Like one of Stefon’s club recommendations, my YouTube video for this week has everything.
I talked about my longtime crush on Blondie lead singer, Debbie Harry; one of her and my favorite designers, Stephen Sprouse; and the history of rap. If you stay for the demonstration of my own straight-fire rapping skills, you get two Eryn-induced bloopers as a reward (Eryn was like, “People are going wonder why you hired me.”) Apologies to Francophiles for my pronunciation of “Louis Vuitton”! Twenty years ago, I quit my French conversation class after I was shamed for my New Jersey accent by the instructor.
As a palate cleanser, here is Debbie in the original “Rapture” video. Take a good look at the DJ. That’s artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. He was friends with rap pioneer Fab 5 Freddy, who makes an appearance too. Graffiti artist Lee Quinones is also in there.
In 1981, this was the first rap video played by MTV, according to Billboard. Of course it was! It has a white, blonde woman doing the rapping and black guys are playing back-up roles. I don’t blame Debbie for that; that’s corporate bullshit for you. Supposedly, MTV rejected a lot of black artists’ videos in its early years because the channel was supposed to be for “rock” music, and someone like Rick James wasn’t “rock.” The rock excuse comes as a surprise to me, because I grew up on MTV and honestly thought it was invented for New Wave. After all, the first video ever played by MTV was the Buggles’ space-age-y “Video Killed the Radio Star,” which doesn’t scream “rock ‘n’ roll” to me. (I still love that song!)
Anyway, back to my video! I wore my DayGlo orange vintage Stephen Sprouse jacket for that, and here’s a look at how I recently styled it for an outfit shoot.
What Wendy Wore
Jacket: Vintage Stephen Sprouse (probably acquired in 2008)
T-shirt: Velvet
Jeans: Madewell (2016)
Boots: Opening Ceremony (2016)
Purse: Louis Vuitton (2001)
That’s pretty much how I’ve been wearing that jacket since I got it in 2008.
On my way to a Madonna concert in 2008. Click for original post.
I did once wear the jacket with a different top underneath in 2013. Exciting!
2013. Click for original post.
Come back here tomorrow to see my two Stephen Sprouse graffiti-style skirts, and don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you don’t miss the next video. Also, if you’re a major-label A&R looking for the next Rap God, believe it or not, I’m unsigned.
You are an adorable rapper, Wendy! i loved “Rapture” back in the day – Debbie Harry is such a goddess. I just watched an excellent documentary series called “The Evolution of Hip-Hop” (wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hip-Hop_Evolution) – it’s on Netflix, and well worth checking out, especially for a music-lover like yourself. Love your orange jacket!
Sheila, when I sign my big record deal and go on a world tour, you’re getting front row seats!