fairytale.

i should write about great parties that have been ever so frequent lately, but instead i'll tell you about a dress.

my personal evolvement from the girl that always had to have a new dress for every party to the girl sporting the same recognizable showstopper frock continuously has been slow and steady. it remains difficult to this day to appear in the same garment at a festivity: i have learned to associate respectful clothing with novelty as much as the type of garment. therefore, my next project is to stop apologizing to people when they recognize my outfit as the one they saw before... not quite there, yet, i'm afraid.

generally the fashion police claim that in order to feel well-dressed one needs to invest in one classic garment that works in every party situation with the addition of variable accessories. usually they mean the lbd. needless to say, my party self is the horny salmon hopping against the stream and from my vast collection of dresses, i have chosen as my comfort gear the loudest, most obnoxious piece of draped fabric.

mind you, this wasn't planned, but the dress cast a spell on me...this is the story of spock.

i ran into spockity-spock at a small vintage store one early morning in williamsburg. i had barely had my java as i wandered into rabbit's. i loved sporadic pop-ins to have a quick chat with the cheerful japanese owner. once inside, instant infatuation resulted in a quick buy although i am pretty sure my eyes were half closed throughout the process.

she wasn't cheap for an 80's frock, and i remember thinking that it was probably the worst investment i ever made. i am not entirely clueless about the way people regard loud clothing and against the rules of rick owens quoted by sugar kane, spock definitely speaks tons for me (and probably a few people who happen to land in my proximity, as well...). i knew i would stand out sporting her flowing flaps and protruding shoulders, and i am not all that keen about being in the spotlight.

but i felt weird affinity towards her: it was as if she was a misunderstood sort of a being who was slightly too weird for her own good. the shy girl whose features are off, laughs too loud and therefore always gets attention and, distracted, starts babbling insanely. the chatterboxy kind of colorful...

miss spock's first big soirée avec moi was at this new hipster party called the misshapes. in 2004 it was smallish and the people running it – leigh lezark, geordon nicol and greg krelenstein – were hardly polished party-life celebrities frequenting the sartorialist and such. the common opinion amongst my friends was that the party took a spiraling downfall from that particular night, but i guess we suck at foretelling since it became one of the biggest hipster hells for the next two years or so... (this is my way to advertise my skills at trend-forecasting – impressive, huh?)



it took almost a year for spock to re-emerge from my closet. in 2005 i appeared with her twice: to welcome the new year and to receive an award for a bar i concept designed. from the responses i got, people of helsinki were not quite ready for her, yet.

so back into storage she went only to find her way back to the spotlight this year. she's been to flop where her fabulousness was finally embraced with the furious intensity she deserves. she acted as my protective shield at tigi photo awards gala where i dj'd next to a giant disco ball (and managed to dodge almost every single camera present – partly because i was busy playing the entire night... the one above i found at traveltoes) and because i feel comfortable in her, i wore her to the fiasco referred to as the nrj fashion awards that sucked even worse than last year and the fun-filled, exotic mermaid fantasy of mums magazine release party at diesel store helsinki. somehow every event i wear her ends up great –even the nrj was tolerable no thanks to the organization, but to the comradeship we felt dissing it – and i enjoy my time. sure, it could come down to great party organization but, hey, let's give the dress some credit.

this heavy, fully draped electric blue dress feels organic on my body, and despite of the 25 or so lbd's i own, i feel more comfortable with my vulcan friend than within the safe embrace of black fabric. i think we'll live happily ever after. how strange is that?