I like to get dressed with ideas. References to nature, science, literature make me giddier than jeans that make my ass look spectacular (though those have their place). Maybe it is because fashion is often purely material and superficial, but it doesn’t have to be. My clothes can do a lot more than make me look hot, they can allude to my inner self and the duplicitous nature of my character.

I am never only a pretty woman. I am sexual and asexual, masculine and feminine,  soft and strong. I am both the beast and its master, ever ludicrous and profoundly serious. In these illustrations from Peony Yip I see the tension between instinct and awareness in each of us. When I get dressed, I do not only tend to my outer self, but to the inner contradictions, the strengths masquerading as weaknesses that propel me forward.

Thomas Lea captured this outfit for Boise Style on a lazy Sunday afternoon. I threw it on without thinking, but, upon further review, it captures many of my favorite contradictions. I love the softness of a wool wrap, woven by my grandmother, against the hard, armor-like cuff and necklace from Armor Bijoux. I love Mickey Mouse, an iconic symbol of childhood, wearing a headdress of Navajo squash blossoms.

I’m three parts professional, two parts child, two parts warrior, and one part old man. And somehow, I’m still the type of person who wears skinny jeans with cowboy boots. Every item was either thrifted, gifted or borrowed from Bethany.

The top runways are all being stomped to death with unusual contradictions. I always love a beast versus beauty reference, like this German Shepherd sweater.

Or these fox pumps found at Street Fashion Style:

We Are Handsome gave up loads of fierce animal face last summer. I’m not sure which I like best, the wolf mini-dress from here:

Or the lion roar leotard from Violent Green:

On this night, Anna D. gave Nicole a vintage silk Bob Mackie kimono blouse with a demented kitten and a ball of yarn on it. Only Knuckle could make that sexy (it’s her superpower). I can’t wait to see how she pulls it off. Jaime looks appalled!

But could she wear a sequined zebra on her arm and still get laid? Hmmmm?

Don’t even get me started on Jessica’s goat-faced glory. That is straight-up Bacchanalian sex appeal.

 Sometimes being both the beast and its master means wearing a kitty kimono.