exploring blog archives: indiekidsmakemecry, december 2010-october 2012

indiekidsmakemecry was a short-lived blog created by Mimi, an otherwise anonymous blogger.  Mimi was clearly obsessed with hipsters and indie culture; her blog archives include several odes to "hipster boys," indie fashion staples like upcycled shorts, and vintage cameras.  

While some may label her blog as 2010s cringe, to me, it's endearing.  I remember having the same obsession with hipster culture in middle school and feeling pure euphoria when I took a trip to Williamsburg for the first time and saw hipsters in the wild, or when my friends at school told me my outfit was "so tumblr."  Of course, wanting to be a hipster is undecidedly un-hipster, so I had to keep my excitement to myself.  Still, Mimi's blog takes me back to a time when I was wide-eyed and genuinely excited about the world around me and the person I could become.   

The last note I want to make about indiekidsmakemecry (and this something I hope to explore in a future post) is the range of aesthetics her blog covers under the label of "hipster."  She has posts that cover the  "hipster primitive" look,  flickr/tumblr vintage, and tumblr grunge—all three of which are very different and distinct aesthetics.   While hipster refers to a specific subculture, her blog shows that it also grew to encompass anything that was slightly left of conventional on the internet.  

Take a look at some posts from indiekidsmakemecry below:

Monday, February 20, 2012: Crosses, Skulls and Bones

Saturday, February 18, 2012: Pastel Doc Martens

Saturday, December 25, 2010: Wintery Inspiration Merry Xmas!

Saturday, December 25, 2010: Long Hair Love

exploring blog archives: space-trash-blog.tumblr.com, 2013 polyvore collages

I've had a nostalgic hankering for Polyvore as of late, so you can imagine my pure and utter elation when I across space-trash-club's tumblr archive last week, full of quintessentially 2013 Polyvore collages.  Back in the day, I used to be obsessed with Polyvore, to the point where I was routinely late for school because I had couldn't resist the compulsion to make a new collage header or sidebar icon for my tumblr every other day.  I was addicted.

Polyvore was a website where you had access to thousands of transparent images, mostly of clothes from popular sites like Romwee, forever21, UNIF, etc.  It was most commonly used for outfit collages like the ones seen below, but it was also used to make blog headers and profile pictures, as well as grunge collages. 

Marina and the Diamonds was a popular collage fixture (as she should be)

Unfortunately, Polyvore was shut down in 2018, two years after it was acquired by SSENSE, which is widely seen as a bad move.  Even though I'm fond of shopping at the SSENSE sale from time to time, I will always hold a grudge against them for shutting down that treasure trove of a site and losing thousands of creative projects, ideas, and pieces of internet history.   

pic.twitter.com/9iGU2kZgjx

— SSENSE (@SSENSE) April 10, 2018

yeah they fucked up big time. 

Thank god for Tumblr.  The outfits from space-trash-club are peak 2013, and scrolling through them scratches that Polyvore itch I've been getting as of late.  The alien accessories, galaxy prints, and creepers were all essential items back in the day, and I can't wait to see how they re-enter the trend cycle in the coming years.  Take a look below: