Montserrat: A Magnificent View

Montserrat was always interested in art, music and dressing up. She was raised in a conservative family in Barcelona and because of her early unique fashion sense, she always felt like the black sheep. She adored her life in Spain, but she also wanted to see what the world had to offer.

When Montserrat arrived in NYC in 1993, she spoke almost no English and stayed with friends in a small place on 14^th Street off 6^th Ave. One of her favorite clubs was Nell’s, which was just two blocks away. It was there that Montserrat got her first taste of dressing up for nightlife and knew she wanted to stay. Her first job interview was with the infamous Michael Alig for Club USA. She didn’t get that job (luckily), but she met someone at Save the Robots not long afterward who offered her a job at The Village Gate. She worked there for many years and enjoyed hearing bands like the Lounge Lizards.

To never compromise can be a hard line to follow, but Montserrat is true to herself and lives her life with great passion (after all, she was named after a mountain). She will not own a cell phone because she prefers to have her conversations face to face. Her unwavering sense of style and individual spirit made Montserrat ideal for focus in Subject Eye. 

A buena vision in red.

What were you thinking?

The weather was cloudy, so I wasn’t so cheery. If I think too much about this it can cause problems. I just wanted to figure out how to be with the clouds and enjoy this day.

List of the items you are wearing in your photo?

Dress: A vintage black and red print dress I purchased in Seattle.

Bracelets: Some are Alexis Bittar and the others are classic hardware bracelets.

Makeup: My lipstick is from Lipstick Queen. The color is called courage.

Rings: Also Alexis Bittar.

Shoes: Red Converse Sneakers.

Favorite music played while getting dressed? 

I’m not listening to new music lately, but I love Nick Cave and Tom Waits. I sometimes like aggressive music like punk. I also love jazz music especially on rainy days like Etta James and Ruth Brown.

Shopping tactics:

I don’t go shopping. I see something I like and I buy it. I love classic vintage from the 1940s and 50s because it is clothing with a history. I’m particularly fond of Yves Saint Laurent.

Avoidance tactics:

I will never wear Birkenstocks, Ugg boots, or go to The Gap.

Do you rock, shock or think about matching socks?

No socks, no shocks, but I do rock!

How do you keep or lose your figure?

With age one can lose one’s figure. I go to the gym and I’m a firm believer in the Weight Watchers regimen. I’ve always had my Spanish bottom.

Do you think you're sexy?

I don’t have to think hard about this. I think of myself as a more rounded person with sex included.

What do you collect?

I collect vintage shoes. I own more than 100 pair. I collect crinolines, especially from the 1940s and 50s. And dresses, of course. One of my favorite characters is Alf. I collect anything with Alf on it. My friends have been great in aiding my Alf obsession. He’s so cute and he is an alien, like me (laughs).

Most desired item-if anything?

I desire the perfect job! I want the perfect match of money, creativity and appreciation of who I am. A job where a misfit can be the perfect fit.

Are you designer label happy?

I like labels. My favorites are Alaia,Thierry Mugler and Jean Paul Gaultier. One of my very favorite designers is Isabel Toledo.

If you could be reincarnated as a piece of clothing, what would you be?

A Charles James garment. His couture is out of this world.

Is your skin in? (What is your skin care regimen, if any?)

I’ve been using products from Yves Rocher skincare. I’ve been using this line for many years.

A night to remember or forget regarding your clothing?

I went to the Madame Grès exhibition opening at F.I.T. I was wearing a dress with a train. It was a 1940s silk jersey dress, which was very much like Madame Grès creation. I wore my 1930s monkey fur jacket. The photographer Bill Cunningham was at the opening and he loved this outfit.

Any advice for future generations:

People should learn great manners. It is a forgotten art. Learn how to respect people and accept them for who they are. Have an open mind when seeing someone who is creative and appreciate that they have unique qualities.

Past, current or future projects?

Right now I want to find the perfect job. I want to work fewer hours and make more money. I think I would make a perfect companion, like in Victorian times. We need to bring this type of job back!

A stylish montage=Montserrat. 

Clyde’s House of Beauty

I love beauty products. I do, I do. I love sizing up each product by looking at the packaging and smelling their unnecessary scents. I love testing them with my fingertips and rubbing them into my forearm while pretending I feel and see the miraculous change in my skin. I usually just feel wetter. But who cares? I adore slathering them on my skin with big sweeping gestures.

I’m sure some of these products must be snake oil and fairy dust. But they can be very expensive snake oil and fairy dust, and sometimes they can even be real snake oil. Dianne Brill’s skin cream has actual snake venom as an ingredient, and it works marvelously well. I love it. I also love the great Dianne Brill herself, but that’s for another Subject Eye.

My favorite place to purchase all things beautifying is Clyde’s Chemist (926 Madison Avenue). I think I became a member of the Whitney Museum just so I would have an excuse to travel to the Upper East Side*, cross the street and visit this skin care Mecca. You don’t need a reason to go to Clyde’s. The reason will present itself as soon as you walk inside.

Clyde’s does function as an old fashion type of drug store as well. There is a pharmacy where you can purchase, I don’t know, cotton balls and the like. I didn’t notice the pharmacy until very recently. It took me 20 years to notice the pharmacy in the back. I’ve been too preoccupied with the international cornucopia of emollients and makeup in the front. If you had the luck to be introduced to the Decleor and Carita lines in Paris, you will become bosom buddies at Clyde’s in NYC.

The women that work at Clyde’s are seasoned professionals. Be nice to them and they will respond in kind. You can really talk to them about any of your skin care trials, tribulations and kerfuffles. They listen and offer expert solutions in a price range you can afford.

*Note: I have to give myself a reason to travel to UES. I wish this wasn’t true. I’m absolutely anonymous uptown and not in a good way. For me to get attention in a store like Gucci, I’d have to drag a small stage along and perform a Balinese plate dance. It’s true that I can actually do some of the moves from a Tari Piring (Balinese plate dance), but they ignore me anyway. Are they intimidated by my dramatic personal style? Or do they make assumptions because of my melanin-enhanced skin? Sadly, I know it’s the latter.

Subject Eye Presents: Rosemary Wettenhall

When you walk into Madame Matovu, Rosemary Wettenhall’s well-curated vintage clothing shop on West 10^th in the Village, you can instantly see why the shop is on the radar of so many celebrities and fashionable women. You feel like you’ve entered a magic treasure chest. The reason the shop is so special is that Rosemary chooses every item – and doesn’t sell anything she doesn’t personally adore. The vintage merchandise is well edited and very well cared for, and there is also a small collection of designer clothing produced under her own eponymous label.

Rosemary’s in-depth knowledge of distinct eras in fashion is evident, as is her familiarity with a wide range of clothing manufacturing techniques, and she is quite conversant with how the pieces can or should be worn. Along with the beautiful clothes there is a wonderful selection of accessories and artwork. She is a firm believer in mixing styles and eras to create your own special fashion alchemy, which makes her perfect for Subject Eye.

Rosemary Wettenhall's style and her welcoming smile.

What were you thinking?

I’m thinking Life!

List of the items you are wearing in your photo?

Dress: a Comme des Garcons black slip dress with a blue and pale pink colored ribbon 1950s lace vintage dress over it.

Scarf: rose print silk organza scarf from the 1950s.

Sweater: cerulean blue Marc Jacobs lace ruffle cardigan.

Belt: vintage 1970s black motorcycle belt.

Watch: an oversized Swiss Army watch.

Favorite music played while getting dressed?

In general, I like classical and jazz music. I love Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong. These days I find myself listening to a lot of R&B, like John Legend and Beyonce. Of course I love Motown. But you can really lose yourself listening to Edith Piaf and Serge Gainsbourg.

Your inspirations: icons, fictional characters, shapes or eras?

I’m inspired by everyday people. There’s always someone on the street who looks amazing.

Shopping tactics:

Right now, I’m in love with drug stores and hardware stores. I love their organization. It’s like a science. I love to lose myself at Rite-Aid. Where does all that stuff come from? Being in these types of stores balances out what I do. My newest love is the Farmers’ Market. I love talking to the farmers about hybrid produce and the work they do to grow food.

Avoidance tactics:

I avoid anything aggressive, whether it is people or clothing. For me, it has no meaning or place in my life. I also avoid the attitude of entitlement. Again, I love the people of the streets. Ever notice how entitlement and aggression goes hand in hand? Then it breeds ignorance.

Do you rock, shock or think about matching socks?

I love being individual. I hate being placed in a category.

An array of beautiful scarves.

  

How do you keep or lose your figure?

I’m just disciplined with what I eat and what I do. I believe in discipline in life, period. But I make sure to have fun at the end of the day.

Do you think you're sexy?

Of course! I think that being sexy is what you feel at the moment and what you project. I believe in subtle femininity.

What do you collect?

I collect skirts. If you open my closet, you would see more skirts, and I adore pleated skirts most of all. The perfect pleated skirt can be very hard to find. Christian Dior made my favorite box-pleated skirt. I also collect vintage bracelets, particularly Victorian pink gold. Well, I love almost anything that is shiny. I also love portraits and photos of women from any era. And last but not least, anything with roses on it.

Fresh roses in a Rococo vase and a portrait Marilyn.

Most desired item-if anything?

People getting along. I want people to get along and communicate better. I want people to stop being greedy because it creates hate. Greed separates people. I want people to not be so obsessed with material things.

Are you designer label happy?

No, that’s not me, just fashion labels. I have to love it, and what I choose must be something that I will want to keep with me forever.

If you could be reincarnated as a piece of clothing, what would you be?

I would want to be reincarnated as a rose bush. I would want to be any type of rose bush because it is the perfect thing of beauty, with a mix of hard and soft.

Is your skin in? (What is your skin care regimen, if any?)

I use a basic shea butter with no additives that I get at Bigelow Chemists.

A night to remember or forget regarding your clothing?

On one of my favorite nights I wore an Alexander McQueen shift dress that he himself signed. On another night to remember, I wore a Christian Lacroix couture skirt from the collection inspired by Frida Kahlo. But any day can be great when you are wearing clothes you love. I love wearing Comme des Garcons and of course, Yohji Yamamoto. Miuccia Prada is my favorite of today. The way she uses fabrics is so wonderful. And she can cut a great skirt! I completely appreciate the cultural references used in the prints of Dries Van Noten. The clothing is so sophisticated.

Any advice for future generations:

Be true to yourself.

Past, current or future projects?

In the end I’m fascinated by beauty. I’ve always loved beautiful things and having them around me. I also sell art in Madame Matovu, so I would love to expand it into a lifestyle shop.

Behold, a treasure trove!

A Henry Clarke poster and some sparkle.

Rosemary's eye catching window display.

A painting of Madame Matovu presides over all.

 Photos by Erika Belle

Erika Belle, Tomato Farmer:

"When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of human civilization." - Daniel Webster

I always longed for something of my own to care for and nurture: to have and to hold, in sickness and in health. So I bought a young tomato plant.This is perhaps the closest I’ll ever get to being a farmer. It’s hard to be a farmer if you live in an apartment. Here is my assessment of growing the tomato plant and my journey to initiate some cultural refinement. 

Tomato plant purchased at Home Depot: $6.95

Planter: $25.00

A second planter when the first one broke: another $25.00

Miracle Grow plant food (1 lb. box): $4.95

Hermes Ribbon used to hold up listing plant: $0.

Wallet purchased from Hermes (box and ribbon included): $1,165.00

Time spent watering and grooming the plant (4 months at 3 minutes a day): 366 minutes (or 6 and 1/10^th hours)

Psychic energy, if one decides psychic energy is quantitative, used while worrying about yellowing leaves and Hurricane Irene survival: 3500 cubic feet or 99.1089631 m3

Driftwood used to hold up listing plant: $0.

Trip to the Jersey Shore to find the piece of driftwood to hold up the listing plant (gas, tolls and dinner): $78.75

Tomato plant yield: Three 1½  inch tomatoes

Cost of this experience: Priceless (or $1305.65, not including NY State sales tax and the 3500 cubic ft of psychic energy)

My tomato plant and its support system.

Crop yield at cost of $435.22 each. The plate is from Housing Works.

Joey Arias: Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man

I first got to know Joey Arias in the early 1980s when he worked at the trendsetting 59^th street boutique Fiorucci, back when you could be hired to embody the zeitgeist of a company. By then he was already a well known downtown NYC performer. And Joey had already been seen by millions on SNL, as a back-up singer with David Bowie (along with another legendary downtown singer Klaus Nomi).

Joey had and still has an amazing sense of style, and he was a fixture at Fiorucci during this time. I’m sure many people queued up to see ‘the New-Wave Man’. I was just starting my clothing label ‘Rika’, which was my nickname given to me by my friend, the pop singer Madonna (I love calling her the pop singer, lest she confused with the Mother Mary). Through the efforts of the fashion editor Carrie Donovan I was asked to showcase some of my wares at Fiorucci, and I could always count on Joey to introduce my line to some of his celebrity clients, like Margaux Hemingway, Gregory Hines and Christie Brinkley.

With the actress Ann Magnuson, Joey could be seen in several short films, where he played a range of characters, my favorite being when he portrayed Andy Warhol with Ann in the role of Edie Sedgwick. But Joey’s most formidable talent was and is his singing ability; he could sing in several octaves and he has the ability to sings two notes at once. I think there are very few people who can sing chords. There are also few people who could channel the voice of Billie Holiday. Joey can.

It was hard coming up with a gift for Madonna for her first bridal shower (for her marriage to Sean Penn I gave her a bunch of straight boys in dresses – a long story for another Subject Eye), but someone had the smarts to hire Joey, who came as the performer Prince and sang Little Red Corvette to a delighted crowd of revelers. Remembering Joey’s performance that night, I think he may have “out-princed” Prince, not an easy thing to do.

I also enjoyed seeing Joey over the years in many incarnations, like his cameo in Pee Wee Herman’s Big Top movie and at the now defunct Bar D’O, where he was one of the featured singers with Raven O and Sherry Vine. He was sorely missed in NY when he left to perform in Cirque de Soleil’s Zumanity in Las Vegas, where he originated the role of the Mistress of Seduction.

You can see Joey right now in Arias With a Twist, an incredibly inventive show he created with the puppeteer Basil Twist in 2008, at the Abrons Art Center through October 16th. It is one high-flying extravaganza, with costumes created by the designer Manfred Thierry Mugler (I’ll bet the Chrysler Building is jealous of the dress Joey wears during his finale). Joey continues to thrill us all with his talent and I continue to be grateful for his friendship. 

Joey Arias greeting fans after Arias with a Twist

Joey and Basil Twist

Joey and Me

Check out Joey Arias, Klaus Nomi, Kenny Scharf and friends at Fiorucci:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-pMwDzK8uw&feature=youtu.be