Look, only one arm!

I always feel like my best outfits are the ones that are the most spontaneous; not yesterday’s obviously. I posted it to showcase what I really wear on a day to day basis even if it’s not all hot-to-trot or glamorous. Anyhow, sometimes I only have 10 minutes before I have to be at work and I’ll be standing in front of my closet in my underwear trying to choose one item that I can base my whole outfit around. This is exactly what happened to me today (and most days). I knew I wanted the key item to be my plum-colored pair of tights. Then I saw my maroon Docs on the floor next to me and I instantly knew I wanted to do a monochromatic look. And of course my favorite burgundy mini dress was clean. I grabbed my tan coat and whim wham bam, I was ready for work! Seriously, I love monochromatic outfits. I think I want to do an all brown outfit next.

It actually rains in Los Angeles. And what’s a girl to do? Bust out the maroon-colored Docs (water-defying beauties) and army green jacket with a much-needed hood (because I can’t find my umbrella). The rain always starts up when I least expect it and I’m never quite ready. I need a new water-proof coat, but I hate looking. All my old coats have either been found at the thrift store or given as birthday gifts (as was this one about three or four birthdays ago; it’s from Old Navy). I actually have one really nice coat I wear for special occasions that I bought back in December 07, but it’s too nice for everyday wear. I can deal in the meantime though because it’s not even really cold and it’s not like it snows.

Once I put my Smiths’/Morrissey collection on shuffle, I’m bound to become inspired somehow. Today, it happened when “Suedehead” played on the old iPod. The song is not overtly about the Suedehead subculture that grew from the skinhead movement in the 70s like I previously thought, but about love and death (just like most Morrissey songs. Duh). According to Inthe80s.com, 

“This song refers to the “crush” that Morrissey has on James Dean, and how he identifies with this tragic figure and how he died tragically.”

The point is that the song reminded me of S.H.A.R.P.S. - you know, Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice. That in turn, reminded me of all the cool Skinhead girls that I see around LA. I’ve always thought they were so brave to have those powerful Chelsea haircuts - part punk, part mullet. And the fact that most of them wear Merc, Ben Sherman, or Lonsdale is just so undeniably cute and tough at the same time. In my opinion, these labels are the epitome of British fashion; well, them and TopShop of course (But that’s another story). It got me thinking of how the only thing that we have in common is our mutual love of Doc Martens. Duh, they have to be able to kick anyone within in a moment’s notice and those steel-toed Docs are a fightin’ girl’s dream. Anyhow, since I can’t be as stylish as them, I did the next best thing; I started searching for photos of skinbyrds - as they’re so affectionately called - and the results were impressive. Below are the best of my Google findings.

                                                 Photos 1, 4, 7: SkinByrd Magazine

                                                     Photos 2, 5: 69Skin on Flickr

                                                           Photo 3: Hel-Looks

                                                         Photo 6: High Fidelity scene from This Is England