style her own: crystal lee/naked cowgirl (part two)

it was an impossible task for anyone, so indeed this is part two of style her own post for crystal lee,  & can you believe there is still so much more beauty, inspiration & creativity to last for days at her blog & flickr... every photo could be a film still, a gallery shot, a editorial, from life archives or a distant & enigmatic, mysterious relative that is still talked about with reverence & intrigue... from another time...please check out the first post here.

name, age & where are you living right now? 

Crystal Lee, 32, Long Beach, CA 
how are you today?
Happy. Any day I am alive and healthy, I try to be grateful. 

what was your 13 year old self wearing?I went through a lot of “fashion” phases at this age.  You’d often find me in some oddly paired clothing combinations like a 90s floral bandage dress with birkenstocks and socks (Yikes!) or some baggy pants with a body suit worn over a big padded bra and a Malcom X hat with a pony tail going through the hole in my cap. Probably the most adventurous outfit I wore was colorful dashiki pants set with a matching cap, bought by my dad, brought all the way from Africa on one of his mission trips. Also, I wore clothing from my mom’s closet and clothing ( often a flannel or an oversized skateboarding shirt) stolen from my boy friends.

what will your 50 year old self be wearing?

Only time will tell, but I hope something cheerful. 

how important is individual style to you?

Very important. Life is short and I want to be able to express myself in different ways.  Style is one very fun way to express my life philosophy. 

what inspires what you wear?

Most of the time, I’m inspired by an inner feeling of gaiety and an appreciation for life. 
I want my outfits to be upbeat. I want them to exude adventure, which is why I dress like a cowgirl a lot of the time, especially when I’m on a road trip. But I’m also inspired by fun stuff like vintage Versace and Moschino, vintage skate wear like Vision Street Wear & Jimmy Z, and then formidable types like cowgirls, tough chicks, The Teds, Kelly Bundy, Tracy Lords (Wanda Woodward)  in Crybaby. 

what items do you tend to continually replace in your wardrobe?

I guess shoes and socks because they get a lot of wear. I have so much vintage clothing so I don’t usually have to replace any wardrobe pieces. 

what are you obsessed with right now?

As far as clothing goes I’m obsessed with: suspenders, western bow ties, wool shorts, pop art prints, cigarette pants, turn of the century undergarments, mohair, 50s wiggle dresses and suits or vintage matching sets. As far as learning, living and loving goes, I’m obsessed with square dancing, flat foot dancing, taking film photos, listening to Steve Earle, talking walks and drinking wine in the evenings, hanging with my boyfriend, my niece & new nephew.