fitforafemme.com

Meet one of Brooklyn’s finest femmes, kittens! Here’s the delightful Bevin Branlandingham of FemmeCast and Queer Fat Femme. She and I ran a little workshop at the Femme2010: No Restrictions conference last Friday morning. We met for the first time in June at her incredible Re/Dress & Size Queen event in Oakland, after becoming fast internet friends through our mutual love of fashion, all things femme, and involvement on our respective committees with the Femme Collective earlier this year.

Also, her tomboy friends have the cutest puppies, don’t you think?

Of course, her outfit rules. This is one LBD that refuses to be outdone, and the little tart hair clip was quite the cherry on top of her ensemble. Here’s her really impressive bio, since it says it way better than I could:

Bevin Branlandingham is the Host and Producer of FemmeCast: The Queer Fat Femme Podcast Guide to Life. She is a flamboyant femmecee, writer, drag king, burlesque and comedy performer. She is Co-Head Madam of the Femme Family, the New York Chapter of the Femme Mafia, on the steering committee for the Fat and Queer conference and the media committee for the Femme Conference. In 2008 Bevin received a Commendation from the Mayor of Jersey City for her work with the LGBT community. Her writing has been published in numerous periodicals and she has performed throughout North America. Her mission is to make the world a safe place for people to love themselves, regardless of their marginalizations. Her website (including blog, calendar of events and workshops) is found at QueerFatFemme.Com.

She also blogs at Butch-Femme.com and The Femme’s Guide to Absolutely Everything and performs throughout North America.

This has to be one of my most favorite collages ever. Adorable puppy? Check. Pretty, multi-talented femmes? Check. Dildo? Check. Fancy hair ornaments? Check. DONE AND DONE.

I need Bevin to chime in on her outfit particulars, but here are mine:

Dress: Calvin Klein
Shoes: MaxStudio
Bag: Betsey Johnson
Earrings: Vintage
Necklace: Culp Baubles
Feathered Hair Clip: Buffalo Exchange

Waiting for Rufus Wainwright. After the closing remarks at the conference, M fetched me from the hotel and we set out for Napa. It couldn’t have been a more perfect evening. The temperature was perfect, the light falling softly at sundown was perfect, dinner was outstanding and Rufus Wainwright was absolutely wonderful, as always. At one point during the show, M whispered to me “How is he even a real person? His albums sound so good, but then you hear him live up there and he’s somehow much, much better than all that!” and I nodded with my tear-streaked face.

He made corny Napa jokes and told a few stories between songs, and he played La Complainte de la butte and Memphis Skyline (two of my favorites). Zebulon undid me completely. His sister brought the petite onstage and they all sang together (well, the petite cooed), and it was really lovely. I cannot wait until he’s back in November with the SF Symphony for Five Shakespeare Sonnets.

I am going to go every single day of the 3-day series, come hell or high water.

CONFESSION: Last night one of M’s old college friends from MIT, who now lives in Brooklyn, came to visit. We discussed the latest book he’s reading (Velvet Rage) over Pimm’s No. 1 Cup cocktails and debated his decision to pass on a bright pink Marc Jacobs polo on sale, while I cooked our chicken fettucine alfredo dinner, nibbling on bread with Loretta Lynn singing softly in the background. It was a fantastic visit, and we ended the night with Mexican hot chocolate and fresh, delicious homemade churros. You’d think that’d do away with my sweet tooth, but by the time M came home from work today I was itching to pop into Anthony’s for a big box of cookies. She promised last night that we could! I’m a happy kitten.

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When: Tuesday, Dec. 30th, 2008.

What: Over-the-knee black Italian leather boots from Lamica, by way of the wonderful Lori’s Designer Shoes in Chicago, IL. Most amazing romper with gold sequins and bronze leather earring by Brooklyn’s Idyllic4U Couture. Sequin headband and misc. bracelets from Glow on Lakeshore Ave. in Oakland, CA.

Scents: Pillow Of Flowers by Parfums d’Armando Martinez, an aldehyde, goes on smelling like fancy milled soap and bushels of lilac. It’s kind of exactly how you want your freshly made bed to smell right before you climb into it, squeaky clean, only to sully it right away with some raucous sexing. I want to dirty it up immediately. It stays consistent through the dry down, but the bouquet of white florals – tuberose, jasmine – gradually unfurls. It’s very lovely.

Annayake Pour Elle starts seductively, coquettish. It reminds me instantly of the tomboy chasing me around the pub table. Then, rather suddenly, it darkens and stays there, clinging all sullen and sharp to my wrist. The description is as follows: “The vivid, fresh notes reveal the peaceful plant world of Japan. They blend with soothing, comforting notes of tea and precious woods. For a fulfilled woman in perfect harmony with herself.” It barely softens over time.

Confession: This is the foundation of my This is what I’d wear if I had NYE plans outfit, i.e. How tragic is it to not be in the Brooklyn lezzie basement tomorrow night!? These are also my super brand new reasonable flat boots, which the tomboy helped me to find last week. They are pretty amazing: comfortable, they smell so good, they fit me perfectly and the wonderful folks at Lori’s gave me a whopping 25% off the asking price! I ? ? ? ? ? ? ?   them lots and look forward to wearing them with actual, you know, pants.

Someone should make bookends shaped like sexy gams. I’d buy ‘em.