Cat woman’s hot pink lair, John Waters’ film oeuvre, the tabloid woes of the late, great New Wave actress Jean Seberg—these are just a few of the unlikely inspirations behind Chelsea Fairless's home goods and clothing line, Female Trouble. Its motto? “Sex. Drugs. Throw pillows.”
“I’ve been using the term ‘aggressively girly’ to define my aesthetic,” she jokes. Once a fashion editor at VFiles, Fairless is now well-known as the co-creator of viral Instagram sensation Every Outfit on Sex & the City. Each week she and writer/director Lauren Garroni deliver sartorial dissections of everyone’s favorite cosmo-swilling singles—even helping rebrand Miranda Hobbes as "our feminist idol for the Trump age." A devotee of the radical culture and politics behind the RiotGrrrl movement, Fairless wanted Female Trouble to portray feminine strength and complexity in all its forms.
To help us get in touch with our own inner Riot Grrrl, Fairless has shared a few tips for creating the perfect troublemaker's paradise:
Embrace Fake Flowers
“The key to decorating with Fake Flowers is to also have real flowers or plants somewhere in the same vicinity. It’s the same logic that one employs when pairing a real Balenciaga bag with Balenciaga-esque boots from Zara. People will believe that the boots—or flowers—are real when presented in the correct context. But you have to have good fake flowers of course. My girlfriend just gave me the most fabulous plastic anthuriums. Anthuriums look fake to begin with so it’s perfect.”
“The key to decorating with Fake Flowers is to also have real flowers or plants somewhere in the same vicinity. It’s the same logic that one employs when pairing a real Balenciaga bag with Balenciaga-esque boots from Zara. People will believe that the boots—or flowers—are real when presented in the correct context. But you have to have good fake flowers of course. My girlfriend just gave me the most fabulous plastic anthuriums. Anthuriums look fake to begin with so it’s perfect.”
Buy Vintage Posters
“Posters are a great way to decorate because they're fairly inexpensive compared to actual art and it’s easy to find something that aligns with your interests via a quick eBay search. Years ago, I found a framed copy of the German-language poster for The Eyes of Laura Mars at a junk store in Bushwick. I’ve lived with it for years and it quite literally inspired the Laura Mars pillows I designed with Jonny Negron. It’s a subtle reference that fans and film buffs will understand but you don’t need to know to like the pillow. Posteritati in New York is a great place to look for film posters. Their website is super comprehensive and extensively tagged so you can search by film star or director.”
“Posters are a great way to decorate because they're fairly inexpensive compared to actual art and it’s easy to find something that aligns with your interests via a quick eBay search. Years ago, I found a framed copy of the German-language poster for The Eyes of Laura Mars at a junk store in Bushwick. I’ve lived with it for years and it quite literally inspired the Laura Mars pillows I designed with Jonny Negron. It’s a subtle reference that fans and film buffs will understand but you don’t need to know to like the pillow. Posteritati in New York is a great place to look for film posters. Their website is super comprehensive and extensively tagged so you can search by film star or director.”
When in Doubt, Paint
“I recently saw a photo of Betsey Johnson’s living room from the ‘80s that inspired me greatly. She had a sparse, pre-war loft with virtually no furniture but the walls and ceiling were painted shocking pink. It was so much a look, for what must have been the cost of six gallons of paint. I always thought brightly colored walls were antithetical to minimalism but Betsey showed me otherwise. And paint really is the cheapest way to make a huge statement with an interior.”
“I recently saw a photo of Betsey Johnson’s living room from the ‘80s that inspired me greatly. She had a sparse, pre-war loft with virtually no furniture but the walls and ceiling were painted shocking pink. It was so much a look, for what must have been the cost of six gallons of paint. I always thought brightly colored walls were antithetical to minimalism but Betsey showed me otherwise. And paint really is the cheapest way to make a huge statement with an interior.”
No Such Thing as Too Many Books
“John Waters says you shouldn’t sleep with people if they don’t have books in their home and I couldn’t agree more. Books are a fabulous way to decorate and show your personality. I also love magazines. I collect fashion magazines and men’s magazines from the ‘60s and ‘70s. I even bought one of those industrial clear acrylic Magazine racks off the internet that they have in magazine stores in New York. It’s great because you get to show off all the covers and you can switch them up whenever you feel like it.”
“John Waters says you shouldn’t sleep with people if they don’t have books in their home and I couldn’t agree more. Books are a fabulous way to decorate and show your personality. I also love magazines. I collect fashion magazines and men’s magazines from the ‘60s and ‘70s. I even bought one of those industrial clear acrylic Magazine racks off the internet that they have in magazine stores in New York. It’s great because you get to show off all the covers and you can switch them up whenever you feel like it.”
Decorate with Merch
"Fashion is preoccupied with merch, why not let it invade your home as well? The more ridiculous the merch, the better. I have a Beverly Hills Hotel skate deck, a Balenciaga coffee mug, several X-Girl chip clips, and a Margiela snow globe that I keep out year round. They make great conversation pieces."
"Fashion is preoccupied with merch, why not let it invade your home as well? The more ridiculous the merch, the better. I have a Beverly Hills Hotel skate deck, a Balenciaga coffee mug, several X-Girl chip clips, and a Margiela snow globe that I keep out year round. They make great conversation pieces."
