Ten Fashion Aesthetics in the Eucalyptus Lane Series
As my series of novels—Poser, Cracker, and the latest, Baller—set in the darker corners of Silicon Valley has developed over time, the fashion tastes of my characters have solidified into specific aesthetics that help to define key things about them as they seek to discover more about who they really are, to each other and in the larger world. If you’re new to the series, the tone is suburban romance spiked with crime fiction, sunny neo-noir world where image and identity play a big part in the overall story arc, including themes related to how others see us versus how we see ourselves.
These are the top ten fashion aesthetics in the series:
1. Bad Boy Aesthetic
Ambrose, the main character, is a Texas runaway who arrives in the San Francisco Bay Area and deals drugs to make a living. He also works certain days at a B&D dungeon as an assistant to a well- established dominatrix. Having come from an abusive home, lived on the road, and spent his fair share of time on the streets, his clothes reflect a life of “catch-as-catch-can,” thrift store and found items. Initially, his typical uniform is jeans and a flannel over a t-shirt, topped by a worn leather jacket from a deceased uncle, and old biker boots (Ambrose rides a ragged motorcycle). He’s blond, early twenties, and could almost be good looking “when he gives a damn,” but up until major changes are forced upon him in the first Eucalyptus Lane novel, Poser, he doesn’t give a damn.
When he runs afoul of his main drug connection and has to shift into another identity, pretending to be someone else, his aesthetic morphs into California preppy when he poses as a Stanford grad student with the help of a friend who buys him a new wardrobe and potentially new lease on life. Having never been exposed to other possibilities, he feels shaky at first, like being “pushed onstage without a script,” but he takes to his new persona when he realizes the potential of an amazing future he now holds in his hands, abandoning his ragged “gutterpunk” existence in favor of a shiny new one, eventually graduating from California preppy for “Old money” men’s fashion, discovering a penchant for custom-made suits and Italian shoes. Even after achieving some measure of success, tenuous though it is, when he walks down the street in Palo Alto or San Francisco in a state of sartorial splendor, he still flashes on his old bad-boy aesthetic whenever he catches a reflection of himself in a store window, back when getting dressed required minimum effort and almost no money, when every day and night were spent in survival mode, and those jeans, flannel, worn out jacket and boots were his armor in a cruel and uncaring world.
As his circumstances and attitude shift, Ambrose becomes something of a fashion chameleon in the series, and he’s not the only one.
2. Rich Mommy Aesthetic
If anyone in the Eucalyptus Lane series personifies a classic rich mommy look, it’s Jessica Jenkins Eason, oldest daughter of a Silicon Valley tech billionaire and wife of a closeted executive whose transgressions cause Jessica to step outside her considerable zone of comfort and into one of hedonistic sexual experimentation and adventure. Jessica’s kind and caring nature and movie star good looks mask a woman ready to break the mold of her former predictable existence and embrace one of risk and radical self-expression. As the mother of a toddler, Jessica walks a fine line between living up to her maternal responsibilities and seeking happiness on her own terms, which happens when Ambrose comes to live in her guest house. She doesn’t realize at first that he’s pretending to be someone he’s not, and it’s only when she discovers the truth about him that she begins to discover hidden truths about herself. When that happens, her style begins slowly evolving. She still rocks a practical designer wardrobe perfect for taking her son Beau for play dates at the park, or stopping by Stanford shopping center for a new pair of shoes to wear to the next charity gala she’s obligated to attend. While her rich mommy aesthetic remains throughout most of the series, Jessica also begins to embrace the boho fashion aesthetic when her career as an artist takes off and what constitutes ‘family’ shifts along with her wider understanding of the world outside her little corner of Palo Alto
3. Retro Aesthetic
While Jessica embodies the rich mommy aesthetic, her younger sister Bennie, who lives in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood, consistently embraces a sweet/ naughty retro vibe throughout the entire series.
Bennie loves dresses that suggest the prim and proper silhouette of 1950’s ladies’ fashion: full skirts, covered in polka dots or some other fun pattern, cinched waists, sweetheart necklines, often with funky Mary-Jane shoes and whimsical sunglasses. Bennie plays at being prim and proper but privately, is anything but. While her old college pals from Hollins are climbing the corporate ladder, Bennie works as a receptionist at Miss Dover’s dungeon, sunny gatekeeper to for a portal where souls both lost and found engage in their wildest fantasies, finding pleasure through pain. When at home, Bennie favors silky robes embroidered with Chinese dragons, and velvet slippers beaded with intricate designs of dragons, peacocks, or flowers. Bennie also loves lacy, racy lingerie, retro and otherwise, occasionally accessorized with handcuffs.
Though Bennie’s fashion aesthetic remains constant, she’s the main one who facilitates change in others, transforming Ambrose’s aesthetic from Bad Boy to California preppy, and reluctant to admit that it’s the bad boy look she fell for first, before crafting the persona for him that would captivate her own sister, a move she later comes to regret. But, as Bennie likes to say: “Everything happens for a reason.”
4. Older Rich Guy Aesthetic
The middle-aged and older men in the Eucalyptus Lane series have their own individual takes on this aesthetic, but one thing they all have in common is that none of them look like they’re trying too hard.
Mr. Bob, aka Bob Bauer, retired tech exec, always looks like he’s headed to or from a board meeting, with a stop-off for drinks and cigars, or maybe a round of nine holes at the club. His typical look consists of slacks, a sporty polo, and expensive but comfortable loafers, so that all he has to do is throw on a blazer when propriety demands, or a tuxedo when his wife Mary-Ann demands that he accompany her to a formal event to raise money for charity. Laconic, with a dry sense of humor, Mr. Bob sometimes smokes cigars at places where smoking isn’t allowed, just to see if he can get away with it. When he’s really ready to relax at home by the pool, or on vacation in Majorca, he wears a Hawaiian shirt, cargo shorts (yes, cargo), and topsiders while enjoying a brandy or beer and a fine cigar while he streams the Giants game on his phone.
Retired tech billionaire Parker Jenkins, Jessica and Bennie’s dad, like to travel the world, tool around the San Francisco Bay on his sailboat or the Mediterranean on his yacht. He tends to embrace a softer side of this aesthetic, with more cotton and linen, and cashmere sweaters. Like Mr. Bob, he has to don a tux occasionally, and even then, looks totally at ease. As Randy observes when he meets Mr. Jenkins for the first time: “Everything about him screams rich—in the most tasteful, understated way.”
In his first appearance, Maxim Rusovich, longtime client at Miss Dover’s dungeon and younger brother of her mortal enemy, is wearing silk boxers and not much else, but generally he’s seen in impeccably tailored suits for the short and chubby. His older brother Alexei, the more intimidating of the two, also dresses up daily for overseeing operations at his tea room in Russian Hill or any nefarious activity at his operations in the central valley or the parking garage at a property he just acquired. Maxim and Alexei both get their suits from Savile Row, or Spoon’s in Chinatown. Both also have ties to Russian businessman Sergei Dobrev, who uses highly questionable methods to protect his longtime interests (not official mafia, but still gangsta). Sergei, early seventies, rocks the Older Rich Guy/ Tycoon aesthetic, often sporting white pants, black blazer and thick-framed sunglasses on his palazzo in Monte Carlo, a look that always makes Miss Dover think of Aristotle “Ari” Onassis (the Greek shipping tycoon who swept a widowed Jackie Kennedy off her feet), or in a designer track suit, limited-edition sneakers, and always—those sunglasses.
None of these men would consider themselves influencers, yet they influence younger guys like Ambrose and Randy who didn’t grow up with the finer things, but recognize quality when they see it, from shoes to cologne, to the neatly pressed handkerchief tucked into the breast pocket of a custom made suit. Taste can’t be taught, but like an appreciation for a fine cigar, or a nose for fine wine, can be acquired by those willing to learn.
5. Dominatrix Aesthetic
Owner and head dominatrix at Dover, Inc., Miss Dover, a trans black woman in her early forties, embodies this badass feminine aesthetic with black leather & latex, take-no-prisoners attitude, and streetwise ability to recognize a line of bullshit when she hears one—99% of the time. One of the first people Ambrose met when he arrived in the city, Miss Dover gave him a job, and over the arc of the series, much more, though their mentor/ protege relationship gets tested to the limits. Miss Dover has dreams of becoming a famous fashion designer, and while her own fashion aesthetic eventually tilts toward minimalism in pastels and grays, the lines and contours remain as sharp as her claw-like diamond-encrusted nails.
Momo, assistant dominatrix at Miss Dover’s, likes to wear selections from her latex cat suit collection, along with cat ears & riding crop or flogger. When she’s not at work, she creates cute mother/daughter outfits based on Japanese anime, while Mignon, ambitious newcomer, is a “kitten with a whip,” with a soft French accent and hard heart.
6. Normal Core Aesthetic
In a series with so many fashionistas, normalcore stands out for its pure, unassuming simplicity. Veteran and ex-cop Randy Burke isn’t going for an aesthetic so much as trying to keep some decent clothes on his back and a roof over his head, but his signature black polo shirt with jeans and brown loafers are his everyday capsule wardrobe, at least until he can make it to the laundromat. He tends to feel “frumpy” when he dresses up, especially now that he’s gained a few pounds, and so avoids it, but that becomes harder as time goes on, when he’s called upon to attend certain formal and semi-formal events, whether as guest or front-of-house hired help. He’d rather be at home on the sofa with a cold beer, wearing his favorite Giants t-shirt, and Costco plaid boxers. He played catcher when he was on the baseball team in high school but knows that after all the shit he’s pulled, he’s the last guy in the world who would ever catch a break—until fate throws him a curveball.
Ambrose’s older brother Butch is another normal core adherent, though like Randy, not much is normal about him. He’s spent a large chunk of his adult life in prison, where clothing options are severely limited, but when he has the option, he wears jeans and a t-shirt, and/or a plain button-down if he’s really dressing up. Alternately amused by and resentful of Ambrose’s growing clothing obsession, Butch sometimes has to remind himself that in another life, his own “job” stooging for a drug kingpin called for burning lots of money on a wardrobe with a certain jet-set flair, light years away from anything he’d even consider wearing post-incarceration. He hopes Ambrose isn’t headed on a similar trajectory, getting himself into situations that could end badly. As he reminds Ambrose one day during a brotherly argument that gets
heated: “You can’t wear those cute little outfits in prison, you know.”
7. Ladies Who Lunch Aesthetic
Jessica doesn’t have a regular job, but keeps busy looking after her son Beau with the help of a very dependable baby-sitter. Before she begins pouring all her energy into her blossoming art career, she also spends a lot of time serving on charity committees and boards for various philanthropic organizations, occasionally dipping into the ladies who lunch aesthetic. Her longtime acquaintance, Mary-Ann Bauer (wife of Mr. Bob) however, is a lady who lunches extraordinaire, who’s chaired more committees than she can count and served as president, vice president or secretary for everything from the garden club to the Woman’s Club. Among other ladies of leisure who do charity work when they can, Mary-Ann is a hard-charging go-getter that some might even call pushy. She embraces the ladies who lunch aesthetic by dressing impeccably for luncheons and other occasions where hostess-y effortlessness and ease is paramount, kicking it up a notch with power high heels, classic designer sheath dresses (she has one in every color) and wearing her hair up in a way that means business, even though she never goes to work at an office.
8. Geek Chic Aesthetic
When Rajit Sharma moves into Bennie’s apartment building in North Beach and tries to strike up a friendship, Bennie is cool to him at first, having just been through relationship drama, but she warms up quickly, even helping him out of a jam in Poser (Book 1). Even before Rajit wins her over with his politeness, charm, quirkiness and vulnerability, she’s impressed by his neat, preppy-leaning slim-fitting suits that he punches up with unique touches like a contrasting paisley bowtie, or classic wingtip shoes in unexpected two-tone colors.
Before long, Bennie notices that Rajit has backslid, lapsed or advanced (depending on how you look at it) into more of an underground tech (ninja) aesthetic, in jeans, hoodie and sneakers—all black.
Rajit’s friend and former “partner in crime,” Terrence Olivier, rocks the Geek Chic aesthetic with quirky outfits similar to Rajit’s, along with hip, wire-frame glasses, and a rock-steady gaze that gives him the air of a force to be reckoned with. In his down time, Terrence likes to wear ironic t-shirts, faded jeans and Vans, keeping a closer eye on the latest techie fashion trends while Rajit, like Ambrose, tilts decidedly toward a more trad-menswear look.
9. Yoga Girl Aesthetic
Brianna, Randy’s neighbor in Poser is always seen in yoga pants, tanks, and the big, loose sweater she throws on to walk across the parking lot to the yoga studio in the strip-mall next to their apartment building. Brianna loves everything yoga, including the classes, the equipment, and the “well-endowed yoga instructor, Steve.” She’s also given to smoking, hard-drinking, and spur-of-the-moment sex with whoever’s available. While she embraces the yoga-girl aesthetic, in reality she’s a party girl in a yoga girl outfit—fun-loving, hard-living, and not too discrete, though she is observant about the comings and goings around the apartments. If asked about it, though, she might need a drink to jog her memory, like when Randy asks her about the “fake” pizza delivery man who knocked on his door prior to his computer getting hacked.
10. Tough Guy Aesthetic
What causes Ambrose to seek refuge in Palo Alto is a run-in with his “night” boss: bald, muscle-bound tough guy Lang. Ambrose slings drugs for Lang early in Poser when he’s not working at Miss Dover’s. Having been warned after tripping up one too many times, Ambrose knows that Lang is gunning for him. Lang talks tough, but also relies heavily on his tough guy look, a combo of goth guy aesthetic (minus the skinny jeans and eye liner) and rocker/ punk aesthetic, with his black leather and many piercings and tattoos. Ambrose’s relationship with Lang shifts and flips during the course of the series, but it’s a key confrontation with Lang that forces Ambrose to realize that running away isn’t always the answer, a lesson that sticks with him when other lessons he thought he’d learned have fallen away.
BELOW: Silhouette portraits of peeps from the Eucalyptus Lane series.
For more about the Eucalyptus Lane series of novels, Poser, Cracker, and the latest, Baller, including order links, click here.
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Bedtime Noir #9: Murder in Greasepaint
I’m so glad to be back to Bedtime Noir! After a few weeks hiatus we’ll kick off the summer with Whiskey Leavins’ genre bending/ blending detective novel with clowns a-poppin’ and a femme fatale (with special talents) like you’ve never seen (or heard) before. Click here for the video, and for more about Whiskey Leavins and his other work, check out his web site here.
Bedtime Noir #6: Reading from My New Novel, Cracker!
Tonight, I’m sharing a passage from the latest book in my Eucalyptus Lane series from Outcast Press. Cracker picks up where the first book, Poser, leaves off. Much more about Cracker soon, some exciting news about upcoming publications and events (!) & more posts about film, writing, reading and life. But for now—here are a couple of scenes between Jessica and Ambrose (and Beau!) from Cracker. Click here to watch!
Bedtime Noir #4: Dead Dogs by Manny Torres
Reading from Manny Torres's debut novel. Manny has some other novels as well, including Father Was A Rat King, and Perras Malas. He’s also an accomplished visual artist. I interviewed Manny for Deep South Magazine last year, so if you’d like to know more about Chuck and Phobos from Dead Dogs, and Manny’s other work, click here for the interview.
Click here to watch my short reading from Dead Dogs.
To learn more about Manny and his latest work, click here.
Bedtime Noir 2: Valentine's Edition
Tonight, a short selection from Cracker, the next book in my neo-noir Eucalyptus Lane series from Outcast Press. And, meet Mitzi!
Source: http://www.nevada-mcpherson.com/
Book Review: The Recalcitrant Stuff of Life, by Sean McCallum
If books are supposed to transport one to another place and time, The Recalcitrant Stuff of Life by Sean McCallum (Outcast Press) is a vehicle for a journey to a mystical place where few have been. The physical destination is Iquitos, Peru, and the emotional destination is to the heart of what makes one human. Roosevelt’s (Rosie’s) journey there is originally to escape the pain of a (very) bad relationship, and his best friends, freewheeling Deuce and strait-laced Izzy, are on a mission is to find and return Rosie to Canada. Of course, best laid plans do often go awry, but in this case, detours and derailments lead to better things for all involved, albeit each of these three has to walk through his own kind of fire to attain them.
The structure of this book is complex but like the fractal geometric patterns that so captivate Vanessa, another seeker arriving in Iquitos whose story weaves in with that of the three main characters, it has a clarity and symmetry that makes for a satisfying conclusion. Flashbacks of what brought Rosie to Iquitos are like pieces in a mosaic that, by the final page, create a clear snapshot of Rosie’s emotional journey that started well before the beginning of the book. As the story progresses, the teeming chaos of Iquitos and of these characters’ lives doesn’t really sort itself out so much as provide the travelers with tools to navigate this world a little better the next day than the day before.
In Iquitos, resistance to the flow of life is futile, and if there’s one thing Rosie has learned and the others will eventually, the best one can do is go with it and stop trying to make sense of everything.
It’s only through Rosie’s resignation to making all the pieces fit: his past, present and what the future holds, that he finds the way back to himself. The disparate shards of his recent past start to fall away when he meets Vanessa, and the slights, questions and betrayals that hang between Izzy and the Deuce come to a head even as they briefly celebrate a mission accomplished by finding Rosie before turning back for the more than 5000-mile return trip home.
The portal ringed by fire, guarded by dragons of memory through which each must pass (FYI, this isn’t a fantasy; just figurative language here, nonetheless apt) is the experience that awaits them all deep in the Amazon jungle when they take part in an ayahuasca ceremony. To say that one “trips” on this drug, or very intense plant-based substance, doesn’t do it justice. Its effects on the mind and body are as spectacular as they are terrifying, and it is not an experience to be taken lightly. Having already transported us to an unfamiliar place, McCallum does us one better by transporting us though the violent pyrotechnics produced by the individual experiences of Rosie, Deuce, Izzy and Vanessa in the throes of ayahuasca so that, like them, we emerge whole but not unsinged. This book contains indelible images, but one phrase that still echoes in my mind is that of being “pulled under,” as when members of the group are most firmly in the clutches, or embrace, of ayahuasca tea, and which that is can change moment to moment.
McCallum’s insider knowledge of this remote location imbues the fictional narrative with documentary realism, making it a different kind of novel, one that deserves a special place on the shelf with others containing mystical wisdom, along with the geography of the continent to our south, and that of the heart.
Review: Two Novels by Duvay Knox--The Soul Collector and The Pussy Detective
Writer Duvay Knox demonstrates how great storytelling can both honor and explode literary tradition in his debut novel The Soul Collector (Creative Onion Press) and in his latest, The Pussy Detective (Clash Books). Both incorporate fully and to the bone, the language of street vernacular and the power of the image, with laser-sharp poetic precision. Magical realism is woven seamlessly into everyday life in modern “Amerikkka” through Knox’s trademark style, minimalist and authentic, which makes make both of these innovative works of fiction fast-paced, satisfying reads.
In The Soul Collector: As Told by that Nigga Death, Death (formerly known as Sippian when he was a living human), moves through hell, establishing himself as a player in those infernal corporate offices that echo with the atmosphere of an abandoned downtown office building. His mentor, Mr. Otis, manifests as a middle-aged streetwise guy with a sharp wit and the uncanny ability to produce a Kool cigarette or a frosty mug of beer out of thin air. Even with Death’s keen awareness and ability to read others, including how they might react when given their two-week final notice, he’s philosophical and questioning. When Mr. Otis tells him, “…We gone upgrade you some mo to sumpen you mite not be ready for. So we gotta make sho you ready for it,” Death replies, “Im ready for anything. Cuz that last case put sumpen on mah mind and made me see visions of this game I aint know about.”
Far from an unfeeling entity, cold as the blade he figuratively wields, Death possesses sufficient memory of his own earthly existence to feel pity, an attribute that he seeks not to lose, but manage. His capacity for hope, and concern for the greater good, occasionally give this ace reaper pause, like a hit-man burdened with a conscience.
The title character of The Pussy Detective, Reverend Daddy Hoodoo, emerges from the classic detective mold then smashes it to bits, redefining the phrase “private dick” on a natural, supernatural and cosmic level. The Pussy Detective blends the cinematic antecedents of 1970’s detective shows and the best of blaxploitation together with folkloric tradition and respect for the limits of magic into a surreal twenty-first century mystery. Reverend Daddy Hoodoo’s specialty is helping women find their lost pussies, or more accurately, the lost essence of their pussy, which, in the case of his newest client Abyssinia, seems to include a loss of self and direction as well.
Along with his partner (in more ways than one), Madame X, the Reverend assesses the deepest needs of his clients, guiding them through intricate rituals not for his own fulfillment, but to help them reclaim the part of themselves that was lost, often through contact with those who would take them for granted or exploit them. Rev. Daddy seeks to restore, with much preparation and soul-searching involved. He’s an old-school detective for the New Age, as comfortable cruising over to “go see Sonja’s fine, troublesome ass about …customized GANJA,” as he is navigating the frontiers of consciousness. He’s astutely observant, equipped with a well-developed bullshit detector: ear to the ground, back against the wall, and does not suffer fools.
Knox’s innovative use of language has an addictive effect, and both The Soul Collector and The Pussy Detective have gripping plots, and sharply drawn characters. These works are hip in the OG sense of the word, and to engage with the first-person narration in each book is to be taken on an extraordinary journey with a protagonist in possession of his own superpower. So, get “Suited and Booted,” as Reverend Daddy Hoodoo would say, and prepare for a hell of a ride!
Excerpt from POSER now up at Deep South Magazine!
An excerpt from my novel (first in a series, ) POSER, submitted for Deep South’s call for pieces on the theme of “Separation” is now up! Click here to find it.
It's an Ending--and a Beginning
Finished POSER New Year’s Eve and now doing a final edit—well, not final—but enough to keep going forward, getting it into the best shape it can be (#journey, # process!). I spent most of 2020 on this project and little else, but now I’ll be back at the blog more frequently—at least once a week— and I have a new “Fretville” ready to post soon! Happy belated New Year and all best to you on YOUR writing/ reading/ whatever-project-makes-you-most-happy goals!
Editing at Last!
I haven’t posted in a while because I’ve been so obsessed with completing a rough draft and now I have it—a rough draft! So I’ll be posting more here much more frequently as I continue in the writing process.
As for the title of this post, perhaps I say ”Editing at last!” with such joy, not because I think I’m anywhere near finished with my novel, but because I feel that I’m taking another step forward in the process—That’s why it’s a joyful thing to me! I have quite a long way to go, but as they: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” And the closer one gets to one’s goal—the more steps one wants to take.