Our next two gutsy Second Skin participants, Dynasty Ogun and Arabelle Sicardi, have got a few things in common. They're from Jersey City (they literally live around the corner from each other), they both bring on the stares, and they're both proud and poised "queers." Yet, though they're stories are similar, their styles exist on two totally different planets.
For Dynasty, she's simultaneously chill and determined in beat-up Vans, wife beaters, and brown duckbill baseball caps. "People automatically think that I'm standoffish and aggressive," says the unabashed fashion designer who cultivates a mini mountain of sports sneakers. "But that's just my wall. Once we have a conversation, you'll see something more than my outer layer."
Arabelle's outer layer? According to Fashion Pirate founder and Rookie contributor, "It's a combination of 'Oh, she looks really cute, but she must be into some kinky shit.'" Uniting sea-punk hair, studded Lisa Loeb spectacles, goth Comme, candy-colored makeup, and harnesses, Arabelle has zero problems proving her thesis: "You can identify as femme and still be badass."
When I forced the lingerie-wearer and the lingerie-hater to trade clothes for a day, the former was preternaturally embracing of Dynasty's "tomboy queer" look. While Arabelle lamented having to wipe off her girly goth makeup (11:40), she had a picturesque day in Dynasty's knickerbocker-esque pants and wife-beater hoodie, sipping bubble tea and splattering paint on destroyed denim with fellow SLU-er Brandon Acton-Bond (16:20).
However, Dynasty did not have a pleasurable time with Arabelle's Wednesday Addams attire, comparing me to a pushy shopgirl who was trying to sell her an outfit that she emphatically didn't want (10:40). Though Dynasty never quit ridiculing her neon purple purse, pink shoes, and lacy peppermint dress, she was brave and playful enough to attend AfroPunk Fest (15:38), where she met up with her "boo," Trae Harris. Would Trae, a SLU all-star, still be attracted to Dynasty if she wore Arabelle's pugnacious princess uniform full-time? Go to 18:30 and find out!
Stay tuned Friday for our next Second Skin!
xo,
Lily
Video edited by Andrea Cruz
Music by Draemings, Kenyon Philips, Unisex Salon, Heather Boo, Flava of the Month, & Light Hearted