Boy George

"Due to a lack of funds we had to be very artful with our styling. The essential ingredients were clothes ‘liberated’ from Oxfam, and Dylon fabric and shoe dyes from Wollworths. When I couldn’t find the right shade of pink to dye my Jesus sandals, I used some of Dad’s emulsion. They looked perfect until I started walking. When outr experiments failed mwe’d go back to Oxfam for more pilfering. Even when bought, the shirts were only 10p and 20p. That was before Oxfam became an outpost of Habitat.

We’d pick the sequinned collars off twenties dresses and sew them onto a jacket, get Mum to taper baggy old trousers. She laughed. “These look like the trousers your father married me in.”

We’d buy old pairs of socks, cut holes int hem, and wear them over our own, creating a pink polka-dot effect. We ripped up shirts and trousers and safety pinned them back together, girls delieberately laddered their tights. The DIY punk look was simple to achieve, though we all longed to shop at Sex and Acme Attractions.' (p.78, Take it like a Man, Boy George w/ Spencer Bright)

When Boy George first shot to fame back in 1982, people didn’t quite know what to make of him. Was it a boy, or was it a girl? People were mystified, and this confusion led to a lot of column inches and outrage.

George’s early days had been influenced by Bowie, and then later punk, and then general gender confusion. When Culture Club first started getting recognition, george worked with Sue Clowes, who at the time was running a stall on Kensington Market. Together they created a wild mismatch of styles and symbols:

“ I wanted to create clothes that would give Culture club an identity, lik Bow Wow wow or the sex pistols. Sue created brilliant fabric designs based on cultural concepts and a one-nation ideal…Sue went to the library and looked up Culture Club in Hebrew script and made the first Culture Club tee shirt, a huge black star of David surrounded by roses and a golden aura with the words tarabat agadar, meaning movement of all cultures.” (p.192)

George’s idea was a good one, and, combined with Hasidic hats, beribboned hairdos and lashings of Max Factor, became a much-copied style over the next few years. As fame intensified, George’s outfits (particularly in videos) became more outlandish. Yet when it all came crashing down around him, George still managed to make being strung-out a high-street catalk experience. Skinny as a rail and paler than a glass of milk, George did the heroin chic thing years before the fashion set got their talons into it. Kate Moss has a lot to thank him for.

(image from www.richardyoungonline.com- visit there for more great pics.)

From the DIY exploits of safety-pinned denim hats to the pomp and majesty of a Philip Treacy titfer and even a stint portraying other style guru Leigh Bowery, George has alays managed to pull off an unusual look with grace and aplomb. He’s even adventured in the world of fashion design recently with his B-Rude collection, and even though it doesn’t seem to be going quite as swimmingly as it should (http://mitziclutterfromthegutter.blogspot.com/2008/05/comeback-trail.html), at least he’s out there giving it a go.

Dressed to kill and not giving a fuck – both admirable qualities.