Sleep to Dream

On days like today, when the Euro is on the brink of collapse, employment in the U.S. looks bleak, and it feels like we are on the tipping point of a global financial meltdown, I have a certain amount of Rip Van Winkle envy. I know my mama said that there would be days like these, but can't I just go to sleep and wake up in 100 years, perfectly preserved with the world returned to order.

Sleeping is such a wonderful feeling it's a wonder that we are ever awake. Our bodies fall into such a state of blissful unconsciousness that is unparalleled in its enjoyment. Sometimes, when the worries and requirements of the woken world creep in, I suddenly wake with a start wondering 'where did I leave my keys?'.  Only after my fingers have grasped them am I able to slip back into my dream state.

So I have some empathy for the subject of this photoshoot; a girl who distances herself from the boring rituals of modern life with a suspension of consciousness. The costuming is so extreme and surreal that it places the viewer within the subconcious of the girl, we see her slumber and we see her dream.

Sudden Sleep

Armin Morbach for Tush Magazine

via FGR

Weighty Issues

American Vogue is notorious for being blah. But somehow Grace Coddington snuck this little gem into the April Issue as the title photo of the "Can you Raise your Metabolism?" story. I'm not sure what conclusion the article came to, but the photo is amazing. It brings fat suits to a whole new level.

White Trash: Don't it Look Fun?

White trash. Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet? Let's try. Hillbilly, Redneck, Cracker?

Trash. The others don't quite work. This is the name for the discarded, or for those who simply got passed on by. It's a mean slur but a slur that our society doesn't seem to mind and in fact perpetuates as a running joke.

And I'm not immune because when I think of white trash I think NRA. Rick Santorum. Pleather Coaches. Methamphetamine. I think of awkward encounters in rest stops and confederate flags. So I am trying to understand why the idea of 'white trash' fascinates the fashion world, and more importantly why it is a legitimate source of inspiration.

White trash fashion is essentially the glamorization of poverty, where trailers suddenly become home to La Vie Boheme, a life of smoking cigarettes on plastic patio furniture in a tube top and push up bra. The girls are blonde, skinny, with big boobs and a look like they just got felt up. And they always always look like they got stuck in the 80s.

The truth of it is, most girls don't look so good in tube tops, that push up bra isn't doing nearly enough, and the cigarette she's smoking is starting to look more sad more than sexy. But by making white trash look good we can brush over what it means to be poor. Because being poor in America, no matter what color you are, now that ain't sexy. And maybe we need to start to think about what that actually means.


Photographs by
Mark Kean for Wonderland Magazine
Jason Lee Parry for Oyster Magazine
Angelo Pannetta for Doing Bird
Hugh Lippe for Russh #42

----------------More Trashy Girls after The Jump----------------

War Paint

Color war anyone?

Enrique Badulescu for Gravure

via FGR

The Portrait Project

Portraiture is a celebration of the individual. But more than that, it is an imprint of the sitter. It presents the subject's likeness after death, or after aging, to future generations of spectators. Perhaps that is why portraits have such gravity, it is impossible not to wonder about the life behind the face.

I was particularly inspired by a recent trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see their Renaissance Portrait Exhibition. After decades of Mary and Jesus, the "Renaissance witnessed the rediscovery of the individual." Of course, I was most interested in the clothes, jewelry, and hairstyles that were perfectly captured in the profiles of the most beautiful ladies of the day.

But Nick and I, being products of our generation, decided to tackle portraiture with a healthy dose of post-modernism. Enjoy the photos!

Photographed by Nick Shepard
Styled by Annie Shepard
Assisted by Andra Georges
Modeled by Mikaela Flynn and Katie Hoffman

More Portraits after the Jump

------------Click READ MORE----------

Girls who Fall and Can't Get Back Up

I find I have absolute empathy with the girls featured in this editorial by Alessi Bolzoni for Grey #6. As a 25 year old young woman (girl?), I feel as if I am constantly on the verge of an accident. The small travails of daily life, as insignificant as slipping on the stairwell or spilling the contents of my purse, at times seem insurmontable. The larger questions of life, career, and love just make me want to collapse and be dragged through it all by someone who knows the way. 

Alessi Bolzoni for Grey #6

via FGR

This is How Daphne Does It

Daphne does ethereal fantasy like no one else. I have serious doubts that she is a real person. More like a cyborg made up of wrinkle proof skin and couture collections.

Marcus & Indrani for Muse Magazine

Boom

Some summer makeup inspiration!
Mario Testino for Allure

Boys Town

We have been a bit bias here at Neon Mamacita, the girls have been getting all the attention. But we love ourselves a well dressed guy, and thanks to Terry Richardson  we have 15 to choose from.

Terry Richardson for Vogue Homme Japan

via Image Amplified