I about died laughing when I saw the New York Times style article about Elaine Benes being the new NYC downtown fashion muse. I mean, first of all, Elaine's outfits were the most ridiculous concoctions that came out of the '90s — I watched an episode of Seinfeld last week with my sister and we were marveling at the sheer amount of fabric covering Elaine's body. She was rocking a long-sleeved blue button-up blouse (buttoned to the very top, of course), with a crochet vest and a full-length floral skirt. And the hair! My god, the hair! A pre-Snooki pouf, permy curls, and a giant scrunchie. So Big Love. So AMAY-ZING.
But the main reason I was laughing at the article was because rather than saying to each other, "Hey, we should put on a paisley pants suit and hit that gallery opening in the unmarked alleyway behind the restaurant supply place" (as a hipster might have), we decided my sister should be Elaine for Halloween. I suggested she wear this atrocious cotton dress with a giant collar that my mom had in the '80s, but Britt decided a pants/blouse/vest combo would be better since she didn't want to be mistaken for a sister-wife, which is funny in its own way since the NYT article references Chloë Sevigny as someone who wears a "shorter and cuter" version of Elaine's wardrobe. As for me, I've decided to go straight to the source and take inspiration from Juniper Creek and bust out a compound costume this year. I've got my cotton dress and Bumpit ready and waiting!
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