The Chris Benz Girl
A few seasons ago, at a Chris Benz show, I was chatting with Keiko about the brands and designers we dreamed of working with. Chris Benz was among them, and Keiko proclaimed that while I may aspire to be the Miu Miu Girl, she's most certainly the Chris Benz Girl. I don't disagree with her, but in my head I was probably screaming, "but I want to be a Chris Benz Girl, too." I'm not an only child, trust me, but I definitely suffer from "me too" syndrome, sometimes. It's something I'm working on -- you know, me, my journal, and a deep reflection into my past. (Does it come from the years I spent as a seven-through-twelve-year-old pouting over the Doc Martens I wanted but never got? My dad insisted they were only for skinheads, while my entirely Jewish class continued to parade in them to the beat of my jealousy. Sigh. At least you're in my life now, Docs.) I mean, how could I not want to be a Chris Benz Girl? Her hair is always perfectly coiffed (but still a bit messy, lest you think she cares too much about her appearance), she's unabashed in her sensibilities and fearlessly colorful, and is more of a trend setter than a follower.
Aaaanyways, I feel like I pretty much say the same thing every season, except this time it's extremely delayed* (confession below), but, fuck: Chris Benz, you're tugging at my heart strings so very, very firmly. I mean, a sequined fried egg? Do you have any idea how my need for protein and my magpie sensibilities are quarreling with the fact that such a bedazzled top exists? Any even so - the sequin fried egg was hardly the highlight. There were crazy geometric patterns and bright autumnal colors (for spring!) and all the vibrant, girly, whimsy that I've come to expect of Chris Benz. But he's no one trick pony, and many seasons into his career- I'm still struck with stars in my eyes and a deep seeded wish that someday a piece from his collection will be mine.
*These Are My Confessions: 1.) Nothing to do with Usher. At all. 2.) I got a new camera before fashion week. A new, lightweight, super high quality, amazing Leica that, honestly, I don't deserve to have in my possession. I tried it out a lot in controlled environments, but never with the unpredictable circumstances like a runway show, or the direct sunlight casting into Avery Fischer Hall. Here's where the fact that I'm not a photographer really shows through. My fluency with Canon manual cameras could not so easily be applied to the Leica. Alas, most of my photos sucked. It's a damn shame. I know that a big part of the appeal of my blog is the big, glossy, pretty pictures - and I apologize that these just aren't up to my usual standard. Blogs offer such a highly edited view of the things we experience; you rarely see (or hear about) all the massive fuck-ups that happen in the process of getting our work done, but trust me that they are plenty. Just like everyone else. Cause I'm human.
And, further, this highly belated run past the now very, very old news of fashion week was inspired by the CFDA x eBay luncheon that I attended yesterday, hosted by Chris Benz. I first blogged about Chris Benz in 2009 (something I only just remembered,) and then yesterday I was sitting in a room with him, having lunch, chatting with the pink-haired-ingenue himself about Pretty Woman halloween costumes and being a cat lady, after several seasons of attending his shows and just... whoa. Life changes in a whole list of ways that I absolutely never, ever could have anticipated. I think part of me always knew I'd work in fashion, in spite of everything in the world telling me not to, and even though I strayed from the path initially... here I am. This should probably be an entirely separate blog post, but I'm finally starting to feel a tiny sense of pride in getting to a place in my career where I'm self supported by doing something that I absolutely love and could not have dreamed of doing.
Unrelated item: I'll be on QVC's Inspired Style again tonight, 1 AM EST and 10 PM PST. Tune in to catch me talking about ladylike trends with QVC's Amy Stran!