Meet Rayna:
Rayna loves music. She is the lead singer of queer punk rock band The Creeps, has about a zillion instruments (including a banjo, like me! ask her to play Hard Ain’t It Hard if you ever run into her) and has a real sweet electro-pop solo album From the Nearby North under the name Little Lion. Oh, and she drives a motorcycle. Are you in love yet?
How Would You Describe Your Style?
“Dynamic and glitzy. Glam rock. Usually I wake up in the morning and figure out which gender I’m leaning toward. If masculine, I go for a ‘hipster that did too much acid in the early 90s and got stuck in this time warp’ look.”
“When I’m feeling feminine, I really turn the glitz on; lot’s of sparkly. Actually sparkly no matter what.”
Where do you shop the shop?
“Goodwill. Mostly I just thrift, but I also like Top Shop, I’m really glad that they came to the U.S. If I had dollar dollar billz I’d hire a personal clothing maker to sew my clothes right onto my body. or Marc Jacobs.”
Favorite piece of clothing?
“My leather jacket. I never had a jacket that I wear every single day. But this jacket, it’s like I found my one true love.”
Who are your fashion icons?
“The lead singer of The Gossip, Beth Ditto. She dresses really well when she’s not just naked. Which she is a lot.
Also David Bowie and Lily Meratta from my high school…she doesn’t know who I am, but yeah, she dressed well.”
Anything you think looks hot on other girls but you wouldn’t wear yourself?
“Definitely! Tons of stuff. Heels in general… stiletto boots. Garter belts. Anything from Chicos, actually. Like I would never wear Chicos right now, but I really appreciate people who do. And I know that one day I will. I will hit that golden point in my life and just go into Chicos and buy everything… it might also coincide with the day I become menopausal. Also, this may be stretching the definition of ‘style’ but I really envy the people who go around wearing butt plugs and just go about their day like everything’s totally normal. That’s hardcore.”
Let’s talk about your underwear.
“Okay. I never throw out underwear. I probably have like 75 pairs of underwear. I don’t really care that much about what my underwear looks like actually, because I feel like if they’re already ‘there’ they’re not gonna give up.”
And what about your hair?
“I love talking about my hair! I’m working on something new this semester. It’s a pompadour. It adds that roackabily effect to my glam. This is the first time I’ve had natural color hair since the 4th grade. I started off as a brunette but my mom really wanted a ‘blonde lady’ so until 8th grade as my natural hair got darker, I just made it lighter until I was like, a platinum blonde. Then I went though every color of the rainbow Manic Panic style. Then dreadlocks. Now just short and easy, and yeah, the pompadour.”
Earliest fashion memory?
“My mom used to dress me in a tuxedo all the time when I was like, 7 years old. And also I remember when I had the chicken pox I just ran around and put stickers all over my body. I guess that’s a pretty liberal interpretation of ‘fashion’ though.”
Favorite accessory?
“My tattoos! I have three.”
What do you think will be your next purchase?
“A black hoodie.
I’ve never had one because..I don’t know, I always just wanted cardigans. But I think it’s time.”
Flagging*
*So before I talked to Rayna, I always thought handkerchiefs in your back pocket were a cute and innocent accessory to rock in your jeans. So did Rayna, until she found out what they all meant. Read about about the handkerchief code here. Also, a quick breakdown of the code can be see below (in coloring book form!) created by erotic lesbian coloring book blogger, (and autostraddle reader) Rocket. If you haven’t seen her stuff already, you should definitely check it out at Illustrocity.
“One day I was just wearing a red bandanna in my back pocket, and this guy came up to me and was like ‘oh so you’re into anal fisting?’ I was really confused until I looked it up–see it’s a code. Each color, and the back pocket you wear it in, means something different…
My standard is red and white Gingham pattern (a.k.a the picnic table-cloth pattern). It basically means you want to have ‘park sex’ which makes sense for me because I really like the outdoors.”
For reals! It’s even an application on iphone you guys! I’m pretty sure we should all start flagging. Actually, remember Ericka? She just bought one with dinosaurs on it and we decided it meant you like to have prehistoric sex. So, look out for that one too. And look out for next Wednesday! For another fun-filled I’LL HAVE WHAT SHE’S WEARING!
There is this funky vintage and costume shop in here in Boystown called Beatnix that sells colored hankies/bandannas along with a xerox of what each color means. But there are like, 30+ colors there! You can tell the difference between yellow, gold, mustard, lemon, etc. when they are all sitting next to each other, but if you’re out, in a dim bar or club, I’m not sure you can. And some of the things they stand for are not things you’d like to be confused about!
But what I want to know is: where can one find argyle hankies? This is very important.
RAYNA GIRL! I have not seen you since a billion summers ago with Amelia, and now you are on my morning Autostraddle! What a pleasant surprise :) xo Kathryn
Wow, all the while I’m thinking colored (red, blue, black, gold) flags hanging out your back pockets meant you were “banging”. Well, I guess you still are just in a different sense.
*Goes off to search for a houndstooth flag*
If you could pick up a houndstooth hanky for me too that’d be great.
Wow. I had no clue about the flags. But I feel like they would be a really useful thing. Is there a color for “lookin for ladies” because my gay/otherwise-inclined-dar is really bad, and if I just knew the color to look for, I think there’s a good chance I might hit on a few less straight women. So help a sistah out!
And the hanky code graphic rocks!!!!
we should probably all agree on one type of “lookin for ladies” pattern here and now. Itll be better too because you can be like “omg you read autostraddle!?”
In fact I think someone should probably make an autostraddle patterned handkerchief.
This all right?
http://www.colourlovers.com/pattern/759179/Autostraddle
The spikes were supposed to be zigzags but their Flash thingo sucked :P
damn. this entire piece was full of awesome, but this particular part –
“I don’t really care that much about what my underwear looks like actually, because I feel like if they’re already ‘there’ they’re not gonna give up.”
is The Best.
re: flagging – i thought that was something only srs butch / femme or bdsm queers did. i feel kind of emboldened by rayna’s interpretation and want to figure out a way to let ppl know i want to have sex in a cabin by a lake. HMMMM…
also! <3 Rocket’s coloring pages 4evs xoxo
wait. i think it’s the canadian flag.
hahah laneia i <3 you.
I love Rayna’s style, and I love that she doesn’t care about her underwear, because she is JUST THAT FIERCE.
Omg flagging. I always see people with red ones in their back pockets! I highly doubt they know about this. I should approach them about fisting, hahah. Oh my.
Also, I just visited Rocket’s page.. how did I not see this sooner! Love.
oh queen rayna [get it? maybe that’s not how you pronounce your name so it’s not funny.] i dig your little dressy dress in the first picture.
i just want everyone to know that just because i like my black and white checkered bandana, it does not mean that i like having sex at nascar events. or doing anything at nascar events.
i’ll have you know that according to wikipedia a black and white checkered bandana means “safe sex e.g frottage, mutual masturbation, or strip tease in front of mirrors”.
frottage sounds like cottage cheese/fromage and i don’t want that anywhere near anything sexual.
i love all of your articles, becky! they are always so much funnnn
“Usually I wake up in the morning and figure out which gender I’m leaning toward.” Umm… I love Rayna!
As a side note, the HUGE scope of colors and codes intimidated me to the point where I abandoned ALL hankies for… well a while after doing that coloring page. It’s good to know there is an app out there for those of us who can’t quite remember what color means what.
Becky: Great article. Anyone who provides me with “hanky code” coloring sheets is a friend.
Rayna: You are clearly awesome. Everyone who’s awesome loves Beth Ditto, and you have sweet glasses. Some people just own their style, and you’re definitely one of those people.
This flag deal is so new to me!
better know your hanky code. before you go and shoot your load – Peaches
It’s lovely, reading about what inspires you Rayna. You’re such a stylish and confident young lady who is so open in sharing about everything under the sun – from your hair to your tattoo to your lingerie! I really hope you will succeed in whatever you do, because you can influence and inspire many people out there who have see you as a role model, as an inspiration for their future dreams.
I have been flagging for about a year and I have yet had anyone point it out. However, I thoroughly enjoy pointing out the meanings of various flags to straight bros just to watch their faces melt…and then they remove their bandannas. Or even better, they wear them proudly. It’s all fun!
i love all of your articles! they are always so much funnnny..buy womens shawls.