Saturday, May 14, 2011

It's Time For...... A RANT

Two rants for today, starting with.... A FASHION RANT:
Last night I went to my school's fashion show, and fortunately the two lines I voted for (my friend Stephanie's Getty/Black Swan inspired line and Nicki's Lady Gaga line) took first and second place respectively. Yes, that would be me correctly predicting popular opinion! Anyway, I really enjoyed the fashion show, especially considering that after the less-than-great day I had yesterday, I really didn't want to go. But I put down my pride and decided it was necessary for me to be there to support my friends, sucked it up, and went to the fashion show.

Something that was really interesting about this... display was the wide variety of types of lines. Some of the girls, to put it simply, designed things with little to no originality that reminded me of things girls wore all the time and probably bought at Forever 21. Thankfully, these girls didn't win. Others designed more costume-y pieces, there was even on completely Halloween themed line. Stephanie and Nicki both designed very high fashion. Stephanie's line I could envision very clearly on celebrities walking the read carpet-all of her gowns were absolutely gorgeous. Not necessarily sensible for the mainstream audience, but gorgeous. Nicki's line was very clear an art display. It was Lady Gaga inspired, but it wasn't a direct imitation. I.E. she didn't make a dress out of meat... but one outfit did feature some candy. One of the things that made me so impressed with Nicki's line in particular was that I know Nicki, and as a person she is very conservative. She dresses nicely but modestly and is soft-spoken and polite. None of those adjectives could have described this line. Just so show you what I mean, when my friend Sophie came on the runway modeling a dress Nicki made that was completely hand painted and gorgeous and strange, I yelled, "OH MY GAWD!" causing Sophie to laugh and break her model-concentration-face. Yeah, my self-control is fabulous.

Anyway, so we had Stephanie and Nicki's awesome designer-status lines and then we had some pretty crappy and clearly not well made Forever 21 like lines, but there wasn't very much in between. The closest thing I saw to anything that was original but mainstream enough that I could see myself wearing it in public was my friend Jody's Peter Pan inspired line. She made really nice, quality clothing that I would definitely wear. And Jody, if you are reading this since I know you follow my blog, I am not saying this to make you happy. I'm saying this because it's true.

Well, this evening of fashion as represented by people at my school who are interested in fashion, brought me to think about the types of fashion that I am exposed to on a daily basis at my school. You see, my school has a reputation for being indie. So, we get our fair share of people who dress like this. Then, on the opposite extreme, my school has a reputation for being kind of slutty and low class. For that, we have the girls who dress like this. Then there are average girls and girls who find it socially acceptable to wear pajamas to school. Now, I like to think of myself as a girl who dresses... nicely? I've had people accuse me of being unbelievably indie, but my personal favorite is the word that Sydney invented specifically in order to describe my fashion sense: chosh. It's a combination of chic and posh. Essentially, I like to look presentable. An average outfit for me would be a floral dress with a cardigan and oxfords or (if I haven't shaved my legs) skinny jeans, a nice blouse, a statement belt, and TOMS or Converse. However, I generally prefer to wear dresses or skirts. Pants or for cold weather (otherwise known as no shave weather). So, I just like to be presentable. But then again, my outlook on clothes is entirely different than that on hair and makeup. In the morning, I take putting on clothes very seriously. However, I don't wear a drop of makeup and the most effort I'll put into my hair is a sloppy bun or a headband. I'm not too great with cosmetics.

So this brings me to my point. Why can't people just dress nicely? It really doesn't take that much effort to put on a pair of nice, dark wash jeans (I prefer dark wash to light wash), a simple, V-neck tee, shoes that aren't falling apart, and freshly brushed hair. A couple accessories and you're good to go. Something like this doesn't take any effort and all and looks casual, but clean and put together. Come on, people. Look nice.

Seriously, when I oversleep and don't look my best at school, I don't feel good. For me, clothes are all about self-confidence, and if you don't feel good in your clothes there's no point. Yet at the same time, there is a level of social acceptability that is necessary to maintain. Like with Jody's line, it has to be original yet slightly mainstream. It's a difficult balance, but I find by watching any given episode of What Not to Wear, Stacy and Clinton give enough useful advice to last a lifetime. I can't even hold a candle to their fashion knowledge.

Okay, the second rant will have to wait. Monster's Inc. is on, and I'm just not quite in the mood to write anymore.

Happy birthday to George Lucas, Cate Blanchett, Sofia Coppola, Amber Tamblyn, Mark Zuckerberg, and Miranda Cosgrove. Fun, fun, fun.

Although amazing, macaroni and cheese leaves an awful after taste.

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