childhood inspirations

Minnie Mouse

I love being inspired by different people. It started at a really young age with Minnie Mouse. I wanted to be her -- polka dots, yellow shoes, bows, an affinity for red accessories. Check, check, check, and CHECK. Might explain why I'm so crazed about mouse flats, too.

Her influence has weighed heavily on my wardrobe and continues to do so in my twenties. I had to have everything polka dots as a child, like a little brat. I'm obsessed with yellow shoes (especially with black opaque tights -- oh my god. I really do want to be a mouse. Holy shit!), as well as red. Red and yellow are the perfect accent colors for EVERYTHING. Not together though. Hi, ketchup and mustard, what's up?

Connie Conehead

Not many people will get this one, but I went through a bizarre Conehead phase as a child. Like, age 5 or 6? I even had the action figures. I can't believe I had friends when I was little.

Anyway, in the Hollywood adaptation of the SNL skit, Connie (the teenage daughter) is a cool 90's child trying to cope with being an alien. What she lacks in being human, she makes up for in amazing grunge-chic and popularity (if I remember correctly, she was a cheerleader). Right off the bat, we see her in loafers, a denim jacket, and fucking BLACK OPAQUE TIGHTS WITH SHREDDED DENIM CUT-OFFS, the most amazing thing in the entire world. I kind of think I got this favorite look from her. I mean, I played with a toy that wore that outfit.

Daria Morgendorffer and Jane Lane

This show came out when I was in 4th grade, almost 5th. I fell in love with it immediately, because I've always had a strong appreciation for sarcasm and 90's music.

Daria and her best friend Jane are definitely anomalies in a sea of cut-off tees, clogs, and denim. They both love to rock the combat boots (I imagine, in real life, they were Doc Martens) and the oversized military jackets. Jane, too, loves to wear tights under her black cuffed shorts (Seriously, it's all starting to make sense). I think about these two whenever I wear my Docs with some cut-offs or a pleated black skirt.

Buffy Summers

Since I wasn't weird enough in elementary school, I enlisted another favorite TV show on the WB in 4th/5th grade: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was like Clueless meets The Lost Boys. The writing was so smart and the girls had their own lingo and teen-speak but in a really funny way, not in the annoying Diablo Cody way.

But aside from the ass-kicking and sassy dialogue, Buffy had an amazing wardrobe. "When does the slayer find time to shop?" someone muses in the 6th season. Seriously, when? Buffy never looked like a California girl, aside from the blonde hair. She had a definite edge. She loved her leather pants and leopard skirts. Her style was a pleasant contrast to the kids on "Dawson's Creek." While the writing on that show was pretty boss most of the time, their costumes SUCKED. I can't think of any characters who ever wore stuff that made me think, "Wow. I want to be her." Even the slayer can put together a killer outfit and she's THE SLAYER. What do you guys have to do aside from crying, making pop culture references way too obscure for high schoolers, and looking at each other with sad faces, huh?

Ugh, lame. No wonder they were always so depressed.