1969: my mom would lay out my clothes for the next day on a chair. When I did not like what she put out for me, I would secretly switch it around before morning.

Until 1977: My mom made costumes for theatre for twenty years, and every piece of clothing that she, my brother and myself wore. Proof of this can be seen on some yellowish super eight footage from the late sixties, early seventies, where I wear exactly the same outfit as my mom, in miniature. My brother dressed himself in a shirt and tie at seven, and we look like the hippest, mod family you could ever imagine.

1978: When punk came, I was happily cutting holes in all my clothes, which resulted in great fashion statements and in being banned from public transportation in Amsterdam.

My fashion statement in school, where I stayed until fourteen before venturing off into the world, was wearing an oversized men’s jacket with a used toothbrush in the breast pocket.

1983: Wearing pants painted with oil based paint and a roller.

1986: dying my hair grey at the temples because that looked so ‘distinguished’ (comes naturally these days J)

1984/’88 wore turbans on my head during my entire 4 year dance education.

1991: moved to NYC for the first time and put on some ink.

1993/2011: did costumes and styling for my own theatre and dance company.

1994: wore a self made pumpkin bikini on one of my go-go dance gigs in Frankfurt.

1994: met Alesia Exum J

2004: became a shop-aholic.

2005: made a soldier’s uniform that could transform into hot pants.

2010: took over my mom’s riveting tools and started putting holes and studs and rings and grommets into everything I owned.

Started rescuing ties from being forgotten, started collecting them and customizing them with iron-ons and using scissors, sewing machine, rivets, you name it.

July 2011: invented the i-phone tie.

2011: opened Strange Loop Gallery with Alesia Exum.