Dear shoe manufacturers,
I want pretty shoes.
Like these:
Or these:
Friday Links, 11/9/12
Today’s edition of Friday Links has been brought to you by Thessaly, one of the two cutest cats ever. (Her sister, Toto, is also adorable, but harder to corral for pictures.)
Fa(t)shion
-My life could use a bit more Melbourne Cup fashion. Actually, a lot more. That tutu and flower crown! Those fascinators! *swoon*
–Dots now offers online shopping! Which is exciting because I like their clothes, but the last time I went to their store, I couldn’t try on any of it, as the cashiers were busy ringing up a long line of customers and there was no one to unlock the dressing rooms.
-Wardrobe Oxygen has an interview with Desiree, a fabulous older fashionista. My favorite quote: “Fashion is what talented designers are paid to churn out up to four times a year, in many cases at great personal and emotional expense. Style is the opposite. It’s like slipping into a dream. There’s excitement, fear, hesitation and you learn to fall into yourself.”
-A kitty fascinated by sparkly shoes. Awwwwww.
–Sophisticate noir November theme: hosiery (and some awesome shoes too).
–Too poor for Old Navy.
–7 reasons you should compliment total strangers. I really like doing this, as it brightens people’s day–just like it brightens mine when they compliment my fashion choices.
-A Tumblr of Muslims wearing things.
–Fatshionistas in the New York Times!
-A new plus size clothing buying/selling marketplace, Abbey Post, will be launching in December.
–Six great +40 fashion blogs.
-DIY: make rhinestone jewelry colorful with acrylic paint.
OOTD: Snooooow!
The first snowstorm of the season is always exciting, when it’s sparkly and powdery and soft.
I know it’ll turn into dirty slush eventually, cold wet feet, slippery ice…
But for now, it’s beautiful. It’s a cause for celebration, and drinking peppermint hot chocolate.
I did some decorating last night.
This morning, I broke out my beloved faux leopard coat, which my mom found for $12 at a thrift store. Yes, she has magic thrifting powers.
OOTD: Pastel business casual
Some of you may be looking at my more outrageous outfits and thinking, “Does she dress like that all the time?”
The answer is no. As much as I love getting be-tutu-ed and decked out in spikes and studs and rainbow clip-in bangs, it’s neither practical for everyday nor appropriate for office work.
I do like to inject some color into my workwear, though. And I have been known in multiple workplaces for my large collection of fascinators. They make great conversation-starters!
Here’s an example of an average workday outfit:
Top and small pearl necklace: thrifted, cardigan: Talbots, pants: Old Navy, fascinator and large pearl necklace: So Good, earrings: Sick for Cute (free gift with a purchase) Continue reading
Why a “digital Aristotle” is a terrible idea
Quick, unrelated update: I just sent a message to the eBay seller of the awesome tutu in my recent post, asking if they would consider making it in plus sizes. If you want, send them a message as well! I don’t know whether anything will come of it, but it can’t hurt to try.
Also: the election’s over! Phew. And in addition to the candidates who won, I’m happy about a lot of the state initiatives that passed. Hells yeah gay marriage!
Now, onto the post.
While poking about on YouTube last night, I came across this video about a software that’s being developed with the intention of customizing educational experiences for each kid who uses it, and eventually replacing much of the need for human teachers:
And oy, did it cause me to have ALL THE THOUGHTS (and to be honest, more than a little bit of THE RAGE).
I think the Digital Aristotle software could be a useful idea as a supplement to classroom teaching, but using it as a replacement strikes me as a terrible idea, for many reasons:
1.) School isn’t just about kids interacting with teachers. It’s about kids interacting with other kids, learning how to be social beings, developing empathy. A kid sitting alone in front of a computer screen all day isn’t going to get that, no matter how brilliant the software is.
2.) Computers have a lot of amazing educational potential, but they also have downsides. A major, major one is that they make it easier to multitask, which has a demonstrated negative effect on pretty much any kind of performance.
I’ve seen it in my own life–I know I concentrated far better in high school, when I had only dial-up internet, than I have ever since.
Don’t just take it from me. Read Hamlet’s Blackberry, and The Winter of Our Disconnect. Maybe even The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains. The internet has great power to connect people…when used in moderation, with limits and structure. When used in conjunction with face-time, and nature-time, and solitary-reflection-time. It isn’t a replacement for any of those things.
3.) Relatedly, many educational videos (which seem to be a major component of the Digital Aristotle project) are 4 or 5 minutes long. They may be full of fascinating things, but don’t lend themselves to the kind of concentration that leads to deep understanding. I’ve watched plenty of interesting videos about physics and math, but if you asked me what I’ve learned, I wouldn’t remember most of it. It’s not the same as learning systematically from a real person. Continue reading
Wednesday Fa(t)shion Inspirations, 11/07/2012
Leopard-print babies = the ultimate accessory? Make sure to check out the rest of the post for a metric shit-ton of inspiring outfits, as well as more adorable little ones.
This tiny hat is the height of fabulosity.
Terrific tutu tutorials
Thanks to all the tutu-making interest that my last post gathered, I did a bit of Googling for how to make a tutu. Here are a few of the tutorials that I found:
I don’t know how to sew, and I don’t really like the way no-sew tutus look. So next time I have some extra time on my hands, it may be time to learn…
Tutu envy, part 3
Recently I saw both Sal of Already Pretty and Alison of Wardrobe Oxygen wearing lovely tutus.
I love Sal’s slightly goth take on the tutu. And check out the kitty pictures in her post!
Alison, mixing stripes and leopard like a boss.
Alison linked to the eBay posting where she found her tutu. Sal just wrote that she got hers on eBay, but considering how similar it looks, I’m guessing it might be from the same seller.
And that tutu? Absolute love.
Pink/black murder mystery party and OOTD
My friend Michi and her friend Lisa recently had an awesome pink-and-black-themed murder mystery birthday party.
I don’t need an excuse to get all glammed up, but I do appreciate one! And this was a fun one.
Me and Michi glamming it up
Michi and Lisa sewed their own outfits, complete with fabulous pink fascinators. It’s hard to see because the picture is a bit blurry (sorry!), but there are tiny tiaras attached to them.
On thin privilege and online shopping
The perils of buying clothing and bras online: way too much stuff to return.
I’ve been reading through Already Pretty’s archive of link roundups, and there’s some really interesting stuff.
This is a response to one of the posts Sal linked to, although unfortunately I can’t find it. It was an ode to buying clothing online, written by a straight sized woman.
I kind of hate when women who don’t wear plus sizes talk about how much they love shopping online, while we fats don’t have much other choice.
As someone who usually wears a size 18-22, I do have a few real-life options–which is more than many larger people have, especially if they don’t live in or near a major city. But there are very few stores near me that are exclusively plus size. The Boston area does have a few (Lane Bryant, Avenue, and Ashley Stewart), but none are particularly easy to get to from where I live. There’s also H&M+, which has awesome stuff, although a much smaller selection than H&M’s straight sizes.
But most of the stores where I sometimes find clothing–Target, Marshall’s, thrift stores, etc.–have only a few items in my size. And their plus size selection is usually a lot less interesting than their straight sizes. So most of the time it’s just not worth it.
I know that shopping online is sometimes necessary for specific items like tutus, petticoats, and My Little Pony t-shirts. And if I wore straight sizes, I’d totally buy online from Topshop and Modcloth.
Online shopping does have its place. But depending on it sucks for many reasons:
1.) You have to pay for shipping and wait for your package to arrive. Then, if it doesn’t fit, you have to return it and pay even more shipping. All the shipping charges, on top of the higher price of plus size clothing as it is, are like tax for being fat.
Sometimes, you can get free shipping for orders over a certain amount of money. And a few places, like ASOS Curve, offer free returns. But neither is very common. And even if you can get free shipping for orders over $50 or $100, what if you really only want one item from that store?
2.) You don’t get to try things on before buying them. Different brands’ sizing run differently, and rarely match up to their size charts. Two similar items by the same brand can fit completely differently. For example, this peplum lace top from Deb fits me perfectly, whereas their floral top is way too tight.
Sometimes, you have buy a lot of things before finding one that fits, which means more waiting and more shipping charges, plus the hassle of packing everything up and taking it to the post office. And some companies are really slow about processing returns, so it can be a month or more before you get your money back (I’m looking at you, eShakti).
Tutus And Tiny Hats 