Body Image and "curves officially in fashion"

Weight and size have come up a few times in the last few days and I feel it's something that should at least deserve a mention here on my blog. I will start out by saying that I really don't think I have weight issues: I'm not trying to be super thin, I don't want a size 28 waist, I don't look at a picture of a model and dream about how wonderful my life would be if only I was thinner. Granted, there are things I feel I could change about myself-- but I generally only think that in a concrit sort of way. My weight and size is only really brought up in the most practical ways as in sizing and pattern: do I cut out a size 12 pattern piece or a size 14? And even those sizes are up for debate!

Reading articles about Plus Size fashion shows really throws me for a loop, though. I honestly have so many thoughts on this issue, I wouldn't even know where to begin! One of my friends recently forwarded me this article about a fashion show dedicated to women over the standard model size. To be honest, even though I am most certainly not a size 0 (or 2!)-- I'm kind of offended by the entire thing. And not even in a PC sort of way. I just think that sort of show is really unnecessary. Heck, even calling it "Plus Sized Weekend" is ridiculous to me. Are we trying to incorporate these women into the fold? Or are we trying to further differentiate them from other models? To me, it honestly stems from a pervasive Millennial culture of everyone-needs-a-trophy.

There really is no need for a separate show. I just think the two types of shows should be combined.

Taking my fashion education (if there's such a thing) into consideration, I think a lot of the "problem" with bone-thin models is the culture of design. It's easier to design for skeletons. Literally. People not privy to the background of fashion design take it personally ("idolizing the thin", etc.) But look at it this way: the fashion figure is 9-10 heads tall. Designers want models to be as close to those proportions as possible. Anything that deviates from that figure is more than just "off". It throws the design off. I don't think it's necessarily an attack on the fat. It's just everyone's jelly rolls are different and designers want to show a standard design.

I'm most certainly sure there is a designer or two who hate the fatty-chans. Magazines, yes. They can "idolize the thin" but that affects my life very little. My world involves looking at pre-measured pieces and making them to fit my body by manipulating the shapes. I don't think clothes judge people... or the shapes or the numbers. If I'm making a garment from the ground up, I can make it do what I want it to do.

The next issue to address would be vanity sizing. And well, that's just unhelpful all around...

Yes, This is an Expensive Hobby.

My "favorite" mobile RSS reader is iReadG. Now, it's in quotations because I have a love hate relationship with the thing. It does what I need it to do, but I wish I could articulate it to the developers what needs to be done to make that thing POP. But that's not what this blog is about-- it's about the 140+ blog posts I need to catch up on and simply won't just skip over because I'm too stubborn to skimp out on my "obligations!"

Yes, self imposed obligations on things I feel I should be reading. But don't look into that too much- that's just a symptom of my insanity, I'm sure.

Anyway, I also have the good 'ol EGL LiveJournal community added and have been ridiculously avoiding diving in and looking at the nearly 90 posts that need sifting through. Most of the posts are utterly garbage (what are the measurements to...)-- but there are some really interesting ones every once in a while, too.

Now, I will preface this post to say that I've been on-and-off a peruser of that community for 10 years. Yes, let that sink in a little bit. I still remember the first day I tried my first lolita coordinate and posted about it which I will NOT go back to find: don't bother looking, it's hidden behind posts asking about where to find a decent petti! But suffice to say, even though I will freely admit I probably don't put my ~*~*~120% lolita best~*~*~ foot out there anymore, I think I can speak on things more than some. Authority? No way-- not in the least! But I'm not as scared of slander as I used to be, not as worried about what a late-teen girl with money can post, and well, it's my blog so I can weigh in on things when I feel like it.

Image from xylia on Tumblr

With that said, opinions and thoughts on recent posts. Because commenting there is dull sometimes anyway and it gives me a blog excuse + a reason to clean up my RSS feed.

A Little Lipstick Never Hurt Anybody

So soon for a rant post? Not even!

While browsing the beautiful interwebs, I've come to a conclusion about the majority of vintage sewing pattern posts I've seen: I'm vastly disappointed in people not living some of those outfits up!

Now, I will attest that when it comes to taking pictures in a semi-completed toile, there's no need for fancy and flare to take a picture that merely shows that "hey- the pattern is boxy and needs taking in here-and-here.". But when the outfit is done? Take it up a notch! Wear that vintage dress like it's intended!

Maybe it's just my feelings about dressing up and being womanly in that way... maybe Dita has just rubbed off on me. Who knows. BUT:

(originally from an ad about deodorant!)

OK, I know it's politically incorrect, but I will admit that's how I (generally) feel about these sorts of things. Now, I'm aware that some people don't have the time, money, patience, or all of the aforementioned abilities to make that vintage dress POP. But if you're taking the time to recreate such an amazing garment, you have to put in the effort for you to look amazing in it, too!

This is something that is brought up constantly in the lolita circles: if you're going to own a 400$ dress, you have better do more than just wash your hair and put on some lipgloss to make that dress shine. The dress isn't what makes you a lolita- it's everything that goes along with it.

Now, I was debating using some poor unfortunate woman or girl's photo to illustrate my point... but that's not really what this rant is about. I'm not trying to attack anybody- I'm trying to stress the point that you should always try and look your best if you are putting yourself out there to shine!

Take this Vintage Vogue pattern, V8686:

It's a VERY classic style and the illustration is absolutely gorgeous. But if left in the hands of someone who may not want to style themselves properly to fit it? It could be disastrous! I'm not against "wearing your own thing, your own way"- but it could have so much potential!

A great fascinator hat- pearl necklace- t-strap shoes- full hair and makeup- little gloves and some bright red lipstick? Sounds fabulous! Heck, even the model in the Vogue Patterns site looks quite nice! (I probably would not have picked that brown/green color, but hey!) 

In the mean time, though, I'm sure I will have to continue to appreciate some seamstresses' amazing stitch work--- but try and block out their lack of attempt at making the outfit work as a cohesive style piece. Honorable mention to Sew Weekly, though. Most of those ladies really take these pieces and run! (I particularly always love Mena's and Loran's amazing frocks!)

These Hands. They are too Small!

Lately this past week has been pretty lame just in that I've had to wear my terribly unfashionable and uncute wrist brace, designed to keep my wrist in a "neutral position" and provide "support and compression." Needlessly said, anyone who sees me in it wonders if something terrible has happened and I have to joke around that my gimp hand is just being gimpy. It's actually not until recently that I've started to think about seeing a specialist and figuring something out "while I'm still young."

(Un)Fortunately, everything I want to do career-wise is very detail oriented. From sewing to knitting, painting and drawing, embroidery and screen printing-- everything is a strain on the wrist. As I type this, my keyboard is tilted backwards on the desk, raised up on some DVD cases. But, I'm happy to say that at least I'm not working at Starbucks anymore: it was terribly detrimental to my hands.

Its an interesting revelation to me that this is something that I need to care for and need to value and cherish, in the same way that an athlete has to be an excellent runner with great ankles or a music engineer has to keep his ear drums in tip top shape. I'm a smart, intellectual person (aha! I'd like to think, anyway)-- but my money makers are my hands. Without full control of my hands, everything I do that brings me joy and fulfillment would be nearly impossible. Unless I get to be awesome like the elephant who paints with his trunk. He doesn't have aposable thumbs-- if he can do it, so can I!

All joking aside, though, it's pitiful that in my mid-20s this is all ready something I have to think seriously about. Why are my hands so delicate? I have tiny wrists and long, slender fingers. Contorting my fingers into weird shapes to catch an embroidery needle for hours on end isn't the natural state of things. Kneading dough is hard sometimes, too. I suppose that then again, growing up in a digital age and typing isn't helping, either...

Icy Lemon Bread.

Spring Break is next week and it's not really much of a break. I'll still be working, but will get 2 days off right before the weekend which I'm looking forward to. Right now, I'm kind of over my head with all the projects I'm in the middle of... I want to work on them all, and not work on them, all at once! How weird is that? I think taking the approach of timeliness + how far along each project is to completion is probably the best plan of attack.

Also, looking forward to Sunday. I'm not Christian, so Easter isn't a thing for me. But the Hunky Jesus competition is so San Francisco and I'm looking forward to checking it out!

And yey for reviving my Poupee Girl account which my boyfriend regards as "Poop-y Girl" and my ultimate time waster (true, it's worse than Pinterest for me.) I think it'd be fun to use it to categorize all the random stuff I own, starting with my makeup and nail polish obsession. Judge me all you want, I love cute shit like this.

Review: February Products

Taking a tip from my favorite YouTube gurus, I figured it'd be fun to give little mini reviews on the products I introduced to myself this month. I will start out saying that I'm really not the type to buy frivolously... I prefer to buy things as I run out and I'm really trying to get better about using up every product I've been hoarding for the last year! The products I'll be talking about are ones that I've had to buy because I ran out of something.

Soap and Glory: The Greatest Scrub of All (Self-Activating Facial Smoother + Exfoliator)
I had forgotten how great a real exfoliator can be until I picked this up! I had been eyeing it for a while and it's as nice as I had expected. The beads themselves are of different sizes-- most being very fine, all encased in a lovely shimmering champagne colored paste. The scent is very light and I'm very impressed that the exfoliating beads do not dissolve when scrubbing. I'm happy to say that this is a happy medium between St. Ives' super chunky exfoliate and some of the random ones I've tried that have granules that are just too small to be effective. The only con I have about this is the packaging. The lid is a screw on... not a snap. Small pet peeve while I'm in the shower trying to wash up! As for the directions saying that for dry and sensitive skin to use only once or twice a week... well, I have really dry skin so I upped the usage to 3-4 times a week and have had no problems. Using this has really cut out all the flaky skin I battled with for months! Would this be a repurchase? Eh. I'll happily use it till its gone, but it's not a HG.

Lush Skin Drink Facial Moisturizer
When I ran out of a nightly moisturizer, I started using my regular day moisturizer with SPF... and I hated doing that on a matter of principle: why was I wasting my SPF and using it to sleep? Plus the texture for night time was all wrong. I finally caved and went into Lush to pick up this moisturizer and I have to say, I absolutely adore it! It makes my dry skin feel dewy and supple without being too oily. It leaves a comfortable top layer on my skin that feels like it's keeping moisture from evaporating off my face or rubbing off on my pillow as I sleep. A lot of the reviews on this product complain about the scent but I actually really like it-- it reminds me of a crushed almond and nut paste with just a touch of vanilla. Besides, I love almond milk so why wouldn't I love this smell? I'm also happy to say that I haven't had any adverse reactions to this and it hasn't broken me out at all, even with its high percentage of sesame oils. I would definitely buy it again-- though I might want to try some more Lush moisturizers out of curiosity first. Bottom line, love it.

Hope in a Jar for Dry Skin with SPF 20 (Extra-Rich Moisturizer for Normal to Dry Skin)
To be honest, I really want to be a Philosophy fan but I keep feeling disappointed. 2 out of the 3 products I've tried from them have really left me wanting, and this seems like one of them. Now, I won't completely bash on this moisturizer because it does what it says it does: provide moisture with SPF. But the smell! It's like a toned down version of their regular moisturizer. The consistency in Extra-Rich is spot on. The finish... it's just ok. But in terms of a difference between this SPF20 and the SPF25 version (which is made for all skin types), I'd chose the one for all skin types based on the smell alone. Once this tube is done, I'm jumping ship and maybe trying Shiseido or Clinique for my SPF needs.

Aveeno Active Naturals Positively Radiant Skin Cleanser
Absolutely. Positively. HATE this product! This is me going on a whim and trying something random out of the blue after my Sephora foam cleanser ran out. It all starts with accidentally grabbing the cleanser that wasn't the foam... why? Because when you're in a hurry, both bottles look the same. Removes makeup? Not at all-- I have to use several cotton balls full of toner to get the residue off. Gentle for your eyes? Not one bit. It stings insanely bad. And the worst part of it all? It leaves my face feeling tight and dry after it's rinsed off which is one of the most disgusting feelings ever when it comes to a facial cleanser. I've learned my lesson when it comes to drug-store products. Sparingly. And always keep a receipt so I can AT LEAST exchange it. I'll probably tough this out with some extra measures: replenish my makeup remover wipes and be extra liberal with the moisturizer. Terrible.

Lush Catastrophe Cosmetic Fresh Face Mask
I'm really on the fence about this because I like using a mask... but I don't think this is the one for me. When I bought this, my heart was really set on the Oatifix mask which the store had unfortunately ran out of. The SA recommended this one... and I went with it on a whim. Is it bad? No. The blueberry scent is decent and my face feels soft afterwards. Would I repurchase? Nah- not this mask anyway. I can see this mask being more for people with oily-prone skin and mine really isn't that much. I need something that can soothe my redness instead of drying out my skin.



Overall, I'd say Lush's Skin Drink was probably my best beauty purchase of February, the Soap and Glory exfoliate a decent second. Hope this helps some of you!

'Sparkling mango and orange', I declare.

I've tried over and over to write a post about my social surroundings, always with the same intent each and every time: Jane Austen has shaped my world view dramatically. The familiar mental imagery of sitting in a drawing room, surrounded by wonderfully crisp people, talking about life, the universe, and everything seems to prevail.

Frederic Soulacroix - The Tea Party

All this happens in tones that reflect contempt, happiness, and admiration (and tones that do not). All this springs to mind when I meet someone new or I have a dramatic revelation in my social life. Nearly all of this is shaped by Austen's observation of life-- of why people think and say the things they do, their mannerisms and mentalities and intentions.

Mary Cassat - Tea

Do I see myself as an observer of life? ... maybe not so much as others. But it does bring up the point of how I deeply enjoy patterns in all forms: patterns in fabric, patterns in behavior, patterns in emotions. Even my love of tarot is based on my love of patterns.

Pattern by Julia Rothman


A big, living example of all this is sitting in a circle of friends and somehow removing myself from their conversation to simply watch. You focus on one person and see how their facial expressions betray their actual words and conclude the deceit. Or maybe with another person, observe how they lean in in genuine happiness then recoil in surprise. Yes, it's a rather bizarre form of "people watching"-- especially when its focused on people I know personally, but I like it nonetheless. I love seeing how people tick and the things they lie about, are happy about, and sometimes (unsuccessfully) hide.

I guess my point when it comes to all this, I'm constantly stunned and even shocked at how bluntly and without even a veil of decency some people can communicate. It's more than just uttering curse words (fuck! shit! cock sucker!)--- but more about lack of thought that goes into the words they chose and what they want to get from the conversation.

I'm coming to the conclusion that some people plainly don't think about what weight their words and attitude will have in the long term; how acutely their subtle decisions change people's perception of them.

The prevailing attitude of today is "FUCK IT!"-- almost an abuse of freedom and intellect simultaneously. Yes, just say "fuck it" and say what you want: it's the easy thing to do and frankly very selfish. But how does that make interactions with others easier or harder in the long term? Easier at face value. But that attitude ultimately rots the social core from the inside out and that attitude catches up in the long term.

I'm not condoning manipulation through the medium of conversation... which is the other extreme. Choosing words wisely and with thought out precision should be the goal and a huge weight on conversations. So many people fail to see that point and end up running their mouth for no reason other than to hear themselves speak. Its unfortunate. I'm sure the characters in Jane Austen's books would consider them rude.

FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS-- cancelled.

Lately I've been pondering my various inspirations and thinking about how its something I hardly share with anyone. Everything on my mind as of late has been a mixture of reading magazines and watching films, things I do constantly, but that form little seedlings of ideas in my head.

For example, I was finally able to watch Exit Through the Gift Shop, a documentary (or prankumentary?) about street art and Thierry Guetta, the man who would video tape the acts of vandalism. All in all, I was impressed at how deep the street art world goes only as in so far to say... there is a big difference between a kid who doesn't know what the hell he's doing with a Sharpee in his hand versus an actual artist who thinks about the consequence and reasons of his work. Granted, it may be a real severity on my part to want see a strong line between play and art, but still, the thought process is there.

I browsed Flickr to find pieces done by some of the artists in the film.

Shepard Fairey

Invader

Mr.Brainwash

Bansky

When I first moved to The City, I was on a bus from Chinatown to the shopping district and watched a kid, maybe 17 or 18, just pull a fat red marker out of his pocket and do some random scribbling on the ceiling of the bus. It was packed, the driver couldn't see, and he just went ahead and wrote his name. I remember Kyle turning to me and saying, "Just because he has a tagging name, he thinks he should write it wherever there's space." I think there's something to be said about that for multiple reasons, mainly in the dichotomy of... just because you exist doesn't mean you have to tell everyone about it... But at the same time, just because you exist, why not tell everyone about it? Its an opinion that drags me both ways.

What I can agree with, however, is that if you're going to write something in public, at least do it with some precision, thought, and use great execution or else what's the point? If your point is to write something nonsensical in an illegible hand, then just write it down in a sketchbook and leave wall space out there for the rest of them.