smock this way

Trying this new thing where instead of weather patterns and shifting moods, I talk about abstract bullshit to fill the space. Here goes: doesn't it seem like 'civilization' is this really elaborate and depressing symptom of human suffering, this dynamic fossil of an unreconciled consciousness? People are obsessed with distinguishing human experience from animal life, especially when it comes to discussions about 'capacities' for pain and pleasure. We use the distinction to justify exploiting other life forms for the sustenance of our own; since plants don't have 'developed nervous systems,' we reason, their experience of pain is less significant than ours. Clearly we see ourselves as a species that processes information with more self-sabotaging passion. It seems like civilization is a symptom of that severity since it is unique to humans, but the impressions this life form leaves on the earth cannot actually be 'fairly' measured in terms of hierarchized thresholds. All symptoms of being are severe and subtle. They're all brutal and comforting. As soon as one symptom is presented as more extreme than another, it has been instrumentalized in the process of judgment. So we should avoid thinking of civilization in terms of 'more or less' and instead see it as just this messy and unjustified thing that happens as a fluid result(s) of conflict; the unreconciled consciousness. It's not that we suffer 'so much' as humans, but because we suffer in 'such a way,' we feel the need to impose ourselves in sterile edifices with unique intensity. We're not satisfied surviving minimally because our conflict with the world is not minimal. It's complicated. So we erect buildings and shopping malls because not erecting buildings and shopping malls leaves bare the conflict. It's not that we have to try harder and defensively create more elaborate and lasting habitats out of tools because our experience is quantifiably severe -- it's that we have to try 'like this.' It's misleading to think of civilization as an elaborate and depressing symptom when it's not elaborate compared to something else, and I must invoke my own bias to believe that something existing independently of judgment is 'depressing.' Civilization is not anything but intense.



Romwe sunglasses + croquis smock dress, Chanel earrings + Privee collection framed bag, Armani blazer

Everything is infinite,

Bebe

damsel de la derby

Not only do I look like I attend private school in this outfit, I look related to the family that donated enough money to erect a state-of-the-art library in the 'north wing' of campus. I spent all of my graduation money betting on horses. I forced my housekeeper to take these photos of me.



Chanel pearl pendant, Chanel earrings and pearl necklace, Ralph Lauren sweater, vintage skirt, Nina Gonzalez croc bag, Gucci pumps

Everything is infinite,

Bebe

caliguluxe

Posh geometry, ancient luxury, Grecian excess, Italian glamour... I'm back bitch!!!!!!!!!!! Been waiting since the fall of Rome to debut this Vertigo Paris blazer my mom scored while voyaging for vintage. So... besides Caesar's Palace, where have I been for the past month?? I'm not really sure either. But like the Greeks, I've left behind a lengthy written record of my indulgent exploits. I recently traveled to Newport Beach on a complete and utter whim, and before that spent my birthday weekend in San Francisco. I flirted with the Las Vegas 'party scene' for several weeks, but like most great moments in history, that too was just a conquest. For a minute I was even rich! I purchased many satin gowns, colonial undergarments, Pepsi max and a portable notebook 'for my opinions.' My little empire thrived. My little empire fell. Now I find myself alone in history... wealthy with experience, impoverished in resource. A carnal Collosseum, crumbling, atrophied, all the while resilient in my charming torpor. Not photographed: the unforgiving violence of time.



Forever 21 hat, Chanel earrings + bangle, Vertigo Paris blazer, OASAP geometric print skirt, vintage Chanel chain belt, Burberry bag, Missguided heels

Everything is infinite,

Bebe

sequestrian

I was never on any sports leagues growing up and usually sat out of group activities in gym class, preferring to take a zero than one for the team. But for that I consider myself an athlete. See, I'm an olympian loner. I train all year for tournaments that no one knows exist because they don't. And I always come in first place. Isolation, solitude, withdrawal, social indifference... they're not games so much as they are tests of strength. They measure all the same qualities a traditional sport would: willpower, determination, passion, and for all intents and purposes cooperation - because who's to say the Self is one agent and not many working for and against each other at the same time? I don't need teammates to prove that I can make compromises or set up a winning play. For that I have states of mind; sovereign and nebulous, simultaneous and independent. In most cases I don't even play for the same team during the same competition... I play for both, all three, every and none at all. No hoops or hurdles necessary, no bridles, no bats, no balls. Only a court -- the one I inevitably take with me, that inevitably takes me with it. I don't really have a choice when it comes to participation. My only goal is to come out a champion -- by not ever coming out at all.



Forever 21 hat, Etro scarf, Sugarlips blouse, equestrian riding pants, Gucci pumps, Lanvin purse

Everything is infinite,

Bebe Zeva

fur the record

I feel guilty about pairing this furry calf print driving cap with the kind of sleek monochrome ensemble you'd see at a daytime red carpet event. The hat even appears to be a beret in these pictures (meaning that in the context of this blog post it is one) but actually it sports a modest leather bill on the other side and has overall 'train conductor aura.' And since its luxurious mink fur is spotted, you'd have to assume that whatever train a conductor wearing it is driving will drop off at the nearest farmstead, not film premiere. But of course I stripped it of whatever agri-chic potential it had by pairing it with leatherette pants and a blazer... shoulda coulda woulda. I live my life full of regrets. This accessorizing with a Valentino clutch purse instead of a hand hoe is supremely one of them. 




Burberry Prorsum fw11 mink cap, Etro blazer, Romwe bodysuit, Valentino clutch, Chanel necklace and cuff

Everything is infinite,

Bebe Zeva

hides of march

If your past four weeks were anything like mine -- riddled with mood swings, spontaneous illness, indigent reserves of energy and ambition, bad luck and bad news -- you're ready to march the hell out of this month. Outfitted in my marching-band finest, I salute the very unlikely chance that April will bring leagues of celebration or at least an excuse for festivity... an occasion that does this feathered riding cap and saddle bag combo justice.  My next investment is one of those huge drums the pros strap to their chest so I can parade around Rodeo Drive and play it like the Energizer Bunny. It is my unmistakable civic duty to play, not pay, homage to the great army generals who with valor and velvet defend the peoples' right to haute couture, Sergeant Saint Laurent and Colonel Kawakubo just to name a few.




Lanvin feathered riding cap, Chanel Dallas Paris collection runway saddle bag, Royal Underground leather jacket

Everything is infinite,

Bebe Zeva