You've got a very retro look. What is it about the '50s and '60s that inspires you? "Definitely, you hit the nail on the head. I just love the silhouettes and of the '50s and '60s, also the '40s. Just the whole pinup girl thing — without being too cheesecake-y. I love the short-shorts and nipped waists, the pointy bras, and tight sweaters. The kind of bad-girl stuff of the '50s: the pencil skirts, the little wiggle dresses, the springalator high heels. I love all that stuff."
Who were some of your style icons growing up?
"Alabama from the movie True Romance. I was really enamoured with the way she was wearing super-bright colors, mixing and matching. How she was just dressing kind of wacky in cowboy boots, cow-print shorts, and a bright-blue bra. A little bit of Peggy Bundy, I must admit. And growing up I always loved Gwen Stefani. I went through a major Gwen phase when I was younger: bleached hair, the cropped wife-beater with dickies, the bindie. And of course Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield, too."
How do you think growing up in L.A. has influenced your music?
"I've lived here my whole life, so I know nothing other than that. I'm spoiled by the warm weather. It's such a big part of my life to just relax and enjoy the sunshine. I definitely think it influences my music. A lot of the things I want to write about are influenced by true stories, but a lot of them are stories I just think would be fun to tell. A lot of the songs that are coming up on my album are San Fernando Valley love stories or summer flings."
What song would want to play when you walk into the door?
"It's probably kind of cheesy but I'm obsessed by the song Pineapple Princess by Annette Funicello. It's pretty cornball, but I'd say that would be my theme music."
What's your favorite place to sit down and write?
"Mostly it ends up coming out when I'm at home, but I'd say my favorite place to go and charge up and write, if I have to plan, is Palm Springs. Just to escape for a weekend. I love to go and soak up the desert heat. To just go and recharge."
Do you have a favorite place to shop in L.A.?
"I love Shareen in downtown. She has some of the best curated vintage that's not outrageously overpriced. There's always The Way We Wore or those kinds of stores, but they are a little unattainable for the average girl. And the Rose Bowl Flea Market! That's heaven for me. I love the thrill of the hunt."
Anything you've picked up recently that you're particularly excited to wear?
"Just this weekend I got this Hawaiian set at the Pasadena City College Flea Market — little '50s shorts and a matching top. I love a good two-piece. It's the summer of the crop top for me."
Photo: Courtesy of Dominique Pruitt