The End of Summer? No! The Beginning of Awesome!

For the past week I’ve been listening to Cee-Lo Green’s fantastic send-off, F@#* You, and little else. At the same time I’ve been reading a lot of the hand-wringing in the press about bloggers and whatever are we going to do about them, along with our responses both here and on our blogs. And the two have combined in my head to form a single determination – bloggers need more swagger. I don’t mean anger, of the you-don’t-respect-us variety, or apologetics, of the we-are-as-legitimate-as-other-media variety. I mean swagger, the kind of swagger that comes from doing something well and knowing you’re good at it. So whatever other themes might knit together this week’s links, they all share that important characteristic – swagger. Step up to the plate, knock it out of the park.

Join us at IFB’s Evolving Influence Fashion Blogger Conference @ NYFW

Links à la Mode: September 2nd

• A la Modest – The Mystery and the Magnificent Monki
• All Tumbled Down – Fancy Style File
• Any Second Now – My Fashionable Heritage
• A Pretty Penny – Fashion Fitness and Floggers
• Awakened Aesthetic – To Covet: Cold Comfort
• Beautifully Invisible – The Corset: The Sexiest of Sexy Shapewear
• Beyond Fabric – Size and Fit: Shirts
• Bright Lights, Big Style – Losing Style in Fashion
• Chic Steals – Long-awaited Interview Outfit
• Fashion Cents – When to Alter Your Clothing
• Independent Fashion Bloggers: How Blogging Changed My Life
• My Closet in Sketches – Outfit Sketch
• Oranges and Apples – Thinking About Aging
• Ramblings With Rin – Before Meets After
• The Coveted – Design Your Own Shoes With Jeff Silverman
• The Demoiselles – Millenials: We Are the Revolution
• The Fashionista Lab – The Emmys: Red Carpet Recap
• The Lingerie Addict – Is Expensive Lingerie Worth the Cost?
• The Pursuers – Cheer Up, Margot
• The Sunday Best – Let Them Eat Bread
• What She Should Have Worn – Copy Cats

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There’s this new-old trend, coming back to haunt anyone that played in the fashion sandbox in the early nineties.  Cropped. Cropped sweaters, cropped t-shirts, cropped jackets…it’s everywhere.  What do the Demoiselles think of this trend?  Well, it’s complicated…

Jen: The cropped shirt has one thing going for it that the nineties lacked: it’s being worn with high-waists. Pairing a baggy, cropped sweater with a pencil skirt is cute; pairing a cropped cardigan with flat-front, high-waist trousers is quirky and shape-flattering. So, in 2010, I am giving cropped shirts two thumbs up.

Lindsay: …
Lindsay: I’m uncomfortable. I know how I’d like to see a cropped item of clothing work, but I feel like cropped sweaters and tops can be compared to the legalization of medical marijuana. You can let people have it, telling them it should be used in specific ways, but you know they’re not going to use it that way. I fully expect to see [more] cropped tees over low-slung jeans and bare midriffs abound. Not to mention, while I love the silhouette of a tight-fitting pencil skirt with a cropped, chunky sweater over it, I’m a fan of versatility, and I’m not sure that a cropped top gives enough options to get my two thumbs in an upright direction.

Jen: So, you’re uncomfortable about cropped tops for the same reason I’m uncomfortable with leggings.

Lindsay: Tou. Che, my dear. Leggings-syndrome, indeed. The last thing I want to see is a further 1980s revival, and unleashing croptop approval into the world makes my palms sweat.

Jen: Then what do we tell our readers? Do we give them some basic “cropped top dos and don’ts?” Do we tell them to avoid the trend altogether? Or do we just cross our fingers and…hope? The world is watching, Lindsay.

Lindsay: We tell our readers to not be awful when dressing themselves! If that includes cropped shirts and sweaters, then they need new glasses. (That’s right, you filthy hipsters!) I say try it with high-waisted skirts and pants, but the second you start showing off your belly-button, step away. Once you get comfortable re-living Flashdance, there’s only a very small chance of recovery.

Jen: Agreed. And I’ll add something I rarely say: do two trends at once. Wearing cropped sweaters in neutral tones, like gray, tan and cream, will appear less eighties-tastic than jewel tones and other bright colors. And for God’s sake, do NOT pair them with hooker boots.

It’s so easy to be uncertain.

It’s easy to ask someone else’s opinion, to land on the logical decision, to do what’s expected.  Whether picking out clothes, deciding where to work, or even discussing marriage and kids, the fastest way to stress relief is to choose tradition.  Finding the right clothes is all about body type.  Getting a job means school and hard work and great stock options.  Marriage and kids?  Statistics tell us that two parents raise more successful kids than just one.

Our parents’ generation proved this stuff.  Our grandparents’ generation did too.  History has shown that back then, these expectations made for success.  In a word, they worked.

But do they work now?  Do they work for you?

I bet they don’t.  Most of those that read this blog are under thirty-five – we’re the generation people like to call Millennials.

And it’s no secret that us Millennials are on the cusp of something new.

We took blogging and made it into New Media.

We took the Green Movement and made it into a cultural statement.

We took a presidential election and made history.

And when I look at what’s going on with “the kids these days” – myself included – all of these new things make me excited.  I think of how awesome it is to have been born in eighty-three, at the beginning of a generation of people that are going to change the way everyone thinks, and the way we think of tradition…and I also wonder at how scary it is to have to be one of the first people to believe in it, no matter how weird it all seems.

I recently told two of my elders (identities withheld) that I went to Boston as a representative for Broke & Beautiful.  No matter how I explained it, though, they couldn’t wrap their heads around the idea.  It’s just a silly website. Why would they pay for a girl with a website to fly to Boston?  Don’t you just write about stuff online?  It’s not really journalism, is it?

They don’t get it: this is new journalism.  It’s new media.  It’s not traditional, and no one really knows how it all works yet.  That’s what’s so great about it: it’s so young, and so raw, that it’s just now being explored.  It’s tradition, waiting to happen…if we come together to make it so.

The best thing about being young in 2010 is that we’re in the perfect place to change the course of history.

The worst thing about being young in 2010 is the fear that we can’t do it.  The uncertainty.  The urge to ask someone else if it’s smart, if it’s logical, if it makes sense.

Forget about tradition, and about what makes sense.  Wear what you want.  Write what you want.  Do the research and get informed and make the decisions that fit you. Because the way we’re handling our bodies, our blogs, our consumerism, our politics…it’s all getting press, because it’s all totally new.

Let’s keep surprising our elders.  Let’s start a revolution.

Jennifer Love Hewitt has been the center of some major scrutiny when it comes to “ideal bodies” in the media’s eyes. One vacation produced photos that spanned the ‘net and lingered for months, and months… She handled it like a pro, though, and returns triumphantly with a great outlook on body image. Coming from a situation that could easily have crushed any girl’s spirit to spread self-love is all we can ask for.

There is something vindicating about stealing a man’s clothing – regardless of the surrounding circumstances.

Making a grand departure from the ever-confined world of “fitted for your shape” is freeing. There are no strange contour seams that can make you feel obligated to mold yourself correctly, any requirement of being “small” is diminished, and definition of your smaller parts becomes nearly obsolete as there’s little-to-no way of achieving it without extra belts, straps, or cinches.

It’s pretty nice to just wear clothes sometimes.

On top of the sheer joy experienced by thieving a shirt from your closest male friend/love/relative/whatever… There’s pretty much no chance of anything looking the same on you as it would on a dude – your parts will change the entire shape of a pair of pants, a button-down shirt, a ribbed tank… We’ve all stolen those, let’s just be honest.

This is not boyfriend-exclusive, by the way. About a year ago, I shamelessly stole the watch on my left hand from my Dad. I love men’s watches. Particularly with something that’s not particularly masculine – a frilly top, a dress… A 14 lb. gold navigator’s watch. It’s like a symphony.

Combining feminine and masculine aspects is one of my favorite ways to feel “put together.” I know I’m maintaining my visual self-interest if I’m putting contrasting ideas together. Skintight jeans, heels, and menswear makes me feel like a big ol’ saucepot. (That means lots of “saucy” for those who are thinking “…Um, that’s good?”)

Speaking of saucy, there is no question about the limit of sex appeal you can wring out of a man’s shirt.

Masculine, my ass.

Have you stolen a boyfriend’s, brother’s or father’s clothing before? How do you wear it? Moreover, how do you feel in it?

Fast Forward to Fall

• a la modest: High-waisted jeans (a.k.a. mom jeans) are back in vogue!
• Beautifully Invisible: Steven Meisel’s Water & Oil: Social Commentary or Tasteless Fashion?
• Beyond Fabric: On men bags
• Dramatis Personae: Gilda Su announce Revasseur & Pre-Fall 2011 Lookbook.
• Embracing Style: How to make your own chain bag!
• Fete a Fete: Review of Guerlain’s new 68 Champs-Elysees fall 2010 makeup collection:
• For Those About To Shop: Katharine Hamnett is the mother of eco-fashion and believes consumers have the power to change the world
• Independent Fashion Bloggers: Can you Kickstart a New Career With Crowdfunding?
• Intrinsically Florrie: Dream dress and dream shoes- the fairytale look
• Kyoto Maiko: You Can’t Buy “Prep,” But You Can Own It…
• Miss Jones & Me: Roll into the Wild Woolly West: A focus on Fall transition pieces because the temperature can’t drop soon enough!
• My Closet in Sketches: A hand drawn interpretation of the magic of white jeans (from the Gap men’s department, to boot!).
• Vogue Gone Rogue: tuscan vineyards and teal rompers. A lighthearted outfit post inspired by Tuscan countryside and wine.
• Rags to Reverie: Sarah Mower’s Fashion Illustrations for Vogue China and Vogue Nippon
• Retro Chick: A very modern vintage manicure
• Shoe Daydreams: Where do you draw the line with knocks-offs… what about when a blogger favorite retailer is doing it?
• Shoeper Woman: Why does no one dress up any more?
• Style Eyes: How to jump right out of a style rut – some ideas on how to look and feel great
• Stylin’ Girl: Kristen McMenamy. Collages & trivia about a timeless fashion icon!
• The Demoiselles: What would you sacrifice for a more “fashion-friendly” body?
• The Simply Luxorious Life: A dream of a shopping list for the fall fashions – staples that will enhance any woman’s wardrobe.

Jealousy, Race, and Summer Jackets

Edited by: Thom Wong of The Sunday Best.
A veritable cornucopia of stylish reading awaits you in this week’s list. You’ll get taken on a tour of (rarely mentioned) downtown Halifax, discuss again whether any role model should be based on image, and look into doing the impossible with a dying medium. Along the way discover what tips men might have for women’s style, whether a closet can be perfectly unisex, and what Mormons might know about minimalism.

Links à la Mode: August 5th

• Amanda Lee: Avoiding Fashion Impulse Buys
• All Tumbled Down: Reflections on a year of no shopping
• An Early Life Crisis: Project 27 Completed!
• Beyond Fabric: Work appropriate: tips for being presentable at conservative workplaces
• Broke and Beautiful: You smell different.
• Clothed Much: How to create a minimalist closet
• Fashionable People, Questionable Things: Big Day Downtown: A Roundup of our shopping trip in downtown Halifax.
• Frenchleave: Who wants to wear a summer jacket
• Guacamole and Toast: An interview with The Impossible Project’s Florian Kaps
• Independent Fashion Bloggers: How to take your own outfit photos
• Mariel’s Castle: A case of unisex
• The Demoiselles: Women in the Media: Adele
• Stylish Thought: Losing Out Essence: Issues of Race in Fashion
• Modly Chic: Friend Friday: Blogger Jealousy
• Oranges and Apple German magazine bans professional models – nine months on
• Sparkle Birds: Sunday’s Best
• Sugar and Spice: Christina Hendricks: curvy role model or another unattainable ideal?
• The Coveted: Three essential beauty products under $20
• The Sunday Best: Copy Fail | Gap CORE
• The Very Subjective: The Style Thing
• Un-Stitched: Best of etsy.com

I recently met with a trainer – you know, one of those free sessions you get for joining a gym – to discuss my “workout goals” and how to reach them.

When he asked for my goal weight I said, “Something like 125.  I mean, that’s a soft goal.  I’m not sure where my body will be at 125, so I don’t know…”

He looked over my current weight, height and measurements, and then he leveled with me.

“You have to decide what body you want.  Once you truly commit, you’ll get there.  Just make sure you commit to what you actually want, not what’s easy or what you think you can do, or a routine that doesn’t fit your lifestyle.”

And that trainer, he got me thinking.

“Marilyn Monroe with Barbells” by Philippe Halsman

Here’s the hard truth: barring major health issues or a desire for plastic surgery, the body you want is the body you’ve got. When we make choices that affect the way we look – which foods to eat, how long to work out for, whether we really need a beer at 10PM on a Thursday – we are committing to a certain health standard, a certain body type.  In my opinion, that’s a good thing, as long as we’re honest about it.

When people ask why I work out, I tell them it’s because I want to be healthy…and keep eating cake. The truth is a little more long-winded:

• I want to eat cake…and nachos.  And burgers with bacon and avocado.
• I want my injured back to finally feel better, because the muscles surrounding it are strong and flexible.
• I want to go out for drinks and not worry about whether I ate enough to keep from getting smashed, or how many calories are in that liqueur I can’t pronounce.
• I want to then hike into the mountains without slowing up my friends, and hike back down without shin splints.

I realized that what I want has little to do with that “perfect weight,” or what my body fat percentage is, or how my clothes fit.  (Admittedly, as a fashion blogger, that last one is a little important.)  It has a lot more to do with what I see as “quality of life.”

Up until recently, I’d unwittingly decided that the body I wanted was one that forced me to restrict the foods I liked and avoid most physical activities – even the fun ones.  And you know what?  I chose that body. I choose to avoid strenuous activity and delicious foods, because I didn’t want to make the time to work out.

Now, I want a body that can go up two flights of stairs without feeling a burn; one that feels strong and capable, whether working outside or, ahem, in the bedroom.  I want that body more than I want the extra three hours per week that I’m missing by working out.

And the 120-pound physique?  I want that too, but not more than I want cake and nachos and nights out with friends.  If I can have both, great, but if I have to choose, I’ll pick food, fun and nightlife every time.

What are you willing to sacrifice for a more “fashion-friendly” body…and what would you never consider giving up?

Christina Hendricks, of Firefly notoriety (our favorite) and current Mad Men fame, is a constant topic of discussion here, as you may have noticed. She was recently interviewed as a “Healthy Celebrity” (noteworthy on its own, good job, media!) in the latest issue of Health magazine. It took only three questions about random things before they zeroed in on her body image – on which she has a quite healthy outlook. She’s one of our favorite people to talk about because she shows no shame when it comes to her body type (as well she shouldn’t!), and we love her for that. You can read the entire interview over at Health.com.

Looking back, moving forward?

Edited by: Florrie Clarke of Intrinsically Florrie.

Links à la Mode: July 29th