Style Icon - Skye of My Kingdom for a Hat

Guest Blogger #2 for "Absolutely Me" Month - Skye

 

Skye of My Kingdom for a Hat is someone you would remember passing on the streets of Burlington.  Her colorful outfits and one of a kind accessories make a statement that says, I wear what I love and I love it.  Here is what she has to say on her sense of style.  What she says below is exactly the point I'm trying to make during "Absolutely Me" Month.  -Jen-

 

 

How do you describe your style?

 

I just plain like interesting clothes. Crazy colors and patterns, pieces that have something really unexpected going for them. (That's part of why I dye my hair pink: it automatically adds an unexpected component to all my outfits!) In practice, my definition of "interesting" tends to mean "rockabilly or flapper chic". So even though my style is distinctive, it's pretty predictable.

 

 

 

Where do you find most of your pieces?

I'm mad about vintage. I haven't shopped at a non-secondhand store in over a year. I find it unsettling to walk into a fast fashion outlet and see dozens of the same piece hanging on the walls. I much prefer digging through piles of miscellany. And I like rescuing often quite valuable historical pieces from retailers who have no idea what they're worth, or sometimes literally from the garbage.

 

Some of my favorite places to hunt: Battery Street Jeans, Old Gold, The Classy Closet, Junktiques, Shalom Shuk.

 

 

Who/what inspires your looks?

 

Most of my outfits are homages to old-time nightlife. Flappers and pinups and courtesans - oh my! My headscape is basically Moulin Rouge!. I'm also 1) pagan and 2) super into Halloween, so I definitely have my witchy phases. Sometimes nothing feels better than a swishy black cape.

 

 

I also have a great respect for the historical value of my clothes. Reproduction, for me, just won't do. I love knowing how much has been thought and felt and lived in my clothes before I came to own them.

 

As for specific style icons, the first three that come to mind are Hilda, Courtney Brooke, and the ladies of Advanced Style.

What struggles do you face in society when people see you out and about & how do you handle it (be it positive or negative)?

I've always been fairly oblivious to social cues, so most negative attention just rolls off me. I'll bop down the street with headphones on and not even notice the stares and catcalls. Oblivion is a gift sometimes. An older man did come up to me once and sneer "too much lipstick, doll." But that's far rarer than the good stuff. Little girls love me. They think I'm one of their dolls come to life.

 

Any tips?

 

I'm huge on properly dating vintage and not getting fooled by reproduction stuff. There's far too much to say here, so I'll direct you to the "on vintage" section on my blog, wherein I break down how to analyze vintage garments.

 

Other than that, I avoid giving "style tips". Your style is your own. I'm not about to tell anyone else what they should feel most like themselves in. Fuck the rules. Mix colors and patterns 'til the cows come home. Or don't! If you feel like a goddamn bombshell in that dress, who cares if it's considered "flattering"? At the end of the day, you're the only one you have to answer to.

 

Why do you do what you do?

I can't not! I have a lot to say. Some of that happens to bleed through into my sartorial presentation. I have to live color and whimsy and art. I don't really know any other way.