Live from New York… It feels like White Lightning!
She’s the Fashionista all the stylenistas want to be. She’s perfected her boho mojo with her recent journey of self discovery. She’s got diamonds on the soles of her feet, and she’s definitely more flyer than Anna Wintour… Wintour… Wintour.
The Fashion Time Magazine is the happy recipient of an interview with the vivacious, erudite and scintillating fab gal Elizabeth Spiridakis, a native of New York City, whose site, White Lightning, was recently named as one of the 20 Best Fashion Blogs by The Telegraph.
Fashion Time: So, what exactly does White Lightning feel like and should you handle it with extreme caution? ))))
Elizabeth Spiridakis: Remember when you were a kid and you would give each other the “chills”, from the top of your head all the way down your back, and it was like the best feeling ever? Its sorta like that. Its like that plus an unexpected pinch in an unexpected place.
Fashion Time: How did you get you started in the fashion blogging biz, aka what’s the 411 on your background?
Elizabeth Spiridakis: My background has almost nothing to do with fashion blogging! I’ve worked as a designer and art director at magazines for years, but was never too keen on writing. I was never a big internets person either, never had a LiveJournal or anything, but I had been blogging for a little while on Myspace (omg , wha?), mostly to amuse myself, and then I started White Lightning in 2007 on a whim- at the urging of one of my best friends. I became addicted to it immediately and have become a total Internet nerd ever since.
Fashion Time: What are your thoughts about being named one of the 20 Best Fashion Blogs by The Telegraph?
Elizabeth Spiridakis: I am totally and completely blown away. So flattered and thrilled and a tiny bit shocked? Pretty exciting.
Fashion Time: Why NYC for Ms. Lightning?
Elizabeth Spiridakis: I was born here! NYC is in my blood; almost my entire family is centered around here. My parents and my sister all live in Manhattan. Except for college in Pennsylvania and a couple years in LA, I have never lived anywhere else, or wanted to..until this summer when I traveled all over the US and lived in Portland, OR for a couple of months. Now I feel a total and complete love for the Northwest…I’m thinking of moving there, I love it so. (Please cover your ears for that last part, New York)
Fashion Time: Ms. Lightning, you have a White Lightning shop. Why don’t you introduce it to our readers?
Elizabeth Spiridakis: SHOPWHITELIGHTNING is a sporadically updated repository of treasures that I believe need a new home other than MY OWN, because sometimes I think my STUFF is going to bury me alive. I am getting ready to post a bunch of new things on there soon!
Fashion Time: Most influential book on your life?
Elizabeth Spiridakis: Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block. I read it in 8th grade and must’ve re-read it a thousand times since. I just recently dug it out and read it again, and realized that the writing was a complete influence on the way I write now; all a jumble of weird descriptions and funny word mashups. I also have not stopped wanting to BE Weetzie. Vintage prom dresses, pink sunglasses and late night oki dogs. She is the coolest.
Fashion Time: What designers best encapsulate the concept of glamour in their pieces?
Elizabeth Spiridakis:The designers that create a story of a “glamourous”woman that I always fantasize about being are Alber Elbaz (superflowy haute glamour), Nicolas Ghesquiere (icy robot glamour), and Alexander McQueen (crazy insane lunatic glamour).
Fashion Time: The best decision you made in life was to?
Elizabeth Spiridakis:…Make a complete and utter change in everything I knew, all at once. In May of this year I quit my job, gave up my apartment and sold all my furniture (and a LOT of my clothes & shoes…). I left for almost 4 months. I stayed in Portand, Seattle and LA, went to London for a week, and drove crosscountry with great friends for 16 days and came back into this crazy city for fashion week (insanity). It has been the most pivotal summer of my life, I think. Not only did it open my eyes to SO many cool places and things that are happening around the US, and allowed me to meet INCREDIBLE new people, but it made me realize how many supercool AMAZING friends I am beyond lucky to have, seriously, they deserve sooo much credit. They housed me, lent me their cars, made me dinners, introduced me to their friends & cities, and generally showed me epic times. I have never been a control-freak kind of person, but this gypsy vagabond summer quest has really made me even more of a go-with-the-flow kind of person than ever before and I think it’s made me a thousand times happier.
Fashion Time: Ms. Lightning, enthrall us with your personal style. What clothing is currently happening for the Lightning Gal?
Elizabeth Spiridakis: I became addicted to croptops & highwaisted skirts this summer, so I’ve been cutting everything short; currently I am really into a baggy grey sweatshirt cut supershort to wear with and over everything. Also always a bit 60s minidress addict, crazy patterened polyester and tights are the way I live my life, basically. I have recently tried to shake it up- I wore PANTS the other day, which hasn’t happened since like, 2001. I also wore a dress that went below my knees, which also hasn’t happened since like, 8th grade graduation. Getting real OUTSIDE -THE – BOX over in Lightningland!
Fashion Time: Fashionistas, stylenistas and the Chanel-clad masses love reading your blog because?
Elizabeth Spiridakis: Because I am fairly amusing? I take fashion seriously in that I love it, follow it, live it, adore it, but I don’t REVERE it as something that should be worshipped on a pedestal. It’s FUNNY! I mean, it IS.,You need to be able to just laugh at most of it because it really is truly ridiculous (but still my favoritest thing above all others). I am also pretty enthusastic about things that I like and that can be infectious- I just want everyone to be as excited as I am about things.
Fashion Time: Fashion orgasm time baby: What latest acquisition rocks your world, makes your eyelashes flutter and has you swimming on the clouds with the angels?
Elizabeth Spiridakis: There are a few things that have most certainly rocked my world recently. One is a mint condition 1960s juniors suede coat that I got in Portland, Or. It’s a ton of vertical crazy colored suede strips, with a million silver snaps down the front. I live for it. I call it my technicolor dreamcoat.
I also got a pair of cherry red Doc Marten “Darcie” boots, they are their classic boots but with a wooden heel on them and I am pretty sure they are the perfect boot for fall.
The acquisition I am PINING over of is a Proenza Schouler PS1 leather satchel, those bags are what dreams are made of. Sigh.
Fashion Time: What ONE item from your wardrobe would you take from your house or apartment, if a fire happened… and why?
Elizabeth Spiridakis: You know what? I have become such a hippie after my summer of gypsylivin that I am really good at letting go. C’est la vie. (If I had that Proenza bag, though, it might be a different story…)
Fashion Time: Which designer, dead or alive, would you like to have lunch with, dishing fashion ideas?
Elizabeth Spiridakis: Elsa Schiaparelli, Rei Kawakubo, and Coco. Can it be the 4 of us, together? Chanel hated Elsa and Rei might just write notes to me on a napkin while they fight. We can drink mushroom tea (Elsa brought it, she got it from Dali) and eat this sandwich I invented that puts hot sauce on a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, it’s a mind blower. I think I’d learn a lot.
Fashion Time: The most sensual smelling fragrance is?
Elizabeth Spiridakis: I have a long love affair with AmorAmor by Cacharel, it’s hard to find but I get a thousand compliments on it, it smells sooooo good. On a dude? I reallllly like sandalwood and have a weird thing for..Old Spice? I sorta just like sweatydudeneck in general (TMI?).
Fashion Time: The three best places to go shopping in NYC are?
Elizabeth Spiridakis: 1. Narnia on Rivington Street is my favorite vintage store in NYC. It is the one store that is closest to a total representation of my taste..it’s all over the place, it ranges from the COOLEST dress you’ve ever seen in your life, to the perfect laceup boots to something a little bit gaudy, to I-do-not-know-where-the-HELL-I-will-wear-this-but-I-need-it-in-my-life-IMMEDIATELY. A lot of my weirdest and most beloved items come from there.
2. You can buy Ostrich eggs at the Whole Foods on Houston. They are ENORMOUS. This enthralls me as I have a dream of making a giant Flintstones fried egg someday.
3. Dashwood Books on Bond St has the absolute best selection of fashion/photo/art books around. If I could, I would spend all my money there. I also love the magazine store on Ave A between 3rd & 4th. They get everything there and sell old issues for cheap. The guy sees me and before I even ask he’s like “Self Service not in yet, check early next week. Purple is over there.”
Fashion Time: If you were stranded on a desert island, what three models (male or female) would you like to have along for companionship? I have to bring models?!
Elizabeth Spiridakis: Do I need to be hating on myself because I am not Karlie Kloss while I am TRAPPED on an ISLAND?! So CRUEL, FASHION TIME. SO, CRUEL.
Ok fine. I will take Karen Elson, Anouck, and any of the not gay boys from the Patrick Ervell S/S 2010 show.
Fashion Time: Brush with greatness: Who’s the most famous person you’ve run into on the streets of New York?
Elizabeth Spiridakis: It wasn’t on the streets, but I once had the extreme honor to meet my idol Yoko Ono at her apartment in the Dakota…while she was in her pajamas checking her email, in the middle of the night. OHHHH YES… don’t you wish you knew THAT story???
