#Fashion essays

[ttsuxx]

Rare John Galliano editorial for The Independent fashion supplement, Spring / Summer 1999

Photography: Dmon Pruner | Styling: Sophia Neophitou

Scanned from Visionaries: Interviews with Fashion Designers by Susannah Frankel

[januscorner]

Just realized I can post this. Please watch the ones about social issues omg

[achungarchive]

Alexa Chung on the unpolished appeal of Indie Sleaze for Financial Times Fashion (2023)

[sugar-petals]

attention kibbe typing enthusiasts: 

i’ll publish an in-depth analysis of hyunjin’s image ID this week! like and/or interact if you want to be tagged, and reblog to spread the word 👋

EDIT: PUBLISHED HERE!

[wordswhisperinthedark]

I think the biggest reason why the long forms are my favourite sfth thing is that as someone who spends ages writing because the words won't go the way I want immediately, it's amazing to see a group conjure up such wonderful and well-written stories with beautiful arcs and conclusions (plus the healthy doses of chaos), and well fleshed-out characters in the space of like, 30 minutes or less?? On the spot?? And with other people all throwing their ideas in at the same time?? *mind blown*

[chic-a-gigot]

Les Modes : revue mensuelle illustrée des arts décoratifs appliqués à la femme, no. 163, juillet 1914, Paris. "Lettre sur la mode: La silhouette actuelle et l'attitude-tango." Francis de Miomandre. Bibliothèque nationale de France

English translation by Google Translate (and edited for relative clarity).

Ma chère amie,

Vous me demandez mon avis sur la mode actuelle, comme ça, simplement?… Voilà bien une idée de femme!… Comme si Fou pouvait professer une opinion sur un pareil sujet, si ondoyant! Tout ce que peut faire un homme de goût, c'est d'admirer ses contemporaines qui passent, et de respecter cet effort martyrisant qu'elles t'imposent pour diversifier à l'infini leur séduisante figure. Je sais que cet effort n'est pas toujours heureux. Mais n'allez pas en incriminer la mode, qui n'y est pour rien. Il y a deux sortes de femmes, celles qui ont du goût… et les autres. Ces dernières ont le génie d'élire parmi les accoutrements du jour celui précisément qui les rendra ridicules.

Il arrive un moment où nous ne remarquons plus combien sont gracieuses les femmes de goût qui portent encore les choses à la mode le mois dernier, mais nous n'avons plus d'yeux que pour leurs malheureuses imitatrices. C'est à ce moment-là qu'une mode est démodée. Il faut la changer.

La question de changer ne se pose pas pour la mode actuelle, puisque sa caractéristique est d'etre au contraire en perpétuelle évolution. Une évolution! que dis-je? un vertige… On n'a pas le temps s'y reconnaitre… Il semble que toutes les les pays soient conviés à nous fournir des motifs d'inspiration sans cesse renouvelés. Et c'est la Perse et bientôt l'Inde, et c'est la Grèce, la Grèce de M. Pierre Loüys, la Grèce à demi orientale d'Alexandrie, et c'est la Turquie et demain ce sera la Chine. Et puis après, on remontera dans le moyen âge. On pillera les musées. La mode actuelle? Ah! bien quinaud celui qui essaierait de s'en moquer! Car il n'aurait pas plutôt achevé sa petite diatribe, si vaine ! que déjà on pourrait lui répondre: « Mais, Monsieur, vous datez, vous vous raillez d'une très vieille chose. Ce que vous trouvez ridicule, il y a au moins quinze jours que nous en avons assez nous-mêmes… » Consultez les caricatures des journaux amusants, et vous serez édifiée. La mode actuelle, qui a le désavantage de coûter très cher à celles qui veulent la suivre, et de les ahurir un peu, a au moins la supériorité d'échapper au ridicule. Elle court si vite!…

Et cependant, me direz-vous, elle existe. On s'habille, que diable ! A vous d'extraire de tout cela la ligne générale, je ne sais pas moi, la synthèse…

Je veux bien. Voyons. Cherchons ensemble. Est-ce la tunique ? Mais non, puisque la bonne moitié des toilettes ne comporte pas de tunique. Est-ce la cape? La cape donne une jolie silhouette, mais que de femmes restent fidèles à des manteaux d'une tout autre forme, et cependant demeurent très dans le train! La note serait-elle donnée par le chapeau? Je veux bien, mais alors lequel? Le petit, le grand, le plat, le large, l'immense, le rond, le roulé en cornet, le lourd ou l'aérien?… Ne cherchez pas plus avant et reconnaissez avec moi que ce qui caractérise la mode actuelle n'est pas tant une ligne plus ou moins souple et gracieuse du vêtement qu'une attitude de la femme qui porte ce vêtement, cette attitude molle, hanchée, abandonnée, douce, passive, un peu veule et que, pour tout dire, j'appellerai l'attitude-tango.

On a souvent dit: « Le ventre s'est beaucoup porté cette année. » Quelle impropriété fâcheuse d'expression! Vous le savez bien, vous qui vous habillez à ravir et vous tenez de même, qu'il n'a jamais été question de ventre, mais qu'il a été énormément question de tango. Or, dans l'exercice de cette danse charmante, et qui, malgré de retentissantes interdictions ecclésiastiques, n'est pas près de disparaître, on se trouve fort souvent le bras en l'air et le talon relevé, portant tout le poids du corps sur un seul côté, ce qui donne aussitôt aux dames un petit air langoureux et vide, une attitude molle et déjetée.

A force de s'adonner à cette danse, nos élégantes ont pris l'habitude de se tenir ainsi dans toutes les autres circonstances de la vie. Et c'est en tanguant qu'elles entrent dans un salon, qu'elles y prennent le thé, qu'elles écoutent les hommes d'esprit, qu'elles regagnent leur automobile, qu'elles essaient leurs robes, qu'elles attendent la balle au tennis, enfin qu'elles vivent.

Rappelez-vous comment elles étaient il y a seulement trois ans. Droites, fières, faisant valoir le moindre pouce de leur taille, et minces, si minces ! C'étaient des Florentines, des reines, d'inaccessibles idoles. Le tango a changé tout cela. Le tango les a humanisées, assouplies, le tango les a brisées.

Il y a même là un profond mystère. Car, enfin, le corset, lui, n'a rien abdiqué de son inflexible nature. Il a beau porter des noms de nixes et d'ondines, de fées, de magiciennes ou de déesses, tout ce qu'on peut dire c'est qu'il commence un peu moins haut pour finir beaucoup plus bas. Et certains ressemblent davantage à des culottes baleinées qu'à des corsets proprement dits. Mais le fait est que cet instrument n'a de suave que le nom et qu'il se compose toujours d'un buse rigide comme un principe, d'agrafes solides comme des crampons et de fanons qui rompent parfois, mais ne plient sous aucun prétexte. Comment une femme aussi farouchement maintenue peut-elle trouver le moyen de se pencher avec une langueur si délicieuse? Comment arrive-t-elle à donner l'impression de n'être, en dessous, couverte que de linons impondérables et de souples batistes? Énigme, vous dis-je. Enigme de courage et d'héroïsme. La femme d'aujourd'hui est cent fois plus étonnante que le jeune Spartiate qui souriait tandis qu'il était dévoré par son renard. Cet adolescent, en effet, personne ne lui demandait dé remuer. Mais la femme à la mode, non seulement elle sourit, mais encore elle va et vient, elle penche le buste à droite et à gauche, elle marche, elle danse, cependant qu'un appareil ingénieux et terrible lui froisse les côtes, lui comprime le ventre, lui lacère les jambes, lui meurtrit les genoux. Que lui importe ? Un sourire d'extase illuminant sa figure enivrée, elle s'avance, désarticulée et engageante, suivant toutes les règles de l'attitude, qui lui donne son grand cachet de chic, de l'attitude-tango.

—

My dear friend,

You ask me my opinion on current fashion, just like that?… That's a woman's idea!… As if Fou could profess an opinion on such a subject, so undulating! All a man of taste can do is admire his passing contemporaries, and respect this tormenting effort that they impose on you to infinitely diversify their seductive figure. I know that this effort is not always successful. But don't blame fashion, which has nothing to do with it. There are two kinds of women, those who have taste… and those who don't. The latter have the genius to choose from among the outfits of the day precisely the one that will make them look ridiculous.

There comes a time when we no longer notice how graceful the women of taste are who still wear fashionable things last month, but we only have eyes for their unfortunate imitators. That’s when a fashion goes out of fashion. It needs to be changed.

The question of changing does not arise for current fashion, since its characteristic is, on the contrary, to be in perpetual evolution. An evolution! what did I say? a dizziness… We don't have time to relate… It seems that all countries are invited to provide us with constantly renewed sources of inspiration. And it is Persia and soon India, and it is Greece, the Greece of Mr. Pierre Loüys, the semi-eastern Greece of Alexandria, and it is Turkey and tomorrow it will be China. And then afterwards, we will go back to the Middle Ages. We will loot the museums. Current fashion? Ah! very stupid anyone who tries to make fun of it! Because he would not have sooner finished his little diatribe, so vain! that one could already reply to him: “But, Sir, you are dating, you are making fun of a very old thing. What you find ridiculous, we have had enough of it ourselves for at least a fortnight…" Look at the caricatures in the amusing newspapers, and you will be edified. Current fashion, which has the disadvantage of being very expensive for those who want to follow it, and of bewildering them a little, at least has the superiority of escaping ridicule. She runs so fast!…

And yet, you will tell me, it exists. Let's get dressed, damn it! It's up to you to extract the general line from all this, I don't know, the synthesis…

I don't mind. Let's see. Let's search together. Is it the tunic? But no, since a good half of the toilets do not have a tunic. Is it the cape? The cape gives a pretty silhouette, but how many women remain faithful to coats of a completely different shape, and yet remain very in tune! Would the score be given by the hat? I'm willing, but which one? The small, the large, the flat, the wide, the immense, the round, the rolled into a cone, the heavy or the airy?… Look no further and agree with me that what characterizes current fashion is not so much a more or less supple and graceful line of the garment as an attitude of the woman who wears this garment, this soft, hip, abandoned, gentle, passive, a little spineless attitude and which, to tell the truth, I'll call it attitude-tango.

It has often been said: “The stomach has worn a lot this year." What an unfortunate impropriety of expression! You know well, you who dress beautifully and carry yourself the same, that it was never a question of stomach, but that it was very much a question of tango. Now, in the exercise of this charming dance, which, despite resounding ecclesiastical prohibitions, is not about to disappear, one very often finds oneself with one's arm in the air and one's heel raised, carrying the entire weight of one's body, on one side only, which immediately gives the ladies a little languorous and empty air, a limp and lopsided attitude.

By devoting themselves to this dance, our elegant ladies have gotten into the habit of holding themselves like this in all other circumstances of life. And it is while swaying that they enter a salon, that they take tea there, that they listen to men of wit, that they return to their car, that they try on their dresses, that they wait the tennis ball, finally let them live.

Remember how they were just three years ago. Straight, proud, showing off every inch of their waist, and thin, so thin! They were Florentines, queens, inaccessible idols. Tango changed all that. Tango humanized them, softened them, tango broke them.

There is even a deep mystery there. Because, finally, the corset has not abdicated any of its inflexible nature. It may bear the names of nixes and undines, fairies, magicians or goddesses, all we can say is that it starts a little lower and ends much lower. And some look more like boned panties than actual corsets. But the fact is that this instrument is sweet only in name and that it always consists of a nozzle as rigid as a principle, of solid staples like crampons and of baleen which sometimes break, but do not bend under any circumstances. Pretext. How can such a fiercely held woman find a way to bend over with such delicious languor? How does it manage to give the impression of being, underneath, covered only with imponderable lawns and soft cambric? Enigma, I tell you. Riddle of courage and heroism. The woman of today is a hundred times more astonishing than the young Spartan who smiled as he was devoured by his fox. This teenager, in fact, no one asked him to move. But the fashionable woman not only smiles, but also comes and goes, she leans her bust to the right and to the left, she walks, she dances, while an ingenious and terrible device crumples her ribs, compresses her stomach, lacerates his legs, bruises his knees. What does it matter to him? A smile of ecstasy illuminating her intoxicated face, she advances, disjointed and engaging, following all the rules of attitude, which gives her her great stamp of chic, of the tango attitude.

[movedto-ph7soy]

🍓 style analysis: nana komatsu / hachi (NANA) 

❗❗EDIT 10/9/24: i've moved to @ph7soy, where i'll be posting all my original content from now on ᨐฅ

welcome to the first entry in my style analysis series- where i take a different fictional character for each entry and take a look at their fashion sense, as an exploration on how fashion plays a role in forming a character's personality & overall identity. in other words, it's a deep dive into the intersection of story & style. today we're starting off with nana komatsu (who we'll be affectionately referring to as hachi from here on out) from NANA, my favourite character from my favourite manga of all time.

NANA is a manga very near and dear to my heart. i could spend all day talking about why, but i'd say one of the biggest reasons is for how ai yazawa (the creator of NANA) uses fashion as a means of storytelling. in NANA, clothes are not just a typical character design element, but are instead a visual narrative tool used to convey a characters' personality, as well as to express their traits and feelings. today i've chosen hachi for the style analysis because i'm fascinated by the subtle changes to her style syncing with her character development over the course of the story. also, i think her style is just super cute. so let's get into it! (⚠ anime & manga spoilers ahead)

🍓

overview

if i only had one word to describe hachi's style, i'd say feminine- think frills and lace details. she's all about babydoll silhouettes, pleated skirts, knit cardigans, ballet flats, and generally embodying shoujo fashion from the early 2000s with a good balance of cute and classy. hachi's fashion sensibilities lean more towards the modest side, as her dresses and skirts are usually around midi-length, and mini skirts are often paired with extra layers like tights or leggings underneath. it's a very good girl chic look, which fittingly leans in to her innocent personality. hachi is very stylish and clearly puts a lot of thought into picking her outfits everyday, as she's not afraid to occasionally experiment with different styles every & to use fashion as a key means of expressing herself.

in terms of colour palettes, hachi's wardrobe has a bit of everything- warm hues, earth tones, soft pastels, which all work together to capture the warmth and sweetness of her character. she's definitely more attuned to light colours than dark. this suits her personality better too, as light coloured clothing is said to convey feelings of friendship, fun, compassion, and approachability. fabric-wise, hachi likes to keep it light and airy with materials like chiffon and tulle; switching to warmer fabrics like cashmere and wool for cold weather, giving her outfits a vintage feel.

we can see that hachi pulls fashion inspiration from various aesthetics and fashion trends across different decades. she definitely incorporates her love for vintage fashion in her style, particularly with elements we've seen her wear before like mod dresses, neckerchiefs, pearl necklaces, long fleece trim coats, and brown platform boots. you can also see it in how some of the pieces she wears feels so unique, like a surprise gem you would find in a vintage boutique while thrifting. in dressier looks, hachi's girlish charm and allure is slightly reminiscient of 1960s it girls, like twiggy and sharon tate. she draws from a lot of 60s-inspired elements- the romantic parisienne style, and a bit of vintage preppy chic.

scarves and bandanas are a vintage essential as well as one of hachi's signature accessories. they have tons of versatile styling options, plus the potential to be dressed up or down. we've seen her wearing one scarf (exhibit A) multiple times over the series. the babushka scarf version has to be my favourite, it's very hepburn-esque, who i 100% i could picture hachi having a poster of in her childhood bedroom. i also think that having characters re-wear pieces we've seen before is generally just a cool subtle styling detail, which adds to the realism of NANA's 10/10 worldbuilding. the scarf's many appearances styled in different ways also goes to show how hachi enjoys being creative with her outfits, loves the pieces she owns and wants to get as much use out of them as possible.

hachi's style also incorporates a touch of influence from the kawaii lolita subculture, particularly modern offshoots like larme-kei. lolita is french rococco-inspired with a focus on cuteness, and has its origins in early 2000s harajuku street style- which is also where mori/kogyaru fashion originates from; hachi's go-to style during her high school years (see: her modified school uniform, miniskirts, fuzzy legwarmers). both of these movements were heavily pioneered by j-fashion magazines of the time like FRUITS, Olive, Larme & CUTiE, which were mainly popular with teenage girls and young women, and hachi is no exception. her fashion sense is also heavily inspired by famous japanese celebrities and style icons like risa nakamura.

if we had to really narrow it down, i think hachi's style can be best described by otome (lit: maiden) fashion. known as one of the predecessors of lolita fashion, this style was very popular among young girls in the 70s-80s and is heavily centered around embodying all things traditionally feminine. sweet, cute, girly, and romantic are all common descriptors of the style, which pulls influence from 60s mod fashion (which, as we've seen, has prevalent elements in hachi's style). think tons of layering, pattern mixing, longer hemlines, and mary janes/flats, all of which we frequently see in hachi's outfits. we also see that she takes elements from modern lolita fashion like frills, bows, ribbons, lace, tights & stockings, and incorporates them into her own personal style as more understated outfit details; making it more wearable on a daily basis while still being a tribute to one of her sources of style inspiration.

now that we've explored what makes hachi's personal style unique to her character, let's dig into how her style is influenced in relation to how the story progresses and how her character develops. and just for funsies, i'll also be styling a casual everyday outfit that i could picture hachi wearing for each story arc. let's go!

🍓

i. art school

i'd describe hachi's style here as the most youthful, which makes sense considering she's freshly moved to tokyo to study at an art school. we see her sporting a face-framing pixie cut, which gives her look a bit of edge, but not too much as she still retains her signature soft girl style to balance it out. also, can i just say: super farmer's daughter vibes when paired with a bandana! jeans were having a moment too- during this era, hachi was often seen wearing a pair of bellbottom flares or baggy jeans, creating a casual and easygoing look which really leaned into the artsy college student fashion. this would also mesh well with her then-best friend junko's more bohemian/indie, woodstock-inspired hippie style. the short hair paired with her experimentation on androgynous silhouettes definitely accentuates her gamine facial features, lending to a cute boyish look.

all these style elements are in direct contrast with the hyperfeminine looks of her high school years, back when she'd opt for skirts over jeans and long, styled hair; showing how hachi underwent a pretty drastic style change whilst adapting to the new environment in tokyo. at the same time, it could also hint at hachi's approach to self-expression & using fashion as a coping mechanism to deal with major life changes. dressing more casually to blend in with the college crowd is one of many indicators on how easily influenced hachi can get, which is pretty on-brand behaviour for someone with a tendency to seek validation from others instead of oneself.

so let's get into the first look i've picked out for her: layers on layers on layers baby! for this outfit, i took a lot of inspiration from hachi's first day of class outfit. i tried to be consistent with her theme of 70s-inspired prints and silhouettes during this phase, but also wanted to incorporate a modern y2k touch since we know that younger hachi (before fully developing her unique & personal sense of style) is more of a trend chaser, and what could be more early 2000s than a blouse + dress + jeans combo? accessories-wise, i wanted to pick out unique-looking pieces that had a lot of charm, as i was really going for that 'flea market finds' vibe since she obviously wouldn't have been able to afford any designer yet on a college student budget. also please notice the gorgeous vintage floral print ballet flats- i was so excited when i found it, i thought it screamed hachi!! they look so comfortable to walk in on top of being cute, it's the perfect shoe to slip on for a long day of classes without sacrificing style.

🍓

ii. apartment 707

during this time, we see hachi start to embrace feminine styles again. she lets her hair grow out and we see her back in skirts, dresses, and all things girly, which is why her otome fashion influences shine through most here. she wears tons of pieces in floral and polkadot print, as well as flowy babydoll tops which are very y2k-girl-next-door-reminiscient. we also see her starting to wear vivienne jewelry (the pearl choker, the dainty silver orb earrings), likely as a result of nana's influence (who she heavily admires and looks up to) & wanting to emulate her style. hachi's outfits here seem to have more colour and print, which i believe is reflective of her mental state here; happy, confident, and surrounded by support. good vibes all around, her environment at this time encourages her to take more risks in not just decision-making but also in her fashion choices.

in general, this era is where hachi seems to be getting a better hold on growing into her own personal style. she's still open to trying out different styles every now and then, but we can see there are some style elements that really stick and appear most often in her outfits. she's also seen here experimenting with all kinds of different hairstyles- french braids, pigtails, twin buns, the half-updo. to me, i think all of this signifies how hachi's style development runs parallel to her identity formation and how she grows as a person. at this point of the story, hachi believes she's finally found a place where she fits- within this ragtag but loving cast of unique characters.

so the second look was a little more of a challenge to work with- that's because hachi's style during this era doesn't subscribe to any one specific aesthetic or subculture, but more like a bit of everything, and her outfits can differ a lot between episodes. the goal here was to go for a casual daytime outfit, and i ended up super proud of the colour coordination in this one! i've styled hachi in a frilly vintage floral print chiffon slip dress that's almost reminiscent of the strawberry dress of 2020, but with unique details that give it much more character. i gave hachi a cream-toned vivienne crossbody purse, a scarf to balance out the salmon pink of the dress accents, styled as a neckerchief, some strawberry hair clips to match, and of course i had to include her much-spotted pearl orb necklace too. the highlight of this look are definitely the shoes, which are maison margiela tabi ballet flats- something i could 100% picture hachi wearing if NANA were set in the context of modern day fashion trends.

🍓

iii. motherhood

as time passes, we also see how hachi's fashion sense has slightly evolved into a classier, more refined version. more adult, if you will. this occurs when hachi decides to move out from apartment 707 and starts getting serious with takumi. not only did her living situation change, but as did her lifestyle, and with that, her fashion sense too. her style here simplified and took on a more mature look. she started prioritizing function over form as she cut down on layering and accessorizing. she would also opt for longer, flowier silhouettes and comfortable styles, often wearing simple dresses or aprons over a basic shirt-skirt combo. i really like how the change in style here - which pulls a lot from the 50s-suburbia housewife trope (think frilly aprons, puffy dresses, flared skirts, modest hemlines) - feels like a sublte detail to show how hachi settles into her new role of motherhood, expressed via clothing choices.

as a whole, this period of her life signifies the drastic 180° change from spending carefree days of young adulthood, to taking on the role of mother/wife in a nuclear family unit. it's the most major life change she's ever had to experience at this point, and it's expected that her style evolves alongside this. she's seen wearing noticeably less patterns or colour during this time, which could hint at possibly representing her inner feelings- the bleakness of spending her days in a mostly-empty home, and the isolation of being separated from the friendships she once surrounded herself with daily. thankfully, we do eventually see her return to dressing fashionably again after the timeskip. however, it's extremely important not to gloss over this period of her life as it portrays how she must have felt having most of her agency taken away overnight, with her style being all she had left as a form of control.

so last but not least is the final outfit, which was tough styling as there was comparably less material to go off, but i based it on the few going-out looks we get to see hachi wear post-takumi. rolling with the 50s-inspired looks, i've styled her in a coral short-sleeve button down dress. for the outerwear i picked a long checkered overcoat, which nicely complements the dress in addition to being a going-out staple for classy ladies everywhere. since the outfit is mostly harsher silhouettes, i decided to keep the colour scheme light to balance it out. while i was going for 'stylish mature woman', i still wanted some youthful elements in there to maintain hachi's signature girlish look. i balanced it out by accessorizing with a headband (a prep chic essential) and dior saddle bag, both lime green for a pop of colour and contrast. and of course, i had to incorporate the iconic neckerchief too as it doesn't get any more vintage-looking than this. the final piece to tie it all together are a pair of classic miu miu ballet flats- chic and comfortable!

🍓

final thoughts

all in all, hachi's fashion sense is super girly and sweet, which i'd say directly reflects on her character's personality. hachi is an outgoing girl who wears her heart on her sleeve and has a lot of love to give. she's warm and approachable, which she expresses through her clothing choices by embodying the cheerful, down-to-earth girl next door look. her bubbly style is youthful and fresh, which personality-wise is in character with hachi's innocence and willingness to trust others. this is shown through how much hachi cares deeply about her loved ones & often (unhealthily) prioritizes their feelings over her own. however, this naïveté unfortunately leaves her a lot more vulnerable to others seeking to exploit her emotional attention.

hachi's fashion evolution over the series shows how she uses fashion as a coping tool to help adjust to life changes, capturing her emotional growth and how she matures over the course of the story. the way that hachi's sense of style develops alongside her character is so realistic. her style development tells the story of a girl who finds herself and loses herself over and over again, frequently changing jobs and wardrobes in a constant struggle to find an identity to latch onto- until she does. hachi's style story is one of self-expression & identity formation; a story that speaks to all the young, unsure girls out there who see a bit of themselves in her, trying to figure out their place in a world in a world that often decides for them.

[sk-lumen]

It's always fascinating to see the day-to-day effect of a woman in touch with her divine feminine. Whenever I wear my pink dresses in my "barbie retro housewife" aesthetic with heels and my Dior perfumes I get such a strong reaction that I do wonder why.

"Women aren't so feminine nowadays," is the popular response. So when people do see a very feminine woman, it's first of all surprising because it's a rarity, and second of all it's always stunning to see a woman shining bright in her sacred feminine energy. She just has a certain glow that everyone flocks to, like a moth the the flame.

And this reminded me of a discussion I had with a friend some weeks ago - she mentioned how girls/women in 2024 dress in such a masculine way, with baggy pants and baggy shirts and sports shoes. And indeed, both in my city, my country and abroad while traveling, I found this to be true.

She saw it as a "them" issue. I think it's easy to say that girls these days have lost touch with their femininity, and essentially shift all the fault on them. But nothing is that black and white. I empathize with these girls because I was there too, before I stepped out of my shell and felt more comfortable and safe being feminine.

Yes, it's social media and fashion and whatever celebrities and influencers are turning into a trend at each given time. But it's also the undeniable fact that, most likely, these girls grew up in school, highschool, college etc. facing situations and environments (or maybe even their childhood upbringing/home setting) that made them feel unsafe, their every choice and habit and outfit was criticized, maybe they even got harassed or bullied.

Maybe they did dress in cute outfits and skirts at some point, and then got criticized for showing too much skin or dressing indecently, even though it was a perfectly normal outfit. And then getting criticized for dressing like men, but at least they feel safe(r) because either way people will judge them.

I think it's important to accord more grace and understanding, and instead of being judgemental, actually hold space for other girls and if possible, offering guidance in reconnecting with their femininity. It can be such a gift when you tap into your intuition, your healing energy, your empathy and nurturing energy. But not everybody knows how to get there, or has the resources for it, or even wants to. And that's okay too - everyone has their own choice.

[pinkinsect]

they should let me cite my tumblr mutuals on academic papers

[wastelesscrafts]

Why are Modern High Heels so Bad? (Nicole Rudolph)

[f4keplastictr33s]

nobody talks about the fact that blue was in fact bullied for being a psychic’s daughter and i think that’s probably why she has this defense mecanism where she appears more tough than she actually is .. ? idk i just love blue sargent so much man and im sick when people dismiss her character or reduce her to the boys bc she’s so much MORE than that

[moonmaidensblessing]

Fashion & Design in the BioShock Series (Part One)

Hello! Here is the fashion video at last! This took such a long time, but I hope it does its intended job of teaching people something new and adds a critical perspective to a game I think is art. Timestamps and resources are available in the description of the video, as well as closed captioning directly from the script I wrote. All of this was really fun to make, as I was able to deep dive into topics I really enjoy, like history, fashion, design, and video games! If you feel like I've missed anything or have questions, leave a comment, let's discuss!

Thank you to anyone who takes the time to watch it, it's always appreciated! If you like what I do, please like and subscribe! It lets me know this is work there is an audience for. And until next time, cheers! （ ´∀｀）☆

[ishanijasmin]

fashioning the self: a journey through wardrobe + identity

it’s a sunday afternoon in what i would safely call the early middle of summer. i shove a coat and a suit into a reusable grocery bag, and shuttle it through a heaving euston station. i have twenty minutes to wait for my train because its delayed, so i beeline to oliver bonas to see what’s happening in fashion today (it’s the same thing that’s been happening every time i visited my parents for the past three months. i don’t think i have once successfully bought something at oliver bonas, not for lack of wanting to, but i guess for lack of being able to justify spending £70 on a cardigan. there’s a watermelon-shaped wallet on sale that has me like, surely you wouldn’t be so crass as to make a palestine emoji-themed wallet, but you can never tell with capitalism.) this morning i checked my facebook for the first time in a month and realised my profile picture is from my wedding, which was nearly two years ago. and that led to me going through my profile pictures and cringing at my teenage self, but not changing it because summoning the emotional energy to go through my photos and potentially upload something would be saying that i still care about facebook and i don’t know if i want to do myself like that.

i don’t know if it’s the dopamine window shopping trip, the woman next to me whose sparkly outfit i compliment, the hate scroll, the empty seat at the euston station piano that i half-contemplate filling, or the fact that i feel increasingly unable to represent myself the way i want to in my own body and closet that has me thinking about fashion today. in reality, i’m always half-thinking about it. it’s been something that governed me since i found myself part of the myfitnesspal generation aged 14.

i think sartorial representation is difficult for most folks - the idea that you’ll stumble upon the right combination of clothes and makeup and nail styling and hair and weight and muscle tone and race and gender and ability and you’ll be covetable and interesting and beloved, but like, in an easy and consumable way that raises no queries, and preferably in a way that can be completed in an afternoon. the makeover is a sexy, sexy idea, right? the makeover gives the impression that you can be done. nay, the movie itself gives the impression that you can be done, by the sheer requirement for it to have an ending. i used to feel like my wardrobe could be finished, and around the age of 27 i concluded that it can’t, because i am never finished; the thought of it is nerve wracking and exciting and numbing in equal measure. to never be finished is beautiful, but to still have things to accumulate (and thereby, to shed) is kind of sickening. 

the phases i’ve been going through have brought me to where i am, which is kind of loud but also uncertain. i’m wearing silk sweatpants my tailor and friend, kelsang, made for me on commission. these are my latest and greatest attempt to merge my style and my heritage - a mashed up inside joke nod to me spending a quarter of my life in the gym with material i could literally never wear there. and they look good, but i don’t know if they look good on me. last year i opted to get myself a name necklace, inspired by sex and the city’s carrie - but i couldn’t bear to get one in english, so i got one in hindi despite the fact i deliberately skipped learning the alphabet in learning the language. where i am right now has me feeling phony - it really highlights the in-betweenness of my existence, in a way that normcore or only wearing black didn’t really tap into because the only wrong way to go monochrome is not to do it. it also has me feeling boring. i don’t know how to put things together anymore, i don’t feel like i have the right shoes for my outfits, and it feels like i’m leaving the house in a turtleneck and jeans 70% of the time.

this isn’t helped by the suit in my tesco bag being a peacock blue tailored commission from around 3 years ago, that’s seen me through a bunch of stage shows and some particularly extravagant days out. me retiring it to my parents’ house means accepting that this isn’t me right now - i’m not the person wearing a turquoise iridescent suit out and about, just maybe to a wedding once every 3 years. i don’t know who that makes me now. the pieces we abandon, temporarily or forever, the ones that we acquired that don’t fit who we are now or the person we thought we could become—these are all goodbyes, not just to the apparel, but to the person that was or could have been.

yesterday i went to a party dressed as shania twain from man! i feel like a woman, and i put on eye makeup for the first time since my wedding and felt uncomfortable with myself, caricaturesque, because more so than ever, i don’t really feel like a woman. yes, i am growing into my body in a lot of ways, getting stronger slowly, but i found myself on the tube wanting to say, ‘don’t worry! i don’t do this all the time.’ do what—wear poorly applied eyeliner? it’s london and literally no one cares how well your makeup is applied because you can bet they’ve know someone who can do a full face on the central line and compared to that incredible subset of people, we are all bronze medalists in the femme olympics.

all this discomfort and, and every one of us just a ball of neurons in a flesh vehicle. i am ever moving and changing, whatever that looks and feels like: all black or in wild technicolour, long hair or short or shorn or shaven, suit or sari or sundress or sweatpants, showing up. showing up and calling my dad to tell him i’m late and i love him, always steadily coming to terms with my imperfections. leaving my clothes in the liminal storage space of my parents’ garage because i myself stand perpetually in the liminal space between my parents’ house and my own, between who they made me and who i am making myself. to be done is be perfect is to be finished, and when i am finished i will be dust, and there’s some sort of deep relief somewhere in knowing that.

[p1xel-1mp]

For at least 70,000 years, our ancestors have used makeup as a status symbol, a form of expression and a show of strength, striking fear into the hearts of their enemies.

I firmly believe that society as a whole would be greatly improved if all men, and all other masculine presenting individuals, regularly exersized their right to particpate in the ancient art of applying makeup. Most importantly, to practice their right to decorate themselves in the cosmetic product most commonly referred to by the general public as ’guyliner’. In this essay I will-

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

I think the theme of "home", while not always in the forefront, is something that interests me about the Sonic Movie Universe (in a similar way it interested me during Prime)

For Movie!Sonic, home is where you make it first and where your family is second. After his guardian died, he presumably jumped from place to place, and it was a while before he had a stable home. He made himself a home on earth and fell in love with the land and the culture. But you get the sense that as long as he's in hiding and ostracized all the time, it never fully feels like home. So it's important that he got to really experience earth and living in Movie 1 with Tom. It's important that he made earth his home, and then made the Wachowski household his base. No matter where he goes on earth and beyond, he has a family he chose and who chose him he can come back to and be himself around. "Home" for Movie!Sonic began with necessity, progressed due to his growing attachment to earth and what it offers, and fully settled in with him having a more permanent place in this world and support.

For Movie Tails, I surmise that "home" to him is where Sonic is. He was ostracized (possibly even bullied/picked on) back home for his two tails. After listening to some of his lines in movie 2, Tails read to me like a character who'd been treated as weird or an outcast and ended up isolating himself as a result. I got the impression that when he wasn't indulging in his love of technology/mechanics (or perhaps even at the same time) he was holed up in his base, watching a live stream of Sonic and his adventures, even after the conclusion of the first movie's events. He knows everything about Sonic, down to knowing that he doesn’t take showers, before even meeting him properly. Tails is not at home on earth nor particularly entranced by earth itself (in opposition to Sonic, who became entranced with it). He only even goes there to warn Sonic and to help him out. But Sonic's place—Sonic's home—is on Earth, in Green Hills, with Tom and Maddie, and Tails has formed an actual bond of friendship with the hedgehog he formed a possibly parasocial relationship with used to watch on a screen. Before, I think Tails was just content with watching or being helpful. But now? Now that he's spent time with Sonic, Sonic makes him feel normal. Sonic makes him feel like even "weirdos" can do great things. Sonic makes him feel valued. He's no longer content just watching because Sonic is more his home than the place he grew up in ever was. Home to him is with the people you choose, the people who make you feel at home, the people you want to be around. The Wachowski household is Sonic's home because he loves earth, green hills, and because he has mutually taken Tom and Maddie as his parents. Earth and the Wachowski household are only Tails' home as long as Sonic is there.

And for Knuckles... He has the set up to fall in love with earth in a similar way Sonic did. He grew up/was born in a similar place to him. And yet, all of the beautiful nature on earth doesn't matter to him. Knuckles, as of the beginning of the Knuckles series, had adopted a different approach to Sonic. Sonic tried to make home for himself wherever he could, no matter how many worlds he'd jumped to. In contrast, Knuckles never bothered to do this. He only pursued the mission, never bothering to make a home when he'd be off to the next world soon enough (especially if it seemed trivial in the face of his life's mission). And it's pointed that although he's able to participate in what earth offers the same way Sonic is in movie 1 (Knuckles learning how to bowl or Sonic going to a bar), he is not at home because of those things. He's able to slow down and appreciate what earth offers, the same things he couldn't bring himself to acknowledge before, and yet he's not at home on earth because it's beautiful or because it has food he likes or whatever. He very pointedly makes a connection with Wade and his family. The Whipple family is home. Not the earth, not even the house itself. He feels comfortable when with them, he enjoys the time on earth he spends with them, and he is able to appreciate Earth better when he experiences it with them (in contrast to Tails, who never had any sort of arc of appreciating what one can experience on earth to me). Home to Knuckles isn't easily quantifiable (more of a feeling really), but it’s about the people who make you feel at home. It's about the people who helped him relax and feel more comfortable not always putting his focus into the mission.

Sonic, who can make home anywhere, who always appreciated what was great about living on earth, and whose "home" was finally made permanent when he spent time with Tom and Maddie.

Tails, who never truly felt home until he spent time with Sonic, who doesn't particularly care for what earth has to offer, whose home is wherever Sonic is.

Knuckles, who never allowed himself to feel at home or tried to make a home until he began to travel with Wade and open up to new experiences, who began to enjoy earth and yet considers his home with the Whipple family specifically.

Sonic would protect the earth he lives on even if everyone he cared about was gone. Tails would protect the earth he lives on so long as it's Sonic's home. Knuckles would protect the world he lives on not just to keep the master emerald secured, but so long as this place is home to the Whipple family, with whom he enjoys experiencing Earth with.

Do you... Do you get me?

[feline17ff]

Found a new YouTube channel called The Financial Diet. Videos include:

"You're Not Ugly, You're Just Poor": A Deep Dive (watched)

How The Wealthy Gaslight America

It's Not Just You: Jobs Didn't Used To Be This Terrible (watched)

The Toxic Boomer Money Advice You Need To Unlearn (watched)

3 Lessons From My No-Buy Year That Totally Changed My Finances (watched)

3 Things I No Longer Buy After My No-Buy Year (watched)

4 Lies From The Beauty Industry That Trick You Into Spending More Money (watched)

4 Minimalist Principles I Practice After Quitting Shopping For 1 Year (watched)

Overcoming "Post-Traumatic Broke Syndrome" & Building Real Wealth (watched, features TheBudgetnista Tiffany Aliche who talks about the finances of grief, the lasting effects of being broke, and what it means to be truly good with money)

Why ADHD Makes Money So Hard (And What To Do About It)