I love leggings.  I have expressed my devotion to the garment in the past, so I've decided to share with you my most interesting wears. 

When leggings first became popular, I was a skeptic.  Why would I want to reveal so much of myself to the outside world?  Plus, I saw too many girls wearing short t-shirts with black leggings and it just didn't look good.  At the time, I also associated leggins with the 80's and hair metal.  This was five years ago or so, mind you, and my love of Motley Crue had not yet set in.  Now, as I type, I am listeng to the Crue (amazing!) and metal music documentaries and talk shows are almost all that I watch. 

I first became aquainted with leggings when my grandmother gifted me with an electric purple pair one Christmas.  I was not instantly repulsed; instead a light bulb illuminated in the area of my brain labled Fashion.  I could wear skirts and dresses in the winter!  They would be so comfortable for days when I begrudgingly put on jeans when I desired my good old sweats.  Leggins became a staple with long, loose band tees.  They are the multi-seasonal core of my wadrobe.  Even in the summer I put on a long loose (typically tie dyed) tank with leggins, flats, and a ton of jewelry.  They're good for anything, like a spontaneous best friend.
 
Some of them I dyed myself, others I've bought here and there (Mostly at Target in the kids section.  XL=women's medium).  One pair (AA black and green) I searched for on Ebay for an entire year before finding them in my size this last May.  Yes, I am not ashamed of my spandex, lycra-laced cotton love. 

Purple tie dye - DIY; Black and Green - American Apparel; Muddy Black and Green - DIY; Black, White, Blue and Pink - Target (kid's section); camoflage - Target; Blue and White tie dye -  American Apparel; Red and White stars and stripes - H&M; Black and Grey - DIY; Blue and Purple Stripes - DIY.

The Work Space

armarioenruinas

peaceloveNotherstuff 

11thDimension

LarkinAndLarkin 

LarkinAndLarkin 

Tie dye shorts are a perfect summer replacement for cool leggings or your favorite jeans.  They add just the right amount of colour to your favorite black band tee.  You can find great hand dyed pairs on Etsy (like the one's above), or take on the project yourself.  If you really love them, you can transition them into fall by wearing black leggings or stockings underneath. 

Today is tie dye day for me.  I'll give it a try and post my results later ;)



Piano Lady

photos from tumblr

It took me a very long time to appreciate Tori Amos.  She is the sort of musician whom many people know is revered and special even if they have yet to listen to her.  Upon first listen I was a little confused.  I was told that she was a feminist, but my middle school aged brain couldn't understand why there were no raucous guitars, no thundering drums, just this nice music.  I'd avoided the piano because every girl I knew was proficient.  It was the girl instrument.  So, I picked up the every-boy instrument, the guitar, and didn't listen to Amos for years. 

In college, I realized that strength did not mean being masculine, and that feminists do not need to have tattoos and play rock rock music.  Amos has a strength and a will about her is cultivated by her handling of the piano.  Some of the most hard-hitting songs are piano-only ballads with soaring melodies and delicate vocals.  Through listening to Amos, I learved that some of the strongest songs in this world are the quiet ones. 

After some time, I began to discover much about myself through playing that piano.  The gentle and the strong collide like a painting in lilac, violet, crimson red, and cobalt blue.  Thank you Tori Amos for being there in my car stereo.

Girl

Mother

Dolly Kei is a very interesting trend in Japan, and one of which Courtney Love is a fan.  The desrciption of the look is very vauge.  Wearers take inspiration from old Eastern European traditional dress, fairy tales, and other whimsical sources.  Dolly Kei, also called Cult Party, is a style I imagine on Claudia in Interview with the Vampire (my favorite book :).  The layers, mostly white dresses, and romantic accessories have a certain dark appeal, like Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales.  Tattered hems, and ripped lace bring to mind a vampire who has been entombed for centuries.  If I were the singer in some orchestral, goth band (Apocalyptica, Nightwish) this is how I would take the stage. 

photos and info from www.dollykei.tumblr.com