Screw you uppity fashion princesses who would mock the gem sweater… I too am of the Prada/Armani-suit wearing set at work, and have allowed man after man, bitchy princess after bitchy princess – bet it boss or coworker or what-not – to train me that my fashion must communicate “simple elegance”, “power”, “sex”, “femininity”.
Indeed, with the gem sweater one has a thumb in the nose at an industry criticized for turning us into little boys while hyper-exaggerating our sexuality. I’ve let this happen to such a point that today’s notion of “bold and beautiful” is only exercised to the point I get flirty with a single Moschino piece on “casual Friday”.

Leslie Hall captures the girl I was before “the haters” conformed me into their notion of “elegance”, which is not 1/100th as amazing as Leslie Hall’s gem sweater museum. And that is what art is about, right? Here I am serving corporate America 60-80hrs/week as a “power”-exec, and it takes a talent like Leslie Hall, the artist, to remind me of ideals.

I’m grabbing a group of gals, tossing aside my “tasteful” “slightly beaded” sweaters, throwing a bedazzler party with ‘em before we head out to her first SF show and get drunk and loud wearing our amazing creations. Because that’s who we were before the world got complicated and began to . And as we’ll communicate wildly, from our hand-made bedazzler sweater art, “I don’t give a rat’s ass what you think of my clothing; bite me, and break a tooth on my amazing gems!”

Thank you for posting this Manolo – I found her website, and am letting the world know of her upcoming show in SF!

http://www.boston.com/yourlife/fashion/articles/2005/05/24/bedazzled?pg=2

This girl is fearless. Odd, and fearless. Were I a gay man, I’d go to her concert in a second.