Outfit August day 7: pink vintage-esque

Dress: ModCloth, shoes: Clarks, necklace: So Good, fascinator: Enz’s, earrings: Faces

I wish I had gotten more pictures of this outfit–it deserves a photoshoot frolicking in a park or in front of a graffiti wall. But I wore it to work and then to the vigil I wrote about here, and by the time I got home, it was dark outside and I was exhausted. Steve was out, so I took a few perfunctory pictures with my tripod and called it a night.

Someday I’ll wear this outfit again and take the pictures it deserves.

This dress has definitely grown on me–when I first got it, I didn’t really like it, and almost returned it. I couldn’t put a finger on why, but I just didn’t love it the way I thought I should love a pastel pink vintage-style dress.

But the more I’ve worn it, the more I’ve come to enjoy it. It doesn’t hurt that I get compliments every time I wear it! And it goes really well with this fascinator, like they’re made for each other.

Sunday links, 8/10/14

Fa(t)shion
–Volup2 has a new issue out, and it’s awesome as always. (Not work-safe, as there are a few nude pictures.)
-Style inspiration: the first lady of Cameroon. How amazing is that hot pink suit?
–Fashion’s place in feminism: where is it?
-Words to live by: “I want to live loudly and shamelessly in a way that makes me overjoyed every day. I want to be colourful and creative and to not care what anyone else thinks.”
–Five French plus size designers you should know.
-Colorlines interviews three fatshionistas of color on fatkinis and fat activism.
–101 body-positive bikini babes, including me!
-I love Sock Dreams’ carousel photoshoot, especially the floral + stripes + petticoat look.
–Why we love her, why we can’t: Coco Chanel.
–Sales, temptation, and the fear of missing out. I can relate to this–and the FOMO is especially bad when you wear plus sizes and have fewer options to begin with.
-I’m not particularly fond of Miley Cyrus, but I love the weird shit she’s putting in her hair.
-Recycled aluminum cans plus washi paper = gorgeous jewelry.
-If you’re in London, check out this fat-positive clothing swap.
-Shawna posts pictures from the Summer Strut 2014.

Fat Acceptance
-Dear children’s book authors: write fat kids.
–The problem with Businessweek‘s obese Coca-Cola bottle.
–Calorie miscounting: why one slice of cheesecake does not equal 4 1/2 hours of aerobics.
–What fat people have to do.

Israel/Gaza
–Living the imperative to heal the world: a Jewish woman’s thoughts on Gaza. As a fellow Jewish woman, I agree 1000%.
-A statement in solidarity with Gaza from Palestinian, indigenous, women of color, anti-racist, and Jewish feminists.
-All of these are a must-read: 6 of the most beautiful writings from and for Gaza.
–There are no “both sides.” The Israelis and Palestinians aren’t equal.
–At least my hospital isn’t being bombed.
–A question from Gaza: am I not human enough?
–There are no poems of mass destruction.
-Beautiful and hopeful: how a sixth-grader from Sderot draws the war.
–Librarians give New York subway riders a taste of Palestinian literature to protest Gaza assault.
–How will Gaza’s children carry their scars into adulthood?
–While bombs fall on Gaza: resisting militarism in Israel.
–Where you can donate to help Gaza.
-Support for genocide against Palestinians isn’t a fringe view within Israel–it’s held by many high-up figures both within and outside of the government. (Note: there is a graphic image of an injured child.)
–IDF solder: artillery fire in Gaza is like Russian roulette.
-“For most Gazans, the struggle is not about Islamism or destroying Israel, it’s about ending the blockade—no matter what it takes.”
-I so wish I could be in New York for Singing Against the Bad Times: An Evening of Jewish Radical Arts and History.
–Syria and Gaza: a false equivalency.

Outfit August day 6

Dress: Pop Up Plus, teggings: clothing swap, shoes: Clarks, belt: Dots, bracelet: So Good, necklace: Faces, earrings and headband: not sure

I love this necklace so much. I got it years ago, and it adds color and cheer to any outfit.

I love this dress, too. It’s a great, versatile LBD.

Not in my name.

Today, on the sixteenth anniversary of my bat mitzvah, I feel both painfully alienated from the mainstream American Jewish community that supports Israel’s massacre in Gaza, and grateful for the smaller but committed group of my fellow Jews who are standing up for peace, justice, and an end to the killing.

Last night, I stood in silent protest outside of a pro-Israel/pro-war rally, saying with my presence: Not in my name. You who use Jewish safety as an excuse for war-mongering don’t speak for all Jews.

It was hard to watch a crowd of “my people,” the kind of people I grew up with and feel comfortable with, cheering on a military campaign that is essentially a genocide in the name of “self-defense.” As a granddaughter of Holocaust survivors who wants no one else to go through what my grandparents and their families did, it was painful to hear the memory of the Holocaust invoked as an excuse for war. It was hard to listen to a group of my people raising their voices together in song, singing the songs I grew up with, while I stood on the other side of the plaza and an enormous psychic divide.

It was hard, but necessary.

Tonight/tomorrow is Shabbat Nachamu, the Shabbat of Comfort. I am praying (or whatever the secular equivalent of prayer is) for comfort for the people of Palestine who are suffering under Israeli occupation. I pray that my fellow American Jews will come to their senses and demand an end to the occupation, the blockade, the violence. I pray for a truly sustainable peace, one that respects the humanity of both Israelis and Palestinians.

“They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”

Wednesday Fa(t)shion Inspirations, 8/6/14

BABY’S HUSTLIN’

Style Crone

Outfit August day 5

Dress: White Mark via Zulily, necklace: Forever 21, earrings: not sure, rings: really old, bracelets: Deb, shoes: Clark’s

This dress…this dress is everything. It reminds me of Desigual, one of my top “arrrghhh why don’t you come in my size” brands. I’m really, really into the multi-patterned look, which seems to be a European thing, and it’s hard to find in American clothing.

Outfit August day 4

When I first saw this dress at a clothing swap, I almost didn’t pick it up because it was so similar to this one that I already had. But then I decided to give it a try anyway, and I’m glad I did. It’s less fancy than the other one but still nice, so it makes a good everyday work dress.

Dress: Connected Woman via clothing swap, necklace: Forever 21, bracelets: Deb, earrings: Faces, shoes: Clark’s (yeah, I don’t know why I didn’t wear black sandals with this…)

OOTD: Every party should be a ’90s party

Back when I was in college, ’80s parties were a big thing. I was never that into ’80s music or style, but the ’90s were everything to me, so I was really glad when they started coming back in the past year or two. I had a ’90s party a few years ago, and decided to have another one recently, because why not?

Shirt, lunchbox, slap bracelet, necklaces, silver rose ring, and baby barrettes: actually from the ’90s (or in some cases, early ’00s), earrings: Claire’s, slipdress: from either a clothing swap or the Big Thrifty, socks: Domino Dollhouse, Mary Janes: L.L. Bean, tiara: KMart, studded wristband: PacSun, bangles: Deb and Torrid, yellow flower ring: The Big Thrifty, tattoo bracelet: came for free with a Lisa Frank tote bag that I bought from an Etsy shop (but you can also find them really cheap on eBay)

Oh, lunchboxes. I was so into them in high school–I had a whole collection, and used a different one for my lunch every day.

And this shirt….this shirt is the second-oldest item of clothing I own. (The oldest is a t-shirt my best friend got me in Puerto Rico when I was 9, a year after I’d gone on a trip there with her. It’s full of holes and I never wear it, but I can’t bear to part with it.) I got it in sixth grade from a store that was literally called Booger’s–it sold band t-shirts, skater clothes, and random stuff like fuzzy picture frames, and was my favorite store ever.

I had my mom alter the shirt to be sleeveless and more form-fitting–and it’s a miracle that it still fits, 17 years and about 100 pounds later. For reference, this is what it looked like when it was new (or at least new-ish–judging by the bangs, this was seventh grade):

Outfit August Day 1: All ’90s all the time

I’m taking part in Outfit August, a daily outfit challenge similar to Fatshion February. I didn’t take any outfit pictures yesterday, and probably won’t today–I just got in from bellydancing and yoga, and all I want to do is shower and put on pajamas. But here are my pictures from Friday.

I wore this outfit for the going-away party for my friend Autumn, who is moving to Montreal. She and I have bonded over our shared love of ’90s music and culture, so I decided to go all-out ’90s in her honor. (More ’90s fashion coming tomorrow–I scheduled an outfit post with pictures of what I wore to my ’90s party a few weeks ago.)

Dress and headband: Domino Dollhouse, boots: Target, belt: Re/Dress, earrings and heart necklace: Claire’s, tattoo choker: eBay, studded wristband: PacSun, spike wristband: Hot Topic, bangles: Deb and Torrid, purse: from a store in Providence in 2002 or so

Sunday links, 8/3/14

Fa(t)shion
–But seriously…if you’re fat, you can still wear whatever you want.
-Help Elizabeth of CandyStrike get her clothing out to a major online retailer!
-Awesome pictures from Summer Strut, a plus-size runway show in Portland.
–Land’s End introduces adorable new science t-shirts just for girls.
-How cute is Sprinkles Bake Shop, which sells dessert-themed goodies like a birthday cake headband and macaron coin purses, as well as actual dessert-related supplies?
-Emma is putting dudes in dresses and watching chaos unfold.
–We don’t want your summer music festival fashion tips.

Fat Acceptance
–So much yes to this: I am not all about that bass: deconstructing the summer’s feel-good, body-positive hit. I wrote about “All About That Bass” a while back, but Jenny’s analysis is much more in-depth, and superbly breaks down the many different types of fail in the video. (And yes, I’m still sad that a video with such a catchy tune and such a gorgeous pastel aesthetic is full of so much race-, gender-, and size-fail.)
-Syruckus writes about why fat acceptance matters to him as a fat man.
-Ragen shares strategies for dealing with fat-phobia in the workplace.
-I love seeing pictures of two awesome fat activists meeting each other.
–Making Fat Ends Meet is a new Facebook group for poor and working-class fat people.
-Awesomeness: vandals trash plastic surgeon’s anti-muffin top billboard in Michigan.
–What they never consider when they link fatness with health problems.
-Oaklanders, checked out HAES’d and Confused, a series of events examining social justice within the context of the HAES model. There’s also a phone-in option for non-locals to participate.

Israel/Gaza
–Dear Nick Kristof, your Palestinian Gandhis are already here.
–Rays of hope in Gaza: 13 Israeli and Palestinian groups building peace.
–Jews around the world are facing attacks as the crisis escalates in Gaza. This is scary as hell, and it makes me so angry/sad/ARGH that so many people seem to think the answer to hatred and violence is more hatred and violence.
–If Israel calls to tell me they will bomb my house, what should I take with me as I run for my life?
–Life under fire in Gaza: the diary of a Palestinian.
-There are just no words for how heartbreaking this story is. No words.
–The awful decisions I’ve made to protect my Palestinian children from this war.
–Gaza myths and facts: what American Jewish leaders won’t tell you.
–Threats of sanctions worked against Israel in 1956 – and they can work again.