sidetracked! diane von furstenberg gown

remember how i wanted three dvf vintage wrap dresses as a latent birthday present to myself? well, i saw this little number and i HAD to have it. now that i'm performing more and more with jc hopkins, i need more dresses that work onstage. this looks like something nina simone would wear, ironically enough -- ironic because a few weeks ago, a reviewer said my voice bore "an uncanny resemblance" to hers (by the way, that's patently untrue). the orange and turquoise will augment my skin tone beautifully.

what's up with this wierd 70's fashion moment that i'm having? i've been stuck in the 50's for years and now this...it's probably because all the guys in the band like me to take my hair down when we play out and my hair is getting long and kind of big.

i think it's okay to have a '70's moment visually with this band because the music is really all about originating great american standards and that transcends clothes. actually, as a performer, i'm free to set my own standard. i'm supposed to be myself in everything i do. that's my job! the big band neo-swing scene is kind of cliche at this point, both visually and audibly. there's so much more to it than the revisionism that's run rampant in popular culture. it turns things upside down when i present myself as a stylish and soulful individual and not a retro-fashion victim. like i'm not doing it right if i don't look like i stepped out of a nightclub in 1938 or whatever.

(hm. that scarf would make an excellent turban...)