as the world recesses, i fantasize

My best friend, Barb, is a Harry Potter addict. She started reading them when they first came out, and has been ardently loyal to the series ever since. That includes attending every midnight premiere of each of the films (Even when she was in college. And even when no one would go with her. Bless Barb.) As someone who never jumped on that bandwagon when it was barreling through our cultural world full steam, I would often make fun of her and her "childish" obsession. But she was always very firm in her defense and I said that at some point, I'd watch the films just to see what all of the fuss was about. Well, that moment came last night, after so much good sushi and a couple of bottles of wine...and I loved. I DID, okay?! And I'm not ashamed people. Now don't get me wrong, I believe it's very important to be well read and well watched and I've committed myself to being a life long learner. But no matter how intelligent you are, no matter how much you fancy yourself an intellectual whose taste reaches the very apex of the culturally savvy, that doesn't mean that you're above a good story, or a little bit of fantasy. I come from a theatre background, and so the crux of my life's studies and personal work has always been to tell stories, and to tell them as vividly, as effectively, and as creatively as possible. I am open to experiencing anything that tells a good story. It might be a little cheesy (one of my favorite movies is Con Air, and as you know, I am in the middle of a little Dawson's Creek rewatching), or it can be something whose story hits home so deeply that it never leaves you, like The Squid and the Whale, The Picture of Dorian Gray...and, well, okay, anything involving Meredith and Derek on Grey's Anatomy.

During the Great Depression, the musical, as a film genre, thrived, connecting with audiences who needed something fantastical, feel good and outside the bounds of exacted reality. I've been craving that kind of fantasy for myself recently...and it's definitely manifested itself in staying in a lot to read, watch movies, sift through magazines and the internet. AND (I'm quite proud of this), I've not turned on the television all week long (except for film watching, of course). And I've felt the most creative and the most inspired that I've felt in quite a long time. It's also what I love about fashion...is it entirely practical to buy or even produce an $11,000 Balmain jacket in a time where people are struggling to buy groceries? Who cares? Harper's Bazaar has jumped on this recession bandwagon as if must be, literally, the only way that people can even conceive of fashion right now, and I'm so sick of reading their stupid recession articles I could just throw up. I know I can't afford the new YSL cage booties, or the thigh-high Rodarte boots, thanks...but that doesn't mean that I don't want to look at them as styled up and fashiony as possible. Bazaar and Vogue needn't think that the only way they can present items like this is to try and trick me into believing that a $1300 pair of booties is an "essential splurge" for this summer. I'm still within my first year out of college. They're not. I find W to be the musical of the fashion world. When everyone else is afraid to admit their love of something impractical during a time where impracticality isn't exactly relished, W says fuck that and gives us a shoot like their Stardust one this month, chock full of glamour, glitz, and a whole lotta "price available on request."

There's nothing wrong with looking to a little magic to make you feel better. I'll alternate Twilight and Hemingway if I want to (and I currently am), and I'm already shopping at H&M...I don't need to see it in any high fashion editorial, thanks. Tell the story, show me the good stuff.