Okay, we did see that NY Mag was featuring BFF’s, but the timing was truly random that Crosby and her BFF wanted to share their beautiful indie love with us! They were in downtown Los Angeles, CA together at a Silent Auction at Poketo to raise money for Faythe Levine’s indie craft documentary, Handmade Nation and then later at the Edison, a neato steampunk-ish Charlie Chaplin-ish bar where the stirrers are light bulbs. Enjoy the interview with these two most stylish BBF’s. I know I did. Get involved and leave them a comment.
Marie Rounsavell and Crosby Noricks
Name: Crosby Noricks and BFF Marie Rounsavell
Occupation(s): Crosby: Founder/PR Couture, Web Publicist/Red Door Interactive, Marie: AppleOne and www.marimello.com
City/State: San Diego and LA, CA
What one word describes you most?
Crosby: Cupcake?
Marie: Dang, I was going to say that. If I picked her word, I would say “mermaid.” If I pick a word for both of us, it would be “Unicorn.”
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Crosby: Everywhere
Marie: Everywhere…on a train.
Crosby: Ooh like that Madonna song
Tell us about what you are wearing:
Crosby: The top is actually more of a tunic, tucked in, that I picked up at the Buffalo Exchange in the Mission in SF. The skirt was a birthday present to myself a few years ago. I got it at the THREAD show in San Diego. It’s by MyRebe. The belt I pillaged from Marie’s closet at the last minute. I’m wearing it backwards. The earrings are by Najwa Moses and the green bracelet was a present from a friend who just returned from Italy. I’m also wearing patent leather, heeled mary-janes from Target.
Accessories: I’m wearing a chain necklace that Marie got me off Etsy, that I added charms to. One is a resin bottlecap of a rose with a tiny black crystal charm from my lovely friend Kristal Molina, a local San Diego Jewelry designer, and my “Dussnass” charm which means nothing unless you are a me and Marie. I’m also wearing a ring that Marie got me off Etsy (it is good to have friends who shop for you) that is like a little engagement BFF ring. I wear it sandwiched between three stackable rings from Amy Tavern, (I love her and have a ton of her pieces) that was one of my last Christmas presents from my mom – so I wear them all the time.
Marie: Crosby once said that she doesn’t have a post-college picture of me where I am not wearing that zebra tank. I have no idea who made it. No recollection of buying it. And I don’t have a whole lot of pictures from the last somethingity years of me without it. The pants are Yaya that I think my Grandma bought somewhere schmancy on one of our last shopping trips together. The shoes are Frye - I totally saw them on Tricia Royal’s feet on Wardrobe remix and had to have.
Accessories: Gold bra–american apparel. The gold bracelet is Wendy Nichol and a birthday present I brought for myself on starsandinfinitedarkness. The silver bracelet is from a store in Mexico called “The Most Complete Store.” Best. Store. Name. Ever. The earrings were a gift. *Sappy story alert* My man bought them for me in a gas station in Idaho. They hurt like hell to wear, but I have never received more compliments on any other pair of earrings. The necklaces (and in some pictures the bracelet) are a mish mash of awesome indie. It’s like my indie rosary. One charm is a designer who lives in Bali half the year designing, one designer is a lady who used to work for Chrome Hearts and decided to bust out on her own, and the most important is my “Dussnass,” which is like BFF if you are Marie and Crosby. My rings are all from various Etsy sellers. I wear at least 6 and have a story of every one of them. Obviously I have a sentimental jewelry problem.
How did you meet your BFF, and what do you love most about her?
Crosby: The short answer is that we met freshman year at Pitzer College, where we both had kind of crazy roommates. A road trip in a borrowed SUV, a couple of highlighting kits, and a few platform shoe sprees later, it was settled. What I love most about Marie. Well, she may kill me for saying this, but she has no idea how badass she is. Like she walks in and all these jaws drop and she is maybe in a tank top and jeans or in some fierce get up and everybody is like “who” but she has no idea its even happening. She just is. If I was writing a fashion story on her style it would be about how has really evolved and become more confident. She has mastered the, “I just tossed this on” look except that she really did. But ok if we are talking like love love I guess it is that she is fiercely loyal, like she will take your ex outside at 3 am and fight for you. hard.
Marie:
The first time I met Crosby she was sitting next to a Hottie McHotterson on the grass outside our dorm, in the sunshine wearing these crazy linen wrap pants. They were slit up to there. The sort of pants you wear and look fab, but secretly you know you’re both sexy (for McHotterson) and comfy (like you’re in your jammies). I covet those pants to this day. She said her mom made them. My heart went pitter pat. We chatted away in this totally unabashed way about wearing clothes our moms made. You know it’s love when you find some one who not only has a mom who makes clothes, but you know it’s for real when she talks about it like her mom is Zhandra Rhodes. And you both know who Zandra is.
Some weeks later, on the aforementioned road trip, I discovered her mom kind of was the Zandra Rhodes of Pleasanton, CA crazy day of the dead and mannequin home decor and pink bangs high school Spanish teaching. Take a second to picture that and try not to fall in love.
What I love about Crosby is that I could write a book about loving Crosby. The Fashion chapter would be about having an all access pass to her closet and how without that pass, I would still be throwing together the same men’s undershirts and gap jeans I was wearing when I met her. The second fashion chapter would be about how she weaned me off my baggy earth-tone wardrobe and taught me that good clothes, even the baggy earth-toned ones, open all doors. The Love chapter would be about life giving you lemons. I love Crosby because she is ideas. Great ideas. Life give you lemons, and I make lemonade, but Crosby make lemon pomegranate mimosas that keep you feeling like a mermaid for days afterward. She listens. She’s funny. She’s not just smart, she’s wise.
Tell us about something you love that you want others to know about?
Crosby: Besides the duh of PR Couture, I’m really woohoo lately about this book called Style Statement, putting feathers in my hair, and green smoothies.
Marie: I write marimello.com. Mairmello wants to be the Dean Moriarty of craft. I read a Tom Robbins book every couple of months. Mostly I read Still Life with Woodpecker. I’ll keep it short, but the character Woodpecker thinks there are two kinds of people, or rather people react to consequences in one of two ways: Yum and Yuck. I thought I was one, but it turns out I was the other. Later in the book, Woodpecker finds another reaction: Yikes. I am always interested in finding out whether people are yums, yucks, or yikes.
If you would like to be featured showing us how you wear your indie, please by all means email me trish(at)smashingdarling(dot)com
