"Hot, hot hot, smart, smart, smart!"

When most girls think of the 1960s, the first style icon which comes to mind is Twiggy.

Ironically, the real face of the flower child decade was really Penelope Tree.

Penelope Tree was an oddly adorable teenage fashion model, who came from a wealthy, aristocratic family.

Growing up, she clung to her closeted-gay father and barely had a relationship with her non-existent mother who jet-setted around the world with her handsome, debonair boyfriends.

In 1966, when she was 17-years-old, Penelope attended a Black and White Ball thrown by Truman Capote and the night changed her life. The media became obsessed with her shockingly risque black attire. Her elf-like features were mystifyingly beautiful. The next day, Vogue called, begging her to grace a cover.

The gimpish model became a household name overnight. She started attending the hottest parties, where she mingled with superstars like John Lennon (who adored her). The teenage It Girl then quickly moved in with her new boyfriend, the famous British photographer David Bailey, who was still married to the French movie star Catherine Deneuve.

Beneath the glittering limelight, however, life wasn't picture-perfect.

Penelope was anorexic and bulimic, desperate to keep her weight in check with the boyish body image of the time. She was also miserably aware that the love of her life, her much-older boyfriend, had a wandering eye.

By the early 1970s, her world came crashing down when Penelope developed severe cystic acne, which covered her face with large, unsightly bumps and later, scarring. By her mid-20s, her modeling career was finished.

Even her own boyfriend couldn't stand to look at her face. David took off with a younger model in 1974, abruptly and cruelly ending their six-year relationship.

Bewildered and shocked, the unhappy ex-model roamed around the world with her savings. She got married. Had a daughter. Explored her religious options.

In the 1980s, she found peace with Buddhism.

These days, she spends most of her time immersed in charity work for two Buddhist organizations, which help impoverished children in Asia. She's very passionate about her work. She also writes books and has a close relationship with her two adult children.

Oh, and the model recently got back in front of the camera again to promote Burberry with a supermodel who has long been compared to herself: Kate Moss.

And even though most of you probably didn't even know her name, Penelope still wins. Because she's happy now.

Welcome to the Dollhouse

"You think you're hot shit, but really you're just cold diarrhea."

Sometimes I wish more than anything that I could teach a class on pop culture. I feel this desperate need to educate young adults on the books they should read, television shows they should watch, movies they should see, and celebrities they should know about.

Especially when I encounter gob smacking moments, such as discovering that the guy working in the CD department at Best Buy has never heard of Elton John or the teenage follower who confessed on my blog she prefers not to watch movies that were made before 2000.

Today, I'm going to educate you on a film that I truly believe every person should have on their "to watch" list: Welcome to the Dollhouse.

Director Todd Solondz basically shoved his hands into the grimy bloody intestines of the 1990s adolescence experience and made you smell it.

It's the most frustrating as fuck movie to watch, and yet it will tug at your heartstrings for the rest of your life.

The 1995 movie revolves around Dawn Wiener, an ugly duckling suffocating through seventh grade. She is bullied mercilessly by her classmates. Her parents favor her pretty little sister. The guy she's in love with barely knows she exists.

Not only will the plot rip apart your heart, but the film is littered with profanity-laced verbal gems that will have your head reeling.

Even if you aren't an unattractive white middle-class 12-year-old from New Jersey, you know one thing for sure when you're watching this film: You are Dawn Wiener.

It is a film that not only defines a generation, but projects the reality of adolescence.

In other words, you don't have to be a 90's kid to feel like bawling your eyes out when Dawn is denied a slice of chocolate cake at the dinner table.

In honor of Welcome to the Dollhouse, I let the middle school part of me create a little collage:

What do you think?

Have you seen Welcome to the Dollhouse?

Mary, Mary, quite contrary...

It is given to a fortunate few to be born at the right time, in the right place, with the right talents. In recent fashion there are three: Chanel, Dior, and Mary Quant.

-Ernestine Carter, fashion journalist in the 1960s

When Mary Quant was a child in the 1940s, she used to cut up her bedsheets and sew them into clothes.

She studied fashion in college and met her future husband, Alexander, there.

Mary started to make clothes for herself and her friends, an eclectic group of vibrant, 20-something artists, who despised the stuffy, conservative housewife look of the 1950s.

Using fabrics bought at Harrod's, she made short tunic dresses, low-waisted flare pants, and brightly colored tights.

In 1955, her business-minded husband helped her open a boutique, called Bazaar, in London.

She filled her shop with white, plastic knee-high lace-up boots and tight, skinny rib sweaters in stripes, and plastic raincoats in bold colors.

Inspired by ballerinas, she started selling a tiny little skirt she named after her favorite car: the Mini.

With the help of edgy fashion shows and hip window displays, she quickly became the most popular designer in London. Her clothes were shockingly daring, youthful, vibrant, flirtatious, and affordable.

The word coined by the fashion industry and media to describe her new style was "Mod."

By 1963, teenage and 20-something girls in the United States were begging for her designs. She turned her company into a global empire.

The mini skirt became such a cultural phenomenon, affluent designers, such as Yves Saint Laurent, were forced to follow in her footsteps.

She also started a cosmetic line, which introduced the world's first waterproof mascara.

The hottest supermodel of the decade, Twiggy, rocked her looks on and off the runway.

Mary and her husband club-hopped with artists and musicians and threw elaborate, wild parties at their Chelsea penthouse.

Her own personal style heavily influenced culture as well. Her Vidal Sassoon bob became the most copied haircut of the decade, and turned the hair dresser into a household name.

Although Mary and her husband seemed delightfully in love while moving around their glamorous circles, their marriage was rocky. Alexander was an alcoholic womanizer who didn't even attempt to hide his adulterous affairs from his wife. Mary was too in love with him to leave him. It was a decade sprinkled with violent fights and shattered wine glasses.

By the late 1960s, while on top of the world, she invented hotpants, which became the next big craze.

By the 1970s, however, her rock star status started waning. The hippie movement shifted style away from swinging London and into a long-haired, laid-back bohemian revolution.

In 2000, the Mary Quant empire was taken over by a Japanese company.

The fashion icon, now widowed, faded away into retirement.

Mary currently lives in the English countryside with her new man and spends most of her free time giving art lessons to her adoring grandchildren.

The Black Panther Queen

A few weeks ago, I read a news article that briefly mentioned someone so utterly fascinating, I had to look her up.

The more I learned about this woman, the more obsessed I became. Everything about her life was so mysterious and glamorous, that I simply had to know more. I seriously spent hours scouring the internet for every news article, website, wikipedia entry, and blog post that had her mentioned.

Using these sources, I've managed to patch together the fascinating life of a bizarrely obscure figure who has barely any presence on the internet. In fact, in all my searching, I could only find a handful of photos of this woman.

Here is her story.

Nina Dyer was born in 1930 to wealthy British parents, who owned extensive property in Sri Lanka. She was raised in the exotic country but moved to Paris as a teenager to become a high fashion model. She was gorgeous, she was flirty, and she craved extravagance.

It wasn't long before she was invited to party on the most luxurious yachts and mingle with wealthy jet-setters at the hottest social events.

At 17 years old, Nina started having an affair with the very eccentric and very married Baron von Thyssen, who was the richest man in Europe at the time. He lavished his young mistress with jaw-dropping gifts. On Valentine's Day, he presented the teenager with her very own Caribbean island. Nina caused quite a media scandal by bathing nude on the beaches there. The Baron also gave her two sports cars with gold-plated ignition keys, expensive jewelry, and two black panthers.

Finally, the lovesick Baron left his wife, an Austrian princess, for Nina. They married in 1954.

But three months into their marriage, Nina ended up cheating on him with a hot, struggling actor, who was around her own age.

In their divorce settlement, Nina received $2.8 million, $364,000 worth of jewelry, and a sprawling chateau.

When she wasn't busy having scandalous affairs with both men and women, Nina spent most of her free time taking care of her two black panthers. She took the animals with her everywhere, much to the distress of other people. Almost every single fancy hotel suite she stayed in was literally ripped apart by the two wild cats.

In 1957, at the age of 27, Nina married Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan in Switzerland. She converted to Islam and took the name Shirin. He was so busy with work (he had just been appointed the Special Envoy to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) and Nina spent most of her time in Paris, trying to resurrect her modeling career, that the newlyweds barely saw each other. They divorced five years later.

In that settlement, Nina received $1.4 million.

Although Nina was young, beautiful, and filthy rich, she still was desperately unhappy. She had no children, barely any friends, and her vibrant personality was fading.

In 1965, at only 35 years old, Nina over-dosed on sleeping pills. Her maid found her lifeless body the next morning.

Since her death, she has ceased to exist. There are no books about her life. She isn't portrayed in films. It's actually almost impossible to even find her modeling shots. She seems to have been erased from history.

The only shred of legacy Nina left behind is the jewels which once adorned her body. For example, the richest people in the world are still trying to get their hands on the Nina Dyer Black Pearl Necklace, a three-strand black pearl necklace from Cartier, which was a present from her first husband.

If you dig hard enough, you'll find numerous news articles from the 1980s, even up until 2010, revealing that descendants of her husbands, and even her own second-third-fourth generation cousins, are anxiously looking for missing Nina Dyer jewels, or fighting custody for ones already discovered.

But nobody talks about the woman behind the sparkle.

Perhaps that is a premonition Nina already had when she started fading away behind the diamonds.

Because when you live your life to only seek pleasure, what else is left?

I don't think she liked the answer.

An Ode to Outfit Posts

I'm sorry I have been MIA for the past several days.

Not only have I been swamped with work, but I need to take a short break from the researched posts I've been doing lately. It seems every time I get a free minute to blog, I stare at my list of blogspiration and ideas I've jotted down in my journal, and quite frankly, I'm too exhausted to work on any of them. That shit takes time!

I even thought of conjuring up a quick outfit post for you guys, but I'm currently wearing pink sweatpants and a powder blue Portland souvenir t-shirt. Somehow I don't think that outfit would stack up against the jaw-dropping fierceness of Da Paura, the colorful, playful style of Amber's Mouthwash, or the effortless bohemian chic of Vintage Vixen.

(Amber's Mouthwash)

(And don't even get me started on the uncontrollable swag of Glam Kitten's Litterbox, the Indian glamour of Leia's Delights, the cheerful fabulousness of Oh to be a Muse, the affordable fashion at Dina's Days, and the enviable ensembles at Tanvii.)

(Tanvii.com)

Speaking of fashion blogs and outfit posts, am I the only girl here who could care less about the glossy, high-fashion, over-rated ad rags that are bragged about in all the magazines? I think you know which blogs I'm talking about.

I don't find inspiration from rich model wanna-be's who have 500 pairs of Prada pumps and a closet filled with couture. That's boring. If I wanted to see the latest designer dress, I'd just skim through the pages of Elle to see a real model wearing it better.

When I go to fashion blogs, I'd rather see this:

(Oh to Be a Muse)

My inspiration comes from the girls who boast unique style, which embodies their personality and lifestyle.

I have found myself becoming a more critical thrift store junkie by keeping up with Ashley at Milk Teeths. I have literally scoured Forever 21 for similar modern-Audrey inspired dresses I've seen on Imogen over at Tia Cherie. My Converse sneakers have seen the light of day again thanks to Sherin at Hi Fashion.

(Milk Teeths)

These are all just a handful of the girls who inspire me. These are the fashion bloggers who make me excited to get dolled up for a girls night out or a romantic date with my man.

They are also my friends.

Which fashion bloggers inspire you?

The Barbie Sartorialist

I swear this is not turning into a Barbie blog (okay, it might be) but I have encountered a new obsession.

During my research last week, I stumbled upon a website that has stolen my pink, fabulous, Barbie-sex doll drenched heart.

It is called Tiny Frock Shop.

This online boutique offers vintage designer clothing for Barbie, the ultimate fashion icon.

This delicious site is run by Pamela Thompson, the former Head Fashion Designer at Betsey Johnson and current designer for Anna Sui. She's been recently coined the "Sartorialist of Barbie" and her resale Barbie clothing and accessories website has been making headlines all over the world.

The shop features manufactured and handmade Barbie clothes and accessories from the 1940's and up.

The most fabulous part about the site is that all the dolls featured in high fashion editorials on Tiny Frock Shop have their own model profiles. They are so fun to read and insanely adorable! I spent my entire morning engrossed in each one.

Plus, the website has a blog with behind-the-scenes footage of the fashion photo shoots. It's so cute I wanna pass out. Seriously. I'm on the floor, hyperventilating, right now.

Did you know about this website?!?