Things I Learned at the Pop Culture Conference

A couple weeks ago I attended the national conference for the Pop Culture Association & American Culture Association. I had submitted a paper to them on a whim-- the conference was in Seattle so why not? I picked my paper on the Hemline Index (the idea that skirts get shorter when the economy is good and longer when it is bad) which I wrote in grad school and have revised a few times. It was accepted, so I gamely looked forward to attending this conference for an organization I otherwise knew nothing about.

With such a broad range of subjects encompassed by "pop culture" and "American culture" most of the sessions didn't relate much to what I do. Some of the topics were pretty niche, but amazing that people are studying this stuff at an academic level. I had a great time just picking things that sounded interesting and learning some weird stuff.

When I went to my first talk I was also trying to get a sense of the typical presentation style. It turned out to be a tough one to start with because speaker didn't use any notes (impressive!) but then it quickly became clear that his talk was...kinda bad. There was maybe a thesis in there somewhere, but mostly it seemed like he just really wanted to tell us about his favorite sketch comedy show and what all the actors have done since then. He also had this to say about a woman on the show:

"She played a range of female characters, from the attractive to the unattractive"

Wow! The prize for the most sexist comment went to the first presenter in the first session! What are the odds!?!

Another head-scratcher was a scholar who was "transitioning" from a retail career to academia, and the presentation was basically just him gushing about how amazing the flagship Ralph Lauren store is. He was an engaging and confident presenter but...what?!

Now, you didn't hear this from me, but I've heard some whispers in the fashion historian community that Ralph Lauren ALLEGEDLY copies a lot of his designs. So I internally giggled when the presenter told a story about how Ralph fell in love with a staircase in a European mansion and requested to recreate it in his store. I wrote down the following quote:

"Can I make an exact replica?" -- Ralph Lauren

One talk that DID relate to my job was about the 1962 World's Fair in Seattle. All four presenters were not from the area, so I was VERY intrigued to know how people outside Seattle talk about the fair.  I learned a lot, but my favorite tidbit had to be the fact that the New York Public Library has, in its collection on the 1964/65 New York fair, three whole boxes of documents on the Seattle fair. There was a big rivalry between the two because it was two U.S. fairs in a short period of time, and Seattle had won the official endorsement from the Bureau of International Expositions. The papers document all the drama and the New York committee's plans to go "into enemy territory" by visiting the Seattle fair and plotting to make theirs better. Since the Seattle fair was first, had the official BIE endorsement, and was a financial success, the Seattle committee was basically like:

One really fun session was given by a woman who studies wedding-themed reality television. She actually wrote her PhD thesis on the subject. I mean, sometimes it feels like binge-watching Say Yes To The Dress makes me dumber, but this woman is like I WATCHED SO MUCH SYTTD I NOW HAVE A PHD.

So she is basically my new hero. 

My favorite –polis is Indianapolis

This last week I was in Indianapolis for my college roommate’s wedding. I went a few days early to hang out with her and another college friend and we spent pretty much the whole time talking, eating, and drinking. All three activities were off the charts awesome. I have to say, I was looking forward to Indiana food—thinking it would be all Chinese buffets and mayonnaise macaroni salad. Instead, roommate and her fiancé took us to every hip spot in the city and we dined like cosmopolitan foodies. I had brussels sprouts and goat cheese in a crepe at a Belgian restaurant, cheese and charcuterie at a deli that sold quince paste, a turkey burger with arugula and caramelized onions, and drank several kinds of local craft beer. The only buffet we went to was all-vegetarian Indian food. I was just about ready to move when we passed a neighborhood of beautiful old Victorian houses and my roommate remarked that they were “very expensive” and started at as much as $500,000. 

Me, thinking about tiny $550,000 condos next door in Seattle

On Friday I moved into a hotel room and that too, was awesome. There is nothing quite like checking into a nice hotel to make you feel like an adult. After rolling around on the multi-pillowed king-size bed, I decided to go out and explore. The hotel was literally across the street from two museums on my must-see list, which means I was in vacation heaven. One was the Eiteljorg museum of American Indians and Western Art, and the other the Indiana State Museum.  The latter had a touring exhibit titled American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition, which I had to check out because the next stop is little ol’ MOHAI. I walked through with 100 screaming school children, and tried very hard to be delighted by how much they were enjoying the exhibit rather than grumpy and wishing they would DIAL IT DOWN A FEW NOTCHES. But overall I really liked it and look forward to it coming to Seattle. I think I can do better dressing the mannequins though...

(The 20s ideal may have been lean and columnar, but women did not actually defy biology and turn into shapeless poles)

To be fair, I also don't know how to keep male Dorfman forms from leaning

Saturday was wedding day, and I ended up as a last-minute bridesmaid because the regularly scheduled bridesmaid was stuck in Australia. She is from there, had gone for a short trip, and had lost her wallet and her green card and couldn’t get the appropriate paperwork to return on time. It was a sucky situation and I know the bride and the groom really missed having her there. But I was happy to step in, get fancy hair, wear a borrowed dress, and clutch a bouquet in front a bunch of people. 

Trying my hand at this whole "selfie" thing the kids are talking about

It was a Catholic wedding, which was a new experience for me. Sometimes something familiar would happen and I’d be like “Ooh! Ooh! I know this one!” and then I’d say some response out loud and it would be totally different that what everyone else was saying and be like, “Nope, guess not.”

#AWKWARD EPISCOPALIAN

Fortunately I didn't ruin the wedding, everything was beautiful, and the reception was at a German restaurant so there were heaping plates of sauerkraut for everyone. Win-win-win. 

Kansas Adventures

Just after Christmas my parents and I jetted off to Kansas for my cousin Laura's wedding. Before I left, I had more than one conversation like this:

Co-worker: Doing anything fun over the holidays?
Me: I'm going to my cousin's wedding
Co-worker: Ooh, like a destination wedding?
Me: Sort of...
Co-worker: Someplace warm?
Me: Kansas?
Co-worker: Oh. [looks at me with pity]

Actual view from hotel window

But Kansas was actually fun times. First off, there were lots of things that you don't see in Seattle.

Second, the food was amazing. Things that I maybe shouldn't be eating every week, but fantastic "I'm on vacation so yes I want 'salad' that is covered in mayonnaise" comfort food. It seemed like more than half the meals were buffets, including a breakfast buffet with endless cinnamon roles, and a Sunday brunch at a retirement home which had literally 15 choices of pie. On the last night we were desperate for something a little "lighter" and ended up at Applebees. Applebees. Truth be told, part of the reason was that we were also in the mood for some alcohol, and it was Sunday in a nearly dry county and it appeared that Applebees was the only heathen spot that would serve. If you know my parents, you will be as delighted as I was to imagine them at Applebees with margaritas in hand. 

Proof that it happened

You know what else was great about Kansas? The shopping. One afternoon we decided to wander around downtown Newton and found all kinds of great stuff. We walked into a thrift shop and I immediately gravitated toward this vintage purse:

Oh, but I don't need that, I told myself. What would I do with it? Would I ever use it? Well...how much is it?

[checks price tag]

$2

$2!!!

Then we went to a Christian bookstore, and I got to revel in the massive Amish romance novel section. 

...and snicker at the outfits on the covers of the historical novels.

These dresses brought to you by Bob's Discount Halloween Hut of Horrors

We also went to The Kauffman Museum, which had a bunch of Mennonite heritage stuff. My favorite thing was this picture of two women at the Mennonite World Conference in 1967, showing how diverse Mennonite style can be...

Speaking of fabulous Mennonite women, on the last day we visited my Mom's aunt Laura. Laura is my grandmother's youngest sister and stayed unmarried until she was 45. When my Mother was growing up, Laura was working at a shop in the nearest town, living in her own place, socializing with the other single ladies of Glasgow, and decorating her apartment and buying gifts for her nieces and nephews with her sweet disposable income. Today, she is a lively woman in her 80s whose apartment is still better decorated than I fear mine will ever be. She also produced the #1 best quote from the whole weekend. When asked what she was looking forward to in the new year, she thought for a moment, and then said:

"I'm looking forward to going out to eat."

GIRL. YES. I feel that. 

I was back in Seattle in time for New Year's Eve, and attended a party where we decorated shirts with puff paint. Olivia decided to immortalize great-aunt Laura's words. 

Happy New Year! May your vintage finds be cheap, and may all your gastronomic dreams come true!

SYTTD Wichita Edition

Last weekend I was in Kansas helping my cousin Laura find a wedding dress. Laura and I are close in age, both only children, and visited each other a lot growing up--so she is the nearest thing I have to a sister. When I called to congratulate her on the engagement I blurted out, "When are you going shopping for your wedding dress and can I come?" Knowing that I can be kind of an exhausting and intense person, I was pleasantly surprised when she replied, "That would be so helpful! Would you?"

Awesome. All this Say Yes to the Dress watching was finally going to pay off!

We went to four bridal salons, three of which were great, one of which was a total bust. The latter seemed promising because their website advertised dresses in our price range and what seemed like a pretty big selection. But actually the selection was small, most dresses were surprisingly expensive, and an overall feeling of grimness seemed to pervade the shop. In retrospect, my first clue should have been the fact that one of the photos on the website was literally a picture of a teenager texting while wearing a hideously garish prom gown.

This photo sums up our enthusiasm for the store

At the last shop I got really excited because they had a PNINA TORNAI KNOCK-OFF GOWN COMPLETE WITH SLUTTY MESH BODICE.

My cousin, who for some strange reason wanted to keep her midsection covered while getting married in a church in front of her family and friends, did not try it on. I texted Olivia the photo and she asked, "Well why didn't you try it on?"

And at that moment I realized that not doing so would be among my life's greatest regrets.

My other greatest regret from the trip was that David's Bridal didn't try to hard sell us one of their "gown preservation kits," (which we saw them attempting to push on other people). My take down of that B.S. would have been EPIC. Here is how I imagined it:

1) No actual conservator would "preserve" a dress by pumping it with chemicals and then cramming it into a little box.

2) I have actually had the experience of opening a wedding dress that had been "preserved" in a box in the 1950s and it was horribly wrinkled, and reeked of chemicals so strongly that we couldn't be in the same room with it. Also, newsflash, the company that had guaranteed it for 50 years was long out of business. So good luck with that.

3) Skip the bug treatment. No bug wants your 100% polyester wedding dress.

4) In your advertisement you mention "museum quality" muslin. Hmm interesting. There is another name for that. It is called REGULAR MUSLIN.