Dress Code Cracker: the podcast -- style and communication

Hello! For episode 38 I spoke to Chrysanthemum White-Alder about her Medieval Pagan Nun style. She's ​an interdisciplinary artist, witch, and academic currently working on a Masters of Education at Lakehead University. She's also studied intermedia and cyberarts at Concordia U; and is an amazing visual artist.  One of her passions is Reclaiming Witchcraft (think Starhawk....we talk about it in the episode but it's a tradition of witchcraft that's environmentally focussed). She's been a community organizer for over a decade and is deeply committed to environmental activism.  Please click over to dresscodecracker.com for photos and show notes! 

I'm back for the first new episode of 2020 with an amazing interview! Sarah Potter is a lecturer, curator, practitioner of colour magick, and a tarot card reader. She's been all over the witch-ternet (sorry) lately, featured in Architectural Digest, Dazed magazine, In Style magazine and Teen Vogue. Colour magick is an occult modality of using the energy and associations of specific colours to boost your intention and manifest desired outcomes.  When we started discussing her personal style, the descriptor of mob boss combined with mob wife came up; and it's pretty much perfect to describe Sarah's style which is a wonderful, colourful blend of grooming and swagger.  Please stop by www.dresscodecracker.com to see more show notes and photos of Sarah!  Thank you Sarah for all your work making the world more magickal!

"It's the biggest reason why I do what I do: as a model, as a performer and why i;m so mouthy about the whole thing. I belong to all these intersectional communities that are constantly told to be smaller, that are already fringe and already left out. and so as someone who takes up a lot of space, personality wise, looks wise, energy wise, I constantly speak out about these things because it's so easy to tell us to shut up and be forgotten about...." --Ivory Conover  Ivory is a multi disciplinary performer by trade...and by personality! She's a graduate of Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts, and a former Miss Canada Plus. She's a singer, actor, dancer and model, not to mention a burlesque dancer who infuses her performances with intersectional feminist politics.  She's also a co-founder of the Succulent Six--a team of curvy 'superSHEroes' who are working to promote body positivity and dismantle toxic ideas about female beauty. She's also a member of Les Femmes Fatales: Women of Colour Burlesque Troupe.  She's wonderfully outspoken about her politics and activism, which she attributes to her position on multiple intersections within feminist politics: she talked to me about being a biracial woman who 'passes' as white, a queer woman who 'passes' as straight despite her bisexuality, and her commitment to dismantling toxic cultural messages about women's bodies.   "Thank the gods, I'm an Aries, you know heady, and a fighter....I'm also a fire breather, ax thrower, an archer, knife thrower and horse back rider!"  She talked about her relationship with makeup, and starting a new process of learning to love her natural face--- "I think makeup is an incredible tool, I think it saved my self esteem. But part of my process to continually challenge my self love and my self worth, is pushing myself past comfort zones."  Please follow her adventures (and antics) on IG and twitter--and facebook. She's @pureivorydotca pretty much everywhere!  Thank you Ivory for a fun photo shoot! You are a delight and an inspiration :) 

Gigi is a long time vintage collector, appreciator and wearer. And an even longer time lingerie enthusiast! She is the owner/operator of Toronto's only Vintage Style Lingerie Boutique : Gigi's House of Frills.   We talked about 'everyday vintage', and her dedication to fashion and details from the 1930s to '50s. I love how her store makes you aspire to a more glamourous lifestyle, where you might entertain in loungewear or do your pincurls in a nightgown from the 1930s. You can follow Gigi on her twitter: @gigisfrills Instagram: gigisfrills or gigi’s house of frills, and of course her website which features information about the store and lookbooks.... More at www.dresscodecracker.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/dresscodecrackr Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dresscodecracker/

Amazon Syren is a queer, poly leather femme, a sex-workers' rights activist, and a Professional Naked Girl.  She's also a witchy glamazon who sings opera, writes poetry, reads tarot, grows veggies, works magic, spins her own yarn, cooks, preserves, and darns a lot of socks.  The secret ingredient is always love.  She lives with her wife and an assortment of metamours in 1821. DIY is very close to her heart. She has opinions! Which is what I love! We discussed the business of being tall women (she's 6'4" and I'm just under 6'2"), from slouching to people's surreptitious checks to see if we are wearing heels. We also covered her 'femme muse' Musetta from La Bohème,  queer hanky codes, what a newly minted dyke wears to pride in 2008, DIY is a big deal with her, from knitting and handspinning yarn to gardening, preserving and cooking. She also weaves and sews. As an urban homesteader, the 'little house in the big woods' thing is no joke. We discussed the terminology around ethical non-monogamy, and the idea of being "solo” poly, which she points out has no meaning unless you're working from a coupled default position. She also clarified the differences between pansexual and queer poly (spoiler alert it's hetero-normativity). She recommended: Music: @solstafir And please find Amazon online via her twitter, @amazon_syren, and also her two blogs: Urban Meliad and Syrens.  Thank you so much Amazon! It was a pleasure. ♥ www.dresscodecracker.com for more info and images! Thanks for listening.   

I encountered Amanda Harris’ work via a Gender and Media class. I love her Femme Spaceproject and was so excited to talk to her for this episode!  Amanda  is a queer high femme charmer from the South. She was the co-curator of Y’all Come Back: Stories of Queer Southern Migration in the 2015 National Queer Arts Festival, where she exhibited portraits in her EXODUS series. Her photographs have been published in Glitter & Grit: Queer Performance from the Heels on Wheels Galaxy, G.R.I.T.S.: An Anthology of Southern Queer Womyn’s Voices, Towards the “Other” America: Anti-Racist Resources for White People Taking Action for Black Lives Matter, as well as various online sources including Al Jazeera America. She believes in the future of the femme oligarchy and the power of portraits to tell stories. Please see images at www.dresscodecracker.com also!  Amanda’s art and activism has been informed and nurtured by online femme community. We talked about femme visibility and marginazation in queer and other spaces. She also talked about taking the conversation beyond queerness to include race, class, ability, emotional labour, privilege of butch and masculine of centre people –and letting femme stand alone—femme sex, and femme on femme relationships I liked hearing her perspectives on collaborating with vs exploiting femmes from marginalized groups. On the topic of privilege, she referred me to an article online by Cyree Jarelle Johnson,here.  ….also to a wonderful resource for femme articles and resources—intiated and collated by Blyth Barnow, reflecting the wisdom of  large community of facebook femmes! Of course in the bonus round I asked Amanda for her book and music recommendations.  She mentioned Amber Hollibaugh, whose book My Dangerous Desires is a favourite of mine too. The Persistent Desire: A Femme-Butch Reader  She recommended work by  Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha whose most recent book isDirty River I totally recommend too! And…Amanda contributed to a recent book, Glitter & Grit: Queer Performance from the Heels on Wheels Femme Galaxy.  which I’m gonna try to get my hands on soon! Her music recommendation is GAYmous which you can find on FB Amanda’s latest project Y’all Come Back Now, is here, and looks amazing. Thank you so much Amanda! You’re a charmer for sure. ♥

Crystal is a fat activist who moved from fashion blogging to tackling more contested spaces in fat feminist thought: cultural hatred of fat bodies; and how fatphobia can manifest as violence in intimate partner relationships. She's in her second year of a PhD gender, feminist and women's studies. One of many nice things about Crystal is she seems to look pulled together effortlessly....which belies her thoughtful and reflexive approach to fashion, fatshion, getting dressed and fat activism, and how all these things intersect. She questions and challenges not just the status quo, but also her own belief systems. Crystal was excited about Charlotte Cooper's Fat Activism: A Radical Social Movement  --which is out now!   Please go to www.dresscodecracker.com for more information and photos of Crystal.  I can be reached at sarah [at] dresscodecracker.com --feedback, comments, and recommendations for future episodes all very welcome!  Thanks for listening.     

Jenna Danchuk is a writer, researcher, and occasional maker of things. Jenna Danchuk is an Assistant Editor for Spiral Nature, a magazine style website dedicated to alternative spiritualities, practical magick, and exploring occulture. She is also a PhD student in the Gender, Feminist, and Women’s Studies program at York University where she studies the role of cultural production in feminist witchcraft and magical communities. Jenna is a former Associate Editor of WORN Fashion Journal and her writing has also appeared in Shameless Magazine, FUSE, and on Bitch Media’s blog. A training ceremonial magician, but a feminist witch at heart, she has an interest in reconciling the two. We talked about fashion and chaos magick, shopping guilt (this comes in so many varieties!), imagining an aesthetic bridging goth and new age, kung fu, academia, spirituality, astrology, and women of the esoteric western spiritual traditions. Thanks for listening!  Images and info at:  www.dresscodecracker.com  

Vivek Shraya is a multimedia artist living in Toronto with strong ties to prairie malls. She's produced 10 albums, written 3 books (with 2 more set for release next year) and created 4 short films, all to great acclaim. She talked to me about the production of art, how performance grounds her, Her debut novel, She of the Mountains, was named one of The Globe and Mail’s Best Books of 2014. A three-time Lambda Literary Award finalist, Vivek has read and performed at shows, festivals and post-secondary institutions internationally, sharing the stage with Tegan & Sara and Dragonette, and has appeared at NXNE, Word on the Street, and Yale University. Vivek is a three-time Lambda Literary Award finalist, the 2014 recipient of the Steinert & Ferreiro Award for leadership in Toronto’s LGBTQ community, recipient of Anokhi Media’s inaugural Most Promising LGBTQ Community Crusader Award in 2015, a 2015 Toronto Arts Foundation Emerging Artist Award finalist, and a 2015 recipient of the Writers’ Trust of Canada’s Dayne Ogilvie Prize Honour of Distinction. Both Vivek’s debut collection of poetry, even this page is white, and first children’s picture book, The Boy & the Bindi, will be published by Arsenal Pulp Press in 2016. Her POC fashion project (co-edited with Karen Campos Castillo) is at  http://heart-beats.ca/HDB/ We talked about Rihanna, Beyonce (duh), gender expression, performance vs 'real life', and style as class privilege. She also educated me in the nicest way possible about being so judgemental about other people's style.  Thanks Vivek! You're amazing!             

I'm baaaaack this week with Andrea Zanin, a butch/femme academic and leatherwoman who writes prolifically and teaches about BDSM/Leather/kink, power dynamics, non-monogamy and queer sexuality. She's also pursuing a PhD in Gender Feminist and Women's studies (I didn't realize when I booked her that we're in the same program!) --and her thesis is about Canadian leatherdyke history. Andrea's erotic short stories and essays have been published in numerous anthologies. Her online home is here. Andrea co-organizes the annual Canadian leatherdyke weekend An Unholy Harvest and runs a pervy book club called The Leather Bindings Society. FInd Andrea on twitter too: @sexgeekAZ Thanks for listening! 

Mimi Thi Nguyen is an associate professor of Gender and Women's Studies and Asian American Studies at the University of Illinois. Her research interests are war, empire and...zines!  I first encountered her work via her amazing blog (a collaboration with Minh Ha T Pham) called Threadbared. Her zine work includes Slander, Race Riot (that link is to a pdf made possible by the POC zine project!), and a couple years ago Guillotine Press put out a chapbook called PUNK, a conversation beween Golnar Nikpour and Mimi.   Her first book is called "The Gift of Freedom: War, Debt and other Refugee Passages" (Duke 2012).  Her website is here.  She describes her looks a "New wave party girl who is forced to teach", although her 9 yo friend thinks she looks like a Monster High Doll.  She also made some awesome book and music recommendations.  Please see www.dresscodecracker.com for images and more show notes!  twitter: @dresscodecrackr or @sarahinnis and Mimi tweets at @Inzombia !    Thank you Mimi!     

Another park interview! Zoe's an aspiring orthinologist and all the birds came out to see her. She's a harm reduction and hep C worker very dedicated to anti-poverty and social justice activism. Anarcho-feminism FTW!  She's a long term participant and contributor to Toronto's hardcore punk scene which informs her look.  She also DJs sometimes and guests on the CIUT show Equalizing Distort.  We discussed her DIY punk style, although she acknowledged a hippie side and her admiration of her grandmother who had a 'high femme homesteader' look.  She's a devotee of dresses, jewelry and accessories who loves Value Village but only really gets excited about shopping for books and records.  Photos at www.dresscodecracker.com Thanks Zoe! 

Sam Conover dresses in deliberately modest and traditionally 'feminine' style which borrows from 1940s to early 1960s styles....she calls it "lady drag". She also clarifies that she's going for a modest 'mumsy' look that is more 1950s housewife than pin up girl.  She's a bra fitter, lingerie enthusiast, artist, blogger and conservatist specializing in plastics. We talked about feminism, body positivity (what else is new), plus 'normcore', catcaling, and dressing to make people happy...or is it to be admired and feared? She made some awesome book recommendations (nothing from the past 50 years), and gave the scoop on who makes the best lingerie (she knows).  She's on instagram @mandytori   Please check out dresscodecracker.com for images of Sam and of course all her influences and recommendations (hair tutorials!),  and tweet at me here and here....and like the show on FB!  and listen/rate/review on itunes!  https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/dress-code-cracker-podcast/id839701014?mt=2&ls=1 sarah [at]dresscodecracker.com 

I got to do my first park interview of 2015 with Imbyr, who describes their style as 'transmasculine harshfemme' and is obsessed with wrestling, dogs, and reading (mostly sci-fi). They are a health sciences student and the vocalist for Antibody, a gay doom sludge band based in Toronto.  We talked about misandry, camp/kitsch and John Waters, short shorts and crop tops, and (how could i forget) WRESTLING.  ‘Find power in your clothing, and if people think that’s ugly, fuck them. Yeah, just like, Power. And Control.'   Follow Antibody on FB, listen via their bandcamp.  Imbyr tweets at Picked Imbyr and thanks so much for listening!  Dress Code Cracker is on FB, tumblr, twitter (here and here) and at dresscodecracker.com.  Subscribe, rate and review via iTunes.       

It was fun and inspiring to talk to Dre Ngozi and Jade Lee Hoy of Toronto's clothing project Hilary & Denise. Hilary and Denise celebrates and pays tribute to women of colour using pre-loved clothing to cultivate self expression that incorporates culture. Dre and Jade named the project for 90s sitcom queens HIlary Banks (Fresh Prince of Bel Air which ran from 1990-1996), and Denise Huxtable (The Cosby Show 1984-1992). Both Jade and Dre remember seeing Hilary and Denise's characters as unique among young women of colour on TV--wearing bright colours in interesting combinations in a way that was totally unique and expressive. We talked about finding your tribe, getting grounded, natural hair, Afropunk...and of course FK Twigs and mom jeans.  Follow Dre and Jade via @HilaryandDenise on all social media: FB, Instagram, twitter and tumblr!  and don't forget to go to Dress Code Cracker for show notes and photos. Please follow the show @dresscodecrackr or @sarahinnis,  and like on FB too!  Subscribe, rate and review on itunes!  Til next time~

Merritt Kopas is a multimedia artist, video game designer and writer whose focus of interest is digital play as an access for exploring care relationships.  Her first book came out in April 2015, Videogames for Humans, published by Instar Books. She also contributed to another recent book, the State of Play.  She curates the online project Forest Ambassador where her focus is on free and accessible and innovative games.  She also kills it on twitter @m_kopas and you can find her work online at mkopas.net.  We talked about her Patti Smith cyber waif meets Amy Winehouse/goth jock style influences. Everything she learned about fashion came from tumblr, and her best makeup advice is "Everything looks good! Just do whatever you want!" Thanks for listening. please check out www.dresscodecracker.com for references images and more about Merritt!  @sarahinnis @dresscodecrackr www.facebook.com/dresscodecracker  and iTunes:  til next time! ~  

Amy Medvick is the vocalist and flautist with Os Tropies, and an ethnomusicology grad student studying the Brazilian diaspora and its musical legacy. Her interests in culture, food and dress lie in Brazilian psychedelic rock (Tropicalia!), and she also referenced exotica, both as a musical and a fashion inspiration: saturated colours and patterns, floral prints and tropical influences. I loved how she talked about fashion and style using the metaphor (and literal practice) of cooking--studying spices to analyze composite and complex tastes. We discussed politics, her ambivalence around shopping, and her love of the music and style of Brazilian superstar Ney Matogrosso, plus Liz Taylor in Cleopatra (1963), and of course Carmen Miranda and the Wilson sisters in Heart.  Please check out Os Tropies on their website, plus bandcamp, FB and twitter.  www.dresscodecracker.com for reference images and more!  tweet @dresscodecrackr + @sarahinnis Until next time Muito Obrigada Amy! ~    

Shannon Shaw almost catfished me, but I finally got to talk to her between recording the new Clams album and touring!  She told me about the books that keep her worrying about serial killers, her love of illustration, metal smithing and girl bands including the Ronettes! She is a black eyeliner afficianado and likes a good beehive but isn't going 'full banana' on any one look.  Her influences include girl groups, John Waters' heroines, Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck, and her own basic aversion to looking too perfect.  Please check out the band at  www.shannonandtheclams.com and the podcast home at  www.dresscodecracker.com Thanks Shannon and thanks everyone for listening!~

Laina Dawes is the author of What Are You Doing Here? A Black Woman’s Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal (Bazillion Points, 2012).What Are You Doing Here? is Laina’s first non-fiction book and the first non-fiction, general interest book to specifically focus on race, gender and identity in metal, hardcore and punk music cultures.  Laina is also a freelance music and cultural critic whose writing can be found in print and online magazines, and she is currently a 2nd year graduate student at The New School for Social Research in New York City.  We talked about New York vs Toronto fashion (guess which city someone look at your outfit and say "B*tch have you lost your mind?!").... She talked a lot about how to integrate her love of metal with her appearance; also how navigate respectability politics her aversion to bright colours and her enduring love for Mary J. Blige.  Please refer to www.dresscodecracker.com for images of Laina, plus links to her writing and music recommendations!  Dress Code Cracker's intro and outro music is by Nameless Dread. 

I was introduced to the work of VIrgie Tovar by way of reading about body politics a few years back. I picked up her book "Hot and Heavy: Fierce Fat Girls on LIfe, Love and Fashion" and I loved how she and the essayists in the book connected fat fashion to political activism. She's one of North America's leading voices on fat discriminsation and body image, and has been featured in  New York Times, MTV, Al Jazeera, the San Francisco Chronicle, NPR, Huffington Post, Bust Magazine, Jezebel, xoJane, and SF Weekly as well as on Women’s Entertainment Television and The Ricki Lake Show. She has an MA in Human Sexuality and speaks at colleges and universities also: University of Washington, Earlham College, Hollins University, University of California at Berkeley, University of California at Davis, California College of the Arts, Sonoma State University, and Humboldt State University. She is wonderfully quotable! She describes her style as:  Gaudy, over the top, high femme....Miss Piggy meets RuPaul.  Please check the website for more www.dresscodecracker.com, and please also visit Virgie at virgietovar.com!  thanks for listening!   

Theatrical costuming student and vintage clothing expert Liza Kelly told me where the 'weird shit' is this episode of the show! We talked about her love of film (old musicals, Fellini, Ken Russell, Terry Giliam), classic sitcoms (Rhoda and Maude), plus the ballet! She loves bright colours and eclectic vintage and has no use for mass market.  We talked about 'bouncing between the eras'--how time and culture remix the fashions of each decade.  Please go to dresscodecracker.com for pictures and references! thanks for listening~  

Charm Torres describes her style as "lazy glam", but it's hard to reconcile the word lazy with this woman! She has two careers she is passionate about, one in LGBT health care and a second as a make up artist (freelance and with MAC). She takes her inspiration from queer femme culture, POC street style....and of course Solange and Rhianna.  We talked about queerness, race, #selfies and how rape culture influences women's fashion choices.  Please check out Charm on instagram where she is charmacita, and if you want her to consult with you about makeup or to do your makeup, email her at charmztorres[at]gmail.com Thanks and enjoy the show :)

Alia is the vocalist, flautist and organist for Blood Ceremony--a hard/occult/horror rock band based in Toronto. They've also aptly been called 'witch rock'.  She describes her style as 'what you might have worn to a Black Sabbath show in 1972', and talked about dressing for the stage and for the real world; including putting on a persona for performance.  She's a bell bottom, platform shoe enthusiast who looks to Tina Turner circa the late 60s; and Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum for her stage inspiration.  We talked about 1970s horror, Marianne Faithful, Jethro Tull and sufism!  Super fun, please listen and check out the show notes and pictures at  www.dresscodecracker.com Blood Ceremony's most recent album is The Eldritch Dark.  please look for Blood Ceremony on their facebook page! 

I interviewed Matthew for a crazy long time earlier in the fall (edited down dear listener)--mainly because, not only does he have a terrific 'telephone voice', but he also has funny and refreshingly uncensored opinions on things. TThis is a guy who thinks about fashion, and clothes, about construction and about what makes people get dressed they way they do. He may look like your neighbourhood drug dealer, but don't be fooled. www.dresscodecracker.com Thanks Matthew! 

AHHHH!!! I'm still blown away that I got to interview the amazing Dame Darcy. I've been obsessed with her work since the mid 1990s--she's not only an amazing artist/cartoonist/painter she's also a storyteller, musician (her project is called Death by Doll), film maker, fashion icon (she makes her own couture...Anna Sui and Courtney Love are fans too!), and outspoken feminist and environmentalist.  She describes her style as Hillbilly Roccocco and I was completely tickled by all her references to a myriad of influences: King Ludwig II of Bavaria's Neuschwanstein Castle, Liberace, her 1920s boudoir doll named Isabelle, Ziggy Stardust, Grace Jones, Diana Ross (specifically the huge hair/shimmery huge eyed alien Diana of the 1970s), Laura Ingalls and Nellie Olsen (gingham! bonnets! the 19th century!)...and Adam Ant circa Stand and Deliver, the watching of which Dame Darcy says "broke her" in terms of setting in stone her idea of the dandy highwayman in the place of idealized masculinity.  Please check out her website at damedarcy.com for info about her books, fine art, dolls, film, music and upcoming projects including "Meat Cake presents Voyage of Temptress"--a mutli-media video and story project.  and please check dresscodecracker.com for a million pictures and links to all things meatcake, voyage of temptress, pirate mermaid and Dame Darcy!  Thanks for listening~

Cyndi is a heavy metal guitarist based in Toronto. I loved that in talking about her style evolution, she said “I don’t always have to be looking at my vinyl album covers and trying to look like these guys from the eighties”--without any irony.  We discussed dressing for the stage and dressing with LOTS of full colour tattoos, and her belief in showing a little 'cleave'.  Her interests are music, record collecting and pro wrestling, and she likes to take inspiration from 'strange places', sometimes disappearing down the etsy hole looking for the perfect see through robe.  Please check out her band Call of the Wild including their FB page.  As always please also click over to dresscodecracker.com for pictures and more about Cyndi!  thanks for your time~

Caroline Shadood was a pleasure to talk to about her 'practical over flattering' style--and her rejection of the entire concept of 'flattering'. Her blog Broadist has gotten a lot of attention for it's refreshing take on style/politics/'lady troubles' and body positivity.  She doesn't buy new clothes, prefers to swap/thrift and never pays full price for anything; refers to growing out her hair to acihieve the Kathleen Hanna trademark -- the  'bitchy high ponytail'; and talked about armpit exposure as a measure of a fancy vs casual event. In short she was an utter delight!  thanks for listening! 

This weeks guest--Lorraine Hewitt-- has been on the periphery of my 'Toronto personalities' awareness for a long time--from her burlesque performances with Skin Tight Outta Sight Rebel Burlesque troupe, to her role as co-creator of the ground breaking Feminist Porn Awards, to seeing her in my friendly local neighbourhood feminist sex toy shop. Her style is sort of a punk/pin up hybrid. We talked about how your style (and attitude) changes with age, and she said some quotables about 'dress codes' "In the end I think having dress codes is useful: we need them. We need to be able to identify who shares our interests, and who feels authentic" --I love it! Please go to dresscodecracker.com for more information! ~thanks!      

I first encountered Sheryl Yvette via her blog where she sometimes goes by "Bitch Cakes". She makes a retro glamour look seem effortless, running marathons; cycling New York/Brooklyn/Queens without a hair out of place, and posting body positive bikini shots on her instagram and tumblr. I was surprised to learn her main interest is....photography! Did I mention she's vegan and was featured for her makeup skills in Allure magaziine? She personifies Retro Barbie, hates to shop, and judging from her online presence maintains the life of a bon vivant gal-about-town. Please listen via libsyn, iTunes, and stitcher, and check out www.dresscodecracker.com for more about Sheryl Yvette!  Many thanks for listening~

Samra is a Toronto based photographer, fashion editor and writer.  She describes her style by referencing aging female rockstars, androgyny, messy hair and lesbian butch fashion.  Her newest project is a photography exhibit opening next week at Toronto World Pride called "Just me and Allah: Photographs of Queer Muslims" which will debut at  Parliament Street Library, the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives, and Videofag Gallery.   Please visit http://queermuslimproject.tumblr.com/ for more information; or look for 'Just me and Allah" on facebook for more events.  As always please head over to Dresscodecracker.com for reference images and more information.  You can listen on itunes, stitcher, libsyn and via the website.   

Abby Ehmann, aka EditrixAbby, has been a pornographer and event producer, emcee and editor, copy writer and computer artist. But through it all she's been a devout costumer and theme party enthusiast. These days she crafts crowns and tiaras and recently took a millinery class at FIT. Three months out of the year she works in the Nevada desert for Burning Man and the other nine she blogs about braving the online dating scene as a woman over 50.  Her blog: www.editrixabby.wordpress.com Her Etsy shop: www.etsy.com/shop/abbyschapeaux Her Facebook biz page: www.facebook.com/PartywearByPinkitrix   Her writing is all over the interwebs, most recently at: www.gasm.org    

Gillian G is a Toronto illustrator and comic. Her style influences are her 'classy' family, her Mennonite roots, and her love of offbeat colour and costumes. she said she's much more likely to take a fashion risk if she thinks she won't run into anyone she knows....cute!  She's also one of the great brains behind Drunk Feminist Films.   Her website is at: http://www.gilliang.com  Her webcomic at: http://www.jerkfaceahole.com If you texted Gillian during the interview you have yourself to blame…… We discussed the defunct Sassy magazine and the millenial reboot that is Rookie; feminism, sweat shops, Dov Charney, Pam Anderson....the usual. Please check http:///www.dresscodecracker.com for more!         

Aimee is a social worker living in Toronto who references “satanic panic” and the end of the summer of love in describing her look. Somehow she translates an unwholesome interest in serial killers and horror movies, plus industrial and apocalyptic folk music, into a fun and often colourful retro kewpie pin-up look. Please check dresscodecracker.com for more pictures and detailed show notes. 

Aaron is a sound artist and vegan chef living in PA. He's been in the hardcore and punk scenes for about 5 years. We spoke when he was in Toronto for Not Dead Yet.  We talked about gendered and cultural expectations around fashion and grooming, the origins of his neat and vibrant mod/skinhead style, plus politics and style within the music scenes he socializes and performs in. 

Lisa Stockton Wilson (aka Lisa Hammer/Trianna Orpheus) met with me at her home in Queens NY to discuss punk, Pippi Longstocking, the hill people of Indonesia, thrift store pickings and Gothic Lolita.  She's a film maker, actor and musician--and obsessive collector of clothes. Her influences are eclectic and her enthusiasm for fashion stems from her appreciation of other art forms: German expressionist film, late 19th century symbolism and on to modern music/TV and film.  I loved that she thought everyone's style was influenced by art--if only. 

I spoke to Patrice Clayton, a ahir stylist in Toronto about her fashion inspirations. They include small town Ontario, girl gangs, Tammy Faye Bakker and goth culture. These days she's is influenced by her love of history, neo Classiscist and Renaissance art, and geometry and colour blocking.  We recorded the episode in my car, at Value Village (where else?) And for more info please see www.dresscodecracker.com Thanks again for listening! 

Jenn Leyva is a queer anti-assimilationist anarcho-feminist....and a fatshion blogger. I first 'met' her via her twitter @fatsmartpretty; and her blog by the same name.  Currently working as a kindergarten teacher in South Korea, we spoke via Skype about whiteness, the HRC and Jenn's anti-assimilationist politics, 'make 'em wince' fashion statements and much more.  Please check out:  www.dresscodecracker.com for more info and pictures!  Thanks!~ 

CHris is living the Grey Gardens dream on Long Island--a sculptor, painter, actor and hair stylist. We talked about his style evolution from goth through drag to his present incarnation as Anton LaVey lookalike.  Please check out  dresscodecracker.com for more show notes and references images.  Thanks for listening!