#my fashion and thrifting website GONE

[nezushi]

tiktok banned in the us for real </3

[thebananniediariesbyannie]

the mirror (selfie) of my dreams...

have you ever gone somewhere and just mentally started designing your dream house? well i learned that the biggest mirrors are the best mirrors to document my outfits! here are some details on my outfit i wore the other day.

this is the outfit i wore to and from a movie set i worked on. (i KNOW! pinch me moment!!) this jacket is one that i thrifted and it’s absolutely a perfect purchase! (i’ve linked the same jacket on poshmark but there’s only a few available! - make sure you check details on the sellers before you purchase them from secondhand sites!) the links to shop this jacket and other similar pieces in this outfit can be found in the photos and the button below.

outfit details:

jacket - by princess polly via thredup

sneakers - puma

pants - by athleta via thredup

scarf - aerie

click the button below to find other social media outlets where the banannie diaries posts content! follow, subscribe, and stay tuned for more beauty, fashion, and positive vibes!

*FTC Disclosure: This website, page, post, and/or video contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through my links

[janiahspeaks]

Who’s to Blame for the Ongoing Unethical Practices of Fast Fashion? Consumers or the Brand? (Discourse Surrounding the Popularity of Shein)

There has been growing concern on the unethical practices related to fast-fashion and the negative impact they have on the environment. The fashion industry is the second largest polluter, and fast fashion brands like Zara, H&M, Asos, Boohoo, and Forever21 have been dragged in the spotlight for their disastrous roles in terms of the planet. These brands put out thousands of new clothing each day, contributing to the growing problem of textile and water waste. Fast- fashion brands have also gone under fire for their labor practices as many aren’t transparent enough or have been exposed for child labor and paying low wages. Recent discourse has been surrounding the brand Shein. As a result of the pandemic, Shein, previously Sheinside, has become a top fast fashion brand specifically for Gen Z. During the 2020 pandemic, Shein gained a profit close to $10 billion. Their Instagram alone has 21.6 million followers. A huge influx of Shein hauls, costing hundreds of dollars, have been posted on Youtube, Instagram, and TikTok by influencers and common people alike. As a result, their followers run to the brand to buy cheap, low-quality clothing to follow continuously changing trends. There has been an immense amount of discourse over the ethics of supporting Shien and whether the blame is on the consumer, or the brand itself. Many buyers of Shein defend their buying habits on still wanting to enjoy fashion while being from a lower-class background. While many plus sized women are defending their purchases by claiming Shein is one of the few fast-fashion brands that cater to plus sized women at an affordable price. On the other hand, the opposite opinion believes the unethical and unsustainable practices of Shein are evidence enough to not support the brand. Shein too has been under fire and exposed for their lack of transparency when it comes to their labor force and privacy policies. Shein has lied about their labor practices and wages and has yet to disclose information about its working conditions and supply chain that are required by law in the UK. While TikTok has been a strong platform for Shein to grow their audience, it has also been a place that many users have of exposed Shein for their unethical practices. For example, recently Tiktokers were warning people about Shein’s constant data breaches involving users’ personal information. Critics of those who buy Shein usually suggest buying from thrift stores, secondhand shops, or ethical brands. However, many say they can’t afford ethical brands or have thrift stores they can go to that align with their fashion style, which is understandable. Critics of Shein also point out the many times Shein has sold severely offensive products on their website with some being a necklace with a Buddhist swastika pendant, a phone case with an image of a handcuffed Black person outlined in chalk, and a Muslim prayer mat as a decorative rug. Although Shein has publicly apologized for these instances, it goes to show how immoral fast fashion can be as this is a result of producing anything and everything to encourage overconsumption. Another criticism of Shein is their blatant stealing of clothing ideas from small fashion designers. Although many designers raise awareness about their designs being stolen on social media, it’s unfortunate that many people will never know or support the actual brains behind the design. This shows how much of a giant Shein is as they can find designs to copy and have them on the site in less than a week. I too was a buyer of Shein, before the brand’s rise in popularity, dating all the way back to around 2018. Being a young college freshman, I was determined to look my best with the little money I got with my part-time job, and Shein was the company I looked to. As of today, I have none of the clothes I purchased from them. I either sold them on secondhand apps or had to throw them away because they were no good. Ultimately, the clothing is cheap and not meant to last long. Coming from a lower-class background myself I understand the struggle of being a young woman who loves fashion but has a tight budget. You want to keep up with trends, and these fast fashion brands strive on microtrends and overconsumption/consumerism. However, I believe us as consumers do have a slight responsibility to limit our consumption if we want to protect the planet. I completely understand the struggle plus-size women go through when it comes to fashion as well. If you must buy from fast fashion companies at least lower the amount you’re buying. You don’t need 100 new clothes every month. I know not everyone has good thrift store but if you live in the U.S., which is the majority of Shein’s market, there are plenty of Goodwills, Value Villages, Park Ave Thrifts, and more that are scattered around the country. I love thrifting because you can find unique pieces for super cheap its just a scavenger hunt

[sabrinadidizian]

Sustainable fashion & thredUP – “Secondhand Clothes. Firsthand Fun” | Sabrina Didizian

We all hear that we should walk instead of drive when we can, turn off the lights, take shorter showers, and recycle when possible. However, the negative impact that the fashion industry (especially the fast fashion industry) has on our environment is only recently being highlighted. BUT, most people are still very unaware of this. We seem to have taken for granted that we can buy clothes that have been made cheaply and quickly at low prices. We seem to want to keep up with the ever-changing fashion trends, and stores want to produce and supply for that demand. But at what cost?

The growth of the multi-trillion dollar apparel industry has in more recent years been ‘fed’ by fast fashion. What used to take several months for a garment to reach a customer from the designer now takes sometimes just a couple of weeks. Even more, the number of fashion seasons has gone from two a year (spring/summer and autumn/winter) to as many as 50-100 microseasons. These fast-changing trends and low prices have therefore meant that people can and do consume more. In fact, “according to McKinsey & Company, the average consumer in 2014 purchased 60% more clothing compared to 2000, but each garment is kept half as long”.

With the loss in quality of garments, consumers have lost the ability to repair their clothes - the reduction in the cost of clothes has actually made it cheaper to buy a pair of socks than to darn them! This has resulted, paradoxically, in increased expenditure on lower-quality clothes. And although people think that they spend less money overall by buying from fast fashion stores instead of more expensive, higher-quality brands, it is actually the opposite. Not only have our over-indulgent buying habits caused us to become lazier, more demanding and have made us spend more overall on lower-quality clothes, but they have also contributed enormously to climate change and the deterioration of the health of our planet.

Serious water use and pollution take place during clothing production. “The world uses 5 trillion litres of water each year for fabric dyeing alone, enough to fill 2 million Olympic-sized swimming pools”. And according to the Ellen Macarthur Foundation, “textile production produces 1.2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas every year”, and the UN has estimated that “10% of total global emissions come from the fashion industry”. Unfortunately, the trend of buying and disposing is likely to continue. Consumers are now so used to that level of consumption that it would be so difficult for the microseason-shopper to stop, let alone reduce, their destructive buying habits.

People think that throwing away their clothes in the bin will have no effect; however, “disposed clothes also contribute to greenhouse gases as they sit in landfills”. Additionally, “only 15% of clothing is recycled or donated. Synthetic fibres, which make up at least 60% of our clothes, are non-biodegradable and sit in landfills for hundreds of years” and they also release microplastics into the water system when washing them.

There are some things that we can do; however, to help with this enormous issue on our hands. One thing we can do is to simply stop buying fast fashion. Another one is to just try and re-wear what we already have. I bet so many of us have so many clothes that are hidden somewhere in our closets and if we went through our closets every now and then, we’d definitely find some hidden gems that that we completely forgot about! We really don’t need to buy a new item for every occasion or every season, let alone microseason. Another thing we can do is commit to only buying clothes made of non-synthetic or sustainable materials like cotton, bamboo, hemp etc. Or, many companies are now making their clothing, or parts of their clothing lines, out of recycled plastic from the ocean or water bottles. One other way is thrifting, which I’m sure many of us are aware of because of how much cheaper it is. But not as many are aware of how much better clothes second-hand is for the environment. Buying second-hand gives clothes new life that they would not have been given and it creates less demand for creating new clothes, which no matter how sustainably made, producing something will always have some kind of impact on the planet.

One company that is making thrifting/second-hand shopping easier than ever is thredUP. It’s the largest online consignment and thrift store that has made it easier than ever to sell and buy second-hand clothing, jewellery, purses, shoes and accessories online. They sell and take items from brands like Lulu lemon, Gap and Zara to Diane Von Furstenberg and Michael Kors, all up to 90% off their retail price. They also have over 35,000 different brands to choose from. With regards to sustainability, on their website they state:

“It matters that we throw 26 billion pounds of clothing into global landfill every year. It matters that fashion will drain a quarter of the world’s carbon budget by 2050. It matters that a single T-shirt takes 700 gallons of water to produce. The choices we make matter. To our planet. To our kids.”

thredUP is on a mission to “inspire a new generation of shoppers to think second-hand first”. thredUP has actually “redistributed 65 million garments to date”. That’s a staggering statistic!!!

I chose to focus part of my blog post this week on thredUP because I see is as the future of what digital businesses and technologies should and will be like. Without the internet and technology, this concept would obviously not be able to exist, so I see thredUP as ahead of their time and a beacon of hope for using technology for creating positive change. We must all obviously initially change our mind-sets and spending/consumption habits and get over the scepticism towards second-hand purchasing. Why buy something new when it already exists, and you can buy it for a fraction of the price!? Once we get over this hump and change our perspective, it really will open a whole new world when it comes to feeding our desire for more in one of the most sustainable ways possible in a modern world.

Sources:

https://www.wri.org/blog/2017/07/apparel-industrys-environmental-impact-6-graphics

https://www.thredup.com/

https://hellohomestead.com/the-impact-of-textiles-and-clothing-industry-on-the-environment/

[lovemesomesurveys]

What was the brand of your first ever cell phone? Motorola.  What are your 3 favorite internet sites? Tumblr, YouTube, Twitter. Do you have a favorite pair of blue jeans? Describe them. I like all my jeans, which are all dark wash skinny jeans. Let’s be real, though: I haven’t worn jeans in over a year. I only wear leggings.  What profession do you respect? I respect many professions. Have you ever been the recipient of a practical joke? Nah.

Have you ever ate something you’ve dropped on the floor, if so what? I probably did as a kid, but I quickly grew out of the whole “5 second rule” thing.  Would you consider being an Uber driver if you needed to make extra money? Not sure how that would work since I don’t drive. How do you know when you’re in love, what’s the main sign? I just know. Have you ever gotten anything autographed, if so by who & what was it? Yes. Do you prefer Walmart or Target? I like both, but I can find a lot of cute stuff at Target. What do you long for? “I want something else, to get me through this semi-charmed kind of life, baby.” That lyric just popped into my head for this. Anyway, I long for a life I’m excited about living. If you could be a personal assistant to anyone, who would it be? I don’t want to. What is the most important thing you can do to improve yourself? Better self-care would help. I’ve neglected myself in a lot of ways. My mental health definitely needs help, it has suffered greatly.  What makes it hard for you to keep your focus? My jumbled mess of a mind. What tragic love story do you relate to? Blah. Has your intuition or “gut” served you well? Sometimes. What’s the longest you’ve ever waited in line for something and what was it? Rides at Disneyland. I think once we waited like 3 hours for this one ride, which took so long because it broke down and had to be repaired. And it was just a long line in general.  Who is your favorite model? Like fashion model? I don’t have one. What have you done that is out of character for you? Hmm. Would you rather get a gift card or a gift that someone bought for you? I appreciate either one.  How do you handle a betrayal? I don’t know, but it sucks. What’s the biggest blooper you’ve never lived down? My life. If you owned a restaurant what kind of food do you want to serve? I wouldn’t own a restaurant. What will we find if we look in the bottom of your closet today? Shoes and other stuff. What kind of car did you learn how to drive on? I haven’t learned how to drive. What is the best thing you have done just because you were told you can’t? I don’t knowwww. Have you ever had to go to court or testify and if so what for? No. Do you believe in karma? No. Are you more worried about doing the things right, or doing the right thing? Both. Do you believe in the term “Mother knows best?” I mean, I definitely value my mom’s opinions. It doesn’t mean we always agree.  Who is your favorite movie action hero? Iron Man/Tony Stark.  What is one thing you can get in your hometown you can’t get elsewhere? My town isn’t special. How important are looks in someone you’re in a relationship with? I can’t say looks don’t matter at all, but they’re not the most important. Personality means a lot more, and it can also add to someone’s attractiveness.  What freedom do you feel is not really free anymore? I can’t think for this survey right now. What are you most thankful for? My family. Do you have any favorite talk shows or talk radio programs without music? Dr. Phil and Daily Pop. What was the last book you read? Burying the Honeysuckle Girls by Emily Carpenter. What’s your favorite online store? Exclusively online: Amazon. However, I shop a lot on Hot Topic, Boxlunch, and Kohl’s websites.  What band would you love to tour with or be a roadie for? None. I’m not a musical artist or in a band, and I don’t want to be a roadie.  If you were to throw a message in a bottle into the ocean, it would say? Hi.  Do you have common sense or do you think people are lacking in it? Sometimes it doesn’t seem like it’s so common.  What’s your favorite non-alcoholic drink? Coffee. How do you feel about thrift shops or flea markets? Not my thing. What do you like to put gravy on? I love country gravy on eggs, biscuits, and hash browns and turkey or pork gravy on turkey, ham, and mashed potatoes.  Have you ever gone canoeing/kayaking? Nope.  What one thing in particular makes you feel good about yourself? :/ What is priceless to you? Spending time with my family. What do you wait for discount sales to buy? I always look for sales on things whenever I can.  What is one thing you know about your family history you’re proud of? Hmm. What 3 songs will always be found at the top of your playlist? I don’t think there’s 3 particular songs that would always be there.  What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done for someone? It must be too late or something cause I really can’t think of an answer for a lot of these. Do you keep a budget? I just make sure my bills are paid first at the 1st of the month and then use the rest as I please, but try and keep around a certain amount in my bank each month.  If you could cast a spell on someone what spell would you cast and on who? I wouldn’t.  What makes you feel rested and refreshed? A day at the beach. It’s the only time I can actually relax for a bit while there. What is the funniest joke you have ever heard about? Who depends on you the most? I don’t know if anyone really depends on me. I’m the depender.  Could you ever be someone’s bodyguard? Ha, no. Has one of your biggest fears come true? Yes. Is there anything about the opposite sex you just don’t understand? There’s a lot I don’t understand about people in general. Have you ever let your mom or significant other fight a battle for you? My mom. Did you create a checklist for your ideal spouse?  Only when asked in surveys. If so, what were two things you wanted? Patience and understanding. Have you ever ridden on a subway or train an what did you like about it? I haven’t. What song on your playlist gets played the most? Spotify doesn’t tell me that. Do you prefer sporty or academic members of the opposite sex? If we vibe, we vibe. Do you have to experience something to fully understand it? I mean, I think so.  Has anyone in your family ever served in the military? Yeah. Finish the next line in your style: Roses are red, violets are blue… I’m tired, how ‘bout you? What embarrasses you instantly? If I spittle while talking or food or drink falls out my mouth while talking. Do you think you could be a firefighter, why/why not? No. I’m a paraplegic for one thing, so that’d make things kind of difficult. Do you often read your horoscope? I don’t at all. I don’t believe in that stuff. I never really did, it was more just for fun, but now I don’t even bother. What current event are you tired of hearing about? Trump. Are you a daredevil? HA. What common pitfalls do you find yourself dealing with in your work life? I don’t have a job. Describe your “poker face”. No expression? Isn’t that what it is in general, not just to me specifically? What do you think should be censored? I don’t see the issue of having curse words and nudity censored for children. Are you related to anyone famous or historical, if so who? Not that I know of. Would you ever donate a kidney to anyone, and who? I couldn’t. How do you encourage yourself when you go through hard times? I don’t encourage myself, I wallow. Have you ever fired a gun? Yes. I went to a shooting range with friends once.  Do you think people, including yourself live up to their full potential? Maybe this is my full potential. Maybe this is all I got to give. How are you different from most people? I don’t know.  What is the main quality you think makes a great parent? Love? What creature do you admire for its ability to adapt? Uhhh. How do you feel about GMOs? >> I think the whole process is interesting, and I think there are clear benefits to genetic modification, and I think there are clear detriments to genetic modification, and that’s just how it goes. <<<  Have you ever stayed up for an entire 24 hours, why? Yes. No good reason, just happened. Who is a female role model in your life?  My mom. What childhood dreams have you neglected? All of them? I know child me didn’t dream of a life like this. How often do you reevaluate your life? I need to really do that and start taking steps in the right direction, but I just haven’t been able to for some reason. What’s your favorite place just to hang out? My room. What gives you a zest for life? I’m not feelin’ very zesty. What do you have trouble seeing clearly in your mind? A future where I have better health and a relationship. I can’t see those things at all. What three things do you think of most of each day? A lot of things. My mind is a mess and it’s always racing. Would you travel to space if possible? No. Just the thought terrifies me. Name a famous person you wouldn’t mind for a business partner. I’m not a business person, nor do I desire to be, so I have no need for a business partner. 

[marigoldwitch]

Spending Less Money

These are just a few of my tips for spending less money. I know that not everyone is in a similar situation as me and some people are more or less limited to what they can and can’t live without. 

💰 No TV

Instead of paying an extra $30 - $50 a month on cable (or satellite) I opted to get Hulu and Netflix, both of which equal to less than $20 a month and provide me with an endless amount of entertainment. Also a lot of networks (like The CW, NBC and Fox) let you stream shows on their website for free now anyways.

💰 No Cell Phone

Yep, you read that right lol. I do not have a cell phone plan. I do still have a cell phone (I actually have 2, both pre owned and given to me by friends who upgraded year ago lol). Since I work from home I spend literally 90% of my time in my apartment.. where I already pay for internet. I simply just use my home internet with my phones for any social media, games or whatever else on my phone.

I’m never worried about when I’m out, not having a phone, because almost every place nowadays has free wifi. Also (some people don’t know this but) you can still call 911 on a phone with no cell service. So there’s no need to worry about emergencies. 

I never worry too much about keeping in touch with people because almost everyone I talk to prefers texting (we just talk through FB messenger, Instagram DM, Tumblr chat, Twitter DM etc) or video chatting (again FB messenger).

💰 I don’t wear makeup (meaning I don’t buy makeup)

Some people think this is some sort of political or social stance of mine to “stick it to the man” but really I just find it to be a waste of my money. I’m not opposed to getting my makeup professional done for certain events (weddings etc) but for my day to day life it seems wasteful to purchase makeup that I know will most likely go bad before I could even use half the product.

Like I said, I spend 90% of my time at home working and when I do go out it’s usually just for walks, to go grocery shopping or to spend time with friends (all things I can do without a face of makeup).

💰 I don’t have any credit cards

I’m not saying people can’t have and use credit cards responsibly but I know my own habits and if I can’t see the money, I’m really bad at not spending it lol. This is why I still prefer using a prepaid visa card to pay online bills (instead of my debit card) and to make larger purchases. It has a set amount I put on it and once it’s spent, it’s gone and I can’t spend more lol.

💰 I thrift....... a lot

Most of my clothes are hand-me-downs or thrifted. And when I do purchase clothing that isn’t thrifted I do tend to spend that little bit of extra $$ now so that I know it will last longer. I’d rather spend $40 now on a good pair of jeans, and know they’ll last me years, then only spend $10 and know I’ll have to get a new pair in 6 month.

A lot of my furniture is thrifted too. You’d be surprised what you can do with a $5 side table and a $5 can of spray paint.

💰 I hardly ever “eat out”

I have friends who literally eat out 5 times a week and they’re always always always complaining on FB about how they have no money. The average person spends about $12 eating a meal out. Which is crazy to me. My average meal (at home) cost about $2 a serving (and it’s just me and my boyfriend so you can imagine how much we safe just eating at home).

And yes, once a month or so, we’ll splurge $20 for chinese food or mexican food but that’s on the rare occasion that we have money left after paying the bills.

💰 I walk when I can

I live in a pretty small town, which makes it convenient (and actually pleasant lol) to walk to a lot of necessary places. Main Street is just a mile walk from my apartment. There’s a grocery store right behind my apartment (though it’s not as affordable as the one on the other side of town, but makes a great place to grab something I need like fruits or veggies) and a local movie theater is less than a 10 minute walk from my place (got to be honest though I don’t see movies often either, maybe once a year, unless someone else is paying LOL).

This saves me a ton of money on gas each month.

After comparing my expenses to a friend it shocked me. Just her interest, cable, cell plan [unlimited], netflix and hulu bills came out to a whooping $250 a month!! That is so crazy. My internet, hulu and netflix comes out to $78 a month.

She said she spends an average of about $400 a month on food (for just herself) while I spend an average of $225 a month (for me and my boyfriend) <-- these numbers both include eating out but doesn’t include her weekday morning Starbucks run, which averages out to $20 a week (meaning she spends an average of $80 a month just on Starbucks!) I don’t have a Starbucks in my town lol and the closes one is almost an hour away so I just drink good ol’ fashion home brewed coffee LOL.

So these are just some of my own personal tips and a little comparison on spending less money. 

[lifestylist]

Staying True To Your Brand

It is hard to believe that it has been over 20 years since I trademarked Lifestylist®. What a ride it has been. Lots of highs and lows, more adventures than I can count, and an ever-evolving brand mission statement that has changed with my personal interests as well as business opportunities.

Being a Lifestylist has always been about staying true to myself and what I wanted the brand to be - the hardest part was coming up with a concise way to share that message with others. When I was doing styling for Home Depot, the wonderful design manager there told me that I needed to come up with a better term to explain what I do. I was more than just an interior designer or a stylist - my focus has always been incorporating a person’s lifestyle into their homes, an advertising campaign that a company was creating, or helping someone live their best life. That is how I became a Lifestylist and how my brand was born.

Signature Kitchen Suite is the luxury appliance division of LG Appliances. It is fairly new, and I still remember when I saw the brand for the first time at the International Builders Show. The booth’s focus was on contemporary art and fashion - they were trying to set their brand apart, but instead, you couldn’t figure out what they were selling - the appliances weren’t as exciting as the art.

A few years later they made some changes, especially with how they were positioning the brand. The new advertising and media company came up with two brilliant, short, and sweet terms to get the message across: True to Food® and Technicurean®. Signature Kitchen Suite was to become more than a pretty face - these beautiful appliances helped consumers get excited about cooking in their own homes again, and I believe helped make sous vide and sous vide cooking a household name. The brand really has stayed True to Food, and the stunning True to Food videos that they shot that are available on their website helped you understand that passion and talent that was behind the name.

When they opened the Experience and Design Center in Napa, they asked this Lifestylist to curate art and accessories to bring their mission statement to life. After working all night before the opening, seeing the Technicureans who were in the videos see the space for the first time and to see how we tied them into the various kitchens was one of my biggest accomplishments.

I used my collection of rolling pins to create an installation on one wall - I never get tired of seeing people get excited about this unique way to showcase their collections and to take photos with it.

The Innocean team knew that I was working on building my Lifestylist brand, and have been very generous with their time mentoring me on how to improve what I am accomplishing. They also invited me to take part in some trend seminars that they held. Having access to the talent at one of the top ad agencies in the world has been a wonderful gift.

With their help, I have finally been able to come up with a way to describe what the Lifestylist Brand is all about: Wine Dine and Design. Sustainability and living a healthier lifestyle are very important to me, and we have now opened up two physical vintage shops in Dallas as well as having an expanding online presence on ebay and Poshmark. Finding items at nonprofit thrift shops and estate sales, then selling them in our shops has been the perfect way to recycle items that always have a story behind them, and lots of life left.

Staying true to my Lifestylist brand has become my priority, and my closet has gone from being filled with clothing from big box and mall stores to treasures that have a past. It feels good to know that I am keeping these items out of landfills while using them to develop my own unique style. Original art and American-made goods are some of my favorite items to buy and share. Supporting local artisans by purchasing their work and letting them know that their talents are appreciated helps everyone.

[ellamishan]

Body dysmorphia & eating disorders in dance:

WHITE hat: Neutral, objective opinion:

This idea would be hard to gain numbers/statistics on in New Zealand as it is so niche, unless I did my own research and went into dance studios with surveys. I only know rough percentages from my own experience in the dance world. But I know so many people who all struggled with this same issue and never knew they weren’t the only one. And because it is so rarely talked about, especially in the dance world, I think there is a definite gap in society for this discussion to be brought up.

YELLOW hat: Optimistic opinion:

I have a personal connection to this issue, they are topics I understand and know a lot about having gone through it myself and I feel because of my ties to it, I could appropriately and successfully get across the right message and encouragement to others struggling with BD and EDs in dance because I know what I would have wanted to hear and see.

BLACK hat: Pessimistic opinion:

There isn’t a lot of scientific research on body dysmorphia and the dance industry in NZ is small so the reach of my campaign might be too niche. It’s also hard to find stats on these issues and most eating disorder stats are international rather than NZ based.

RED hat: Intuitive, emotional opinion:

I feel strongly about this subject, it’s a topic that if I had seen campaigned about, I would be really interested in and would have helped me a lot in feeling supported/not alone in the issue. This is an issue I probably have the strongest connection to as it brings up lots of emotions.

GREEN hat: Creative opinion:

I can already visualise so many motifs and ideas to portray movement (dance) and the idea of dysmorphia. I think this would be an easy campaign to get visually creative with.

BLUE hat: Organised opinion:

I will need to do my own research to gain statistics and also visual inspiration/what ways will be most effective for campaigning.

Lack of self esteem amongst young people

WHITE hat: Neutral, objective opinion:

This is something that affects almost everyone and is also not talked about often, people are so hesitant to admit their genuine insecurities because people are so judgemental. I’m not quite sure how I would communicate this idea or what would be an appropriate way to ‘raise awareness’ about it, but I know that as long as our generation continue to bully and judge and compare and talk behind people’s backs, we will always have severe self esteem issues which equate to mental health issues (anxiety, depression, eating disorders etc). My purpose with this campaign would be to start with one of the main roots of the problem (of mental health issues) and come from a preventative point of view.

YELLOW hat: Optimistic opinion:

The target audience is so wide (all young people) so I feel a lot of people would relate and feel provoked in some sort of way to think about their self esteem and how it’s affected their lives. It would have a large reach and could really start some serious discussion amongst our generation on why is it like this? Why do we all have such low confidence - I feel confident the reach would be large too because I know all of my friends have struggled in some way because of lack of self esteem and it can be really debilitating.

BLACK hat:

Pessimistic opinion:

I am not so sure how I would gain statistics on this issue (maybe look at mental health stats?) but it is a really broad discussion topic and could be difficult to ‘raise awareness’ on as most people are already ‘aware’ that young people often have low self esteem at times because that’s part of the growing up process.

RED hat: Intuitive, emotional opinion:

I personally feel that I would really have loved to seen a campaign talking about this because, I know that I used to feel guilty for feeling bad about myself cause ‘everyone does’ and it’s ‘normal’ so i shouldn’t ‘complain or talk about it’ but in actuality, why does it have to be normal, we should encourage openness about how we really feel and then minimise the burden of having zero confidence.

GREEN hat: Creative opinion:

I think it might be hard to portray this idea visually but there I think you could do some really cool animatics or have QR codes to scan, placed all over the city that would take you to really inspiring podcasts or talks that raise self belief and encourage big dreams and ideas.

BLUE hat: Organised opinion:

I need to figure out collateral that will best campaign the topic I’m raising awareness on - how would I generate QR codes, what visual branding/look can I create for the subject and what language do I need to use to capture people’s attention.

Over consumption in the fast fashion industry

WHITE hat: Neutral, objective opinion:

This is a widely talked about issue but I haven’t seen a lot of active campaigning about it to all demographics. It is an issue that needs to be addressed urgently however still, all over social media are big, well known influencers advertising and endorsing fast fashion labels. If second hand shopping and thrift stores can be more actively encouraged (as they’ve already become a big trend in the fashion world), and fast fashion brands discouraged using examples and stats to show just how much they contribute to the steadying decline in our world’s climate and rise in fossil fuel expenditure, then this campaign could have real benefits and change the way people shop.

YELLOW hat: Optimistic opinion:

I have recently (over the last few years) benefited from becoming less interest in fast fashion labels and more into second hand clothes purely for selfish reasons being I enjoy the fact that other people don’t have the same clothes as me, and I can find way more unique pieces. This ‘plus’ for me has in turn equaled a plus for the environment as I decrease my personal contribution to fast fashion and CO2 emissions. If other people can begin doing this, with the added awareness of how much fast fashion is contributing to climate change, then I believe we could start putting big well known fast fashion labels under, pushing them out of business.

BLACK hat: Pessimistic opinion:

New Zealand is a small country therefore our contribution to fast fashion’s impact on climate change is also already small so the effect of a decrease in people buying fast fashion here, might not be so large. Because this is already widely well known, trying to raise awareness about it might be difficult and people might switch off to it having ‘heard it all before’.

RED hat: Intuitive, emotional opinion:

I feel so strongly that the need for fast fashion is unnecessary because we have so many (too many!) clothes in the world already, we need to stop or slow the process of making more in bulk. Buying second hand is just as rewarding (if not more!) I’ve found and if other people could start doing the same, more second hand stores and thrift shops could open up in the place of big fast fashion labels.

GREEN hat: Creative opinion:

This could be so fun to campaign about; as well as raising awareness I could give people other options to shop at in replacement of stores like ‘GLassons’ and “Forever21’ etc - scanning QR codes that will take you to your map pin-pointing the nearest and best second hand/thrift store(s), creating an app with scroll through boards (curated depending on the brands/style you like) that will show you clothes people or thrift stores are selling online (via depop, their own websites or other selling platforms) as well as small independent brands that don’t mass produce. Laptop stickers, saying ‘I buy second hand’ because it has become a trend to do so and might influence others, cool posters, visually stating or showing (through photographs of the amount of mass production) the impacts of fast fashion, and specifically what you can change to help.

BLUE hat: Organised opinion:

How can I create the digital aspect, what will my visuals be/what theme can I create (colour palette, graphics etc) - also need to find more stats relating to NZ contribution to fast fashion specifically.

[repurposesustainably-blog]

A reflection:

After quite a bit of consideration, we’ve come to realize both of our closets are largely comprised of secondhand clothing, either from our parents or thrifting. However, we thought it might be worth looking into the brand we each patronize most, conducting some research into its sustainability and treatment of workers. 

Jadine

I get a lot of clothes from Kohl’s in the states, because its clearance section is so good. It has occurred to me a couple times that there’s no way the company can be making money selling turtlenecks for $4, much less be paying their employees properly. On top of this, the quality of the clothing could be better-- it’s superior to Forever 21, but much worse than the Gap, the other brand I patronize the most. It’s clearly fast fashion, made to meet the demand for trends but not to last multiple seasons. 

I spent some time looking into Kohl’s suppliers, policies, and sustainability. I knew it wasn’t going to look great because of its status as a large chain department store with rock-bottom prices. I dug up an article on its usage of sweatshops in Nicaragua, where both physical and verbal mistreatment occurs. After workers attempted to form a union, they were allegedly fired from their positions. Garment workers producing clothing for Kohl’s have also reportedly died in sweatshop fires in Bangladesh. However, Kohl’s insisted that third-party auditors were sent to their factories, and reported no sweatshop conditions, abusive environments or overtime issues. 

Given this information, I am much less keen on patronizing Kohl’s and will seek an accessible and affordable alternative for my clothing purchases. It’s been difficult to find an actual store carrying sustainable clothing, so I am leaning more towards thrifting and other used-clothing alternatives in order to make my closet more sustainable.

Andrea

So I haven’t really gone shopping in about two years now, instead, I’ve been raiding my parent’s old clothes and occasionally visiting the thrift store. But before I stopped shopping, I remember the routine drive to the states when clothes would go on sale and my dad and I would shop at Eddie Bauer. 

Looking into the ethics behind Eddie Bauer, it surprisingly ranks pretty high up the list of sustainable fast fashion. They have standards in place to prevent child labour, to pay fair wages, benefits, overtime compensation, the freedom of association, etc. In some websites, it is said to be sweatshop free. I am sceptical about this statement since some of the tags read Made in Vietnam.

Another downside is that they only mandate that their business partners (who own the factories) adhere to their country’s environmental standard. This is a bit disappointing since there isn’t much transparency on where these factories are located Therefore, I probably won’t be shopping at Eddie Bauer until I find out more. In the meantime, I have found a website which helps me to live a more sustainable life. It’s called thegoodtrade.com 

[lady-divine-writes]

Klaine one-shot - “Mislaid Destiny” (Rated PG)

Blaine works at a boutique market when he meets a man he’s sure is made for him by the contents in his shopping cart. (1938 words)

Notes: This is a re-write. Based on a personal experience.

Read on AO3.

It’s 2:15 in the afternoon – not yet time for the usual afternoon rush, but the store is still fairly busy. Blaine glances down the conveyor belt at the items currently being purchased by the elf-ish man standing behind the counter. The man looks back at Blaine, a shy grin curling his rosy lips as he waits to hand Blaine his money.

He’s polite, quiet, and slightly impatient, so Blaine does his best to speed things up for him.

Working as a cashier at this boutique little catch-all market isn’t Blaine’s dream job by any means, but it does have its perks. Money being one of them, of course - the biggest one since he’ll have completed his master’s degree soon, and then the age-old tradition of dodging the college loan officer will begin.

Another is people watching. As a performer, it is essential that he observe people from all walks of life. Over the past few years, Blaine has come to discover that he can tell more about someone by the way they stand, the movement of their eyes, the quality of their smile (whether it’s tight, genuine, if it reaches their eyes, or if it’s plain non-existent), and from the things they buy than from any amount of conversation.

His favorite customers so far have been a twelve-year-old girl who comes in every Friday around four with her brothers and sisters for hot dogs and ice cream (he is constantly amazed by her cool under pressure, her wisdom beyond her years, the unconditional love she shows her siblings even though the eldest of them is half her age and screams constantly); and an older gentleman who stops by two to three times a week for lemon meringue pie, who talks to Blaine about his deceased wife, his kids, and his time as a combat veteran until he backs up the line. But Blaine doesn’t mind. He assumes the man doesn’t have anyone nearby to talk to. And his life has been so interesting. Blaine’s other customers usually understand, and either wait patiently, enjoying the tales themselves, or go to another line.

As far as purchases made, his fave combinations of products have been, on one occasion, a can of baby formula and twelve six-packs of beer; on another - a box of chocolates, a bottle of wine, and a meat cleaver; and the pièce de résistance - a bottle of lubricant, a Winx DVD, sixteen cans of aerosol whipped cream, and a box of condoms.

In the three years Blaine has spent working at this store, never once has he found himself drawn to a customer in anything other than a professional way. He constructs an invisible wall between him and them – a line that should not be crossed. So he’s surprised at how this one customer has managed to capture his attention so completely. Though the man in front of him, rolling endlessly back and forth on the balls of his feet, isn’t necessarily Blaine’s type physically, the items on the belt are painting a picture that is quickly winning him over.

James Patterson’s Invisible – only one of Blaine’s favorite James Patterson books ever.

“I’ve read this,” he says nonchalantly as he scans the book and puts it into a shopping bag. “It’s fascinating. A real page turner.”

The man smiles wider, preening beneath Blaine’s approval of his book selection. It’s a nice smile. He doesn’t seem to like showing his teeth, but that’s alright. The fact that he also smiles with his eyes makes up for it.

Blaine moves on to the next item - a container of gourmet chicken noodle soup, the kind they make from scratch here at the store. Chicken noodle soup is one of Blaine’s all-time top choice comfort foods, and he can definitely appreciate a person who spends a little extra money to get the best.

A cronut – cronuts happen to be Blaine’s all-time favorite bakery item … and his biggest weakness. If not for cronuts, Blaine wouldn’t have gained fifteen pounds his first semester of college. He’s managed to lose the weight and keep it off since then, balancing his love of cronuts with a healthy diet and exercise. But amongst his other actor and model friends, he stands alone in his cronut obsession. It might be nice to find someone to share it with.

Blaine scans a bottle of Camus - a nice mid-brand cognac. Cognac is another one of Blaine’s guilty pleasures - an indulgence introduced to him by his first high school boyfriend his senior year. He’s not a heavy drinker, but sometimes he slips a bit in his coffee at bedtime, especially when he feels under the weather.

A bar of Yardley’s lavender-scented soap – Blaine’s grandmother always used this soap. Her skin, her hair, her entire house used to smell like lavender. It was her signature scent. God, Blaine misses her so much.

A dozen sterling roses – for some reason, sterlings are extremely difficult to get in the city. The store where Blaine works stocks them once in a blue moon, and he tries to buy them when they do. He’s a little sad to see this bunch go, but considering everything else, maybe this time he can let it slide.

Topping it all off, this month’s copy of Vogue, indicating a man with an interest in fashion, style, and sophistication. Blaine likes to consider himself fashion-forward, though he hasn’t exactly graduated from the 50s retro crooner chic he sported in high school - mainly sweater vests, wingtips, and bowties. They’ve been his go-to for so long, he doesn’t really own anything else.

But he’d be willing to learn from someone knowledgeable, who could spare time to give him a few pointers.

Plus, Blaine notes as he packs the magazine in with the other groceries, the man brought his own reusable bags to boot. Whether out of thrift or concern for the environment, Blaine finds the gesture very attractive.

If Blaine were ever to fall for a man based solely on his purchases, this man would be perfect.

Would it be weird to admit that to him, considering he’s at work and the man hasn’t spoken a word to him yet?

Blaine watches the man fidget uncomfortably, as if he knows his purchases are being scrutinized. He rises up on the balls of his feet and takes odd peeks out the window at a blue Honda parked out front.

He probably left his doors unlocked, Blaine surmises. Blaine would prefer to believe that as opposed to the possibility that he’s creeping this poor man out so much he can’t wait to grab his bags and run.

Blaine gives the bags a final once over before he loads them into the man’s shopping cart. Should he take the plunge and ask him out? This might not be the most appropriate of circumstances. Lord knows what his manager would think. Blaine isn’t so desperate that he needs to shop for a boyfriend at work, but it feels like decades since he’s gone out on a real date with someone he didn’t meet at a bar or on a dating website. He considers himself outgoing, he’s definitely not shy, but he can never seem to find someone he shares any real interests with. His type or no, this man seems oddly tailor made for him.

And he has blue eyes.

Blaine is a sucker for a beautiful pair of blue eyes.

“I’m going to need to see some i.d.,” Blaine says. When the man furrows his brow, Blaine explains, “For the liquor.” Blaine points to a sign hanging behind him at the register that explains the rules on carding for alcohol purchases in New York City. “It’s the law.”

“Oh … oh yes, of course.” The man shakes his head with a nervous laugh, reaching into his back pocket for his wallet.

A wallet that’s basically one big rainbow flag, the same wallet Blaine’s friend Brittany gave him at NYC Pride March last year.

Another interesting sign.

He opens it, pulls out his driver’s license, and hands it over.

“Chandler Kiehl,” Blaine reads out loud.

“That’s my name, don’t wear it out.” Chandler giggles.

“I’m Blaine,” Blaine says, handing Chandler back his driver’s license.

“I know. It’s on your name tag.” Chandler reaches a long finger and taps the tag pinned to Blaine’s navy blue polo shirt.

“Right.” Blaine looks down at the tag, then back at Chandler. “Look, this might seem weird …” he starts out, trying to sound as sincere (and look as non-threatening) as he can. “I mean, I’ve definitely never done this before, but can I maybe ask you for your phone number?”

Chandler’s eyes open wide, his smile overwhelming his face.

“Ooo-la-la!” he exclaims, blushing to his roots. “Of course you may!”

Blaine hands Chandler a pen and a scratch piece of paper, and Chandler quickly but neatly scrawls out his name and number. When Chandler’s done, Blaine takes the pen and the slip of paper back, putting the number safely in the pocket of his khaki slacks.

“So, I’ll call you tonight?” Blaine asks.

“Sounds like a plan.” Chandler hands over a hundred dollar bill, keeping his hand out for the change.

“There you go.” Blaine hands Chandler the change, his own smile growing to match Chandler’s infectious glee. “Do you need any help out to your car?”

“Nope,” Chandler practically sings. “I think I’ve got it.”

“It was nice meeting you, Chandler,” Blaine says with a wink.

“Et vous, aussi, Blaine,” Chandler coos. He skips away, pushing the cart with the bags inside, swaying his hips in case Blaine is watching him leave.

Caught up immediately with another customer, Blaine doesn’t watch Chandler as he heads for the blue car out front. Chandler puts the bags in the back seat of his car, then climbs into the driver's seat, still aglow and giddy, doing a tiny dance as he buckles his seatbelt. Then he turns to the passenger seat, reclined all the way, with his best friend laying back on it, a tissue pressed to his nose.

“Dank you so much vor dis, Chadler,” Kurt mumbles around a cough, sniffling when he catches his breath.

“No problem,” Chandler says with a wave of his hand. “I promised I would take care of you until you got better, and so I shall. How are you feeling?”

“I veel like cwap.” Kurt blows his nose. “Der waz no way I waz going to be able to go in that store and buy my gwoceries.”

“Well, I do have to say you have some interesting tastes,” Chandler comments, looking over his shoulder at the bags in the back seat. “Oh! But you totally missed out on the hot cashier Blaine.”

“Oh?” Kurt raises a brow.

“Yup.” Chandler sighs dreamily. “He’s dark and handsome, with a sort of Elvis Presley-thing going …”

“Did he have a cute smile?” Kurt asks with more interest. He’s a sucker for a man with a smooth, seductive smile.

“The cutest!” Chandler chirps, putting a hand dramatically over his heart. “And the best thing is he asked me for my number!”

“Weally?” Kurt asks, a twinge of jealousy pinging inside his chest.

“Yeah, out of the blue,” Chandler explains, starting up the car. “I don’t really understand it. I barely said a word to him.”

“Well, maybe it’s just meant to be.”

“Maybe,” Chandler says, smiling at the thought of fate steering him in the path of this handsome man.

Kurt smiles at his besotted friend and closes his eyes, daydreaming of a mysterious man asking for his phone number.

[paintedwarpony]

@joekabox I KNOW ABOUT DINOTOPIA!!!!

I grew up with a copy of the original Dinotopia and it was one of the first "adult" books I learned to read! I LEARNED TO READ AND WRITE CURSIVE AND MAINTAINED IT SOLELY TO READ THAT BOOK! I remember really briefly in the 90s they tried to make a television series of Dinotopia but it was short-lived, underfunded and the technology just wasn't on par with the majesty that the books portray. But I loved that book and guess what! I still have that old batter copy to this day! The dust jacket is long gone but the book remains!

BUT WHATS MORE I HAVE NEWS FOR YOU MY FRIEND.

THERE. ARE. THREE. MORE.

(Though after rereading your post I realized you might already know about the rest of the books. My bad. I got excited to share XD)

Two of the three are continued from the original story but the third, "First Flight" is kind of a prequel/origin story. And they are all absolutely as beautifully written and illustrated and DELIGHTFUL as the original. Without giving to many spoilers away here are some pics:

NOW HEAR THIS

Before you run off to Half-Price Books, Thrift Books or Amazon I say this PLEASE ORDER THESE BABIES DIRECTLY FROM JAMES GURNEY'S WEBSITE!!

Yes he's still out theres kicking ass and making art. And I plead with anyone who may want these books to spend a little extra money (not much honestly) to get them directly from Mr.Gurney not just because it goes directly to supporting the artist and author but because

A. He sends you so many fun extras! Book marks! Postcards! Thank you notes! I even got a little door hanger with dino art on it that says don't disturb: reading!

And

B. HE SIGNS THE TITLE PAGES WITH A LITTLE MESSAGE AND DRAWS YOU A LITTLE PICTURE OF A DINO!!!!

HOW. FUCKING. AMAZING. IS. THAT. ISN'T. IT. PRECIOUS!?!

I almost sent him a note asking if I could send my old copy to him to inscribe the same way and pay postage for him to send it back XD.

Yes. You are 100%. I will never understand why this series never caught on. Maybe dinosaurs just weren't in fashion at the time.

Anyone know about Dinotopia?

Why didn’t Dinotopia ever blow up like Harry P*tter or whoever the heck? The books are beautifully illustrated, feature what would have been very accurate looking dinosaurs at the time of publishing (with a later book even retroactively adding feathers to some of the dinosaurs), and it takes place in the real world, so it could allow for lots of people to put themselves in the settings and story like a lot of people did with H*gwarts and stuff. 

They even have something akin to HP’s house system, with some teenagers being given saurian partners and placed within a habitat group (such as forest, desert, beaches, etc) to learn more about the world and explore themselves and their relationship with Dinotopia. So not only do you get a habitat to be placed within, with whatever personality traits that implies, but you also get a cool prehistoric friend to come with you!

It’s such a rich, beautiful, setting, and I wish more was done with it. George Lucas was even in talks of making a Dinotopia movie at one point, and while that didn’t seem to go anywhere, it’s said the city of Theed on the planet Naboo in Star Wars Episode I was heavily inspired by Waterfall City from Dinotopia.

Anyway, if you’ve not read Dinotopia by James Gurney, please do so. It’s beautiful, and while it’s target audience is children, it never talks down in a way to make anyone feel excluded, and as mentioned, the art is simply breathtaking.

[arplis]

Arplis - News: My 22 Goals for 2019

Goal #1 — Spend More Time Doing What I Love Little Miss Lucy Goose met her new vet this week and absolutely loves her. The fact that they give Lucy little treats while she’s getting her mani/pedi has something to do with it. Also, she is having a blast running around the yard now that it’s all fenced in. And just in time too! Three days after we finished, the ground froze. Goal #2 — Garden, Garden, Garden The day before the ground froze we planted a row of arborvitae trees along one side of the fence and moved 6 peony bushes to the side of the house. I would have liked to have gotten more done before the weather turned, but I am so very much ready for winter and all the calmness it brings to life here in New England. Having 4 true seasons, rocks. And I am looking forward to a restful winter. Goal #3 — Plant an Orchard {Calling it Quits on this one.} We are almost there!!! The first harvest could be anyway now. I’m just waiting for the color to deepen a bit. Goal #4 — Gussy Up the Potting Shed Done! I gussied up the potting shed at our old house, but I would like to add some sort of “potting station” to the backyard here somewhere, but I’m not sure where I would put it yet. Goal #5 — Grow Enough Extra Vegetables, Eggs and Flowers to Earn $1500 at my little roadside vegetable stand. It was totally my intention to grow a ton of fruits and vegetables to sell at the farm-stand when I made my list of goals for 2019 last winter, but then we moved. So, that whole goal was sort of a bust. Goal #6 — Finish Every Single Unfinished Rug Hooking Project in My Pattern Bin + 10 Things from back Issues of Magazines/Books I’ve Been Meaning to Make.  This week I didn’t hook a single rug, but I did hand dye and put together about 100 bundles of wool for my Etsy shop. I still have a few more colors to do, but after that, my Etsy shop should be stocked well into next year and I’ll be able to start hooking in earnest again. 73 rugs in my pattern bin {now down to 27} 183 hooked flowers {finished 150, now down to 33} 10 “things” from back issues of magazines {finished 0} Goal #7 — Create 12 New Rug Hooking Patterns {with at least half of them being large ones} DONE! So far this year I’ve added 12 new rug hooking patterns and 13 beginner rug hooking kits to my Etsy shop. New rug hooking patterns I’ve created and added to My Etsy Shop this year: Tullia and Thomas Turkey Double Nantucket Whale Runner Miss Henny and Penny Miss Penny Simple Kitty Primitive Flowers 2 Fat Cats Annabell’s Big Day Old Fashioned Double Tulip Fat Brown Hen Busy Little Bee Queen Bee Rug Hooking Kits Busy Little Bee {in 2 different colors} Folk Art Heart Small Nantucket Whale Primitive Crow Miss Robin {in 2 different colors} Simple Kitty Primitive Flowers Sunflowers A Basket of Spring Posies Fat Brown Hen Chicky’s Garden Goal #8 — Split and Stack 2 Cords of Wood for Next Winter  All that firewood! We sold it. 😉 Goal #9 — Do Something with the 5,002 Photos on My Phone Down to 2867. Goal #10 –-Lose the Muffin Top Done! I’m declaring Muffy gone. Thanks to the stress of moving and just getting outside and walking around more and working in the yard, Muffy has melted away. Goal #11 — Run, Walk or Crawl a 5k, 10k, Half Marathon and Marathon You are not going to believe this. The Girl had to work on Saturday, and so I asked my husband if he would do the 5K with me and he said YES. I couldn’t believe it. Luckily I had chosen a 5k with a run or walk option and so with it being a whopping 28 degrees outside, we weren’t the only ones there in jeans. 😉 The proceeds of the race went to Honor Flight Maine {a non-profit organization created solely to honor America’s Veterans for all their service and sacrifices. Honor Flight Maine transport America’s heroes to Washington, D.C. to tour, experience and reflect at their memorials.} Now all that’s left is the Pastry and Tea Half Marathon before I can check this goal off my list. Goal #12 — Read or Listen to 26 New Books {21 down, 5 to go} Still listening to Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan. Books I’ve Read or Listened to So Far This Year: Marilla of Green Gables #1 Still my favorite The Great Alone #2 The Aviator’s Wife #3 Before We Were Yours #4 Secrets of a Charmed Life #5 Where’d You Go, Bernadette #6 Carnegie’s Maid #7 The Gown #8 Unbroken #9 Drama#10 The Alice Network #11 The Shape of Mercy #12 Will’s Red Coat #13 Big Little Lies #14 Mr. Churchill’s Secretary Born to Run I Feel Bad About My Neck Bunny Mellon  {Doesn’t count because it was my second time} On Writing {Doesn’t count because it was my third time} Walden Finder’s Keepers Delicious! Following Atticus Goal #13 — Try 52 New Recipes. 33 down, 19 recipes to go. Last week I shared a recipe for Turkey Salad. It’s the perfect recipe for using up those last pieces of turkey from Thanksgiving dinner. Goal #14 — Clean Up 52 Old Recipes on the Blog 9 down, 44 to go. I should get moving… because at this rate, I’ll be in the kitchen cooking the entire month of December. The poor bakeries. They’re going to suffer because I won’t be able to leave the house. Goal #15 — Fill 100 Canning Jars 48 down, 52 to go. No canning this past week and because I want to finish getting all that wool dyed, I won’t be canning anything this week either. Oddly enough though, I’m totally not even worried about reaching this goal. Peeps need their holiday jam, I’ll get it done. 🙂 So far this year I’ve I canned: 7 jars Peach Jam 7 jars of Strawberry Jam 15 jars of Carrot Cake Jam 15 jars of Spiced Pear Jam  4 jars of Almond Pears. Goal #16 — Finish Furnishing Our House I found a cadet blue vase at the thrift store this week {I found a pretty good one in town I like to pop in and check out every week} and brought it home. I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to do with it yet, but I like it and didn’t want someone else to snatch it up. We also hung a reproduction vintage map of Maine that was printed with the E.B. White quote “I would rather feel bad in Maine than feel good anywhere else” in a handmade barnwood frame on the wall in the family room. I am going for a coastal look in there and things are starting to come together. I still need to make the roman shades and find {create?} a few more things for the walls, but I’m on track to get the room completed by the end of the month. Goal #17 – 52 Dates with the HH {38 down, 14 to go} We went on a lunch date to The Cheese Iron and walked a 5k together. 🙂 Goal #18 — Take One Adult Education Class Done {I’ve taken 3!} Block Printing Class with my neighbor. Spoon Carving Class with Heather. Mini pottery lesson {I loved it! and now I want to sign up for a full class} Goal #19 — Secret Holiday Project{s} One of my secret holiday projects this year was block print towels and another was to make a few seed packet wreaths. I do have a couple more projects that would  be perfect for gift giving up my sleeve, and plan to share those on the blog soon. Goal #20 — Create 12 Wowie Zowie Party Platters 6 down, 6 to go. I need to get my game on. Seriously, I am running out of time. Goal #21 — Visit 12 General Stores 9 down 3 to go. The HH and I have plans to check out another one this week. 🙂 🙂 🙂 H.B. Provisions in Kennebunk, Maine Chase’s Daily {I think it should count} Squam Lake Marketplace Harrisville General Store Dodge’s Store in New Boston, New Hampshire Zeb’s General Store in North Conway, New Hampshire Dan and Whit’s in Norwich, Vermont Hussey’s General Store in Windsor, Maine Goal #22 — Compete with Carole….. Get on My Front Door Game On Much to the horror of my husband, I stood out on the front porch this morning in my pj’s wrapped in a blanket and puffy coat to take this photo. 🙂 🙂 🙂  The corn, along with the big pumpkins on the porch will stay until the day after Thanksgiving. Absolutely NO Christmas decorations until the day after Thanksgiving. Leg lamp included. Front Door Bling I’ve Made So Far This Year to Compete with Carole: Late January : Valentine Heart Late February : Shamrock Late March : Giant Carrot May: White wave petunia hanging basket June/July: Tin Star and Flag Bunting August : Sunflower September: Indian corn and pumpkins October: Pumpkins and spinner do hickeys November: Indian corn and big pumpkins ************** How about YOU? What are your goals for 2019? If you told us about them HERE, check in! We want to know how you are doing. Because seriously, it’s so much easier to get those goals checked off your list when you have people rooting for you! 🙂 Have a great day everyone, Mavis You can read more about my 22 goals for 2019 HERE. Have a Great Day! The post – Week 45 of 52 appeared first on One Hundred Dollars a Month. This content was original published at One Hundred Dollars a Month and is copyrighted material. If you are reading this on another website it is being published without consent.          Comments I read The Aviator ‘s Wife on your recommendation and almost ... by Janice It been a week or 'Sprucing up' the house at our place this ... by HollyG I finished sewing all the panels (6 panels with 11 pieces each) ... by Mel Related Stories – Week 44 of 52 – Week 43 of 52 – Week 42 of 52 #12GoalsForTheNewYear

Arplis - News source https://arplis.com/blogs/news/my-22-goals-for-2021

[nickgerlich]

Depop Till You Drop

Every year I assign my Evolutionary Marketing students--both undergrads and MBAs alike--the task of coming up with a new social media platform. As usual, there is a lot of squirming and worrying about how there could possibly be anything that hasn’t already been done.

My response is always the same: Look around you. Every social media platform you see right now came to life after others had gone before, even Facebook. Developers simply found the weaknesses in existing applications, and improved upon them. There is no reason to think the evolution of social media will end any time soon. People will continue to find new ways to satisfy our cravings to be connected.

And that is my students’ task as well.

Sometimes, though, a social media site takes off because it combines the best parts of two other sites. Consider the following: In September 1995, Pierre Omidyar launched eBay from his San Jose California living room. The first item listed was a broken laser pointer. It didn’t take long for Omidyar to see the results of his little experiment: People would respond in a global marketplace. It did not take long for eBay to become an international flea market, but while it was great for selling, it was never a place to show off your photographic skills.

Skip forward to October 2010, when Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger launched Instagram, a mobile photography application. It was an instant success as well, growing to one million users in just two months. But it was never very good as a platform for people selling things.

In 2011, Simon Beckerman saw the possibilities of combining attributes, and he launched Depop, a thrifting website that is as much about the selling as it is the photos. Today, Generation Z has fallen head over heels in love with it. As a cohort, Gen Z favors thrifting and frugality, but also rather likes the idea of social influencers. Depop offers them the opportunity to do both.

If the thought of wearing someone else’s clothes makes you cringe, consider that 140,000 items are listed on the site each day. Of the 15 million active users, 90% are younger than 26; the vast majority are females in search of bargains, either as buyers or sellers. Depop takes 10% commission off each sale, including the shipping fee. It’s a nice revenue model.

But Depop has become so obsessive for some that they actively seek out bargains for the express purpose of reselling. That’s another way of saying there are a lot of people out there who have no idea the value of what they want to sell, nor the desire or skill to post it online. If you know your stuff, and that a certain purse could fetch far more than the $10 some woman is willing to take for it, you could effectively launch your own Depop business. It’s like flipping houses, but on a much smaller scale.

Too bad I didn’t think of that, because that’s what many are indeed doing.

Back to why Gen Z would be interested in thrifting, though. At a time when retail chains are closing shops and going bankrupt, it has been easy to blame Amazon and other online vendors. But the fact of the matter is, the thrifting market is probably taking even bigger bites out of retailers’ bottom lines. Clothing is expensive, and fast fashion has become the norm. Gen Z wants to stay on the leading edge of fashion whenever possible, be unique among their peers, and save money.

That’s no small order, but Depop has pulled it off. Furthermore, even if a style falls off the fashion radar now, it may return in due time as a retro throwback, like the current fascination with Year 2000 styles, as well as the 1970s. Remember, these folks want to make their own statements, and one way to do it is with vintage clothing.

The result is a new social media network that allows people to amass huge followings, and sell lots of stuff. Show off your mad photographic skills by wearing the garment in a very cool place, and taking a cool photo. In the process, your coolness factor will skyrocket because you have become a cosmopolitan model in trendy locations.

I am pretty sure that the folks at both eBay and Instagram are kicking themselves right now, because they left money on the table. And I am pretty sure that my students are thinking right now that maybe they, too, could get in on the action.

Just remember your dear old professor once you do.

Dr “Waiting For My Ship To Come In“ Gerlich

Audio Blog

[allysunwest]

HAPPY EARTH DAY/WEEK 🌻 . . . Mother earth has gone through many changes in her life time. We have made it to a point where there is too much damage to avoid blaming ourselves for it. It’s time for everyone to step up and make a difference. We have no choice but to be mindful about what we use, what we buy, who we buy from and how much we buy! The bee population still declines, landfills are growing each day and big companies still only care about their cash. There are some larger companies like @mountainroseherbs who do so much good and work For the health of the earth, only produce as much waste as a family of four and pay their employees more who bike to work! How cool is that?! And @patagonia who is always leading the way in reuse And mending of garments and motives of giving back to the earth. Patagonia and @eileenfisherny are the two big brands I know of who ever launched a natural dye line and @eileenfisherrenew is doing amazing things with old clothes of theirs and using methods like a felting machine to create new one of a kind pieces from worn out garments. These people and ideas will be the leaders of the fashion and earth revolution and I plan to stand right alongside them-somewhere we can all strive to be! . . . As a new small business I do my very very best to do everything I can to meet and exceed the standards of sustainability and zero waste. At Allysun we only use healing plant dyes. After exhausting the dye bath, the water is used to grow little seeds and flourish bigger flowers in the garden. Most dyes are even beneficial to the soil. Each garment is completely biodegradable as well as I go to lengths to use no elastic (which can also cause stomach issues) in anything-I design with drawstrings in mind. I also only use either thrifted vintage buttons or buttons made from natural materials like wood, coconut or bone. So once you and your children have loved, worn, and mended your @allysunwest healing garments, you can help heal the earth by returning them to the soil to assist in producing new growth. . . . In honor of earth week and fashion revolution week, when you enter code HEALEARTH at checkout on my website, you’ll get 20% off! 💛🌞 (at Earth Day Initiative) https://www.instagram.com/p/BwkrKt3nQpI/?igshid=w38ifur22aax

[fancypantshoodlum]

ALBUM REVIEW: HAIM ‘Something To Tell You’

The wait is over! HAIM's second album is here, but it's not like they've been completely off the radar. 

There was that collab single with Bastille which was fun, 'Pray To God' with Calvin Harris - a leftover from the 'Days Are Gone' sessions that I'm hoping the original pops up on an anniversary reissue in, gosh, 2023, 'Holes In The Sky' from the soundtrack of the 2nd Divergent movie that I wasn't feeling at all, and their cover of Tame Impala's ‘Cause I'm a Man' which is BETTER than the original (sorry Kevin).

While all this was happening, they were making an indelible but overlooked mark on the pop and cultural landscape - which I’ll elaborate on in seven topics

 TRENDSETTING

I started hearing their inventive brand of polyrhythmic synth guitar pop crop up in tunes like Shura's 'Touch' (lowkey soulful icy synth HAIM), 'Emotion' by Carly Rae Jepson (Latin Freestyle HAIM) and most recently Paramore's 'Told You So' and 'Forgiveness' (all of the above).

Just like The Strokes East Village thrift was hugely influential back in the day on Mens fashion (what Spin magazine hilariously described as “part Bowery Boys, part CK One hotties”) 

HAIM definitely popularized a uber long hair, leather jacket and cropped shorts LA boho look that was practically everywhere in 2014/5 (or maybe just in the hipster places I hang :P )

There is an actual website called What Would HAIM Wear?

 DAYS ARE GONE MARK II

Now here we are with 'Something To Tell You' - not a repudiation but builds on 'Days Are Gone' - a sequel and clear step forward that's more confident and audacious in its approach and teeming with new musical ideas and different sonic textures.

While still largely stuck to love songs, the lyrics represent a quantum leap in terms of thoughtfulness and maturity.

 THE INTERPRETATION GAME

 The first glimpse of this record we got was 'Right Now' which came in the form of a video filmed as they recorded a take - giving an instant impression of muso credibility. a down tempo, foreboding ballad, not really a summer jam but hot on it's heels came 'Want You Back' the euphoric banger if there ever was one.

Lyrically they could be two sides of one story, 'Right Now' a tempestuous rebuke against an dishonest ex whose come crawling back.  Like an argument that evolves into a full on row , the song builds and builds with each incrimination like thunder, a guitar squalls, Taiko drum patterns rumble - and then it all explodes. 'Want You Back' the ex, having gone back into the dating world, realises that they miss the narrator, apologises '' I’ll take the fall and the fault in us. I’ll give you all the love I never gave before I left you''.

'Want You Back' has the wistful wisdom of a folk song which makes complete sense when you learn that it was originally written as a much slower song on an acoustic guitar. I remember John Lennon saying on The Beatles Anthology Documentary (or it could've been from Ian MacDonald's Beatles book 'Revolution In The Head') that whatever instrument a song is written on influences the flavour of the song, and its defo left its mark.

I really love 'Night So Long' though. The desolate blend of echoic harmony, ambient guitar twang & weeping melodies gives it a real nocturnal, countrified, dark night of the soul vibe to it. a lovelorn hymn that's really evocative of post break up, being lost in quiet despair, resigned to another crack around the merry-go-round of Love - for the narrator Romantic Love is a Sisyphean act

I could get really SAT English Literature with my interpretations of these songs but I'll spare you the pain lol

 STUDIO AS AN INSTRUMENT

One of the common critics of HAIM albums, especially this sophomore release is that it's over produced. To be honest it's no more heavily produced than a classic Neptunes track or Timbaland one a decade before and Trevor Horn back in the 80s.

The Daddy of them all being Phil Spector whose Wall of Sound approach was a dense aesthetic that included an array of orchestral instruments—strings, woodwind, brass and percussion—not previously associated with pop music, characterizing his methods as "a Wagnerian approach to rock & roll: little symphonies for the kids".  

Brian Wilson, a huge Spector fan, used a similar recording technique, especially during the Pet Sounds and Smile eras of the Beach Boys, the most recognizable examples being "God Only Knows", "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and especially, the psychedelic "pocket symphony" of "Good Vibrations"

Wilson says "Before Spector, people recorded all the instruments separately. They got great piano, great guitar, and great bass. But he thought of the song as one giant instrument. It was huge. Size was so important to him, how big everything sounded. And he had the best drums I ever heard."

‘Something To Tell You’ (and ‘Days are Gone’ too) is very much in the spirit of Spector but with a modern vernacular. ‘Ready For You’, ‘Want You Back’ and the title song are really sonically dense and defly work in a lot of elements.

The dichotomy of the synthetic, adventurous interpretation of the songs on the record compared to the more reigned in, organic live version isn’t unique to HAIM.

Led Zeppelin live were, as legendary rock critic Lester Bangs described them, 'a thunderous, near-undifferentiated tidal wave of sound that doesn't engross but envelops to snuff any possible distraction' or in Robert Plant's words it was a "very animal thing, a hellishly powerful thing,". In contrast Page's production on the records gave their songs a sense of auditory cinema to what could have been, in a less-imaginative producer’s hands, simply bombastic rock songs.

There’s all sorts of panning and added the effects, echo-chambered voice drops into a small explosion of fuzz-tone guitar, including using Low Frequency Oscillators on tape machines that was really startling to hear at the time.

I had qualms about the use of pitched vocals that are at the start of ‘Little of Your Love’ and in the call back in the chorus of ‘Right Now’, because in the latter I thought it undercut the poignancy by having something so alien sounding in something so human, and the prior I thought a synthetic touch in something so throwback was jarring – like T Pain at the start of Springsteen’s ‘Hungry Heart’ – but maybe not a teenager who hasn’t grown up with sounds being rigidly compartmentalized in genres the way people did in the 20th century.

SIDE NOTE: In fact it could be argued that auto tune / vocal pitch shifting (techniques for deliberate misusing of programs designed for correcting pitch as a way of colourizing the human voice with distortion) is the musical signature of the 2010’s the same way a Wah-Wah pedal makes you think of the 60s or the sound of a Fairlight CMI is very 80s. Which if true makes Cher’s ‘Believe’ ridiculously ahead of it’s time – the pop equivalent of what The MC5 were to Punk?

 SPOT THE INFLUENCES

 Critics love to play ‘Spot the Influences’:  X sounds as if The Reminder-era Feist fused together the acoustic riffs of ‘I Don't Want to Know’ and ‘Never Going Back Again’ – it weirdly reminds me of families gathered around a new-born baby talking about how it has it’s mother’s eyes but grandfathers nose – all these are just cosmetic judgements that are useful to introduce the uninitiated to artists they’ve never heard about but music, like babies, are more than the sum of their parts.  

When critics would name check Fleetwood Mac in reference to HAIM in 2013 it always felt tenuous though I knew what they meant – the songs didn’t sound like Fleetwood Mac in the autonomy of the song structure but in the emotional resonance. People hadn’t heard a guitar pop band sing about relationships like that, in a style like that for a long time – since probably Fleetwood Mac and so made the connection – but the fab ‘You Never Knew’ completely pastiches the gossamer textures of Tango In The Night era Fleetwood Mac in its production to its detriment I think because every time it starts I’m half expecting Christine McVie to come on and tell me sweet little lies.

 NO GENRES

I once stumbled on a useful insight about art criticism from an article that the writer and journalist Janet Malcolm wrote in response to vitriolic critiques on J.D Salinger's writing made by literary luminaries such as Updike and Didion: ''negative contemporary criticism of a masterpiece can be helpful to later critics, acting as a kind of radar that picks up the ping of the work’s originality''.

Now, I’m not saying this record is a masterpiece - It's really good - but unpacking and investigating the critiques have lead me to some interesting places, like this douchey one from the Guardian.

‘’…Haim were swiftly co-opted by the world of mainstream pop, which seems less interested in their place within a lineage of classic Californian rock than their way with a honeyed melody.’’

 From the off this is not true because they did tour with Florence and The Machine and play the big pop extravaganza that was Chime For Change before they even dropped an album. This smells more like a Luddite Gen Xer hang up about transgressing the dividing lines between musical genres.

Music critic Lizzy Goodman on the promo trail for her excellent book ‘Meet Me In The Bathroom’ a thrilling 600-page oral history of New York’s Rock renaissance of the 2000s  - brought up a fantastic point on a podcast about the analogue kids of The Strokes generation and their Post Napster successors Vampire Weekend, Grimes and HAIM etc.

Listen to that podcast here (it’s brilliant)

https://soundcloud.com/the-watch-podcast/lizzy-goodman-on-the-rebirth-of-rock-n-roll-in-new-york-city-from-2001-to-2011-ep-153

 but here’s the paraphrased version of what I want to highlight:

 Interviewer: The time between ‘Is This It?’ and Vampire Weekend’s self-titled debut is 7 years – one was the beginning of something and one was the end of something.

LIZZY GOODMAN: You could imagine The Strokes debuting in 2008 but you could not imagine Vampire Weekend happening in 2001 because there is no Ezra brain without the internet.

Interviewer: When I interviewed Ezra for Spin, I became the most oldest man in the universe! I was so angry, I was like: ‘’how dare you go to an Ivy League school, be white and like Hip Hop’’ says the guy who went to an Ivy League school, was white and loved Hip Hop, but how dare you talk about it (so well) and have fluency in all these different worlds and jump between things and never break a sweat.

LG: He’s literally like ‘I don’t know what you mean?’

This is normal to a Millennial but to a Gen Xer that level of musical sophistication is unheard of because they didn’t have the access to everything ever recorded pooled together in one space that the internet is. This Age of Musical Plenty has freed people up from the rigid lock of genre and toward an eclectic palette which is also reflected in the music they make.

  BAND BY IT'S COVER

I LOVE ALBUM ART! (I'm also a keen linear notes reader *did you know there's a Grammy for best linear notes? musicians take note lol*) when done right they're great windows into the tone of the record inside. 'Days Are Gone' & 'Something To Tell You' are really cool to contrast.

'Days Are Gone' was the start of a huge career for the band. The album offered listeners a look into their sunny, romantic lives and the cover art too reflected HAIM's bright prospects. Seated in three fold-up chairs on a big green lawn (suburban kids) the heads of the HAIM sisters are turned to the left, eyes averted and covered in shades (future's so bright, I gotta wear shades)

They followed the Spice Girls’ template of being a charismatic group, whose individual styles all added to the bigger picture - their meshing of high street and storied, thrift store pieces gave them an indie rock relatability. They looked like regular joes with great personal style.

On the flip-side 'Something To Tell You' is the glam fulfillment of that promise. It's like a souped up version where the pastoral suburban LA setting of 'Days Are Gone' gives way to more traditional iconic rock images of LA interspersed with glam fashion editorial-like images and (my fav) the quirkier bold coloured zoot suit-y David Byrne-esque stuff.

  'Something To Tell You' is a clear step forward, artistically and career-wise. You can hear adventurous enthusiasm in how they approach every song and from the lyrics you get that too that the uncertainty that was a motif in a lot of the songs from their last LP is gone and not only do they finally know what they want from life but are racing towards it. Record #3 is going to be an exciting listen.

[gaslampsglow]

hey corey, this is a bit of a shot in the dark but i'm trying to buy a men's waistcoat for something and wanted to know if you had any recommendations for places to look. it seemed like something you'd possibly have thoughts on. thanks!

Of course!  I am always willing to rant about my clotheshorse habits at the drop of a hat.  (I hope you don’t mind that I’m answering publicly.  If it is at all an issue lemme know and I’ll fix that.  But I figure blathering about where I buy clothes might be of interest to some folks.)

A lot of it (obviously) depends on the style you’re looking for and your budget expectations.  I’m really lucky to have some thrift stores nearby with a donation pool that comes from some wealthy areas, so I’ve lucked into great pieces that way, but YMMV.  Cincinnati also has a super fucking fantastic store called Talk Of The Town, which is a (I shit you not) vintage clothing store/costume rental house.  Every item has a rental price and a purchase price, and the woman who owns the place is really nice and really fun and gives price cuts for really minor cosmetic flaws.  I’d see if there are any similar places near you, since rental houses often have more items than they know what to do with and may have a “for sale” section.  I’m not sure of your height, but given your body type you may be able to find vintage waistcoats in your size for really cheap.  I can almost never find any, since no one my size even existed in the 1920s.  Not literally, but you know what I mean.

That said!  For modern clothes my first stop is almost always Macy’s.  People’s eyes bug out when I tell them that, which is understandable, because their women’s clothes tend to be bland and uninspiring, but their men’s stuff is G R E A T.  Seriously.  That bright red velvet vest I got for my birthday?  $20 bucks off the clearance rack.  Their website is pretty solid, too, so you’re not missing out on any deals by shopping web only.  And, since they’re in a nosedive because retail is an all-consuming tirefire, they keep throwing massive sales to try to beg people to buy their clothes.

Express Men is another solid choice for fast fashion, and they do some weird experimental stuff.  My favorite vest of all time is from there, a black velvet double-breasted number with a silk shawl collar.  H&M is similar, though again I fit in NOTHING they make so I don’t own anything of theirs myself.  Great prices though.

Men’s Warehouse is home to some of the world’s ugliest dress wear, but if you need a basic tux vest and don’t mind everything feeling like its made out of recycled prom dresses, you could do worse.

If you’re looking for something of a slightly more period bent but can’t find any reliable vintage clothing, consider historicalemporium.com.  They’re garbage, but they do have a good selection.  Their quality has gone farther and farther downhill in recent years, though, so caveat emptor.

If you want to spend some serious money for a piece of clothing that will last you for years, and you also happen to love tweed, WALKER SLATER.  WALKER SLATER WALKER SLATER WALKER SLATER.  AUGH.  I WANT ONE SO BAD.  I NEED IT IN MY LIFE.  THEIR WAISTCOATS ARE LIKE 120 BUCKS ONCE YOU HAVE THEM SHIPPED TO THE US BUT HOT FUCK SUCH BEAUTIFUL FABRICS.  I COULD DIE.

Ahem.

Overall, though, finding vests still sucks.  They were Such A Thing like three years ago (which I didn’t like for exactly this reason) but no stores actually carried them, and now no stores carry them AND ebay prices have SKYROCKETED compared to what they were.  Trendiness is the enemy of success.

Oddly, depending on the style and cut and fabric you want, and how frequently you intend to wear it, you may want to consider getting a vest custom made (which is something I’ve been poking with a stick lately.) . There are a TON of really fantastic cosplay and costume makers out there who charge nothing for their services compared to if you asked, say, a traditional tailor for make you a bespoke vest.  If you find a pattern you like, look for good deals on fabric, and recycle some buttons, you may be able to get a piece made to fit you for less than you’d expect.

But if you can’t afford a personalized bespoke clothing item, store bought is fine.

(I had to.)

If I think of any others I’ll let you know!