Not everyone is the main character
It’s okay to be a cherished character actor.
This weekend I had a perfect day in the New York Subtropics—30 minutes in the Rockaway waters (that’s enough time to get in, pee, get grossed out by the idea that everybody in the ocean is peeing concurrently, and almost get beheaded by a surfboard), read three pages of a book, run into someone I used to go out with and their new girlfriend, and then take cover from a sudden torrential rain at a dive bar named Connollys that serves up these fantastic dense white piña coladas in plastic cups. Topped with a fat maraschino cherry, you can get the piña coladas one of two ways: swimmers or floaters, the latter of which comes with a generous $1 extra pour of rum that drowns the drink until there’s only a little blob of cherry above. The beachfront building Connollys operates out of has been a bar since the late 1800s and has been dolling out piña coladas since the 1960s. Its clientele has a kind of Cheers appeal (I’ve never seen Cheers): a ragtag group of New York surfers, drunken Irish women, assorted Rockaway locals, and college students on break. Which brings me to my obsession of the week: dressing like a character actor.
Being the “main character” has become a big TikTokified concept about taking a bold stance on life. #LiveLaughLove. As the main character, there is a strength, a confidence (or narcissism), a can-do quality. But also, indies notwithstanding, the main character is often the most relatable character, the most generalized, palatable, and subsequently the most milquetoast (and they dress like it too). You know who’s actually uncompromising in their personal style and life ethos? A zany best friend. A troubled bartender in a Jaws-type movie. A femme fatale in a devastating hat that falls with sinister ease just so over one eye. A cherished character actor! A Catherine O’Hara over a Jennifer Lawrence. A Carol fucking Kane!! Often, they are so uncompromising that a movie wouldn’t be made about them because they already know who they are!
Something I’ve enjoyed for a while now is wonderful girl and friend to me, writer Ali Royals daily outfit prompts. She has a good time with it: “Outfit prompt is Charlie bit my finger” or “Outfit prompt is Roku City.” Her clothes remain her clothes. These are not the prompts of an influencer who has more things in their closet than days in the year, but the reframe is what’s fun. The little secret with yourself that a striped shirt might reference the Hamburgler or an HVAC system.
One of the big issues of fashion (which remains a very little issue in the grand scheme of Things) is that there is currently an overreliance on clothing to signify personality. It is the beauty of fashion, the art of fashion, that it is so self-descriptive. But to feel authentic, there must be a self to describe.
Alex Vadukul’s profile of Noah Blau, the man behind the best show on the internet!
Alyssa Vignan on Sex Happens on BELLY BUTTON RINGS!!!! Profound and sexy. Awooga.
New York mag’s entire Mamdanistan issue
Getting into the wonders of Wedgewood China.
Cake Zine’s free summer reading series at Little Island (I will be reading a piece about FOOD!)
