One day when I was in high school, I wore a tutu on my head to class. I was following an impulse for drama. What I really wanted was widows' weeds, especially those voluminous black nets that wealthy women in the 19th century would wear when a loved one died. I'd read Edward Gorey and fallen in love with the visual world of his books-a pastiche of the Victorian and Edwardian eras and the Jazz Age. In Gorey's drawings, there was sometimes a woman sketched in long, elegant lines, surrounded by a fury of black veils, about to take part in some obscure, absurdist pantomime with an imaginary animal. I was enchanted.
But widows' weeds are not easily purchased, and with the confident logic of adolescence, it seemed the black tulle tutu I had saved up to buy from Urban Outfitters would be just as good. I was convinced no one would be able to tell the difference. I remember the supreme satisfaction of carefully positioning it on my forehead so the rolls of fabric framed my face in a way that seemed infinitely intriguing. It felt so completely right that it was obvious. Surely everyone would look at this style and understand its magnificence.
My high school was a home for eccentrics; the joke was that the only rule on campus was you weren't allowed to roller-skate in the halls. When I was there, some of my classmates got the cops called on them for fighting with swords from fencing class in front of the school, and the student lounge was stocked with a giant fishbowl full of condoms and cigarettes. It was a holding pen for teenagers too strange for the other prep schools in town and the half-forgotten offspring of diplomats and former noblemen.
This story is from the February 2023 edition of Harper's BAZAAR - US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the February 2023 edition of Harper's BAZAAR - US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
ALL Aboard
LUXURY TRAINS offer a uniquely NOSTALGIC way to SLOW DOWN and ENJOY the RIDE
Keep It MOVING
COMMUTER-CORE has become more than a VIRAL TREND, as designers meet the NEEDS of our BACK-to-OFFICE lifestyles
MEMENTO Mori
JEWELRY can be deeply PERSONAL. LEAH CHERNIKOFF reflects on a NECKLACE that represents LIFE and LOSS.
IN CONVERSATION - JESSICA LANGE and PAULA VOGEL
Actor JESSICA LANGE and playwright PAULA VOGEL on their new BROADWAY PRODUCTION, MOTHER PLAY, creating and portraying COMPLICATED WOMEN, and the FUTURE of THEATER
What PADMA Wants
After almost two decades of TOP CHEF, the beloved HOST and cookbook AUTHOR is figuring out WHAT COMES NEXT
The AUDACITY of LORRAINE O'GRADY
At 89, the eternally PUNK-ROCK PERFORMANCE and CONCEPTUAL ARTIST still gets a kick out of CRASHING art-world parties. Only now she's the GUEST of HONOR.
REGINA'S Resolve
REGINA KING on LEARNING to LIVE with LOSS, the LEGACY of SHIRLEY CHISHOLM, and finding a WAY FORWARD
GUIDO Palau
Over the past three decades, GUIDO PALAU has SHAPED how the WORLD perceives HAIR, with his STYLES seen at Givenchy (1) and Valentino (4), among so many others. Now he's bringing ZARA HAIR to life. Here, the renowned artist lets us in on his CREATIVE PROCESS.
CAVE Dwelling
Accommodations nestled in natural or man-made GROTTOES provide an UNFORGETTABLE ESCAPE
What WOMEN Want
BEFORE THERE WAS \"quiet luxury,\" there was Donna Karan.