Revisiting Love on the Left Bank from Vanity Fair:
Ed van der Elsken’s classic photo-novel Love on the Left Bank (1954) has just been reissued.
Singer-songwriter and artist Patti Smith recalls her first encounter with the book —
and with the woman whose image runs through it.

“In the summer of 1967, at 20 years old, I boarded a bus in Philadelphia and headed to New York City. Only moments before, I had found a battered copy of Love on the Left Bank sitting on a sale table outside a used-book stall, across from the bus station. Attracted to anything French, I opened it and was greeted by a dark and intriguing café scene on the grittier side of the City of Light. It was Jack Kerouac, Parisian-style. I was especially captivated by the image of a girl, the likes of whom I had never seen before. She was Vali Myers, the Beatnik gypsy mystical witch who reigned over the rain-soaked streets. With her wild hair, kohl-rimmed eyes, loose raincoat, and cigarette, she offered herself with abandon and self-containment. She mirrored what I aspired to aesthetically—to be unconscious of style, yet style itself. Her subterranean world seemed emblematic of all I hoped to attain: in a word, freedom. These images, shot in the 50s by Ed van der Elsken, melded the documentary with art. I carried them within me as I ventured into new territory and a new life.

In 1971 the same Vali Myers, with a live fox on her shoulder, entered the lobby of the Chelsea Hotel, in New York, where I lived with Robert Mapplethorpe. She was then a tattooist, among other things. Recognizing the girl in the rain-pitted mirror, I gathered my courage and asked her to tattoo a lightning bolt on my knee, and she consented. And so she touched me first as an image and then as a human being, and I am happily branded for life. I still have my tattoo, and those images of an unobtainable but brutally familiar nightlife. They have always been with me, for they are, like Vali herself, unforgettable.”

• Blue & White striped 1950s bathing suit as shirt
• 1950s high waisted skirt
• Creme heels from Buffalo Exchange
• Salt and Pepper chicken

I am a Girl Scout: always prepared for a dip in the springs or a neighborhood pool. It helps to have a swimsuit that doubles as a proper blouse. Here is a photo of my swimming costume ensemble.

Natalie just moved into a house with a chicken coop. I love to wake up in the morning listening to their contented coos as they scuffle about in the compost bin. Are you ready for the best photo of the summer?
SAY WHAT??!

To my Sweet Fluffy Ruffles! Is this not the very best postcard ever?
A gift from a long-lost friend, recently found again – I treasure it!

This one’s from the same friend, found at the same estate sale.
What a sweet hand-tinted photo! I love the painted parasols!

Load those bonnets, ladies!

Happy Easter from your hostesses! Hope to see you out on Sunday!

• Gold Bow, in hair
• Necklace, Uncommon Objects, Austin, Texas (birthday present from Angeliska!)
• Gold & Navy brocade 1950s dress – Buffalo Exchange
• Black Fishnets
• Navy Socks
• Gold shoes, Vivienne Westwood for Melissa

Oh, rejoice! It’s a rare outfit sighting! Today’s ensemble was inspired by Snow White sitting on a brocade couch.

Before I get to work, I need to arrange the wall of Ugly Dolls! I realize that I always take outfit photos outside of the toy store, but I hardly ever show the inside. It’s very colorful and hard to focus on just one background. I like this dress, as I feel it strikes a balance between my vintage style and the colorful background in which I work. We have a selection of vintage photographs, including my boyfriend Clark Gable and a charming poster for Waring’s Pennsylvanians.

Today was B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L! After work I went on a long bike ride and sat under some windy trees that were in full bloom with jasmine and honeysuckle scents wafting in. Spring! You are so short, but so so sweet!

My curl is looking specifically geometric this morning.
This is the face of staying up dancing until 3 am at Azz Everywhere.
I nearly passed up this blouse when I first tried it on… because although I do like novelty prints, I feel kind of corny when I wear them. This blouse is so darling, and it matches my avocado-colored shoes in an uncanny way. Speaking of novelty prints, I have one dress with perfume bottle print and one with rooster print that I wear on heavy rotation. Other prints I have include:

• Renaissance men and women holding pitchforks
• Kittens lapping creme from tea cups
• Patio furniture and flower pots
• Smiling clovers

As fitting, I ate a whole tub of guacamole from Torchy’s for my breakfast and lunch. I love bein’ fat with some avocados and coconuts! Oh, and the best news to happen this month is that my corner co-op grocery started carrying Daiya cheese so now I can have cheeze sprinkles on everything. I <3 cheese as a garnish and it’s so wonderful to have it back in my life (in facsimile) on pizzas, chilis and toast.
This outfit reminds me of Mrs. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus series:

I think I’ve subconsciously adopted Mrs. Frizzle’s attitude toward teaching in my own teaching philosophies. Of course, I won’t have a flying talking school bus, but I know how to make history more alive. Last week I worked on a lesson plan that involved listening to Woody Guthrie and Rudy Vallee tunes from the Great Depression and defending their importance for a new (fictional) CD box set put out by the Smithsonian Museum.

Today is the day after 5 hours of tattoo work on my phonograph lady… I was a little disoriented this morning and didn’t realize that the tights aren’t quite the right shade!

Today was so pretty outside! I sat on my porch for a few hours and glued photographs into an album. At sunset, I went on a long bikeride over the bridge to eat Blueberry Oven Cakes at Bouldin Creek and recount my Parisian adventures to a friend.

• Purple beret – military supply store, Seattle
• Flapper headband from Louise Black
• Damask earrings
• Black sweater – Express, had it since 1998 when I went clothing shopping for my sophomore year in high school
• 1950s plaid dress
• White slip
• Purple stockings
• Brown/Black t straps

This is one of those dresses that I seem to have a million of: 1950s silhouette, plaid, kind of brown. I swear I have at least six. I picked this one out because it has purply undertones and I like to haul out my purple accessories every once in a while.

This seems to be the formula for my outfits lately:

1. Headband from Louise Black and/or a beret
2. Light Cotton dress (with lots of underslips)
3. Black cardigan
4. Colored stockings
5. T Strap shoes