"Blondie Ambition"

Debbie Harry is simply a Goddess. I pretty much worshiped her as a young girl and through my teenage years. I even went so far as to paint one of her album covers on the back of my jean jacket! Yes, I confess, I had a painted jean jacket -- several, in fact. And I painted for others! I guess you could say that I had a thriving little business in High School!

cover of Debbie Harry's solo album, KooKoo from 1981

(of all images, this is what I chose for the back of my jean jacket!)

Debbie was so stunningly beautiful in the 70’s and 80’s, but she also had a great sense of style and some killer pipes! She had a tremendous voice and she looked so sexy and so edgy, I wanted to be her. Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to dye my hair. I wasn’t even allowed to have pierced ears until age thirteen!

beautiful Blondie

I just posted about the decade that was the sensational seventies and I realized that I was lucky to be born into such a colorful period in time. Jeffrey, from Fashion by the Rules, reminded me of Studio 54 and the divine age of Disco. I can only imagine what it would have been like to be a part of that glamorous scene. How empowering to wear the revealing clothes, how exhilarating to dance all night and how surreal to meet Andy Warhol!

Debbie and her mates in 1978

Fashion of the Disco Age can be summed up in one word – SEXY! Or maybe SKIN. Or maybe STILETTO. At any rate, women like Bianca Jagger, Janice Dickinson, Ivana Trump and Jerry Hall frequented the notorious night club, Studio 54, dressed to kill. But, Debbie Harry did it better than anyone, in my opinion. She was always dressed to perfection, right down to her lip gloss.

decadence and disco balls

Debbie Harry circa 1978

I want to wear this outfit this weekend!

Harry set so many trends which we still interpret today. Madonna is an icon, no doubt, but who do you think went blonde first? Ms. Harry, obviously. One of my favs from the 80’s, Terri Nunn from the band Berlin, adopted Blondie’s “dip dye” hair style and I see people wearing versions of this look today on the streets of NYC.

Debbie accessories a plain white tee and plain white tank with her dip dye hair

My pal (and jewelry designer whose Cleopatra earrings are in the upcoming Sex and the City film), has been blogging recently about her obsession with “Double Denim.” In fact, so has fellow blogger and founder of IFB, Jennine Jacob. It seems “D-squared” (not the designer duo/twins) is coming back with a vengeance. Debby Harry was wearing this look over 30 years ago!

Debbie does denim!

I’m a sucker for stripes and for sailor influenced ensembles which Harry wore often. These looks are classic, but Blondie kept them cute and current by infusing her own sense of style.

wearing sailor stripes and a sailor collar

Debbie Harry, 1978

At nearly 65 years old, the gorgeous Debbie Harry is still turning heads and still as fashionable as ever.