All I knew about Diane Pernet is that she looks silly and has a blog, so tonight I took a longer look.
But I still can’t figure out what she’s trying to say with her costume.
I guess we’re not supposed to call it a costume, since she is never seen wearing anything else. Maybe we’re supposed to call it her Look…an expression of her individuality and eccentricity. If you check out some older photos, you will see that she had a distinctive hairstyle more than 2o years ago. Here she is in 1989:
Ooooh, wasn’t she pretty? I like the big messy hive. The horrible writer Tama Janowitz also sported this big messy hair back in 1986:
But Tama has tinkered with her look quite a bit since then.
Why has Diane made this costume her signature? Perhaps she is in mourning for her youth. Perhaps she wants to be easily identified, to make a strong impression. Whatever the reason, I want to know what she wears when she’s home alone. I want to know if she fears losing her identity without her costume. I want to know why no one has the nerve to call her out on it.
Is it easier to adopt a weird costume as an older woman than to struggle with your sagging face and body? Is it easier to wear a costume than to figure out how to look attractive and creative on a daily basis?
I’m aware that many designers and artists have a “uniform” they mostly adhere to, like Vera Wang or Patti Smith, to name just two. But I assume their choices are based on comfort, at least in part. Diane looks like she puts a lot of work into the Crazy Goth Widow thing. I don’t like it. It’s too cartoonish. Take it away!
Me, I have a uniform but it’s not as rigid and it’s based on comfort, as well as a resistance to experimentation. At least it doesnt require a head-dress.
What do you think about costumes as markers of identity, and how do you decide what is crucial to your look?
Ah, okay, I see you must be tired of the same crap all the time, I wouldn’t like that either. Me, I’m equally tired of lectures about how “bitter” “hateful” or “negative” I am. It’s just part of how i like to express myself and I don’t feel the need to smile when someone barks “SMILE!” at me on the street.
In fact I am vulnerable and really nice. I would cite children and tragedy as the biggest threats to youth and health. Or that’s what I blame when I catch a glimpse of myself lately.
all blessings and love, SW
Certainly those events can leave their scars. I”ve never had children but I’ve certainly lost people very dear to me. All blessings to you too, Diane
I’m rather fascinated by people who wear the same thing (or variants on the same thing) all the time. Does it make life simpler? Does it stamp their image upon changing world, fixing them in time in some way?
I’ve noticed that lately my own “costume” has become rather predictable, repeating often. Is it because I’m tired? Or have a reached a point where I’ve found what makes me comfortable/happy and I’m less willing to experiment?
And if that’s true, why do I still have so many damn clothes?
I think it is a matter of feeling comfortable and happy. All the best, Diane
I had no issue with her… but recently wearing a dead gorilla? Didn’t matter to me that it had been murdered like- fifty years ago…
Unless she wears it to make a statement against the extinction of our hairy cousins- otherwise… it’s pretty disgusting. We don’t even need ‘leather’ anymore… but it sells- so, as long as you buy it… people will sell it and animals will be bred for their hide.
I don’t fancy gorilla garb (Silly lady). Do you?
Im all for costumes, and uniforms( self chosen, Im lazy and went to public school, so like them.)
She doesn’t look eccentric, she looks like some Moldavian widow gone to seed. Ewwww. Does he smell like mothballs, as well? Id expect so.