1. When do you feel at your most attractive?

When my hair has been washed the day before and is especially big and unruly. When I'm in New Mexico and haven't bathed in several days and am wearing some kind of loose dress... Or wearing navy blue on a cold day. Also always feel the most attractive when I'm at a weight that's on the low side for me... wish I were above that stuff but I'm not.

2. Do you notice women on the street? If so, what sort of women do you tend to notice or admire?

I always notice the anorexic and the obese. When I see obese women I feel like Ive dodged a bullet or like im a criminal in hiding that got away with something, because I've always related to food addicts, to hiding inside of like, muck, matter (the food), body. When I see anorexic women I feel a mixture of sadness/titillation/anger/dismissal...

3. What are some things you admire about how other women present themselves?

I admire women who wear what they want and don't care. A woman who's tired and wears pajamas cuz she doesn't care, or a woman who dresses up for no reason. I admire women who dress with a fuck you.

4. Was there a moment in your life when something “clicked” for you about fashion or dressing or make-up or hair? What? Why did it happen then, do you think?

When I was 12, a friend of mine started wearing men's ties and her moms old Betsy Johnson dresses. I was still wearing kids clothes from old navy etc. She made me feel inferior with the way she dressed, and I realized that clothes are tools that you can use.

5. What are some shopping rules you wouldn’t necessarily recommend to others but which you follow?

Never buy acrylic.

6. What are some rules about dressing you follow, but you wouldn't necessarily recommend to others?

I have no rules really. There are things I just never do, like show cleavage... But it's not a rule. I never part my hair in the middle.

7. What is the most transformative conversation you have ever had on the subject of fashion or style?

When my dad dyed his hair platinum blonde (and started tanning) and started going around in gold pants and stuff, he marveled to me that everywhere he went people wanted to know who he was. They thought he was interesting before he said a word. He has always been very experimental with his style and changes his style drastically every few years. Now he looks like a hells angel. For a long time he only wore heavily embroidered western wear. I remember the two of us leaning against the kitchen counter after school. I was in my uniform and he in his outrageous shit. He seemed to have some power over all the people who looked at him and thought things. I was 12.

8. Do you have a unified way of approaching your life, work, relationships, finances, chores, etc.? Please explain.

Maybe what unifies my approach to life is that in all areas I have absolutely no patience for things I find boring. That sounds very Katherine Hepburn but I'm not trying to be dramatic, it's really true! My approach to work and finances and chores is incredibly lazy and cold. I've never tried very hard to get a good job... And I usually quit after a year when it has become unbearable. (By 'work' I mean the thing I do to make money, not my art.) I approach relationships in a way that is warm and ... always with the hope for love, that we will love each other. I am very romantic and giving when I find someone I love, and passionate. But if I dont feel a connection, its hard for me to be warm and I am easily exhausted. Maybe my approach to art is not different -- I have no idea, no grand plan, I can't do it at all. But when I know what to do (which is so rare) I work very steadily and happily and for hours and hours, for weeks, like when I find a new friend.

9. Are there any clothing (or related) items that you have in multiple? Why do you think you keep buying this thing?

Jockey cotton French cut panties. They're comfortable and sexy.

10. Have you ever successfully given someone a present of jewelry or clothing that you continue to feel good about?

I gave a sterling silver crab brooch to my male cousin. It's such a beautiful brooch and I know that one day he will wear it on a grey suit and that it'll be amazing.

11. Is there any fashion trend you’ve refused to participate in and why? 

Foundation on my face. It blocks the light in your skin! It dulls people and makes them look kind of dead I think.

12. Can you say a bit about how your mother’s body and style has been passed down to you, or not?

I wish my mothers body was passed down to me but it wasn't. I've always felt envy towards her that way. There's a lot of envy in my survey! My mother and I both appreciate a well cut coat.

13. Have you stolen, borrowed or adapted any dressing ideas or actual items from friends or family?

I stole a really gorgeous rayon 1950s Italian looking button down from my dad. It was cream colored with little orange hexagons all over it

14. Was there a point in your life when your style changed dramatically? What happened?

When I moved from LA to Long Island in the tenth grade I became very depressed. I put on 20 pounds and only wore men's big t shirts and weird hideous things that covered my body completely. Before that I wore cute little skirts and tattered black stockings and lots of makeup.

15. Is there anything political about the way you dress?

Yea, Just in the way that clothes can show what colors someone likes, they can show where someone comes from or what part of society they belong to, so it is always political. I suppose I look like an educated artistic person of privilege.

16. Please describe your body.

I am very pale and slender, not skinny. My arms at the moment are fluffy and squeezable (more squeeze than I like). I think I'm well proportioned... My skeleton is very small. I had a surgery on my ribcage as a kid and it measures 26 inches around at its largest. I always put weight on my thighs. My breasts are big and I've always wanted small ones. I like my body.

17. Please describe your mind.

I understand things by feeling them. I have to stop and get quiet and drop into my body in order to understand, like when I look at art. I forget a lot of things. Lately people's names are hard for me to remember.... Things that happened in high school. I can be absent minded. I have no sense of direction. I have a strong sense of justice and right and wrong. My mind feels deficient in some basic ways and in other ways very fast and strong. I'm very perceptive and sensual. I think my sensuality is my mind.

18. Please describe your emotions.

The other day I was talking about the difference between emotions and feelings with a friend.

Emotions :happy, sad, angry. Indicative. Feelings: more complicated and nuanced than that. My emotions -- when I emote -- there's always some choice in it. My mother and I would fight and we'd get so over the top and yell in 1940s sounding transatlantic voices and make these ridiculous grandiose statements... When I was younger my emotions were about proving something. About showing. I don't think I do that anymore. When I feel joy and I'm with someone I trust, I express it but its not to prove something

19. What are you wearing on your body and face, and how is your hair done, right at this moment?

I'm wearing old pajama pants and a big t shirt that belongs to my stepdad. My hair is matted sort of and in a bun.

23. Do you think you have taste or style? Which one is more important? What do these words mean to you?

I guess I have taste. I have pretty good taste but not great. I feel right now that I have NO style and I'm in transition. I'm sick of all my clothes and I kind of want to start wearing all black. I'm sick of presenting something about myself with my clothes. I don't care as much as I used to.

26. Do you have style in any areas of your life aside from fashion?

Bathing. I only take baths and I use a cool Japanese bucket with a handle and I scrub really hard. It feels old fashioned and romantic.

27. Can you recall some times when you have dressed a particular way to calm yourself or gain a sense of control over a situation that scared you?

I had to testify in court against someone. I dressed in a way that I thought would make me look honest and religious. I wore a crucifix necklace. I got into crafting the outfit as a costume as a way of removing myself from the situation. A costume is a nice shield sometimes.

29. Did your parents teach you things about clothing, care for your clothing, dressing or style? What lessons do you remember? Or did you just pick things up?

My dad tried to teach me to always look spiffy. You can look as weird as you want as long as it looks deliberate.

30. What sorts of things do you do, clothing or make-up or hair- wise, to feel sexy or alluring?

Always good perfume. A dark lip color. Clean hair.

31. Many people say they want to feel “comfortable,” or that they admire people who seem “confident.” What do these words really mean to you?

Unapologetic

32. If dressing were the only thing you did, and you were considered an expert and asked to explain your style philosophy, what would you say?

Use your real desires to guide you. If you don't feel like talking to people wear a wig and sunglasses. Never forget its a costume.

37. What is your process getting dressed in the morning? What are you considering?

I consider who will see me.

50. Do you ever wish you were a man or could dress like a man or had a man’s body? Was there ever a time in the past?

For a long time I wanted my breasts removed. No nipples, no nothing. I wanted to be smooth and aerodynamic and light. I still do feel that way sometimes. It wasn't about becoming masculine , it was about becoming not feminine , or ... Being more like both.

53. When you see yourself in photographs, what do you think?

I think I look different in every picture, and I also think that I look strange. Not in a negative way. Just in a curious way.

60. What do you think of perfume? Do you wear it?

Always searching for my signature scent

70. Building up your wardrobe from nothing, what would you do differently this time?

I have no idea. I am so confused about clothes!

What’s your birth date? 
Where were you born and where do you live now?

1990. Born in Los Angeles. Live in NYC.

Say anything you like about your cultural/ethnic/economic background.

Private schooled, white, only child, half Sicilian

What kind of work do you do?

Nanny by day, graphic novelist/actor/writer by night

Are you single, married, do you have kids, etc.?

I have a boyfriend :-)

How do you feel after filling out this survey?

Tired

Bio

Graphic novelist