Tuesday, March 31, 2009

wild & free


















9 comments:

Jules said...

Love the first picture,and the other which is on the desert?!=)
Love them all.;D
Amazing photos.

Unknown said...

Oh those are such a lovely photos..;D
Great post.;D

Kitty Stampede said...

I love all things Native America...I found out in the last few years my great, great grandmother was native...it was so cool to find out, however I don't look native at all (red hair, blue eyes) I am attracted to all things native...what a lovely post! Great blog!!!

Alice X said...

OOO i love the picture of angela lindvall.

alicexinwonderland.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

beautiful pictures. is the first one a painting? if so, who's it by? thanks x

Anonymous said...

all terribly racist... if I could, I’d wear tight spandex bicyclist pants, suit jacket, have money comin’ out the pockets, be blind with a stick, have toilet paper with shit on it trailing (ceremonially of course) from the spandex pants, an arrow shirt, those stupid clicky bike shoes made up like cowboy boots, etc.
you couldn’t feel the sting, the inappropriateness, the sheer ignorance. To experience racism, you can’t be white.
I’m sending this cause I know it won’t make it on your precocious blog, just wanted you to question your admiration and ignorance at the transgression it really is to dress up like Native Americans. Try dressing up like a black american or asian american for style or haloween... then go clubbin.

regina mandell said...

@anonymous
If you really had something to say and cared to make a statement that you wanted to be seen or heard you should begin by writing in complete sentences instead of coming off like a ranting idiot. You would probably be taken more seriously if you didn't hide by your anonymity as well. As far as this being racist and us being white, you don't know us or our ethnic backgrounds so what's your point? Fashion throughout history and across the world has always taken influences from other tribes, cultures, races and nations. Our blog, as precocious as it may sometimes be, is simply a collection of inspirational images and things we like. If it's not your thing, stop looking at it or start your own blog. We are not for profit or endorsing products, it isn't a political platform and we aren't attacking people anonymously.
But hey, thanks for those ideas for "haloween"!

Anonymous said...

Frankly, you may not like hearing that, but it's actually pretty much true. You have not lived till you see a window display in a mall with kids dressed like "natives" and war whooping. or seen a shirt in PACSUN with the phrase "Native Heart" a la native patterns all over it. Maybe to you that comment (and this one might for that matter)may sound thoughtless and like a rant, but this "native" style is pretty embarrassing. And even if we don't look at this blog, people dress like this all the time, and anonymous was totally right about the Halloween thing, maybe it sounds stupid to you, but put aside your fashion preference and just accept that it's disrespectful, I'm Native and a lot of those pictures don't really bother me, but come on! A headdress? I think a person has a right to find this a bit disrespectful, just like you have a right to ignore said persons comment. And yes I agree, they don't know your ethical background, but does that mean they have to just accept something that they feel offend theirs?

regina mandell said...

This is response to "Anonymous #2". I can't help but wonder why you, or people in general, who have opposing commentary choose or hide behind anonymity? We always welcome hearing varying opinion and strongly agree that everyone has a right to that. But regarding Anonymous #1, that person was writing in run-on sentences, littered with misspelling and really not driving a point home. They didn't even spell Halloween correctly and that was the reason why it was mentioned in the response, not because it "sounds stupid". How is a message like that supposed to be taken seriously by anyone?

As said in my previous response, Come Spy WIth Me is NOT a political blog (though with this post it seems to be turning in to one), we do not sell or endorse products and we post most of our collections of photographs very simply as a source of inspiration. This post was published as a small collection of inspirational fashion snapshots. Native American traditional dress and adornment has influenced fashion since the first European settlers came to this country and yes, it continues to this day. Sometimes by artistic and creative individuals perhaps crafting feather earrings or hand tooled leather in their personal studios and then also sometimes, unfortunately, at a profit with some mega chains & designers that sell "Native Heart" t-shirts.

With that said, is it wrong to hope that a person with some insight, intelligence or a mind of their own would not just stop at finding inspiration or influence in these images but may perhaps be urged to delve deeper to research and gain a better understanding of Native American culture and history? If you feel strong enough to speak out here I hope you have contacted PACSUN. Or how about Urban Outfitters? Hopefully you have because you have made a clear point here and if it is something that offends you then why stop at this blog?