The Jayne Mansfield/John Waters connection is evident in the two photos above. Funny how you make connections to things that you LOVE later in life.

We lost another great one this past week. The wildly innovative Van Smith who is responsible for creating Divine, and all the unforgettable John Waters character’s looks. I can’t stress enough what an influence Mr. Smith was in fashion, film and music. He along with John Waters created the GOOD punk rock look (lots of eyeliner+ touch of leather+ touch of camp) when there was no punk rock. I don’t mean ‘inner’ punk, I mean full out in your face horrifyingly tacky, fagilicious, serial killer punk. BC Kalz alerted me to Van’s passing by sending me the New York Times obituary. The Baltimore Sun has nice write up on him too.