Oh-Bam-PAlease!

Is anyone else as over Michelle Obama as I am? Now this is not a political blog, and I will not get into any politics whatsoever. I will not even tell you if I like or dislike the president, I could think that he is doing a great job running this country and I hope to see him back for a second term, or I could think that he is doing the worst job in presidential history since Nixon, but it really does not matter. The truth is, if I see another "news" story on how Michelle is wearing a "$29 dress from the Gap," I am going to vomit. I mean, considering the pickle this country is in financially, she should be wearing $2 dresses! I am a firm believer in not looking at price tags, ok, that's not entirely true, I would never buy something I couldn't afford, but if a dress is chic and cute and only costs $6... WHO CARES! Can we not put so much emphasis on how much a piece of clothing costs? I mean, these "reporters" may think that we, as the public, are going to get excited because "us commoners" can afford to wear the same outfit, but it does not matter. Designers will always make a cheap version of the outfit anyway. I personally think that we should want to dress like our mothers, our best friends, or our sisters, because it is what that person represents. I mean... what do we really know about Michelle anyway? Run on fashion friends.

In the eye of the beholder

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This statement is partially true; beauty is in the eye of the beholder’s country. If you think about it, beauty standards are different from country to country, and I mean they can be significantly different. In my personal opinion, beauty is whatever is rare. Just think about a diamond; jewelers can get away with selling these rocks for thousands and even millions of dollars. Both women and men think diamonds are “beautiful” and why… because diamonds are rare. At a more realistic glance, you may realize that all diamonds really are are pressurized pieces of coal, and no one would ever go around wearing a black chalky piece of coal on her finger.

In America, slender, skinny women are considered beautiful because food is so present. The fact that a woman is thin means she has restraint. In Africa, food is more scarce, so larger, even fat women are considered beautiful. Women in Africa will even go so far as to drink whole milk every few hours and eat extremely fattening foods and stay in their cottages so as to not burn off any extra calories weeks before their wedding so as to “fatten up” for their betrothed. As these women are stuffing their faces in Africa, women in America are starving themselves so they will be slender and look “beautiful” in their wedding dresses and wedding pictures. (And I should know because I am getting married in a month!) Women in Asia are constantly bleaching their skin so that it looks lighter. They are staying out of the sun as much as possible because the sun is so heavy and abundant there that lighter women are rare. In Europe, lighter women and men are considered beautiful because it means that they have a lavish night social life, while darker skinned people are considered day laborers, and therefore, they are considered poor. Beauty is all about rarity and individuality. It changes from country to country, and it changes drastically. If a skinny white girl showed up in Africa, the men would be repulsed. The bright side is, if you don’t fit the “ideal” for beauty wherever you are, you can take comfort in knowing that somewhere else in the world, you are considered ravishing! Run on fashion friends, we are all beautiful.

White is the new black

We all know about that LBD, the Little Black Dress. It is a staple to every woman’s wardrobe, but what about the LWD, The Little White Dress? I think every woman needs a little white dress that she can pull out in a pinch. This summer item goes a bit further than the little black dress because with the right hemline, it can be worn either day or night. This dress should usually be sleeveless or short sleeved if you are going for a day to night look (and who wants a long-sleeved dress in the summer anyway?!) With a flowy fabric or a lightweight loose fit, this dress is the perfect summer commodity. It can be worn to work with a sweater or blazer and a gold cuff, and it can be worn at night with no sweater and some jeweled bangles, earrings, or necklace. This versatile garment has made many debuts in my life and wardrobe. I have multiple LWDs and will continue to keep at least one in stock. I recommend this staple to everyone if she doesn’t already have one. Run to the store and buy one, because it will be worth your time fashion friends!

Mother Hen

Parenthood and clothes making: two seemingly opposite professions; yet, when these two are more closely examined, they can be eerily similar. Now everyone needs to know that I am not, and have never been a mother… at least not yet. However, I do have an adorable nephew that I would jump in front of a train for, and I have another niece or nephew on the way that will be my godchild. If I love my own children as much as I love these two, I should be a pretty good mother. Motherhood is exhausting, as I am sure many of you know, and a lot of the time, you may want to throw your hands up and exclaim, “I quit!” You may feel at times like you are screwing up your child, and he or she will never be the same again. But the other half of the time, motherhood is amazing. The since of accomplishment you receive from the need and love of your children is so overwhelmingly beautiful that it could make you want to cry. So how does designing and garment making tie into rearing a child you ask? Well, My clothes can be considered my children. I mother these clothes with sweat and yes… blood, and a whole lot of tears! Sometimes I feel like I want to give up because the clothes will never turn out the way I want, and other people will definitely judge the “rearing” of my clothes and me. Then things seem to turn around for my clothes and me. Some sort of divine intervention happens, as it can in motherhood, and I end up doing something right. I pull out a bag of tricks form God knows where, and a masterpiece appears in front of me causing me to wonder, “Did I do this? Did I really make this?” I become so attached to my clothes that turned out to be so beautiful, and I don’t want to let them go. Mothers, you are doing a great job with your children, you have the hardest and most stressful job in the world. Lets keep raising our children weather these kids are people or garments. Run on fashion mothers, run on!