Frivolous Universe

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This morning I’ve been thinking about Bangkok, Mitt Romney, and how objects contain the mystery of their own reality.

Which is to say to a school of resurrected fish, we must apply our imaginations.

Sometimes it’s frightening. The Collected Stories, we say, as if a story could be plucked up like a Matchbox car or a coin purse carved from coconut.

It takes a great deal of time to engage a mystery on its own terms. We mainly spend our time on other things. We are surrounded by beings, wise in their own materials, but it’s hard to listen.

To tell a story straight is to apprehend the one thread pulled through the many. I feel like my whole life is one big amateur hour; how can anyone say they know who 47 percent of us are?

Follow this thread, we say.

Living requires insistence. Often we feel weakened from the start.

What is brightly lit can be apocryphal. We should try looking in the dim places, in the teakwood and in the lamplight.

We must enter the room at dusk. When we pad across the grain, we should not forget that we are part of it.

Photos by Vanessa Boots, Kim Philley, and Matthieu Brion

 

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Kim Philley, Frivolous Universe, FU, frivoulousuniverse.com, Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga eyes, La Dolorosa, Vanessa Boots, Lady Gaga The Born This Way Ball Bangkok 2012, Mexican, La Dolorosa, Copper Canyon, Rama thai, classical Thai dance, Vanessa Boots, Pedro, Rajamangala National Stadium, liquid eyeliner, shawl as dress, collar necklack, Asiatique, COLOR Vintage Clothing & Accessories, Phnom Penh, street style, Southeast Asian fashion

It’s not every day you get to see a woman who, when she lands in your city, creates her own seismic event. All day Friday Bangkok’s Sky Train rumbled with talk of “Gaga ka ka ka” and “Gaga krub.” (When speaking Thai, women add ka and men add krub as a polite particle to the end of questions and statements.)

Kim Philley, Frivolous Universe, FU, frivoulousuniverse.com, Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga eyes, La Dolorosa, Vanessa Boots, Lady Gaga The Born This Way Ball Bangkok 2012, Mexican, La Dolorosa, Copper Canyon, Rama thai, classical Thai dance, Vanessa Boots, Pedro, Rajamangala National Stadium, liquid eyeliner, shawl as dress, collar necklacke, Asiatique, COLOR Vintage Clothing & Accessories, Phnom Penh, street style, Southeast Asian fashion, black slip 100 baht, bronze earrings

As the Gaga-induced tremor made Bangkok kaaaaa and sway, there was a conspicuous increase in liquid eyeliner worn by men and women alike. And the ladyboys – oh the ladyboys! Some of Thailand’s infamous katoey wore the black faux-lace veils of Mexican mourning; others pasted rhinestones to their eyelids in anticipation of an evening audience with their patron saint. Because deep down — despite all their medicinal hormones and push-up bras — even the katoeys know they were born this way.

Kim Philley, Frivolous Universe, FU, frivoulousuniverse.com, Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga eyes, La Dolorosa, Vanessa Boots, Lady Gaga The Born This Way Ball Bangkok 2012, Mexican, La Dolorosa, Copper Canyon, Rama thai, classical Thai dance, Vanessa Boots, Pedro, Rajamangala National Stadium, liquid eyeliner, shawl as dress, collar necklacke, Asiatique, COLOR Vintage Clothing & Accessories, Phnom Penh, street style, Southeast Asian fashion, black slip 100 baht, bronze earrings

Photo courtesy of news.sky.com

Gaga’s Asian leg of the Born This Way Ball was met with protest in Manila and Jakarta. Death threats from a radical Islamic group went as far as to force her to cancel her upcoming June 3rd concert in Indonesia. And yet in Bangkok she was met with theatric, fashion-forward devotion. Thailand’s gliterati digerati buzzed for months prior to her arrival and a Thai über-fan outdid all of us by donning the full regalia of the Ram Thai — Thai classical dance — replete with a mega rhinestone glued to his / her gorgeous cheekbone and a hefty dose of feline eyeliner.

Kim Philley, Frivolous Universe, FU, frivoulousuniverse.com, Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga eyes, La Dolorosa, Vanessa Boots, Lady Gaga The Born This Way Ball Bangkok 2012, Mexican, La Dolorosa, Copper Canyon, Ram Thai, classical Thai dance, Vanessa Boots, Pedro, Rajamangala National Stadium, liquid eyeliner, shawl as dress, collar necklacke, Asiatique, COLOR Vintage Clothing & Accessories, Phnom Penh, street style, Southeast Asian fashion, black slip 100 baht, bronze earrings, feline eyeliner, Asiatique Bankok

When I stepped out onto the wooden floorboards of Rajamangala National Stadium at 8:00 PM the bass was hitting so hard I could feel it in my thyroid. Over 50,000 of us were gathered in one pulsing orb; thousands in the stadium seats held up neon-colored LED sticks and when I spun around to take it all in I felt like a flapping firefly amid a neon, urban Avatar.

Kim Philley, Frivolous Universe, FU, frivoulousuniverse.com, Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga eyes, La Dolorosa, Vanessa Boots, Lady Gaga The Born This Way Ball Bangkok 2012, Mexican, La Dolorosa, Copper Canyon, Ram Thai, classical Thai dance, Vanessa Boots, Pedro, Rajamangala National Stadium, liquid eyeliner, shawl as dress, collar necklacke, Asiatique, COLOR Vintage Clothing & Accessories, Phnom Penh, street style, Southeast Asian fashion, black slip 100 baht, bronze earrings, feline eyeliner, Asiatique Bankok

Aerial photo of Rajamangala National Stadium, Bangkok, 25 May 2012

Gaga herself, looking out at all of us, appeared equally impressed. “To all the drag queens, to all the ladyboys,” she cried, “thank you, Thailand, for showing us how it’s done!” Halfway through her three-jumbo-jets-required set, which included a giant animatronic head and three-storey Polly Pocket castle which opened up to reveal Rapunzel-hang-your-hair-extensions-down towers, Gaga paused: “There’s someone in the audience who really wants to hand me something,” she said. “Don’t worry, I’ll give it back. I just want to wear it while I sing my song.” Slowly, a golden crown of the Ram Thai was passed hand by hand up to the stage. Gaga held it over her head, twisting it from front to back, demurring that she wanted to make sure she positioned it “properly.” Finally — the Thais in the front row giving her the go head — she donned the classical crown. Then she straddled a keyboard-cum-motorcycle and proceeded to sing “Hair.”

Kim Philley, Frivolous Universe, FU, frivoulousuniverse.com, Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga eyes, La Dolorosa, Vanessa Boots, Lady Gaga The Born This Way Ball Bangkok 2012, Mexican, La Dolorosa, Copper Canyon, Ram Thai, classical Thai dance, Vanessa Boots, Pedro, Rajamangala National Stadium, liquid eyeliner, shawl as dress, collar necklacke, Asiatique, COLOR Vintage Clothing & Accessories, Phnom Penh, street style, Southeast Asian fashion, black slip 100 baht, bronze earrings, feline eyeliner, Asiatique Bangkok, motorcycle keyboard

Image courtesy of Thai Lakorn TV

I caught my breath. And no, it wasn’t the spectacle. I live in the Nana (read: sex) district of Bangkok, where a tranny blonde in a classical headdress riding a motorcycle could easily be our neighborhood mascot. It was the power radiating off this four-foot-eleven-inch woman, and the fact that is wasn’t narcissistic, vain, or the least bit self-consumed. Gaga absorbed the fanfare of an audience of 50,000 and tossed it back at us – talking about the importance of our freedom, her respect for us, and our connection to each other. At 26, she has already learned one of life’s intrinsic lessons: If you want to keep it, you have to give it away.

Kim Philley, Frivolous Universe, FU, frivoulousuniverse.com, Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga eyes, La Dolorosa, Vanessa Boots, Lady Gaga The Born This Way Ball Bangkok 2012, Mexican, La Dolorosa, Copper Canyon, Ram Thai, classical Thai dance, Vanessa Boots, Pedro, Rajamangala National Stadium, liquid eyeliner, shawl as dress, collar necklacke, Asiatique, COLOR Vintage Clothing & Accessories, Phnom Penh, street style, Southeast Asian fashion, black slip 100 baht, bronze earrings, feline eyeliner, Asiatique Bangkok, motorcycle keyboard

All of it — the haunted castle, the meat sofa, the massive Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade-sized woman’s abdomen with spread legs through which she gave birth to herself by way of a giant zipper — made me believe her when she said, “You dream about fame your entire life, your potential, but you really never know what’s on the other side of the door.”

Kim Philley, Frivolous Universe, FU, frivoulousuniverse.com, Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga eyes, La Dolorosa, Vanessa Boots, Lady Gaga The Born This Way Ball Bangkok 2012, Mexican, La Dolorosa, Copper Canyon, Ram Thai, classical Thai dance, Vanessa Boots, Pedro, Rajamangala National Stadium, liquid eyeliner, shawl as dress, collar necklacke, Asiatique, COLOR Vintage Clothing & Accessories, Phnom Penh, street style, Southeast Asian fashion, black slip 100 baht, bronze earrings, feline eyeliner, Asiatique Bangkok, motorcycle keyboard

Why do so many of us hew to such small dreams? Why are we afraid of our own power? What are we waiting for?

Kim Philley, Frivolous Universe, FU, frivoulousuniverse.com, Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga eyes, La Dolorosa, Vanessa Boots, Lady Gag Born This Way Ball Bangkok 2012 slip dress: Bangkok street stall for 100 baht ($3); woven shawl: Copper Canyon, Mexico; collar necklace: Asiatique The Riverfront (Bangkok); bronze earrings: COLOR Vintage Clothing & Accessories (Phnom Penh); tricolor metallic bracelet: gift from mom

Kim Philley, Frivolous Universe, FU, frivoulousuniverse.com, Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga eyes, La Dolorosa, Vanessa Boots, Lady Gaga The Born This Way Ball Bangkok 2012, Mexican, La Dolorosa, Copper Canyon, Ram Thai, classical Thai dance, Vanessa Boots, Pedro, Rajamangala National Stadium, liquid eyeliner, shawl as dress, collar necklacke, Asiatique, COLOR Vintage Clothing & Accessories, Phnom Penh, street style, Southeast Asian fashion, black slip 100 baht, bronze earrings, feline eyeliner, Asiatique Bangkok, motorcycle keyboard

Photography, styling, and Gaga eyes by Vanessa Boots

Kim Philley, Frivolous Universe, FU, frivoulousuniverse.com, Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga eyes, La Dolorosa, Vanessa Boots, Lady Gaga The Born This Way Ball Bangkok 2012, Mexican, La Dolorosa, Copper Canyon, Ram Thai, classical Thai dance, Vanessa Boots, Pedro, Rajamangala National Stadium, liquid eyeliner, shawl as dress, collar necklacke, Asiatique, COLOR Vintage Clothing & Accessories, Phnom Penh, street style, Southeast Asian fashion, black slip 100 baht, bronze earrings, feline eyeliner, Asiatique Bangkok, motorcycle keyboard

Image courtesy of Thai Lakorn TV

Kap khun ka for reading! I blog posthaste during my lunch hour, so if you notice any factual errors or would like me to take down a photo, please contact me at kimphilley@gmail.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Objects you can use to signal for help:

Kim Philley, Frivolous Universe, FU, http://http://www.frivolousuniverse.com/, Vanessa Boots, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, survival, how to survive adrift at sea, The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, AXARA Paris, silk dresses, soda water, Asia, street style, Southeast Asian fashion

aluminum can;

Kim Philley, Frivolous Universe, FU, http://http://www.frivolousuniverse.com/, Vanessa Boots, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, survival, how to survive adrift at sea, The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, AXARA Paris, silk dresses, soda water, Asia, street style, Southeast Asian fashion

sunglasses;

Kim Philley, Frivolous Universe, FU, http://http://www.frivolousuniverse.com/, Vanessa Boots, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, survival, how to survive adrift at sea, The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, AXARA Paris, silk dresses, soda water, Asia, street style, Southeast Asian fashion

metallic earrings;

Kim Philley, Frivolous Universe, FU, http://http://www.frivolousuniverse.com/, Vanessa Boots, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, survival, how to survive adrift at sea, The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, AXARA Paris, silk dresses, soda water, Asia, street style, Southeast Asian fashion

silk dress;

Kim Philley, Frivolous Universe, FU, http://http://www.frivolousuniverse.com/, Vanessa Boots, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, survival, how to survive adrift at sea, The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, AXARA Paris, silk dresses, soda water, Asia, street style, Southeast Asian fashion

vegetable peeler;

Kim Philley, Frivolous Universe, FU, http://http://www.frivolousuniverse.com/, Vanessa Boots, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, survival, how to survive adrift at sea, The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, AXARA Paris, silk dresses, soda water, Asia, street style, Southeast Asian fashion

votive glass;

Kim Philley, Frivolous Universe, FU, http://http://www.frivolousuniverse.com/, Vanessa Boots, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, survival, how to survive adrift at sea, The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, AXARA Paris, silk dresses, soda water, Asia, street style, Southeast Asian fashion

shiny onions;

Kim Philley, Frivolous Universe, FU, http://http://www.frivolousuniverse.com/, Vanessa Boots, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, survival, how to survive adrift at sea, The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, AXARA Paris, silk dresses, soda water, Asia, street style, Southeast Asian fashion

your shoulder;

Kim Philley, Frivolous Universe, FU, http://http://www.frivolousuniverse.com/, Vanessa Boots, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, survival, how to survive adrift at sea, The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, AXARA Paris, silk dresses, soda water, Asia, street style, Southeast Asian fashion, Chanel powder compacts

a Chanel pressed-powder compact.

 

 

Massive metallic earrings: COLOR Vintage Clothing & Accessories, Phnom Penh; checkered shirt: eye-ful (gift from Vanessa Boots); hi-so sunglasses: GADHYPE, Terminal 21 Bangkok; gold ring: 1970’s Bangkok vintage (gift from my mom); black capris: “the Liberty” by AG Jeans (Adriano Goldschmied); blue-leather wedge sandals: custom-made at mosstories, Terminal 21 Bangkok; vintage Thai silk shirt: God-knows-where (gift from Vanessa Boots); Grecian silk dress: AXARA Paris; Chanel Radiance Powder Compact.

 

NOTE: If you’ve been wondering what the heck I’ve been blogging about with my incessant mentions of Terminal 21, check out today’s article from The New York Times T Magazine, “Bangkok Rising” by Pankaj Mishra, which traverses Thai history, politics, and, above all, shopping.

 

 

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