Fresh off our VMP DRAG FASHION FLAUNT at this year’s Vintage Marketplace, we can’t stop thinking about how incredible drag queens are, especially those of the {PAST} who paved the way for the {PRESENT} culture and creativity and will continue to invoke its {FUTURE}.
We know everyone who is anyone keeps up with RuPaul’s Drag Race, and the past season’s ALL STARS edition featured a wickedly hilarious Snatch Game that had Brooklyn babe AJA take on one of Herstory’s most legendary queens – founder of the House of LaBeija, and star of the cult 1968 documentary “The Queen”, Crystal LaBeija!
And she took her on with gusto and glamour, and also delivered this beautiful spirit back into the forum of the mainstream…much in the way Jinx Monsoon brought us Little Edie of “Grey Gardens”, and Sasha Velour took on Marlene Dietrich; keeping these divinities alive for younger generations is absolutely key!
How sad it is when you hear a young man or woman denote they have no idea who these iconic legends are . . . stay educated, kids!
“The Queen” is a fabulous film directed by Frank Simon, and provides an up close and candid look at the behind of the scenes of the 1967 All-America Camp Beauty Contest in New York City. It is a wonderful portrait of a time gone by. . . New York City is rough and tough, and men from all around America shack up in tiny hotel rooms in anticipation of the pageant discussing the difficulties of being gay in America. They are all fabulous, and its wonderful to see their final transformations from the male versions of them you see in rehearsals. This transformation truly proves the power of style and image to invoke strength from within.
Illustrated herstory by Laurel Lynn-Leake
By far, the most fabulous moment has to be Crystal’s freak out when she is named fourth place storms out and then rips everyone a new one backstage. Absolutely ICONIC…you are going to have to see it to believe it! And if you are a fan of Drag Race, you will really appreciate what Aja brought to the table even more.
We stumbled upon a full version of the film on Youtube, so check it out below and enjoy!
+Look out for Andy Warhol’s cameo (he was a judge in the pageant)+
We love moments like this in pop culture where the {PAST} races into the {PRESENT} and ultimately shapes our {FUTURE}. . . rebel queens like Crystal LaBeija will live on far past those who chose not to be the truest, most incredible versions of themselves.
I don’t need you to tell me I’m beautiful! I KNOW I’M BEAUTIFUL!!!
And really, we should all fell this way! Screw the haters- you rock!
Listen to that spirit within you, and let it free…
It’s been a while since we’ve posted on here, so we thought we owed something to the gods of the internet! I can’t believe its been almost 7 years of us having this blog, and all the incredible things it has led us to, we couldn’t even have imagined on that fateful night we created it.
These incredible things, however, lead us to be very busy and it makes it hard to get time to create the content we know you love! So, here a little catch-up with everything we have been up to!
Spring always seems to be a busy time for us, and we have been up to some fun things. Currently we are creating a collection for one of our city’s biggest fashion events, Glamour in the Hammer. It is a wonderful event that helps support the incredible philanthropic efforts of the Good Shepherd and promoting the long history of giving they have done for those in need.
If you are in the area, tickets are still available, and are going fast! Ticket includes a fabulous fashion show featuring the city’s top designers, as well as drinks and eats from the city’s top restaurants. Definitely not to be missed. {click here for tickets}
This year, our collection +WUTHERING HEIGHTS+ hopes to bring a romantic edge to the grunge aesthetic inspired by the ghostly mood of the English moors, combining vintage fabrics and street chic style for many new one-of-a-kind pieces to add to the many creations we have made over the past {click here to see them}.
As well, as preparing for that, we are also embarking on a voyage to the 1980s with our costume design for Hamilton Theatre Inc.’s “The Wedding Singer” which has been chalk full of its own challenges, but insanely fun to sort through weird and wild 80s party fashions. The silhouettes and details of that time period are just over-the-top, and that of course, we absolutely love! Again if you are in the area, {click here} to get tickets for a wickedly funny show! Show runs May 11 – May 26.
Last but not least, we are fresh from our annual collaboration with The Vintage Marketplace, which is our city’s biggest vintage shopping event. Whilst we were berated by a historical ice storm, the event was still a success with hundreds of people making it out to shop from a myriad of local vintage vendors, with many new faces, which is always great to see our little community growing in that respect.
On top of our booth, which we were very proud of in the end, we also had the honor of producing some entertainment for the weekend. What we came up with, we never could’ve foreseen, but it all seemed to make so much sense, and was a wild way to shake up our usual fashion show segment.
Instead of a retrospective fashion show, we created the VMP DRAG FASHION FLAUNT ft. Queen Costia Sterling and Sapphyre Poison. If only you could be there to see how fantastic this show was (or maybe you were, if so, leave a comment), the Queens delivered vintage inspired numbers that ranged from Rosemary Clooney, Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, and even a number from the iconic musical CHICAGO.
The most magical moment had to be when the many children who had come to the show gathered to watch the Queens, and the wonderful smiles on their faces as they watched the magic. Definitely a show for the books.
So, as you can see, we have been swamped with projects, but promise to get back more in the swing of posting on here. We have so many fabulous stories on the back burner that are just waiting to see the light of day, so definitely stay tuned…
If you have been missing us, be sure to follow us on INSTAGRAM, TWITTER, and FACEBOOK to stay up to date, and see what we are up to!
Remember we also have dozens of unique, one-of-a-kind, time traveled vintage pieces in our {SHOP} which is always changing, so do check it out, and remember to use code XIXIXI for 25% OFF at the checkout.
When we say the name Maila Nurmi, you might not know who the fuck we are talking about. What if we were to say, Vampira? Of course!
Our current climate is so influenced and inspired by her delightful darkness, gothic glamour, and overall irreverence to almost everything! Oh, and did we mention she was friends with James Dean and Elvis??!
You might have even read our STYLE {DIVINITY} tribute to the goddess of creepy chic. Somehow in the 1950s at the height of conservative moral values, this daring Finnish actress rose to stardom with a status-quo bashing gig as television’s first last night horror show host of The Vampira Show which officially premiered on May 1, 1954!
As Vampira she retold the story of women in the media – not just prim and proper and ready to serve; the only thing Vampira was ready to serve was a bloody head on a platter for brunch. Its still hard for me to wrap my head around how she was able to get away with her gruesome take on House & Home living. All the more reason to worship this divine creature for everything she stood for.
Now, while Maila found popularity playing Vampira, she was an actress in Hollywood playing many roles. This next clip we found, we fell in love with – showcasing her talents in another rebel archetype that was taking hold in America in the 50s: the lousy beatnik.
A precursor to the hipster of today, a gateway to the free love hippie movement of the 60s and 70s. The beatnik was every conservative’s biggest pain in the ass. Like millennials of the atomic era- they were often viewed as aimless, pretentious, and overall whacky.
This clip taken from the iconic Beat-era classic “The Beatnik Generation” features Maila Nurmi pissing off a couple of squares with her off beat poem sporting a short blonde haircut and a rat on the shoulder; she completely oozes this infamous generation’s vibe to the max! Its very comical…and tell me she doesn’t look a bit like Katya Zamolodchikova ?!
Anyways, we thought is was all too fitting for The Eye of Faith and had to share! Lets keep empowering the brave, and blessing the bold, and letting people be the best they can be inside and out!
Let us all be a bit more like Ms. Nurmi, shall we?
Here at The Eye of Faith we worship the spirit of individuality. Escaping the everyday, and letting your uniqueness shine is something Andy Warhol superstar Jackie Curtis was no stranger to.
Born February 19, 1947 in New York City; Jackie Curtis slayed the scene with a gender bending style and booming persona that should never be forgotten.
That’s why we’re bringing her from the clutches of the past to the forefront, and it’s no better time, really; gender is undergoing quite a shift in this last decade, and many changes are still abound.
Our faithful correspondent John Wisniewski spoke with film maker and author Craig Highberger whose 2005 film “Superstar in a Housedress” explored the star’s groundbreaking art and life!
{ J.W. } What interested you about the life of star Jackie Curtis, Craig?
{C.H.} I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which is Andy Warhol’s hometown. My Uncle Sam Highberger had gone to Carnegie Mellon University with Andy and was in some of his classes and talked about him and so I became aware of and I loved Warhol’s art and that whole world. I also loved new wave cinema and without telling my parents I snuck out to these film screenings at Carnegie Mellon of Warhol’s films “Chelsea Girls” and “Flesh”.
And in “Flesh” there is this scene I will never forget, in which Jackie Curtis and Candy Darling, in drag, are sitting on a couch reading a movie magazine and chatting while nearby Joe Dallesandro is getting a BJ from Gerri Miller! I was 16 years old and I mean this was just fabulous to me!
In high school I was very aware of what was going on in New York City, pop art, Max’s Kansas City, the Warhol scene. I knew I wanted to be a part of that. There was a magazine out of New York called “After Dark” magazine that had these really hot photos of Joe Dallesandro, and Jackie Curtis, Holly Woodlawn and Candy Darling by photographer Jack Mitchell. I wanted to go to film school in New York and meet Andy Warhol and the Superstars and that is just what happened.
I was a freshman at NYU the fall of 1972, it was just a few years after Stonewall and gay liberation was happening and the first NYU gay student group wanted the University to allow the group to meet officially on campus and the administration did not immediately agree to this so there was a big demonstration announced – a sleep-in, actually in the basement of my dormitory at NYU and Jackie Curtis showed up for it in his signature drag, because Jackie knew that there would be press coverage and maybe TV cameras and Jackie was a publicity hound. And I was just entranced, I recognized him immediately and introduced, told him I was from Pittsburgh, that I loved Andy Warhol, that I loved him (Curtis) in “Flesh” and “Women in Revolt”, that I was majoring in film and television and wanted to film his plays and performances documentary style.
We became instant friends. And I went around with Curtis to parties, to Max’s Kansas City, we hung out with Holly Woodlawn (who is still a great friend), Candy Darling, and I met Andy Warhol a couple of times.
In 1974 Jackie played the starring role in his play “Glamor, Glory and Gold: the Life and Legend of Nola Noonan, Goddess and Star”, it was off-Broadway at the Truck and Warehouse Theater on the Lower East Side across the street from La Mama directed by Ron Link. And I told Ron I wanted to film the entire play and he allowed me to if I would show it at cocktail parties for his prospective backers. So I did that.
Everything about Jackie was amazing and exciting and I really wanted to make a documentary about Curtis’ life from the moment I met him. I loved Jackie.
{J.W.} How and when did Jackie Curtis meet Andy Warhol?
{C.H.} Jackie told me in August 1967 he and Candy Darling were walking in Greenwich Village and Jackie saw Andy Warhol and Fred Hughes coming out of the Leather Man store on Christopher Street.
Warhol had just bought some leather pants. Jackie ran up to Andy and introduced himself and asked for his autograph on the shopping bag Curtis was toting around. Warhol asked Jackie what was in the bag and Curtis told him it was satin shorts for the tap dancing scene in his play “Glamour, Glory and Gold” which was opening in September, Jackie invited him to come.
Jackie told me he went to the Factory with four tickets and gave them personally to Andy Warhol. He came and afterwards congratulated Curtis, the author and the start of the performance, Melba LaRose, Jr. played the lead Nola Noonan, and Candy Darling played Estelle and was reviewed as a woman. Curtis asked Andy Warhol for a review quote and Warhol said of the play: “For the first time, I wasn’t bored” which they used in advertisements!
{J.W.} Jackie starred in the Paul Morrissey directed film “Flesh”. What was that like for Jackie? How did this film come about, Craig?
{C.H.} Warhol’s “Flesh” was Paul Morrissey’s response to “Midnight Cowboy” which was filming on location in New York City in 1968. Morrissey knew that Hollywood would tone down the subject matter and nudity and wanted to do something more gritty about a hustler (played by Joe Dallesandro) working the streets trying to raise money for his wife’s girlfriend’s abortion – talk about controversy in 1968 – that very concept was designed to stir up publicity and fill movie theater seats, especially with Warhol’s name attached to it.
Warhol and Morrissey already knew Jackie Curtis and Candy Darling and so Morrissey came up with an idea to have them sit on a couch and talk extemporaneously about a movie magazine while Joe Dallesandro is getting a blowjob from Geri Miller practically next to them in the same room!
This was Jackie’s dream, to be in a movie in theatrical release on the big screen, and you bet that Curtis went to every screening and that it propelled him into more self-publicity (I believe this was the moment Curtis had 1000 Jackie Curtis shopping bags printed up which were sold in Greenwich Village head shops)!
{J.W.} Could you tell us about The Jack Mitchell Archives, Craig?
{C.H.} When I first began thinking about making “Superstar in a Housedress” I knew I would need lots of archival photographs of Jackie Curtis, and Holly Woodlawn and Candy Darling, Andy Warhol and the whole crowd. And I immediately thought I need Jack Mitchell photographs, he photographed them more than any other photographer. But how was I ever going to afford license fees? I got on Google and did some research and found that Jack Mitchell had retired in 1995, he lived in New Smyrna Beach, Florida and he did not have a website. So I thought I will offer to do a website for him and to be his webmaster in exchange for the rights to his photographs. And that is just what happened.
Jack and his partner Bob Pavlik came to the opening night of the film at Film Forum in New York and everyone was there, they were very impressed, and loved the film and seeing his photographs in a feature length film in a theater with a packed audience. And the film toured film festivals and we had a theatrical run and it was broadcast on cable and Jack loved it all. It brought him new attention. And I called him and said I know what my next documentary subject is and it is you!
+Jackie Curtis by Jack Mitchell+
I want to do a film about your life and work. And he was very pleased and excited. He put me in touch with people who were old friends and people he had photographed who loved his work that I could interview on camera, like Broadway diva Patti LuPone, playwright Edward Albee, Alvin Ailey dancer Judith Jamison, famed choreographer Merce Cunningham, and many others.
And I made the film “Jack Mitchell: My Life is Black and White” and Jack said that it was the greatest honor of his life. He and Bob came to the opening in New York and they came to film festival screenings and Jack did Q&A sessions afterwards with me and he loved it so much.
About a year later Jack and Bob called me and told me that they had decided to leave me Jack’s archives, the entirety of his life’s work, all the vintage photographs, his negatives and color transparencies, his files and memorabilia, everything. Bob died in 2009 at the age of 77 during an operation. Four years later on November 7, 2013 Jack died just weeks after his 88th birthday. I was there with him when he passed away and moved his archives to a vault.
A few months later I began the full time work of cataloguing and digitizing everything. It is a huge job. Jack Mitchell’s career as a professional photographer began just after World War II, when he moved to New York City and continued for about the next five decades. The negative files are almost 6000 photo sessions and there are thousands of boxes of color transparencies as well. There are 77 boxes of vintage prints. I have been working on it for almost two years and have many years of work left. It is very exciting and I make new discoveries with every box I open and every negative file that I scan.
{J.W.} What was Jackie Curtis’ finest hour?
{C.H.} Jackie Curtis’ finest hour? Any of the countless hours Jackie performed – whether is was in his hit play Glamour Glory and Gold, or Cabaret in the Sky, Vain Victory, or singing at his grandmother’s Slugger Ann’s Bar – Curtis was an incredible star of amazing brilliance. So many people remarked upon his being a genius: La Mama founder Ellen Stewart and comic icon Lily Tomlin among them.
Jackie Curtis had an electric charismatic magnetism that enthralled and thrilled audiences. I loved Jackie. Jackie put all of himself into every performance for the love of the art, and that is why it is really impossible for me to zero in on one performance, one hour, one moment. Now that he is gone, I think of him and a whole kaleidoscope of incredibly beautiful moments of sublime artistry blossom in my mind. As others have said, he was sui generis – absolutely unique.
{J.W.} What will your next book be about, Craig? Any other projects that you wish to tell us about?
{C.H.} I have been working on the Jack Mitchell Archives (cataloging boxes of vintage prints, and scanning negatives and color transparencies) since Jack’s death two years ago. There is a lot of material for my memoirs including several years I spent running around with Curtis. I am going to work at what may be my memoirs, but potentially could take a new form (film or multimedia) because I have the journals, and visual and audio elements as well.
This is a short clip from Terrence Malick’s “The Thin Red Line” which never ceases to inspire and engage the mind and soul with its thoughtful narration and invigorating visuals that take the viewer through the complex voyage of a soldier to war hidden by the beauty of “paradise“. . .
It really must have been something to find yourself in a strange new world, another Earth far away from the hometown you left months before. You might never want to leave. You might hope to be left on a deserted island for the rest of your days; left alone by the complications of society.
Malick does a great job at creating this world, and you can get an even cooler glimpse into this world by digging into the world of vintage vernacular.
Ask your grandparents and they probably have vintage snapshots to share with you, or dig through the bins of them at your local Flea Market or antique store. There are treasures to find. These memories of some lost paradise always seem to be like faded remnants of some beautiful black and white dream. . .
Here’s a few to quench your thirst! Soak it up, and bring this lost paradise with you wherever you go.
Why should I be afraid to die? I belong to you. If I go first, I’ll wait for you there. On the other side of the dark waters.
Be with me now.
What’s this war in the heart of nature? Why does nature vie with itself? The land contend with the sea? Is there an avenging power in nature? Not one power but two?
“They say I live a fast life. Maybe I just like a fast life. I wouldn’t give it up for anything in the world. It won’t last forever, either. But the memories will.”
-Dennis Wilson
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Since the summer started we’ve been excited to write a piece on Dennis Wilson, the infamous bad boy and drummer of The Beach Boys; the band that brought the beach lifestyle to the forefront of popular culture in the 1960s – a romantic notion that still resides in the populous today.
It’s hard to think of that era without the The Beach Boys and their iconic sound, a mix of harmony, rhythm, soul, and blues all dedicated to Southern California youth culture of surfing, cars, and girls.
Hits such as Surfin USA, California Girls, and Good Vibrations, encapsulated the image we still associate with the notion of surf and beach living to this day.
Their music certainly came to define the dreams and musings of many who longed for the coasts and beaches of California, and the utopian recluse this magical land of surf and sun could provide (Don’t tell me it’s just us!)
Though his eldest brother Brian Wilson is accredited with much of the band’s creative and technical genius, it was the rebel bad boy drummer Dennis who lived and breathed the California that inspired the band in the first place.
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“I don’t do much surfin’, no I don’t. Actually, I don’t even know how to surf, but one guy in the group is a real good surfer, he’s a lot better than any of us, actually, all of us put together. His name is Dennis Wilson, of course, he’s our drummer, and he’s actually the inspiration behind this whole sort of surfing image for the Beach Boys. He encouraged me to write a surfing song a couple, 2, 3 years ago which started the whole thing moving.”
Brian Wilson, St. Louis 1964
Perhaps you noticed, but Dennis certainly had a different presence and a certain swag, as they say, compared to the rest of the band. Even his eldest brother Brian, who created most of the music during The Beach Boys’ hit making days, knew that Dennis and his SoCal rebel lifestyle was the clue to the puzzle of making a name for themselves.
Dennis always seems a mystery, a part of his embodiment of the surfing rock n’ roll image, you could say. Definitely an archetype of rebellion, desire, and thirst for danger. Behind his eyes there are stories and thoughts completely untold.
There are not many rock stars today who truly live the fantasies they suggest in their music. Dennis was not only a surfer, but also a pro drag racer, sailor, movie star, and notorious womanizer. These are the stories and tales written into almost every hit breaking, chart smashing song produced by the band.
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++”I wrest the waters, fight Neptune’s waters, sail through the sorrows of life’s marauders. Unrelenting, often empty, sail on, sail on, sailor.”++
-Sail on Sailors by The Beach Boys from “Holland”
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As much a piece of the puzzle to The Beach Boys’ success, Dennis never seemed to be able to stay far from trouble. As early back as childhood, Dennis was known for getting in fights, and failing classes. He married four times, and had developed a heavy habit for drugs and alcohol.
Most can definitely agree he had some demons.
Free-spirited Dennis would hit the ultimate heights of his notoriety when it was found out that he had housed Charles Manson and his cult for a time. Viewing the group as just a bunch of cosmically inclined free loving spirits with a itching for music, Dennis welcomed the “family” into his home, and housed them for several months.
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During this time Charles Manson and his groupies were hoping to become the next great music act with the help of Dennis. Dennis would indeed get some of their songs out there, but reworked for The Beach Boys, and in 1968 they would release the single “Never Learn Not To Love” written by Dennis, a reworking of a Charles Manson original.
Morbid, considering the message, and later the acts committed by the Manson Family in the Hollywood Hills…This attachment to the Manson family would always stain Dennis’ reputation, and only further instill his bad boy image in the public mind.
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His 1977 solo debut album “Pacific Ocean Blue” was a huge critical hit for the artist, which allowed him to demonstrate his very own unique and progressive point-of-view. Many fans and critics agree it is Dennis’ fearlessness, drama, and deep soul that almost eclipse The Beach Boys altogether.
These are the traits we admire in the man. The adventurer in all aspects. His music. His life. His soul. And the whole time, he wasn’t even trying. He just simply was the most pure form of himself at all times. He just was.
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His style is almost the same. It is not pent up in being cool, it just is…sounds silly, but most of the time Dennis Wilson was just chucking clothes on. His wardrobe is simple, always comfortable, and fitted just right. Classic, but he shakes it up with his rough and messy sort of way about him.
Wilson’s body was found curled up in a fetal position at the corner of the dock that once harbored his yacht, Harmony – one of his greatest joys, as well as the scene for many dramas in his life. He had spent the afternoon drinking and diving into the waters finding objects he had thrown over his boat and into the water.
At 39, Dennis Wilson was already a legend in every right. He had inspired his band to create an entire persona around him, and with that they became America’s most famous and beloved band in history.
His devilish grin, and candid charm kept him a favorite of the group, and with a wicked ability to adapt and change, Dennis kept the band going during the band’s hardest times. Sadly, no one would be able to help carry him through his own.
Dennis Wilson was given a burial to sea, his favorite place on Earth, and an honor reserved only to members of the military. The perfect resting place for a restless, wandering, and beautiful soul.
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We love you Pacific Ocean blue
Yeah we love you Pacific Ocean Blue
Oh we love you Pacific Ocean Blue
Oh I we love you Pacific Ocean Blue
It’s no wonder the Pacific Ocean is blue
Nazis, prostitutes and horrors! Welcome to Salon Kitty. Kitty runs a brothel in Nazi Germany where the soldiers come to “relax”. Recording devices have been installed in each room by a power-hungry army official who plans to use the information to blackmail Hitler and gain power himself. A girl named Margherita discovers the little ploy and with Kitty’s help plans to take on the dangerous task of exposing the conspiracy. The movie was actually based off of the Salon Kitty incident during WWII when the Gestapo took over a brothel in Berlin (called “Salon Kitty”) and used it as a place to find traitors and enemies of the regime. Basically, all the whores were spies and fucked both German and foreign political figures while trying to extract information out of them.
The social climate is changing, women no longer are merely muses. They run the world! And we have to say we were a part of the women’s lib movement, right beside Gloria Steinem, we would know Adam from Eve! The subtlety of the light touch, with a floral aroma so delicate to match. We enjoy having the divine around morning, noon, and night.
But nothing is simply handed to a gal. It can be a struggle to get power in our chauvinistic world. Men still out-seat women in congress. Men are still sitting in the big corporate chairs of big Industry. There is a blatant theme where we watch power go to the head of a man. A power which truly only a women should handle. Dare we say, we may have passed on Nuclear Fusion in pursuit of global free energy?
Theories are theories, but this we know: women are strong, and lovely all at once. What would the world be without the mothers to the young, and guardians of the heart? We shudder to think, but we take some time to share this collection with you all today. Women of the Eye of Faith: strong, defiant and beautifully bold. From all walks of life, they walked right up to our front door and into our heart. This one’s a doozy so buckle in and enjoy.
{MAILA NURMI & ELVIS PRESLEY GOOFING OFF}
