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When the Vivian Girls want to play dress up, you play dress up. With the right style, is it is possible to become a Vivian Boy? Moreover, how does one go from Vivian Boy to the presumably well-endowed Vivian Man? These questions purveyed my mind endlessly since mid-July, when I first discovered that I would go shopping with the Vivian Girls.
For those unfamiliar with the group, they established themselves last year as one of the most effortlessly cool, lo-fi acts to grace today’s indie music scene. They did this in 22-minutes on their self-titled record, singing ghostly harmonies over crunchy noise and punk-rock drums. If you didn’t already guess, they just happen to be all girls. And we were going to go shopping.
By the time I went through my different photo shoot ideas – a) make me a Vivian Boy, b) the ideal Vivian Man, c) their backup dancer, d) a Vivian Girl — they were already excited. Every 5-year-old girl’s dream is to clothe their male best friend, and every 5-year old male plays along, because high heel shoes seem pretty sweet at the time. Whether or not I was the manifestation of their preschool nostalgia, the Vivian Girls were ready to have fun. Allowing oneself to be the human male mannequin for the Vivian Girls is not a sacrifice, no, it is an honor.
Supplied by the vintage clothing mecca that is Beacon’s Closet in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Cassie (blond hair/guitarist), Katy (red hair/bassist), Ali (brown hair/drummer) made me into a Vivian Girl and back. They were the kindest, most adventurous group I’ve had the privilege of speaking with, let alone being clothed by — the photos in our slideshow speak for themselves. Bring on the blackmail. I dressed like a girl — a Vivian Girl no less — and I am damn proud.
The Vivian Girls are about to embark on a U.S. and European tour. You can get their debut album here. Their sophomore release, Everything Goes Wrong, is due September 8th.