Can I hate Katy Perry?

     I’m a big fan of vintage, particularly 50s silhouettes, so of course I own one obligatory black-with-red-cherries-a-line dress with crinolines from the thrift store. I know it is cliché, but I heart it none the less. It’s a flattering style for my shape (short but very curvy) and it gives me an excuse to color-match one of my several pairs of red shoes. Imagine my horror when, upon donning a cute outfit centered around said dress, my friend who I rent a room to informs me I look “just like Katy Perry” with a happy smile on his big, gay face. He has a soft spot for what I find often unbearable pop divas and apparently Perry is high on his “girls I would date were I not disgusted by vagina” list. I desperately, with a tinge of alt-angst, tried to explain to him that I was channeling a 60-year-old style via modern rockabilly/goth/vintage-inspired sensibilities with my own individual label-free spin. I went into a litany of fashion references explaining the evolution of this look throughout decades of pop culture. His response, before he calmly swiveled back to his keyboard, was “Well, you’re still dressed like Katy Perry.”

I’ve always been a proponent of “wear it if you like it, even if it becomes popular.” Most likely someday it will be out of fashion again and you’ll STILL be rocking it. At the worst it will stay popular and you can snottily tell yourself “I did it first!” Just don’t tell other people – it makes you look like a douche. For instance, heavy eyeliner made a big come back a couple of years ago and I would never THINK of abandoning what I lovingly call my liquid crack (usually Urban Decay liquid liner in Perversion). That said, I couldn’t shake the idea from my head that a) my style (which I often think of as futuristic-vintage, juxtaposing more techy influences like sci-fi, anime, comic books, rave and cyber fashion with more traditional 50s-80s and trad goth/rock influences) has many similarities with Ms. Perry, b) a whole generation of teens and 20-some things are giving credit to KP for 50’s and pin-up inspired fashion with zero knowledge of where those influences come from. After doing a little research via the almighty Google I discovered that *extra gasp* she also seems to like East and South Asian-inspired fashions like myself as well (Chinese style cheongsam dresses, Indian style nose rings with a chain to the ear, parasols). Oh no!

Then a horrifying thought dawned on me – maybe Katy Perry IS alternatively styled, no pretenses, no fashion coordinator forcing it on her. Maybe it’s not a gimmick for attention or to capitalize on underground trends. Maybe she genuinely likes this stuff and it is just a happy accident that pop culture is embracing it. I looked through dozens of photos of her from events, award shows, and candid shots those irritating paparazzi snapped while she is getting out of her car or trying to buy some tampons. She ALWAYS seems to be sporting elements of alt style and many of her outfits, aside from things worn on stage to perform, don’t seem like costumes (a la Lady Gaga – but that’s a whole ‘nother article). Maybe I can’t blame her for popularizing a modern take on vintage looks anymore than I could blame Marilyn Manson for starting that AWFUL trend of mall Goths in the 90’s. Is it a musician/actors place to defend or explain their style anymore than average Josephine on the street? Should we judge their look as a publicity-stunt without knowing them, their background or personal habits? Is it their responsibility to teach others the history and influences leading up to their look? Or is it on the everyday people who watch, draw influence from or (sadly) mimic them to look into the meaning/background/socio-cultural ramifications of the style themselves instead of blindly judging or copying it? Katy Perry leading to deep, philosophical thought about alternative fashion. Who knew? Now if only her MUSIC could do that…