Sunday links, 11/30/14

This video is a must-watch–Jay Smooth is fucking brilliant. You can also read the transcript here.

Ferguson/#BlackLivesMatter
–The Ferguson Masterpost: how to argue eloquently and back yourself up with facts.
-Feministing covered Boston’s protest!
-There’s been some disturbing news coming out that Boston’s police targeted queer and trans activists at the protest.
–Ain’t I a human? Ferguson and the neglect of black women, femmes, and girls.
–Barack Obama, Ferguson, and evidence of things left unsaid.
-Sarah Kendior’s reporting from St. Louis has been so necessary. Her latest piece, Burning Ferguson, explores how Ferguson police selectively protected the stores owned and frequented by middle-class white people while letting poor black people’s property burn.
–Black & Jewish–from Ferguson to New York.
–Telling my 10-year old son about Ferguson.
-“When President Obama says he wants us to adhere to the rule of law—he means the lynch law. And when he advises us to practice restraint he means for us to bow down to white rage.”
–On Ferguson protests, the destruction of property, and what violence really is (and isn’t).
–Why it’s impossible to indict a cop.
-A very succinct explanation of why white people invoking Martin Luther King, Jr. to condemn rioting should stop, right now.
-“To the disabled black folks that can’t be out there in the streets, yall matter.”
–Ferguson protesters guard stores from looters.

Fa(t)shion
–50 plus size holiday dresses under $150.
-I love all of these gold sparkly pieces from SimplyBe.
–Curvily deal alert: Small Business Saturday.
-“We forget how the lack of plus size clothing means people aren’t even able to find adequate coats for the winter.”
–The Tiny Hobo’s t-shirts are now available! I especially love the “Chub Club” and “Cupcakes and Curves” ones.
-Betty went to the British Plus Size Awards 2014, which looks like a ton of glamorous fun.
–Facebook, the new online plus size thrift store.
–This is Black Friday in Bangladesh.

Holiday gift guide: Small Business Saturday

If you’re looking to support small businesses tomorrow, or any time this holiday season, here are some pretty/shiny/interesting ideas to check out–most of which are $25 or under. Also see the guide to black-owned businesses that I posted yesterday, and Kelsea’s awesome series of gift guides.

For the Francophile

–2015 Paris photo calendar, Georgianna Lane, $25
–Paris in Peony set of 5 cards, CoupCoup Designs, $10. Emily of CoupCoup made a discount code for Tutus and Tiny Hats readers, LAURATUTU: it’s good for $10 off any purchase of $50 or more, through December 12th.
–French macaron necklace, Fatally Feminine, $15
–Paris postcard set, the Paris Print Shop, $5

For the lover of all things cute

–Picnic at the Park print, ShanaLogic, $16
–Starwhal the Narwhal! plush, ShanaLogic, $24.95
–Kitteh pair dish, Migration Goods, $20
–See You Space Corgi sticker, Megan Lara, $4
–Pandas and Popsicles illustration, Kathryn Selbert Illustration, $22

Happy Thanksgiving/Support black-owned businesses for Black Friday

As if we needed another reminder that our country was built by violence against people of color, today is Thanksgiving, which effectively celebrates the genocide of Native Americans. So I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving–because spending quality time with family and friends is important, and because pumpkin pie is delicious–but also a reflective one, one that honors the holiday’s history.

If you were planning to shop at major retailers this weekend, consider supporting black-owned businesses instead, as many black organizations have asked. If you’re looking to donate money instead of, or in addition to, shopping, check out this list of black-led organizations on the ground in Ferguson, and the Ferguson Public Library’s Powell’s wishlist (see this post for the library’s address and purchasing instructions).

Now for the fun part: pretty things you can buy from black-owned businesses, including Boston’s own The Thicky Chicky!

Top row:
–Graffiti dress, Zelie For She, $85
–Ka’oir lipsticks, $16.99 each
–Chub rub shorts, The Thicky Chicky, $6

Middle row (all books I’ve read and loved):
–Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay, $10.95
–Redefining Realness by Janet Mock, $15.95
–Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, $10.50
–Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, $10.95

Bottom row:
–Kiss Me fascinator in rose gold metallic, Hello Sweet Leigh, $55
–Purple mambo skirt, Nakimuli, $130 (use the discount code THANKFUL14 for 20% off)
–Fleur dress, The Thicky Chicky, $30.20
–Triumph sequin dress, $125, and Sparkle skirt, $79, Zelie for She

#IndictBoston and more Ferguson links.

Marching to shut down the Mass Ave connector.

Last night, I joined over a thousand Bostonians calling for justice for Mike Brown. It was heartening to see so much of my city turn out, and when I got home and went on Twitter, the protest was still going strong. You can see some great pictures from the evening here and here.

One of the most powerful moments was when we marched to the South Bay House of Corrections and chanted to the incarcerated men, “We see you.” They stood at the windows waving, flipping their lights on and off, banging on the windows. One man used small pieces of paper to write “Mike” on his window.

Outside the South Bay jail.

This is what I’ve been reading:

-“If we were talking about the murder of my child, I would not be dignified. I would be naked and hideous with my grief. I would rage. If I were murdered in such a manner, I would want people to rage on my behalf.” – Roxane Gay

Wednesday Fa(t)shion Inspirations, 11/26/14

Catay

c4tbus

#BlackLivesMatter: a #Ferguson reading and action list

From @CoonKingdom on Twitter

I am outraged and heartbroken, although sadly not surprised, by last night’s announcement that Darren Wilson would not be indicted for killing an unarmed black teenager. I don’t have much to say that hasn’t already been said more eloquently by other people, so here is a roundup of the most important things I’ve read.

There will be protests around the country tonight; please, please consider going if you at all can. I’ll be at the one in Boston. It’s incredibly necessary to stand up and speak out: to say that this is not ok, and it will never be ok.

Autostraddle has a good overview of the situation, including links to places to donate and an open letter from the Ferguson protesters. You can also donate to the Ferguson library, which is open to children today while the schools are closed. And you can sign petitions to ban racial profiling by police, require Ferguson and St. Louis county and city police to wear body cameras, and secure justice for Mike Brown.

–Hey, step back with the riot-shaming.
–Smashy smashy: nine historical triumphs to make you rethink property destruction.
-The response of the police force in Ferguson has been egregious, from tear-gassing a group carrying an unconscious woman to hampering aerial news coverage by having the FAA issue a no-fly zone. This satirical news story from The Onion is too close to the truth for comfort: Heavy police presence in Ferguson to ensure residents adequately provoked.
–For Tamir, who was stolen.
–Teaching our sons to be afraid is not the answer to cops who shoot children.
–Why Ferguson has been in a state of emergency for years.
–Michael Brown’s family: “ensure that every police officer working the streets in this country wears a body camera.”
–Ferguson isn’t about black rage against cops. It’s about white rage against progress.
-Some of the most insightful commentary I’ve read has been on Twitter. Read this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, and this. I’ll try to put a Storify summary at some point; in the meantime, you can follow me on Twitter, where I’ve been retweeting as much as I can.

OOTD: Sweet oblivion (and some thoughts on plus size pricing and capitalism)

Normally I wait for Domino Dollhouse items to go on sale before I snap them up, but I fell in love with the Oblivion Dress from their new Science/Visions collection and had to have it–especially since I only wear long sleeves in the winter, and I want to get as much wear out of it as possible before the weather warms up. I sold some clothing to my local Buffalo Exchange to help come up with the money (and was pleasantly surprised that they bought a bunch of my size 3x/22 dresses, since they rarely carry anything over a 14), and, as always, used Tess Munster‘s 10% off discount code. I’m so glad I did–the dress is so comfortable, a perfect winter staple.

Dress: Domino Dollhouse, teggings: Re/Dress, shoes: LL Bean, ring: Torrid, all other jewelry: old or from clothing swaps

The body of the dress is made of a comfortable jersey material, and the sleeves are a super-soft faux suede. I love that it looks edgy and vaguely goth, but feels as comfortable as pajamas. I’m hoping to get it in black someday too, if there’s a really good sale.

The jagged hem is everything. I’ve been obsessed with asymmetrical hems lately, and realized that I own very few items with them, so I was happy to remedy that.

I wore the dress to work on Friday with the accessories pictured here, and then on Saturday with different, punkier ones. (Yes, I was so excited that I wore it two days in a row. And did I mention it’s really comfortable?) I will put up pictures from my Saturday adventures–which included the BUST Craftacular, dinner in Chinatown, and the Faneuil Hall Christmas tree lighting–soon.

Alternative Curves: Leader of the (’90s Punk Girl) Pack

I missed last month’s Alternative Curves blog hop, since it was only open for a week, but luckily this one is open all month. November’s theme is Leader of the Pack, which I interpreted in a ’90s goth-punk way, inspired mostly by The Craft (which I somehow haven’t seen yet–this must be remedied). I’ve just been itching to wear baby barrettes and combat boots lately, so this was the perfect opportunity!

Dress: Domino Dollhouse, top: Re/Dress, jacket: Torrid via a clothing swap, skull ring: Torrid, boots: Hot Topic (ancient), earrings: Buffalo Exchange, tattoo choker: eBay, all other jewelry: really old

Sunday links, 11/23/14

Can you believe it’s almost December? I’m starting to get excited for all the lights, festivities, and peppermint-chocolate-flavored desserts of the holiday season.

Fa(t)shion
-Rum + Coke’s emerald green holiday dresses and separates are gorgeously glamorous.
-I love all of Natalie’s top plus size dress picks for the holiday season.
–This marked-up 1998 dELiA*s catalog is everything we’ll miss about our fave teen retailer. Oh God, yes. I need to get around to scanning the rest of my Delia’s catalogs sometime soon.
-Annalog interviews Kobi and Margot about the Alternative Curves hashtag and blog hop. How amazing is Kobi’s black, flowy, velvety, witchy outfit?!
–A brief history of Old Navy’s troubled relationship with fat women.
-I love everything in Cwena’s dream capsule wardrobe–and it includes two items I already have, the black mesh ASOS skirt and the purple iridescent Docs. I haven’t broken in the Docs yet, but once I do, you’ll be seeing them in lots of outfit posts!
–Plus size yoga pants: Lineagewear leggings review.

Fat Acceptance
-An article in Fortune compared fatness to war and terrorism. WOW. Not surprisingly, the consulting firm that came up with this idea has an awful lot of employee overlap with Weight Watchers.
-Also shitty: an NBC article that concludes that diets don’t work…and then blames it on fat people “falling off the wagon.”
-In even more fat-shaming grossness, the federal government spent $10 developing a video game about escaping a fat town run by an evil fat king who forces people to eat junk food. BLARGH.
–Fat is the go-to metaphor and point of comparison.
–Fat women fuck too. Yes. Yes, we do.
-Check out the crowdfunding campaign for a plus size, fearless fitness DVD.
-An important question, and one that I’ve ranted about many times: Where’s the solidarity for fat people on the left?
-There is now a Facebook support group for people who have had bad experiences with weight loss surgery.

Climate and Sustainability
–The public is wrong on climate change, as it was on slavery and women’s rights.
–Within two years, a quarter of the world’s carbon emissions are likely to be priced.
-A group of students explain why they’re suing Harvard for investing in fossil fuels.

OOTD: Globe-trotting glamour

I wore this outfit to meet up with a friend who was visiting from out of town. I felt particularly sophisticated since the necklace is from Iceland and the fascinator is from France. The earrings are from a small shop in Shelburne Falls, which may not be particularly exotic or worldly, but is nonetheless a beautiful place.

Dress: Target (really old), teggings: Re/Dress, cardigan: Kohl’s (also really old), necklace: Leynibudin, fascinator: Brykalski, earrings: a shop whose name I don’t remember in Shelburne Falls, MA, bracelets: Macy’s, So Good, and Torrid, shoes: Naot