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Fashion Repeats Itself: Trashy Couture

October 5, 2010 by WendyB

NOW
Singer Ke$ha in a garbage-bag dress at the MTV VMAs in September 2010.

Image via Celebutopia.net


THEN
Debbie Harry in a garbage-bag costume in Blondie’s 1980 Atomic video.*

Click to watch video.


*Trivia about Atomic:

  • The late model Gia Carangi appeared in the video.
  • “Oh, your hair is beautiful” is one of the best lyrics of all time. OF ALL TIME!

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Filed Under: Celebrities, Fashion Repeats Itself, music Tagged With: debbie harry, ke$ha

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. hammie says

    October 5, 2010 at 12:34 am

    Is it really 30 years?

  2. TheShoeGirl says

    October 5, 2010 at 2:18 am

    Kesha (I refuse to use the dollar sign) is gross. She belongs in a garbage can.

    🙂

  3. Julie Anne Rhodes says

    October 5, 2010 at 2:55 am

    OMG (rings), I am getting old.

  4. sharon rose says

    October 5, 2010 at 4:18 am

    Hi there-great minds think alike! I’ve just done a then and now post on the 80s!

  5. Miss Peelpants says

    October 5, 2010 at 7:33 am

    I really resent these people, like Kesha, watering down the continuing impact of the divine Ms Harry by their constant rehashing of her originality. Like the Biba relaunches. It make me mad!

  6. Sally says

    October 5, 2010 at 9:31 am

    Wow. Everything old is new again. Again.

  7. Oui, Mademoiselle says

    October 5, 2010 at 10:29 am

    ohh I love the debbie harry garbage-bag costume! btw, LoVE your blog 🙂

    http://www.oui-mad.blogspot.com

  8. HelOnWheels says

    October 5, 2010 at 11:23 am

    Kesha = very obviously trying too, too hard. I really don’t like her and that stupid $ in her name. Eeeecchhhh. Debbie Harry always, absolutely, incredibly effortlessly cool. And now I’ll have Atomic running through my head all day, which is ok since it’s one of my Blondie favorites.

  9. Penny Dreadful Vintage says

    October 5, 2010 at 11:23 am

    Deborah Harry is eternally wonderful. And I don’t care what she is wearing, Kesha is vile.

  10. Sara says

    October 5, 2010 at 1:01 pm

    Garbage-bag dress makes me think of Zoolander.

  11. Ketura says

    October 5, 2010 at 1:24 pm

    Sometimes I forget about music I love from the past until somehow I’m reminded — and “Atomic” was my absolute, hands-down favorite for many years. Thanks for the reminder … and for a great blog — I really like it.

  12. ryan says

    October 5, 2010 at 4:16 pm

    hmmmm not so into the garbage bag dresses, at least not for myself. I love kesha and debbie harry though : )

  13. Miss Janey says

    October 5, 2010 at 4:42 pm

    Miss J is LOLing at that damned website. But of course, WendyB has the best jewelry design blog of all time. OF ALL TIME!

  14. Kristin says

    October 5, 2010 at 5:00 pm

    I’m kinda in love with Debbie’s over the elbow yellow gloves!

  15. Make Do Style says

    October 5, 2010 at 5:20 pm

    I did the Blondie garbage jacket thing first time round!! Blimey I was so young then – we all thought she was really old but great!

  16. Eric says

    October 5, 2010 at 7:00 pm

    At least DH & Blondie had a musical conscience even if the chord progressions were simple sometimes. Reggae influences, good counterpoint (think guitar on ‘Maria’), and Chris Stein was genius.

    Maybe Keisha has to appeal to a lower common denominator these days to sell songs?

  17. enc says

    October 6, 2010 at 6:43 pm

    The garbage bag endures, both stylistically and functionally.

  18. maya griggs says

    October 6, 2010 at 9:21 pm

    hi, thanks for your comment on my blog. would you believe i did not know Debbi Harry until about a year ago?! it’s embarrassing but truth. I love her stuff now but she just did not cut it through the Soviet borders.
    Cyndi Lauper- yes, Madonna – yes. not Blondie though 🙁

    sometimes i have the urge to post some funky underground Soviet music i grew up listening to, but think will loose all two or three followers that i have! LOL!!!

  19. stacy says

    October 6, 2010 at 9:40 pm

    Haha… I always loved that line too!

  20. Alicia says

    October 9, 2010 at 8:55 pm

    What about Missy Elliot in her garbage bag jumpsuit?

  21. Andrew says

    January 16, 2011 at 9:20 pm

    Is Kesha- I refuse to use the dollar sign too- wearing the Jeremy Scott dress? When I saw it come down the runway I knew some mediocre pop musician would call first dibs.
    Actually a guy who hung around the Kings Rd. shop SEX named Phillip Salon was the first to wear garbage bags. Scott said he got the look from a cult 80’s film called Time Square about a lesbian lovers who runaway from their mental institution and start a punk band.

  22. Soccer Mom Style says

    April 19, 2011 at 9:24 am

    i remembered seeing this post sometime ago, so i had to dig it up for the link to my post in which i mentioned Debbie Harry. Do you know how or who made her white dress with red stripes, that looks as if one taped red duct tape around it????
    xx
    maya
    http://byebyesoccermom.blogspot.com/2011/04/diy-red-duct-tape-striped-nautical.html

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MEET WENDY BRANDES

Award-winning designer of fine jewelry inspired by women's history and pop culture. A former journalist who writes about jewelry, fashion, medieval history, news, feminism, dogs, cats and whatever else is on her mind. Blogging since 2007.
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