#thewaybackcloset

[thewaybackcloset]

I miss Austin so much. My heart, my soul, my community. We popped up so much; it's my favorite past time. Seeing the makers and creators alike showcase their labors of love. I enjoy hearing everyone's story... one day I want to interview each and every one of you beautiful beings. Think I have what it takes to be a host? Can I interview people?! It's been so long since my years in journalism academia.

#popupboothdisplays #market #vintage #repurpose #upcycled #diy #atxartist #thewaybackcloset #styleblogger #Youtube

[thewaybackcloset]

Geometric textiles, feathery eyelashes, and color blocking: Doll Fashions

There are stunning costumes in the film that you can only dream about when reading the book. The designer William Travilla professionally known as Travilla, designed all of the girl's most stylish looks. Mod A-line dresses, bedazzled pantsuits, cage pattern dresses and of course red carpet evening gowns were a staple for the film's starlets.

Neely was a bit tomboyish in the beginning, until her success in showbiz afforded her voluminous blowouts and extravagant fashion. Though she is most often remembered by her scene in a scotch induced stupor, yelling at her then-husband Ted on their pool deck wearing only a bra and slip. Jennifer North had the face and tall stature to wear Travilla. She can be seen in glittering minidresses with matching door knocker earrings. On her visit to Neely's Hollywood home, she is in a pink beach coverup suit hybrid and reveals a lime green swimsuit with matching bangles. Barbara Parkins who played Anne Welles, had the most boring of everyday looks, as she stated in a Valley of the Dolls documentary. Beige everything: dress, winter coat, matching beret to go with the office's beige envelopes. With her chestnut brown hair she practically blended in to the woodwork. The career woman Travilla sets were based on Jackie Kennedy's impeccable first lady looks. Parkins DID have her shining moments in the colorful glamor of the Gillian Girl commercial and then after.

I feel like I could pickup Valley of the Dolls over and over again to read. Its charmingly hilarious and I find myself shaking my head at all of the feminine trepidation these girls went through with love, heartbreak and career. I knew I wanted to wait to view the film after I had read the true account that Jacqueline Susann had conveyed. In a way it was her own account; she was Anne Welles wading her way through entertainment in the 1960s and wrote from all the different angles. The film wasn't the novel verbatim (they seldom are) but more like watching a series fashionable comedy skits. The acting was like a roller coaster, as are the emotions.

The supporting women are equally hilarious: Miriam (sister to the nightclub singer, which Jennifer was wed to) and aging Diva Helen Lawson were spectacularly bizarre in their dialogue exchange. Everyone should check out this piece of camp history, because both works are idyllic definitions of the camp genre.

#camp #valley of the dolls #vintage #60s movies #60s fashion #thewaybackcloset

[thewaybackcloset]

My beautiful little Dolls

Anne took the green pills. Neely took the red pills. Jennifer took the blue pills.

Barbara Parkins as Anne Welles for a Gillian Girl commercial

I had a pretty regular routine of reading in the morning, catching up on the wild lives of these three women. Would Anne get her heart broken again? Would Neely go back to rehab, aka the "funny farm?" What would have happened to Jennifer if she *spoiler alert* didn't kill herself with dolls? These are some of thoughts that would swirl in my head before I cracked open the book. Its extensive and far more detailed than the film, but the film had an equally comical rhythm as the girls walked in and out of each other's lives. Anne Welles would eventually lose her small town ingenue as she developed into an NYC businesswoman and model as the new Gillian Girl, though continue to be a hopeless romantic.

I have a love/hate relationship with Neely O'Hara, as did everyone. She starts out as a naturally talented girl with liberal vaudeville roots, destined to be a leading lady. Though the candor of an impressionable woman combined with an addictive personality and Diva-level stardom is a recipe for disaster. The famous red pills are used for sleeping aid and the green pills are uppers to wake up. Make THAT a routine and the famous "dolls" become an integral part of their diet. What the film does so well is it shows an excess of fame and an introduction to ribald love triangles between the girls and their men. The most prominent theme Valley of the Dolls are the taboos of pill popping in 1960s as a result of the forever aging celebrity and the race to escape time.

"The soft numbness began to slither through her body. Oh, God! How had she every lived without these gorgeous red dolls."

Though most famously remembered in pop culture is Sharon Tate as Jennifer North. Garnering more praise for her exquisite look, she became the 1960s It Girl of Hollywood with her marriage to Roman Polanski. As Jennifer North, she cemented her stardom... up until the Manson Family murdered her. With Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood unveiling, Tate continues to be praised as gorgeous innocence. Tarantino's notoriously violent filmography had a surprisingly happy ending when he rewrote the fate of Tate (Margot Robbie's character) to live. The way Valley highlights the addiction of Hollywood excess is when North ingests an entire bottle of pills to escape a mastectomy operation, thinking her body is her only form of currency and notoriety.

"All I know how to do is take off my clothes."

Jennifer North on her famous French art films, as Neely describes: "nudies"

#valleyofthedolls #60s fashion #60s movies #thewaybackcloset

[thewaybackcloset]

Under the influence: A review of Valley of the Dolls

Jacqueline Susann was a widely respected actress, singer, dancer - a woman about town. She had her run in NYC and Hollywood and recounts her lifestyle in the most resonate way: she writes a book. Valley of the Dolls was published in December of 1966 and was the biggest success of that year. To date, it has sold over 31 million copies making it a one of best selling novels in publishing history.

Valley of the Dolls Turns 50

The Valley of the Dolls film premiered in 1967 and was met with mixed reactions, but later has garnered praise from many viewers as a "campy piece of shit" and “the best, funniest, worst movie ever made.” It has a huge following in the gay community and drag queens have emulated the overtop 1960s beehives countless times. The story was also adapted for stage in the 1990s at the Theater A- Go-Go in West Hollywood featuring drag queen Jackie Beat as aging starlet Helen Lawson and pre-The Office Kate Flannery as Neely O'Hara.

I finally read the fabled 60s masterpiece in full. My first time around in my early twenties, it didn't keep my attention. I guess it was hard to relate to the girls who were far more grown up than I was at their age (again, their mid twenties) landing career jobs in entertainment, getting married, divorced and popping pills is quite a roller coaster. I find it much more enjoyable now at 30 during our COVID sequestration, picturing the insanity of how a 1960s Hollywood and New York City operates. Like Mad Men, women had obscured (somewhat still do) pressures and expectations from society, though the ones who carry the show are powerful women. Valley of the Dolls was all about the women. The men in the novel and film merely seemed like accessories (or pests) to the myriad of routine problems that faced career women.

Spanning from 1945 all the way through 1962, the book reads like ages pass. Long accounts by date, like a diary, instead of chapters carry the reader through long episodic scenes. Each segment always holds a juicy tale about the girl in focus for that chapter.

One segment is dedicated to Anne, to Neely, and to Jennifer. There is always something new happening in Neely O'Hara's vagabond lifestyle and her talent grows. Anne Welles is a sophisticated virginal girl from small town New England. And talentless Jennifer has one thing going for: A solid body and the face of a goddess. The three of them eventually all find themselves on mutual ground with their careers and love lives. Naturally, they decide to live together. Some of the characters are absolutely unbearable at times. Miriam is a controlling sister/manager to nightclub singer, Tony Polar who takes an interest in Jennifer North. Gaudy Helen Lawson is nearing her swan song as a demanding Diva threatened by Neely. Lyon Burke is a handsome Englishman pursuing a writing career and takes an interest Anne, though plainly states, he is "not sure his love will be enough." Heard that one. To be continued...

#valley of the dolls #vintage #sharon tate #60s fashion #thewaybackcloset

[thewaybackcloset]

Anytime Austin Market Hosts Popups @ Revival Coffee

Yes, the pink coffee shop that Gabriela's took over! <3

I'm checking my Google Calendar to see when the next few markets are scheduled and realized I didn't have any lined up! So I went into Instagram to see if the usual ones I follow had any dates logged in and in my suggested follows I see Anytime Austin Market is a new-ish account. I'm not entirely sure how long they have been hosting patio markets outside of the newly re-branded Revival Coffee (which is so cute, decked out in millenial pink decor) I decided to attend their next one and check it out.

Chill house music pulsates through speakers on a stage outside Revival Coffee's patio space. Several booths are nestled in front of a giant ice bin full of Blue Norther Hard Seltzer, which supplied the event with free libations while supplies last. Weaving in and out of the different clothing racks there were even vendors that drove all the way out from Houston and San Antonio to showcase their collections.

Here is a complete list of sellers that set up shop over this particular weekend:

shop personall

v1ntageware

fuck buffalo exchange

emo hippie upcycle

grandpa's vintage

neglected goods

Lamplight Vintage

low vision vintage

Wingtip Betty

strawberry tall cake

crisis vintage

free 4 chubbies

Future markets outside of Revival Coffee will surely take place EVERY weekend, weather permitting. It's the perfect setting to bring out-of-town visitors, vintage treasure hunters, antique collectors, and everyone who loves supporting local Austin vendors! Keep an eye out for Anytime Austin's future markets by following their page as well as Revival Coffee by Gabrielas.

#atx #popup #market #vintage #upcycled #repurpose #shopsmall #thewaybackcloset

[thewaybackcloset]

EDITORIAL SCANDEL CREATES TENSION

Before the group went to Tokyo, Fowley scheduled a press shoot for Cherie Currie and only her. Unsure as to why, she didn't think anything of it and went along with the shoot. Though it wasn't a story about the music as it was a sultry editorial. Maybe she was naive to the marionette like tendencies that Fowley often led by - or it was because she was the iconic Bowie/Bardot fusion front woman, which made her a huge sensation for Japanese audiences. Whatever transpired, when the glossy pages reached the bandmates, the wound went deep and they eventually disbanded in the late 70s.

Cherie Currie battled addictions to cocaine, quaaludes and alcohol during the height of their fame. She eventually quit after the riff between band mates and went to rehab. The rest of the group disbanded soon after and would go on to record collaborations with members of The Bangles, The Donnas and many more. Lita Ford turned her lead guitarist skills to heavy metal and dominated. Cherie Currie went on to record one album with her twin sister Marie. She continues to advocate for sobriety and wrote the novel Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway. After being turned down 23 times by record companies, Jett and her manager Kenny Laguna created Blackheart Records to record their own material.

She puts out an ad for three men who can play - to eventually form Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. The rest is history. One of my favorite and final looks of Jett in The Runaways is when she gives a radio interview for the album: "I Love Rock 'n Roll" in her black grown out mullet and magenta boyfriend blazer. A colorfully classic 80s punk look. An ushering in of American punk and females in rock 'n roll would forever be changed by her influence.

#the runaways #rock'n'roll #cherry bomb #neon angel #punk aesthetic #thewaybackcloset

[thewaybackcloset]

Getting all kinds of inspired on the road... Found more trinkets in Memphis for some ear bling ✨🎶on my way to Chicago for @lollapalooza and I’ll have some earrings on me for sale… if you can find me slinging drinks 🍺😉 #ontheroad #roadtrip #memphistn #memphis #followthemusic #upcyclefashion #dancing #lollapalooza #thewaybackcloset (at On The Road) https://www.instagram.com/p/CghTiHqOV6O/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#ontheroad #roadtrip #memphistn #memphis #followthemusic #upcyclefashion #dancing #lollapalooza #thewaybackcloset

[thewaybackcloset]

My first popup everrrrrr! 🏷 a chill 4th of July spent listening to creatives tout their passions at @freddoatx See you soon at the next one and hit up my @depop for all the handmade earrings 💎 ✨✌🏼 #shoplocal #stories #streetstyle #shophandmade #interviews #blog #blogger #dowhatyoulove #depopseller #depop #instashop #writingcommunity #creativewriting #vintage #nostalgia #popculture #makeart #design #thewaybackcloset (at Freddo’s) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cfwg4zqufXW/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#shoplocal #stories #streetstyle #shophandmade #interviews #blog #blogger #dowhatyoulove #depopseller #depop #instashop #writingcommunity #creativewriting #vintage #nostalgia #popculture #makeart #design #thewaybackcloset

[thewaybackcloset]

The @convergentarts Autonomy event was litty! Thank you for letting me read ya’ll a story… a compilation of a variety of poems.. and Popup my little shop @thewaybackcloset 💗◻️ 📸 @mattsme 🔲 #atxmakers #writing #poetry #atxartist #writewhatyoufeel #streetstyle (at The Metropolis Apartments - Austin,Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CgQjT8GNgbc/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#atxmakers #writing #poetry #atxartist #writewhatyoufeel #streetstyle

[thewaybackcloset]

Popping up at @freddoatx open mic 🎤 tomorrow evening! I’ll be selling all my earring singles / pairs I’ve made thus far for @thewaybackcloset 😋 will have some clothing and accessories for sale too 🏷 📸 @andrey.psyche . . #supporthandmade #shoplocal #upcycling #atx #atxsmallbusiness #openmic #convergentarts #freddos #austintexas #streetstyle #ootd #y2kfashion #y2kaesthetic #chaingang (at Austin, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cfjg1C4uG5L/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#supporthandmade #shoplocal #upcycling #atx #atxsmallbusiness #openmic #convergentarts #freddos #austintexas #streetstyle #ootd #y2kfashion #y2kaesthetic #chaingang

[thewaybackcloset]

Riders on the storm... 🕯🦎 The Doors “I am the Lizard King” tee up for grabs 🎶 and @jeffreycampbell booties! . . . #depopseller #depop #depopshop #depopcommunity #bandtee #thedoors #rocknroll #legends #lizardking #vintagerock #rockerstyle #streetstyle #flatlayphotography #flatlaystyle #flatlay #styling #shopsecondhand #forsale #thewaybackcloset (at Planet Earth) https://www.instagram.com/p/CKMoEvxl46o/?igshid=nzxy5srfycyn

#depopseller #depop #depopshop #depopcommunity #bandtee #thedoors #rocknroll #legends #lizardking #vintagerock #rockerstyle #streetstyle #flatlayphotography #flatlaystyle #flatlay #styling #shopsecondhand #forsale #thewaybackcloset

[thewaybackcloset]

Meet me at Sam’s Town ✨🎰 Size XL employee button down decorated with slot machines all over the hem and sleeves. Features the Las Vegas sign on the back 🎲 . . . #depop #depopcommunity #depopshop #lasvegas #samstown #thekillers #vintage #retro #casino #shopsmall #shoplocal #samstowncasino #forsale #thewaybackcloset #shopwayback (at Heaven or Las Vegas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CM2ccQnFFN3/?igshid=1n43qdeqb5lka

#depop #depopcommunity #depopshop #lasvegas #samstown #thekillers #vintage #retro #casino #shopsmall #shoplocal #samstowncasino #forsale #thewaybackcloset #shopwayback

[thewaybackcloset]

Homer Simpson hoodie!!! I had to really clean this one up, but now he’s good as new. Fits like a small, the perfect 90s staple, and pop of color 🟡🍩👀 Available now on @depop 📱 . . . #depopseller #depopcommunity #depopvintage #thesimpsons #thesimpsonsedit #homersimpson #margesimpson #lisasimpson #bartsimpson #90saesthetic #90sfashion #streetwear #streetstyle #flatlayphotography #flatlay #vintage #retro #shopsmall #shopsecondhand #thewaybackcloset #shopwayback (at Moe's Tavern, Springfield) https://www.instagram.com/p/CMR-BiFlEFA/?igshid=coywhtfsgkb4

#depopseller #depopcommunity #depopvintage #thesimpsons #thesimpsonsedit #homersimpson #margesimpson #lisasimpson #bartsimpson #90saesthetic #90sfashion #streetwear #streetstyle #flatlayphotography #flatlay #vintage #retro #shopsmall #shopsecondhand #thewaybackcloset #shopwayback

[thewaybackcloset]

My assistant 𝒜𝓇𝒾𝒶 sorting through today’s little $1 haul from @pavementaustin ! Tiki bar 🌺𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 🍩 and 𝘛𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 🪵 VIBES coming soon... . . . #depopseller #depoocommunity #forsale #depop #catsofinstagram #catstagram #clothesforsale #plaid #thesimpsons #twinpeaks #graphics #streetstyle #myassistant #thriftstorefinds #thriftedfashion #thewaybackcloset #adayinthelife (at Austin, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CL2c6NtlnS1/?igshid=1e9ahfmcpbndh

#depopseller #depoocommunity #forsale #depop #catsofinstagram #catstagram #clothesforsale #plaid #thesimpsons #twinpeaks #graphics #streetstyle #myassistant #thriftstorefinds #thriftedfashion #thewaybackcloset #adayinthelife

[thewaybackcloset]

ℒ𝒶𝓊𝓃𝒹𝓇𝓎 𝒟𝒶𝓎 👙 Hope everyone has had their water restored by now. Can’t wait to see ya’ll at some Popup markets this weekend 🌤 . . . #depop #depopseller #depopcommunity #retroaesthetic #retrostyle #vintage #streetstyle #bettiepage #austintexas #austintx #atx #austincreatives #shopsecondhand #thrifted #vintageads #laundryday #dirtylaundry #thewaybackcloset #shopwayback (at Austin, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLuJcG2lDIW/?igshid=1ljt7vcdfdnlo

#depop #depopseller #depopcommunity #retroaesthetic #retrostyle #vintage #streetstyle #bettiepage #austintexas #austintx #atx #austincreatives #shopsecondhand #thrifted #vintageads #laundryday #dirtylaundry #thewaybackcloset #shopwayback

[thewaybackcloset]

Wear this @rocawear boom box tee while holding a boom box. #meta . . . #depopseller #depopcommunity #90saesthetic #90sfashion #hiphop #jayz #boombox #80smovies #musicinfluence #camopants #buckethat #johncusack #retroaesthetic #retro #flatlay #flatlayphotography #thewaybackcloset #shopwayback (at USA) https://www.instagram.com/p/CKz08w9F6Y4/?igshid=1w7ih17xj4112

#meta #depopseller #depopcommunity #90saesthetic #90sfashion #hiphop #jayz #boombox #80smovies #musicinfluence #camopants #buckethat #johncusack #retroaesthetic #retro #flatlay #flatlayphotography #thewaybackcloset #shopwayback