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Showing posts with label personal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label personal. Show all posts
The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is going on right now, which usually would be a huge deal for me. In years past I've previewed the collection, circled my favorite items from the catalogue, and counted down the seconds until my new fall purchases made their way to my doorstep. This year, however, I couldn't care less about getting a discount on boots I can't wear for 3 more months; the only section of the sale I've even looked through is their pajamas and home goods, and even then I feel no desire to purchase anything.
My ambivalence towards the Anniversary Sale is reflective of my feelings towards shopping as a whole right now. Five months ago my work sent me and my coworkers home, and currently there is no end in sight to my work from home situation, or the end of the pandemic as a whole. I venture out of my apartment rarely and for short periods of time, usually just to the Starbucks around the corner or the grocery store, and while I do love to dress up, dressing up for a run to the grocery store where I try to get in, grab what I need, and get out as quickly as possible, only to return to sitting on my bed in my apartment, seems frivolous. Occasionally I will put on a fun outfit for a TikTok or Instagram photo, but those looks last thirty minutes, tops, before I switch back into a T-shirt and loungewear.
And I know! This all sounds crazy coming from me, Lindsey, THE Fashion Barbie! The girl who wears dresses more often than jeans, who believes it's always better to be overdressed than underdressed, the girl who gets genuine joy out of finding a new item of clothing to love and style and treasure for years to come. Even toward the beginning of the pandemic I was feeling more optimistic about clothes and shopping, encouraging readers to check out Memorial Day Weekend sales and posting cute photos of the fun spring dresses I had hopes about being able to wear out and about by midsummer. But now, in August, the situation feels so much more dire, and with my return to the office now permanently TBD, I feel little desire to spend money on trendy items that might be totally out of date by the time I get to actually debut them outdoors.
Don't get me wrong, I want to like new clothes and feel enough energy to purchase cute new things. With social media becoming one of my few outlets, I’m constantly eyeing fun new trends to try on TikTok and Instagram, from cottagecore romantic dresses to pastel matching sets.
The problem is that, perhaps because my current situation longs for escapism, I keep gravitating toward dreamy maximalist pieces like this rainbow poof of a dress from Selkie or that strawberry dress that’s all over TikTok; dresses that, while fun and joy-inducing, don’t really make sense to wear in the confines of my apartment. The dresses I purchased near the beginning of quarantine have seen the light of day maybe once, and usually just for the purposes of content creation. I realized that one dress I bought back in April still had tags on it because I had only worn it for the purposes of Instagramming it, and while I know influencers do this all the time, it feels disingenuous and almost irresponsible to constantly be flaunting new items that aren’t actually worn out. From my blog’s conception back in high school, I always vowed that the outfits I showcased would be ones that I actually wore out in real life, not just for the purposes of a cool photo. I’ve prided myself on that authenticity, and don’t want to change that now.
Between the pandemic’s major effects on the economy and the fashion industry in particular, along with the Black Lives Matter movement encouraging me to be more mindful about where and how I shop, the idea of constant clothing consumption feels off-putting. I’m fortunate to have a job through the pandemic, but I know that for many people that is not the case, and even those with jobs have experienced salary cuts and other financial hardships. To spend money on clothes that may or may not stand the test of time feels wasteful, and again, if I’m not getting any use out of the clothes for the foreseeable future, why purchase them at all? If I do get the urge to buy something, I don’t want to spend large amounts of money on something because who knows how the economy could change in the near future; but then my options are fast fashion retailers who typically use substandard manufacturing practices and underpay foreign workers. As much as I can, I’m trying to avoid those retailers.
So what am I left with? A vague desire to try new clothes and styles but no true want to purchase anything, out of fears of uncertainty and wasted money. I’m not sure this will last forever, as I’m sure I’ll get back to my usual ways of wearing girly dresses once the pandemic is over and life gets closer to normal than it is now, but I do know that the ways I’ve thought about my clothing consumption has changed how I look at shopping, and I do think that will stick with me for years to come.
This isn’t to say that I’m “over” fashion or have no desire to talk about it, just that I’m putting more of an emphasis on the clothes I already have sitting in my closet and that I’m thinking more mindfully about my shopping practices. I may be wearing more shorts and T-shirts than usual, but even through all of this my love of fashion remains, just reframed to be more conscious of my participation as a consumer and what that means, both personally and for us all.
How are you feeling about fashion and shopping right now? Have your shopping decisions changed during the pandemic? Has your style?
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| Funfetti birthday cake via Serious Eats |
What will 23 bring?
Happy birthday to meeeeee!! Guys, I'm 23 now. How insane is that!? I cannot believe that a whole year has gone by since my 22nd birthday (of course, that is how that whole birthday thing goes; it's kind of a yearly thing) and it feels like so much has changed in the past year.
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| My goals and resolutions for 2017 |
New Year, New Goals
I don't always think about New Year's Resolutions, but this is the first year that I'm completely out of school, working on the next step, and trying to figure out how to live my life, basically, so it felt like a good time to start thinking about goals for the year. Hopefully they will keep me motivated and encourage me to have fun and be productive in 2017!
Now is the time to take a stand
It's been a tough week. I am dumbfounded by the results of this week's election, and it has been a frustrating wake up call for people who think that racism, sexism, and hatred are only in the hearts of a few outlying individuals. These issues run wide and deep, to the point where it is okay for our country to elect a man to the highest office in the land even though he and his followers have been proponents for some truly unspeakable behavior.
Back in the City of Angels, that is!
Maybe you noticed my cryptic Instagram and Snapchat posts this weekend, and maybe you figured it out already but...I'm back in Los Angeles! That's right! After a five-month stint at home following graduation, your favorite Fashion Barbie is back in La La Land where she belongs.
I graduated from college today! Ahhh!
I'll post a recap of the festivities later and share some things about what I learned during my four years of higher education, but I've been up since 6am and need to nap before tonight's festivities :D
Fight on!
Merry Christmas, everyone!
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas weekend filled with festivities, great presents, good food, and wonderful company. I'm so thankful for anyone who takes the time to read my blog, and I wanted to take this moment to say thank you to all my readers! You are all amazing.
Don't forget to take some time for yourself these next few days, and may your holiday be festive and fashionable!
Sincerely, Lindsey | The Fashion Barbie
It took me a long time to figure out what fruit I was.
You know in fashion magazines where they have those "The Best Clothes for Your Body Shape" features and they show what jeans work with pear-shaped women and apple-shaped women and carrot-shaped women and so on? They're in practically every magazine, and while they most likely mean well—in that they acknowledge that different body types look better in certain types of clothes/different trends/etc.—I always struggled to figure out what fruit my body most resembled.
Maybe I'm a pear; I have a small chest and larger hips, but I didn't feel particularly large-bottomed in the way they were suggesting pears had to be. I have a smaller waist but the chest-waist-hips ratio isn't so varied that I'm what you would consider to be curvy. I'm kind of skinny, I guess, but I don't have a thigh gap. I am tall, but I feel like that isn't really a shape (tall girls can be skinny or curvy or full-figured) and I'm not so outrageously tall that I have to wear "tall" sizes or anything like that. I don't really know what "shape" I am, and for the longest time I was disappointed that these articles were of little help to me. I wanted to know what clothes would be the most flattering on me, and I was left without any real answers.
But recently I've come to a shocking realization: I am not fruit-shaped, I am Lindsey-shaped, and that is who I need to be dressing for. Not some generalized idea of body types. I understand why magazines must generalize; they can't have a million different options for each individual reader, no matter how much I wish that were a possibility. They are suggestions for what may be most flattering to you, but they are not hard and fast truths.
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| Taylor swift knows how to accentuate her long legs with mini skirts and high-waisted shorts |
So I learned to dress not for a shape, but for my own personal body. I've come to terms with what I like about my body and what could be improved. My legs are nice but I'm self-conscious about my thighs, I have a skinny waist but an equally-small chest, and I absolutely love my collarbone. It's a weird thing to pinpoint as a favorite part of me, but I've always thought I've had nice shoulders and a good collarbone, so whatever, if I like it and I think it looks good, I'm going to accentuate that.
And that's what we need to do. Focus on the parts of you that make you feel good. Yes, ideally I will one day look in the mirror and love every inch of my body, and most days I feel pretty good about it, but there are always moments of self-consciousness and days when I am more likely to focus on the flaws than I am the parts that I like. So for now, while I'm still working on developing a healthy relationship with my body and myself, I'm going to focus on what I love about myself and I'm going to play those parts up with what I wear.
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| Mindy Kaling plays up her curves with waist-defining dresses in bright, bold colors |
Because I love my collarbone and my shoulders, I've started gravitating towards square necklines that hit high on the neck and swoop down low on the sides. I've stopped stressing about not having large breasts and not looking like a Victoria's Secret model and started wearing styles that look flattering on a smaller chest. I've embraced the fact that if I want, I can get away with not wearing a bra. I wear high-waisted, full skirts that highlight my waist and minimize my hips and thighs. I've played up the parts of me that I love rather than stressing on the parts that I don't.
Since I've started changing the way I approach dressing myself, I feel so much more confident with my outfits and empowered when I'm out and about. So go ahead, accentuate the positive, and dress for you, not for a generalized shape.
Shop Lindsey's Favorite Flattering Pieces:
How do you play up your favorite parts about you when getting dressed?
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| Look at all these cuties! Sorority recruitment took over my life these past few weeks, but it all paid off! Can't wait for an awesome semester |
Lots of exciting stuff coming up soon. September starts tomorrow, Fashion Week starts next week, and we will be using the new Vogue Runway website for the first time in order to catch all the action from the catwalks! Can't wait to talk about it with you guys!
- Lindsey
Hey guys! So sorry that I've been absent from The Fashion Barbie for the past couple of weeks. School started up again, sorority recruitment came and went, and I've been busier than I've ever been. With all the craziness going on in my life, I needed a little break from blogging, but I promise I will be back for the start of New York Fashion Week! Can you believe it's September already??
Anyways, I'll leave you with a pic of the awesome new sorority sisters we got this weekend! It feels so good to know the two weeks of craziness paid off, and I can't wait for the upcoming school year.
See you guys back here in a few days.
Los Angeles is probably one of the best places to study art history. There are fabulous museums, galleries, and private collections in almost every neighborhood, featuring every genre of art imaginable. Even smaller collections may quietly boast absolute masterpieces. There's always something new to discover, and I couldn't ask for a better place to study art!
This Sunday I ventured to the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena with my Biography of the Renaissance Artist class. We focused on the European art galleries from the 14th-16th centuries, but the whole collection is absolutely stunning.
I thought I would share some of my favorite artworks from the Norton Simon with you guys!
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| Guido Reni, Saint Cecilia, 1606 (source) |
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| Jean Baptiste Pater, Fete Champetre, c. 1730 (source) |
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| Jean-Honore Fragonard, Music, c. 1760-65 (source) |
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| Henri Matisse, The Black Shawl (Lorette VII), 1918 (source) |
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| Jean-Louis Forain, At the Evening Party: Woman in White with a Fan, 1883-84 (source) |
To celebrate the last few days of my summer (umm, I go back to school on Wednesday to prepare for sorority recruitment and am so not ready for endless days of tanning and swimming to come to an end), my mom and I headed up the 101 to Santa Barbara for some of our favorites - shopping, eating great food, and visiting absolutely charming areas along the central coast.
We stayed at the Bacara Hotel just past UCSB, an Italian-style series of villas that lived up to my expectations in every way.
Downtown Santa Barbara was as quaint and lovely as I had imagined from watching movies like It's Complicated, with strict building regulations keeping the classic Spanish-style buildings as the norm and ugly modern towers out.
And as a history buff, I always love a good Mission Trip! If you don't know about the California Missions or haven't visited any of them, you are totally missing out. They are probably my favorite historical places to visit in the Golden State.
On Friday we drove inland to Los Olivos, which is tiny but extremely quaint and has an almost midwestern sensibility to it (I told my mom that this little gas station - turned - cafe reminded me of the movie Cars) except there are wine tasting stands everywhere now that the Central Coast Valley has turned into another Napa.
Also we went to this place called Sides Hardware & Shoes; a Brothers Restaurant and I had the most amazing, artery-clogging burger of my LIFE and it was totally heaven - also, the restaurant is a converted hardware store so it's just really cute.
We stayed at the Bacara Hotel just past UCSB, an Italian-style series of villas that lived up to my expectations in every way.
And as a history buff, I always love a good Mission Trip! If you don't know about the California Missions or haven't visited any of them, you are totally missing out. They are probably my favorite historical places to visit in the Golden State.
On Friday we drove inland to Los Olivos, which is tiny but extremely quaint and has an almost midwestern sensibility to it (I told my mom that this little gas station - turned - cafe reminded me of the movie Cars) except there are wine tasting stands everywhere now that the Central Coast Valley has turned into another Napa.
Also we went to this place called Sides Hardware & Shoes; a Brothers Restaurant and I had the most amazing, artery-clogging burger of my LIFE and it was totally heaven - also, the restaurant is a converted hardware store so it's just really cute.
Basically, I had a lovely time. It was the perfect way to relax and enjoy summer before heading out to school again.
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