Many things were impressed upon me by Just Kids, but one that is relevant here is Patti and Robert’s sartorial choices. The way that their clothing choices figure into their incredibly creative lives is comforting, thrilling, and (to use possibly the worst word ever) inspiring to me. I especially enjoy that Patti has names for her various costumes:
“I was dressed in my Song of the South getup- straw hat, Brer Rabbit jacket, work boots and pegged pants…”
“I approached dressing like an extra preparing for a shot in a French New Wave film. I had a few looks, such as a striped boatneck shirt and a red throat scarf, like Yves Montand in Wages of Fear, a left bank beatnik look with green tights and red ballet slippers, or my take on Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face, with her long black sweater, black tights, white socks and black Capezios…
Robert approached dressing like living art…Waiting as Robert decided on the right number of keys to hang on his belt loop was humorously maddening.”
(p.141, 118)
I love the way that Patti and Robert connect their possessions and clothing to the events in their life, recalling fondly which outfits they chose to wear to which events and the significance they held; naming a cherished fedora “the anniversary hat”, or dubbing one evening “the night of the shoes” when Robert found a pair of alligator shoes under a streetlamp. I’ve always felt a vague sense of guilt about my attachment to my possessions, however worthless they are, and Patti has inspired me to not only give up that guilt, but to consciously cultivate that tendency as a way of making life into art.
Photos from here, here, here, here, here, and here. Quotes from Patti Smith’s beautiful book Just Kids.
