ALWAYS, i wanna BE with you and make BELIEVE with you

please tell me, if you lived through the late 80s or early 90s, that you listened to erasure.
we had an "Erasure Interpretive Dance Party" the other night at Addie's house.
you could also call it an early 90s synth pop power party.
Feel free to listen while i take you back to my teenage years.

i spent that entire day in early 90s mode, listening to such classics as dave matthews band, sheryl crow, and yaz....my own old weird blend of synth pop and jammy-folk-pop-rock.
this was my favorite dress in about 1993: royal blue crushed velvet babydoll from contempo casuals.
i called it my "magic dress" and felt frisky and powerful any time i wore it. like i was up for anything and the world could never hold me back.
i used to wear my make up like this too. you might not be able to tell, but for me it is A LOT of make up:
black eyeliner, heavy mascara, eye shadow in a bright hue, white face powder, and of course: brick red dark lipstick: revlon's "toast of new york" was the ubiquitous shade. 
oh yeah, crimped hair too....

my early 90s days were not really very gothic. not in the tough punky girl goth way, not part of any kind of rebellion or revolutionary movement.

i wasn't stylish or cool. my years from 1990-1994 were spent going to mormon dances and parties and wearing lots of rayon floral and crushed velvet and plaid and headbands. playing twister and sweating in the dark, slow dancing with boys drenched in cool water cologne. brushing my friends' hair while listening to the smiths, depeche mode, new order, yaz, erasure, allison moyet, nine inch nails, anything box. painting my nails glittery black and getting hopped up on dr. pepper.  

here's a visual. yes i wore clear braces (such a bad idea.)


anyway...it cracks me up, and i never would have believed that now we are compelled to have a party to recreate those days!
i ended up wearing this one most of the night at the party. it's one of those crinkly florals made by Starina that is just so incredibly swirly that it's crazy-fun to dance in.

most of our friends are kinda too young to remember the designated time period, but how could addie and i be anything but spot on in our rendition:
(addie's bangs?!)
joey's costume took its inspiration from erasure videos like these.
emily did his make up. i think he was set free.

darin went more for a run dmc look...i wish you could see the giant white sneakers with laces untied.
em had kind of a cute-goth-prom thing going on.

everyone looked AMAZING.

...but none so much as addie, completely decked out, enjoying a moment of pure nostalgic bliss with "jet fuel" in hand.

take away the wine bottles and i am straight back in 1992 at a mormon house party discussing our next round of charades and having good clean fun!

for a little while it turned into a contortionist circus show, which was oddly appropriate.



aaannnnd back to dancing...

addie had changed into another 90's  floral babydoll to allow for more drastic movement in interpretive dance sequences set to ballads.

she was SO good.




addie and ashley found a moment to pull off the ol' irish jig.

like i said, boys in make up get straight craaaazy.

and lo and behold, mikie even showed up, fresh off the road from l.a!
it was my third, nay fourth dress of the night...
a little more dancing and i was spent.
this aint the 90s no more old gal!

 
i've had erasure songs stuck in my head ever since. it's crazy but i don't even mind.
hope you all had a sweet weekend.
on another much more important note: our hearts are with the japanese people; i almost felt bad even posting about our good times in the wake of such tragedy. but i then i remember that life is short, and to live well and have fun, and be kind and happy and spread love is a good remedy even in the midst of sadness.

Comments

Crystal said…
Oh, Doll, you are too awesome. I am too young too adequately remember the late 80's and early nineties, but I make up for it in my love of music.

YOU HAD A MORRISSEY POSTER ON YOUR BEDROOM WALL!?!?!? That is cool beyond words. I want a Morrissey poster of my own. Right now.

As always, I am blown away by how much love and light you and your friends radiate, past and present. You are a light filled gift to the world, my dear.
Little Lesiw said…
At first I couldn't place the lyrics with the tune, but as soon as I watched the video I got warm fuzzy feeling inside :)

I have Erasure Pop 20 and I LOVE listening to it (although it's been a while since I last did). It just takes me back... some of those songs put a smile on my face that just won't leave.

So thanks for the reminder - I think I need to go dig it out now!
mo marie said…
This was a great blog to read and I totally remember contempo casuals! You brought me back girl. I remember those days far too well. Great to see you all having fun and dancing it up in style.
addie's choker and bangs! spot. on.

looks like it was a blast!
i love you more with every post of yours i read. i want a velvet dress. i had no idea you were (are?) mormon! that's why you have so many siblings (wink)
okay, so much about this post is awesomesauce. morrissey? love it. headband a la the Fly Girls? love it. dance party??????? why do i have lame friends who never do stuff like that?
and yes, put a boy in makeup or drag and even the most "manly" of men suddenly become so enamored of themselves.
i'm having the shittiest week ever, and the japan thing is really adding to my anxiety, sadness and stress, and this blog made me smile and remember that there is always another dance party around the corner. thanks lovey!
anne said…
hahaha! i'm not too young!
this is so fun! you took me back to my hollywood club days. a actually used dance quite a lot back then (a fact people find hard to believe). there were the gothic clubs- lots of elaborate arm movements and much time spent low to the ground and the 80's clubs (funny cuz most of the music wasn't even 10 years old at the time) my boyfriend back in those days looked exactly like robert smith, hahaha! i'll have to do a post about it.

all the outfits are rad. i especially love addie's bangs and the babydoll dresses :D
Leora said…
ERASURE INTERPETIVE DANCE PARTY?! Freakin' genius!
Amy Beatty said…
Love this!!! I so remember Jenny dancing all funky in the living room and even though I looked up to her I knew those moves were not cool. Sean begged my mom to name her last three boys Robert. We love Robert smith at our house. Even though I never picked up on Jennie dancing skills I LOVED her music and still do. I so wish I could have been there. I love all the wardrobe changes :) you gals are way to cute. Chelsea and I had Matt and mike wear eyeliner one night- so hot and fun. Good thing matts not a girl though cause his liner runs wild and it took days to get it off. Tin roof rusted!!!!!!
Teeny said…
I remember crushed velvet dresses being so 'in'....sadly i never procured one. :(
Oh Yaz....whatever happened to Yaz! The early 90s...makes me think of Ca plane pour moi sung by Plastic Bertrand...I think I saw it on the late night music channel once and it made a HEAVY impression on me.(even though it was a 70s song) ...you should try it at one of your dance parties one night. guaranteed to get people busting moves.
Nikki Mortham said…
oh my, what an amazing time you all had!
I missed you Saturday! I asked a few times if you were coming and kept looking for you. I think your sister was there, and I think she was wearing the blue velvet dress. If you don't have a sister, or if she wasn't wearing the dress, I blame it on the copious amounts of beer. :)
let's get together soon!
Nikki
Nicky said…
DUDE! You guys are so rad- I know we'd dance til twilight if we were in each other's presence!!!! We just celebrated one of my best friend's birthdays on Saturday and danced til 3 (2 if you don't count the time change!) It's been a while and I SO love dancing!!! We had a blast- looks like you guys did too! The contortionist shots are hilarious :D

I was just listening to that buffalo bus song you put out there a while back and then checked my email and saw your comment! What appropriate timing :D That song is quite fantastic! Happy upcoming week to ya :D
Milla said…
Wowzers! Dancing and costumes is something we need to add to our ouvre next we meet! Themed dance parties are the best. This is like the adventurous equivalent of having some drinks at home before heading out and then deciding to just stay in and watch old 90s music videos from you tube and dance and sing along. Much admiration for the costumes and the effort. I love the old pictures of you. Brigit has been promising a post about her 90s and I can't wait. I wish I had more pictural evidence of the halcyon days of that era. Or maybe not.

I'm decidedly old enough to remember the new romantics, though I was more of a punk and grunge girl, I loved the Smiths.

I was so stocked when you mentioned this because I have a special relationship with Erasure and specifically always:
When I first moved back to Finland from London I was sleeping on my friend's couch for like a month before I found a place to stay and more often than not after dinner us and her flatmate would have an erasure moment: belting out always at top volume and practicing a matching choreography.
Unknown said…
erasure, heck yeah!! wearing my black and 'mod' clothes with my short hair...oh early high school times!
Andrea said…
so... when can I come and visit? I must attend one of these amazing house parties :) Your outfit was adorable-- & spot on-- the headband, the crushed velvet, the lipstick (I do remember that). I love seeing your old photos-- you have not changed one bit! Might I add You've got some sexy gams there too Ms. Heather!!!
Violet Folklore said…
That's IT. I AM MOVING TO PLACERVILLE!!!!!!
Missa said…
THIS JUST SOUNDS AND LOOKS LIKE THE MOST FUN EVER!!!!!

I LOVE how into the theme everyone got, theme parties are the best, especially the ones that involve dancing. Milla is right, our next gathering must include dancing!

Also, I had a the red sister dress to your royal blue one back in those days, it was totally my power dress too! :D
polly compost said…
this makes me happy. eurasure and anything box are always welcome in my cd player and are on my felicity/merriment wedding dance party play list...i want your moves there.

Popular posts from this blog

pretty baby

"I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin..."

handmade homes take to the open road