Frivolous Universe

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Tag "Kim Philley"

The dog days of summer are upon us, and I’ve been feeling the yen for a little frivolity in my universe. I started by donning this Toucan riot of a dress and swilling Topo Chico, my favorite new fizzy water. I took my sideshow to the playground, where the boys of summer didn’t once look up from their game of pick-up. If there’s one thing I respect more and more as I grow older, it’s an attention span.

Kim Philley

I caught the sun and spun helicopter seeds. This vintage beaded necklace is my favorite piece of jewelry I own, besides my wedding ring. My mother brought it back from Borneo in the 1970s, and it has yet to lose a bead.

Kim Philley

A lens flare off green bottle glass? You can’t plan for that. I take it as it comes, much like this year. In the past seven months I’ve been hospitalized for severe dengue fever, geographically separated from my husband, moved six times, written a half dozen new songs I’m truly proud of, and have been consumed by obsessive relationships with a 1938 Gibson, a Yamaha, and a Samick Greg Bennett Blackbird. I’ve experienced mortal artistic terror twice in the past week. The kind where your hands turn into Gummi Bears as you’re playing guitar in front of a largish festival crowd. Thankfully, my voice is unwavering.

Kim Philley

The winged earrings, made of oxidized sterling silver, are inspired by the Owyhee wilderness of southern Idaho. I head for the Owyhees when I need to clear my head, and, no, I am not playing Pokémon Go. Melissa Osgood of Yellow M Studios in Boise is one inspired jewelry designer. Her tagline is “Jewelry for YOU — the curious — the innovator — the experimenter — the wanderer.” Sounds right on to me. Better yet, her feather-light rings are a guitar picker’s friend.

Kim Philley, Melissa Osgood jewelry, yellow.com

Speaking of friends, one of my favorite Lithuanians is working for a delectable food-delivered-to-your-doorstep company called Degustabox. Degustabox is already going gangbusters in Europe, but has recently launched in the U.S. I consider myself gastro-lucky to have received a sample shipment of their food swag, which includes 10 to 15 wholesome surprise products, shipped to your doorstep each month. As a lifelong fizzy water addict, my favorite grab from this month’s box was their Topo Chico Mineral Water. Topo Chico has been bottled at its source in Mexico since 1895, and their Twist of Lime is infused with lime essential oils, with narry a suspicious *natural* flavor. It’s the best fizzy I’ve ever tasted, and, again, those parrot-green lens flares!

Kim Philley, J. Crew

True confession: I am no Imelda Marcos. I own six pairs of shoes, and half of them are cowboy boots. But these J.Crew leopard wedges were on sale for 25 bucks. When the sirens of summer are singing your name, why resist?

Kim Philley, J. Crew, leopard wedge, shoes

Photography is how I unwind, but sometimes it’s fun to play artistic director. All photos are by my husband and talented collaborator, Ned Evett, who indulges my penchant for juxtaposed patterns and textures–in songwriting and in life.

Kim Philley, Music Box

As soon as we were done playing hooky on the playground, we headed back to work. We walked across the street to the Boise Bomb Shelter, where I hit the subterranean bathroom to shimmy out of my dress and into a work t-shirt and leggings. It was time to plug into our Vox amp and run set lists for our Wednesday, July 20th, Music Box show at Highland Brewery in Boise. What do I like most about the dog days of summer? Probably this guy:

Kim Philley, dog days of summer
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All winter I ruminated on the past like a dog rolling over in something dead.

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Tentative mountains springs teach us that there is a boundary zone between the old life and the new. Snow clings on peaks. Lupine blossoms in the sage when it’s still cold enough for fox fur.

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In a sage forest the witch casts her spell.

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That some people will die before we can see where they came from.

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April in Hailey, Idaho. You can rock in the red chair on the front porch of the house Ezra Pound was born in.

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The Parallel is an imaginary line, invoked by signage. On one side we are closer to Helsinki, on the other side, Kuala Lumpur.

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In May we test the mountain roads. They are almost passable.

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And spring arrives like a Cymbalta ad, full of hyperbolic promises.

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turquoise sweatshirt: James Perse; teal green jeans: Russian Market, Phnom Penh; wool hat: Calvin Klein; Thai silk top: vintage; turtle amulet: Amulet Market, Bangkok; black cargo pants: Paige; black coat: Made in the Ukraine; Spanish riding boots: Frye; fox fur collared coat: charity shop, London

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Screen shot from lat34north.com:

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Photography: Ned Evett

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The FU Manchu ladies are back after a long winter’s nap! For three months we’ve been pigging on polenta fries and popping tags like Macklemore. But if you think not having a pot to piss in means looking bargain basement, think again.

Check out our YouTube for a peek at coming distractions from FU.

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Nothing beats a tea party to cure me of a bad case of March ides. For this shoot I grabbed two bolts of my best Balinese batik and headed out to Eagle, Idaho, to meet Ms. Kelly Lynae on her favorite horse ranch.

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And I’ll be damned if that girl doesn’t know her way around a safety pin! Kelly took my vintage batik swathes, procured from a tiny shop in Ubud, Bali, and swaddled the two of us in torqued elegance. I cast my bra aside because it’s April and time to let the minimalist fashion games begin.

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This was the moment I decided to hell with scarves. I transformed the natty red scarf I’d been tortoising around all winter into a plunging halter top. Kelly styled me in thrift store belt and then we tried our hand at interpretive dance.

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Why? Because we live in Idaho. Because I don’t own a TV or a salad spinner and most everything in the great Gem State, including entertainment, is DIY.

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And here are the lessons I took from the long, harsh winter:

1) You will fail along the way to creating something new.

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2) What other people think of you is none of your business.

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3) Do what you love every day. The secret to any great performance, after all, is muscle memory.

 

vintage Indonesian batik from Ubud, Bali; cotton scarf-cum-halter: India; 100-year-old Turkmen necklace: Armor Bijoux

Photography by Kelly Lynae

Videography by Ned Evett

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