It is not mess, it is the spirit of youthful rebellion. Image via Jez Page's Flickr.
I’ve just been admiring Tavi Gevinson’s inspirations for her bedroom. She references lots of stuff that I was into as a teenager: Hole, The Virgin Suicides, dabblings with the occult (yep, I totally tried being a witch after watching The Craft and deciding Fairuza Balk was a GODDESS). You know, just your standard teenage stuff…
Anyways, the post got me thinking about how I expressed myself through my teenage bedroom. It was brilliant; doors covered in glittery collages, nail polish stains all over the carpet, childhood toys still appearing on shelves – partly because they looked “cool” and partly because I secretly still wanted to be a little girl. The bookshelves were arranged so self-consciously, with Sylvia Plath and Poppy .Z. Brite’s biography of Courtney Love being used to hide countless volumes of Babysitters’ Club and Saddle Club books*.
In terms of decor, my Mom was in charge. I hated the chintz curtains and matching frilled bedlinen. The floral border and yellow speckled paper made me gag. I loathed the fluffy carpet (laminate was so where it was at back in 1997). On reflection, it was more me feeling like I had to hate it than a genuine sort of hate, what with grown-up’s taste being so lame and all. Either way, I decided that I didn’t like it. That’s why I stuck crap everywhere and was so reckless with my black Spectacular nail varnish. It was an act of rebellion. The confused aesthetic of surburban innocence and reluctant womanhood was acheived through my attempts to trash something that had been thrust upon me.
I reckon if Tavi let my Mom decorate her room she’d be on to something. Though now she’d get the laminate flooring and minimalist painted walls that I so badly craved. She’d probably hate it, so I guess that the job would be done.
BBxx
*It is odd how the books I was once so ashamed of now carry cool cachet in certain quarters. Also, what was with all of those clubs?
This blog made me fondly think back to my teenage bedroom and I remember my cabin bed proudly making the most of very little space in what used to be a study, my slightly dusty venetian blind, my care bear and wazzle, and then my books… like you BB I read saddle club (check), babysitters club (check) and also just about every edition of sweet valley twins, which I simply could not get enough of – roll on Lizzie and Jessica ha!