RuPaul’s Drag Race

When I come home from a gig at 4am and won’t be sleeping for a couple of hours, or when I’ve just woken up and I need to be eased into the day, I’ll watch some trash TV. Previously that has taken the form of an obsession with the early seasons of Dallas, various interiors programmes, and now a new series has joined my trash list. Welcome to RuPaul’s Drag Race: think America’s Next Top Model crossed with Project Runway for drag queens. Premiering in 2009, the show is now in its fifth season on Logo in the US.

The show largely follows the ANTM format. Between nine and fourteen queens are chosen at the start of the season. They are given mini-challenges and an overall challenge in each episode. (Some challenges are repeated across seasons like Snatch Game which is a challenge where the contestants re-enact Blankety Blank: the drag queens impersonate celebrities of their own choosing, RuPaul stands in as host, and two celebrity guests stand in as contestants.) The bottom two queens in each episode are up for elimination and in a final bid to impress the judges they must lipsynch for their lives!

When I started watching Drag Race I considered it TV bubblegum. However in the fifth episode of Season One, the queens were tasked with making over women into their little sisters. The twist was that the women were MMA fighters and boxers, women competing in traditionally male sports. It made for one of the most interesting pieces of TV I’ve seen for a long time, a fascinating study in exploding gender stereotypes. While not every episode gives as much food for thought, I am particularly fascinated with the genderfuck aspects of drag culture that the show has introduced me to.

My favourite part of the show is watching the queens prepare for the catwalk, sewing costumes and doing their own hair and make-up. The make-up is true artistry and what these ladies don’t know about shading, highlighting and blending isn’t worth knowing. The transformations are astonishing: in Season One a butch tattooed man became an edgy arresting beauty in the form of Nina Flowers, in Season Two men a pierced, reasonably attractive guy became a pouting glamorous knockout named Raven. Many of the men, especially Raja in Season Three, walk the runway better than most working models, and I’ve always thought that men have an unfair advantage in that they nearly all have great legs in heels!

The show is more provocative than most other reality shows, as befits the drag culture, and double entendres, profanity and trash talking are all on the menu. Whoever does the bleep censoring on Drag Race is very busy! For example, RuPaul frequently tells the contestants “don’t fuck it up”, and the checklist for the perfect Queen is “charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent” (you can put the acronym together yourself). RuPaul is a funny, gracious and charismatic host perfectly suited to this TV format. She is famously stunning as her drag incarnation but when you see the man, Rupaul Andre Charles, he cuts a very stylish figure in tailored suits and beautiful accessories.

Drag Race features a varied array of guest judges including Dita Von Teese, Juliet Lewis, Jackie Collins, Sharon Osbourne, Henry Rollins, Debbie Reynolds and Lily Tomlin, and is produced by World of Wonder, the same team that did 90s club-kid classic Party Monster.

If you haven’t seen the show I suggest doing a hungover Sunday marathon of the first season. By bedtime you’ll be hooked.

(And, in case you’re wondering, my drag name would be Glenda Lock.)

DJing for Frends

Last weekend I did an in-store gig in Tower Records for the headphones brand, Frends. The brand were launching in Ireland and you can find them in Arnott’s and Tower with other retailers being added in the coming weeks. You can also buy them online here. Check these babies out.

Taylor Headphones in White Leather and Rose Gold

Ella Earbuds in Black and Silver

Layla Headphones in White Leather and Gold

Stunning, right? The brand were kind enough to gift me a pair of the Taylor headphones in rose gold. They are almost like a piece of jewellery and are by far the most stylish headphones I’ve ever seen. The sound quality is amazing and while the cans are not sturdy enough for DJing (that would be far too much abuse for something so beautiful) they are perfect for listening to an iPod/Pad or music on your phone. Big thanks to Frends – I will treasure these beauties!

DJing in Tower Records

Morgan for CarveOn

CarveOn is a Irish start-up, founded in 2011 by brothers Gary and Alan McCormack, which makes beautifully crafted wood and leather tech accessories. Dublin based artist Morgan has collaborated recently with CarveOn as part of their Creative series, which has previously featured Maser and Paul McMahon amongst other Irish artists. Morgan’s designs showcase some of his beautiful unique female portraiture, and the cases are eye-catching and tactile.

You can buy the Creative series, or the plain leather/wooden range, or indeed a customisable case if you have your own artwork in mind, on the CarveOn website. As an added bonus there’s free shipping within Ireland.

Le Belle Manon – €29

Little China – €29

Kumari – €29

It’s a classic

White shirts are a staple of my summer wardrobe. I like them oversized, preferably men’s, and pair them with jeans or skinny trousers and heels, or even throw them on over a bikini if I’m on holidays. I had a great tuxedo shirt which is now nearing the end of its life (when one drinks red wine and black coffee and is a very clumsy girl, there’s only so much stain removal you can do before the shirt is beyond the point of rescue) and so I’d like to replace it soon. I had a look online and found these beauties. Click on the pics to be taken to the items on their original site.

Acne Ritz Tuxedo Shirt from Mr. Porter

Brooks Brothers Bib-Front Tuxedo Shirt from Mr. Porter

Peter Werth Poplin Shirt from Topman

Poplin Shirt with press studs from COS Men

 

Fairies ARE real!

In Marlay Park there is one of my favourite pieces of public art; a Fairy Tree. It was made from the stump of a diseased tree that had to be cut down. Towers were carved into the top of it, and the trunk has many doors embedded in it, no doubt for the fairies resident there. Local children have taken to pinning their wishes written on scraps of paper onto the tree – everything from “please make me rich” to “please help me pass the spelling test”. Next time you’re in the park, make sure you check it out.

Fairy Tree in Marlay Park

If you can’t get to Marlay Park you could always create your own version in your garden. A whole Fairy Tree might be a bit much but I love the fairy gardens I have seen on various Pinterest boards and on blogs. These are so easy to create using bonsai trees and doll’s house furniture. In the same vein as this DIY project I posted about before and the Fairy Doors of Ann Arbour, I think these are magical. Even though I don’t have kids, I’d love to do one as it would be a definite talking point for any young visitors to my house, including my nephew as he gets older. And anyway why not have something completely whimsical and childlike in your house? Who says we have to stop believing in magic when we grow up? Maybe if we build fairy gardens, they will come!

Fairy Garden in a broken pot.

Hobbit House with a Bonsai tree

Fairy Garden in a bucket

Fairy Garden in a pot.

Fairy garden sign post.

Even something as simple as this is gorgeous.

 

La Bougie Review

You may remember a couple of months ago I posted about La Bougie, a company in Cork that makes hand poured scented candles. Well, they contacted me and kindly asked if they could send one of their candles to me for review. I received the candle in the post last week, beautifully boxed and packaged in La Bougie black and white tissue paper. The candle is Honeysuckle and Sea Salt scented; perfect for me as honeysuckle is one of my favourite floral scents.

I immediately installed the candle in my living room and lit it that night. I am pleased to report that it burns well and the scent is elegant and subtle, nothing too headache-inducing or cloyingly sweet. I have had a couple of visitors to my house in the last week and both have commented on the beautiful fragrance. The candle retails for €19.95 and the brand is stocked at Arnott’s in Dublin and 45 other retailers across Ireland.

My God Is The Sun – Queens of the Stone Age

They’re back! Queens of the Stone Age released their first new tune in six years this month with My God Is The Sun. It’s taken from the band’s upcoming album released on June 3rd on Matador Records, …Like Clockwork. Any fears that any fan had about their comeback should be blown away by this tune which is QOTSA at their finest; chugging guitars, Homme’s vocals alternating between a croon and a wail, and a monster bass line. Dave Grohl is back in the drummer’s chair for this tune and he really is the perfect drummer for the band.

I’m hugely looking forward to hearing the new album. It includes collaborations with Trent Reznor, Alex Turner, James Lavelle, Jake Shears and Mark Lanegan. Bring. It. On.

What to wear when you work from home

I spend a lot of time working from home and sometimes it can be difficult to stop procrastinating and actually get to work. There are three things I have found that help with this problem.

1. Making my bed as soon as I get up to make coffee. This sounds silly but it has a psychological impact in that it signifies time spent in bed is over and the day has started. I’m more likely to take the coffee to my computer and work, rather than take it back to bed!

2. Having an office. Having a room dedicated to work, where you can close the door and leave behind all distractions (including my phone and the computer that’s connected to the internet), is highly recommended.

3. Getting properly dressed. I find that if I slouch around all day in leggings and a jumper thrown over whatever I slept in, I feel like slob and it depresses me. I don’t put on a full face of make-up for a day spent at home, but I do take the time to select an outfit that I like and makes me feel good.

I have been looking for some stylish sweatshirts (a fashion oxymoron?) to wear with trousers or jeans around the house. It’s an easy and comfortable way to dress but if you accessorise the basics with lovely lingerie and some jewellery, it’s amazing the effect it has on your mood. I have found two sweatshirts that I have fallen head over heels with, both of which coincidentally have an ironic take on a fashion icon.

The first is the Homies sweatshirt from Brian Lichtenberg. It’s an irreverent take on the classic Hermes logo and it makes me smile! The second is the Aint Laurent sweatshirt from What About Yves. It’s obviously a reference to the recent decision by Saint Laurent’s designer Hedi Slimane to drop the “Yves” from the brand name and logo. Click on the pics to be taken to the items on the original site.

‘Homies’ sweatshirt by Brian Lichtenberg – £100 from Brown’s

‘Aint Laurent’ sweatshirt by What About Yves – $62 from What About Yves

Paid For – Rachel Moran

Paid For is a nonfiction book by former Irish prostitute Rachel Moran, published by Gill & Macmillan this month. It is neither a misery memoir where Rachel describes in lurid detail her childhood and experiences as a prostitute, nor is it a Pretty Woman style glamourisation of prostitution. It is scholarly, well written, articulate and while it is often difficult to read, it is certainly worthwhile. Paid For clarified my thoughts and changed my mind on many issues regarding prostitution.

Rachel Moran came from a poverty stricken Dublin background and her parents had severe mental illness which was compounded by addiction. After the suicide of her father, Rachel ran away at 14 years old. She soon found herself homeless and with no other way to financially support herself, her boyfriend at the time suggested that she prostitute herself. He left her on Benburb Street in Dublin and told her first client to “go easy on her”. That was the start of Rachel’s life as a prostitute and soon she was seeing between 7 and 10 men per day. Rachel worked for two years on the street and then went on to work in brothels and as an escort, spending a total of seven years as a prostitute.

The men Rachel saw were not all alcoholics or drug addicts, thugs or psychopaths; in fact the majority of her clients were middle class and married. Rachel suffered physical, verbal and sexual abuse, bullying and degradation, the rationale of her clients being ”you chose this way of life so you deserve whatever you get – put up and shut up.” Many of the men she saw believed in that they were entitled to do what they wished to her once the money had changed hands and in nearly all cases, Rachel says that the men would try to go further than what was agreed at the outset. She was not seen as a human being by these men, but as a sex toy or a masturbation aid.

Rachel explodes the myth of the happy hooker, saying that in all her years as a prostitute working in Dublin and other Irish cities, working on street and off street, she didn’t meet one woman who claimed to be happy. Prostitution is dehumanising for women. They must ignore their natural impulse and have sex with men that they are not remotely attracted to and who often repulse them, they must regularly enter into situations where they may be raped, beaten or killed, they see the very worst in humankind, and they often turn to drugs or alcohol to numb the feelings that have arisen as a result of this. In addition they are treated with contempt by their clients and by society as a whole, which has the effect of further marginalising them and entrenching them in prostitution. It then becomes incredibly difficult for the woman to leave prostitution and find another job. They cannot talk about the work they have done, many have no education and certainly have no way to explain on a CV the unaccounted for years in their professional life.

The overwhelming majority of women working in prostitution are there because they have no other choice and if they were offered another viable employment alternative they would take it (this is not just my opinion but backed up by statistics from around the globe, many of them quoted in Rachel’s book). There are people who are pro-prostitution, who believe that as long as a woman is not coerced into it then no-one is getting hurt. But coercion can take many forms: life circumstances, lack of education and opportunities, financial pressure, addiction, grooming by a sexual predator, these things can coerce a woman to turn to prostitution as the only option available to her. There isn’t a father on this planet who wants his daughter to become a prostitute and no fourteen year old girl in her right mind dreams of being a hooker; prostitution is the last resort for women who have no other choice.

Rachel is now an anti-prostitution activist and has spoken in America, at the UN and in the Oireachtas. In addition she has been instrumental in founding SPACE International – Survivors of Prostitution Abuse Calling for Enlightenment. SPACE International’s mission is to enact The Nordic Model worldwide, a gender-neutral law which criminalises the purchasers of sex while decriminalising those who sell it.

I wholeheartedly admire Rachel for coming forward with her story. She is a brave and articulate woman and I hope her excellent book is widely read. You can read more from Rachel on her website and watch a recent interview with her on The Late Late Show below.

Waterford Crystal Mixology Collection

On Wednesday evening I attended the launch of the new range of glassware from Waterford Crystal, the Mixology Collection. The launch was held in Thornton’s restaurant, the perfect setting for such a luxurious brand. On arrival we were treated to coupes of champagne and delicious canapes and had the opportunity to have a look at the collection and talk to the designer.

The Mixology Collection combines striking new shapes with classic Waterford cuts and vibrant colours. There are several options available, from classic champagne coupes and shot glasses to tumblers, pitchers and decanters. A set of four glasses combines different colours and cuts so that each glass is unique. I fell in love with the clear champagne coupes which have an elegant twenties feel. Holding the glass made me long for a sequinned flapper dress and Jay Gatsby on my arm to complete the look!

The collection is available from Brown Thomas and other Waterford Crystal retailers, and the range starts at  €130 for a set of four shot glasses or two coloured tumblers. In addition Waterford are hosting Mixology Sessions in Brown Thomas tomorrow, April 27th, starting at 1pm.

Set of four clear coupes – €150

Set of four mixed tumblers – €260

Set of four mixed coupes – €260

Set of four clear tumblers – €145