION OVER EVERYTHING SVH: I’m sure, especially because you're just walking up to people and inviting them into your art.

DM: I've been around so many different kinds of people and they say I'm so nice and ask how I get into these aggressive situations, you know, my photos with these people who probably wouldn't open up. Some of my photos are pretty… well… People ask me things like “how did you see that photo? You're just so sweet and kind,” and I'm like… “I don't know,” but also I think you see the sweet kind quiet people of the world and know they see so much, but they don't say anything.

SVH: Then you see it in the photos DM: That’s what I'm saying.

SVH: Quiet, kind, and conscious is kind of the perfect storm to be an incredible photographer.

Destiny Mata is a photographer living in Manhattan’s Lower East Side and raised in all five boroughs from Staten Island to the boogie down Bronx. Her photography is inspired directly by her surroundings. She was introduced to the photo industry in High School during her first internship at The Source Magazine, where she had first hand experience in photojournalism photographing musicians, music festivals, and covering assignments such as Michael Jackson’s Memorial in Harlem. Her work has been published and featured in Vice's Noisey, Vibe Magazine, The Source Magazine, Mass Appeal (Magazine), and exhibited at the Museum of New York during their Rising Waters Exhibition of the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

LIGHT IN THE DRESS ING ROOM// KEVIN McCARTHY

Can you tell if somebody is gay just by looking at what they wear? Sometimes you can, even if they aren't in the standard issue gay uniform. Sometimes We'll

their shirt is just a little too pressed, patterns a little too

picking

fitting.

But year after year, gay style waters down a bit and becomes basically the fashion of edgy,

but

mostly

conservative

straight males. The neon colored tank tops and reduced inseam shorts went from the

beer

floors

of

stained

fly-over

circuit

halls

states

in

of

parties

to

the

fraternities

less

than

a

in

decade.

It's a trickle down we see frequently in the fashion world, far from exclusive to the

garb

of

considering

gay

the

men, strange

but

notable

relationship

between the originator of the style and the ultimate consumer. The white frat boy doesn't want to be seen as gay, but loves the boldness of dancing on the edge of taboo. He could wear something made by or marked for Black people without ever being perceived something

which

bar

a

person

people are at the end of a fashion cycle,

and cut a little too form

dance

know

all based on their uniform. Many queer

well matched,

slightly

always

loves, hates, used to love but now hates,

as made

Black. for

He

women

could without

wear ever

being perceived as a woman. But there's a real possibility that he could be a gay man, which adds that much more power to appropriating a gay look.

The borrowing isn't necessarily conscious.

We're all wearing uniforms, after all, and hardly think about them. There's variety in unifor. A certain type of person can get away with more than one uniform, but they're fundamentally orthodox.

up

the

pieces

people

don't

of

an

adopted

culture.

Straight

think

they're

wearing a uniform, but they always are.

The lack of variety in any Lower East Side bar on a weekend night is uncanny.

He's

in

a

brightly

colored

polo

with

slacks and clean shoes, she's in a little black

dress

inappropriate

for

the

weather. Many wear the uniform quite well and reaffirm its power.

So

who

are

those

fashion

down

putting

on

individuals

the

the

totem

gay

who

pole?

man's

pull Who's

clothes

of

yesterday hoping to look good? It's hard to notice a change until it's ubiquitous, but

someone

is

actively

disseminating

from the start. The fashion industry is itself

incredibly

trade

that

suspicious.

profits

It's

from

a

making

individuals feel out of date by singling out

a

few

as cutting

edge.

It

even

profits off the consumers who want to feel out of date, selling them endless amounts of items deemed uncool by haute couture

houses,

letting

them

believe

they've left the fashion world behind.

You can't escape the uniform, but you can alter it. Your uniform might associate you with a culture, another individual, or a place. It might be borrowed or even stolen. It has almost certainly been sold to

you.

But

since

you

bought

it,

and

you're wearing it, wear it well. Respect your uniform.

JORDAN HEADS BROOKLYN

Somewhere off the Utica Ave A Train Stop

an oasis of leather uppers and Flyweave detail is

providing more than shoes, but life, liberty, and the the pursuit of Jays...

Sophia Valera Heinecke: Calvin, you do so many things. You started out working with Spike Lee? Calvan Fowler: Yeah, I started as an intern with Spike many years ago and ended up becoming one of his assistants, doing many random, different things.

SVH: The project you're really focusing a lot of your energy on I saw as part of at the Brooklyn Museum sneaker exhibit.

Tamara Daley: Yes, that's the trailer for the feature length documentary (http://jordanheadsmovie.com/ ).

SVH: Tell me more about the layers of cultural phenomenon that create demand for Jordans. They’re right at the intersection of fashion, business, art, film, and there's all of this very neighborhood based culture around Jordan’s. You seem to sort of be in the middle of it all.

CF: Yeah, let's start from the beginning: Michael Jordan, Hip Hop, urban settings, the ‘hood, Spike Lee. These elements come together to create a synergy that can't be replicated. Why did Kennedy of Wieden + Kennedy, Nike’s advertising agency, reach out to Spike Lee? They saw his films and saw that it was something new and very different.

Spike Lee at the time was just replicating what he had seen in his neighborhood; you know, the b-boys wearing the Jays, the hats, the matching attire. He brought that element of the street to the Jordan sneaker. People in the hood weren't wearing Jordans at first, until Spike Lee wore the regalia of the street which was the hat with flap up that said Brooklyn, the shorts, the sneakers, the big chain like the Mars

JORDAN HEADS BROOKLYN character in She’s Gotta Have It. When they

but until that day we're going to keep

saw that people gravitated towards that, it

doing consignment. There are pluses and

was a marketing rocket, along with the rise

minuses to doing it this way. I don't have

of Hip Hop, the rise of Michael Jordan. The

to foot the bill to buy the product, but

stars aligned. Fast forward to right now and the downside is I don't get the majority of we have a lot of different cultures, a lot

the sale.

of different ethnicities getting infused with sneaker culture, which is bringing in

TD: Consignment is also a very big thing in

the business aspect. Early on, the ‘hood

the sneaker world in general. It's part of

wore sneakers and it was just an everyday

the culture. Buyers will want to wear one

thing. It was just our shoes. They were our

pair and want to save another, so they’ll

penny loafers, our Gators.

buy two.

TD: It was an important part of how you

CF: One to stock and one to rock.

looked. For example in Do The Right Thing,

SVH: It seems to me that by doing

if you remember the scene where Buggin’

consignment you would have people in and

Out--

out of your store more frequently. You

SVH: Gets his shoes stepped on--

would feel more of a community.

TD: See, it's memorable because that's how important it was.

SVH: There's a reason to take good care of the shoes.

CF: Right, yes. You know people have oily fingers. I mean, my glass door gets touched all the time I don't shake hands because I see what gets on the glass. I don't have a full size range of each sneaker because we're a consignment store so we have to take extra care of the sneakers because they don't actually belong to us.

SVH: What caused the decision to start an Air Jordan specific consignment shop as opposed to just opening a shoe store?

CF: Well, essentially you need to have an account with Jordan brand in order to carry their sneakers. Getting an account is very difficult. I know people who are storeowners who have accounts and they open new stores and can't get accounts. There will be a day where I will have a Jordan account,

Tamara Daley with a Subway Advertisement for the Rise of Sneaker Culture Exhibit at The Brooklyn Museum.

CF: This style is a community. My mother.

My mother was really big on fashion. My sister was big on fashion. My brother was big on fashion, so I grew up in a household that loved to wear different and cool things. Let's just put it this way, when Miami Vice came out, my brother was wearing croc suits. He had the sleeves rolled up. He had the undershirt on, the loafers, the shades… I saw that and I would try to wear his suits, but they were too big for me. I really got my fashion sense from my mother, ‘cause she would go to work wearing sneakers and a dress. That was her everyday outfit, but she didn’t just wear anything. They were really cool funky sneakers and she would buy me sneakers. She was really the catalyst

for why I was into sneakers at a young age and fashion as well. Here's an early memory of mine. This just changed my life forever when it came to clothing. I was in first grade and we would have recess. Coming in from recess, our teacher would take our jackets and hang them up. I remember one time, my first grade teacher, and I remember this so vividly… we were right in the doorway. She took my jacket and she looked at the label on the inside, and she said “Calvin Klein, ooh,” like, she was very impressed. I didn't know what to think, but I did know it was a label that impressed this grown woman. It was a blue bomber jacket that I remember so clearly and every day since then I decided you gotta have a name on your clothing to impress people.

OPINION // EDUCATION

SUMMER

MIGHT BE

LESS FUN AS AN ADULT Point

VV

She’s selling it in the fall, spurred by

Pointacations come with more baggage than

my

Uncle’s

death

this

past

year.

It’s

just what you pack.

where I first met him,

I so distinctly remember getting up

stories about being a doctor in Vietnam,

at 8:30am in the summer to walk to the

where our enormous and unwieldy family

pool.

would play watermelon polo. A painting

My

friends

would

show

up

later.

where he told me

Maybe we’d grab lunch. Replace pool with

done

work and that’s where I am today. Even

bedroom, while paintings by artists of

when opportunities for vacation present

note

themselves, I return to my life and my

living room. It’s a personalized fantasy.

by

my

flank

best

the

friend

comfy

hangs

couches

in

in

a

the

job emotionally bottomed out by the fact that I’m no longer on vacation. It makes

Biking across the grass airfield down the

me so sad. I know we all experience this.

street from the house, I watch lightning

Even as a kid I did, but I somehow always

ricochet in the towering cumulus clouds.

expect more. The dream world I lived in

The lingering glow of electricity finds

as a child is dwarfed in comparison to

my form and sends my shadow to the grass,

the unreal realities and dream getaways

just for a moment. Sooner than my

that mock me constantly: private jets, in

silhouette was gone, I wondered if all

house chefs, endless casa’s with private

the fond memories of my life would end up

beaches.

tainted by reality, impending or past. I

I feel bad about not having a

better, longer, more exclusive vacation,

hesitated to tell my Aunt how upset I was

and then I feel worse when I stop to

that the house would no longer be hers,

examine how ungrateful I am. There are

ours. It was just a house, perhaps the

people all around me who don’t have the

most beautiful house I’ll ever set foot

option of vacation.

in, one that lodged memories I’m hesitant to divulge in print. Memories both

I am very fortunate to have an Aunt who

beautiful and ugly that have served as

owns a house in a very private part of

landmarks in my life. My grieving process

the Hamptons. On my last visit to the

for the house and my Uncle, which only

house, it was hard to have fun while my

upset me further, threatened my relaxing

chest

vacation.

was

buzzing

sadness and guilt .

with

feelings

of

OPINION // EDUCATION But am I ever really relaxing anymore?

C Though I personally wouldn’t

Between sips of Perrier at the pool I

recommend juggling too much at once,

check my work email, and respond to

it’s your life. It’s your summer.

requests for information about projects. I know my days here are

When you’re an adult you usually are

numbered, but it’s literally impossible

fortunate enough to not have your

for me to enjoy them to the fullest.

parents hawking over your every move.

The season, summer, doesn’t stop work,

No parental advisory means a great

or depression, or bills, or medical

summer is a guarantee, but this is a

crises.

ridiculous argument that may not

Natural and useful worry about

these ongoing issues is polluted by my

pertain to everyone. Even if you still

own petty fear of missing out. I’m at a

live at home, you have options and

point in my life where I feel that all

control like never before in your life

of my energy should be dedicated to

once you reach 18 years of age. For

establishing myself, but I also feel

instance, I'm heading to meet a friend

this immense pressure to have as much

after this to make the exact dinner

fun as humanly possible, and I don’t

that we want and go see a movie.

even engage in the headache of

Because it's summer, we're heading to

obsessively cataloging and posting the

the park which is pretty clean because

coveted “experience” of vacation that

people all help clean it up together.

everyone seems to crave. Summer just

They understand that the park is their

isn’t what it used to be.

charge as a community, and they must cooperate to ensure it stays in good

Counterpoint

condition so it remains functional while everyone has a good time.

This summer has been just as good as any other summer. I don't get to go to

Kids don't do that. Kids are selfish.

the pool all day or endlessly roam

In fact, I would argue that might be

around neighborhoods to see what could

what makes people adults. They figure

be happening, but I get to sit on the

out some way to work together and not

roof of my apartment building, smoke

just think about themselves. They

weed, and meet new people all the time.

create systems and have effective oversight of the execution of these

Maybe those things aren't fun to you,

systems. They make the conscious choice

reader. Maybe you want to cook dinner

to work together in the hopes of

with your sexy squeeze and take trips

facilitating events and movements even.

with your bridge club to the

And they have rooftops where they can

beach.Well, you can do both of those

see it all come together.

things separately, or simultaneously.

Can you tell if somebody is gay just by looking at what they wear? Sometimes you can, even if they aren't in the standard issue gay uniform. Sometimes their shirts are just a little too pressed, patterns a little too well matched for each other,

We'll

cuts a little too form fitting.

all

But year after year, the gay style waters down a bit and becomes the fashion of the edgy, conservative straight male. The neon colored tank tops and reduced inseam shorts went

from

parties

the

to

dance

the

fraternities

beer

floors

of

stained

circuit

halls

of

fly-over

states

in

less

frequently in the fashion world, far from

exclusive to the gay male, but interesting

between

the

the

strange

designer

relationship

and

the

ultimate

consumer. The white frat boy doesn't want

based

picking

of dancing on the edge of taboo. He could

people

without

Black.

He

ever

could

without

being

wear

ever

perceived

up

their

uniform.

the

pieces

Straight

a

person

Many

queer

people

don't

of

an

adopted

think

they're

wearing a uniform, but they always are.

The lack of variety in any Lower East Side bar on a weekend night is uncanny. He's in a brightly colored polo with slacks and clean shoes, she's in a little black dress inappropriate for the weather. Many wear the uniform quite well and reaffirm its power.

So who are those individuals who pull the

made

perceived

for

as

a

he could be a gay man which adds that much more power to appropriating a gay look.

The borrowing isn't necessarily conscious.

We're all wearing uniforms, after all, and hardly think about them. There's variety in the uniform, some people get away with more but

they're

on

the

down the totem pole? Who's putting gay

man's

fundamentally

clothes

of

yesterday

hoping to look good? It's hard to notice a change until it's ubiquitous, but someone

2016

something

being

as

woman. But there's a real possibility that

orthodox.

on

SEPTEMBER

wear something made by or marked for Black

one,

bar

culture.

Est. fashion

than

which

people are at the end of a fashion cycle,

to be seen as gay, but loves the boldness

women

know

HOLĂ„ in

than a decade. It's a trickle down we see

considering

always

loves, hates, used to love but now hates,

is actively disseminating from the start.

The fashion industry is itself incredibly suspicious.

It's

a

corporation

that

profits from making individuals feel out of date by singling out a few as cutting edge. It even profits off the consumers who want to feel out of date, selling them endless amounts of items deemed uncool by haute couture houses, letting them believe they've left the fashion world behind. You can't

escape

the

uniform,

but

you

can

alter it. Your uniform might associate you with a culture, another individual, or a

HOUSEOFLADY.COM place.

It

might

be

borrowed

or

even

stolen. It has almost certainly been sold to

you.

But

you're wearing @HOUSE.OF.LADY your uniform.

since

you

bought

it,

and

it, wear it well. Respect