Strangeness, Charm, & Wild Hope

Soooo…

Last night I was going through a few of my old style magazines to see if there were any articles worth saving before I threw them out. I came upon a few columns about different celebrities and their “affordable” new clothing lines. Notice how I’ve used the word affordable…

It seems to me that whenever celebrities decide to partner with a designer or brand to creat a fashion line for “everyday” women, it always turns out to be a bit overpriced. I mean, don’t get me wrong, the clothes are usually very nice and I would definitely wear them, but does it strike anyone else as funny that what they consider “affordable” is $40 t-shirts and $150 dresses?

Personally, I find this a little maddening. As a fashion enthusiast AND a student, I don’t think it’s all that realistic to consider that price range as “affordable”. To celebrities, $40 is pocket change. However, to the normal woman in society, it’s nice to be able to find fashion savvy clothing that is ACTUALLY affordable. I myself can’t justify spending $40 on a t-shirt, even if it is designed by Lauren Conrad (for example). And all you LC fans out there, don’t hate on me…I’m a fan of her style and fashion as much as any one of you! (I even have her book “Style”!) But her line Paper Crown seems awfully expensive, considering it’s marketed toward younger women in their 20s. I’m guessing that the majority of that demographic is, like me, a poor struggly student, just trying to make their way in the world…fashionably. But it seems pretty hard when clothing that is supposed to be “for the everyday young woman” has such a hefty price tag.

It just seems to me that if these celebrities really wanted their fashion and style to influence young women like them, they would actually market it at a price that those young student types can afford. It would give true fashionistas on a limited budget the chance to really show their true style!

~ B

(Note: Personally I am not saying that one can only have style and fashion sense if they buy designer clothing. I myself am partial to no name pieces and vintage finds as much as the next person. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to look fabulous! That’s my point! But if these celebrities want their clothing to be purchased by their key demographic and who they’re marketing too, they need to adjust their price line)

So…I know I haven’t been posting much lately and I had promised to write a bio about myself. Well all I have time for in the next little while is this quick questionaire so hopefully it will be enough to let you all get to know me a little bit :)

Once I have time to actually sit down and write a little blurb about myself, I will do it as quickly as possible!

But here you go! A little something about me :)

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three Rs:
o Respect for self
o Respect for others
o Responsibility for all your actions.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
7. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
8. Spend some time alone every day.
9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
14. Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

I think every girl and woman should take a look at this powerpoint presentation from loveyourbody.com

http://www.loveyourbody.nowfoundation.org/presentations/SexStereotypesBeauty/flash.html

And also, take a look at this video for the Dove “Campaign for Real Beauty”. It’s called Evolution of a Model.

http://www.dove.ca/en/default.aspx#/features/videos/video_gallery.aspx[cp-documentid=9125381]

And let’s all remember…ain’t we women? Fight sexism!

This is what should be done by one who is skilled in goodness

And who knows the path of peace:

Let them be able and upright, straightforward and gentle in speech,

Humble and not conceited, contented and easily satisfied.

Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways.

Peaceful and calm, and wise and skilful,

not proud and demanding in nature.

Let them not do the slightest thing that the wise would later reprove.

They should wish:

In gladness and in safety

May all beings be at ease.

Whatever living beings there may be,

Whether they are weak or strong, omitting none,

The great or the mighty, medium, short or small,

The seen and the unseen,

Those living near and far away,

Those born and to-be-born,

May all beings be at ease!

Let none deceive another, or despise any being in any state,

Let none through anger or ill-will wish harm upon another.

Even as a mother protects with her life her child, her only child,

So with a boundless heart should one cherish all living beings,

Radiating kindness over the entire world,

Spreading upwards to the skies, and downwards to the depths,

Outwards and unbounded, freed from hatred and ill-will.

Whether standing or walking, seated or lying down,

Free from drowsiness, one should sustain this recollection.

Imagine for a second that the world you live in is magic.

~
Never let a summer day go by unenjoyed.
~
Never betray those who would never betray you.
~
Never be satisfied with reality.
~
Go days without wearing makeup.
~
Never be afraid to be a little rugged.
~
Never judge by looks alone.
~
Forget once, forgive twice. But never again.
~
Give shit to no one, take shit from no one.
~
Learn the difference between “real”, and “just there” when it comes to friends.
~
Take time to do everything you want, don’t wait. Make it happen.
~

Spoken word poem presented by Sarah Kay of Project V.O.I.C.E. at the 2010 TED conference.

~

If I should have a daughter, instead of Mom, she’s gonna call me Point B. Cause that way she knows that no matter what happens, at least she can always find her way to me.

And I’m going to paint the solar systems on the backs of her hands, so she has to learn the entire universe before she can say, “Oh, I know that like the back of my hand.”

And she’s going to learn that this life will hit you, hard, in the face, wait for you to get back up just so it can kick you in the stomach, but getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.

There is hurt, here.

That cannot be fixed by Band-Aids or poetry.

So the first time she realizes that Wonder Woman isn’t coming, I’ll make sure she knows she doesn’t have to wear the cape all by herself.

Cause no matter how wide you stretch your fingers, your hand will always be too small to catch all the pain you want to heal.

Believe me, I’ve tried.

“And, baby,” I’ll tell her, “don’t keep your nose up in the air like that. I know that trick; I’ve done it a million times.

You’re just smelling for smoke so you can follow the trail back to a burning house, so you can find the boy who lost everything in the fire to see if you can save him.

Or else find the boy who lit the fire in the first place, to see if you can change him.”

But I know she will anyway, so instead I’ll always keep an extra supply of chocolate and rain boots nearby, because there is no heartbreak that chocolate can’t fix.

Okay, there’s a few heartbreaks that chocolate can’t fix.

But that’s what the rain boots are for. Because rain will wash away everything, if you let it.

I want her to look at the world through the underside of a glass-bottom boat, to look through a microscope at the galaxies that exist on the pinpoint of a human mind, because that’s the way my mom taught me.

That there’ll be days like this. ♫ There’ll be days like this, my momma said. ♫

When you open your hands to catch and wind up with only blisters and bruises; when you step out of the phone booth and try to fly and the very people you want to save are the ones standing on your cape; when your boots will fill with rain, and you’ll be up to your knees in disappointment.

And those are the very days you have all the more reason to say thank you.

Because there’s nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no matter how many times it’s swept away.

You will put the wind in winsome, lose some. You will put the star in starting over, and over. And no matter how many land mines erupt in a minute, be sure your mind lands on the beauty of this funny place called life.

And yes, on a scale from one to over-trusting, I am pretty damn naive.

But I want her to know that this world is made out of sugar. It can crumble so easily, but don’t be afraid to stick your tongue out and taste it.

“Baby,” I’ll tell her, “remember, your momma is a worrier, and your poppa is a warrior, and you are the girl with small hands and big eyes who never stops asking for more.”

Remember that good things come in threes and so do bad things.

And always apologize when you’ve done something wrong. But don’t you ever apologize for the way your eyes refuse to stop shining.

Your voice is small, but don’t ever stop singing.

And when they finally hand you heartache, when they slip war and hatred under your door and offer you handouts on street-corners of cynicism and defeat,

you tell them that they really ought to meet your mother.

~~~