Closet Raid: Erin

So you might have noticed (as we have) that quite a few of our natural hair features are also incredibly stylish. We’ve decided to start spotlighting the incredible and diverse style of naturals. Check it out;

Did going natural affect your style choices at all?
E: My personal style has been ever changing throughout the years, which most certainly includes my decision to go the natural hair route over three years ago. I’ve always been comfortable with/in what I choose to wear & how I wear it, and I feel that my hair nowadays is nothing less than the icing on the cake, so to speak. 

How does your hair complement your style?
E: My hair is an essential expression of my style’s everyday versaitility. When I’m loud, my hair is loud. When my mood and look is mellow, it is, too. Ultimately, my wardrobe is disposable, and though my hairstyles (in essence) are the same, every strand that grows out of my head perpetuates a major part of who I am. P.S. I really like that the question was stated as how does your hair complement your style, and not how does your hair define your style; I feel that we dictate our own individual style(s), and should never be limited by what our hair can and cannot “do”.

How would you describe your style?
E: 1950s wild child — meets 1960s varierty show go-go dancer — meets 1970s blaxploitation film star.

What are the three favorite things in your closet?
E: My red Frye cowboy boots, my 1950s red hand embroidered Mexican tourister jacket, and of course, my 1970s leopard print wedding dress!

What are your three must-have items of clothing?
E: Now, this is a hard question to narrow down an answer to.…..high waisted denim swing pants, a fitted angora sweater (perfect for this time of year in Northern California.…oh yeah, I moved across the country!), and a leather bomber jacket. Although, there are sooooo many other must haves!

You wear a lot of vintage clothing. What’s your advice for selecting and incorporating vintage into one’s wardrobe? Best places to shop?
E: I would have to say the best piece of advice I could offer is to wear what you love, and love what you wear. Many people, both men and women alike, get turned off by fine quality vintage clothing, because they often assume it’s just some tattered threads someone picked up at a thrift store. However, I have to admit that most “vintage” clothing (which is technically defined as garments made prior to twenty years ago) is actually tailored with much more care and made of distinctly better fabrics and construction than most contemporary clothing.

If you’re looking to start incorporating vintage clothing into your wardrobe and supporting the vintage clothing market, but don’t know where or how to start, I recommend finding your local independently owned vintage boutique and start browsing. If you have a hard time coming to terms with wearing/owning someone else’s clothing, there are also many established as well as up and coming vintage reproduction clothing lines that cater to those of us who love the vintage look, but need something more suitable to the modern guy or gal. Never hesitate to ask questions, and certainly never hestitate to try garments on…you might be very pleasantly surprised!

You’re in the running to perform in a burlesque competition. Can you tell us a bit about that, including how we can vote for you?
E: Yes, it’s true! For those of you that follow me in real life, or on FB, tumblr, blogspot, etc., then you may already know that in Chicago I was a burlesque performer, among many other things, under the stage name Sugar Cane Jane. Upon moving to California from Chicago, I decided to keep the ball rolling as a performer, and am currently in the running for the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender 15 Burlesque Competition! Two other African American bombshell beauties were pre-chosen by a panel of judges to automatically perform at the competititon, and as I am currently the only one in the running in the 10 contestant online portion of the competition, I would love to join them on stage in April at the live finals!

The online run of the competition consists of a voting period that runs until February 10th, ending at midnight Pacific Standard time, and the top 4 performers with the highest number of online votes will get the chance to proceed to the live finals and perform with/up against the 4 pre-chosen performers picked by the panelists. So basically this means, I need the votes and support of all you fine femmes & fellas!

If you’d like to cast your vote and help send me to Viva Las Vegas, here’s what you can do:

Got to the Viva Las Vegas 15 website here: http://www.vivalasvegas.net/burlesque-competition

Scroll down to my picture, labeled as Sugar Cane Jane. (feel free to watch my saucy [suitable for 18+] video footage by clicking my promotional image)

1. Click vote under Sugar Cane Jane.
2. Type in your email address into the voter’s box.
3. Confirm your vote in your email inbox (casted votes ONLY count if you confirm the email confirmation, so double check your spam/junk folders, just in case))
4. And voila! **Also note, if you have mutliple IP addresses, ie., more than one internet connection, you MAY vote multiple times!**

I started out in the top four, but as the days press on, my rank is constantly fluctuating. If I can maintain a slot in the top four, that means with your support I can shake a tail feather all the way to Vegas!

If you’d like to stay up to speed with the competition as well as my upcoming Bay Area & national performances, along with my pin up shoots, wardrobe updates and art projects/exhibitions, please feel free to check me out here:

Tumblr: http://femmexcentrique.tumblr.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sugar-Cane-Jane/150787135013911
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1410705047

Xoxo!

Ladies, what do you think of Erin’s style? Which looks are your favorites?