Archive for the ‘Themes’ category

What People Who Don’t Get Us Get Us: Rants on Being Misunderstood

January 15th, 2013

Christmas season is over for most people, and for some of us gift giving hasn’t ended. I personally just received a Christmas gift card today from friends whom I haven’t seen in a while. It was a restaurant gift card, which I am plenty sure Rob and I can make use of. So for the others, what do people who don’t get us get us? By us, I mean people with a particular sense of style. What do others give us in terms of style-related presents, recommendations, or comments?

They might say things like:

“This would look GREAT on you!”

“Oh yeah, she totally likes pink. or flowers. or sequins.”

And you think,

“Well yes, I like some things with those but not ALL of them!”

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PUNK. If you like punk, post punk, steam punk, or other variations of punk (the look, the lifestyle, and hopefully the music) like I do, you probably like the clothes of Richard Hell, Karen O, old school Madonna, Ann Demeulemeester, etc. Instead they give you clothes that resemble what’s actually called emo: Avril Lavigne’s, black hair phase Ashley Simpson’s, and Paramore’s Hayley Williams’. Instead of rust and distress, they give you cute cartoon skulls and neon colored chalky hand drawn stars on a black background…ooh real scary.

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90s. If you like the 90s look, which I have been admiring a lot this year, you probably like a more refined version of the 90s’ clothes like how Luanna from Le Happy’s dresses. You take inspiration from Claire Dane’s character Angela from My-So Called life without actually dressing like her completely because that could get a little frumpy without modification. Instead others might think you like wearing PJs out, always wearing flannel and beanies and other things stereotypical. The 90s had good style too, apart from the bad ones.

LOLITA. If you like lolita, you probably feel or look best wearing a certain type of lolita—whether it be classic, sweet, goth, or punk. If you wear classic, some people might think that you are just really into really old vintage, without even knowing the time period (which in this case is Victorian and Rococo). If you are into sweet, others might just think you like cute and girly stuff period. Or Hannah Montana. They get you things that are pink, floral, and glittery. Though sweet lolita is cute, it is a combination of cuteness and mischief. A lot of folks don’t get that.

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SWEET INDIE VINTAGE. I say vintage loosely, because all the things I listed above are from an older time (same way I use “indie” loosely). The sweet indie vintage look is what most fashionistas like right now. It’s like nothing else is fashionable to them (I guess I can’t blame them, because I went through that too). This could look like a bit mod or 40s with flirty dresses, knee-high socks, cat eye make up, secretarial Mary Janes, boat shoes, or oxfords. Most people who are keen on pop culture can think of Suzy from Moonrise Kingdom, because they somehow still get film style even if they don’t quite get fashion style. Some people just see the “sweet” part of what you’re wearing and totally ignore “indie” and “vintage.” I used to wear this style for about 2 years with an emphasis on 60s Parisian, and I had friends who kept thinking I like pink and girly things, and that was all I was to them. I don’t even really wear pink…especially not hot pink.

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INDIE POP. The first person I think of when I think of indie pop clothing is Katie White from the Ting Tings. People who don’t get it will think you’re into hip hop or something. At one point in my life I wore indie pop clothes—colored tights and big bold 80s patterns. At that phase of my life, one of my friends picked up these really colorful and girly earrings and told me they were “so me.” I haven’t even worn earrings since early college, so I’m not sure how that even resembled me at all.

I know these complaints might sound a bit bratty, but you’ll only really “get it” if you’ve been a misunderstood victim like I have. This post is for those of you who need to have to go someplace else, including the WWW, just to be understood by like-minded people who live and breathe clothing. As much as you want to be thankful for people’s thoughtfulness, sometimes you can’t help but be just a little bit hurt by how wrong others perceive you.

Though we shouldn’t try to let others’ comments affect us negatively, how do other people think of you?

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And oh, I just signed the pledge to shop second hand first by the ever cool Citizen Rosebud. Come join?

Escape from the Sartorial Stereotype: Tips for Creative Costumes

October 25th, 2012

Whether you call it “Halloween” or “Harvest Fest,” this is the time of year when kids dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood or the Big Bad Wolf set out on a mission to collect as much candy as possible before the curfew, and you go out with your coworkers to drink your beverage of choice—dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood or the Big Bad Wolf. Not much has changed, except that you can’t go house to house without people thinking you’re a creepy salesman.

Even if you don’t do New Year’s resolutions, do yourself a favor this Halloween and resolve not to be a sartorial stereotype. Every year, women in particular succumb to one of multiple Hallows’ Eve costume cliches: (1) an adult version of a childhood favorite featuring what looks more like a kid-sized dress, (2) a really bizarre infusion of estrogen into a masculine character or sexless object, (3) a cute bunny, or (4) some kind of feline (see The Office, season 2). These are major stereotypes that women from preteens to adult seem to be stuck in. And perhaps understandably so—it’s really hard to get away from it when that’s all they have for sale at Spirit Halloween.

For men (as well as women), all I can I say is that you should be absolutely mindful of the use of racial stereotypes as costumes—as well as others that might be perceived as offensive, obscene, or derogatory.

With that said, here are some creative ideas for costumes for both men and women alike:

The iconic David Bowie look consists of makeup, flashy clothing, and textured hairstyle. His spacey Ziggy Stardust costumes were mainly designed by Freddi Burretti. Bowie’s costume in the 1986 movie The Labyrinth takes a different path in the direction of the swashbuckling New Romantic scene (although, I do not recommend the guys’ donning anything similar to the Goblin King’s pants—ever). Other iconic personalities with similar styles include Adam Ant and Brian Eno.

Elizabeth Banks’ newest hit role, Effie Trinket from The Hunger Games, was widely celebrated by makeup junkies all over. If you’re feeling like buying makeup for Halloween that’s also suitable for all-year use but do not want to spend a ton of money on MAC Cosmetics, Coastal Scents and BH Cosmetics have similarly pigmented palettes (check out their Halloween contests). Comparable personalities to Effie Trinket include Björk and Karen O.

If you feel like dressing around a theme instead of a person, you can pick a decade or a genre, or a combination of both. If the theme you pick is the 1920s, you know that every other girl with that decade in mind will be dressed as a flapper, so why don’t you instead pick Coco Chanel or Charlie Chaplin (Pam Beesly was really dressed up as Hitler)? Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction that paints an alternate 19th century Victorian universe with futuristic technology using steam as the main power source. In essence, steampunk combines retro and futuristic elements. It’s fun to play around with the idea of mixing time periods and/or genres to create something completely new.

After having said so many Office references, I leave you with this challenge: What will you create?

This article was written for Extant Magazine. I published this on my blog, because the article was not published on time due to administrative issues.

Dream of the 90s: Grunge

July 2nd, 2012

Taken from Portlandia

I never thought I’d put the 90s on my list of fashion raves, especially when it used to be my least favorite decade for style. The musical shift from the 80s to the 90s may have been the most awkward transition in the history of music, but in the fashion world, the change didn’t seem to be all that bad. While I was rockin’ platinum hair status before redoing my hair to a darker blue, I did enjoy the “trashy” 90s look a lot. My favorite day was when I had messy hair (both on purpose and accidental, because I somewhat fried my hair with all the bleaching, so I just kind of went with the look). I wore baggy button downs as a cardigan with some of my favorite bands’ buttons on, a Jets t-shirt, black bike shorts, and brown hiking boots with white socks. So, my outfit kind of looked like the first picture you’ll see below (different and livelier colors and with a button down to go with the shirt). Here are some of my favorite iconic 90s looks:
CYCLING/BIKE SHORTS

This image was taken from Asos, and those sequin cycling shorts are killer. Sadly, they are out of stock now. I have been generally obsessed with cycling shorts lately. They are great for layering.

PLAID SKIRTS & SHIRTS

Plaid skirts are great. However, I don’t think I’ve found one with the perfect length—right on the knee or slightly above. Sadly, I find a ton of minis everywhere, but I found a remedy for really short skirts by just wearing bike tights underneath. They look really cool, contrary to how it may sound. I like the uniform look a lot, and plaid is perfect for that look. I was deprived of a pleated plaid skirt when I was in private school. I had a uniform that had colors resembling an inverted tree—light beige top, green pleated skirt (and tan socks). And oh yeah—I just bought some Reeboks that were almost the exact same pair as Audrey Horne’s (Twin Peaks) black & white oxfords. However, I thought the quality was not great, because the paint started to peel off the first day I wore them out. I’m selling them here if you are interested (update: SOLD.)

DARK BROWS & LIPSTICK

I think my favorite color for lipstick has been wine for a long time now. Occasionally, I used to opt for a really bright red lipstick. I don’t really wear lipstick too often though, because I find that it dries my lips. In fact, a lot if not most chap stick and lip stick dries your lips. Perhaps lip tints work better? Of course, drinking a lot of water is hands down the best thing you can do for your skin and your lips.

BEANIES, HIKING BOOTS, VESTS

Picture from Marc Jacobs

BAND BUTTONS & TEES

Picture from Marc Jacobs

Though there are many others that are iconic of the 90s, the things I put up are just looks I’ve been trying out and enjoying these days. My husband Rob looks great in 90s clothes, which he likes to wear still :) Is there anything from the 90s that you used to wear and/or still would put on today?