Review: Portlandia- A Guide For Visitors

The last time I was in Portland, Oregon it was 2006. I wore toe-sandals and Junk Food t-shirts. My reference of Oregon was playing the Oregon Trail computer game. It was a simpler time when I still remembered my Neopets account password. And yet, as weird as I was, I was in a city that was even weirder. Entering Portland really was like entering an alternate universe. Back then, beanies, gages, tattoos, and the coffee house scene weren’t yet the ubiquitous comrades that we know them to be today. But at the time in Portland, they were still a thriving relic of 1990’s past, transplanted into the DNA of its citizens.  

So, obviously, I was ecstatic when my favorite Saturday Night Live comedian, Fred Armisen,teamed up with his best friend, riot grrrl Carrie Brownstein to create their own sketch-based series, satirizing their beloved city of Portland, a place I grew to love, even if only for a few days. In their show, Portlandia, episodes follow the best friend duo as they play almost every role of Portlandia’s inhabitants: from proprietors of a feminist bookstore to a couple who leaves mid-dinner to drive to a farm to make sure the chicken they are about to eat was raised in a friendly environment. It doesn’t matter whether or not you’ve actually been to Portland to be able to key into the pervasiveness of some of the show’s underlying satire. The TV show is nothing if not an accurate portrait of our times and Armisen and Brownstein’s contribution to keeping the spirit of Portland alive and weird.

I’ve watched every episode since the show first aired, and have loved every darn minute of it. In November, Fred and Carrie released a comprehensive guide to their beloved world, entitled, Portlandia: A Guide For Visitors. It was on my holiday wishlist since I first saw the book trailer, and thanks to a Secret Santa exchange with my friend’s group, this little gem is finally mine mine mine! Below are some favorite moments from the book:

The guide begins with an obligatory portrait of Kyle Mclaughlin, who is arguably the main character of the show. Okay, so he’s not even close to being in every episode, I just find his character as Portlandia’s mayor to be so accurate and hilarious. Also, my hope is that years from now, in the show’s series finale, we find out that Portlandia is all a dream had by the mayor. The mayor holds the key to Portlandia in our minds and our hearts.

This is a great idea: everyone should start handing out required reading lists to their friends before parties. 

Another feature of the guide is this pull-out zine from the largest feminist bookstore, "Women and Women First," filled with recipes and monthly in-store events. 

Is it weird that the back of the book might be my favorite part? This is so genius. 

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The Outfit Post: An Analysis

This is me, doing an outfit post. 

Dear readers,

You might have noticed that I haven’t posted an outfit post in a while. I’m acutely aware of this. When I look back through old blog posts on The Emma Edition, I don’t feel that I’ve completely captured my style. No one has seen my lava lamp-patterned shirt, or pajama nightgowns I wear as jumpers, my fuzzy Muppet sweater (actually, that's what I am wearing in the photo above), or gold-plated “Vibes” necklace that are tenets of my wardrobe, except for the people I hang out with IRL. Even when I do feature my outfits here, they aren’t truly outfit posts by bloggers’ standards—typically, I am already wearing the outfit and am usually outside doing an activity that the post is centered on, or, if I am just at home posing for the photo, I include a story along with it. To me, every outfit is not just an item of clothing; it has a story to tell.  Still, how could my blog truly ever show every side of myself or style?

I recently wrote a piece on The Huffington Post called “If You Didn’t ‘Like’ On Facebook, Did You Ever Like It At All?” which I think applies here, too. If I didn’t ever post about wearing a certain outfit, it’s assumed that it’s not part of my style. This is a quote from the article:

“It's more about the fact that since I've joined the Internet, I feel really protective over which tastes I share -- which is sad, because really, the Internet is supposed to be a place of democracy. And sure, it may sound shallow, but I am always secretly afraid that if I don't write online that I like a certain start-up company, or television show, or person, before anyone else, then I never really did.” 

Something as silly as changing my hairstyle, isn’t as swiftly cataloged on a blog as it happens in real life. Do you know what my hair looks like at the moment? No, because I haven’t announced it anywhere online. For all you know, I could be bald, with 30 piercings (for the record: I am not, I just changed my hair to a middle part, which right now feels exciting enough).

I think that’s something to keep in mind when you read something online. Especially a blog, which is supposed to be the natural, democratized version of a magazine. Although both of those things are in general true, it’s important to still separate an image projected online versus in person. I mean every word I say on this blog, and I really do wear everything I put up images of. Blogs are like memoirs in a way—we have the right to tell our stories, but leave out pieces in order to tell what we believe is the most important truth. However, sometimes people forget that my blog only makes up a fraction of my entire being.

                Although I am always conscious of all this, from now on I am going to start posting more of my outfits. This blog is called The Emma Edition, for a reason. I started it for myself, to catalog my tastes and interests, and to be able to look back at them over the years in admiration and embarrassment. And although I am extremely appreciative of each of you who read this, if no one every did I would still keep it up. I want to start doing more cataloging for myself, and that starts with, for me, one of the most powerful mediums and storytellers—clothing. 

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