Hi everyone. I'm back online. I wonder if I am ever going to start an article that doesn’t reference my writer’s block. If you thought I had it last time, you should have seen me over the past few weeks (months). Now that Lila actually lives just up a staircase from me and can nag me about writing, hopefully this won’t happen again… too many times. But I was saved by a celebrity on the rise who I have not been able to take my eyes off of. Some may say that is the best type of saving.
Back in my too-cool-for-anything days, when I was only listening to Lou Reed and reading non-fiction, I was so anti-celebrity. Don’t get me wrong, I was still consuming pop culture like nobody’s business, but the concept of celebrity was something I thought was so stupid. In a lot of ways I still do and if you want to have an academic conversation about it, let’s chat. But I took it so seriously. I took everything so seriously. It is an unfortunate symptom of being 15-17 years old. I thought it was ridiculously un-cool to fawn over someone, especially when the whole basis for it was just the fact that they were known. I hated the Kardashians, Real Housewives, and anything and everything Tiktok.
But then I grew up a bit and funny enough became a little bit more immature. In other words, I learned that not everything has to be so earnest and to have more fun with life. Perhaps going through a global pandemic had something to do with it. It taught me, and hopefully a lot of other people, that life can literally be turned upside down at any given moment so why get so caught up in the small stuff? Just take things as they are and roll with it. Some may say that this is actually a coping mechanism for dealing with really large issues, but if it is, then so be it.
So I started watching the Kardashians, Real Housewives, and I downloaded TikTok. And guess what? My life got more fun. In fact, once I got to college, I learned that celebrity and pop culture can be intellectualized in a very positive way. That is why I am a freaking Sociology major. Pop-culture and “meaningless” celebrities can be a way to measure where we are culturally and how figures of this culture represent it based on the context of what has come before and what is to come. It is fascinating! This shift in mindset is also what allowed me to seriously consider fashion. My whole life, it was a way for me to think about myself and the world, but it was never something that could be turned into a career – way too frivolous. But it was classes like sociology, and if I’m being honest, Tiktok, that showed me how fashion can be more than just a meaningless hobby.
All of this to say, I finally got over myself and can confidently proclaim my love for Addison Rae. She is doing it like no other. When she started on TikTok with her Renegade dance, I thought she was the dumbest person alive. I didn’t want to know anything about her and when a guy friend just had to mention how attractive she was, I couldn’t help but scoff and point my finger in my mouth with my tongue sticking out. How come she was all that just from some silly little dance that even my most discombobulated friend could learn? I was bothered to no end. I saw her start to hang out with Kourtney Kardashian. Then she befriended Charli XCX and was coming out with a song with her that my two best friends were just brimming with excitement for. Then she started getting attention from magazines like Paper and Interview. Then I saw her street style and I learned that all hate is self-hate.
Why did she bother me so much? Was I actually just supremely jealous? This is a girl from a small town in Louisiana who was just doing what she could to collect her flowers after getting cut from a dance team. Couldn’t I just support her and have some fun? So I abandoned my ego and her recent appearances have not made it very hard. As previously mentioned, she is bringing back the joys of paparazzi photos – candy colored micro-cut-off-shorts, platform flip-flops, oversized messenger hats, and t-shirts that say things like “dump him” galore. Not to mention what she wore to the VMA’s. I was floored. A unique bra and panties ensemble paired with a tulle bustle and feathers designed by Miss Claire Sullivan. The look was ballerina meets showgirl -- true pop diva behavior. She is offering us a refreshing sense of fun and femininity that is sexual, light, and yet still for the girls. I mean, did you see her sport a Jean Paul Gaultier bullet bra? Talk about 2 die 4. Her courage is rewarded. One can’t help but wonder if she just listens to her possy/team (which includes Dara Allen and Alex Consani, to name a few) and wears what they tell her to, or if she got to the top and now has access to every archival piece of fashion and can live out her taste to the fullest. I would like to think it is the latter because she feels so authentic. Only someone who is truly secure in themselves could pull off a music video like “Diet Pepsi.”
She is representing pop culture in all of its forms in a way that feels reminiscent of Y2K. She is trashy, she wears Vivienne Westwood lace up boots to pilates, and runs from the paps with a lollipop in her mouth. I mean COME ON. While Charlie D’Amelio and her crew stick to their vanilla brand partnerships and athleisure choices, Addison Rae is out here living on the edge in her Dior headband. Who knew TikTok could be so thrilling? I haven’t felt this kind of energy from anyone since Britney Spears. Just like Gaga, there are rumors that she leaks her own songs. Iconique. She really is our pop princess that has been missing from the culture for far too long. And I have to admit, it’s because she doesn’t take herself too seriously. She has fun and sticks to her shining personality. I honestly think we all have something to learn from her. So please, join me in celebrating tonight, October 24th, by listening to her new song, “Aquamarine.” It is going to be just fabulous.
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