il y a des cactus

There's no doubt about it, cacti are cool. They make great backdrops for photo shoots. They’re old, gnarly, impressive, awe inspiring, and not to be fucked with. A cactus print bandage dress paired with a plastic gun holster is about the best body armor I can think of for combating tame and uninspired style, which is why I am so taken with Jeremy Scott’s Spring 2012 line. I have often thought of myself as an urban cowgirl outlaw for no other reason than that I wear ridiculous cowgirl outfits in the city. I’ve been know to wear a gun holster just for kicks, and though my style has mellowed out a lot, in my heart there’s always a gaudy cowgirl just clamoring to get out and yell “Yee Haw.”

Last month when I was selling vintage at the Veteran’s Stadium Flea Market in Long Beach, I saw Jeremy Scott strolling around (I see him all the time), stopping at nearly every booth, carelessly flipping through books, talking to vendors. He seems really chill. He was wearing cut off red sweat shorts, an oversized sweat shirt with a purposefully gaping hole in the back, white socks, and high top Flinestone Adidas of his own design. He has really buff legs. He kind of looks like Popeye. He came into our booth. My voice trailed behind him like an eager pup.

“I love your work, especially the telephone cord print you did for Spring 2007 and those bandage cactus print dresses for Spring. Where can I buy your stuff? Like the phone cord leggings & matching top? I can’t spend more than $200 though. I’m really cheap. I mean even $200 is too much. Even though I appreciate and love what you do, I just don’t feel right about spending all kinds of money on clothes, but ya, where can I buy my favorite pieces from your collections?”

Despite my gauche tendency to talk about how cheap I am and how unwilling I am to spend lots of money on clothes, he responded very modestly and generously to my questions and thanked me for my compliments. I already knew that his stuff sells at Opening Ceremony, but they don’t stock everything & it’s never what I want & like I said, it’s usually too expensive. He told me he’d also be opening a store in Miami that would be stocking some of the best of his older collections. I told him that I’d be saving my pennies.

I’m going to take a quick trip to the desert this weekend, and I’m just so excited to get out of town. We’re gonna visit the Salvation Mountain in Niland. I first learned about this religious pastel creation when I saw the Daydream Nation photo shoot on Rookie. A desert roadside attraction within my own home state! Well you know, I just have to go. Back in the saddle again. Happy Trails, folks!

Images from flicker (click on photo for link) & runway images from style.com.