​Another park interview! Zoe's an aspiring orthinologist and all the birds came out to see her. She's a harm reduction and hep C worker very dedicated to anti-poverty and social justice activism. Anarcho-feminism FTW! 
She's a long term participant and contributor to Toronto's hardcore punk scene which informs her look. 
She also DJs sometimes and guests on the CIUT show Equalizing Distort. 
We discussed her DIY punk style, although she acknowledged a hippie side and her admiration of her grandmother who had a 'high femme homesteader' look. 
She's a devotee of dresses, jewelry and accessories who loves Value Village but only really gets excited about shopping for books and records. 

Sam Conover dresses in deliberately modest and traditionally 'feminine' style which borrows from 1940s to early 1960s styles....she calls it "lady drag". She also clarifies that she's going for a modest 'mumsy' look that is more 1950s housewife than pin up girl. 
She's a bra fitter, lingerie enthusiast, artist, blogger and conservatist specializing in plastics. We talked about feminism, body positivity (what else is new), plus 'normcore', catcalling, and dressing to make people happy...or is it to be admired and feared?
She made some awesome book recommendations (nothing from the past 50 years), and gave the scoop on who makes the best lingerie (she knows). 
She's on instagram @mandytori  

I got to do my first park interview of 2015 with Imbyr, who describes their style as 'transmasculine harshfemme' and is obsessed with wrestling, dogs, and reading (mostly sci-fi).
They are a health sciences student and the vocalist for Antibody, a gay doom sludge band based in Toronto. 
We talked about misandry, camp/kitsch and John Waters, short shorts and crop tops, and (how could i forget) WRESTLING. 

‘Find power in your clothing, and if people think that’s ugly, fuck them.
Yeah, just like, Power. And Control.'
 
Follow Antibody on FB, listen via their bandcamp. 
Imbyr tweets at Picked Imbyr
and thanks so much for listening! 

It was fun and inspiring to talk to Dre Ngozi and Jade Lee Hoy of Toronto's clothing project Hilary & Denise. Hilary and Denise celebrates and pays tribute to women of colour using pre-loved clothing to cultivate self expression that incorporates culture. Dre and Jade named the project for 90s sitcom queens HIlary Banks (Fresh Prince of Bel Air which ran from 1990-1996), and Denise Huxtable (The Cosby Show 1984-1992). Both Jade and Dre remember seeing Hilary and Denise's characters as unique among young women of colour on TV--wearing bright colours in interesting combinations in a way that was totally unique and expressive.
We talked about finding your tribe, getting grounded, natural hair, Afropunk...and of course FK Twigs and mom jeans. 
Follow Dre and Jade via @HilaryandDenise on all social media:
FB, Instagram, twitter and tumblr! 

Til next time~

Merritt Kopas is a multimedia artist, video game designer and writer whose focus of interest is digital play as an access for exploring care relationships. 
Her first book came out in April 2015, Videogames for Humans, published by Instar Books. She also contributed to another recent book, the State of Play. 
She curates the online project Forest Ambassador where her focus is on free and accessible and innovative games. 
She also kills it on twitter @m_kopas and you can find her work online at mkopas.net. 
We talked about her Patti Smith cyber waif meets Amy Winehouse/goth jock style influences. Everything she learned about fashion came from tumblr, and her best makeup advice is "Everything looks good! Just do whatever you want!"

til next time! ~

Amy Medvick is the vocalist and flautist with Os Tropies, and an ethnomusicology grad student studying the Brazilian diaspora and its musical legacy. Her interests in culture, food and dress lie in Brazilian psychedelic rock (Tropicalia!), and she also referenced exotica, both as a musical and a fashion inspiration: saturated colours and patterns, floral prints and tropical influences.
I loved how she talked about fashion and style using the metaphor (and literal practice) of cooking--studying spices to analyze composite and complex tastes. We discussed politics, her ambivalence around shopping, and her love of the music and style of Brazilian superstar Ney Matogrosso, plus Liz Taylor in Cleopatra (1963), and of course Carmen Miranda and the Wilson sisters in Heart. 
Please check out Os Tropies on their website, plus bandcamp, FB and twitter. 

Until next time Muito Obrigada Amy! ~

Laina Dawes is the author of What Are You Doing Here? A Black Woman’s Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal (Bazillion Points, 2012).What Are You Doing Here? is Laina’s first non-fiction book and the first non-fiction, general interest book to specifically focus on race, gender and identity in metal, hardcore and punk music cultures. 
Laina is also a freelance music and cultural critic whose writing can be found in print and online magazines, and she is currently a 2nd year graduate student at The New School for Social Research in New York City. 
We talked about New York vs Toronto fashion (guess which city someone look at your outfit and say "B*tch have you lost your mind?!")....
She talked a lot about how to integrate her love of metal with her appearance; also how navigate respectability politics her aversion to bright colours and her enduring love for Mary J. Blige. 

Shannon Shaw almost catfished me, but I finally got to talk to her between recording the new Clams album and touring! 
She told me about the books that keep her worrying about serial killers, her love of illustration, metal smithing and girl bands including the Ronettes! She is a black eyeliner afficianado and likes a good beehive but isn't going 'full banana' on any one look. 
Her influences include girl groups, John Waters' heroines, Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck, and her own basic aversion to looking too perfect. 
Please check out the band at 
www.shannonandtheclams.com

Thanks Shannon and thanks everyone for listening!~

I was introduced to the work of VIrgie Tovar by way of reading about body politics a few years back. I picked up her book "Hot and Heavy: Fierce Fat Girls on LIfe, Love and Fashion" and I loved how she and the essayists in the book connected fat fashion to political activism.
She's one of North America's leading voices on fat discriminsation and body image, and has been featured in  New York Times, MTV, Al Jazeera, the San Francisco Chronicle, NPR, Huffington Post, Bust Magazine, Jezebel, xoJane, and SF Weekly as well as on Women’s Entertainment Television and The Ricki Lake Show. She has an MA in Human Sexuality and speaks at colleges and universities also: University of Washington, Earlham College, Hollins University, University of California at Berkeley, University of California at Davis, California College of the Arts, Sonoma State University, and Humboldt State University.
She is wonderfully quotable! She describes her style as: 
Gaudy, over the top, high femme....Miss Piggy meets RuPaul. 
Please visit Virgie at virgietovar.com! 
thanks for listening! 

Theatrical costuming student and vintage clothing expert Liza Kelly told me where the 'weird shit' is this episode of the show! We talked about her love of film (old musicals, Fellini, Ken Russell, Terry Giliam), classic sitcoms (Rhoda and Maude), plus the ballet! She loves bright colours and eclectic vintage and has no use for mass market. 
We talked about 'bouncing between the eras'--how time and culture remix the fashions of each decade. 
thanks for listening~